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哈利·波特与死亡圣器
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 英文 中文 双语对照 双语交替 首页 目录 上一章 下一章 | |
| CHAPTER SEVEN THE WILL OF ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
| 第七章 阿不思·邓布利多的遗嘱
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| He was walking along a mountain road in the cool blue light of dawn. Far below, swathed in mist, was the shadow of a small town. Was the man he sought down there, the man he needed so badly he could think of little else, the man who held the answer, the answer to his problem . . . ?
| 拂晓时空气凉爽，晨光熹微，哈利走在一条山路上。下面裹在浓雾里的是一座朦朦胧胧的小镇。他寻找的那个人在下面吗？他迫切地、不顾一切地需要那个人，那个人知道答案，知道他那个问题的答案……
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| “Oi, wake up.”
| “喂，醒醒。”
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| Harry opened his eyes. He was lying again on the camp bed in Ron’s dingy attic room. The sun had not yet risen and the room was still shadowy. Pigwidgeon was asleep with his head under his tiny wing. The scar on Harry’s forehead was prickling.
| 哈利睁开眼睛。他还是躺在罗恩昏暗脏乱的阁楼间的行军床上。太阳还没有升起，屋里仍然很暗。小猪把脑袋埋在小翅膀底下睡得正香。哈利额头上的伤疤一刺一刺地疼。
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| “You were muttering in your sleep.”
| “你说梦话了。”
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| “Was I?”
| “是吗？”
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| “Yeah. ‘Gregorovitch.’ You kept saying ‘Gregorovitch.’ ”
| “是啊。‘格里戈维奇。’你一直在说‘格里戈维奇’。”
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| Harry was not wearing his glasses; Ron’s face appeared slightly blurred.
| 哈利没戴眼镜，罗恩的脸看上去模糊不清。
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| “Who’s Gregorovitch?”
| “谁是格里戈维奇？”
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| “I dunno, do I? You were the one saying it.”
| “我怎么知道？说梦话的是你啊。”
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| Harry rubbed his forehead, thinking. He had a vague idea he had heard the name before, but he could not think where.
| 哈利揉着额头，陷入了沉思。他隐约觉得以前听过这个名字，但想不起来是在什么地方。
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| “I think Voldemort’s looking for him.”
| “我想伏地魔是在找他。”
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| “Poor bloke,” said Ron fervently.
| “可怜的家伙。”罗恩激动地说。
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| Harry sat up, still rubbing his scar, now wide awake. He tried to remember exactly what he had seen in the dream, but all that came back was a mountainous horizon and the outline of the little village cradled in a deep valley.
| 哈利坐起身子，仍然揉着伤疤，现在完全清醒了。他努力回忆刚才梦中见到的情景，却只能想起一片连绵的群山和位于深深峡谷里的小村庄的轮廓。
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| “I think he’s abroad.”
| “我想他是在国外。”
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| “Who, Gregorovitch?”
| “谁？格里戈维奇？”
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| “Voldemort. I think he’s somewhere abroad, looking for Gregorovitch. It didn’t look like anywhere in Britain.”
| “伏地魔。我想他是在国外的某个地方寻找格里戈维奇。看样子不像是在英国。”
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| “You reckon you were seeing into his mind again?”
| “怎么你又在窥探他的思想？”
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| Ron sounded worried.
| 罗恩的声音里透着担忧。
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| “Do me a favor and don’t tell Hermione,” said Harry. “Although how she expects me to stop seeing stuff in my sleep . . .”
| “行行好，别告诉赫敏，”哈利说，“她那么希望我别在梦里再看到那些东西……”
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| He gazed up at little Pigwidgeon’s cage, thinking . . . Why was the name “Gregorovitch” familiar?
| 他抬头望着小猪的笼子，继续思索……为什么“格里戈维奇”这个名字听着耳熟呢？
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| “I think,” he said slowly, “he’s got something to do with Quidditch. There’s some connection, but I can’t — I can’t think what it is.”
| “我想，”他慢悠悠地说，“他大概跟魁地奇有关。这中间有某种联系，但我——我想不起来是什么了。”
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| “Quidditch?” said Ron. “Sure you’re not thinking of Gorgovitch?”
| “魁地奇？”罗恩问，“你该不会是想到高尔格维奇了吧？”
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| “Who?”
| “谁？”
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| “Dragomir Gorgovitch, Chaser, transferred to the Chudley Cannons for a record fee two years ago. Record holder for most Quaffle drops in a season.”
| “德拉戈米尔·高尔格维奇，追球手，两年前转到查德里火炮队，转会费破了纪录。他保持了单赛季里投鬼飞球最多的记录。”
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| “No,” said Harry. “I’m definitely not thinking of Gorgovitch.”
| “不是，”哈利说，“我想的肯定不是高尔格维奇。”
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| ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
| “我也尽量不想他。”罗恩说，“好了，祝你的生日快乐吧。”
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| “I try not to either,” said Ron. “Well, happy birthday anyway.”
| “哇——对了，我怎么忘了！我十七岁了！”
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| “Wow — that’s right, I forgot! I’m seventeen!”
| 哈利抓起行军床旁边的魔杖，指着他放眼镜的乱糟糟的书桌，说了声：“眼镜飞来！”虽然眼镜离他只有一尺来远，但看着它嗖地朝他飞来，还是给他带来了巨大的满足。不过好景不长：眼镜飞过来戳了他的眼睛。
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| Harry seized the wand lying beside his camp bed, pointed it at the cluttered desk where he had left his glasses, and said, “Accio Glasses!” Although they were only around a foot away, there was something immensely satisfying about seeing them zoom toward him, at least until they poked him in the eye.
| “真不赖。”罗恩哼了一声。
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| “Slick,” snorted Ron.
| 哈利陶醉在踪丝消失的喜悦中，他让罗恩的东西在房间里到处乱飞，让小猪醒来在笼子里兴奋地扑扇翅膀。哈利还试着魔法给旅游鞋系鞋带（结果用手花了好几分钟才把那个疙瘩解开），然后，纯粹是为了取乐，他把罗恩那些查德里火炮队海报上的橘黄色队袍变成了鲜蓝色。
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| Reveling in the removal of his Trace, Harry sent Ron’s possessions flying around the room, causing Pigwidgeon to wake up and flutter excitedly around his cage. Harry also tried tying the laces of his trainers by magic (the resultant knot took several minutes to untie by hand) and, purely for the pleasure of it, turned the orange robes on Ron’s Chudley Cannons posters bright blue.
| “我要空手对付你的裤子拉链。”罗恩警告哈利，哈利赶紧查看，罗恩在一旁咯咯笑出了声。“这是给你的礼物，就在这儿拆吧，可不能给我妈妈看见。”
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| “I’d do your fly by hand, though,” Ron advised Harry, sniggering when Harry immediately checked it. “Here’s your present. Unwrap it up here, it’s not for my mother’s eyes.”
| “一本书？”哈利接过那个长方形的包裹，说道，“有点告别传统了，是不是？”
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| “A book?” said Harry as he took the rectangular parcel. “Bit of a departure from tradition, isn’t it?”
| “这可不是一般的书，”罗恩说，“是沉甸甸的金子啊，《迷倒女巫的十二个制胜法宝》，解释了你需要知道的关于女孩子的所有事情。如果我去年有了这本书，就会知道怎么甩掉拉文德，也会知道怎么接近……咳，弗雷德和乔治给了我一本，我弄懂了许多东西。你会大吃一惊的，而且并不都需要使用魔杖。”
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| “This isn’t your average book,” said Ron. “It’s pure gold: Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches. Explains everything you need to know about girls. If only I’d had this last year I’d have known exactly how to get rid of Lavender and I would’ve known how to get going with . . . Well, Fred and George gave me a copy, and I’ve learned a lot. You’d be surprised, it’s not all about wandwork, either.”
| 他们来到厨房，发现桌上有一大堆礼物在等着哈利。比尔和德拉库尔先生快吃完早饭了，韦斯莱夫人站在煎锅前跟他们聊天。
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| When they arrived in the kitchen they found a pile of presents waiting on the table. Bill and Monsieur Delacour were finishing their breakfasts, while Mrs. Weasley stood chatting to them over the frying pan.
| “哈利，亚瑟叫我祝你十七岁生日快乐。”韦斯莱夫人笑眯眯地看着他说，“他必须早早地去上班，但会赶回来吃晚饭的。我们的礼物在最顶上。”
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| “Arthur told me to wish you a happy seventeenth, Harry,” said Mrs. Weasley, beaming at him. “He had to leave early for work, but he’ll be back for dinner. That’s our present on top.”
| 哈利坐下来，拿起韦斯莱夫人指的那个方形包裹，拆了开来。里面是一块手表，跟罗恩十七岁时韦斯莱夫妇送给他的那块很像。质地是金的，表盘上没有指针，只有几颗星星在跑动。
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| Harry sat down, took the square parcel she had indicated, and unwrapped it. Inside was a watch very like the one Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had given Ron for his seventeenth; it was gold, with stars circling around the face instead of hands.
| “巫师成年时送他一块手表，这是一种传统。”韦斯莱夫人说着，在厨灶旁不安地注视着他，“这块手表恐怕不如罗恩那块那么新，实际上它以前是我哥哥费比安的，他用东西特别不仔细，表的背面有点不平了，但——”
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| “It’s traditional to give a wizard a watch when he comes of age,” said Mrs. Weasley, watching him anxiously from beside the cooker. “I’m afraid that one isn’t new like Ron’s, it was actually my brother Fabian’s and he wasn’t terribly careful with his possessions, it’s a bit dented on the back, but —”
| 她的话没说完，哈利已经站起来紧紧搂住了她。哈利想把许多没有说出口的意思都倾注在这个拥抱里，韦斯莱夫人大概理解了。哈利松开她时，她不自然地拍拍哈利的面颊，然后有点杂乱无章地挥舞着她的魔杖，弄得一半腌猪肉都从煎锅里跳出来，掉在地板上。
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| The rest of her speech was lost; Harry had got up and hugged her. He tried to put a lot of unsaid things into the hug and perhaps she understood them, because she patted his cheek clumsily when he released her, then waved her wand in a slightly random way, causing half a pack of bacon to flop out of the frying pan onto the floor.
| “生日快乐，哈利！”赫敏匆匆走进厨房说，把她的一份礼物放在那堆礼物的最上面，“没多少东西，但愿你会喜欢。他给他准备了什么？”她又问罗恩，罗恩假装没有听见。
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| “Happy birthday, Harry!” said Hermione, hurrying into the kitchen and adding her own present to the top of the pile. “It’s not much, but I hope you like it. What did you get him?” she added to Ron, who seemed not to hear her.
| “来吧，快打开赫敏的！”罗恩说。
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| “Come on, then, open Hermione’s!” said Ron.
| 赫敏给他买了个新的窥镜。另外几个包裹里有比尔和芙蓉送的一把魔术剃须刀（“没错，这会让你剃须时感到前所未有的光滑舒服，”德拉库尔先生向他保证，“但你必须把你的想法清清楚楚地告诉它……不然你可能会发现你的毛发有点太少了……”），有德拉库尔夫妇送的巧克力，还有弗雷德和乔治送的一大盒韦斯莱魔法把戏坊的最新商品。
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| She had bought him a new Sneakoscope. The other packages contained an enchanted razor from Bill and Fleur (“Ah yes, zis will give you ze smoothest shave you will ever ’ave,” Monsieur Delacour assured him, “but you must tell it clearly what you want . . . ozzerwise you might find you ’ave a leetle less hair zan you would like. . . .”), chocolates from the Delacours, and an enormous box of the latest Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes merchandise from Fred and George.
| 哈利、罗恩和赫敏没有在桌子边逗留，因为德拉库尔夫人、芙蓉和加布丽来了，厨房里显得拥挤不堪。
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| ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
| “我帮你把它们收拾起来。”赫敏愉快地说，从哈利怀里接过那些礼物，三人一起朝楼上走去，“我差不多快收拾完了，罗恩，就等你的另外几条内裤洗出来——”
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| Harry, Ron, and Hermione did not linger at the table, as the arrival of Madame Delacour, Fleur, and Gabrielle made the kitchen uncomfortably crowded.
| 二楼平台上的一扇门突然打开，打断了罗恩急赤白脸的抗议。
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| “I’ll pack these for you,” Hermione said brightly, taking Harry’s presents out of his arms as the three of them headed back upstairs. “I’m nearly done, I’m just waiting for the rest of your underpants to come out of the wash, Ron —”
| “哈利，你能进来一下吗？”
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| Ron’s splutter was interrupted by the opening of a door on the first-floor landing.
| 是金妮。罗恩猛地停住了脚步，但赫敏抓住他的胳膊肘，拉着他继续往楼上走。哈利有点忐忑不安地跟着金妮走进她的房间。
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| “Harry, will you come in here a moment?”
| 他以前从没有进来过。房间不大，但很明亮，一面墙上贴着古怪姐妹演唱组的大幅海报，另一面墙上贴着女巫魁地奇球队霍利黑德哈比队的队长格韦诺格·琼斯的照片，一张书桌面对敞开的窗户。窗外是果园，他和金妮曾在那里跟罗恩和赫敏玩过两人的魁地奇，现在那里扎了个很大的、乳白色的帐篷。帐篷顶上的金色旗子正好齐着金妮的窗户。
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| It was Ginny. Ron came to an abrupt halt, but Hermione took him by the elbow and tugged him on up the stairs. Feeling nervous, Harry followed Ginny into her room.
| 金妮抬头望着哈利的脸，深深吸了口气，说：“十七岁快乐。”
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| He had never been inside it before. It was small, but bright. There was a large poster of the Wizarding band the Weird Sisters on one wall, and a picture of Gwenog Jones, Captain of the all-witch Quidditch team the Holyhead Harpies, on the other. A desk stood facing the open window, which looked out over the orchard where he and Ginny had once played two-a-side Quidditch with Ron and Hermione, and which now housed a large, pearly white marquee. The golden flag on top was level with Ginny’s window.
| “嗯……谢谢。”
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| Ginny looked up into Harry’s face, took a deep breath, and said, “Happy seventeenth.”
| 她目不转睛地盯着他，他却觉得很难与她的的目光对视，就像不敢凝视耀眼的亮光一样。
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| “Yeah . . . thanks.”
| “风景不错。”他指着窗外，没话找话地说。
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| She was looking at him steadily; he, however, found it difficult to look back at her; it was like gazing into a brilliant light.
| 金妮没有接茬。
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| “Nice view,” he said feebly, pointing toward the window.
| “我不知道什么东西有用。不能太大，不然你没法随身带着。”
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| She ignored this. He could not blame her.
| 哈利鼓足勇气看了她一眼。她没有哭，这是金妮许多了不起的地方之一，她很少哭。哈利有时候想，上面有六个哥哥肯定把她磨练得坚强了。
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| “I couldn’t think what to get you,” she said.
| 金妮朝他走近一步。
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| “You didn’t have to get me anything.”
| “所以，我希望你有一件能够想起我的东西，我是说，如果你在外面做事的时候碰到某个媚娃。”
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| She disregarded this too.
| “说句实话，我认为那时谈恋爱的机会很少很少。”
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| “I didn’t know what would be useful. Nothing too big, because you wouldn’t be able to take it with you.”
| “我希望能有这么点儿安慰。”她低声说，然后她吻住了他，以前所未有的方式吻住了他，哈利也回吻着她。他飘飘欲仙，脑子里一片空白，比火焰威士忌的感觉还好。她是世界上惟一真实的东西，金妮，她给他的感觉。他一只手搂在她的背上，一只手抚着她长长的、散发着淡淡香味的秀发——
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| He chanced a glance at her. She was not tearful; that was one of the many wonderful things about Ginny, she was rarely weepy. He had sometimes thought that having six brothers must have toughened her up.
| 身后的门突然被撞开，两人赶紧分开。
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| She took a step closer to him.
| “噢，”罗恩尖刻地说，“对不起。”
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| “So then I thought, I’d like you to have something to remember me by, you know, if you meet some veela when you’re off doing whatever you’re doing.”
| “罗恩！”赫敏跟在他后面，跑得上气不接下气。
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| “I think dating opportunities are going to be pretty thin on the ground, to be honest.”
| 沉默中气氛紧张，然后金妮用平淡的口气小声说：“好了，哈利，祝你生日快乐吧。”
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| “There’s the silver lining I’ve been looking for,” she whispered, and then she was kissing him as she had never kissed him before, and Harry was kissing her back, and it was blissful oblivion, better than firewhisky; she was the only real thing in the world, Ginny, the feel of her, one hand at her back and one in her long, sweetsmelling hair —
| 罗恩耳朵通红，赫敏显得忐忑不安。哈利真想对着他们砰地把门关上，可是刚才门一打开，仿佛有一股冷风刮进屋来，使他那辉煌的瞬间像肥皂泡一样爆裂了。与金妮断绝关系、尽量疏远金妮的种种理由，似乎跟着罗恩一起钻进屋里，使所有忘怀一切的幸福都消失了。
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| The door banged open behind them and they jumped apart.
| 他看着金妮，想说几句话——虽然不知道说什么好，但是金妮已经把身子转过去了。哈利心想这次她大概终于忍不住哭了。当着罗恩的面，他没有任何办法安慰她。
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| “Oh,” said Ron pointedly. “Sorry.”
| “待会儿见。”他说，便跟着罗恩和赫敏走出了卧室。
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| “Ron!” Hermione was just behind him, slightly out of breath. There was a strained silence, then Ginny said in a flat little voice,
| 罗恩大步走下楼梯，穿过仍然拥挤的厨房走进院子，哈利一路尾随着他，赫敏小跑着跟在他们后面，神色惊慌。
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| “Well, happy birthday anyway, Harry.”
| 刚来到新剪过的草坪的僻静处，罗恩就转向朝哈利发难了。
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| Ron’s ears were scarlet; Hermione looked nervous. Harry wanted to slam the door in their faces, but it felt as though a cold draft had entered the room when the door opened, and his shining moment had popped like a soap bubble. All the reasons for ending his
| “你把她给甩了，现在又想干什么，勾引她？”
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| ALBUS DUMBLEDORE relationship with Ginny, for staying well away from her, seemed to have slunk inside the room with Ron, and all happy forgetfulness was gone.
| “我没有勾引她。”哈利说。
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| He looked at Ginny, wanting to say something, though he hardly knew what, but she had turned her back on him. He thought that she might have succumbed, for once, to tears. He could not do anything to comfort her in front of Ron.
| 这时赫敏也赶了上来。
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| “I’ll see you later,” he said, and followed the other two out of the bedroom.
| “罗恩——”
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| Ron marched downstairs, through the still-crowded kitchen and into the yard, and Harry kept pace with him all the way, Hermione trotting along behind them looking scared.
| 罗恩举起一只手让她闭嘴。
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| Once he reached the seclusion of the freshly mown lawn, Ron rounded on Harry.
| “当初你提出一刀两断，她心都碎了——”
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| “You ditched her. What are you doing now, messing her around?”
| “我也是。你知道我为什么要终止，我也不想那么做。”
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| “I’m not messing her around,” said Harry, as Hermione caught up with them.
| “是啊，可是现在你跟她勾勾搭搭，又让她重新燃起希望——”
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| “Ron —”
| “她不是傻瓜，她知道这不可能，她并不指望我们最后结婚，或者——”
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| But Ron held up a hand to silence her.
| 哈利说着，脑海里浮现出一幅逼真的画面：金妮一袭白衣，嫁给一个面目不清、不招人喜欢的高个子陌生男子。在转瞬即逝的一刹那，他一阵心痛：金妮的未来自由自在、无牵无挂，而他……他的前面除了伏地魔什么也没有。
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| “She was really cut up when you ended it —”
| “如果你一逮住机会就跟她调情——”
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| “So was I. You know why I stopped it, and it wasn’t because I wanted to.”
| “再也不会了。”哈利生硬地说。天空蔚蓝无云，他却似乎觉得太阳被乌云遮住了。“满意了吗？”
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| “Yeah, but you go snogging her now and she’s just going to get her hopes up again —”
| 罗恩看上去又愤恨又有点局促不安，他把身子前后摇晃了一会儿，说：“好吧，那就……好吧。”
|
| “She’s not an idiot, she knows it can’t happen, she’s not expecting us to — to end up married, or —”
| 在这天剩下来的时间里，金妮没有再找机会跟哈利单独在一起。从她的神情举止上，也看不出他们曾在她房间里有过超越礼貌的交谈。不过，查理的到来给了哈利些许安慰。韦斯莱夫人逼着查理坐在椅子上，气势汹汹地举起魔杖，大声说要给他好好剪剪头发，哈利在一旁看着，忘记了自己的烦恼。
|
| As he said it, a vivid picture formed in Harry’s mind of Ginny in a white dress, marrying a tall, faceless, and unpleasant stranger. In one spiraling moment it seemed to hit him: Her future was free and unencumbered, whereas his . . . he could see nothing but Voldemort ahead.
| 早在查理、卢平、唐克斯和海格还没有到来之前，哈利的生日宴就把陋居厨房挤得快要爆炸了，于是就在花园里拼了几张桌子。弗雷德和乔治用魔法变出一大批紫色的灯笼，悬在客人们的头顶上。灯笼上闪着耀眼醒目的数字：17。多亏韦斯莱夫人的精心照料，乔治的伤口已变得光滑平整，但哈利还是不习惯他脑袋侧面那个黑乎乎的洞口，虽然双胞胎兄弟拿它开了许多玩笑。
|
| “If you keep groping her every chance you get —”
| 赫敏从她的魔杖顶上喷出紫色和金色的横幅，很有艺术性地悬挂在树上和灌木丛中。
|
| “It won’t happen again,” said Harry harshly. The day was cloudless, but he felt as though the sun had gone in. “Okay?”
| “真好，”罗恩看着赫敏最后一挥魔杖，把沙果树的树叶变成了金色，不禁赞叹道，“你在这方面真有绝活儿。”
|
| Ron looked half resentful, half sheepish; he rocked backward and forward on his feet for a moment, then said, “Right then, well, that’s . . . yeah.”
| “谢谢你，罗恩！”赫敏说道，显得既高兴又有点困惑。哈利转过身去暗自发笑。他有一种奇怪的想法——等他有时间浏览那本《迷倒女巫的十二个制胜法宝》，准会发现有一章是专门讲如何奉承人的。他碰到了金妮的目光，对她报以微笑，却突然想起自己对罗恩的承诺，便赶紧跟德拉库尔先生聊起天来。
|
| Ginny did not seek another one-to-one meeting with Harry for the rest of the day, nor by any look or gesture did she show that they had shared more than polite conversation in her room. Nevertheless, Charlie’s arrival came as a relief to Harry. It provided a distraction, watching Mrs. Weasley force Charlie into a chair, raise her wand threateningly, and announce that he was about to get a proper haircut.
| “让开，让开！”韦斯莱夫人大声说着走进了花园的门，一个浮水气球那么大的金色飞贼在她面前飘浮着。
|
| As Harry’s birthday dinner would have stretched the Burrow’s kitchen to breaking point even before the arrival of Charlie, Lupin, Tonks, and Hagrid, several tables were placed end to end in the garden. Fred and George bewitched a number of purple lanterns, all emblazoned with a large number 17, to hang in midair over the guests. Thanks to Mrs. Weasley’s ministrations, George’s wound was neat and clean, but Harry was not yet used to the dark hole in the side of his head, despite the twins’ many jokes about it.
| 几秒钟后，哈利才意识到那是他的生日蛋糕。韦斯莱夫人用魔杖让它悬在半空，而不是冒险端着它走过坑洼不平的地面。蛋糕终于落到了桌子中央，哈利说道：“真是太棒了，韦斯莱夫人。”
|
| Hermione made purple and gold streamers erupt from the end of her wand and drape themselves artistically over the trees and bushes.
| “哦，没什么，亲爱的。”韦斯莱夫人慈爱地说。罗恩在她身后朝哈利竖起两个大拇指，用口型说：好样的。
|
| “Nice,” said Ron, as with one final flourish of her wand, Hermione
| 七点钟，客人们都来了，弗雷德和乔治站在小路的尽头迎候，把他们领进屋子。海格为了表示重视，穿上了他最好的那件毛茸茸的褐色西服，难看极了。卢平跟哈利握手时虽然面带微笑，但哈利却觉得他似乎很不高兴。这可真奇怪。他身边的唐克斯看上去简直光彩照人。
|
| ALBUS DUMBLEDORE turned the leaves on the crabapple tree to gold. “You’ve really got an eye for that sort of thing.”
| “生日快乐，哈利。”唐克斯说着，紧紧地搂抱了他一下。
|
| “Thank you, Ron!” said Hermione, looking both pleased and a little confused. Harry turned away, smiling to himself. He had a funny notion that he would find a chapter on compliments when he found time to peruse his copy of Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches; he caught Ginny’s eye and grinned at her before remembering his promise to Ron and hurriedly striking up a conversation with Monsieur Delacour.
| “十七了，是不？”海格一边从弗雷德手里接过小桶那么大的一杯酒，一边说，“六年前的今天我们俩相见，哈利，你还记得吗？”
|
| “Out of the way, out of the way!” sang Mrs. Weasley, coming through the gate with what appeared to be a giant, beach-ball-sized Snitch floating in front of her. Seconds later Harry realized that it was his birthday cake, which Mrs. Weasley was suspending with her wand, rather than risk carrying it over the uneven ground. When the cake had finally landed in the middle of the table, Harry said, “That looks amazing, Mrs. Weasley.”
| “有点印象，”哈利笑嘻嘻地抬头看着他说，“你是不是撞烂了大门，给了达力一条猪尾巴，还对我说我是个巫师？”
|
| “Oh, it’s nothing, dear,” she said fondly. Over her shoulder, Ron gave Harry the thumbs-up and mouthed, Good one.
| “具体细节我记不清了。”海格咯咯笑着，“怎么样啊，罗恩，赫敏？”
|
| By seven o’clock all the guests had arrived, led into the house by Fred and George, who had waited for them at the end of the lane. Hagrid had honored the occasion by wearing his best, and horrible, hairy brown suit. Although Lupin smiled as he shook Harry’s hand, Harry thought he looked rather unhappy. It was all very odd; Tonks, beside him, looked simply radiant.
| “挺好的，”赫敏说，“你呢？”
|
| “Happy birthday, Harry,” she said, hugging him tightly.
| “哦，还行。忙着呢，我们有了几只刚生下来的独角兽，等你们回去我让你们看——”哈利躲避着罗恩和赫敏的目光。海格在他的口袋里翻出一个有点毛茸茸的拉绳小袋子，袋子上拴着一根长长的带子，显然是为了挂在脖子上的。“驴皮的。不管把什么东西藏在里面，只有主人自己才拿得出来。挺稀罕的，这玩意儿。”
|
| “Seventeen, eh!” said Hagrid as he accepted a bucket-sized glass of wine from Fred. “Six years ter the day since we met, Harry, d’yeh remember it?”
| “海格，太谢谢了！”
|
| “Vaguely,” said Harry, grinning up at him. “Didn’t you smash down the front door, give Dudley a pig’s tail, and tell me I was a wizard?”
| “没什么。”海格挥了挥垃圾桶盖那么大的手，“哟，查理来了！我一向喜欢他——喂！查理！”
|
| “I forge’ the details,” Hagrid chortled. “All righ’, Ron, Hermione?”
| 查理一边走过来，一边无可奈何地摸着他那新剪的、短得惨不忍睹的头发。他个子比罗恩矮，体格粗壮，肌肉结实的胳膊上满是灼伤和挠伤的痕迹。
|
| “We’re fine,” said Hermione. “How are you?”
| “你好，海格，一切都好吧？”
|
| “Ar, not bad. Bin busy, we got some newborn unicorns, I’ll show yeh when yeh get back —” Harry avoided Ron’s and Hermione’s gazes as Hagrid rummaged in his pocket. “Here, Harry — couldn’ think what ter get yeh, but then I remembered this.” He pulled out a small, slightly furry drawstring pouch with a long string, evidently intended to be worn around the neck. “Mokeskin. Hide anythin’ in there an’ no one but the owner can get it out. They’re rare, them.”
| “早就想给你写信。诺伯怎么样了？”
|
| “Hagrid, thanks!”
| “诺伯？”查理笑了起来，“那条挪威脊背龙？我们现在叫它诺贝塔了。”
|
| “ ’S’nothin’,” said Hagrid with a wave of a dustbin-lid-sized hand. “An’ there’s Charlie! Always liked him — hey! Charlie!”
| “什么——诺伯是个姑娘？”
|
| Charlie approached, running his hand slightly ruefully over his new, brutally short haircut. He was shorter than Ron, thickset, with a number of burns and scratches up his muscley arms.
| “是啊。”查理说。
|
| “Hi, Hagrid, how’s it going?”
| “怎么能看出来呢？”赫敏问。
|
| “Bin meanin’ ter write fer ages. How’s Norbert doin’?”
| “母的要凶恶得多。”查理说。他扭头看看，压低了声音：“真希望爸爸赶紧回来，妈妈开始烦燥了。”
|
| “Norbert?” Charlie laughed. “The Norwegian Ridgeback? We call her Norberta now.”
| 他们都朝韦斯莱夫人望去，只见她一边打起精神跟德拉库尔夫人说话，一边不住地朝大门口张望。
|
| “Wha — Norbert’s a girl?”
| 过了片刻，她对着花园大声说：“我想，我们最好别等亚瑟了，现在就开始吧，他准是有事耽搁了——哦！”
|
| “Oh yeah,” said Charlie.
| 大家同时都看到：一道光掠过院子，蹿到桌子上，变成了一只明亮的银色鼹鼠，它后腿直立，用韦斯莱先生的声音说话了。
|
| “How can you tell?” asked Hermione.
| “魔法部部长和我一起来了。”
|
| “They’re a lot more vicious,” said Charlie. He looked over his shoulder and dropped his voice. “Wish Dad would hurry up and get here. Mum’s getting edgy.”
| 守护神突然不见了踪影，芙蓉一家人惊愕地盯着它消失的地方。
|
| ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
| “我们不应该在这儿，”卢平立刻说道，“哈利——抱歉了——我下次再解释——”
|
| They all looked over at Mrs. Weasley. She was trying to talk to Madame Delacour while glancing repeatedly at the gate.
| 他抓住唐克斯的手腕把她拉走了。他们跑到栅栏前，翻过去不见了。韦斯莱夫人一脸迷惑。
|
| “I think we’d better start without Arthur,” she called to the garden at large after a moment or two. “He must have been held up at — oh!”
| “部长——可是为什么——？我不明白——”
|
| They all saw it at the same time: a streak of light that came flying across the yard and onto the table, where it resolved itself into a bright silver weasel, which stood on its hind legs and spoke with Mr. Weasley’s voice.
| 没有时间讨论这个问题了，一秒钟后，韦斯莱先生在大门口突然出现，身边跟着鲁弗斯·斯克林杰，他那头花白的长发一眼就能认出来。
|
| “Minister of Magic coming with me.”
| 新来的两个人大步穿过院子，朝花园和点着灯笼的桌子走来，桌旁的每个人都默默无语，看着他们一步步走近。斯克林杰走到灯笼的亮光里，哈利发现他比他们上次见面时苍老了许多，消瘦憔悴，神色严峻。
|
| The Patronus dissolved into thin air, leaving Fleur’s family peering in astonishment at the place where it had vanished.
| “抱歉，打扰了，”斯克林杰一瘸一拐地走到桌旁停下，说道，“而且我发现我擅自闯入了一个晚会。”
|
| “We shouldn’t be here,” said Lupin at once. “Harry — I’m sorry — I’ll explain another time —”
| 他的目光在那个巨大的飞贼蛋糕上停留了片刻。
|
| He seized Tonks’s wrist and pulled her away; they reached the fence, climbed over it, and vanished from sight. Mrs. Weasley looked bewildered.
| “祝你长命百岁。”
|
| “The Minister — but why — ? I don’t understand —”
| “谢谢。”哈利说。
|
| But there was no time to discuss the matter; a second later, Mr. Weasley had appeared out of thin air at the gate, accompanied by Rufus Scrimgeour, instantly recognizable by his mane of grizzled hair.
| “我想和你单独谈谈，”斯克林杰继续说，“还有罗恩·韦斯莱先生和赫敏·格兰杰小姐。”
|
| The two newcomers marched across the yard toward the garden and the lantern-lit table, where everybody sat in silence, watching them draw closer. As Scrimgeour came within range of the lantern light, Harry saw that he looked much older than the last time they had met, scraggy and grim.
| “我们？”罗恩说，声音里透着惊讶，“叫我们干吗？”
|
| “Sorry to intrude,” said Scrimgeour, as he limped to a halt before the table. “Especially as I can see that I am gate-crashing a party.”
| “等我们找到更隐蔽的地方，我会告诉你们的。”斯克林杰说，“有这样的地方吗？”他问韦斯莱先生。
|
| His eyes lingered for a moment on the giant Snitch cake.
| “有，当然有。”韦斯莱先生说，他显得有点紧张，“嗯，客厅，客厅不就可以嘛。”
|
| “Many happy returns.”
| “你在前面走。”斯克林杰对罗恩说，“亚瑟，你就不用陪着我们了。”
|
| “Thanks,” said Harry.
| 同罗恩和赫敏站起来的时候，哈利看见韦斯莱先生和韦斯莱夫人交换了一个不安的眼神。三个人一声不吭地向房子里走去，哈利知道另外两个人心里的想法和他一样：斯克林杰肯定不知从哪儿得知他们三个打算从霍格沃茨退学了。
|
| “I require a private word with you,” Scrimgeour went on. “Also with Mr. Ronald Weasley and Miss Hermione Granger.”
| 四个人穿过杂乱拥挤的厨房，进入陋居的客厅，斯克林杰一直没有说话。花园里虽然映着柔和的金色晚霞，但客厅里已经很暗了。哈利进屋时朝那些油灯挥了挥魔杖，它们便放出光来，照亮了这个破旧然而舒适的房间。斯克林杰在韦斯莱先生平常坐的那把松软凹陷的扶手椅上坐了下来，哈利、罗恩和赫敏只好一个挨一个地挤坐在沙发上。他们刚一坐定，斯克林杰就说话了。
|
| “Us?” said Ron, sounding surprised. “Why us?”
| “我有几个问题要问你们三个，我想最好一个一个地问。你们俩——”他指着哈利和赫敏“——到楼上去等着，我先跟罗恩谈谈。”
|
| “I shall tell you that when we are somewhere more private,” said Scrimgeour. “Is there such a place?” he demanded of Mr. Weasley.
| “我们哪儿也不去。”哈利说，赫敏也在一旁拼命点头，“要么跟我们三个谈，要么一个也别谈。”
|
| “Yes, of course,” said Mr. Weasley, who looked nervous. “The, er, sitting room, why don’t you use that?”
| 斯克林杰用冷冷的、审视的目光看着哈利。哈利觉得部长似乎在考虑是否值得这么早就把敌意公开。
|
| “You can lead the way,” Scrimgeour said to Ron. “There will be no need for you to accompany us, Arthur.”
| “好吧，那就一起谈。”他耸了耸肩说，然后清了清嗓子，“我相信你们知道，我是为了阿不思·邓布利多的遗嘱来的。”
|
| Harry saw Mr. Weasley exchange a worried look with Mrs. Weasley as he, Ron, and Hermione stood up. As they led the way back to the house in silence, Harry knew that the other two were thinking the same as he was: Scrimgeour must, somehow, have learned that the three of them were planning to drop out of Hogwarts.
| 哈利、罗恩和赫敏面面相觑。
|
| Scrimgeour did not speak as they all passed through the messy kitchen and into the Burrow’s sitting room. Although the garden had been full of soft golden evening light, it was already dark in here: Harry flicked his wand at the oil lamps as he entered and they illuminated the shabby but cozy room. Scrimgeour sat himself in the sagging armchair that Mr. Weasley normally occupied, leaving Harry, Ron, and Hermione to squeeze side by side onto the sofa. Once they had done so, Scrimgeour spoke.
| “看来很意外啊！难道你们没有意识到邓布利多给我们留了东西？”
|
| “I have some questions for the three of you, and I think it will be best if we do it individually. If you two” — he pointed at Harry and Hermione — “can wait upstairs, I will start with Ronald.”
| “我——我们都有？”罗恩说，“我和赫敏也有？”
|
| ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
| “对，你们都有——”
|
| “We’re not going anywhere,” said Harry, while Hermione nodded vigorously. “You can speak to us together, or not at all.”
| 但哈利打断了他的话。
|
| Scrimgeour gave Harry a cold, appraising look. Harry had the impression that the Minister was wondering whether it was worthwhile opening hostilities this early.
| “邓布利多死了一个多月了，为什么这么长时间才把他留给我们的东西给我们？”
|
| “Very well then, together,” he said, shrugging. He cleared his throat. “I am here, as I’m sure you know, because of Albus Dumbledore’s will.”
| “这还用说吗？”没等斯克林杰回答，赫敏就说道，“他们要检查他留给我们的东西。你没有权利这么做！”她说，声音微微有点发抖。
|
| Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at one another.
| “我当然有权利，”斯克林杰轻蔑地说，“根据《正当没收物资法》，魔法部有权没收遗嘱所涉及的东西——”
|
| “A surprise, apparently! You were not aware then that Dumbledore had left you anything?”
| “那个法律是为了阻止巫师转移黑魔法用品才制定的，”赫敏说，“魔法部应有确凿证据证明死者的东西是非法的才能没收它们！难道你是说你认为邓布利多想留给我们一些邪恶的东西？”
|
| “A-all of us?” said Ron. “Me and Hermione too?”
| “你打算将来从事魔法法律的职业吗，格兰杰小姐？”斯克林杰问。
|
| “Yes, all of —”
| “不是，”赫敏反唇相讥，“我希望在世上做些好事！”
|
| But Harry interrupted.
| 罗恩笑出声来。斯克林杰的目光朝他扫了一下又挪开了，这时哈利说话了。
|
| “Dumbledore died over a month ago. Why has it taken this long to give us what he left us?”
| “现在你怎么又决定让我们拿到我们的东西了？找不到借口扣留它们了？”
|
| “Isn’t it obvious?” said Hermione, before Scrimgeour could answer. “They wanted to examine whatever he’s left us. You had no right to do that!” she said, and her voice trembled slightly.
| “不，是因为三十一天的期限到了，”赫敏立刻说道，“他们扣留的时间不能超过这个期限，除非能证明东西是危险的。对吗？”
|
| “I had every right,” said Scrimgeour dismissively. “The Decree for Justifiable Confiscation gives the Ministry the power to confiscate the contents of a will —”
| “你能说你和邓布利多很亲密吗，罗恩？”斯克林杰没有理睬赫敏，说道。
|
| “That law was created to stop wizards passing on Dark artifacts,” said Hermione, “and the Ministry is supposed to have powerful evidence that the deceased’s possessions are illegal before seizing them! Are you telling me that you thought Dumbledore was trying to pass us something cursed?”
| 罗恩显得很吃惊。
|
| “Are you planning to follow a career in Magical Law, Miss Granger?” asked Scrimgeour.
| “我？不——不太亲密……一向都是哈利……”
|
| “No, I’m not,” retorted Hermione. “I’m hoping to do some good in the world!”
| 罗恩转脸看看哈利和赫敏，却见赫敏朝他丢了个“赶紧闭嘴！”的眼神，但是危害已经造成：斯克林杰似乎听到了他所期待和需要的话。他像饿鸟扑食似的扑向罗恩的回答。
|
| Ron laughed. Scrimgeour’s eyes flickered toward him and away again as Harry spoke.
| “如果你和邓布利多并不十分亲密，又怎么解释他在遗嘱里给你留下的礼物呢？他专门给几个人遗赠了东西。他的大部分财物——他的私人藏书室，他的魔法仪器和其他的个人财产——都留给了霍格沃茨。你认为他为什么对你另眼相看呢？”
|
| “So why have you decided to let us have our things now? Can’t think of a pretext to keep them?”
| “我……不知道，”罗恩说，“我……我刚才说我们不太亲密……其实我是说我觉得他挺喜欢我……”
|
| “No, it’ll be because the thirty-one days are up,” said Hermione at once. “They can’t keep the objects longer than that unless they can prove they’re dangerous. Right?”
| “你太谦虚了，罗恩。”赫敏说，“邓布利多非常喜欢你。”
|
| “Would you say you were close to Dumbledore, Ronald?” asked Scrimgeour, ignoring Hermione. Ron looked startled.
| 这其实是夸大事实了。据哈利所知，罗恩和邓布利多从来没有单独在一起待过，他们之间的直接接触少得可怜。然而，斯克林杰似乎并没在听。他把手伸进斗篷里掏出一个拉绳小袋，比海格送给哈利的那个要大得多。他从里面抽出一卷羊皮纸，展开来大声读道：“‘阿不思·珀西瓦尔·伍尔弗里克·布赖恩·邓布利多的遗嘱……’对，在这里‘……我的熄灯器留给罗恩·比利尔斯·韦斯莱，希望他使用时能想起我。’”
|
| “Me? Not — not really . . . It was always Harry who . . .”
| 斯克林杰从袋子里掏出一个哈利以前见过的东西：看上去像银质的打火机，但哈利知道只要轻轻一弹，它就能把一个地方的所有灯光都吸走，然后再重新点亮。斯克林杰探身把熄灯器递给罗恩，罗恩接过来拿在手里翻看着，一副目瞪口呆的样子。
|
| Ron looked around at Harry and Hermione, to see Hermione giving him a stop-talking-now! sort of look, but the damage was done: Scrimgeour looked as though he had heard exactly what he had expected, and wanted, to hear. He swooped like a bird of prey upon Ron’s answer.
| “这是一件很有价值的东西，”斯克林杰注视着罗恩说，“甚至可能是独一无二的。肯定是邓布利多自己设计的。他为什么要把这么稀罕的东西留给你？”
|
| “If you were not very close to Dumbledore, how do you account for the fact that he remembered you in his will? He made exceptionally few personal bequests. The vast majority of his possessions — his private library, his magical instruments, and other personal effects — were left to Hogwarts. Why do you think you were singled out?”
| 罗恩摇摇头，一脸茫然。
|
| “I . . . dunno,” said Ron. “I . . . when I say we weren’t close . . . I mean, I think he liked me. . . .”
| “邓布利多教过的学生准有好几千，”斯克林杰固执地追问，“但他在遗嘱里只给你们三个留了礼物，这是为什么呢？韦斯莱先生，他认为你会拿他的熄灯器做什么用呢？”
|
| “You’re being modest, Ron,” said Hermione. “Dumbledore was very fond of you.”
| “大概是把灯熄灭吧。”罗恩喃喃地说，“我还能拿它做什么用？”
|
| This was stretching the truth to breaking point; as far as Harry knew, Ron and Dumbledore had never been alone together, and
| 斯克林杰显然也提不出什么建议。他眯着眼睛看了罗恩一会儿，又转向邓布利多的遗嘱。
|
| ALBUS DUMBLEDORE direct contact between them had been negligible. However, Scrimgeour did not seem to be listening. He put his hand inside his cloak and drew out a drawstring pouch much larger than the one Hagrid had given Harry. From it, he removed a scroll of parchment which he unrolled and read aloud.
| “‘我的《诗翁彼豆故事集》留给赫敏·简·格兰杰小姐，希望她会觉得这本书有趣而有教益。’”
|
| “ ‘The Last Will and Testament of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore’ . . . Yes, here we are. . . . ‘To Ronald Bilius Weasley, I leave my Deluminator, in the hope that he will remember me when he uses it.’ ”
| 斯克林杰又从袋子里掏出一本小书，看上去跟楼上那本《尖端黑魔法揭秘》一样破旧，封皮上斑斑点点，好几处都剥落了。赫敏一言不发地从斯克林杰手里接过书，放在膝盖上，低头望着。哈利看见书名是如尼文的，他从来没学会认如尼文。他看着看着，一颗泪珠啪地落在那些凸出的符号上。
|
| Scrimgeour took from the bag an object that Harry had seen before: It looked something like a silver cigarette lighter, but it had, he knew, the power to suck all light from a place, and restore it, with a simple click. Scrimgeour leaned forward and passed the Deluminator to Ron, who took it and turned it over in his fingers, looking stunned.
| “你认为邓布利多为什么要把这本书留给你，格兰杰小姐？”斯克林杰问。
|
| “That is a valuable object,” said Scrimgeour, watching Ron. “It may even be unique. Certainly it is of Dumbledore’s own design. Why would he have left you an item so rare?”
| “他……他知道我喜欢书。”赫敏声音嘶哑地说，用袖子擦了擦眼睛。
|
| Ron shook his head, looking bewildered.
| “但为什么是这本书呢？”
|
| “Dumbledore must have taught thousands of students,” Scrimgeour persevered. “Yet the only ones he remembered in his will are you three. Why is that? To what use did he think you would put his Deluminator, Mr. Weasley?”
| “不知道，他肯定认为我会喜欢。”
|
| “Put out lights, I s’pose,” mumbled Ron. “What else could I do with it?”
| “你跟邓布利多谈论过密码和传递秘密情报的其他方式吗？”
|
| Evidently Scrimgeour had no suggestions. After squinting at Ron for a moment or two, he turned back to Dumbledore’s will.
| “没有，”赫敏仍然用袖子擦着眼睛说，“如果魔法部三十一天都没能发现这本书里藏着密码，恐怕我也不能。”
|
| “ ‘To Miss Hermione Jean Granger, I leave my copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, in the hope that she will find it entertaining and instructive.’ ”
| 她忍住一声啜泣。三个人挤坐得太紧了，罗恩很难把胳膊抽出来搂住赫敏的肩膀。斯克林杰又转向遗嘱。
|
| Scrimgeour now pulled out of the bag a small book that looked as ancient as the copy of Secrets of the Darkest Art upstairs. Its binding was stained and peeling in places. Hermione took it from Scrimgeour without a word. She held the book in her lap and gazed at it. Harry saw that the title was in runes; he had never learned to read them. As he looked, a tear splashed onto the embossed symbols.
| “‘我留给哈利·詹姆·波特的，’”他念道，哈利一下子兴奋得五脏六腑都抽紧了，“‘是他在霍格沃茨第一次参加魁地奇比赛时抓到的金色飞贼，以提醒他记住毅力和技巧的报偿。’”
|
| “Why do you think Dumbledore left you that book, Miss Granger?” asked Scrimgeour.
| 斯克林杰掏出那个胡桃大的小小金球，它的一对银翅膀有气无力地扇动着，哈利看了不禁一阵扫兴。
|
| “He . . . he knew I liked books,” said Hermione in a thick voice, mopping her eyes with her sleeve.
| “邓布利多为什么要把这个飞贼留给你呢？”斯克林杰问。
|
| “But why that particular book?”
| “不知道，”哈利说，“大概是为了你刚才念的那些理由吧……提醒我只要毅力，还有那什么……就能得到怎样的收获。”
|
| “I don’t know. He must have thought I’d enjoy it.”
| “这么说，你认为这只是一个有象征意义的纪念品？”
|
| “Did you ever discuss codes, or any means of passing secret messages, with Dumbledore?”
| “我想是吧，”哈利说，“还会是什么呢？”
|
| “No, I didn’t,” said Hermione, still wiping her eyes on her sleeve. “And if the Ministry hasn’t found any hidden codes in this book in thirty-one days, I doubt that I will.”
| “我在问你呢。”斯克林杰把椅子挪得离沙发更近了一点儿。外面暮色真的降临了，窗外的大帐篷高耸在树篱上方，白得使人害怕。
|
| She suppressed a sob. They were wedged together so tightly that Ron had difficulty extracting his arm to put it around Hermione’s shoulders. Scrimgeour turned back to the will.
| “我注意到你的生日蛋糕是一个飞贼的形状，”斯克林杰对哈利说，“为什么？”
|
| “ ‘To Harry James Potter,’ ” he read, and Harry’s insides contracted with a sudden excitement, “ ‘I leave the Snitch he caught in his first Quidditch match at Hogwarts, as a reminder of the rewards of perseverance and skill.’ ”
| 赫敏大声发出嘲笑。
|
| As Scrimgeour pulled out the tiny, walnut-sized golden ball, its silver wings fluttered rather feebly, and Harry could not help feeling a definite sense of anticlimax.
| “哦，不可能是指哈利是个出色的找球手，那太明显了，”她说，“糖霜里肯定藏着邓布利多的一条秘密情报！”
|
| ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
| “我倒不认为糖霜里藏着什么东西，”斯克林杰说，“飞贼本身就是个藏小东西的绝妙地方。我相信你们知道为什么呢？”
|
| “Why did Dumbledore leave you this Snitch?” asked Scrimgeour.
| 哈利耸耸肩膀，赫敏却做出了回答。哈利觉得，正确回答问题是赫敏的一种根深蒂固的习惯，她无法克制这种欲望。
|
| “No idea,” said Harry. “For the reasons you just read out, I suppose . . . to remind me what you can get if you . . . persevere and whatever it was.”
| “因为飞贼有肉体记忆。”她说。
|
| “You think this a mere symbolic keepsake, then?”
| “什么？”哈利和罗恩同时问。他们都以为赫敏的魁地奇知识少得可怜。
|
| “I suppose so,” said Harry. “What else could it be?”
| “正确，”斯克林杰说，“飞贼被放出来前，没有被裸露的皮肤触摸过，就连制造者也没有摸过，他们都戴着手套。飞贼身上带有一种魔法，它能辨认第一个用手触摸它的人，以防抓球时产生争议。这个飞贼——”他举起小小的金球，“——会记得你的触摸，波特。我突然想起，邓布利多虽然有这样那样的缺点，但魔法技艺却十分高超，他大概给这个飞贼施了魔法，只有你才能打开。”
|
| “I’m asking the questions,” said Scrimgeour, shifting his chair a little closer to the sofa. Dusk was really falling outside now; the marquee beyond the windows towered ghostly white over the hedge.
| 哈利的心怦怦狂跳。他相信斯克林杰的分析是对的。他怎么能避免当着部长的面用光裸的手接过飞贼呢？
|
| “I notice that your birthday cake is in the shape of a Snitch,” Scrimgeour said to Harry. “Why is that?”
| “你什么话也不说，”斯克林杰说，“难道你已经知道飞贼里藏着什么？”
|
| Hermione laughed derisively.
| “不知道。”哈利说，仍然想怎样才能假装碰到飞贼、实际上并不真的接触它。如果知道并且精通摄神取念咒就好了，就能读到赫敏的思想。他简直可以听见赫敏的大脑在他旁边呼呼旋转。
|
| “Oh, it can’t be a reference to the fact Harry’s a great Seeker, that’s way too obvious,” she said. “There must be a secret message from Dumbledore hidden in the icing!”
| “拿着。”斯克林杰轻声说。
|
| “I don’t think there’s anything hidden in the icing,” said Scrimgeour, “but a Snitch would be a very good hiding place for a small object. You know why, I’m sure?”
| 哈利碰上了部长的一双黄眼睛，知道除了服从别无选择。他伸出手去，斯克林杰又俯身向前，把飞贼慢慢地、慎重地放在哈利的手心里。
|
| Harry shrugged. Hermione, however, answered: Harry thought that answering questions correctly was such a deeply ingrained habit she could not suppress the urge.
| 什么也没有发生。哈利用手指团住飞贼，飞贼疲倦的翅膀扑扇几下，就不动了。斯克林杰、罗恩和赫敏继续用急切的目光盯着被哈利握住的金球，似乎仍然希望它会有所变化。
|
| “Because Snitches have flesh memories,” she said.
| “很有戏剧性。”哈利冷冷地说。罗恩和赫敏都笑了起来。
|
| “What?” said Harry and Ron together; both considered Hermione’s Quidditch knowledge negligible.
| “完事儿了吧？”赫敏问，挣扎着想从沙发上站起来。
|
| “Correct,” said Scrimgeour. “A Snitch is not touched by bare skin before it is released, not even by the maker, who wears gloves. It carries an enchantment by which it can identify the first human to lay hands upon it, in case of a disputed capture. This Snitch” — he held up the tiny golden ball — “will remember your touch, Potter. It occurs to me that Dumbledore, who had prodigious magical skill, whatever his other faults, might have enchanted this Snitch so that it will open only for you.”
| “还没完呢，”斯克林杰说，他此刻显得有点烦躁了，“邓布利多还遗赠给你一件东西，波特。”
|
| Harry’s heart was beating rather fast. He was sure that Scrimgeour was right. How could he avoid taking the Snitch with his bare hand in front of the Minister?
| “是什么？”哈利问，心情再一次激动起来。
|
| “You don’t say anything,” said Scrimgeour. “Perhaps you already know what the Snitch contains?”
| 斯克林杰这次没有去看遗嘱。
|
| “No,” said Harry, still wondering how he could appear to touch the Snitch without really doing so. If only he knew Legilimency, really knew it, and could read Hermione’s mind; he could practically hear her brain whirring beside him.
| “戈德里克·格兰芬多的宝剑。”他说。
|
| “Take it,” said Scrimgeour quietly.
| 赫敏和罗恩都呆住了。哈利扭头寻找那镶着红宝石的剑柄，但斯克林杰并没有从皮袋里抽出宝剑，而且皮袋子太小，根本不可能装得下宝剑。
|
| Harry met the Minister’s yellow eyes and knew he had no option but to obey. He held out his hand, and Scrimgeour leaned forward again and placed the Snitch, slowly and deliberately, into Harry’s palm.
| “在哪儿呢？”哈利怀疑地问。
|
| Nothing happened. As Harry’s fingers closed around the Snitch, its tired wings fluttered and were still. Scrimgeour, Ron, and Hermione continued to gaze avidly at the now partially concealed ball, as if still hoping it might transform in some way.
| “很不幸，”斯克林杰说，“邓布利多没有权利把宝剑赠送给他人。戈德里克·格兰芬多的宝剑是一件重要的历史文物，它属于——”
|
| “That was dramatic,” said Harry coolly. Both Ron and Hermione laughed.
| “它属于哈利！”赫敏激动地说，“它选择了哈利，是哈利发现了它，它从分院帽里出来找哈利——”
|
| “That’s all, then, is it?” asked Hermione, making to prise herself off the sofa.
| “根据可靠的历史资料，”斯克林杰说，“宝剑会呈现在每一个出色的格兰芬多学生面前。”斯克林杰又说，“那并不能使它成为波特先生的个人财产，不管邓布利多怎么决定。”斯克林杰挠了挠没剃干净的面颊，审视着哈利，“你说为什么——”
|
| “Not quite,” said Scrimgeour, who looked bad-tempered now. “Dumbledore left you a second bequest, Potter.”
| “——邓布利多想把宝剑给我？”哈利说，拼命克制着自己的火气，“他大概认为宝剑挂在我的墙上会很好看吧。”
|
| “What is it?” asked Harry, excitement rekindling.
| “这不是开玩笑，波特！”斯克林杰咆哮道，“是不是邓布利多相信只有戈德里克·格兰芬多的宝剑才能打败斯莱特林的继承人？波特，他希望把宝剑送给你，是不是因为他也像许多人一样，相信你注定要消灭那个连名字都不能提的魔头？”
|
| Scrimgeour did not bother to read from the will this time.
| “有趣的理论，”哈利说，“有人试过用宝剑去刺伏地魔吗？也许魔法部应该安排一些人去做这件事，而不是整天把时间浪费在拆熄灯器和封锁阿兹卡班越狱的消息上。原来你是在干这个，部长，把自己关在办公室里，绞尽脑汁想打开一个飞贼？到处都在死人——我差点儿也死了——伏地魔追着我过了三个郡，他杀死了疯眼汉，可是魔法部对这些事情只字不提，不是吗？你还指望我们跟你合作？”
|
| ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
| “你太过分了！”斯克林杰大喊一声站了起来。哈利也一跃而起。斯克林杰一瘸一拐地跳到哈利跟前，用他的魔杖尖狠狠戳了戳哈利的胸口：魔杖像点燃的香烟一样在哈利的Ｔ恤衫上烧了个洞。
|
| “The sword of Godric Gryffindor,” he said.
| “嘿！”罗恩大叫，跳起来举起自己的魔杖，可是哈利说：“别！你想让他有借口逮捕我们吗？”
|
| Hermione and Ron both stiffened. Harry looked around for a sign of the ruby-encrusted hilt, but Scrimgeour did not pull the sword from the leather pouch, which in any case looked much too small to contain it.
| “你想起了不是在学校，对吗？”斯克林杰说，他粗重的呼吸喷到哈利的脸上，“想起了我不是邓布利多，不会原谅你的无礼和放肆，对吗？你可以把那道伤疤当成王冠，波特，但是还轮不到一个十七岁的毛孩子来告诉我怎么干我的工作！你该学会尊重别人！”
|
| “So where is it?” Harry asked suspiciously.
| “你该学会赢得别人的尊重！”哈利说。
|
| “Unfortunately,” said Scrimgeour, “that sword was not Dumbledore’s to give away. The sword of Godric Gryffindor is an important historical artifact, and as such, belongs —”
| 地板在颤抖，传来了奔跑的脚步声，接着客厅的门突然打开，韦斯莱夫妇冲了进来。
|
| “It belongs to Harry!” said Hermione hotly. “It chose him, he was the one who found it, it came to him out of the Sorting Hat —”
| “我们——我们好像听见——”韦斯莱先生看到哈利和部长几乎鼻尖碰着鼻尖，一下子惊呆了。
|
| “According to reliable historical sources, the sword may present itself to any worthy Gryffindor,” said Scrimgeour. “That does not make it the exclusive property of Mr. Potter, whatever Dumbledore may have decided.” Scrimgeour scratched his badly shaven cheek, scrutinizing Harry. “Why do you think — ?”
| “——听见高声喧哗。”韦斯莱夫人气喘吁吁地说。
|
| “— Dumbledore wanted to give me the sword?” said Harry, struggling to keep his temper. “Maybe he thought it would look nice on my wall.”
| 斯克林杰从哈利的面前退后几步，扫了一眼他在哈利Ｔ恤衫上烧出的那个小洞，似乎为自己的失态感到懊悔。
|
| “This is not a joke, Potter!” growled Scrimgeour. “Was it because Dumbledore believed that only the sword of Godric Gryffindor could defeat the Heir of Slytherin? Did he wish to give you that sword, Potter, because he believed, as do many, that you are the one destined to destroy He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?”
| “没——没什么，”他粗声粗气地说，“我……我为你的态度感到遗憾。”他又一次盯着哈利的脸说道：“你好像以为魔法部的愿望和你的——邓布利多的——愿望不一样。我们应该共同合作。”
|
| “Interesting theory,” said Harry. “Has anyone ever tried sticking a sword in Voldemort? Maybe the Ministry should put some people onto that, instead of wasting their time stripping down Deluminators or covering up breakouts from Azkaban. So is this what you’ve been doing, Minister, shut up in your office, trying to break open a Snitch? People are dying — I was nearly one of them — Voldemort chased me across three counties, he killed Mad-Eye Moody, but there’s been no word about any of that from the Ministry, has there? And you still expect us to cooperate with you!”
| “我不喜欢你的方式，部长，”哈利说，“记得吗？”
|
| “You go too far!” shouted Scrimgeour, standing up; Harry jumped to his feet too. Scrimgeour limped toward Harry and jabbed him hard in the chest with the point of his wand: It singed a hole in Harry’s T-shirt like a lit cigarette.
| 他第二次举起右手，给斯克林杰看他手背上那些泛白的伤痕——我不可以说谎。斯克林杰的表情僵住了。他一言不发地转过身去，一瘸一拐地走出了房间。韦斯莱夫人急忙跟了过去。哈利听见她在后门口停住脚步过了一分钟左右，她喊道：“他走了！”
|
| “Oi!” said Ron, jumping up and raising his own wand, but Harry said,
| “他想做什么？”韦斯莱先生问，转头看着哈利、罗恩和赫敏，这时韦斯莱夫人又匆匆回到他们身边。
|
| “No! D’you want to give him an excuse to arrest us?”
| “把邓布利多留给我们的东西给我们。”哈利说，“他们刚把他遗赠的东西拿出来。”
|
| “Remembered you’re not at school, have you?” said Scrimgeour, breathing hard into Harry’s face. “Remembered that I am not Dumbledore, who forgave your insolence and insubordination? You may wear that scar like a crown, Potter, but it is not up to a seventeen-year-old boy to tell me how to do my job! It’s time you learned some respect!”
| 来到外面的花园里，在晚餐桌上，斯克林杰给他们的那三样东西从一人手里递到另一个人手里。每个人都为熄灯器和《诗翁彼豆故事集》发出惊叫，都为斯克林杰不肯把宝剑传给哈利而感到遗憾，但是，至于邓布利多为什么要送给哈利一个旧的飞贼，谁也说不出所以然来。韦斯莱先生三番五次地仔细端详熄灯器，韦斯莱夫人试探性地说：“哈利，亲爱的，大家都饿坏了，我们不愿意在你缺席的时候开始……现在我可以上菜了吗？”
|
| “It’s time you earned it,” said Harry.
| 大家都吃得很匆忙，然后草草唱了一首《祝你生日快乐》，三口两口地吃完了蛋糕，晚会就散了。海格被邀请参加第二天的婚礼，但他块头实在太大，在已经挤得满满当当的陋居里睡不下，只好自己在旁边的田地里搭了个帐篷。
|
| The floor trembled; there was a sound of running footsteps, then the door to the sitting room burst open and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley ran in.
| “到楼上找我们，”他们帮韦斯莱夫人把花园恢复原样时，哈利小声对赫敏说，“等大家都睡了以后。”
|
| “We — we thought we heard —” began Mr. Weasley, looking thoroughly alarmed at the sight of Harry and the Minister virtually nose to nose.
| 在阁楼间里，罗恩研究着他的熄灯器，哈利把海格送给他的那个驴皮袋装满了，装的不是金子，而是他最珍贵的几样东西，虽然有些看上去没有什么价值：活点地图，小天狼星魔镜的碎片，R．A．B．的挂坠盒。他扎紧带子，把皮袋挂在脖子上，然后拿着旧飞贼坐了下来，注视着飞贼有气无力地扇翅膀。终于，赫敏在门上敲了敲，踮着脚尖走了进来。
|
| “— raised voices,” panted Mrs. Weasley.
| “闭耳塞听。”她用魔杖朝楼梯的方向挥了挥，小声说道。
|
| Scrimgeour took a couple of steps back from Harry, glancing at the hole he had made in Harry’s T-shirt. He seemed to regret his loss of temper.
| “你好像不赞成那个咒语的呀？”罗恩说。
|
| “It — it was nothing,” he growled. “I . . . regret your attitude,” he
| “此一时彼一时嘛，”赫敏说，“来，给我们看看熄灯器。”
|
| ALBUS DUMBLEDORE said, looking Harry full in the face once more. “You seem to think that the Ministry does not desire what you — what Dumbledore — desired. We ought to be working together.”
| 罗恩立刻照办。他把熄灯器举在面前，咔哒一声，他们刚才点亮的那盏孤灯立刻熄灭了。
|
| “I don’t like your methods, Minister,” said Harry. “Remember?”
| “问题是，”赫敏在黑暗中说，“我们用秘鲁隐身烟雾弹也能办到。”
|
| For the second time, he raised his right fist and displayed to Scrimgeour the scars that still showed white on the back of it, spelling I must not tell lies. Scrimgeour’s expression hardened. He turned away without another word and limped from the room. Mrs. Weasley hurried after him; Harry heard her stop at the back door. After a minute or so she called, “He’s gone!”
| 随着轻微的咔哒一声，那盏灯里的灯泡飞到天花板上，一下子把他们都照亮了。
|
| “What did he want?” Mr. Weasley asked, looking around at Harry, Ron, and Hermione as Mrs. Weasley came hurrying back to them.
| “它还是挺酷的，”罗恩有点替自己辩护，“而且他们说这是邓布利多自己发明的！”
|
| “To give us what Dumbledore left us,” said Harry. “They’ve only just released the contents of his will.”
| “我知道，但是他在遗嘱里单独把你挑出来，肯定不会就只是让你帮我们灭灯吧！”
|
| Outside in the garden, over the dinner tables, the three objects Scrimgeour had given them were passed from hand to hand. Everyone exclaimed over the Deluminator and The Tales of Beedle the Bard and lamented the fact that Scrimgeour had refused to pass on the sword, but none of them could offer any suggestion as to why Dumbledore would have left Harry an old Snitch. As Mr. Weasley examined the Deluminator for the third or fourth time, Mrs. Weasley said tentatively, “Harry, dear, everyone’s awfully hungry, we didn’t like to start without you. . . . Shall I serve dinner now?”
| “你们说，他是不是知道魔法部会没收他的遗嘱，检查他留给我们的每一样东西？”
|
| They all ate rather hurriedly and then, after a hasty chorus of “Happy Birthday” and much gulping of cake, the party broke up. Hagrid, who was invited to the wedding the following day, but was far too bulky to sleep in the overstretched Burrow, left to set up a tent for himself in a neighboring field.
| “肯定知道，”赫敏说，“他不能在遗嘱里告诉我们为什么留给我们这些东西，但那仍然不能解释……”
|
| “Meet us upstairs,” Harry whispered to Hermione, while they helped Mrs. Weasley restore the garden to its normal state. “After everyone’s gone to bed.”
| “……他为什么没在活着的时候给我们一点暗示，对吗？”罗恩问。
|
| Up in the attic room, Ron examined his Deluminator, and Harry filled Hagrid’s mokeskin purse, not with gold, but with those items he most prized, apparently worthless though some of them were: the Marauder’s Map, the shard of Sirius’s enchanted mirror, and R.A.B.’s locket. He pulled the strings tight and slipped the purse around his neck, then sat holding the old Snitch and watching its wings flutter feebly. At last, Hermione tapped on the door and tiptoed inside.
| “对啊，”赫敏翻着《诗翁彼豆故事集说，》“如果这些东西非常重要，必须在魔法部的鼻子底下传给我们，至少他应该让我们知道为什么呀……除非他认为这是明摆着的？”
|
| “Muffliato,” she whispered, waving her wand in the direction of the stairs.
| “他的认为错了，不是吗？”罗恩说，“我总说他脑子坏了。聪明智慧，那没说的，但疯疯癫癫的。留给哈利一个旧飞贼——这到底是怎么回事儿呀？”
|
| “Thought you didn’t approve of that spell?” said Ron.
| “不知道。”赫敏说，“哈利，斯克林杰叫你接过它时，我以为肯定会发生什么事情呢！”
|
| “Times change,” said Hermione. “Now, show us that Deluminator.”
| “是啊，不过，”哈利说，他用手指托起飞贼，脉搏突然加快了，“当着斯克林杰的面，我还不能使劲尝试，对不？”
|
| Ron obliged at once. Holding it up in front of him, he clicked it. The solitary lamp they had lit went out at once.
| “什么意思？”赫敏问。
|
| “The thing is,” whispered Hermione through the dark, “we could have achieved that with Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder.”
| “我第一次参加魁地奇比赛抓住的飞贼？”哈利说，“你们不记得了吗？”
|
| There was a small click, and the ball of light from the lamp flew back to the ceiling and illuminated them all once more.
| 赫敏看上去一头雾水。罗恩激动得喘不过气来，他胡乱地指指哈利，指指飞贼，又指指哈利，然后才说出话来。
|
| “Still, it’s cool,” said Ron, a little defensively. “And from what they said, Dumbledore invented it himself!”
| “就是你差点吞下去的那个！”
|
| “I know, but surely he wouldn’t have singled you out in his will just to help us turn out the lights!”
| “正是。”哈利说，他把嘴贴向飞贼，心怦怦地狂跳。
|
| “D’you think he knew the Ministry would confiscate his will and examine everything he’d left us?” asked Harry.
| 飞贼没有打开。哈利内心一阵失望和沮丧。他放下金球，赫敏却突然叫了起来。
|
| “Definitely,” said Hermione. “He couldn’t tell us in the will why he was leaving us these things, but that still doesn’t explain . . .”
| “有字！球上有字，快，快看！”
|
| ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
| 哈利既惊讶又激动，差点把球掉在地上。赫敏说得对。光溜溜的金球表面刻着几个刚才还没有的字，细细的，歪向一边，哈利认出是邓布利多的笔迹：
|
| “. . . why he couldn’t have given us a hint when he was alive?” asked Ron.
| 我在结束时打开。
|
| “Well, exactly,” said Hermione, now flicking through The Tales of Beedle the Bard. “If these things are important enough to pass on right under the nose of the Ministry, you’d think he’d have let us know why . . . unless he thought it was obvious?”
| 他刚念完，字迹又消失了。
|
| “Thought wrong, then, didn’t he?” said Ron. “I always said he was mental. Brilliant and everything, but cracked. Leaving Harry an old Snitch — what the hell was that about?”
| “‘我在结束时打开……’这是什么意思呢？”
|
| “I’ve no idea,” said Hermione. “When Scrimgeour made you take it, Harry, I was so sure that something was going to happen!”
| 赫敏和罗恩都摇摇头，一脸茫然。
|
| “Yeah, well,” said Harry, his pulse quickening as he raised the Snitch in his fingers. “I wasn’t going to try too hard in front of Scrimgeour, was I?”
| “我在结束时打开……结束时……结束时打开……”
|
| “What do you mean?” asked Hermione.
| 他们变着各种腔调把这几个字念了许多遍，还是琢磨不出更多的意思。
|
| “The Snitch I caught in my first ever Quidditch match?” said Harry. “Don’t you remember?”
| “还有那把宝剑，”当他们终于不再猜测飞贼上的文字的意思时，罗恩说：“他为什么希望哈利得到宝剑呢？”
|
| Hermione looked simply bemused. Ron, however, gasped, pointing frantically from Harry to the Snitch and back again until he found his voice.
| “他为什么不能直接告诉我呢？”哈利轻声地说，“我们去年有过那么多次谈话，宝剑就在那儿，挂在他办公室的墙上！如果他想让我得到它，为什么当时不直接给我呢？”
|
| “That was the one you nearly swallowed!”
| 哈利觉得自己像在进行考试，面对一个他应该能够回答的问题，而他的大脑反应迟钝。他是否忽略了去年与邓布利多长谈中的什么东西？他是否应该知道所有这一切的意思？邓布利多是否指望他能够理解？
|
| “Exactly,” said Harry, and with his heart beating fast, he pressed his mouth to the Snitch.
| “还有这本书，”赫敏说，“《诗翁彼豆故事集》，我连听都没听说过！”
|
| It did not open. Frustration and bitter disappointment welled up inside him: He lowered the golden sphere, but then Hermione cried out.
| “你没听说过《诗翁彼豆故事集》？”罗恩不敢相信地说，“你是在开玩笑吧？”
|
| “Writing! There’s writing on it, quick, look!”
| “没有啊！”赫敏吃惊地说，“难道你知道？”
|
| He nearly dropped the Snitch in surprise and excitement. Hermione was quite right. Engraved upon the smooth golden surface, where seconds before there had been nothing, were five words written in the thin, slanting handwriting that Harry recognized as Dumbledore’s:
| 哈利被吸引住了，抬起头来。罗恩居然读过一本赫敏没读过的书，这真是前所未有的稀罕事儿。罗恩却被他们的惊讶弄糊涂了。
|
| I open at the close.
| “哦，别逗了！小孩儿听的老故事据说都是彼豆写的，不是吗？《好运泉》……《小兔巴比蒂和她的呱呱树桩……》”
|
| He had barely read them when the words vanished again.
| “对不起，”赫敏咯咯笑着说，“最后一个是什么？”
|
| “ ‘I open at the close . . .’ What’s that supposed to mean?”
| “得了得了！”罗恩说，他不相信地看看哈利又看看赫敏，“你们肯定听过小兔巴比蒂——”
|
| Hermione and Ron shook their heads, looking blank.
| “罗恩，你完全清楚哈利和我都是由麻瓜带大的！”赫敏说，“小时候没听过那样的故事，我们听的是《白雪公主》和《灰姑娘》——”
|
| “I open at the close . . . at the close . . . I open at the close . . .”
| “那是什么，一种病吗？”罗恩问。
|
| But no matter how often they repeated the words, with many different inflections, they were unable to wring any more meaning from them.
| “这么说，这些都是儿童故事？”赫敏问，又埋头研究那些如尼文。
|
| “And the sword,” said Ron finally, when they had at last abandoned their attempts to divine meaning in the Snitch’s inscription. “Why did he want Harry to have the sword?”
| “是啊，”罗恩不能肯定地说，“反正我听说所有的老故事都是彼豆写的，但我不知道它们最初的版本是什么样的。”
|
| “And why couldn’t he just have told me?” Harry said quietly. “It was there, it was right there on the wall of his office during all our talks last year! If he wanted me to have it, why didn’t he just give it to me then?”
| “可我不明白为什么邓布利多认为我应该读这些故事呢？”
|
| He felt as though he were sitting in an examination with a question he ought to have been able to answer in front of him, his brain slow and unresponsive. Was there something he had missed in the long talks with Dumbledore last year? Ought he to know what it all meant? Had Dumbledore expected him to understand?
| 楼下传来吱吱嘎嘎的声音。
|
| “And as for this book,” said Hermione, “The Tales of Beedle the Bard . . . I’ve never even heard of them!”
| “大概是查理，趁妈妈睡着偷偷摸摸地让头发再长出来。”罗恩紧张地说。
|
| “You’ve never heard of The Tales of Beedle the Bard ?” said Ron incredulously. “You’re kidding, right?”
| “不管怎样，我们应该睡觉了，”赫敏小声说，“明天可不能睡过头。”
|
| ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
| “绝对不能，”罗恩同意道，“新郎的母亲残忍杀死三人，会使整个婚礼有点煞风景的。我来把灯点亮。”
|
| “No, I’m not!” said Hermione in surprise. “Do you know them, then?”
| 他又咔哒按下了熄灯器，赫敏离开了房间。
|
| “Well, of course I do!”
|
|
| Harry looked up, diverted. The circumstance of Ron having read a book that Hermione had not was unprecedented. Ron, however, looked bemused by their surprise.
| |
| “Oh come on! All the old kids’ stories are supposed to be Beedle’s, aren’t they? ‘The Fountain of Fair Fortune’ . . . ‘The Wizard and the Hopping Pot’ . . . ‘Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump’ . . .”
| |
| “Excuse me?” said Hermione, giggling. “What was that last one?
| |
| “Come off it!” said Ron, looking in disbelief from Harry to Hermione. “You must’ve heard of Babbitty Rabbitty —”
| |
| “Ron, you know full well Harry and I were brought up by Muggles!” said Hermione. “We didn’t hear stories like that when we were little, we heard ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ and ‘Cinderella’ —”
| |
| “What’s that, an illness?” asked Ron.
| |
| “So these are children’s stories?” asked Hermione, bending again over the runes.
| |
| “Yeah,” said Ron uncertainly, “I mean, that’s just what you hear, you know, that all these old stories came from Beedle. I dunno what they’re like in the original versions.”
| |
| “But I wonder why Dumbledore thought I should read them?”
| |
| Something creaked downstairs.
| |
| “Probably just Charlie, now Mum’s asleep, sneaking off to regrow his hair,” said Ron nervously.
| |
| “All the same, we should get to bed,” whispered Hermione. “It wouldn’t do to oversleep tomorrow.”
| |
| “No,” agreed Ron. “A brutal triple murder by the bridegroom’s mother might put a bit of a damper on the wedding. I’ll get the lights.”
| |
| And he clicked the Deluminator once more as Hermione left the room.
| |
|
| |
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