The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-GREen robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Harry\'s first thought was that this was not someone to cross.
"The firs\' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."
She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big you could have fit the whole of the Dursleys\' house in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.
They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Harry could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right -the rest of the school must already be here -- but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.
"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.
"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."
Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville\'s cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Ron\'s smudged nose. Harry nervously tried to flatten his hair.
"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."
She left the chamber. Harry swallowed.
"How exactly do they sort us into houses?" he asked Ron.
"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."
Harry\'s heart gave a horrible jolt. A test? In front of the whole school? But he didn\'t know any magic yet -- what on earth would he have to do? He hadn\'t expected something like this the moment they arrived. He looked around anxiously and saw that everyone else looked terrified, too. No one was talking much except Hermione Granger, who was whispering very fast about all the spells she\'d learned and wondering which one she\'d need. Harry tried hard not to listen to her. He\'d never been more nervous, never, not even when he\'d had to take a school report home to the Dursleys saying that he\'d somehow turned his teacher\'s wig blue. He kept his eyes fixed on the door. Any second now, Professor McGonagall would come back and lead him to his doom.
Then something happened that made him jump about a foot in the air -several people behind him screamed.
"What the --?"
He gasped. So did the people around him. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance --"
"My dear Friar, haven\'t we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he\'s not really even a ghost -- I say, what are you all doing here?"
A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.
Nobody answered.
"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?"
A few people nodded mutely.
"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know."
"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony\'s about to start."
Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.
"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me."
Feeling oddly as though his legs had turned to lead, Harry got into line behind a boy with sandy hair, with Ron behind him, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.
Harry had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Harry looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. He heard
Hermione whisper, "Its bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History."
It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the
Great Hall didn\'t simply open on to the heavens. Harry quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard\'s hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Aunt Petunia wouldn\'t have let it in the house.
Maybe they had to try and get a rabbit out of it, Harry thought wildly, that seemed the sort of thing -- noticing that everyone in the hall was now staring at the hat, he stared at it, too. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth -- and the hat began to sing:
"Oh, you may not think I\'m pretty,
But don\'t judge on what you see,
I\'ll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I\'m the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There\'s nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can\'t see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff, Where they are just and loyal, Those patient Hufflepuffis are true And unafraid of toil; Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, if you\'ve a ready mind, Where those of wit and learning, Will always find their kind; Or perhaps in Slytherin You\'ll make your real friends, Those cunning folk use any means To achieve their ends. So put me on! Don\'t be afraid! And don\'t get in a flap! You\'re in safe hands (though I have none) For I\'m a Thinking Cap!" The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It
bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.
"So we\'ve just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered to Harry. "I\'ll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll." Harry. smiled weakly. Yes, trying on the hat was a lot better than
having to do a spell, but he did wish they could have tried it on
without everyone watching. The hat seemed to be asking rather alot;
Harry didn\'t feel brave or quick-witted or any of it at the moment. If
only the hat had mentioned a house for people who felt a bit queasy,
that would have been the one for him.
Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.
"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"
A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moments pause
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.
The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.
"Bones, Susan!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.
"Boot, Terry!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.
" Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Harry could see Ron\'s twin brothers catcalling.
"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. Perhaps it was Harry\'s imagination, after all he\'d heard about Slytherin, but he thought they looked like an unpleasant lot. He was starting to feel definitely sick now. He remembered being picked for teams during gym at his old school. He had always been last to be chosen, not because he was no good, but because no one wanted Dudley to think they liked him.
"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Sometimes, Harry noticed, the hat shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to decide. "Finnigan, Seamus," the sandy-haired boy next to Harry in the line, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.
"Granger, Hermione!"
Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.
"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. Ron groaned.
A horrible thought struck Harry, as horrible thoughts always do when you\'re very nervous. What if he wasn\'t chosen at all? What if he just sat there with the hat over his eyes for ages, until Professor McGonagall jerked it off his head and said there had obviously been a mistake and he\'d better get back on the train?
When Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag."
Malfoy swaggered forward when his name was called and got his wish at once: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"
Malfoy went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself.
There weren\'t many people left now. "Moon" "Nott" "Parkinson" then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil" then "Perks, Sally-Anne" and then, at last -- "Potter, Harry!"
As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.
"Potter, did she say?"
The Harry Potter?"
The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. Next second he was looking at the black inside of the hat. He waited.
Hmm," said a small voice in his ear. "Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There\'s talent, A my goodness, yes -- and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that\'s interesting.... So where shall I put you?"
Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, Not Slytherin, not Slytherin.
"Not Slytherin, eh?" said the small voice. "Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it\'s all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that -- no? Well, if you\'re sure -- better be GRYFFINDOR!"
Harry heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. He took off the hat and walked shakily toward the Gryffindor table. He was so relieved to have been chosen and not put in Slytherin, he hardly noticed that he was getting the loudest cheer yet. Percy the Prefect got up and shook his hand vigorously, while the Weasley twins yelled, "We got Potter! We got Potter!" Harry sat down opposite the ghost in the ruff he\'d seen earlier. The ghost patted his arm, giving Harry the sudden, horrible feeling he\'d just plunged it into a bucket of ice-cold water.
He could see the High Table properly now. At the end nearest him sat Hagrid, who caught his eye and gave him the thumbs up. Harry grinned back. And there, in the center of the High Table, in a large gold chair, sat Albus Dumbledore. Harry recognized him at once from the card he\'d gotten out of the Chocolate Frog on the train. Dumbledore\'s silver hair was the only thing in the whole hall that shone as brightly as the ghosts. Harry spotted Professor Quirtell, too, the nervous young man from the Leaky Cauldron. He was looking very peculiar in a large purple turban.
And now there were only three people left to be sorted. "Thomas, Dean," a Black boy even taller than Ron, joined Harry at the Gryffindor table. "Turpin, Lisa," became a Ravenclaw and then it was Ron\'s turn. He was pale green by now. Harry crossed his fingers under the table and a second later the hat had shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"
Harry clapped loudly with the rest as Ron collapsed into the chair next to him.
"Well done, Ron, excellent," said Percy Weasley Pompously across Harry as "Zabini, Blaise," was made a Slytherin. Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away.
Harry looked down at his empty gold plate. He had only just realized how hungry he was. The pumpkin pasties seemed ages ago.
Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.
"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!
"Thank you!"
He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Harry didn\'t know whether to laugh or not.
"Is he -- a bit mad?" he asked Percy uncertainly.
"Mad?" said Percy airily. "He\'s a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?"
Harry\'s mouth fell open. The dishes in front of him were now piled with food. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs.
The Dursleys had never exactly starved Harry, but he\'d never been allowed to eat as much as he liked. Dudley had always taken anything that Harry really wanted, even if It made him sick. Harry piled his plate with a bit of everything except the peppermints and began to eat. It was all delicious.
"That does look good," said the ghost in the ruff sadly, watching Harry cut up his steak,
"Can\'t you --?"
I haven\'t eaten for nearly four hundred years," said the ghost. "I don\'t need to, of course, but one does miss it. I don\'t think I\'ve in troduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower."
"I know who you are!" said Ron suddenly. "My brothers told me about you -- you\'re Nearly Headless Nick!"
"I would prefer you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy --" the ghost began stiffly, but sandy-haired Seamus Finnigan interrupted.
"Nearly Headless? How can you be nearly headless?"
Sir Nicholas looked extremely miffed, as if their little chat wasn\'t going at all the way he wanted.
"Like this," he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly. Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces, Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back onto his neck, coughed, and said, "So -- new Gryffindors! I hope you\'re going to help us win the house championship this year? Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron\'s becoming almost unbearable -- he\'s the Slytherin ghost."
Harry looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a horrible ghost sitting there, with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood. He was right next to Malfoy who, Harry was pleased to see, didn\'t look too pleased with the seating arrangements.
"How did he get covered in blood?" asked Seamus with great interest.
"I\'ve never asked," said Nearly Headless Nick delicately.
When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate eclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding -- "
As Harry helped himself to a treacle tart, the talk turned to their families.
"I\'m half-and-half," said Seamus. "Me dad\'s a Muggle. Mom didn\'t tell him she was a witch \'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him."
The others laughed.
"What about you, Neville?" said Ron.
"Well, my gran brought me up and she\'s a witch," said Neville, "but the family thought I was all-Muggle for ages. My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me -- he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned -- but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced -- all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here -- they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad."
On Harry\'s other side, Percy Weasley and Hermione were talking about lessons ("I do hope they start right away, there\'s so much to learn, I\'m particularly interested in Transfiguration, you know, turning something into something else, of course, it\'s supposed to be very difficult-"; "You\'ll be starting small, just matches into needles and that sort of thing -- ").
Harry, who was starting to feel warm and sleepy, looked up at
the High Table again. Hagrid was drinking deeply from his goblet. Professor McGonagall was talking to Professor Dumbledore. Professor Quirrell, in his absurd turban, was talking to a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin.
It happened very suddenly. The hook-nosed teacher looked past Quirrell\'s turban straight into Harry\'s eyes -- and a sharp, hot pain shot across the scar on Harry\'s forehead.
"Ouch!" Harry clapped a hand to his head.
"What is it?" asked Percy.
"N-nothing."
The pain had gone as quickly as it had come. Harder to shake off was the feeling Harry had gotten from the teacher\'s look -- a feeling that he didn\'t like Harry at all.
"Who\'s that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?" he asked Percy.
"Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he\'s looking so nervous, that\'s Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn\'t want to -- everyone knows he\'s after Quirrell\'s job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape."
Harry watched Snape for a while, but Snape didn\'t look at him again.
At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent.
"Ahern -- just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.
"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."
Dumbledore\'s twinkling eyes FLASHed in the direction of the Weasley twins.
"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.
"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.
"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."
Harry laughed, but he was one of the few who did.
"He\'s not serious?" he muttered to Percy.
"Must be," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore. "It\'s odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we\'re not allowed to go somewhere -- the forest\'s full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least."
"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. Harry noticed that the other teachers\' smiles had become rather fixed.
Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words.
"Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!" And the school bellowed: "Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts, Teach us something please, Whether we be old and bald Or young with scabby knees, Our heads could do with filling With some interesting stuff, For now they\'re bare and full of air, Dead flies and bits of fluff, So teach us things worth knowing, Bring back what we\'ve forgot, just do your best, we\'ll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot. Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they
had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.
"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"
The Gryffindor first years followed Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase. Harry\'s legs were like lead again, but only because he was so tired and full of food. He was too sleepy even to be surprised that the people in the portraits along the corridors whispered and pointed as they passed, or that twice Percy led them through doorways hidden behind sliding panels and hanging tapestries. They climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging their feet, and Harry was just wondering how much farther they had to go when they came to a sudden halt.
A bundle of walking sticks was floating in midair ahead of them, and as Percy took a step toward them they started throwing themselves at him.
"Peeves," Percy whispered to the first years. "A poltergeist." He raised his voice, "Peeves -- show yourself"
A loud, rude sound, like the air being let out of a balloon, answered.
"Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?"
There was a pop, and a little man with wicked, dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared, floating cross- legged in the air, clutching the walking sticks.
"Oooooooh!" he said, with an evil cackle. "Ickle Firsties! What fun!"
He swooped suddenly at them. They all ducked.
"Go away, Peeves, or the Baron\'ll hear about this, I mean it!" barked Percy.
Peeves stuck out his tongue and vanished, dropping the walking sticks on Neville\'s head. They heard him zooming away, rattling coats of armor as he passed.
"You want to watch out for Peeves," said Percy, as they set off again. "The Bloody Baron\'s the only one who can control him, he won\'t even listen to us prefects. Here we are."
At the very end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.
"Password?" she said. "Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it -- Neville needed a leg up -- and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs.
Percy directed the girls through one door to their dormitory and the boys through another. At the top of a spiral staircase -- they were obviously in one of the towers -- they found their beds at last: five four-posters hung with deep red, velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up. Too tired to talk much, they pulled on their pajamas and fell into bed.
" Great food, isn\'t it?" Ron muttered to Harry through the hangings. "Get off, Scabbers! He\'s chewing my sheets."
Harry was going to ask Ron if he\'d had any of the treacle tart, but he fell asleep almost at once.
Perhaps Harry had eaten a bit too much, because he had a very strange dream. He was wearing Professor Quirrell\'s turban, which kept talking to him, telling him he must transfer to Slytherin at once, because it was his destiny. Harry told the turban he didn\'t want to be in Slytherin; it got heavier and heavier; he tried to pull it off but it tightened painfully -- and there was Malfoy, laughing at him as he struggled with it -then Malfoy turned into the hook-nosed teacher, Snape, whose laugh became high and cold -- there was a burst of green light and Harry woke, sweating and shaking.
He rolled over and fell asleep again, and when he woke next day, he didn\'t remember the dream at all.
第七章分类物
大门立刻打开了，门口站着一个身着翡翠绿长袍的黑头发的高个子女魔法师。
她的表情是那样地严肃，不禁使哈利感到要通过她的课可能很难。
“麦康娜教授，一年级新生都在这儿了。”哈格力报告说。
“谢谢你，哈格力，我会带他们进去的。”
她把大门完全推开。里面的入口大厅大得惊人，甚至可以装下杜斯利家的整幢
房子。火把将石墙照得通明，房顶高得难以想象，正面美丽的大理石楼梯通往楼上。
孩子们跟着麦康娜教授走过一段插满彩旗的地板。哈利可以听到从右边入口传
来成百上千个喧闹的声音——学校的其他学生也已经到了。——但麦康娜教授却把
新生都带到远离大厅的一间小空房子里。他们全都挤了进来，站得密密麻麻，紧张
地四处张望。
“欢迎你们到霍格瓦彻来。”麦康娜教授高声说道，“开学晚宴很快就要开始
了。但在此之前，你们先会被分配到各自的学院，分配仪式十分重要，因为既然你
们到这儿来了，你们的学院就是你们在霍格瓦彻的家。你们要跟学院里的其他同学
一起上课、一起居住、一起游戏。”
“这四所学院分别叫做格林芬顿、海夫巴夫、卫文卡罗和史林德林。每所学院
都有它光荣而悠久的历史，都曾培养出才华横溢的魔法师。你们在霍格瓦彻期间，
如果遵守纪律就会给你们加分，如果违反规矩就会被扣分。每年年底，得分最高的
那所学院里的孩子就会被授予一项无上的荣誉——”豪斯杯“。我希望你们都能为
自己的学院争光。
“分配仪式几分钟后就会在全校师生面前开始，我建议你们利用这段等待的时
间里，把自己打扮得漂亮些。”
她的目光在尼维尔那固定于左耳下方的帽绳和罗恩那脏脏的鼻子上停留了好一
会儿。哈利见状，连忙摸了模自己的头发，想把它弄平整些。
“我们准备好了就会来叫你们，你们先在这里安静地等会儿吧。”
她终于离开了那间小房间，哈利紧张地咽了咽口水。
“他们根据什么标准将我们分配到不同的学院呢？”他问罗恩。
“可能是通过考试吧。弗来德曾说分配时会很痛，不过我想他只是在开玩笑罢
了。”
哈利的心情顿时沉重了下来。考试？还要在全校师生面前？但他现在甚至连最
简单的魔法都还不会呀，他该怎么办呢？刚到这儿的时候他可从没想到会有这样的
事情发生。他焦急地四周张望了一下，发现其他人也像他一样害怕极了。人群中只
有荷米恩。格林佐在七嘴八舌地小声向旁边的人罗列她所会的魔法，还说不知道哪
些能派上用场。哈利真想塞住自己的耳朵，他从来没有如此紧张过，即使是那次不
明不白地将老师的假发变蓝后拿着学校的告状信回杜斯利家里，也没有现在这么紧
张。那个麦康娜教授随时都会回来把他带到决定他命运的地方。
他身后有几个人突然尖叫了起来，把他吓得蹦起一尺米高。
“你们搞什么——？”
哈利屏住了呼吸，他身边的人也都同样如此。大约二十个鬼魂从后面穿墙而入。
他们都像珍珠一样白，而且还是半透明的。他们一边说一边在房间里飘过，对
这群新生不屑一顾，他们像是正在争论着什么。其中一个矮胖小和尚模样的说：
“原谅他吧，忘记整件事吧。我觉得我们该再给他一次机会——”
“我亲爱的费艾尔先生，我们已经给了皮维斯够多的机会了。
他让我们这些鬼都蒙上了恶名，真不是个好东西——嘿，你们在这里干什么？
“说话的是一个戴着花圈、穿着裤袜的鬼魂。她突然发现了身下的这群孩子。
没人敢回答。
“是些新生！”胖子费艾尔边笑边对他们说，“是快分配住处了吧？”
一些孩子静静地点了点头。
“祝你分到海夫巴夫，”费艾尔叫道，“你知道吗，我就是从那儿毕业的。”
“现在向前走，”一个女高音喊道，“分配仪式要开始了。”
麦康娜教授回来了，鬼魂们一个接一个地又穿过对面墙壁离开了。
“站成一队，”麦康娜教授告诉新生们，“现在跟我走！”
哈利感到自己的双腿像是灌了铅一样，十分奇怪。他排在一个沙土色头发男孩
子的后面，罗恩紧跟着他。他们这一队人重新穿越大厅，走进一扇对开的大门，进
入到了大会堂。
哈利从未见过有哪个地方如此奇怪且辉煌。其他高年级的学生都坐在四张长桌
子前，他们头顶上方竟有数以千计的蜡烛在半空中飘浮，将整个大会堂照得灯火通
明。桌上摆满了闪闪发光的金制的碟子和高脚杯。大会正前面的台上还有另一张长
桌子，老师们都坐在那里。麦康娜教授将新生们领上高台，叫他们面向师兄，背对
老师，一字排开地站好。那千百张注视着他们的脸就好像闪耀的烛光中苍白的小灯
笼。
分散在学生中的鬼魂将原本模糊的银器变得闪亮。为了避开台下的目光，哈利
抬头仰望，恰巧看见点缀着星星的天鹅绒般美丽的黑色天花板。他听见荷米恩在他
耳边低语：“有人曾对它施了魔法，使它看上去更像外面的星空。这是我在《霍格
瓦彻故事》中得知的。”
真难以想象其实大会堂并不是露天的，堂顶上还有一层天花板。
当麦康娜教授静静地将一个四脚凳摆在新生们的面前时，哈利赶忙又平视前方。
教授在那四脚凳上放上一顶尖尖的魔法师的帽子。这顶帽子又破又旧又脏。帕
尤妮亚姨妈是绝对不会让这顶帽子进入她的家门的。
“也许是要从里面变只兔子或者什么吧，”哈利正在胡乱猜测，发现大会堂里
的每个人都盯着那帽子看，他也很想看个究竟。一片死寂。突然，帽子一阵抽动，
在它边缘的地方裂开了一道像人的嘴巴一样的缝。接着，帽子竟开始唱起来：“唤，
也许你认为我并不美丽，但不要只信任你的眼睛，如果你能找到一顶帽子比我更聪
明，你把我怎样都行。
你的圆顶礼帽黑且亮，你的高顶礼帽滑且高，因为我是霍格瓦彻分配帽，所以
它们都没我好。
你脑子里想什么我最清楚，所以把我戴上，你该到哪儿就很清楚。
你也许该去格林芬顿，那里的勇士特别多，勇气、精神和扭力，无惧挑战与风
波；要是你住在海夫巴夫，那里忠诚、正直又杰出，人们耐心又诚恳，无惧工作的
劳苦；如果你住卫文卡罗，那可实在真是好，学者、智者一大堆，其他地方不易找
；或者住在交林德林，你会找到朋友与真情，那里的居民有本领，那里的美景很吸
引。
来戴上我，千万别胆颤又心惊！
有我保护安全得很，因为我思想之帽并不蠢。“当帽子表演完他精彩的歌唱，
整个会堂报以热烈的掌声。它对着四张坐满学生的桌子各鞠了一个躬，然后又变得
纹丝不动了。
“看来我们只需戴一戴那顶帽子就行了。”罗恩低声对哈利说，“该死的弗来
德，他才要去和巨人摔跤呢。”
哈利暗自窃笑。确实，戴帽子可比变魔法容易多了，不过他还是觉得台下没有
观众就更好了。帽子似乎要问不少问题，而哈利也从不觉得自己很勇敢或是很聪明。
但愿帽子能对身体不适的人网开一面，直接告知结果了事，如果真是这样的话，
那他一定能成为幸运儿。
麦康娜教授走上前来，手中握着一长卷羊皮纸。
“当我念到你的名字，就请你戴上这顶帽子坐在凳子上等待分配。”她说道：
“哈纳。阿波特！”
一个粉红脸色、满头金发的小女孩从队伍中走了出来，戴上大得连她的眼睛都
遮住的帽子后，静静地坐下。一会儿之后，——“海夫巴夫！”帽子大喊道。
来自海夫巴夫的学生坐在最右边。当哈纳走下来与他们坐在一起时，他们个个
鼓掌欢呼。哈利还看见那个叫费艾尔的胖鬼还在兴高彩烈地向她挥手呢。
“苏珊。巴恩斯！”
“海夫巴夫！”帽子喊。苏珊便走下来坐到哈纳身边。
“泰利。布特！”
“卫文卡罗！”
这回轮到左手边第二张桌子鼓掌了。几个住在卫文卡罗的学生还主动和泰利握
手呢。
曼迪。布鲁克兰赫斯特也将分到卫文卡罗；莱文特。布朗则成为第一个加入格
林芬顿的新生，最左边的那一桌顿时欢声雀起，罗恩那两个孪生哥哥也跟在起哄。
米利森。布斯特洛加入了史林德林。由于听说了许多关于史林德林的传闻，也
许是出于偏见吧，哈利总觉得史林德林并不受人欢迎。
他开始感到不安了，他想起过去在学校里上体育课，组队比赛时，他总是最后
一个被选择的。这并非因为他技术差，而是因为其他同学都不想让达德里觉得他们
喜欢他。
“扎斯汀。芬奇。弗莱切尼！”
“海夫巴夫！”
哈利注意到有时候帽子马上就喊出了其中一所学院的名字，而有时候它又得花
上一点时间才能下决定。谢默斯。范尼更，那个排在哈利前面的头发与沙子同一颜
色的男孩子坐在登子上都快一分钟了，帽子才宣布他去了格林芬顿。
“荷米恩。格林位！”
荷米恩跑上前去，套上帽子，便一屁股坐在了凳子上。
“格林芬顿！”帽子喊道。罗恩顿时十分沮丧。
一个可怕的念头闪现地哈利的脑海中：如果没被分配会怎么样？如果他戴着帽
子呆呆地在凳子上坐了半天也不知道该去哪儿，麦康娜教授会不会认为他根本不属
于这里面硬要把他送回去呢？
当点到尼维尔。兰博顿，那个曾经丢失癞蛤蟆的男孩的名字时，他跑上前时还
摔了一跤。帽子花了很长时间才作出决定，当它终于宣布是格林芬顿的时候，尼维
尔连帽子都不忘得脱便往下跑，所以在众人的哄笑声中被拉了回来，才把帽子传给
了莫拉格。麦卡多高尔。
马尔夫大摇大摆地走上前，并马上实现了心愿：帽子刚碰到他的头发便大声宣
布“史林德林！”
马尔夫走到他的两个朋友克来伯和高尔那里，看起来十分高兴。
现在，台上的新生已所剩无几了。
“门思”……“诺特”……“帕金斯”…然后是一对孪生姐妹，……然后中沙
莉安。帕克斯，然后，最后——“哈利。波特！”
哈利走上前，但台下的说话声就像开了锅一样。
“她刚才是说波特吗？”
“那个哈利。波特？”
双眼被帽子遮住机线前，哈利看见台下的人都伸长了脖子想看清楚他。接着，
他所能看见的是帽子里的漆黑一片。他耐心地等待着。
“嗯……”耳边一个很小的声音在说话，“看来很难决定哟。你很勇敢，也是
个好人，很有才华，噢，天啊，是的——渴望证明自己的价值，真有意思……那么，
我该把你分到哪儿呢？”
哈利紧握住凳子边缘，心里想，“千万不要是史林德林，我不去史林德林。”
“啊？不去史林德林？”那个声音说，“你肯定？你也许能成为伟大的魔法师，
你拥有别人没有的天份，史林德林能够助你成功的。你不想改变主意吗？不？那么，
如果你已经下定决心，就去格林芬顿吧！”
哈利听见帽子向全场宣布自己去格林芬顿后，脱下帽子，战战兢兢地走向格林
芬顿那桌学生。没被分配到史林德林，他感到如释重负，因此没有留意到欢呼声比
刚才任何一次都要响亮。班长伯希站起来，用力地和他握手。威斯里双胞胎高呼：
“波特！波特！”哈利在他曾见过的戴着花环的鬼魂对面坐了下来。鬼魂拍了拍哈
利的左臂，令哈利感到自己的左手像是刚被浸入一桶冰水中一样恐惧。
他现在可以清楚地看到高台上的桌子了。坐在靠近他那端的最边上的哈格力对
着他竖起大拇指。在桌子的正中央，有一张很大的金子制的椅子，艾伯斯。丹伯多
坐在那里。哈利一下就认出了他，因为在哈利坐火车来途中，他就曾出现在那张从
巧克力青蛙糖中取出来的卡片上。丹伯多的银白头发是整个大会堂里唯一能与鬼魂
一样闪闪发亮的东西了，哈利还发现屈拉教授，他就是那个从漏锅酒吧来的年青人。
他头戴一顶很大的紫色无边帽，看起来与众不同。
现在只剩下三个人还没分配了。莉沙。特萍去了卫文卡罗。轮到罗恩选择了，
他的眼睛已经是灰绿色的了。“格林芬顿！”帽子喊，罗恩走下来，瘫坐在哈利身
边的椅子上。哈利和其他人都为罗恩拼命拍手祝贺。“干得好，罗恩，太棒了！”
伯希。威斯里越过哈利，表情十分夸张地对罗恩说。这时，最后一位，布雷斯。
扎毕尼选择了史林德林。麦康娜教授卷起羊皮纸，带着分类之帽走了。
哈利低头看看面前空空如也的金盘子，才觉得自己已经饿极了。吃南瓜馅饼好
像已是陈年往事了。
艾伯斯。丹伯多站起来，注视着台下的学生，张开双臂，仿佛在说没有什么能
比见到他所有的学生济济一堂更高兴的了。
“欢迎你们！”他说，“欢迎来到霍格瓦彻！欢迎新学年的到来！
在开始晚宴之前，我想先说几句。我想说的就是：笨蛋！痛哭！剩饭！“”谢
谢！“
他坐下了。每个人都鼓掌欢呼。只有哈利觉得哭笑不得。
“他是不是有点神经病？”哈利不由得问伯希。
“神经病？”伯希得意地说，“他可是个天才！他是世上最好的魔法师！不过，
他的脑袋确实有点问题。吃西红柿吗，哈利？”
哈利的嘴张得好大——在他面前的盘碟子里堆满了食物。他从未见过那么多他
爱吃的东西同时出现在桌子上：烤牛肉、烤鸡、猪肉、羊肉、香肠、烟肉和牛排，
还有煮西红柿、烤番薯、薯条、约克郡市丁、雪梨、胡萝卜浓肉场，番茄酱，还有
薄荷味的硬糖。
杜斯利家族虽从没让哈利挨饿，但他也很少有机会随心所欲地吃上一顿。就算
是哈利喜欢吃他们自己讨厌的东西，达德里也总是拿走，不让哈利吃。哈利每样食
物都盛了一点就已经堆满一盘子了，当然，他没有要他不喜欢的薄荷糖。之后，他
狠吞虎咽起来。
真是好美味了。
“看起来真好吃。”对面的鬼魂看着哈利在切牛排，伤心地说。
“你要不要也来吃点——”
“我已经有四百年没吃过东西了，”鬼魂说，“当然，我不需要进食，但我仍
很怀念那些美味佳肴。我还没介绍自己吧？尼古拉斯。德。米姆西。波平顿爵士，
愿为你服务。我是住在格林芬顿高塔上的鬼魂。”
“我听说过你！”罗恩突然说，“我哥告诉过我有关你的事——你就是无头尼
克嘛。”
“我希望你还是叫我尼古拉斯。德。米姆西。波平顿爵士好一点。”
鬼魂开始哭泣了。这时，沙土色头发的谢默斯。范尼更却来插话：“无头？你
怎么样能做到无头状态呢？”
尼古拉斯爵士十分愤怒，这段谈话显然不是他所期望的。
“就像这样。”他恶狠狠地说，边说边抓住左耳用力一扯，整个脑袋就从脖子
上被拉了下来，倒靠在他的肩膀上。他的头和脖子好像是用拉链连接着一样。显然，
曾有人想将他斩首，不过似乎手法不够高明。看到旁人目瞪口呆的神情，无头尼克
得意洋洋地将脑袋放回原处，咳了一下，然后说，“好了，——格林芬顿的新朋友，
希望你们能帮助我们赢回失落的冠军奖怀。格林芬顿从未试过那么久都与冠军无缘
了，史林德林人已经连续六年夺冠了！吸血鬼巴伦已经变得不可一世了——因为他
是史林德林的鬼魂。”
哈利朝史林德林那边望去，看见一个恐怖的鬼魂正坐在那里。
他那全白的双眼，削瘦的面部和沾满血液的银白色长袍令人不寒而栗，他就坐
在显然不太满意座位安排的马尔夫身边。
“他长袍上的血是怎么来的？”谢默斯饶有兴趣地问。
“我从没问过他。”无头尼克说。
每个人都吃完饭后，残羹剩菜都自动从盘子里消失了，盘子又变得像开始时那
样光彩夺目，过了一会儿，甜品出现了。你所能想到的各种口味的大块大块的雪糕、
苹果馅饼、蜜糖果饼、巧克力棒糕、果酱油炸饼、草莓、咖胆、米饭布丁……应有
尽有。
哈利拿起一块蜜糖果饼正吃着的时候，话题转到了各人的家族上来，“我出身
于半魔法家庭，我爸是马格人，我妈直到结婚时才告诉我爸她是个女魔法师，当时
他一定非常惊讶而且很不愉快。”
其他人都哈哈大笑起来。
“那你呢，尼维尔？”罗恩问。
“我外婆把我养大的，她是个魔法师。”尼维尔说，“但我家人长期以来都把
我当普通人看待。我的舅公阿吉却总想把我训练成魔法师——有一次，他把我从布
莱克浦码头推了下去，我差点被淹死了——不过，我八岁前的生活没有什么特别的。
八岁那年，阿吉舅公来我家作客，他抓住我的踝关节，把我倒挂在楼上窗户外
面练功，安迪妮舅婆递给他一张甜饼时，他竟一不小心松了手，但我不仅没摔死，
而且还从花园里一直弹到马路上，当时外婆见我安然无恙，喜极而泣。找到这儿的
时候你们都应该见到我外婆他们了吧。
虽然我也许还不够格到这儿来学习，但阿吉舅公高兴极了，还买了这只癞蛤蟆
送给我呢。“在哈利的对面，伯希。威斯里和荷米恩在谈论功课。”我真希望他们
现在就开始努力学习了，要学的东西太多了。我对变形情有独钟，你知道吗，把东
西变来变去可有意思啦。当然，也有一定难度——“”你得逐步积累、稳扎稳打才
行喔。“
哈利感到了温暖和倦意，又抬头看看高台上的主席台。哈格力正品尝着美酒，
麦康娜教授正和丹伯多教授交谈。戴着可笑的无边帽的屈拉教授则正和一位长着油
黑的长发、鹰钩鼻子、土黄肤色的老师说话。
一切都来得很突然，那个钩鼻子老师的目光穿过上屈拉的帽子直射入哈利的双
眼，哈利前额上的伤疤感到一阵火辣的剧痛。
“啊！”哈利连忙用手拍拍头。
“怎么了？”伯希问。
“没——没什么。”
那阵剧痛已经稍瞬即逝了，只有那从对面老师的眼神中看出的感觉令哈利难以
释怀——他一点都不喜欢哈利。
“和屈拉教授说话的那个老师是谁呀？”他问伯希。
“哦，你已经认识屈拉啦？那是史纳皮教授，看来他是紧张过度了。他是教药
剂学的，但他不愿让别人知道。人们都知他想得到屈拉的职位，史纳皮对黑巫术有
很深入的研究。”
哈利观察了史纳皮很久，但史纳皮再没望他一眼。
最后，甜品也吃完了，丹伯多教授又站了起来，顿时全场安静了下来。
“啊哈，既然我们都已经吃饱喝足了，我就再多说两句吧。我现在要发布几条
开学通知。
新生要特别注意：操场上的树林是严禁学生进入的。这一点高年级学生也应牢
记。“丹伯多炯炯有神的双眼朝着威斯里孪生兄弟这边看过来。
“我们的管理员费驰先生要我提醒你们，课间不准在走廊上使用魔法。”
“快迪斯测验将在第二周进行，想要代表所在住所参加的同学请到胡施女士那
里报名。”
“最后，我必须警告你们，不想惨死的人在今年之内不要到右手边的三楼走廊
去！”
哈利哈哈大笑起来，一共只有寥寥几个学生发出笑声，哈利便是其中一个。
“他不是认真的吧？”他问伯希。
“我想是的。”伯希皱着眉头看着丹伯多，“这事有点奇怪，因为通常他都会
告诉我们为什么不准去这儿，为什么不能到那儿——树林里有很多危险的野兽，这
是众所周知的。我想他至少也应该要我们这些当班长的知道呀！”
“临睡前，让我们一起高唱校歌！”丹伯多高声叫道。哈利发现其他老师的笑
容变得十分呆滞。
丹伯多拿起魔杖轻轻一场，仿佛他自己想从高台上飞下来一般。一条长长的金
色的绸带从魔杖里飘出来，高高地升到桌子的正上方，蛇形境蜒成一个个的单词。
“每个人自选喜爱的音调，”丹伯多说，“预备，唱！”
全校人都吼叫了起来。
“自私、生疣的霍格瓦彻，请你教教我们，无论是年老还是秃顶，或是腿上长
痴的小伙子，我们的脑袋可以塞满新奇有趣的东西，因为它们是空得只有空气，死
苍蝇和碎绒毛，教授我们有用的东西，让我们记起遗忘的过去，尽力而为，相互关
心，学习到脑袋腐烂为止。”
歌声有快有慢，极不统一。最后，只有威斯里孪生两兄弟还在以一种非常缓慢
而沉重的音调在继续唱着，丹怕多用他的魔杖指挥着兄弟俩唱完最后几句。唱完之
后，他特别起劲地鼓掌。
“啊，音乐——”他边擦着眼泪一边说，“是一种超越自我境界的魔法！好，
现在是睡觉时间了，跑步——走！”
住格林芬顿的新生跟着伯希穿过交头接耳的人群，走出大会堂，沿着大理石阶
梯向上走去。哈利的腿又像灌了钻一样，但这回只是因为他实在太累和吃得太饱的
缘故。他实在太困了，甚至没有发现一路上走廊两旁画像里的人一直在对他们指指
点点，议论纷纷，也没有察觉伯希带领着他们两次穿越隐蔽在活动镶板和挂墙花毯
后的暗道。他们继续向上走。许多人脚步沉重，直打呵欠。当哈利正纳闷还要走多
远时，他们突然全都停了下来。
一捆拐杖正悬在他们面前的半空中。
“皮维斯，”伯希小声地对新生们说，“他是个喜欢恶作剧的鬼怪。”伯希提
高嗓门喊道：“皮维斯，出来吧。”
就像大气球被猛然放气一般，一个巨大的声音回应道：“你们想让我到嗜血男
爵那里去吗？”
“砰”地一声，一个长着淘气的黑眼睛和大嘴巴的小矮人出现了。他盘着腿飘
浮在空中，手中握着那捆拐杖。
“啊哈——”他咯咯地怪笑着说，“真有趣！”
说完，他突然朝他们飞扑过来，他们全都赶忙蹲下身子躲避。
“皮维斯，快滚！不然我会把这事告诉男爵的，我可不是跟你开玩笑的！”伯
希怒吼道。
皮维斯吐出舌头做个鬼脸，便丢下拐杖飞走了。孩子们听见他飞过的声音，纷
纷连忙举起盔甲保护自己。
“你们得小心皮维斯。”伯希带着大家继续前进，“只有嗜血男爵才管得住他。
他甚至连我们这些班长的话都不听，我们到了。“
在走廊尽头的墙上挂着一个穿着粉红色丝裙的胖女人的画像。
“密码是什么？”她问。
“卡波龙。”伯希回答。只见那幅画向前一倒，露出了墙上一个圆洞。他们全
都从圆洞里爬了进去，竟发现自己已身处于摆满又软又湿的椅子的一个非常温暖、
舒适的大圆房子里。这便是格林芬顿的公共休息室了。
伯希又分别把男孩、女孩分批带进寝室大门。他们发现自己在古堡的其中一个
高塔上。沿着螺旋型的楼梯爬到最高的一层，他们终于找到了属于他们的床铺：挂
着深红天鹅绒幕帘的四张四柱大床。他们的行李早已被人送了上来。由于实在是太
累，他们二话不说，换上睡衣便躺到床上。
“刚才的东西很好吃吧？”罗恩小声地对哈利说，“嘿，走开，斯卡伯斯！不
要咬我的床单！”
哈利正想问罗恩有没有吃蜜糖果饼，但发现罗恩已经睡着了。
也许是因为哈利吃得太多的缘故吧，他夜里做了一个很奇怪的梦：他正戴着屈
拉教授的无边帽。那顶帽子一直不停地跟他讲话，要他必须马上转到史林德林去，
还说这是他的命运决定的。哈利告诉帽子他不愿意去史林德林，帽子就变得越来越
沉重，他拼命想挣脱它，可它偏偏越勒越紧，令哈利痛苦不已。正当他挣扎的时候，
马尔夫出现了，不停地嘲笑着哈利，接着马尔夫摇身一变，成了鹰钩鼻子的史纲皮
教授，笑声也越来越尖，越来越冷。一道绿光闪过，哈利被吓醒了，浑身是汗，全
身发抖。
他一翻身又睡着了。当他第二天一早醒来时，他已全然不记得前夜的梦了。
