第五章 對角巷(6593words)第三部分(2960words)

「Hello,」 said the boy, 「Hogwarts, too?」

「Yes,」 said Harry.

「My father』s next door buying my books and mother』s up the street looking at wands,」 said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice. 「Then I』m going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don』t see why first years can』t have their own. I think I』ll bully father into getting me one and I』ll smuggle it in somehow.」

「喂,」男孩說,「也是去上霍格沃茨嗎?」

「是的。」哈利說。

「我爸爸在隔壁幫我買書,媽媽到街上找魔杖去了。」他說話慢慢吞吞,拖著長腔,叫人討厭,「然後我要拖他們去看飛天掃帚,我搞不懂為什麼一年級新生就不能有自己的飛天掃帚。我想,我要逼著爸爸給我買一把,然後想辦法偷偷帶進去。」

drawling慢吞吞的
bully /b?li/ 欺負；威嚇
smuggle vt. 走私；偷運

Harry was strongly reminded of Dudley.

「Have you got your own broom?」 the boy went on.

「No,」 said Harry.

「Play Quidditch at all?」

「No,」 Harry said again, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be.

哈利立刻想起了達力。

你有自己的飛天掃帚嗎?」男孩繼續說。

「沒有。」哈利說。

「打過魁地奇嗎?」

「沒有。」哈利又說,弄不清魁地奇到底是什麼。

「I do — Father says it』s a crime if I』m not picked to play for my House, and I must say, I agree. Know what House you』ll be in yet?」

「No,」 said Harry, feeling more stupid by the minute.

我打過。爸爸說,要是我不能入選我們學院的代表隊,那就太丟

人了。我同意這種看法。你知道你被分到哪個學院了嗎?

「不知道。」哈利說,越來越覺得自己太笨了。

「Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I』ll be in Slytherin, all our family have been — imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I』d leave, wouldn』t you?」

「當然,在沒有到校之前沒有人真正知道會被分到哪個學院。不過,我知道我會被分到斯萊特林,因為我們全家都是從那裡畢業的如果被分到赫奇帕奇,我想我會退學,你說呢?」

「Mmm,」 said Harry, wishing he could say something a bit more interesting.

「I say, look at that man!」 said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Harry and pointing at two large ice creams to show he couldn』t come in.

哈利嗯了一聲,希望他能說點更有趣的話題「喂,你瞧那個人!」男孩突然朝前面的窗戶點頭說。海格正好站在窗口,朝哈利咧嘴笑著並指指兩個大冰淇淋,說明他不能進店。

「That』s Hagrid,」 said Harry, pleased to know something the boy didn』t. 「He works at Hogwarts.」

「Oh,」 said the boy, 「I』ve heard of him. He』s a sort of servant, isn』t he?」

「He』s the gamekeeper,」 said Harry. He was liking the boy less and less every second.

那是海格。」哈利說,能知道一些男孩不知道的事,覺得很開心,「他在霍格沃茨工作。」

「哦,」男孩說,「我聽說過他。他是做僕人的,是吧?」

「他是獵場看守。」哈利說。他越來越不喜歡這個男孩了。

servant /s?v?nt/ n. 僕人，傭人
gamekeeper n. 獵場看守人

「Yes, exactly. I heard he』s a sort of savage— lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed.」

「對,一點不錯。我聽說,這個人很粗野,住在學校場地上的一間小木屋裡,時不時地喝醉酒,玩弄些魔法,結果把自己的床也燒了。」

savage [s?v?d?] 野蠻的
every now and then 不時地；常常

「I think he』s brilliant,」 said Harry coldly.

「Do you?」 said the boy, with a slight sneer. 「Why is he with you? Where are your parents?」

我認為他很聰明。」哈利冷冷地說。

「是嗎?」男孩略帶嘲弄地說,「為什麼是他來陪你?你的父母呢?」

「They』re dead,」 said Harry shortly. He didn』t feel much like going into the matter with this boy.

「Oh, sorry,」 said the other, not sounding sorry at all. 「But they were our kind, weren』t they?」

「他們都去世了。」哈利簡單地說,不想跟這個男孩談論這件事。

「哦,對不起。」男孩說,可他的話里聽不出絲毫歉意,「他們也是跟我們一類的人,是吧?

「They were a witch and wizard, if that』s what you mean.」

「I really don』t think they should let the other sort in, do you? They』re just not the same, they』ve never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What』s your surname, anyway?」

「他們是巫師,我想你大概是指這個吧。」

「我確實認為不應該讓另類入學,你說呢?他們不一樣,從小就沒有接受過我們這樣的教育,不了解我們的世界。想想看,他們當中有些人在沒有接到信之前甚至沒聽說過霍格沃茨這個學校。我想學校應當只限於招收古老巫師家族出身的學生。對了,你姓什麼?

surname姓，姓氏

But before Harry could answer, Madam Malkin said, 「That』s you done, my dear,」 and Harry, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool.

哈利還沒來得及回答,只聽摩金夫人說:「已經試好了,親愛的。」哈利慶幸自己能找到借口不再跟那男孩聊下去,便從腳凳上跳了下來。

「Well, I』ll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose,」 said the drawling boy.

Harry was rather quiet as he ate the ice cream Hagrid had bought him (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts).

「好,那麼我們就到霍格沃茨再見了。」男孩拖長聲調說哈利在吃海格給他買的冰淇淋(巧克力加覆盆子和碎果仁冰淇淋) 時一直不吭聲。

raspberry / r?z?b?r?/ n. 覆盆子
chopped adj.切碎的

「What』s up?」 said Hagrid.

「Nothing,」 Harry lied. They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Harry cheered up a bit when he found a bottle of ink that changed color as you wrote. When they had left the shop, he said, 「Hagrid, what』s Quidditch?」

「怎麼了?」海格問。

「沒什麼。」哈利撒謊了。他們停下來買羊皮紙和羽毛筆。哈利發現了一瓶寫字時會變色的墨水,心情便好了起來。當他們走出店鋪時,哈利問:「海格,什麼是魁地奇?」

「Blimey, Harry, I keep forgettin』 how little yeh know — not knowin』 about Quidditch!」

「Don』t make me feel worse,」 said Harry. He told Hagrid about the pale boy in Madam Malkin』s.

「哎呀,我的天哪,哈利,我忘記你知道得太少了,竟然連魁地奇都不知道。」「勞駕,別讓我的情緒變得更壞好不好?」他向海格說起在摩金夫人店裡碰到的那個面色蒼白的男孩。

「— and he said people from Muggle families shouldn』t even be allowed in —」

「Yer not from a Muggle family. If he』d known who yeh were — he』s grown up knowin』 yer name if his parents are wizardin』 folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh.

他還說甚至不應該准許麻瓜家庭出身的人入學「你又不是麻瓜家庭出來的。如果他父母是巫師你在破釜酒吧已經看到了—那麼他就該是聽著你的名字長大的。

Anyway, what does he know about it, some o』 the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 』em in a long line o』 Muggles — look at yer mum! Look what she had fer a sister!」

其實,他又知道多少,我見過許多最優秀的巫師都是麻瓜家庭里唯一懂魔法的人一一看看

你母親!看看她有一個什麼樣的姐姐!」

「So what is Quidditch?」

「It』s our sport. Wizard sport. It』s like — like soccer in the Muggle world — everyone follows Quidditch — played up in the air on broomsticks and there』s four balls — sorta hard ter explain the rules.」

「那魁地奇到底是什麼呢?」

「那是我們的一種運動。一種巫師們玩的球類運動。它像—麻瓜世界的足球—人人都喜歡玩魁地奇騎飛天掃帚在空中打,有四個球——至於玩球的規則嘛,解釋起來還真有點兒困難。

「And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?」

「School Houses. There』s four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o』 duffers, but —」

「I bet I』m in Hufflepuff,」 said Harry gloomily.

那麼斯萊特林和赫奇帕奇又是什麼呢?」

那是學院名字。學校共有四個學院。都說赫奇帕奇有許多飯桶,不過----」「我想,我一定會被分到赫奇帕奇了。」哈利怏怏不樂地說。

duffer [d?f?] 笨蛋；不明道理的人

「Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin,」 said Hagrid darkly. 「There』s not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn』t in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one.」

「Vol-, sorry — You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?」

「Years an』 years ago,」 said Hagrid.

「寧願進赫奇帕奇,也不要進斯萊特林。」海格臉色陰沉地說,「沒有一個後來變壞的巫師不是從斯萊特林出來的,神秘人就是其中的一個「伏——對不起——神秘人也在霍格沃茨上過學?」很多很多年以前了。」海格說

They bought Harry』s school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all.

他們在一家名叫麗痕的書店裡買了哈利上學要用的課本。這裡的書架上擺滿了書,一直到天花板上,有大到像鋪路石板的皮面精裝書,也有郵票大小的絹面書;有的書里寫滿了各種奇特的符號,還有少數則是無字書。

postage stamp n. 郵票

Even Dudley, who never read anything, would have been wild to get his hands on some of these. Hagrid almost had to drag Harry away from Curses and Counter-curses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and Much, Much More) by Professor Vindictus Viridian.

即使從來不讀書的達力,要是有幸能得到其中的一兩本,也定會欣喜若狂的。哈利拿起一本溫迪克教授著的《魔咒與破解魔咒》(用最新的復仇術捉弄你的朋友,蠱惑你的敵人:脫髮、打折腿、綁舌頭及其他許許多多手法),海格好不容易才把哈利從這本書前拖開。

「I was trying to find out how to curse Dudley.」

「I』m not sayin』 that』s not a good idea, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances,」 said Hagrid. 「An』 anyway, yeh couldn』 work any of them curses yet, yeh』ll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level.」

「我想找出辦法來給達力施魔咒。」

「我說這主意不壞,但你不能在麻瓜世界使用魔法,除非在很特殊的情況下。」海格說,「不過,你現在用不了那些魔咒,你還需要學習很多東西,才能達到那個水平。

Hagrid wouldn』t let Harry buy a solid gold cauldron, either (「It says pewter on yer list」), but they got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope.

海格也不讓哈利買一隻純金坩堝(購物單上開的是錫坩堝),不過他們買了一台計量藥品的質量很好的天平和一架可摺疊的黃銅望遠鏡。

pewter /pj?t?/ 錫鉛合金
scale . 規模；比例；刻度；天平
ingredient n. 原料；要素；組成部分
collapsible[k?l?ps?bl] 可摺疊的；可拆卸的
telescope n. 望遠鏡

Then they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling.

隨後他們光顧了一家藥店,那裡散發出一股臭雞蛋和爛捲心菜葉的刺鼻氣味。但藥店十分神奇,地上擺放著一桶桶黏糊糊的東西,順牆擺著一罐罐藥草、乾草根和各種顏色鮮亮的粉末,天花板上掛著成捆的羽毛、成串的尖牙和毛爹的爪子。

rotted 腐爛的
slimy [sla?m?] 黏滑的
fang n. （犬，狼等的）尖牙

While Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for Harry, Harry himself examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and minuscule, glittery-black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop).

當海格向櫃檯後邊的營業員買各種標準劑量的藥粉時,哈利正在細細察看銀獨角獸的角,每個價值二十一加隆,以及烏黑、亮閃閃的甲蟲小眼珠(五納特一勺)

unicorn n. 獨角獸；麒麟
horn n. 喇叭，號角；角
minuscule /m?n?skjul/ adj. 極小的；（字母）小寫

Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid checked Harry』s list again.

「Just yer wand left — oh yeah, an』 I still haven』t got yeh a birthday present.」

Harry felt himself go red.

他們走出藥店,海格又核對了一遍哈利的購物單。

就剩下你的魔杖了—哦,對了,我還沒給你買一份生日禮物呢。」

哈利覺得自己臉紅了。

「You don』t have to —」

「I know I don』t have to. Tell yeh what, I』ll get yer animal. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh』d be laughed at — an』 I don』 like cats, they make me sneeze. I』ll get yer an owl. All the kids want owls, they』re dead useful, carry yer mail an』 everythin』.」

「您不必了」

「我知道不用買。是這樣,我要送你一隻動物,不是蟾蜍,蟾蜍好多年前就不時興了,人家會笑話你的。我也不喜歡貓,貓總惹我打噴嚏。我給你弄一隻貓頭鷹。孩子們都喜歡貓頭鷹,它能替你送信,送包裹。」

Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel-bright eyes. Harry now carried a large cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing. He couldn』t stop stammering his thanks, sounding just like Professor Quirrell.

二十分鐘後,他們離開了黑洞洞的咿啦貓頭鷹商店,離開了窸窸窣窣的拍翅聲和寶石般閃光的眼睛,哈利手裡提著一隻大鳥籠,裡邊裝著只漂亮的雪梟,頭埋在翅膀底下睡得正香。哈利忍不住結結巴巴地再道謝,聽起來像奇洛教授在說話。

rustling v. 發出沙沙聲；使窸窣作響（rustle的ing形式） adj. 沙沙作響的
flickering adj. 閃爍的，忽隱忽現的
stammer vt. 口吃；結巴著說出

「Don』 mention it,」 said Hagrid gruffly. 「Don』 expect you』ve had a lotta presents from them Dursleys. Just Ollivanders left now — only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand.」

「不用謝,」海格聲音沙啞地說,「德思禮夫婦是不會送給你禮物的。現在就剩下奧利凡德沒去了,只有奧利凡德一家賣魔杖,到那裡你一定能買到一根最好的魔杖。

gruffly adv. 粗聲地；生硬地

A magic wand … this was what Harry had been really looking forward to.

The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382b.c. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.

魔杖一這正是哈利夢寐以求的。

最後一家商店又小又破,門上的金字招牌已經剝落,上邊寫著:奧利凡德:自公元前382年即製作精良魔杖。塵封的櫥窗里,褪色的紫色軟墊上孤零零地擺著一根魔杖。

peeling剝落的
faded adj. 已褪色的

A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that Hagrid sat on to wait.

他們進店時,店堂後邊的什麼地方傳來了陣陣叮叮噹噹的鈴聲。店堂很小,除了一張長椅,別的什麼也沒有。海格坐到長椅上等候.

tinkling發丁當聲
spindly[sp?ndl?] 細長的

Harry felt strangely as though he had entered a very strict library; he swallowed a lot of new questions that had just occurred to him and looked instead at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of his neck prickled. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.

哈利有一種奇怪的感覺,彷彿來到了一家管理嚴格的圖書館;他強壓住腦海里剛剛產生的許許多多新問題,開始看幾乎碼到天花板的幾千個狹長的匣子。不知為什麼,他突然感到心裡發毛。這裡的塵埃和肅靜似乎使人感到暗藏著神秘的魔法。

prickled[pr?k(?)l]刺痛；針刺般的感覺
tingle with 感到（激動/恐懼/期待等）

「Good afternoon,」 said a soft voice. Harry jumped. Hagrid must have jumped, too, because there was a loud crunching noise and he got quickly off the spindly chair.

「下午好。」一個輕柔的聲音說,把哈利嚇了一跳。海格也嚇得不輕,因為這時突然傳來一陣響亮的咔嚓咔嚓的聲音,他連忙從長椅上站了起來。

An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.

「Hello,」 said Harry awkwardly.

一個老頭站在他們面前,他那對顏色很淺的大眼睛在暗淡的店鋪里

像兩輪閃亮的月亮。

「你好。」哈利拘謹地說。

awkwardly /?:kw?:dli/ 尷尬地；拘謹的；局促不安的

「Ah yes,」 said the man. 「Yes, yes. I thought I』d be seeing you soon. Harry Potter.」 It wasn』t a question. 「You have your mother』s eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work.」

「哦,是的,」老頭說,是的,是的,我知道我很快就會見到你,哈利波特,」他肯定地說道。「你的眼睛跟你母親的一樣。當年她到這裡來買走她的第一根魔杖,這簡直像昨天的事。十又四分之一英寸長,柳條做的揮起來嗖嗖響,是一根施魔法的好魔杖。

willow n. [林] 柳樹；[木] 柳木製品

Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Harry. Harry wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy.

奧利凡德先生走到哈利跟前,哈利希望他能眨眨眼,他那對銀白色的眼睛使哈利汗毛直豎。

creepy adj. 詭異的；令人毛骨悚然的

「Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it — it』s really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course.」

「你父親就不一樣了,他喜歡桃花心木魔杖。十一英寸長,柔韌,力量更強些,用於變形術是最好不過了。我說你父親喜歡它—實際上,當然是魔杖在選擇它的巫師。」

mahogany[m?h?g?n?] 桃花心木，紅木

Mr. Ollivander had come so close that he and Harry were almost nose to nose. Harry could see himself reflected in those misty eyes.

「And that』s where …」

奧利凡德先生湊得離哈利越來越近,鼻子都要貼到哈利臉上了。哈利已經看到老頭渾濁的眼睛裡映出了自己的影子。

「哦,這就是…」

misty adj. 模糊的；有霧的

Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Harry』s forehead with a long, white finger.

奧利凡德先生用蒼白的長手指撫摸著哈利額上那道閃電形的傷疤。

「I』m sorry to say I sold the wand that did it,」 he said softly. 「Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands … well, if I』d known what that wand was going out into the world to do. …」

很對不起,這是我賣出的一根魔杖乾的。」他柔聲細語地說,「十三英寸半長。紫杉木的。力量很強,強極了,卻落到了壞人手裡……要是早知道這根魔杖做成後,會做出這樣的事……」

He shook his head and then, to Harry』s relief, spotted Hagrid.

「Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again. … Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn』t it?」

他搖搖頭,接著一眼認出了海格,這使哈利鬆了一口氣。

魯伯!魯伯·海格!又見到你了,真是太高興啦……橡木的,

十六英寸長,有一點兒彎,對吧?」

bendy adj. 彎彎曲曲的；易折的；柔韌的

「It was, sir, yes,」 said Hagrid.

「Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?」 said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern.

「不錯,先生。」海格說。

「那可是一根好魔杖啊。可我想,在他們開除你的時候,准被他們撅折了吧?」奧利凡德先生說,突然變得嚴肅起來

expel vt. 驅逐；開除

「Er — yes, they did, yes,」 said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. 「I』ve still got the pieces, though,」 he added brightly.

「But you don』t use them?」 said Mr. Ollivander sharply.

啊,不錯,是被他們撅折了,是的。」海格慢慢地移動著腳步說道,

「撅折的魔杖我還留著呢。」他又高興地說。

「可你不用它了吧?」奧利凡德先生敏銳地問道。

「Oh, no, sir,」 said Hagrid quickly. Harry noticed he gripped his pink umbrella very tightly as he spoke.

「哦,不用了,先生。」海格忙回答。哈利注意到海格在回答時緊緊抓住了那把粉紅色的傘。

「唔。」奧利凡德先生說著,用銳利的目光掃了他一眼。「好了,波特先生來吧。讓我看看。他從衣袋裡掏出一長條印有銀色刻度的捲尺

「你用哪只胳膊使魔杖?」

「Hmmm,」 said Mr. Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. 「Well, now — Mr. Potter. Let me see.」 He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. 「Which is your wand arm?」

「唔。」奧利凡德先生說著,用銳利的目光掃了他一眼。「好了,波特先生來吧。讓我看看。他從衣袋裡掏出一長條印有銀色刻度的捲尺

「你用哪只胳膊使魔杖?」

「Er — well, I』m right-handed,」 said Harry.

「Hold out your arm. That』s it.」 He measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head.

呃—呃,我習慣用右手。」哈利說

「把胳膊抬起來。好。」他為哈利量尺寸,先從肩頭到指尖,之後,腕到肘,肩到地板,膝到腋下,最後量頭圍。

armpit 腋窩

As he measured, he said, 「Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard』s wand.」

他一邊量,一邊說:「每根奧利凡德魔杖的杖芯都由超強的魔法物質製成,波特先生。我們用的是獨角獸毛、風凰尾羽和火龍的心臟神經。每一根奧利凡德魔杖都是獨一無二的,因為沒有兩隻完全相同的獨角獸、火龍或風凰。當然,你如果用了本應屬於其他巫師的魔杖,就絕不會有這樣好的效果了。

Harry suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between his nostrils, was doing this on its own. Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.

當量到兩鼻孔間的距離時,哈利突然發現竟是捲尺在自動操作。奧利凡德先生正在貨架間穿梭,忙著選出一些長匣子往下搬。

flit 不停地移動

「That will do,」 he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. 「Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beech-wood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Just take it and give it a wave.」

「好了。」他說,捲尺滑落到地上捲成一團,「那麼,波特先生,試試這一根。山毛櫸木和火龍的心臟神經做的。九英寸長。不錯,很柔韌"

「你揮一下試試。」

tape measure捲尺
crumpled[kr?mpld] 弄皺
flexible adj. 靈活的；柔韌的

Harry took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once.

哈利接過魔杖(心裡覺得有點冒傻氣),剛揮了一下,奧利凡德先生就立刻把魔杖從他手裡奪了過去。

「Maple and phoenix feather.Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try —」

Harry tried — but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander.

「木的,鳳凰羽毛。七英寸長。彈性不錯,試試看可哈利剛一試,還沒來得及舉起來,魔杖就又被奧利凡德先生奪走了。

「No, no — here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out.」

不,不—試試這根,用黑檀木和獨角獸毛做的。八英寸半長。

彈性很強。來吧,來吧,試試這根。」

springy [spr???] 有彈力的

Harry tried. And tried. He had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become.

哈利試了一根又一根。他一點不明白奧利凡德先生認為什麼樣的才合適。試過的魔杖都堆放在長椅上,越堆越高。但奧利凡德先生從貨架上抽出的魔杖越多,似乎顯得越高興。

「Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we』ll find the perfect match here somewhere — I wonder, now — yes, why not — unusual combination — holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple.」

「一位挑剔的顧客吧,嗯?不要緊,我想,這裡總能找到一款最理想,最完美,最適合你的—讓我想想看—哦,有了,為何不試試呢"

"非凡的組合,冬青木,鳳凰羽毛,十一英寸長。不錯,也柔韌。」

combination /,kɑmb?ne??n/ 組合，聯合；混合
supple /s?pl/〔皮革、皮膚、木料等〕柔軟易彎的；柔韌的

Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls.

哈利接過魔杖,突然感到指尖一熱。他把魔杖高舉過頭,嗖的一聲向下一揮,划過塵土飛揚的空氣,只見一道紅光,魔杖頭上像煙花一樣金星四射,跳動的光斑投到四壁上。

Hagrid whooped and clapped and Mr. Ollivander cried, 「Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well … how curious … how very curious …」

海格拍手喝彩,奧利凡德先生大聲喊起來:「哦,好極了,哦,真的,太好了。哎呀,哎呀,哎呀…太

奇妙了…真是太奇妙了

whoop vt. 高聲說

He put Harry』s wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, 「Curious … curious …」

「Sorry,」 said Harry, 「but what』s curious?」

他把哈利的魔杖裝到匣子里,用棕色紙包好,嘴裡還不停地說:「奇妙…奇妙……」「對不起,」哈利說,「什麼地方讓您覺得奇妙?」

Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare.

「I remember every wand I』ve ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather — just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother — why, its brother gave you that scar.」

奧利凡德先生用蒼白無色的眼睛注視著哈利。

我賣出的每一根魔杖我都記得,波特先生。每一根魔杖我都記得。

是這樣,同一隻風凰的兩根尾羽,一根做了這根魔杖,另一根做了另外一根魔杖。你註定要用這根魔杖,而它的兄弟—咳,正是它的兄弟給你落下了那道傷疤。」

destined /d?st?nd/ v. 註定（destine的過去式和過去分詞）adj. 註定的；命定的

Harry swallowed.

「Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember. … I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter. … After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things — terrible, yes, but great.」

哈利倒抽了一口氣。

「不錯,十三英寸半長。紫杉木的。怎麼會有這樣的事,真是太奇妙了。

記住,是魔杖選擇巫師……我想,你會成就一番大事業的,波特先生·不管怎麼說,那個神秘的連名字都不能提的人就做了大事—儘管可怕,但還是大事。」

Harry shivered. He wasn』t sure he liked Mr. Ollivander too much. He paid seven gold Galleons for his wand, and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop.

哈利渾身一激靈。他不敢肯定自己是否喜歡這位奧利凡德先生。他花了七個加隆買下了魔杖,奧利凡德先生鞠躬把他們送出店門。

The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Harry and Hagrid made their way back down Diagon Alley, back through the wall, back through the Leaky Cauldron, now empty.

傍晚,哈利和海格踏上回對角巷的路時,太陽已快下山了。他們穿過牆,經過已空無一人的破釜酒吧,走上大路。

Harry didn』t speak at all as they walked down the road; he didn』t even notice how much people were gawking at them on the Underground, laden as they were with all their funny-shaped packages, with the snowy owl asleep in its cage on Harry』s lap.

一路上,哈利一言不發。在地鐵里他甚至沒有留意那麼多人正張大了嘴凝視著他們提著大大小小、奇形怪狀的包裹,而他懷裡還抱著一隻熟睡的雪梟。

gawking[g??k] 獃獃地看著
laden[le?d(?)n] 負載的；裝滿的

Up another escalator, out into Paddington station; Harry only realized where they were when Hagrid tapped him on the shoulder.

他們又乘了段自動扶梯,來到帕丁頓車站。海格拍拍哈利的肩膀,哈利這才猛地意識到他們在什麼地方。

「Got time fer a bite to eat before yer train leaves,」 he said.

He bought Harry a hamburger and they sat down on plastic seats to eat them. Harry kept looking around. Everything looked so strange, somehow.

開車前,我們還有時間吃一點兒東西。」海格說

他給哈利買了一個漢堡,他們就坐在塑料椅上吃了起來。哈利一直在東張西望。不知怎的,他總覺得周圍的一切都很奇怪。

「You all right, Harry? Yer very quiet,」 said Hagrid.

Harry wasn』t sure he could explain. He』d just had the best birthday of his life — and yet — he chewed his hamburger, trying to find the words.

「你沒什麼吧,哈利?你一句話也不說。」海格說。

哈利不知道自己能不能講清楚。他剛剛過了一個生平最好的生日—可是他嚼著漢堡,一邊尋思著該怎麼說

「Everyone thinks I』m special,」 he said at last. 「All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander … but I don』t know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? I』m famous and I can』t even remember what I』m famous for. I don』t know what happened when Vol-, sorry — I mean, the night my parents died.」

「人人都覺得我很特別,」他終於說,「破釜酒吧的那些人、奇洛教授、利凡德先生…可我對魔法一竅不通。他們怎麼能期望我成就大事呢」

「我有名氣,可那些讓我出名的事,我甚至一點兒也不記得。在伏——對不起—我是說,我父母去世的那天夜裡,我根本不知道發生了什麼事。」

Hagrid leaned across the table. Behind the wild beard and eyebrows he wore a very kind smile.

海格隔著桌子探過身來。他那蓬亂的鬍鬚和眉毛下邊露出慈祥的微笑。

「Don』 you worry, Harry. You』ll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you』ll be just fine. Just be yerself. I know it』s hard. Yeh』ve been singled out, an』 that』s always hard. But yeh』ll have a great time at Hogwarts — I did — still do, 』smatter of fact.」

「別擔心,哈利。你很快就會學會的。在霍格沃茨,人人都是從基礎開始學的。你會很好的。打起精神來。我知道這對於你很難。你一直孤零零一個人,總是很難過的。不過你在霍格沃茨一定會很愉快,像我—說實話—過去和現在都很愉快。」

Hagrid helped Harry on to the train that would take him back to the Dursleys, then handed him an envelope.

海格把哈利送上可以回德思禮家的火車,然後遞給他一封信。

「Yer ticket fer Hogwarts,」 he said. 「First o』 September — King』s Cross — it』s all on yer ticket. Any problems with the Dursleys, send me a letter with yer owl, she』ll know where to find me. … See yeh soon, Harry.」

「這是你去霍格沃茨的車票。」他說,「九月一日—國王十字車站—票上都有。德思禮夫婦要是欺負你就寫封信讓貓頭鷹給我送來,它知道到什麼地方去找我……下次再見了,哈利。」

The train pulled out of the station. Harry wanted to watch Hagrid until he was out of sight; he rose in his seat and pressed his nose against the window, but he blinked and Hagrid had gone.

火車駛出了車站。哈利想目送海格離去,他跪到座位上,鼻子緊貼著車窗,可一眨眼的工夫,海格就不見了。

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