Chapter One The Dark Lord Ascending 第一章 伏地魔崛起 The two men appeared out of nowhere, a few yards apart in the narrow, moonlit lane. For a second they stood quite still, wands directed at each other"s chests; then, recognizing each other, they stowed their wands beneath their cloaks and started walking briskly in the same direction. 在一条狭窄的被月光笼罩着的乡间小道上,在互相只隔了几码的距离,突然冒出来了两个人。此时一片寂静,他们手中的魔杖直指着对方的胸膛,片刻间他们认出了彼此,把魔杖收进了斗篷,兴奋的朝同一个方向走去。 "News?" asked the taller of the two. "The best," replied Severus Snape. The lane was bordered on the left by wild, low-growing brambles, on the right by a high, neatly manicured hedge. The men"s long cloaks flapped around their ankles as they marched. "有消息么?" 比较高的人问。 "最好的消息 ," 西弗勒斯•斯内普回答。小道的左边满是错节缠绕的低矮荆棘,右边是一排高高的树篱,整洁的像刚修理过的指甲。这两个男人又高又长的斗篷随着前进的步伐拍打在他们的脚踝四周。 "Thought I might be late," said Yaxley, his blunt features sliding in and out of sight as the branches of overhanging trees broke the moonlight. "It was a little trickier than I expected. But I hope he will be satisfied. You sound confident that your reception will be good?" "想我可能来迟了 ," 亚克斯力说, 他愚钝的面容在透过悬垂的树枝撒下的斑驳月光中忽隐忽现。 "事情比我预期的稍微麻烦一些。 但是我认为他会满意的。 你听起来自信你会受到很好的接待?" Snape nodded, but did not elaborate. They turned right, into a wide driveway that led off the lane. The high hedge curved into them, running off into the distance beyond the pair of imposing wrought-iron gates barring the men"s way. Neither of them broke step: In silence both raised their left arms in a kind of salute and passed straight through, as though the dark metal was smoke. 斯内普点了点头, 但是没有解释什么。 他们转向右 , 离开小路拐进了的一条宽阔的车道。那高高的树篱弯曲着向一旁闪开,在他们前方的不远处出现了一座壮丽的锻铁大门挡住他们的路。 他们都没有停下脚步: 两个人都沉默的以一种特殊的敬礼方式举起他们的左臂,接着径直的穿过了去,似乎那黑色的金属大门仅仅只是烟雾。 The yew hedges muffled the sound of the men"s footsteps. There was a rustle somewhere to their right: Yaxley drew his wand again pointing it over his companion"s head, but the source of the noise proved to be nothing more than a pure-white peacock, strutting majestically along the top of the hedge. 紫杉木的篱笆隐去了两个人的行走的声音。从他们右边的某处地方传出了沙沙的声音:亚克斯力再次拔出了他的魔杖,越过他同伴的头指向那里,但是那儿根本没有任何人,只是有一只纯白的孔雀,指高气昂地顺着树篱的顶端行走。 “He always did himself well, Lucius. Peacocks …” Yaxley thrust his wand back under his cloak with a snort. “他总是把自己打扮得很好。卢修斯。孔雀……” 亚克斯力发出一声粗重的鼻息,把魔杖插回了斗篷。(孔雀有炫耀的意思——译者) A handsome manor house grew out of the darkness at the end of the straight drive, lights glinting in the diamond paned downstairs windows. Somewhere in the dark garden beyond the hedge a fountain was playing. Gravel crackled beneath their feet as Snape and Yaxley sped toward the front door, which swung inward at their approach, though nobody had visibly opened it. 一座华美的庄园邸宅在笔直道路尽头的黑暗中浮现出来,楼下那钻石般窗玻璃闪耀着光芒。越过篱笆,在漆黑的花园里远离树篱的某处有一个废弃的喷泉。沙砾在斯内普和亚克斯力加快速度靠近前门的步伐下发出脆响,门随着他们的靠近向里打开了,尽管看上去没有人碰过它。 The hallway was large, dimly lit, and sumptuously decorated, with a magnificent carpet covering most of the stone floor. The eyes of the pale-faced portraits on the wall followed Snape and Yaxley as they strode past. The two men halted at a heavy wooden door leading into the next room, hesitated for the space of a heartbeat, then Snape turned the bronze handle. 门廊很大,有微弱的光线并且装饰得十分华丽,一张漂亮的地毯几乎铺满了石地。两边墙上画中的苍白人像注视着斯内普和亚克斯力大步走过的身影。两个人在一扇通往下个房间的厚实木门前停了下来,犹豫的将心跳平静了下来,然后,斯内普转动了青铜把手。 The drawing room was full of silent people, sitting at a long and ornate table. The room"s usual furniture had been pushed carelessly up against the walls. Illumination came from a roaring fire beneath a handsome marble mantelpiece surmounted by a gilded mirror. Snape and Yaxley lingered for a moment on the threshold. As their eyes grew accustomed to the lack of light, they were drawn upward to the strangest feature of the scene: an apparently unconscious human figure hanging upside down over the table, revolving slowly as if suspended by an invisible rope, and reflected in the mirror and in the bare, polished surface of the table below. None of the people seated underneath this singular sight were looking at it except for a pale young man sitting almost directly below it. He seemed unable to prevent himself from glancing upward every minute or so 沉没的人挤满了整个客厅,坐在一个华丽长桌旁。房间里的常用家具被胡乱地放置在墙边。精致的大理石壁炉架下方燃烧的火焰散发出微弱的光,壁炉上摆了一面镀金的镜子。斯内普和亚克斯力在门口徘徊了一会儿,当他们眼睛适应了这昏暗的环境时,他们被这幅景象里最奇异的场面吸引住了:一个显然没有知觉的人,头朝下地悬浮在桌子上方,好像被一根看不见的绳索吊着一样缓缓转动,人影投射在镜子和磨光的桌子表面。在这种倍受煎熬的景象下谁都没有抬起头,只有一个几乎坐在正下方的苍白脸色的年轻男人除外,他似乎不能控制自己每分钟都要抬头扫视一下。 “Yaxley. Snape,” said a high, clear voice from the head of the table. “You are very nearly late.”. “亚克斯力,斯内普,”桌子的一头传来一个高亢清利的声音。“你们几乎来晚了呢。” The speaker was seated directly in front of the fireplace, so that it was difficult, at first, for the new arrivals to make out more than his silhouette. As they drew nearer, however, his face shone through the gloom, hairless, snakelike, with slits for nostrils and gleaming red eyes whose pupils were vertical. He was so pale that he seemed to emit a pearly glow. 说话的人坐在壁炉的前方,因此对于新来到的人来说一开始很难辨认,只能看见他的黑色轮廓。然而当他们离得近了些时,他的脸就从幽暗中浮现了出来:蛇般无发的头颅上,鼻孔像是被撕裂了,闪烁着红光的眼睛里有垂直的瞳孔。他那太过于苍白的肤色使得他看上去蒙了一层珍珠般的光。 “Severus, here,” said Voldemort, indicating the seat on his immediate right. “Yaxley – beside Dolohov.” “西弗勒斯,这边来,”伏地魔说,招呼斯内普到紧挨着自己右边的位子上坐下。“亚克斯力--你挨着多罗霍夫。” The two men took their allotted places. Most of the eyes around the table followed Snape, and it was to him that Voldemort spoke first. 两个男人在指定的位子上坐下。围绕着桌子的大多数人都盯着斯内普,因为他是伏地魔最先开口交谈的人。 “So?” “My Lord, the Order of the Phoenix intends to move Harry Potter from his current place of safety on Saturday next, at nightfall.” “事情办得怎么样了?” “主人,凤凰社计划在下个星期六夜幕来临时将哈利•波特从他现在的安全地点转移走。” The interest around the table sharpened palpably: Some stiffened, others fidgeted, all gazing at Snape and Voldemort. 桌子四周的人明显地兴奋起来。一些人身体变得僵直,另外的人则表现的坐立不安,所有的人都在看着斯内普和伏地魔。 “Saturday … at nightfall,” repeated Voldemort. His red eyes fastened upon Snape"s black ones with such intensity that some of the watchers looked away, apparently fearful that they themselves would be scorched by the ferocity of the gaze. Snape, however, looked calmly back into Voldemort"s face and, after a moment or two, Voldemort"s lipless mouth curved into something like a smile. “星期六……傍晚,”伏地魔重复道。他血红的双眼狠狠的盯着斯内普黑色的眼睛,旁边的人因为受不了这目光的力量都移开了眼,生怕自己哪天也会成为这残暴目光下的牺牲品。然而斯内普却平静地看了回去,目光在伏地魔脸上停留了一会。伏地魔在那没有嘴唇的地方扭曲出类似微笑的样子。 “Good. Very good. And this information comes –“ “ – from the source we discussed,” said Snape. “My Lord.” Yaxley had leaned forward to look down the long table at Voldemort and Snape. All faces turned to him. “My Lord, I have heard differently.” “好,很好。这情报来自……” “……我们讨论过的来源。”斯内普回答。 “主人。” 亚克斯力身子向着长桌一头的伏地魔和斯内普使劲前倾。听到他说话,所有人都转过来看着他。 “主人,我听到不同的消息。” Yaxley waited, but Voldemort did not speak, so he went on, “Dawlish, the Auror, let slip that Potter will not be moved until the thirtieth, the night before the boy turns seventeen.” 亚克斯力停顿了一下,但是伏地魔并没有说话,因此他继续说道,“德力士,那个傲罗,放出消息说波特要到30号才会被转移,也就是他17岁生日的前一晚。” Snape was smiling. “My source told me that there are plans to lay a false trail; this must be it. No doubt a Confundus Charm has been placed upon Dawlish. It would not be the first time; he is known to be susceptible.” 斯内普微微地笑了。 “我的情报显示了一个假消息会被故意泄露出来,应该就是这个了。毫无疑问德力士被施加了一个混淆咒。这不是第一次了,他容易受控制是出了名的了。” “I assure you, my Lord, Dawlish seemed quite certain,” said Yaxley. “If he has been Confunded, naturally he is certain,” said Snape. “I assure you, Yaxley, the Auror Office will play no further part in the protection of Harry Potter. The Order believes that we have infiltrated the Ministry.” “我向您保证,主人,德力士看上去十分可靠。”亚克斯力辩解道。 “如果他被下了混淆咒,从本质来说他的确很可靠,”斯内普反唇相讥,“我向你保证,亚克斯力,傲罗办公室不会再扮演保护哈利波特的角色了。凤凰社相信我们已经渗透进了魔法部。” “The Order"s got one thing right, then, eh?” said a squat man sitting a short distance from Yaxley; he gave a wheezy giggle that was echoed here and there along the table. Voldemort did not laugh. His gaze had wandered upward to the body revolving slowly overhead, and he seemed to be lost in thought. “凤凰社总算猜对了一件事,是吧?”一个距离亚克斯力不远的矮胖男人说,他带着气喘的笑在桌子周围激起一圈笑声。 伏地魔没有笑。他的视线逡巡着向上移,到头顶处缓慢旋转的身体上停住,好象陷入了沉思。 “My Lord,” Yaxley went on, “Dawlish believes an entire party of Aurors will be used to transfer the boy –“ Voldemort held up a large white hand, and Yaxley subsided at once, watching resentfully as Voldemort turned back to Snape. “主人,”亚克斯力走上前去,“德力士说会有一整个分队的傲罗护送那个男孩--” 伏地魔举起了一只苍白的大手,亚克斯力退下了,充满怨恨地看着伏地魔又转向了斯内普。 “Where are they going to hide the boy next?” “At the home of one of the Order,” said Snape. “The place, according to the source, has been given every protection that the Order and Ministry together could provide. I think that there is little chance of taking him once he is there, my Lord, unless, of course, the Ministry has fallen before next Saturday, which might give us the opportunity to discover and undo enough of the enchantments to break through the rest.” “他们接下来会把那个男孩藏到哪里?” “凤凰社成员之一的家里。”斯内普回答,“根据情报,凤凰社和魔法部会合力用所有保护措施将这个地方护卫起来,主人,除非魔法部在下个星期六前就陷落,给我们机会来发现和破解足够的魔咒,否则等到波特到了那个地方以后,再想把他弄出来的机会就微乎其微了。” “Well, Yaxley?” Voldemort called down the table, the firelight glinting strangely in his red eyes. “Will the Ministry have fallen by next Saturday?” Once again, all heads turned. Yaxley squared his shoulders. “那么,亚克斯力?”伏地魔向桌子下方问道,火光在他的红色眼睛中诡异的闪着,“魔法部下个星期六能被拿下么?” 又一次的,所有人转向了亚克斯力,他厌恶地挺直了身子。 “My Lord, I have good news on that score. I have – with difficulty, and after great effort – succeeded in placing an Imperius Curse upon Pius Thicknesse.” Many of those sitting around Yaxley looked impressed; his neighbor, Dolohov, a man with a long, twisted face, clapped him on the back. “It is a start,” said Voldemort. “But Thicknesse is only one man. Scrimgeour must be surrounded by our people before I act. One failed attempt on the Minister"s life will set me back a long way.” “主人,对于这件事我有好消息。我已经--尽管十分困难,通过极大的努力--成功地在普拉斯•塞克里斯上施加了夺魂咒。” 不少围绕着亚克斯力而坐的人们都流露出了吃惊的神气,他的邻座,多罗霍夫,一个有长长扭曲的脸的男人,兴奋地拍打了他的背部。 “这是个好的开始。”伏地魔说,“然而塞克里斯只是一个人。在我行动之前斯克林杰必须被我们的人完全监控才行。对魔法部的行动要是出了什么岔子,我的心血就白费了。” “Yes – my Lord, that is true – but you know, as Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Thicknesse has regular contact not only with the Minister himself, but also with the Heads of all the other Ministry departments. It will, I think, be easy now that we have such a high-ranking official under our control, to subjugate the others, and then they can all work together to bring Scrimgeour down.” “是的--主人,是的--但是你知道,作为魔法法律执行部的上司,塞克里斯不但与部长本人经常联系,与其他魔法部的上司也关系密切。我认为这样一来,有一个受我们控制的高层官员会让事情简单许多,其余的人会屈服于他,然后他们可以合力把斯克林杰搞垮。” “As long as our friend Thicknesse is not discovered before he has converted the rest,” said Voldemort. “At any rate, it remains unlikely that the Ministry will be mine before next Saturday. If we cannot touch the boy at his destination, then it must be done while he travels.” “只要我们的朋友塞克里斯不在他说服其余人之前被逮个正着,”伏地魔说道,“无论如何下个星期六之前魔法部都不太可能成为我的囊中之物。如果不能在目的地碰这个男孩,那么他转移的时候我们就要下手。” “We are at an advantage there, my Lord,” said Yaxley, who seemed determined to receive some portion of approval. “We now have several people planted within the Department of Magical Transport. If Potter Apparates or uses the Floo Network, we shall know immediately.” “我们有一个优势,主人,” 亚克斯力回答说,他好象打定主意要得到一些赞美,“我们现在已经安插了几个线人在魔法传输部当中,如果波特使用幻影显形或者飞路网,我们马上就能知道。” “He will not do either,” said Snape. “The Order is eschewing any form of transport that is controlled or regulated by the Ministry; they mistrust everything to do with the place.” “All the better,” said Voldemort. “He will have to move in the open. Easier to take, by far.” “他不会那么做的,”斯内普反驳道,“凤凰社正避开被魔法部控制的所有形式的移动方式;他们怀疑一切与点魔法部有关的事物。” “那就更好了,”伏地魔说,“他将不得不在开放的空间里移动。到现在为止,事情将变得更容易了。” Again, Voldemort looked up at the slowly revolving body as he went on, “I shall attend to the boy in person. There have been too many mistakes where Harry Potter is concerned. Some of them have been my own. That Potter lives is due more to my errors than to his triumphs.” 伏地魔抬头看着那具缓慢转动的身体,然后接着说:“我要亲自对付那男孩。跟哈利波特有关的计划有太多漏洞,有些都是我自己造成的。他能活到现在与其说是他运气好,不如说是我的计算失误。” The company around the table watched Voldemort apprehensively, each of them, by his or her expression, afraid that they might be blamed for Harry Potter"s continued existence. Voldemort, however, seemed to be speaking more to himself than to any of them, still addressing the unconscious body above him. 桌子周围的人都担心地看着伏地魔,表情一览无遗,生怕伏地魔会将哈利至今存活于世的罪名扣到他们头上。伏地魔却并没有责怪他们的意思,他更像是在盯着头顶那具无意识的身体自言自语。 “I have been careless, and so have been thwarted by luck and chance, those wreckers of all but the best-laid plans. But I know better now. I understand those things that I did not understand before. I must be the one to kill Harry Potter, and I shall be.” “我太疏忽大意了,也被自己完美计划里的诸多致命问题吓的缩手缩脚,比如运气和机遇。但是我现在明白了。我了解了我以前不了解的事情。我就是那个要杀死哈利的人,我会杀了他的。” At these words, seemingly in response to them, a sudden wail sounded, a terrible, drawn-out cry of misery and pain. Many of those at the table looked downward, startled, for the sound had seemed to issue from below their feet. 话音刚落,像是要对这番话做出回应一样,突然响起一声尖利绵长的哀号,悲惨的声音里充满痛苦。许多人震惊地往桌子下面看去,似乎那声音是从他们脚下发出的。 “Wormtail,” said Voldemort, with no change in his quiet, thoughtful tone, and without removing his eyes from the revolving body above, “have I not spoken to you about keeping our prisoner quiet?” “虫尾巴,”伏地魔平静,充满深思意味的语调毫无变化,眼睛也没有从上方旋转的人身上移开,“我难道没有告诉过你要让我们的犯人保持安静吗?” “Yes, m-my Lord,” gasped a small man halfway down the table, who had been sitting so low in his chair that it appeared, at first glance, to be unoccupied. Now he scrambled from his seat and scurried f
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