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


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    CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO AFTER THE BURIAL
    第二十二章 葬礼之后
    
    
    Patches of bright blue sky were beginning to appear over the castle turrets, but these signs of approaching summer did not lift Harry’s mood. He had been thwarted, both in his attempts to find out what Malfoy was doing, and in his efforts to start a conversation with Slughorn that might lead, somehow, to Slughorn handing over the memory he had apparently suppressed for decades.
    片片明朗的蓝天开始出现在城堡塔楼上空,但这些夏天来临的迹象未能让哈利心情好起来。他既没能侦察出马尔福在干什么,也没能跟斯拉格霍恩单独谈上话,让他交出看样子已经隐藏数十年的记忆。
    “For the last time, just forget about Malfoy,” Hermione told Harry firmly.
    “说最后一遍,忘掉马尔福吧。”赫敏果断地对哈利说。这是午饭后,他们和罗恩坐在院子中一个阳光明媚的角落里。赫敏和罗恩都捏着一份魔法部的小册子:《幻影显形常见错误及避免方法》,今天下午就要考试了,但小册子基本上未能镇定他们紧张的神经。一个女孩从拐角走了出来,罗恩一惊,忙躲到赫敏身后。
    They were sitting with Ron in a sunny corner of the courtyard after lunch. Hermione and Ron were both clutching a Ministry of Magic leaflet — Common Apparition Mistakes and How to Avoid Them — for they were taking their tests that very afternoon, but by and large the leaflets had not proved soothing to the nerves.
    “不是拉文德。”赫敏厌倦地说。
    Ron gave a start and tried to hide behind Hermione as a girl came around the corner.
    “哦,还好。”罗恩说着放松下来。
    “It isn’t Lavender,” said Hermione wearily.
    “哈利·波特?”那女孩说,“有人让我把这个带给你。”
    “Oh, good,” said Ron, relaxing.
    “谢谢……”
    “Harry Potter?” said the girl. “I was asked to give you this.”
    哈利接过那小卷羊皮纸,心猛地往下一沉。那女孩走开后他说:“邓布利多说过在我搞到记忆之前不上课了呀!”
    “Thanks . . .”
    “也许他想问问你进展如何。”赫敏猜测道,哈利打开纸卷。上面不是邓布利多那细长的斜体字,而是凌乱潦草的字迹,纸上还有一大团墨渍,字迹很难辨认。
    Harry’s heart sank as he took the small scroll of parchment. Once the girl was out of earshot he said, “Dumbledore said we wouldn’t be having any more lessons until I got the memory!”
    亲爱的哈利、罗恩、赫敏:
    “Maybe he wants to check on how you’re doing?” suggested Hermione, as Harry unrolled the parchment; but rather than finding Dumbledore’s long, narrow, slanted writing he saw an untidy sprawl, very difficult to read due to the presence of large blotches on the parchment where the ink had run.
    阿拉戈克在昨天夜里死了。哈利和罗恩,你们见过他,知道他多么特殊。赫敏,我知道你也会喜欢他的。如果你们今晚能来参加葬礼,对我意义很大。我打算黄昏时分举行葬礼,这是一天中他最喜欢的时间。我知道你们不允许那么晚出来,但可用隐形衣。我本来不想提这个要求,可是我无法独自面对。
    Dear Harry, Ron, and Hermione,
    海格
    Aragog died last night. Harry and Ron, you met him,
    “你看。”哈利把纸条递给了赫敏。
    and you know how special he was. Hermione, I know
    “哦,上帝。”她迅速扫了一遍后递给了罗恩,他也读了一遍,脸上露出越来越不敢相信的表情。
    you’d have liked him. It would mean a lot to me if
    “他疯了!”罗恩激烈地说,“那畜生叫它的同伴把哈利和我吃掉!说是随便吃!现在海格却要我们去对着它那恐怖的、毛森森的尸体痛哭!”
    you’d nip down for the burial later this evening. I’m
    “不仅如此,”赫敏说,“他还要我们晚上离开城堡,明知道保安措施已经严了一百万倍,被抓到会有多大的麻烦!”
    planning on doing it round dusk, that was his favorite
    “我们以前也在夜里去看过他。”哈利说。
    time of day. I know you’re not supposed to be out that
    “去过,可是为这种事?”赫敏说,“我们为海格冒过很多风险,可是毕竟——阿拉戈克已经死了。如果是为了救他——”
    late, but you can use the cloak. Wouldn’t ask, but I
    “——我更不想去,”罗恩坚决地说,“你没见过它,赫敏。相信我,死了会使海格好得多。”
    can’t face it alone.
    哈利拿回纸条,盯着那满纸的墨渍,显然曾经有大滴大滴的泪水掉在羊皮纸上。
    Hagrid
    “哈利,你不会打算去吧?”赫敏问,“为这个关禁闭太不值了。”
    “Look at this,” said Harry, handing the note to Hermione.
    哈利叹了口气。
    “Oh, for heaven’s sake,” she said, scanning it quickly and passing it to Ron, who read it through looking increasingly incredulous.
    “是,我知道,我想海格只能自己安葬阿拉戈克了。”
    “He’s mental !” he said furiously. “That thing told its mates to eat Harry and me! Told them to help themselves! And now Hagrid expects us to go down there and cry over its horrible hairy body!”
    “就是。”赫敏看上去松了口气,“哎,今天下午魔药课要没人了,我们都去考试……想办法软化斯拉格霍恩吧!”
    “It’s not just that,” said Hermione. “He’s asking us to leave the castle at night and he knows security’s a million times tighter and how much trouble we’d be in if we were caught.”
    “你觉得第五十七次会幸运吗?”哈利苦涩地说。
    “We’ve been down to see him by night before,” said Harry.
    “幸运,”罗恩突然说,“哈利,对了——幸运!”
    “Yes, but for something like this?” said Hermione. “We’ve risked a lot to help Hagrid out, but after all — Aragog’s dead. If it were a question of saving him —”
    “你说什么呀?”
    “— I’d want to go even less,” said Ron firmly. “You didn’t meet him, Hermione. Believe me, being dead will have improved him a lot.”
    “用幸运药水!”
    Harry took the note back and stared down at all the inky blotches all over it. Tears had clearly fallen thick and fast upon the parchment. . . .
    “罗恩,对——对了!”赫敏似乎惊呆了,“当然!我怎么没想到呢?”
    “Harry, you can’t be thinking of going,” said Hermione. “It’s such a pointless thing to get detention for.”
    哈利瞪着他俩。“福灵剂?我不知道……我还想留着呢……”
    Harry sighed. “Yeah, I know,” he said. “I s’pose Hagrid’ll have to bury Aragog without us.”
    “留着干什么?”罗恩不解地问。
    “Yes, he will,” said Hermione, looking relieved. “Look, Potions will be almost empty this afternoon, with us all off doing our tests. . . . Try and soften Slughorn up a bit then!”
    “哈利,还有什么比这个记忆更重要的吗?”赫敏问。
    “Fifty-seventh time lucky, you think?” said Harry bitterly.
    哈利没有回答。那个小金瓶已在他脑际萦绕了一段时间,一些模糊而不成形的想法(金妮和迪安分手,罗恩高兴地看到她有新男友)在他的脑海深处酝酿,只有在梦中或半梦半醒的矇眬时刻才会意识到……
    “Lucky,” said Ron suddenly. “Harry, that’s it — get lucky!”
    “什——?是,当然,”他回过神来,“嗯……好吧。如果今天下午还不能让斯拉格霍恩开口,我晚上就带一些福灵剂去再试一次。”
    “What d’you mean?”
    “那就这么定了,”赫敏活泼地说,她站了起来,踮起脚尖做了个优雅的旋转动作,一边念念有词,“目标……决心……从容……”
    “Use your lucky potion!”
    “哦,停止,”罗恩央求道,“我已经够晕的了——快,掩护我!”
    “Ron, that’s — that’s it!” said Hermione, sounding stunned. “Of course! Why didn’t I think of it?”
    “不是拉文德!”赫敏不耐烦地说,又一对女孩出现在院中,罗恩急忙躲到她身后。
    Harry stared at them both. “Felix Felicis?” he said. “I dunno . . . I was sort of saving it. . . .”
    “漂亮,”罗恩说着从赫敏肩头偷偷看了一眼,“嘿,她们好像不大开心,是不是?”
    “What for?” demanded Ron incredulously.
    “她们是蒙哥马利姐妹,当然不开心了,你没听说她们小弟弟的事吗?”赫敏说。
    “What on earth is more important than this memory, Harry?” asked Hermione.
    “说实话,我已经不了解别人家人的情况了。”罗恩说。
    Harry did not answer. The thought of that little golden bottle had hovered on the edges of his imagination for some time; vague and unformulated plans that involved Ginny splitting up with Dean, and Ron somehow being happy to see her with a new boyfriend, had been fermenting in the depths of his brain, unacknowledged except during dreams or the twilight time between sleeping and waking. . . .
    “她们的弟弟被狼人咬了,据说是因为她们的母亲拒绝帮助食死徒。总之,那男孩才五岁,死在圣芒戈医院了,他们救不了他。”
    “Harry? Are you still with us?” asked Hermione.
    “死了?”哈利震惊地问,“可狼人不杀人啊,他们不是只会把你变成狼人吗?”
    “Wha — ? Yeah, of course,” he said, pulling himself together. “Well . . . okay. If I can’t get Slughorn to talk this afternoon, I’ll take some Felix and have another go this evening.”
    “有时也会杀,”罗恩的表情异常严峻,“我听说过狼人失去控制的时候就会。”
    “That’s decided, then,” said Hermione briskly, getting to her feet and performing a graceful pirouette. “Destination . . . determination . . . deliberation . . .” she murmured.
    “那狼人叫什么?”哈利忙问。
    “Oh, stop that,” Ron begged her, “I feel sick enough as it is — quick, hide me!”
    “听说是那个芬里尔·格雷伯克。”赫敏说。
    “It isn’t Lavender!” said Hermione impatiently, as another couple of girls appeared in the courtyard and Ron dived behind her.
    “我知道——那个喜欢袭击小孩的疯子。卢平跟我说过的!”哈利愤怒地说道。
    “Cool,” said Ron, peering over Hermione’s shoulder to check. “Blimey, they don’t look happy, do they?”
    赫敏黯然地看着他。
    “They’re the Montgomery sisters and of course they don’t look happy, didn’t you hear what happened to their little brother?” said Hermione.
    “哈利,你必须搞到那段记忆。这都是为了阻止伏地魔,是不是?现在发生的这些可怕的事都要归到他头上……”
    “I’m losing track of what’s happening to everyone’s relatives, to be honest,” said Ron.
    城堡里的钟声响了,赫敏和罗恩跳了起来,显得很害怕。
    “Well, their brother was attacked by a werewolf. The rumor is that their mother refused to help the Death Eaters. Anyway, the boy was only five and he died in St. Mungo’s, they couldn’t save him.”
    “你们没问题,”他俩走向门厅去跟其他参加幻影显形考试的学生会合时,哈利说,“祝你们好运!”
    “He died?” repeated Harry, shocked. “But surely werewolves don’t kill, they just turn you into one of them?”
    “你也是!”赫敏意味深长地看了他一眼,哈利朝地下教室走去。
    “They sometimes kill,” said Ron, who looked unusually grave now. “I’ve heard of it happening when the werewolf gets carried away.”
    那天下午魔药课上只有三个学生:哈利、厄尼和德拉科·马尔福①。
    “What was the werewolf ’s name?” said Harry quickly.
    “你们都不到幻影显形的年龄?”斯拉格霍恩和蔼可亲地问,“还没满十七岁?”
    “Well, the rumor is that it was that Fenrir Greyback,” said Hermione.
    三人点了点头。
    “I knew it — the maniac who likes attacking kids, the one Lupin told me about!” said Harry angrily.
    “那好,”斯拉格霍恩快活地说道,“既然人数这么少,我们来做点儿好玩的,我要你们每人给我配一点有趣的东西!”
    Hermione looked at him bleakly.
    “听起来很棒,先生。”厄尼搓着手奉承道。马尔福却没有一丝笑容。
    “Harry, you’ve got to get that memory,” she said. “It’s all about stopping Voldemort, isn’t it? These dreadful things that are happening are all down to him. . . .”
    “什么意思,‘有趣’的东西?”他烦躁地问。
    The bell rang overhead in the castle and both Hermione and Ron jumped to their feet, looking terrified.
    “哦,给我一个意外。”斯拉格霍恩轻松地答道。
    “You’ll do fine,” Harry told them both, as they headed toward the entrance hall to meet the rest of the people taking their Apparition Test. “Good luck.”
    马尔福沉着脸打开了他的《高级魔药制作》,再明显不过的是,他认为这门课是白耽误工夫。哈利越过自己的课本偷偷地看着他,想道,马尔福无疑是在吝惜本来可以去有求必应屋的时间。
    “And you too!” said Hermione with a significant look, as Harry headed off to the dungeons.
    是幻觉吗,马尔福怎么似乎像唐克斯一样变瘦了?他无疑是更加苍白了,皮肤仍带着那种暗灰色,也许是由于他这些天很少见阳光。他没有了得意、兴奋或高傲的神气,也全无在霍格沃茨特快列车上公开吹嘘伏地魔给他的任务时那种趾高气扬,在哈利想来,只可能有一个结论:那个任务,不管它是什么,进行得不顺利。
    There were only three of them in Potions that afternoon: Harry, Ernie, and Draco Malfoy.
    受了这个念头的鼓舞,哈利翻开他的《高级魔药制作》,找到了一个被混血王子改动了很多的叫做欢欣剂的魔药,它似乎不仅符合斯拉格霍恩的要求,而且(想到这儿,哈利心脏狂跳起来)如果能让他尝上一点的话,或许可以让他心花怒放,交出记忆……
    “All too young to Apparate just yet?” said Slughorn genially. “Not turned seventeen yet?”
    “啊,看上去妙极了。”一个半小时后,斯拉格霍恩盯着哈利坩埚中阳光般金黄的液体拍手叫道,“欢欣剂,是不是?那是什么味道?嗯……你加了小小一枝椒薄荷,是不是?不大正统,然而这是多么天才的灵感,哈利。当然啦,这可以抵消唱歌太多和拧鼻子等偶尔引起的副作用。我真不知道你从哪儿得到的这些奇思妙想,我的孩子……除非——”
    They shook their heads.
    哈利用脚把混血王子的课本往书包深处塞了塞。
    “Ah well,” said Slughorn cheerily, “as we’re so few, we’ll do something fun. I want you all to brew me up something amusing!”
    “——就是你母亲的基因在你身上显出来了!”
    “That sounds good, sir,” said Ernie sycophantically, rubbing his hands together. Malfoy, on the other hand, did not crack a smile.
    “哦……也许吧。”哈利松了口气。
    “What do you mean, ‘something amusing’?” he said irritably.
    厄尼一脸怨气,他决心要胜过哈利一次,急急忙忙发明了自己的魔药,可它却在坩埚底凝结成紫色的汤团状的东西。马尔福已经板着脸收拾好书包,斯拉格霍恩说他的打嗝药水只是“还过得去”。
    “Oh, surprise me,” said Slughorn airily.
    下课铃一响,厄尼和马尔福马上就走了。
    Malfoy opened his copy of Advanced Potion-Making with a sulky expression. It could not have been plainer that he thought this lesson was a waste of time. Undoubtedly, Harry thought, watching him over the top of his own book, Malfoy was begrudging the time he could otherwise be spending in the Room of Requirement.
    “先生,”哈利开口道,但斯拉格霍恩立刻左右望了望,看到屋里只剩下了他和哈利,赶紧用最快的速度溜掉了。
    Was it his imagination, or did Malfoy, like Tonks, look thinner? Certainly he looked paler; his skin still had that grayish tinge, probably because he so rarely saw daylight these days. But there was no air of smugness, excitement, or superiority; none of the swagger that he had had on the Hogwarts Express, when he had boasted openly of the mission he had been given by Voldemort. . . . There could be only one conclusion, in Harry’s opinion: The mission, whatever it was, was going badly.
    “教授——教授,你不想尝尝我的魔——?”哈利绝望地问。
    Cheered by this thought, Harry skimmed through his copy of Advanced Potion-Making and found a heavily corrected Half-Blood Prince’s version of “An Elixir to Induce Euphoria,” which seemed not only to meet Slughorn’s instructions, but which might (Harry’s heart leapt as the thought struck him) put Slughorn into such a good mood that he would be prepared to hand over that memory if Harry could persuade him to taste some. . . .
    但斯拉格霍恩已经走了。哈利失望地倒空坩埚,收拾好东西,离开了地下教室,慢慢地上楼回公共休息室了。
    “Well, now, this looks absolutely wonderful,” said Slughorn an hour and a half later, clapping his hands together as he stared down into the sunshine yellow contents of Harry’s cauldron. “Euphoria, I take it? And what’s that I smell? Mmmm . . . you’ve added just a sprig of peppermint, haven’t you? Unorthodox, but what a stroke of inspiration, Harry, of course, that would tend to counterbalance the occasional side effects of excessive singing and nose-tweaking. . . . I really don’t know where you get these brain waves, my boy . . . unless —”
    罗恩和赫敏下午很晚才回来。
    Harry pushed the Half-Blood Prince’s book deeper into his bag with his foot.
    “哈利!”赫敏钻过肖像洞口时叫道,“哈利,我考过了!”
    “— it’s just your mother’s genes coming out in you!”
    “好样的!罗恩呢?”
    “Oh . . . yeah, maybe,” said Harry, relieved.
    “他——他只差一点儿。”赫敏小声说。罗恩无精打采地钻了过来,看上去颓丧极了。“真是倒霉,因为一丁点大的事——考官刚好看到他落下了半根眉毛……斯拉格霍恩怎么样?”
    Ernie was looking rather grumpy; determined to outshine Harry for once, he had most rashly invented his own potion, which had curdled and formed a kind of purple dumpling at the bottom of his cauldron. Malfoy was already packing up, sour-faced; Slughorn had pronounced his Hiccuping Solution merely “passable.”
    “没戏吧。”这时罗恩走了过来,哈利说,“不走运,伙计。但你下次一定能通过——我们俩可以一起考。”
    The bell rang and both Ernie and Malfoy left at once.
    “我想是吧。”罗恩郁闷地说,“就半根眉毛!好像多要紧似的!”
    “Sir,” Harry began, but Slughorn immediately glanced over his shoulder; when he saw that the room was empty but for himself and Harry, he hurried away as fast as he could.
    “我理解,”赫敏安慰道,“是很苛刻……”
    “Professor — Professor, don’t you want to taste my po — ?” called Harry desperately.
    他们吃晚饭的大部分时间都在骂幻影显形考官,到走回公共休息室的时候,罗恩的心情似乎略微好了一点儿,现在话题转到了斯拉格霍恩和他的记忆这个老问题上。
    But Slughorn had gone. Disappointed, Harry emptied the cauldron, packed up his things, left the dungeon, and walked slowly back upstairs to the common room.
    “那,哈利——你要不要用福灵剂?”罗恩问。
    Ron and Hermione returned in the late afternoon.
    “嗯,我想最好用一下。”哈利说,“我觉得不需要全用掉,因为要不了十二个小时,要不了一个通宵……我只要喝一口,两三小时应该就够了。”
    “Harry!” cried Hermione as she climbed through the portrait hole. “Harry, I passed!”
    “那种感觉美妙极了,”罗恩怀念地说,“好像你干什么都不会出错。”
    “Well done!” he said. “And Ron?”
    “你说什么呀?”赫敏笑道,“你又没喝过!”
    “He — he just failed,” whispered Hermione, as Ron came slouching into the room looking most morose. “It was really unlucky, a tiny thing, the examiner just spotted that he’d left half an eyebrow behind. . . . How did it go with Slughorn?”
    “是啊,可是我以为喝过,是不是?”罗恩煞有介事地说道,“其实差不多……”
    “No joy,” said Harry, as Ron joined them. “Bad luck, mate, but you’ll pass next time — we can take it together.”
    他们刚才看到斯拉格霍恩进了餐厅,知道他喜欢慢慢用餐,就在公共休息室等了一会儿,计划是等斯拉格霍恩回去之后哈利去他的办公室。
    “Yeah, I s’pose,” said Ron grumpily. “But half an eyebrow! Like that matters!”
    太阳落到禁林的树梢上时,他们判断时间到了,看准纳威、迪安和西莫都在休息室之后,偷偷溜进了男生宿舍。
    “I know,” said Hermione soothingly, “it does seem really harsh. . . .”
    哈利拿出箱底的袜子,抽出了一个闪闪发光的小瓶子。
    They spent most of their dinner roundly abusing the Apparition examiner, and Ron looked fractionally more cheerful by the time they set off back to the common room, now discussing the continuing problem of Slughorn and the memory.
    “找到了。”哈利举起小瓶,掐好量喝了一口。
    “So, Harry — you going to use the Felix Felicis or what?” Ron demanded.
    “感觉如何?”赫敏小声问。
    “Yeah, I s’pose I’d better,” said Harry. “I don’t reckon I’ll need all of it, not twelve hours’ worth, it can’t take all night. . . . I’ll just take a mouthful. Two or three hours should do it.”
    哈利一时没有回答,接着,慢慢地但是确确实实地,一种无比振奋的感觉流向全身,仿佛有无限的机会。他感到自己能做任何事,一切事……从斯拉格霍恩那里搞到记忆突然好像不仅可能,而且简直是轻而易举……
    “It’s a great feeling when you take it,” said Ron reminiscently. “Like you can’t do anything wrong.”
    他微笑着站了起来,充满自信。
    “What are you talking about?” said Hermione, laughing. “You’ve never taken any!”
    “妙极了,真是妙极了。好……我要去海格那儿。”
    “Yeah, but I thought I had, didn’t I?” said Ron, as though explaining the obvious. “Same difference really . . .”
    “什么?”罗恩和赫敏大吃一惊。
    As they had only just seen Slughorn enter the Great Hall and knew that he liked to take time over meals, they lingered for a while in the common room, the plan being that Harry should go to Slughorn’s office once the teacher had had time to get back there. When the sun had sunk to the level of the treetops in the Forbidden Forest, they decided the moment had come, and after checking carefully that Neville, Dean, and Seamus were all in the common room, sneaked up to the boys’ dormitory.
    “哦,哈利——你要去见斯拉格霍恩,还记得吗?”赫敏说。
    Harry took out the rolled-up socks at the bottom of his trunk and extracted the tiny, gleaming bottle.
    “不,”哈利自信地说,“我要去海格那儿,我对这件事感觉很好。”
    “Well, here goes,” said Harry, and he raised the little bottle and took a carefully measured gulp.
    “你对埋葬一只巨蜘蛛感觉很好?”罗恩惊愕地问。
    “What does it feel like?” whispered Hermione.
    “对,”哈利从包里抽出隐形衣,“我感觉今天晚上应该去那儿,你懂我的意思吗?”
    Harry did not answer for a moment. Then, slowly but surely, an exhilarating sense of infinite opportunity stole through him; he felt as though he could have done anything, anything at all . . . and getting the memory from Slughorn seemed suddenly not only possible, but positively easy. . . .
    “不懂。”罗恩和赫敏一起说,两人现在都很惊恐了。
    He got to his feet, smiling, brimming with confidence.
    “这是福灵剂吗?”赫敏担心地问,一边把瓶子举到光前,“你不会还有一瓶——什么——”
    “Excellent,” he said. “Really excellent. Right . . . I’m going down to Hagrid’s.”
    “疯狂素?”罗恩猜测道,这时哈利已经把隐形衣披到了肩上。
    “What?” said Ron and Hermione together, looking aghast.
    哈利哈哈大笑,他俩好像更害怕了。
    “No, Harry — you’ve got to go and see Slughorn, remember?” said Hermione.
    “相信我,我知道我自己在干什么……或至少……”他自信地朝门口走去,“福灵剂知道。”
    “No,” said Harry confidently. “I’m going to Hagrid’s, I’ve got a good feeling about going to Hagrid’s.”
    他把隐形衣拉到头上,往楼下走去,罗恩、赫敏紧跟在后面。下了楼梯,哈利从敞开的门里溜了出去。
    “You’ve got a good feeling about burying a giant spider?” asked Ron, looking stunned.
    “你跟她在上面干什么?”拉文德·布朗尖叫道,目光越过哈利盯着从男生宿舍下来的罗恩和赫敏。哈利听到罗恩结结巴巴地分辩着,他快步穿过房间,甩掉了他们。
    “Yeah,” said Harry, pulling his Invisibility Cloak out of his bag. “I feel like it’s the place to be tonight, you know what I mean?”
    过肖像洞口很简单,他走近时,金妮和迪安正好爬进来。哈利从他们两人之间钻了过去,不小心碰了金妮一下。
    “No,” said Ron and Hermione together, both looking positively alarmed now.
    “请别碰我,迪安,”她说,语气有些恼火,“你老是这样,我自己能爬进去……”
    “This is Felix Felicis, I suppose?” said Hermione anxiously, holding up the bottle to the light. “You haven’t got another little bottle full of— I don’t know —”
    肖像在哈利身后旋上,但他听到迪安在生气地反驳……他的快感在增强。哈利在城堡中大步流星地走着,不需要蹑手蹑脚,因为路上没碰到一个人,但这一点也不令他奇怪。今晚他是霍格沃茨最幸运的人。
    “Essence of Insanity?” suggested Ron, as Harry swung his cloak over his shoulders.
    为什么有把握该去海格那儿,他也不知道,仿佛魔药一次只能照亮几步,他看不到最后会通向哪里,看不到斯拉格霍恩会从哪儿进来,但他知道自己是在能搞到记忆的正确道路上。到了门厅,他看到费尔奇忘了锁大门,哈利微笑着打开门,呼吸着清新的空气和青草的气味,然后下台阶走入了暮色中。
    Harry laughed, and Ron and Hermione looked even more alarmed.
    到了台阶底下,他才想起途中到菜园里去走走会是多么惬意。虽然不完全顺路,但哈利清楚地感到他应该听从这一冲动。于是他立刻迈动双脚朝菜园方向走去。到了那里,他高兴但并不十分惊讶地发现斯拉格霍恩教授在跟斯普劳特教授说话。哈利躲在低矮的石墙后面,心境平和地聆听着他们的对话。
    “Trust me,” he said. “I know what I’m doing . . . or at least” — he strolled confidently to the door — “Felix does.”
    “……真是谢谢你费心,波莫娜,”斯拉格霍恩客气地说,“多数权威认为此药在黄昏时采摘药效最佳。”
    He pulled the Invisibility Cloak over his head and set off down the stairs, Ron and Hermione hurrying along behind him. At the foot of the stairs, Harry slid through the open door.
    “哦,我同意,”斯普劳特热情地说,“够了吗?”
    “What were you doing up there with her?” shrieked Lavender Brown, staring right through Harry at Ron and Hermione emerging together from the boys’ dormitories. Harry heard Ron spluttering behind him as he darted across the room away from them.
    “足够,足够,”斯拉格霍恩连声道谢,哈利看见他抱了一大捧叶子,“我的三年级学生每人都可分到几片,还能余下一些,防止有人煮过头……好,祝你晚安,再次感谢!”
    Getting through the portrait hole was simple; as he approached it, Ginny and Dean came through it, and Harry was able to slip between them. As he did so, he brushed accidentally against Ginny.
    斯普劳特教授在渐浓的暮色中朝着暖房的方向走去,斯拉格霍恩迈步朝哈利隐身的地方踱了过来。
    “Don’t push me, please, Dean,” she said, sounding annoyed. “You’re always doing that, I can get through perfectly well on my own. . . .”
    哈利突然感到一种想要现身的冲动,一把扯下了隐形衣。
    The portrait swung closed behind Harry, but not before he had heard Dean make an angry retort. . . . His feeling of elation increasing, Harry strode off through the castle. He did not have to creep along, for he met nobody on his way, but this did not surprise him in the slightest: This evening, he was the luckiest person at Hogwarts.
    “晚上好,教授。”
    Why he knew that going to Hagrid’s was the right thing to do, he had no idea. It was as though the potion was illuminating a few steps of the path at a time: He could not see the final destination, he could not see where Slughorn came in, but he knew that he was going the right way to get that memory. When he reached the entrance hall he saw that Filch had forgotten to lock the front door. Beaming, Harry threw it open and breathed in the smell of clean air and grass for a moment before walking down the steps into the dusk.
    “我的老天爷,哈利,你吓了我一跳。”斯拉格霍恩猛然止步,警惕地看着他,“你怎么从城堡里出来了?”
    It was when he reached the bottom step that it occurred to him how very pleasant it would be to pass the vegetable patch on his walk to Hagrid’s. It was not strictly on the way, but it seemed clear to Harry that this was a whim on which he should act, so he directed his feet immediately toward the vegetable patch, where he was pleased, but not altogether surprised, to find Professor Slughorn in conversation with Professor Sprout. Harry lurked behind a low stone wall, feeling at peace with the world and listening to their conversation.
    “我想费尔奇忘记锁门了。”哈利愉快地说,他高兴地看到斯拉格霍恩皱起了眉头。
    “I do thank you for taking the time, Pomona,” Slughorn was saying courteously, “most authorities agree that they are at their most efficacious if picked at twilight.”
    “我要揭发那个人,依我看他更关心垃圾而不是师生的安全……可你为什么在这儿呢,哈利?”
    “Oh, I quite agree,” said Professor Sprout warmly. “That enough for you?”
    “哦,先生,是海格,”哈利知道现在应该实话实说,“他很难过……你不会告诉别人吧,教授?我不想给他惹麻烦……”
    “Plenty, plenty,” said Slughorn, who, Harry saw, was carrying an armful of leafy plants. “This should allow for a few leaves for each of my third years, and some to spare if anybody over-stews them. . . . Well, good evening to you, and many thanks again!”
    斯拉格霍恩的好奇心显然被勾起来了。
    Professor Sprout headed off into the gathering darkness in the direction of her greenhouses, and Slughorn directed his steps to the spot where Harry stood, invisible.
    “这个,我不能保证,”他粗声说,“但我知道邓布利多对海格深信不疑,所以我相信海格不会干太可怕的……”
    Seized with an immediate desire to reveal himself, Harry pulled off the cloak with a flourish.
    “哦,是那只巨蜘蛛,海格养了好多年了……它住在林子里……会说话和做好多事——”
    “Good evening, Professor.”
    “我也曾听说过林子里有八眼巨蛛。”斯拉格霍恩望着黑森森的树林,轻声说,“这么说是真的?”
    “Merlin’s beard, Harry, you made me jump,” said Slughorn, stopping dead in his tracks and looking wary. “How did you get out of the castle?”
    “对,”哈利说,“可这一只,阿拉戈克,是海格养的第一只,它昨天夜里死了。海格非常难过,他希望有人陪他埋葬阿拉戈克,我说我去。”
    “I think Filch must’ve forgotten to lock the doors,” said Harry cheerfully, and was delighted to see Slughorn scowl.
    “令人感动,很感人。”斯拉格霍恩心不在焉地说,他那眼皮向下耷拉着的大眼睛盯着远处海格小屋的灯光。“八眼巨蛛的毒汁是非常珍贵的……如果那畜生刚死,毒汁可能还没干……当然,如果海格不高兴,我不想冒昧。但如有办法搞到一些……要知道,从活的八眼巨蛛身上搞到毒汁几乎是不可能的……”
    “I’ll be reporting that man, he’s more concerned about litter than proper security if you ask me. . . . But why are you out here, Harry?”
    斯拉格霍恩更像是在自言自语。
    “Well, sir, it’s Hagrid,” said Harry, who knew that the right thing to do just now was to tell the truth. “He’s pretty upset. . . . But you won’t tell anyone, Professor? I don’t want trouble for him. . . .”
    “……不采集它似乎太浪费了……也许一品脱能值一百加隆呢……老实说,我的薪水不高……”
    Slughorn’s curiosity was evidently aroused. “Well, I can’t promise that,” he said gruffly. “But I know that Dumbledore trusts Hagrid to the hilt, so I’m sure he can’t be up to anything very dreadful. . . .”
    现在哈利看清该做什么了。
    “Well, it’s this giant spider, he’s had it for years. . . . It lived in the forest. . . . It could talk and everything —”
    “嗯,”他装得很像地犹豫了一会儿,说道,“教授,如果你想去,海格可能会很高兴的……可以更隆重地给阿拉戈克送行……”
    “I heard rumors there were acromantulas in the forest,” said Slughorn softly, looking over at the mass of black trees. “It’s true, then?”
    “是,当然,”斯拉格霍恩说,他的眼睛现在闪闪发光了,“好吧,哈利,我带上一两瓶酒到下面跟你会合……我们为那可怜的畜生——不是祝寿——而是在下葬之后好好为它送行。我去换一下领带,这条太花哨了点儿……”
    “Yes,” said Harry. “But this one, Aragog, the first one Hagrid ever got, it died last night. He’s devastated. He wants company while he buries it and I said I’d go.”
    他匆匆跑回城堡。哈利加快脚步往海格那儿走去,对自己很满意。
    “Touching, touching,” said Slughorn absentmindedly, his large droopy eyes fixed upon the distant lights of Hagrid’s cabin. “But acromantula venom is very valuable . . . If the beast only just died it might not yet have dried out. . . . Of course, I wouldn’t want to do anything insensitive if Hagrid is upset . . . but if there was any way to procure some . . . I mean, it’s almost impossible to get venom from an acromantula while it’s alive. . . .”
    “你来了。”海格打开门,看到哈利掀开隐形衣出现在他面前,他沙哑地说道。
    Slughorn seemed to be talking more to himself than Harry now.
    “是啊——罗恩和赫敏来不了,他们很抱歉。”
    “. . . seems an awful waste not to collect it . . . might get a hundred Galleons a pint. . . . To be frank, my salary is not large. . . .”
    “不——不要紧……但你来了他会很感动的,哈利……”
    And now Harry saw clearly what was to be done.
    海格大声抽泣了一下。他给自己做了个黑袖套,好像是用破布条蘸了鞋油做的。他眼睛又红又肿。哈利安慰地拍拍他的胳膊肘,这是他不用费劲而可以够得着的最高部位。
    “Well,” he said, with a most convincing hesitancy, “well, if you wanted to come, Professor, Hagrid would probably be really pleased. . . . Give Aragog a better send-off, you know . . .”
    “在哪儿安葬他②?林子里?”
    “Yes, of course,” said Slughorn, his eyes now gleaming with enthusiasm. “I tell you what, Harry, I’ll meet you down there with a bottle or two. . . . We’ll drink the poor beast’s — well — not health — but we’ll send it off in style, anyway, once it’s buried. And I’ll change my tie, this one is a little exuberant for the occasion. . . .”
    “老天,不行,”海格说着用衬衫角擦了擦泪眼,“阿拉戈克一死,其他蜘蛛不肯让我靠近他们的网子。看来他们只是因为他的命令才没有吃掉我!你能相信吗,哈利?”
    He bustled back into the castle, and Harry sped off to Hagrid’s, delighted with himself.
    诚实的回答是“相信”,哈利还痛苦地记得他和罗恩遭遇那些八眼巨蛛的情景,他们很清楚阿拉戈克是阻止那些巨蛛吃掉海格的惟一原因。
    “Yeh came,” croaked Hagrid, when he opened the door and saw Harry emerging from the Invisibility Cloak in front of him.
    “以前林子里从来没有我不能去的地方!”海格摇头道,“不容易啊,把阿拉戈克的尸体搬出来。跟你说吧——他们一般会把尸体吃掉……可是我想给他一个体面的葬礼……好好送行……”
    “Yeah — Ron and Hermione couldn’t, though,” said Harry. “They’re really sorry.”
    他又抽泣起来,哈利一边拍着他的胳膊肘一边说(魔药似乎暗示他正该这么做):“海格,我在路上碰到斯拉格霍恩教授了。”
    “Don’ — don’ matter . . . He’d’ve bin touched yeh’re here, though, Harry. . . .”
    “没有麻烦吧?”海格说着惊恐地抬起头,“我知道你不该晚上离开城堡,是我的错——”
    Hagrid gave a great sob. He had made himself a black armband out of what looked like a rag dipped in boot polish, and his eyes were puffy, red, and swollen. Harry patted him consolingly on the elbow, which was the highest point of Hagrid he could easily reach.
    “不,不,他听到我来做什么之后,说他也想来跟阿拉戈克告个别。他去换衣服了,我想……他还说要带点酒来祭奠阿拉戈克……”
    “Where are we burying him?” he asked. “The forest?”
    “是吗?”海格说,又是惊讶又是感动,“那——那他真好,而且没有告发你。我跟霍拉斯·斯拉格霍恩从来没多少交情……但他要来送阿拉戈克?嗯……他会喜欢的,阿拉戈克……”
    “Blimey, no,” said Hagrid, wiping his streaming eyes on the bottom of his shirt. “The other spiders won’ let me anywhere near their webs now Aragog’s gone. Turns out it was on’y on his orders they didn’ eat me! Can yeh believe that, Harry?”
    哈利暗想,阿拉戈克最喜欢的可能是斯拉格霍恩的那一身肥肉。他走到后窗口,看到了一幕相当恐怖的情景,外面朝天躺着一只巨大的死蜘蛛,蛛腿弯曲纠结。
    The honest answer was “yes”; Harry recalled with painful ease the scene when he and Ron had come face-to-face with the acromantulas: They had been quite clear that Aragog was the only thing that stopped them from eating Hagrid.
    “就葬在这儿吗,海格,在你的花园里?”
    “Never bin an area o’ the forest I couldn’ go before!” said Hagrid, shaking his head. “It wasn’ easy, gettin’ Aragog’s body out o’ there, I can tell yeh — they usually eat their dead, see. . . . But I wanted ter give ’im a nice burial . . . a proper send-off . . .”
    “南瓜地后面,我想。”海格哽噎道,“我已经挖了——坟墓。只是觉得我们应该说点什么——美好的回忆——”
    He broke into sobs again and Harry resumed the patting of his elbow, saying as he did so (for the potion seemed to indicate that it was the right thing to do), “Professor Slughorn met me coming down here, Hagrid.”
    他的声音颤抖着中断了。敲门声响起,他转身去开门,一边用斑斑点点的大手帕擤着鼻子。斯拉格霍恩匆匆跨进门,怀里抱着几个酒瓶,脖子上戴了一条黑色的领巾。
    “Not in trouble, are yeh?” said Hagrid, looking up, alarmed. “Yeh shouldn’ be outta the castle in the evenin’, I know it, it’s my fault —”
    “海格,”他用低沉庄重的语气说,“我很难过。”
    “No, no, when he heard what I was doing he said he’d like to come and pay his last respects to Aragog too,” said Harry. “He’s gone to change into something more suitable, I think . . . and he said he’d bring some bottles so we can drink to Aragog’s memory. . . .
    “你太好了,”海格说,“非常感谢,也谢谢你不关哈利的禁闭……”
    “Did he?” said Hagrid, looking both astonished and touched. “Tha’s — tha’s righ’ nice of him, that is, an’ not turnin’ yeh in either. I’ve never really had a lot ter do with Horace Slughorn before. . . . Comin’ ter see old Aragog off, though, eh? Well . . . he’d’ve liked that, Aragog would. . . .”
    “做梦也想不到。”斯拉格霍恩说,“悲哀的夜晚,悲哀的夜晚……那可怜的动物在哪儿?”
    Harry thought privately that what Aragog would have liked most about Slughorn was the ample amount of edible flesh he provided, but he merely moved to the rear window of Hagrid’s hut, where he saw the rather horrible sight of the enormous dead spider lying on its back outside, its legs curled and tangled.
    “外面,”海格用颤抖的声音说,“我们——我们开始吗?”
    “Are we going to bury him here, Hagrid, in your garden?”
    三人走进了后花园,月亮在树缝间发出惨淡的光,与海格窗口的灯光混合在一起,照着躺在一个大坑边上的阿拉戈克的尸体,旁边是一堆十英尺高的新土。
    “Jus’ beyond the pumpkin patch, I thought,” said Hagrid in a choked voice. “I’ve already dug the — yeh know — grave. Jus’ thought we’d say a few nice things over him — happy memories, yeh know —”
    “真漂亮。”斯拉格霍恩说着走近蜘蛛的脑袋,那上头八只乳白色的眼睛茫然地盯着苍穹,两只弯曲的大鳌在月光中一动不动。斯拉格霍恩在大鳌前弯下了腰,似乎在察看那毛森森的大脑袋,哈利仿佛听到了瓶子的丁当声。
    His voice quivered and broke. There was a knock on the door, and he turned to answer it, blowing his nose on his great spotted handkerchief as he did so. Slughorn hurried over the threshold, several bottles in his arms, and wearing a somber black cravat.
    “不是所有的人都能欣赏他们的美。”海格对着斯拉格霍恩的后背说,眼泪从他那布满皱纹的眼角流了下来,“我不知道你对阿拉戈克这样的动物感兴趣,霍拉斯。”
    “Hagrid,” he said, in a deep, grave voice. “So very sorry to hear of your loss.”
    “感兴趣?亲爱的海格,我敬畏他们。”斯拉格霍恩从尸体前退了回来,哈利看到瓶子的反光一闪,隐没在他的斗篷里,又在那里擦眼睛的海格全未察觉,“现在……开始葬礼吧?”
    “Tha’s very nice of yeh,” said Hagrid. “Thanks a lot. An’ thanks fer not givin’ Harry detention neither. . . .”
    海格点点头,走上前去,拖起巨蜘蛛,大吼一声,把它滚进了黑坑。尸体撞到坑底时发出一声可怕的嘎吱吱的巨响,海格又哭了起来。
    “Wouldn’t have dreamed of it,” said Slughorn. “Sad night, sad night . . . Where is the poor creature?”
    “当然,你受不了,因为你最了解他。”斯拉格霍恩也只够得到海格的胳膊肘,但还是拍了拍他,“我说两句吧。”
    “Out here,” said Hagrid in a shaking voice. “Shall we — shall we do it, then?”
    哈利想,斯拉格霍恩一定从阿拉戈克身上搞了很多优质毒汁,因为他往坑边走去时脸上带着满意的微笑。
    The three of them stepped out into the back garden. The moon was glistening palely through the trees now, and its rays mingled with the light spilling from Hagrid’s window to illuminate Aragog’s body lying on the edge of a massive pit beside a ten-foot-high mound of freshly dug earth.
    斯拉格霍恩用缓慢、庄严的语调说:“别了,阿拉戈克,蜘蛛之王,认识你的人不会忘记你长期忠诚的友谊!虽然你的肉体会腐烂,你的精神将留在你森林之家那静谧的、蛛网交织的所在。愿你多眼的后代繁衍不息,也愿你的人类朋友在哀痛中得到慰藉。”
    “Magnificent,” said Slughorn, approaching the spider’s head, where eight milky eyes stared blankly at the sky and two huge, curved pincers shone, motionless, in the moonlight. Harry thought he heard the tinkle of bottles as Slughorn bent over the pincers, apparently examining the enormous hairy head.
    “说得……说得……太美了!”海格号叫一声,倒在粪堆上,哭得更凶了。
    “It’s not ev’ryone appreciates how beau’iful they are,” said Hagrid to Slughorn’s back, tears leaking from the corners of his crinkled eyes. “I didn’ know yeh were int’rested in creatures like Aragog, Horace.”
    “好了,好了,”斯拉格霍恩说着一挥魔杖,那一大堆泥土升了起来,沉闷地压在死蜘蛛身上,形成了一个光滑的土丘,“我们进去喝一杯吧。扶着他那一边,哈利……对了……起来,海格……好……”
    “Interested? My dear Hagrid, I revere them,” said Slughorn, stepping back from the body. Harry saw the glint of a bottle disappear beneath his cloak, though Hagrid, mopping his eyes once more, noticed nothing. “Now . . . shall we proceed to the burial?”
    他们把海格扶到桌前的一把椅子上,葬礼中一直躲在篮筐里的牙牙现在轻轻走过来,像平时那样把它那沉重的脑袋搁到哈利的腿上。斯拉格霍恩打开了一瓶他带来的酒。
    Hagrid nodded and moved forward. He heaved the gigantic spider into his arms and, with an enormous grunt, rolled it into the dark pit. It hit the bottom with a rather horrible, crunchy thud. Hagrid started to cry again.
    “我全都检查过了,没有毒药。”他向哈利保证说,一边把大半瓶酒倒进了海格那水桶大小的杯子里,“在你可怜的朋友罗伯特③出事后,我让一个家养小精灵尝了每一瓶酒。”
    “Of course, it’s difficult for you, who knew him best,” said Slughorn, who like Harry could reach no higher than Hagrid’s elbow, but patted it all the same. “Why don’t I say a few words?”
    哈利想象着赫敏听了这种虐待家养小精灵的做法后会是什么表情,决定永远不对她提起。
    He must have got a lot of good quality venom from Aragog, Harry thought, for Slughorn wore a satisfied smirk as he stepped up to the rim of the pit and said, in a slow, impressive voice, “Farewell, Aragog, king of arachnids, whose long and faithful friendship those who knew you won’t forget! Though your body will decay, your spirit lingers on in the quiet, web-spun places of your forest home. May your many-eyed descendants ever flourish and your human friends find solace for the loss they have sustained.”
    “一杯给哈利……”斯拉格霍恩说着把第二瓶酒分别倒进两只杯子,“……一杯给我。好,”他高高举起杯子,“为了阿拉戈克。”
    “Tha’ was . . . tha’ was . . . beau’iful!” howled Hagrid, and he collapsed onto the compost heap, crying harder than ever.
    “阿拉戈克。”哈利和海格一起说。
    “There, there,” said Slughorn, waving his wand so that the huge pile of earth rose up and then fell, with a muffled sort of crash, onto the dead spider, forming a smooth mound. “Let’s get inside and have a drink. Get on his other side, Harry. . . . That’s it. . . . Up you come, Hagrid . . . Well done . . .”
    斯拉格霍恩和海格都痛饮了一大口,但哈利得了福灵剂的启示,知道他不能喝,便假装喝了一口,把杯子放回到桌上。
    They deposited Hagrid in a chair at the table. Fang, who had been skulking in his basket during the burial, now came padding softly across to them and put his heavy head into Harry’s lap as usual. Slughorn uncorked one of the bottles of wine he had brought.
    “我把他从一个蛋养大的,”海格悲伤地说,“刚孵出来时多小啊,才哈巴狗那么大。”
    “I have had it all tested for poison,” he assured Harry, pouring most of the first bottle into one of Hagrid’s bucket-sized mugs and handing it to Hagrid. “Had a house-elf taste every bottle after what happened to your poor friend Rupert.”
    “真可爱。”斯拉格霍恩说。
    Harry saw, in his mind’s eye, the expression on Hermione’s face if she ever heard about this abuse of house-elves, and decided never to mention it to her.
    “以前把他养在学校的柜子里,直到……唉……”
    “One for Harry . . .” said Slughorn, dividing a second bottle between two mugs, “. . . and one for me. Well” — he raised his mug high — “to Aragog.”
    海格的脸色阴沉下来,哈利知道为什么:由汤姆·里德尔主使,将密室事件嫁祸于海格,结果他被赶出了学校。但斯拉格霍恩似乎没在听,他只是望着天花板,那儿挂着几只铜壶,还有一束长长的柔顺光洁的白毛。
    “Aragog,” said Harry and Hagrid together.
    “不是独角兽的毛吧,海格?”
    Both Slughorn and Hagrid drank deeply. Harry, however, with the way ahead illuminated for him by Felix Felicis, knew that he must not drink, so he merely pretended to take a gulp and then set the mug back on the table before him.
    “哦,是独角兽的毛,”海格不在意地说,“从尾巴上扯下来的,在林子里挂到了树枝上……”
    “I had him from an egg, yeh know,” said Hagrid morosely. “Tiny little thing he was when he hatched. ’Bout the size of a Pekingese.”
    “可是亲爱的朋友,你知道那得值多少钱?”
    “Sweet,” said Slughorn.
    “动物受伤的时候,我用它绑绷带,”海格说着耸了耸肩,“特别好使……特别结实,你瞧。”
    “Used ter keep him in a cupboard up at the school until . . . well . . .”
    斯拉格霍恩又痛饮了一口,目光仔细在小屋中搜寻着,哈利知道他是在找更多的宝物,可以给他换成好多橡木陈酿的蜂蜜酒、菠萝蜜饯和天鹅绒的吸烟衫。斯拉格霍恩把海格和自己的杯子又斟满了,问到现在林子里住着的生物,又问海格怎么能照看得过来。海格在酒精的作用和斯拉格霍恩的奉承之下开朗起来,停止了擦眼睛,开始兴致勃勃地大讲起护树罗锅的饲养来。
    Hagrid’s face darkened and Harry knew why: Tom Riddle had contrived to have Hagrid thrown out of school, blamed for opening the Chamber of Secrets. Slughorn, however, did not seem to be listening; he was looking up at the ceiling, from which a number of brass pots hung, and also a long, silky skein of bright white hair.
    福灵剂此时轻轻推了哈利一下,他注意到斯拉格霍恩带来的酒很快要光了。哈利还不会不出声地施续满咒,但今晚他不能的念头是可笑的。果然,哈利拿魔杖在桌肚里朝空杯子一指,杯子立即满了,海格和斯拉格霍恩都没察觉(他们现在正在交流着非法交易恐龙蛋的故事),哈利自己咧嘴一笑。
    “That’s never unicorn hair, Hagrid?”
    大约一小时后,海格和斯拉格霍恩开始放纵地祝酒:为霍格沃茨,为邓布利多,为小精灵酿的酒,为——
    “Oh, yeah,” said Hagrid indifferently. “Gets pulled out of their tails, they catch it on branches an’ stuff in the forest, yeh know . . .”
    “哈利·波特!”海格吼道,把第十四桶葡萄酒一饮而尽,流了一下巴。
    “But my dear chap, do you know how much that’s worth?”
    “对啊,”斯拉格霍恩有些口齿不清地叫道,“巴利·沃特,救世少年——嗯——差不多那个意思。”他嘟囔道,也跟着一饮而尽。
    “I use it fer bindin’ on bandages an’ stuff if a creature gets injured,” said Hagrid, shrugging. “It’s dead useful . . . very strong, see.”
    没过多久,海格又泪汪汪地把整条独角兽的尾巴塞到了斯拉格霍恩手中,后者高喊着“为友谊!为慷慨!为十加隆一根!”把它揣进了衣服口袋里。
    Slughorn took another deep draught from his mug, his eyes moving carefully around the cabin now, looking, Harry knew, for more treasures that he might be able to convert into a plentiful supply of oak-matured mead, crystalized pineapple, and velvet smoking jackets. He refilled Hagrid’s mug and his own, and questioned him about the creatures that lived in the forest these days and how Hagrid was able to look after them all. Hagrid, becoming expansive under the influence of the drink and Slughorn’s flattering interest, stopped mopping his eyes and entered happily into a long explanation of bowtruckle husbandry.
    接下来有一会儿,海格和斯拉格霍恩并排坐着,搂住对方,唱起了一首舒缓忧伤的歌。唱的是一个垂死的巫师奥多。
    The Felix Felicis gave Harry a little nudge at this point, and he noticed that the supply of drink that Slughorn had brought was running out fast. Harry had not yet managed to bring off the Refilling Charm without saying the incantation aloud, but the idea that he might not be able to do it tonight was laughable: Indeed, Harry grinned to himself as, unnoticed by either Hagrid or Slughorn (now swapping tales of the illegal trade in dragon eggs) he pointed his wand under the table at the emptying bottles and they immediately began to refill.
    “啊,好人不长命,”海格嘟囔着趴到桌子上,有一点儿对眼了,斯拉格霍恩还在颤声唱着。“我爸爸那么年轻就走了……你爸爸妈妈也是,哈利……”
    After an hour or so, Hagrid and Slughorn began making extravagant toasts: to Hogwarts, to Dumbledore, to elf-made wine, and to —
    硕大的泪珠又从海格那爬满皱纹的眼角涌出,他抓住哈利的胳膊摇晃着。
    “Harry Potter!” bellowed Hagrid, slopping some of his fourteenth bucket of wine down his chin as he drained it.
    “……在他们那个年纪的巫师里头,我见过的最好的一对……可怕……可怕……”
    “Yes, indeed,” cried Slughorn a little thickly, “Parry Otter, the Chosen Boy Who — well — something of that sort,” he mumbled, and drained his mug too.
    斯拉格霍恩伤感地唱着:
    Not long after this, Hagrid became tearful again and pressed the whole unicorn tail upon Slughorn, who pocketed it with cries of, “To friendship! To generosity! To ten Galleons a hair!”
    英雄奥多被抬回故乡,
    And for a while after that, Hagrid and Slughorn were sitting side by side, arms around each other, singing a slow sad song about a dying wizard called Odo.
    抬到他儿时熟悉的地方,
    “Aaargh, the good die young,” muttered Hagrid, slumping low onto the table, a little cross-eyed, while Slughorn continued to warble the refrain. “Me dad was no age ter go . . . nor were yer mum an’ dad, Harry. . .”
    帽子翻过来,入土安葬,
    Great fat tears oozed out of the corners of Hagrid’s crinkled eyes again; he grasped Harry’s arm and shook it.
    魔杖折两段,多么悲伤。
    “Bes’ wiz and witchard o’ their age I never knew . . . terrible thing . . . terrible thing . . .”
    “……可怕,”海格哼哼道,蓬乱的大脑袋滚到臂弯里,低沉地打起鼾来。
    And Odo the hero, they bore him back home
    “对不起,”斯拉格霍恩打了个嗝说,“我从来唱不准调子。”
    To the place that he’d known as a lad, sang Slughorn plaintively.
    “海格不是说你唱歌,”哈利轻声说,“他在说我爸爸妈妈的死。”
    They laid him to rest with his hat inside out
    “哦,”斯拉格霍恩抑制住一个大嗝说道,“哦,是啊,那真是——非常可怕。可怕……可怕……”
    And his wand snapped in two, which was sad.
    他似乎不知说什么好,又去往杯里添酒。
    “. . . terrible,” Hagrid grunted, and his great shaggy head rolled sideways onto his arms and he fell asleep, snoring deeply.
    “我想——你不记得了吧,哈利?”他笨拙地问。
    “Sorry,” said Slughorn with a hiccup. “Can’t carry a tune to save my life.”
    “不记得——他们死的时候我才一岁。”哈利说,一边盯着在海格粗重的呼噜中摇曳的烛火,“但我后来了解了不少。我爸爸先死的,你知道吗?”
    “Hagrid wasn’t talking about your singing,” said Harry quietly. “He was talking about my mum and dad dying.”
    “我——我不知道。”斯拉格霍恩声音微弱地说。
    “Oh,” said Slughorn, repressing a large belch. “Oh dear. Yes, that was — was terrible indeed. Terrible . . . terrible . . .”
    “是……伏地魔杀了他,然后跨过他的尸体朝我妈妈走了过去。”
    He looked quite at a loss for what to say, and resorted to refilling their mugs.
    斯拉格霍恩猛地哆嗦一下,但好像无法将他那恐惧的目光从哈利脸上移开。
    “I don’t — don’t suppose you remember it, Harry?” he asked awkwardly.
    “他叫我妈妈走开,”哈利无情地说,“伏地魔告诉我她本来可以不死的,他只想杀我,她本来可以逃走的。”
    “No — well, I was only one when they died,” said Harry, his eyes on the flame of the candle flickering in Hagrid’s heavy snores. “But I’ve found out pretty much what happened since. My dad died first. Did you know that?”
    “哦,天哪,”斯拉格霍恩轻声说,“她本来可以……她不用……太可怕了……”
    “I — I didn’t,” said Slughorn in a hushed voice.
    “是啊,”哈利的声音近乎耳语,“可是她没有动。爸爸已经死了,她不想我也死掉。她试图向伏地魔求情……可他只是大笑……”
    “Yeah . . . Voldemort murdered him and then stepped over his body toward my mum,” said Harry.
    “够了!”斯拉格霍恩突然叫道,举起颤抖的手,“真的,亲爱的孩子,够了……我是个老人……我不需要听……我不想听……”
    Slughorn gave a great shudder, but he did not seem able to tear his horrified gaze away from Harry’s face.
    “我忘了,”哈利撒了个谎,福灵剂引导着他,“你喜欢她,是不是?”
    “He told her to get out of the way,” said Harry remorselessly. “He told me she needn’t have died. He only wanted me. She could have run.”
    “喜欢她?”斯拉格霍恩说,眼里又汪满了泪水,“我不能想象有哪个见过她的人会不喜欢她……非常勇敢……非常活泼……啊,最可怕的事……”
    “Oh dear,” breathed Slughorn. “She could have . . . she needn’t . . . That’s awful. . . .”
    “可你不肯帮助她的儿子。她把她的生命给了我,你却连一段记忆都不肯给我。”
    “It is, isn’t it?” said Harry, in a voice barely more than a whisper. “But she didn’t move. Dad was already dead, but she didn’t want me to go too. She tried to plead with Voldemort . . . but he just laughed. . . .”
    海格如雷的鼾声充满了小屋。哈利牢牢地盯着斯拉格霍恩泪汪汪的眼睛。魔药教师似乎无法转移视线。
    “That’s enough!” said Slughorn suddenly, raising a shaking hand. “Really, my dear boy, enough . . . I’m an old man . . . I don’t need to hear . . . I don’t want to hear . . .”
    “别那么说,”他小声说,“如果能帮助你的话……当然不成问题……可是那东西又没有用处……”
    “I forgot,” lied Harry, Felix Felicis leading him on. “You liked her, didn’t you?”
    “有用,”哈利清楚地说,“邓布利多需要了解,我需要了解。”
    “Liked her?” said Slughorn, his eyes brimming with tears once more. “I don’t imagine anyone who met her wouldn’t have liked her. . . . Very brave . . . Very funny . . . It was the most horrible thing. . . .”
    他知道自己是安全的——福灵剂告诉他,斯拉格霍恩明天早上什么也不会记得。哈利直视着斯拉格霍恩的眼睛,身子微微前倾。
    “But you won’t help her son,” said Harry. “She gave me her life, but you won’t give me a memory.”
    “我是救世之星,我必须杀死他,我需要那段记忆。”
    Hagrid’s rumbling snores filled the cabin. Harry looked steadily into Slughorn’s tear-filled eyes. The Potions master seemed unable to look away.
    斯拉格霍恩脸色更加苍白,脑门上亮晶晶的全是汗。
    “Don’t say that,” he whispered. “It isn’t a question . . . If it were to help you, of course . . . but no purpose can be served . . .”
    “你是救世之星?”
    “It can,” said Harry clearly. “Dumbledore needs information. I need information.”
    “当然。”哈利镇静地说。
    He knew he was safe: Felix was telling him that Slughorn would remember nothing of this in the morning. Looking Slughorn straight in the eye, Harry leaned forward a little.
    “可是……亲爱的孩子……你要求得太多了……实际上,你在要我帮你摧毁——”
    “I am the Chosen One. I have to kill him. I need that memory.”
    “你不想除掉杀死莉莉·伊万丝的巫师?”
    Slughorn turned paler than ever; his shiny forehead gleamed with sweat.
    “哈利,哈利,我当然想,可是——”
    “You are the Chosen One?”
    “你害怕他会发现你帮了我?”
    “Of course I am,” said Harry calmly.
    斯拉格霍恩没说话,但神色恐惧。
    “But then . . . my dear boy . . . you’re asking a great deal . . . you’re asking me, in fact, to aid you in your attempt to destroy —”
    “希望你像我妈妈一样勇敢,教授……”
    “You don’t want to get rid of the wizard who killed Lily Evans?”
    斯拉格霍恩举起胖手,把颤抖的手指按到嘴上,他一时看上去像个庞大的婴儿。
    “Harry, Harry, of course I do, but —”
    “我觉得不光彩……”他从指缝间小声喃喃道,“我为——为那段记忆显示的事情而感到羞耻……我想我那天可能造成了很大危害……”
    “You’re scared he’ll find out you helped me?”
    “你把记忆交给我就一切都抵消了,”哈利说道,“这是非常勇敢和高尚的事。”
    Slughorn said nothing; he looked terrified.
    海格在梦中抽搐了一下,继续打着呼噜。斯拉格霍恩和哈利隔着流泪的蜡烛对视着,沉默持续了很久,福灵剂告诉哈利不要打破它,再等一等。
    “Be brave like my mother, Professor. . . .”
    最后,斯拉格霍恩很慢很慢地把手伸进兜里,抽出了魔杖,另一只手从斗篷里摸出一个小小的空瓶子。他仍然盯着哈利的眼睛,将魔杖尖抵在太阳穴上,然后拿开了。杖尖带出一缕长长的银丝般的记忆。它越拉越长,终于断了,银光闪闪地在杖尖上飘荡。斯拉格霍恩把它放进瓶中,银丝卷了起来,继而展开了,像气体一样盘旋着。他用颤抖的手塞紧瓶盖,隔着桌子递给了哈利。
    Slughorn raised a pudgy hand and pressed his shaking fingers to his mouth; he looked for a moment like an enormously overgrown baby.
    “非常感谢您,教授。”
    “I am not proud . . .” he whispered through his fingers. “I am ashamed of what — of what that memory shows. . . . I think I may have done great damage that day. . . .”
    “你是个好孩子,”斯拉格霍恩说,泪水顺着他肥胖的面颊流进了他的海象胡须中,“你有她那样的眼睛……看了这个之后别把我想得太坏……”
    “You’d cancel out anything you did by giving me the memory,” said Harry. “It would be a very brave and noble thing to do.”
    他也把脑袋搁到臂弯里,长叹一声,睡着了。
    Hagrid twitched in his sleep and snored on. Slughorn and Harry stared at each other over the guttering candle. There was a long, long silence, but Felix Felicis told Harry not to break it, to wait.
    ①从第五册《哈利·波特与凤凰社》上看,纳威也没有到十七岁,因为他和哈利是同一年七月底生人。
    Then, very slowly, Slughorn put his hand in his pocket and pulled out his wand. He put his other hand inside his cloak and took out a small, empty bottle. Still looking into Harry’s eyes, Slughorn touched the tip of his wand to his temple and withdrew it, so that a long, silver thread of memory came away too, clinging to the wand tip. Longer and longer the memory stretched until it broke and swung, silvery bright, from the wand. Slughorn lowered it into the bottle where it coiled, then spread, swirling like gas. He corked the bottle with a trembling hand and then passed it across the table to Harry.
    ②因为海格对巨蜘蛛有感情,所以用“he”来称呼阿拉戈克及其同类,而哈利当着海格的面用“he”,背后还是用“it”,斯拉格霍恩教授也是如此。
    “Thank you very much, Professor.”
    ③斯拉格霍恩到现在也没记住罗恩的名字。
    “You’re a good boy,” said Professor Slughorn, tears trickling down his fat cheeks into his walrus mustache. “And you’ve got her eyes. . . . Just don’t think too badly of me once you’ve seen it. . . .”
    
    And he too put his head on his arms, gave a deep sigh, and fell asleep.
    
    
    

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