谢谢，赫敏

Maya Murthy 景一

I remember her hair， bushy and brown， framing her face， high-lighting her bright eyes. I gazed at her， brow furrowed1 as I struggled to understand why my dad was lying to me.

我记得她的头发，是浓密的棕色，笼着她的脸，突显出她明亮的眼睛。我凝视着她，皱着眉头，使劲地想为什么我的父亲对我撒谎。

He said it again that the girl on the screen， Hermione， reminded him of me. But with my black hair， black eyes， and brown skin， how could I look like that girl on the screen？

他又说了一遍，屏幕上的女孩赫敏让他想到了我。但是我是黑头发，黑眼睛，棕色的皮肤，我怎么会像屏幕上的那个女孩呢？

“Shes just like you， Maya！” Does he never tire of the deception2？ I was about to call him a liar when I heard her speak. Her words were as miraculously large as the books she dragged3 through the hallways， and she seemed to be so much wiser than the two boys she befriended4. After all， she was the one who could make the feather float easily; she was the one who found out about the Sorcerers Stone.

“她跟你一样，玛雅！”他不觉得总是欺骗很令人厌烦吗？当我听到她说话时，我正要说父亲是个骗子。她的话的效果像她穿过走廊时吃力地拿着的书堆一样出乎意料地大，并且她似乎比她当做朋友的两个男孩聪明得多。毕竟，她是那个能轻而易举地使羽毛飘浮起来的人;她是那个调查出魔法石的人。

No， Hermione Granger wasnt me at all; she was everything I wanted to be as a four-year-old watching “Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone”.

不，赫敏·格兰杰根本不是我，她是我四岁时看《哈利·波特与魔法石》时想成为的人。

“I love her，” I whispered， my full attention was on the girl on the screen. Hermione Granger gave me the inspiration5. At age six， I was more forceful， more headstrong—more like my forgotten hero Hermione. Two years was one-third of my life span， and the girl with the bushy brown hair who could do anything had become a wisp6 of a memory. Summer had arrived， and I found myself in a house I hated on principle; no house could replace our home of the last five years. I had no friends after a year at my new elementary school， and I was lonely.

“我喜欢她，”我低声说，我全神贯注地注视着屏幕上的女孩。格兰杰给了我鼓舞。六岁的时候，我变得更加坚强，更勇往直前——更像我遗忘了的英雄赫敏。两年是我生命长度的三分之一，那个有着浓密的棕色头发，什么都难不倒的女孩已经成为我记忆中的一小部分。夏天到了，我搬到了一个原则上我很讨厌的房子里;没有一所房子可以取代我们过去五年的家。我在转到新的小学后的一年里没有朋友，我很孤独。

I can remember stacks7 of green books， half missing， though it had been just hours since they were placed on the shelves. My grandfather bought the first five in the series for me， saying， “I know how much you like to read.”

我還记得成堆的绿色的书，虽然它们放在书架上才几个小时，但有一半不见了。我祖父给我买了系列的前五本，说：“我知道你有多喜欢读书。”

I pursed8 my lips. Reading was what got me into this mess. Maybe if I read less I would actually be hanging out with friends. But I decided to try the series anyway.

我噘起嘴唇。正是读书让我陷入了困境。也许如果我少看点书，我就会和朋友出去逛逛。但我还是决定试试这个系列。

As I read， I found myself again. Here was a girl who， despite being bookish9， made friends， a girl who knew so much， who read as much as I did， a girl who spoke her mind and could do anything！ As I devoured the series， I felt the burning of something that I hadnt felt in a while， not since I had left my old life and my friends a year ago.

當我读书的时候，我又发现了自己。这是一个尽管很书呆子气、但还是交到了朋友的女孩;是一个无所不知的、书读得和我一样多的女孩;是一个能说出她的想法并能做到任何事情的女孩！当我狼吞虎咽地读完那个系列时，我内心感到了自一年前告别旧生活和朋友以来从未有过的灼热的感觉。

Hermione Granger gave me hope.

赫敏·格兰杰给了我希望。

I have friends now， people I would die for， people who are the reason I get out of bed when its still dark outside. I go to school and try to learn everything. I want to be able to do anything， and it is my firm belief that a working knowledge of all subjects is an essential part of life. My heroes arent actors or politicians. My hero is a girl whom I modeled my life after. She is a girl who tried to learn everything but never had many friends， a girl who would do anything for the few friends she had， a girl who became a hero without wanting to， without trying to.

我现在有了朋友，有了我会为之付出生命的人，有了成为我起早贪黑的理由的人。我去上学并努力学习。我希望能做到任何事情，并且我坚信，所有学科的实用知识是生活的重要组成部分。我的英雄不是演员或政治家。我的英雄是一个女孩，我想像她那样生活。她是一个试图学会一切、但从来朋友不多的女孩，一个会为她仅有的几个朋友做任何事情的女孩，一个并不想要也并未去尝试成为英雄，但却成为了英雄的女孩。

Hermione Granger was my hero.

赫敏·格兰杰是我的英雄。