晨韵推荐：双语美文--哈利波特与凤凰社 Chapter 9（下）

绚斓晨韵

No, no, I'll do it myself later,' beamed Mrs Weasley, 'you have your drink. We're having a little bit of a celebration, actually . . .' She gestured at the scarlet banner. 'Fourth prefect in the family！' she said fondly, ruffling Ron's hair.
'Prefect, eh？' growled Moody, his normal eye on Ron and his magical eye swivelling around to gaze into the side of his head. Harry had the very uncomfortable feeling it was looking at him and moved away towards Sirius and Lupin.
'Well, congratulations,' said Moody, still glaring at Ron with his normal eye, 'authority figures always attract trouble, but I suppose Dumbledore thinks you can withstand most major jinxes or he wouldn't have appointed you . . .'
Ron looked rather startled at this view of the matter but was saved the trouble of responding by the arrival of his father and eldest brother. Mrs Weasley was in such a good mood she did not even complain that they had brought Mundungus with them; he was wearing a long overcoat that seemed oddly lumpy in unlikely places and declined the offer to remove it and put it with Moody's travelling cloak.
'Well, I think a toast is in order,' said Mr Weasley, when everyone had a drink. He raised his goblet. To Ron and Hermione, the new Gryffindor prefects！'
Ron and Hermione beamed as everyone drank to them, and then applauded.
'I was never a prefect myself,' said Tonks brightly from behind Harry as everybody moved towards the table to help themselves to food. Her hair was tomato red and waist-length today; she looked like Ginny's older sister. 'My Head of House said I lacked certain necessary qualities.'
'Like what？' said Ginny, who was choosing a baked potato.
'Like the ability to behave myself,' said Tonks.
“不，不用了，我待会儿自己来吧。”韦斯莱夫人眉开眼笑地说，“你喝点儿酒吧。实际上，我们在搞一个小小的庆祝活动……”她指了指鲜红色的横幅，“家里第四个级长！”她揉揉罗恩的头发，慈爱地说。
“级长，哦？”穆迪低吼道，那只普通的眼睛望着罗恩，那只带魔法的眼睛滴溜溜一转，从脑袋里朝旁边凝视着。哈利有一种很不舒服的感觉，似乎那眼睛正在望着自己，他转身朝小天狼星和卢平走去。
“好啊，祝贺祝贺，”穆迪说，仍然用他那只普通的眼睛盯着罗恩，“权威人士总会招来麻烦，但我想邓布利多一定认为你能够抵抗大多数厉害的恶咒，不然他不会选中你的……”
罗恩听到这样的说法，似乎很吃了一惊，但正好这时他爸爸和大哥回来了，他也就用不着费心做出回答了。韦斯莱夫人喜气洋洋，甚至没有埋怨他们把蒙顿格斯也带了来。蒙顿格斯穿着一件长长的大衣，上面东一块西一块鼓鼓囊囊的，显得很奇怪，而且他还不肯把大衣脱下来跟穆迪的旅行斗篷放在一起。
“好了，我想我们可以举杯了，”每个人都拿到饮料后，韦斯莱先生说，举起了他的高脚酒杯，“祝贺罗恩和赫敏当选格兰芬多的级长！”
大家都举杯祝贺，然后热烈鼓掌，罗恩和赫敏高兴得满脸放光。
“我自己从没当过级长。”大家都凑在桌子跟前取食物时，唐克斯在哈利身后兴高采烈地说。今天她的头发红得像西红柿，一直拖到腰际，看上去活像金妮的姐姐。“我们学院的院长说我缺乏某些必要的素质。”
“比如说什么呢？”正在挑一个烤土豆的金妮问道。
“比如不能够循规蹈矩。”唐克斯说。
Ginny laughed; Hermione looked as though she did not know whether to smile or not and compromised by taking an extra large gulp of Butterbeer and choking on it.
'What about you, Sirius？' Ginny asked, thumping Hermione on the back.
Sirius, who was right beside Harry, let out his usual bark-like laugh.
'No one would have made me a prefect, I spent too much time in detention with James. Lupin was the good boy, he got the badge.'
'I think Dumbledore might have hoped I would be able to exercise some control over my best friends,' said Lupin. 'I need scarcely say that I failed dismally.'
Harry's mood suddenly lifted. His father had not been a prefect either. All at once the party seemed much more enjoyable; he loaded up his plate, feeling doubly fond of everyone in the room.
Ron was rhapsodising about his new broom to anybody who would listen.
'. . . nought to seventy in ten seconds, not bad, is it？ When you think the Comet Two Ninety's only nought to sixty and that's with a decent tailwind according to Which Broomstick？'
Hermione was talking very earnestly to Lupin about her view of elf rights.
金妮哈哈大笑。赫敏似乎不知道是不是也该笑一笑，便采取个折中的办法，端起杯子喝了一大口黄油啤酒，结果被呛着了。
“你呢，小天狼星？”金妮拍着赫敏的后背问道。
坐在哈利旁边的小天狼星发出他惯常的那种短促刺耳的笑声。
“没有人会选我当级长的，我花了那么多时间跟詹姆一起关禁闭。卢平是个好孩子，他得到了徽章。”
“我想，邓布利多大概希望我能对我的好朋友进行一些管束。”卢平说道，“不用说，我很悲惨地失败了。”
哈利的情绪突然好了起来。他父亲当年也不是级长。顿时，晚会似乎变得好玩多了。他把盘子装得满满的，觉得自己加倍地喜爱房间里的每一个人。
罗恩逢人就热情洋溢地介绍他的新扫帚。
“……十秒钟内就从零到七十，不坏吧？要知道《飞天扫帚大全》上说，彗星290只有零到六十，而且还需要有一股顺风推着呢。”
赫敏正在十分恳切地跟卢平谈论她对小精灵权益的看法。
'I mean, it's the same kind of nonsense as werewolf segregation, isn't it？ It all stems from this horrible thing wizards have of thinking they're superior to other creatures . . .'
Mrs Weasley and Bill were having their usual argument about Bill's hair.
'. . . getting really out of hand, and you're so good-looking, it would look much better shorter, wouldn't it, Harry？'
Oh - I dunno - ' said Harry, slightly alarmed at being asked his opinion; he slid away from them in the direction of Fred and George, who were huddled in a corner with Mundungus.
Mundungus stopped talking when he saw Harry, but Fred winked and beckoned Harry closer.
'It's OK,' he told Mundungus, 'we can trust Harry, he's our financial backer.'
'Look what Dung's got us,' said George, holding out his hand to Harry. It was full of what looked like shrivelled black pods. A faint rattling noise was coming from them, even though they were completely stationary.
'Venomous Tentacula seeds,' said George. 'We need them for the Skiving Snackboxes but they're a Class C Non-Tradeable Substance so we've been having a bit of trouble getting hold of them.'
“我的意思是，这就跟狼人需要隔离一样，都是一派胡言，是吗？其根源都是巫师那种可怕的偏见，认为自己比别的生物优越……”
韦斯莱夫人和比尔又在争论那个老掉牙的问题：比尔的头发。
“……越来越没法收拾了，其实你长得挺精神的，如果头发短一点儿会好看得多，你说是不是呢，哈利？”
“哦——我不知道——”哈利说，没想到韦斯莱夫人居然来征求他的意见，他有点儿惊慌。他偷偷地离开他们，朝弗雷德和乔治那边走去，他们正和蒙顿格斯一起挤在一个角落里。
蒙顿格斯一看见哈利就停住话头，但弗雷德眨眨眼睛，示意哈利过去。
“没关系，”他对蒙顿格斯说，“我们完全可以信任哈利，他是我们的资助人！”
“看看顿格给我们带来了什么，”乔治说着摊开手掌给哈利看，那上面是一堆枯干的黑豆荚般的东西，虽然一动不动，却发出轻微的哗啦哗啦的声音。
“毒触手的种子，”乔治说，“我们的速效逃课糖要用到它们，但这是一种C类禁止贸易物品，所以我们一直很难搞到。”
'Ten Galleons the lot, then, Dung？' said Fred.
'Wiv all the trouble I went to to get 'em？' said Mundungus, his saggy, bloodshot eyes stretching even wider. 'I'm sorry, lads, but I'm not taking a Knut under twenty.'
'Dung likes his little joke,' Fred said to Harry.
'Yeah, his best one so far has been six Sickles for a bag of Knarl quills,' said George.
'Be careful,' Harry warned them quietly.
'What？' said Fred. 'Mum's busy cooing over Prefect Ron, we're OK.'
'But Moody could have his eye on you.' Harry pointed out.
Mundungus looked nervously over his shoulder.
'Good point, that,' he grunted. 'All right, lads, ten it is, if you'll take 'em quick.'
'Cheers, Harry！' said Fred delightedly, when Mundungus had emptied his pockets into the twins' outstretched hands and scuttled off towards the food. 'We'd better get these upstairs . . .'
“这么些给十个加隆吧，顿格？”弗雷德说。
“这可是我费了九牛二虎之力才弄到的！”蒙顿格斯说，他那松弛的、充血的眼睛拉得更狭长了，“对不起，小伙子们，低于二十我绝不出手。”
“顿格就喜欢开点儿小玩笑。”弗雷德对哈利说。
“是啊，他最精彩的一个玩笑就是一袋疙瘩羽毛笔要价六西可。”乔治说。
“小心点儿。”哈利轻声提醒他们。
“怎么啦？”弗雷德说，“妈妈忙着跟级长罗恩情意绵绵地说悄悄话呢，我们没事儿的。”
“可是穆迪可能在用眼睛盯着你们。”哈利指出这一点。
蒙顿格斯紧张地扭头看了看。
“说得对。”他嘟哝道，“好吧，小伙子们，十个就十个吧，只要你们赶紧把它们弄走。”
“谢谢你了，哈利！”弗雷德高兴地说，蒙顿格斯已经把口袋里的东西都倒在双胞胎伸出来的手里，然后匆匆走过去取东西吃了。“我们最好把这些东西拿到楼上去……”
Harry watched them go, feeling slightly uneasy. It had just occurred to him that Mr and Mrs Weasley would want to know how Fred and George were financing their joke shop business when, as was inevitable, they finally found out about it. Giving the twins his Triwizard winnings had seemed a simple thing to do at the time, but what if it led to another family row and a Percy-like estrangement？
Would Mrs Weasley still feel that Harry was as good as her son if she found out he had made it possible for Fred and George to start a career she thought quite unsuitable？
Standing where the twins had left him, with nothing but a guilty weight in the pit of his stomach for company, Harry caught the sound of his own name. Kingsley Shacklebolts deep voice was audible even over the surrounding chatter.
'. . . why Dumbledore didn't make Potter a prefect？' said Kingsley.
'He'll have had his reasons,' replied Lupin.
'But it would've shown confidence in him. It's what I'd've done,' persisted Kingsley, ' 'specially with the Daily Prophet having a go at him every few days . . .'
Harry did not look round; he did not want Lupin or Kingsley to know he had heard. Though not remotely hungry, he followed Mundungus back towards the table. His pleasure in the party had evaporated as quickly as it had come; he wished he were upstairs in bed.
Mad-Eye Moody was sniffing at a chicken-leg with what remained of his nose; evidently he could not detect any trace of poison, because he then tore a strip off it with his teeth.
'. . . the handle's made of Spanish oak with anti-jinx varnish and in-built vibration control - ' Ron was saying to Tonks.
Mrs Weasley yawned widely.
哈利望着他们的背影，心里隐隐有些不安。他突然想到，韦斯莱先生和韦斯莱夫人肯定很纳闷弗雷德和乔治怎么会有本钱做笑话商店的生意，然后不可避免地，他们就会弄清是怎么回事。把三强争霸赛的奖金送给双胞胎，这在当时似乎是一件很简单的事情，但如果它又导致一场家庭风波，使亲人疏远，就像珀西那样呢？如果韦斯莱夫人发现是因为哈利才使得弗雷德和乔治能够开创一种她认为很不合适的职业，她还会觉得哈利像她的亲生儿子一样好吗？
双胞胎走后，哈利独自站在那里，内心只有一种沉甸甸的负疚感。突然，他听见有人在说他的名字。金斯莱·沙克尔那低沉浑厚的声音，即使在周围的一片嘈杂声中也能听见。
“……邓布利多为什么不选哈利当级长呢？”金斯莱问。
“他准有他自己的道理。”卢平回答。
“但是那样会表现出对他的信任。换了我，我就会那么做，”金斯莱执意地说，“特别是在《预言家日报》三天两头地给他造谣……”
哈利没有转过头去。他不想让卢平和金斯莱知道他听见了。他尽管一点儿也不饿，但还是跟着蒙顿格斯回到了饭桌旁。他刚才突然产生的参加晚会的快乐又一下子消失得无影无踪。他真希望自己躺在楼上的床上。
疯眼汉穆迪用残缺不全的鼻子嗅了嗅一根鸡腿，显然他没有发现任何下毒的痕迹，因为他用牙齿扯下了一大块鸡肉。
“……扫帚把是用西班牙栎木做的，涂着防恶咒的清漆，还有内置的振动控制——”罗恩在对唐克斯说。
韦斯莱夫人打了个大大的哈欠。