哈利·波特与混血王子 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 英文  中文  双语对照  双语交替 首页  目录  上一章   下一章

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN THE SECRET RIDDLE

第十三章　神秘的里德尔

Katie was removed to St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries the following day, by which time the news that she had been cursed had spread all over the school, though the details were confused and nobody other than Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Leanne seemed to know that Katie herself had not been the intended target.

凯蒂第二天就转到圣芒戈魔法伤病医院去了，这时，她中了魔咒的消息已经在学校里传遍了，不过具体细节大家并不清楚，除了哈利、罗恩、赫敏和利妮，似乎谁也不知道凯蒂本人并不是那条项链预期的攻击目标。

“Oh, and Malfoy knows, of course,” said Harry to Ron and Hermione, who continued their new policy of feigning deafness whenever Harry mentioned his Malfoy-Is-a-Death-Eater theory.

“噢，马尔福当然也知道。”哈利对罗恩和赫敏说，他们俩每次听见哈利提到“马尔福是食死徒”的想法，都只好继续装聋作哑。

Harry had wondered whether Dumbledore would return from wherever he had been in time for Monday night’s lesson, but having had no word to the contrary, he presented himself outside Dumbledore’s office at eight o’clock, knocked, and was told to enter. There sat Dumbledore looking unusually tired; his hand was as black and burned as ever, but he smiled when he gestured to Harry to sit down. The Pensieve was sitting on the desk again, casting silvery specks of light over the ceiling.

邓布利多不知道去了哪里，哈利甚至怀疑他星期一晚上能不能赶回来给他上课。不过既然没有收到取消上课的通知，他还是在晚上八点钟准时出现在邓布利多办公室外面。他轻轻敲了敲门，里面有声音请他进去。邓布利多坐在那里，显得特别疲惫，那只手还像以前一样焦黑干枯，但是他脸上带着微笑，示意哈利坐下。冥想盆又一次放在桌上，将星星点点的银色光斑投射在天花板上。

“You have had a busy time while I have been away,” Dumbledore said. “I believe you witnessed Katie’s accident.”

“我出去的这段时间，你很忙碌啊，”邓布利多说，“你亲眼看见了凯蒂出事的情景。”

“Yes, sir. How is she?”

“是的，先生。她怎么样了？”

“Still very unwell, although she was relatively lucky. She appears to have brushed the necklace with the smallest possible amount of skin: There was a tiny hole in her glove. Had she put it on, had she even held it in her ungloved hand, she would have died, perhaps instantly. Luckily Professor Snape was able to do enough to prevent a rapid spread of the curse —”

“情况还很不好，不过还算比较幸运。她似乎只是一小块皮肤碰到了项链，她的手套上有一个小洞。如果她把项链戴在脖子上，或只是用不戴手套的手拿起项链，她都会死去，也许当场就毙命了。幸好斯内普教授很有办法，阻止了魔咒的快速传播——”

“Why him?” asked Harry quickly. “Why not Madam Pomfrey?”

“为什么是他？”哈利立刻问道，“为什么不是庞弗雷夫人？”

“Impertinent,” said a soft voice from one of the portraits on the wall, and Phineas Nigellus Black, Sirius’s great-great-grandfather, raised his head from his arms where he had appeared to be sleeping. “I would not have permitted a student to question the way Hogwarts operated in my day.”

“没礼貌。”墙上一幅肖像里传出一个轻轻的声音，菲尼亚斯·奈杰勒斯·布莱克——小天狼星的曾曾祖父，刚才趴在胳膊上似乎睡着了，这会儿正好抬起头来，“想当年，我可不允许一位学生对霍格沃茨的管理方式提出异议。”

“Yes, thank you, Phineas,” said Dumbledore quellingly. “Professor Snape knows much more about the Dark Arts than Madam Pomfrey, Harry. Anyway, the St. Mungo’s staff are sending me hourly reports, and I am hopeful that Katie will make a full recovery in time.”

“是的，谢谢你，菲尼亚斯。”邓布利多息事宁人地说，“哈利，斯内普在黑魔法方面的知识比庞弗雷夫人丰富得多。而且，圣芒戈魔法伤病医院的工作人员每小时都在向我汇报情况，我相信凯蒂很快就有希望完全恢复的。”

“Where were you this weekend, sir?” Harry asked, disregarding a strong feeling that he might be pushing his luck, a feeling apparently shared by Phineas Nigellus, who hissed softly.

“你这个周末去哪儿了，先生？”哈利问，他知道自己有点得寸进尺，但他豁出去了，菲尼亚斯·奈杰勒斯显然也觉得哈利太过分了，轻轻地发出了嘘声。

“I would rather not say just now,” said Dumbledore. “However, I shall tell you in due course.”

“目前我还不想说，”邓布利多说，“不过，以后在适当的时候我会告诉你的。”

“You will?” said Harry, startled.

“会吗？”哈利惊异地问。

“Yes, I expect so,” said Dumbledore, withdrawing a fresh bottle of silver memories from inside his robes and uncorking it with a prod of his wand.

“会，我想会的。”邓布利多说着从长袍里面掏出一只装着银白色记忆的新瓶子，用魔杖一捅，拔出了木塞。

“Sir,” said Harry tentatively, “I met Mundungus in Hogsmeade.”

“先生，”哈利犹豫不决地说，“我在霍格莫德村看见蒙顿格斯了。”

“Ah yes, I am already aware that Mundungus has been treating your inheritance with light-fingered contempt,” said Dumbledore, frowning a little. “He has gone to ground since you accosted him outside the Three Broomsticks; I rather think he dreads facing me. However, rest assured that he will not be making away with any more of Sirius’s old possessions.”

“啊，是的，我已经发现了蒙顿格斯不把你继承的遗产当回事，经常顺手牵羊。”邓布利多微微皱着眉头说道，“自从你在三把扫帚酒吧外面跟他说过话之后，他就藏起来了。我想他是不敢见我了吧。不过你放心，他再也不会把小天狼星留下的东西偷走了。”

“That mangy old half-blood has been stealing Black heirlooms?” said Phineas Nigellus, incensed; and he stalked out of his frame, undoubtedly to visit his portrait in number twelve, Grimmauld Place.

“那个卑鄙的老杂种竟敢偷布莱克家的祖传遗物？”菲尼亚斯·奈杰勒斯恼火地说，然后便大步走出了相框，无疑是去拜访他在格里莫广场12号的那幅肖像了。

“Professor,” said Harry, after a short pause, “did Professor McGonagall tell you what I told her after Katie got hurt? About Draco Malfoy?”

“教授，”哈利在短暂的停顿之后说，“麦格教授有没有把我在凯蒂受伤后对她说的话告诉你？就是关于德拉科·马尔福的？”

“She told me of your suspicions, yes,” said Dumbledore.

“是的，她对我说了你的怀疑。”邓布利多说。

“And do you — ?”

“那么你——？”

“I shall take all appropriate measures to investigate anyone who might have had a hand in Katie’s accident,” said Dumbledore. “But what concerns me now, Harry, is our lesson.”

“凡是在凯蒂事故中有嫌疑的人，我都要对其进行深入细致的调查。”邓布利多说，“可是，哈利，我现在关心的是我们的课。”

Harry felt slightly resentful at this: If their lessons were so very important, why had there been such a long gap between the first and second? However, he said no more about Draco Malfoy, but watched as Dumbledore poured the fresh memories into the Pensieve and began swirling the stone basin once more between his long-fingered hands.

哈利听了这话感到有点恼火。既然他们的课这么重要，为什么第一堂课和第二堂课之间隔了这么长时间？不过，他没有就德拉科·马尔福的事再说什么，而是注视着邓布利多把那些新的记忆倒进冥想盆中，然后用细长的双手端起石盆轻轻转动。

“You will remember, I am sure, that we left the tale of Lord Voldemort’s beginnings at the point where the handsome Muggle, Tom Riddle, had abandoned his witch wife, Merope, and returned to his family home in Little Hangleton. Merope was left alone in London, expecting the baby who would one day become Lord Voldemort.”

“关于伏地魔的早期经历，我想你一定还记得，我们上次说到那位英俊的麻瓜——汤姆·里德尔抛弃了他的女巫妻子梅洛普，回到他在小汉格顿村的老家。梅洛普独自待在伦敦，肚子里怀着那个日后将成为伏地魔的孩子。”

“How do you know she was in London, sir?”

“你怎么知道她在伦敦呢，先生？”

“Because of the evidence of one Caractacus Burke,” said Dumbledore, “who, by an odd coincidence, helped found the very shop whence came the necklace we have just been discussing.”

“因为有卡拉克塔库斯·博克提供的证据。”邓布利多说，“说来真是无巧不成书，他当年协助创办的一家商店，正是出售我们所说的那条项链的店铺。”

He swilled the contents of the Pensieve as Harry had seen him swill them before, much as a gold prospector sifts for gold. Up out of the swirling, silvery mass rose a little old man revolving slowly in the Pensieve, silver as a ghost but much more solid, with a thatch of hair that completely covered his eyes.

他晃动着冥想盆里的东西，就像淘金者筛金子一样，哈利以前看见他这么做过。那些不断旋转的银白色物体中浮现出一个小老头儿的身影，他在冥想盆里慢慢地旋转，苍白得像幽灵一样，但比幽灵更有质感，他的头发非常浓密，把眼睛完全遮住了。

“Yes, we acquired it in curious circumstances. It was brought in by a young witch just before Christmas, oh, many years ago now. She said she needed the gold badly, well, that much was obvious. Covered in rags and pretty far along . . . Going to have a baby, see. She said the locket had been Slytherin’s. Well, we hear that sort of story all the time, ‘Oh, this was Merlin’s, this was, his favorite teapot,’ but when I looked at it, it had his mark all right, and a few simple spells were enough to tell me the truth. Of course, that made it near enough priceless. She didn’t seem to have any idea how much it was worth. Happy to get ten Galleons for it. Best bargain we ever made!”

“是的，我们是在很特殊的情况下得到它的。是一位年轻的女巫在圣诞节前拿来的，说起来已经是很多年前的事了。她说她急需要钱，是啊，那是再明显不过的。她衣衫褴褛，面容憔悴……还怀着身孕。她说那个挂坠盒以前是斯莱特林的。咳，我们成天听到这样的鬼话：‘喔，这是梅林的东西，真的，是他最喜欢的茶壶。’可是我仔细一看，挂坠盒上果然有斯莱特林的标记，我又念了几个简单的咒语就弄清了真相。当然啦，那东西简直就是价值连城。那女人似乎根本不知道它有多么值钱，只卖了十个加隆就心满意足了。那是我们做的最划算的一笔买卖！”

Dumbledore gave the Pensieve an extra-vigorous shake and Caractacus Burke descended back into the swirling mass of memory from whence he had come.

邓布利多格外用力地晃了晃冥想盆，卡拉克塔库斯又重新回到他刚才出现的地方，沉入了旋转的记忆之中。

“He only gave her ten Galleons?” said Harry indignantly.

“他只给了她十个加隆？”哈利愤愤不平地说。

“Caractacus Burke was not famed for his generosity,” said Dumbledore. “So we know that, near the end of her pregnancy, Merope was alone in London and in desperate need of gold, desperate enough to sell her one and only valuable possession, the locket that was one of Marvolo’s treasured family heirlooms.”

“卡拉克塔库斯·博克不是一个慷慨大方的人。”邓布利多说，“这样我们便知道，梅洛普在怀孕后期，独自一个人待在伦敦，迫切地需要钱，不得不卖掉她身上惟一值钱的东西——那个挂坠盒，也是马沃罗非常珍惜的一件传家宝。”

“But she could do magic!” said Harry impatiently. “She could have got food and everything for herself by magic, couldn’t she?”

“但是她会施魔法呀！”哈利性急地说，“她可以通过魔法给自己弄到食物和所有的东西，不是吗？”

“Ah,” said Dumbledore, “perhaps she could. But it is my belief — I am guessing again, but I am sure I am right — that when her husband abandoned her, Merope stopped using magic. I do not think that she wanted to be a witch any longer. Of course, it is also possible that her unrequited love and the attendant despair sapped her of her powers; that can happen. In any case, as you are about to see, Merope refused to raise her wand even to save her own life.”

“嗬，”邓布利多说，“也许她可以。不过我认为——我这又是在猜测，但我相信我是对的——我认为梅洛普在被丈夫抛弃之后，就不再使用魔法了。她大概不想再做一个女巫了。当然啦，也有另一种可能，她那得不到回报的爱情以及由此带来的绝望大大削弱了她的力量。那样的事情是会发生的。总之，你待会儿就会看到，梅洛普甚至不肯举起魔杖拯救自己的性命。”

“She wouldn’t even stay alive for her son?”

“她甚至不愿意为了她的儿子活下来吗？”

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. “Could you possibly be feeling sorry for Lord Voldemort?”

邓布利多扬起了眉毛。

“No,” said Harry quickly, “but she had a choice, didn’t she, not like my mother —”

“莫非你竟然对伏地魔产生了同情？”

“Your mother had a choice too,” said Dumbledore gently. “Yes, Merope Riddle chose death in spite of a son who needed her, but do not judge her too harshly, Harry. She was greatly weakened by long suffering and she never had your mother’s courage. And now, if you will stand . . .”

“不，”哈利急忙说道，“但是梅洛普是可以选择的，不是吗，不像我妈妈——”

“Where are we going?” Harry asked, as Dumbledore joined him at the front of the desk.

“你妈妈也是可以选择的。”邓布利多温和地说，“是的，梅洛普·里德尔选择了死亡，尽管有一个需要她的儿子，但是不要对她求全责备吧，哈利。长期的痛苦折磨使她变得十分脆弱，而且她一向没有你妈妈那样的勇气。好了，现在请你站起来……”

“This time,” said Dumbledore, “we are going to enter my memory. I think you will find it both rich in detail and satisfyingly accurate. After you, Harry . . .”

“我们去哪儿？”哈利问，这时邓布利多走过来和他一起站在桌前。

Harry bent over the Pensieve; his face broke the cool surface of the memory and then he was falling through darkness again. . . . Seconds later, his feet hit firm ground; he opened his eyes and found that he and Dumbledore were standing in a bustling, oldfashioned London street.

“这次，”邓布利多说，“我们要进入我的记忆。我想，你会发现它不仅细节生动，而且准确无误。你先来，哈利……”

“There I am,” said Dumbledore brightly, pointing ahead of them to a tall figure crossing the road in front of a horse-drawn milk cart.

哈利朝冥想盆俯下身，他的脸扎入了盆中冰冷的记忆，然后他又一次在黑暗中坠落……几秒钟后，他的双脚踩到了坚实的地面，他睁开眼睛，发现他和邓布利多站在伦敦一条繁忙的老式街道上。

This younger Albus Dumbledore’s long hair and beard were auburn. Having reached their side of the street, he strode off along the pavement, drawing many curious glances due to the flamboyantly cut suit of plum velvet that he was wearing.

“那就是我。”邓布利多指着前面一个高个子的身影欢快地说，那人正在一辆马拉的牛奶车前面横穿马路。

“Nice suit, sir,” said Harry, before he could stop himself, but Dumbledore merely chuckled as they followed his younger self a short distance, finally passing through a set of iron gates into a bare courtyard that fronted a rather grim, square building surrounded by high railings. He mounted the few steps leading to the front door and knocked once. After a moment or two, the door was opened by a scruffy girl wearing an apron.

这位年轻的阿不思·邓布利多的长头发和长胡子都是赤褐色的。他来到马路这一边，顺着人行道大步流星地往前走去，他身上那件考究的紫红色天鹅绒西服吸引了许多好奇的目光。

“Good afternoon. I have an appointment with a Mrs. Cole, who, I believe, is the matron here?”

“好漂亮的衣服，先生。”哈利不假思索地脱口说道，邓布利多只是轻声笑了笑。他们不远不近地跟着年轻的邓布利多，最后穿过一道大铁门，走进了一片光秃秃的院子。

“Oh,” said the bewildered-looking girl, taking in Dumbledore’s eccentric appearance. “Um . . . just a mo’ . . . MRS. COLE!” she bellowed over her shoulder.

院子后面是一座四四方方、阴森古板的楼房，四周围着高高的栏杆。他走上通向前门的几级台阶，敲了一下门。过了片刻，一个系着围裙的邋里邋遢的姑娘把门打开了。

Harry heard a distant voice shouting something in response. The girl turned back to Dumbledore. “Come in, she’s on ’er way.”

“下午好，我跟一位科尔夫人约好了，我想，她是这里的总管吧？”

Dumbledore stepped into a hallway tiled in black and white; the whole place was shabby but spotlessly clean. Harry and the older Dumbledore followed. Before the front door had closed behind them, a skinny, harassed-looking woman came scurrying toward them. She had a sharp-featured face that appeared more anxious than unkind, and she was talking over her shoulder to another aproned helper as she walked toward Dumbledore.

“哦，”那个姑娘满脸困惑地说，一边用锐利的目光打量着邓布利多那一身古怪的行头，“嗯……等一等……科尔夫人！”她扭头大声叫道。

“. . . and take the iodine upstairs to Martha, Billy Stubbs has been picking his scabs and Eric Whalley’s oozing all over his sheets — chicken pox on top of everything else,” she said to nobody in particular, and then her eyes fell upon Dumbledore and she stopped dead in her tracks, looking as astonished as if a giraffe had just crossed her threshold.

哈利听见远处有个声音大喊着回答了她。那姑娘又转向了邓布利多。

“Good afternoon,” said Dumbledore, holding out his hand.

“进来吧，她马上就来。”

Mrs. Cole simply gaped.

邓布利多走进一间铺着黑白瓷砖的门厅。整个房间显得很破旧，但是非常整洁，一尘不染。哈利和老邓布利多跟了进去。大门还没在他们身后关上，就有一个瘦骨嶙峋、神色疲惫的女人快步朝他们走来。她的面部轮廓分明，看上去与其说是凶恶，倒不如说是焦虑。她一边朝邓布利多走来，一边扭头吩咐另一个系着围裙的帮手。

“My name is Albus Dumbledore. I sent you a letter requesting an appointment and you very kindly invited me here today.”

“……把碘酒拿上楼给玛莎，比利·斯塔布斯把他的痂都抓破了，埃里克·华莱的血把床单都弄脏了——真倒霉，竟染上了水痘！”她像是对着空气说话，这时她的目光落在了邓布利多身上。她猛地刹住脚步，一脸惊愕，仿佛看见一头长颈鹿迈过了她的门槛。

Mrs. Cole blinked. Apparently deciding that Dumbledore was not a hallucination, she said feebly, “Oh yes. Well — well then — you’d better come into my room. Yes.”

“下午好。”邓布利多说着伸出了手。

She led Dumbledore into a small room that seemed part sitting room, part office. It was as shabby as the hallway and the furniture was old and mismatched. She invited Dumbledore to sit on a rickety chair and seated herself behind a cluttered desk, eyeing him nervously.

科尔夫人目瞪口呆地看着他。

“I am here, as I told you in my letter, to discuss Tom Riddle and arrangements for his future,” said Dumbledore.

“我叫阿不思·邓布利多。我给您写过一封信，请求您约见我，您非常仁慈地邀请我今天过来。”

“Are you family?” asked Mrs. Cole.

科尔夫人眨了眨眼睛。她似乎这才认定邓布利多不是她的幻觉，便强打起精神说道：“噢，对了。好——好吧——你最好到我的房间里来。是的。”

“No, I am a teacher,” said Dumbledore. “I have come to offer Tom a place at my school.”

她领着邓布利多走进了一间好像半是客厅半是办公室的小屋。这里和门厅一样简陋寒酸，家具都很陈旧，而且不配套。她请邓布利多坐在一把摇摇晃晃的椅子上，她自己则坐到了一张杂乱不堪的桌子后面，紧张地打量着他。

“What school’s this, then?”

“我信上已经对您说了，我来这里，是想跟您商量商量汤姆·里德尔的事，给他安排一个前程。”邓布利多说。

“It is called Hogwarts,” said Dumbledore.

“你是他的亲人？”科尔夫人问。

“And how come you’re interested in Tom?”

“不，我是一位教师，”邓布利多说，“我来请汤姆到我们学校去念书。”

“We believe he has qualities we are looking for.”

“那么，这是一所什么学校呢？”

“You mean he’s won a scholarship? How can he have done? He’s never been entered for one.”

“校名是霍格沃茨。”邓布利多说。

“Well, his name has been down for our school since birth —”

“你们怎么会对汤姆感兴趣呢？”

“Who registered him? His parents?”

“我们认为他具有我们寻找的一些素质。”

There was no doubt that Mrs. Cole was an inconveniently sharp woman. Apparently Dumbledore thought so too, for Harry now saw him slip his wand out of the pocket of his velvet suit, at the same time picking up a piece of perfectly blank paper from Mrs. Cole’s desktop.

“你是说他赢得了一份奖学金？这怎么会呢？他从来没有报名申请啊。”

“Here,” said Dumbledore, waving his wand once as he passed her the piece of paper, “I think this will make everything clear.”

“噢，他一出生，我们学校就把他的名字记录在案——”

Mrs. Cole’s eyes slid out of focus and back again as she gazed intently at the blank paper for a moment.

“谁替他注册的呢？他的父母？”

“That seems perfectly in order,” she said placidly, handing it back. Then her eyes fell upon a bottle of gin and two glasses that had certainly not been present a few seconds before.

毫无疑问，科尔夫人是一个非常精明、让人感到有些头疼的女人。邓布利多显然也是这么认为的，哈利看见他从天鹅绒西服的口袋里抽出了魔杖，同时又从科尔夫人的桌面上拿起一张完全空白的纸。

“Er — may I offer you a glass of gin?” she said in an extrarefined voice.

“给。”邓布利多说着把那张纸递给了她，一边挥了一下魔杖，“我想，您看一看这个就全清楚了。”

“Thank you very much,” said Dumbledore, beaming.

科尔夫人的眼神飘忽了一下，随即又专注起来，她对着那张空白的纸认真地看了一会儿。

It soon became clear that Mrs. Cole was no novice when it came to gin drinking. Pouring both of them a generous measure, she drained her own glass in one gulp. Smacking her lips frankly, she smiled at Dumbledore for the first time, and he didn’t hesitate to press his advantage.

“看来是完全符合程序的。”她平静地说，把纸还给了邓布利多。然后她的目光落在一瓶杜松子酒和两只玻璃杯上，那些东西几秒钟前肯定不在那儿。

“I was wondering whether you could tell me anything of Tom Riddle’s history? I think he was born here in the orphanage?”

“嗯——我可以请你喝一杯杜松子酒吗？”她用一种特别温文尔雅的声音说道。

“That’s right,” said Mrs. Cole, helping herself to more gin. “I remember it clear as anything, because I’d just started here myself. New Year’s Eve and bitter cold, snowing, you know. Nasty night. And this girl, not much older than I was myself at the time, came staggering up the front steps. Well, she wasn’t the first. We took her in, and she had the baby within the hour. And she was dead in another hour.”

“非常感谢。”邓布利多笑眯眯地说。

Mrs. Cole nodded impressively and took another generous gulp of gin.

很明显，科尔夫人喝起杜松子酒来可不是个新手。她把两个人的杯子斟得满满的，一口就把自己那杯喝得精光。她不加掩饰地咂巴咂巴嘴，第一次朝邓布利多露出了微笑，邓布利多立刻趁热打铁。

“Did she say anything before she died?” asked Dumbledore. “Anything about the boy’s father, for instance?”

“不知道你是不是可以跟我说说汤姆·里德尔的身世？他好像是在这个孤儿院里出生的？”

“Now, as it happens, she did,” said Mrs. Cole, who seemed to be rather enjoying herself now, with the gin in her hand and an eager audience for her story. “I remember she said to me, ‘I hope he looks like his papa,’ and I won’t lie, she was right to hope it, because she was no beauty — and then she told me he was to be named Tom, for his father, and Marvolo, for her father — yes, I know, funny name, isn’t it? We wondered whether she came from a circus — and she said the boy’s surname was to be Riddle. And she died soon after that without another word.

“没错，”科尔夫人说着又给自己倒了一些杜松子酒，“那件事我记得清清楚楚，因为我当时刚来这里工作。那是一个除夕之夜，外面下着雪，冷得要命。一个天气恶劣的夜晚。那个姑娘，年纪比我当时大不了多少，踉踉跄跄地走上前门的台阶。咳，这种事儿我们经历得多了。我们把她搀了进来，不到一小时她就生下了孩子。又过了不到一小时，她就死了。”

“Well, we named him just as she’d said, it seemed so important to the poor girl, but no Tom nor Marvolo nor any kind of Riddle ever came looking for him, nor any family at all, so he stayed in the orphanage and he’s been here ever since.”

科尔夫人意味深长地点了点头，又喝了一大口杜松子酒。

Mrs. Cole helped herself, almost absentmindedly, to another healthy measure of gin. Two pink spots had appeared high on her cheekbones. Then she said, “He’s a funny boy.”

“她临死之前说过什么话没有？”邓布利多问道，“比如，关于那男孩的父亲？”

“Yes,” said Dumbledore. “I thought he might be.”

“是啊，她说过。”科尔夫人手里端着杜松子酒，面前是一位热心的听众，这显然使她来了兴致。

“He was a funny baby too. He hardly ever cried, you know. And then, when he got a little older, he was . . . odd.”

“我记得她对我说：‘我希望他长得像他爸爸。’说老实话，她这么希望是对的，因为她本人长得并不怎么样——然后，她告诉我，孩子随他父亲叫汤姆，中间的名字随她自己的父亲叫马沃罗——是啊，我知道，这名字真古怪，对吧？我们怀疑她是不是马戏团里的人——她又说那男孩的姓是里德尔。然后她就没再说什么，很快就死了。

“Odd in what way?” asked Dumbledore gently.

“后来，我们就按照她说的给孩子起了名字，那可怜的姑娘似乎把这看得很重要，可是从来没有什么汤姆、马沃罗或里德尔家的人来找他，也不见他有任何亲戚，所以他就留在了孤儿院里，一直到今天。”

“Well, he —”

科尔夫人几乎是心不在焉地又给自己倒了满满一杯杜松子酒。她的颧骨上泛起两团红晕。然后她说：“他是个古怪的孩子。”

But Mrs. Cole pulled up short, and there was nothing blurry or vague about the inquisitorial glance she shot Dumbledore over her gin glass.

“是啊，”邓布利多说，“我也猜到了。”

“He’s definitely got a place at your school, you say?”

“他还是婴儿的时候就很古怪，几乎从来不哭。后来，他长大了一些，就变得很……怪异。”

“Definitely,” said Dumbledore.

“怪异，哪方面怪异呢？”邓布利多温和地问。

“And nothing I say can change that?”

“是这样，他——”

“Nothing,” said Dumbledore.

科尔夫人突然顿住口，她越过杜松子酒杯朝邓布利多投去询问的目光，那目光一点儿也不恍惚或糊涂。

“You’ll be taking him away, whatever?”

“他肯定可以到你们学校去念书，是吗？”

“Whatever,” repeated Dumbledore gravely.

“肯定。”邓布利多说。

She squinted at him as though deciding whether or not to trust him. Apparently she decided she could, because she said in a sudden rush, “He scares the other children.”

“不管我说什么，都不会改变这一点？”

“You mean he is a bully?” asked Dumbledore.

“不会。”邓布利多说。

“I think he must be,” said Mrs. Cole, frowning slightly, “but it’s very hard to catch him at it. There have been incidents. . . . Nasty things . . .”

“不管怎样，你都会把他带走？”

Dumbledore did not press her, though Harry could tell that he was interested. She took yet another gulp of gin and her rosy cheeks grew rosier still.

“不管怎样。”邓布利多严肃地重复道。

“Billy Stubbs’s rabbit . . . well, Tom said he didn’t do it and I don’t see how he could have done, but even so, it didn’t hang itself from the rafters, did it?”

科尔夫人眯起眼睛看着他，似乎在判断要不要相信他。最后她显然认为他是可以相信的，于是突然脱口说道：“他让别的孩子感到害怕。”

“I shouldn’t think so, no,” said Dumbledore quietly.

“你是说他喜欢欺负人？”邓布利多问。

“But I’m jiggered if I know how he got up there to do it. All I know is he and Billy had argued the day before. And then” — Mrs. Cole took another swig of gin, slopping a little over her chin this time — “on the summer outing — we take them out, you know, once a year, to the countryside or to the seaside — well, Amy Benson and Dennis Bishop were never quite right afterwards, and all we ever got out of them was that they’d gone into a cave with Tom Riddle. He swore they’d just gone exploring, but something happened in there, I’m sure of it. And, well, there have been a lot of things, funny things. . . .”

“我想肯定是这样，”科尔夫人微微皱着眉头说，“但是很难当场抓住他。出过一些事故……一些恶性事件……”

She looked around at Dumbledore again, and though her cheeks were flushed, her gaze was steady. “I don’t think many people will be sorry to see the back of him.”

邓布利多没有催她，但哈利可以看出他很感兴趣。科尔夫人又喝了一大口杜松子酒，面颊上的红晕更深了。

“You understand, I’m sure, that we will not be keeping him permanently?” said Dumbledore. “He will have to return here, at the very least, every summer.”

“比利·斯塔布斯的兔子……是啊，汤姆说不是他干的，我也认为他不可能办得到，可说是这么说，那兔子总不会自己吊在房梁上吧？”

“Oh, well, that’s better than a whack on the nose with a rusty poker,” said Mrs. Cole with a slight hiccup. She got to her feet, and Harry was impressed to see that she was quite steady, even though two-thirds of the gin was now gone. “I suppose you’d like to see him?”

“是啊，我也认为不会。”邓布利多轻声说。

“Very much,” said Dumbledore, rising too.

“但是我死活也弄不清他是怎么爬到那上面去干这事儿的。我只知道他和比利前一天吵过一架。还有后来——”科尔夫人又痛饮了一口杜松子酒，这次洒了一些流到下巴上，“夏天出去郊游——你知道的，每年一次。我们带他们到郊外或者海边——从那以后，艾米·本森和丹尼斯·毕肖普就一直不大对劲儿，我们问起来，他们只说是跟汤姆·里德尔一起进过一个山洞。汤姆发誓说他们是去探险，可是在那里面肯定发生了一些什么事。我可以肯定。此外还有许多许多的事情，稀奇古怪……”

She led him out of her office and up the stone stairs, calling out instructions and admonitions to helpers and children as she passed. The orphans, Harry saw, were all wearing the same kind of grayish tunic. They looked reasonably well-cared for, but there was no denying that this was a grim place in which to grow up.

她又看着邓布利多，她虽然面颊酡红，目光却很沉着。

“Here we are,” said Mrs. Cole, as they turned off the second landing and stopped outside the first door in a long corridor. She knocked twice and entered.

“我想，许多人看见他离开这儿都会拍手称快的。”

“Tom? You’ve got a visitor. This is Mr. Dumberton — sorry, Dunderbore. He’s come to tell you — well, I’ll let him do it.”

“我相信您肯定明白，我们不会一直让他待在学校里，”邓布利多说，“至少每年暑假他还会回到这儿。”

Harry and the two Dumbledores entered the room, and Mrs. Cole closed the door on them. It was a small bare room with nothing in it except an old wardrobe, a wooden chair, and an iron bedstead. A boy was sitting on top of the gray blankets, his legs stretched out in front of him, holding a book.

“噢，没问题，那也比被人用生锈的拨火棍抽鼻子强。”科尔夫人轻轻打着酒嗝说道。她站了起来，哈利惊异地发现，尽管瓶里的杜松子酒已经少了三分之二，她的腿脚仍然很稳当。“我猜你一定很想见见他吧？”

There was no trace of the Gaunts in Tom Riddle’s face. Merope had got her dying wish: He was his handsome father in miniature, tall for eleven years old, dark-haired, and pale. His eyes narrowed slightly as he took in Dumbledore’s eccentric appearance. There was a moment’s silence.

“确实很想。”邓布利多说着也站了起来。

“How do you do, Tom?” said Dumbledore, walking forward and holding out his hand.

科尔夫人领着他出了办公室，走上石头楼梯，一边走一边大声地吩咐和指责她的帮手和孩子们。哈利看到那些孤儿都穿着清一色的灰色束腰袍子。他们看上去都得到了合理的精心照顾，但是毫无疑问，在这个地方长大，气氛是很阴沉压抑的。

The boy hesitated, then took it, and they shook hands. Dumbledore drew up the hard wooden chair beside Riddle, so that the pair of them looked rather like a hospital patient and visitor.

“我们到了。”科尔夫人说，他们在三楼的楼梯平台上拐了一个弯，在一条长长走廊的第一个房间门口停住了。她敲了两下门，走了进去。

“I am Professor Dumbledore.”

“汤姆？有人来看你了。这位是邓布顿先生——对不起，是邓德波先生。他来告诉你——唉，还是让他自己跟你说吧。”

“ ‘Professor’?” repeated Riddle. He looked wary. “Is that like ‘doctor’? What are you here for? Did she get you in to have a look at me?”

哈利和两个邓布利多一起走进房间，科尔夫人在他们身后关上了门。这是一间空荡荡的、没有任何装饰的小屋，只有一个旧衣柜、一把木椅子和一张铁床。一个男孩坐在灰色的毛毯上，两条长长的腿伸在前面，手里拿着一本书在读。

He was pointing at the door through which Mrs. Cole had just left.

汤姆·里德尔的脸上看不到一点儿冈特家族的影子。梅洛普的遗言变成了现实：他简直就是他那位英俊的父亲的缩小版。对十一岁的孩子来说，他的个子算是高的，黑黑的头发、脸色苍白。他微微眯起眼睛，打量着邓布利多怪异的模样和装扮。一时间没有人说话。

“No, no,” said Dumbledore, smiling.

“你好，汤姆。”邓布利多说着走上前伸出了手。

“I don’t believe you,” said Riddle. “She wants me looked at, doesn’t she? Tell the truth!”

男孩迟疑了一下，然后伸出手去握了握。邓布利多把一张硬邦邦的木头椅子拉到里德尔身边，这样一来，他们俩看上去就像是一位住院病人和一位探视者。

He spoke the last three words with a ringing force that was almost shocking. It was a command, and it sounded as though he had given it many times before. His eyes had widened and he was glaring at Dumbledore, who made no response except to continue smiling pleasantly. After a few seconds Riddle stopped glaring, though he looked, if anything, warier still.

“我是邓布利多教授。”

“Who are you?”

“教授？”里德尔重复了一句，他露出很警觉的神情。“是不是就像医生一样？你来这里做什么？是不是她叫你来给我检查检查的？”

“I have told you. My name is Professor Dumbledore and I work at a school called Hogwarts. I have come to offer you a place at my school — your new school, if you would like to come.”

他指着刚才科尔夫人离开的房门。

Riddle’s reaction to this was most surprising. He leapt from the bed and backed away from Dumbledore, looking furious.

“不，不是。”邓布利多微笑着说。

“You can’t kid me! The asylum, that’s where you’re from, isn’t it? ‘Professor,’ yes, of course — well, I’m not going, see? That old cat’s the one who should be in the asylum. I never did anything to little Amy Benson or Dennis Bishop, and you can ask them, they’ll tell you!”

“我不相信你。”里德尔说，“她想让人来给我看病，是不是？说实话！”

“I am not from the asylum,” said Dumbledore patiently. “I am a teacher and, if you will sit down calmly, I shall tell you about Hogwarts. Of course, if you would rather not come to the school, nobody will force you —”

最后三个字他说得凶狠响亮，气势吓人。这是一句命令，看来他以前曾经多次下过这种命令。他突然睁大了眼睛，狠狠地盯着邓布利多，而邓布利多没有回答，只是继续和蔼地微笑着。过了几秒钟，里德尔的目光松弛下来，但他看上去似乎更警觉了。

“I’d like to see them try,” sneered Riddle.

“你是谁？”

“Hogwarts,” Dumbledore went on, as though he had not heard Riddle’s last words, “is a school for people with special abilities —”

“我已经告诉你了。我是邓布利多教授，我在一所名叫霍格沃茨的学校里工作。我来邀请你到我的学校——你的新学校去念书，如果你愿意的话。”

“I’m not mad!”

听了这话，里德尔的反应大大出人意外。他腾地从床上跳起来，后退着离开了邓布利多，神情极为恼怒。

“I know that you are not mad. Hogwarts is not a school for mad people. It is a school of magic.”

“你骗不了我！你是从疯人院里来的，是不是？‘教授’，哼，没错——告诉你吧，我不会去的，明白吗？那个该死的老妖婆才应该去疯人院呢。我根本没把小艾米·本森和丹尼斯·毕肖普怎么样，你可以自己去问他们，他们会告诉你的！”

There was silence. Riddle had frozen, his face expressionless, but his eyes were flickering back and forth between each of Dumbledore’s, as though trying to catch one of them lying.

“我不是从疯人院来的，”邓布利多耐心地说，“我是个老师，如果你能心平气和地坐下来，我就跟你说说霍格沃茨的事儿。当然啦，如果你不愿意去那个学校，也没有人会强迫你——”

“Magic?” he repeated in a whisper.

“我倒想看看谁敢！”里德尔轻蔑地说。

“That’s right,” said Dumbledore.

“霍格沃茨，”邓布利多继续说，似乎没有听见里德尔的最后那句话，“是一所专门为具有特殊才能的人开办的学校——”

“It’s . . . it’s magic, what I can do?”

“我没有疯！”

“What is it that you can do?”

“我知道你没有疯。霍格沃茨不是一所疯子的学校，而是一所魔法学校。”

“All sorts,” breathed Riddle. A flush of excitement was rising up his neck into his hollow cheeks; he looked fevered. “I can make things move without touching them. I can make animals do what I want them to do, without training them. I can make bad things happen to people who annoy me. I can make them hurt if I want to.”

沉默。里德尔呆住了，脸上毫无表情，但他的目光快速地轮番扫视着邓布利多的两只眼睛，似乎想从其中一只看出他在撒谎。

His legs were trembling. He stumbled forward and sat down on the bed again, staring at his hands, his head bowed as though in prayer.

“魔法？”他轻声重复道。

“I knew I was different,” he whispered to his own quivering fingers. “I knew I was special. Always, I knew there was something.”

“不错。”邓布利多说。

“Well, you were quite right,” said Dumbledore, who was no longer smiling, but watching Riddle intently. “You are a wizard.”

“我的那些本领，是……是魔法？”

Riddle lifted his head. His face was transfigured: There was a wild happiness upon it, yet for some reason it did not make him better looking; on the contrary, his finely carved features seemed somehow rougher, his expression almost bestial.

“你有些什么本领呢？”

“Are you a wizard too?”

“各种各样。”里德尔压低声音说，兴奋的红晕从他的脖子向凹陷的双颊迅速蔓延。他显得很亢奋。“我不用手碰就能让东西动起来。我不用训练就能让动物听我的吩咐。谁惹我生气，我就能让谁倒霉。我只要愿意就能让他们受伤。”

“Yes, I am.”

他的双腿在颤抖。他跌跌撞撞地走上前，重新坐在床上，垂下了脑袋，盯着自己的两只手，像在祈祷一样。

“Prove it,” said Riddle at once, in the same commanding tone he had used when he had said, “Tell the truth.”

“我早就知道我与众不同。”他对着自己颤抖的双手说，“我早就知道我很特别。我早就知道这里头有点什么。”

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. “If, as I take it, you are accepting your place at Hogwarts —”

“对，你的想法没有错。”邓布利多说，他收敛笑容，目光专注地看着里德尔，“你是一个巫师。”

“Of course I am!”

里德尔抬起头来。他的面孔一下子变了：透出一种狂热的欣喜。然而不知怎的，这并没有使他显得更好看些，反而使他精致的五官突然变得粗糙了，那神情简直像野兽一样。

“Then you will address me as ‘Professor’ or ‘sir.’ ”

“你也是个巫师？”

Riddle’s expression hardened for the most fleeting moment before he said, in an unrecognizably polite voice, “I’m sorry, sir. I meant — please, Professor, could you show me — ?”

“是的。”

Harry was sure that Dumbledore was going to refuse, that he would tell Riddle there would be plenty of time for practical demonstrations at Hogwarts, that they were currently in a building full of Muggles and must therefore be cautious. To his great surprise, however, Dumbledore drew his wand from an inside pocket of his suit jacket, pointed it at the shabby wardrobe in the corner, and gave the wand a casual flick.

“证明给我看。”里德尔立刻说道，口气和刚才那句“说实话”一样盛气凌人。

The wardrobe burst into flames.

邓布利多扬起眉毛。

Riddle jumped to his feet; Harry could hardly blame him for howling in shock and rage; all his worldly possessions must be in there. But even as Riddle rounded on Dumbledore, the flames vanished, leaving the wardrobe completely undamaged.

“如果，按我的理解，你同意到霍格沃茨去念书——”

Riddle stared from the wardrobe to Dumbledore; then, his expression greedy, he pointed at the wand. “Where can I get one of them?”

“我当然同意！”

“All in good time,” said Dumbledore. “I think there is something trying to get out of your wardrobe.”

“那你就要称我为‘教授’或‘先生’。”

And sure enough, a faint rattling could be heard from inside it. For the first time, Riddle looked frightened.

里德尔的表情僵了一刹那，接着他突然以一种判若两人的彬彬有礼的口气说道：“对不起，先生。我是说——教授，您能不能让我看看——？”

“Open the door,” said Dumbledore.

哈利以为邓布利多一定会拒绝，他以为邓布利多会对里德尔说，以后在霍格沃茨有的是时间做具体示范，并说他们眼下是在一座住满麻瓜的楼房里，必须谨慎从事。然而令他大为惊讶的是，邓布利多从西服上装的内袋里抽出魔杖，指着墙角那个破旧的衣柜，漫不经心地一挥。

Riddle hesitated, then crossed the room and threw open the wardrobe door. On the topmost shelf, above a rail of threadbare clothes, a small cardboard box was shaking and rattling as though there were several frantic mice trapped inside it.

衣柜立刻着起火来。

“Take it out,” said Dumbledore.

里德尔腾地跳了起来。哈利不能责怪他发出惊恐和愤怒的吼叫，他的所有财产大概都在那个衣柜里。可是，里德尔刚要向邓布利多兴师问罪，火焰突然消失了，衣柜完好无损。

Riddle took down the quaking box. He looked unnerved.

里德尔看看衣柜，又看看邓布利多，然后，他指着那根魔杖，表情变得很贪婪。

“Is there anything in that box that you ought not to have?” asked Dumbledore.

“我从哪儿可以得到一根？”

Riddle threw Dumbledore a long, clear, calculating look. “Yes, I suppose so, sir,” he said finally, in an expressionless voice.

“到时候会有的。”邓布利多说道，“你那衣柜里好像有什么东西想要钻出来。”

“Open it,” said Dumbledore.

果然，衣柜里传出微弱的咔哒咔哒声。里德尔第一次露出了惊慌的神情。

Riddle took off the lid and tipped the contents onto his bed without looking at them. Harry, who had expected something much more exciting, saw a mess of small, everyday objects: a yo-yo, a silver thimble, and a tarnished mouth organ among them. Once free of the box, they stopped quivering and lay quite still upon the thin blankets.

“把门打开。”邓布利多说。

“You will return them to their owners with your apologies,” said Dumbledore calmly, putting his wand back into his jacket. “I shall know whether it has been done. And be warned: Thieving is not tolerated at Hogwarts.”

里德尔迟疑了一下，然后走过去猛地打开了衣柜的门。挂衣杆上挂着几件破旧的衣服，上面最高一层的搁板上有一只小小的硬纸板箱，正在不停地晃动，发出咔哒咔哒的响声，里面似乎关着几只疯狂的老鼠。

Riddle did not look remotely abashed; he was still staring coldly and appraisingly at Dumbledore. At last he said in a colorless voice, “Yes, sir.”

“把它拿出来。”邓布利多说。

“At Hogwarts,” Dumbledore went on, “we teach you not only to use magic, but to control it. You have — inadvertently, I am sure — been using your powers in a way that is neither taught nor tolerated at our school. You are not the first, nor will you be the last, to allow your magic to run away with you. But you should know that Hogwarts can expel students, and the Ministry of Magic — yes, there is a Ministry — will punish lawbreakers still more severely. All new wizards must accept that, in entering our world, they abide by our laws.”

里德尔把那只晃动的箱子搬下来。他显得不知所措。

“Yes, sir,” said Riddle again.

“那箱子里是不是有一些你不该有的东西？”邓布利多问。

It was impossible to tell what he was thinking; his face remained quite blank as he put the little cache of stolen objects back into the cardboard box. When he had finished, he turned to Dumbledore and said baldly, “I haven’t got any money.”

里德尔用清晰、审慎的目光深深地看了邓布利多一眼。

“That is easily remedied,” said Dumbledore, drawing a leather money-pouch from his pocket. “There is a fund at Hogwarts for those who require assistance to buy books and robes. You might have to buy some of your spellbooks and so on secondhand, but —”

“是的，我想是的，先生。”他最后用一种干巴巴的声音说。

“Where do you buy spellbooks?” interrupted Riddle, who had taken the heavy money bag without thanking Dumbledore, and was now examining a fat gold Galleon.

“打开。”邓布利多说。

“In Diagon Alley,” said Dumbledore. “I have your list of books and school equipment with me. I can help you find everything —”

里德尔打开盖子，看也没看地把里面的东西倒在了他的床上。哈利本来以为里面会有更加令人兴奋的东西，却只看见一堆平平常常的玩意儿，其中有一个游游拉线盘、一只银顶针、一把失去光泽的口琴。它们一离开箱子就不再颤抖了，乖乖地躺在薄薄的毯子上，一动不动了。

“You’re coming with me?” asked Riddle, looking up.

“你要把这些东西还给它们的主人，并且向他们道歉。”邓布利多平静地说道，一边把魔杖插进了上衣口袋里，“我会知道你有没有做。我还要警告你：霍格沃茨是不能容忍偷窃行为的。”

“Certainly, if you —”

里德尔脸上没有丝毫的羞愧。他仍然冷冷地盯着邓布利多，似乎在掂量他。最后，他用一种干巴巴的声音说：“知道了，先生。”

“I don’t need you,” said Riddle. “I’m used to doing things for myself, I go round London on my own all the time. How do you get to this Diagon Alley — sir?” he added, catching Dumbledore’s eye.

“在霍格沃茨，”邓布利多继续说道，“我们不仅教你使用魔法，还教你控制魔法。你过去用那种方式使用你的魔法，我相信是出于无意，但这是我们学校绝不会传授、也绝不能容忍的。让自己的魔法失去控制，你不是第一个，也不会是最后一个。但是你应该知道，霍格沃茨是可以开除学生的，而且魔法部——没错，有一个魔法部——会以更严厉的方式惩罚违法者。每一位新来的巫师都必须接受。一旦进入我们的世界，就要服从我们的法律。”

Harry thought that Dumbledore would insist upon accompanying Riddle, but once again he was surprised. Dumbledore handed Riddle the envelope containing his list of equipment, and after telling Riddle exactly how to get to the Leaky Cauldron from the orphanage, he said, “You will be able to see it, although Muggles around you — non-magical people, that is — will not. Ask for Tom the barman — easy enough to remember, as he shares your name —”

“知道了，先生。”里德尔又说道。

Riddle gave an irritable twitch, as though trying to displace an irksome fly.

很难知道他脑子里在想什么。他把那一小堆偷来的赃物放回硬纸箱时，脸上还是那样毫无表情。收拾完后，他转过身来，毫不客气地对邓布利多说：“我没有钱。”

“You dislike the name ‘Tom’?”

“那很容易解决。”邓布利多说着就从口袋里掏出一只皮钱袋，“霍格沃茨有一笔基金，专门提供给那些需要资助购买课本和校袍的人。你的有些魔法书恐怕只能买二手货，不过——”

“There are a lot of Toms,” muttered Riddle. Then, as though he could not suppress the question, as though it burst from him in spite of himself, he asked, “Was my father a wizard? He was called Tom Riddle too, they’ve told me.”

“在哪儿买魔法书？”里德尔打断了邓布利多的话，谢也没谢一声就把钱袋拿了过去，正在仔细端详一枚厚厚的金加隆。

“I’m afraid I don’t know,” said Dumbledore, his voice gentle.

“在对角巷。”邓布利多说，“我带来了你的书目和学校用品清单。我可以帮你把东西买齐——”

“My mother can’t have been magic, or she wouldn’t have died,” said Riddle, more to himself than Dumbledore. “It must’ve been him. So — when I’ve got all my stuff — when do I come to this Hogwarts?”

“你要陪我去？”里德尔抬起头来问道。

“All the details are on the second piece of parchment in your envelope,” said Dumbledore. “You will leave from King’s Cross Station on the first of September. There is a train ticket in there too.”

“那当然，如果你——”

Riddle nodded. Dumbledore got to his feet and held out his hand again. Taking it, Riddle said, “I can speak to snakes. I found out when we’ve been to the country on trips — they find me, they whisper to me. Is that normal for a wizard?”

“我用不着你，”里德尔说，“我习惯自己做事，我总是一个人在伦敦跑来跑去。那么，到这个对角巷怎么走呢——先生？”他碰到了邓布利多的目光，便补上了最后两个字。

Harry could tell that he had withheld mention of this strangest power until that moment, determined to impress.

哈利以为邓布利多会坚持陪着里德尔，但事情又一次出乎他的意料。邓布利多把装着购物清单的信封递给里德尔，又告诉了里德尔从孤儿院到破釜酒吧的具体路线，然后说道：“你准能看见它，尽管你周围的麻瓜——也就是不懂魔法的人——是看不见的。打听一下酒吧老板汤姆——很容易记，名字跟你一样——”

“It is unusual,” said Dumbledore, after a moment’s hesitation, “but not unheard of.”

里德尔恼怒地抽搐了一下，好像要赶走一只讨厌的苍蝇。

His tone was casual but his eyes moved curiously over Riddle’s face. They stood for a moment, man and boy, staring at each other. Then the handshake was broken; Dumbledore was at the door.

“你不喜欢‘汤姆’这个名字？”

“Good-bye, Tom. I shall see you at Hogwarts.”

“叫‘汤姆’的人太多了。”里德尔嘟嚷道。然后他似乎是如鲠在喉，不吐不快，又似乎是脱口而出：“我的父亲是巫师吗？他们告诉我他也叫汤姆·里德尔。”

“I think that will do,” said the white-haired Dumbledore at Harry’s side, and seconds later, they were soaring weightlessly through darkness once more, before landing squarely in the presentday office.

“对不起，我不知道。”邓布利多说，声音很温和。

“Sit down,” said Dumbledore, landing beside Harry.

“我母亲不可能会魔法，不然她不会死的。”里德尔不像是在对邓布利多说话，而更像是自言自语，“肯定是我父亲。那么——我把东西买齐了之后——什么时候到这所霍格沃茨学校去呢？”

Harry obeyed, his mind still full of what he had just seen.

“所有的细节都写在信封里的第二张羊皮纸上。”邓布利多说，“你九月一日从国王十字车站出发。信封里还有一张火车票。”

“He believed it much quicker than I did — I mean, when you told him he was a wizard,” said Harry. “I didn’t believe Hagrid at first, when he told me.”

里德尔点了点头。邓布利多站起身，又一次伸出了手。里德尔一边握手一边说：“我可以跟蛇说话。我们到郊外远足的时候我发现的——它们找到我，小声对我说话。这对于一个巫师来说是正常的吗？”

“Yes, Riddle was perfectly ready to believe that he was — to use his word — ‘special,’ ” said Dumbledore.

哈利看得出来，他是故意拖到最后一刻才提到这个最奇特的本事，一心想把邓布利多镇住。

“Did you know — then?” asked Harry.

“很少见，”邓布利多迟疑了一下，说道，“但并非没有听说过。”

“Did I know that I had just met the most dangerous Dark wizard of all time?” said Dumbledore. “No, I had no idea that he was to grow up to be what he is. However, I was certainly intrigued by him. I returned to Hogwarts intending to keep an eye upon him, something I should have done in any case, given that he was alone and friendless, but which, already, I felt I ought to do for others’ sake as much as his.

他的语气很随便，但他的目光却好奇地打量着里德尔的脸。两人站了片刻，男人和男孩，互相凝视着。然后两人松开了手，邓布利多走到了门边。

“His powers, as you heard, were surprisingly well-developed for such a young wizard and — most interestingly and ominously of all — he had already discovered that he had some measure of control over them, and begun to use them consciously. And as you saw, they were not the random experiments typical of young wizards: He was already using magic against other people, to frighten, to punish, to control. The little stories of the strangled rabbit and the young boy and girl he lured into a cave were most suggestive. . . . ‘I can make them hurt if I want to. . . .’ ”

“再见，汤姆。我们在霍格沃茨见。”

“And he was a Parselmouth,” interjected Harry.

“我看差不多了。”哈利身边那位满头白发的邓布利多说。几秒钟后，他们又一次轻飘飘地在黑暗中飞翔着，然后稳稳地落在现实中的办公室里。

“Yes, indeed; a rare ability, and one supposedly connected with the Dark Arts, although as we know, there are Parselmouths among the great and the good too. In fact, his ability to speak to serpents did not make me nearly as uneasy as his obvious instincts for cruelty, secrecy, and domination.

“坐下吧。”邓布利多落在哈利身边，说道。

“Time is making fools of us again,” said Dumbledore, indicating the dark sky beyond the windows. “But before we part, I want to draw your attention to certain features of the scene we have just witnessed, for they have a great bearing on the matters we shall be discussing in future meetings.

哈利坐了下来，脑子里仍然想着刚才看见的一切。

“Firstly, I hope you noticed Riddle’s reaction when I mentioned that another shared his first name, ‘Tom’?”

“他相信这件事的速度比我快得多——我是说，当你对他说他是一个巫师的时候。”哈利说，“海格最初告诉我时，我可不相信。”

Harry nodded.

“是啊，里德尔巴不得相信他是——用他自己的话来说——是‘与众不同’的。”邓布利多说。

“There he showed his contempt for anything that tied him to other people, anything that made him ordinary. Even then, he wished to be different, separate, notorious. He shed his name, as you know, within a few short years of that conversation and created the mask of ‘Lord Voldemort’ behind which he has been hidden for so long.

“那个时候——你就知道？”哈利问。

“I trust that you also noticed that Tom Riddle was already highly self-sufficient, secretive, and, apparently, friendless? He did not want help or companionship on his trip to Diagon Alley. He preferred to operate alone. The adult Voldemort is the same. You will hear many of his Death Eaters claiming that they are in his confidence, that they alone are close to him, even understand him. They are deluded. Lord Voldemort has never had a friend, nor do I believe that he has ever wanted one.

“我就知道我刚才看见的那个人是有史以来最危险的黑魔法巫师？”邓布利多说道，“不，我根本不知道他会成为现在这样的人。不过我确实对他非常感兴趣。我回到霍格沃茨后就打算密切关注他，其实我本来就应该这么做的，因为他独自一个人，没有朋友，但是，我当时就觉得我这么做不仅是为了他，也是为了别人。

“And lastly — I hope you are not too sleepy to pay attention to this, Harry — the young Tom Riddle liked to collect trophies. You saw the box of stolen articles he had hidden in his room. These were taken from victims of his bullying behavior, souvenirs, if you will, of particularly unpleasant bits of magic. Bear in mind this magpie-like tendency, for this, particularly, will be important later.

“你刚才也听见了，对于这样一个年轻巫师来说，他的能力是惊人地完善和成熟——而最有趣、也最不祥的一点是——他已经发现他可以在某种程度上控制这些能力，并开始有意识地使用它们。正如你看见的，他不像一般的年轻巫师那样毫无章法地胡乱做些实验。他已经在用魔法对付别人，用魔法去恐吓、惩罚和控制别人。那只被吊死的兔子，还有被他骗进山洞的那一男一女两个孩子的故事就很能说明问题……我只要愿意就能让他们受伤……”

“And now, it really is time for bed.”

“他还是个蛇佬腔。”哈利插嘴道。

Harry got to his feet. As he walked across the room, his eyes fell upon the little table on which Marvolo Gaunt’s ring had rested last time, but the ring was no longer there.

“是啊，一种罕见的能力，据说跟黑魔法有关，不过我们知道，在伟大和善良的巫师中间也有蛇佬腔。事实上，他与蛇对话的能力并没有使我感到很不安，令我担心的是他明显表现出来的那种残酷、诡秘和霸道的天性。

“Yes, Harry?” said Dumbledore, for Harry had come to a halt.

“时间又在捉弄我们了，”邓布利多指了指窗外漆黑的天空说道，“不过在我们分手之前，我想请你注意一下我们刚才目睹的那一幕中的某些东西，它们跟我们将来要一起讨论的问题密切相关。

“The ring’s gone,” said Harry, looking around. “But I thought you might have the mouth organ or something.”

“首先，我想你肯定注意到了，我提到有人的名字跟他一样，也叫‘汤姆’时，里德尔是什么反应吧？”

Dumbledore beamed at him, peering over the top of his halfmoon spectacles.

哈利点了点头。

“Very astute, Harry, but the mouth organ was only ever a mouth organ.”

“这就显示出，他蔑视任何把他跟别人拴在一起的东西，蔑视任何使他显得平凡无奇的东西。即使在那个时候，他就希望自己与众不同，孤傲独立，声名远扬。你也知道，在那次对话的短短几年之后，他就抛弃自己的名字，打造出‘伏地魔’这样一个面具，并在它后面蛰伏了那么长时间。

And on that enigmatic note he waved to Harry, who understood himself to be dismissed.

“我相信你同样也注意到了，汤姆·里德尔当时已经极为自信，讳莫如深，而且显然没有一个朋友。他自己去对角巷，不需要别人的帮助和陪同。他什么都愿意自己做。成年后的伏地魔也是这样。你会听见许多食死徒声称他们得到了他的信任，并声称只有他们才能够接近他甚至理解他。其实他们都受了愚弄。伏地魔从来没有一个朋友，而且我认为他从来都不需要朋友。

“最后——我希望你没有因为犯困而忽视这一点，哈利——年轻的汤姆·里德尔喜欢收集战利品。你看见他藏在房间里的那一箱赃物了吧。它们都是从那些被他欺侮过的孩子们那里拿来的，可以说它们是某些特别可恶的魔法伎俩的纪念品。你记住他这种像喜鹊一样喜欢收集东西的嗜好，这对于将来格外重要。

“好了，哈利，真的该睡觉了。”

哈利站了起来。他朝门口走去时，目光落在上次放着马沃罗·冈特那枚戒指的小桌上，可是戒指已经不在那儿了。

“怎么了，哈利？”邓布利多看到哈利停住脚步，问道。

“戒指不见了，”哈利左右张望着说，“不过我以为你这里还会有一把口琴什么的。”

邓布利多笑了，眼睛从半月形的镜片上方望着他。

“眼光很敏锐，哈利，但口琴只是一把口琴而已。”

说完这句令人费解的话，他朝哈利挥了挥手，哈利明白自己应该离开了。

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