 |
哈利·波特与密室
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 英文 中文 双语对照 双语交替 首页 目录 上一章 下一章 | |
| CHAPTER SEVENTEEN THE HEIR OF SLYTHERIN
|
| 第十七章 斯莱特林的继承人
|
|
|
|
|
| He was standing at the end of a very long, dimly lit chamber. Towering stone pillars entwined with more carved serpents rose to support a ceiling lost in darkness, casting long, black shadows through the odd, greenish gloom that filled the place.
|
| 他也站在一间长长的、光线昏暗的房间的一侧。许多刻着盘绕纠缠的大蛇的石柱，高耸着支撑起消融在高处黑暗中的天花板，给弥漫着绿盈盈神秘氤氲的整个房间投下一道道长长的诡谲的黑影。
|
| His heart beating very fast, Harry stood listening to the chill silence. Could the basilisk be lurking in a shadowy corner, behind a pillar? And where was Ginny?
|
| 哈利的心怦怦狂跳着，他站在那里，倾听着这令人胆寒的寂静。蛇怪是不是就潜伏在某个石柱后面的黑暗角落里？金妮在什么地方？他拔出自己的魔杖，在巨蛇盘绕的石柱间慢慢前进。他每小心翼翼地迈出一步，都在鬼影幢幢的四壁间产生空洞、响亮的回声。他一直眯着眼睛，准备一有风吹草动，就把眼睛紧紧闭上。他总觉得那两只石蛇的空眼窝始终都在跟随着他。不止一次，他仿佛看见了什么动静，紧张得肚子都痉挛起来。当他走到与最后一对石柱平行时，眼前赫然出现了一座和房间本身一样高的雕像，紧贴在后面黑乎乎的墙壁上。
|
| He pulled out his wand and moved forward between the serpentine columns. Every careful footstep echoed loudly off the shadowy walls. He kept his eyes narrowed, ready to clamp them shut at the smallest sign of movement. The hollow eye sockets of the stone snakes seemed to be following him. More than once, with a jolt of the stomach, he thought he saw one stir.
|
| 哈利必须高高地仰起脖子，才能看见上面那副巨大的面孔——那是一张老态龙钟的、猴子般的脸，一把稀稀拉拉的长胡须，几乎一直拖到石头刻成的巫师长袍的下摆上，两只灰乎乎的大脚板站在房间光滑的地板上。在那两只脚之间，脸朝下躺着一个穿黑色长袍的小身影，头发红得像火焰一般。
|
| Then, as he drew level with the last pair of pillars, a statue high as the Chamber itself loomed into view, standing against the back wall.
|
| “金妮！”哈利低声呼唤道，急步奔到她身边，跪了下来。“金妮！你不要死！求求你，千万别死！”
|
| Harry had to crane his neck to look up into the giant face above: It was ancient and monkeyish, with a long, thin beard that fell almost to the bottom of the wizard’s sweeping stone robes, where two enormous gray feet stood on the smooth Chamber floor. And between the feet, facedown, lay a small, black-robed figure with flaming-red hair.
|
| 他把魔杖扔到一边，抓住金妮的肩膀，把她翻转过来。她的脸就像大理石一样，冷冰冰的，毫无血色，但她的眼睛是闭着的，这么说她没有被石化。那么，她一定是……
|
| “Ginny!” Harry muttered, sprinting to her and dropping to his knees. “Ginny — don’t be dead — please don’t be dead —” He flung his wand aside, grabbed Ginny’s shoulders, and turned her over. Her face was white as marble, and as cold, yet her eyes were closed, so she wasn’t Petrified. But then she must be —
|
| “金妮，求求你醒醒吧。”哈利绝望地摇晃着她，低声哀求道。
|
| “Ginny, please wake up,” Harry muttered desperately, shaking her. Ginny’s head lolled hopelessly from side to side.
|
| 金妮的脑袋毫无生气地耷拉着。
|
| “She won’t wake,” said a soft voice.
|
| “她不会醒了。”一个声音轻轻地说。
|
| Harry jumped and spun around on his knees.
|
| 哈利大吃一惊，跪着转过身来。
|
| A tall, black-haired boy was leaning against the nearest pillar, watching. He was strangely blurred around the edges, as though Harry were looking at him through a misted window. But there was no mistaking him —
|
| 一个黑头发的高个子男孩靠在最近的那根石柱上，正注视着他。那男孩的轮廓模糊不清，十分奇怪，就好像哈利是隔着一层雾蒙蒙的窗户看着他。但毫无疑问就是他。
|
| “Tom — Tom Riddle?”
|
| “汤姆——汤姆里德尔？”
|
| Riddle nodded, not taking his eyes off Harry’s face.
|
| 里德尔点了点头，眼睛没有离开哈利的脸。
|
| “What d’you mean, she won’t wake?” Harry said desperately. “She’s not — she’s not — ?”
|
| “你这是什么意思？她不会醒了？”哈利气急败坏地问，“她没有——她没有——？”
|
| “She’s still alive,” said Riddle. “But only just.”
|
| “她还活着，”里德尔说，“但也活不了多久了。”
|
| Harry stared at him. Tom Riddle had been at Hogwarts fifty years ago, yet here he stood, a weird, misty light shining about him, not a day older than sixteen.
|
| 哈利愣愣地瞪着他。汤姆里德尔是霍格沃茨五十年前的学生，可是现在他站在这里，周身散发着一种古怪的、雾蒙蒙的微光，那样子绝不会超过十六岁。
|
| “Are you a ghost?” Harry said uncertainly.
|
| “你是鬼魂吗？”哈利不敢肯定地问。
|
| “A memory,” said Riddle quietly. “Preserved in a diary for fifty years.”
|
| “是一段记忆，”里德尔平静地说，“在一本日记里保存了五十年。”他伸手指着雕像的大脚趾旁。那里躺着哈利在哭泣的桃金娘的盥洗室里发现的那本日记。哈利一时很想不通它怎么会到那里去的——但是他还有更加紧迫的事情要处理。
|
| He pointed toward the floor near the statue’s giant toes. Lying open there was the little black diary Harry had found in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom. For a second, Harry wondered how it had got there — but there were more pressing matters to deal with.
|
| “你必须帮助我，汤姆。”哈利说着，又扶起金妮的头，“我们必须把她从这里弄出去。有一个蛇怪……我不知道在哪里，但它随时都可能过来。求求你，帮帮我吧……”
|
| “You’ve got to help me, Tom,” Harry said, raising Ginny’s head again. “We’ve got to get her out of here. There’s a basilisk . . . I don’t know where it is, but it could be along any moment. . . . Please, help me —”
|
| 里德尔没有动弹。哈利满头大汗，总算把金妮从地上半抱起来，他又俯身去捡他的魔杖。可是魔杖不见了。
|
| Riddle didn’t move. Harry, sweating, managed to hoist Ginny half off the floor, and bent to pick up his wand again.
|
| “你有没有看见——”他一抬头，里德尔仍然注视着他——修长的手指间玩弄着哈利的魔杖。“谢谢。”哈利说，伸手去拿魔杖。
|
| But his wand had gone.
|
| 里德尔的嘴角露出一个古怪的微笑。他继续盯着哈利，漫不经心地把玩着魔杖。
|
| “Did you see — ?”
|
| “你听我说，”哈利焦急地说，死沉死沉的金妮压得他膝盖发软，“我们必须走！如果蛇怪来了……”
|
| He looked up. Riddle was still watching him — twirling Harry’s wand between his long fingers.
|
| “它不受到召唤是不会来的。”里德尔无动于衷地说。
|
| “Thanks,” said Harry, stretching out his hand for it.
|
| 哈利把金妮重新放回到地板上，他再也抱不动她了。
|
| A smile curled the corners of Riddle’s mouth. He continued to stare at Harry, twirling the wand idly.
|
| “你这是什么意思？”他说，“快点，把魔杖给我，我可能会需要它的。”
|
| “Listen,” said Harry urgently, his knees sagging with Ginny’s dead weight. “We’ve got to go! If the basilisk comes —”
|
| 里德尔的笑容更明显了。“你不会需要它了。”他说。
|
| “It won’t come until it is called,” said Riddle calmly.
|
| 哈利吃惊地望着他。“你说什么，我不会——”
|
| Harry lowered Ginny back onto the floor, unable to hold her up any longer.
|
| “哈利·波特，我等了很长时间，”里德尔说，“希望有机会看到你，跟你谈谈。”
|
| “What d’you mean?” he said. “Look, give me my wand, I might need it —”
|
| “哎呀，”哈利渐渐失去了耐心，说道，“你大概还没有明白我的意思。我们现在是在密室里。我们不妨以后再谈。”
|
| Riddle’s smile broadened.
|
| “必须现在就谈。”里德尔说，脸上仍挂着明显的笑容，他把哈利的魔杖揣进了自己的口袋。
|
| “You won’t be needing it,” he said.
|
| 哈利目瞪口呆地看着他。这里发生的事情真是太古怪了。
|
| Harry stared at him.
|
| “金妮怎么会变成这样的？”他慢慢地问。
|
| “What d’you mean, I won’t be — ?”
|
| “哦，这可是一个有趣的问题，”里德尔愉快地说道，“说来话长啊。据我看，金妮韦斯莱之所以会变成这样，真正的原因就是她向一个看不见的陌生人敞开了心扉，倾诉了自己的全部秘密。”
|
| “I’ve waited a long time for this, Harry Potter,” said Riddle. “For the chance to see you. To speak to you.”
|
| “你在说些什么呀？”哈利说。
|
| “Look,” said Harry, losing patience, “I don’t think you get it. We’re in the Chamber of Secrets. We can talk later —”
|
| “日记，”里德尔说，“我的日记。好几个月来，小金妮一直在上面写她的心里话，向我诉说她令人心疼的烦恼和悲哀——她怎样被哥哥们取笑，怎样不得不穿着旧长袍、拿着旧书来上学，还有，她认为——”里德尔的眼睛狡猾地闪烁着，“——认为大名鼎鼎的、善良的、伟大的哈利波特永远也不会喜欢她……”
|
| “We’re going to talk now,” said Riddle, still smiling broadly, and he pocketed Harry’s wand.
|
| 里德尔说话的时候，目光始终没有离开哈利的脸。他的眼睛里隐藏着一种近乎贪婪的神情。
|
| Harry stared at him. There was something very funny going on here. . . .
|
| “太乏味了，听一个十一岁小姑娘讲她那些幼稚的烦心事，”他继续说道，“但是我耐着性子，写出一些话答复她，我是慈祥的、善解人意的。金妮简直爱上我了。哦，汤姆，没有人像你这样理解我……我真高兴得到了这本日记，可以向你诉说知心话……就像是拥有一个可以放在口袋里随身携带的朋友……”
|
| “How did Ginny get like this?” he asked slowly.
|
| 里德尔发出一声冷冰冰的刺耳的大笑，不像是一个十六岁的孩子发出来的。这使哈利脖子后面的汗毛根根竖起。
|
| “Well, that’s an interesting question,” said Riddle pleasantly. “And quite a long story. I suppose the real reason Ginny Weasley’s like this is because she opened her heart and spilled all her secrets to an invisible stranger.”
|
| “不是我自己吹嘘，哈利，我一向能够随心所欲地把人迷惑住。所以，金妮把她的整个灵魂都向我敞开了，而她的灵魂偏巧正是我所需要的。我吞食着她最隐秘的恐惧，最深藏的秘密，胃口越来越大。我渐渐强大起来，比小小的韦斯莱小姐要强大得多。强大得足以向韦斯莱小姐透露我的几桩秘密，开始把我的一小部分灵魂也向她敞开……”
|
| “What are you talking about?” said Harry.
|
| “你说什么？”哈利问，觉得嗓子眼里干得要冒火。
|
| “The diary,” said Riddle. “My diary. Little Ginny’s been writing in it for months and months, telling me all her pitiful worries and woes — how her brothers tease her, how she had to come to school with secondhand robes and books, how” — Riddle’s eyes glinted — “how she didn’t think famous, good, great Harry Potter would ever like her. . . .”
|
| “你难道还猜不出来吗，哈利波特？”里德尔轻声细语地说，“是金妮韦斯莱打开了密室。是她掐死了学校里的公鸡，并在墙上涂抹那些吓人的文字。是她放出斯莱特林的蛇怪，袭击了四个泥巴种，还有那个哑炮的瘦猫。”
|
| All the time he spoke, Riddle’s eyes never left Harry’s face. There was an almost hungry look in them.
|
| “不可能。”哈利喃喃地说。
|
| “It’s very boring, having to listen to the silly little troubles of an eleven-year-old girl,” he went on. “But I was patient. I wrote back. I was sympathetic, I was kind. Ginny simply loved me. No one’s ever understood me like you, Tom. . . . I’m so glad I’ve got this diary to confide in. . . . It’s like having a friend I can carry around in my pocket. . . .”
|
| “是啊，”里德尔仍然平心静气地说，“当然啦，起先她不知道自己在做什么。这是非常有趣的。我真希望你能看看她新写的几篇日记……真是越来越有意思了……亲爱的汤姆，”他注视着哈利惊恐的眼睛，背诵着日记里的内容，“我觉得自己好像在失去记忆。我的袍子上到处都是鸡毛，我不知道它们是怎么弄上去的。亲爱的汤姆，我不记得万圣节前夜我都做了什么，但是一只猫遇害了，而我的胸前沾满了颜料。亲爱的汤姆，珀西总是对我说我脸色不好，样子也有些反常。我觉得他可能怀疑我了……今天又发生了一起攻击事件，我想不起当时我在哪里。汤姆，我该怎么办呢？我觉得自己快要疯了……我觉得我就是那个袭击所有这些人的凶手，汤姆！”
|
| Riddle laughed, a high, cold laugh that didn’t suit him. It made the hairs stand up on the back of Harry’s neck.
|
| 哈利的拳头攥紧了，指甲深深地陷进肉里。
|
| “If I say it myself, Harry, I’ve always been able to charm the people I needed. So Ginny poured out her soul to me, and her soul happened to be exactly what I wanted. . . . I grew stronger and stronger on a diet of her deepest fears, her darkest secrets. I grew powerful, far more powerful than little Miss Weasley. Powerful enough to start feeding Miss Weasley a few of my secrets, to start pouring a little of my soul back into her . . .”
|
| “过了很长很长时间，傻乎乎的小金妮才不再信任她的日记本了。”里德尔说，“她终于起了疑心，试图把它扔掉。你就是那个时候插进来的，哈利。你发现了它，我真是再高兴不过了。没想到在这么多人里面，居然是你捡到了这本日记，你是我最迫切想见的人啊……”
|
| “What d’you mean?” said Harry, whose mouth had gone very dry.
|
| “你为什么想见我？”哈利问。他气得浑身冒火，费了很大力气才使语调保持了平稳。
|
| “Haven’t you guessed yet, Harry Potter?” said Riddle softly. “Ginny Weasley opened the Chamber of Secrets. She strangled the school roosters and daubed threatening messages on the walls. She set the Serpent of Slytherin on four Mudbloods, and the Squib’s cat.”
|
| “噢，是这样的，哈利，金妮把你的情况都告诉我了，”里德尔说，“你的那些惊险迷人的往事。”他的目光掠过哈利前额上那道闪电形伤疤，脸上的神情变得更饥渴了。“我知道，我必须更多地了解你，跟你谈谈，如果可能的话还要亲自见到你。所以我决定让你亲眼目睹我抓住海格那个大蠢货的著名壮举，以获取你对我的信任。”
|
| “No,” Harry whispered.
|
| “海格是我的朋友，”哈利说，声音现在有些颤抖了，“是你诬陷了他，是吗？我还以为你是弄错了，没想到——”
|
| “Yes,” said Riddle, calmly. “Of course, she didn’t know what she was doing at first. It was very amusing. I wish you could have seen her new diary entries . . . far more interesting, they became. . . . Dear Tom,” he recited, watching Harry’s horrified face, “I think I’m losing my memory. There are rooster feathers all over my robes and I don’t know how they got there. Dear Tom, I can’t remember what I did on the night of Halloween, but a cat was attacked and I’ve got paint all down my front. Dear Tom, Percy keeps telling me I’m pale and I’m not myself. I think he suspects me. . . . There was another attack today and I don’t know where I was. Tom, what am I going to do? I think I’m going mad. . . . I think I’m the one attacking everyone, Tom!”
|
| 里德尔又发出他那种尖厉刺耳的狂笑。
|
| Harry’s fists were clenched, the nails digging deep into his palms.
|
| “是我揭发海格的，哈利。你可以想象一下，摆在阿曼多迪佩特老先生面前的是个什么情况。一面是我，汤姆里德尔，出身贫寒但聪明过人，父母双亡但智勇双全，是学校里的级长，模范学生；另一面呢，是傻大个海格，粗手笨脚，惹是生非，每隔一星期就要闯一次祸，他在床底下养狼人崽子。溜到禁林去跟巨怪搏斗。不过我得承认，就连我自己也没有想到计划执行得这样顺利。我还以为肯定有人会意识到，海格不可能是斯莱特林的继承人呢。我花了整整五年时间，才想方设法弄清了密室的情况，发现了那个秘密入口……难道海格有这样的头脑，有这样的能力吗？
|
| “It took a very long time for stupid little Ginny to stop trusting her diary,” said Riddle. “But she finally became suspicious and tried to dispose of it. And that’s where you came in, Harry. You found it, and I couldn’t have been more delighted. Of all the people who could have picked it up, it was you, the very person I was most anxious to meet. . . .”
|
| “似乎只有变形课老师邓布利多一个人认为海格是无辜的。他劝说迪佩特留下海格，把他培养成狩猎场看守。是的，我认为邓布利多大概有所察觉了。邓布利多似乎一直不像其他老师那样喜欢我……”
|
| “And why did you want to meet me?” said Harry. Anger was coursing through him, and it was an effort to keep his voice steady.
|
| “我敢说邓布利多早把你看透了。”哈利咬牙切齿地说。
|
| “Well, you see, Ginny told me all about you, Harry,” said Riddle. “Your whole fascinating history.” His eyes roved over the lightning scar on Harry’s forehead, and their expression grew hungrier. “I knew I must find out more about you, talk to you, meet you if I could. So I decided to show you my famous capture of that great oaf, Hagrid, to gain your trust —”
|
| “是啊，自从海格被开除后，他就一直密切地监视着我，非常讨厌。”里德尔漫不经心地说，“我知道，我在学校的时候再打开密室就不保险了。但是我不想把这么多年寻找密室的努力付诸东流。我决定留下一本日记，在那些纸页里保存那个十六岁的我，这样，有朝一日，凭借运气，我就可以引导另一个人沿着我的足迹，完成萨拉查斯莱特林高贵的事业。”
|
| “Hagrid’s my friend,” said Harry, his voice now shaking. “And you framed him, didn’t you? I thought you made a mistake, but —”
|
| “可是，你并没有完成，”哈利得意地说，“这次一个人也没死，就连那只猫也没死。几个小时之内，曼德拉草药水就配制好了，那些被石化的人就都可以活过来了。”
|
| Riddle laughed his high laugh again.
|
| “我刚才不是对你说过了吗？”里德尔轻声慢语地说，“对我来说，杀死泥巴种已经不重要了。许多月来，我的新目标一直是——你。”
|
| “It was my word against Hagrid’s, Harry. Well, you can imagine how it looked to old Armando Dippet. On the one hand, Tom Riddle, poor but brilliant, parentless but so brave, school prefect, model student . . . on the other hand, big, blundering Hagrid, in trouble every other week, trying to raise werewolf cubs under his bed, sneaking off to the Forbidden Forest to wrestle trolls . . . but I admit, even I was surprised how well the plan worked. I thought someone must realize that Hagrid couldn’t possibly be the Heir of Slytherin. It had taken me five whole years to find out everything I could about the Chamber of Secrets and discover the secret entrance . . . as though Hagrid had the brains, or the power!
|
| 哈利惊愕地瞪着他。
|
| “Only the Transfiguration teacher, Dumbledore, seemed to think Hagrid was innocent. He persuaded Dippet to keep Hagrid and train him as gamekeeper. Yes, I think Dumbledore might have guessed. . . . Dumbledore never seemed to like me as much as the other teachers did. . . .”
|
| “当我的日记又一次被打开时，在上面写字的居然是金妮，而不是你，你想象一下我是多么恼火吧。你知道吗，她看见日记到了你手里，非常紧张。万一你发现了日记的使用方法，我把她的秘密都透露给你呢？或者更糟糕的是，万一我告诉你是谁掐死了学校的公鸡呢？所以，这个蠢头蠢脑的小家伙就等到你宿舍没人的时候，进去把日记偷了出来。但是我知道自己必须怎么做。我看得出来，你在寻找斯莱特林的继承人。从金妮向我透露的你的情况看，我知道你会想尽一切办法解开这个秘密——特别是你一个最好的朋友也遭到了袭击。金妮曾经告诉过我，大家纷纷议论你会说蛇佬腔，整个学校都炸开了锅……
|
| “I bet Dumbledore saw right through you,” said Harry, his teeth gritted.
|
| “所以，我让金妮自己在墙上写了一行绝命书，来到这下面等着。她拼命挣扎，大哭大闹，真令人烦躁。但是她身体里已经没有多少生命了——她把大部分生命都注入了日记，注入到我身上，使我终于可以离开日记本了。自从我和金妮到了这里以后，我就一直在等你。我知道你会来的。我有许多问题等着问你呢，哈利波特。”
|
| “Well, he certainly kept an annoyingly close watch on me after Hagrid was expelled,” said Riddle carelessly. “I knew it wouldn’t be safe to open the Chamber again while I was still at school. But I wasn’t going to waste those long years I’d spent searching for it. I decided to leave behind a diary, preserving my sixteen-year-old self in its pages, so that one day, with luck, I would be able to lead another in my footsteps, and finish Salazar Slytherin’s noble work.”
|
| “什么问题？”哈利厉声问道，拳头仍然攥得紧紧的。
|
| “Well, you haven’t finished it,” said Harry triumphantly. “No one’s died this time, not even the cat. In a few hours the Mandrake Draught will be ready and everyone who was Petrified will be all right again —”
|
| “比如说，”里德尔说道，脸上露出快意的微笑，“一个婴儿，没有任何特别神奇的法术，是怎么打败有史以来最伟大的巫师的？你怎么能够安然无恙地逃脱，只留下一道伤疤，而伏地魔的力量却被摧毁了？”现在，他饿狼似的眼睛里闪着一种古怪的红光。
|
| “Haven’t I already told you,” said Riddle quietly, “that killing Mudbloods doesn’t matter to me anymore? For many months now, my new target has been — you.”
|
| “你为什么关心我是怎么逃脱的？”哈利拖长了声音问，“伏地魔的事发生在你死后许多年。”
|
| Harry stared at him.
|
| “伏地魔，”里德尔轻声说，“是我的过去、现在和未来，哈利波特……”他从口袋里抽出哈和的魔杖，在空中画了几下，写出三个闪闪发亮的名字——汤姆·马沃罗·里德尔。然后他把魔杖挥了一下，那些字母自动调换了位置，变成了：我是伏地魔①。
|
| “Imagine how angry I was when the next time my diary was opened, it was Ginny who was writing to me, not you. She saw you with the diary, you see, and panicked. What if you found out how to work it, and I repeated all her secrets to you? What if, even worse, I told you who’d been strangling roosters? So the foolish little brat waited until your dormitory was deserted and stole it back. But I knew what I must do. It was clear to me that you were on the trail of Slytherin’s heir. From everything Ginny had told me about you, I knew you would go to any lengths to solve the mystery — particularly if one of your best friends was attacked. And Ginny had told me the whole school was buzzing because you could speak Parseltongue. . . .
|
| “看见了吗？”他小声地说，“这个名字是我在霍格沃茨读书的时候就用过的，当然啦，只对我最亲密的朋友用过。难道你认为，我要一辈子使用我那个肮脏的麻瓜父亲的名字吗？要知道，在我的血管里，流淌着萨拉查斯莱特林本人的鲜血，是通过他的女儿传给我的！难道我还会保留那个令人恶心的普通麻瓜的名字？他在我还没有出生时就抛弃了我，就因为他发现自己的妻子是个女巫！不，哈利。我给自己想出了一个新的名字，我知道有朝一日，当我成为世界上最伟大的魔法师时，各地的巫师都不敢轻易说出这个名字！”
|
| “So I made Ginny write her own farewell on the wall and come down here to wait. She struggled and cried and became very boring. But there isn’t much life left in her. . . . She put too much into the diary, into me. Enough to let me leave its pages at last. . . . I have been waiting for you to appear since we arrived here. I knew you’d come. I have many questions for you, Harry Potter.”
|
| 哈利的脑子似乎僵住了。他木木地望着里德尔，就是这个人，曾经是一个父母双亡的孤儿，长大成人后居然杀死了哈利的父母，还有那么多其他的人……最后，哈利终于强迫自己开口说话。
|
| “Like what?” Harry spat, fists still clenched.
|
| “你不是。”他说，他平静的声音里充满仇恨。
|
| “Well,” said Riddle, smiling pleasantly, “how is it that you — a skinny boy with no extraordinary magical talent — managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but a scar, while Lord Voldemort’s powers were destroyed?”
|
| “不是什么？”里德尔厉声地问。
|
| There was an odd red gleam in his hungry eyes now.
|
| “你不是世界上最伟大的魔法师，”哈利呼吸急促地说，“很抱歉让你失望了，不过，世界上最伟大的巫师是阿不思邓布利多。每个人都这么说。即使在你力量强大的时候，你也不敢试图控制霍格沃茨。邓布利多在你上学的时候就看透了你，他现在仍然令你闻风丧胆，不管你这些日子躲在哪里。”
|
| “Why do you care how I escaped?” said Harry slowly. “Voldemort was after your time. . . .”
|
| 里德尔脸上的笑容消失了，换上了一副非常丑陋的表情。“我只不过利用了我的记忆，就把邓布利多赶出了这座城堡！”他咬牙切齿地说。
|
| “Voldemort,” said Riddle softly, “is my past, present, and future, Harry Potter. . . .”
|
| “你想得倒美，他并没有走！”哈利反驳道。他是随口说的，只想把里德尔吓住，他希望自己所说的话是真的，但不敢相信。
|
| He pulled Harry’s wand from his pocket and began to trace it through the air, writing three shimmering words:
|
| 里德尔张开嘴巴，刚要说话，却突然愣在了那里。
|
| tom marvolo riddle
|
| 不知从什么地方飘来了音乐声。里德尔猛地转过身去，望着空荡荡的密室。音乐声越来越响了。这声音虚幻飘渺，空灵神秘，听了令人亢奋。它使哈利头皮上的头发都竖了起来，使他的心房胀大得有原来的两倍。音乐声越来越高，最后哈利觉得它似乎就在自己的胸腔里振动。
|
| Then he waved the wand once, and the letters of his name rearranged themselves:
|
| 就在这时，最近的那根石柱顶上突然喷出了火焰。一只深红色的鸟突然从天而降，有仙鹤那么大，在拱形的天花板上演奏着它那古怪的音乐。它有一条金光闪闪的尾巴，像孔雀尾巴一样长，还有一对金光闪闪的爪子，爪子上抓着一个破破烂烂的包裹。
|
| i am lord voldemort
|
| 一秒钟后，那只大鸟径直朝哈利飞来。它把爪子上那个破破烂烂的东西扔在哈利脚边，然后重重地栖息在哈利的肩头。当它收拢两扇巨大的翅膀时，哈利抬起头来，看见它有一个长长的、尖利的金喙和两只亮晶晶的黑眼睛。大鸟停止了歌唱。它静静地坐在哈利肩头，热乎乎地贴着哈利的面颊，目光坚定地注视着里德尔。
|
| “You see?” he whispered. “It was a name I was already using at Hogwarts, to my most intimate friends only, of course. You think I was going to use my filthy Muggle father’s name forever? I, in whose veins runs the blood of Salazar Slytherin himself, through my mother’s side? I, keep the name of a foul, common Muggle, who abandoned me even before I was born, just because he found out his wife was a witch? No, Harry — I fashioned myself a new name, a name I knew wizards everywhere would one day fear to speak, when I had become the greatest sorcerer in the world!”
|
| “是一只凤凰……”里德尔也同样恶狠狠地瞪着它，说道。
|
| Harry’s brain seemed to have jammed. He stared numbly at Riddle, at the orphaned boy who had grown up to murder Harry’s own parents, and so many others. . . . At last he forced himself to speak.
|
| “福克斯？”哈利吃惊得简直喘不过气来，感到大鸟的金爪子轻轻抓着他的肩膀。
|
| “You’re not,” he said, his quiet voice full of hatred.
|
| “那玩艺儿——”里德尔又将目光转向福克斯刚才扔下的那个破破烂烂的东西，“是学校的那顶破分院帽。”
|
| “Not what?” snapped Riddle.
|
| 果然是它。脏兮兮、皱巴巴的，上面还打着补丁，一动不动地躺在哈利的脚下。
|
| “Not the greatest sorcerer in the world,” said Harry, breathing fast. “Sorry to disappoint you and all that, but the greatest wizard in the world is Albus Dumbledore. Everyone says so. Even when you were strong, you didn’t dare try and take over at Hogwarts. Dumbledore saw through you when you were at school and he still frightens you now, wherever you’re hiding these days —”
|
| 里德尔又狂笑起来。他笑得太厉害了，震得黑暗的密室微微发颤，就仿佛有十个里德尔同时在放声大笑。“那就是邓布利多送给他的保护人的东西！一只会唱歌的鸟和一顶破帽子！哈利波特，你觉得有胆量了吗？你觉得安全了吗？”
|
| The smile had gone from Riddle’s face, to be replaced by a very ugly look.
|
| 哈利没有回答。他也许看不出福克斯和分院帽有什么用，但他觉得不再孤单了，他带着逐渐增长的勇气，等着里德尔停止他的狂笑。
|
| “Dumbledore’s been driven out of this castle by the mere memory of me!” he hissed.
|
| “言归正传，哈利，”里德尔说，脸上仍然很得意地笑着，“在你的过去，我的未来，我们一共遭遇了两次。两次我都没能杀死你。你是怎么死里逃生的？把一切都告诉我吧。你的话有多长，你的小命就能保持多长。”
|
| “He’s not as gone as you might think!” Harry retorted. He was speaking at random, wanting to scare Riddle, wishing rather than believing it to be true —
|
| 哈利在飞快地思索着，权衡着他获胜的机会。里德尔拿着魔杖。他，哈利，拥有福克斯和分院帽，这两样东西在决斗中都没有多大的用处。确实，情况很不妙。但是，里德尔站在那里的时间越长，金妮身上的生命就越来越少……
|
| Riddle opened his mouth, but froze.
|
| 与此同时，哈利突然发现，里德尔原本模糊不清的轮廓正在渐渐变得清晰、稳定。如果他和里德尔之间必须有一番搏斗，那是越快越好。
|
| Music was coming from somewhere. Riddle whirled around to stare down the empty Chamber. The music was growing louder. It was eerie, spine-tingling, unearthly; it lifted the hair on Harry’s scalp and made his heart feel as though it was swelling to twice its normal size. Then, as the music reached such a pitch that Harry felt it vibrating inside his own ribs, flames erupted at the top of the nearest pillar.
|
| “你对我下手的时候为什么突然丧失了力量，谁也不知道，”哈利生硬地说道，“我自己也不清楚。但是我知道你为什么没能杀死我。因为我母亲是为了救我而死的。正是那普普通通的麻瓜出身的母亲，”他接着说道，因为拼命压抑着怒火而浑身发抖，“她阻止你杀死我。我看见过真实的你，去年我又看见了你。你只剩下了一堆破烂，只能算是半死不活。看你原来神通广大，结果却落到这个下场。你东躲西藏，你是丑八怪，令人作呕！”
|
| A crimson bird the size of a swan had appeared, piping its weird music to the vaulted ceiling. It had a glittering golden tail as long as a peacock’s and gleaming golden talons, which were gripping a ragged bundle.
|
| 里德尔的脸扭曲了，然后他又强挤出一个狰狞的笑容。“原来是这样——你母亲为了救你而死。是的，那是一个非常有效的解咒术。我现在明白了——说到底，你身上并没有什么特殊的东西。你知道吗，我本来一直想不通这个道理。因为我们俩之间存在着一些奇特的相似之处，哈利波特。你自己肯定也注意到了。我们都是混血统，都是孤儿，都是由麻瓜抚养长大的。也许还是自伟大的斯莱特林本人之后，进入霍格沃茨的仅有的两个蛇佬腔。我们甚至长得也有几分相像呢……不过说到底，原来你只是凭运气从我手里逃脱的。我想了解的就是这些。”
|
| A second later, the bird was flying straight at Harry. It dropped the ragged thing it was carrying at his feet, then landed heavily on his shoulder. As it folded its great wings, Harry looked up and saw it had a long, sharp golden beak and a beady black eye.
|
| 哈利站在那里，紧张地等待里德尔举起魔杖。但是里德尔脸上的狞笑更明显了。
|
| The bird stopped singing. It sat still and warm next to Harry’s cheek, gazing steadily at Riddle.
|
| “行了，哈利，我准备给你一点点儿教训。让我们比试比试力量吧，一边是伏地魔，萨拉查斯莱特林的继承人；另一边是哈利波特，带着邓布利多能够给他的最好武器。”
|
| “That’s a phoenix. . . .” said Riddle, staring shrewdly back at it.
|
| 他朝福克斯和分院帽扫了一眼，似乎觉得非常滑稽，然后便走开了。哈利感到恐惧从他麻木的双腿向上蔓延，他注视着里德尔在高耸的石柱间停住脚步，抬头望着高高隐没在黑暗中的斯莱特林石雕像的脸。里德尔张开嘴巴，发出嘶嘶的声音——但是哈利听懂了他说的话。
|
| “Fawkes?” Harry breathed, and he felt the bird’s golden claws squeeze his shoulder gently.
|
| “对我说话吧，斯莱特林——霍格沃茨四巨头中最伟大的一个。”
|
| “And that —” said Riddle, now eyeing the ragged thing that Fawkes had dropped, “that’s the old school Sorting Hat —”
|
| 哈利赶紧转过身去，抬头望着雕像，福克斯在他的肩头摇晃了一下。
|
| So it was. Patched, frayed, and dirty, the hat lay motionless at Harry’s feet.
|
| 斯莱特林那张巨大的石雕面孔动了起来。哈利极度惊恐地看到它的嘴巴张开了，越张越大，最后形成一个巨大的黑洞。
|
| Riddle began to laugh again. He laughed so hard that the dark Chamber rang with it, as though ten Riddles were laughing at once —
|
| 什么东西在雕像的嘴里活动，什么东西从雕像深处窸窸窣窣地向上滑行。
|
| “This is what Dumbledore sends his defender! A songbird and an old hat! Do you feel brave, Harry Potter? Do you feel safe now?”
|
| 哈利急步后退，撞在了漆黑的密室墙壁上。他的眼睛闭得紧紧的，感觉到福克斯在展翅起飞，翅膀扫到了他的面颊。哈利真想大喊：“别离开我！”但是一只凤凰怎么可能敌得过蛇王呢？一个庞然大物猛地摔落在石头地面上，哈利感到密室被震得颤抖起来。他知道是怎么回事，他可以感觉到，他几乎可以看见那条巨蛇正从斯莱特林的嘴里展开它盘绕的身体。然后，他听见了里德尔那嘶嘶的声音：“杀死他。”
|
| Harry didn’t answer. He might not see what use Fawkes or the Sorting Hat were, but he was no longer alone, and he waited for Riddle to stop laughing with his courage mounting.
|
| 蛇怪正在向哈利移动，哈利可以听见它沉重的身体迟缓地滑过布满灰尘的地面。哈利一边仍然紧闭着双眼，一边开始盲目地向旁边逃窜，双手伸在前面摸索着。里德尔在得意地狂笑……
|
| “To business, Harry,” said Riddle, still smiling broadly. “Twice — in your past, in my future — we have met. And twice I failed to kill you. How did you survive? Tell me everything. The longer you talk,” he added softly, “the longer you stay alive.”
|
| 哈利绊倒了，重重地摔在石头上，嘴里有一般咸咸的血腥味。蛇怪离他只有几步了，他可以听见蛇怪正在一点点逼近。
|
| Harry was thinking fast, weighing his chances. Riddle had the wand. He, Harry, had Fawkes and the Sorting Hat, neither of which would be much good in a duel. It looked bad, all right . . . but the longer Riddle stood there, the more life was dwindling out of Ginny . . . and in the meantime, Harry noticed suddenly, Riddle’s outline was becoming clearer, more solid. . . . If it had to be a fight between him and Riddle, better sooner than later.
|
| 突然，他头顶上方传来一声爆炸般的裂响，什么东西狠狠地击中哈利，把他撞到了墙上。他等着毒牙扎进自己的身体，这时他又听见了疯狂的嘶嘶声，什么东西把石柱猛地撞到了一边。
|
| “No one knows why you lost your powers when you attacked me,” said Harry abruptly. “I don’t know myself. But I know why you couldn’t kill me. Because my mother died to save me. My common Muggle-born mother,” he added, shaking with suppressed rage. “She stopped you killing me. And I’ve seen the real you, I saw you last year. You’re a wreck. You’re barely alive. That’s where all your power got you. You’re in hiding. You’re ugly, you’re foul —”
|
| 他再也忍不住了，把眼睛睁开细细的一条缝，想看看到底是怎么回事。
|
| Riddle’s face contorted. Then he forced it into an awful smile.
|
| 那条巨大的蛇怪，通体绿盈盈的，泛着毒蛇特有的艳丽光芒，身子有栎树的树干那么粗，它把上半身高高地伸向空中，扁平的大脑袋在石柱之间胡乱地穿绕着，像喝醉了酒一样。就在哈利颤抖着想闭上眼睛时，蛇怪转过身来，于是哈利看清了是什么转移了它的注意力。
|
| “So. Your mother died to save you. Yes, that’s a powerful countercharm. I can see now . . . there is nothing special about you, after all. I wondered, you see. There are strange likenesses between us, after all. Even you must have noticed. Both half-bloods, orphans, raised by Muggles. Probably the only two Parselmouths to come to Hogwarts since the great Slytherin himself. We even look something alike . . . but after all, it was merely a lucky chance that saved you from me. That’s all I wanted to know.”
|
| 福克斯正绕着它的脑袋盘旋，蛇怪愤怒地朝凤凰扑去，嘴里露出军刀一般又薄又长的毒牙。
|
| Harry stood, tense, waiting for Riddle to raise his wand. But Riddle’s twisted smile was widening again.
|
| 福克斯猛地俯冲下来，它长长的金喙扎进了蛇怪的脑袋，顿时，一股黑血泼溅到地面上，像一场阵雨。蛇怪的尾巴疯狂地摆动着，差点打中了哈利。没等哈利来得及闭上眼睛，蛇怪已经转过头来。哈利正面看见了它的脸，看见了它的眼睛——那两只灯泡般的巨大的黄眼睛，都被凤凰啄瞎了。黑血汹涌地喷到地上，蛇怪痛苦地发出呼噜呼噜的声音。
|
| “Now, Harry, I’m going to teach you a little lesson. Let’s match the powers of Lord Voldemort, Heir of Salazar Slytherin, against famous Harry Potter, and the best weapons Dumbledore can give him. . . .”
|
| “不要！”哈利听见里德尔在尖叫，“离开那只鸟！离开那只鸟！男孩在你后面！你还可以闻到他的气味！杀死他！”
|
| He cast an amused eye over Fawkes and the Sorting Hat, then walked away. Harry, fear spreading up his numb legs, watched Riddle stop between the high pillars and look up into the stone face of Slytherin, high above him in the half-darkness. Riddle opened his mouth wide and hissed — but Harry understood what he was saying. . . .
|
| 瞎了眼的蛇怪转过身来，它失去了目标，不知道该怎么办，但仍然很凶险。福克斯围着它的脑袋飞舞，嘴里唱着古怪的歌儿，时不时地对准蛇怪那布满鳞片的鼻子，这里啄一下，那里啄一下，黑血从蛇怪被戳瞎的眼睛里喷涌而出。
|
| “Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four.”
|
| “救救我，救救我，”哈利不知所措地低唤道，“谁能救我，无论是谁！”
|
| Harry wheeled around to look up at the statue, Fawkes swaying on his shoulder.
|
| 蛇怪的尾巴又扫过来了。哈利赶紧一低头，一个柔软的东西击中了他的脸。
|
| Slytherin’s gigantic stone face was moving. Horrorstruck, Harry saw his mouth opening, wider and wider, to make a huge black hole.
|
| 蛇怪把分院帽扫进了哈利怀里。哈利抓住帽子，这是他仅有的武器，是他惟一的希望了。他胡乱地把它扣在脑袋上，接着便趴倒在地，因为蛇怪的尾巴又朝他扫过来了。
|
| And something was stirring inside the statue’s mouth. Something was slithering up from its depths.
|
| “救救我——救救我——”哈利想道，眼睛被紧紧地压在帽子下面，“请救救我。”
|
| Harry backed away until he hit the dark Chamber wall, and as he shut his eyes tight he felt Fawkes’ wing sweep his cheek as he took flight. Harry wanted to shout, “Don’t leave me!” but what chance did a phoenix have against the king of serpents?
|
| 没有声音回答他。相反，帽子越来越紧，就好像有一只看不见的手在拼命地攥紧它似的。
|
| Something huge hit the stone floor of the Chamber. Harry felt it shudder — he knew what was happening, he could sense it, could almost see the giant serpent uncoiling itself from Slytherin’s mouth. Then he heard Riddle’s hissing voice:
|
| 啷！一个很硬很重的东西落到哈利的脑袋顶上，差点把他砸昏了。他的眼前冒起了金星。他一把抓住帽顶，想把它脱掉，却摸到帽子下面有一个长长的、硬硬的东西。
|
| “Kill him.”
|
| 一把闪闪发亮的银剑出现在帽子里，剑柄上镶嵌着璀璨夺目的鸡蛋大的红宝石。
|
| The basilisk was moving toward Harry; he could hear its heavy body slithering heavily across the dusty floor. Eyes still tightly shut, Harry began to run blindly sideways, his hands outstretched, feeling his way — Voldemort was laughing —
|
| “杀死那个男孩！离开那只鸟！男孩在你后面！你使劲闻闻——闻闻他的气味！”
|
| Harry tripped. He fell hard onto the stone and tasted blood — the serpent was barely feet from him, he could hear it coming —
|
| 哈利已经站起来，做好准备。蛇怪的脑袋正在降落，它朝哈利转过脸来，身体一圈圈地盘绕起来，啪啪地敲打着那些石柱。哈利可以看见它那两个巨大的、鲜血淋漓的眼窝，看见它的嘴巴张得很大很大，大得简直能把他整个吞下去，嘴里露出两排像他的银剑那么长的毒牙，薄薄的，发着寒光，含着毒液……它盲目地冲了过来。哈利慌忙躲闪，撞到了密室的墙上。它又扑了过来，分岔的舌头嗖地掠过哈利的身体。哈利用双手举起银剑。
|
| There was a loud, explosive spitting sound right above him, and then something heavy hit Harry so hard that he was smashed into the wall. Waiting for fangs to sink through his body he heard more mad hissing, something thrashing wildly off the pillars —
|
| 蛇怪又一次扑了过来。这次它的目标很明确。哈利把全身的力气都运到了银剑上，猛地将它深深扎入蛇怪的上腭，深得直没到剑柄。
|
| He couldn’t help it — he opened his eyes wide enough to squint at what was going on.
|
| 然而，就在热乎乎的蛇血淋透哈利的手臂时，他感到胳膊肘突然一阵钻心的疼痛。一只带着毒液的长牙正越来越深地陷进他的胳膊，当蛇怪痛苦地扭曲着，翻滚到一旁的地面上时，那根毒牙断裂了。
|
| The enormous serpent, bright, poisonous green, thick as an oak trunk, had raised itself high in the air and its great blunt head was weaving drunkenly between the pillars. As Harry trembled, ready to close his eyes if it turned, he saw what had distracted the snake.
|
| 哈利顺着墙壁滑到地上。他抓住那根正在往他身体里喷射毒液的长牙，把它从胳膊里拔了出来。但是他知道已经晚了。剧烈的疼痛正缓慢而持续地从伤口向全身蔓延。当他扔掉毒牙，注视着自己的鲜血慢慢浸透长袍时，他的视线已经开始模糊了。密室逐渐消融在一团飞速旋转着的昏暗色彩中。一道鲜红色的光轻盈地从眼前掠过，哈利听见身边传来爪子的轻轻抓挠声。
|
| Fawkes was soaring around its head, and the basilisk was snapping furiously at him with fangs long and thin as sabers —
|
| “福克斯，”哈利含混不清地说，“你太棒了，福克斯……”他感到大鸟把它美丽的脑袋贴在他被蛇怪毒牙刺中的地方。
|
| Fawkes dived. His long golden beak sank out of sight and a sudden shower of dark blood spattered the floor. The snake’s tail thrashed, narrowly missing Harry, and before Harry could shut his eyes, it turned — Harry looked straight into its face and saw that its eyes, both its great, bulbous yellow eyes, had been punctured by the phoenix; blood was streaming to the floor, and the snake was spitting in agony.
|
| 他听见了伴随着回音的脚步声，接着，一个黑压压的影子站到了他的面前。
|
| “NO!” Harry heard Riddle screaming. “LEAVE THE BIRD! LEAVE THE BIRD! THE BOY IS BEHIND YOU! YOU CAN STILL SMELL HIM! KILL HIM!”
|
| “你死了，哈利波特，”里德尔的声音在他上面说，“死了。就连邓布利多的鸟也知道这一点。你看见它在做什么吗，波特？它在哭呢。”
|
| The blinded serpent swayed, confused, still deadly. Fawkes was circling its head, piping his eerie song, jabbing here and there at its scaly nose as the blood poured from its ruined eyes.
|
| 哈利眨了眨眼睛。福克斯的脑袋忽而清晰忽而模糊，大滴大滴珍珠般的泪珠顺着它富有光泽的羽毛滚落下来。
|
| “Help me, help me,” Harry muttered wildly, “someone — anyone —”
|
| “我要坐在这里，亲眼看着你死，哈利波特。不要着急，我有的是时间。”
|
| The snake’s tail whipped across the floor again. Harry ducked. Something soft hit his face.
|
| 哈利感到昏昏欲睡。周围的一切似乎都在旋转。
|
| The basilisk had swept the Sorting Hat into Harry’s arms. Harry seized it. It was all he had left, his only chance — he rammed it onto his head and threw himself flat onto the floor as the basilisk’s tail swung over him again.
|
| “大名鼎鼎的哈利波特就这样完蛋了，”里德尔的声音从很远的地方传来，“孤零零地在密室里，被朋友们抛弃。他不自量力地向黑魔头挑战，终于败在了黑魔头的手下。哈利，你很快就要跟你亲爱的麻瓜母亲会面了……她以自己的生命为代价，让你又苟活了十二年……可是伏地魔终于把你干掉了，其实，你早就知道他一定会做到这一点的。”
|
| Help me — help me — Harry thought, his eyes screwed tight under the hat. Please help me —
|
| 哈利心想，如果他正在死去，倒不算特别难受。就连疼痛的感觉也慢慢减轻了……可是，这难道真是死亡吗？密室不仅没有变得一片漆黑，反而渐渐清晰起来。哈利轻轻摇了摇头，他看见了福克斯，大鸟仍然把脑袋靠在他的胳膊上。他的伤口周围闪烁着一片珍珠般的泪水——咦，奇怪，伤口怎么不见了？
|
| There was no answering voice. Instead, the hat contracted, as though an invisible hand was squeezing it very tightly.
|
| “滚开，你这只破鸟，”里德尔的声音突然说道，“快从他身上滚开。听见没有，滚开！”
|
| Something very hard and heavy thudded onto the top of Harry’s head, almost knocking him out. Stars winking in front of his eyes, he grabbed the top of the hat to pull it off and felt something long and hard beneath it.
|
| 哈利抬起头，里德尔正用哈利的魔杖指着福克斯。嘭的一声巨响，像打枪一样，福克斯飞了起来，如同一股金色和红色组成的旋风。
|
| A gleaming silver sword had appeared inside the hat, its handle glittering with rubies the size of eggs.
|
| “凤凰的眼泪……”里德尔小声地说，眼睛盯着哈利的胳膊，“当然……有疗伤的作用……我忘记了……”他注视着哈利的脸。“不过没有关系。实际上，我认为这样更好。只有你和我，哈利·波特……你和我……”他举起魔杖。
|
| “KILL THE BOY! LEAVE THE BIRD! THE BOY IS BEHIND YOU! SNIFF — SMELL HIM!”
|
| 就在这时，福克斯迅速地扑扇着翅膀，又在他们头顶上盘旋了，随即，一样东西落在哈利的膝盖上——那本日记。在那生死关头的一刹那，哈利，以及仍然举着魔杖的里德尔，眼睛都盯住了它。然后，哈利没有思考，也没有半点犹豫，好像他一直就打定主意要这么做似的，他一把抓起身边地上的蛇怪毒牙，径直把它插进了日记本的中心。
|
| Harry was on his feet, ready. The basilisk’s head was falling, its body coiling around, hitting pillars as it twisted to face him. He could see the vast, bloody eye sockets, see the mouth stretching wide, wide enough to swallow him whole, lined with fangs long as his sword, thin, glittering, venomous —
|
| 随着一声可怕的、持久的、穿透耳膜的尖叫，一股股墨水从日记本里汹涌地喷射出来，顺着哈利的双手淌到地上。里德尔扭曲着、挣扎着，双臂不停地挥舞着，嘴里发出声声惨叫，然后……他消失了。啪嗒一声，哈利的魔杖掉在地上，然后一切都沉寂下来，只听见墨水仍然从日记本里嘀嗒嘀嗒地渗出来的声音。蛇怪的毒液把日记本灼穿了一个洞，还在嘶嘶地冒着黑烟。
|
| It lunged blindly — Harry dodged and it hit the Chamber wall. It lunged again, and its forked tongue lashed Harry’s side. He raised the sword in both his hands —
|
| 哈利浑身颤抖，支撑着站了起来。他感到天旋地转，就好像刚刚用飞路粉旅行了十万八千里似的。慢慢地，他拾起他的魔杖和分院帽，又使出吃奶的力气，从蛇怪的上腭里拔出了那把银光闪闪的宝剑。
|
| The basilisk lunged again, and this time its aim was true — Harry threw his whole weight behind the sword and drove it to the hilt into the roof of the serpent’s mouth —
|
| 这时，一声轻轻的呻吟从密室那头传来。金妮开始动弹了。哈利匆匆赶过去时，金妮坐了起来。她茫然的目光先落到蛇怪庞大的尸体上，又落到穿着血迹斑斑的长袍的哈利身上，最后落到他手里的日记上。她打了一个哆嗉，倒抽一口冷气，眼泪便哗哗地流了下来。
|
| But as warm blood drenched Harry’s arms, he felt a searing pain just above his elbow. One long, poisonous fang was sinking deeper and deeper into his arm and it splintered as the basilisk keeled over sideways and fell, twitching, to the floor.
|
| “哈利——哦，哈利——吃早饭的时候，我——我想告诉你的，可是当着珀西的面，我没——没法说。都是我干的，哈利——可是我——我发誓我——我不是有意的，是里——里德尔逼我的，他——他控制了我。你——你是怎么杀死那个——那个家伙的？里德尔在——在哪里？我——我最后只记得他从日记里出来——”
|
| Harry slid down the wall. He gripped the fang that was spreading poison through his body and wrenched it out of his arm. But he knew it was too late. White-hot pain was spreading slowly and steadily from the wound. Even as he dropped the fang and watched his own blood soaking his robes, his vision went foggy. The Chamber was dissolving in a whirl of dull color.
|
| “现在没事了，”哈利说，他给金妮看那个被毒牙穿透的大洞，“里德尔完蛋了。看！他和蛇怪都完蛋了。走吧，金妮，我们赶紧离开这里——”
|
| A patch of scarlet swam past, and Harry heard a soft clatter of claws beside him.
|
| “我会被开除的！”当哈利搀扶着她晃晃悠悠地站起来时，金妮哭泣着说，“自从比——比尔来了以后，我就一直盼着到霍格沃茨来念书，现在我不得不离开了，爸爸妈妈会怎——怎么说呢？”
|
| “Fawkes,” said Harry thickly. “You were fantastic, Fawkes. . . .” He felt the bird lay its beautiful head on the spot where the serpent’s fang had pierced him.
|
| 福克斯在密室的入口处盘旋，等待着他们。哈利催金妮快走，他们跨过蛇怪一动不动的盘绕的尸体，穿过昏暗空旷、回音阵阵的房间，回到了隧道里。哈利听见，两扇石门在他们身后哧溜一下轻轻合上了。
|
| He could hear echoing footsteps and then a dark shadow moved in front of him.
|
| 他们顺着隧道往上走了几分钟，哈利听见远处传来慢慢搬动岩石的声音。
|
| “You’re dead, Harry Potter,” said Riddle’s voice above him. “Dead. Even Dumbledore’s bird knows it. Do you see what he’s doing, Potter? He’s crying.”
|
| “罗恩！”哈利喊道，脚底下加快了速度。“金妮没事儿！我找到她了！”
|
| Harry blinked. Fawkes’s head slid in and out of focus. Thick, pearly tears were trickling down the glossy feathers.
|
| 他听见罗恩发出一声沉闷的欢呼。他们又转过一个弯道，就看见罗恩的脸透过一个很大的豁口，急切地向他们张望，这个豁口是他好不容易在坠落的碎石堆中掏出来的。
|
| “I’m going to sit here and watch you die, Harry Potter. Take your time. I’m in no hurry.”
|
| “金妮！”罗恩把手从豁口中伸出来，先把金妮拉过去，“你还活着！我真不敢相信！怎么回事？”他想搂抱金妮，可是金妮哭泣着不让他接近自己。“你没事了，金妮，”罗恩微笑着对她说道，“一切都过去了——那只鸟是从哪儿来的？”
|
| Harry felt drowsy. Everything around him seemed to be spinning.
|
| 福克斯跟在金妮后面飞过了豁口。
|
| “So ends the famous Harry Potter,” said Riddle’s distant voice. “Alone in the Chamber of Secrets, forsaken by his friends, defeated at last by the Dark Lord he so unwisely challenged. You’ll be back with your dear Mudblood mother soon, Harry. . . . She bought you twelve years of borrowed time . . . but Lord Voldemort got you in the end, as you knew he must. . . .”
|
| “它是邓布利多的。”哈利说着，自己也从豁口里挤了过去。
|
| If this is dying, thought Harry, it’s not so bad.
|
| “你怎么会有一把宝剑的？”罗恩盯着哈利手里那件银光闪闪的武器，吃惊地问。
|
| Even the pain was leaving him. . . .
|
| “等我们离开这里以后，我再慢慢向你解释。”哈利瞟了金妮一眼，说道。
|
| But was this dying? Instead of going black, the Chamber seemed to be coming back into focus. Harry gave his head a little shake and there was Fawkes, still resting his head on Harry’s arm. A pearly patch of tears was shining all around the wound — except that there was no wound —
|
| “可是——”
|
| “Get away, bird,” said Riddle’s voice suddenly. “Get away from him — I said, get away —”
|
| “以后再说。”哈利赶紧说道。他认为最好不要告诉罗恩是谁打开了密室，至少不能当着金妮的面告诉他。“洛哈特呢？”
|
| Harry raised his head. Riddle was pointing Harry’s wand at Fawkes; there was a bang like a gun, and Fawkes took flight again in a whirl of gold and scarlet.
|
| “在那儿呢，”罗恩说着，咧开嘴笑了，他把头对着隧道通向水管的地方扬了扬，“他的情况很糟糕。过去看看吧。”
|
| “Phoenix tears . . .” said Riddle quietly, staring at Harry’s arm. “Of course . . . healing powers . . . I forgot . . .”
|
| 福克斯宽阔的鲜红色翅膀，在黑暗中放射出一道柔和的金光。他们跟在它的后面，一路返回到水管的入口处。吉德罗洛哈特坐在那里，自得其乐地哼着小曲儿。
|
| He looked into Harry’s face. “But it makes no difference. In fact, I prefer it this way. Just you and me, Harry Potter . . . you and me. . . .”
|
| “他的记忆消失了，”罗恩说，“遗忘魔咒向后发射了，没有击中我们，倒把他自己给击中了。他完全不记得自己是谁，在什么地方，也不认识我们了。我叫他上这儿来等着。他在那里待着不安全。”
|
| He raised the wand —
|
| 洛哈持和蔼可亲地抬头望着他们。“你们好，”他说，“这个地方真奇怪，是吗？你们住在这里吗？”
|
| Then, in a rush of wings, Fawkes had soared back overhead and something fell into Harry’s lap — the diary.
|
| “不是。”罗恩说，一边朝哈利扬了扬眉毛。
|
| For a split second, both Harry and Riddle, wand still raised, stared at it. Then, without thinking, without considering, as though he had meant to do it all along, Harry seized the basilisk fang on the floor next to him and plunged it straight into the heart of the book.
|
| 哈利弯下腰，透过长长的、黑洞洞的水管向上望去。“你有没有想过，我们怎么顺着水管回到那上面去呢？”他对罗恩说。
|
| There was a long, dreadful, piercing scream. Ink spurted out of the diary in torrents, streaming over Harry’s hands, flooding the floor. Riddle was writhing and twisting, screaming and flailing and then —
|
| 罗恩摇了摇头。风凰福克斯刚才嗖地飞过哈利身旁，此刻在他前面扑扇着翅膀，亮晶晶的眼睛在黑暗中显得格外明亮，它摆动着尾巴后面长长的金色羽毛。哈利迟疑地望着它。
|
| He had gone. Harry’s wand fell to the floor with a clatter and there was silence. Silence except for the steady drip drip of ink still oozing from the diary. The basilisk venom had burned a sizzling hole right through it.
|
| “它好像希望你抓住它……”罗恩说，显得有些困惑，“可是你太重了，一只鸟不可能把你拉上去的。”
|
| Shaking all over, Harry pulled himself up. His head was spinning as though he’d just traveled miles by Floo powder. Slowly, he gathered together his wand and the Sorting Hat, and, with a huge tug, retrieved the glittering sword from the roof of the basilisk’s mouth.
|
| “福克斯可不是一只普通的鸟。”哈利说。他迅速转向其他人，“我们必须一个抓牢一个。金妮，你抓住罗恩的手。洛哈特教授——”
|
| Then came a faint moan from the end of the Chamber. Ginny was stirring. As Harry hurried toward her, she sat up. Her bemused eyes traveled from the huge form of the dead basilisk, over Harry, in his blood-soaked robes, then to the diary in his hand. She drew a great, shuddering gasp and tears began to pour down her face.
|
| “他说的是你——”罗恩很不客气地对洛哈特说道，“你抓住金妮的另一只手。”
|
| “Harry — oh, Harry — I tried to tell you at b-breakfast, but I c-couldn’t say it in front of Percy — it was me, Harry — but I — I s-swear I d-didn’t mean to — R-Riddle made me, he t-took me over — and — how did you kill that — that thing? W-where’s Riddle? The last thing I r-remember is him coming out of the diary —”
|
| 哈利把宝剑和分院帽塞进腰带，罗恩抓住哈利的长袍后襟，哈利伸手抓住福克斯尾巴上热得出奇的羽毛。一种奇特的轻松感迅速掠过他的全身，接着，呼的一下，他们都顺着水管向上飞去。哈利可以听见洛哈特悬挂在他下面，嘴里不住地喊道：“太惊人了！太惊人了！简直像魔法一样！”
|
| “It’s all right,” said Harry, holding up the diary, and showing Ginny the fang hole, “Riddle’s finished. Look! Him and the basilisk. C’mon, Ginny, let’s get out of here —”
|
| 寒冷的气流吹拂着哈利的头发。他还在尽情享受这种飞行的乐趣时，旅程结束了——四个人落在哭泣的桃金娘的盥洗室的潮湿地板上，就在洛哈特把他的帽子扶正时，那座掩盖水管的水池自动滑到了原来的地方。
|
| “I’m going to be expelled!” Ginny wept as Harry helped her awkwardly to her feet. “I’ve looked forward to coming to Hogwarts ever since B-Bill came and n-now I’ll have to leave and — w-what’ll Mum and Dad say?”
|
| 桃金娘瞪大眼睛望着他们。“你还活着。”她扫兴地对哈利说。
|
| Fawkes was waiting for them, hovering in the Chamber entrance. Harry urged Ginny forward; they stepped over the motionless coils of the dead basilisk, through the echoing gloom, and back into the tunnel. Harry heard the stone doors close behind them with a soft hiss.
|
| “没必要用这么失望的口气说话。”哈利板着脸说，一边擦去眼镜片上星星点点的血迹和黏液。
|
| After a few minutes’ progress up the dark tunnel, a distant sound of slowly shifting rock reached Harry’s ears.
|
| “噢，是这样……我一直在考虑，如果你死了，欢迎你和我共同使用这个抽水马桶。”桃金娘说，害羞得脸变成了银白色。
|
| “Ron!” Harry yelled, speeding up. “Ginny’s okay! I’ve got her!”
|
| “哈哈！”他们离开盥洗室，走向外面空荡荡的走廊时，罗恩说，“哈利！我觉得桃金娘喜欢上你了！金妮，你有了竞争对手啦！”
|
| He heard Ron give a strangled cheer, and they turned the next bend to see his eager face staring through the sizable gap he had managed to make in the rockfall.
|
| 可是，眼泪仍然像断了线的珍珠一样，无声地从金妮的面颊上滚落下来。
|
| “Ginny!” Ron thrust an arm through the gap in the rock to pull her through first. “You’re alive! I don’t believe it! What happened? How — what — where did that bird come from?”
|
| “现在往哪儿走？”罗恩焦虑地看了金妮一眼，问道。
|
| Fawkes had swooped through the gap after Ginny.
|
| 哈利指了指前面。福克斯在前面领路，顺着走廊一路闪着金光。他们大步跟着它，片刻之后，发现自己站在了麦格教授的办公室外面。哈利敲了敲门，然后把门推开了。
|
| “He’s Dumbledore’s,” said Harry, squeezing through himself.
|
| ①汤姆·马沃罗·里德尔的英文是“Tom Marvolo Riddle”，“我是伏地魔”的英文是“I Am L0rd Voldemort”。字母一样，只是排列不同。
|
| “How come you’ve got a sword ?” said Ron, gaping at the glittering weapon in Harry’s hand.
|
|
|
| “I’ll explain when we get out of here,” said Harry with a sideways glance at Ginny, who was crying harder than ever.
|
| |
| “But —”
|
| |
| “Later,” Harry said shortly. He didn’t think it was a good idea to tell Ron yet who’d been opening the Chamber, not in front of Ginny, anyway. “Where’s Lockhart?”
|
| |
| “Back there,” said Ron, still looking puzzled but jerking his head up the tunnel toward the pipe. “He’s in a bad way. Come and see.”
|
| |
| Led by Fawkes, whose wide scarlet wings emitted a soft golden glow in the darkness, they walked all the way back to the mouth of the pipe. Gilderoy Lockhart was sitting there, humming placidly to himself.
|
| |
| “His memory’s gone,” said Ron. “The Memory Charm backfired. Hit him instead of us. Hasn’t got a clue who he is, or where he is, or who we are. I told him to come and wait here. He’s a danger to himself.”
|
| |
| Lockhart peered good-naturedly up at them all.
|
| |
| “Hello,” he said. “Odd sort of place, this, isn’t it? Do you live here?”
|
| |
| “No,” said Ron, raising his eyebrows at Harry.
|
| |
| Harry bent down and looked up the long, dark pipe.
|
| |
| “Have you thought how we’re going to get back up this?” he said to Ron.
|
| |
| Ron shook his head, but Fawkes the phoenix had swooped past Harry and was now fluttering in front of him, his beady eyes bright in the dark. He was waving his long golden tail feathers. Harry looked uncertainly at him.
|
| |
| “He looks like he wants you to grab hold . . .” said Ron, looking perplexed. “But you’re much too heavy for a bird to pull up there —”
|
| |
| “Fawkes,” said Harry, “isn’t an ordinary bird.” He turned quickly to the others. “We’ve got to hold on to each other. Ginny, grab Ron’s hand. Professor Lockhart —”
|
| |
| “He means you,” said Ron sharply to Lockhart.
|
| |
| “You hold Ginny’s other hand —”
|
| |
| Harry tucked the sword and the Sorting Hat into his belt, Ron took hold of the back of Harry’s robes, and Harry reached out and took hold of Fawkes’s strangely hot tail feathers.
|
| |
| An extraordinary lightness seemed to spread through his whole body and the next second, in a rush of wings, they were flying upward through the pipe. Harry could hear Lockhart dangling below him, saying, “Amazing! Amazing! This is just like magic!” The chill air was whipping through Harry’s hair, and before he’d stopped enjoying the ride, it was over — all four of them were hitting the wet floor of Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom, and as Lockhart straightened his hat, the sink that hid the pipe was sliding back into place.
|
| |
| Myrtle goggled at them.
|
| |
| “You’re alive,” she said blankly to Harry.
|
| |
| “There’s no need to sound so disappointed,” he said grimly, wiping flecks of blood and slime off his glasses.
|
| |
| “Oh, well . . . I’d just been thinking . . . if you had died, you’d have been welcome to share my toilet,” said Myrtle, blushing silver.
|
| |
| “Urgh!” said Ron as they left the bathroom for the dark, deserted corridor outside. “Harry! I think Myrtle’s grown fond of you! You’ve got competition, Ginny!”
|
| |
| But tears were still flooding silently down Ginny’s face.
|
| |
| “Where now?” said Ron, with an anxious look at Ginny. Harry pointed.
|
| |
| Fawkes was leading the way, glowing gold along the corridor. They strode after him, and moments later, found themselves outside Professor McGonagall’s office.
|
| |
| Harry knocked and pushed the door open.
|
| |
|
|
| |
目录 上一章 下一章
OK阅读网 版权所有(C)2017 | 联系我们