2 Spinner’s End

CHAPTER TWO Spinner's End Many miles away the chilly mist that had pressed against the Prime Minister's windows drifted over a dirty river that wound between overgrown, rubbish-strewn banks. An immense chimney, relic of a disused mill, reared up, shadowy and ominous. There was no sound apart from the whisper of the black water and no sign of life apart from a scrawny fox that had slunk down the bank to nose hopefully at some old fish-and-chip wrappings in the tall grass. But then, with a very faint pop, a slim hooded figure appeared out of thin air on the edge of the river. The fox froze, wary eyes fixed upon this strange new phenomenon. The figure seemed to

第二章纺纱机的尽头在许多英里之外，曾经压在首相窗户上的寒冷的雾气飘过一条肮脏的河流，这条河流在杂草丛生、垃圾遍地的两岸之间蜿蜒而行。 一个巨大的烟囱，一个废弃的磨坊的遗迹，竖立起来，阴暗而不祥。 除了黑水的窃窃私语外，什么声音也没有；除了一只骨瘦如柴的狐狸溜下河岸，满怀希望地嗅着高高的草丛里的旧炸鱼薯条包装纸外，没有任何生命的迹象。 但就在这时，随着一声非常微弱的砰的一声，一个戴着兜帽的苗条身影从稀薄的空气中出现在河边。 狐狸僵住了，警惕的目光盯着这个奇怪的新现象。 这个数字似乎

take its bearings for a few moments, then set off with light, quick strides, its long cloak rustling over the grass. With a second and louder pop, another hooded figure materialised. 'Wait!' The harsh cry startled the fox, now crouching almost flat in the undergrowth. It leapt from its hiding place and up the bank. There was a flash of green light, a yelp, and the fox fell back to the ground, dead. The second figure turned over the animal with its toe. 'Just a fox,' said a woman's voice dismissively from under the hood. 'I thought perhaps an Auror– Cissy, wait!' But her quarry, who had paused and looked back at the flash of light, was already scrambling up the bank the fox had just fallen down. 'Cissy– Narcissa– listen to me–' The second woman caught the first and seized her arm, but the other wrenched it away.

看了一会儿它的方位，然后迈着轻快的大步走了，它的长斗篷在草地上沙沙作响。 随着第二声更响的砰的一声，另一个戴着兜帽的人出现了。 “等等!”那刺耳的叫声吓了狐狸一跳，它正蹲在矮树丛里。 它从藏身之处跳上了河岸。 一道绿光闪过，一声尖叫，狐狸倒在地上，死了。 第二个身影用脚趾把动物翻了个身。 “只是一只狐狸，”引擎盖下一个女人轻蔑地说。 “我想也许是个傲罗——西茜，等等！”但她的猎物，谁停了下来，回头看了看那道闪光，已经爬上了狐狸刚刚摔倒的河岸。 “西茜——纳西莎——听我说——”第二个女人抓住了第一个女人，抓住了她的胳膊，但另一个女人把它扭了过去。

'Go back, Bella!' 'You must listen to me!' 'I've listened already. I've made my decision. Leave me alone!' The woman called Narcissa gained the top of the bank, where a line of old railings separated the river from a narrow cobbled street. The other woman, Bella, followed at once. Side by side they stood looking across the road at the rows and rows of dilapidated brick houses, their windows dull and blind in the darkness. 'He lives here?' asked Bella in a voice of contempt. 'Here? In this Muggle dunghill? We must be the first of our kind ever to set foot–' But Narcissa was not listening; she had slipped through a gap in the rusty railings and was already hurrying across the road. 'Cissy, wait!' Bella followed, her cloak streaming behind, and saw Narcissa darting through an alley between the houses into a second, almost identical street. Some of the streetlamps were broken; the two women

“回去，贝拉！”“你必须听我说！””“我已经听过了。 我已经决定了。别烦我！”那个叫纳西莎的女人登上了河岸，一排旧栏杆把河和一条狭窄的鹅卵石街道隔开。 另一个女人，贝拉，立刻跟了上去。 他们肩并肩站着，望着马路对面一排排破旧的砖房，窗户在黑暗中暗淡无光。 “他住在这儿？”贝拉轻蔑地问。 “在这里?在这麻瓜粪堆里？ 我们必须是同类中第一个踏上——”但是纳西莎不听。她从锈迹斑斑的栏杆缝隙里溜了过去，匆匆穿过马路。 “有娘娘腔的,等等!”贝拉跟在后面，斗篷在后面飘动，她看见纳西莎飞快地穿过房子之间的一条小巷，进入了第二条几乎一模一样的街道。 有些路灯坏了；两个女人

were running between patches of light and deep darkness. The pursuer caught up with her prey just as she turned another corner, this time succeeding in catching hold of her arm and swinging her round so that they faced each other. 'Cissy, you must not do this, you can't trust him–' 'The Dark Lord trusts him, doesn't he?' 'The Dark Lord is… I believe… mistaken,' Bella panted, and her eyes gleamed momentarily under her hood as she looked around to check that they were indeed alone. 'In any case, we were told not to speak of the plan to anyone. This is a betrayal of the Dark Lord's–' 'Let go, Bella!' snarled Narcissa and she drew a wand from beneath her cloak, holding it threateningly in the other's face. Bella merely laughed. 'Cissy, your own sister? mclhfa. You wouldn't–' 'There is nothing I wouldn't do any more!' Narcissa breathed, a note of hysteria in her voice, and as she brought down the wand like a knife,

我们在一片光明和一片漆黑之间奔跑。 就在她转过另一个拐角时，追赶者赶上了她的猎物，这次成功地抓住了她的手臂，把她甩了过来，这样他们就面对着对方了。 “西茜，你不能这样做，你不能信任他——”“黑魔王信任他，是不是？“黑魔王……我相信……弄错了。”贝拉喘着气说，她的眼睛在兜帽下面闪着光，她环顾四周，看看是否真的只有他们两个。 “无论如何，我们被告知不要把这个计划告诉任何人。 这是对黑魔王的背叛——”“放开，贝拉！纳西莎吼道，从斗篷下面抽出一根魔杖，威胁地举在对方脸上。 贝拉只是笑了笑。“西茜，你的亲妹妹？” 你不会——”“我再也不会做任何事了！”纳西莎喘着气，声音里带着歇斯底里，她像拿刀一样把魔杖拿了下来，

there was another flash of light. Bella let go of her sister's arm as though burned. 'Narcissa!' But Narcissa had rushed ahead. Rubbing her hand, her pursuer followed again, keeping her distance now, as they moved deeper into the deserted labyrinth of brick houses. At last Narcissa hurried up a street called Spinner's End, over which the towering mill chimney seemed to hover like a giant admonitory finger. Her footsteps echoed on the cobbles as she passed boarded and broken windows, until she reached the very last house, where a dim light glimmered through the curtains in a downstairs room. She had knocked on the door before Bella, cursing under her breath, had caught up. Together they stood waiting, panting slightly, breathing in the smell of the dirty river that was carried to them on the night breeze. After a few seconds, they heard movement behind the door and it opened a crack. A sliver of a man could be seen looking out at them, a man with long black hair parted in curtains around a sallow face and black eyes.

又有一道闪光。 贝拉像被烧伤了一样放开了妹妹的胳膊。 “纳西莎!”但纳西莎已经冲到前面去了。 她的追猎者搓着手，又跟了上去，现在跟她保持着距离，他们走进了迷宫般的砖房的深处。 最后纳西莎匆匆走上一条叫纺纱尾巷的街道，磨坊高耸的烟囱就像一根巨大的警告手指在上面盘旋。 她走过几扇用木板钉住的、破碎的窗户，脚步声在鹅卵石上回响，一直走到最后一所房子，楼下一间屋子的窗帘里透出微弱的灯光。 她敲了敲门，贝拉才低声咒骂着赶上来。 他们一起站在那里等着，微微喘着气，呼吸着被夜风吹来的肮脏河水的气味。 几秒钟后，他们听到门后有动静，门开了一条缝。 可以看到一个瘦瘦的男人正朝他们望着，那是一个长着黑色头发的男人，用帘子把头发分开，围在一张灰黄的脸和一双黑眼睛周围。

Narcissa threw back her hood. She was so pale that she seemed to shine in the darkness; the long blonde hair streaming down her back gave her the look of a drowned person. 'Narcissa!' said the man, opening the door a little wider, so that the light fell upon her and her sister too. 'What a pleasant surprise!' 'Severus,' she said in a strained whisper. 'May I speak to you? It's urgent.' 'But of course.' He stood back to allow her to pass him into the house. Her still-hooded sister followed without invitation. 'Snape,' she said curtly as she passed him. 'Bellatrix,' he replied, his thin mouth curling into a slightly mocking smile as he closed the door with a snap behind them. They had stepped directly into a tiny sitting room, which had the feeling of a dark padded cell. The walls were completely covered in books, most of them bound in old black or brown leather; a threadbare sofa, an old armchair and a rickety

纳西莎掀开兜帽。 她脸色苍白，似乎在黑暗中闪闪发光；金色的长发披散在她的背上，使她看上去像个溺水的人。 “纳西莎!那人说着，把门开得大一点，这样光线就照在她和她妹妹身上了。 “真是个惊喜！”“西弗勒斯。”她紧张地小声说。 “我可以和你谈谈吗？”它很紧急。“当然啦。”他退后一步，让她从他身边走进去。 她那仍然戴着兜帽的妹妹没有受到邀请就跟着来了。 “斯内普。”她从他身边走过时简短地说。 “贝拉特里克斯。”他回答，薄薄的嘴巴卷成一个略带嘲讽的微笑，啪的一声关上了身后的门。 他们直接走进了一间小小的客厅，感觉就像一间阴暗的牢房。 墙上挂满了书，大多数是用旧的黑色或棕色皮革装订的；一张破旧的沙发，一把旧扶手椅和一把摇摇晃晃的椅子