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Harry left through the back door. It was a brilliant, sunny day.
哈利从后门出来。外面天气晴朗，阳光灿烂。
He crossed the lawn, slumped down on the garden bench, and sang under his breath:
他穿过草坪，一屁股坐在花园长凳上，压着嗓子唱了起来：
“Happy birthday to me . . . happy birthday to me . . .”
“祝我生日快乐……祝我生日快乐……”
No cards, no presents, and he would be spending the evening pretending not to exist.
没有贺卡，没有礼物，今晚还要他假装自己不存在。
He gazed miserably into the hedge.
他悲伤地注视着树篱。
He had never felt so lonely.
他从未感到这样孤独。
More than anything else at Hogwarts, more even than playing Quidditch, Harry missed his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.
他分外想念他最好的朋友罗恩韦斯莱和赫敏格兰杰，胜过想念霍格沃茨其他的一切，甚至包括魁地奇球。
They, however, didn’t seem to be missing him at all.
可他们好像一点儿也不想他。
Neither of them had written to him all summer, even though Ron had said he was going to ask Harry to come and stay.
整个暑假谁都没有给他写信，罗恩还说要请哈利去他家做客呢。
Countless times, Harry had been on the point of unlocking Hedwig’s cage by magic and sending her to Ron and Hermione with a letter, but it wasn’t worth the risk.
一次又一次，哈利差点儿要用魔法打开海德薇的笼子，让它捎封信给罗恩和赫敏。但这太冒险了。
Underage wizards weren’t allowed to use magic outside of school.
未成年的巫师是不能在校外使用魔法的。
Harry hadn’t told the Dursleys this;
哈利没有把这个规定告诉德思礼一家，
he knew it was only their terror that he might turn them all into dung beetles that stopped them from locking him in the cupboard under the stairs with his wand and broomstick.
他知道，这家人只是害怕他把他们全变成金龟子，才没有把他和魔杖、飞天扫帚一起关进楼梯下的暗柜里。
For the first couple of weeks back, Harry had enjoyed muttering nonsense words under his breath and watching Dudley tearing out of the room as fast as his fat legs would carry him.
回家后的头两个星期，哈利喜欢假装着嘴里念念有词，然后看达力拼命搬动他那两条胖腿，尽快往屋外跑。
But the long silence from Ron and Hermione had made Harry feel so cut off from the magical world that even taunting Dudley had lost its appeal — and now Ron and Hermione had forgotten his birthday.
可是罗恩和赫敏迟迟不给他来信，使哈利觉得自己和魔法世界断了联系，连捉弄达力也失去了乐趣——现在罗恩和赫敏连他的生日都忘了。
What wouldn’t he give now for a message from Hogwarts? From any witch or wizard?
只要能换得霍格沃茨的一点音信，不管来自哪个女巫或男巫，他什么都会豁出去。
He’d almost be glad of a sight of his archenemy, Draco Malfoy, just to be sure it hadn’t all been a dream. . . .
他甚至乐意看一眼他的仇敌德拉科马尔福，只要能证明这一切不是一场梦……
Not that his whole year at Hogwarts had been fun.
他在霍格沃茨的这一年并不都是好玩有趣的。
At the very end of last term, Harry had come face-to-face with none other than Lord Voldemort himself.
上学期末，哈利与伏地魔本人正面相遇。
Voldemort might be a ruin of his former self, but he was still terrifying, still cunning, still determined to regain power.
伏地魔虽然大不如从前，但依然狠毒可怕，阴险狡猾，并决心要恢复自己的魔力。
Harry had slipped through Voldemort’s clutches for a second time, but it had been a narrow escape, and even now, weeks later,
哈利又一次逃脱了伏地魔的魔爪，但是很险。即使现在，已经过去好几个星期了，
Harry kept waking in the night, drenched in cold sweat, wondering where Voldemort was now, remembering his livid face, his wide, mad eyes —
哈利还会在半夜惊醒，浑身冷汗，想着伏地魔这时会在哪里，记起他那青灰色的脸、圆睁的疯狂的眼睛……
Harry suddenly sat bolt upright on the garden bench.
哈利突然坐直了身子。
He had been staring absent-mindedly into the hedge — and the hedge was staring back.
他一直心不在焉地注视着树篱——哈利跳了起来，
Two enormous green eyes had appeared among the leaves.
树叶丛中闪动着两只大得出奇的绿眼睛。
Harry jumped to his feet just as a jeering voice floated across the lawn.
哈利跳了起来，达力摇摇摆摆地走过来。
The huge eyes blinked and vanished.
那对大眼睛忽闪几下，消失了。
“What?” said Harry, not taking his eyes off the spot where they had been.
“什么？”哈利说，眼睛还盯着那个地方。
“I know what day it is,” Dudley repeated, coming right up to him.
“我知道今天是什么日子。”达力又说了一遍，走到他旁边。
“Well done,” said Harry. “So you’ve finally learned the days of the week.”
“很好，”哈利说，“你终于学会了数星期几。”
“Today’s your birthday,” sneered Dudley.
“今天是你的生日！”达力讥讽地说，
“How come you haven’t got any cards?
“你居然没有收到贺卡？
Haven’t you even got friends at that freak place?”
你在那个鬼地方连个朋友都没有吗？”
“Better not let your mum hear you talking about my school,” said Harry coolly.
“最好别让你妈妈听到你说我的学校。”哈利冷冷地说。
Dudley hitched up his trousers, which were slipping down his fat bottom.
达力提了提裤子，那裤子顺着他的胖屁股往下滑。
“Why’re you staring at the hedge?” he said suspiciously.
“你盯着树篱干什么？”他怀疑地问。
“I’m trying to decide what would be the best spell to set it on fire,” said Harry.
“我在想用什么咒语使它燃烧起来。”哈利说。
Dudley stumbled backward at once, a look of panic on his fat face.
达力踉踉跄跄倒退了几步，胖脸上显出惊恐的表情。
“You c-can’t — Dad told you you’re not to do m-magic
“你不——不能——我爸说不许你使魔法
he said he’ll chuck you out of the house
他说要把你赶出去
and you haven’t got anywhere else to go
你没有地方去
you haven’t got any friends to take you —”
没有朋友收留你”
“Jiggery pokery!” said Harry in a fierce voice.
“吉格利玻克利！”哈利厉声说，
“Hocus pocus — squiggly wiggly —”
“霍克斯波克斯……奇格利鬼格利……”
“MUUUUUUM!” howled Dudley, tripping over his feet as he dashed back toward the house.
“妈——妈！”达力嚎叫起来，跌跌撞撞地朝屋里奔去。
“MUUUUM! He’s doing you know what!”
“妈——妈！他又在干那个了！”
Harry paid dearly for his moment of fun.
哈利为这片刻的开心付出了很大的代价。
As neither Dudley nor the hedge was in any way hurt, Aunt Petunia knew he hadn’t really done magic,
由于达力和树篱都安然无恙，佩妮姨妈知道他并没有真的施展魔法，
but he still had to duck as she aimed a heavy blow at his head with the soapy frying pan.
但她仍然用沾着肥皂水的煎锅朝他劈头打来，幸亏他躲得快。
Then she gave him work to do, with the promise he wouldn’t eat again until he’d finished.
然后她支使他去干活，不干完不许吃东西。
