Malfoy couldn\'t believe his eyes when he saw that Harry and Ron were still at Hogwarts the next day, looking tired but perfectly cheerful. Indeed, by the next morning Harry and Ron thought that meeting the three-headed dog had been an excellent adventure, and they were quite keen to have another one. In the meantime, Harry filled Ron in about the package that seemed to have been moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts, and they spent a lot of time wondering what could possibly need such heavy protection. "It\'s either really valuable or really dangerous," said Ron. "Or both," said Harry.
But as all they knew for sure about the mysterious object was that it was about two inches long, they didn\'t have much chance of guessing what it was without further clues.
Neither Neville nor Hermione showed the slightest interest in what lay underneath the dog and the trapdoor. All Neville cared about was never going near the dog again.
Hermione was now refusing to speak to Harry and Ron, but she was such a bossy know-it-all that they saw this as an added bonus. All they really wanted now was a way of getting back at Malfoy, and to their GREat delight, just such a thing arrived in the mail about a week later.
As the owls flooded into the Great Hall as usual, everyone\'s attention was caught at once by a long, thin package carried by six large screech owls. Harry was just as interested as everyone else to see what was in this large parcel, and was amazed when the owls soared down and dropped it right in front of him, knocking his bacon to the floor. They had hardly fluttered out of the way when another owl dropped a letter on top of the parcel.
Harry ripped open the letter first, which was lucky, because it said:
DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE.
It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don\'t want everybody knowing you\'ve got a broomstick or they\'ll all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o\'clock for your first training session.
Professor McGonagall
Harry had difficulty hiding his glee as he handed the note to Ron to read.
"A Nimbus Two Thousand!" Ron moaned enviously. "I\'ve never even touched one."
They left the hall quickly, wanting to unwrap the broomstick in private before their first class, but halfway across the entrance hall they found the way upstairs barred by Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy seized the package from Harry and felt it.
"That\'s a broomstick," he said, throwing it back to Harry with a mixture of jealousy and spite on his face. "You\'ll be in for it this time, Potter, first years aren\'t allowed them."
Ron couldn\'t resist it.
"It\'s not any old broomstick," he said, "it\'s a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you\'ve got at home, Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty?" Ron grinned at Harry. "Comets look FLASHy, but they\'re not in the same league as the Nimbus."
"What would you know about it, Weasley, you couldn\'t afford half the handle," Malfoy snapped back. "I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig."
Before Ron could answer, Professor Flitwick appeared at Malfoy\'s elbow.
"Not arguing, I hope, boys?" he squeaked.
"Potter\'s been sent a broomstick, Professor," said Malfoy quickly.
"Yes, yes, that\'s right," said Professor Flitwick, beaming at Harry. "Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. And what model is it?"
"A Nimbus Two Thousand, sit," said Harry, fighting not to laugh at the look of horror on Malfoy\'s face. "And it\'s really thanks to Malfoy here that I\'ve got it," he added.
Harry and Ron headed upstairs, smothering their laughter at Malfoy\'s obvious rage and confusion. "Well, it\'s true," Harry chortled as they reached the top of the marble staircase, "If he hadn\'t stolen Neville\'s Remembrall I wouln\'t be on the team...."
"So I suppose you think that\'s a reward for breaking rules?" came an angry voice from just behind them. Hermione was stomping up the stairs, looking disapprovingly at the package in Harry\'s hand.
"I thought you weren\'t speaking to us?" said Harry.
"Yes, don\'t stop now," said Ron, "it\'s doing us so much good."
Hermione marched away with her nose in the air.
Harry had a lot of trouble keeping his mind on his lessons that day. It kept wandering up to the dormitory where his new broomstick was lying under his bed, or straying off to the Quidditch field where he\'d be learning to play that night. He bolted his dinner that evening without noticing what he was eating, and then rushed upstairs with Ron to unwrap the Nimbus Two Thousand at last.
"Wow," Ron sighed, as the broomstick rolled onto Harry\'s bedspread.
Even Harry, who knew nothing about the different brooms, thought it looked wonderful. Sleek and shiny, with a mahogany handle, it had a long tail of neat, straight twigs and Nimbus Two Thousand written in gold near the top.
As seven o\'clock drew nearer, Harry left the castle and set off in the dusk toward the Quidditch field. Held never been inside the stadium before. Hundreds of seats were raised in stands around the field so that the spectators were high enough to see what was going on. At either end
of the field were three golden poles with hoops on the end. They reminded Harry of the little plastic sticks Muggle
children blew bubbles through, except that they were fifty feet high.
Too eager to fly again to wait for Wood, Harry mounted his broomstick and kicked off from the ground. What a feeling -- he swooped in and out of the goal posts and then sped up and down the field. The Nimbus Two Thousand turned wherever he wanted at his lightest touch.
"Hey, Potter, come down!\'
Oliver Wood had arrived. fie was carrying a large wooden crate under his arm. Harry landed next to him.
"Very nice," said Wood, his eyes glinting. "I see what McGonagall meant... you really are a natural. I\'m just going to teach you the rules this evening, then you\'ll be joining team practice three times a week."
He opened the crate. Inside were four different-sized balls.
"Right," said Wood. "Now, Quidditch is easy enough to understand, even if it\'s not too easy to play. There are seven players on each side. Three of them are called Chasers."
"Three Chasers," Harry repeated, as Wood took out a bright red ball about the size of a soccer ball.
"This ball\'s called the Quaffle," said Wood. "The Chasers throw the Quaffle to each other and try and get it through one of the hoops to score a goal. Ten points every time the Quaffle goes through one of the hoops. Follow me?"
"The Chasers throw the Quaffle and put it through the hoops to score," Harry recited. "So -- that\'s sort of like basketball on broomsticks with six hoops, isn\'t it?"
"What\'s basketball?" said Wood curiously. "Never mind," said Harry quickly.
"Now, there\'s another player on each side who\'s called the Keeper -I\'m Keeper for Gryffindor. I have to fly around our hoops and stop the other team from scoring."
"Three Chasers, one Keeper," said Harry, who was determined to remember it all. "And they play with the Quaffle. Okay, got that. So what are they for?" He pointed at the three balls left inside the box.
"I\'ll show you now," said Wood. "Take this."
He handed Harry a small club, a bit like a short baseball bat.
"I\'m going to show you what the Bludgers do," Wood said. "These two are the Bludgers."
He showed Harry two identical balls, jet black and slightly smaller than the red Quaffle. Harry noticed that they seemed to be straining to escape the straps holding them inside the box.
"Stand back," Wood warned Harry. He bent down and freed one of the Bludgers.
At once, the black ball rose high in the air and then pelted straight at Harry\'s face. Harry swung at it with the bat to stop it from breaking his nose, and sent it zigzagging away into the air -- it zoomed around their heads and then shot at Wood, who dived on top of it and managed to pin it to the ground.
"See?" Wood panted, forcing the struggling Bludger back into the crate and strapping it down safely. "The Bludgers rocket around, trying to knock players off their brooms. That\'s why you have two Beaters on each team -- the Weasley twins are ours -- it\'s their job to protect their side from the Bludgers and try and knock them toward the other team. So -- think you\'ve got all that?"
"Three Chasers try and score with the Quaffle; the Keeper guards the goal posts; the Beaters keep the Bludgers away from their team," Harry reeled off.
"Very good," said Wood.
"Er -- have the Bludgers ever killed anyone?" Harry asked, hoping he sounded offhand.
"Never at Hogwarts. We\'ve had a couple of broken jaws but nothing worse than that. Now, the last member of the team is the Seeker. That\'s you. And you don\'t have to worry about the Quaffle or the Bludgers unless they crack my head open."
"Don\'t worry, the Weasleys are more than a match for the Bludgers -- I mean, they\'re like a pair of human Bludgers themselves."
Wood reached into the crate and took out the fourth and last ball. Compared with the Quaffle and the Bludgers, it was tiny, about the size of a large walnut. It was bright gold and had little fluttering silver wings.
"This," said Wood, "is the Golden Snitch, and it\'s the most important ball of the lot. It\'s very hard to catch because it\'s so fast and difficult to see. It\'s the Seeker\'s job to catch it. You\'ve got to weave in and out of the Chasers, Beaters, Bludgers, and Quaffle to get it before the other team\'s Seeker, because whichever Seeker catches the Snitch wins his team an extra hundred and fifty points, so they
nearly always win. That\'s why Seekers get fouled so much. A game of Quidditch only ends when the Snitch is caught, so it can go on for ages -- I think the record is three months, they had to keep bringing on substitutes so the players could get some sleep. "Well, that\'s it -- any questions?"
Harry shook his head. He understood what he had to do all right, it was doing it that was going to be the problem.
"We won\'t practice with the Snitch yet," said Wood, carefully shutting it back inside the crate, "it\'s too dark, we might lose it. Let\'s try you out with a few of these."
He pulled a bag of ordinary golf balls out of his pocket and a few minutes later, he and Harry were up in the air, Wood throwing the golf balls as hard as he could in every direction for Harry to catch.
Harry didn\'t miss a single one, and Wood was delighted. After half an hour, night had really fallen and they couldn\'t carry on.
"That Quidditch cup\'ll have our name on it this year," said Wood happily as they trudged back up to the castle. "I wouldn\'t be surprised if you turn out better than Charlie Weasley, and he could have played for England if he hadn\'t gone off chasing dragons."
Perhaps it was because he was now so busy, what with Quidditch practice three evenings a week on top of all his homework, but Harry could hardly believe it when he realized that he\'d already been at Hogwarts two months. The castle felt more like home than Privet Drive ever had. His lessons, too, were becoming more and more interesting now that they had mastered the basics.
On Halloween morning they woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he thought they were ready to start making objects fly, something they had all been dying to try since they\'d seen him make Neville\'s toad zoom around the classroom. Professor Flitwick put the class into pairs to practice. Harry\'s partner was Seamus Finnigan (which was a relief, because Neville had been trying to catch his eye). Ron, however, was to be working with Hermione Granger. It was hard to tell whether Ron or Hermione was angrier about this. She hadn\'t spoken to either of them since the day Harry\'s broomstick had arrived.
"Now, don\'t forget that nice wrist movement we\'ve been practicing!" squeaked Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too -- never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said \'s\' instead of \'f\' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."
It was very difficult. Harry and Seamus swished and flicked, but the feather they were supposed to be sending skyward just lay on the desktop. Seamus got so impatient that he prodded it with his wand and set fire to it -- Harry had to put it out with his hat.
Ron, at the next table, wasn\'t having much more luck.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill.
"You\'re saying it wrong," Harry heard Hermione snap. "It\'s Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the \'gar\' nice and long."
"You do it, then, if you\'re so clever," Ron snarled.
Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand, and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!"
Their feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads.
"Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss Granger\'s done it!"
Ron was in a very bad mood by the end of the class. "It\'s no wonder no one can stand her," he said to Harry as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor, "she\'s a nightmare, honestly. "
Someone knocked into Harry as they hurried past him. It was Hermione. Harry caught a glimpse of her face -- and was startled to see that she was in tears.
"I think she heard you."
"So?" said Ron, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. "She must\'ve noticed she\'s got no friends."
Hermione didn\'t turn up for the next class and wasn\'t seen all afternoon. On their way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, Harry and Ron overheard Parvati Patil telling her friend Lavender that Hermione was crying in the girls\' bathroom and wanted to be left alone. Ron looked still more awkward at this, but a moment later they had entered the Great Hall, where the Halloween decorations put Hermione out of their minds.
A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet.
Harry was just helping himself to a baked potato when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore\'s chair, slumped against the table, and gasped, "Troll -- in the dungeons -- thought you ought to know."
He then sank to the floor in a dead faint.
There was an uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore\'s wand to bring silence.
"Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"
Percy was in his element. "Follow me! Stick together, first years! No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first years coming through! Excuse me, I\'m a prefect!"
"How could a troll get in?" Harry asked as they climbed the stairs.
"Don\'t ask me, they\'re supposed to be really stupid," said Ron. "Maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke." They passed different groups of people hurrying in different directions.
As they jostled their way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs, Harry suddenly grabbed Ron\'s arm. "I\'ve just thought -- Hermione." "What about her?" "She doesn\'t know about the troll." Ron bit his lip.
"Oh, all right," he snapped. "But Percy\'d better not see us." Ducking down, they joined the Hufflepuffs going the other way, slipped down a deserted side corridor, and hurried off toward the girls\' bathroom. They had just turned the corner when they heard quick footsteps behind them.
"Percy!" hissed Ron, pulling Harry behind a large stone griffin.
Peering around it, however, they saw not Percy but Snape. He crossed the corridor and disappeared from view. "What\'s he doing?" Harry whispered. "Why isn\'t he down in the dungeons
with the rest of the teachers?" "Search me."
Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor after Snape\'s fading footsteps.
"He\'s heading for the third floor," Harry said, but Ron held up his hand.
"Can you smell something?"
Harry sniffed and a foul stench reached his nostrils, a mixture of old socks and the kind of public toilet no one seems to clean.
And then they heard it -- a low grunting, and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. Ron pointed -- at the end of a passage to the left, something huge was moving toward them. They shrank into the shadows and watched as it emerged into a patch of moonlight.
It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite gray, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs thick as tree trunks with flat, horny feet. The smell coming from it was incredible. It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long.
The troll stopped next to a doorway and peered inside. It waggled its long ears, making up its tiny mind, then slouched slowly into the room.
"The keys in the lock," Harry muttered. "We could lock it in."
"Good idea," said Ron nervously.
They edged toward the open door, mouths dry, praying the troll wasn\'t about to come out of it. With one great leap, Harry managed to grab the key, slam the door, and lock it.
\'Yes!"
Flushed with their victory, they started to run back up the passage, but as they reached the corner they heard something that made their hearts stop -- a high, petrified scream -- and it was coming from the chamber they\'d just chained up.
"Oh, no," said Ron, pale as the Bloody Baron.
"It\'s the girls\' bathroom!" Harry gasped.
"Hermione!" they said together.
It was the last thing they wanted to do, but what choice did they have? Wheeling around, they sprinted back to the door and turned the key, fumbling in their panic. Harry pulled the door open and they ran inside.
Hermione Granger was shrinking against the wall opposite, looking as if she was about to faint. The troll was advancing on her, knocking the sinks off the walls as it went.
"Confuse it!" Harry said desperately to Ron, and, seizing a tap, he threw it as hard as he could against the wall.
The troll stopped a few feet from Hermione. It lumbered around, blinking stupidly, to see what had made the noise. Its mean little eyes saw Harry. It hesitated, then made for him instead, lifting its club as it went.
"Oy, pea-brain!" yelled Ron from the other side of the chamber, and he threw a metal pipe at it. The troll didn\'t even seem to notice the pipe hitting its shoulder, but it heard the yell and paused again, turning its ugly snout toward Ron instead, giving Harry time to run around it.
"Come on, run, run!" Harry yelled at Hermione, trying to pull her toward the door, but she couldn\'t move, she was still flat against the wall, her mouth open with terror.
The shouting and the echoes seemed to be driving the troll berserk. It roared again and started toward Ron, who was nearest and had no way to escape.
Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stupid: He took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the troll\'s neck from behind. The troll couldn\'t feel Harry hanging there, but even a troll will notice if you stick a long bit of wood up its nose, and Harry\'s wand had still been in his hand when he\'d jumped -- it had gone straight up one of the troll\'s nostrils.
Howling with pain, the troll twisted and flailed its club, with Harry clinging on for dear life; any second, the troll was going to rip him off or catch him a terrible blow with the club.
Hermione had sunk to the floor in fright; Ron pulled out his own wand -not knowing what he was going to do he heard himself cry the first spell that came into his head: "Wingardium Leviosa!"
The club flew suddenly out of the troll\'s hand, rose high, high up into the air, turned slowly over -- and dropped, with a sickening crack, onto its owner\'s head. The troll swayed on the spot and then fell flat on its face, with a thud that made the whole room tremble.
Harry got to his feet. He was shaking and out of breath. Ron was standing there with his wand still raised, staring at what he had done.
It was Hermione who spoke first.
"Is it -- dead?"
I don\'t think so," said Harry, I think it\'s just been knocked out."
He bent down and pulled his wand out of the troll\'s nose. It was covered in what looked like lumpy gray glue.
"Urgh -- troll boogers."
He wiped it on the troll\'s trousers.
A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the three of them look up. They hadn\'t realized what a racket they had been making, but of course, someone downstairs must have heard the crashes and the troll\'s roars. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Quirrell took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper, and sat quickly down on a toilet, clutching his heart.
Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at Ron and Harry. Harry had never seen her look so angry. Her lips were white. Hopes of winning fifty points for Gryffindor faded quickly from Harry\'s mind.
"What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. Harry looked at Ron, who was still standing with his wand in the air. "You\'re lucky you weren\'t killed. Why aren\'t you in your dormitory?"
Snape gave Harry a swift, piercing look. Harry looked at the floor. He wished Ron would put his wand down.
Then a small voice came out of the shadows.
"Please, Professor McGonagall -- they were looking for me."
"Miss Granger!"
Hermione had managed to get to her feet at last.
I went looking for the troll because I -- I thought I could deal with it on my own -- you know, because I\'ve read all about them."
Ron dropped his wand. Hermione Granger, telling a downright lie to a teacher? "If they hadn\'t found me, I\'d be dead now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn\'t have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived."
Harry and Ron tried to look as though this story wasn\'t new to them.
"Well -- in that case..." said Professor McGonagall, staring at the three of them, "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?"
Hermione hung her head. Harry was speechless. Hermione was the last person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending she had, to get them out of trouble. It was as if Snape had started handing out sweets.
"Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," said Professor McGonagall. "I\'m very disappointed in you. If you\'re not hurt at all, you\'d better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses."
Hermione left.
Professor McGonagall turned to Harry and Ron.
"Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go."
They hurried out of the chamber and didn\'t speak at all until they had climbed two floors up. It was a relief to be away from the smell of the troll, quite apart from anything else.
"We should have gotten more than ten points," Ron grumbled.
"Five, you mean, once she\'s taken off Hermione\'s."
"Good of her to get us out of trouble like that," Ron admitted. "Mind you, we did save her."
"She might not have needed saving if we hadn\'t locked the thing in with her," Harry reminded him.
They had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.
"Pig snout," they said and entered.
The common room was packed and noisy. Everyone was eating the food that had been sent up. Hermione, however, stood alone by the door, waiting for them. There was a very embarrassed pause. Then, none of them looking at each other, they all said "Thanks," and hurried off to get plates.
But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. There are some things you can\'t share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.
第十章万圣节惊魂
第二天，马尔夫看见哈利和罗恩仍在霍格瓦彻校园里走动时，他简直不敢相信
自己的眼睛。他们俩看上去有点疲倦，心情却相当愉快。事实上，这天早上哈利和
罗恩仍然在想着那只三头犬。昨夜的冒险实在太刺激了，两人都渴望能再来一次呢。
哈利把他关于那个包包的猜想告诉罗恩，他怀疑那东西被人从格林高斯银行的保
险库里拿到了霍格瓦彻学校这儿。另外，两人也花了好久去猜想究竟那是件什么宝
贝，竟需要那么严密的防守。
“那个东西要么很贵重要么就很危险。”罗恩说。
“或者两者皆备。”哈利同意。
但他们只知道那个神秘的物件大概有两英寸长，除此之外，他们再也没有别的
线索以供进一步猜测了。
尼维尔和荷米思都对那只狗脚下面的活门里究竟藏着什么不感兴趣。尤其是尼
维尔，他只希望再也不要见到那个可怕的怪物。
荷米恩拒绝再跟哈利和罗恩说话。不过从这件事情上，哈利和罗恩觉得她不过
是个骄蛮跋扈而又假装博学的家伙。现在他们最想做的事就是给马尔夫点颜色看看。
幸运的是，一周之后，机会来了。
和平时一样，猫头鹰邮差们像潮水般涌进大厅里。但是这天每一个人都被六只
怪叫着的大猫头鹰带来的一份又长又细的包裹给吸引住了。哈利也和所有人一样被
这情景吸引住。当那大只大猫头鹰盘旋在他头上，并把那个包裹扔到他桌上，甚至
连他吃的熏肉都被扫到地上去时，哈利觉得奇怪极了。另一只猫头鹰又飞上来把一
封信扔到包裹上面，这时旁边六只大猫头鹰竟一齐振起翅来。
哈利首先撕开那封信。实在太好了，因为信中写道：千万不要在大厅里拆开你
的包裹！这里边装的是你的新扫帚“灵光2000”。我不希望让太多人知道这件事，
因为如果他们知道的话，每一个人都会吵着也要一把。今晚7 点钟，奥立弗。伍德
会在飞行训练营地那儿等你。你将在那儿接受第一次飞行训练。
麦康娜教授哈利实在无法掩饰他的喜悦。他把信递给罗恩看。
“一把‘灵光2000’扫帚！”罗恩羡慕地说，“我连模都没摸过呢！”
两人马上离开大厅。他们想在第一节课之前找个僻静的地方拆了包裹，好好地
看一下这把新扫帚。没料到，走过大堂时克来伯和高尔拦住了他们的去路。马尔夫
一把从哈利手上抢过包裹，马上他就感觉出里面是什么东西了。
“是一把扫帚哪！”他把包裹扔回给哈利，脸上满是恶意和嫉妒之情。“波特，
你糟了，一年级学生是不允许使用这个的！”
罗恩实在忍不住了。
“那可不是一把旧扫帚。”他说，“那是一把‘灵光2000’！马尔夫，你上次
说你家里那把扫帚是什么型号？哦，‘香星26h ’？”
罗恩露齿一笑，“慧星‘看起来也挺华丽的，可它们和’灵光‘一比，哼，根
本不是同一等级的嘛！”
“你懂什么！威斯里，你恐怕连这个扫帚头都没有吧？”马尔夫也不甘示弱，
反唇相稽，“我想，你和你哥哥得把小树枝一条一条地存起来才能攒够一把！”
还没等罗恩来得及出声，费立维克教授突然出现在马尔夫的手肘边。
“孩子们，有话好好说嘛，吵什么！”他尖声说。
“教授，有人送了一把扫帚给波特！”马尔夫马上告密。
“对，对，我知道。”费立维克教授笑着对哈利说，“麦康娜教授把一切都告
诉我了。波特，那是什么型号的扫帚呀？”
“是‘灵光2000’型，教授。”哈利竭力控制自己不去看马尔夫脸上那种可恶
的表情。“能得到它，还是多亏了马尔夫呢。真是很多谢他。”他又加了一句。
哈利和罗恩走上楼梯，他们的笑声让马尔夫又生气又迷惑。
“真是的。”他们走下大理石楼梯后，哈利哈哈地笑着说，“如果他不是偷了
尼维尔的记忆球的话，我可能没有机会加入飞行队呢”所以你认为这是对你违反纪
律的嘉奖喽？“背后忽然传来一个生气的声音。荷米恩跺着脚走上楼梯，不以为然
地看了看哈利手中的包裹。
“噢，我以为你从此不再和我们说话了？”哈利揶揄说。
“对了，你该坚持住！”罗恩说，“这样我们会好过点。”
荷米恩气坏了，扭头就走。
这天一整天哈利都没法子集中精神听课。他的心一会儿想到放在宿舍床底的
“灵光2000” ，一会儿又想到晚上要到飞行训练营地去学习。吃晚餐时，他简直
是在狼吞虎咽，连自己吃的是什么都不知道。一吃完晚餐，哈利和罗恩马上冲上楼
拆开包裹。
那把“灵光2000”在哈利的床单上滚了几下。“天哪！”罗恩情不自禁地喝了
一声彩。
就算是根本不懂各种扫帚的分类的哈利电觉得这把扫帚的确与众不同。整洁光
滑，闪闪发亮，柄是桃花心水做的，尾部的枝条又齐又长，“灵光2000”几个金字
就刻在扫帚的顶部。
快到七点钟的时候，哈利离开了城堡，在暮色中直奔飞行训练营地。哈利从来
没有来过飞行比赛的场地。场地的四周有几百张椅子，都摆放得很高，这样观众们
坐上去才能看到在高空中进行的赛事。场地的两头各竖着三条金色的柱子，柱子的
顶部都装有一个筐。它们使哈利想起了马格人世界里孩子们用来吹肥皂泡的塑料小
棍，不过眼前这几支柱子可足有五十英尺高。
哈利等不及伍德来就想再试一次飞行的滋味。他跨上扫帚，用脚往地上一蹬，
飞起来了！这种感觉真神奇！他练习从球杆上空猝然扑下又飞起来，在整个场地里
自由驰骋。只要他轻轻地触碰，那把“灵光2000”就随他所欲，想到哪里就飞到哪
里。
“嘿，波特！快下来！”
奥立弗。伍德来了。他的手臂下夹着一只木制的大木箱。哈利降落在他的身旁。
“很好！”伍德说，他的眼睛闪闪发亮。“我知道麦康娜教授指的是什么了…
…你的确是个天才。今天晚上我打算把比赛的规则告诉你，下星期开始，你就
正式加入训练，一周三次。“
他弯腰打开木箱，箱里装着四个大小不同的球。
“好，我们开始吧。”伍德，“快迪斯比赛的规则是很简单的，但玩起来就不
是那么容易了。每队各有七个队员，其中三个叫作捕手。”
“三个捕手。”哈利重复了一遍。这时伍德从箱里拿出一个足球大小的红色球。
“这个叫做可尔夫球。”伍德说。“捕手之间可以传递可尔夫球，谁能把它投
入筐里，谁就能得分。投进一个可尔夫球的得分是10分。记住了吗？”
“捕手传递可尔夫球，谁能将它投进筐，谁就能得分。”哈利复述了一次。
“这不就像坐在扫帚上打篮球吗？不同的是这种比赛有六个球筐，对不对？”
“什么是篮球？”伍德大惑不解。
“哦，没什么。”哈利马上说。
“好，每一队都有一个队员充当守门员。我就是格林芬顿队的守门员。我必须
在我们附近球筐边守着，不让对手把球投进我们的筐。”
“三个捕手，一个守门员。”哈利努力地将这些名字记下来。
“他们打的是可尔夫球。好，我记住了。那么其余的球又是用来干嘛的？”他
指了指箱里剩下的三个球。
“我马上就会告诉你。”伍德说。“拿着。”
他交给哈利一支小短棒。
“我会让你看看布鲁佐球是用来做什么的。”伍德说，“这两个球叫做布鲁佐
球。”
伍德指给哈利看。两个一模一样的黑球，大概比红色的可尔夫球稍小一点儿。
哈利发现这两只球都有皮箍缚着，而且它们好像正蠢蠢欲动要飞出来。
“往后站一点。”伍德警告哈利。他弯下腰，放开其中一个布鲁佐球。
这个黑球“呼”地飞上半空，然后直撞向哈利的脸！哈利赶紧侧了侧身，用手
里的小短棒拨开它以免被它撞断自己的鼻梁。那个球“唆”地又飞了开去。它在两
人的头上转了几圈，又直奔伍德。
伍德猛地跳起来抓住那球，并用力把它按在地上。
“看到了吗？”伍德使劲制服手中挣扎着的布鲁佐球，然后又用皮箍把它缚回
原处。“在比赛中，布鲁佐球像放火箭似的在赛场上横冲直撞，试图将每一位队员
从他的扫帚上撞下来。这就是为什么每个队伍都必须有两名后卫。威斯里家的双胞
胎兄弟是我们队的后卫——他们的工作就是保护其他队员不被布鲁位球撞下来，还
要将它们打到对方球队那边去——你明白了吗？”
“三个捕手追逐可尔夫球并投篮得分；守门员守护球筐，不让他人投篮；后卫
就保护其他队员不受布鲁佐球的干扰！”哈利一口气讲出来。
“非常好！”伍德很高兴。
“呃……布鲁佐球曾经撞死过人吗？”哈利假装不在意地问了一句。
“在霍格瓦彻学校里还没发生过这种事。曾经有两位队员被撞碎下巴，这是最
糟糕的一次。嗯，队伍中最后一个成员是搜索员。
这就是你担任的角色。至于可尔夫球和布鲁佐球，你完全不用理会“……除非
我的头被撞裂成两半……”
“不用担心嘛，威斯里兄弟对付布鲁佐球挺有一手的——我意思是说，他们俩
就像一对有生命的可尔夫球。”
伍德伸手进箱，把最后一个球拿出来。和可尔夫球、布鲁位球相比，这个球实
在太小了，就跟一个大胡桃核差不多大小。它通体金黄，还长着两只银光闪闪的小
翅膀。
“这个小球，”伍德介绍道，“叫做黄金史尼斯球。它是整场比赛中最重要的
球。因为它体积小，速度又快，所以要抓住它是相当困难的。而这正是搜索员要干
的活。你不用管捕手、后卫，也不用管可尔夫球、布鲁佐球，你只要跟着它，比对
方队中的搜索者更先一步抓住它就行。一旦搜索者抓住这个史尼斯球，他所在的队
就可以加整整一百五十分，这支队伍也就稳握胜券了。这也是为什么要找到一个优
秀的搜索者会那么困难。只有史尼斯球被抓住了，一场快迪斯比赛才会结束。所以
有时候比赛时间会拖得很长——我想最长时间的一次记录应该是三个月。队员需要
休息的时候，替补队员会上场继续打。好，我讲完了。有什么问题吗？”
哈利摇了摇头。他已经把比赛规则都弄明白了，所欠缺的只是实践罢了。
“我们现在先不玩史尼斯球。”伍德小心翼翼地把手中的球放回木箱里。“这
儿光线不足，快天黑了，我们会把它弄丢的。来，我们先用这个来练习。”
他从口袋里掏出一大袋高尔夫球。几分钟之后，伍德和哈利都飞到半空中，伍
德从不同的方向使劲地把那些高尔夫球扔给哈利，哈利必须一一接住它们。
哈利连一个球都没有接失！伍德高兴极了。半个钟头后，天色完全暗下来了，
他们没有办法再继续下去。
“今年我们的名字一定会刻在奖杯上！”回城堡的路上，伍德兴高采烈地说：
“如果说你将来会做得比查理。威斯里更出色，我觉得一点都不奇怪。查理。威斯
里如果不是去了捕猎龙的话，他现在肯定正在国家队里打球呢！”
就这样，哈利每周花上三个晚上到飞行训练营地练习快迪斯，再加上其他老师
们布置的家庭作业，哈利的每一天都过得繁忙而充实。不知不觉间哈利已经在霍格
瓦彻学校里呆了两个月。想到这点，哈利自己都有点不敢相信。他越来越觉得这个
学校就像他的家一样亲切了。而每一天所学的功课也越来越有趣，他们已经基本掌
握了巫术的一些初步知识。
万圣节终于到了。一大清早，大家就闻到了走廊那边飘过来的供南瓜的香味。
更让人兴奋的事情是教咒语的费立维克教授今天宣布，他认为大家已经有足够
的能力学习物体移动法了。自从大家看了费立维克教授念咒让尼维尔的蟾蜍满教室
乱飞的精彩表演之后，早已对这门物体移动法艳羡得不见了。费立维克教授讲解要
点后，他把全班学生分成两人一组进行练习。哈利分到的拍档是谢默斯（这让哈利
大松了一口气，因为分组的时候尼维尔曾经拼命地向他使眼色要和他一组）。罗恩
就没那么顺利了，他不得不要同荷米恩合作。两个人都气乎乎的，荷米恩自从哈利
收到新扫帚的那天起就一直没跟他们俩说过话。
“别忘了，手腕的转动一定要轻点！我们刚才已经练习过一遍了。”费立维克
像往常一样跳上他的那一大堆书上嚷。“先往上挥，再往上拂！记住，先往下挥再
往下拂。最关键的是要念对咒语！以前有个巫师老爱把”B “发成”D “的音，结
果他一念‘uffalo’就念成了‘Duffalo ’，然后他就发现自己躺在地板上，一只
大水牛一屁股坐到了他的胸口上！”（注：英文中buffalo ）之意为“水牛”）
说老实话，这物体移动法可真难练，哈利和谢默斯对着他们的羽毛又挥又拂。
本来以为那根羽毛会乖乖地升上半空，谁知道它连动也没动！谢默斯不耐烦了，
用魔法杖随手一挥，惨，那根羽毛居然着火了！哈利赶紧用帽子又扑又打才扑灭了
它。
隔壁桌的罗恩情况也不太妙。
“维加的地登拉维泥沙！”他对着羽毛大叫，他的长臂抡得比风车还快。
“你念得不对，”哈利听到荷米恩对罗恩说，“应该是维加地登拉维提沙！念
‘加’字时要拉长一点，别太快。”
“你这么厉害，你来做吧！”罗恩很不高兴。
荷术恩卷起长袍的袖口，挥动她的魔法杖，口中念念有辞：“维加地登拉维提
沙！”
那根羽毛轻轻地动了一下，慢慢地离开了桌面，一直飞到离他们头顶四英尺高
的地方。
“噢，干得不错！”费立维克教授鼓掌为她喝彩：“大家都往这边看哪，格兰
佐同学成功地使她的羽毛飞起来了！”
结果，一节课上完之后，罗恩的心情恶劣到了极点。
“怪不得班里没有一个人能受得了她！”走在拥挤的走廊上，罗恩气乎乎地向
哈利诉苦：“她简直像一个恶梦！”
有人急急地从两人身边挤了过去。那正是荷米恩，哈利刚好瞥了一眼她的脸—
—他非常惊讶地发现她哭了。
“我想她听到了你对她的评语。”
“那又怎么样！”罗恩有点不服气，不过看样子他还是有点不安的。“她早就
知道她根本就没有什么朋友。”
第二节课时，荷米恩居然没有来，然后整个下午大家都没有看到她。去大厅参
加万圣节聚餐的路上，哈利和罗恩偶然听到了帕维提。帕提告诉她的朋友莱温特说，
荷米恩在女卫生间里哭个不停，还叫大家让她一个人呆在那儿。罗恩感到有点内疚，
不过一进大厅，他马上就给大厅里的万圣节装饰吸引住了，并且把荷米恩忘得一干
二净。
大厅里的场面相当壮观。墙上和天花板上密密麻麻的大概有一千多只活蝙蝠在
不断盘旋，另外一些蝙蝠忽上忽下，它们翅膀的振动弄得烛光也忽闪忽闪的，还有
一些蝙蝠一窝蜂地飞到桌子上，远远看去就像一大块乌云。像开学初的那次大食会
时的情形一样，一眨眼之间，金色的盘子上摆满丰盛的菜肴。
哈利才把一块土豆饼放进嘴里就看到屈拉教授跌跌撞撞地直闯进大厅，他的头
巾都跑歪了，脸上尽是恐惧之情。大家眼睁睁地看着他跑到丹伯多校长身边，一把
扶住桌子，气喘吁吁地说：“那个洞窟巨人……跑到地牢下边去了……我特地赶来
告诉你……”
说完，他再也支持不住了，倒在地板上昏死过去。
大厅里骚动起来。丹伯多教授不得不举起他的魔法杖向上发了几枚紫色的礼炮
才使得大家安静一点。
“班长们听着，”他大声宣布，“马上带领本班同学回到自己的宿舍去！”
伯希马上执行他的任务：“一年级生都跟我来！排成一列纵队！
只要你们听从我的命令就一点都不用怕什么洞窟巨人！好，现在都站到我后面
去。借过，借过！一年级生要从这里通过！不好意思，请借过一下，我是一个班长！
“”洞窟巨人怎么会无端端地跑了进来？“下楼梯时，哈利忍不住问罗恩。
“别问我，我想这些人都是些蠢才！”罗恩回答道，“可能是皮维斯干的，他
想在万圣节里跟我们开个玩笑。”
他们赶到了其他学生当中。这时大家吵吵嚷嚷的，到处一片混乱。拼命挤过一
大堆人时，哈利突然拉住罗恩的手臂：“我想到了一个人……荷米恩。”“关她什
么事？”
“她不知道洞窟巨人跑进来的事。”
罗恩咬了咬嘴唇。
“好吧，”他迟疑了一下，“不过得注意点，别让伯希发现我们溜走。”
他们弯下腰，偷偷混进另一队往其他方向走的学生中，再溜进一条平时不常用
的救火通道，撒腿就往女卫生间的方向跑去。刚转一个弯，后面传来一阵急促的脚
步声。
“是伯希！”罗恩失声叫了出来，赶紧拉了哈利躲到一座狮头鹰的雕像后面。
两人偷偷往外张望，然而，他们看到的却不是伯希而是史纳皮。他飞快地跑过
走廊，消失在他们的视线外。
“他跑去哪里？”哈利低声说，“为什么他不和其他的老师一起到地牢下边去？”
“跟着他。”
尾随着史纳皮，他们蹑手蹑脚地转到另一条走廊上。
“他好像是要上三楼。”哈利说，但是罗恩突然紧紧抓住他的手：“你有没有
闻到一股奇怪的味道？”
哈利用力嗅了嗅，一股恶臭直冲鼻孔！那股味道就像是几年没洗的旧袜再加上
从没有人清洁过的公共厕所所发出的臭味。
接着他们听到了一个声音——拖着一双巨脚走路发出的沉重的脚步声和一种从
喉咙里发出的低沉的咕哈声。罗思惊恐地往声音方向一指：走廊尽头的左转角那儿
有一个巨大的黑影正在向他们走过来。两个人在墙角的阴影下缩成一团，看着那个
庞大的怪物慢慢地暴露在月光下。
真是一幕叫人心惊胆颤的情景！那只怪物足足有十二英尺高，他的皮肤暗暗的，
像灰色的花岗岩。他的身体臃肿不堪，就像一大块鹅卵石，上面还安放了一个好像
椰子壳一样小的光秃秃的头颅。
他的两条短腿比大树干还粗，扁平的大脚好像长满了角。那股恶心的味道就是
从这个怪物身上发出来的。怪物的手里抓着一支巨大的木棒，因为他的手太长了，
所以那支木棒拖到了地上，发出巨大的声响。
原来这个怪物就是刚才大家讲的洞窟巨人。他在一扇门的旁边停下来，向门里
探头探脑不知在看些什么。怪物侧耳听了好久，好像终于下定决心，低垂着头慢慢
走进了房间里。
“那门锁上还插着钥匙，”哈利低声说，“我们可以把它锁进房里！”
“好主意！”罗恩相当紧张。
他们轻轻地走近那扇开着的门，心扑扑乱跳，各自都在祈求老天爷保佑，那只
怪物可千万别在这个时候走出来呀！哈利鼓起勇气，一个箭步冲上前拔出钥匙，使
劲关上门，飞快地把它锁上！
“噢，大功告成！”
两个人兴奋得脸都红了，转身就往通道回跑去。就在他们快要跑到第一个拐角
时，突然听到一声尖叫！他们的心脏差点儿停止跳动！那是荷米恩的声音！——而
且明显是从他们刚刚锁上的那间房间里传出来的！
“天哪！”罗思的脸吓得比吸血鬼巴伦的脸还要白。
“那间房间就是女卫生间！”哈利恍然大悟。
“荷米恩！”两人一齐大叫。
他们刚才就是想来找她的！两个人立刻转身直奔回房门口，扭转钥匙，鼓起最
大的勇气——哈利用力推开门——想也没想，他们径直冲了进去。
荷米恩站在墙角，哆嗦着，看上去好像快要昏倒了。那个怪物倒拖着木棒，正
一步一步地向她那边走去。
“拖住它！”哈利不顾一切地向罗恩喊。他捡起一块石头，用尽吃奶的力向墙
那边扔过去。
怪物在离荷米恩几步之遥的地方停下来。它笨拙地转过身，傻乎乎地眨了眨眼，
想看一下那声响是从哪儿发出的。它那可怕的小眼睛终于发现了哈利。于是它改变
了主意，转头向哈利走过来，一边走，还一边举起了它手里的大木棒。
“嘿，你这猪脑袋！”罗恩站在房间另一头大声嚷。他用力把一支金属管扔到
了怪物身上。怪物似乎一点也没有感觉到金属管打中了它的肩膀，但是它听到了罗
恩的叫声。它又停了下来，把它那丑陋的小脑袋转向罗恩这一边，哈利趁机从它身
边跑了过去。
“荷米恩，快走！快走！”哈利冲着荷米恩大嚷，试图把她拉向门口。但是荷
米恩一动也不动。她仍然靠着墙呆呆地站着，她张开了嘴巴，可是害怕得一句话也
说不出来。
呼喊和回声好像把怪物给惹火了。它变得狂暴起来。它咆哮着，向离它最近距
离的罗恩走去。而罗思已经无路可逃。
哈利突然做了个又大胆又愚蠢的举动：他冲上前，使劲～跳，从后面抱住了那
个怪物的颈！怪物没有感觉到哈利吊在它的颈后，但是当被一支长棒塞人鼻孔时，
即使是再迟钝的怪物也感觉到了。
哈利跳上怪物背后时，他的手里还握着他的魔法杖，于是他顺手把它插进了怪
物的一只鼻孔里！
怪物痛苦地长嚎一声，它转过身来，胡乱地挥舞起它的大木棒。哈利紧紧地抱
住它的颈，大气也不敢喘。这怪物随时有可能把他撕成两半，要不他也会被木棒挥
动时引起的大风吹下来，然后被怪物一脚踩扁。
荷米恩已经吓到不会思索了。罗恩猛地抽出他的魔法杖——其实他也不知道要
用来干什么。情急之下，他喊出了脑中仅仅记得的一句魔咒：“维加地登拉维程沙！”
怪物手中的大木棒忽然脱手而飞！那根大木棒猛地飞到高空中，慢慢地转了个
弯——然后呼地一下掉下来，刚好打中自己主人的头！大家只听到“噗”的一声，
怪物摇摇晃晃地走了几步，脸朝下“啪”地倒在地上。那一声巨响震得整间房子都
颤动起来。
哈利慢慢地爬起身来。他全身发抖，只是拼命地喘着大气。罗恩仍然举着他的
魔法杖愣愣地站在原地，目瞪口呆地看着眼前发生的一切。
反而是荷米恩第一个回过神来，她颤声问：“它……是不是死了？”
“应该还没死。”哈利说。“我想，它只是被敲昏了。”
他弯下腰，从怪物鼻孔里用力拔出他的魔法杖。杖上沾满了一大堆粘乎乎的东
西。
“呃……洞窟巨人的鼻涕。”
哈利把那堆脏东西擦在怪物的裤子上。
门外传来一阵急促的脚步声，三个人猛然抬起头来向门口望去。他们还不清楚
他们刚才弄出了多大的声响。当然了，任何一个人在楼下的人都应该听到了怪物跌
倒的那一下巨响。一会儿之后，麦康娜教授头一个冲进房里，接着是史纳皮教授，
最后一个是屈拉教授。屈拉一眼看见倒地的洞窟巨人，不禁轻叹一声，很快地坐倒
在马桶上，双手紧紧地捂着胸口。
史纲皮教授弯腰俯身过去察看那个洞窟巨人。麦康娜教授则严厉地盯着哈利和
罗恩。哈利从没见过她发那么大的脾气。她的嘴唇都气得白了。哈利还想着自己将
会为格林芬顿争光呢，可是现在，什么都完了。
“你们究竟想干什么？”麦康娜教授狂怒。她的声音可怕极了。
哈利看了看罗恩，他还举着他的魔法杖傻乎乎地站着。“你们够运气，居然没
有被杀死！为什么你们不好好地呆在宿舍里边？”
史纳皮飞快而又尖锐地看了哈利一眼。哈利低下了头，他希望罗恩懂得放下他
的魔法杖。
然后，阴影里传来了一个细小的声音：“麦康娜教授，求求你——他们只是想
帮助我。”
“格兰佐同学！”
荷米恩终于有力气站直了身子。
“是我跟着那个洞窟巨人来到这里的。因为，因为我以为我自己一个人就能对
付它……我以为我已经学会了怎么去制服它……”
罗恩的魔法杖“啪”地跌了下来。荷米恩。格兰位地居然向老师撒了一个弥天
大谎？
“如果不是他们来找我，我肯定被它杀死了。哈利把他的魔法杖插进了洞窟巨
人的鼻子里，罗恩用咒语让它自己的大木棒把它击倒。他们实在是没有时间去叫其
它的人来。他们赶来的时候，我已经吓坏了。”
哈利和罗恩竭力假装他们并不是第一次听到这个故事。
“是这样吗？那么……”麦康娜教授看着他们三个，严厉地说。
“格兰佐同学，你真傻！你怎么会认为你能够跟这小山似的巨人相斗？”
荷米恩低下头。哈利一句话也说不出来。荷术思是最不可能会违反纪律的学生，
但是现在她居然为了帮助他们摆脱困境而假装是她自己犯了错。这就像史纳皮会送
糖果给他们吃一样难以置信。
“格兰佐同学，格林芬顿将会为此而丢掉5 分。”麦康娜教授说，“我对你的
所为感到很失望。如果你没有受伤，你可以先离开这儿。同学们正在公共休息室里
举行万圣节大食会。”
荷米恩走了。
麦康娜教授转过头来对哈利和罗恩说：“我想你们俩实在够运气，很少一年级
生能够和一座小山似的洞窟巨人打交道。你们各为格林芬顿夺得5 分。我会告诉丹
伯多校长的。你们现在可以走了。”
他们赶紧离开那间房间。一口气跑了两层楼，他们才敢开口说话。能够远离那
个臭烘烘的洞窟巨人，他们觉得松了口气。
“我们拿到了10分！”罗恩相当高兴。
“只有5 分。因为荷米恩被老师扣了5 分。”
“她居然肯帮我们免受老师责骂，实在太好了。”罗恩又加了一句：“不过，
我们的确是救了她。”
“要不是我们把那个怪物锁进房间里，她未必需要我们去救她。”哈利提醒他。
他们来到了肥大婶的肖像画前。
“猪鼻子。”他们说出了口号，然后爬了进去。
公共休息室里热闹非常。每一个人都在兴高采烈地吃东西。只有荷米恩一个人
在门口站着等他们。见了面，三个人都觉得很尴尬。沉默了一会儿，谁也没有看谁，
大家相互说了声“多谢”然后赶紧走去拿他们的盘子。
不过，从此之后，荷米恩成了他们的好朋友。说实在的，假如你们曾经并肩同
一个十二英尺高像座小山似的巨人战斗过，这一份共度患难的深挚感情又怎么能轻
易地忘记而不好好地珍惜呢？
