22 The Unexpected Task

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO The Unexpected Task 'Potter! Weasley! Will you pay attention?' Professor McGonagall's irritated voice cracked like a whip through the Transfiguration class on Thursday, and Harry and Ron both jumped and looked up. It was the end of the lesson; they had finished their work; the guinea-fowl they had been changing into guinea-pigs had been shut away in a large cage on Professor McGonagall's desk (Neville's guinea-pig still had feathers); they had copied down their homework from the blackboard ('Describe, with examples, the ways in which Transforming Spells must be adapted when performing Cross-Species Switches'). The bell

第二十二章意外任务波特！韦斯莱!你会注意听吗？”麦格教授恼怒的声音像鞭子一样噼里啪啦地抽在星期四的变形课上，哈利和罗恩都吓了一跳，抬起头来。 这节课结束了；他们完成了他们的工作；被他们变成豚鼠的珍珠鸡被关在麦格教授桌子上的一个大笼子里（纳威的豚鼠还有羽毛）；他们从黑板上抄下了家庭作业（“举例说明，在进行跨物种转换时，变形咒必须如何适应”）。 铃声

was due to ring at any moment, and Harry and Ron, who had been having a sword fight with a couple of Fred and George's fake wands at the back of the class, looked up, Ron now holding a tin parrot, and Harry, a rubber haddock. 'Now Potter and Weasley have been kind enough to act their age,' said Professor McGonagall, with an angry look at the pair of them as the head of Harry's haddock drooped and fell silently to the floor– Ron's parrot's beak had severed it moments before– 'I have something to say to you all. 'The Yule Ball is approaching– a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament and an opportunity for us to socialise with our foreign guests. Now, the ball will be open only to fourth- years and above– although you may invite a younger student if you wish–' Lavender Brown let out a shrill giggle. Parvati Patil nudged her hard in the ribs, her face working furiously as she, too, fought not to giggle. They both looked around at Harry. Professor McGonagall ignored them, which Harry thought

哈利和罗恩刚刚在教室后面用弗雷德和乔治的两根假魔杖进行了一场剑战，这时他们抬起头来，罗恩手里拿着一只锡制鹦鹉，哈利手里拿着一条橡皮黑线鳕。 “波特和韦斯莱很好心，表现出了他们的年龄，”麦格教授生气地看了他们俩一眼，这时哈利的黑线鳕的头耷拉下来，无声地掉在地上——刚才罗恩的鹦鹉嘴把它咬断了——“我有话要对你们大家说。 “圣诞舞会就要开始了——这是三强争霸赛的一个传统环节，也是我们与外国客人社交的好机会。” 现在，舞会只对四年级及以上的学生开放——不过如果你愿意的话，你也可以邀请一个年纪更小的学生——”拉文德·布朗尖声咯咯地笑了起来。 帕瓦蒂·佩蒂尔使劲地捅了捅她的肋骨，她的脸也拼命地抽搐着，强忍着不笑出声来。 他们俩都扭头看着哈利。 麦格教授没有理睬他们，哈利以为是这样

was distinctly unfair, as she had just told off him and Ron. 'Dress robes will be worn,' Professor McGonagall continued, 'and the ball will start at eight o'clock on Christmas Day, finishing at midnight, in the Great Hall. Now then–' Professor McGonagall stared deliberately around the class. 'The Yule Ball is of course a chance for us all to– er– let our hair down,' she said, in a disapproving voice. Lavender giggled harder than ever, with her hand pressed hard against her mouth to stifle the sound. Harry could see what was funny this time: Professor McGonagall, with her hair in a tight bun, looked as though she had never let her hair down in any sense. 'But that does NOT mean,' Professor McGonagall went on, 'that we will be relaxing the standards of behaviour we expect from Hogwarts students. I will be most seriously displeased if a Gryffindor student embarrasses the school in any way.'

这显然是不公平的，因为她刚刚责备了他和罗恩。 “要穿礼服长袍，”麦格教授接着说，“舞会将于圣诞节那天八点在礼堂开始，午夜结束。 好了——”麦格教授故意环视着全班。 “圣诞舞会当然是我们大家——嗯——放松一下的机会。”她用不赞成的口气说。 拉文德笑得更厉害了，她用手紧紧捂住嘴巴，不让声音出声。 哈利明白这次的有趣之处了：麦格教授把头发紧紧地挽成一个发髻，看上去好像从来没有把头发垂下来过。 “但这并不意味着，”麦格教授接着说，“我们会放松对霍格沃茨学生的行为标准。 如果格兰芬多的学生以任何方式使学校难堪，我会非常不高兴。”

The bell rang, and there was the usual scuffle of activity as everyone packed their bags and swung them onto their shoulders. Professor McGonagall called above the noise, 'Potter– a word, if you please.' Assuming this had something to do with his headless rubber haddock, Harry proceeded gloomily to the teacher's desk. Professor McGonagall waited until the rest of the class had gone, and then said, 'Potter, the champions and their partners–' 'What partners?' said Harry. Professor McGonagall looked suspiciously at him, as though she thought he was trying to be funny. 'Your partners for the Yule Ball, Potter,' she said coldly. 'Your dance partners.' Harry's insides seemed to curl up and shrivel. 'Dance partners?' He felt himself going red. 'I don't dance,' he said quickly.

下课铃响了，每个人都像往常一样，把书包收拾好，扛在肩上。 麦格教授在喧闹声中喊道：“波特——请你说句话。”哈利猜想这和他的无头橡胶黑线鳕有关，便闷闷不乐地走到讲台前。 麦格教授等到全班同学都走了，才说：“波特，勇士和他们的舞伴——”哈利问。 麦格教授怀疑地看着他，好像以为他是在开玩笑。 “你的圣诞舞会舞伴，波特。”她冷冷地说。 “你的舞伴。”哈利的五脏六腑似乎都皱了起来。 “舞伴?”他觉得自己的脸涨得通红。 “我不跳舞，”他很快地说。

'Oh, yes, you do,' said Professor McGonagall irritably. 'That's what I'm telling you. Traditionally, the champions and their partners open the ball.' Harry had a sudden mental image of himself in a top hat and tails, accompanied by a girl in the sort of frilly dress Aunt Petunia always wore to Uncle Vernon's work parties. 'I'm not dancing,' he said. 'It is traditional,' said Professor McGonagall firmly. 'You are a Hogwarts champion, and you will do what is expected of you as a representative of the school. So make sure you get yourself a partner, Potter.' 'But– I don't–' 'You heard me, Potter,' said Professor McGonagall, in a very final sort of way. A week ago, Harry would have said finding a partner for a dance would be a cinch compared to taking on a Hungarian Horntail. But now that he had done the latter, and was facing the prospect of

“哦，不，你知道。”麦格教授生气地说。 “这就是我要告诉你的。 传统上，由冠军和他们的搭档开球。”哈利突然在脑海中浮现出自己戴着一顶大礼帽、穿着燕尾服的形象，身边有一个女孩，她穿着佩妮姨妈参加弗农姨父工作聚会时经常穿的那种褶边裙。 “我不跳舞，”他说。 “这是传统。”麦格教授坚定地说。 “你是霍格沃茨的勇士，作为学校的代表，你应该尽大家对你的期望。 所以一定要给自己找个搭档，波特。“你听到我说的了，波特。”麦格教授用最后一种语气说。 一个星期以前，哈利会说找个舞伴跳舞比对付匈牙利树蜂要容易得多。 但现在他已经做了后一件事，而且面临着

asking a girl to the ball, he thought he'd rather have another round with the Horntail. Harry had never known so many people to put their names down to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas; he always did, of course, because the alternative was usually going back to Privet Drive, but he had always been very much in the minority before now. This year, however, everyone in the fourth year and above seemed to be staying, and they all seemed to Harry to be obsessed with the coming ball– or, at least, all the girls were, and it was amazing how many girls Hogwarts suddenly seemed to hold; he had never quite noticed that before. Girls giggling and whispering in the corridors, girls shrieking with laughter as boys passed them, girls excitedly comparing notes on what they were going to wear on Christmas night… 'Why do they have to move in packs?' Harry asked Ron, as a dozen or so girls walked past them, sniggering and staring at Harry. 'How're you supposed to get one on their own to ask them?'

邀请一个女孩参加舞会，他想他宁愿和树蜂再来一轮。 哈利从来没有见过这么多人报名留在霍格沃茨过圣诞节。当然，他总是这样做的，因为不然的话，他通常只能回到女贞路去，但在此之前，他一直是少数。 然而，今年四年级及以上的学生似乎都留下来了，在哈利看来，他们都对即将到来的舞会着迷——或者，至少所有的女生都是如此，霍格沃茨突然间似乎容纳了那么多女生，这真让人吃惊。他以前从来没有注意到这一点。 女孩们在走廊里窃窃私语，女孩们在男孩们经过时尖叫着笑，女孩们兴奋地交换着意见，讨论着圣诞节晚上要穿什么……“为什么她们必须成群结队地行动？”哈利问罗恩，这时十几个女孩从他们身边走过，一边窃笑，一边盯着哈利。 “你怎么能让他们自己问他们呢？”