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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

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CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE SHELL COTTAGE

第二十五章　贝壳小屋

Bill and Fleur’s cottage stood alone on a cliff overlooking the sea, its walls embedded with shells and whitewashed. It was a lonely and beautiful place. Wherever Harry went inside the tiny cottage or its garden, he could hear the constant ebb and flow of the sea, like the breathing of some great, slumbering creature. He spent much of the next few days making excuses to escape the crowded cottage, craving the cliff-top view of open sky and wide, empty sea, and the feel of cold, salty wind on his face.

比尔和芙蓉的小屋孤零零地屹立在悬崖之上，俯视着大海，墙壁是贝壳嵌成的，刷成了白色。这是一个孤独而美丽的地方。哈利在小屋和花园中无论走到哪儿，都能听到持续的潮起潮落的声音，像某个巨大的怪物沉睡时的呼吸。在接下来的几天里，他一直在寻找借口逃离拥挤的小屋，渴望悬崖顶上辽阔的天空的宽广、空寂的大海，以及冰冷的、咸咸的海风吹拂面颊的感觉。

The enormity of his decision not to race Voldemort to the wand still scared Harry. He could not remember, ever before, choosing not to act. He was full of doubts, doubts that Ron could not help voicing whenever they were together.

没有试图赶在伏地魔的前面去拿老魔杖，这个巨大的决定仍然让哈利感到惊骇。他不记得自己以前什么时候选择过不行动。他充满怀疑，而每当他和罗恩在一起时，罗恩也总是忍不住会表达出这些怀疑。

“What if Dumbledore wanted us to work out the symbol in time to get the wand?” “What if working out what the symbol meant made you ‘worthy’ to get the Hallows?” “Harry, if that really is the Elder Wand, how the hell are we supposed to finish off You-Know-Who?” Harry had no answers: There were moments when he wondered whether it had been outright madness not to try to prevent Voldemort breaking open the tomb. He could not even explain satisfactorily why he had decided against it: Every time he tried to reconstruct the internal arguments that had led to his decision, they sounded feebler to him.

“如果邓布利多希望我们及时弄懂那个标志并拿到老魔杖，怎么办？”

The odd thing was that Hermione’s support made him feel just as confused as Ron’s doubts. Now forced to accept that the Elder Wand was real, she maintained that it was an evil object, and that the way Voldemort had taken possession of it was repellent, not to be considered.

“如果弄懂那个标志就意味着你‘有资格’去获取圣器，怎么办？”

“You could never have done that, Harry,” she said again and again. “You couldn’t have broken into Dumbledore’s grave.”

“哈利，如果那真的是老魔杖，我们还有什么办法干掉神秘人呢？”

But the idea of Dumbledore’s corpse frightened Harry much less than the possibility that he might have misunderstood the living Dumbledore’s intentions. He felt that he was still groping in the dark; he had chosen his path but kept looking back, wondering whether he had misread the signs, whether he should not have taken the other way. From time to time, anger at Dumbledore crashed over him again, powerful as the waves slamming themselves against the cliff beneath the cottage, anger that Dumbledore had not explained before he died.

哈利没有答案。有的时候他在疑惑，没有试图阻止伏地魔砸开坟墓，是不是十分愚蠢的行为。他甚至不能满意地解释为什么他决定不去反抗：每一次他试图推想导致他做出决定的内心依据，都觉得它们越来越站不住脚。

“But is he dead?” said Ron, three days after they had arrived at the cottage. Harry had been staring out over the wall that separated the cottage garden from the cliff when Ron and Hermione had found him; he wished they had not, having no wish to join in with their argument.

奇怪的是，赫敏的支持和罗恩的怀疑同样让他感到困惑。在被迫承认老魔杖真的存在后，赫敏坚持认为它是一个邪恶的东西，认为伏地魔占有它的方式是令人厌恶的，想都不该想的。

“Yes, he is, Ron, please don’t start that again!”

“你绝不会那样做的，哈利，”她说了一遍又一遍，“你绝不可能闯进邓布利多的坟墓。”

“Look at the facts, Hermione,” said Ron, speaking across Harry, who continued to gaze at the horizon. “The silver doe. The sword. The eye Harry saw in the mirror —”

但是哈利觉得，比起可能误解邓布利多生前的意图，面对邓布利多的遗体倒并不那么可怕。他感到自己仍然在黑暗中摸索，选择了一条路却不停地回头看，怀疑是否读错了路标，是否本该走另外一条路。对邓布利多的恼恨不时地再次涌上他的心头，就像小屋下面的海水击打悬崖一般强烈，他恼恨邓布利多在去世前没有解释清楚。

“Harry admits he could have imagined the eye! Don’t you, Harry?”

“但是他死了吗？”在他们抵达小屋三天后，罗恩说。刚才哈利正凝望着花园与悬崖之间的隔墙外面，两个同伴找到了他。哈利不想加入他们的争辩，真的希望他们没有找来。

“I could have,” said Harry without looking at her.

“是的，他死了。罗恩，求你不要再说那个啦！”

“But you don’t think you did, do you?” asked Ron.

“看看事实，赫敏，”罗恩隔着哈利说道，哈利继续凝视着天边，“银色的牝鹿。宝剑。哈利在镜子里看到的眼睛——”

“No, I don’t,” said Harry.

“哈利承认眼睛可能是他的错觉！不是吗，哈利？”

“There you go!” said Ron quickly, before Hermione could carry on. “If it wasn’t Dumbledore, explain how Dobby knew we were in the cellar, Hermione?”

“可能是。”哈利说，但没有看赫敏。

“I can’t — but can you explain how Dumbledore sent him to us if he’s lying in a tomb at Hogwarts?”

“但是你认为不是错觉，对吗？”罗恩问。

“I dunno, it could’ve been his ghost!”

“对。”哈利说。

“Dumbledore wouldn’t come back as a ghost,” said Harry. There was little about Dumbledore he was sure of now, but he knew that much. “He would have gone on.”

“这就对了！”罗恩赶紧说道，不让赫敏插话，“如果那不是邓布利多，请解释一下多比是怎么知道我们在地牢里的，赫敏？”

“What d’you mean, ‘gone on’?” asked Ron, but before Harry could say any more, a voice behind them said, “ ’Arry?”

“我不能——但是你能解释邓布利多是怎么派多比来救我们的吗？如果他躺在霍格沃茨的坟墓里的话？”

Fleur had come out of the cottage, her long silver hair flying in the breeze.

“我不知道，可能是他的幽灵！”

“ ’Arry, Grip’ook would like to speak to you. ’E eez in ze smallest bedroom, ’e says ’e does not want to be over’eard.”

“邓布利多不会变成幽灵回来的。”哈利说。关于邓布利多，他现在有把握的事已寥寥无几，但这一点他是知道的：“他可能会继续。”

Her dislike of the goblin sending her to deliver messages was clear; she looked irritable as she walked back around the house.

“‘继续’是什么意思？”罗恩问。

Griphook was waiting for them, as Fleur had said, in the tiniest of the cottage’s three bedrooms, in which Hermione and Luna slept by night. He had drawn the red cotton curtains against the bright, cloudy sky, which gave the room a fiery glow at odds with the rest of the airy, light cottage.

哈利刚要回答，一个声音从后面传来：“哈利？”

“I have reached my decision, Harry Potter,” said the goblin, who was sitting cross-legged in a low chair, drumming its arms with his spindly fingers. “Though the goblins of Gringotts will consider it base treachery, I have decided to help you —”

芙蓉从小屋里出来了，银色的长发在微风中飘舞。

“That’s great!” said Harry, relief surging through him. “Griphook, thank you, we’re really —”

“哈利，拉环想要和你谈谈。他在最小的卧室里。他说不希望有人偷听。”

“— in return,” said the goblin firmly, “for payment.”

她显然很讨厌妖精派她来传递消息，绕着小屋走回去时，她看上去脾气很不好。

Slightly taken aback, Harry hesitated.

正如芙蓉所说，拉环在贝壳小屋三间卧室中最小的一间里等着他们。赫敏和卢娜晚上就睡在这里。妖精拉上了红色棉布窗帘，挡住明亮而多云的天空，房间里映上了火红的光，与小屋淡雅的风格很不谐调。

“How much do you want? I’ve got gold.”

“我已经做出决定，哈利·波特。”妖精跷着脚坐在一张矮椅子上，细长的手指敲打着扶手，“尽管古灵阁的妖精们会认为这是卑鄙的背叛，但我决定帮助你——”

“Not gold,” said Griphook. “I have gold.”

“太棒了！”哈利说道，轻松的感觉涌遍全身，“拉环，谢谢你，我们真的——”

His black eyes glittered; there were no whites to his eyes.

“——是有偿的，”妖精坚定地说，“要有报酬。”

“I want the sword. The sword of Godric Gryffindor.”

哈利有点吃惊，犹豫了。

Harry’s spirits plummeted.

“你要多少？我有金子。”

“You can’t have that,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

“不要金子。”拉环说，“金子我有。”

“Then,” said the goblin softly, “we have a problem.”

他的黑眼睛闪闪发光，没有眼白。

“We can give you something else,” said Ron eagerly. “I’ll bet the Lestranges have got loads of stuff, you can take your pick once we get into the vault.”

“我要宝剑。戈德里克·格兰芬多的宝剑。”

He had said the wrong thing. Griphook flushed angrily.

哈利的心猛地沉了下去。

“I am not a thief, boy! I am not trying to procure treasures to which I have no right!”

“这个不行，”他说，“对不起。”

“The sword’s ours —”

“那么，”妖精轻声说，“事情就麻烦了。”

“It is not,” said the goblin.

“我们可以给你别的，”罗恩急切地说，“我打赌莱斯特兰奇夫妇有大量的好东西，只要我们进了金库，你可以随便挑。”

“We’re Gryffindors, and it was Godric Gryffindor’s —”

他说错了。拉环气得满脸通红。

“And before it was Gryffindor’s, whose was it?” demanded the goblin, sitting up straight.

“我不是窃贼，小子！我不会图谋我无权占有的财富！”

“No one’s,” said Ron. “It was made for him, wasn’t it?”

“宝剑是我们的——”

“No!” cried the goblin, bristling with anger as he pointed a long finger at Ron. “Wizarding arrogance again! That sword was Ragnuk the First’s, taken from him by Godric Gryffindor! It is a lost treasure, a masterpiece of goblinwork! It belongs with the goblins! The sword is the price of my hire, take it or leave it!”

“它不是。”妖精说。

Griphook glared at them. Harry glanced at the other two, then said, “We need to discuss this, Griphook, if that’s all right. Could you give us a few minutes?”

“我们是格兰芬多学院的，而宝剑是戈德里克·格兰芬多的——”

The goblin nodded, looking sour.

“那么在格兰芬多之前，它是谁的？”妖精坐直了身子质问道。

Downstairs in the empty sitting room, Harry walked to the fireplace, brow furrowed, trying to think what to do. Behind him, Ron said, “He’s having a laugh. We can’t let him have that sword.”

“没有谁，”罗恩说，“那宝剑是为他定制的，不是吗？”

“It is true?” Harry asked Hermione. “Was the sword stolen by Gryffindor?”

“不是！”妖精喊道，用长手指点着罗恩，气得毛发竖立，“又是巫师的狂傲自大！那宝剑是莱格纳克一世的，被格兰芬多拿走了！这是一件丢失的宝物，妖精的杰作！它属于妖精！那把宝剑就是雇佣我的代价，不同意就拉倒！”

“I don’t know,” she said hopelessly. “Wizarding history often skates over what the wizards have done to other magical races, but there’s no account that I know of that says Gryffindor stole the sword.”

拉环对他们怒目而视。哈利看看两个同伴，然后说：“拉环，我们需要商量一下。你能给我们几分钟吗？”

“It’ll be one of those goblin stories,” said Ron, “about how the wizards are always trying to get one over on them. I suppose we should think ourselves lucky he hasn’t asked for one of our wands.”

妖精阴沉着脸点点头。

“Goblins have got good reason to dislike wizards, Ron,” said Hermione. “They’ve been treated brutally in the past.”

到了楼下无人的起居室，哈利走到壁炉前，紧锁眉头，努力想着对策。罗恩在他身后说：“他在开玩笑吧，我们不能让他占有宝剑。”

“Goblins aren’t exactly fluffy little bunnies, though, are they?” said Ron. “They’ve killed plenty of us. They’ve fought dirty too.”

“是真的吗？”哈利问赫敏，“宝剑是格兰芬多偷来的？”

“But arguing with Griphook about whose race is most underhanded and violent isn’t going to make him more likely to help us, is it?”

“我不知道，”她无奈地说，“魔法史常常把巫师对其他魔法种族做的事情一笔带过。据我了解，记载中没有提到格兰芬多偷了宝剑。”

There was a pause while they tried to think of a way around the problem. Harry looked out of the window at Dobby’s grave. Luna was arranging sea lavender in a jam jar beside the headstone.

“这又是妖精编的一个故事，”罗恩说，“说巫师总是试图超过他们。我想我们应该觉得幸运，他没有要我们的魔杖。”

“Okay,” said Ron, and Harry turned back to face him, “how’s this? We tell Griphook we need the sword until we get inside the vault, and then he can have it. There’s a fake in there, isn’t there? We switch them, and give him the fake.”

“妖精完全有理由讨厌巫师，罗恩，”赫敏说，“他们过去遭受过残酷的待遇。”

“Ron, he’d know the difference better than we would!” said Hermione. “He’s the only one who realized there had been a swap!”

“可是，妖精并不是毛茸茸的小兔子，不是吗？”罗恩说，“他们杀死了我们很多人。他们的手段也很卑鄙。”

“Yeah, but we could scarper before he realizes —”

“但是跟拉环争论哪个种族更加阴险残暴，并不会让他更乐意帮助我们，不是吗？”

He quailed beneath the look Hermione was giving him.

一阵沉默，三人试图想出解决问题的办法。哈利朝窗外多比的坟墓望去。卢娜正在墓碑旁把海边的紫花匙叶草插进一个果酱瓶里。

“That,” she said quietly, “is despicable. Ask for his help, then double-cross him? And you wonder why goblins don’t like wizards, Ron?”

“对了，”罗恩说道，哈利转过来看着他，“这样行不行？告诉拉环我们需要那把宝剑，要等进了金库才能给他。那里面不是有个假货吗？我们悄悄换了一下，把假的给他。”

Ron’s ears had turned red.

“罗恩，他比我们更能区别出来！”赫敏说道，“他是惟一发现宝剑掉包的人！”

“All right, all right! It was the only thing I could think of! What’s your solution, then?”

“对，但是我们可以在他发现之前溜掉——”

“We need to offer him something else, something just as valuable.”

他在赫敏的眼神面前畏缩了。

“Brilliant. I’ll go and get one of our other ancient goblin-made swords and you can gift wrap it.”

“那是卑鄙的。”赫敏轻声说，“请求帮助，然后欺骗他？你还奇怪为什么妖精们不喜欢巫师吗，罗恩？”

Silence fell between them again. Harry was sure that the goblin would accept nothing but the sword, even if they had something as valuable to offer him. Yet the sword was their one, indispensable weapon against the Horcruxes.

罗恩的耳朵红了。

He closed his eyes for a moment or two and listened to the rush of the sea. The idea that Gryffindor might have stolen the sword was unpleasant to him: He had always been proud to be a Gryffindor; Gryffindor had been the champion of Muggle-borns, the wizard who had clashed with the pureblood-loving Slytherin. . . .

“好，好！我只能想到这个主意！那你有什么办法？”

“Maybe he’s lying,” Harry said, opening his eyes again. “Griphook. Maybe Gryffindor didn’t take the sword. How do we know the goblin version of history’s right?”

“我们需要给他别的东西，一件同样贵重的东西。”

“Does it make a difference?” asked Hermione.

“妙极了。我再去找一把妖精制作的古老宝剑，你用礼品纸包装好。”

“Changes how I feel about it,” said Harry.

又是一阵沉默。哈利相信妖精除了那把宝剑，别的什么都不会接受，即使他们能有同样贵重的东西给他。然而，宝剑是他们对付魂器时必不可少的武器。

He took a deep breath.

他闭了一会儿眼睛，倾听着海浪拍岸的声音。想到格兰芬多可能偷了宝剑，他心里不大舒服。哈利一直以为自己是格兰芬多学院的学生为荣。格兰芬多努力维护麻瓜出身者的权益，曾与迷恋纯血统的斯莱特林有过激烈冲突……

“We’ll tell him he can have the sword after he’s helped us get into that vault — but we’ll be careful to avoid telling him exactly when he can have it.”

“拉环可能在撒谎，”哈利说，睁开了眼睛，“格兰芬多可能并没有偷那把宝剑。我们怎么知道妖精讲的历史就是正确的呢？”

A grin spread slowly across Ron’s face. Hermione, however, looked alarmed.

“这有关系吗？”赫敏问。

“Harry, we can’t —”

“会改变我的感觉。”哈利说。

“He can have it,” Harry went on, “after we’ve used it on all of the Horcruxes. I’ll make sure he gets it then. I’ll keep my word.”

他深吸了一口气。

“But that could be years!” said Hermione.

“我们就对拉环说，等他帮助我们进入金库之后，就可以拥有这把宝剑——但是要说得很小心，别告诉他可以拿到宝剑的确切时间。”

“I know that, but he needn’t. I won’t be lying . . . really.”

罗恩慢慢地咧嘴一笑，但是赫敏显得很震惊。

Harry met her eyes with a mixture of defiance and shame. He remembered the words that had been engraved over the gateway to Nurmengard: For the Greater Good. He pushed the idea away. What choice did they have?

“哈利，我们不能——”

“I don’t like it,” said Hermione.

“他可以得到它，”哈利接着说，“在我们用它对付完所有的魂器之后。我保证他那时候会得到它。我会守信用的。”

“Nor do I, much,” Harry admitted.

“但那可能是很多年之后！”赫敏说。

“Well, I think it’s genius,” said Ron, standing up again. “Let’s go and tell him.”

“这我知道，但是他不必知道。我不会说谎的……真的。”

Back in the smallest bedroom, Harry made the offer, careful to phrase it so as not to give any definite time for the handover of the sword. Hermione frowned at the floor while he was speaking; he felt irritated at her, afraid that she might give the game away. However, Griphook had eyes for nobody but Harry.

哈利又倔强又羞愧地迎视着她的目光，想起刻在纽蒙迦德大门上的那句话：为了更伟大的利益。他抛开了那个念头。他们还有什么选择呢？

“I have your word, Harry Potter, that you will give me the sword of Gryffindor if I help you?”

“我不喜欢。”赫敏说。

“Yes,” said Harry.

“我也不大喜欢。”哈利承认。

“Then shake,” said the goblin, holding out his hand.

“哦，我认为这主意妙极了。”罗恩说着站起身，“我们去告诉他吧。”

Harry took it and shook. He wondered whether those black eyes saw any misgivings in his own. Then Griphook relinquished him, clapped his hands together, and said, “So. We begin!”

回到那间最小的卧室，哈利答应把宝剑给拉环，他措词很小心，没有说出移交宝剑的确切时间。他说话的时候，赫敏皱眉看着地板，哈利很是恼火，怕她泄露了秘密。还好，拉环只盯着哈利而没看别人。

It was like planning to break into the Ministry all over again. They settled to work in the smallest bedroom, which was kept, according to Griphook’s preference, in semidarkness.

“向我保证，哈利·波特，如果我帮助了你，你会给我格兰芬多的宝剑，是吗？”

“I have visited the Lestranges’ vault only once,” Griphook told them, “on the occasion I was told to place inside it the false sword. It is one of the most ancient chambers. The oldest Wizarding families store their treasures at the deepest level, where the vaults are largest and best protected. . . .”

“是的。”哈利说。

They remained shut in the cupboardlike room for hours at a time. Slowly the days stretched into weeks. There was problem after problem to overcome, not least of which was that their store of Polyjuice Potion was greatly depleted.

“那么握手。”妖精说着伸出手来。

“There’s really only enough left for one of us,” said Hermione, tilting the thick mudlike potion against the lamplight.

哈利握住妖精的手，不知那双黑眼睛是否在他眼中看出了几分疑虑。拉环松开他的手，拍拍巴掌说道：“那么，我们开始吧！”

“That’ll be enough,” said Harry, who was examining Griphook’s hand-drawn map of the deepest passageways.

就像当初策划潜入魔法部一样，他们在最小的卧室里开始了工作。依着拉环的偏好，屋里保持着半黑暗状态。

The other inhabitants of Shell Cottage could hardly fail to notice that something was going on now that Harry, Ron, and Hermione only emerged for mealtimes. Nobody asked questions, although Harry often felt Bill’s eyes on the three of them at the table, thoughtful, concerned.

“我只去过莱斯特兰奇的金库一次，”拉环对他们说道，“就是奉命把假宝剑放进去那次。那是最古老的密室之一。最古老巫师家族的财物储存在最深的一层，那里的金库最大，并且保护最好……”

The longer they spent together, the more Harry realized that he did not much like the goblin. Griphook was unexpectedly bloodthirsty, laughed at the idea of pain in lesser creatures, and seemed to relish the possibility that they might have to hurt other wizards to reach the Lestranges’ vault. Harry could tell that his distaste was shared by the other two, but they did not discuss it: They needed Griphook.

他们把自己关在衣柜般的小房间里，一待就是好几个小时。渐渐地，几天过去了，几星期过去了，要克服的问题一个接一个，其中包括复方汤剂快用光了。

The goblin ate only grudgingly with the rest of them. Even after his legs had mended, he continued to request trays of food in his room, like the still-frail Ollivander, until Bill (following an angry outburst from Fleur) went upstairs to tell him that the arrangement could not continue. Thereafter Griphook joined them at the overcrowded table, although he refused to eat the same food, insisting, instead, on lumps of raw meat, roots, and various fungi.

“只够一个人用的了。”赫敏说，一边对着灯光斜举着泥浆般浓稠的汤剂。

Harry felt responsible: It was, after all, he who had insisted that the goblin remain at Shell Cottage so that he could question him; his fault that the whole Weasley family had been driven into hiding, that Bill, Fred, George, and Mr. Weasley could no longer work.

“那就够了。”哈利说，他正在研究拉环手绘的最深处的过道地图。

“I’m sorry,” he told Fleur, one blustery April evening as he helped her prepare dinner. “I never meant you to have to deal with all of this.”

贝壳小屋的其他人不可能不发现异常，因为哈利、罗恩和赫敏只在吃饭的时候出现。没有人问起，但哈利经常感觉到比尔在饭桌上看着他们三个，关切而若有所思。

She had just set some knives to work, chopping up steaks for Griphook and Bill, who had preferred his meat bloody ever since he had been attacked by Greyback. While the knives sliced away behind her, her somewhat irritable expression softened.

在一起的时间越长，哈利越觉得他不太喜欢那个妖精。拉环是出奇的残忍，他把低等物种的痛苦当成笑谈，而对于进入莱斯特兰奇的金库可能需要伤害其他巫师，他似乎津津乐道。哈利看得出来自己的两个同伴也感到厌恶，但是他们没有讨论这个，他们需要拉环。

“ ’Arry, you saved my sister’s life, I do not forget.”

妖精勉强地和其他人一道吃饭。腿伤治好以后，他仍然要求与还很虚弱的奥利凡德一样享受饭菜送到房间的待遇，直到比尔（在芙蓉的愤怒爆发后）上楼告诉他不能再那样安排。从那以后，拉环加入到拥挤的餐桌前，但拒绝吃同样的食物，坚持要吃大块的生肉、根茎和各种真菌。

This was not, strictly speaking, true, but Harry decided against reminding her that Gabrielle had never been in real danger.

哈利感到自己有责任，毕竟是他坚持让那妖精留在贝壳小屋的。是他的错误导致了韦斯莱一家被迫隐藏，使得比尔、弗雷德、乔治和韦斯莱先生不能继续上班。

“Anyway,” Fleur went on, pointing her wand at a pot of sauce on the stove, which began to bubble at once, “Mr. Ollivander leaves for Muriel’s zis evening. Zat will make zings easier. Ze goblin,” she scowled a little at the mention of him, “can move downstairs, and you, Ron, and Dean can take zat room.”

“对不起，”在四月一个狂风大作的夜晚，他帮芙蓉准备晚餐时说，“我真不想让你们承受这一切。”

“We don’t mind sleeping in the living room,” said Harry, who knew that Griphook would think poorly of having to sleep on the sofa; keeping Griphook happy was essential to their plans. “Don’t worry about us.” And when she tried to protest he went on, “We’ll be off your hands soon too, Ron, Hermione, and I. We won’t need to be here much longer.”

芙蓉刚刚让几把刀子自动为拉环和比尔切牛排，比尔自从被格雷伯克咬伤之后，也喜欢吃带血的肉了。刀子在身后切着肉，她有点烦躁的表情缓和了下来。

“But what do you mean?” she said, frowning at him, her wand pointing at the casserole dish now suspended in midair. “Of course you must not leave, you are safe ’ere!”

“哈利，你救过我妹妹的命，我不会忘记的。”

She looked rather like Mrs. Weasley as she said it, and he was glad that the back door opened at that moment. Luna and Dean entered, their hair damp from the rain outside and their arms full of driftwood.

严格说来，那不是真的，但是哈利决定不提醒她加布丽从未真的有过危险。

“. . . and tiny little ears,” Luna was saying, “a bit like a hippo’s, Daddy says, only purple and hairy. And if you want to call them, you have to hum; they prefer a waltz, nothing too fast. . . .”

“不管怎样，”芙蓉接着说，一边用魔杖指着炉子上的一罐调味汁，它马上开始冒泡，“奥利凡德先生今晚就要搬去穆丽尔姨婆家，这样就会方便些了。那个妖精，”提到他时芙蓉微微皱了一下眉头，“可以搬到楼下来，这样你、罗恩和迪安就可以住在那间屋了。”

Looking uncomfortable, Dean shrugged at Harry as he passed, following Luna into the combined dining and sitting room where Ron and Hermione were laying the dinner table. Seizing the chance to escape Fleur’s questions, Harry grabbed two jugs of pumpkin juice and followed them.

“我们不介意睡在客厅里。”哈利说道，他知道拉环要是睡沙发会不痛快，保持拉环心情愉快对于他们的计划至关重要。“不用担心我们，”看到芙蓉要反对，哈利接着说，“我和罗恩、赫敏很快也要走了，我们不会再待多久。”

“. . . and if you ever come to our house I’ll be able to show you the horn, Daddy wrote to me about it but I haven’t seen it yet, because the Death Eaters took me from the Hogwarts Express and I never got home for Christmas,” Luna was saying, as she and Dean relaid the fire.

“你在说什么呀？”她皱着眉头对他说，魔杖指着悬在半空中的砂锅，“你们当然不能离开，你们在这儿是安全的！”

“Luna, we told you,” Hermione called over to her. “That horn exploded. It came from an Erumpent, not a Crumple-Horned Snorkack —”

她说这话时的样子很像韦斯莱太太，哈利很高兴后门这时开了，卢娜和迪安走了进来，头发被雨水打湿了，手里抱满浮木。

“No, it was definitely a Snorkack horn,” said Luna serenely. “Daddy told me. It will probably have re-formed by now, they mend themselves, you know.”

“……还有小小的耳朵，”卢娜正说着，“有一点像河马的，爸爸说，不过是紫色的，而且有毛。如果你想呼唤它们，必须哼歌，它们喜欢华尔兹，节奏不要太快……”

Hermione shook her head and continued laying down forks as Bill appeared, leading Mr. Ollivander down the stairs. The wandmaker still looked exceptionally frail, and he clung to Bill’s arm as the latter supported him, carrying a large suitcase.

迪安看起来不大自在，朝哈利耸了耸肩，跟着卢娜走进了餐厅兼客厅，罗恩和赫敏正在布置餐桌。哈利抓住机会回避了芙蓉的问题，抄起两罐南瓜汁跟了过去。

“I’m going to miss you, Mr. Ollivander,” said Luna, approaching the old man.

“……如果你来我家，我可以给你看那只兽角，爸爸写信告诉我的，我还没有看到呢，因为食死徒把我从霍格沃茨特快列车上带走了，我没能回家去过圣诞节。”卢娜说着，一边和迪安把火续上。

“And I you, my dear,” said Ollivander, patting her on the shoulder. “You were an inexpressible comfort to me in that terrible place.”

“卢娜，我们告诉过你，”赫敏冲她叫道，“那个兽角爆炸了，它是毒角兽的角，不是弯角鼾兽的——”

“So, au revoir, Mr. Ollivander,” said Fleur, kissing him on both cheeks. “And I wonder whezzer you could oblige me by delivering a package to Bill’s Auntie Muriel? I never returned ’er tiara.”

“不，肯定是鼾兽的角，”卢娜不为所动地说，“爸爸告诉我的。到如今它可能已经变好了，知道吗，它们会自我修复。”

“It will be an honor,” said Ollivander with a little bow, “the very least I can do in return for your generous hospitality.”

赫敏摇了摇头，继续摆放叉子，这时比尔带着奥利凡德先生走下楼梯。魔杖制作人看起来仍然异常虚弱，紧抓着比尔的手臂，比尔还提着个大箱子。

Fleur drew out a worn velvet case, which she opened to show the wandmaker. The tiara sat glittering and twinkling in the light from the low-hanging lamp.

“我会想念您的，奥利凡德先生。”卢娜走到老人跟前说。

“Moonstones and diamonds,” said Griphook, who had sidled into the room without Harry noticing. “Made by goblins, I think?”

“我也会想念你，亲爱的，”奥利凡德说，拍了拍她的肩膀，“在那个可怕的地方，你对我是一个莫大的安慰。”

“And paid for by wizards,” said Bill quietly, and the goblin shot him a look that was both furtive and challenging.

“那么，再会，（原文为法语）奥利凡德先生。”芙蓉亲了亲他的双颊说，“不知道您能不能帮我带一个包裹给比尔的穆丽尔姨婆？我还没有把她的头饰还给她呢。”

A strong wind gusted against the cottage windows as Bill and Ollivander set off into the night. The rest of them squeezed in around the table; elbow to elbow and with barely enough room to move, they started to eat. The fire crackled and popped in the grate beside them. Fleur, Harry noticed, was merely playing with her food; she glanced at the window every few minutes; however, Bill returned before they had finished their first course, his long hair tangled by the wind.

“很荣幸。”奥利凡德微鞠一躬说，“感谢你的盛情款待，这点回报不足挂齿。”

“Everything’s fine,” he told Fleur. “Ollivander settled in, Mum and Dad say hello. Ginny sends you all her love. Fred and George are driving Muriel up the wall, they’re still operating an Owl-Order business out of her back room. It cheered her up to have her tiara back, though. She said she thought we’d stolen it.”

芙蓉取出一个磨破的天鹅绒箱子，打开给魔杖制作人看了一下，头饰在低悬的吊灯下闪闪发光。

“Ah, she eez charmante, your aunt,” said Fleur crossly, waving her wand and causing the dirty plates to rise and form a stack in midair. She caught them and marched out of the room.

“月长石和钻石，”拉环刚才悄悄走了进来，哈利没有注意到，“我想是妖精做的吧？”

“Daddy’s made a tiara,” piped up Luna. “Well, more of a crown, really.”

“巫师花钱买的。”比尔平静地说。妖精迅速看了他一眼，目光鬼祟而含有挑战意味。

Ron caught Harry’s eye and grinned; Harry knew that he was remembering the ludicrous headdress they had seen on their visit to Xenophilius.

大风刮着小屋的窗户，比尔和奥利凡德朝着黑夜里出发了。其他人挤在餐桌周围，开始吃饭，胳膊碰着胳膊，几乎没有空间可以活动。旁边壁炉里的火焰噼啪作响。哈利注意到芙蓉几乎没吃东西，每隔几分钟就看一眼窗户。还好，他们刚吃完第一道菜，比尔就回来了，长发被风吹得缠在一起。

“Yes, he’s trying to re-create the lost diadem of Ravenclaw. He thinks he’s identified most of the main elements now. Adding the billywig wings really made a difference —”

“一切都好。”他告诉芙蓉，“奥利凡德安顿好了，爸爸妈妈向大家问好，金妮说她爱你们。弗雷德和乔治让穆丽尔姨婆很生气，他们仍然在她的后屋承接猫头鹰订单业务。不过，归还头饰令她很高兴，她说还以为被我们贪污了呢。”

There was a bang on the front door. Everyone’s head turned toward it. Fleur came running out of the kitchen, looking frightened; Bill jumped to his feet, his wand pointing at the door; Harry, Ron, and Hermione did the same. Silently Griphook slipped beneath the table, out of sight.

“啊，你的姨婆她很可爱。（原文为法语）”芙蓉气呼呼地说，一边挥舞着魔杖使脏盘子在半空中摞在一起，她接住它们走出了房间。

“Who is it?” Bill called.

“我爸爸做了一个头饰，”卢娜说，“噢，实际上更像一个王冠。”

“It is I, Remus John Lupin!” called a voice over the howling wind. Harry experienced a thrill of fear; what had happened? “I am a werewolf, married to Nymphadora Tonks, and you, the SecretKeeper of Shell Cottage, told me the address and bade me come in an emergency!”

罗恩看到哈利的目光后咧嘴一笑，哈利知道他想起了在谢诺菲留斯家看到的滑稽头饰。

“Lupin,” muttered Bill, and he ran to the door and wrenched it open.

“是的，他在试着重做失踪的拉文克劳冠冕，他认为他已经确定了大多数主要成分，加上灵光翅膀后确实不一样了——”

Lupin fell over the threshold. He was white-faced, wrapped in a traveling cloak, his graying hair windswept. He straightened up, looked around the room, making sure of who was there, then cried aloud, “It’s a boy! We’ve named him Ted, after Dora’s father!”

前门砰的一响，大家都转过头去，芙蓉惊恐地从厨房里跑了出来。比尔跳了起来，用魔杖指着门口。哈利、罗恩和赫敏也是一样。拉环悄悄地钻到了桌子底下。

Hermione shrieked.

“是谁？”比尔喊道。

“Wha — ? Tonks — Tonks has had the baby?”

“是我，莱姆斯·卢平！”一个声音在呼啸的风声中喊道。哈利感到一阵心惊肉跳，出什么事了？“我是狼人，我妻子叫尼法朵拉·唐克斯，你是贝壳小屋的保密人，告诉了我这个地址，叫我有紧急情况就过来！”

“Yes, yes, she’s had the baby!” shouted Lupin. All around the table came cries of delight, sighs of relief: Hermione and Fleur both squealed, “Congratulations!” and Ron said, “Blimey, a baby!” as if he had never heard of such a thing before.

“卢平。”比尔咕哝道，跑过去拧开了门。

“Yes — yes — a boy,” said Lupin again, who seemed dazed by his own happiness. He strode around the table and hugged Harry; the scene in the basement of Grimmauld Place might never have happened.

卢平跌进门内，脸色苍白，裹着一件旅行斗篷，灰白的头发被风刮乱了。他站起来，环顾四周，确认屋里有谁，然后大声喊道：“是个男孩！我们给他起名叫泰德，用了朵拉父亲的名字！”

“You’ll be godfather?” he said as he released Harry.

赫敏尖叫起来。

“M-me?” stammered Harry

“什么——？唐克斯——唐克斯生了？”

“You, yes, of course — Dora quite agrees, no one better —”

“生了，生了！生了小宝宝！”卢平喊道。

“I — yeah — blimey —”

餐桌周围一片欢呼声和欣慰的叹息声。

Harry felt overwhelmed, astonished, delighted; now Bill was hurrying to fetch wine, and Fleur was persuading Lupin to join them for a drink.

赫敏和芙蓉都尖叫道：“恭喜恭喜！”

“I can’t stay long, I must get back,” said Lupin, beaming around at them all: He looked years younger than Harry had ever seen him. “Thank you, thank you, Bill.”

罗恩说：“我的天哪，一个新生儿！”好像以前从没听说过这种事似的。

Bill had soon filled all of their goblets, they stood and raised them high in a toast.

“是的——是的——一个男孩。”卢平又说了一遍，似乎高兴得飘飘然了。他大步走过来和哈利拥抱，格里莫广场地下室里的那一幕好像从未发生过。

“To Teddy Remus Lupin,” said Lupin, “a great wizard in the making!”

“你愿意当教父吗？”他松开哈利，问道。

“ ’Oo does ’e look like?” Fleur inquired.

“我——我？”哈利结结巴巴地说。

“I think he looks like Dora, but she thinks he is like me. Not much hair. It looked black when he was born, but I swear it’s turned ginger in the hour since. Probably be blond by the time I get back. Andromeda says Tonks’s hair started changing color the day that she was born.” He drained his goblet. “Oh, go on then, just one more,” he added, beaming, as Bill made to fill it again.

“对，是你，当然——朵拉完全同意，没有人更合适了——”

The wind buffeted the little cottage and the fire leapt and crackled, and Bill was soon opening another bottle of wine. Lupin’s news seemed to have taken them out of themselves, removed them for a while from their state of siege: Tidings of new life were exhilarating. Only the goblin seemed untouched by the suddenly festive atmosphere, and after a while he slunk back to the bedroom he now occupied alone. Harry thought he was the only one who had noticed this, until he saw Bill’s eyes following the goblin up the stairs.

“我——好的——天哪——”

“No . . . no . . . I really must get back,” said Lupin at last, declining yet another goblet of wine. He got to his feet and pulled his traveling cloak back around himself.

哈利惊喜交加，激动得不知所措。现在比尔忙着去拿酒，芙蓉劝卢平同大家一起喝点。

“Good-bye, good-bye — I’ll try and bring some pictures in a few days’ time — they’ll all be so glad to know that I’ve seen you —”

“我不能待得太久，必须回去。”卢平说，冲着大家眉开眼笑，看上去比哈利见过的任何时候都年轻了好几岁，“谢谢你，谢谢你，比尔。”

He fastened his cloak and made his farewells, hugging the women and grasping hands with the men, then, still beaming, returned into the wild night.

比尔很快就给所有的酒杯倒满了酒，大家站了起来，高高地举杯庆祝。

“Godfather, Harry!” said Bill as they walked into the kitchen together, helping clear the table. “A real honor! Congratulations!”

“为了泰迪·莱姆斯·卢平，”卢平说，“一个正在成长的伟大巫师！”

As Harry set down the empty goblets he was carrying, Bill pulled the door behind him closed, shutting out the still-voluble voices of the others, who were continuing to celebrate even in Lupin’s absence.

“他长得像谁？”芙蓉问道。

“I wanted a private word, actually, Harry. It hasn’t been easy to get an opportunity with the cottage this full of people.”

“我认为他像朵拉，可是朵拉认为像我。头发不多，刚出生时看上去是黑色的，但是我发誓一小时后就变成了姜黄色，很可能到我回去时就是金黄色了。安多米达说唐克斯出生第一天头发就开始变色。”卢平把酒一饮而尽，“哦，再来一杯。”他笑眯眯地添了一句，比尔又给他加了酒。

Bill hesitated.

狂风吹打着小屋，炉火跳跃着，噼啪作响，比尔很快又打开了一瓶酒。卢平带来的消息似乎让他们都忘记了自我，暂时从被困的状态中解放了出来：新生命诞生的信息令人振奋。惟有那个妖精似乎对突如其来的节日气氛无动于衷，不一会儿就溜回他现在独住的卧室去了。哈利原以为只有他一个人注意到，忽然发现比尔的目光盯着妖精上了楼梯。

“Harry, you’re planning something with Griphook.”

“不……不……我真的必须回去了。”卢平终于说道，谢绝了又一次斟酒。他站起身，将旅行斗篷裹到身上。“再见，再见——过几天我想办法带些照片来——他们知道我见到了你们，都会非常高兴的——”

It was a statement, not a question, and Harry did not bother to deny it. He merely looked at Bill, waiting.

他系好斗篷后开始道别，和女士们拥抱，和男士们握手，仍然眉开眼笑，返回了狂风呼啸的黑夜里。

“I know goblins,” said Bill. “I’ve worked for Gringotts ever since I left Hogwarts. As far as there can be friendship between wizards and goblins, I have goblin friends — or, at least, goblins I know well, and like.” Again, Bill hesitated.

“教父，哈利！”比尔说，他们帮着清理餐桌，一起走进了厨房，“真是荣幸啊！恭喜！”

“Harry, what do you want from Griphook, and what have you promised him in return?”

哈利放下端着的空酒杯，比尔顺手拉上了身后的门，隔开仍在大声说话的其他人。尽管卢平已经离开，他们还在继续庆祝。

“I can’t tell you that,” said Harry. “Sorry, Bill.”

“哈利，其实我想和你单独谈谈。屋里人太多，找这么一个机会不容易。”比尔犹豫了一下。“哈利，你们和拉环在计划着什么事情。”

The kitchen door opened behind them; Fleur was trying to bring through more empty goblets.

这是一个陈述，不是一个问句，哈利也就不必否认了。他只是看着比尔，等待下文。

“Wait,” Bill told her. “Just a moment.”

“我了解妖精，”比尔说，“我离开霍格沃茨后就一直为古灵阁工作。如果说巫师和妖精之间能有友谊的话，我有妖精朋友——或者至少，有我很了解也很喜欢的妖精。”比尔再次犹豫了一下，“哈利，你想从拉环那儿得到什么，你又答应回报他什么？”

She backed out and he closed the door again.

“这个我不能告诉你，”哈利说，“对不起，比尔。”

“Then I have to say this,” Bill went on. “If you have struck any kind of bargain with Griphook, and most particularly if that bargain involves treasure, you must be exceptionally careful. Goblin notions of ownership, payment, and repayment are not the same as human ones.”

厨房的门开了，芙蓉端着更多的空酒杯要进来。

Harry felt a slight squirm of discomfort, as though a small snake had stirred inside him.

“等一下，”比尔对她说，“就一会儿。”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

她退了出去，他把门重新关上。

“We are talking about a different breed of being,” said Bill. “Dealings between wizards and goblins have been fraught for centuries — but you’ll know all that from History of Magic. There has been fault on both sides, I would never claim that wizards have been innocent. However, there is a belief among some goblins, and those at Gringotts are perhaps most prone to it, that wizards cannot be trusted in matters of gold and treasure, that they have no respect for goblin ownership.”

“那么我不得不说一句，”比尔接着说，“如果你和拉环订了任何协议。尤其是如果那协议涉及财宝，你必须格外小心。妖精概念中的所有权、报酬和补偿与人类的不同。”

“I respect —” Harry began, but Bill shook his head.

哈利感到一阵不安，好像一条小蛇在他体内搅动。

“You don’t understand, Harry, nobody could understand unless they have lived with goblins. To a goblin, the rightful and true master of any object is the maker, not the purchaser. All goblin-made objects are, in goblin eyes, rightfully theirs.”

“什么意思？”他问。

“But if it was bought —”

“我们是在讨论另一种生物，”比尔说，“许多个世纪以来，巫师和妖精的交往充满矛盾——这些你都可以从魔法史中去了解。双方都曾有过错，我绝不会说巫师清白无辜。然而，一些妖精认为——古灵阁的妖精也许更容易认为：涉及金子和财宝时，巫师就不可信任，并且巫师不尊重妖精的所有权。”

“— then they would consider it rented by the one who had paid the money. They have, however, great difficulty with the idea of goblin-made objects passing from wizard to wizard. You saw Griphook’s face when the tiara passed under his eyes. He disapproves. I believe he thinks, as do the fiercest of his kind, that it ought to have been returned to the goblins once the original purchaser died. They consider our habit of keeping goblin-made objects, passing them from wizard to wizard without further payment, little more than theft.”

“我尊重——”哈利说。

Harry had an ominous feeling now; he wondered whether Bill guessed more than he was letting on.

但是比尔摇了摇头。“你不理解，哈利，没人能够理解，除非和妖精在一起生活过。对于妖精来说，任何一件东西的正当主人都是它的制造者，而不是购买者。凡是妖精制造的东西，在妖精看来，都理当归他们所有。”

“All I am saying,” said Bill, setting his hand on the door back into the sitting room, “is to be very careful what you promise goblins, Harry. It would be less dangerous to break into Gringotts than to renege on a promise to a goblin.”

“但如果是买来——”

“Right,” said Harry as Bill opened the door, “yeah. Thanks. I’ll bear that in mind.”

“——妖精们会认为那是付钱者租用的。他们最难接受的，就是妖精制作的东西由巫师传给巫师。当头饰在拉环眼皮下传过来，你看到他的脸色。他十分不满。我相信拉环会像他同类中的极端者一样，认为原来的购买者死后，那东西就应该归还给妖精。他们认为我们这样习惯于占有妖精制造的东西，由巫师传给巫师而不再付钱，比偷窃好不到哪里去。”

As he followed Bill back to the others a wry thought came to him, born no doubt of the wine he had drunk. He seemed set on course to become just as reckless a godfather to Teddy Lupin as Sirius Black had been to him.

哈利现在有了一种不祥的感觉，他怀疑比尔猜到了更多的东西。

“我要说的，”比尔把手伸到厨房的门上，“就是你在对妖精做出承诺时要格外小心，哈利。对一个妖精食言要比闯进古灵阁更危险。”

“好的。”哈利说，比尔打开了门，“好的。谢谢。我会记在心上的。”

跟着比尔回到大家中间时，哈利突然产生了一个怪异的念头，无疑是喝酒引起的。他觉得对于小泰德·卢平来说，自己正要变成一个像小天狼星布莱克一样鲁莽的教父。