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


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    CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX THE CAVE
    第二十六章 岩洞
    
    
    Harry could smell salt and hear rushing waves; a light, chilly breeze ruffled his hair as he looked out at moonlit sea and star-strewn sky. He was standing upon a high outcrop of dark rock, water foaming and churning below him. He glanced over his shoulder. A towering cliff stood behind them, a sheer drop, black and faceless. A few large chunks of rock, such as the one upon which Harry and Dumbledore were standing, looked as though they had broken away from the cliff face at some point in the past. It was a bleak, harsh view, the sea and the rock unrelieved by any tree or sweep of grass or sand.
    哈利可以闻到大海的气味,听见波涛汹涌的声音。他望着远处月光下的大海和繁星点点的夜空,一阵寒冷的微风吹拂着他的头发。他站在一块露出海面的高高的黑色岩石上,海浪在他脚下翻滚,泛起泡沫。他扭头朝后望去。身后耸立着一座悬崖,陡峭的岩壁直落而下,黑糊糊的看不清面目。几块很大的岩石,如哈利和邓布利多站着的这块,似乎是过去某个时候从悬崖的正面脱落下来的。四下里光秃秃的,满目荒凉,除了苍茫的大海和岩石,看不见一棵树,也没有草地和沙滩。
    “What do you think?” asked Dumbledore. He might have been asking Harry’s opinion on whether it was a good site for a picnic.
    “你觉得怎么样?”邓布利多问。听他那口气,仿佛他在问哈利这里是不是一个理想的野餐地点。
    “They brought the kids from the orphanage here?” asked Harry, who could not imagine a less cozy spot for a day trip.
    “他们把孤儿院的孩子带到这儿来了?”哈利问,他想象不出比这儿更不舒服的旅游地了。
    “Not here, precisely,” said Dumbledore. “There is a village of sorts about halfway along the cliffs behind us. I believe the orphans were taken there for a little sea air and a view of the waves. No, I think it was only ever Tom Riddle and his youthful victims who visited this spot. No Muggle could reach this rock unless they were uncommonly good mountaineers, and boats cannot approach the cliffs, the waters around them are too dangerous. I imagine that Riddle climbed down; magic would have served better than ropes. And he brought two small children with him, probably for the pleasure of terrorizing them. I think the journey alone would have done it, don’t you?”
    “确切地说,不是这儿。”邓布利多说,“在我们后面那些悬崖的半腰上,有一个勉强称得上村庄的地方。我相信他们把孤儿们带到了那儿,让他们呼吸呼吸大海的空气,看看海浪。不,我认为只有汤姆·里德尔和那几个被他欺负的孩子曾经到过这个地方。麻瓜不可能爬上这块岩石,除非他们特别擅长攀岩;船也没法靠近悬崖,周围的水域太危险了。我可以想象里德尔是怎么爬上来的,魔法肯定比绳索更管用。他还带了两个小孩子,大概是为了享受恐吓他们的乐趣吧。我想其实他一个人上来就行了,你说呢?”
    Harry looked up at the cliff again and felt goose bumps.
    哈利又抬头看了看那道悬崖,身上起了一层鸡皮疙瘩。
    “But his final destination — and ours — lies a little farther on. Come.”
    “可是他的——还有我们的——目的地还在更远一点的地方。走吧。”
    Dumbledore beckoned Harry to the very edge of the rock where a series of jagged niches made footholds leading down to boulders that lay half-submerged in water and closer to the cliff. It was a treacherous descent and Dumbledore, hampered slightly by his withered hand, moved slowly. The lower rocks were slippery with seawater. Harry could feel flecks of cold salt spray hitting his face.
    邓布利多示意哈利走到岩石的边缘,岩石上有许多可供踩脚的参差不齐的凹缝,通向下面那些在悬崖周围、半露出海面的巨型卵石。从这里攀岩而下非常危险,邓布利多那只焦枯的手不听使唤,行动比较迟缓。低处的岩石被海水冲刷得滑溜溜的。哈利感觉到散发着海腥味儿的冰冷水花溅在他脸上。
    “Lumos,” said Dumbledore, as he reached the boulder closest to the cliff face. A thousand flecks of golden light sparkled upon the dark surface of the water a few feet below where he crouched; the black wall of rock beside him was illuminated too.
    “荧光闪烁!”邓布利多下到最靠近悬崖正面的那块巨型卵石上,蹲下身念了句咒语。星星点点的金光在他身下几英尺处的黝黑海面上闪烁着。他身边那道漆黑的岩壁也被照亮了。
    “You see?” said Dumbledore quietly, holding his wand a little higher. Harry saw a fissure in the cliff into which dark water was swirling.
    “看见了吗?”邓布利多轻声问,一边把魔杖举得更高一些。哈利看见悬崖上有一道裂缝,黑黢黢的海水在里面打着旋儿。
    “You will not object to getting a little wet?”
    “你不介意把身上弄湿吧?”
    “No,” said Harry.
    “没关系。”哈利说。
    “Then take off your Invisibility Cloak — there is no need for it now — and let us take the plunge.”
    “那就把你的隐形衣脱掉——现在没必要穿着它了——然后让我们冒险试一试吧。”
    And with the sudden agility of a much younger man, Dumbledore slid from the boulder, landed in the sea, and began to swim, with a perfect breaststroke, toward the dark slit in the rock face, his lit wand held in his teeth. Harry pulled off his cloak, stuffed it into his pocket, and followed.
    邓布利多突然变得像年轻人一样身手敏捷,他从那块卵石上轻轻地滑进海水里,朝岩石表面那道漆黑的裂缝游去。他把魔杖叼在嘴里,采用的是完美的蛙泳姿势。哈利脱下隐形衣塞进口袋,也跟了上去。
    The water was icy; Harry’s waterlogged clothes billowed around him and weighed him down. Taking deep breaths that filled his nostrils with the tang of salt and seaweed, he struck out for the shimmering, shrinking light now moving deeper into the cliff.
    海水冷极了。哈利的衣服被水浸透之后,变得胀鼓鼓沉甸甸的,拽着他直往下沉。他深深吸了几口气,闻到刺鼻的盐腥味儿和海藻味儿,他挣扎着寻找那道正往悬崖深处移动、变得越来越小的闪烁的亮光。
    The fissure soon opened into a dark tunnel that Harry could tell would be filled with water at high tide. The slimy walls were barely three feet apart and glimmered like wet tar in the passing light of Dumbledore’s wand. A little way in, the passageway curved to the left, and Harry saw that it extended far into the cliff. He continued to swim in Dumbledore’s wake, the tips of his benumbed fingers brushing the rough, wet rock.
    很快,裂缝变成了一条漆黑的暗道,哈利看得出来,涨潮的时候暗道肯定会被海水灌满。两边沾满黏泥的岩壁只间隔三英尺宽,在邓布利多魔杖一闪而过的亮光照耀下,像柏油一样闪着湿漉漉的光。再往里去一点,暗道向左一拐,哈利看见它一直伸向悬崖的最深处。他继续跟着邓布利多往前游,冻得麻木的手指在粗糙、潮湿的岩石上擦过。
    Then he saw Dumbledore rising out of the water ahead, his silver hair and dark robes gleaming. When Harry reached the spot he found steps that led into a large cave. He clambered up them, water streaming from his soaking clothes, and emerged, shivering uncontrollably, into the still and freezing air.
    然后,他看见前面的邓布利多从水里站了起来,银白色的头发和黑色长袍都闪烁着水光。哈利游到那里,发现有台阶通向一个很大的岩洞。他费力地登上台阶,水从湿透的衣服里哗哗往下直流。他终于走出了海水,周围的空气寂静而寒冷,他控制不住地瑟瑟发抖。
    Dumbledore was standing in the middle of the cave, his wand held high as he turned slowly on the spot, examining the walls and ceiling.
    邓布利多已经站在岩洞中央,魔杖高高地举在手里,他原地缓缓地转着圈,仔细查看着岩壁和洞顶。
    “Yes, this is the place,” said Dumbledore.
    “没错,就是这个地方。”邓布利多说。
    “How can you tell?” Harry spoke in a whisper.
    “你怎么知道的?”哈利小声问。
    “It has known magic,” said Dumbledore simply.
    “它见识过魔法。”邓布利多简短地说。
    Harry could not tell whether the shivers he was experiencing were due to his spine-deep coldness or to the same awareness of enchantments. He watched as Dumbledore continued to revolve on the spot, evidently concentrating on things Harry could not see.
    哈利不知道他这样浑身发抖,是因为寒冷侵入了骨髓呢,还是因为他也意识到了魔咒的存在。他注视着邓布利多继续在原地慢慢地旋转,显然是在专注地研究某些哈利看不见的东西。
    “This is merely the antechamber, the entrance hall,” said Dumbledore after a moment or two. “We need to penetrate the inner place. . . . Now it is Lord Voldemort’s obstacles that stand in our way, rather than those nature made. . . .”
    “这只是前厅,是入口大厅,”邓布利多过了片刻说道,“我们需要进到里面去……现在挡住我们的是伏地魔布下的机关,而不是大自然设置的障碍……”
    Dumbledore approached the wall of the cave and caressed it with his blackened fingertips, murmuring words in a strange tongue that Harry did not understand. Twice Dumbledore walked right around the cave, touching as much of the rough rock as he could, occasionally pausing, running his fingers backward and forward over a particular spot, until finally he stopped, his hand pressed flat against the wall.
    邓布利多走近洞壁,用焦黑的指尖抚摸着它,又用一种奇怪的、哈利听不懂的语言轻声说着什么。邓布利多从右边绕着岩洞走了两圈,边走边尽可能地触摸粗糙的洞壁,偶尔停下来用手指在某个地方上上下下地摸索一番。最后,他终于停住脚步,把手掌平按在洞壁上。
    “Here,” he said. “We go on through here. The entrance is concealed.”
    “这儿,”他说,“我们从这儿进去。入口是隐蔽的。”
    Harry did not ask how Dumbledore knew. He had never seen a wizard work things out like this, simply by looking and touching; but Harry had long since learned that bangs and smoke were more often the marks of ineptitude than expertise.
    哈利没有问邓布利多是怎么知道的。他从没见过哪个巫师这样解决难题:只用眼睛看,用手摸。不过哈利早就知道,弄得乒乒乓乓、烟雾大作的,通常是水平较低的人的特点,而不是高手的做派。
    Dumbledore stepped back from the cave wall and pointed his wand at the rock. For a moment, an arched outline appeared there, blazing white as though there was a powerful light behind the crack.
    邓布利多从洞壁前往后退了几步,用魔杖指向岩石。顿时,那里出现了一道拱门的轮廓,放射出耀眼的白光,似乎裂缝后面有强烈的灯光照着。
    “You’ve d-done it!” said Harry through chattering teeth, but before the words had left his lips the outline had gone, leaving the rock as bare and solid as ever. Dumbledore looked around.
    “你成——成功了!”哈利说道,他的牙齿在嘚嘚地打着战,但他的话音未落,那道轮廓就不见了,岩石还跟刚才一样坚硬厚实,上面什么也没有。邓布利多扭头看了看。
    “Harry, I’m so sorry, I forgot,” he said; he now pointed his wand at Harry and at once, Harry’s clothes were as warm and dry as if they had been hanging in front of a blazing fire.
    “哈利,真对不起,我忘记了。”他说。他用魔杖一指哈利,哈利的衣服立刻变得干爽、暖和了,就像挂在熊熊的炉火前烘过一样。
    “Thank you,” said Harry gratefully, but Dumbledore had already turned his attention back to the solid cave wall. He did not try any more magic, but simply stood there staring at it intently, as though something extremely interesting was written on it. Harry stayed quite still; he did not want to break Dumbledore’s concentration. Then, after two solid minutes, Dumbledore said quietly, “Oh, surely not. So crude.”
    “谢谢。”哈利感激地说道,可是邓布利多已经又把注意力转向了坚实的洞壁。他没有再尝试别的魔法,只是站在那里,全神贯注地盯着洞壁,似乎那上面写着什么极为有趣的东西。哈利一动不动地站在那儿,他不想打断邓布利多的思路。
    “What is it, Professor?”
    然后,足足过了两分钟,邓布利多轻声说:“哦,当然不会。太低级了。”
    “I rather think,” said Dumbledore, putting his uninjured hand inside his robes and drawing out a short silver knife of the kind Harry used to chop potion ingredients, “that we are required to make payment to pass.”
    “你说什么,教授?”
    “Payment?” said Harry. “You’ve got to give the door something?”
    “我认为,”邓布利多说着用那只没有受伤的手从长袍里掏出一把银质的短刀,就是哈利用来切魔药配料的那种,“我们需要付出代价才能通过。”
    “Yes,” said Dumbledore. “Blood, if I am not much mistaken.”
    “代价?”哈利说,“你必须给这道门一些东西?”
    “Blood?”
    “是的,”邓布利多说,“如果我没有弄错的话,是血。”
    “I said it was crude,” said Dumbledore, who sounded disdainful, even disappointed, as though Voldemort had fallen short of the standards Dumbledore expected. “The idea, as I am sure you will have gathered, is that your enemy must weaken him- or herself to enter. Once again, Lord Voldemort fails to grasp that there are much more terrible things than physical injury.”
    “血?”
    “Yeah, but still, if you can avoid it . . .” said Harry, who had experienced enough pain not to be keen for more.
    “所以我说太低级了。”邓布利多说,他的口气里透着轻蔑,甚至失望,似乎伏地魔没能达到邓布利多预期的标准,“我相信你也明白,其道理是想让对手削弱自己方能进入。伏地魔又一次没能理解,有许多东西比肉体的伤害更可怕得多。”
    “Sometimes, however, it is unavoidable,” said Dumbledore, shaking back the sleeve of his robes and exposing the forearm of his injured hand.
    “是啊,但如果能够避免……”哈利说,他遭受过的痛苦太多了,不愿意再经历更多。
    “Professor!” protested Harry, hurrying forward as Dumbledore raised his knife. “I’ll do it, I’m —”
    “有时候是无法避免的。”邓布利多说着把长袍袖子往上抖了抖,露出了受伤的那只手的小臂。
    He did not know what he was going to say — younger, fitter? But Dumbledore merely smiled. There was a flash of silver, and a spurt of scarlet; the rock face was peppered with dark, glistening drops.
    “教授!”哈利看见邓布利多举起了短刀,赶紧上前去阻止道,“让我来,我——”
    “You are very kind, Harry,” said Dumbledore, now passing the tip of his wand over the deep cut he had made in his own arm, so that it healed instantly, just as Snape had healed Malfoy’s wounds. “But your blood is worth more than mine. Ah, that seems to have done the trick, doesn’t it?”
    他不知道自己要说什么——更年轻,更结实?然而邓布利多只是微微地笑了笑。一道银光闪过,喷出一股殷红,岩石的表面顿时洒满了闪亮的、暗红色的血珠。
    The blazing silver outline of an arch had appeared in the wall once more, and this time it did not fade away: The blood-spattered rock within it simply vanished, leaving an opening into what seemed total darkness.
    “你很善良,哈利。”邓布利多说道,他用魔杖尖划过他在自己手臂上割开的那道深深的伤口,伤口立刻就愈合了,就像斯内普给马尔福疗伤的情景一样,“可是你的血比我的更有价值。啊,看来真的有效,是不是?”
    “After me, I think,” said Dumbledore, and he walked through the archway with Harry on his heels, lighting his own wand hastily as he went.
    洞壁上又一次出现了那道白得耀眼的拱门轮廓,这次它没有隐去。拱门里那块洒满鲜血的岩石突然消失了,露出一个门洞,里面似乎是无尽的黑暗。
    An eerie sight met their eyes: They were standing on the edge of a great black lake, so vast that Harry could not make out the distant banks, in a cavern so high that the ceiling too was out of sight. A misty greenish light shone far away in what looked like the middle of the lake; it was reflected in the completely still water below. The greenish glow and the light from the two wands were the only things that broke the otherwise velvety blackness, though their rays did not penetrate as far as Harry would have expected. The darkness was somehow denser than normal darkness.
    “跟我来吧。”邓布利多说着走过了门洞,哈利跟在他后面走了进去,一边匆匆点亮了自己的魔杖。
    “Let us walk,” said Dumbledore quietly. “Be very careful not to step into the water. Stay close to me.”
    他们眼前是一副十分怪异的景象。他们站在一片黑色的大湖岸边,湖面无比宽阔,一望无际,哈利看不见远处的对岸。他们所处的山洞很高,抬头望去也看不见洞顶。远远的,像是在湖的中央,闪烁着一道朦胧的、绿莹莹的光,倒映在下面死寂的湖水中。除了那道绿光和两根魔杖发出的亮光,四下里完全是浓得化不开的黑暗,而这几道亮光的穿透性也不像哈利预想的那么强,这里的黑暗似乎比普通的黑暗更稠密,更厚重。
    He set off around the edge of the lake, and Harry followed close behind him. Their footsteps made echoing, slapping sounds on the narrow rim of rock that surrounded the water. On and on they walked, but the view did not vary: on one side of them, the rough cavern wall, on the other, the boundless expanse of smooth, glassy blackness, in the very middle of which was that mysterious greenish glow. Harry found the place and the silence oppressive, unnerving.
    “我们往前走吧,”邓布利多轻声说,“千万小心,不要踩进水里。紧紧地跟着我。”
    “Professor?” he said finally. “Do you think the Horcrux is here?”
    他绕着湖岸往前走去,哈利紧跟在他后面。他们的脚步踏在湖边狭窄的岩石上,发出啪啪的回声。他们一直往前走,可是四周的景象没有丝毫改变:一边是粗糙的岩洞壁,另一边是无边无际、光滑如镜的黑色湖面,湖的正中央闪烁着那道神秘的绿光。哈利感觉这个地方以及这种寂静令人压抑,心神不安。
    “Oh yes,” said Dumbledore. “Yes, I’m sure it is. The question is, how do we get to it?”
    “教授?”他忍不住问道,“你认为魂器藏在这里?”
    “We couldn’t . . . we couldn’t just try a Summoning Charm?” Harry said, sure that it was a stupid suggestion. But he was much keener than he was prepared to admit on getting out of this place as soon as possible.
    “哦,是的,”邓布利多说,“是的,我相信是藏在这里。问题是,我们怎么才能找到它。”
    “Certainly we could,” said Dumbledore, stopping so suddenly that Harry almost walked into him. “Why don’t you do it?”
    “我们不能……我们不能试一试飞来咒吗?”哈利说,他知道这肯定是一个愚蠢的建议,但他虽然嘴上不愿意承认,可心里却巴不得赶紧离开这个鬼地方。
    “Me? Oh . . . okay . . .”
    “当然可以,”邓布利多说着突然停住脚步,哈利差点儿撞到他身上,“你为什么不试一试呢?”
    Harry had not expected this, but cleared his throat and said loudly, wand aloft, “Accio Horcrux!”
    “我?噢……好吧……”
    With a noise like an explosion, something very large and pale erupted out of the dark water some twenty feet away; before Harry could see what it was, it had vanished again with a crashing splash that made great, deep ripples on the mirrored surface. Harry leapt backward in shock and hit the wall; his heart was still thundering as he turned to Dumbledore.
    哈利没有料到这点,他清了清嗓子,举起魔杖,大声说道:“魂器飞来!”
    “What was that?”
    随着爆炸般的一声巨响,一个白森森的大家伙从二十英尺开外的漆黑湖面上蹿了上来。哈利还没来得及看清那是什么,哗啦一声,它又消失了,在平静的水面溅起大片很深的波纹。哈利惊得往后一跳,撞在了岩壁上。他转向邓布利多,心脏仍在咚咚地狂跳着。
    “Something, I think, that is ready to respond should we attempt to seize the Horcrux.”
    “那是什么?”
    Harry looked back at the water. The surface of the lake was once more shining black glass: The ripples had vanished unnaturally fast; Harry’s heart, however, was still pounding.
    “我想,如果我们试图抓取魂器,它就会做出反应。”
    “Did you think that would happen, sir?”
    哈利转脸又看了看湖水。湖面又变得像黑色的玻璃一样,明亮而光滑了。那些波纹消失的速度快得离奇,但哈利的心仍然跳得像打鼓一样。
    “I thought something would happen if we made an obvious attempt to get our hands on the Horcrux. That was a very good idea, Harry; much the simplest way of finding out what we are facing.”
    “你早就知道会发生那样的事吗,先生?”
    “But we don’t know what the thing was,” said Harry, looking at the sinisterly smooth water.
    “我早就知道如果我们明目张胆地想拿到那个魂器,肯定就会遭遇到一些什么。哈利,你的主意很不错,用最简便的方法弄清了我们面对的是什么。”
    “What the things are, you mean,” said Dumbledore. “I doubt very much that there is only one of them. Shall we walk on?”
    “但是我们并不知道那个东西是什么。”哈利说,眼睛望着平静而凶险的湖面。
    “Professor?”
    “你应该说那些东西,”邓布利多说,“我不相信它们只有一个。我们继续往前走好吗?”
    “Yes, Harry?”
    “教授?”
    “Do you think we’re going to have to go into the lake?”
    “怎么了,哈利?”
    “Into it? Only if we are very unfortunate.”
    “你认为我们需要下到湖里去吗?”
    “You don’t think the Horcrux is at the bottom?”
    “下湖?除非我们的运气特别不好。”
    “Oh no . . . I think the Horcrux is in the middle.”
    “你不认为魂器在湖底下吗?”
    And Dumbledore pointed toward the misty green light in the center of the lake.
    “哦,不……我认为魂器在湖的中央。”邓布利多指了指湖中央那道朦胧的绿光。
    “So we’re going to have to cross the lake to get to it?”
    “那么我们必须到湖中央才能拿到它了?”
    “Yes, I think so.”
    “是的,我认为是这样。”
    Harry did not say anything. His thoughts were all of water monsters, of giant serpents, of demons, kelpies, and sprites. . . .
    哈利没再说什么。他脑子里想的净是水怪、水妖、水鬼、巨蟒和幽灵……
    “Aha,” said Dumbledore, and he stopped again; this time, Harry really did walk into him; for a moment he toppled on the edge of the dark water, and Dumbledore’s uninjured hand closed tightly around his upper arm, pulling him back. “So sorry, Harry, I should have given warning. Stand back against the wall, please; I think I have found the place.”
    “啊哈!”邓布利多说着又停住了脚步,这次哈利真的撞到了他身上。哈利在黑黢黢的湖水边踉跄着眼看快要栽倒,邓布利多用那只没有受伤的手紧紧抓住他的手臂,把他拉了回来。“真抱歉,哈利,我应该打个招呼的。请往后站,贴在岩壁上,我认为我已经找着地方了。”
    Harry had no idea what Dumbledore meant; this patch of dark bank was exactly like every other bit as far as he could tell, but Dumbledore seemed to have detected something special about it. This time he was running his hand, not over the rocky wall, but through the thin air, as though expecting to find and grip something invisible.
    哈利不明白邓布利多的意思。在他看来,这一片漆黑的湖岸跟别处没有什么不同,然而邓布利多像是觉察到了某些特殊之处。这次,他的手不是在岩壁上抚摸,而是在空气中慢慢划动,似乎想找到并抓住某个无形的东西。
    “Oho,” said Dumbledore happily, seconds later. His hand had closed in midair upon something Harry could not see. Dumbledore moved closer to the water; Harry watched nervously as the tips of Dumbledore’s buckled shoes found the utmost edge of the rock rim. Keeping his hand clenched in midair, Dumbledore raised his wand with the other and tapped his fist with the point.
    “嗬嗬!”几秒钟后,邓布利多高兴地说。他把手一合,抓住了空气中哈利看不见的某个东西。邓布利多慢慢挪向湖边,哈利紧张地注视着邓布利多带铜扣的鞋尖挪到了岩石边缘的最外面。邓布利多仍然悬空攥着那只手,另一只手举着魔杖,用魔杖尖敲了敲他的拳头。
    Immediately a thick coppery green chain appeared out of thin air, extending from the depths of the water into Dumbledore’s clenched hand. Dumbledore tapped the chain, which began to slide through his fist like a snake, coiling itself on the ground with a clinking sound that echoed noisily off the rocky walls, pulling something from the depths of the black water. Harry gasped as the ghostly prow of a tiny boat broke the surface, glowing as green as the chain, and floated, with barely a ripple, toward the place on the bank where Harry and Dumbledore stood.
    立刻,一条粗粗的绿色铜链突然从湖水深处冒了出来,蹿向邓布利多紧攥的拳头。邓布利多用魔杖敲了敲链条,链条便开始像蛇一样从他的拳头里滑过,在地上盘成一堆,丁丁当当的声音撞在岩壁上,发出响亮的回声。链条把某个东西从漆黑的湖底拽了上来。哈利惊愕地看着一条小船的船头如幽灵一般突然冒出湖面,像链条一样发出绿莹莹的光,朝哈利和邓布利多站着的湖岸漂浮过来,几乎没有带起一丝涟漪。
    “How did you know that was there?” Harry asked in astonishment.
    “你怎么知道它在那儿?”哈利惊诧地问。
    “Magic always leaves traces,” said Dumbledore, as the boat hit the bank with a gentle bump, “sometimes very distinctive traces. I taught Tom Riddle. I know his style.”
    “魔法总会留下痕迹的,”邓布利多说,随着砰的一声轻响,小船撞上了湖岸,“有时候是非常明显的痕迹。我教过汤姆·里德尔,知道他的风格。”
    “Is . . . is this boat safe?”
    “这……这只小船安全吗?”
    “Oh yes, I think so. Voldemort needed to create a means to cross the lake without attracting the wrath of those creatures he had placed within it in case he ever wanted to visit or remove his Horcrux.”
    “哦,我认为是安全的。伏地魔需要有一种办法,在他万一需要探望或取走他的魂器时,可以顺利地穿过湖面,以免激怒他安置在湖里的那些家伙。”
    “So the things in the water won’t do anything to us if we cross in Voldemort’s boat?”
    “那么,如果我们乘着伏地魔的船过湖,水里的那些家伙就不会对我们下手了,是吗?”
    “I think we must resign ourselves to the fact that they will, at some point, realize we are not Lord Voldemort. Thus far, however, we have done well. They have allowed us to raise the boat.”
    “我认为我们必须做好心理准备,一旦它们发现我们不是伏地魔,肯定会对我们下手的。不过,到目前为止,我们进行得还算顺利。它们允许我们把小船从湖里弄了上来。”
    “But why have they let us?” asked Harry, who could not shake off the vision of tentacles rising out of the dark water the moment they were out of sight of the bank.
    “可是它们为什么要让我们这么做呢?”哈利问,他无法摆脱脑海里浮现出的可怕画面:当他们远远离开湖岸时,便会有许多触手从漆黑的湖水里伸出来。
    “Voldemort would have been reasonably confident that none but a very great wizard would have been able to find the boat,” said Dumbledore. “I think he would have been prepared to risk what was, to his mind, the most unlikely possibility that somebody else would find it, knowing that he had set other obstacles ahead that only he would be able to penetrate. We shall see whether he is right.”
    “伏地魔坚信只有技艺十分高超的巫师才能发现那条小船,他的自信是有道理的。”邓布利多说,“我认为,他准备好了冒险让别人发现小船——在他看来这几乎是不可能的,他知道他在前面还设置了一些只有他自己能够穿越的障碍。待会儿我们就能看到他是不是正确了。”
    Harry looked down into the boat. It really was very small.
    哈利低头看看小船。确实是一条很小的船。
    “It doesn’t look like it was built for two people. Will it hold both of us? Will we be too heavy together?”
    “它好像不是给两个人坐的,能吃得住我们俩的重量吗?我们俩加在一起会不会太重了?”
    Dumbledore chuckled.
    邓布利多轻声笑了。
    “Voldemort will not have cared about the weight, but about the amount of magical power that crossed his lake. I rather think an enchantment will have been placed upon this boat so that only one wizard at a time will be able to sail in it.”
    “伏地魔不会考虑到重量,他只考虑有多少魔法力量穿越了他的湖。我倒认为这条船可能被施了一个魔咒,一次只能乘坐一位巫师。”
    “But then — ?”
    “那——?”
    “I do not think you will count, Harry: You are underage and unqualified. Voldemort would never have expected a sixteen-year-old to reach this place: I think it unlikely that your powers will register compared to mine.”
    “我认为不会把你算在内的,哈利,你不够年龄,还没有资格。伏地魔怎么也不会想到一个十六岁的少年会来到这个地方。我认为,跟我的力量相比,你的力量恐怕可以忽略不计。”
    These words did nothing to raise Harry’s morale; perhaps Dumbledore knew it, for he added, “Voldemort’s mistake, Harry, Voldemort’s mistake . . . Age is foolish and forgetful when it underestimates youth. . . . Now, you first this time, and be careful not to touch the water.”
    这番话听得哈利垂头丧气,邓布利多大概也意识到了这一点,他又补充道:“伏地魔错了,哈利,伏地魔错了……老年人低估年轻人,是愚蠢和健忘的……好了,这次你先上,留神别碰到水。”
    Dumbledore stood aside and Harry climbed carefully into the boat. Dumbledore stepped in too, coiling the chain onto the floor. They were crammed in together; Harry could not comfortably sit, but crouched, his knees jutting over the edge of the boat, which began to move at once. There was no sound other than the silken rustle of the boat’s prow cleaving the water; it moved without their help, as though an invisible rope was pulling it onward toward the light in the center. Soon they could no longer see the walls of the cavern; they might have been at sea except that there were no waves.
    邓布利多让到一边,哈利小心翼翼地爬上了船。邓布利多也跨了进去,把链条盘起来堆在船底。他们紧紧地挤在一起,哈利没法舒舒服服地坐着,只能蹲下来,膝盖顶在船帮上。小船立刻就出发了,四下里一片寂静,只有船头穿透水面发出的柔和的沙沙声。小船在自动行驶,不用他们动手,似乎有一根看不见的绳索把它拉向了湖中央的那道绿光。很快,山洞的岩壁看不见了,他们感觉就像在大海上一样,只是周围没有海浪。
    Harry looked down and saw the reflected gold of his wandlight sparkling and glittering on the black water as they passed. The boat was carving deep ripples upon the glassy surface, grooves in the dark mirror. . . .
    哈利低头看去,随着小船的行进,只见魔杖的光亮映在黑糊糊的水面上,闪烁着点点金光。小船在玻璃一般光滑的湖面切开深深的波纹,像黑色镜面上的沟槽……
    And then Harry saw it, marble white, floating inches below the surface.
    就在这时,哈利看见了它——白得像大理石一样,在水面下几英寸的地方漂浮。
    “Professor!” he said, and his startled voice echoed loudly over the silent water.
    “教授!”他说,惊恐的声音在寂静的水面上发出响亮的回音。
    “Harry?”
    “哈利?”
    “I think I saw a hand in the water — a human hand!”
    “我好像看见水里有一只手——一只人的手!”
    “Yes, I am sure you did,” said Dumbledore calmly.
    “是的,我相信你看见了。”邓布利多平静地说。
    Harry stared down into the water, looking for the vanished hand, and a sick feeling rose in his throat.
    哈利低头望着湖水深处,寻找着那只消失了的手,嗓子眼里涌起一种想吐的感觉。
    “So that thing that jumped out of the water — ?”
    “那么,刚才从水里蹿出来的那个东西——?”
    But Harry had his answer before Dumbledore could reply; the wandlight had slid over a fresh patch of water and showed him, this time, a dead man lying faceup inches beneath the surface, his open eyes misted as though with cobwebs, his hair and his robes swirling around him like smoke.
    没等邓布利多回答,哈利就自己找到了答案。魔杖的亮光又掠过一片水面,这次哈利看见离水面几英寸的地方仰面躺着一个死人——他那双睁着的眼睛迷迷蒙蒙的,好像里面结着蛛网,头发和长袍像烟雾一样在他身体周围打着旋儿飘荡着。
    “There are bodies in here!” said Harry, and his voice sounded much higher than usual and most unlike his own.
    “这里面有死尸!”哈利说,他的声音听上去比平常尖利得多,简直不像是他自己的。
    “Yes,” said Dumbledore placidly, “but we do not need to worry about them at the moment.”
    “是的,”邓布利多心平气和地说,“但是我们暂时还用不着担心它们。”
    “At the moment?” Harry repeated, tearing his gaze from the water to look at Dumbledore.
    “暂时?”哈利重复了一遍这个词,把目光从湖水里收了回来,望着邓布利多。
    “Not while they are merely drifting peacefully below us,” said Dumbledore. “There is nothing to be feared from a body, Harry, any more than there is anything to be feared from the darkness. Lord Voldemort, who of course secretly fears both, disagrees. But once again he reveals his own lack of wisdom. It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more.”
    “只要它们仅仅在我们船底下静静地漂浮着,”邓布利多说,“一具死尸没什么可害怕的,哈利,就像黑暗没什么可害怕的一样。可伏地魔不这样认为,他肯定暗暗地害怕这两样东西。他又一次暴露了他缺乏智慧。当我们面对死亡和黑暗时,我们害怕的只是未知,除此之外没有别的。”
    Harry said nothing; he did not want to argue, but he found the idea that there were bodies floating around them and beneath them horrible and, what was more, he did not believe that they were not dangerous.
    哈利什么也没说。他不想争辩,但他一想到他们周围和他们船底下漂浮着死尸,就觉得特别恐怖,而且,他不相信那些死尸没有危险。
    “But one of them jumped,” he said, trying to make his voice as level and calm as Dumbledore’s. “When I tried to Summon the Horcrux, a body leapt out of the lake.”
    “可是刚才就有一具跳了出来。”他说,努力想使声音像邓布利多的那样平静自然,“我试着用飞来咒召集魂器时,一具死尸蹿出了湖面。”
    “Yes,” said Dumbledore. “I am sure that once we take the Horcrux, we shall find them less peaceable. However, like many creatures that dwell in cold and darkness, they fear light and warmth, which we shall therefore call to our aid should the need arise. Fire, Harry,” Dumbledore added with a smile, in response to Harry’s bewildered expression.
    “是啊,”邓布利多说道,“我相信当我们去拿魂器时,就会发现它们不那么安静了。不过,就像居住在寒冷和黑暗中的许多生物一样,它们害怕光明和温暖,到时候如果需要的话,我们可以求助于它们——火,哈利。”邓布利多看到哈利脸上困惑的表情,又微笑着补充道。
    “Oh . . . right . . .” said Harry quickly. He turned his head to look at the greenish glow toward which the boat was still inexorably sailing. He could not pretend now that he was not scared. The great black lake, teeming with the dead . . . It seemed hours and hours ago that he had met Professor Trelawney, that he had given Ron and Hermione Felix Felicis. . . . He suddenly wished he had said a better good-bye to them . . . and he hadn’t seen Ginny at all. . . .
    “噢……是啊……”哈利急忙说道。他转过脸去望着那道绿光,小船仍然不可阻挡地朝那里驶去。现在,他再也无法假装自己不害怕了。一望无际的黑湖,里面漂浮着死尸……他觉得他碰见特里劳妮教授,把福灵剂交给罗恩和赫敏,已经是很久很久以前的事了……他突然希望自己当时好好地跟他们告一个别……而且,他甚至没有看见金妮……
    “Nearly there,” said Dumbledore cheerfully.
    “快要到了。”邓布利多欢快地说。
    Sure enough, the greenish light seemed to be growing larger at last, and within minutes, the boat had come to a halt, bumping gently into something that Harry could not see at first, but when he raised his illuminated wand he saw that they had reached a small island of smooth rock in the center of the lake.
    果然,绿光似乎终于变得更大更亮了,几分钟后,小船轻轻地撞在一个什么东西上,停住了。哈利起先没有看清,等他举起点亮的魔杖,便看见他们来到了湖中央一座光滑的岩石小岛上。
    “Careful not to touch the water,” said Dumbledore again as Harry climbed out of the boat.
    “小心别碰到湖水。”哈利从船上下来时,邓布利多再次警告道。
    The island was no larger than Dumbledore’s office, an expanse of flat dark stone on which stood nothing but the source of that greenish light, which looked much brighter when viewed close to. Harry squinted at it; at first, he thought it was a lamp of some kind, but then he saw that the light was coming from a stone basin rather like the Pensieve, which was set on top of a pedestal.
    小岛跟邓布利多的办公室差不多大——一大块平坦的黑色石板,上面空荡荡的,只有发出那道绿光的光源。现在离近了看,绿光显得明亮多了。哈利眯起眼睛看着它,起初他以为是一盏什么灯,接着他看到绿光是从一个类似冥想盆的石盆里发出来的,石盆下面有个底座。
    Dumbledore approached the basin and Harry followed. Side by side, they looked down into it. The basin was full of an emerald liquid emitting that phosphorescent glow.
    邓布利多走近石盆,哈利也跟了过去。他们并排站在那里,望着石盆里面。满满一盆翠绿色的液体,发出闪闪的磷光。
    “What is it?” asked Harry quietly.
    “这是什么?”哈利轻声问。
    “I am not sure,” said Dumbledore. “Something more worrisome than blood and bodies, however.”
    “我不能肯定,”邓布利多说道,“不过,是比鲜血和死尸更令人担心的东西。”
    Dumbledore pushed back the sleeve of his robe over his blackened hand, and stretched out the tips of his burned fingers toward the surface of the potion.
    邓布利多把遮住那只黑手的长袍袖子朝上抖了抖,枯焦的手指尖伸向了液体表面。
    “Sir, no, don’t touch — !”
    “先生,不,别碰它——!”
    “I cannot touch,” said Dumbledore, smiling faintly. “See? I cannot approach any nearer than this. You try.”
    “我碰不到它。”邓布利多淡淡地笑了笑,“看见了吗?我的手没办法再往前伸了。你试试看。”
    Staring, Harry put his hand into the basin and attempted to touch the potion. He met an invisible barrier that prevented him coming within an inch of it. No matter how hard he pushed, his fingers encountered nothing but what seemed to be solid and inflexible air.
    哈利瞪着眼睛把手伸向石盆,想去触摸那些液体。可他遇到了一股无形的阻力,他的手无法接近液体。不管他的手怎么使劲往下伸,手指碰到的似乎都是坚硬无比、牢不可摧的空气。
    “Out of the way, please, Harry,” said Dumbledore. He raised his wand and made complicated movements over the surface of the potion, murmuring soundlessly. Nothing happened, except perhaps that the potion glowed a little brighter. Harry remained silent while Dumbledore worked, but after a while Dumbledore withdrew his wand, and Harry felt it was safe to talk again.
    “哈利,请你让开。”邓布利多说。
    “You think the Horcrux is in there, sir?”
    他举起魔杖,在液体表面做出一些复杂的动作,嘴里无声地念叨着什么。什么动静也没有,只是液体发出的光似乎更明亮了一些。哈利默默地看着邓布利多作法,直到邓布利多收回魔杖,他才觉得又可以说话了。
    “Oh yes.” Dumbledore peered more closely into the basin. Harry saw his face reflected, upside down, in the smooth surface of the green potion. “But how to reach it? This potion cannot be penetrated by hand, Vanished, parted, scooped up, or siphoned away, nor can it be Transfigured, Charmed, or otherwise made to change its nature.”
    “你认为魂器就藏在这里面吗,先生?”
    Almost absentmindedly, Dumbledore raised his wand again, twirled it once in midair, and then caught the crystal goblet that he had conjured out of nowhere.
    “哦,是的。”邓布利多更专注地凝视着石盆。哈利看见他的脸倒映在平滑的绿色液面上。“可是怎么才能拿到它呢?这种液体,手伸不进去,不能使它分开、把它舀干或者抽光,也不能用消失咒使它消失,用魔法使它变形,或用其他方式改变它的性质。”
    “I can only conclude that this potion is supposed to be drunk.”
    邓布利多似乎是心不在焉地又举起魔杖,在空中旋转了一下,变出一只高脚水晶酒杯抓在手里。
    “What?” said Harry. “No!”
    “我只能得到这样的结论:这种液体需要喝掉。”
    “Yes, I think so: Only by drinking it can I empty the basin and see what lies in its depths.”
    “什么?”哈利说,“不行!”
    “But what if — what if it kills you?”
    “我认为是这样:只有把它喝掉,才能让石盆变空,看清底下藏着什么。”
    “Oh, I doubt that it would work like that,” said Dumbledore easily. “Lord Voldemort would not want to kill the person who reached this island.”
    “可是如果——如果它把你毒死了呢?”
    Harry couldn’t believe it. Was this more of Dumbledore’s insane determination to see good in everyone?
    “哦,我相信它不会有那样的作用。”邓布利多轻松地说,“伏地魔不会愿意毒死来到这座小岛上的人。”
    “Sir,” said Harry, trying to keep his voice reasonable, “sir, this is Voldemort we’re —”
    哈利无法相信。难道邓布利多又是那样荒唐地一味把人往好处想吗?
    “I’m sorry, Harry; I should have said, he would not want to immediately kill the person who reached this island,” Dumbledore corrected himself. “He would want to keep them alive long enough to find out how they managed to penetrate so far through his defenses and, most importantly of all, why they were so intent upon emptying the basin. Do not forget that Lord Voldemort believes that he alone knows about his Horcruxes.”
    “先生,”哈利说,努力使自己的声音听上去显得通情达理,“先生,我们面对的是伏地魔——”
    Harry made to speak again, but this time Dumbledore raised his hand for silence, frowning slightly at the emerald liquid, evidently thinking hard.
    “对不起,哈利。我应该这么说——他不会愿意立即害死来到这座小岛上的人,”邓布利多自己纠正道,“他会让他们再活一段时间,弄清他们怎么能够穿越他的那些防御机关,最重要的是,弄清他们为什么如此渴望清空石盆。你别忘了,伏地魔相信只有他一个人知道他的魂器。”
    “Undoubtedly,” he said, finally, “this potion must act in a way that will prevent me taking the Horcrux. It might paralyze me, cause me to forget what I am here for, create so much pain I am distracted, or render me incapable in some other way. This being the case, Harry, it will be your job to make sure I keep drinking, even if you have to tip the potion into my protesting mouth. You understand?”
    哈利还想说话,但邓布利多举起一只手让他别出声。邓布利多对着翠绿色的液体微微皱起眉头,显然在费力地思索着什么。
    Their eyes met over the basin, each pale face lit with that strange, green light. Harry did not speak. Was this why he had been invited along — so that he could force-feed Dumbledore a potion that might cause him unendurable pain?
    “毫无疑问,”他最后说道,“这种药剂肯定会阻止我获取魂器。它大概会使我瘫痪,使我忘记我到这里来的目的,使我感到极度痛苦,无法集中意念,或者以其他方式使我丧失能力。如果出现这种情况,哈利,就需要你来确保我不停地喝下去,即使你必须把药水灌进我紧闭的嘴巴里。明白吗?”
    “You remember,” said Dumbledore, “the condition on which I brought you with me?”
    他们的目光在石盆上方相遇了。两张惨白的脸都被那种古怪的、绿莹莹的光映照着。难道,就是为了这个才邀请他一起来的——就是为了他能强迫邓布利多喝下一种或许会给他带来无法忍受的痛苦的药水?
    Harry hesitated, looking into the blue eyes that had turned green in the reflected light of the basin.
    “你还记得我带你一起来的条件吗?”邓布利多问。
    “But what if — ?”
    哈利迟疑着,望着那双被石盆的光映得发绿的蓝眼睛。
    “You swore, did you not, to follow any command I gave you?”
    “可是,万一……?”
    “Yes, but —”
    “你发誓要听从我的命令的,是不是?”
    “I warned you, did I not, that there might be danger?”
    “是,可是——”
    “Yes,” said Harry, “but —”
    “我提醒过你可能会有危险,是不是?”
    “Well, then,” said Dumbledore, shaking back his sleeves once more and raising the empty goblet, “you have my orders.”
    “是,”哈利说,“可是——”
    “Why can’t I drink the potion instead?” asked Harry desperately.
    “那就好,”邓布利多说着又把袖子往上抖了抖,举起空的高脚酒杯,“这就是我的命令。”
    “Because I am much older, much cleverer, and much less valuable,” said Dumbledore. “Once and for all, Harry, do I have your word that you will do all in your power to make me keep drinking?”
    “为什么不能让我来喝药水呢?”哈利绝望地问。
    “Couldn’t — ?”
    “因为我比你老得多、聪明得多,而我的价值比你小得多。”邓布利多说,“我最后再问一遍,哈利,你能不能向我发誓,你会尽全部的力量让我继续喝下去?”
    “Do I have it?”
    “难道不可以——?”
    “But —”
    “你能不能发誓?”
    “Your word, Harry.”
    “可是——”
    “I — all right, but —”
    “发誓,哈利!”
    Before Harry could make any further protest, Dumbledore lowered the crystal goblet into the potion. For a split second, Harry hoped that he would not be able to touch the potion with the goblet, but the crystal sank into the surface as nothing else had; when the glass was full to the brim, Dumbledore lifted it to his mouth.
    “我——好吧,可是——”
    “Your good health, Harry.”
    不等哈利再提出反抗,邓布利多就把水晶杯子放进了液体。那一瞬间,哈利真希望邓布利多不能用酒杯接触到药水,然而,水晶杯一下子就沉了下去。杯子满了,邓布利多把它举到了嘴边。
    And he drained the goblet. Harry watched, terrified, his hands gripping the rim of the basin so hard that his fingertips were numb.
    “祝你健康,哈利。”
    “Professor?” he said anxiously, as Dumbledore lowered the empty glass. “How do you feel?”
    他一饮而尽。哈利惊恐地注视着,两只手紧紧地攥着石盆的边缘,攥得指尖都发麻了。
    Dumbledore shook his head, his eyes closed. Harry wondered whether he was in pain. Dumbledore plunged the glass blindly back into the basin, refilled it, and drank once more.
    “教授——”他看到邓布利多放下了空杯子,便担忧地问道,“你感觉怎么样?”
    In silence, Dumbledore drank three gobletsful of the potion. Then, halfway through the fourth goblet, he staggered and fell forward against the basin. His eyes were still closed, his breathing heavy.
    邓布利多摇了摇头,他的眼睛是闭着的。哈利不知道他是不是很痛苦。邓布利多闭着眼睛再一次把杯子伸进了石盆,舀起满满的一杯,又喝了下去。
    “Professor Dumbledore?” said Harry, his voice strained. “Can you hear me?”
    邓布利多默默地喝完了三杯。喝到第四杯时,他踉踉跄跄地往前扑倒在石盆上。他的眼睛仍然闭着,呼吸很沉重。
    Dumbledore did not answer. His face was twitching as though he was deeply asleep, but dreaming a horrible dream. His grip on the goblet was slackening; the potion was about to spill from it. Harry reached forward and grasped the crystal cup, holding it steady.
    “邓布利多教授?”哈利说,他的嗓子眼发紧,“你能听见我说话吗?”
    “Professor, can you hear me?” he repeated loudly, his voice echoing around the cavern.
    邓布利多没有回答。他的脸在抽搐,似乎他正在沉睡,正在做一个可怕的噩梦。他攥着杯子的手松弛下来,药水眼看就要洒了,哈利上前一步抓住水晶杯,把它端得稳稳的。
    Dumbledore panted and then spoke in a voice Harry did not recognize, for he had never heard Dumbledore frightened like this.
    “教授,你能听见我说话吗?”他又大声问了一遍,声音在山洞里回荡。
    “I don’t want . . . Don’t make me . . .”
    邓布利多喘着粗气说话了,哈利简直听不出那是他的声音,因为他从未见过邓布利多这样害怕。
    Harry stared into the whitened face he knew so well, at the crooked nose and half-moon spectacles, and did not know what to do.
    “我不想……别逼我……”
    “. . . don’t like . . . want to stop . . .” moaned Dumbledore.
    哈利望着他如此熟悉的这张苍白的面孔,望着那个鹰钩鼻子和那副半月形眼镜,不知道自己该怎么办。
    “You . . . you can’t stop, Professor,” said Harry. “You’ve got to keep drinking, remember? You told me you had to keep drinking. Here . . .”
    “……不喜欢……想停止……”邓布利多呻吟着说。
    Hating himself, repulsed by what he was doing, Harry forced the goblet back toward Dumbledore’s mouth and tipped it, so that Dumbledore drank the remainder of the potion inside.
    “你……你不能停止,教授,”哈利说,“你必须不停地喝下去,记得吗?你告诉过我,你必须不停地喝下去。来……”
    “No . . .” he groaned, as Harry lowered the goblet back into the basin and refilled it for him. “I don’t want to. . . . I don’t want to. . . . Let me go. . . .”
    哈利把杯子硬塞到邓布利多的嘴边往里灌着,邓布利多把杯子里剩下的药水喝了下去。哈利真讨厌自己,从心底里反感自己的所作所为。
    “It’s all right, Professor,” said Harry, his hand shaking. “It’s all right, I’m here —”
    “不……”邓布利多呻吟着,哈利重新把酒杯放进石盆里,为他舀起满满一杯,“我不想……我不想……放开我……”
    “Make it stop, make it stop,” moaned Dumbledore.
    “没事的,教授,”哈利说,他的手在颤抖,“没事的,有我呢——”
    “Yes . . . yes, this’ll make it stop,” lied Harry. He tipped the contents of the goblet into Dumbledore’s open mouth.
    “让它停止,让它停止。”邓布利多呻吟道。
    Dumbledore screamed; the noise echoed all around the vast chamber, across the dead black water.
    “好的……好的,这就让它停止。”哈利哄骗他说。又把酒杯里的液体灌进了邓布利多张开的嘴巴里。
    “No, no, no, no, I can’t, I can’t, don’t make me, I don’t want to. . . .”
    邓布利多失声尖叫,凄厉的声音越过沉寂的黑湖,在大山洞里回荡着。
    “It’s all right, Professor, it’s all right!” said Harry loudly, his hands shaking so badly he could hardly scoop up the sixth gobletful of potion; the basin was now half empty. “Nothing’s happening to you, you’re safe, it isn’t real, I swear it isn’t real — take this, now, take this. . . .”
    “不,不,不……不……我不能……我不能,别逼我,我不想……”
    And obediently, Dumbledore drank, as though it was an antidote Harry offered him, but upon draining the goblet, he sank to his knees, shaking uncontrollably.
    “没事的,教授,没事的!”哈利大声说,他的手抖得太厉害了,几乎舀不起第六杯药水了。石盆已经空了一半。“你什么事也没有,你是安全的,这不是真的,我发誓这不是真的——来,把这个喝了,把这个喝了……”
    “It’s all my fault, all my fault,” he sobbed. “Please make it stop, I know I did wrong, oh please make it stop and I’ll never, never again . . .”
    邓布利多听话地喝了下去,就好像哈利递给他的是一种解药,可是,他刚喝光杯里的药水,就扑通跪倒在地上,全身无法控制地颤抖起来。
    “This will make it stop, Professor,” Harry said, his voice cracking as he tipped the seventh glass of potion into Dumbledore’s mouth.
    “都是我的错,都是我的错,”他哭泣着说,“请让它停止吧,我知道我做错了,哦,请让它停止吧,我再也、再也不会了……”
    Dumbledore began to cower as though invisible torturers surrounded him; his flailing hand almost knocked the refilled goblet from Harry’s trembling hands as he moaned, “Don’t hurt them, don’t hurt them, please, please, it’s my fault, hurt me instead . . .”
    “这就让它停止,教授。”哈利说,他的声音变得又粗又哑,他把第七杯药水灌进了邓布利多的嘴里。
    “Here, drink this, drink this, you’ll be all right,” said Harry desperately, and once again Dumbledore obeyed him, opening his mouth even as he kept his eyes tight shut and shook from head to foot.
    邓布利多蜷缩成一团,似乎周围有一些看不见的人在折磨他。他的手胡乱挥动着,差点把哈利颤抖的手里那只重新舀满的杯子打翻,嘴里呻吟道:“别伤害他们,别伤害他们,求求你,求求你,都是我的错,冲我来吧……”
    And now he fell forward, screaming again, hammering his fists upon the ground, while Harry filled the ninth goblet.
    “来,把这个喝了,把这个喝了,你很快就没事了。”哈利不顾一切地说,邓布利多又一次听话地张开了嘴巴,尽管他的眼睛闭得紧紧的,从头到脚抖个不停。
    “Please, please, please, no . . . not that, not that, I’ll do anything . . .”
    然后,他向前一扑,再一次大声惨叫,并用拳头捶打着地面,哈利满满地舀起了第九杯药水。
    “Just drink, Professor, just drink . . .”
    “求求你,求求你,求求你,不要……不要那个,不要那个,让我做什么都行……”
    Dumbledore drank like a child dying of thirst, but when he had finished, he yelled again as though his insides were on fire. “No more, please, no more . . .”
    “喝吧,教授,喝吧……”
    Harry scooped up a tenth gobletful of potion and felt the crystal scrape the bottom of the basin.
    邓布利多像个渴极了的孩子一样喝着,可是刚一喝完又惨叫起来,好像他的五脏六腑都着了火似的。
    “We’re nearly there, Professor. Drink this, drink it. . . .”
    “不要了,求求你,不要了……”
    He supported Dumbledore’s shoulders and again, Dumbledore drained the glass; then Harry was on his feet once more, refilling the goblet as Dumbledore began to scream in more anguish than ever, “I want to die! I want to die! Make it stop, make it stop, I want to die!”
    哈利舀起第十杯药水,觉得水晶杯已经擦着盆底了。
    “Drink this, Professor. Drink this. . . .”
    “我们就要成功了,教授,把这个喝了,把这个喝了吧……”
    Dumbledore drank, and no sooner had he finished than he yelled, “KILL ME!”
    他支起邓布利多的肩膀,邓布利多又一次喝干了杯里的液体。哈利重新站起来舀了满满一杯子,邓布利多突然喊叫起来,声音比任何时候都要痛苦:“我想死!我想死!让它停止,让它停止吧,我想死!”
    “This — this one will!” gasped Harry. “Just drink this . . . It’ll be over . . . all over!”
    “把这个喝了,教授,把这个喝了吧……”
    Dumbledore gulped at the goblet, drained every last drop, and then, with a great, rattling gasp, rolled over onto his face.
    邓布利多又喝了,可是刚一喝完,他就喊道:“让我死吧!”
    “No!” shouted Harry, who had stood to refill the goblet again; instead he dropped the cup into the basin, flung himself down beside Dumbledore, and heaved him over onto his back; Dumbledore’s glasses were askew, his mouth agape, his eyes closed. “No,” said Harry, shaking Dumbledore, “no, you’re not dead, you said it wasn’t poison, wake up, wake up — Rennervate!” he cried, his wand pointing at Dumbledore’s chest; there was a flash of red light but nothing happened. “Rennervate — sir — please —”
    “喝完——喝完这一杯就行!”哈利喘着气说,“就喝这一杯……快要结束了……一切都结束了!”
    Dumbledore’s eyelids flickered; Harry’s heart leapt.
    邓布利多大口喝光了杯子里的最后一滴药水,然后,他呼噜呼噜地喘着气,脸朝下翻滚在地上。
    “Sir, are you — ?”
    “不!”站起来重新用酒杯舀药水的哈利喊道,他把杯子扔进石盆,冲过来扑在邓布利多身边,把他翻过来仰面躺着。邓布利多的眼镜歪了,嘴巴张得大大的,眼睛紧闭着。“不,”哈利一边摇晃着邓布利多一边说,“不,你没有死,你说过这不是毒药,醒醒,快醒醒——恢复活力!”他用魔杖指着邓布利多的胸口喊道,一道红光一闪,可是什么反应也没有。“恢复活力——先生——求求你——”
    “Water,” croaked Dumbledore.
    邓布利多的眼皮在抖动,哈利的心欢跳起来。
    “Water,” panted Harry. “Yes —”
    “先生,你——?”
    He leapt to his feet and seized the goblet he had dropped in the basin; he barely registered the golden locket lying curled beneath it.
    “水。”邓布利多声音嘶哑地说。
    “Aguamenti!” he shouted, jabbing the goblet with his wand.
    “水,”哈利喘着粗气说,“——好的——”
    The goblet filled with clear water; Harry dropped to his knees beside Dumbledore, raised his head, and brought the glass to his lips — but it was empty. Dumbledore groaned and began to pant.
    他一跃而起,抓起刚才丢在石盆里的杯子。他没有注意到那个金挂坠盒就盘绕在它下面。
    “But I had some — wait — Aguamenti!” said Harry again, pointing his wand at the goblet. Once more, for a second, clear water gleamed within it, but as he approached Dumbledore’s mouth, the water vanished again.
    “清水如泉!”他用魔杖指着酒杯大喊了一声。
    “Sir, I’m trying, I’m trying!” said Harry desperately, but he did not think that Dumbledore could hear him; he had rolled onto his side and was drawing great, rattling breaths that sounded agonizing. “Aguamenti — Aguamenti — AGUAMENTI !”
    杯里立刻出现了满满的清水。哈利跪在邓布利多身边,扶起他的头,把杯子端到他的唇边——可是杯子已经空了。邓布利多呻吟了一声,又开始重重地喘着粗气。
    The goblet filled and emptied once more. And now Dumbledore’s breathing was fading. His brain whirling in panic, Harry knew, instinctively, the only way left to get water, because Voldemort had planned it so . . .
    “刚才还有的——等等——清水如泉!”哈利又用魔杖指着杯子说道。转眼间,杯里又是满满的清水,可是他刚把它端到邓布利多的嘴边,水就又一次消失了。
    He flung himself over to the edge of the rock and plunged the goblet into the lake, bringing it up full to the brim of icy water that did not vanish.
    “先生,我在想办法,我在想办法!”哈利焦急万分地说,但是他知道邓布利多不可能听见。邓布利多翻过去侧身躺着,嗓子里发出粗重的、呼噜呼噜的喘息声,听上去令人心痛欲绝。“清水如泉——清水如泉——清水如泉!”
    “Sir — here!” Harry yelled, and lunging forward, he tipped the water clumsily over Dumbledore’s face.
    杯子再次变满又变空。邓布利多的呼吸已经很微弱了。哈利的大脑紧张地转动着,他本能地知道只有一个办法能够弄到水,那是伏地魔早就计划好了的……
    It was the best he could do, for the icy feeling on his arm not holding the cup was not the lingering chill of the water. A slimy white hand had gripped his wrist, and the creature to whom it belonged was pulling him, slowly, backward across the rock. The surface of the lake was no longer mirror-smooth; it was churning, and everywhere Harry looked, white heads and hands were emerging from the dark water, men and women and children with sunken, sightless eyes were moving toward the rock: an army of the dead rising from the black water.
    他奔过去扑倒在岩石边,把杯子伸进湖里,舀了满满一杯冰冷的湖水,这次水没有消失。
    “Petrificus Totalus!” yelled Harry, struggling to cling to the smooth, soaked surface of the island as he pointed his wand at the Inferius that had his arm: It released him, falling backward into the water with a splash; he scrambled to his feet, but many more Inferi were already climbing onto the rock, their bony hands clawing at its slippery surface, their blank, frosted eyes upon him, trailing waterlogged rags, sunken faces leering.
    “先生——给!”哈利喊道,他向前一扑,笨手笨脚地把水倒在了邓布利多的脸上。
    “Petrificus Totalus!” Harry bellowed again, backing away as he swiped his wand through the air; six or seven of them crumpled, but more were coming toward him. “Impedimenta! Incarcerous!”
    他只能做到这样了,因为,他那没拿杯子的胳膊上有一种冷飕飕的感觉,但并不是因为有冰冷的湖水溅在上面。一只黏糊糊、白森森的手抓住他的手腕,那个家伙正在慢慢地把他往岩石后面拖。湖面不再光滑如镜,而是在剧烈地搅动。哈利抬眼望去,到处都是白森森的脑袋和手从黑糊糊的水里冒出来,男人的,女人的,孩子的,都睁着凹陷的、没有视觉的眼睛,朝岩石这边漂浮过来——漆黑的湖水里浮现出一大片死尸。
    A few of them stumbled, one or two of them bound in ropes, but those climbing onto the rock behind them merely stepped over or on the fallen bodies. Still slashing at the air with his wand, Harry yelled, “Sectumsempra! SECTUMSEMPRA!”
    “统统石化!”哈利大喊,他一边拼命抓住岛上光滑潮湿的岩石表面,一边用魔杖指着那个抓住他胳膊的阴尸。阴尸松开了他,扑通一声跌回到水里。哈利挣扎着站起来。可是更多的阴尸已经爬上了岩石,它们枯槁的手抓住滑溜溜的岩石,空洞洞、雾蒙蒙的眼睛盯着他,被水浸湿的破衣烂衫拖在身后,一张张凹陷的脸上带着鄙夷的神情。
    But though gashes appeared in their sodden rags and their icy skin, they had no blood to spill: They walked on, unfeeling, their shrunken hands outstretched toward him, and as he backed away still farther, he felt arms enclose him from behind, thin, fleshless arms cold as death, and his feet left the ground as they lifted him and began to carry him, slowly and surely, back to the water, and he knew there would be no release, that he would be drowned, and become one more dead guardian of a fragment of Voldemort’s shattered soul. . . .
    “统统石化!”哈利又大喊一声,他一边后退一边使劲在空中挥舞着魔杖。六七具阴尸被击倒了,但是更多的阴尸朝他逼来。“障碍重重!速速禁锢!”
    But then, through the darkness, fire erupted: crimson and gold, a ring of fire that surrounded the rock so that the Inferi holding Harry so tightly stumbled and faltered; they did not dare pass through the flames to get to the water. They dropped Harry; he hit the ground, slipped on the rock, and fell, grazing his arms, but scrambled back up, raising his wand and staring around.
    几具阴尸踉跄着摔倒了,其中一两个被绳子捆了起来,然而,在它们后面爬上岩石的那些阴尸只是跨过它们,或踩着它们倒下的身体又走了过来。哈利继续使劲挥舞着魔杖,大声喊道:“神锋无影!神锋无影!”
    Dumbledore was on his feet again, pale as any of the surrounding Inferi, but taller than any too, the fire dancing in his eyes; his wand was raised like a torch and from its tip emanated the flames, like a vast lasso, encircling them all with warmth.
    阴尸们破烂的湿衣服和冰冷的皮肤上出现了深深的大口子,但没有一滴血流出来。它们无知无觉,继续一步步逼了过来,朝哈利伸出一双双干枯的手。哈利又往后退了几步,感觉有胳膊从后面搂住了他,那些像死亡一样冰冷、没有血肉的胳膊,把他从地面上抱了起来,缓缓地、但毫不犹豫地走向了黑湖。哈利知道他没有办法脱身,他肯定会被淹死的,成为另一具守护伏地魔某个灵魂碎片的阴尸……
    The Inferi bumped into each other, attempting, blindly, to escape the fire in which they were enclosed. . . .
    可是就在这时,黑暗中出现了腾腾的火焰:一个明亮的、金红色的火环环绕在岩石周围,那些紧紧抓住哈利的阴尸一具具变得脚步踉跄,身体摇晃。它们不敢穿过火焰进入湖水,只好扔下了哈利。哈利摔在地上,脚滑在岩石上,擦破了胳膊,但是他赶紧挣扎着爬起来,举起魔杖警惕地望着四周。
    Dumbledore scooped the locket from the bottom of the stone basin and stowed it inside his robes. Wordlessly, he gestured to Harry to come to his side. Distracted by the flames, the Inferi seemed unaware that their quarry was leaving as Dumbledore led Harry back to the boat, the ring of fire moving with them, around them, the bewildered Inferi accompanying them to the water’s edge, where they slipped gratefully back into their dark waters.
    邓布利多已经又站了起来,他的脸色像周围的阴尸一样惨白,但是个子比它们都高,火光在他的眼睛里跳动。他的魔杖像火把一样高高地举着,魔杖尖上蹿出一道道火焰,像一根巨大而温暖的套索,把阴尸们都围了起来。
    Harry, who was shaking all over, thought for a moment that Dumbledore might not be able to climb into the boat; he staggered a little as he attempted it; all his efforts seemed to be going into maintaining the ring of protective flame around them. Harry seized him and helped him back to his seat. Once they were both safely jammed inside again, the boat began to move back across the black water, away from the rock, still encircled by that ring of fire, and it seemed that the Inferi swarming below them did not dare resurface.
    阴尸们互相撞在一起,晕头转向地想逃避围住它们的火焰……
    “Sir,” panted Harry, “sir, I forgot — about fire — they were coming at me and I panicked —”
    邓布利多从石盆底下捞起挂坠盒,塞进了他的长袍里面。他一言不发,示意哈利到他身边去。阴尸们被火焰弄昏了头脑,似乎没有意识到它们追捕的人正要离开小岛。这时邓布利多领着哈利向小船走去,那道火环围着他们,随着他们一起移动。不知所措的阴尸们簇拥着他们来到湖边,迫不及待地重新滑入黑暗的湖水中。
    “Quite understandable,” murmured Dumbledore. Harry was alarmed to hear how faint his voice was.
    哈利浑身都在发抖,他以为邓布利多没有力气爬上小船了。邓布利多上船的时候脚步有些踉跄,他似乎在用全部的精力维持着他们周围那道防护的火环。哈利扶着他,让他在小船里坐好。两人刚刚挤坐进去,小船就掠过漆黑的水面往回驶去,离开了仍然被火环包围的岩石。那些在水下漂浮的阴尸似乎再也不敢露面了。
    They reached the bank with a little bump and Harry leapt out, then turned quickly to help Dumbledore. The moment that Dumbledore reached the bank he let his wand hand fall; the ring of fire vanished, but the Inferi did not emerge again from the water. The little boat sank into the water once more; clanking and tinkling, its chain slithered back into the lake too. Dumbledore gave a great sigh and leaned against the cavern wall.
    “先生,”哈利喘着气说,“先生,我忘记了——忘记了火——他们突然朝我扑来,把我吓坏了——”
    “I am weak. . . .” he said.
    “可以理解。”邓布利多喃喃地说。哈利惊恐地听出他的声音十分虚弱。
    “Don’t worry, sir,” said Harry at once, anxious about Dumbledore’s extreme pallor and by his air of exhaustion. “Don’t worry, I’ll get us back. . . . Lean on me, sir. . . .”
    随着砰的一声轻响,他们到了岸边,哈利抢先跳下船,回身搀扶邓布利多。邓布利多刚一上岸,举着魔杖的手就垂了下去。火环消失了,但是阴尸没有再从湖里冒出来。小船又一次沉入水中,那根链条也丁丁当当地重新滑进湖水里。邓布利多重重地叹了一口气,身体靠在山洞的岩壁上。
    And pulling Dumbledore’s uninjured arm around his shoulders, Harry guided his headmaster back around the lake, bearing most of his weight.
    “我很虚弱……”他说。
    “The protection was . . . after all . . . well-designed,” said Dumbledore faintly. “One alone could not have done it. . . . You did well, very well, Harry. . . .”
    “别担心,先生,”哈利赶紧说道,他看到邓布利多极度苍白的脸色和精疲力竭的样子,心里非常不安,“别担心,我们俩会回去的……靠在我身上,先生……”
    “Don’t talk now,” said Harry, fearing how slurred Dumbledore’s voice had become, how much his feet dragged. “Save your energy, sir. . . . We’ll soon be out of here. . . .”
    哈利把邓布利多那只没有受伤的手臂拉过来搭在自己的肩膀上,他承受着校长的大部分重量,沿着湖边往回走。
    “The archway will have sealed again. . . . My knife . . .”
    “那个保护机关……毕竟还是……设计得很巧妙的。”邓布利多有气无力地说,“一个人是不可能做到的……你干得不错,非常漂亮,哈利……”
    “There’s no need, I got cut on the rock,” said Harry firmly. “Just tell me where. . . .”
    “现在别说话了,”哈利说,邓布利多的声音变得这样含糊,脚步变得这样无力,真让他感到害怕,“节省体力,先生……我们很快就会离开这里的……”
    “Here . . .”
    “那道拱门肯定又封死了……我的刀子……”
    Harry wiped his grazed forearm upon the stone: Having received its tribute of blood, the archway reopened instantly. They crossed the outer cave, and Harry helped Dumbledore back into the icy seawater that filled the crevice in the cliff.
    “用不着,我被岩石擦伤了,”哈利坚决地说,“你只要告诉我位置……”
    “It’s going to be all right, sir,” Harry said over and over again, more worried by Dumbledore’s silence than he had been by his weakened voice. “We’re nearly there. . . . I can Apparate us both back. . . . Don’t worry. . . .”
    “这儿……”
    “I am not worried, Harry,” said Dumbledore, his voice a little stronger despite the freezing water. “I am with you.”
    哈利把受伤的胳膊在石头上擦了擦,拱门收到这份血的礼物,立刻重新打开了。他们穿过外面的山洞,哈利搀扶着邓布利多,回到悬崖上那道裂缝里冰冷的海水中。
    
    “一切都会顺利的,先生,”哈利一遍又一遍地说着,刚才邓布利多虚弱的声音让他担忧,现在他的沉默更让他揪心,“差不多快要到了……我可以幻影显形,把我们俩都带回去……别担心……”
    
    “我不担心,哈利,”邓布利多说,尽管海水寒冷刺骨,他的声音却多了一点儿气力,“我和你在一起呢。”
    
    

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