d.
Harry didn't knowwhether he was imagining it or not, but he seemed to keep running into Snapewherever he went. At times, he even wondered whether Snape was following him,trying to catch him on his own. Potions lessons were turning into a sort ofweekly torture, Snape was so horrible to Harry. Could Snape possibly knowthey'd found out about the Sorcerer's Stone? Harry didn't see how he could —yet he sometimes had the horrible feeling that Snape could read minds.
Harry knew, when theywished him good luck outside the locker rooms the next afternoon, that Ron andHermione were wondering whether they'd ever see him alive again. This wasn'twhat you'd call comforting. Harry hardly heard a word of Wood's pep talk as hepulled on his Quidditch robes and picked up his Nimbus Two Thousand.
Ron and Hermione,meanwhile, had found a place in the stands next to Neville, who couldn'tunderstand why they looked so grim and worried, or why they had both broughttheir wands to the match. Little did Harry know that Ron and Hermione had beensecretly practicing the Leg-Locker Curse. They'd gotten the idea from Malfoyusing it on Neville, and were ready to use it on Snape if he showed any sign ofwanting to hurt Harry.
“Now, don't forget, it's Locomotor Mortis,”Hermione muttered as Ron slipped his wand up his sleeve.
“I know,” Ron snapped. “Don't nag.”
Back in the lockerroom, Wood had taken Harry aside.
“Don't want to pressure you, Potter, but ifwe ever need an early capture of the Snitch it's now. Finish the game beforeSnape can favor Hufflepuff too much.”
“The whole school's out there!” said FredWeasley, peering out of the door. “Even — blimey — Dumbledore's come to watch!”
Harry's heart dida somersault.
“Dumbledore?” he said, dashing to the doorto make sure. Fred was right. There was no mistaking that silver beard.
Harry could havelaughed out loud with relief He was safe. There was simply no way that Snapewould dare to try to hurt him if Dumbledore was watching.
Perhaps that waswhy Snape was looking so angry as the teams marched onto the field, somethingthat Ron noticed, too.
“I've never seen Snape look so mean,” hetold Hermione. “Look — they're off. Ouch!”
Someone had pokedRon in the back of the head. It was Malfoy.
“Oh, sorry, Weasley, didn't see you there.”
Malfoy grinnedbroadly at Crabbe and Goyle.
“Wonder how long Potter's going to stay onhis broom this time? Anyone want a bet? What about you, Weasley?”
Ron didn't answer;Snape had just awarded Hufflepuff a penalty because George Weasley had hit aBludger at him. Hermione, who had all her fingers crossed in her lap, wassquinting fixedly at Harry, who was circling the game like a hawk, looking forthe Snitch.
“You know how I think they choose people forthe Gryffindor team?” said Malfoy loudly a few minutes later, as Snape awardedHufflepuff another penalty for no reason at all. “It's people they feel sorryfor. See, there's Potter, who's got no parents, then there's the Weasleys,who've got no money — you should be on the team, Longbottom, you've got nobrains.”
Neville wentbright red but turned in his seat to face Malfoy.
“I'm worth twelve of you, Malfoy,” hestammered.
Malfoy, Crabbe,and Goyle howled with laughter, but Ron, still not daring to take his eyes fromthe game, said, “You tell him, Neville.”
“Longbottom, if brains were gold you'd bepoorer than Weasley, and that's saying something.”
Ron's nerves werealready stretched to the breaking point with anxiety about Harry.
“I'm warning you, Malfoy — one more word—”
“Ron!” said Hermione suddenly, “Harry—”
“What? Where?”
Harry had suddenlygone into a spectacular dive, which drew gasps and cheers from the crowd.Hermione stood up, her crossed fingers in her mouth, as Harry streaked towardthe ground like a bullet.
“You're in luck, Weasley, Potter's obviouslyspotted some money on the ground!” said Malfoy.
Ron snapped.Before Malfoy knew what was happening, Ron was on top of him, wrestling him tothe ground. Neville hesitated, then clambered over the back of his seat tohelp.
“Come on, Harry!” Hermione screamed, leapingonto her seat to watch as Harry sped straight at Snape — she didn't even noticeMalfoy and Ron rolling around under her seat, or the scuffles and yelps comingfrom the whirl of fists that was Neville, Crabbe, and Goyle.
Up in the air,Snape turned on his broomstick just in time to see something scarlet shoot pasthim, missing him by inches — the next second, Harry had pulled out of the dive,his arm raised in triumph, the Snitch clasped in his hand.
The standserupted; it had to be a record, no one could ever remember the Snitch beingcaught so quickly.
“Ron! Ron! Where are you? The game's over!Harry's won! We've won! Gryffindor is in the lead!” shrieked Hermione, dancingup and down on her seat and hugging Parvati Patil in the row in front.
Harry jumped offhis broom, a foot from the ground. He couldn't believe it. He'd done it — thegame was over; it had barely lasted five minutes. As Gryffindors came spillingonto the field, he saw Snape land nearby, white-faced and tight-lipped — thenHarry felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into Dumbledore's smiling face.
“Well done,” said Dumbledore quietly, so thatonly Harry could hear. “Nice to see you haven't been brooding about thatmirror… been keeping busy… excellent…”
Snape spatbitterly on the ground.
Harry left thelocker room alone some time later, to take his Nimbus Two Thousand back to thebroomshed. He couldn't ever remember feeling happier. He'd really donesomething to be proud of now — no one could say he was just a famous name anymore. The evening air had never smelled so sweet. He walked over the dampgrass, reliving the last hour in his head, which was a happy blur: Gryffindorsrunning to lift him onto their shoulders; Ron and Hermione in the distance,jumping up and down, Ron cheering through a heavy nosebleed.
Harry had reachedthe shed. He leaned against the wooden door and looked up at Hogwarts, with itswindows glowing red in the setting sun. Gryffindor in the lead. He'd done it,he'd shown Snape…
And speaking ofSnape…
A hooded figurecame swiftly down the front steps of the castle. Clearly not wanting to beseen, it walked as fast as possible toward the forbidden forest. Harry'svictory faded from his mind as he watched. He recognized the figure's prowlingwalk. Snape, sneaking into the forest while everyone else was at dinner — whatwas going on?
Harry jumped backon his Nimbus Two Thousand and took off. Gliding silently over the castle hesaw Snape enter the forest at a run. He followed.
The trees were sothick he couldn't see where Snape had gone. He flew in circles, lower andlower, brushing the top branches of trees until he heard voices. He glidedtoward them and landed noiselessly in a towering beech tree.
He climbedcarefully along one of the branches, holding tight to his broomstick, trying tosee through the leaves.
Below, in ashadowy clearing, stood Snape, but he wasn't alone. Quirrell was there, too.Harry couldn't make out the look on his face, but he was stuttering worse thanever. Harry strained to catch what they were saying.
“… d-don't know why you wanted t-t-to meethere of all p-places, Severus…”
“Oh, I thought we'd keep this private,” saidSnape, his voice icy. “Students aren't supposed to know about the Sorcerer'sStone, after all.”
Harry leanedforward. Quirrell was mumbling something. Snape interrupted him.
“Have you found out how to get past thatbeast of Hagrid's yet?”
“B-b-but Severus, I—”
“You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell,”said Snape, taking a step toward him.
“I-I don't know what you—”
“You know perfectly well what I mean.”
An owl hootedloudly, and Harry nearly fell out of the tree. He steadied himself in time tohear Snape say, ” — your little bit of hocus-pocus. I'm waiting.”
“B-but I d-d-don't—”
“Very well,” Snape cut in. “We'll haveanother little chat soon, when you've had time to think things over and decidedwhere your loyalties lie.”
He threw his cloakover his head and strode out of the clearing. It was almost dark now, but Harrycould see Quirrell, standing quite still as though he was petrified.
“Harry, where have you been ?” Hermionesqueaked.
“We won! You won! We won!” shouted Ron,thumping Harry on the back. “And I gave Malfoy a black eye, and Neville triedto take on Crabbe and Goyle single-handed! He's still out cold but MadamPomfrey says he'll be all right — talk about showing Slytherin! I've waitingfor you in the common room, we're having a party, Fred and George stole somecakes and stuff from the kitchens.”
“Never mind that now,” said Harrybreathlessly. “Let's find an empty room, you wait ‘til you hear this…”
He made surePeeves wasn't inside before shutting the door behind them, then he told themwhat he'd seen and heard.
“So we were right, it is the Sorcerer'sStone, and Snape's trying to force Quirrell to help him get it. He asked if heknew how to get past Fluffy — and he said something about Quirrell's ‘hocuspocus’ — I reckon there are other things guarding the stone apart from Fluffy,loads of enchantments, probably, and Quirrell would have done some anti-DarkArts spell that Snape needs to break through—”
“So you mean the Stone's only safe as longas Quirrell stands up to Snape?” said Hermione in alarm.
“It'll be gone by next Tuesday,” said Ron. (这段实在是太长了，大家想看就看吧，我就不吐槽了(以后只有我自己在看哈哈))
Harry didn't knowwhether he was imagining it or not, but he seemed to keep running into Snapewherever he went. At times, he even wondered whether Snape was following him,trying to catch him on his own. Potions lessons were turning into a sort ofweekly torture, Snape was so horrible to Harry. Could Snape possibly knowthey'd found out about the Sorcerer's Stone? Harry didn't see how he could —yet he sometimes had the horrible feeling that Snape could read minds.
Harry knew, when theywished him good luck outside the locker rooms the next afternoon, that Ron andHermione were wondering whether they'd ever see him alive again. This wasn'twhat you'd call comforting. Harry hardly heard a word of Wood's pep talk as hepulled on his Quidditch robes and picked up his Nimbus Two Thousand.
Ron and Hermione,meanwhile, had found a place in the stands next to Neville, who couldn'tunderstand why they looked so grim and worried, or why they had both broughttheir wands to the match. Little did Harry know that Ron and Hermione had beensecretly practicing the Leg-Locker Curse. They'd gotten the idea from Malfoyusing it on Neville, and were ready to use it on Snape if he showed any sign ofwanting to hurt Harry.
“Now, don't forget, it's Locomotor Mortis,”Hermione muttered as Ron slipped his wand up his sleeve.
“I know,” Ron snapped. “Don't nag.”
Back in the lockerroom, Wood had taken Harry aside.
“Don't want to pressure you, Potter, but ifwe ever need an early capture of the Snitch it's now. Finish the game beforeSnape can favor Hufflepuff too much.”
“The whole school's out there!” said FredWeasley, peering out of the door. “Even — blimey — Dumbledore's come to watch!”
Harry's heart dida somersault.
“Dumbledore?” he said, dashing to the doorto make sure. Fred was right. There was no mistaking that silver beard.
Harry could havelaughed out loud with relief He was safe. There was simply no way that Snapewould dare to try to hurt him if Dumbledore was watching.
Perhaps that waswhy Snape was looking so angry as the teams marched onto the field, somethingthat Ron noticed, too.
“I've never seen Snape look so mean,” hetold Hermione. “Look — they're off. Ouch!”
Someone had pokedRon in the back of the head. It was Malfoy.
“Oh, sorry, Weasley, didn't see you there.”
Malfoy grinnedbroadly at Crabbe and Goyle.
“Wonder how long Potter's going to stay onhis broom this time? Anyone want a bet? What about you, Weasley?”
Ron didn't answer;Snape had just awarded Hufflepuff a penalty because George Weasley had hit aBludger at him. Hermione, who had all her fingers crossed in her lap, wassquinting fixedly at Harry, who was circling the game like a hawk, looking forthe Snitch.
“You know how I think they choose people forthe Gryffindor team?” said Malfoy loudly a few minutes later, as Snape awardedHufflepuff another penalty for no reason at all. “It's people they feel sorryfor. See, there's Potter, who's got no parents, then there's the Weasleys,who've got no money — you should be on the team, Longbottom, you've got nobrains.”
Neville wentbright red but turned in his seat to face Malfoy.
“I'm worth twelve of you, Malfoy,” hestammered.
Malfoy, Crabbe,and Goyle howled with laughter, but Ron, still not daring to take his eyes fromthe game, said, “You tell him, Neville.”
“Longbottom, if brains were gold you'd bepoorer than Weasley, and that's saying something.”
Ron's nerves werealready stretched to the breaking point with anxiety about Harry.
“I'm warning you, Malfoy — one more word—”
“Ron!” said Hermione suddenly, “Harry—”
“What? Where?”
Harry had suddenlygone into a spectacular dive, which drew gasps and cheers from the crowd.Hermione stood up, her crossed fingers in her mouth, as Harry streaked towardthe ground like a bullet.
“You're in luck, Weasley, Potter's obviouslyspotted some money on the ground!” said Malfoy.
Ron snapped.Before Malfoy knew what was happening, Ron was on top of him, wrestling him tothe ground. Neville hesitated, then clambered over the back of his seat tohelp.
“Come on, Harry!” Hermione screamed, leapingonto her seat to watch as Harry sped straight at Snape — she didn't even noticeMalfoy and Ron rolling around under her seat, or the scuffles and yelps comingfrom the whirl of fists that was Neville, Crabbe, and Goyle.
Up in the air,Snape turned on his broomstick just in time to see something scarlet shoot pasthim, missing him by inches — the next second, Harry had pulled out of the dive,his arm raised in triumph, the Snitch clasped in his hand.
The standserupted; it had to be a record, no one could ever remember the Snitch beingcaught so quickly.
“Ron! Ron! Where are you? The game's over!Harry's won! We've won! Gryffindor is in the lead!” shrieked Hermione, dancingup and down on her seat and hugging Parvati Patil in the row in front.
Harry jumped offhis broom, a foot from the ground. He couldn't believe it. He'd done it — thegame was over; it had barely lasted five minutes. As Gryffindors came spillingonto the field, he saw Snape land nearby, white-faced and tight-lipped — thenHarry felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into Dumbledore's smiling face.
“Well done,” said Dumbledore quietly, so thatonly Harry could hear. “Nice to see you haven't been brooding about thatmirror… been keeping busy… excellent…”
Snape spatbitterly on the ground.
Harry left thelocker room alone some time later, to take his Nimbus Two Thousand back to thebroomshed. He couldn't ever remember feeling happier. He'd really donesomething to be proud of now — no one could say he was just a famous name anymore. The evening air had never smelled so sweet. He walked over the dampgrass, reliving the last hour in his head, which was a happy blur: Gryffindorsrunning to lift him onto their shoulders; Ron and Hermione in the distance,jumping up and down, Ron cheering through a heavy nosebleed.
Harry had reachedthe shed. He leaned against the wooden door and looked up at Hogwarts, with itswindows glowing red in the setting sun. Gryffindor in the lead. He'd done it,he'd shown Snape…
And speaking ofSnape…
A hooded figurecame swiftly down the front steps of the castle. Clearly not wanting to beseen, it walked as fast as possible toward the forbidden forest. Harry'svictory faded from his mind as he watched. He recognized the figure's prowlingwalk. Snape, sneaking into the forest while everyone else was at dinner — whatwas going on?
Harry jumped backon his Nimbus Two Thousand and took off. Gliding silently over the castle hesaw Snape enter the forest at a run. He followed.
The trees were sothick he couldn't see where Snape had gone. He flew in circles, lower andlower, brushing the top branches of trees until he heard voices. He glidedtoward them and landed noiselessly in a towering beech tree.
He climbedcarefully along one of the branches, holding tight to his broomstick, trying tosee through the leaves.
Below, in ashadowy clearing, stood Snape, but he wasn't alone. Quirrell was there, too.Harry couldn't make out the look on his face, but he was stuttering worse thanever. Harry strained to catch what they were saying.
“… d-don't know why you wanted t-t-to meethere of all p-places, Severus…”
“Oh, I thought we'd keep this private,” saidSnape, his voice icy. “Students aren't supposed to know about the Sorcerer'sStone, after all.”
Harry leanedforward. Quirrell was mumbling something. Snape interrupted him.
“Have you found out how to get past thatbeast of Hagrid's yet?”
“B-b-but Severus, I—”
“You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell,”said Snape, taking a step toward him.
“I-I don't know what you—”
“You know perfectly well what I mean.”
An owl hootedloudly, and Harry nearly fell out of the tree. He steadied himself in time tohear Snape say, ” — your little bit of hocus-pocus. I'm waiting.”
“B-but I d-d-don't—”
“Very well,” Snape cut in. “We'll haveanother little chat soon, when you've had time to think things over and decidedwhere your loyalties lie.”
He threw his cloakover his head and strode out of the clearing. It was almost dark now, but Harrycould see Quirrell, standing quite still as though he was petrified.
“Harry, where have you been ?” Hermionesqueaked.
“We won! You won! We won!” shouted Ron,thumping Harry on the back. “And I gave Malfoy a black eye, and Neville triedto take on Crabbe and Goyle single-handed! He's still out cold but MadamPomfrey says he'll be all right — talk about showing Slytherin! I've waitingfor you in the common room, we're having a party, Fred and George stole somecakes and stuff from the kitchens.”
“Never mind that now,” said Harrybreathlessly. “Let's find an empty room, you wait ‘til you hear this…”
He made surePeeves wasn't inside before shutting the door behind them, then he told themwhat he'd seen and heard.
“So we were right, it is the Sorcerer'sStone, and Snape's trying to force Quirrell to help him get it. He asked if heknew how to get past Fluffy — and he said something about Quirrell's ‘hocuspocus’ — I reckon there are other things guarding the stone apart from Fluffy,loads of enchantments, probably, and Quirrell would have done some anti-DarkArts spell that Snape needs to break through—”
“So you mean the Stone's only safe as longas Quirrell stands up to Snape?” said Hermione in alarm.
“It'll be gone by next Tuesday,” said Ron. (这段实在是太长了，大家想看就看吧，我就不吐槽了(以后只有我自己在看哈哈))
