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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

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CHAPTER SIX - The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black

第六章　高贵的最古老的布莱克家族

Mrs Weasley followed them upstairs looking grim.

韦斯莱夫人跟着他们上楼，脸板得叫人害怕。

'I want you all to go straight to bed, no talking,' she said as they reached the first landing, 'we've got a busy clay tomorrow. I expect Ginny's asleep,' she added to Hermione, 'so try not to wake her up.'

“我希望你们每个人立刻上床睡觉，不许说话。”他们走到二楼的楼梯平台时，她说道，“明天我们有许多事情要做。我想金妮已经睡着了。”她又对赫敏说：“尽量不要把她吵醒。”

'Asleep, yeah, right,' said Fred in an undertone, after Hermione bade them goodnight and they were climbing to the next floor. 'If Ginny's not lying awake waiting for Hermione to tell her everything they said downstairs then I'm a Flobberworm . . .'

“睡着了，是啊，没错。”弗雷德压低声音说，这时赫敏已经向他们道了晚安，他们正继续往楼上走去。“金妮肯定醒着，等待赫敏把他们在楼下说的话原原本本地告诉她，如果不是这样，我就是一只弗洛伯毛虫——”

'All right, Ron, Harry,' said Mrs Weasley on the second landing, pointing them into their bedroom. 'Off to bed with you.'

“好了，罗恩，哈利，”韦斯莱夫人在三楼的楼梯平台上说，看着他们走进卧室，“快上床睡觉吧。”

"Night,' Harry and Ron said to the twins.

“晚安。”哈利和罗恩对两个双胞胎说。

'Sleep tight,' said Fred, winking.

“睡个好觉。”弗雷德眨了眨眼睛说。

Mrs Weasley closed the door behind Harry with a sharp snap. The bedroom looked, if anything, even danker and gloomier than it had on first sight. The blank picture on the wall was now breathing very slowly and deeply, as though its invisible occupant was asleep. Harry put on his pyjamas, took off his glasses and climbed into his chilly bed while Ron threw Owl Treats up on top of the wardrobe to pacify Hedwig and Pigwidgeon, who were clattering around and rustling their wings restlessly.

韦斯莱夫人在哈利身后重重地把门关上了。卧室看上去要说有什么不一样的话，倒是比第一次见到时更昏暗、更阴森了。墙上那幅空白油画此刻缓缓地、一起一伏地呼吸着，似乎住在里头的那个看不见的人已经进入了梦乡。哈利换上睡衣，摘下眼镜，爬到冰凉的床上；罗恩往衣柜顶上扔了一些猫头鹰食，安抚一下海德薇和小猪，它们不停地咂着嘴，焦躁地扑扇着翅膀。

'We can't let them out to hunt every night,' Ron explained as he pulled on his maroon pyjamas. 'Dumbledore doesn't want too many owls swooping around the square, thinks it'll look suspicious. Oh yeah . . . I forgot . . .'

“我们不能每天晚上放它们出去捕食。”罗恩一边穿上他的褐紫红色睡衣，一边解释说，“邓布利多不想让太多的猫头鹰在广场上飞来飞去，认为那样会显得很可疑。哦，对了——我忘记了——”

He crossed to the door and bolted it.

他走过去把门闩上了。

'What're you doing that for?'

“为什么要这么做？”

'Kreacher,' said Ron as he turned off the light. 'First night I was here he came wandering in at three in the morning. Trust me, you don't want to wake up and find him prowling around your room. Anyway . . .' he got into his bed, settled down under the co\ers then turned to look at Harry in the darkness; Harry could see his outline by the moonlight filtering in through the grimy window, 'what d'you reckon?'

“克利切，”罗恩一边关灯一边说道，“我来这里的第一天夜里，他凌晨三点钟摸进了我的房间。相信我，你总不愿意醒过来就看见他在你的房间里鬼鬼祟祟地转悠吧。不管怎么说——”他爬到床上，钻进被窝，转过脸在黑暗中望着哈利。哈利就着从肮脏的窗户中透进来的月光，勉强能够分辨出罗恩的轮廓。“你是怎么想的？”

Harry didn't need to ask what Ron meant.

哈利不需要询问罗恩的问话是什么意思。

'Well, they didn't tell us much we couldn't have guessed, did they?' he said, thinking of all that had been said downstairs. 'I mean, all they've really said is that the Order's trying to stop pec pie joining Vol-'

“哦，他们告诉我们的情况，我们基本上都能猜出来，是不是？”他说，想着刚才他们在楼下说过的所有那些话，“我的意思是，实际上他们只说了一点，就是凤凰社正在竭力阻止人们加入伏——”

There was a sharp intake of breath from Ron. -demon,' said Harry firmly. 'When are you going to start using his name? Sirius and Lupin do.'

罗恩呼地倒抽了一口冷气。

Ron ignored this last comment.

“——地魔，”哈利坚决地说，“你什么时候才能对他直呼其名呢？小天狼星和卢平就能做到。”

'Yeah, you're right,' he said, 'we already knew nearly everything they told us, from using the Extendable Ears. The only new bit was - '

罗恩假装没听见最后这句话。

Crack.

“是啊，你说得对，”他说，“他们告诉我们的事情，我们使用伸缩耳差不多都已经知道了。惟一的新消息就是——”

'OUCH!'

砰！“哎哟！”

'Keep your voice down, Ron, or Mum'll be back up here.'

“你声音小点儿，罗恩，不然妈妈又该跑回来了。”

'You two just Apparated on my knees!'

“你们俩幻影移形，正好落在我的膝盖上了！”

'Yeah, well, it's harder in the dark.'

“是啊，没办法，摸着黑总是不太容易。”

Harry saw the blurred outlines of Fred and George leaping down from Ron's bed. There was a groan of bedsprings and Harry's mattress descended a few inches as George sat down near his feet.

哈利看见弗雷德和乔治的模糊身影从罗恩的床上跳了下来。乔治一屁股坐在哈利脚边，哈利床垫的弹簧发出一阵呻吟，床垫往下陷了几英寸。

'So, got there yet?' said George eagerly.

“怎么样，明白了吧？”乔治急切地问。

The weapon Sirius mentioned?' said Harry.

“小天狼星提到的那件武器？”哈利说。

'Let slip, more like,' said Fred with relish, now sitting next to Ron. 'We didn't hear about that on the old Extendables, did we?'

“估计是不小心说漏了嘴，”弗雷德兴趣很浓地说，他已坐在了罗恩身边，“我们以前用伸缩耳可没听到这一点，是不是？”

'What d'you reckon it is?' said Harry.

“你们想那会是什么呢？”哈利问。

'Could be anything,' said Fred.

“什么都有可能。”弗雷德说。

'But there can't be anything worse than the Avada Kedavra Curse, can there?' said Ron. 'What's worse than death?'

“但是不可能有比阿瓦达索命咒还厉害的东西了，是不是？”罗恩说，“还有什么比死亡更可怕呢？”

'Maybe it's something that can kill loads of people at once,' suggested George.

“也许是一种可以一下子杀死好多人的东西。”乔治猜测道。

'Maybe it's some particularly painful way of killing people,' said Ron learfully.

“也许是一种特别痛苦的杀人办法。”罗恩恐惧地说。

'He's got the Cruciatus Curse for causing pain,' said Harry, 'he doesn't need anything more efficient than that.'

“他已经有了可以让人痛苦的钻心咒，”哈利说，“他不再需要比那个更加有效的东西。”

There was a pause and Harry knew that the others, like him, were wondering what horrors this weapon could perpetrate.

一阵沉默，哈利知道其他人像他一样，都在猜想这件秘密武器能给人带来怎样长久的恐惧。

'So who d'you think's got it now?' asked George.

“那么你们说，这武器如今在谁手里昵？”乔治问。

'I hope it's our side,' said Ron, sounding slightly nervous.

“我希望在我们这边。”罗恩说，声音里微微透着紧张。

'If it is, Dumbledore's probably keeping it,' said Fred.

“如果是这样，准是由邓布利多保管着。”弗雷德说。

'Where?' said Ron quickly. 'Hogwarts?'

“在哪儿？”罗恩立刻问道，“在霍格沃茨？”

'Bet it is!' said George. That's where he hid the Philosopher's Stone.'

“肯定没错！”乔治说，“当年他就把魔法石藏在了那儿。”

'A weapons going to be a lot bigger than the Stone, though!' said Ron.

“可是，一件武器肯定要比魔法石大得多呀！”罗恩说。

'Not necessarily,' said Fred.

“不一定。”弗雷德说。

'Yeah, size is no guarantee of power,' said George. 'Look at Ginny'

“是啊，威力大小不在于个头。”乔治说，“看看金妮吧。”

'What d'you mean?' said Harry.

“你这是什么意思？”哈利说。

'You've never been on the receiving end of one of her Bat-Bogey Hexes, have you?'

“你从来没有领教过她的蝙蝠精魔咒吧，是不是？”

'Shhh!' said Fred, half-rising from the bed. 'Listen!'

“嘘！”弗雷德说着从床上欠起身子，“听！”他们屏住呼吸。

They fell silent. Footsteps were coming up the stairs.

有脚步声从楼梯上传来。

'Mum,' said George and without further ado there was a loud crack and Harry felt the weight vanish from the end of his bed. A few seconds later, they heard the floorboard creak outside their door; Mrs Weasley was plainly listening to check whether or not they were talking.

“妈妈。”乔治说，说时迟那时快，随着啪的一声爆响，哈利觉得压在他床上的重量突然消失了。

Hedwig and Pigwidgeon hooted dolefully. The floorboard creaked again and they heard her heading upstairs to check on Fred and George.

几秒钟后，他们听见门外的地板吱吱嘎嘎地响了起来，韦斯莱夫人显然在听他们是不是还在说话。海德薇和小猪闷闷不乐地叫着。地板又吱吱嘎嘎地响了，他们听见她在继续往楼上走，检查弗雷德和乔治去了。

'She doesn't trust us at all, you know,' said Ron regretfully.

“你看，她根本就不相信我们。”罗恩懊丧地说。

Harry was sure he would not be able to fall asleep; the evening had been so packed with things to think about that he fully expected to lie awake for hours mulling it all over. He wanted to continue talking to Ron, but Mrs Weasley was now creaking back downstairs again, and once she had gone he distinctly heard others making their way upstairs . . . in fact, many-legged creatures were cantering softly up and down outside the bedroom door, and Hagrid the Care of Magical Creatures teacher was saying, 'Beauties, aren'ti they, eh, Harry? We'll be studyin' weapons this term . . .' and Harry saw hat the creatures had cannons for heads and were wheeling to ace him . . . he ducked . . .

哈利肯定自己是睡不着了。这一晚上发生的事情太多了，他需要好好想想，他满心希望自己可以躺在床上，翻来覆去地寻思几个小时。他很想继续跟罗恩说说话，但韦斯莱夫人又吱吱嘎嘎地走下楼来了。她刚一走远，哈利又清清楚楚地听见其他人在往楼梯上走动——实际上，那是一些多腿的动物在卧室门外悄没声儿地跑来跑去，保护神奇生物课的老师海格在说：“它们多漂亮啊，是不是，哈利？我们这学期要学习武器——”

The next thing he knew, he was curled into a warm ball under his bedclothes and George's loud voice was filling the room.

哈利突然看见那些动物的脑袋变成了一门门大炮，正转过来对准了他——他闪身躲藏——接下来，他发现自己在被窝里蜷缩成一个温暖的球，乔治响亮的声音在房间里回荡。

'Mum says get up, your breakfast is in the kitchen and then she needs you in the drawing room, there are loads more Doxys than she thought and she's found a nest of dead Puffskeins under the sofa.'

“妈妈说该起床了，你们的早饭在厨房里，然后她要你们都到客厅去，那里的狐猸子比她原来想的还要多得多，她还在沙发下面发现了一窝死蒲绒绒①。”

Half an hour later Harry and Ron, who had dressed and breakfasted quickly, entered the drawing room, a long, high-ceilinged room on the first floor with olive green walls covered in dirty .ap-estries. The carpet exhaled little clouds of dust every time someone put their foot on it and the long, moss green velvet curtains were buzzing as though swarming with invisible bees. It was aroand these that Mrs Weasley, Hermione, Ginny, Fred and George were grouped, all looking rather peculiar as they had each tied a cloth over their nose and mouth. Each of them was also holding a large bottle of black liquid with a nozzle at the end

半小时后，哈利和罗恩三下五除二地穿好衣服，吃过早饭，来到了客厅。这是二楼的一个长长的、天花板很高的房问，橄榄绿色的墙壁上挂着肮脏的挂毯。每次有人把脚踩在地毯上，就会扬起一小股灰尘，长长的、黄绿色的天鹅绒窗帘嗡嗡作响，好像里面飞着许多看不见的蜜蜂。韦斯莱夫人、赫敏、金妮、弗雷德和乔治正围在窗帘前面，每人脸上都围着一块布，掩住了鼻子和嘴巴，样子显得特别滑稽。他们每个人手里都拿着一大瓶黑色的液体，瓶口有一个喷嘴。

'Cover your faces and take a spray,' Mrs Weasley said to Harry and Ron the moment she saw them, pointing to two more boitles of black liquid standing on a spindle-legged table. 'It's Doxycide. I've never seen an infestation this bad - what that house-elf's Veen doing for the last ten years - '

“把脸蒙住，拿一瓶喷雾剂，”韦斯莱夫人一看见哈利和罗恩就说，一边指着一张细长腿桌子上的两瓶黑色液体，“这是狐猸子灭剂。我从没有见过害虫这样泛滥成灾的——那个家养小精灵这十年来都做什么了——”

Hermione's face was half concealed by a tea towel but Harry distinctly saw her throw a reproachful look at Mrs Weasley.

赫敏的脸被一块茶巾遮去了一半，但哈利清清楚楚地看见她朝韦斯莱夫人投去了不满的一瞥。“克利切已经很老了，他大概不能做——”

'Kreachers really old, he probably couldn't manage - '

“克利切只要想做，他能做的事准会使你大吃一惊，赫敏。”小天狼星说，他刚刚走进房间，手里拎着一只血迹斑斑的口袋，里面装的像是死耗子。“我刚才在喂巴克比克，”看到哈利脸上询问的神色，他解释道，“我把它关在了楼上我母亲的卧室里。不管怎么说——这张写字台——”

'You'd be surprised what Kreacher can manage when he wnnts to, Hermione,' said Sirius, who had just entered the room carrying a bloodstained bag of what appeared to be dead rats. 'I've just been feeding Buckbeak,' he added, in reply to Harry's enquiring look. 'I keep him upstairs in my mother's bedroom. Anyway . . . this writing desk . . .'

他把那袋死耗子扔进了一张扶手椅，俯身查看那个锁着的柜子，哈利这才第一次注意到那柜子在微微颤动。

He dropped the bag of rats into an armchair, then bent over to examine the locked cabinet which, Harry now noticed for the first time, was shaking slightly.

“没错，莫丽，我可以肯定这是一个博格特，”小天狼星从钥匙孔里往里瞅着说道，“但或许我们最好还是先让疯眼汉给它变变形再把它放出来——它认识我母亲，可能是个厉害得多的家伙。”

'Well, Molly, I'm pretty sure this is a Boggart,' said Sirius, peering through the keyhole, 'but perhaps we ought to let Mad-Eye have a shifty at it before we let it out - knowing my mother, it could be something much worse.'

“你说得对，小天狼星。”韦斯莱夫人说。

'Right you are, Sirius,' said Mrs Weasley.

两人说话都小心翼翼，客客气气，哈利明白他们俩都还没有忘记前一天晚上的争吵。楼下传来丁丁当当刺耳的门铃声，紧接着是昨天晚上唐克斯撞翻伞架时触发的那种凄厉的尖叫哀号。

They were both speaking in carefully light, polite voices that told Harry quite plainly that neither had forgotten their disagreement of the night before.

“我告诉他们多少次了，不要摁门铃！”小天狼星恼火地说，匆匆离开了房间。他们听见他脚步声很重地跑下楼去，而布莱克夫人的尖叫声又一次在整个房子里回荡起来。

A loud, clanging bell sounded from downstairs, followed at once by the cacophony of screams and wails that had been triggered the previous night by Tonks knocking over the umbrella stand.

接下来，他发现自己在被窝里蜷缩成一个温暖的球，乔治响亮的声音在房间里回荡。

'I keep telling them not to ring the doorbell!' said Sirius exasperatedly, hurrying out of the room. They heard him thundering clown the stairs as Mrs Black's screeches echoed up through the house once more:

“伤风败俗的家伙，肮脏的杂种，家族的败类，龌龊的孽子……”

'Stains of dishonour, filthy half-breeds, blood traitors, children of flith . . .'

“劳驾你把门关上，哈利。”韦斯莱夫人说。

'Close the door, please, Harry,' said Mrs Weasley.

哈利大着胆子，尽量拖延关上客厅房门的时间。他想听听楼下的动静。小天狼星显然已经把帷幔拉上盖住了他母亲的肖像，因为老太太不再尖叫了。哈利听见小天狼星走过门厅，然后前门上的链条一阵哗啦啦作响，一个低沉的声音说话了，哈利听出来那是金斯莱·沙克尔。

Harry took as much time as he dared to close the drawing-room door; he wanted to listen to what was going on downstairs. Sirius had obviously managed to shut the curtains over his mothers portrait because she had stopped screaming. He heard Sirius walking down the hall, then the clattering of the chain on the front door, and then a deep voice he recognised as Kingsley Shacklebolt's saying, 'Hestia's just relieved me, so she's got Moody's Cloak now, thought I'd leave a report for Dumbledore . . .'

“海丝佳刚把我替下，现在她穿上了穆迪的斗篷，不过我要给邓布利多留一份报告……”

Feeling Mrs Weasley's eyes on the back of his head, Harry regretfully closed the drawing-room door and rejoined the Doxy party.

哈利感觉到韦斯莱夫人的眼睛在盯着他的后脑勺，便只好遗憾地关上客厅的门，重新加入了消灭狐猸子的行列。

Mrs Weasley was bending over to check the page on Doxys in Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests, which was lying open on the sofa.

韦斯莱夫人俯下身，查看着摊放在沙发上的《吉德罗·洛哈特教你清除家庭害虫》里关于灭狐猸子的那一页。

'Right, you lot, you need to be careful, because Doxys bite and their teeth are poisonous. I've got a bottle of antidote here, but I'd rather nobody needed it.'

“听着，你们大家，你们必须格外留神，狐猸子的牙齿是有毒的，被它们叮咬之后会中毒。我这里有一瓶解毒剂，但我情愿没有人需要它。”

She straightened up, positioned herself squarely in front of the curtains and beckoned them all forward.

她直起身，在窗帘前面摆开架势，示意他们都过去。

'When I say the word, start spraying immediately,' she said. They'll come flying out at us, I expect, but it says on the sprays one good squirt will paralyse them. When they're immobilized, just throw them in this bucket.'

“我一发口令，就立刻开始喷。”她说，“我想它们会飞出来攻击我们，但喷雾剂上说，只要足足地喷一下，就能叫它们瘫痪。等它们不能动弹了，就把它们扔进这只桶里。”

She stepped carefully out of their line of fire, and raised her own spray.

她小心地走出大家的喷射范围，举起她自己的喷雾剂。

'All right - squirt!'

“预备——喷！”

Harry had been spraying only a few seconds when a fully-grown Doxy came soaring out of a fold in the material, shiny beetle-like wings whirring, tiny needle-sharp teeth bared, its fairy-like body covered with thick black hair and its four tiny fists clenched with fury. Harry caught it full in the face with a blast of Doxycide. It froze in midair and fell, with a surprisingly loud thunk, on to the worn carpet below. Harry picked it up and threw it in the bucket.

哈利刚喷了几秒钟，就有一只成年的狐猸子从窗帘的褶皱里飞了出来，甲虫般亮晶晶的翅膀嗡嗡扇动着，尖针般的小牙齿露在外面，小巧玲珑的身体上布满了浓密的黑毛，四只小拳头愤怒地攥得紧紧的。哈利用狐猸子灭剂将它喷了个正着。它僵在半空中不动了，然后掉在下面满是虫眼的地毯上，当的一声，响得出奇。哈利把它捡起来丢进了桶里。

'Fred, what are you doing?' said Mrs Weasley sharply. 'Spray that at once and throw it away!'

“弗雷德，你在做什么呢？”韦斯莱夫人严厉地问，“快喷它一下，然后扔掉！”

Harry looked round. Fred was holding a struggling Doxy between his forefinger and thumb.

哈利转过头，看见弗雷德正用大拇指和食指捏住一只不断挣扎的狐猸子。

'Right-o,' Fred said brightly, spraying the Doxy quickly in the face so that it fainted, but the moment Mrs Weasley's back was turned he pocketed it with a wink.

“好——嘞。”弗雷德欢快地说，迅速地朝那只狐猸子喷了一下，虫子昏了过去，但韦斯莱夫人刚一转身，弗雷德就挤挤眼睛，把虫子装进了口袋。

'We want to experiment with Doxy venom for our Skiving Snackboxes,' George told Harry under his breath.

“我们想用狐猸子的毒液做实验，研制我们的速效逃课糖。”乔治压低声音对哈利说。

Deftly spraying two Doxys at once as they soared straight for his nose, Harry moved closer to George and muttered out of the corner of his mouth, 'What are Skiving Snackboxes?'

哈利敏捷地同时喷中了两只迎面飞来的狐猸子，凑到乔治身边，几乎不动嘴唇地低声问：“什么是速效逃课糖？”

'Range of sweets to make you ill,' George whispered, keeping a wary eye on Mrs Weasley's back. 'Not seriously ill, mind, just ill enough to get you out of a class when you feel like it. Fred and I have been developing them this summer. They're double-ended, colour-coded chews. If you eat the orange half of the Puking Pastilles, you throw up. Moment you've been rushed out of the lesson for the hospital wing, you swallow the purple half - '

“各种各样让你犯病的糖果，”乔治小声说，一边警惕地留意着韦斯莱夫人的背影，“记住，不是犯重病，而是刚好在你不想上课的时候能让你离开课堂。弗雷德和我这个夏天一直在研制它们。是一种双色口香糖，一头是橘黄色的，另一头是紫色的。如果你吃下这种吐吐糖那橘黄色的一半，你就会呕吐。等你冲出教室到医院去时，你再吞下那紫色的一半——”

' " - which restores you to full fitness, enabling you to pursue the leisure activity of your own choice during an hour that would otherwise have been devoted to unprofitable boredom." That's what we're putting in the adverts, anyway,' whispered Fred, who had edged over out of Mrs Weasley's line of vision and was now sweeping a few stray Doxys from the floor and adding them to his pocket. 'But they still need a bit of work. At the moment our testers are having a bit of trouble stopping themselves puking long enough to swallow the purple end.'

“‘——它又让你变得活蹦乱跳，使你能够在那一个小时里进行你喜欢的休闲活动，不然那一小时肯定是枯燥乏味、无利可图的。’反正我们的广告词就是这么说的，”他侧着身子移到了韦斯莱夫人看不见的地方，把掉在地上的几只狐猸子划拉到一起，装进了口袋，“但是还需要再做一些工作。目前，我们的试验者吐起来没完没了，无法歇口气吞下紫色的那一半。”

Testers?'

“试验者？”

'Us,' said Fred. 'We take it in turns. George did the Fainting Fancies - we both tried the Nosebleed Nougat - '

“我们，”弗雷德说，“我们轮流试验。弗雷德试验昏迷花糖——我们俩还共同试验鼻血牛轧糖——”

'Mum thought we'd been duelling,' said George.

“妈妈还以为我们在决斗呢。”乔洽说。

'Joke shop still on, then?' Harry muttered, pretending to be adjusting the nozzle on his spray.

“那么，笑话商店还开着吧？”哈利小声问，一边假装调整喷雾器的喷嘴。

'Well, we haven't had a chance to get premises yet,' said Fred, dropping his voice even lower as Mrs Weasley mopped her brow with her scarf before returning to the attack, 'so we're running it as a mail-order service at the moment. We put advertisements in the Daily Prophet last week.'

“唉，我们还没有机会去找房子呢，”弗雷德说，把声音压得更低了，这时韦斯莱夫人用围巾擦了擦额头上的汗，又返身投入战斗，“所以我们目前还只是办理邮购业务。上个星期我们在《预言家日报》上登了广告。”

'All thanks to you, mate,' said George. 'But don't worry . . . Mum hasn't got a clue. She won't read the Daily Prophet any more, 'cause of it telling lies about you and Dumbledore.'

“还得感谢你呢，哥们儿。”乔治说，“不用担心——妈妈什么也不知道。她再也不肯看《预言家日报》了，因为报上尽给你和邓布利多造谣。”

Harry grinned. He had forced the Weasley twins to take the thousand Galleons prize money he had won in the Triwizard Tournament to help them realise their ambition to open a joke shop, but he was still glad to know that his part in furthering their plans was unknown to Mrs Weasley. She did not think running a joke shop was a suitable career for two of her sons.

哈利咧嘴笑了。他曾经硬要韦斯莱家的这对双胞胎收下他在三强争霸赛中得到的一千加隆，以帮助他们实现开一个笑话商店的雄心壮志，不过让他仍然感到很欣慰的是韦斯莱夫人不知道他资助了双胞胎的计划。韦斯莱夫人认为，对她的两个儿子来说，开一家笑话商店不是一个适合的职业。

The de-Doxying of the curtains took most of the morning. It was past midday when Mrs Weasley finally removed her protective scarf, sank into a sagging armchair and sprang up again with a cry of disgust, having sat on the bag of dead rats. The curtains were no longer buzzing; they hung limp and damp from the intensive spraying. At the foot of them unconscious Doxys lay crammed in the bucket beside a bowl of their black eggs, at which Crook-shanks was now sniffing and Fred and George were shooting covetous looks.

消灭窗帘里的狐猸子花了几乎一上午的时间。一直到过了中午，韦斯莱夫人才摘掉防护的围巾，一屁股坐进一张中间凹陷的扶手椅里，紧接着又厌恶地大叫一声，跳了起来——她坐在那一袋死耗子上了。窗帘不再发出嗡嗡的响声了，它们软绵绵地垂着，因为喷了太多的药水而湿漉漉的。在它们的下面，失去知觉的狐猸子密密麻麻地躺在桶里，旁边一只碗里是它们黑色的卵，克鲁克山用鼻子嗅来嗅去，弗雷德和乔治眼热地朝它们望着。

'I think we'll tackle (hose after lunch.' Mrs Weasley pointed at the dusty glass-fronted cabinets standing on either side of the mantelpiece. They were crammed with an odd assortment of objects: a selection of rusty daggers, claws, a coiled snakeskin, a number of tarnished silver boxes inscribed with languages Harry could lot understand and, least pleasant of all, an ornate crystal bottle with a large opal set into the stopper, full of what Harry was quite sure was blood.

“我想，我们吃过午饭后再来对付那些吧。”韦斯莱夫人指着壁炉架两边布满灰尘的玻璃门柜子，那里面塞满了各种各样的古怪玩意儿：一批锈迹斑斑的短剑、动物的脚爪，一条盘起来的蛇皮，还有一大堆颜色暗淡发乌的银盒子，上面刻着哈利看不懂的文字，最让人不喜欢的是一个装饰用的水晶瓶，塞子上嵌着一块很大的蛋白石，瓶子里盛满了哈利肯定是血的东西。

The clanging doorbell rang again. Everyone looked at Mrs Weasley

门铃又丁丁当当地响了起来。大伙儿都望着韦斯莱夫人。“待在这儿，”她不容置疑地说，一边一把抓起那袋死耗子，下面又传来了布莱克夫人凄厉刺耳的尖叫声，“我会带一些三明治上来。”

'Stay here,' she said firmly, snatching up the bag of rats as Mrs Blacks screeches started up again from down below. 'I'll bring up some sandwiches.'

她走出房间，回手把门小心地关上了。立刻，大家都冲到窗口，朝下面的前门台阶望去。他们看见是一个乱蓬蓬的姜黄色头顶，还有一大摞东倒西歪、眼看就要倒下来的坩埚。

She left the room, closing the door carefully behind her. At once, everyone dashed over to the window to look down on the doorstep. They could see the top of an unkempt gingery head and a suck of precariously balanced cauldrons.

“蒙顿格斯！”赫敏说，“他把那么多坩埚带来做什么？”

'Mundungus!' said Hermione. 'What's he brought all those cauldrons for?'

“大概想找个安全的地方藏起来吧。”哈利说道，“他本该跟踪我的那天晚上，去办的不就是这件事吗？抢购来路不明的坩埚？”

'Probably looking for a safe place to keep them,' said Harry. 'Isn't that what he was doing the night he was supposed to be tailing me? Picking up dodgy cauldrons?'

“没错，你说得对！”弗雷德说，这时前门打开了，蒙顿格斯费力地搬着那些坩埚进了门，从他们的视野中消失了。“天哪，妈妈肯定不高兴——”

'Yeah, you're right!' said Fred, as the front door opened; Mundungus heaved his cauldrons through it and disappeared from view. 'Blimey, Mum won't like that . . .'

他和乔治走过去站在房门旁，仔细地听着。布莱克夫人的叫声已经停止了。

He and George crossed to the door and stood beside it, listening closely. Mrs Black's screaming had stopped.

“蒙顿格斯在跟小天狼星和金斯莱说话，”弗雷德小声说，同时皱紧眉头专心地听着，“听不太清楚——你说我们可不可以冒险用一次伸缩耳？”

'Mundungus is talking to Sirius and Kingsley,' Fred muttered, frowning with concentration. 'Can't hear properly . . . d'you reckon we can risk the Extendable Ears?'

“值得一试，”乔治说，“我可以悄悄上楼拿一副——”

'Might be worth it,' said George. 'I could sneak upstairs and get a pair - '

可是就在这个时候，楼下传来爆炸般的声响，伸缩耳变得完全没有必要了。每个人都能清清楚楚地听见韦斯莱夫人扯足嗓子的叫嚷。

But at that precise moment there was an explosion of sound from downstairs that rendered Extendable Ears quite unnecessary. All of them could hear exactly what Mrs Weasley was shouting at the top of her voice.

“我们这里不是窝藏赃物的地方！”

'WE ARE NOT RUNNING A HIDEOUT FOR STOLEN GOODS!'

“我真喜欢听妈妈冲着别人嚷嚷，”弗雷德脸上带着满足的微笑说道，他把门打开了一两英寸，好让韦斯莱夫人的声音更清楚地传进屋里，“换换口味真不赖。”

'I love hearing Mum shouting at someone else,' said Fred, with a satisfied smile on his face as he opened the door an inch or so to allow Mrs Weasley's voice to permeate the room better, 'it makes such a nice change.'

“——完全不负责任，好像我们的烦心事儿还不够多似的，你还要把这一大堆偷来的坩埚拖进屋子——”

' - COMPLETELY IRRESPONSIBLE, AS IF WE HAVEN'T GOT ENOUGH TO WORRY ABOUT WITHOUT YOU DRAGGING STOLEN CAULDRONS INTO THE HOUSE - '

“那些傻瓜怎么会让她由着性子发火呢。”乔治摇摇头说，“必须趁早转移她的注意力，不然她的火气会越来越大，接连几小时嚷嚷个没完没了。哈利，自从蒙顿格斯在应该跟踪你的时候偷偷溜走之后，妈妈就一直盼着狠狠地教训他一顿——哦，小天狼星的妈妈又叫起来了。”

The idiots are letting her get into her stride,' said George, shaking his head. 'You've got to head her off early otherwise she builds up a head of steam and goes on for hours. And she's been dying to have a go at Mundungus ever since he sneaked off when he was supposed to be following you, Harry - and there goes Sirius's mum again.'

韦斯莱夫人的声音几乎被淹没在了门厅里那些肖像发出的一片尖厉刺耳的叫声中。

Mrs Weasley's voice was lost amid fresh shrieks and screams from the portraits in the hall.

乔治想关上房门，把声音挡在外面，但没等他来得及这么做，一个家养小精灵侧身闪了进来。

George made to shut the door to drown the noise, but before he could do so, a house-elf edged into the room.

除了腰上围了一条脏兮兮的破布，就像热带国家男子用来遮体的腰布，他全身几乎一丝不挂。他的模样很老了，皮肤似乎比他的身体实际需要的多出了好几倍，虽然他的脑袋像所有家养小精灵一样光秃秃的，但那两只蝙蝠般的大耳朵里却长出了一大堆白毛。他两眼充血，水汪汪灰蒙蒙的，肉乎乎的鼻子很大，简直像猪的鼻子一样。

Except for the filthy rag tied like a loincloth around its middle, it was completely naked. It looked very old. Its skin seemed to be several times too big for it and, though it was bald like all house-elves, there was a quantity of white hair growing out of its large, batlike ears. Its eyes were a bloodshot and watery grey and its fleshy nose was large and rather snoutlike.

小精灵根本没有注意哈利和其他人。他就像看不见他们似的，弓着背，拖着脚，慢慢地、一步一步地朝房问那头走去，一边用牛蛙般沙哑、低沉的声音不停地轻声念叨着。

The elf took absolutely no notice of Harry and the rest. Acting as though it could not see them, it shuffled hunchbacked, slowly and doggedly, towards the far end of the room, all the while muttering under its breath in a hoarse, deep voice like a bullfrog's.

“——闻着就像阴沟和罪犯的气味。她也好不到哪儿去，讨厌的老败家子，领着她的小崽子们糟蹋我女主人的房子。哦，我可怜的女主人啊，如果她地下有知，如果她知道他们把什么样的渣滓弄进了她的家门，她会对老克利切说些什么呢。哦，真丢人啊，泥巴种、狼人、骗子和小偷，可怜的老克利切，他能怎么办呢——”

'. . . smells like a drain and a criminal to boot, but she's no better, nasty old blood traitor with her brats messing up my mistress's house, oh, my poor mistress, if she knew, if she knew the scum they've let into her house, what would she say to old Kreacher, oh, the shame of it, Mudbloods and werewolves and traitors and thieves, poor old Kreacher, what can he do . . .'

“你好，克利切。”弗雷德声音很大地说，一边重重地把门关上了。

'Hello, Kreacher,' said Fred very loudly, closing the door with a snap.

家养小精灵顿时僵住了，嘴里不再念念有词，而是做出非常明显但很令人怀疑的吃惊样子。

The house-elf froze in his tracks, stopped muttering, and gave a very pronounced and very unconvincing start of surprise.

“克利切刚才没有看见年轻的主人。”他说，转身朝弗雷德鞠了一躬。他的脸仍然对着地毯，又用别人完全能够听见的声音说道：“是老败类的讨厌的小崽子。”

'Kreacher did not see young master,' he said, turning around and bowing to Fred. Still lacing the carpet, he added, perfectly audibly, 'Nasty little brat of a blood traitor it is.'

“对不起，”乔治说，“最后那句话我没听清。”

'Sorry?' said George. 'Didn't catch that last bit.'

“克利切什么也没说，”小精灵又朝乔治鞠了一躬，然后用虽然很轻、但清清楚楚的声音说，“这是他的双胞胎兄弟，一对古怪的小野崽子。”

'Kreacher said nothing,' said the elf, with a second box to George, adding in a clear undertone, 'and there its twin, unnataral little beasts they are.'

哈利不知道要不要放声大笑。小精灵直起身来，用恶毒的目光望了望他们大家，显然相信他们都听不见他的话，因为他又继续念叨开了。

Harry didn't know whether to laugh or not. The elf straightened up, eyeing them all malevolently, and apparently convinced that they could not hear him as he continued to mutter.

“——还有那个泥巴种，大大咧咧、肆无忌惮地站在那里，如果我的女主人知道，哦，她该哭得多么伤心啊，这里又新来了一个男孩，克利切不知道他叫什么名字。他在这里做什么呢？克利切不知道——”

'. . . and there's the Mudblood, standing there bold as brass, oh if my mistress knew, oh, how she'd cry, and there's a new boy, Kreacher doesn't know his name. What is he doing here? Kreacher doesn't know . . ."

“克利切，这是哈利，”赫敏怯生生地说，“哈利波特。”

This is Harry, Kreacher,' said Hermione tentatively. 'Harry Potter.'

克利切那两只浅色的眼睛突然间睁大了，嘴里念叨得比以前更快更充满火气了。

Kreacher's pale eyes widened and he muttered faster and more furiously than ever.

“那泥巴种居然跟克利切说话，就好像她是我的朋友，如果克利切的女主人看见他跟这样的人在一起，哦，她会说什么呢？”

The Mudblood is talking to Kreacher as though she is my friend, if Kreacher's mistress saw him in such company, oh, what would she say - '

“不许叫她泥巴种！”罗恩和金妮非常生气地同时说道。

'Don't call her a Mudblood!' said Ron and Ginny together, very angrily.

“没关系，”赫敏小声说，“他脑子不正常，不知道自己在说——”

'It doesn't matter,' Hermione whispered, 'he's not in his tight mind, he doesn't know what he's - '

“你别自欺欺人了，赫敏，他很清楚自己在说什么。”弗雷德一边说一边非常厌恶地瞪着克利切。

'Don't kid yourself, Hermione, he knows exactly what he's saying,' said Fred, eyeing Kreacher with great dislike.

克利切嘴里仍然念念有词，眼睛望着哈利。

Kreacher was still muttering, his eyes on Harry.

“这是真的吗？真的是哈利波特？克利切看见伤疤了，肯定是真的，就是那个阻止了黑魔头的男孩，克利切不知道他是怎么做到的——”

'Is it true? Is it Harry Potter? Kreacher can see the scar, it must be true, that's the boy who stopped the Dark Lord, Kreacher wonders how he did it - '

“我们都知道，克利切。”弗雷德说。

'Don't we all, Kreacher,' said Fred.

“你到底想要什么呀？”乔治问。

'What do you want, anyway?' George asked.

克利切的一对大眼睛猛地朝乔治望去。

Kreacher's huge eyes darted towards George.

“克利切在打扫卫生。”他躲躲闪闪地说。

'Kreacher is cleaning,' he said evasively.

“说得倒很像是真的。”哈利身后的一个声音说。

'A likely story,' said a voice behind Harry.

小天狼星回来了，他在门口怒气冲冲地瞪着小精灵，门厅里的声音平息了，也许韦斯莱夫人和蒙顿格斯把他们的争吵转移到厨房里去了。克利切一看见小天狼星立刻深鞠一躬，身子低得简直滑稽可笑，猪鼻子般的大鼻子压扁在地上。

Sirius had come back; he was glowering at the elf from the doorway. The noise in the hall had abated; perhaps Mrs Weasley and Mundungus had moved their argument down into the kitchen.

“快站起来，”小天狼星不耐烦地说，“好了，你想做什么？”

At the sight of Sirius, Kreacher flung himself into a ridiculously low bow that flattened his snoutlike nose on the floor.

“克利切在打扫卫生，”小精灵又说了一遍，“克利切终生为高贵的布莱克家族效力——”

'Stand up straight,' said Sirius impatiently. 'Now, what are you up to?'

“可是房子一天比一天黑暗，它太脏了。”小天狼星说。

'Kreacher is cleaning,' the elf repeated. 'Kreacher lives to serve lie Noble House of Black - '

“少爷总是喜欢开点儿小玩笑，”克利切说着又鞠了一躬，随即压低声音念叨开了，“少爷是个讨厌的、忘恩负义的下流坯，伤透了他母亲的心——”

'And it's getting blacker every day, it's filthy,' said Sirius.

“我母亲没有心，克利切，”小天狼星没好气地说，“她完全是靠怨恨维持生命的。”

'Master always liked his little joke,' said Kreacher, bowing again, and continuing in an undertone, 'Master was a nasty ungrateful swine who broke his mother's heart - '

克利切说话时又鞠了一躬。

'My mother didn't have a heart, Kreacher,' snapped Sirius. 'She kept herself alive out of pure spite.'

“不管少爷怎么说，”他愤愤不平地嘟哝道，“少爷连给他母亲擦鞋底都不配，哦，我可怜的女主人啊，如果他看见克利切在服侍少爷会怎么说呢，女主人是多么恨他啊，他多么令人失望——”

Kreacher bowed again as he spoke.

“我问你到底打算做什么。”小天狼星冷冷地说，“每次你出来假装打扫卫生，可是把什么东西都偷偷拿到你的房间，不让我们扔掉。”

'Whatever Master says,' he muttered furiously. 'Master is not fit to wipe slime from his mother's boots, oh, my poor mistress, what would she say if she saw Kreacher serving him, how she hated him, what a disappointment he was - '

“克利切永远不会把少爷家里的任何东西从合适的地方拿走。”小精灵说，然后又很快地念叨起来，“如果挂毯被扔掉了，女主人永远都不会原谅克利切，挂毯在这个家里已经有七个世纪了，克利切一定要保住它，克利切决不让少爷，还有那些杂种、败类和小崽子把挂毯毁掉——”

'I asked you what you were up to,' said Sirius coldly. 'Every time you show up pretending to be cleaning, you sneak something off to your room so we can't throw it out.'

“我就知道是这么回事。”小天狼星说，朝对面墙上投去轻蔑的一瞥，“她会在挂毯后面再念一个永久粘贴咒，对此我毫不怀疑，但是如果我能够摆脱它，我决不会犹豫。好了，你走吧，克利切。”

'Kreacher would never move anything from its proper place in Master's house,' said the elf, then muttered very fast, 'Mistress would never forgive Kreacher if the tapestry was thrown out, seven centuries it's been in the family, Kreacher must save it, Kreacher will not let Master and the blood traitors and the brats destroy it - '

克利切似乎不敢违抗直接的命令，不过，当他拖着两只脚走出去时，他投给小天狼星的目光充满了刻骨铭心的憎恨，而且他走出房间时嘴里一直念念有词。

'I thought it might be that,' said Sirius, casting a disdainful look at the opposite wall. 'She'll have put another Permanent Sticking Charm on the back of it, I don't doubt, but if I can get rid of it I certainly will. Now go away, Kreacher.'

“——从阿兹卡班回来，倒对克利切指手画脚了，哦，我可怜的女主人啊。如果她看到房子变成这样，会说什么呢，卑鄙小人住了进来，她的宝贝被扔了出去，她发誓不认他这个儿子的，如今他又回来了，据说他还是个杀人犯——”

It seemed that Kreacher did not dare disobey a direct order; nevertheless, the look he gave Sirius as he shuffled out past him was full of deepest loathing and he muttered all the way out of the room.

“你再念叨，我就真的要杀人啦！”小天狼星烦躁地说，对着小精灵把门重重地关上了。

' - comes back from Azkaban ordering Kreacher around, oh, my poor mistress, what would she say if she saw the house now, scum living in it, her treasures thrown out, she swore he was no son of hers and he's back, they say he's a murderer too - '

“小天狼星，他的脑子不正常，”赫敏恳求道，“我想他并不知道我们能听见他的话。”

'Keep muttering and I will be a murderer!' said Sirius irritably as he slammed the door shut on the elf.

“他独自待的时间太长了，”小天狼星说，“从我母亲的肖像里接受了一些疯疯癫癫的命令，自己对自己说话，不过他以前就是一个可恶的小——”

'Sirius, he's not right in the head,' Hermione pleaded, 'I don't think he realises we can hear him.'

“如果你放他自由呢，”赫敏抱有希望地说，“说不定——”

'He's been alone too long,' said Sirius, 'taking mad orders from my mothers portrait and talking to himself, but he was always a foul little - '

“我们不能放他自由，他对凤凰社的事情知道得太多了。”小天狼星粗暴地说，“而且，不管怎么说，那份惊吓也会要了他的命。你突然对他提出要他离开这个家，看看他会有什么反应。”

'If you could just set him free,' said Hermione hopefully, 'maybe - '

小天狼星走到房间那头，克利切千方百计地要保护的那个挂毯覆盖着整面墙壁。哈利和其他人跟了过去。

'We can't set him free, he knows too much about the Order; said Sirius curtly. 'And anyway, the shock would kill him. You suggest to him that he leaves this house, see how he takes it.'

挂毯看上去很旧很旧了，颜色已经暗淡，似乎狐猸子把好几处都咬坏了。不过，上面绣的金线仍然闪闪发亮，他们清楚地看到了一幅枝枝蔓蔓的家谱图，一直可以追溯到（就哈利所知）中世纪。挂毯顶上绣着几个大字：高贵的最古老的布莱克家族永远纯洁。

Sirius walked across the room to where the tapestry Kreacher had been trying to protect hung the length of the wall. Harry and the others followed.

“你不在上面！”哈利看了看家谱最底下一行说道。

The tapestry looked immensely old; it was laded and looked as though Doxys had gnawed it in places. Nevertheless, the golden thread with which it was embroidered still glinted brightly enough to show them a sprawling family tree dating back (as far as Harry could tell) to the Middle Ages. Large words at the very top of the tapestry read:

“曾经在上面的。”小天狼星说着指了指挂毯上一个焦黑的小圆洞，像是被香烟烧焦的痕迹，“我从家里逃走之后，我亲爱的老母亲就把我销毁了——克利切很喜欢低声念叨这个故事。”

The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black

“你从家里逃走？”

Toujours pur'

“那年我大约十六岁，”小天狼星说，“我受够了。”

'You're not on here!' said Harry, after scanning the bottom of the tree closely.

“你去了哪儿？”哈利盯着他问道。

'I used to be there,' said Sirius, pointing at a small, round, charred hole in the tapestry, rather like a cigarette burn. 'My sweet old mother blasted me off after I ran away from home - Kreacher's quite fond of muttering the story under his breath.'

“你爸爸家里，”小天狼星说，“你的爷爷奶奶非常善解人意，他们差不多把我当成了第二个儿子。是啊，学校放假时，我就暂时住在你爸爸家里，到了十七岁，我就自己找了个地方。我叔叔阿尔法德给我留下了数量可观的金子——他也从这里被清除出去了，大概就是因为这个——反正，从那以后，我就自己照顾自己了，不过，波特先生和夫人总是欢迎我每个星期六到他们家吃饭。”

'You ran away from home?'

“可是——你为什么——？”

'When I was about sixteen,' said Sirius. 'I'd had enough.'

“离家出走？”小天狼星苦笑一下，用手梳理着他乱蓬蓬的长发，“因为我讨厌他们所有的人。我的父母，疯狂地痴迷纯正血统，他们相信，身为布莱克家的人，天生就是高贵的——我那个傻瓜弟弟，性情太软弱，居然相信了他们的话——那就是他。”

'Where did you go?' asked Harry, staring at him.

小天狼星伸出一个手指，指了指家谱图最下面的一个名字：雷古勒斯·布莱克。在出生日期后面有一个死亡日期（大约在十五年前）。

'Your dad's place,' said Sirius. 'Your grandparents were really good about it; they sort of adopted me as a second son. Yeah, I camped out at your dads in the school holidays, and when I was seventeen I got a place of my own. My Uncle Alphard had left me a decent bit of gold - he's been wiped off here, too, that's probably why - anyway, after that I looked after myself. I was always welcome at Mr and Mrs Potters for Sunday lunch, though.'

“他比我小，”小天狼星说道，“不断地有人提醒我，他这个儿子比我强得多。”

'But . . . why did you . . .?'

“可是他死了。”哈利说。

'Leave?' Sirius smiled bitterly and ran his fingers through his long, unkempt hair. 'Because I hated the whole lot of them: my parents, with their pure-blood mania, convinced that to be a Black made you practically royal . . . my idiot brother, soft enough to believe them . . . that's him.'

“是啊，”小天狼星说，“愚蠢的白痴——他加入了食死徒的行列。”

Sirius jabbed a finger at the very bottom of the tree, at the name 'Regulus Black'. A date of death (some fifteen years previously) followed the date of birth.

“你在开玩笑吧！”

'He was younger than me,' said Sirius, 'and a much better son, as I was constantly reminded.'

“听我说，哈利，你看了这个房子的情形，难道还不明白我的家人都是什么样的巫师吗？”小天狼星不耐烦地说。

'But he died,' said Harry.

“你的——你的父母也是食死徒吗？”

'Yeah,' said Sirius. 'Stupid idiot . . . he joined the Death Eaters.'

“不，不是，可是相信我，他们认为伏地魔的主张是正确的，他们都赞成维护巫师血统的纯正，摆脱麻瓜出身的人，让纯血统的人掌握大权。他们并不是独一无二的，在伏地魔露出他的真实面孔之前，许多人都认为他对一些事情的主张是正确的——不过，当他们发现他为了获得权势而不择手段时，他们都胆怯、退缩了。但我想我的父母一定认为雷古勒斯一开始就加入其中，算得上一个勇敢的小英雄。”

'You're kidding!'

“他是被傲罗杀死的吗？”哈利不很确定地问。

'Come on, Harry, haven't you seen enough of this house to tell what kind of wizards my family were?' said Sirius testily.

“哦，不是，”小天狼星说，“不是，他是被伏地魔杀害的。或者，更有可能是在伏地魔的指使下被害的。我怀疑雷古勒斯还没有那么重要，需要伏地魔亲手去干掉他。从他死后我了解的情况看，他已经陷得很深，然后他对别人要他做的事情感到恐惧，就想退出。唉，你不可能向伏地魔递一份辞职报告就算完事。要么卖命终身，要么死路一条。”

'Were - were your parents Death Eaters as well?'

“吃饭了。”韦斯莱夫人的声音说道。

'No, no, but believe me, they thought Voldemort had the right idea, they were all for the purification of the wizarding race, getting rid of Muggle-borns and having pure-bloods in charge. They weren't alone, either, there were quite a few people, before Voldemort showed his true colours, who thought he had the right idea about things . . . they got cold feet when they saw what he was prepared to do to get power, though. But I bet my parents thought Regulus was a right little hero for joining up at first.'

她把魔杖高高地举在面前，魔杖尖上顶着一只托盘，里面堆着许多三明治和蛋糕。韦斯莱夫人的脸涨得通红，仍然一副怒气冲冲的样子。其他人都向她围拢过去，争先恐后地拿东西吃，哈利留在小天狼星身边没有动。小天狼星弯腰更仔细地看着挂毯。

'Was he killed by an Auror?' Harry asked tentatively.

“我已经好几年没有看这个东西了。这是菲尼亚斯奈杰勒斯——我的曾曾祖父，看见了吗——？是霍格沃茨历史上最不受欢迎的校长——还有阿拉明塔梅利弗伦——我母亲的堂妹——试图强行通过一条魔法部法令，使捕杀麻瓜的行为合法化——还有我亲爱的埃拉朵拉婶婶——家养小精灵老得端不动盘子时就砍下他们的脑袋，这个家族传统就是她开创的——当然啦，每当家族中产生一个还算正派的人物时，他们就声明与他断绝关系。我看到唐克斯也不在上面。也许就是因为这个，克利切才不听从她的命令呢——克利切应该对家族里所有的人都俯首听命的——”

'Oh, no,' said Sirius. 'No, he was murdered by Voldemort. Or on Voldemort's orders, more likely; I doubt Regulus was ever important enough to be killed by Voldemort in person. From what I found out after he died, he got in so far, then panicked about what he: was being asked to do and tried to back out. Well, you don't just hand in your resignation to Voldemort. It's a lifetime of service or death.'

“你和唐克斯是亲戚？”哈利吃惊地问。

'Lunch,' said Mrs Weasley's voice.

“哦，是啊，她的母亲安多米达是我最喜欢的堂姐，”小天狼星一边说一边认真地研究家谱图，“没有，安多米达也不在上面，你看——”

She was holding her wand high in front of her, balancing a huge tray loaded with sandwiches and cake on its tip. She was very red in the face and still looked angry. The others moved over to her, eager for some food, but Harry remained with Sirius, who had bent closer to the tapestry.

他指着贝拉特里克斯和纳西莎两个名字之问的另一个烧糊的小圆斑。

'I haven't looked at this for years. There's Phineas Nigellu; . . . my great-great-grandfather, see? . . . least popular Headmaster Hogwarts ever had . . . and Araminta Meliflua . . . cousin of my mother's . . . tried to force through a Ministry Bill to make Muggle-hunting legal . . . and dear Aunt Elladora . . . she started the family tradition of beheading house-elves when they got too old to carry tea trays . . . of course, any time the family produced someone halfway decent they were disowned. I see Tonks isn't on here. Maybe that's why Kreacher won't take orders from her - he's supposed to do whatever anyone in the family asks him - '

“安多米达的姐妹们都在上面，因为她们嫁给了可爱的、值得尊敬的纯血统巫师，只有安多米达嫁给了一个麻瓜出身的人，泰德唐克斯，所以——”

'You and Tonks are related?' Harry asked, surprised.

小天狼星用魔杖做了一个向挂毯射击的动作，苦涩地笑了几声。但哈利没有笑，他正目不转睛地盯着安多米达的焦痕右边的几个名字。一根双股的金线把纳西莎布莱克与卢修斯马尔福连接在了一起，然后一根单股的垂直金线从他们的名字上连向了德拉科的名字。

'Oh, yeah, her mother Andromeda was my favourite col sin, said Sirius, examining the tapestry closely. 'No, Andromeda's not on here either, look - '

“你跟马尔福一家是亲戚！”

He pointed to another small round burn mark between two names, Bellatrix and Narcissa.

“纯血统的家庭之间互相都有亲戚关系。”小天狼星说道，“如果你只想让你的儿女同纯血统的人结婚，那你的选择余地就非常有限了。我们这种人已经所剩无几了。莫丽和我是有姻亲关系的表姐弟，亚瑟大概算是我叔伯祖父的曾外孙吧。但在这上面寻找他们是没有用的——如果有哪个家里都是一伙玷污血统的败类，那准是韦斯莱一家了。”

'Andromeda's sisters are still here because they made lovely, respectable pure-blood marriages, but Andromeda married a Muggle-born, Ted Tonks, so - '

哈利这时又望着安多米达的焦痕左边的那个名字：贝拉特里克斯布莱克，一根双股金线将它与罗道夫斯莱斯特兰奇的名字连接在一起。

Sirius mimed blasting the tapestry with a wand and laughed sourly. Harry, however, did not laugh; he was too busy staring at the names to the right of Andromeda's burn mark. A double line of gold embroidery linked Narcissa Black with Lucius Malfoy and a single vertical gold line from their names led to the name Draco.

“莱斯特兰奇——”哈利大声说。这名字触动了他记忆中的某个东西，他在什么地方见过它，现在一时半会儿想不起是在哪儿，但是他内心深处产生了一种奇怪的、阴森森的感觉。

'You're related to the Malfoy's!'

“他们被关在了阿兹卡班。”小天狼星简短地说。

The pure-blood families are all interrelated, said Sirius. 'If you're only going to let your sons and daughters marry pure-bloods our choice is very limited; there are hardly any of us left. Molly and I are cousins by marriage and Arthur's something like my second cousin once removed. But there's no point looking for then on here - if ever a family was a bunch of blood traitors it's the Weaseys.'

哈利好奇地望着他。

But Harry was now looking at the name to the left of Andromeda's burn: Bellatrix Black, which was connected by a double line to Rodolphus Lestrange.

“贝拉特里克斯和她丈夫罗道夫斯是和小巴蒂克劳奇一起进去的。”小天狼星还是用那种简慢而生硬的声音说道，“鲁道夫斯的弟弟拉巴斯坦也和他们在一起。”

'Lestrange . . .' Harry said aloud. The name had stirred something in his memory; he knew it from somewhere, but for a moment he couldn't think where, though it gave him an odd, creeping sensation in the pit of his stomach.

哈利想起来了。他在邓布利多的冥想盆里见过贝拉特里克斯莱斯特兰奇。冥想盆是一个储存思想和记忆的奇特装置。贝拉特里克斯是一个高个子的黑皮肤女人，厚厚的眼睑耷拉着，她当时在接受审判，她声明她继续为伏地魔效忠，并说她为她在伏地魔失势后想方设法寻找他而感到骄傲，还说她坚信她总有一天会因自己的忠诚而得到回报。

'They're in Azkaban,' said Sirius shortly.

“你从没说过她是你的——”

Harry looked at him curiously.

“就算她是我的堂姐又有什么关系？”小天狼星没好气地说，“就我而言，他们根本就不是我的亲人。她当然更不能算我的亲人，我从你这么大以后就再没有见过她，除非你算上我看见她被关进阿兹卡班时的匆匆一瞥。你认为我会因为有她这样一个亲戚而感到自豪吗？”

'Bellatrix and her husband Rodolphus came in with Barty Crouch junior,' said Sirius, in the same brusque voice. 'Rodolphuss brother Rabastan was with them, too.'

“对不起，”哈利赶紧说道，“我不是这个意思——我只是感到很意外，没别的——”

Then Harry remembered. He had seen Bellatrix Lestrange inside Dumbledore's Pensieve, the strange device in which thoughts and memories could be stored: a tall dark woman with heavy-lidded eyes, who had stood at her trial and proclaimed her continuing allegiance to Lord Voldemort, her pride that she had tried to find him after his downfall and her conviction that she would one day be rewarded for her loyalty.

“没关系，用不着道歉。”小天狼星轻声嘀咕道。他转身离开了挂毯，两只手深深插在口袋里。“我真不愿意回到这里，”他一边说一边朝客厅那头走去，“我从来没想过我会又困在这所房子里。”

'You never said she was your - '

哈利完全能理解。他知道，如果他长大成人，以为永远摆脱女贞路四号了，结果又回到那个地方生活，那会是一种什么感觉。

'Does it matter if she's my cousin?' snapped Sirius. 'As far as I'm concerned, they're not my family. She's certainly not my family. I haven't seen her since I was your age, unless you count a glimpse of her coming into Azkaban. D'you think I'm proud of having a relative like her?'

“当然，用它做指挥部再适合不过了。”小天狼星说道，“我父亲住在这里时，给它装上了巫师界所知道的所有保密措施。这房子无法在地图上标绘出来，因此麻瓜们不可能登门拜访——就好像有谁愿意来似的——现在邓布利多又增加了一些他的保护措施，你简直不可能在别处找到一处比这里更安全的房子了。你知道吗，邓布利多是凤凰社的保密人——谁也不可能找到指挥部，除非他亲自告诉他们地址——就是昨天晚上穆迪给你看的那张纸条，是从邓布利多那里拿来的——”小天狼星发出一声短促、刺耳的笑声，“如果我父母看见他们的房子现在派上了这样的用场——唉，我母亲的肖像应该给了你一些印象——”

'Sorry,' said Harry quickly, 'I didn't mean - I was just surprised, that's all - '

他板着脸沉默了一会儿，叹了一口气。

'It doesn't matter, don't apologise,' Sirius mumbled. He turned away from the tapestry, his hands deep in his pockets. 'I don't like being back here,' he said, staring across the drawing room. 'I never thought I'd be stuck in this house again.'

“如果我能偶尔出去一下，做一些有用的事就好了。我问过邓布利多，我能不能陪你去参加受审——当然是以伤风的身份——这样我能给你一些精神支持，你说呢？”

Harry understood completely. He knew how he would feel, when he was grown up and thought he was free of the place for ever, to return and live at number four, Privet Drive.

哈利觉得他的心似乎一下子沉到肮脏的地毯下面去了。自从前一天晚上吃完饭之后，他就再没有想过受审的事。他终于回到了他最喜欢的人身边，听人们讲述着正在发生的事情，这使他非常兴奋，早就把这件事忘到了九霄云外。现在听了小天狼星的话，那种万念俱灰的恐惧感又回来了。他呆呆地望着正在狼吞虎咽吃三明治的赫敏和韦斯莱兄弟，想着如果自己不能跟他们一起回霍格沃茨，该是一种什么滋味。

'It's ideal for Headquarters, of course; Sirius said. 'My father put every security measure known to wizardkind on it when he lived here. It's unplottable, so Muggles could never come and call - as if they d ever have wanted to - and now Dumbledore's added his protection, you'd be hard put to find a safer house anywhere. Dumbledore is Secret Keeper for the Order, you know - nobody can find Headquarters unless he tells them personally where it is - that note Moody showed you last night, that was from Dumbledore . . .' Sirius gave a short, bark-like laugh. 'If my parents could see the use their house was being put to now . . . well, my mothers portrait should give you some idea.

“别担心。”小天狼星说。哈利抬起头，这才发现小天狼星一直在注视着自己。“我相信他们一定会宣告你无罪的，《国际保密法》里肯定有允许人们为了保全性命而使用魔法的条款。”

He scowled for a moment, then sighed.

“但如果他们真的开除了我，”哈利小声问，“我能回到这里跟你住在一起吗？”

'I wouldn't mind if I could just get out occasionally and do something useful. I've asked Dumbledore whether I can escort you, to your hearing - as Snuffles, obviously - so I can give you a bit of moral support, what d'you think?'

小天狼星露出忧伤的笑容。

Harry felt as though his stomach had sunk through the dusty carpet. He had not thought about the hearing once since dinner the previous evening; in the excitement of being back with the people he liked best, and hearing everything that was going on, it had completely flown his mind. At Sirius's words, however, the crushing sense of dread returned to him. He stared at Hermione and the Weasleys, all tucking into their sandwiches, and thought how he would feel if they went back to Hogwarts without him.

“到时候看吧。”

'Don't worry,' Sirius said. Harry looked up and realised that Sirius had been watching him. 'I'm sure they'll clear you, there's definitely something in the International Statute of Secrecy about being allowed to use magic to save your own life.'

“如果我知道用不着回到德思礼家去，我就不那么害怕受审了。”哈利央求道。

But if they do expel me,' said Harry quietly, 'can I come back here and live with you?'

“你竟然宁愿住在这里，他们肯定对你很坏。”小天狼星忧郁地说。

Sirius smiled sadly.

“快点，你们两个，不然就什么吃的也没有了。”韦斯莱夫人喊道。

'We'll see.'

小天狼星又沉重地长叹了一声，朝挂毯投去悲哀的一瞥，便和哈利一起来到其他人身边。

'I'd feel a lot better about the hearing if I knew I didn't have to go back to the Dursleys',' Harry pressed him.

那天下午，他们清除玻璃门柜子时，哈利尽量克制住自己不去想受审的事。幸好，这项工作需要注意力非常集中，因为柜子里的许多东西似乎很不情愿离开落满灰尘的搁板。小天狼星被一只银鼻烟盒狠狠地咬了一口，不出几秒钟，被咬的那只手就结了一层难看的硬壳，好像戴了一只粗糙的褐色手套。

They must be bad if you prefer this place,' said Sirius gloomily.

“没事儿。”他一边说一边很有兴趣地查看那只手，然后用魔杖轻轻一点，手上的皮肤又恢复了正常，“里面一定是肉瘤粉。”

'Hurry up, you two, or there won't be any food left,' Mrs Weasley called.

他把鼻烟盒扔进了专门放柜里垃圾的袋子里。片刻之后，哈利看见乔治小心地用一块布包着手，偷偷把盒子塞进了他那已经装满狐猸子的口袋里。

Sirius heaved another great sigh, cast a dark look at the tapestry, then he and Harry went to join the others.

他们发现了一个样子特别难看的银器具，就像是一把多脚的镊子。哈利刚把它拿起来，它就像蜘蛛一样飞快地顺着哈利的胳膊往上爬，而且还想刺破他的皮肤。小天狼星一把抓了过去，用一本名为《生而高贵：巫师家谱》的书把它拍死了。还有一个音乐盒，一拧发条，就隐隐约约地发出丁丁冬冬的不祥乐曲，接着他们都发现自己莫名其妙地变得虚弱无力，昏昏欲睡，幸亏金妮脑子还算清楚，赶紧将盖子关上了。还有一个谁也打不开的沉甸甸的纪念品盒。一大堆古色古香的印章。此外，在一个灰扑扑的盒子里，放着一枚梅林一级勋章，是授予小天狼星的祖父的，奖励他“为魔法部做出的贡献”。

Harry tried his best not to think about the hearing while he emptied the glass-fronted cabinets that afternoon. Fortunately for him, it was a job that required a lot of concentration, as many of the objects in there seemed very reluctant to leave their dusty shelves. Sirius sustained a bad bite from a silver snuffbox; within seconds his bitten hand had developed an unpleasant crusty covering like a tough brown glove.

“就是说他给了他们一大堆金子。”小天狼星轻蔑地说，把勋章扔进了装垃圾的袋子。

'Its OK,' he said, examining the hand with interest before tapping it lightly with his wand and restoring its skin to normal, 'must be Wartcap powder in there.'

克利切好几次偷偷溜进房间，想把一些东西藏在他的腰布下面带走；每次被人抓住时，他都会说出许多非常难听的脏话。当小天狼星把一个刻着布莱克家族饰章的大金戒指从他手里硬夺过来时，克利切居然气得流出了眼泪，小声啜泣着走出房间，一边用哈利从来没听过的字眼诅咒小天狼星。

He threw the box aside into the sack where they were depositing the debris from the cabinets; Harry saw George wrap his own hand carefully in a cloth moments later and sneak the box into his already Doxy-filled pocket.

“这是我父亲的东西，”小天狼星说着，把戒指扔进了袋子，“克利切对他不像对我母亲那样忠心耿耿，但我上个星期还是看见他亲吻了我父亲的一条旧裤子。”

They found an unpleasant-looking silver instrument, something like a many-legged pair of tweezers, which scuttled up Harry's arm like a spider when he picked it up, and attempted to puncture his skin. Sirius seized it and smashed it with a heavy book entitled Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy. There was a musical box that emitted a faintly sinister, tinkling tune when wound, and they all found themselves becoming curiously weak and sleepy, until Ginny had the sense to slam the lid shut; a heavy locket that none of them could open; a number of ancient seals; and, in a dusty box, an Order of Merlin, First Class, that had been awarded to Sirius's grandfather for 'services to the Ministry'.

在接下来的几天，韦斯莱夫人让他们干得非常辛苦。给客厅消毒花了三天时间。最后，房间里还剩下两件令人不快的东西，一个就是那块布莱克家谱图的挂毯，他们想尽各种办法都不能把它从墙上弄下来，还有就是那个咔啦啦作响的写字台。穆迪还没有顺路来指挥部，所以他们不敢肯定那里面到底是什么东西。

'It means he gave them a load of gold,' said Sirius contemptuously throwing the medal into the rubbish sack.

他们从客厅转移到底层的一个餐厅里，发现那儿的碗橱里面藏着大得像茶托一般的蜘蛛（罗恩急急忙忙地跑出房间去给自己倒杯茶喝，一个半小时都没有回来）。那些印着布莱克家族饰章和铭词的瓷器都被小天狼星马马虎虎地扔进了一只袋子。装在褪色银相框里的一些老照片也遭到了同样的命运，当玻璃稀里哗啦地碎裂时，相框里的人都发出凄厉的尖叫。

Several times Kreacher sidled into the room and attempted to smuggle things away under his loincloth, muttering horrible curses every time they caught him at it. When Sirius wrested a large go den ring bearing the Black crest from his grip, Kreacher actually burst into furious tears and left the room sobbing under his breath and calling Sirius names Harry had never heard before.

斯内普大概喜欢把他们的工作称为“大扫除”，但在哈利看来，他们实际上是在对老房子发动一场战争，老房子在克利切的帮助下，进行着十分顽强的抵抗。这个家养小精灵总是出现在他们集中干活的地方，千方百计想从装垃圾的口袋里拿走一些东西，同时嘴里念叨的话越来越难听。

'It was my father's,' said Sirius, throwing the ring into the sack. 'Kreacher wasn't quite as devoted to him as to my mother, but I still caught him snogging a pair of my father's old trousers last week.'

小天狼星最后甚至威胁说要给他衣服穿，克利切用水汪汪的眼睛盯着他说：“少爷愿意做什么就做什么。”但不等转身，他又大声念叨说：“可是少爷不会把克利切打发走的，不会的，因为克利切知道他们想干什么，噢，是的，他在密谋反抗黑魔头，是的，带着这些泥巴种、败类和渣滓——”

听了这话，小天狼星不理睬赫敏的抗议，一把从后面揪住克利切的腰布，把他扔到了房间外面。

Mrs Weasley kept them all working very hard over the next few days. The drawing room took three days to decontaminate. Finally, the only undesirable things left in it were the tapestry of the Black family tree, which resisted all their attempts to remove it from the wall, and the rattling writing desk. Moody had not dropped by Headquarters yet, so they could not be sure what was inside it.

每天门铃都要响几次，一听到铃声，小天狼星的母亲就开始刺耳地尖叫，哈利和其他人则努力想偷听来访者的谈话，但每次只能匆匆瞥上几眼，听到几句零散的对话，就被韦斯莱夫人叫回去干活了，根本没有捞到多少有用的情报。斯内普又蜻蜓点水般地来了几次，不过让哈利感到欣慰的是，他们一直没有正面碰见过。哈利还看见了他的变形术老师麦格教授，她穿着麻瓜的衣服和外套，显得十分古怪。她似乎也很忙碌，来去匆匆。不过，有的时候来访者也会留下来帮忙。唐克斯和他们一起度过了一个难忘的下午，他们在楼上的一间厕所里发现了一只凶恶残忍的老食尸鬼。卢平本来是和小天狼星一起住在房子里的，最近离开了很长时间，为凤凰社做一项秘密工作，但他帮助他们修好了一台老爷钟，那钟不知怎地染上了一个令人讨厌的坏毛病：朝过路人发射硬邦邦的螺丝钉。蒙顿格斯稍微挽回了一些自己在韦斯莱夫人心目中的形象，他把罗恩从一套古旧的紫色长袍里救了出来。当罗恩把袍子从衣柜里拿出来时，袍子缠住了他，要把他勒死。

They moved from the drawing room to a dining room on the ground floor where they found spiders as large as saucers lurking in the dresser (Ron left the room hurriedly to make a cup of tea and did not return for an hour and a half). The china, which bore the Black crest and motto, was all thrown unceremoniously into a sack by Sirius, and the same fate met a set of old photographs in tarnished silver frames, all of whose occupants squealed shrilly as the glass covering them smashed.

哈利尽管夜里还是睡得不踏实，梦境里仍然会出现那些长长的走廊和紧锁的房门，引起伤疤阵阵刺痛，但在整个暑假里他总算第一次感到开心了。只要手里有活儿干，他就高兴。而当活儿告一段落、他松懈下来或精疲力竭地躺在床上望着模糊的阴影在天花板上移动时，他就又会想起即将到魔法部受审的可怕事情。他一想到如果他被开除他会怎么办，恐惧就像无数根尖针一样刺着他的心。这个想法实在太可怕了，他不敢大声把它说出来，就连对罗恩和赫敏也不敢说，而他们俩呢，尽管哈利经常看见他们凑在一起嘀嘀咕咕，并不时朝他这边投来担忧的目光，却也跟他一样，对这件事只字不提。有时，他忍不住会展开想象：面前出现了一个面目不清的魔法部官员，咔嚓一声把他的魔杖撅成了两截，命令他回到德思礼家去——他是绝对不会去的。在这一点上他已拿定主意。他要到格里莫广场这儿来跟小天狼星住在一起。

Snape might refer to their work as 'cleaning', but in Harry's opinion they were really waging war on the house, which was putting up a very good fight, aided and abetted by Kreacher. The house-elf kept appearing wherever they were congregated, his muttering becoming more and more offensive as he attempted to remove anything he could from the rubbish sacks. Sirius went as far as to threaten him with clothes, but Kreacher fixed him with a watery stare and said, 'Master must do as Master wishes,' before turning away and muttering very loudly, 'but Master will not turn Kreacher away, no, because Kreacher knows what they are up to, oh yes, he is plotting against the Dark Lord, yes, with these Mudblood and traitors and scum . . .'

星期三晚上吃饭的时候，韦斯莱夫人转过脸来轻声对他说：“我已经把你最好的衣服熨好了，你明天早晨穿上，哈利，我希望你今晚再把头发洗洗。好的第一印象是会创造奇迹的。”哈利听了这话，觉得就像一块砖头砸进了他心里。

At which Sirius, ignoring Hermione's protests, seized Kreacher by the back of his loincloth and threw him bodily from the room.

罗恩、赫敏、弗雷德、乔治和金妮都停止了谈话，朝他这边望着。哈利点点头，还想继续吃他的排骨，但嘴里突然变得很干，简直嚼不动了。

The doorbell rang several times a day, which was the cue for Sirius's mother to start shrieking again, and for Harry and the others to attempt to eavesdrop on the visitor, though they gleaned very little from the brief glimpses and snatches of conversation they were able to sneak before Mrs Weasley recalled them to their tasks. Snape flitted in and out of the house several times more, though to Harry's relief they never came face to face; Harry also caught sight of his Transfiguration teacher Professor McGonagall, looking very odd in a Muggle dress and coat, and she also seemed too busy to linger. Sometimes, however, the visitors stayed to help. Tonks joined them for a memorable afternoon in which they found a murderous old ghoul lurking in an upstairs toilet, and Lupin, who was staying in the house with Sirius but who left it for long periods to do mysterious work for the Order, helped them repair a grandfather clock that had developed the unpleasant habit of shooting heavy bolts at passers-by. Mundungus redeemed himself slightly in Mrs Weasley's eyes by rescuing Ron from an ancient set of purple robes that had tried to strangle him when he removed them from their wardrobe.

“我怎么去呢？”他问韦斯莱夫人，努力使声音听上去显得不太在乎。

Despite the fact that he was still sleeping badly, still having dreams about corridors and locked doors that made his scar prickle, Harry was managing to have fun for the first time all summer. As long as he was busy he was happy; when the action abated, however, whenever he dropped his guard, or lay exhausted in bed watching blurred shadows move across the ceiling, the thought of the looming Ministry hearing returned to him. Fear jabbed at his insides like needles as he wondered what was going to happen to him if he was expelled. The idea was so terrible that he did not dare voice it aloud, not even to Ron and Hermione, who, though he often saw them whispering together and casting anxious looks in his direction, followed his lead in not mentioning it. Sometimes, he could not prevent his imagination showing him a faceless Ministry official who was snapping his wand in two and ordering him back to the Dursleys' . . . but he would not go. He was determined on that. He would come back here to Grimmauld Place and live with Sirius.

“亚瑟上班时带你一起去。”韦斯莱夫人温和地说。

He felt as though a brick had dropped into his stomach when Mrs Weasley turned to him during dinner on Wednesday evening and said quietly, 'I've ironed your best clothes for tomorrow morning, Harry, and I want you to wash your hair tonight, too. A good first impression can work wonders.'

韦斯莱先生隔着桌子朝哈利鼓励地微笑着。“你可以先待在我的办公室，等受审的时间到了再去。”他说。

Ron, Hermione, Fred, George and Ginny all stopped talking and looked over at him. Harry nodded and tried to keep eating his chop, but his mouth had become so dry he could not chew.

哈利朝小天狼星望去，但没等他发问，韦斯莱夫人就回答了。

'How am I getting there?' he asked Mrs Weasley, trying to sound unconcerned.

“邓布利多教授认为小天狼星陪你一起去不太合适，我必须说我——”

'Arthur's taking you to work with him,' said Mrs Weasley gently.

“——认为他非常正确。”小天狼星从紧咬的牙缝中说。

Mr Weasley smiled encouragingly at Harry across the table.

韦斯莱夫人噘起了嘴巴。

'You can wait in my office until it's time for the hearing,' he said.

“邓布利多是什么时候对你说这个话的？”哈利问，眼睛望着小天狼星。

Harry looked over at Sirius, but before he could ask the question, Mrs Weasley had answered it.

“他昨夜来了一趟，那时你已经睡着了。”韦斯莱先生说。

'Professor Dumbledore doesn't think it's a good idea for Sirius to go with you, and I must say I - '

小天狼星闷闷不乐地把叉子扎进了一个土豆。哈利垂眼望着自己的盘子。邓布利多在他受审的前夜来过这所房子，却没有提出来要见他，想到这一点，他原本就糟糕透顶的心情更加恶劣了。

' - think he's quite right,' said Sirius through clenched teeth.

①关于蒲绒绒的详细描写，见《神奇动物在哪里》一书，人民文学出版社，2001年10月版。

Mrs Weasley pursed her lips.

'When did Dumbledore tell you that?' Harry said, staring at Sirius.

'He came last night, when you were in bed,' said Mr Weasley

Sirius stabbed moodily at a potato with his fork. Harry lowered his own eyes to his plate. The thought that Dumbledore had been in the house on the eve of his hearing and not asked to see him made him feel, if it were possible, even worse.