哈利·波特与混血王子
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

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    CHAPTER TEN THE HOUSE OF GAUNT
    第十章　冈特老宅
    
    
    For the rest of the week’s Potions lessons Harry continued to follow the Half-Blood Prince’s instructions wherever they deviated from Libatius Borage’s, with the result that by their fourth lesson Slughorn was raving about Harry’s abilities, saying that he had rarely taught anyone so talented. Neither Ron nor Hermione was delighted by this. Although Harry had offered to share his book with both of them, Ron had more difficulty deciphering the handwriting than Harry did, and could not keep asking Harry to read aloud or it might look suspicious. Hermione, meanwhile, was resolutely plowing on with what she called the “official” instructions, but becoming increasingly bad-tempered as they yielded poorer results than the Prince’s.
    这星期后来几节魔药课上，每一次混血王子对利巴修·波拉奇的课本提出异议，哈利就按混血王子的建议去做，结果在上第四节魔药课时，斯拉格霍恩对哈利的能力赞不绝口，说他很少教过这么有天分的学生。罗恩和赫敏对此都不太高兴。尽管哈利把他的书拿出来与他俩共享，但罗恩不能像哈利那么熟练地辨认那些字迹，又不能总是叫哈利念出声来给他听，免得惹人怀疑。赫敏呢，她毫不动摇地按照她所说的“正式”指南去操作，结果熬制出的魔药远不如按照王子的那些说明去操作的令人满意，所以她的脾气越来越坏。
    Harry wondered vaguely who the Half-Blood Prince had been. Although the amount of homework they had been given prevented him from reading the whole of his copy of Advanced Potion-Making, he had skimmed through it sufficiently to see that there was barely a page on which the Prince had not made additional notes, not all of them concerned with potion-making. Here and there were directions for what looked like spells that the Prince had made up himself.
    哈利暗暗猜测这位混血王子到底是什么人。由于家庭作业太多，他还没能把那本《高级魔药制作》仔细研读一遍，但他已经从头到尾大致翻了翻，发现王子几乎在每一页上都添加了笔记，而且那些笔记并不都与魔药制作有关。有一些说明看上去像是王子自己编的咒语。
    “Or herself,” said Hermione irritably, overhearing Harry pointing some of these out to Ron in the common room on Saturday evening. “It might have been a girl. I think the handwriting looks more like a girl’s than a boy’s.”
    “说不定那是个女人呢，”一个星期六的晚上，赫敏在公共休息室里听哈利把那些咒语说给罗恩听的时候，不耐烦地说，“也可能是个女生。我觉得那笔记不像男生的，更像女生的。”
    “The Half-Blood Prince, he was called,” Harry said. “How many girls have been Princes?”
    “他叫‘混血王子’。”哈利说，“有多少女生管自己叫王子？”
    Hermione seemed to have no answer to this. She merely scowled and twitched her essay on The Principles of Rematerialization away from Ron, who was trying to read it upside down.
    赫敏似乎无言以对。她只是皱起眉头，一把抽走了她写的那篇题目叫《幽灵显形的原理》的文章，罗恩正倒着偷看呢。
    Harry looked at his watch and hurriedly put the old copy of Advanced Potion-Making back into his bag.
    哈利看了看表，急忙把他那本《高级魔药制作》旧课本塞进了书包。
    “It’s five to eight, I’d better go, I’ll be late for Dumbledore.”
    “八点差五分了，我得赶紧走，到邓布利多那儿要迟到了。”
    “Ooooh!” gasped Hermione, looking up at once. “Good luck! We’ll wait up, we want to hear what he teaches you!”
    “哟！”赫敏吃了一惊，立刻抬起头，“祝你好运！我们会一直等你回来。我们想听听他会教你什么。”
    “Hope it goes okay,” said Ron, and the pair of them watched Harry leave through the portrait hole.
    “希望一切顺利。”罗恩说，然后他们俩目送哈利从肖像洞口离开了。
    Harry proceeded through deserted corridors, though he had to step hastily behind a statue when Professor Trelawney appeared around a corner, muttering to herself as she shuffled a pack of dirty-looking playing cards, reading them as she walked.
    哈利快步穿过空无一人的走廊，突然，他看见特里劳妮教授转过拐角，手里洗着一副脏兮兮的扑克牌，一边读着牌上的点数，一边自言自语，哈利赶紧闪身躲到一座雕像后面。
    “Two of spades: conflict,” she murmured, as she passed the place where Harry crouched, hidden. “Seven of spades: an ill omen. Ten of spades: violence. Knave of spades: a dark young man, possibly troubled, one who dislikes the questioner —”
    “黑桃2：冲突；”她走过哈利躲藏的地方时，嘴里念念有词地说，“黑桃7：凶兆；黑桃10：暴力；黑桃杰克：一个黑头发的年轻人，很可能心烦意乱，不愿意别人审问他——”
    She stopped dead, right on the other side of Harry’s statue.
    她停住脚，就站在哈利藏身的那座雕像的另一边。
    “Well, that can’t be right,” she said, annoyed, and Harry heard her reshuffling vigorously as she set off again, leaving nothing but a whiff of cooking sherry behind her. Harry waited until he was quite sure she had gone, then hurried off again until he reached the spot in the seventh-floor corridor where a single gargoyle stood against the wall.
    “唉，这肯定不对。”她烦恼地说，哈利听见她一边起劲地重新洗牌，一边又往前走去，只在身后留下一股雪利料酒的气味。哈利一直等到确信她已经走远了，才赶紧拔腿离开雕像，一直走到八楼走廊里有只单独的石头怪兽的地方。
    “Acid Pops,” said Harry, and the gargoyle leapt aside; the wall behind it slid apart, and a moving spiral stone staircase was revealed, onto which Harry stepped, so that he was carried in smooth circles up to the door with the brass knocker that led to Dumbledore’s office.
    “酸味汽水。”哈利说。石头怪兽跳到一旁，它身后的墙壁裂成了两半，露出后面的一道活动的螺旋型楼梯。哈利跨了上去，随着楼梯一圈圈地旋转，越升越高，最后来到了那扇带有黄铜门环的邓布利多办公室门前。
    Harry knocked.
    哈利敲了敲门。
    “Come in,” said Dumbledore’s voice.
    “请进。”是邓布利多的声音。
    “Good evening, sir,” said Harry, walking into the headmaster’s office.
    “晚上好，先生。”哈利说着走进了校长办公室。
    “Ah, good evening, Harry. Sit down,” said Dumbledore, smiling. “I hope you’ve had an enjoyable first week back at school?”
    “啊，晚上好，哈利。坐下吧，”邓布利多笑眯眯地说，“我想，开学第一个星期你过得很愉快吧？”
    “Yes, thanks, sir,” said Harry.
    “是的，先生，谢谢。”哈利说。
    “You must have been busy, a detention under your belt already!”
    “你一定很忙啊，已经吃了一个禁闭了！”
    “Er,” began Harry awkwardly, but Dumbledore did not look too stern.
    “嗯……”哈利不知道该说什么，不过邓布利多的表情并不是很严厉。
    “I have arranged with Professor Snape that you will do your detention next Saturday instead.”
    “我已经跟斯内普说好了，你下个星期六再去关禁闭。”
    “Right,” said Harry, who had more pressing matters on his mind than Snape’s detention, and now looked around surreptitiously for some indication of what Dumbledore was planning to do with him this evening. The circular office looked just as it always did; the delicate silver instruments stood on spindle-legged tables, puffing smoke and whirring; portraits of previous headmasters and headmistresses dozed in their frames, and Dumbledore’s magnificent phoenix, Fawkes, stood on his perch behind the door, watching Harry with bright interest. It did not even look as though Dumbledore had cleared a space for dueling practice.
    “好的。”哈利说道，他脑子里装着更要紧的事情，顾不上去想斯内普的禁闭。他偷偷打量着四周，想猜出邓布利多这个晚上叫他来做什么。这间圆形办公室看上去还和往常一样：细长腿的桌子上摆着许多精致的银器，它们旋转着，喷出一小股一小股的烟雾。那些男男女女老校长们的肖像都在各自的相框里打着瞌睡。邓布利多那只气派非凡的凤凰福克斯站在门后的栖枝上，兴趣盎然地注视着哈利。看样子，邓布利多并没有腾出一个练习格斗的地方。
    “So, Harry,” said Dumbledore, in a businesslike voice. “You have been wondering, I am sure, what I have planned for you during these — for want of a better word — lessons?”
    “我想，哈利，”邓布利多用一本正经的口吻说，“你肯定在纳闷，我打算怎么给你——没有更好的说法——上课？”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “是的，先生。”
    “Well, I have decided that it is time, now that you know what prompted Lord Voldemort to try and kill you fifteen years ago, for you to be given certain information.”
    “是这样，既然你已经知道十五年前是什么促使伏地魔对你下毒手的，我认为现在应该让你了解一些情况了。”
    There was a pause.
    片刻的停顿。
    “You said, at the end of last term, you were going to tell me everything,” said Harry. It was hard to keep a note of accusation from his voice. “Sir,” he added.
    “上学期结束时，你就说要把一切都告诉我的。”哈利说。他很难消除自己话里所带的一点儿责怪口气。“先生。”他又找补道。
    “And so I did,” said Dumbledore placidly. “I told you everything I know. From this point forth, we shall be leaving the firm foundation of fact and journeying together through the murky marshes of memory into thickets of wildest guesswork. From here on in, Harry, I may be as woefully wrong as Humphrey Belcher, who believed the time was ripe for a cheese cauldron.”
    “我是那么做了。”邓布利多心平气和地说道，“我把我所知道的一切都告诉了你。从现在起，我们就要离开坚实的事实基础，共同穿越昏暗模糊的记忆沼泽，进入错综复杂的大胆猜测了。在这一点上，哈利，我可能会像汉弗莱·贝尔切一样犯下可悲的错误，他竟然相信可以用干酪做坩埚。”
    “But you think you’re right?” said Harry.
    “但是你认为你是正确的？”哈利说。
    “Naturally I do, but as I have already proven to you, I make mistakes like the next man. In fact, being — forgive me — rather cleverer than most men, my mistakes tend to be correspondingly huger.”
    “我自然这样以为，但是，正如我已经向你证实的，我也像普通人一样会犯错误。事实上，由于我——请原谅——由于我比大多数人聪明得多，我的错误也就相应地会更严重。”
    “Sir,” said Harry tentatively, “does what you’re going to tell me have anything to do with the prophecy? Will it help me . . . survive?”
    “先生，”哈利试探地说，“你要跟我说的事情，是不是跟那个预言有关？是不是为了帮助我……活下来？”
    “It has a very great deal to do with the prophecy,” said Dumbledore, as casually as if Harry had asked him about the next day’s weather, “and I certainly hope that it will help you to survive.”
    “它跟那个预言很有关系。”邓布利多说，语气是那样随便，就好像哈利是在问他明天天气如何，“我当然希望它能帮助你活下来。”
    Dumbledore got to his feet and walked around the desk, past Harry, who turned eagerly in his seat to watch Dumbledore bending over the cabinet beside the door. When Dumbledore straightened up, he was holding a familiar shallow stone basin etched with odd markings around its rim. He placed the Pensieve on the desk in front of Harry.
    邓布利多站起来，绕过桌子，从哈利旁边走过去。哈利在椅子上热切地转过身，注视着邓布利多在门旁的那个柜子前俯下身去。当邓布利多直起腰时，手里端着一个哈利熟悉的浅底石盆，盆口刻着一圈古怪的符号。他把冥想盆放在哈利面前的桌子上。
    “You look worried.”
    “你看上去很担心。”
    Harry had indeed been eyeing the Pensieve with some apprehension. His previous experiences with the odd device that stored and revealed thoughts and memories, though highly instructive, had also been uncomfortable. The last time he had disturbed its contents, he had seen much more than he would have wished. But Dumbledore was smiling.
    确实，哈利是以担忧害怕的目光打量着冥想盆的。对于这个储藏和展现思想和记忆的古怪器物，他以前有过的几次经历虽然颇有启发性，但是都很不舒服。比如，他上次擅自闯进去时，就看到了许多他不愿意看到的东西。不过，邓布利多脸上带着微笑。
    “This time, you enter the Pensieve with me . . . and, even more unusually, with permission.”
    “这一次，你跟我一起进入冥想盆……而且，更不同寻常的是，你是获得准许的。”
    “Where are we going, sir?”
    “我们去哪儿呢，先生？”
    “For a trip down Bob Ogden’s memory lane,” said Dumbledore, pulling from his pocket a crystal bottle containing a swirling silvery-white substance.
    “到鲍勃·奥格登的记忆小路上走一走。”邓布利多说着从口袋里掏出一个水晶瓶，里面盛着一种旋转飘浮的银白色东西。
    “Who was Bob Ogden?”
    “鲍勃·奥格登是谁？”
    “He was employed by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement,” said Dumbledore. “He died some time ago, but not before I had tracked him down and persuaded him to confide these recollections to me. We are about to accompany him on a visit he made in the course of his duties. If you will stand, Harry . . .”
    “他当年在魔法法律执行司工作。”邓布利多说，“他死了有一些日子了。不过在他死之前，我想方设法找到了他，并说服他把这些记忆告诉了我。现在，我们要陪他一起到他执行任务时去过的一个地方。哈利，你站起来……”
    But Dumbledore was having difficulty pulling out the stopper of the crystal bottle: His injured hand seemed stiff and painful.
    可是邓布利多拔不出水晶瓶的木塞子——他那只受伤的手似乎很疼，不听使唤。
    “Shall — shall I, sir?”
    “我——我来好吗，先生？”
    “No matter, Harry —”
    “没关系，哈利——”
    Dumbledore pointed his wand at the bottle and the cork flew out.
    邓布利多用魔杖指了指瓶子，塞子立刻跳了出来。
    “Sir — how did you injure your hand?” Harry asked again, looking at the blackened fingers with a mixture of revulsion and pity.
    “先生——你的手是怎么受伤的？”哈利既嫌恶又同情地看着那些焦黑的手指，又问了一遍。
    “Now is not the moment for that story, Harry. Not yet. We have an appointment with Bob Ogden.”
    “现在不是说这件事的时候，哈利。还不到时候。我们跟鲍勃·奥格登有个约会呢。”
    Dumbledore tipped the silvery contents of the bottle into the Pensieve, where they swirled and shimmered, neither liquid nor gas.
    邓布利多把瓶子里的银色物质倒进了冥想盆，它们在盆里慢慢地旋转起来，发出淡淡的微光，既不像液体，也不像气体。
    “After you,” said Dumbledore, gesturing toward the bowl.
    “你先进去。”邓布利多指了指冥想盆，说道。
    Harry bent forward, took a deep breath, and plunged his face into the silvery substance. He felt his feet leave the office floor; he was falling, falling through whirling darkness and then, quite suddenly, he was blinking in dazzling sunlight. Before his eyes had adjusted, Dumbledore landed beside him.
    哈利往前探着身子，深深吸了一口气，一头扎进了银色的物质中。他感觉他的双脚离开了办公室的地面。他穿过不断旋转的黑暗，往下坠落，坠落，突然，强烈的阳光刺得他闭上了眼睛。没等他的眼睛适应过来，邓布利多在他旁边降落了。
    They were standing in a country lane bordered by high, tangled hedgerows, beneath a summer sky as bright and blue as a forget-me-not. Some ten feet in front of them stood a short, plump man wearing enormously thick glasses that reduced his eyes to molelike specks. He was reading a wooden signpost that was sticking out of the brambles on the left-hand side of the road. Harry knew this must be Ogden; he was the only person in sight, and he was also wearing the strange assortment of clothes so often chosen by inexperienced wizards trying to look like Muggles: in this case, a frock coat and spats over a striped one-piece bathing costume. Before Harry had time to do more than register his bizarre appearance, however, Ogden had set off at a brisk walk down the lane.
    他们站在一条乡间小路上，两边都是高高的、枝叶纠结的灌木树篱，头顶上是夏日的天空，像勿忘我花一样清澈、湛蓝。在他们前面大约十步远的地方，站着一个矮矮胖胖的男人，他戴着一副镜片特别厚的眼镜，两只眼睛被缩小成了两个点，像鼹鼠的眼睛一样。他在阅读从小路左边的荆棘丛里伸出来的一根木头路标。哈利知道这一定就是奥格登了，因为四下里看不见别人，而且他跟那些想打扮成麻瓜模样、却又经验不足的巫师一样，穿着一身古里古怪的衣服：一件带条纹的游泳衣外面披了一件礼服大衣，脚上还套着鞋罩。哈利刚打量完他古怪的模样，奥格登就顺着小路快步走去了。
    Dumbledore and Harry followed. As they passed the wooden sign, Harry looked up at its two arms. The one pointing back the way they had come read: Great Hangleton, 5 miles. The arm pointing after Ogden said Little Hangleton, 1 mile.
    邓布利多和哈利跟了上去。经过那根木头路标时，哈利抬头看了看它的两个指示箭头。指着他们来路的那个写着：大汉格顿，5英里。指着奥格登所去的方向写着：小汉格顿，1英里。
    They walked a short way with nothing to see but the hedgerows, the wide blue sky overhead and the swishing, frock-coated figure ahead. Then the lane curved to the left and fell away, sloping steeply down a hillside, so that they had a sudden, unexpected view of a whole valley laid out in front of them. Harry could see a village, undoubtedly Little Hangleton, nestled between two steep hills, its church and graveyard clearly visible. Across the valley, set on the opposite hillside, was a handsome manor house surrounded by a wide expanse of velvety green lawn.
    他们走了一会儿，周围看不见别的，只看到两边高高的灌木树篱、头顶上湛蓝辽阔的夏日天空和前面那个穿着礼服大衣、沙沙行走的身影。接着，小路向左一拐，顺着山坡陡直而下，于是，他们突然意外地发现一座山谷，一览无遗地呈现在他们面前。哈利看见了一个村庄，那无疑便是小汉格顿了，坐落在两座陡峭的山坡之间，教堂和墓地都清晰可见。山谷对面的山坡上，有一座非常气派的大宅子，周围是大片绿茵茵的草地。
    Ogden had broken into a reluctant trot due to the steep downward slope. Dumbledore lengthened his stride, and Harry hurried to keep up. He thought Little Hangleton must be their final destination and wondered, as he had done on the night they had found Slughorn, why they had to approach it from such a distance. He soon discovered that he was mistaken in thinking that they were going to the village, however. The lane curved to the right and when they rounded the corner, it was to see the very edge of Ogden’s frock coat vanishing through a gap in the hedge.
    由于下坡的路太陡，奥格登不由自主地小跑起来。邓布利多把步子迈得更大了，哈利也加快脚步紧跟在后面。他以为小汉格顿肯定是他们最终的目的地，所以，他就像他们去找斯拉格霍恩的那天夜里一样，心里纳闷为什么要从这么远的距离走过去。很快他就发现自己弄错了，他们并不是要去那个村庄。小路往右一拐，等他们转过那个弯道，只见奥格登礼服大衣的衣摆一闪，他在篱笆中的一个豁口处不见了。
    Dumbledore and Harry followed him onto a narrow dirt track bordered by higher and wilder hedgerows than those they had left behind. The path was crooked, rocky, and potholed, sloping downhill like the last one, and it seemed to be heading for a patch of dark trees a little below them. Sure enough, the track soon opened up at the copse, and Dumbledore and Harry came to a halt behind Ogden, who had stopped and drawn his wand.
    邓布利多和哈利跟着他来到一条狭窄的土路上，两边的灌木树篱比刚才他们经过的那些更加高大茂密。土路弯弯曲曲，坑坑洼洼，布满乱石，像刚才那条小路一样陡直向下，似乎通向下面一小片漆黑的树林。果然，没走多远，土路就接上了那片矮树林，奥格登停下脚步，拔出魔杖，邓布利多和哈利也在他身后停了下来。
    Despite the cloudless sky, the old trees ahead cast deep, dark, cool shadows, and it was a few seconds before Harry’s eyes discerned the building half-hidden amongst the tangle of trunks. It seemed to him a very strange location to choose for a house, or else an odd decision to leave the trees growing nearby, blocking all light and the view of the valley below. He wondered whether it was inhabited; its walls were mossy and so many tiles had fallen off the roof that the rafters were visible in places. Nettles grew all around it, their tips reaching the windows, which were tiny and thick with grime. Just as he had concluded that nobody could possibly live there, however, one of the windows was thrown open with a clatter, and a thin trickle of steam or smoke issued from it, as though somebody was cooking.
    尽管天空晴朗无云，但头上那些古树投下了凉飕飕的黑暗浓密的阴影，过了几秒钟，哈利的眼睛才看见一座在盘根错节的树丛中半隐半现的房子。他觉得挑这个地方造房子真是有些奇怪，或者说，让那些大树长在房子旁边真是个古怪的决定，树木挡住了所有的光线，也挡住了下面的山谷。他琢磨着这个地方是不是有人居住：墙上布满苔藓，房顶上的许多瓦片都掉了，这里或那里露出了里面的椽木。房子周围长着茂密的荨麻，高高的荨麻一直齐到窗口，那些窗户非常小，积满了厚厚的陈年污垢。哈利正要断定不会有人住在里面，突然，咔哒一声，一扇窗户打开了，从里面冒出一股细细的蒸气或青烟，似乎有人正在烧饭。
    Ogden moved forward quietly and, it seemed to Harry, rather cautiously. As the dark shadows of the trees slid over him, he stopped again, staring at the front door, to which somebody had nailed a dead snake.
    奥格登悄悄地向前走去，哈利觉得他的动作非常谨慎。等黑糊糊的树影从他身上滑落下来，他又停下了脚步，两眼直直地望着房子的前门，什么人把一条死蛇钉在了门上。
    Then there was a rustle and a crack, and a man in rags dropped from the nearest tree, landing on his feet right in front of Ogden, who leapt backward so fast he stood on the tails of his frock coat and stumbled.
    就在这时，一阵沙沙声响起，紧接着又是咔嚓一声，一个穿着破衣烂衫的男人从近旁的一棵树上跳了下来，恰好落在奥格登的面前。奥格登赶紧后退，结果踩在自己大衣的后摆上，差点儿摔倒。
    “You’re not welcome.”
    “你不受欢迎。”
    The man standing before them had thick hair so matted with dirt it could have been any color. Several of his teeth were missing. His eyes were small and dark and stared in opposite directions. He might have looked comical, but he did not; the effect was frightening, and Harry could not blame Ogden for backing away several more paces before he spoke.
    站在他们面前的这个男人，浓密的头发里缠结着厚厚的污垢，已经辨不出原来的颜色。他嘴里掉了几颗牙，两只黑溜溜的小眼睛瞪着两个相反的方向。他本来看上去应该挺滑稽，然而事实上不是这样。他的模样很吓人，哈利心想，难怪奥格登又往后退了几步才开口说话。
    “Er — good morning. I’m from the Ministry of Magic —”
    “呃——上午好。我是魔法部——”
    “You’re not welcome.”
    “你不受欢迎。”
    “Er — I’m sorry — I don’t understand you,” said Ogden nervously.
    “呃——对不起——我听不懂你的话。”奥格登不安地说。
    Harry thought Ogden was being extremely dim; the stranger was making himself very clear in Harry’s opinion, particularly as he was brandishing a wand in one hand and a short and rather bloody knife in the other.
    哈利认为奥格登真是迟钝到了极点。在哈利看来，陌生人已经把他的意思表达得很清楚了，特别是他一只手里挥着一根魔杖，另一只手里握着一把看上去血淋淋的短刀。
    “You understand him, I’m sure, Harry?” said Dumbledore quietly.
    “我想，你肯定能听得懂他的话吧，哈利？”邓布利多轻声问道。
    “Yes, of course,” said Harry, slightly nonplussed. “Why can’t Ogden — ?”
    “是啊，那还用说。”哈利有点不解地说，“为什么奥格登听不——”
    But as his eyes found the dead snake on the door again, he suddenly understood.
    接着，他的眼睛又看到了门上的那条死蛇，他突然明白了。
    “He’s speaking Parseltongue?”
    “他说的是蛇佬腔？”
    “Very good,” said Dumbledore, nodding and smiling.
    “很好。”邓布利多点点头，微笑着说。
    The man in rags was now advancing on Ogden, knife in one hand, wand in the other.
    这时，那个穿着破衣烂衫的人一手握刀，一手挥着魔杖，正一步步朝奥格登逼近。
    “Now, look —” Ogden began, but too late: There was a bang, and Ogden was on the ground, clutching his nose, while a nasty yellowish goo squirted from between his fingers.
    “喂，你别——”奥格登刚想说话，可已经迟了，砰的一声巨响，奥格登倒在地上，用手捏着鼻子，一股令人恶心的黄兮兮、黏糊糊的东西从他指缝间涌了出来。
    “Morfin!” said a loud voice.
    “莫芬！”一个声音大喊道。
    An elderly man had come hurrying out of the cottage, banging the door behind him so that the dead snake swung pathetically. This man was shorter than the first, and oddly proportioned; his shoulders were very broad and his arms overlong, which, with his bright brown eyes, short scrubby hair, and wrinkled face, gave him the look of a powerful, aged monkey. He came to a halt beside the man with the knife, who was now cackling with laughter at the sight of Ogden on the ground.
    一位上了年纪的男人匆匆地从木房子里跑出来，重重地带上身后的门，那条死蛇可怜巴巴地左右摇摆着。这个男人比刚才那个略矮一些，身材怪模怪样的，长得不成比例：肩膀太宽，手臂过长，再加上一双亮晶晶的褐色眼睛、一头又短又硬的头发和一张皱巴巴的面孔，看上去活像一只凶猛的老猴子。他走过去站在那个拿刀的男人旁边，拿刀的男人看到奥格登倒在地上，开心得嘎嘎大笑起来。
    “Ministry, is it?” said the older man, looking down at Ogden.
    “部里来的，嗯？”年长一些的男人低头看着奥格登，问道。
    “Correct!” said Ogden angrily, dabbing his face. “And you, I take it, are Mr. Gaunt?”
    “正是！”奥格登一边擦脸一边生气地说，“我想，你就是冈特先生吧？”
    “S’right,” said Gaunt. “Got you in the face, did he?”
    “没错。”冈特说，“他打中了你的脸，是吗？”
    “Yes, he did!” snapped Ogden.
    “是的！”奥格登没好气地说。
    “Should’ve made your presence known, shouldn’t you?” said Gaunt aggressively. “This is private property. Can’t just walk in here and not expect my son to defend himself.”
    “你来这里应该先通知我们，是不是？”冈特盛气凌人地说，“这是私人领地。你这么大摇大摆地走进来，我儿子能不采取自卫行动吗？”
    “Defend himself against what, man?” said Ogden, clambering back to his feet.
    “他有什么要自卫的？”奥格登挣扎着爬起来，说道。
    “Busybodies. Intruders. Muggles and filth.”
    “爱管闲事的人。闯私宅的强盗。麻瓜和垃圾。”
    Ogden pointed his wand at his own nose, which was still issuing large amounts of what looked like yellow pus, and the flow stopped at once. Mr. Gaunt spoke out of the corner of his mouth to Morfin.
    奥格登的鼻子仍在大量流着黄脓状的东西，他用魔杖指了自己一下，它们立刻就止住了。
    “Get in the house. Don’t argue.”
    冈特先生撇着嘴对莫芬说：“进屋去。不许废话。”
    This time, ready for it, Harry recognized Parseltongue; even while he could understand what was being said, he distinguished the weird hissing noise that was all Ogden could hear. Morfin seemed to be on the point of disagreeing, but when his father cast him a threatening look he changed his mind, lumbering away to the cottage with an odd rolling gait and slamming the front door behind him, so that the snake swung sadly again.
    这次哈利有了思想准备，听出了他的蛇佬腔。他听懂了话的意思，同时也分辨出奥格登所能听见的那种奇怪的嘶嘶声。莫芬似乎还想辩解几句，但他父亲朝他狠狠地瞪了一眼，他便改变了主意，迈着古怪的、摇摇晃晃的脚步，慢吞吞地朝木房子走去，进去后又重重地关上门，那条蛇又可怜巴巴地摇摆起来。
    “It’s your son I’m here to see, Mr. Gaunt,” said Ogden, as he mopped the last of the pus from the front of his coat. “That was Morfin, wasn’t it?”
    “我来是想见见你的儿子，冈特先生，”奥格登说，一边擦去衣襟上的最后一点黄脓，“刚才那就是莫芬吧？”
    “Ar, that was Morfin,” said the old man indifferently. “Are you pure-blood?” he asked, suddenly aggressive.
    “啊，那就是莫芬。”老人漫不经心地说，“你是纯血统吗？”他问，态度突然变得如此咄咄逼人。
    “That’s neither here nor there,” said Ogden coldly, and Harry felt his respect for Ogden rise. Apparently Gaunt felt rather differently. He squinted into Ogden’s face and muttered, in what was clearly supposed to be an offensive tone, “Now I come to think about it, I’ve seen noses like yours down in the village.”
    “两边都不是。”奥格登冷冷地说，哈利顿时对他肃然起敬。
    “I don’t doubt it, if your son’s been let loose on them,” said Ogden. “Perhaps we could continue this discussion inside?”
    但冈特显然不以为然。他眯起眼睛盯着奥格登的脸，用一种显然是故意冒犯的口吻嘟囔道：“现在我回过头来想想，确实在村子里见过你那样的鼻子。”
    “Inside?”
    “对此我毫不怀疑，既然你儿子这样随意地攻击它们，”奥格登说，“也许我们可以进屋里去谈？”
    “Yes, Mr. Gaunt. I’ve already told you. I’m here about Morfin. We sent an owl —”
    “进屋？”
    “I’ve no use for owls,” said Gaunt. “I don’t open letters.”
    “是的，冈特先生。我已经告诉过你。我是为了莫芬的事来的。我们派了一只猫头鹰——”
    “Then you can hardly complain that you get no warning of visitors,” said Ogden tartly. “I am here following a serious breach of Wizarding law, which occurred here in the early hours of this morning —”
    “猫头鹰对我没有用。”冈特说，“我从来不看信。”
    “All right, all right, all right!” bellowed Gaunt. “Come in the bleeding house, then, and much good it’ll do you!”
    “那你就不能抱怨说不知道有人要来了。”奥格登尖刻地说，“我来这里，是为了处理今天凌晨发生的一件严重违反巫师法律的事情——”
    The house seemed to contain three tiny rooms. Two doors led off the main room, which served as kitchen and living room combined. Morfin was sitting in a filthy armchair beside the smoking fire, twisting a live adder between his thick fingers and crooning softly at it in Parseltongue:
    “好吧，好吧，好吧！”冈特吼道，“就到该死的房子里去吧，那样你会舒服得多！”
    Hissy, hissy, little snakey,
    这座房子似乎共有三间小屋子，中间的大屋子兼作厨房和客厅，另有两扇门通向别的屋子。莫芬坐在黑烟滚滚的火炉旁的一把肮脏的扶手椅上，粗大的手指间摆弄着一条活的小毒蛇，嘴里轻轻地用蛇佬腔哼唱着：
    Slither on the floor,
    嘶嘶，嘶嘶，蛇宝宝，
    You be good to Morfin
    快快在地上爬过来，
    Or he’ll nail you to the door.
    你要对莫芬特别好，
    There was a scuffling noise in the corner beside the open window, and Harry realized that there was somebody else in the room, a girl whose ragged gray dress was the exact color of the dirty stone wall behind her. She was standing beside a steaming pot on a grimy black stove, and was fiddling around with the shelf of squalidlooking pots and pans above it. Her hair was lank and dull and she had a plain, pale, rather heavy face. Her eyes, like her brother’s, stared in opposite directions. She looked a little cleaner than the two men, but Harry thought he had never seen a more defeatedlooking person.
    不然就把你钉在大门外。
    “M’daughter, Merope,” said Gaunt grudgingly, as Ogden looked inquiringly toward her.
    那扇敞开的窗户旁边的墙角里传来慢吞吞的脚步声，哈利这才发现屋里还有另外一个人，是一个姑娘，她身上穿的那件破破烂烂的灰色衣裙简直跟她身后肮脏的石墙一个颜色。她站在积满烟灰的炉子上一只冒着热气的炖锅旁，正在炉子上方搁架上的一堆肮脏的盆盆罐罐里找着什么。她平直的头发毫无光泽，脸色苍白，相貌平平，神情显得很愁闷。她的眼睛和她弟弟的一样，朝两个相反的方向瞪着。她看上去比那两个男人干净一些，但哈利觉得他从没见过比她更没精打采的人了。
    “Good morning,” said Ogden.
    “我女儿，梅洛普。”冈特看见奥格登询问地望着那姑娘，便满不情愿地介绍说。
    She did not answer, but with a frightened glance at her father turned her back on the room and continued shifting the pots on the shelf behind her.
    “上午好。”奥格登说。
    “Well, Mr. Gaunt,” said Ogden, “to get straight to the point, we have reason to believe that your son, Morfin, performed magic in front of a Muggle late last night.”
    姑娘没有回答，惊慌地看了父亲一眼，就赶紧背转身，继续摆弄搁架上的那些盆盆罐罐。
    There was a deafening clang. Merope had dropped one of the pots.
    “好吧，冈特先生，”奥格登说，“我们开门见山地说吧，我们有理由相信你的儿子莫芬昨天深夜在一个麻瓜面前施了魔法。”
    “Pick it up!” Gaunt bellowed at her. “That’s it, grub on the floor like some filthy Muggle, what’s your wand for, you useless sack of muck?”
    咣当一声，震耳欲聋。梅洛普把一只罐子碰掉在地上。
    “Mr. Gaunt, please!” said Ogden in a shocked voice, as Merope, who had already picked up the pot, flushed blotchily scarlet, lost her grip on the pot again, drew her wand shakily from her pocket, pointed it at the pot, and muttered a hasty, inaudible spell that caused the pot to shoot across the floor away from her, hit the opposite wall, and crack in two.
    “捡起来！”冈特朝她大吼道，“怎么，像一个肮脏的麻瓜那样趴到地上去找？你的魔杖是干什么用的，你这个废物大草包？”
    Morfin let out a mad cackle of laughter. Gaunt screamed, “Mend it, you pointless lump, mend it!”
    “冈特先生，请不要这样！”奥格登用惊愕的口气说，这时梅洛普已经把罐子捡了起来，可突然之间，她的脸涨得红一块白一块的。她的手一松，罐子又掉在了地上。她战战兢兢地从口袋里掏出魔杖，指着罐子，慌里慌张地轻声念了一句什么咒语，罐子噌地从她脚下贴着地面飞了出去，撞在对面的墙上，裂成了两半。
    Merope stumbled across the room, but before she had time to raise her wand, Ogden had lifted his own and said firmly, “Reparo.” The pot mended itself instantly.
    莫芬发出一阵疯狂的嘎嘎大笑。冈特尖声大叫起来：“修好它，你这个没用的傻大个儿，修好它！”
    Gaunt looked for a moment as though he was going to shout at Ogden, but seemed to think better of it: Instead, he jeered at his daughter, “Lucky the nice man from the Ministry’s here, isn’t it? Perhaps he’ll take you off my hands, perhaps he doesn’t mind dirty Squibs. . . .”
    梅洛普跌跌撞撞地走到屋子那头，但没等她举起魔杖，奥格登已经用自己的魔杖指了过去，沉着地说了一句：“恢复如初！”罐子立刻自动修好了。
    Without looking at anybody or thanking Ogden, Merope picked up the pot and returned it, hands trembling, to its shelf. She then stood quite still, her back against the wall between the filthy window and the stove, as though she wished for nothing more than to sink into the stone and vanish.
    有那么一会儿，冈特似乎想冲奥格登嚷嚷一通，但又似乎改变了主意。他讥笑着对他女儿说：“幸好有魔法部的这位大好人在这儿，是不是？说不定他会把你从我手里弄走，说不定他不讨厌龌龊的哑炮……”
    “Mr. Gaunt,” Ogden began again, “as I’ve said: the reason for my visit —”
    梅洛普对谁也没看一眼，也没对奥格登道声感谢，只是捡起罐子，用颤抖的双手把它重新放到搁板上。然后，她一动不动地站在那里，后背贴在肮脏的窗户和炉子之间的墙壁上，似乎一心只希望自己能陷进石墙里，彻底消失。
    “I heard you the first time!” snapped Gaunt. “And so what? Morfin gave a Muggle a bit of what was coming to him — what about it, then?”
    “冈特先生，”奥格登先生又开口道，“正如我刚才说的，我此行的原因是——”
    “Morfin has broken Wizarding law,” said Ogden sternly.
    “我第一次就听明白了！”冈特怒气冲冲地说，“那又怎么样？莫芬随手教训了一个麻瓜——那又怎么样呢？”
    “ ‘Morfin has broken Wizarding law.’ ” Gaunt imitated Ogden’s voice, making it pompous and singsong. Morfin cackled again. “He taught a filthy Muggle a lesson, that’s illegal now, is it?”
    “莫芬违反了巫师法。”奥格登严肃地说。
    “Yes,” said Ogden. “I’m afraid it is.”
    “莫芬违反了巫师法，”冈特模仿着奥格登的声音，并故意拖腔拖调的，透着一股子傲慢。莫芬又嘎嘎大笑起来。“他给了一个肮脏的麻瓜一点颜色瞧瞧，怎么，如今这算非法的了？”
    He pulled from an inside pocket a small scroll of parchment and unrolled it.
    “对，”奥格登说，“恐怕是这样。”
    “What’s that, then, his sentence?” said Gaunt, his voice rising angrily.
    他从大衣内侧的口袋里掏出一小卷羊皮纸，展了开来。
    “It is a summons to the Ministry for a hearing —”
    “这是什么，给他的判决？”冈特气愤地提高了嗓音。
    “Summons! Summons? Who do you think you are, summoning my son anywhere?”
    “传唤他到魔法部接受审讯——”
    “I’m Head of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad,” said Ogden.
    “传唤！传唤？你以为你是谁呀，竟敢传唤我的儿子？”
    “And you think we’re scum, do you?” screamed Gaunt, advancing on Ogden now, with a dirty yellow-nailed finger pointing at his chest. “Scum who’ll come running when the Ministry tells ’em to? Do you know who you’re talking to, you filthy little Mudblood, do you?
    “我是魔法法律执行队的队长。”奥格登说。
    “I was under the impression that I was speaking to Mr. Gaunt,” said Ogden, looking wary, but standing his ground.
    “你以为我们是下三滥啊？”冈特尖叫着说，一边逼近奥格登，一边用发黄的肮脏的手指戳着他的胸口，“魔法部一声召唤，我们就得颠儿颠儿地跑去？你知道你在跟谁说话吗，你这个龌龊的小泥巴种，嗯？”
    “That’s right!” roared Gaunt. For a moment, Harry thought Gaunt was making an obscene hand gesture, but then realized that he was showing Ogden the ugly, black-stoned ring he was wearing on his middle finger, waving it before Ogden’s eyes. “See this? See this? Know what it is? Know where it came from? Centuries it’s been in our family, that’s how far back we go, and pure-blood all the way! Know how much I’ve been offered for this, with the Peverell coat of arms engraved on the stone?”
    “我记得我好像是在跟冈特先生说话。”奥格登显得很警惕，但毫不退缩。
    “I’ve really no idea,” said Ogden, blinking as the ring sailed within an inch of his nose, “and it’s quite beside the point, Mr. Gaunt. Your son has committed —”
    “没错！”冈特怒吼道。哈利一时以为冈特是在做一个下流的手势，接着他才发现，冈特是在给奥格登看他中指上戴着的那枚丑陋的黑宝石戒指。他把戒指在奥格登面前晃来晃去。“看见这个了吗？看见这个了吗？知道这是什么吗？知道这是从哪儿来的吗？它在我们家传了好几个世纪了，我们家族的历史就有那么久，而且一直是纯血统！知道有人想出多大的价钱把它从我手里买走吗？宝石上刻着佩弗利尔的纹章呢！”
    With a howl of rage, Gaunt ran toward his daughter. For a split second, Harry thought he was going to throttle her as his hand flew to her throat; next moment, he was dragging her toward Ogden by a gold chain around her neck.
    “我确实不知道，”奥格登说，那戒指在他鼻子前一英寸的地方晃过，他眨了眨眼睛，“而且它跟这件事没有关系，冈特先生。你儿子犯了——”
    “See this?” he bellowed at Ogden, shaking a heavy gold locket at him, while Merope spluttered and gasped for breath.
    冈特愤怒地大吼一声，冲向他的女儿，一只手直伸向女儿的喉咙，一时间，哈利还以为他要把她掐死呢。接着，他拽着女儿脖子上的一条金链子，把她拉到了奥格登面前。
    “I see it, I see it!” said Ogden hastily.
    “看见这个了吗？”他朝奥格登咆哮道，一边冲他摇晃着那上面的一个沉甸甸的金挂坠盒，梅洛普憋得连连咳嗽，连气都喘不过来了。
    “Slytherin’s!” yelled Gaunt. “Salazar Slytherin’s! We’re his last living descendants, what do you say to that, eh?”
    “我看见了，我看见了！”奥格登急忙说。
    “Mr. Gaunt, your daughter!” said Ogden in alarm, but Gaunt had already released Merope; she staggered away from him, back to her corner, massaging her neck and gulping for air.
    “斯莱特林的！”冈特嚷道，“萨拉查·斯莱特林的！我们是他最后一支活着的传人，对此你有什么话说，嗯？”
    “So!” said Gaunt triumphantly, as though he had just proved a complicated point beyond all possible dispute. “Don’t you go talking to us as if we’re dirt on your shoes! Generations of purebloods, wizards all — more than you can say, I don’t doubt!”
    “冈特先生，你的女儿！”奥格登惊慌地说，但冈特已经把梅洛普放开了。她跌跌撞撞地离开了他，回到原来那个角落里，一边揉着脖子，一边使劲地喘着气。
    And he spat on the floor at Ogden’s feet. Morfin cackled again. Merope, huddled beside the window, her head bowed and her face hidden by her lank hair, said nothing.
    “怎么样！”冈特得意地说，似乎他刚把一个复杂的问题证明得清清楚楚，不会再有任何争议，“所以别用那副口气跟我们说话，别把我们当成你鞋底的泥巴！我们祖祖辈辈都是纯血统，都是巫师——我相信，你没有这些可炫耀吧！”
    “Mr. Gaunt,” said Ogden doggedly, “I am afraid that neither your ancestors nor mine have anything to do with the matter in hand. I am here because of Morfin, Morfin and the Muggle he accosted late last night. Our information” — he glanced down at his scroll of parchment — “is that Morfin performed a jinx or hex on the said Muggle, causing him to erupt in highly painful hives.”
    他朝奥格登的脚下吐了一口唾沫，莫芬又嘎嘎大笑起来。梅洛普蜷缩在窗户边，垂着脑袋，一声不吭，直直的头发遮住了她的面庞。
    Morfin giggled.
    “冈特先生，”奥格登固执地说，“恐怕无论你我的祖先都跟眼下这件事情毫无关系。我到这里来是为了莫芬，还有昨天深夜他招惹的那个麻瓜。我们得到情报，”他低头看了看那卷羊皮纸，“说莫芬对那个麻瓜念了一个恶咒，或施了一个魔法，使他全身长出了剧痛无比的荨麻疹。”
    “Be quiet, boy,” snarled Gaunt in Parseltongue, and Morfin fell silent again.
    莫芬咯咯地笑了。
    “And so what if he did, then?” Gaunt said defiantly to Ogden. “I expect you’ve wiped the Muggle’s filthy face clean for him, and his memory to boot —”
    “闭嘴，小子！”冈特用蛇佬腔喝道，莫芬立刻不吭声了。
    “That’s hardly the point, is it, Mr. Gaunt?” said Ogden. “This was an unprovoked attack on a defenseless —”
    “就算他这么做了，那又怎么样？”冈特挑衅地对奥格登说，“我想，你们一定替那个麻瓜把肮脏的脸擦干净了，还把他的记忆——”
    “Ar, I had you marked out as a Muggle-lover the moment I saw you,” sneered Gaunt, and he spat on the floor again.
    “问题不在这里，对吗，冈特先生？”奥格登说，“这是一起无缘无故袭击一个毫无防备的——”
    “This discussion is getting us nowhere,” said Ogden firmly. “It is clear from your son’s attitude that he feels no remorse for his actions.” He glanced down at his scroll of parchment again. “Morfin will attend a hearing on the fourteenth of September to answer the charges of using magic in front of a Muggle and causing harm and distress to that same Mugg —”
    “哈，刚才我一看见你，就知道你是一个喜欢麻瓜的人。”冈特讥笑着说，又往地上吐了一口唾沫。
    Ogden broke off. The jingling, clopping sounds of horses and loud, laughing voices were drifting in through the open window. Apparently the winding lane to the village passed very close to the copse where the house stood. Gaunt froze, listening, his eyes wide. Morfin hissed and turned his face toward the sounds, his expression hungry. Merope raised her head. Her face, Harry saw, was starkly white.
    “这种谈话不会有任何结果。”奥格登义正词严地说，“从你儿子的态度来看，他显然对他的所作所为没有一丝懊悔。”他又扫了一眼那卷羊皮纸。“莫芬将于九月十四日接受审讯，对他在一位麻瓜面前使用魔法、并给那位麻瓜造成伤害和痛苦的指控做出答辩——”
    “My God, what an eyesore!” rang out a girl’s voice, as clearly audible through the open window as if she had stood in the room beside them. “Couldn’t your father have that hovel cleared away, Tom?”
    奥格登突然停住了。丁丁的铃铛声、嘚嘚的马蹄声，还有响亮的说笑声从敞开的窗户外面飘了进来。显然，通向村庄的那条羊肠小道离这座房子所在的矮树林非常近。冈特愣住了，他侧耳倾听，眼睛瞪得大大的。莫芬的嘴里嘶嘶作响，他转眼望着声音传来的地方，一脸贪婪的表情。梅洛普抬起头。哈利看到她的脸色白得吓人。
    “It’s not ours,” said a young man’s voice. “Everything on the other side of the valley belongs to us, but that cottage belongs to an old tramp called Gaunt, and his children. The son’s quite mad, you should hear some of the stories they tell in the village —”
    “天哪，多么煞风景的东西！”一个姑娘清脆的声音从敞开着的窗口飘了进来，他们听得清清楚楚，好像她就站在屋子里，站在他们身边似的，“汤姆，你父亲就不能把那间小破棚子拆掉吗？”
    The girl laughed. The jingling, clopping noises were growing louder and louder. Morfin made to get out of his armchair.
    “那不是我们的。”一个年轻人的声音说道，“山谷另一边的东西都属于我们家，但那座小木屋属于一个名叫冈特的老流浪汉和他的孩子们。那儿子疯疯癫癫的，你真该听听村里的人是怎么议论他的——”
    “Keep your seat,” said his father warningly, in Parseltongue.
    姑娘笑了起来。丁丁的铃铛声、嘚嘚的马蹄声越来越响。莫芬想从扶手椅上跳起来。
    “Tom,” said the girl’s voice again, now so close they were clearly right beside the house, “I might be wrong — but has somebody nailed a snake to that door?”
    “坐好了别动！”他父亲用蛇佬腔警告他。
    “Good lord, you’re right!” said the man’s voice. “That’ll be the son, I told you he’s not right in the head. Don’t look at it, Cecilia, darling.”
    “汤姆，”姑娘的声音又响了起来，现在离得更近了，显然他们就在房子旁边，“我不会看错吧——难道有人在那扇门上钉了一条蛇？”
    The jingling and clopping sounds were now growing fainter again.
    “对啊，你没有看错！”那个男人的声音说，“肯定是那儿子干的，我对你说过他脑子不大正常。别看它了，塞西利娅，亲爱的。”
    “ ‘Darling,’ ” whispered Morfin in Parseltongue, looking at his sister. “ ‘Darling,’ he called her. So he wouldn’t have you anyway.”
    丁丁的铃铛声、嘚嘚的马蹄声又渐渐地远去了。
    Merope was so white Harry felt sure she was going to faint.
    “‘亲爱的，’”莫芬望着他姐姐，用蛇佬腔小声说道，“他管她叫‘亲爱的’，看来他是不会要你了。”
    “What’s that?” said Gaunt sharply, also in Parseltongue, looking from his son to his daughter. “What did you say, Morfin?”
    梅洛普脸色煞白，哈利觉得她肯定要晕倒了。
    “She likes looking at that Muggle,” said Morfin, a vicious expression on his face as he stared at his sister, who now looked terrified. “Always in the garden when he passes, peering through the hedge at him, isn’t she? And last night —”
    “怎么回事？”冈特厉声问道，用的也是蛇佬腔，眼睛看看儿子，又看看女儿，“你说什么，莫芬？”
    Merope shook her head jerkily, imploringly, but Morfin went on ruthlessly, “Hanging out of the window waiting for him to ride home, wasn’t she?”
    “她喜欢看那个麻瓜，”莫芬说着盯住他姐姐，脸上露出恶毒的表情，梅洛普则显得非常惊恐，“每次那个麻瓜经过，她都要在花园里隔着篱笆看他，是不是？昨天夜里——”
    “Hanging out of the window to look at a Muggle?” said Gaunt quietly.
    梅洛普哀求地使劲摇着头，但是莫芬毫不留情地说了下去：“她在窗户外面徘徊，等着看那麻瓜骑马回家，是不是？”
    All three of the Gaunts seemed to have forgotten Ogden, who was looking both bewildered and irritated at this renewed outbreak of incomprehensible hissing and rasping.
    “在窗户外面徘徊，等着看一个麻瓜？”冈特小声问。
    “Is it true?” said Gaunt in a deadly voice, advancing a step or two toward the terrified girl. “My daughter — pure-blooded descendant of Salazar Slytherin — hankering after a filthy, dirt-veined Muggle?”
    冈特家的三个人似乎都忘记了奥格登的存在。奥格登面对这新一轮爆发的不可理解的嘶嘶声和粗吼声，显得既迷惑又恼怒。
    Merope shook her head frantically, pressing herself into the wall, apparently unable to speak.
    “这是真的吗？”冈特用阴沉沉的声音问，一边朝那个惊恐万状的姑娘逼近了一两步，“我的女儿——萨拉查·斯莱特林纯血统的后裔——竟然追求一个肮脏的、下三滥的麻瓜？”
    “But I got him, Father!” cackled Morfin. “I got him as he went by and he didn’t look so pretty with hives all over him, did he, Merope?”
    梅洛普疯狂地摇着头，拼命把身体挤缩在墙角里，显然一句话也说不出来。
    “You disgusting little Squib, you filthy little blood traitor!” roared Gaunt, losing control, and his hands closed around his daughter’s throat.
    “可是我教训了那家伙，爸爸！”莫芬嘎嘎地笑着说，“他走过时，我教训了他，他满头满脸的荨麻疹，看上去就不那么漂亮了，是不是，梅洛普？”
    Both Harry and Ogden yelled “No!” at the same time; Ogden raised his wand and cried, “Relashio!” Gaunt was thrown backward, away from his daughter; he tripped over a chair and fell flat on his back. With a roar of rage, Morfin leapt out of his chair and ran at Ogden, brandishing his bloody knife and firing hexes indiscriminately from his wand.
    “你这个可恶的小哑炮，你这个龌龊的小败类！”冈特怒吼道，他失去了控制，两只手扼住了女儿的喉咙。
    Ogden ran for his life. Dumbledore indicated that they ought to follow and Harry obeyed, Merope’s screams echoing in his ears.
    “不！”哈利和奥格登同时叫道。
    Ogden hurtled up the path and erupted onto the main lane, his arms over his head, where he collided with the glossy chestnut horse ridden by a very handsome, dark-haired young man. Both he and the pretty girl riding beside him on a gray horse roared with laughter at the sight of Ogden, who bounced off the horse’s flank and set off again, his frock coat flying, covered from head to foot in dust, running pell-mell up the lane.
    奥格登举起魔杖，喊了一句：“力松劲泄！”冈特被击得连连后退，丢下了他女儿。他被椅子绊了一下，仰面摔倒在地上。莫芬怒吼一声，从椅子上一跃而起，冲向奥格登，一边挥舞着那把血淋淋的刀子，并从魔杖里射出一大堆乱七八糟的恶咒。
    “I think that will do, Harry,” said Dumbledore. He took Harry by the elbow and tugged. Next moment, they were both soaring weightlessly through darkness, until they landed squarely on their feet, back in Dumbledore’s now twilit office.
    奥格登夺路而逃。邓布利多示意他们也跟上去。哈利跟了出去，梅洛普的尖叫声还在他耳畔回响。
    “What happened to the girl in the cottage?” said Harry at once, as Dumbledore lit extra lamps with a flick of his wand. “Merope, or whatever her name was?”
    奥格登用手臂护着脑袋，冲上土路，又飞快地拐上主路，撞上了那匹油亮亮的枣红马。骑马的是一位非常英俊的黑头发年轻人，他和身边那位骑一匹灰马的漂亮姑娘看到奥格登的模样，都被逗得开怀大笑。奥格登从枣红马的身上弹了出去，立刻撒腿又跑，顺着小路落荒而逃，他从头到脚都沾满了灰尘，礼服大衣在他身后飘摆着。
    “Oh, she survived,” said Dumbledore, reseating himself behind his desk and indicating that Harry should sit down too. “Ogden Apparated back to the Ministry and returned with reinforcements within fifteen minutes. Morfin and his father attempted to fight, but both were overpowered, removed from the cottage, and subsequently convicted by the Wizengamot. Morfin, who already had a record of Muggle attacks, was sentenced to three years in Azkaban. Marvolo, who had injured several Ministry employees in addition to Ogden, received six months.”
    “我认为差不多了，哈利。”邓布利多说道。他握住哈利的胳膊肘，轻轻一拽。一转眼间，他们俩就失重般地在黑暗中越飞越高，最后稳稳地落回到邓布利多的办公室里，这时窗外已经是一片夜色。
    “Marvolo?” Harry repeated wonderingly.
    “小木屋里的那个姑娘怎么样了？”哈利立刻问道，邓布利多一挥魔杖，又点亮了几盏灯，“就是那个叫梅洛普什么的？”
    “That’s right,” said Dumbledore, smiling in approval. “I am glad to see you’re keeping up.”
    “噢，她活下来了。”邓布利多说着在桌子后面重新坐定，并示意哈利也坐下来，“奥格登幻影移形到了部里，十五分钟后他带着增援回来了。莫芬和他父亲负隅顽抗，但两个人都被制服了，被押出了小木屋，后来威森加摩判了他们的罪。莫芬已经有过攻击麻瓜的前科，被判在阿兹卡班服刑三年。马沃罗除了伤害奥格登之外，还伤害了魔法部的另外几名官员，被判六个月有期徒刑。”
    “That old man was — ?”
    “马沃罗？”哈利疑惑地重复道。
    “Voldemort’s grandfather, yes,” said Dumbledore. “Marvolo, his son, Morfin, and his daughter, Merope, were the last of the Gaunts, a very ancient Wizarding family noted for a vein of instability and violence that flourished through the generations due to their habit of marrying their own cousins. Lack of sense coupled with a great liking for grandeur meant that the family gold was squandered several generations before Marvolo was born. He, as you saw, was left in squalor and poverty, with a very nasty temper, a fantastic amount of arrogance and pride, and a couple of family heirlooms that he treasured just as much as his son, and rather more than his daughter.”
    “对——”邓布利多说道，露出了赞许的微笑，“我很高兴你跟上了我的思路。”
    “So Merope,” said Harry, leaning forward in his chair and staring at Dumbledore, “so Merope was . . . Sir, does that mean she was . . . Voldemort’s mother?”
    “那个老人就是——？”
    “It does,” said Dumbledore. “And it so happens that we also had a glimpse of Voldemort’s father. I wonder whether you noticed?”
    “伏地魔的外祖父，是的。”邓布利多说道，“马沃罗、他儿子莫芬、女儿梅洛普是冈特家族最后的传人，那是一个非常古老的巫师家族，以不安分和暴力而出名，由于他们习惯于近亲结婚，这种性格特点一代比一代更加显著。他们缺乏理性，再加上特别喜欢豪华的排场，所以，早在马沃罗的好几辈人之前，家族的财产就被挥霍殆尽。你刚才也看到了，马沃罗最后落得穷困潦倒，脾气坏得吓人，却又狂傲、自负得不可理喻，他手里还有两样祖传的遗物，他把它们看得像他儿子一样珍贵，看得比他女儿珍贵得多。”
    “The Muggle Morfin attacked? The man on the horse?”
    “那么，梅洛普，”哈利在椅子上探身向前，盯着邓布利多说道，“梅洛普就是……先生，这是不是意味着，她就是……伏地魔的母亲？”
    “Very good indeed,” said Dumbledore, beaming. “Yes, that was Tom Riddle senior, the handsome Muggle who used to go riding past the Gaunt cottage and for whom Merope Gaunt cherished a secret, burning passion.”
    “没错，”邓布利多说，“我们碰巧还看了一眼伏地魔的父亲。不知道你有没有注意？”
    “And they ended up married?” Harry said in disbelief, unable to imagine two people less likely to fall in love.
    “就是莫芬袭击的那个麻瓜？那个骑马的男人？”
    “I think you are forgetting,” said Dumbledore, “that Merope was a witch. I do not believe that her magical powers appeared to their best advantage when she was being terrorized by her father. Once Marvolo and Morfin were safely in Azkaban, once she was alone and free for the first time in her life, then, I am sure, she was able to give full rein to her abilities and to plot her escape from the desperate life she had led for eighteen years.
    “非常正确，”邓布利多笑眯眯地说，“是啊，那就是老汤姆·里德尔，一位相貌英俊的麻瓜，常常骑马经过冈特家的小木屋，梅洛普·冈特痴痴地暗恋着他。”
    “Can you not think of any measure Merope could have taken to make Tom Riddle forget his Muggle companion, and fall in love with her instead?”
    “他们后来真的结婚了？”哈利不敢相信地问，他不能想象这两个毫不相干的人会相爱。
    “The Imperius Curse?” Harry suggested. “Or a love potion?”
    “我认为你大概忘记了，”邓布利多说，“梅洛普是个女巫。我想，当她受到父亲的高压恐怖统治时，她的魔法力量似乎不能完全发挥出来。一旦马沃罗和莫芬都被关进了阿兹卡班，一旦她第一次独自一人、可以随心所欲时，我相信，她就可以充分施展她的才能，策划逃离她过了十八年的那种水深火热的生活了。
    “Very good. Personally, I am inclined to think that she used a love potion. I am sure it would have seemed more romantic to her, and I do not think it would have been very difficult, some hot day, when Riddle was riding alone, to persuade him to take a drink of water. In any case, within a few months of the scene we have just witnessed, the village of Little Hangleton enjoyed a tremendous scandal. You can imagine the gossip it caused when the squire’s son ran off with the tramp’s daughter, Merope.
    “你能不能设想一下，梅洛普会采取什么措施，让汤姆·里德尔忘记他那位麻瓜情侣而爱上她呢？”
    “But the villagers’ shock was nothing to Marvolo’s. He returned from Azkaban, expecting to find his daughter dutifully awaiting his return with a hot meal ready on his table. Instead, he found a clear inch of dust and her note of farewell, explaining what she had done.
    “夺魂咒？”哈利猜测道，“或者迷情剂？”
    “From all that I have been able to discover, he never mentioned her name or existence from that time forth. The shock of her desertion may have contributed to his early death — or perhaps he had simply never learned to feed himself. Azkaban had greatly weakened Marvolo, and he did not live to see Morfin return to the cottage.”
    “很好。我个人倾向于她使用了迷情剂。我相信她会觉得那样更加浪漫，而且操作起来也不太困难。某个炎热的日子，里德尔独自骑马过来，梅洛普劝他喝了一杯水。总之，在刚才我们目睹的那一幕的几个月后，小汉格顿村爆出了一个惊人的丑闻。你可以想象，当人们听说乡绅的儿子跟流浪汉的女儿梅洛普一起私奔的消息后，会怎样议论纷纷啊。
    “And Merope? She . . . she died, didn’t she? Wasn’t Voldemort brought up in an orphanage?”
    “可是跟马沃罗感到的震惊相比，村民们的惊讶就不算什么了。马沃罗从阿兹卡班回来时，本以为会看到女儿乖乖地等着他，桌上摆着热气腾腾的饭菜。他没想到屋里的灰尘积了一寸多厚，女儿留了一张诀别的纸条，上面写了她所干的事情。
    “Yes, indeed,” said Dumbledore. “We must do a certain amount of guessing here, although I do not think it is difficult to deduce what happened. You see, within a few months of their runaway marriage, Tom Riddle reappeared at the manor house in Little Hangleton without his wife. The rumor flew around the neighborhood that he was talking of being ‘hoodwinked’ and ‘taken in.’ What he meant, I am sure, is that he had been under an enchantment that had now lifted, though I daresay he did not dare use those precise words for fear of being thought insane. When they heard what he was saying, however, the villagers guessed that Merope had lied to Tom Riddle, pretending that she was going to have his baby, and that he had married her for this reason.”
    “从我所能发掘的情况来看，从那以后，他再也没有提到过女儿的名字，或提到过女儿的存在。女儿弃家出走给他带来的震惊，大概是他过早去世的一个原因——或者，他大概一直没有学会怎么弄饭给自己吃。阿兹卡班搞垮了马沃罗的身体，他没有活着看到莫芬回到那座小木屋。”
    “But she did have his baby.”
    “那么梅洛普呢？她……她死了，是吗？伏地魔不是在孤儿院长大的吗？”
    “But not until a year after they were married. Tom Riddle left her while she was still pregnant.”
    “是啊，没错，”邓布利多说，“这里我们必须做一些猜测，不过我认为不难推断出后来发生的事情。是这样，他们私奔结婚的几个月之后，汤姆·里德尔又回到了小汉格顿的大宅子里，但身边并没有带着他的妻子。邻居们纷纷传言，说他一口咬定自己是被‘欺骗’和被‘蒙蔽’了。我想，他的意思一定是说他中了魔法，现在魔法已经解除了，但我相信他肯定不敢使用这样的字眼，以免别人把他看成疯子。不过，村民们听了他的话，都猜想是梅洛普对汤姆·里德尔撒了谎，假装说她就要为他生孩子了，逼得他只好娶了她。”
    “What went wrong?” asked Harry. “Why did the love potion stop working?”
    “可是她确实生了他的孩子呀。”
    “Again, this is guesswork,” said Dumbledore, “but I believe that Merope, who was deeply in love with her husband, could not bear to continue enslaving him by magical means. I believe that she made the choice to stop giving him the potion. Perhaps, besotted as she was, she had convinced herself that he would by now have fallen in love with her in return. Perhaps she thought he would stay for the baby’s sake. If so, she was wrong on both counts. He left her, never saw her again, and never troubled to discover what became of his son.”
    “是啊，但那是他们结婚一年之后了。汤姆·里德尔离开她时，她正怀着身孕。”
    The sky outside was inky black and the lamps in Dumbledore’s office seemed to glow more brightly than before.
    “出什么事了？”哈利问道，“迷情剂失效了吗？”
    “I think that will do for tonight, Harry,” said Dumbledore after a moment or two.
    “这又只能凭猜测了。”邓布利多说，“我认为，梅洛普深深地爱着她的丈夫，她不能忍受继续靠魔法手段把他控制在手心里。我想，她做出了一个决定，不再给他服用迷情剂。也许，她是由于自己爱得太痴迷，便相信丈夫也会反过来爱上她。也许，她以为丈夫会为了孩子的缘故留下来。如果真是这样，她的这两个打算都落空了。汤姆·里德尔离开了她，从此再也没有见过她，也没有费心去打听他的儿子怎么样了。”
    “Yes, sir,” said Harry.
    外面的天空已经墨黑墨黑，邓布利多办公室的灯光似乎比以前更亮了。
    He got to his feet, but did not leave.
    “哈利，我看今天晚上就到这儿吧。”片刻之后邓布利多说道。
    “Sir . . . is it important to know all this about Voldemort’s past?”
    “好的，先生。”哈利说。
    “Very important, I think,” said Dumbledore.
    他站了起来，但没有马上离开。
    “And it . . . it’s got something to do with the prophecy?”
    “先生……了解伏地魔过去的这些事情很重要吗？”
    “It has everything to do with the prophecy.”
    “我认为非常重要。”邓布利多说。
    “Right,” said Harry, a little confused, but reassured all the same.
    “那么……它跟那个预言有关系吗？”
    He turned to go, then another question occurred to him, and he turned back again. “Sir, am I allowed to tell Ron and Hermione everything you’ve told me?”
    “跟那个预言很有关系。”
    Dumbledore considered him for a moment, then said, “Yes, I think Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger have proved themselves trustworthy. But Harry, I am going to ask you to ask them not to repeat any of this to anybody else. It would not be a good idea if word got around how much I know, or suspect, about Lord Voldemort’s secrets.”
    “好的。”哈利说，虽然还有些困惑，但心中的疑虑被打消了。
    “No, sir, I’ll make sure it’s just Ron and Hermione. Good night.”
    他转身准备离去，突然又想起了另一个问题，便又转回身。
    He turned away again, and was almost at the door when he saw it. Sitting on one of the little spindle-legged tables that supported so many frail-looking silver instruments, was an ugly gold ring set with a large, cracked, black stone.
    “先生，我可以把你对我说的一切告诉罗恩和赫敏吗？”
    “Sir,” said Harry, staring at it. “That ring —”
    邓布利多打量了他一会儿，然后说道：“可以，我认为韦斯莱先生和格兰杰小姐已经证明自己是值得信任的。可是，哈利，我要求你不许他们再把这些事情告诉任何人。如果消息传出去，让人知道我了解或察觉到伏地魔的多少秘密，恐怕就不妙了。”
    “Yes?” said Dumbledore.
    “不会的，先生，我保证只让罗恩和赫敏两个人知道。晚安。”
    “You were wearing it when we visited Professor Slughorn that night.”
    他又转身准备离去，快走到门口时，他看见了一个东西。在一张放着许多精致银器的细长腿小桌子上，有一枚丑陋的金戒指，中间镶着一块大大的、有裂纹的黑宝石。
    “So I was,” Dumbledore agreed.
    “先生，”哈利瞪着它，问道，“那枚戒指——”
    “But isn’t it . . . sir, isn’t it the same ring Marvolo Gaunt showed Ogden?”
    “怎么？”邓布利多说。
    Dumbledore bowed his head. “The very same.”
    “那天晚上我们去拜访斯拉格霍恩教授时，你就戴着它。”
    “But how come — ? Have you always had it?”
    “没错。”邓布利多承认。
    “No, I acquired it very recently,” said Dumbledore. “A few days before I came to fetch you from your aunt and uncle’s, in fact.”
    “但它不是……先生，它不是马沃罗·冈特给奥格登看的那枚戒指吗？”
    “That would be around the time you injured your hand, then, sir?”
    邓布利多微微点了点头。
    “Around that time, yes, Harry.”
    “正是那一枚。”
    Harry hesitated. Dumbledore was smiling.
    “可是怎么会——？它一直在你这儿吗？”
    “Sir, how exactly — ?”
    “不，我是最近才弄到的，”邓布利多说，“实际上，就在我到你姨妈姨父家去接你的几天之前。”
    “Too late, Harry! You shall hear the story another time. Good night.”
    “你的手就是在那个时候受伤的吗，先生？”
    “Good night, sir.”
    “差不多就在那个时候，没错，哈利。”
    
    哈利迟疑着。邓布利多面带微笑。
    
    “先生，究竟是怎么——？”
    
    “太晚了，哈利！下次再给你讲这个故事吧。晚安。”
    
    

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