两人坐在温暖的壁炉旁,海格给她倒了杯滚烫的、浓得发苦的红茶(加了至少三块方糖才勉强能入口),牙牙趴在索菲亚脚边,满足地打着呼噜。聊了聊牙牙最近的“壮举”,又追着一只隐形兽跑了大半个禁林边缘,结果撞树上晕了半天,又聊了聊城堡里的趣事。索菲亚看着窗外海格小屋后面那片被栅栏围起来的、覆盖着霜雪的广阔土地,一个酝酿已久的念头忍不住想和海格唠唠。
“海格,那片菜园真大,”索菲亚由衷地说,“都是你一个人在照料吗?”
海格直起身,脸上露出自豪的笑容:“哦,是啊!那可费了我不少功夫!Oh, yes! That takes quite a bit o' work!” 他走到窗边,指着外面,“看到那些田垄了吗?我种了南瓜、土豆、卷心菜、胡萝卜……霍格沃茨厨房用的不少南瓜和一部分根茎蔬菜,就是从我这儿供应的!You see those rows? I grow pumpkins, potatoes, cabbages, carrots… Hogwarts Kitchen gets a fair number of its pumpkins and some root veggies right from here! 家养小精灵们手艺是好,但新鲜食材总得有人种不是?虽然城堡大部分食材还是采购的,但我能帮上忙就很高兴了!House-elves are wonderful cooks, but someone's got to grow the fresh stuff, right? Though the castle gets most of its supplies elsewhere, I'm glad to help where I can!”
“海格,我特别喜欢草药学,也很喜欢种东西。我在家时,家里的小院子就是我的乐园。我能不能在你这里,划一小块地方?就一小块!我想自己种点东西试试。普通蔬菜水果就行,还有一些像白鲜(Dittany)那样常见的、好种的魔法植物。” 她的语气充满了热切。
海格愣了一下,随即脸上绽开巨大的笑容,眼睛眯成了缝:“Of course you can, Sophia! 当然可以,索菲亚!”他洪亮的声音充满了惊喜,“That's a smashing idea! Love to see young ones interested in the earth! 这主意太棒了!看到年轻人对土地感兴趣真是太好了!”他毫不犹豫地指向菜园靠近森林边缘、相对平坦又阳光充足的一角,“你看那边!那块地方阳光好,土是我特意改良过的,肥得很!就是离我堆点杂物近了点,你不嫌弃的话,尽管拿去用!想种什么就种什么!See over there! That spot gets good sun, soil's specially improved by me, nice and rich! Bit close to where I stack some bits and bobs, but if you don't mind, it's all yours! Plant whatever you like!”
海格的爽快让索菲亚喜出望外。“太感谢你了,海格!Thank you so much, Hagrid!”她激动地说。
“小事一桩!Not a problem!”海格豪爽地摆摆手,“种子好办,斯普劳特教授(Sprout)那儿肯定有白鲜种子,她人最好了!你需要普通蔬菜种子,我这儿还有些剩下的,或者下次去霍格莫德或者城里帮你捎点!Seeds are easy, Professor Sprout'll have Dittany seeds for sure, she's lovely! Need regular veg seeds? I might have some spares, or I can pick some up next Hogsmeade visit!”
太开心了,没想到海格这么爽快。自己要开始在霍格沃茨的种田生活了。格沃茨的种田生活了。