OK阅读网

哈利·波特与凤凰社
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

英文中文双语对照双语交替

首页目录上一章下一章

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR - The Department Of Mysteries

第三十四章　神秘事务司

Harry wound his hand tightly into the mane of the nearest Thestral, placed a foot on a stump nearby and scrambled clumsily on to the horse's silken back. It did not object, but twisted its head around, fangs bared, and attempted to continue its eager licking of his robes.

哈利一只手伸进离他最近的夜骐的鬃毛里，牢牢地抓住，一只脚踩着旁边的树桩，笨拙地爬到它柔软光滑的脊背上。它虽然没有反抗，但是却扭过头来，龇着尖牙，还急切地想继续舔他的袍子。

He found there was a way of lodging his knees behind the wing joints that made him feel more secure, then looked around at the others. Neville had heaved himself over the back of the next Thestral and was now attempting to swing one short leg over the creature's back. Luna was already in place, sitting side-saddle and adjusting her robes as though she did this every day. Ron, Hermione and Ginny, however, were still standing motionless on the spot, open-mouthed and staring.

哈利发现把膝盖放在翅膀关节的下面可以坐得更牢靠，随后他环顾了一下其他人。纳威弓着身子，整个人趴在另一匹夜骐的脊背上，正努力把一条短腿跨到另一侧。卢娜已经侧身坐好，正在整理自己的袍子，就像她天天都会骑上夜骐似的。可是罗恩、赫敏还有金妮仍旧站在原地一动不动，张开嘴巴瞪着眼睛。

'What?' he said.

“怎么了？”哈利说。

'How're we supposed to get on?' said Ron faintly. 'When we can't see the things?'

“我们该怎么骑上去呀？”罗恩喃喃地说，“我们看不见它们。”

'Oh, it's easy,' said Luna, sliding obligingly from her Thestral and marching over to him, Hermione and Ginny. 'Come here . . .'

“哦，简单。”卢娜说着热心地从夜骐身上滑下来，大步走向罗恩、赫敏和金妮，“到这儿来……”

She pulled them over to the other Thestrals standing around and one by one managed to help them on to the back of their mount. All three looked extremely nervous as she wound their hands into their horses mane and told them to grip tightly before she got back on to her own steed.

她把他们拉到站在周围的夜骐身旁，一个接一个地帮他们骑到夜骐的背上。她在走回自己的坐骑之前，把着他们的手让他们抓住马鬃，并叮嘱一定要抓牢。他们三个看上去都紧张得要命。

This is mad,' Ron murmured, moving his free hand gingerly up and down his horses neck. 'Mad . . . if I could just see it - '

“这简直不可思议，”罗恩嘀咕着，用一只空闲的手小心翼翼地来回抚摸着马脖子，“不可思议……如果我能看到它——”

'You'd better hope it stays invisible,' said Harry darkly. 'We all ready, then?'

“你最好永远都别看见它。”哈利阴郁地说道，“那么——大家都准备好了吗？”

They all nodded and he saw live pairs of knees tighten beneath their robes.

其他人都点了点头，哈利看到五对膝盖在各自的袍子底下紧绷着。

'OK . . .'

“好……”

He looked down at the back of his Thestral's glossy black head and swallowed.

他低头看了一眼夜骐乌黑光滑的脑袋，紧张地咽了口唾沫。

'Ministry of Magic, visitors' entrance, London, then,' he said uncertainly. 'Er . . . if you know . . . where to go . . .'

“那么，伦敦，魔法部，来宾入口。”他没把握地说，“嗯……要是你知道……该怎么走的话……”

For a moment Harry's Thestral did nothing at all; then, with a sweeping movement that nearly unseated him, the wings on either side extended; the horse crouched slowly, then rocketed upwards so fast and so steeply that Harry had to clench his arms and legs tightly around the horse to avoid sliding backwards over its bony rump. He closed his eyes and pressed his face down into the horses silky mane as they burst through the topmost branches of the trees and soared out into a blood-red sunset.

那匹夜骐纹丝不动地站了一会儿，然后突然展开双翼，动作大得差一点把哈利甩下去；它先慢慢地蹲伏下来，随后箭一般地向天空冲去，速度之快，角度之陡，令哈利不得不手脚并用紧紧抱住它的身躯，以免从它瘦骨嶙峋的尾部滑落下来。他们冲过树梢，飞向火红的夕阳，他紧闭双眼，把脸颊紧贴在夜骐光滑如丝的鬃毛上。

Harry did not think he had ever moved so fast: the Thestral streaked over the castle, its wide wings hardly beating; the cooling air was slapping Harry's face; eyes screwed up against the rushing wind, he looked round and saw his five fellows soaring along behind him, each of them bent as low as possible into the neck of their Thestral to protect themselves from his slipstream.

哈利从没想到自己会飞得这样快。夜骐从城堡上空急速掠过，宽大的双翼有力地挥动着；冰凉的气流拍打在哈利的脸上；他顶着疾风眯紧眼睛，扭头看到五个伙伴们正跟着他飞翔，为了避开他卷起的尾流，他们一个个都尽可能地弯下身子躲在夜骐的脖子后面。

They were over the Hogwarts grounds, they had passed Hogsmeade; Harry could see mountains and gullies below them. As the daylight began to fail, Harry saw small collections of lights as they passed over more villages, then a winding road on which a single car was beetling its way home through the hills . . .

他们飞越霍格沃茨的场地，掠过霍格莫德的上空；哈利能看到下面的群山和溪谷。白昼开始隐去，他们飞过一个又一个村庄，哈利看到了星罗棋布的灯光，接着是一辆孤零零的小汽车在归途中沿着弯弯曲曲的盘山路飞速穿越一座座小丘……

This is bizarre!' Harry barely heard Ron yell from somewhere behind him, and he imagined how it must feel to be speeding along at this height with no visible means of support.

“太奇特了！”哈利勉强听到罗恩的叫喊声从后面什么地方传来，心里想象着在这么高的空中疾驰，又看不到自己的坐骑会是什么样的感觉。

Twilight fell: the sky was turning to a light, dusky purple littered with tiny silver stars, and soon only the lights of Muggle towns gave them any clue of how far from the ground they were, or how very fast they were travelling. Harry's arms were wrapped tightly around his horse's neck as he willed it to go even faster. How much time had elapsed since he had seen Sirius lying on the Department of Mysteries floor? How much longer would Sirius be able to resist Voldemort? All Harry knew for sure was that his godfather had neither done as Voldemort wanted, nor died, for he was convinced that either outcome would have caused him to feel Voldemort's jubilation or fury course through his own body, making his scar sear as painfully as it had on the night Mr Weasley was attacked.

暮色降临了，天空渐渐呈现出淡淡的、朦胧的紫色，散落着一颗颗银光闪闪的小星星。很快，只有麻瓜城镇的灯光才能让他们知道自己离地面有多高，速度有多快。哈利的胳膊缠绕着马脖子，搂得紧紧的，想要它飞得更快些。自从他看到小天狼星躺在神秘事务司的地板上那一刻起到现在已经流逝了多少时间？小天狼星抵御伏地魔还能坚持多久？哈利只能断定，他的教父既没有顺从伏地魔的命令，也没有被害，因为他确信，不管是哪种结果，都会让他感到伏地魔的喜悦或愤怒在自己的身体中流过，让他的伤疤灼痛得就像韦斯莱先生遭袭的那个夜晚。

On they flew through the gathering darkness; Harry's face felt stiff and cold, his legs numb from gripping the Thestral's sides so tightly, but he did not dare shift his position lest he slip . . . he was deaf from the thundering rush of air in his ears, and his mouth was dry and frozen from the cold night wind. He had lost all sense of how far they had come; all his faith was in the beast beneath him, still streaking purposefully through the night, barely flapping its wings as it sped ever onwards.

他们在一片黑暗中飞行着；哈利觉得自己的脸僵硬、冰冷，紧紧夹在夜骐两侧的双腿也麻木了，但他不敢调换姿势，惟恐滑落下去……他什么也听不到，只有隆隆的气流在耳边疾驰，嘴巴被冰冷的夜风吹干了，冻僵了。他们究竟走了多远，他对此已经没有意识；他的希望全部寄托在身下的夜骐上，它仍在坚定地飞速穿越漆黑的夜空，向前飞行时几乎从不拍打双翼。

If they were too late . . .

如果他们太晚了……

He's still alive, he's still fighting, I can feel it . . .

他还活着，他还在抗争，我能感觉到……

If Voldemort decided Sirius was not going to crack . . .

如果伏地魔认定小天狼星不会屈服……

I'd know . . .

我应该知道……

Harry's stomach gave a jolt; the Thestral's head was suddenly pointing towards the ground and he actually slid forwards a few inches along its neck. They were descending at last . . . he thought he heard a shriek behind him and twisted around dangerously, but could see no sign of a falling body . . . presumably they had all received a shock from the change of direction, just as he had.

哈利的肚子震动了一下；夜骐的脑袋突然俯向地面，他顺着它的脖子向前滑动了几英寸。他们终于要着陆了……他似乎听到背后有一声尖叫，于是紧张地扭过头去，没有看到正在坠落的躯体……大概他们也都像他一样，在改变方向的时候吃了一惊。

And now bright orange lights were growing larger and rounder on all sides; they could see the tops of buildings, streams of headlights like luminous insect eyes, squares of pale yellow that were windows. Quite suddenly, it seemed, they were hurtling towards the pavement; Harry gripped the Thestral with every last ounce of his strength, braced for a sudden impact, but the horse touched the dark ground as lightly as a shadow and Harry slid from its back, looking around at the street where the overflowing skip still stood a short way from the vandalised telephone box, both drained of colour in the flat orange glare of the streetlights.

四周明亮的橘黄色灯光变得越来越大，越来越圆；他们可以看到建筑物的房顶，车流的前灯灯光就像是甲虫闪亮的眼睛，四四方方的窗户透出暗淡的黄色光芒。猛然间，他们好像在朝人行道冲去；哈利竭尽全力，拼命抓住夜骐，准备应付突然着地时的撞击。然而夜骐像影子一样，轻盈地落在黑黢黢的地面上。哈利从它背上滑下来，环视了一眼这条街道，那辆满得快要溢出来的翻斗车仍然停在离破旧的电话亭不远的地方，在单调的橘黄色街灯的照射下，看不清它们本来的颜色。

Ron landed a short way off and toppled immediately from his Thestral on to the pavement.

罗恩在近旁着陆了，随即一头从夜骐上栽下来，摔在人行道上。

'Never again,' he said, struggling to his feet. He made as though to stride away from his Thestral, but, unable to see it, collided with its hindquarters and almost tell over again. Never, ever again . . . that was the worst - '

“我可不想再来一次。”他说，挣扎着站起来。他似乎想要大步离开夜骐，可他看不到它，所以撞到了它的后腿上，又差一点仰面倒下去。“绝对，绝对不能再来一次……这就够糟了——”

Hermione and Ginny touched down on either side of him: both slid off their mounts a little more gracefully than Ron, though with similar expressions of relief at being back on firm ground; Neville jumped down, shaking; and Luna dismounted smoothly.

赫敏和金妮分别落在他两侧，滑下马背的动作比罗恩雅观一些，不过回到实实在在的地面上以后，他们脸上的轻松表情几乎都是一样的；纳威哆哆嗦嗦地从马上跳了下来；卢娜轻轻巧巧地滑下了坐骑。

'Where do we go from here, then?' she asked Harry in a politely interested voice, as though this was all a rather interesting day-trip.

“现在我们该往哪儿走呢？”卢娜彬彬有礼、饶有兴趣的问哈利，听起来这倒更像是情趣盎然的一日游。

'Over here,' he said. He gave his Thestral a quick, grateful pat, then led the way quickly to the battered telephone box and opened the door. 'Come on!' he urged the others, as they hesitated.

“这边。”哈利说。他满怀感激地匆匆拍了一下自己的坐骑，然后领着他们快速来到破旧的电话亭前把门打开了。“快来！”他催促着有些犹豫的同伴。

Ron and Ginny marched in obediently; Hermione, Neville and Luna squashed themselves in after them; Harry took one glance back at the Thestrals, now foraging for scraps of rotten food inside the skip, then forced himself into the box after Luna.

罗恩和金妮顺从地走了进去；赫敏、纳威和卢娜随后也挤了进去；哈利回头瞥了一眼夜骐，它们正在翻斗车里寻找腐烂变质的食物残渣。接着他在卢娜身后费力地挤进了电话亭。

'Whoever's nearest the receiver, dial six two four four two!' he said.

“谁离电话最近，拨62442这个号码！”他说。

Ron did it, his arm bent bizarrely to reach the dial; as it whirred back into place the cool female voice sounded inside the box.

罗恩的胳膊很别扭地弯曲着朝拨号盘伸去，拨了号码；当拨号盘迅速转回原位时，一个女人冷漠的声音传进了电话亭。

'Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business.'

“欢迎来到魔法部，请说出您的姓名和来办事宜。”

'Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger,' Harry said very quickly, 'Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood . . . we're here to save someone, unless your Ministry can do it first!'

“哈利·波特、罗恩·韦斯莱、赫敏·格兰杰，”哈利说得很快，“金妮·韦斯莱、纳威·隆巴顿、卢娜·洛夫古德，我们到这里来是救人的，除非你们魔法部先把他救出来。”

Thank you,' said the cool female voice. 'Visitors, please take the badges and attach them to the front of your robes.'

“谢谢，”那个冷漠的声音说，“来宾，请拿起徽章，别在您的衣服前。”

Half a dozen badges slid out of the metal chute where returned coins normally appeared. Hermione scooped them up and handed them mutely to Harry over Ginny's head; he glanced at the topmost one, Harry Potter, Rescue Mission.

六枚徽章从应该用来退出硬币的金属斜糟里滑了出来。赫敏捧起它们，一声不响地越过金妮头顶递给哈利；哈利看了一眼最上面的一个：哈利·波特，援救任务。

'Visitors to the Ministry, you are required to submit to a search and present your wands for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium.'

“魔法部的来宾，您需要在安检台接受检查，并登记您的魔杖。安检台位于正厅的尽头。”

'Fine!' Harry said loudly, as his scar gave another throb. 'Now can we move?'

“知道了！”哈利大声说，此时他的伤疤又是一阵疼痛，“现在我们可以行动了吗？”

The floor of the telephone box shuddered and the pavement rose up past its glass windows; the scavenging Thestrals were sliding out of sight; blackness closed over their heads and with a dull grinding noise they sank down into the depths of the Ministry of Magic.

电话亭的地面突然晃动起来，外面的人行道逐渐升高没过了窗子，正在觅食的夜骐慢慢滑出了视线；黑暗在他们的头顶合拢了，伴着枯燥的磨擦声，他们下到了魔法部的深处。

A chink of soft golden light hit their feet and, widening, rose up their bodies. Harry bent his knees and held his wand as ready as he could in such cramped conditions as he peered through the glass to see whether anybody was waiting for them in the Atrium, but it seemed, to be completely empty. The light was dimmer than it had been by day; there were no fires burning under the mantelpieces set into the walls, but as the lift slid smoothly to a halt he saw that golden symbols continued to twist sinuously in the dark blue ceiling.

一道细细的金色光线照射在他们的脚上，越来越宽，移到了他们的身上。在如此狭窄的空间里，哈利抓着魔杖，尽可能蹲下来透过玻璃注视着外面，看看是不是有人正在正厅等着他们，但是正厅好像空无一人。光线比白天要暗一些；镶嵌在墙上的壁炉架里没有生火，但是当升降梯平稳地停下来时，他看到在深蓝色的顶篷上，那个金色符号仍在不停地无规则地扭动着。

The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant evening,' said the woman's voice.

“魔法部希望您今晚过得愉快。”那个女人的声音说。

The door of the telephone box burst open; Harry toppled out of it, closely followed by Neville and Luna. The only sound in the Atrium was the steady rush of water from the golden fountain, where jets from the wands of the witch and wizard, the point of the centaur's arrow, the tip of the goblin's hat and the house-elf's ears continued to gush into the surrounding pool.

电话亭的门猛地打开了，哈利一个趔趄冲了出来，紧跟着的是纳威和卢娜。正厅里惟一能听到的声音就是黄金喷泉中持续的疾流声，水流从男女巫师的魔杖里、马人的箭头上、妖精帽子尖上和家养小精灵的耳朵里不停地喷出，落在圆形水池中。

'Come on, said Harry quietly and the six of them sprinted off down the hall, Harry in the lead, past the fountain towards the desk where the watchwizard who had weighed Harry's wand had sat, and which was now deserted.

“过来。”哈利轻轻地说，六个人在大厅里全速跑着，他在最前面经过喷泉朝安检台跑去，那里曾坐着一个给哈利的魔杖称重的巫师看守，可现在那里空无一人。

Harry felt sure there ought to be a security person there, sure their absence was an ominous sign, and his feeling of foreboding increased as they passed through the golden gates to the lifts. He pressed the nearest 'down' button and a lift clattered into sight almost immediately, the golden grilles slid apart with a great, echoing clanking and they dashed inside. Harry stabbed the number nine button; the grilles closed with a bang and the lift began to descend, jangling and rattling. Harry had not realised how noisy the lifts were on the day he had come with Mr Weasley; he was sure the din would raise every security person within the building, yet when the lilt halted, the cool female voice said, 'Department of Mysteries,' and the grilles slid open. They stepped out into the corridor where nothing was moving out but the nearest torches, flickering in the rush of air from the lift.

哈利认为这里是应该有保安人员的，并相信没有人把门是个不祥的兆头。当他们穿过黄金大门走向升降梯时，他的这种不祥预感更强烈了。他按下最近处的一个“向下”按钮，升降梯几乎立刻咔哒一下出现在眼前，金色的栅栏从中间滑到两边，发出震耳的、回荡的铿锵声，他们冲了进去。哈利戳了一下九号按钮，栅栏砰的一声关上了。升降梯发出咔哒咔哒的响声，很是刺耳，哈利在那天白天随韦斯莱先生来这里时并没有注意到它这么吵。他相信这样的噪音一定能引起建筑物里每一个保安人员的注意。然而当升降梯停下来时，那个冷漠的女人的声音说道：“神秘事务司。”栅栏打开了，他们走出来进入走廊，这里除了最近处的火把在升降梯搅起的气流中摇曳闪烁之外，什么动静也没有。

Harry turned towards the plain black door. After months and months of dreaming about it, he was here at last.

哈利转向那扇朴素的黑门。好几个月以来，他一直只是在梦中看到它，现在他终于来到这里了。

'Let's go,' he whispered, and he led the way down the corridor, Luna right behind him, gazing around with her mouth slightly open.

“我们走。”他小声说，领着大家顺着走廊向前走去，卢娜跟在他身后，微微张开嘴巴，四下打量着。

'OK, listen,' said Harry, stopping again within six feet of the door. 'Maybe . . . maybe a couple of people should stay here as a - as a lookout, and - '

“好了，大家听着，”哈利说，在离黑门不到六英尺的地方停了下来，“也许应该留几个人在这里——望风，还有——”

'And how're we going to let you know something's coming?' asked Ginny, her eyebrows raised. 'You could be miles away.'

“可要是有什么情况，我们怎样才能通知你呢？”金妮扬起眉毛问道，“你可能会在很远的地方？”

'We're coming with you, Harry,' said Neville.

“我们都跟你去，哈利。”纳威说。

'Let's get on with it,' said Ron firmly.

“我们接着走吧。”罗恩坚定地说。

Harry still did not want to take them all with him, but it seemed he had no choice. He turned to face the door and walked forwards . . . just as it had in his dream, it swung open and he marched over the threshold, the others at his heels.

哈利还是不愿意把他们几个都带在身边，可是看起来他别无选择。他转身对着黑门走过去……正如在梦中一样，它打开了。他迈过门槛，其他人紧随其后。

They were standing in a large, circular room. Everything in here was black including the floor and ceiling; identical, unmarked, handleless black doors were set at intervals all around the black walls, interspersed with branches of candles whose flames burned blue; their cool, shimmering light reflected in the shining marble floor made it look as though there was dark water underfoot.

他们站在一间巨大的圆形屋子里。这里所有的东西，包括天花板和地板全部都是黑色的；一些一模一样、没有标记、也没有把手的黑色房门彼此隔开一些距离嵌在四周黑色的墙壁上，一些冒着蓝色火苗的蜡烛点缀在墙上，冷冷的、闪烁着的微弱烛光倒映在光亮的大理石地板上，使地板看上去像是有一汪黑水似的。

'Someone shut the door,' Harry muttered.

“请谁把门关上。”哈利嘟哝了一声。

He regretted giving this order the moment Neville had obeyed it. Without the long chink of light from the torchlit corridor behind them, the place became so dark that for a moment the only things they could see were the bunches of shivering blue flames on the walls and their ghostly reflections in the floor.

当纳威照他的话办了以后，他真后悔下了这个指令。没有了从身后走廊倾泻进来的那道狭长的光束，这个地方变得暗了，以至于在一段时间里他们只能看见墙上摇曳着的蓝色烛火以及它们在地板上映出的可怕倒影。

In his dream, Harry had always walked purposefully across this room to the door immediately opposite the entrance and walked on. But there were around a dozen doors here. Just as he was gazing ahead at the doors opposite him, trying to decide which was the right one, there was a great rumbling noise and the candles began to move sideways. The circular wall was rotating.

在哈利的梦里，他始终都是毫不犹豫地走过这间屋子，径直来到正对入口的那扇门前，然后又继续向前走去。可是现在周围有十二扇门。正当他凝视着面前的几扇门，想判定应该进哪一扇时，随着一声轰隆隆的巨响，蜡烛开始向一侧移动。圆形的墙壁旋转起来。

Hermione grabbed Harry's arm as though frightened the floor might move, too, but it did not. For a few seconds, the blue flames around them were blurred to resemble neon lines as the wall sped around; then, quite as suddenly as it had started, the rumbling stopped and everything became stationary once again.

赫敏抓着哈利的胳膊，好像担心地板也会动起来似的，但是地板没有动。几秒钟后，他们周围的蓝色火苗随着墙壁的快速旋转模糊成一道道相似的光环。接着，正如开始时一样的突然，隆隆声消失了，一切又恢复了平静。

Harry's eyes had blue streaks burned into them; it was all he could see.

哈利的眼睛里闪烁着一道道蓝光，除此以外他什么也看不见。

'What was that about?' whispered Ron fearfully.

“这是要干什么？”罗恩担心地小声问。

'I think it was to stop us knowing which door we came in through,' said Ginny in a hushed voice.

“我猜这是让我们搞不清是从哪个门进来的。”金妮压低了嗓门回答。

Harry realised at once she was right: he could no sooner identify the exit door than locate an ant on the jet-black floor; and the door through which they needed to proceed could be any one of the dozen surrounding them.

哈利马上意识到她说对了：现在让他辨认出口在哪里，比在漆黑的地板上找出一只黑蚂蚁还难；在周围的十二扇门里，任何一扇门都有可能是他们需要穿过的那一扇。

'How're we going to get back out?' said Neville uncomfortably.

“我们该怎么出去啊？”纳威不安地问。

'Well, that doesn't matter now,' said Harry forcefully, blinking to try to erase the blue lines from his vision, and clutching his wand tighter than ever, 'we won't need to get out till we've found Sirius - '

“现在这个问题不重要，”哈利激动地说，一边眨着眼睛竭力消除眼里的蓝色线条，手里的魔杖抓得更紧了，“在没有找到小天狼星之前，我们不需要出去——”

'Don't go calling for him, though!' Hermione said urgently; but Harry had never needed her advice less, his instinct was to keep as quiet as possible.

“可千万别大声喊他的名字！”赫敏赶忙说；其实用不着她提醒，哈利凭直觉就明白应该尽量保持安静。

'Where do we go, then, Harry?' Ron asked.

“我们该往哪儿走呢，哈利？”罗恩问。

'I don't - ' Harry began. He swallowed. 'In the dreams I went through the door at the end of the corridor from the lifts into a dark room - that's this one - and then I went through another door into a room that kind of . . . glitters. We should try a few doors,' he said hastily, 'I'll know the right way when I see it. C'mon.'

“我不——”哈利刚一开口，又咽了回去，“在那些梦里，我下了升降梯，走进走廊尽头的一扇门，来到一间漆黑的屋子里——这就是那一间——接着我又穿过一扇门，进入一间有些……闪闪发光的屋子。我们应该试试几扇门，”他匆匆地说，“见到那个屋子，我就知道该怎么走了。来吧。”

He marched straight at the door now facing him, the others following close behind him, set his left hand against its cool, shining surface, raised his wand ready to strike the moment it opened, and pushed.

他径直走向正对着自己的那扇门，其他人紧跟在后面。他把左手放在冰凉、光亮的门上，举起魔杖，准备在门打开的那一刻冲过去，然后他推了推。

It swung open easily.

这扇门轻轻松松地打开了。

After the darkness of the first room, the lamps hanging low on golden chains from this ceiling gave the impression that this long rectangular room was much brighter, though there were no glittering, shimmering lights as Harry had seen in his dreams. The place was quite empty except for a few desks and, in the very middle of the room, an enormous glass tank of deep green liquid, big enough for all of them to swim in; a number of pearly-white objects were drifting around lazily in it.

吊灯低悬在金色链子上自天花板上垂下来，经历过第一间屋子的黑暗后，这间方形的屋子显得非常明亮，尽管没有哈利在梦中见到的朦胧、闪烁的微光。屋子里几乎是空荡荡的，只有一张桌子，另外在屋子的正中央有一个巨大的盛着墨绿色液体的玻璃水箱，大得足够让他们在里面游泳，许多白色的东西正慢悠悠地在里面漂来漂去。

'What're those things?' whispered Ron.

“这是什么东西？”罗恩低声说。

'Dunno,' said Harry.

“不知道。”哈利说。

'Are they fish?' breathed Ginny.

“是鱼吗？”金妮轻轻地问。

'Aquavirius Maggots!' said Luna excitedly. 'Dad said the Ministry were breeding - '

“阿卡危蛆！”卢娜兴奋地说，“爸爸说魔法部里养着——”

'No,' said Hermione. She sounded odd. She moved forward to look through the side of the tank. They're brains.'

“不对。”赫敏说道。她的语气有些古怪。她走到跟前，隔着容器往里看。“是脑子。”

'Brains?'

“脑子？”

'Yes . . . I wonder what they're doing with them?'

“是的……他们为什么养这种东西？”

Harry joined her at the tank. Sure enough, there could be no mistake now he saw them at close quarters. Glimmering eerily, they drifted in and out of sight in the depths of the green liquid, looking something like slimy cauliflowers.

哈利来到她旁边站在水箱前。千真万确，他离得这么近，是不会看错的。它们在绿色液体的深处时隐时现，阴森地闪着光，就像是黏糊糊的花椰菜一样的东西。

'Let's get out of here,' said Harry. This isn't right, we need to try another door.'

“大家离开这儿。”哈利说，“这间不是，我们再试一下另一扇门。”

There are doors here, too,' said Ron, pointing around the walls. Harry's heart sank; how big was this place?

“这里也有很多门。”罗恩一边说一边指着四周的墙壁。

'In my dream I went through that dark room into the second one,' he said. 'I think we should go back and try from there.'

哈利的心一沉，这个地方到底有多大呀？

So they hurried back into the dark, circular room; the ghostly shapes of the brains were now swimming before Harry's eyes instead of the blue candle flames.

“在我的梦里，我是穿过那间黑色的屋子就进入了第二间。”他说，“我想我们应该回去，从那里再试。”

'Wait!' said Hermione sharply, as Luna made to close the door of the brain room behind them. 'Flagrate!'

他们快速回到那间黑暗的圆形屋子，那些可怕的大脑的影像取代了蓝色的烛光，在他的眼前游来游去。

She drew with her wand in midair and a fiery 'X' appeared on the door. No sooner had the door clicked shut behind them than there was a great rumbling, and once again the wall began to revolve very fast, but now there was a great red-gold blur in amongst the faint blue and, when all became still again, the fiery cross still burned, showing the door they had already tried.

“等一下！”正当卢娜准备关上身后装大脑的屋门时，赫敏尖声叫道，“标记显现！”

'Good thinking,' said Harry. 'OK, let's try this one - '

她用自己的魔杖在半空中画了一下，一个火红的“Ｘ”出现在门上。当这扇门咔哒一声在他们背后关上的时候，震耳的隆隆声立刻响了起来，墙壁又开始飞快地旋转。但是在微弱的蓝光中，有一团巨大、模糊的金红色，当一切再一次静止不动时，那个火红的Ｘ还在燃烧，表明这扇门他们已经进去过了。

Again, he strode directly at the door facing him and pushed it open, his wand still raised, the others at his heels.

“好主意，”哈利说，“现在，我们再试一下这一扇——”

This room was larger than the last, dimly lit and rectangular, and the centre of it was sunken, forming a great stone pit some twenty feet deep. They were standing on the topmost tier of what seemed to be stone benches running all around the room and descending in steep steps like an amphitheatre, or the courtroom in which Harry had been tried by the Wizengamot. Instead, of a chained chair, however, there was a raised stone dais in the centre of the pit, on which stood a stone archway that looked so ancient, cracked and crumbling that Harry was amazed the thing was still standing. Unsupported by any surrounding wall, the archway was hung with a tattered black curtain or veil which, despite the complete stillness of the cold surrounding air, was fluttering very slightly as though it had just been touched.

他还是径直大步走到面前的那一扇门，举着魔杖将门推开，其他人依旧跟在后面。

'Who's there?' said Harry, jumping down on to the bench below. There was no answering voice, but the veil continued to flutter and sway.

这一间比刚才的那一间大一些，光线昏暗，呈方形，中心凹陷，形成一个巨大的石坑，大约有二十英尺深。石头台阶环绕着整个屋子，如同石凳，一级一级逐渐下降，每一级都很陡峭，就像是阶梯教室，或是哈利曾被威森加摩审问过的审判室，他们所站的位置处于最高一级台阶上。但石坑中心没有放着带铁链的椅子，取而代之的是一个凸起的石台，它的上面立着一个拱门，看上去很古老，破烂不堪，哈利奇怪它居然还能立在那里不倒下来。拱门四周没有任何墙壁支撑，一幅破破烂烂的黑色窗帘抑或是帷幔挂在上面，尽管这里的空气冷冷的，没有一丝风，可它却在轻轻地摆动，仿佛是刚刚被人触摸过。

'Careful!' whispered Hermione.

“谁在那儿？”哈利说，跳到下一级的石凳上。可是没有人应声，但那个帷幔仍在飘摆。

Harry scrambled down the benches one by one until he reached the stone bottom of the sunken pit. His footsteps echoed loudly as he walked slowly towards the dais. The pointed archway looked much taller from where he now stood than it had when he'd been looking down on it from above. Still the veil swayed gently, as though somebody had just passed through it.

“小心！”赫敏压低了声音说。

'Sirius?' Harry spoke again, but more quietly now that he was nearer.

哈利快速逐层爬下石凳来到石坑最底部，然后慢慢走向石台，脚步声在屋子里回荡，这个尖顶的拱门现在看上去要比从上面俯视它时高得多。帷幔还在轻轻摆动，像是有人刚刚穿过它。

He had the strangest feeling that there was someone standing right behind the veil on the other side of the archway. Gripping his wand very tightly, he edged around the dais, but there was nobody there; all that could be seen was the other side of the tattered black veil.

“小天狼星？”哈利又叫了声，由于离得很近，他的声音放得很轻。

'Let's go,' called Hermione from halfway up the stone steps. This isn't right, Harry, come on, let's go.'

他有一种十分古怪的感觉，一定有人正站在帷幔的后面，或者是拱门的另一侧。他紧紧攥着魔杖，小心翼翼地绕到台子后面，但是什么人也没有，从这里只能看到破烂的黑色帷幔的另一面。

She sounded scared, much more scared than she had in the room where the brains swam, yet Harry thought the archway had a kind of beauty about it, old though it was. The gently rippling veil intrigued him; he felt a very strong inclination to climb up on the dais and walk through it.

“我们走吧，”赫敏下到石阶中间喊道，“这间也不是，哈利，快点儿，我们走吧。”

Marry, lets go, OK? Said Hermione more forcefully.

听起来她很害怕，比在那间放着游泳大脑的屋子里时还害怕，但哈利觉得，这扇拱门尽管已经很古老，但却有一种独特的美。那轻轻飘动的帷幔引起了他的兴趣，他有种强烈的欲望，想爬上石台穿过它。

'OK,' he said, but did not move. He had just heard something. There were faint whispering, murmuring noises coming from the other side of the veil.

“哈利，快点走，好不好？”赫敏的语气更急了。

'What are you saying?' he said, very loudly, so that his words echoed all around the stone benches.

“这就来。”他说，但是没有动弹。他刚刚听到什么，一阵微弱的窃窃私语声和嘀咕声从帷幔的后面传了过来。

'Nobody's talking, Harry!' said Hermione, now moving over to him.

“你们在说什么？”他很响亮地问道，他的话在石凳间回荡着。

'Someone's whispering behind there,' he said, moving out of her reach and continuing to frown at the veil. 'Is that you, Ron?'

“没有人在说话，哈利！”赫敏说着向他走过来。

'I'm here, mate,' said Ron, appearing around the side of the archway.

“有人在后面小声说话。”他说着挪了挪，躲开了赫敏，依然皱着眉头盯着那幅帷幔，“是你吗，罗恩？”

'Can't anyone else hear it?' Harry demanded, for the whispering and murmuring was becoming louder; without really meaning to put it there, he found his foot was on the dais.

“我在这儿，哥们儿。”罗恩说着从拱门的另一边绕了出来。

'I can hear them too,' breathed Luna, joining them around the side of the archway and gazing at the swaying veil. 'There are people in there!'

“你们都听不到这个声音吗？”哈利迫切地问道，因为那个窃窃私语声和嘀咕声越来越响了，他下意识地发现自己的脚站在了石台上。

'What do you mean, "in there"?' demanded Hermione, jumping down from the bottom step and sounding much angrier than the occasion warranted, 'there isn't any "in there", it's just an archway, there's no room for anybody to be there. Harry, stop it, come away - '

“我也听得到，”卢娜小声说着也来到拱门这一边和他们站在一起，她注视着拂动的帷幔，“那里面有人！”

She grabbed his arm and pulled, but he resisted.

“你是什么意思，‘那里面’？”赫敏怒气冲冲地问道，一边从最底的台阶上跳了下来，不知哪里来了那么大火气，“‘那里面’什么东西也没有，它只是一扇拱门，没有可让人待的地方，哈利，别再这样了，快点儿离开这里——”

'Harry, we are supposed to be here for Sirius!' she said in a high-pitched, strained voice.

赫敏抓起他的胳膊向外拉，但他就是不听。

'Sirius,' Harry repeated, still gazing, mesmerised, at the continuously swaying veil. 'Yeah . . .'

“哈利，我们到这里来是为了救小天狼星！”她扯着嗓子高声说。

Something finally slid back into place in his brain; Sirius, captured, bound and tortured, and he was staring at this archway . . .

“小天狼星，”哈利重复了一遍，依然神情恍惚、眼睛直勾勾地盯着不停拂动的帷幔，“唉呀……”

He took several paces back from the dais and wrenched his eyes from the veil.

他终于回过神来，小天狼星被抓了，被捆绑着受尽折磨，而自己却在这里盯着拱门……

'Let's go,' he said.

他后退几步离开了石台，视线猛地从帷幔上移开了。

That's what I've been trying to - well, come on, then!' said Hermione, and she led the way back around the dais. On the other side, Ginny and Neville were staring, apparently entranced, at the veil too. Without speaking, Hermione took hold of Ginny's arm,

“我们走。”他说。

Ron grabbed Neville's, and they marched them firmly back to the lowest stone bench and clambered all the way back up to the door.

“我一直在要求——很好，走吧！”赫敏说着绕过石台往回走。在石台的另一侧，金妮和纳威也在出神地凝视着那幅帷幔，显然被迷住了。赫敏与罗恩什么也没说，赫敏抓住金妮的胳膊，罗恩抓住纳威的胳膊，坚决地大步走到最底层的石凳，一路攀爬着回到这个房间的入口。

'What d'you reckon that arch was?' Harry asked Hermione as they regained the dark circular room.

“你觉得那个拱门是什么东西？”当他们重新回到黑色圆形房间的时候，哈利问赫敏。

'I don't know, but whatever it was, it was dangerous,' she said firmly, again inscribing a fiery cross on the door.

“我不知道，但不管是什么，它肯定是很危险的。”赫敏肯定地说着，又在这扇门上画了一个Ｘ。

Once more, the wall span and became still again. Harry approached another door at random and pushed. It did not move.

墙壁再一次飞转，然后停下来。哈利胡乱挑了一扇门走过去推了一下，门没动。

'What's wrong?' said Hermione.

“怎么了？”赫敏问。

'It's . . . locked . . .' said Harry, throwing his weight at the door, but it didn't budge.

“它……被锁上了……”哈利一边说一边用整个身体撞过去，门还是没动。

This is it, then, isn't it?' said Ron excitedly, joining Harry in the attempt to force the door open. 'Bound to be!'

“看来，就是它了，对不对？”罗恩兴奋地说，与哈利一起用力试图把门撞开，“肯定就是它了。”

'Get out of the way!' said Hermione sharply. She pointed her wand at the place where a lock would have been on an ordinary door and said, 'Alohomora!'

“让开！”赫敏尖声说。她用魔杖对准应该是门锁的位置，口里念着：“阿拉霍洞开！”

Nothing happened.

可门还是老样子。

'Sirius's knife!' said Harry. He pulled it out from inside his robes and slid it into the crack between the door and the wall. The others all watched eagerly as he ran it from top to bottom, withdrew it and then flung his shoulder again at the door. It remained as firmly shut as ever. What was more, when Harry looked down at the knife, he saw the blade had melted.

“小天狼星的小刀！”哈利说。他从自己的袍子里掏出刀子，从门与墙之间的门缝中插了进去。其他人急切地注视着他用刀子从顶端划到了最底部，然后他抽出刀子，用肩膀又撞了一下。门还是像刚才那样关得死死的。不但如此，当哈利低头一看时，发现刀刃已经熔化了。

'Right, we're leaving that room,' said Hermione decisively.

“这样看来，我们不要再理这间屋子了。”赫敏果断地说。

'But what if that's the one?' said Ron, staring at it with a mixture of apprehension and longing.

“但是，万一就是这一间该怎么办？”罗恩说着，既担忧又憧憬地望着这扇门。

'It can't be, Harry could get through all the doors in his dream,' said Hermione, marking the door with another fiery cross as Harry replaced the now-useless handle of Sirius's knife in his pocket.

“不可能，哈利在他的梦里可以穿过所有的门。”赫敏说着在门上又做了个Ｘ，与此同时，哈利把已经报废的小天狼星的小刀刀柄放回了口袋。

'You know what could be in there?' said Luna eagerly, as the wall started to spin yet again.

“你们觉得那里面可能有什么呢？”卢娜热切地问道，这时候墙壁又开始转动了。

'Something blibbering, no doubt,' said Hermione under her breath and Neville gave a nervous little laugh.

“唠唠叨叨，毫无疑问。”赫敏小声回答，纳威紧张地轻轻笑了笑。

The wall slid to a halt and Harry, with a feeling of increasing desperation, pushed the next door open.

墙壁渐渐停了下来，哈利有些绝望地推开了旁边的一扇门。

This is it!'

“就是这儿！”

He knew it at once by the beautiful, dancing, diamond-sparkling light. As Harry's eyes became accustomed to the brilliant glare, he saw clocks gleaming from every surface, large and small, grandfather and carriage, hanging in spaces between the bookcases or standing on desks ranging the length of the room, so that a busy, relentless ticking filled the place like thousands of minuscule, marching footsteps. The source of the dancing, diamond-bright light was a towering crystal bell jar that stood at the far end of the room.

当他看到美丽的、钻石般闪烁的跳跃光芒时，立刻就认出正是这一间屋子。他的眼睛逐渐适应了这里灿烂夺目的光芒之后，才看清楚许许多多的钟表的表盘在闪着微光。它们大小不一，有落地大座钟也有旅行钟，或是悬挂在书架之间，或是立在有整个屋子那么长的桌子上。正因为如此，一种急促的永无休止的嘀答声充满了整个屋子，像是成千上万细微的脚步声。那道钻石般明亮的跳跃光芒来自房间尽头一个高高耸立着的钟形水晶玻璃罩。

'This way!'

“这边走！”

Harry's heart was pumping frantically now that he knew they were on the right track; he led the way down the narrow space between the lines of desks, heading, as he had done in his dream, for the source of the light, the crystal bell jar quite as tall as he was that stood on a desk and appeared to be full of a billowing, glittering wind.

一旦知道他们走的路线是正确的，哈利的心就猛烈地跳动起来。他走在最前面，顺着桌子之间狭窄的空隙走向光源，就像他在梦里所做的一样。这个钟形的水晶玻璃罩有哈利那么高，立在一张桌子上，看上去里面充满了一股翻腾着的、闪闪发光的气流。

'Oh, took!' said Ginny, as they drew nearer, pointing at the very heart of the bell jar.

“噢，看呀！”当他们走近时，金妮指着钟形玻璃罩的中心说。

Drifting along in the sparkling current inside was a tiny, jewel-bright egg. As it rose in the jar, it cracked open and a hummingbird emerged, which was carried to the very top of the jar, but as it fell on the draught its feathers became bedraggled and damp again, and by the time it had been borne back to the bottom of the jar it had been enclosed once more in its egg.

在闪烁的光线中，飘浮着一个小小的像宝石一般明亮的蛋。当它在玻璃罩里升起来的时候，啪的一下子裂开了，一只蜂鸟冒了出来，径直升到玻璃罩的最顶部，但随着气流的下落，小鸟的羽毛被再次弄脏、淋湿，直到降落到玻璃罩的最底部，被再次关进蛋里。

'Keep going!' said Harry sharply, because Ginny showed signs of wanting to stop and watch the egg's progress back into a bird.

“继续走，别停下！”哈利厉声说，因为金妮好像很想停下来观察蛋变成鸟的过程。

'You dawdled enough by that old arch!' she said crossly, but followed him past the bell jar to the only door behind it.

“你倒是在老拱门那儿待够了！”她顶了一句，但还是跟在他的后面，经过钟形水晶玻璃罩走向它后面仅有的一扇门。

This is it,' Harry said again, and his heart was now pumping so hard and fast he felt it must interfere with his speech, 'it's through here - '

“就是这儿。”哈利又说了一遍。他心跳得厉害，他想一定是心跳影响了他的语言表达，“它是穿过这里——”

He glanced around at them all; they had their wands out and looked suddenly serious and anxious. He looked back at the door and pushed. It swung open.

他环视了一眼其他人，他们都已经拿出了魔杖，顷刻间显得既严肃又迫切。他又回过头来盯着门。他推了一下，门开了。

They were there, they had found the place: high as a church and full of nothing but towering shelves covered in small, dusty glass orbs. They glimmered dully in the light issuing from more candle-brackets set at intervals along the shelves. Like those in the circular room behind them, their flames were burning blue. The room was very cold.

他们来到了里面，他们终于找到了这个地方。这里像教堂一样高，里面排满高耸的架子，上面摆满灰扑扑的小玻璃球，除此之外什么也没有。更多的烛台隔着一定的间隔嵌在架子上，暗淡的光线从上面射出来，同那间黑色圆形屋子里的一样，火苗是蓝色的。那些小玻璃球在这些光线中隐隐发光。房子里面很冷。

Harry edged forward and peered down one of the shadowy aisles between two rows of shelves. He could not hear anything or see the slightest sign of movement.

哈利慢慢走向前，低头审视了一眼两排架子之间的一条阴暗的过道，他听不到一丝声音，也感觉不到动静，哪怕是最微小的动静。

'You said it was row ninety-seven,' whispered Hermione.

“你说过是第97排。”赫敏在他旁边悄悄地说。

'Yeah,' breathed Harry, looking up at the end of the closest row. Beneath the branch of blue-glowing candles protruding from it glimmered the silver figure fifty-three.

“是的。”哈利轻声回应，抬头朝最近一排的尽头望去。蜡烛发出蓝色的火苗，支架下面闪烁着银色的数字53。

'We need to go right, I think,' whispered Hermione, squinting to the next row. 'Yes . . . that's fifty-four . . . '

“我想，我们应该向右走。”赫敏小声说，斜眼朝旁边的那一排瞥了一下，“对了……这是54……”

'Keep your wands ready,' Harry said softly.

“大家都把魔杖准备好。”哈利轻声说。

They crept forward, glancing behind them as they went on down the long alleys of shelves, the further ends of which were in near-total darkness. Tiny, yellowing labels had been stuck beneath each glass orb on the shelves. Some of them had a weird, liquid glow; others were as dull and dark within as blown light bulbs.

他们蹑手蹑脚地沿着架子之间长长的过道朝前走去，不时回头瞥瞥身后，远处几乎是一片漆黑。每个玻璃球下面的架子上都贴着泛黄的小标签。一些小球发出神秘的流动的光，另外一些则模糊而黑暗，就像熄灭了的灯泡。

They passed row eighty-four . . . eighty-five . . . Harry was listening hard for the slightest sound of movement, but Sirius might be gagged now, or else unconscious . . . or, said an unbidden voice inside his head, he might already be dead . . .

他们走过第84排……第85排——哈利在努力聆听最细微的动静，但是什么也听不到，可能是小天狼星的嘴巴被堵住了，也可能他已经不省人事……或者，一个令人厌恶的声音钻进他的脑海里：“可能他已经死了……”

I'd have felt it, he told himself, his heart now hammering against his Adam's apple, I'd already know . . .

如果是那样，我是可以感觉到的，哈利提醒自己说，他的心都跳到了嗓子眼儿，我会知道……

'Ninety-seven!' whispered Hermione.

“97 ！”赫敏小声说。

They stood grouped around the end of the row, gazing down the alley beside it. There was nobody there.

他们集中站在第97排的一端，目不转睛地盯着架子旁的走廊，那里没有人。

'He's right down at the end,' said Harry, whose mouth had become slightly dry. 'You can't see properly from here.'

“他就在最那边，”哈利说，他的嘴巴已经有些发干了，“站在这里，是不可能看清楚的。”

And he led them between the towering rows of glass balls, some of which glowed softly as they passed . . .

他带着大家从两排高耸的玻璃球之间穿过，他们经过的时候，有些玻璃发出微弱的亮光……

'He should be near here,' whispered Harry, convinced that every step was going to bring the ragged form of Sirius into view on the darkened floor. 'Anywhere here . . . really close . . .'

“他应该就在这附近，”哈利的声音很小，他深信每向前一步，漆黑一团的地板上就会出现小天狼星褴褛的身影，“就在这里的一个什么地方……真的很近了……”

'Harry?' said Hermione tentatively, but he did not want to respond. His mouth was very dry.

“哈利？”赫敏试着叫他，但他不想回答，他嘴里已经很干了。

'Somewhere about . . . here . . .' he said.

“这里的……某个地方……”他说。

They had reached the end of the row and emerged into more dim candlelight, There was nobody there. All was echoing, dusty silence.

他们已经来到了这排架子的另一端，暴露在更多暗淡的烛光里。这里也没有人。只有回音和满是尘埃的寂静。

'He might be . . .' Harry whispered hoarsely, peering down the next alley. 'Or maybe . . .' He hurried to look down the one beyond that.

“他可能在……”哈利用嘶哑的声音小声说，眼睛盯着旁边的过道，“或者可能……”他马上又顺着下一条过道看了过去。

'Harry?' said Hermione again.

“哈利？”赫敏又叫了一声。

'What?' he snarled.

“什么？”他有些不耐烦了。

'I . . . I don't think Sirius is here.'

“我……我想小天狼星不在这儿。”

Nobody spoke. Harry did not want to look at any of them. He felt sick. He did not understand why Sirius was not here. He had to be here. This was where he, Harry, had seen him . . .

没有人做声。哈利不想去看他们之中的任何一个人。他觉得很难受。他不明白为什么小天狼星不在这儿。而他明明该在这儿。哈利就是在这儿见到了他……

He ran up the space at the end of the rows, staring down them. Empty aisle after empty aisle flickered past. He ran the other way, back past his staring companions. There was no sign of Sirius anywhere, nor any hint of a struggle.

他朝一个方向快速跑过一排排的架子，顺着它们望去。一条又一条空荡荡的过道从他身边闪过。他的伙伴直勾勾地望着他，他又掉转方向，经过他们，朝相反的方向跑去。到处都没有小天狼星的影子，也没有打斗过的痕迹。

'Harry?' Ron called.

“哈利？”罗恩喊。

'What?'

“什么？”

He did not want to hear what Ron had to say; did not want to hear Ron tell him he had been stupid or suggest that they ought to go back to Hogwarts, but the heat was rising in his face and h; felt as though he would like to skulk down here in the darkness for a long while before facing the brightness of the Atrium above and the others' accusing stares . . .

他不想听罗恩说话，不想听罗恩说他很蠢，或者是建议他们应该回到霍格沃茨去，但是他的脸越来越火辣辣的，好像自己想在面对高高的明亮的正厅和其他责备的目光之前，偷偷地在这里的黑暗中躲藏一段时间……

'Have you seen this?' said Ron.

“你看见这个了吗？”罗恩说。

'What?' said Harry, but eagerly this time - it had to be a sign that Sirius had been there, a clue. He strode back to where they were all standing, a little way down row ninety-seven, but found nothing except Ron staring at one of the dusty glass spheres on the shelf.

“什么？”哈利问，他这次的语气很急切——一定是小天狼星曾在这里待过的痕迹或线索。其他人都站在第97排架子尽头靠向里一点的地方，他大步走到他们跟前，什么也没有发现，只是看见罗恩正在注视着架子上的一个脏兮兮的玻璃球。

'What?' Harry repeated glumly.

“什么？”他阴郁地又问了一遍。

'It's - it's got your name on,' said Ron.

“这上面——这上面有你的名字。”罗恩说。

Harry moved a little closer. Ron was pointing at one of the small glass spheres that glowed with a dull inner light, though it was very dusty and appeared not to have been touched for many years.

哈利靠近了一些，罗恩指着一个小玻璃球，它很脏，好像多年都没有被碰过似的，但里面的微光使它有些发亮。

'My name?' said Harry blankly.

“我的名字？”哈利茫然地问。

He stepped forwards. Not as tall as Ron, he had to crane his neck to read the yellowish label affixed to the shelf right beneath

他走上前，因为不如罗恩高，他不得不伸直了脖子去看贴在架子上的玻璃球下面的泛黄的标签。上面用精巧的字体标着一个大约是十六年以前的一个日期，接下来是：

the dusty glass ball. In spidery writing was written a date of some sixteen years previously, and below that:

S.P.T　to　A.P.W.B.D．　黑魔头和（？）哈利·波特

S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D.

哈利盯着它。

Dark Lord

“这是什么？”罗恩问道，“你的名字怎么会在这上面？”

and (?)Harry Potter

他看了一眼架子上的其他标签。

Harry stared at it.

“架子上没有我的名字，”他困惑地说，“也没有其他人的名字。”

'What is it?' Ron asked, sounding unnerved. 'What's your name doing down here?'

“哈利，我想你不应该碰它。”当哈利把手伸过去的时候，赫敏尖声说。

He glanced along at the other labels on that stretch of shelf.

“为什么不应该？”他说，“它与我有关，不是吗？”

'I'm not here,' he said, sounding perplexed. 'None of the rest of us are here.'

“别，哈利。”纳威突然说。哈利看了他一眼。纳威汗涔涔的圆脸在微微发亮，看上去他似乎不能再承受更多的不安和焦虑了。

'Harry, I don't think you should touch it,' said Hermione sharply, as he stretched out his hand.

“我的名字写在上面。”哈利说。

'Why not?' he said. 'It's something to do with me, isn't it?'

他心想管他呢，豁出去了，于是他握住了那个肮脏的小球。他原以为它是冰凉的，但是正相反，它让人觉得它好像已经在阳光下放了几个小时，好像被它自身的光芒温暖着。哈利期待着，甚至是希望有什么戏剧性的事情会发生，希望有一些令人兴奋的东西可以令他们这漫长且危机四伏的旅行最终有些价值，他把这个玻璃球从架子上取了下来，瞪眼看着它。

'Don't, Harry,' said Neville suddenly. Harry looked at him. Neville's round face was shining slightly with sweat. He looked as though he could not take much more suspense.

没有任何事情发生。另外五个人走过来站在他的周围，他用手拂去玻璃球表面厚厚的尘土。他们目不转睛地盯着他手中的球。

'It's got my name on,' said Harry.

然后，在他们的右后方，响起一个懒洋洋的声音。

And feeling slightly reckless, he closed his fingers around the dusty ball's surface. He had expected it to feel cold, but it did not. On the contrary, it felt as though it had been lying in the sun for hours, as though the glow of light within was warming it. Expecting, even hoping, that something dramatic was going to happen, something exciting that might make their long and dangerous journey worth while after all, Harry lifted the glass ball down from its shelf and stared at it.

“很好，波特，现在慢慢转过身来，把它给我。”

Nothing whatsoever happened. The others moved in closer around Harry, gazing at the orb as he brushed it free of the clogging dust.

And then, from right behind them, a drawling voice spoke.

'Very good, Potter. Now turn around, nice and slowly, and give that to me.'