September—explosive roars of the train wheels kicked off a new school year.
九月，火车的轰鸣声开启了新的学年。
Platform 9¾ bustled: some Hogwarts students chattered excitedly about the new term; some first-years clung to their parents, reluctant to part; others clambered onto the train with friends, while a few lingered to say goodbye to their families.
9¾站台，人来人往。有的霍格沃茨学生因为开学而开心，有的新生不舍与家中分开，有的与好友并肩上火车，有的与父母不舍惜别。
“Bye, Mum! Bye, Dad!” Evelyn pushed her trunk onto the train.
“再见妈妈，再见爸爸！”伊芙林推着装有行李的车登上了火车。
Nearly every compartment on the train was packed.
火车的每个车厢几乎都满了。
Evelyn finally found an empty compartment in one carriage. She pushed the door open and sat down.
伊芙林终于在一节车厢找到了空的包厢，她推开门坐了进去。
“Evelyn?” Yaslin gasped. She wore an old wizard’s robe—hand-me-down from her older sister.
“伊芙林？”雅思林惊呼。她穿着旧巫师袍，那是她姐姐穿旧剩下的。
“Yaslin? You’re finally here! Have you seen Daniel?” Evelyn looked surprised, as if she hadn’t expected to run into Yaslin here.
“雅思林？你终于来了，看见丹尼尔了吗？”伊芙林有些惊喜，似乎没料到她和雅思林能在这里碰上。
“Your wizard’s robe is lovely,” Yaslin said, a hint of envy in her voice as she stared at Evelyn’s robe.
“你的巫师袍真漂亮。”雅思林有些羡慕，她看着伊芙林身上的巫师袍。
“Thank you!” Evelyn smiled, two sweet dimples forming on her cheeks.
“谢谢你！”伊芙林笑了一下，脸上有两个甜甜的梨涡。
“Ugh, thank Merlin—I thought I’d suffocate out there.” Fawkes grumbled as he dragged Daniel into the compartment and flopped onto the sofa.
“哦，谢天谢地，老天没让我憋死。”法斯克一边抱怨，一边把丹尼尔拉进了包厢坐到沙发上。
The scenery outside the train window shifted constantly: endless green fields faded into dark green ancient forests, then into a bustling, colorful town. Every so often, scattered cottages could be spotted on the hillsides.
火车外的场景不断变换，从无际且苍翠的田野变成墨绿的古老的森林，一眨眼又变成五彩斑斓拥簇的城镇，时不时又能在山峦上找到七零八落的小屋。
“Fawkes? I thought you’d dropped dead after a summer apart.” Evelyn teased.
“法斯克？一个暑假没见面我以为你死了。”伊芙林调侃道。
Daniel sat quietly beside Evelyn. “He went to Australia to visit his aunt.”
丹尼尔默默坐在伊芙林身边道：“他去澳大利亚拜访他的姑妈。”
“Right—I stayed for two months because my aunt broke her leg.” Fawkes sat down, fidgeting, and started snapping his fingers.
“没错，我待了2个月，因为我姑妈的腿摔断住院了。”法斯克坐下来，似是闲不住，便开始扣手。
“That’s terrible.” Evelyn said.
“那很坏了。”伊芙林道。
Yaslin felt out of place. She didn’t know Fawkes, but could tell he was a rich kid.
雅思林有些格格不入，她并不认识法斯克，但能猜出来法斯克是有钱人局的孩子。
Evelyn noticed Yaslin’s unease and spoke up: “Yaslin, this is Fawkes McLaren.”
伊芙林注意到雅思林的小情绪，便开口：“雅思林，这是法斯克·麦克米兰。”
“Hi, Fawkes. I’m Yaslin Yorbeda.” Yaslin smiled, revealing two tiger teeth.
“你好，法斯克，我叫雅思·林。”雅思林笑了笑，露出两颗虎牙。
“Fawkes, this is Yaslin Yorbeda.” Evelyn turned to introduce Yaslin to Fawkes.
“法斯克，这个是雅思林·约尔贝达。”伊芙林扭头对着法斯克介绍。
“I know. Her mum’s a servant at Daniel’s place. I saw her when I visited Daniel before—she’s super nice.” Fawkes rambled on.
“我知道，她母亲在丹尼尔家当长工，之前我找丹尼尔玩，见过她母亲，挺和善的。”法斯克滔滔不绝。
“Alright, Fawkes—calm down! Can’t you stay quiet for a second?” Evelyn said irritably to Fawkes.
“好啦，法斯克，你静一静吧，你怎么闲不住一点！”伊芙林不耐烦地对法斯克说。
“Fine, I’ll be quiet for a bit.” Fawkes pretended to look sad and closed his eyes.
“行，那我安静一会。”法斯克佯装伤心，闭上了眼。
“What time is it? I should probably stay quiet now.” Fawkes said.
“几时了？我应该安静好了。”法斯克道。
“I feel like I’ve been stuck here for ten thousand years—it’s so boring.” Fawkes laughed, rambling about trivial things.
“我感觉像过了十万年，太无聊了。”法斯克笑着分享一些琐碎的事。
“It’s only been three minutes. Be quiet.” Evelyn stuffed a piece of bread into Fawkes’ mouth.
“才过去3分钟，你安静点。”伊芙林把面包塞进法斯克的嘴里。
“Pipe down.” Daniel sounded annoyed. “You’re really loud.”
“消停点吧。”丹尼尔有些烦了，真的很吵。
“Mmm… mmm…” Fawkes finally swallowed the bread. “You lot are used to this, huh?”
“呜…呜…”法斯克好不容易把面包咽下去，又道：“你们习惯就好了。”
Daniel was usually the quiet one, but today Fawkes was chattier than ever.
丹尼尔尽管话很少了，但今天法斯克比往日有更多的话讲。
Evelyn and Daniel silently put in earplugs and closed their eyes.不约而同, they thought: Out of sight, out of mind.
伊芙林和丹尼尔默默戴上耳塞，又把眼睛闭上，不约而同的在心里想（眼不见为净）。
Yaslin sat upright, bored, but didn’t know what to say.
雅思·林端正坐着发呆，她很无聊，却不知道说什么。
“What’s your problem?” Fawkes, feeling snubbed, turned and rested his chin in his hands, staring at Yaslin. “When’s your birthday?”
“你们两个什么意思？”法斯克自讨没趣，扭过头，用手捧着脸盯着雅思林看：“你生日什么时候？”
“Huh?” Yaslin was confused. She hadn’t expected Fawkes to talk to her.
“啊？”雅思·林有点懵，她没料到法斯克会找她搭话。
“Hello? Yaslin?” Fawkes waved his hand in front of Yaslin’s eyes. “Fine, let’s change the question.”
“喂？雅思·林？”法斯克用手在雅思·林眼前晃了晃：“那换个问题。”
“May 10th.” Yaslin answered quickly.
“5月10。”雅思林急忙开口。
(I just realized Fawkes’ voice is so nice—softer and more sensual than Daniel’s, a little ticklish.)
（我才发现法斯克的声音这么好听，比丹尼尔的声音还要小性感，有点痒痒的感觉。）
“July 25th is mine.” Fawkes looked confused at first, then glanced at Yaslin’s stiff posture and realized May 10th was her birthday.
“7月25是我生日。”法斯克刚开始不明所以，然后瞟到雅思·林僵硬硬的身体，明白过来5月10是雅思林生日。
“So you’ll celebrate at school?” Yaslin asked.
“那你是在学校过？”雅思林问道。
“No, that weekend I’m supposed to go to Diagon Alley.”
“不，那天周末，我应该去莫格莫德。”
“First-years aren’t allowed to go alone.”
“一年级新生不能擅自去的。”
“How do you know that?”
“你怎么知道的？”
“It says so in the school handbook.”
“入学手册上说了的。”
“Oh, then celebrating at school isn’t bad either.” Fawkes said.
“哦，那在学校过也不错的。”法斯克道。
“Which house do you hope to be sorted into?” Fawkes suddenly asked. “I’m definitely getting Slytherin—my parents would kill me if I end up anywhere else.”
“你希望分到哪个学院？”法斯克突然问道：“我肯定是斯莱特林的，要是分到其它学院我父母会被气死。”
“Me? Hufflepuff or Gryffindor.” Yaslin hesitated, touching her chin and staring straight out the window, lost in thought.
“我吗？赫奇帕奇或格兰芬多。”雅思·林真的开始抉择，摸着下巴，直直的望向窗外，若有所思。
By the time the train reached Hogwarts, it was night. The sky was like black silk, the Milky Way swirling, a few scattered stars blinking, and the moon’s silver veil resting on the lake’s surface. Wind stirred the treetops, and leaves drifted into the water.
火车到霍格沃茨时已经晚上了，夜空宛如黑色的绸布，银河荡漾着，零散的几颗星一眨不眨，月亮的影子沉睡在湖面，风带起了树叶落到水中。
First-years followed Hagrid for a short walk. Hagrid was a giant with a big beard, strong but kind. Evelyn had heard a fifth-year on the train say Hagrid was gentle, had a childlike heart, and owned a dog named Fang.
一年级新生在海格的带领下走了一段路，海格是一位有着大胡子，但很强壮的巨人，他很和善。伊芙林听火车上的五年级学生说海格为人善良，有一颗童真的心，还养了一只狗叫牙牙。
Due to Hogwarts tradition, first-years must take boats across the Black Lake to the castle. So many first-years were nervous.
由于霍格沃茨的传统，一年级新生是一定要乘船从黑湖前往霍格沃茨的，因此许多的一年级新生很期待。
Hagrid hung lanterns one by one on the boats; on the dark lake, they bloomed like starlight. The first-years boarded the boats in groups.
海格把油灯一一挂到船上，在漆黑的湖面开成一朵朵星光，新生们分批坐在船上。
Hagrid’s rough voice boomed: “Be careful—don’t fall in or you’ll turn into a drowned rat!”
海格粗厚的嗓音响起：“小心点，别掉水里变成落汤鸡。”
The boats glided slowly across the lake.
船在湖面上一点点向前。
“We’ll see Hogwarts soon.”
“待会就能见到霍格沃茨了。”
“Yeah! I’m so excited.”
“是啊！我很期待的。”
“Wonder which house we’ll get into.”
“不知道我们会分到哪个学院。”
“Maybe Gryffindor. Ravenclaw’s nice too.”
“也许格兰芬多，拉文克劳也不错。”
……
A few girls chatted on the boat, led y one named Peyton Rio Seward be in Slytherin.”
佩蒂掐着嗓子用尖细的声音道：“斯莱特林才是最好的，我一定会是斯莱特林的。”
“Not necessarily. Look at that smug face—ridiculous.” Faire said haughtily, openly badmouthing Peyton to Seraphina.
“不一定吧，瞧瞧那自豪样！
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