17 The Heir of Slytherin

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN THE HEIR OF SLYTHERIN 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.

第十七章斯莱特林的继承人他站在一间很长、光线昏暗的房间的尽头。 高耸的石柱上缠绕着更多雕刻的蛇，支撑着消失在黑暗中的天花板，在充满整个地方的奇怪的绿色黑暗中投下长长的黑影。

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? 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. 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. 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

哈利站在那里，听着冰冷的寂静，心怦怦直跳。 蛇怪会不会潜伏在一个阴暗的角落里，躲在一根柱子后面？ 金妮在哪儿？他抽出魔杖，在蜿蜒的石柱之间向前移动。 每一个小心的脚步都在阴暗的墙壁上发出响亮的回响。 他一直眯着眼睛，准备一有动静就把眼睛闭上。 石蛇中空的眼窝似乎在跟着他。 他不止一次地感到胃里一阵颤动，仿佛看到有人在动。 然后，当他走到最后两根柱子的高度时，一尊与密室本身一样高的雕像映入了他的视野，它站在后墙上。 哈利不得不伸长脖子才能看到上面那张巨大的脸：那张脸古老而像猴子一样，又长又细的胡子几乎垂到了巫师的石质长袍的底部，两只巨大的灰色的脚站在上面

smooth Chamber floor. And between the feet, facedown, lay a small, black-robed figure with flaming-red hair. "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 "Ginny, please wake up," Harry muttered desperately, shaking her. Ginny's head lolled hopelessly from side to side. "She won't wake," said a soft voice. Harry jumped and spun around on his knees. 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

光滑的房间地板。两脚之间，脸朝下躺着一个身穿黑袍、头发火红的小人儿。 “金妮!”哈利咕哝着，朝她冲过去，跪了下来。 “金妮别死，求求你别死——”他把魔杖扔到一边，抓住金妮的肩膀，把她翻过身来。 她的脸白得像大理石，冷得像大理石，但她的眼睛是闭着的，所以她没有被石化。 “金妮，醒醒吧。”哈利绝望地嘟囔着，摇晃着她。 金妮绝望地歪着头。 “她不会醒的。”一个温柔的声音说。 哈利跳了起来，跪在地上转过身来。 一个黑头发的高个子男孩倚在最近的一根柱子上看着。 奇怪的是，他的身体边缘模糊不清，好像哈利正透过一扇雾蒙蒙的窗户看着他。 但他是不会弄错的

"Tom Tom Riddle?" Riddle nodded, not taking his eyes off Harry's face. "What d'you mean, she won't wake?" Harry said desperately. "She's not she's not—?" "She's still alive," said Riddle. "But only just." 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. "Are you a ghost?" Harry said uncertainly. "A memory," said Riddle quietly. "Preserved in a diary for fifty years." 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. ikcjeo. For a second, Harry wondered how it had got there but there were more pressing matters to deal with.

“汤姆·汤姆·里德尔？”里德尔点了点头，眼睛一直盯着哈利的脸。 “你说她醒不过来是什么意思？”哈利绝望地说。 “她不是她不是——？”“她还活着。”里德尔说。 “不过刚刚好。”哈利瞪着他。 汤姆·里德尔是五十年前在霍格沃茨上学的，现在他站在这里，周围闪着一种奇怪的、雾蒙蒙的光，年龄还不到十六岁。 “你是鬼吗？”哈利拿不准地说。 “一段回忆。”里德尔平静地说。 “在日记里保存了五十年。” 他指着雕像巨大脚趾附近的地板。 哈利在哭泣的桃金娘的盥洗室里找到的那本黑色的小日记本摊开在那里。 有那么一瞬间，哈利不明白它是怎么跑到这里来的，但还有更紧迫的事情要处理。

"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—" Riddle didn't move. Harry, sweating, managed to hoist Ginny half off the floor, and bent to pick up his wand again. But his wand had gone. "Did you see—?" He looked up. Riddle was still watching him twirling Harry's wand between his long fingers. "Thanks," said Harry, stretching out his hand for it. A smile curled the corners of Riddle's mouth. He continued to stare at Harry, twirling the wand idly. "Listen," said Harry urgently, his knees sagging with Ginny's dead weight. "We've got to go! If the basilisk comes—"

“你一定要帮帮我，汤姆。”哈利说着，又抬起了金妮的头。 “我们得把她弄出去。 有个蛇怪，我不知道它在哪，但随时都可能来。 求求你，帮帮我——”里德尔没有动。 哈利满头大汗，总算把金妮从地上扶了起来，又弯下腰捡起魔杖。 但是他的魔杖不见了。“你看见了——？”他抬起头来。 里德尔仍然看着他在长长的手指间旋转哈利的魔杖。 “谢谢。”哈利说着，伸手去拿。 里德尔嘴角掠过一丝微笑。 他继续盯着哈利，懒洋洋地转动着魔杖。 “听着。”哈利急切地说，他的膝盖被金妮沉重的身体压垮了。 “我们得走了！”如果蛇怪来了——”

"It won't come until it is called," said Riddle calmly. Harry lowered Ginny back onto the floor, unable to hold her up any longer. "What d'you mean?" he said. "Look, give me my wand, I might need it—" Riddle's smile broadened. "You won't be needing it," he said. Harry stared at him. "What d'you mean, I won't be—?" "I've waited a long time for this, Harry Potter," said Riddle. "For the chance to see you. To speak to you." "Look," said Harry, losing patience, "I don't think you get it. We're in the Chamber of Secrets. We can talk later—" "We're going to talk now," said Riddle, still smiling broadly, and he pocketed Harry's wand.

“不叫它，它不会来的。”里德尔平静地说。 哈利把金妮放回到地板上，再也抱不起来了。 “你这是什么意思？” “喂，把魔杖给我，我可能需要它——”里德尔的笑容更灿烂了。 “你不会需要它的，”他说。 哈利瞪着他。“你什么意思，我不会——？”“我等这一刻很久了，哈利·波特。”里德尔说。 “为了有机会见到你。 我想和你谈谈。”“听着，”哈利不耐烦地说，“我想你没明白。 我们在密室里。 “我们现在就谈。”里德尔说，脸上仍然灿烂地笑着，他把哈利的魔杖装进了口袋。