And she left, taking the toadless boy with her.



"Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron. He threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell - George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud."



"What house are your brothers in?" asked Harry.



"Gryffindor," said Ron. Gloom seemed to be settling on him again. "Mom and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin."



"That's the house Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who was in?"



"Yeah," said Ron. He flopped back into his seat, looking depressed.



"You know, I think the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a bit lighter," said Harry, trying to take Ron's mind off houses. "So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left, anyway?"



Harry was wondering what a wizard did once he'd finished school.



"Charlie's in Romania studying dragons, and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts," said Ron. "Did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the Daily Prophet, but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles - someone tried to rob a high security vault."



Harry stared.



"Really? What happened to them?"



"Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught. My dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. 'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it."



Harry turned this news over in his mind. He was starting to get a prickle of fear every time You-Know-Who was mentioned. He supposed this was all part of entering the magical world, but it had been a lot more comfortable saying "Voldemort" without worrying.



"What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asked.



"Er - I don't know any." Harry confessed.



"What!" Ron looked dumbfounded. "Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the world - " And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he had the money. He was just taking Harry through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Neville the toadless boy, or Hermione Granger this time.



Three boys entered, and Harry recognized the middle one at once: it was the pale boy from Madam Malkin's robe shop. He was looking at Harry with a lot more interest than he'd shown back in Diagon Alley.



"Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"



"Yes," said Harry. He was looking at the other boys. Both of them were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing on either side of the pale boy, they looked like bodyguards.



"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the pale boy carelessly, noticing where Harry was looking. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."



Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco Malfoy looked at him.



"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."



He turned back to Harry. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."



He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it.



"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he said coolly.



Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks.



"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you."



Both Harry and Ron stood up.



"Say that again," Ron said, his face as red as his hair.



"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneered.



"Unless you get out now," said Harry, more bravely than he felt, because Crabbe and Goyle were a lot bigger than him or Ron.



"But we don't feet like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some."



Goyle reached toward the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron - Ron leapt forward, but before he'd so much as touched Goyle, Goyle let out a horrible yell.



Scabbers the rat was hanging off his finger, sharp little teeth sunk deep into Goyle's knuckle - Crabbe and Malfoy backed away as Goyle swung Scabbers round and round, howling, and when Scabbers finally flew off and hit the window, all three of them disappeared at once. Perhaps they thought there were more rats lurking among the sweets, or perhaps they'd heard footsteps, because a second later, Hermione Granger had come in.



"What has been going on?" she said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and Ron picking up Scabbers by his tail.



"I think he's been knocked out," Ron said to Harry. He looked closer at Scabbers. "No - I don't believe it - he's gone back to sleep."



And so he had.



"You've met Malfoy before?"



Harry explained about their meeting in Diagon Alley.



"I've heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side." He turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?"



"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"



"Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said Ron, scowling at her. "Would you mind leaving while we change?"



"All right - I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice. "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?"



Ron glared at her as she left. Harry peered out of the window. It was getting dark. He could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. The train did seem to be slowing down.



He and Ron took off their jackets and pulled on their long black robes. Ron's were a bit short for him, you could see his sneakers underneath them.



A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."



Harry's stomach lurched with nerves and Ron, he saw, looked pale under his freckles. They crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the corridor.



The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Harry shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Harry heard a familiar voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?"



Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads.



"C'mon, follow me - any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"



Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice.



"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."



There was a loud "Oooooh!"



The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.



"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Ron were followed into their boat by Neville and Hermione.



"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then - FORWARD!"



And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.



"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.



"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.



"Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.



They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.



"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"



Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.



　　



哈利在杜斯利家的最后一个月并不有趣。的确，达德里因害怕哈利，现在甚至不敢与他同处一室了，而帕尤尼亚姨妈和维能姨丈也不再把哈利锁在壁橱里了，他们也没有强迫哈利干活或者对他呼呼喝喝的。--其实，他们压根儿就没再跟他说过话。他们对哈利是既愤慨又恐惧，因而不得不对他视而不见。尽管这种待遇与之前相比已是大有改善，但过不多久就已经显得十分沉闷了。



　　哈利寸步不离房间，终日与他的猫头鹰朋友的为伴。他给它取名叫海维，这名字是从一本叫《魔法探究》的书里来的。哈利总爱躺在床上，捧着他那些引人入胜的教科书津津有味地看到深夜，而海维则喜欢在打开的窗户上飞进飞出。幸好帕尤尼亚姨妈再没进来打扫，不然她要是发现海维经常将死老鼠叨进屋就麻烦了。每晚临睡前，哈利总要在亲手钉在墙上的那张纸上钩去过去的一天，心中期盼着九月一日早日来临。



　　八月三十一日，哈利觉得最好还是将第二天要去国王大道车站一事告知姨妈、姨丈，便来到客厅里。此时，姨妈一家人正在看电视上的问答游戏。哈利只咳嗽了一声以引起他们的注意，达德里便吓得尖叫着跑开了。



　　"呢……维能姨丈……"



　　维能哼了一声作为回应。



　　"呃……我明天得去国王大道车站--坐车到霍格瓦彻。"维能又哼了一声。



　　"你能开车送我去吗？"



　　又一声哼哼，哈利以为姨丈答应了，"谢谢。"哈利正要上楼回房时，维能这才开腔："坐火车去魔法学院真有意思，难道飞毯都穿洞了吗？"哈利无言以对。



　　"那么，这学校在哪儿呢？""我不知道。"哈利脱口而出，这才意识到自己也不知道学校的地址。他从口袋里拿出哈格力给他的车票，读道："我要在十一点整从九又四分之三站台上车。"姨妈、姨丈面面相觑："什么站台？""九又四分之三。"



　　"别胡扯！根本就没有什么叫做九又四分之三的站台。"维能大声道。



　　"它明明印在我的车票上嘛。"



　　"真是瞎说，"维能不以为然，"你真是疯得够可以的了。明天你就知道了，走着瞧吧。行，我们带你去国王大道。要不是我们明天也要去伦敦，我才不会傻到自找麻烦呢。""你们为什么要去伦敦呢？"哈利想尽量保持气氛的融洽。



　　"送达德里去医院！"维能姨丈咆哮道，"就是为了在送他去斯麦尔丁之前除去那该死的尾巴！"哈利第二天一早五点钟就醒了，又兴奋又紧张再难成眠。他起床穿上牛仔裤--他可不想穿着巫师袍走进车站--那袍子是在车上才换的。他再次核对了清单以确认万事俱备，检查了锁着海维的小笼子以确保它的安全，然后便在房间里踱起了方步，就等着杜斯利这一家人睡醒了。两小时后，哈利那又太又沉的皮箱被装上了杜斯利家的车，帕尤尼亚姨妈也说服了达德里，让他坐在哈利旁边。



　　于是，他们出发了。



　　十点半，到了国王大道。维能将哈利的皮箱放在一个小推车上并帮他送进车站。



　　哈利一直觉得姨妈这家人好心得出奇，直到维能姨丈脸带令人作呕的奸笑朝着站台一动不动地站在那里为止。



　　"好了，傻小子，你到了。第九站--第十站台。你的站台应该在中间吧，不过好像还没有动工喔，你说是不是。"当然，他说得一点没错。一个站台上方赫然有一个大大的塑料制的数字"9"旁边站台上方则是"10"，而他们中间，什么都没有。



　　"玩得开心一点喔。"维能说着，脸上露出更为委琐的笑容。接着，他一声不吭地走了，哈利回过头，看着杜斯利一家三口驾车离开，一路上还前仰后合地嘲笑着他，哈利感到非常口干。究竟该做什么呢？他和海维开始引来旁人好奇的目光。



　　他拦住了一名路过的警卫，却不敢提及"九又四分之三站台"。



　　那个警卫从没听说霍格瓦彻这地方，所以当哈利甚至说不出这地方大致是在哪个方位时，他开始不耐烦了，认为哈利一定是在装疯卖傻捉弄他。哈利开始感到绝望了。他向警卫询问十一点开出的列车，却被告知根本没有这趟车。最后，那警卫口中骂骂咧咧地走开了，哈利尽力不让自己惊慌失措。列车进出站时间表上方的大钟告诉他，他只剩十分钟去搭上开往霍格瓦彻的列车，但他仍全然不知该如何才能办到。他现在所能做的，就只有手里拎着那几乎重得提不起的皮箱，兜里揣着大把的魔幻钞票，和他那只大猫头鹰朋友一起傻站在站台中央。



　　哈格力一定是忘了告诉他一些一定要做的事，比如说，要敲敲左边第三块砖才能进人戴阿富道。他纳闷是否应该拿出魔杖在第九、十两个站台间的车票箱上敲一敲。



　　正巧，一群人从他身后走过，他听见了些只言片语："--当然，和马格人捆在一起--"哈利转过身，发现刚才说话的是一个肥胖的女人。她正和四个长着火焰般红发的小男孩讲着什么。男孩们每个人都在推着他们前面一个和哈利的皮箱一模一样的箱子，而且他们都有一只猫头鹰。



　　哈利推着小轮车紧跟着他们，心里七上八下。每当他们停下，哈利也跟着停在近得刚好可以听清他们间对话内容的地方。



　　"现在，站台的号码是多少了？"孩子们的母亲问。



　　"九又四分之三！"一个牵着她的手的同样是红头发的女孩尖声说道，"妈，我能不能去……""你还不够年纪。金妮，听话，安静点啊。来，伯希，你先上。"较年长的一个孩于朝着第九、十站台大步走去。哈利瞪大眼睛看着，生怕一眨眼便错过了好戏。就在那男孩刚好走到两个站台的分界线时，一大群游客突然蜂拥地出现在他面前，就在最后一个旅行背包被运走之前，男孩已经消失了。



　　"弗来德，你跟上。"胖女人说。



　　"我不是弗来德，我是乔治。"其中一个男孩说道，"夫人，老实说吧，还说自己是我们的妈妈呢，难道你连我乔治都认不出来？""哦，乔治--对不起！我的心肝宝贝。"



　　"我开玩笑罢了，我确实是弗来德。"男孩说着上路了，他的孪生兄弟在身后催促他快点，而他确实很快，一瞬间便消失了，可究竟他是怎么做到的呢？



　　轮到第三个孩子了。他轻快地朝检票栏走去，快到了，突然间，不见了。



　　"对不起！我想问个问题。"哈利对胖女人说。



　　"哦，你好，可爱的孩子，"她笑着说，"第一次来霍格瓦彻吧？



　　罗恩也是新来的。"她指指她那剩下的也是最小的儿子。那孩子又高又瘦又弱，长长的鼻子两旁的面颊长满雀斑，手掌和脚掌都很粗大。



　　"没错，我第一次来这儿。这……我……我不知道怎样……""怎样到站台上去？"她和蔼地问道。哈利点点头。



　　"别担心，你只要径朝第九、十站台的中间的检票栏走过去就行了，别停下来也别怕会撞上它。这点很重要。如果你感到紧张的话，最好小跑过去。好，你先去吧，罗恩会跟着你去的。""嗯，--好吧。"



　　哈利将他的手推车掉转头来，眼睛瞪着检票栏，它看上去是那样牢不可破。



　　他开始向它走去。走向第九站台和第十站台的人群推挤着他。



　　他走得更快了。他把车票箱撞得粉碎，接着才是最棘手的一关--他将身体前倾，几乎倚在了手推车上，飞快地跑了起来--检票栏越来越近了，他已经不能停住脚步了，小车也已失控，只有咫尺之遥了，他闭上了眼睛就要撞上了……



　　他什么也没碰到……他仍在飞跑着……他慢慢睁开眼睛……



　　一辆鲜红的蒸汽机车正在一个人山人海的站台静待启程。车头正中一块标志鲜明地写着"霍格瓦彻号特快列车，十一点正发车"几个大字。哈利回过头去，发现原本放置车票箱的位置，现在是一个铁栏门，上面标着"九又四分之三站台"，他成功了！



　　蒸汽机车喷出的汽雾在谈天说地的人群的头上聚集起来，而各色的猫儿在人们的脚旁鞋边转来转去。猫头鹰们则以一种令人不快的方式相互叫嚣着。它们的叫声压过了人们拖、拉、拍、敲沉重的皮箱时发出的噪音。



　　头几节车箱里早已挤满学生。车里的学生有的从窗子里探出头来和亲人们攀谈，有的还在为抢座位而打作一团。哈利推着小车走下站台，目光搜索着空位子。他经过一个圆脸小男孩时，正巧听到他在说："奶奶，我的癞蛤蟆又不见了。""噢，尼维尔。"一个老妇人在叹息。



　　一个扎着发给的男孩被一小堆人围着。



　　"李，给我们看看嘛。"



　　那男孩掀起手中一个盒子的盖子，从里面伸出一条毛茸茸的长脚。旁观者见状，不禁尖叫起来。



　　哈利继续在拥挤的人群中艰难前行，他在列车尾部终于找到了一个没人的包厢。



　　他先将海维放了进去，然后拖着他那沉重的大皮箱朝车门走去。他使尽全力想将皮箱提上车门梯，但他甚至连箱子的一端都抬不起，他的脚还被皮箱重重地砸了两次。



　　"要帮忙吗？"说话的是带领哈利穿越车票箱的红发孪生兄弟中的一个。



　　"噢，是的。"哈利此时已经气喘吁吁了。



　　"哎，弗来德，快来帮忙啊片在这兄弟俩的帮助下，哈利的大皮箱终于被拽上了车，安置在包厢的一角。



　　"真太谢谢了。"哈利边说边用手拂开挡在眼睛前湿透了的头发。



　　"那是什么？"两兄弟中的一个突然指着哈利一块发亮的伤痕问道。



　　"啊呀，"另一个叫道，"难道你是……？"



　　"没错，"第一个抢着说，"不是吗？"



　　"什么呀？"哈利十分纳闷。



　　"哈利·波特呀。"两兄弟异口同声道。



　　"噢，他呀，"哈利说，"我意思是我就是。"



　　两个孩子呆呆地盯着他看，哈利觉得自己的脸正在变红。然而，令他稍感宽慰的是，一个声音这时从打开着的车门外传进来。



　　"弗来德，乔治，你们都在这儿吗？"



　　"来了，妈妈。"



　　再最后打量了哈利一眼，兄弟俩跳下了火车。



　　哈利坐在紧靠车窗的位置上，看着站台上的红发家族，听着他们的话语，他们的母亲掏出手帕来。



　　"罗恩，你的鼻子脏了。"



　　小男孩想跑开，却被他妈妈一把抓住，妈妈用心地为他拭去鼻梢的尘土。



　　"妈，放开我，"他努力挣脱了。



　　"啊哈，整洁的罗恩鼻子上有点脏东西喔。"孪生兄弟中的一个说道。



　　"住嘴！"罗恩气极了。



　　"伯希呢？"妈妈关切地问。



　　"正走过来呢。"



　　兄弟中最大的一个正大跨步地走来。他已经换上了膨起的黑色霍格瓦彻长袍。



　　哈利还注意到他胸前那个有字母"P "的闪亮的银徽章。



　　"妈，此地不能久留。"他说，"那些学生的班长已经为他们自己预留了两个包厢了……""噢，你不也是个班长吗，伯希？"孪生兄弟中的一个问道，脸上一副非常惊讶的表情，"你本应说些什么的。""等会，我记得他曾经说过什么的。"另一个孪生兄弟说，"说过一次--""或是两次--"



　　"仅一分钟--"



　　"整个夏季--"



　　"噢，闭嘴！"班长伯希大声叫道。



　　"伯希这身新袍是怎么来的？"



　　"因为他是个班长啊，"母亲高兴地说，"好了，旅途愉快！到那儿以后记得派只猫头鹰给我。"她在伯希的脸颊上吻了一下，伯希便离开了。她转向她的双胞胎儿子。



　　"你们两个--今年可得好好管住自己哟。如果我再收到一只猫头鹰来告诉我你们炸毁了厕所或者--""炸毁厕所？我们可从没干过这等无聊事。"



　　"不过，这主意不错嘛，谢谢妈。"



　　"这一点都不好笑。你们还得好好照顾罗恩。""别担心，小脏猫和我们一起很安全。"



　　"住嘴！"罗恩再一次被激怒了，他鼻头上被掠过的地方现在仍是红红的。



　　"妈，猜猜我们刚刚在车上遇见谁了？"



　　哈利连忙往后靠，以免被他们母子几个人看见。



　　"你认识和我们一起在车站的那个黑发少年吗？你知道他是谁吗？""谁呀？"



　　"哈利·波特？"



　　哈利听到的是那个小女孩的声音。



　　"妈，我能上车去看看他吗？妈，求求你让我去吗……""你不是已经见过他了吗，金妮。那可怜的孩子可不是你在动物园里看到的动物呀。哎，弗来德，你怎么知道他就是哈里。波特的？""我亲口问过他，亲眼见过他的伤痕像闪电一样，他真的就在那儿。""可怜的宝贝。我猜他一定是一个人上路的。当他询问如何才能找到站台时是多么的彬彬有礼啊。""别光注意那些。你觉得他还记得'那个人'是怎样的吗？"母亲一下子变得严肃起来。



　　"我不准你问他这个，弗来德，就算他上学第一天需要提醒，你也不问他。""好，我不问就是了，可别发火了，妈。"



　　此时传来一声哨响。



　　"快上车！"母亲说。三个孩子赶忙从窗口爬上了车。他们从窗户探出头来让母亲好吻别他们，他们的妹妹已经伤心落泪了。



　　"金妮，别哭，我们会送你好多好多的猫头鹰的。""没错，我们还会寄个霍格瓦彻便盆给你！"



　　"乔治，你怎么说这些乱七八糟的东西？"



　　"妈，我不过是开开玩笑罢了，可别当真。"



　　列车缓缓启动了，哈利看到那几个孩子的母亲在向他们挥手告别，而他们的妹妹，眼泪涟涟的脸上带着欢笑，飞跑着想跟上正在加速的列车，直到跟不上了，但她仍一个劲地挥手告别。



　　当列车转弯时，哈利清晰地看到那位母亲和妹妹脸上失望的表情。铁道两旁的一排排房子从车窗外飞快地闪过，这令哈利感到无比兴奋。他并不知道接下来会遇到些什么，但他明白未来一定会比过去更美好。



　　最年幼的那个红发男孩推开哈利的包厢门，走了进来。



　　"这儿有人吗？"他指着哈利对面的座位说，"其他地方都坐满了人。"哈利摇了摇头。那孩子于是便坐了下来。他瞥了哈利一眼，然后又迅速将目光移至车窗外，装出一副若无其事的样子。哈利看到了他鼻子上仍有一块黑斑。



　　"嘿，罗恩。"



　　那对孪生兄弟回来了。



　　"告诉你，我们现在就到火车中部去--那儿的李。乔丹有一只大毒蜘蛛。""嗯，是的。"罗恩嘟哝道。



　　"哈利，我们做个自我介绍好吗？我是弗来德。威斯里，他是乔治。威斯里，这是罗思，我们的弟弟。我们待会儿见。"哈利与罗恩和他们道别之后，孪生兄弟俩关上车厢门回去了。



　　"你真的是哈利·波特吗？"罗恩不加思索地问道。



　　哈利点点头。



　　"噢，真是这样。我开始还以为是弗来德和乔治跟我开玩笑呢。"罗恩说，"你真的有那个……"说着，用手指住哈利的前额。



　　哈利拨开遮住前额的发梢，露出额头中央那闪电状的疤痕。罗恩目不转睛地看着。



　　"这就是'那个人'留给你的标志了吧？"



　　"没错，但我已经忘记了害怕的……？"



　　"什么都忘记了吗？"罗恩急切地问。



　　"嗯……我只记得见到几缕绿光，其他的就都忘了。""哗！"罗恩惊叹道。他坐着打量哈利好一会儿，忽然间，他似乎意识到了自己刚才在做什么，便又急忙转身望着窗外。



　　"你们全家都是魔法师吗？"哈利充满好奇地问，因为他发现罗恩也同样有趣。



　　"嗯，我想是吧。"罗恩说，"妈好像有个当会计的表哥，但他从来就不是我们谈论的话题。""那你们一定很了解魔法吧。"



　　威斯里家族明显是戴阿官道那个颜色苍白的孩子所说的那些魔法世家之一。



　　"我听说你曾和马格人一起住过，"罗恩说，"他们长什么样？""难看极了。但也不是全都难看喽。我姨妈、姨文还有表弟却挺难看的。真希望我也有三个懂魔法的兄弟啊。""我有五个，"不知为什么，罗恩看起来有些悲伤，"我是家里第六个到霍格瓦彻去的。你也许会说我有许多榜样和奋斗的目标，生活也有保障，比尔和查理都已经毕业了--比尔是班长，查理则是飞行队的队长。如今伯希也是个班长了，弗来德和乔治虽然喜欢胡闹，但他们成绩都很好，而且人人都觉得他们确实很有喜剧天分。每个人都期盼着我能做得和哥哥们一样好，即使我能做到，人们也觉得这是理所当然，因为我的哥哥们已经做到了。假如你有五个哥哥，你就不会得到新的玩意儿。比尔的旧袍子，查理的破魔棒和伯希的臭老鼠现在都变成我的了。"罗恩从夹克衣里掏出一只胖乎乎的，睡着了的灰鼠。



　　"它叫斯卡伯斯，一天到晚就是睡，真是个没用的废物。伯希因为当上了班长而从爸爸那儿得到一只猫头鹰作为奖励，我买不起……我是说我只有斯卡伯斯。"罗恩耳尖发红，也许是因为觉得自己说多了，他又呆望着窗外。



　　哈利觉得养不起猫头鹰也算不上是一种罪过。毕竟，一个月之前他仍是不名一文。他把过去那些诸如被迫要穿达德里的破衣服及从未收过一件像样的生日礼物这样的伤心往事都告诉了罗恩。这似乎让罗恩的心情好转了一些。



　　"直到哈格力告诉我有关成为魔法师的事、我父母的情况以及福尔得摩特，我才知道这些。"罗恩屏住了呼吸。



　　"怎么了？"哈利问。



　　"你说出了'那个人'的名字！"罗恩又惊又喜，"我觉得你是所有人中最--""说出他的名字并不是为了显示我很勇敢或者别的什么，"哈利说，"明白我的意思吗？我觉得自己还有很多东西要学。"话中略带忧虑，"我猜我可能会是班里成绩最差的。""不会的，那儿有很多马格人，他们都很棒哟。"列车此时已驶出了伦敦，正在牛羊成群的农田间的铁路上穿行着。他俩安静了下来，细看着窗外的田野。



　　大约十二点半时，佣外走廊传来一阵脚步声，只见一位微笑时嘴角会泛起酒窝的售货员推开了包厢，对他们说道："孩子们，想买些什么好吃的？"还没吃早餐的哈利高兴得跳了起来，但罗恩的双耳又红了起来，支支吾吾地说他带了三明治。



　　在杜斯利家的时候，哈利没钱买糖果，可现在不同了，他口袋里的金银财宝足可以买到塞满整个包厢。他最喜欢吃的火星牌棒棒糖--可偏偏没得卖。售货小车里全是些多味豆、泡泡糖、巧克力青蛙糖、南瓜馅饼、大煎饼，棒冰之类的，还有些他从没见过的奇形怪状的食品。他付给售货员姨妈十一个镰刀银币和七个铜币，把各种食品都买了一点。



　　罗恩见哈利买了这一大堆的食物，惊讶不已，"你一定很饿吧？""饿极了！"哈利说着，在一个南瓜馅饼上咬下了一大块。



　　罗恩拿出一个鼓鼓的小包打开来，原来里面有四块三明治。他用手撕开其中一块，说道："她总忘记我不喜欢吃粗牛肉。"哈利拿起一块馅饼，说："来吧，不如咱们换换。""你不会喜欢吃的，你知道，要照顾五个孩子可不容易呀。""别说了，吃个饼吧。"过去，哈利从来没有什么可以与人分享，或者说没人与他分享，对于他而言，与罗恩一同分享馅饼、蛋糕真是一件难得的赏心乐事啊。



　　"这些是什么？"哈利拿起一包巧克力小青蛙问罗恩，"这些不是真的青蛙吧？"他觉得世上再没别的什么更能令他惊讶。



　　"不是的。哎，快看看卡片上印的是什么，我想要阿里巴。""什么？"



　　"你还不知道吧，每个巧克力青蛙糖里面都有一张卡片，上面印有著名的魔法师的名字供孩子们收集。我已经集了五百多张，就差印有阿里巴和托来米的了。"哈利打开一个巧克力青蛙糖，从中取出一张卡片，卡上有一个人的画像。那人戴着一副半月形的眼镜，长着长长的鹰钩鼻子，银白的头发像流水一般，满脸大胡子，画像下还印着他的名字：艾伯斯。丹伯多。



　　"那么，这人一定是丹伯多喽。"哈利说。



　　"别告诉我你没听说过丹伯多这个人幄！"罗恩说，"嘿，能给我一只吗？说不定我会找到阿里巴。啊，谢谢--"哈利将手中的卡片翻转过来，发现上面印着："艾伯斯。丹伯多，现任霍格瓦彻校长。当今许多伟大的魔法师都认为，于1945年击败神秘魔法师福尔得摩特、发现龙血的十二种妙用以及他的搭档尼古拉斯。费兰马尔对魔法研究的贡献等都是令他名声大噪的主因。丹怕多教授喜欢欣赏殿堂音乐和玩保龄球。"哈利又将卡片反过来，惊奇地发现丹伯多的头像竟然不见了。



　　"他不见了！"



　　"你总不能让他老呆在这儿吧，"罗恩说，"他得回去。噢，不是吧，又是摩根娜，我已经有六张了。嘿，你想要吗？你也可以收集嘛。"罗恩的双眼盯着那堆巧克力青蛙糖，期待着哈利早点打开它们。



　　"喜欢的话，你自己拿。"哈利说，"可是在，呃，在马格的世界里，照片里的人全都是一直呆着不动的。""是吗？你是说，他们完全不会动吗？"罗恩感到十分惊讶："真奇怪！"当丹伯多头像重现在卡片上，并对哈利微笑时，哈利惊呆了。



　　罗恩似乎已经沉浸于吃巧克力青蛙糖的快乐中而忘记了去看青蛙里的卡片，但哈利却被它们深深吸引住了。没过多久，他便拥有了丹伯多、摩根娜、亨吉斯。沃考夫特、阿贝里克。格鲁尼思、舍思、帕拉塞撒斯和穆林了。最终，他还是把兴趣从搔鼻子的克里奥娜的头像转移到吃多味豆上来了。



　　"小心吃喔，"罗恩告诫哈利，"这可是名副其实的多味豆哟。



　　知道吗，你可能会吃到像巧克力味、胡椒薄荷味、柠檬味等这些普遍口味，也有可能吃到像菠菜味、猪肝味、内脏味这样的怪味。乔治说他就曾吃过一种非常难吃的味道。"罗恩拿起一颗绿色的豆子，仔细地看看清楚，然后只咬了一小口。



　　"哎呀--你瞧瞧，麦牙味的。"



　　他俩吃多味豆吃得很开心，哈利吃到了烤面包味、椰子昧、烤豆味、草莓味、咖喱味、绿草味、咖啡味和抄丁鱼味的豆子，已经有足够的勇气去咀嚼多味豆了。



　　他吃下一颗有趣的灰色胡椒味豆子，罗思之前甚至不敢碰那颗灰豆。



　　窗外迅速飞逝的乡野风光，渐渐变得越来越荒凉。平整的田野看不见了，取而代之的是茂密的树林，境蜒的河流和深绿的山丘。



　　这时，有人在敲门，那个哈利曾在九又四分之三车站见过的圆脸小男孩哭着走了进来。



　　"对不起！"他抽泣着，"你们有没有见到一只癞蛤蟆？"看到哈利他们摇摇头，男孩哭嚎起来："找不到了！它不喜欢我，不愿和我在一起！""它会回去的。"哈利安慰他说。



　　"也许吧，"男孩伤心地说，"如果你们看到它的话，请告诉我。"说完便走了。



　　"真不明白他为什么那么难过，"罗恩说，"如果是我的话，也许早就丢了呢。



　　噢，对了，我带着斯卡伯斯呢，还是少说为妙吧。"那只懒老鼠还在罗恩的脚上呼呼大睡呢。



　　"如果你不了解它的话，还会以为它已经死了呢。"罗恩不屑地说，"我昨天想把它变成黄色，使它看起来更有趣，但魔法没有成功。我试给你看看……"他在皮箱里翻了半天，然后

关键字:哈利波特与魔法石

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