哈利·波特与死亡圣器 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 英文  中文  双语对照  双语交替 首页  目录  上一章   下一章

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CHAPTER FIFTEEN THE GOBLIN’S REVENGE

第十五章　妖精的报复

Early next morning, before the other two were awake, Harry left the tent to search the woods around them for the oldest, most gnarled, and resilient-looking tree he could find. There in its shadow he buried Mad-Eye Moody’s eye and marked the spot by gouging a small cross in the bark with his wand. It was not much, but Harry felt that Mad-Eye would have much preferred this to being stuck on Dolores Umbridge’s door. Then he returned to the tent to wait for the others to wake, and discuss what they were going to do next.

第二天一大早，在另外两人醒来之前，哈利走出帐篷，在林子里找到了一棵最苍老虬曲、看上去最坚韧的大树，把疯眼汉穆迪的魔眼埋在树荫下，用魔杖在树皮上刻了个小十字作为记号。这不算什么，但哈利想疯眼汉会觉得这比安在乌姆里奇的门上好得多。他回到帐篷里，等两个伙伴醒来讨论下一步怎么办。

Harry and Hermione felt that it was best not to stay anywhere too long, and Ron agreed, with the sole proviso that their next move took them within reach of a bacon sandwich. Hermione therefore removed the enchantments she had placed around the clearing, while Harry and Ron obliterated all the marks and impressions on the ground that might show they had camped there. Then they Disapparated to the outskirts of a small market town.

哈利和赫敏都认为最好不要在一个地方待得太久，罗恩也同意，只是提出到了下一个宿营地必须能吃到咸肉三明治。于是赫敏解除了她在空地上设的防护魔法，哈利和罗恩消去了地上他们宿营过的痕迹，三人幻影移形到了一个小集镇。

Once they had pitched the tent in the shelter of a small copse of trees and surrounded it with freshly cast defensive enchantments, Harry ventured out under the Invisibility Cloak to find sustenance. This, however, did not go as planned. He had barely entered the town when an unnatural chill, a descending mist, and a sudden darkening of the skies made him freeze where he stood.

当他们在一小片幽僻的矮林子里搭好帐篷，又在周围设了新的防护魔法后，哈利便披着隐形衣出去找吃的。但此行并不顺利，他刚进集镇，就感到了一阵不正常的寒意，弥漫的雾气和突然的天昏地暗使他僵立在那里。

“But you can make a brilliant Patronus!” protested Ron, when Harry arrived back at the tent empty-handed, out of breath, and mouthing the single word, dementors.

“但你可以召出那么棒的守护神啊！”当哈利空着手回到帐篷里，气喘吁吁地用口型说出“摄魂怪”时，罗恩不甘心地说。

“I couldn’t . . . make one,” he panted, clutching the stitch in his side. “Wouldn’t . . . come.”

“我……不行，”他上气不接下气，捂着肋部说，“召不……出来。”

Their expressions of consternation and disappointment made Harry feel ashamed. It had been a nightmarish experience, seeing the dementors gliding out of the mist in the distance and realizing, as the paralyzing cold choked his lungs and a distant screaming filled his ears, that he was not going to be able to protect himself. It had taken all Harry’s willpower to uproot himself from the spot and run, leaving the eyeless dementors to glide amongst the Muggles who might not be able to see them, but would assuredly feel the despair they cast wherever they went.

他们震惊和失望的表情让哈利感到羞耻。这是噩梦般的感受，眼看着摄魂怪从远处雾中飘出，令人麻木的寒气使他肺部窒息，远处的尖叫灌进他的耳朵，却意识到他无法保护自己。哈利用了全部的意志力才拔起腿来，逃出了那个地方，那些没有眼睛的摄魂怪还在麻瓜中间飘行，麻瓜或许看不到它们，但一定也会感觉到它们所到之处散发的绝望。

“So we still haven’t got any food.”

“这么说我们还是没有吃的。”

“Shut up, Ron,” snapped Hermione. “Harry, what happened? Why do you think you couldn’t make your Patronus? You managed perfectly yesterday!”

“别说了，罗恩。”赫敏厉声说，“哈利，怎么回事？你为什么召不出守护神？你昨天还做得很好啊！”

“I don’t know.”

“我不知道。”

He sat low in one of Perkins’s old armchairs, feeling more humiliated by the moment. He was afraid that something had gone wrong inside him. Yesterday seemed a long time ago: Today he might have been thirteen years old again, the only one who collapsed on the Hogwarts Express.

他低低地坐在珀金斯的旧扶手椅上，此刻感觉更加羞耻。他担心自己内心出了什么问题，昨天好像已是很久以前，今天他似乎又回到了十三岁，是惟一一个在霍格沃茨特快列车上昏倒的学生。

Ron kicked a chair leg.

罗恩踢了一下椅子腿。

“What?” he snarled at Hermione. “I’m starving! All I’ve had since I bled half to death is a couple of toadstools!”

“怎么回事啊？”他对赫敏吼道，“我饿死了！我从差点失血而死到现在，只吃了几块毒蘑菇！”

“You go and fight your way through the dementors, then,” said Harry, stung.

“那你去抵抗摄魂怪啊。”哈利受了刺激，说道。

“I would, but my arm’s in a sling, in case you hadn’t noticed!”

“我是想去，可是我胳膊还吊着呢，你可能没注意到！”

‘“That’s convenient.”

“很讨巧嘛。”

“And what’s that supposed to — ?”

“你这是什么——”

“Of course!” cried Hermione, clapping a hand to her forehead and startling both of them into silence. “Harry, give me the locket! Come on,” she said impatiently, clicking her fingers at him when he did not react, “the Horcrux, Harry, you’re still wearing it!”

“对了！”赫敏一拍额头，叫了起来，两人都惊讶地沉默了，“哈利，给我那个挂坠盒！快，”见他没有反应，她朝他打着响指，急躁地说，“那个魂器，哈利，你还戴着它呢！”

She held out her hands, and Harry lifted the golden chain over his head. The moment it parted contact with Harry’s skin he felt free and oddly light. He had not even realized that he was clammy or that there was a heavy weight pressing on his stomach until both sensations lifted.

她伸出双手，哈利把金链子从脑袋上脱下来。那玩意儿一离开他的皮肤，哈利立刻感到了自由和出奇的轻松，这才意识到自己刚才已被冷汗黏湿，胃里像压着一块巨石。

“Better?” asked Hermione.

“好些了吗？”赫敏问。

“Yeah, loads better!”

“嗯，好多了！”

“Harry,” she said, crouching down in front of him and using the kind of voice he associated with visiting the very sick, “you don’t think you’ve been possessed, do you?”

“哈利，”她在他面前蹲下来，用令他联想想探望危重病人的语气说，“你没有被附身吧？”

“What? No!” he said defensively. “I remember everything we’ve done while I’ve been wearing it. I wouldn’t know what I’d done if I’d been possessed, would I? Ginny told me there were times when she couldn’t remember anything.”

“什么？没有！”他辩白道，“我戴着它时做过的事情我都记得，如果被附身了，我是不会记得的，对不对？金妮告诉我说，有些时候她什么都不记得。”

“Hmm,” said Hermione, looking down at the heavy gold locket. “Well, maybe we ought not to wear it. We can just keep it in the tent.”

“唔，”赫敏低头看着那个沉甸甸的挂坠盒，“也许我们不应该戴着它，可以把它留在帐篷里。”

“We are not leaving that Horcrux lying around,” Harry stated firmly. “If we lose it, if it gets stolen —”

“我们不能把魂器随便乱放，”哈利坚决地说，“要是弄丢了，要是被偷走——”

“Oh, all right, all right,” said Hermione, and she placed it around her own neck and tucked it out of sight down the front of her shirt. “But we’ll take turns wearing it, so nobody keeps it on too long.”

“哦，好吧，好吧，”赫敏说着，把它挂到自己脖子上，塞进衬衫领子里，“但我们要轮流戴它，谁都不要戴得太久。”

“Great,” said Ron irritably, “and now we’ve sorted that out, can we please get some food?”

“太好了，”罗恩烦燥地说，“现在问题解决了，能不能搞点吃的啦？”

“Fine, but we’ll go somewhere else to find it,” said Hermione with half a glance at Harry. “There’s no point staying where we know dementors are swooping around.”

“好啊，但要到别的地方去找，”赫敏往哈利那边瞟了瞟说，“明知有摄魂怪出没还待在这儿是不明智的。”

In the end they settled down for the night in a far-flung field belonging to a lonely farm, from which they had managed to obtain eggs and bread.

最后他们停在一片广阔的田野里过夜，并从那家孤零零的农场搞到了鸡蛋和面包。

“It’s not stealing, is it?” asked Hermione in a troubled voice, as they devoured scrambled eggs on toast. “Not if I left some money under the chicken coop?”

“这不是偷，对吧？”三人狼吞虎咽地吃着烤面包夹鸡蛋时，赫敏不安地问道，“我在鸡笼下面塞了点钱。”

Ron rolled his eyes and said, with his cheeks bulging, “ ’Er-my-nee, ’oo worry ’oo much. ’Elax!”

罗恩翻翻眼睛，鼓着腮帮子说：“赫－敏－，你－想－太－多－了，放－松－点儿！”

And, indeed, it was much easier to relax when they were comfortably well fed: The argument about the dementors was forgotten in laughter that night, and Harry felt cheerful, even hopeful, as he took the first of the three night watches.

舒舒服服吃饱之后，确实容易放松。关于摄魂怪的争吵在笑声中被遗忘了。晚上分三班放哨，哈利值第一班时，心情是很愉快，甚至是很乐观的。

This was their first encounter with the fact that a full stomach meant good spirits; an empty one, bickering and gloom. Harry was least surprised by this, because he had suffered periods of near starvation at the Dursleys’. Hermione bore up reasonably well on those nights when they managed to scavenge nothing but berries or stale biscuits, her temper perhaps a little shorter than usual and her silences rather dour. Ron, however, had always been used to three delicious meals a day, courtesy of his mother or of the Hogwarts house-elves, and hunger made him both unreasonable and irascible. Whenever lack of food coincided with Ron’s turn to wear the Horcrux, he became downright unpleasant.

这是他们第一次体会到饱肚子会带来好心情，而空肚子会引起争吵和沮丧。哈利对此最不意外，因为他在德思礼家多次尝过忍饥挨饿的滋味。在那些只找到桨果或陈饼干的夜晚，赫敏风度还不错，虽然脾气或许比平时急躁一些，沉默时脸色也阴沉一些。罗恩却是习惯于一日三餐都能享用他妈妈或霍格沃茨家养小精灵提供的可口饭菜，饥饿使他失去了理智，暴躁易怒。每当缺少吃的又赶上佩戴魂器时，他就变得简直令人讨厌了。

“So where next?” was his constant refrain. He did not seem to have any ideas himself, but expected Harry and Hermione to come up with plans while he sat and brooded over the low food supplies. Accordingly Harry and Hermione spent fruitless hours trying to decide where they might find the other Horcruxes, and how to destroy the one they had already got, their conversations becoming increasingly repetitive as they had no new information.

“下面去哪儿？”成了他的口头禅，他自己似乎一点儿主意也没有，全指望哈利、赫敏拿出计划，而他只坐在那里为食物不足而闷闷不乐。哈利和赫敏长时间地合计去哪儿可能找到其他魂器，讨论如何摧毁已经找到的这一个，但毫无结果。他们的对话越来越单调，因为得不到新的信息。

As Dumbledore had told Harry that he believed Voldemort had hidden the Horcruxes in places important to him, they kept reciting, in a sort of dreary litany, those locations they knew that Voldemort had lived or visited. The orphanage where he had been born and raised; Hogwarts, where he had been educated; Borgin and Burkes, where he had worked after completing school; then Albania, where he had spent his years of exile: These formed the basis of their speculations.

邓布利多对哈利说过，伏地魔可能把魂器藏在对他有重要意义的地方。于是他们枯燥地反复念叨据悉伏地魔曾经居住或访问过的地点。他出生和度过童年的孤儿院、他就读的霍格沃茨、他离校后工作过的博金－博克，还有他流亡多年的阿尔巴尼亚：这些构成了他们推想的依据。

“Yeah, let’s go to Albania. Shouldn’t take more than an afternoon to search an entire country,” said Ron sarcastically.

“是啊，去阿尔巴尼亚吧，搜索整个国家只要花一下午。”罗恩讽刺地说。

“There can’t be anything there. He’d already made five of his Horcruxes before he went into exile, and Dumbledore was certain the snake is the sixth,” said Hermione. “We know the snake’s not in Albania, it’s usually with Vol —”

“那儿不会有什么。他流亡前已经制作了五个魂器，邓布利多断定那条蛇是第六个，”赫敏说，“我们知道那条蛇不在阿尔巴尼亚，它一般都跟伏——”

“Didn’t I ask you to stop saying that?”

“我没告诉你不要说那个名字吗？”

“Fine! The snake is usually with You-Know-Who — happy?”

“好吧！那条蛇一般都跟神秘人在一起——满意了吧？”

“Not particularly.”

“不大满意。”

“I can’t see him hiding anything at Borgin and Burkes,” said Harry, who had made this point many times before, but said it again simply to break the nasty silence. “Borgin and Burke were experts at Dark objects, they would’ve recognized a Horcrux straightaway.”

“我看他不会在博金－博克藏什么东西。”哈利说道，他已经多次表达过这一观点，但又说了一遍，只为打破那不愉快的沉默，“博金和博克都是黑魔法专家，他们一下就会发现魂器的。”罗恩有意打了个哈欠，哈利忍住想朝他扔东西的强烈冲动，勉强说下去：“我仍然觉得他可能在霍格沃茨藏了什么东西。”

Ron yawned pointedly. Repressing a strong urge to throw something at him, Harry plowed on, “I still reckon he might have hidden something at Hogwarts.”

赫敏叹了口气。

Hermione sighed.

“但邓布利多会发现的呀，哈利！”

“But Dumbledore would have found it, Harry!”

哈利又搬出他为支持这个理论而反复提起的观点。

Harry repeated the argument he kept bringing out in favor of this theory.

“邓布利多当面对我说，他从不认为自己知道霍格沃茨的所有秘密，如果有一个地方是伏——”

“Dumbledore said in front of me that he never assumed he knew all of Hogwarts’s secrets. I’m telling you, if there was one place Vol —”

“喂！”

“Oi!”

“神－秘－人！”哈利吼道，被刺激得忍无可忍了，“如果有一个地方真正对神秘人有重要意义，那就是霍格沃茨！”

“YOU-KNOW-WHO, then!” Harry shouted, goaded past endurance. “If there was one place that was really important to You-Know-Who, it was Hogwarts!”

“哦，得了，”罗恩嘲笑道，“他的学校？”

“Oh, come on,” scoffed Ron. “His school ?”

“对，他的学校！这是他第一个真正的家，一个表明他很特殊的地方，对他来说意味着一切，即使在他离开之后——”

“Yeah, his school! It was his first real home, the place that meant he was special; it meant everything to him, and even after he left —”

“我们说的是神秘人，对吗？不是在说你吧？”罗恩问道，他在拉扯着脖子上魂器的链子。哈利那一刻真想抓住那链子把他勒死。

“This is You-Know-Who we’re talking about, right? Not you?” inquired Ron. He was tugging at the chain of the Horcrux around his neck: Harry was visited by a desire to seize it and throttle him.

“你告诉过我们神秘人离校后曾请求邓布利多给他一份工作。”赫敏说。

“You told us that You-Know-Who asked Dumbledore to give him a job after he left,” said Hermione.

“不错。”哈利说。

“That’s right,” said Harry.

“邓布利多认为他只是想回来找什么东西，也许是另一个创始人的遗物，用来做新的魂器，对吗？”

“And Dumbledore thought he only wanted to come back to try and find something, probably another founder’s object, to make into another Horcrux?”

“对。”哈利说。

“Yeah,” said Harry.

“可是他没有得到那份工作，是不是？”赫敏说，“所以他没有机会找到创始人的遗物，再把它藏在学校！”

“But he didn’t get the job, did he?” said Hermione. “So he never got the chance to find a founder’s object there and hide it in the school!”

“好吧，那么，”哈利认输地说，“忘掉霍格沃茨吧。”

“Okay, then,” said Harry, defeated. “Forget Hogwarts.”

没有别的线索，他们去了伦敦，披着隐形衣寻找伏地魔住过的那所孤儿院。赫敏溜进一个图书馆，从资料中发现那所孤儿院多年前就拆毁了。他们到原址转了转，发现那里已经是办公大楼。

Without any other leads, they traveled into London and, hidden beneath the Invisibility Cloak, searched for the orphanage in which Voldemort had been raised. Hermione stole into a library and discovered from their records that the place had been demolished many years before. They visited its site and found a tower block of offices.

“我们可以试试到地基里挖一挖？”赫敏热情不高地说。

“We could try digging in the foundations?” Hermione suggested halfheartedly.

“他不会把魂器藏在这里。”哈利说。他早就知道：孤儿院是伏地魔决心要逃离的地方，他绝不会把自己灵魂的一部分藏在那儿。邓布利多曾提示哈利，伏地魔选择藏身之处时追求庄严或神秘的气氛。伦敦的这个阴郁灰暗的角落，与霍格沃茨、魔法部或是巫师银行古灵阁的金门和大理石地面，可以说有天壤之别。

“He wouldn’t have hidden a Horcrux here,” Harry said. He had known it all along: The orphanage had been the place Voldemort had been determined to escape; he would never have hidden a part of his soul there. Dumbledore had shown Harry that Voldemort sought grandeur or mystique in his hiding places; this dismal gray corner of London was as far removed as you could imagine from Hogwarts or the Ministry or a building like Gringotts, the Wizarding bank, with its golden doors and marble floors.

尽管没有新主意，他们仍然在野外流浪。为安全起见，他们每天晚上都在不同的地方宿营，早晨消去留下的所有痕迹，然后出发去寻找另一个偏僻隐蔽的地方，幻影显形到森林、幽暗的崖缝、紫色的沼地、开满金雀花的山坡，还有一次到了一个隐蔽的卵石小湾。他们轮流佩戴魂器，大约每十二小时一换，好像在玩一种邪恶的、慢动作的击鼓传花游戏，每个人都害怕鼓声停止，因为惩罚是十二个小时的更强烈的恐惧和焦虑。

Even without any new ideas, they continued to move through the countryside, pitching the tent in a different place each night for security. Every morning they made sure that they had removed all clues to their presence, then set off to find another lonely and secluded spot, traveling by Apparition to more woods, to the shadowy crevices of cliffs, to purple moors, gorse-covered mountainsides, and once a sheltered and pebbly cove. Every twelve hours or so they passed the Horcrux between them as though they were playing some perverse, slow-motion game of pass-the-parcel, where they dreaded the music stopping because the reward was twelve hours of increased fear and anxiety.

哈利的伤疤经常刺痛。他注意到，当他佩戴着魂器时，伤疤痛的次数最多，有时痛得他禁不住有所反应。

Harry’s scar kept prickling. It happened most often, he noticed, when he was wearing the Horcrux. Sometimes he could not stop himself reacting to the pain.

“什么？你看到了什么？”每当看到哈利皱紧眉头，罗恩就问。

“What? What did you see?” demanded Ron, whenever he noticed Harry wince.

“一张面孔，”哈利每次都喃喃地说道，“同一张面孔。格里戈维奇家的那个小偷。”

“A face,” muttered Harry, every time. “The same face. The thief who stole from Gregorovitch.”

罗恩转过头去，并不掩饰他的失望。哈利知道罗恩希望听到他家人的消息，或者凤凰社其他成员的消息。可他哈利毕竟不是电视天线，他只能看到伏地魔此时在想什么，而无法想调什么频道就能如愿。显然伏地魔在无休止地想着那个神采飞扬的无名少年，想他叫什么，在什么地方。哈利确信伏地魔并不比自己知道得更多。哈利的伤疤继续灼痛，那个快乐的金发少年在他记忆中晃来晃去，让他干着急。他学会了掩饰疼痛或不适，因为两个同伴在他提起那个小偷时表现出的只有不耐烦。他不能完全怪他们，因为大家都迫切希望得到一点魂器的线索。

And Ron would turn away, making no effort to hide his disappointment. Harry knew that Ron was hoping to hear news of his family or of the rest of the Order of the Phoenix, but after all, he, Harry, was not a television aerial; he could only see what Voldemort was thinking at the time, not tune in to whatever took his fancy. Apparently Voldemort was dwelling endlessly on the unknown youth with the gleeful face, whose name and whereabouts, Harry felt sure, Voldemort knew no better than he did. As Harry’s scar continued to burn and the merry, blond-haired boy swam tantalizingly in his memory, he learned to suppress any sign of pain or discomfort, for the other two showed nothing but impatience at the mention of the thief. He could not entirely blame them, when they were so desperate for a lead on the Horcruxes.

从几天捱到了几个星期，哈利开始疑心罗恩和赫敏在背后议论他。有几次，他俩在哈利走进帐篷时突然停止了交谈。还有两次，他碰见他俩蹲在不远处，脑袋凑在一起，急速地窃窃私语，发现他走近，两人都急忙住口，装作忙着拾柴或打水。

As the days stretched into weeks, Harry began to suspect that Ron and Hermione were having conversations without, and about, him. Several times they stopped talking abruptly when Harry entered the tent, and twice he came accidentally upon them, huddled a little distance away, heads together and talking fast; both times they fell silent when they realized he was approaching them and hastened to appear busy collecting wood or water.

哈利不禁怀疑，他们当初之所以同意参加这一行动，是以为他有什么秘密计划，会在适当的时候透露给他们，而现在感觉这行动像是漫无目标的流浪。罗恩毫无掩饰他的坏情绪，哈利开始担心赫敏也对他的领导能力感到失望。绝望中，他试图猜想其他魂器的地点，可是惟一一个老是想到的地方就是霍格沃茨，可是他俩都认为这根本不可能，他也就不再提了。

Harry could not help wondering whether they had only agreed to come on what now felt like a pointless and rambling journey because they thought he had some secret plan that they would learn in due course. Ron was making no effort to hide his bad mood, and Harry was starting to fear that Hermione too was disappointed by his poor leadership. In desperation he tried to think of further Horcrux locations, but the only one that continued to occur to him was Hogwarts, and as neither of the others thought this at all likely, he stopped suggesting it.

秋色在郊外漫延，他们继续流浪：现在把帐篷搭在满地落叶上。自然的雾气与摄魂怪带来的冷雾混在一起；风雨也给他们增添了困难。赫敏识别食用菌的本领提高了，但这并不能抵消其他方面的消极因素：长期孤独，没有其他人陪伴，而且完全不知道反对伏地魔的斗争进展如何。

Autumn rolled over the countryside as they moved through it: They were now pitching the tent on mulches of fallen leaves. Natural mists joined those cast by the dementors; wind and rain added to their troubles. The fact that Hermione was getting better at identifying edible fungi could not altogether compensate for their continuing isolation, the lack of other people’s company, or their total ignorance of what was going on in the war against Voldemort.

“我妈妈，”一天晚上，坐在威尔士一处河岸边的帐篷里，罗恩说道，“能凭空变出美味佳肴。”

“My mother,” said Ron one night, as they sat in the tent on a riverbank in Wales, “can make good food appear out of thin air.”

他忧郁地戳着盘中那几块烧焦的、灰不溜秋的鱼肉。哈利不由得瞟了一眼罗恩的脖子，果然看到魂器的金链子在那里闪烁，便压下了想骂罗恩几句的冲动，知道挂坠盒拿掉后他的态度就会稍有好转。

He prodded moodily at the lumps of charred gray fish on his plate. Harry glanced automatically at Ron’s neck and saw, as he had expected, the golden chain of the Horcrux glinting there. He managed to fight down the impulse to swear at Ron, whose attitude would, he knew, improve slightly when the time came to take off the locket.

“你妈妈不能凭空变出食物，”赫敏说，“谁也不能。食物是‘甘普基本变形法则’的五大例外中的第一项——”

“Your mother can’t produce food out of thin air,” said Hermione. “No one can. Food is the first of the five Principal Exceptions to Gamp’s Law of Elemental Transfigur —”

“哦，说大白话，行不行？”罗恩说，从牙缝中剔出一根鱼刺。

“Oh, speak English, can’t you?” Ron said, prising a fish bone out from between his teeth.

“不可能凭空变出美味佳肴！如果你知道食物在哪儿，可以把它召来；如果你已经有了一些，可以给它变形，也可以使它增多——”

“It’s impossible to make good food out of nothing! You can Summon it if you know where it is, you can transform it, you can increase the quantity if you’ve already got some —”

“——哦，这个就不用增多了，真难吃。”罗恩说。

“Well, don’t bother increasing this, it’s disgusting,” said Ron.

“哈利抓的鱼，我尽了最大努力！我发现最后总是我去弄吃的，大概因为我是女孩吧！”

“Harry caught the fish and I did my best with it! I notice I’m always the one who ends up sorting out the food, because I’m a girl, I suppose!”

“不，因为据说你是最精通魔法的！”罗恩反唇相讥。

“No, it’s because you’re supposed to be the best at magic!” shot back Ron.

赫敏蹦了起来，几小块烤梭子鱼从她的锡盘里滑到地上。

Hermione jumped up and bits of roast pike slid off her tin plate onto the floor.

“你明天做饭好了，罗恩，你可以去找原料，想办法把它们变成能够下咽的东西，我坐在这儿拉长了脸发牢骚，你可以看到你——”

“You can do the cooking tomorrow, Ron, you can find the ingredients and try and charm them into something worth eating, and I’ll sit here and pull faces and moan and you can see how you —”

“住口！”哈利举着双手跳起来说，“马上住口！”

“Shut up!” said Harry, leaping to his feet and holding up both hands. “Shut up now!”

赫敏看上去很愤恨。

Hermione looked outraged.

“你怎么可以站在他那边，他几乎从来不做饭——”

“How can you side with him, he hardly ever does the cook —”

“赫敏，安静，我听到有人！”

“Hermione, be quiet, I can hear someone!”

哈利仔细聆听，双手仍然举着，警告他们不要说话。少顷，在旁边黑暗中河水的哗哗声里，他再次听到了说话声。他回头看看窥镜，它一动不动。

He was listening hard, his hands still raised, warning them not to talk. Then, over the rush and gush of the dark river beside them, he heard voices again. He looked around at the Sneakoscope. It was not moving.

“你在我们周围施了闭耳塞听咒，是不是？”他小声问赫敏。

“You cast the Muffliato charm over us, right?” he whispered to Hermione.

“我什么都施了，”她小声回答，“闭耳塞听、麻瓜屏蔽和幻身咒，一股脑儿全用上了，不管是什么人，应该不会听到或看到我们。”

“I did everything,” she whispered back, “Muffliato, MuggleRepelling and Disillusionment Charms, all of it. They shouldn’t be able to hear or see us, whoever they are.”

沉重的脚步声和磨擦声，还有石头和树枝掉落的声音，告诉他们有几个人正在攀下陡峭多树的山坡，渐渐接近坡下搭着帐篷的狭窄河岸。他们抽出魔杖等待着。在几乎一片漆黑中，防护魔法应该足以挡住麻瓜和一般巫师的注意。如果来的是食死徒，这防护屏障可能就要第一次受到黑魔法的检验。

Heavy scuffing and scraping noises, plus the sound of dislodged stones and twigs, told them that several people were clambering down the steep, wooded slope that descended to the narrow bank where they had pitched the tent. They drew their wands, waiting. The enchantments they had cast around themselves ought to be sufficient, in the near total darkness, to shield them from the notice of Muggles and normal witches and wizards. If these were Death Eaters, then perhaps their defenses were about to be tested by Dark Magic for the first time.

声音大了一些，还是听不清楚，因为那帮人到了河边。哈利估计说话都离他们不到二十英尺，但在奔流的河水声中不能确定。赫敏抓过串珠小包翻找起来，一会儿便掏出三个伸缩耳，扔给哈利和罗恩一人一个。他们急忙将那肉色的细绳一头塞进耳中，另一头送到帐篷外。

The voices became louder but no more intelligible as the group of men reached the bank. Harry estimated that their owners were fewer than twenty feet away, but the cascading river made it impossible to tell for sure. Hermione snatched up the beaded bag and started to rummage; after a moment she drew out three Extendable Ears and threw one each to Harry and Ron, who hastily inserted the ends of the flesh-colored strings into their ears and fed the other ends out of the tent entrance.

几秒钟后哈利就听到了一个疲惫的男声。

Within seconds Harry heard a weary male voice.

“这儿应该有一些鲑鱼，你说是不是季节还太早？鲑鱼飞来！”

“There ought to be a few salmon in here, or d’you reckon it’s too early in the season? Accio Salmon!”

几处泼剌剌的溅水声，接着是鱼撞到皮肤上的啪唧声。有人赞赏地嘟囔着。哈利把伸缩耳往自己耳朵里塞得更深一点，在潺潺的水声中他又听到了一些说话声，但说的不是英语，也不是他听过的任何人类语言。那是一种粗哑刺耳的说话声，一连串嘎嘎的喉音，听起来好像有两个人，一个声音稍微低一些、慢一些。

There were several distinct splashes and then the slapping sounds of fish against flesh. Somebody grunted appreciatively. Harry pressed the Extendable Ear deeper into his own: Over the murmur of the river he could make out more voices, but they were not speaking English or any human language he had ever heard. It was a rough and unmelodious tongue, a string of rattling, guttural noises, and there seemed to be two speakers, one with a slightly lower, slower voice than the other.

一面帆布壁外有火焰跳动起来，庞大的黑影在帐篷与火焰之间晃动。烤鲑鱼的香味诱人地飘来，然后传来了盘子上刀叉的丁当声，第一个男声又说话了。

A fire danced into life on the other side of the canvas; large shadows passed between tent and flames. The delicious smell of baking salmon wafted tantalizingly in their direction. Then came the clinking of cutlery on plates, and the first man spoke again.

“给，拉环、戈努克。”

“Here, Griphook, Gornuk.”

妖精！赫敏对哈利做着口型说，他点点头。

Goblins! Hermione mouthed at Harry, who nodded.

“谢谢。”两个妖精一齐用英语说。

“Thank you,” said the goblins together in English.

“这么说，你们三个一直在逃亡，有多久了？”一个新的、醇厚悦耳的声音说，哈利觉得似乎有点耳熟，他想象出一个大肚子、慈眉善目的男人。

“So, you three have been on the run how long?” asked a new, mellow, and pleasant voice; it was vaguely familiar to Harry, who pictured a round-bellied, cheerful-faced man.

“六个星期……七个……我忘了。”那个疲惫的男声说，“在头两天遇到了拉环，不久之后又跟戈努克会合。很高兴有个伴。”片刻的沉默，刀刮盘子的声音，锡杯子被拿起又放回地上。“你怎么出来了，泰德？”那人又问。

“Six weeks . . . seven . . . I forget,” said the tired man. “Met up with Griphook in the first couple of days and joined forces with Gornuk not long after. Nice to have a bit of company.” There was a pause, while knives scraped plates and tin mugs were picked up and replaced on the ground. “What made you leave, Ted?” continued the man.

“知道他们要来找我。”声音醇厚的泰德答道。哈利突然知道他是谁了：唐克斯的父亲。“听说上星期这个地区有食死徒出现，我决定还是逃走吧。我出于原则拒绝参加麻瓜出身登记，所以知道这是迟早的事，终归非走不可。我太太应该没事，她是纯血统。后来我在这儿碰到了迪安，是几天前吧，孩子？”

“Knew they were coming for me,” replied mellow-voiced Ted, and Harry suddenly knew who he was: Tonks’s father. “Heard Death Eaters were in the area last week and decided I’d better run for it. Refused to register as a Muggle-born on principle, see, so I knew it was a matter of time, knew I’d have to leave in the end. My wife should be okay, she’s pure-blood. And then I met Dean here, what, a few days ago, son?”

“是。”又一个声音说。哈利、罗恩和赫敏对视了一下，没有出声但是兴奋极了，他们听出那声音分明是迪安·托马斯，他们格兰芬多学院的同学。

“Yeah,” said another voice, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared at each other, silent but beside themselves with excitement, sure they recognized the voice of Dean Thomas, their fellow Gryffindor.

“麻瓜出身，嗯？”第一个男声问。

“Muggle-born, eh?” asked the first man.

“搞不清，”迪安说，“我很小的时候，我爸就离开了我妈，但我没有证据证明他是巫师。”

“Not sure,” said Dean. “My dad left my mum when I was a kid. I’ve got no proof he was a wizard, though.”

一阵沉默，只听到咀嚼的声音，然后泰德又说话了。

There was silence for a while, except for the sounds of munching; then Ted spoke again.

“我不得不说，德克，遇见你让我感到意外。很高兴，但也很意外。传闻说你已经被捕了。”

“I’ve got to say, Dirk, I’m surprised to run into you. Pleased, but surprised. Word was you’d been caught.”

“是的，”德克说，“我在被押往阿兹卡班的半路上逃了出来。击昏了德力士，偷了他的飞天扫帚。比想象的要容易。我看他当时不大正常，也许被施了混淆咒，如果是那样，我真想跟那位施咒的巫师握握手，可能救了我一命呢。”

“I was,” said Dirk. “I was halfway to Azkaban when I made a break for it, Stunned Dawlish, and nicked his broom. It was easier than you’d think; I don’t reckon he’s quite right at the moment. Might be Confunded. If so, I’d like to shake the hand of the witch or wizard who did it, probably saved my life.”

又是一阵沉默，火堆噼啪作响，河水汨汨流淌。然后泰德说：“那么，你们两个人又是怎么回事？我——呃——我印象中妖精大体上是支持神秘人的呀。”

There was another pause in which the fire crackled and the river rushed on. Then Ted said, “And where do you two fit in? I, er, had the impression the goblins were for You-Know-Who, on the whole.”

“你的印象是错误的，”声音较高的那个妖精说，“我们并不偏向哪一边，这是巫师的战争。”

“You had a false impression,” said the higher-voiced of the goblins. “We take no sides. This is a wizards’ war.”

“那你们为什么要躲藏呢？”

“How come you’re in hiding, then?”

“我认为这是明智的，”声音较低沉的那个妖精说，“在拒绝了我认为无礼的要求后，我可以想见我的人身安全处于危险之中。”

“I deemed it prudent,” said the deeper-voiced goblin. “Having refused what I considered an impertinent request, I could see that my personal safety was in jeopardy.”

“他们要你做什么？”泰德问。

“What did they ask you to do?” asked Ted.

“与我的种族尊严不相称的事情，”那妖精回答道，声音更加粗犷和不像人声，“我不是家养小精灵。”

“Duties ill-befitting the dignity of my race,” replied the goblin, his voice rougher and less human as he said it. “I am not a house-elf.”

“你呢，拉环？”

“What about you, Griphook?”

“类似的原因，”声音较高的妖精说，“古灵阁不再由我的种族单独控制。我不承认巫师是我的主人。”

“Similar reasons,” said the higher-voiced goblin. “Gringotts is no longer under the sole control of my race. I recognize no Wizarding master.”

他小声用妖精语言叽咕了几句，戈努克大笑起来。

He added something under his breath in Gobbledegook, and Gornuk laughed.

“有什么好笑的？”迪安问。

“What’s the joke?” asked Dean.

“他说，”德克答道，“有些事情巫师也没意识到。”

“He said,” replied Dirk, “that there are things wizards don’t recognize, either.”

片刻的沉默。

There was a short pause.

“我不明白。”迪安说。

“I don’t get it,” said Dean.

“我离开前施了一个小小的报复。”拉环用英语说。

“I had my small revenge before I left,” said Griphook in English.

“好汉——好妖精，我应该说，”泰德连忙更正道，“没有把一个食死徒锁在超级保险的古老金库里吧？”

“Good man — goblin, I should say,” amended Ted hastily. “Didn’t manage to lock a Death Eater up in one of the old highsecurity vaults, I suppose?”

“如果我锁了的话，那把剑也不会帮他逃出来。”拉环答道。戈努克又笑起来，德克也淡淡地笑了两声。

“If I had, the sword would not have helped him break out,” replied Griphook. Gornuk laughed again and even Dirk gave a dry chuckle.

“迪安和我还是有些糊涂。”泰德说。

“Dean and I are still missing something here,” said Ted.

“西弗勒斯·斯内普也是，但他还不知道。”拉环说，两个妖精恶意地狂笑起来。

“So is Severus Snape, though he does not know it,” said Griphook, and the two goblins roared with malicious laughter. Inside the tent Harry’s breathing was shallow with excitement: He and Hermione stared at each other, listening as hard as they could.

帐篷里，哈利的呼吸兴奋而短促。他和赫敏瞪大了眼睛对视着，竭力仔细聆听。

“Didn’t you hear about that, Ted?” asked Dirk. “About the kids who tried to steal Gryffindor’s sword out of Snape’s office at Hogwarts?”

“你没有听说吗，泰德？”德克问道，“霍格沃茨那些孩子试图把格兰芬多的宝剑从斯内普办公室偷出去。”

An electric current seemed to course through Harry, jangling his every nerve as he stood rooted to the spot.

似乎有一股电流传遍了哈利全身，刺激着他的每一根神经。他像生了根一样伫立在原地。

“Never heard a word,” said Ted. “Not in the Prophet, was it?”

“一个字也没听说，”泰德说，“《预言家日报》上没有吧？”

“Hardly,” chortled Dirk. “Griphook here told me, he heard about it from Bill Weasley who works for the bank. One of the kids who tried to take the sword was Bill’s younger sister.”

“不会有的，”德克高笑道，“是拉环告诉我的。他又是听在银行工作的比尔·韦斯莱说的。偷宝剑的孩子中有一个是比尔的妹妹。”

Harry glanced toward Hermione and Ron, both of whom were clutching the Extendable Ears as tightly as lifelines.

哈利瞥了一眼赫敏和罗恩，他俩都紧紧捏着伸缩耳，像抓着救命稻草一般。

“She and a couple of friends got into Snape’s office and smashed open the glass case where he was apparently keeping the sword. Snape caught them as they were trying to smuggle it down the staircase.”

“那小姑娘和几个朋友一起溜进斯内普的办公室，砸开了好像是放着宝剑的那个玻璃匣子，正在偷偷把宝剑拿下楼时，被斯内普抓住了。”

“Ah, God bless ’em,” said Ted. “What did they think, that they’d be able to use the sword on You-Know-Who? Or on Snape himself?”

“啊，上帝保佑他们。”泰德说，“这帮孩子是怎么想的，以为他们能用这把宝剑去对付神秘人？或对付斯内普本人？”

“Well, whatever they thought they were going to do with it, Snape decided the sword wasn’t safe where it was,” said Dirk. “Couple of days later, once he’d got the say-so from You-Know-Who, I imagine, he sent it down to London to be kept in Gringotts instead.”

“哦，不管他们想用它干什么，斯内普断定这把剑放在那里不安全了。”德克说道，“几天之后，我想是得到了神秘人的许可，他把它运到伦敦存在了古灵阁。”

The goblins started to laugh again.

两个妖精又大笑起来。

“I’m still not seeing the joke,” said Ted.

“我还是看不出有什么好笑的。”泰德说。

“It’s a fake,” rasped Griphook.

“那是赝品。”拉环刺耳地说。

“The sword of Gryffindor!”

“格兰芬多的宝剑！”

“Oh yes. It is a copy — an excellent copy, it is true — but it was Wizard-made. The original was forged centuries ago by goblins and had certain properties only goblin-made armor possesses. Wherever the genuine sword of Gryffindor is, it is not in a vault at Gringotts bank.”

“哦，是的，它是仿制品——仿制得很好，这点不假——但它是巫师造的。真品是许多世纪以前由妖精铸造的，有一些只有妖精造的武器才具备的特性。无论真正的格兰芬多宝剑在哪儿，反正不在古灵阁银行的金库里。”

“I see,” said Ted. “And I take it you didn’t bother telling the Death Eaters this?”

“我明白了，”泰德说，“我想你没有去把这告诉食死徒吧？”

“I saw no reason to trouble them with the information,” said Griphook smugly, and now Ted and Dean joined in Gornuk and Dirk’s laughter.

“我认为没有必要用这个消息去困扰他们。”拉环洋洋自得地说。现在泰德和迪安也跟着戈努克和德克大笑起来。

Inside the tent, Harry closed his eyes, willing someone to ask the question he needed answered, and after a minute that seemed ten, Dean obliged; he was (Harry remembered with a jolt) an exboyfriend of Ginny’s too.

帐篷里，哈利闭起眼睛，希望有人问起他想知道的问题。过了一分钟，他感觉像过了十分钟，迪安满足了他的愿望。他（哈利猛然想起）以前也是金妮的男友。

“What happened to Ginny and the others? The ones who tried to steal it?”

“金妮和其他人怎么样了？那帮偷剑的学生？”

“Oh, they were punished, and cruelly,” said Griphook indifferently.

“哦，他们受到了惩罚，残酷的惩罚。”拉环冷淡地说。

“They’re okay, though?” asked Ted quickly. “I mean, the Weasleys don’t need any more of their kids injured, do they?”

“他们没事吧？”泰德马上问，“我想，韦斯莱家可不能再有孩子受伤了，是不是？”

“They suffered no serious injury, as far as I am aware,” said Griphook.

“据我所知，他们没有受什么重伤。”拉环说。

“Lucky for them,” said Ted. “With Snape’s track record I suppose we should just be glad they’re still alive.”

“真幸运。”泰德说，“以斯内普的一贯作风，我认为那帮孩子能活下来就不错了。”

“You believe that story, then, do you, Ted?” asked Dirk. “You believe Snape killed Dumbledore?”

“那么你也相信那个说法了，泰德？”德克问，“你相信是斯内普杀死了邓布利多？”

“ ’Course I do,” said Ted. “You’re not going to sit there and tell me you think Potter had anything to do with it?”

“我当然相信，”泰德说，“你不会坐在那儿告诉我，你认为波特与这事儿有关系吧？”

“Hard to know what to believe these days,” muttered Dirk.

“这些日子很难知道该相信什么。”德克咕哝道。

“I know Harry Potter,” said Dean. “And I reckon he’s the real thing — the Chosen One, or whatever you want to call it.”

“我认识哈利·波特，”迪安说，“我认为他是真正的——救世之星，或随便你想用什么词。”

“Yeah, there’s a lot would like to believe he’s that, son,” said Dirk, “me included. But where is he? Run for it, by the looks of things. You’d think, if he knew anything we don’t, or had anything special going for him, he’d be out there now fighting, rallying resistance, instead of hiding. And you know, the Prophet made a pretty good case against him —”

“是啊，很多人都愿意相信他是，孩子。”德克说，“包括我在内。可是他在哪儿？看样子是跑了。照理说，如果他知道一些我们不知道的事情，或者有什么特殊的能耐，现在就会挺身而出，率领大家反抗，而不是销声匿迹。你知道，《预言家日报》对他的一些揭露挺有道理——”

“The Prophet?” scoffed Ted. “You deserve to be lied to if you’re still reading that muck, Dirk. You want the facts, try the Quibbler.”

“《预言家日报》？”泰德嗤之以鼻，“如果你还在读那种垃圾，被欺骗也是活该，德克。你要想知道事实，去看《唱唱反调》吧。”

There was a sudden explosion of choking and retching, plus a good deal of thumping; by the sound of it, Dirk had swallowed a fish bone. At last he spluttered, “The Quibbler? That lunatic rag of Xeno Lovegood’s?”

突然爆发出一阵咳嗽声和吐东西的声音，还有重重的拍击声，听起来好像德克吞下了一根鱼刺。最后他呛着说：“《唱唱反调》？谢诺·洛夫古德的那份疯话连篇的破小报？”

“It’s not so lunatic these days,” said Ted. “You want to give it a look. Xeno is printing all the stuff the Prophet’s ignoring, not a single mention of Crumple-Horned Snorkacks in the last issue. How long they’ll let him get away with it, mind, I don’t know. But Xeno says, front page of every issue, that any wizard who’s against You-Know-Who ought to make helping Harry Potter their numberone priority.”

“现在不那么疯话连篇了。”泰德说，“你应该看一看。谢诺在发表《预言家日报》忽略的一切，上一期中一点也没提到弯角鼾兽。注意，他们能容忍他多久，我不知道。但是谢诺在每期的头版上说，反对神秘人的巫师都应该把帮助哈利·波特摆在第一位。”

“Hard to help a boy who’s vanished off the face of the earth,” said Dirk.

“要帮助一个从地球上消失的男孩，难哪。”德克说。

“Listen, the fact that they haven’t caught him yet’s one hell of an achievement,” said Ted. “I’d take tips from him gladly; it’s what we’re trying to do, stay free, isn’t it?”

“听我说，他们迄今为止还没有抓到他，这本身就是了不起的成绩。”泰德说道，“我倒很乐意听听他的提议。这正是我们努力在做的——保持自由，不是吗？”

“Yeah, well, you’ve got a point there,” said Dirk heavily. “With the whole of the Ministry and all their informers looking for him I’d have expected him to be caught by now. Mind, who’s to say they haven’t already caught and killed him without publicizing it?”

“是啊，嗯——你这话倒是有道理，”德克迟缓地说，“整个魔法部和他们的眼线都在寻找他，我以为他已经被抓到了呢。不过，谁知道他们会不会已经逮捕、杀害了他，只是秘而不宣呢？”

“Ah, don’t say that, Dirk,” murmured Ted.

“啊，别那么说，德克。”泰德喃喃道。

There was a long pause filled with more clattering of knives and forks. When they spoke again it was to discuss whether they ought to sleep on the bank or retreat back up the wooded slope. Deciding the trees would give better cover, they extinguished their fire, then clambered back up the incline, their voices fading away.

长时间的沉默，刀叉丁当作响。当说话声再次响起时，是讨论应该睡在河岸上，还是应该退回树多的山坡上。决定树荫下更隐蔽后，他们便把火熄灭了，往坡上爬去，说话声渐渐减弱，听不见了。

Harry, Ron, and Hermione reeled in the Extendable Ears. Harry, who had found the need to remain silent increasingly difficult the longer they eavesdropped, now found himself unable to say more than, “Ginny — the sword —”

哈利、罗恩和赫敏收起伸缩耳。哈利刚才偷听的时间越长，越觉得忍不住要说话，可现在他却发现自己只会说：“金妮——那把剑——”

“I know!” said Hermione.

“我知道！”赫敏说。

She lunged for the tiny beaded bag, this time sinking her arm in it right up to the armpit.

她冲过去抓起串珠小包，这次整个胳膊都伸了进去，直到胳肢窝。

“Here . . . we . . . are . . .” she said between gritted teeth, and she pulled at something that was evidently in the depths of the bag. Slowly the edge of an ornate picture frame came into sight. Harry hurried to help her. As they lifted the empty portrait of Phineas Nigellus free of Hermione’s bag, she kept her wand pointing at it, ready to cast a spell at any moment.

“找……到……了……”她咬着牙说，用力拽着一个显然压在深处的东西。慢慢地，一个华丽画框的边缘露了出来。哈利赶忙过去帮她，两个人把菲尼亚斯·奈杰勒斯的空画像拖出赫敏的小包时，她一直用魔杖指着它，准备随时施出咒语。

“If somebody swapped the real sword for the fake while it was in Dumbledore’s office,” she panted, as they propped the painting against the side of the tent, “Phineas Nigellus would have seen it happen, he hangs right beside the case!”

“如果有人在邓布利多办公室里用赝品跟真宝剑掉包，”他们把画框靠在帐篷壁上时，赫敏喘着气说，“菲尼亚斯·奈杰勒斯会看到的，他就挂在宝剑匣子旁边！”

“Unless he was asleep,” said Harry, but he still held his breath as Hermione knelt down in front of the empty canvas, her wand directed at its center, cleared her throat, then said:

“除非他睡着了。”哈利说，他仍然屏着呼吸，赫敏跪到空画布面前，用魔杖指着它的中心，清了清嗓子说，“呃——菲尼亚斯？菲尼亚斯·奈杰勒斯？”

“Er — Phineas? Phineas Nigellus?”

没有动静。

Nothing happened.

“菲尼亚斯·奈杰勒斯？”赫敏又说道，“布莱克教授？能请您跟我们谈谈吗？劳驾？”

“Phineas Nigellus?” said Hermione again. “Professor Black? Please could we talk to you? Please?”

“‘请’总是有用的。”一个冷冰冰、讥讽的声音说，菲尼亚斯·奈杰勒斯溜进画像中。

“ ‘Please’ always helps,” said a cold, snide voice, and Phineas Nigellus slid into his portrait. At once, Hermione cried:

赫敏马上叫道：“掩目蔽视！”

“Obscuro!”

一块黑眼罩蒙住了菲尼亚斯·奈杰勒斯那双机敏的黑眼睛，他撞到画框上，痛得嗷嗷叫。

A black blindfold appeared over Phineas Nigellus’s clever, dark eyes, causing him to bump into the frame and shriek with pain.

“什么——你们怎么敢——搞什么——？”

“What — how dare — what are you — ?”

“我很抱歉，布莱克教授，”赫敏说，“但这是必要的防备！”

“I’m very sorry, Professor Black,” said Hermione, “but it’s a necessary precaution!”

“马上去掉这块脏东西！马上去掉，我说！你们在毁掉一幅伟大的艺术品！我在哪儿？怎么回事？”

“Remove this foul addition at once! Remove it, I say! You are ruining a great work of art! Where am I? What is going on?”

“别管我们在哪儿。”哈利说，菲尼亚斯·奈杰勒斯呆住了，不再拉扯那块画上去的眼罩。

“Never mind where we are,” said Harry, and Phineas Nigellus froze, abandoning his attempts to peel off the painted blindfold.

“莫非是那位行踪不定的波特同学的声音？”

“Can that possibly be the voice of the elusive Mr. Potter?”

“也许。”哈利说，知道这会保持住菲尼亚斯·奈杰勒斯的兴趣，“我们有几个问题想问您，关于格兰芬多的宝剑。”

“Maybe,” said Harry, knowing that this would keep Phineas Nigellus’s interest. “We’ve got a couple of questions to ask you — about the sword of Gryffindor.”

“啊，”菲尼亚斯·奈杰勒斯现在把头歪过来扭过去，企图看到哈利，“是的，那个丫头此举极不明智——”

“Ah,” said Phineas Nigellus, now turning his head this way and that in an effort to catch sight of Harry, “yes. That silly girl acted most unwisely there —”

“不许这么说我妹妹。”罗恩粗声说。

“Shut up about my sister,” said Ron roughly. Phineas Nigellus raised supercilious eyebrows.

菲尼亚斯·奈杰勒斯扬起高傲的眉毛。

“Who else is here?” he asked, turning his head from side to side. “Your tone displeases me! The girl and her friends were foolhardy in the extreme. Thieving from the headmaster!”

“还有谁在这儿？”他问，脑袋转来转去，“你的口气让我不快！那个丫头和她的朋友们愚蠢透顶，偷校长的东西！”

“They weren’t thieving,” said Harry. “That sword isn’t Snape’s.”

“他们不是偷，”哈利说，“那把剑不是斯内普的。”

“It belongs to Professor Snape’s school,” said Phineas Nigellus. “Exactly what claim did the Weasley girl have upon it? She deserved her punishment, as did the idiot Longbottom and the Lovegood oddity!”

“可它属于斯内普教授的学校，”菲尼亚斯·奈杰勒斯说，“韦斯莱家的丫头有什么权利拿走它？她受惩罚是活该，还有那白痴隆巴顿和怪物洛夫古德！”

“Neville is not an idiot and Luna is not an oddity!” said Hermione.

“纳威不是白痴，卢娜也不是怪物！”赫敏说。

“Where am I?” repeated Phineas Nigellus, starting to wrestle with the blindfold again. “Where have you brought me? Why have you removed me from the house of my forebears?”

“我在哪儿？”菲尼亚斯·奈杰勒斯再次问道，又开始拉扯眼罩，“你们把我弄到了什么地方？为什么把我从我祖先的宅子里搬走？”

“Never mind that! How did Snape punish Ginny, Neville, and Luna?” asked Harry urgently.

“别管那个！斯内普是怎么惩罚金妮、纳威和卢娜的？”哈利迫不及待地问道。

“Professor Snape sent them into the Forbidden Forest, to do some work for the oaf, Hagrid.”

“斯内普教授罚他们在禁林里，给那个呆子海格干活。”

“Hagrid’s not an oaf!” said Hermione shrilly.

“海格不是呆子！”赫敏尖厉地说。

“And Snape might’ve thought that was a punishment,” said Harry, “but Ginny, Neville, and Luna probably had a good laugh with Hagrid. The Forbidden Forest . . . they’ve faced plenty worse than the Forbidden Forest, big deal!”

“斯内普也许以为那是惩罚，”哈利说，“但金妮、纳威和卢娜可能跟海格一起开怀大笑呢。禁林……他们经过了多少比禁林更可怕的考验，有什么了不起的！”

He felt relieved; he had been imagining horrors, the Cruciatus Curse at the very least.

他觉得松了口气，他刚才想象得很恐怖，至少是钻心咒。

“What we really wanted to know, Professor Black, is whether anyone else has, um, taken out the sword at all? Maybe it’s been taken away for cleaning or — or something?”

“布莱克教授，我们其实是想知道，有没有人——嗯，把那把剑拿出来过？也许它曾经被拿出去擦拭——什么的？”

Phineas Nigellus paused again in his struggles to free his eyes and sniggered.

菲尼亚斯·奈杰勒斯又停下了解放自己眼睛的努力，哂笑起来。

“Muggle-borns,” he said. “Goblin-made armor does not require cleaning, simple girl. Goblins’ silver repels mundane dirt, imbibing only that which strengthens it.”

“麻瓜出身的人，”他说，“妖精造的武器不需要擦拭，头脑简单的丫头。妖精的银器能排斥灰尘，只吸收能强化它的东西。”

“Don’t call Hermione simple,” said Harry.

“不许说赫敏头脑简单。”哈利说。

“I grow weary of contradiction,” said Phineas Nigellus. “Perhaps it is time for me to return to the headmaster’s office?”

“我对反驳感到厌倦，”菲尼亚斯·奈杰勒斯说，“也许我该回校长办公室去了？”

Still blindfolded, he began groping the side of his frame, trying to feel his way out of his picture and back into the one at Hogwarts. Harry had a sudden inspiration.

仍然蒙着眼睛，他开始在画框侧面摸索，想摸着走出画像，回到霍格沃茨的那一幅里去。哈利突然灵机一动。

“Dumbledore! Can’t you bring us Dumbledore?”

“邓布利多！您能把邓布利多带来吗？”

“I beg your pardon?” asked Phineas Nigellus.

“什么？”菲尼亚斯·奈杰勒斯问。

“Professor Dumbledore’s portrait — couldn’t you bring him along, here, into yours?”

“邓布利多教授的肖像——您能把他带来吗，带到您的画像里？”

Phineas Nigellus turned his face in the direction of Harry’s voice.

菲尼亚斯·奈杰勒斯把脸转向哈利发声的方向。

“Evidently it is not only Muggle-borns who are ignorant, Potter. The portraits of Hogwarts may commune with each other, but they cannot travel outside the castle except to visit a painting of themselves hanging elsewhere. Dumbledore cannot come here with me, and after the treatment I have received at your hands, I can assure you that I shall not be making a return visit!”

“显然，无知的并不只是麻瓜出身的人，波特。霍格沃茨的肖像可以互相交谈，但不能离开城堡，除非是去访问他们自己在别处的肖像。邓布利多不能跟我来此，而且，在你们手中受到这种待遇之后，我可以向你们保证，本人也不会再来造访！”

Slightly crestfallen, Harry watched Phineas redouble his attempts to leave his frame.

哈利有点沮丧，看着菲尼亚斯加倍努力要离开画框。

“Professor Black,” said Hermione, “couldn’t you just tell us, please, when was the last time the sword was taken out of its case? Before Ginny took it out, I mean?”

“布莱克教授，”赫敏说，“劳驾，能不能请您告诉我们，那把剑上一次从匣子里取出是什么时候？我是说，在金妮把它取出之前？”

Phineas snorted impatiently.

菲尼亚斯不耐烦地哼了一声。

“I believe that the last time I saw the sword of Gryffindor leave its case was when Professor Dumbledore used it to break open a ring.”

“我相信，上一次我看见格兰芬多的宝剑离开匣子，是邓布利多用它劈开了一枚戒指。”

Hermione whipped around to look at Harry. Neither of them dared say more in front of Phineas Nigellus, who had at last managed to locate the exit.

赫敏猛然转身望着哈利。当着菲尼亚斯·奈杰勒斯他们都不敢多说。菲尼亚斯终于摸到了出口。

“Well, good night to you,” he said a little waspishly, and he began to move out of sight again. Only the edge of his hat brim remained in view when Harry gave a sudden shout.

“好吧，祝你们晚安。”他有点刻毒地说，开始退出。

“Wait! Have you told Snape you saw this?”

当画面上只看到到一点帽檐时，哈利突然大叫一声：“等等！你把这告诉斯内普了吗？”

Phineas Nigellus stuck his blindfolded head back into the picture.

菲尼亚斯·奈杰勒斯把蒙着眼睛的脑袋又探进画框。

“Professor Snape has more important things on his mind than the many eccentricities of Albus Dumbledore. Good-bye, Potter!”

“斯内普教授有更重要的事要操心，无暇考虑阿不思·邓布利多的种种怪癖行为。再见，波特！”

And with that, he vanished completely, leaving behind him nothing but his murky backdrop.

说完，他彻底消失了，只留下一片混浊的背景。

“Harry!” Hermione cried.

“哈利！”赫敏叫道。

“I know!” Harry shouted. Unable to contain himself, he punched the air; it was more than he had dared to hope for. He strode up and down the tent, feeling that he could have run a mile; he did not even feel hungry anymore. Hermione was squashing Phineas Nigellus’s portrait back into the beaded bag; when she had fastened the clasp she threw the bag aside and raised a shining face to Harry.

“我知道！”哈利高声说。他无法抑制自己，向空中猛击了一拳：这超过了他敢期望的最好情况。他在帐篷里大步走来走去，感觉自己能跑上一英里，甚至都不觉得饿了。赫敏正在把菲尼亚斯·奈杰勒斯的肖像塞回串珠小包，扣好搭扣之后，她把小包扔到一边，抬起发亮的面孔望着哈利。

“The sword can destroy Horcruxes! Goblin-made blades imbibe only that which strengthen them — Harry, that sword’s impregnated with basilisk venom!”

“那把剑能摧毁魂器！妖精造的刀刃只吸收能强化它的东西——哈利，那把剑浸透了蛇怪的毒液！”

“And Dumbledore didn’t give it to me because he still needed it, he wanted to use it on the locket —”

“邓布利多没有把它交给我，是因为他还需要它——他想用它来摧毁挂坠盒——”

“— and he must have realized they wouldn’t let you have it if he put it in his will —”

“——他一定想到了，如果把它写进了遗嘱，他们就不会让你得到它——”

“— so he made a copy —”

“——所以他仿制了一把——”

“— and put a fake in the glass case —”

“——然后把真的那把放在……哪儿呢？”

“— and he left the real one — where?”

他们瞪着对方，哈利感到答案就悬在他们头顶的空气中，那么近却就是够不到。为什么邓布利多没告诉他呢？或者告诉过，但哈利当时没意识到？

They gazed at each other; Harry felt that the answer was dangling invisibly in the air above them, tantalizingly close. Why hadn’t Dumbledore told him? Or had he, in fact, told Harry, but Harry had not realized it at the time?

“想想！”赫敏小声说，“想想！他会把它放在哪儿？”

“Think!” whispered Hermione. “Think! Where would he have left it?”

“不在霍格沃茨。”哈利说，又踱起步来。

“Not at Hogwarts,” said Harry, resuming his pacing.

“在霍格莫德的什么地方？”赫敏猜想。

“Somewhere in Hogsmeade?” suggested Hermione.

“尖叫棚屋？”哈利说，“没人到那儿去。”

“The Shrieking Shack?” said Harry. “Nobody ever goes in there.”

“可是斯内普知道怎么进去，那不是有点冒险吗？”

“But Snape knows how to get in, wouldn’t that be a bit risky?”

“邓布利多信任斯内普。”哈利提醒她。

“Dumbledore trusted Snape,” Harry reminded her.

“没有信任到告诉他宝剑已经掉包。”赫敏说。

“Not enough to tell him that he had swapped the swords,” said Hermione.

“是啊，你说得对！”哈利说，想到邓布利多对斯内普的信任有所保留，他感到更加快慰，无论那是多么微弱的保留，“那么，他会不会把宝剑藏在远离霍格莫德的地方呢？你怎么想，罗恩？罗恩？”

“Yeah, you’re right!” said Harry, and he felt even more cheered at the thought that Dumbledore had had some reservations, however faint, about Snape’s trustworthiness. “So, would he have hidden the sword well away from Hogsmeade, then? What d’you reckon, Ron? Ron?”

哈利回过头，他一时迷惑，以为罗恩已经离开帐篷，随后才发现罗恩躺在下铺的阴影中，像石头一般。

Harry looked around. For one bewildered moment he thought that Ron had left the tent, then realized that Ron was lying in the shadow of a lower bunk, looking stony.

“哦，想起我来啦？”他说。

“Oh, remembered me, have you?” he said.

“什么？”

“What?”

罗恩哼了一声，盯着上铺的床板。

Ron snorted as he stared up at the underside of the upper bunk.

“你们两个接着聊啊，别让我搅了你们的兴致。”

“You two carry on. Don’t let me spoil your fun.”

哈利迷惑不解，求助地看看赫敏。她摇了摇头，显然也和他一样不知所措。

Perplexed, Harry looked to Hermione for help, but she shook her head, apparently as nonplussed as he was.

“出了什么问题？”哈利说。

“What’s the problem?” asked Harry.

“问题？没有问题。”罗恩说，仍然不肯看哈利，“至少在你看来。”

“Problem? There’s no problem,” said Ron, still refusing to look at Harry. “Not according to you, anyway.”

头顶的帆布上啪嗒啪嗒响了几声，下雨了。

There were several plunks on the canvas over their heads. It had started to rain.

“好吧，你显然有问题，”哈利说，“一吐为快，好不好？”

“Well, you’ve obviously got a problem,” said Harry. “Spit it out, will you?”

罗恩把长腿荡下床沿，坐了起来。他看上去很刻薄，不像他了。

Ron swung his long legs off the bed and sat up. He looked mean, unlike himself.

“好，我就一吐为快。别指望我在帐篷里蹦蹦跳跳，不就是又多了一个该死的东西要找吗？直接把它加到你不知道的东西中去好了。”

“All right, I’ll spit it out. Don’t expect me to skip up and down the tent because there’s some other damn thing we’ve got to find. Just add it to the list of stuff you don’t know.”

“我不知道？”哈利说，“我不知道？”

“I don’t know?” repeated Harry, “I don’t know?”

啪嗒，啪嗒，啪嗒，雨越来越急，越来越大。打在周围落叶覆盖的河岸上，打在黑暗中潺潺的河水上。恐惧浇灭了哈利的欢乐：罗恩说的正是哈利怀疑并害怕他会有的想法。

Plunk, plunk, plunk. The rain was falling harder and heavier; it pattered on the leaf-strewn bank all around them and into the river chattering through the dark. Dread doused Harry’s jubilation: Ron was saying exactly what he had suspected and feared him to be thinking.

“我在这儿确定过得有点终生难忘，”罗恩说道，“你知道，胳膊残了，没东西吃，每天夜里背皮都要冻掉。你知道，我只是希望，在四处奔波了几个星期后，我们能够有一点成绩。”

“It’s not like I’m not having the time of my life here,” said Ron, “you know, with my arm mangled and nothing to eat and freezing my backside off every night. I just hoped, you know, after we’d been running round a few weeks, we’d have achieved something.”

“罗恩，”赫敏说，但声音如此之低，在噼里啪啦敲在帐篷上的雨声中，罗恩可以假装没有听到。

“Ron,” Hermione said, but in such a quiet voice that Ron could pretend not to have heard it over the loud tattoo the rain was now beating on the tent.

“我还以为你知道参加的是什么行动呢。”哈利说。

“I thought you knew what you’d signed up for,” said Harry.

“是啊，我也以为我知道。”

“Yeah, I thought I did too.”

“那么，哪个部分没有符合你的期望呢？”哈利问道，恼怒使他开始自卫，“你以为我们会住在五星级饭店里？隔一天就找到一个魂器？你以为圣诞节就能回到妈咪身边吗？”

“So what part of it isn’t living up to your expectations?” asked Harry. Anger was coming to his defense now. “Did you think we’d be staying in five-star hotels? Finding a Horcrux every other day? Did you think you’d be back to Mummy by Christmas?”

“我们以为你知道自己在干什么！”罗恩嚷道，站了起来。他的话像滚烫的刀子刺进哈利心中。“我们以为邓布利多告诉过你要干什么，我们以为你有一个真正的计划！”

“We thought you knew what you were doing!” shouted Ron, standing up, and his words pierced Harry like scalding knives. “We thought Dumbledore had told you what to do, we thought you had a real plan!”

“罗恩！”赫敏说，这次在哗哗打在帐篷顶上的雨声中听得很清楚，但他还是没有睬她。

“Ron!” said Hermione, this time clearly audible over the rain thundering on the tent roof, but again, he ignored her.

“好吧，对不起，让你失望了。”哈利说道，声音相当平静，尽管他感到空洞、底气不足，“我从一开始就对你们直言相告，跟你们讲了邓布利多告诉过我的一切。也许你没注意到，我们已经找到了一个魂器——”

“Well, sorry to let you down,” said Harry, his voice quite calm even though he felt hollow, inadequate. “I’ve been straight with you from the start, I told you everything Dumbledore told me. And in case you haven’t noticed, we’ve found one Horcrux —”

“是啊，我们要毁灭它容易着呢，就跟找到其他几个魂器一样容易——他妈的遥不可及，换句话说。”

“Yeah, and we’re about as near getting rid of it as we are to finding the rest of them — nowhere effing near, in other words!”

“摘下挂坠盒，罗恩，”赫敏说，嗓音高得不正常，“请你把它摘下来。你要不是戴了它一天，是不会说这种话的。”

“Take off the locket, Ron,” Hermione said, her voice unusually high. “Please take it off. You wouldn’t be talking like this if you hadn’t been wearing it all day.”

“不，他会的。”哈利说，他不想为罗恩开脱，“你以为我没有注意到你们两个背着我嘀嘀咕咕吗？你认为我猜不到你们在想这些吗？”

“Yeah, he would,” said Harry, who did not want excuses made for Ron. “D’you think I haven’t noticed the two of you whispering behind my back? D’you think I didn’t guess you were thinking this stuff?”

“哈利，我们没有——”

“Harry, we weren’t —”

“别撒谎！”罗恩冲她吼道，“你也说了，你说你感到失望，你说你本来以为他有更多的线索——”

“Don’t lie!” Ron hurled at her. “You said it too, you said you were disappointed, you said you’d thought he had a bit more to go on than —”

“我没有那样说——哈利，我没有！”赫敏哭了。

“I didn’t say it like that — Harry, I didn’t!” she cried.

雨水狂敲着帐篷，泪水从赫敏脸上流下。几分钟前兴奋消失得无影无踪，好像从未有过一样，像烟花一般绚丽片刻便熄灭了，留下的是黑暗、潮湿和寒冷。格兰芬多的宝剑不知藏在什么地方，他们只是躲在帐篷里的三个少年，惟一的成绩就是还没死掉。

The rain was pounding the tent, tears were pouring down Hermione’s face, and the excitement of a few minutes before had vanished as if it had never been, a short-lived firework that had flared and died, leaving everything dark, wet, and cold. The sword of Gryffindor was hidden they knew not where, and they were three teenagers in a tent whose only achievement was not, yet, to be dead.

“那你为什么还在这儿？”哈利问罗恩。

“So why are you still here?” Harry asked Ron.

“我不知道。”罗恩说。

“Search me,” said Ron.

“那就回家吧。”哈利说。

“Go home then,” said Harry.

“是啊，也许我应该！”罗恩嚷着，朝哈利走了几步，哈利没有后退，“你没听到他们说我妹妹的事吗？但你根本不在乎，是吧，不过是禁林嘛，‘我经过更可怕的’——大英雄哈利·波特不在乎她在那儿遇到了什么，可我在乎，巨蜘蛛和让人发疯的东西——”

“Yeah, maybe I will!” shouted Ron, and he took several steps toward Harry, who did not back away. “Didn’t you hear what they said about my sister? But you don’t give a rat’s fart, do you, it’s only the Forbidden Forest, Harry I’ve-Faced-Worse Potter doesn’t care what happens to her in here — well, I do, all right, giant spiders and mental stuff —”

“我只是说——她跟同伴们在一起，跟海格在一起——”

“I was only saying — she was with the others, they were with Hagrid —”

“——是啊，我听懂了，你不在乎！还有我的家人呢，‘韦斯莱家可不能再有孩子受伤了’，你听到了吗？”

“Yeah, I get it, you don’t care! And what about the rest of my family, ‘the Weasleys don’t need another kid injured,’ did you hear that?”

“我听到了，我——”

“Yeah, I —”

“没去想那意味着什么吧？”

“Not bothered what it meant, though?”

“罗恩！”赫敏挤到他们中间，“我认为那并不意味着出了什么新的事，我们不知道的事。想一想，罗恩，比尔已经留下伤疤，现在许多人大概已看到乔治少了一只耳朵，你又得了散花痘重病不起，我相信就是这些意思——”

“Ron!” said Hermione, forcing her way between them. “I don’t think it means anything new has happened, anything we don’t know about; think, Ron, Bill’s already scarred, plenty of people must have seen that George has lost an ear by now, and you’re supposed to be on your deathbed with spattergroit, I’m sure that’s all he meant —”

“哦，你相信，是吗？好吧，我就不用去想他们了。你们两个觉得没关系，是不是，反正你们的父母都在安全的地方——”

“Oh, you’re sure, are you? Right then, well, I won’t bother myself about them. It’s all right for you two, isn’t it, with your parents safely out of the way —”

“我父母死了！”哈利吼道。

“My parents are dead !” Harry bellowed.

“我父母也可能是同样下场！”罗恩喊了起来。

“And mine could be going the same way!” yelled Ron.

“那就走吧！”哈利咆哮道，“回他们那儿去，假装你散花痘好了，妈咪会把你喂得饱饱的——”

“Then GO!” roared Harry. “Go back to them, pretend you’ve got over your spattergroit and Mummy’ll be able to feed you up and —”

罗恩突然动手，哈利迅速反应，但两人的魔杖还没拔出口袋，赫敏已经举起了她的。

Ron made a sudden movement: Harry reacted, but before either wand was clear of its owner’s pocket, Hermione had raised her own.

“盔甲护身！”她叫道。一道无形的坚壁立刻形成，她和哈利在一边，罗恩在另一边。三人都被魔咒的力量震得倒退了几步。哈利和罗恩隔着透明的屏障怒目而视，好像第一次看清对方一样。哈利对罗恩感到一种带腐蚀性的憎恨：他们之间有种东西断裂了。

“Protego!” she cried, and an invisible shield expanded between her and Harry on the one side and Ron on the other; all of them were forced backward a few steps by the strength of the spell, and Harry and Ron glared from either side of the transparent barrier as though they were seeing each other clearly for the first time. Harry felt a corrosive hatred toward Ron: Something had broken between them.

“把魂器留下。”哈利说。

“Leave the Horcrux,” Harry said.

罗恩从头上扯下链子，把挂坠盒丢在旁边的一把椅子上，然后转向赫敏。

Ron wrenched the chain from over his head and cast the locket into a nearby chair. He turned to Hermione.

“你打算干什么？”

“What are you doing?”

“你说什么？”

“What do you mean?”

“你是留下，还是怎么着？”

“Are you staying, or what?”

“我……”她显得很痛苦，“是——是的，我要留下。罗恩，我们说过要跟哈利一起，我们说过要帮——”

“I . . .” She looked anguished. “Yes — yes, I’m staying. Ron, we said we’d go with Harry, we said we’d help —”

“我明白了，你选择了他。”

“I get it. You choose him.”

“罗恩，不——求求你——回来，回来！”

“Ron, no — please — come back, come back!”

她被自己施的铁甲咒挡住了，等她把它除去，罗恩已经冲进夜幕中。哈利呆呆地、默默的站在那里，听到赫敏在哭泣，在树林中呼唤罗恩的名字。

She was impeded by her own Shield Charm; by the time she had removed it he had already stormed into the night. Harry stood quite still and silent, listening to her sobbing and calling Ron’s name amongst the trees.

几分钟后她回来了，头发湿漉漉地贴在脸上。

After a few minutes she returned, her sopping hair plastered to her face.

“他——他——他走了！幻影移形了！”

“He’s g-g-gone! Disapparated!”

她扑通坐在椅子上，蜷着身子哭了起来。

She threw herself into a chair, curled up, and started to cry.

哈利心中一片茫然。他俯身拾起魂器，挂在自己的脖子上，又拽下罗恩铺上的毯子，给赫敏披上，然后爬上自己的床铺，盯着黑漆漆的帐篷顶，听着滂沱的雨声。

Harry felt dazed. He stooped, picked up the Horcrux, and placed it around his own neck. He dragged blankets off Ron’s bunk and threw them over Hermione. Then he climbed onto his own bed and stared up at the dark canvas roof, listening to the pounding of the rain.

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