3 The Advance Guard

CHAPTER THREE The Advance Guard I've just been attacked by Dementors and I might be expelled from Hogwarts. I want to know what's going on and when I'm going to get out of here. Harry copied these words on to three separate pieces of parchment the moment he reached the desk in his dark bedroom. He addressed the first to Sirius, the second to Ron and the third to Hermione. His owl, Hedwig, was off hunting; her cage stood empty on the desk. Harry paced the bedroom waiting for her to come back, his head pounding, his brain too busy for sleep even though his eyes stung and itched with tiredness. His back ached from hauling Dudley home, and the two

第三章先遣队我刚刚受到摄魂怪的袭击，我可能会被霍格沃茨开除。 我想知道发生了什么事，我什么时候能离开这里。 哈利一走到黑暗的卧室里的桌子前，就把这些话抄在三张羊皮纸上。 他把第一封写给小天狼星，第二封写给罗恩，第三封写给赫敏。 他的猫头鹰海德薇出去打猎了；她的笼子空着放在桌子上。 哈利在卧室里踱来踱去，等着她回来，他的头砰砰直响，他的脑子忙得睡不着觉，尽管他的眼睛累得又痛又痒。 拖着达力回家，他的背都疼了

lumps on his head where the window and Dudley had hit him were throbbing painfully. Up and down he paced, consumed with anger and frustration, grinding his teeth and clenching his fists, casting angry looks out at the empty, star- strewn sky every time he passed the window. Dementors sent to get him, Mrs Figg and Mundungus Fletcher tailing him in secret, then suspension from Hogwarts and a hearing at the Ministry of Magic– and still no one was telling him what was going on. And what, what, had that Howler been about? Whose voice had echoed so horribly, so menacingly, through the kitchen? Why was he still trapped here without information? Why was everyone treating him like some naughty kid? Don't do any more magic, stay in the house… He kicked his school trunk as he passed it, but far from relieving his anger he felt worse, as he now had a sharp pain in his toe to deal with in addition to the pain in the rest of his body.

他头上被窗户和达力撞到的地方痛得直跳。 他踱来踱去，心中充满了愤怒和沮丧，咬紧牙关，握紧拳头，每次经过窗户时，他都愤怒地望着窗外空荡荡的满天繁星的天空。 摄魂怪被派去抓他，费格太太和蒙顿格斯·弗莱彻秘密跟踪他，然后被霍格沃茨停学，并在魔法部举行听证会——仍然没有人告诉他发生了什么事。 那封吼叫信是关于什么的？ 是谁的声音在厨房里回荡得那么可怕、那么凶狠？ 为什么他还被困在这里毫无消息？ 为什么每个人都把他当成淘气的孩子？ “别再施魔法了，待在家里……”他路过学校的箱子时踢了它一脚，但他的愤怒非但没有减轻，反而更难受了，因为除了身体其他部位的疼痛之外，他还要处理脚趾的剧痛。

Just as he limped past the window, Hedwig soared through it with a soft rustle of wings like a small ghost. 'About time!' Harry snarled, as she landed lightly on top of her cage. 'You can put that down, I've got work for you!' Hedwig's large, round, amber eyes gazed at him reproachfully over the dead frog clamped in her beak. 'Come here,' said Harry, picking up the three small rolls of parchment and a leather thong and tying the scrolls to her scaly leg. 'Take these straight to Sirius, Ron and Hermione and don't come back here without good long replies. Keep pecking them till they've written decent-length answers if you've got to. Understand?' Hedwig gave a muffled hooting noise, her beak still full of frog. 'Get going, then,' said Harry. She took off immediately. The moment she'd gone, Harry threw himself down on his bed without undressing and stared at the dark ceiling. In addition to every other miserable feeling, he

就在他一瘸一拐地走过窗户时，海德薇像个小幽灵一样轻轻拍打着翅膀，从窗户里飞了进来。 “关于时间!”哈利怒吼道，只见她轻轻落在笼子顶上。 “你可以把它放下，我有活给你干！”海德薇琥珀色的大眼睛从嘴里衔着的死青蛙上方，责备地盯着他。 “过来。”哈利说着，拿起那三卷羊皮纸和一条皮带，把卷轴系在她长满鳞片的腿上。 “把这些信直接交给小天狼星、罗恩和赫敏，不好好回答就别回来。 如果有必要的话，继续啄他们，直到他们写出合适长度的答案。 明白了吗?”海德薇发出一声低沉的叫声，嘴里还叼着青蛙。 “那就走吧。”哈利说。 她立刻离开了。她一走，哈利连衣服都没脱就一头倒在床上，盯着漆黑的天花板。 除了其他痛苦的感觉，他

now felt guilty that he'd been irritable with Hedwig; she was the only friend he had at number four, Privet Drive. But he'd make it up to her when she came back with the answers from Sirius, Ron and Hermione. They were bound to write back quickly; they couldn't possibly ignore a Dementor attack. He'd probably wake up tomorrow to three fat letters full of sympathy and plans for his immediate removal to The Burrow. And with that comforting idea, sleep rolled over him, stifling all further thought. But Hedwig didn't return next morning. Harry spent the day in his bedroom, leaving it only to go to the bathroom. Three times that day Aunt Petunia shoved food into his room through the cat- flap Uncle Vernon had installed three summers ago. Every time Harry heard her approaching he tried to question her about the Howler, but he might as well have interrogated the doorknob for all the answers he got. Otherwise, the Dursleys kept well clear of his bedroom. Harry couldn't see the point of forcing his company on them; another

现在又为自己刚才对海德薇发火而感到内疚；她是他在女贞路四号唯一的朋友。 但等她带着小天狼星、罗恩和赫敏的答案回来时，他会补偿她的。 他们一定会很快回信的；他们不可能忽视摄魂怪的攻击。 他可能明天一觉醒来，就会看到三封厚厚的信，上面写满了同情，以及让他立即搬回陋居的计划。 有了这个安慰的念头，睡意就向他袭来，使他再也想不起来了。 可是第二天早上海德薇没有回来。 哈利一整天都呆在卧室里，只是去了趟洗手间。 那一天，佩妮姨妈三次把食物从弗农姨父三年前装的猫门塞进他的房间。 每次哈利听到她走近，他都想问她关于那封吼叫信的事，但他得到的答案还不如问那个门把手。 除此之外，德思礼一家对他的卧室敬而远之。 哈利不明白强迫他和他们在一起有什么意义。另一个

row would achieve nothing except perhaps make him so angry he'd perform more illegal magic. So it went on for three whole days. Harry was alternately filled with restless energy that made him unable to settle to anything, during which time he paced his bedroom, furious at the whole lot of them for leaving him to stew in this mess; and with a lethargy so complete that he could lie on his bed for an hour at a time, staring dazedly into space, aching with dread at the thought of the Ministry hearing. What if they ruled against him? What if he was expelled and his wand was snapped in half? What would he do, where would he go? He could not return to living full-time with the Dursleys, not now he knew the other world, the one to which he really belonged. Might he be able to move into Sirius's house, as Sirius had suggested a year ago, before he had been forced to flee from the Ministry? Would Harry be allowed to live there alone, given that he was still underage? Or would the matter of where he went next be decided for him? Had his breach of the International Statute of

Row将一事无成，也许只会激怒他，让他施展更多的非法魔法。 这样持续了整整三天。 哈利时而充满了躁动不安的精力，使他无法静下心来做任何事情。在这段时间里，他在卧室里踱来踱去，对他们大家把他留在这一片混乱中感到愤怒。他昏昏沉沉地躺在床上，可以一连躺上一个小时，茫然地望着天空，一想到部里的人要来听审他，他就害怕得浑身酸痛。 如果他们判他败诉呢？ 要是他被开除了，魔杖断成两半怎么办？ 他会做什么，他会去哪里？ 他不能再回去和德思礼一家整天生活在一起了，因为他已经认识了另一个世界，一个他真正属于的世界。 他能不能搬进小天狼星的房子，就像小天狼星一年前在他被迫逃离魔法部之前建议的那样？ 考虑到哈利还未成年，会允许他一个人住在那里吗？ 或者他下一步要去哪里，会由别人替他决定吗？ 他是否违反了国际规约

Secrecy been severe enough to land him in a cell in Azkaban? Whenever this thought occurred, Harry invariably slid off his bed and began pacing again. On the fourth night after Hedwig's departure Harry was lying in one of his apathetic phases, staring at the ceiling, his exhausted mind quite blank, when his uncle entered his bedroom. Harry looked slowly around at him. Uncle Vernon was wearing his best suit and an expression of enormous smugness. 'We're going out,' he said. 'Sorry?' 'We– that is to say, your aunt, Dudley and I– are going out.' 'Fine,' said Harry dully, looking back at the ceiling. 'You are not to leave your bedroom while we are away.' 'OK.' 'You are not to touch the television, the stereo, or any of our possessions.'

保密这么严格，把他关进了阿兹卡班的牢房？ 每当这种想法出现时，哈利总是从床上滑下来，重新开始踱步。 海德薇离开后的第四天晚上，哈利正无精打采地躺在床上，眼睛盯着天花板，疲惫的头脑一片空白，这时姨父走进了他的卧室。 哈利慢慢地回过头来看着他。 弗农姨父穿着他最好的西装，一副洋洋得意的样子。 “我们要出去，”他说。 “对不起?“我们——也就是说，你姨妈、达力和我——要出去。”“很好。”哈利呆呆地说，回头望着天花板。 “我们不在的时候，你不许离开你的卧室。“好吧。“你不许碰电视机、音响和我们的任何东西。”