24 Occlumency

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR Occlumency Kreacher, it transpired, had been lurking in the attic. Sirius said he had found him up there, covered in dust, no doubt looking for more relics of the Black family to hide in his cupboard. Though Sirius seemed satisfied with this story, it made Harry uneasy. Kreacher seemed to be in a better mood on his reappearance, his bitter muttering had subsided somewhat and he submitted to orders more docilely than usual, though once or twice Harry caught the house-elf staring at him avidly, but always looking quickly away whenever he saw that Harry had noticed. Harry did not mention his vague suspicions to Sirius, whose cheerfulness was evaporating fast

第二十四章大脑封闭术据说克利切一直躲在阁楼里。 小天狼星说他在那里找到了他，他满身是灰尘，毫无疑问是在找布莱克家族的遗物藏在他的碗柜里。 虽然小天狼星似乎对这个故事很满意，但这使哈利感到不安。 克利切重新出现后，心情似乎好多了，他那刻薄的嘟囔声少了一些，也比平时更顺从地服从命令了。不过有一两次，哈利发现家养小精灵贪婪地盯着他，但每次看到哈利注意到，他总是迅速地把目光移开。 哈利没有向小天狼星提起他那模糊的怀疑，小天狼星的快乐很快就消失了

now that Christmas was over. As the date of their departure back to Hogwarts drew nearer, he became more and more prone to what Mrs Weasley called 'fits of the sullens', in which he would become taciturn and grumpy, often withdrawing to Buckbeak's room for hours at a time. His gloom seeped through the house, oozing under doorways like some noxious gas, so that all of them became infected by it. Harry didn't want to leave Sirius again with only Kreacher for company; in fact, for the first time in his life, he was not looking forward to returning to Hogwarts. Going back to school would mean placing himself once again under the tyranny of Dolores Umbridge, who had no doubt managed to force through another dozen decrees in their absence; there was no Quidditch to look forward to now that he had been banned; there was every likelihood that their burden of homework would increase as the exams drew even nearer; and Dumbledore remained as remote as ever. In fact, if it hadn't been for the DA, Harry

现在圣诞节已经过去了。 随着他们返回霍格沃茨的日子越来越近，他越来越容易出现韦斯莱夫人所说的“脾气暴躁”，变得沉默寡言，脾气暴躁，经常一到巴克比克的房间里就呆上几个小时。 他的忧郁渗透了整个房子，像有毒气体一样从门缝里渗了出来，所有的人都被它感染了。 哈利不想再把小天狼星留给克利切一个人作伴；事实上，他平生第一次不盼望回到霍格沃茨了。 回到学校就意味着他又要受多洛雷斯·乌姆里奇的统治，毫无疑问，在他们不在的时候，她又强行通过了十多项法令。既然他被禁赛了，就没有魁地奇比赛可指望了；随着考试的临近，他们的家庭作业负担很可能会增加；邓布利多和以前一样遥远。 事实上，如果不是地检官，哈利

thought he might have begged Sirius to let him leave Hogwarts and remain in Grimmauld Place. Then, on the very last day of the holidays, something happened that made Harry positively dread his return to school. 'Harry, dear,' said Mrs Weasley, poking her head into his and Ron's bedroom, where the pair of them were playing wizard chess watched by Hermione, Ginny and Crookshanks, 'could you come down to the kitchen? Professor Snape would like a word with you.' Harry did not immediately register what she had said; one of his castles was engaged in a violent tussle with a pawn of Ron's and he was egging it on enthusiastically. 'Squash him– squash him, he's only a pawn, you idiot. Sorry, Mrs Weasley, what did you say?' 'Professor Snape, dear. In the kitchen. He'd like a word.' Harry's mouth fell open in horror. He looked around at Ron, Hermione and Ginny, all of whom were gaping back at him. Crookshanks, whom Hermione had been restraining with difficulty for

他想他可能请求小天狼星让他离开霍格沃茨，留在格里莫广场。 然后，在假期的最后一天，发生了一件事，让哈利非常害怕回到学校。 “哈利，亲爱的，”韦斯莱夫人把头伸进他和罗恩的卧室说，他们俩正在那里下巫师象棋，赫敏、金妮和克鲁克山在旁边看着，“你能到厨房来一下吗？ 斯内普教授想跟你说句话。”哈利没有立刻注意到她说的话。他的一个城堡正在和罗恩的一个小卒激烈地搏斗，他正热情地怂恿着它。 “压死他——压死他，他只是个棋子，你这个白痴。 对不起，韦斯莱夫人，你说什么？“斯内普教授，亲爱的。” 在厨房里。他想跟你谈谈。”哈利吓得张大了嘴巴。 他扭头看看罗恩、赫敏和金妮，他们都在瞪着他。 克鲁克山，赫敏好不容易才把它控制住的

the past quarter of an hour, leapt gleefully on to the board and set the pieces running for cover, squealing at the top of their voices. 'Snape?' said Harry blankly. 'Professor Snape, dear,' said Mrs Weasley reprovingly. 'Now come on, quickly, he says he can't stay long.' 'What's he want with you?' said Ron, looking unnerved as Mrs Weasley withdrew from the room. 'You haven't done anything, have you?' 'No!' said Harry indignantly, racking his brains to think what he could have done that would make Snape pursue him to Grimmauld Place. Had his last piece of homework perhaps earned a 'T'? A minute or two later, he pushed open the kitchen door to find Sirius and Snape both seated at the long kitchen table, glaring in opposite directions. The silence between them was heavy with mutual dislike. A letter lay open on the table in front of Sirius. 'Er,' said Harry, to announce his presence.

在过去的一刻钟里，他兴高采烈地跳到棋盘上，让棋子们拼命尖叫着跑着找掩护。 “斯内普?哈利茫然地问。 “斯内普教授，亲爱的。”韦斯莱夫人责备地说。 “现在快走吧，他说他不能待太久。“他找你干什么？”韦斯莱夫人离开房间时，罗恩显得很不安。 “你什么也没做，是吗？”“不!哈利气愤地说，一边绞尽脑汁地想，他做了什么才会让斯内普追到格里莫广场。 他的最后一份家庭作业是不是得了个“T”？ 一两分钟后，他推开厨房的门，发现小天狼星和斯内普都坐在厨房的长桌旁，朝相反的方向瞪着眼睛。 他们之间的沉默充满了彼此的厌恶。 小天狼星面前的桌子上放着一封打开的信。 “嗯。”哈利说，宣布他来了。

Snape looked around at him, his face framed between curtains of greasy black hair. 'Sit down, Potter.' 'You know,' said Sirius loudly, leaning back on his rear chair legs and speaking to the ceiling, 'I think I'd prefer it if you didn't give orders here, Snape. It's my house, you see.' An ugly flush suffused Snape's pallid face. Harry sat down in a chair beside Sirius, facing Snape across the table. 'I was supposed to see you alone, Potter,' said Snape, the familiar sneer curling his mouth, 'but Black–' 'I'm his godfather,' said Sirius, louder than ever. 'I am here on Dumbledore's orders,' said Snape, whose voice, by contrast, was becoming more and more quietly waspish, 'but by all means stay, Black, I know you like to feel… involved.' 'What's that supposed to mean?' said Sirius, letting his chair fall back on to all four legs with a loud bang.

斯内普回过头来看着他，他的脸被油腻的黑头发围了起来。 “坐下，波特。“你知道，”小天狼星靠在椅背上，对着天花板大声说，“我想我还是希望你不要在这里发号施令，斯内普。 你知道，这是我的房子。”斯内普苍白的脸上泛起了难看的红晕。 哈利在小天狼星旁边的椅子上坐了下来，面对着桌子对面的斯内普。 “我本来应该单独见你的，波特，”斯内普说，熟悉的讥笑声从他嘴里卷了出来，“但是布莱克——”“我是他的教父。” “我是奉邓布利多之命来的，”斯内普说，相比之下，他的声音变得越来越温和，“但不管怎样，留下吧，布莱克，我知道你喜欢……参与其中。“这是什么意思？”小天狼星说着，让他的椅子砰的一声落在椅子的四条腿上。

'Merely that I am sure you must feel–ah– frustrated by the fact that you can do nothing useful,' Snape laid a delicate stress on the word, 'for the Order.' It was Sirius's turn to flush. Snape's lip curled in triumph as he turned to Harry. 'The Headmaster has sent me to tell you, Potter, that it is his wish for you to study Occlumency this term.' 'Study what?' said Harry blankly. Snape's sneer became more pronounced. 'Occlumency, Potter. The magical defence of the mind against external penetration. An obscure branch of magic, but a highly useful one.' Harry's heart began to pump very fast indeed. Defence against external penetration? But he was not being possessed, they had all agreed on that… 'Why do I have to study Occlu— thing?' he blurted out. 'Because the Headmaster thinks it a good idea,' said Snape smoothly. 'You will receive private lessons once a week, but you will not tell anybody

“只是说，我相信你一定会感到——啊——沮丧，因为你不能为凤凰社做任何有用的事情，”斯内普在“凤凰社”这个词上轻轻地强调了一下。轮到小天狼星脸红了。 斯内普转向哈利，得意地撇了撇嘴唇。 “校长派我来告诉你，波特，他希望你这学期学习大脑封闭术。“学什么？”哈利茫然地问。 斯内普的冷笑更加明显了。 “大脑封闭术,波特。心灵抵抗外部渗透的神奇防御。 这是一门鲜为人知的魔法，但非常有用。”哈利的心开始怦怦直跳。 防御外部渗透？ 但他并没有被附身，这一点他们都同意了……“为什么我一定要研究闭塞的东西？”他脱口而出。 “因为校长认为这是个好主意。”斯内普平静地说。 “你将每周接受一次私人辅导，但你不能告诉任何人