27 The Final Hiding Place

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN THE FINAL HIDING PLACE There was no means of steering; the dragon could not see where it was going, and Harry knew that if it turned sharply or rolled in midair they would find it impossible to cling onto its broad back. Nevertheless, as they climbed higher and higher, London unfurling below them like a gray-and-green map, Harry's overwhelming feeling was of gratitude for an escape that had

第二十七章最后的藏身处没有办法驾驶；巨龙看不见它要往哪里去，哈利知道，如果它急转弯或在半空中打滚，他们就不可能抓住它宽阔的后背。 然而，当他们越爬越高，伦敦就像一张灰绿色的地图在他们脚下展开时，哈利心中涌起了一种难以抑制的感激之情，感谢这次成功的逃脱

seemed impossible. Crouching low over the beast's neck, he clung tight to the metallic scales, and the cool breeze was soothing on his burned and blistered skin, the dragon's wings beating the air like the sails of a windmill. Behind him, whether from delight or fear he could not tell, Ron kept swearing at the top of his voice, and Hermione seemed to be sobbing. After five minutes or so, Harry lost some of his immediate dread that the dragon was going to throw them off, for it seemed intent on nothing but getting as far away from its underground prison as possible; but the question of how and when they were to dismount remained rather frightening. He had no idea how long dragons could fly without landing, nor how this particular dragon, which could barely see, would locate a good place to put down. He glanced around constantly, imagining that he could feel his scar prickling....

似乎是不可能的。他低伏在巨龙的脖子上，紧紧地抓着它的金属鳞片，凉爽的微风舒缓着他灼伤起泡的皮肤，巨龙的翅膀像风车的风帆一样拍打着空气。 在他身后，不知是高兴还是害怕，罗恩不停地扯着嗓子咒骂，赫敏似乎在抽泣。 大约过了五分钟，哈利不再那么担心恶龙会把他们扔下来，因为它似乎一心只想离地下监狱越远越好。但他们如何下马以及何时下马的问题仍然相当可怕。 他不知道龙能飞多久而不着陆，也不知道这条几乎看不见的龙怎么能找到一个好地方放下来。 他不断地环顾四周，想象着他能感觉到他的伤疤刺痛....

How long would it be before Voldemort knew that they had broken into the Lestranges' vault? How soon would the goblins of Gringotts notify Bellatrix? How quickly would they realize what had been taken? And then, when they discovered that the golden cup was missing? Voldemort would know, at last, that they were hunting Horcruxes.... The dragon seemed to crave cooler and fresher air: It climbed steadily until they were flying through wisps of chilly cloud, and Harry could no longer make out the little colored dots which were cars pouring in and out of the capital. On and on they flew, over countryside parceled out in patches of green and brown, over roads and rivers winding through the landscape like strips of matte and glossy ribbon. "What do you reckon it's looking for?" Ron yelled as they flew farther and farther north.

伏地魔要过多久才知道他们闯进了莱斯特兰奇家的金库？ 古灵阁的妖精多快会通知贝拉特里克斯？ 他们能多快意识到被拿走了什么？ 然后，当他们发现金杯不见了？ 伏地魔最终会知道他们在寻找魂器.... 巨龙似乎渴望更凉爽、更新鲜的空气，它越爬越高，直到他们飞过一缕缕寒冷的云，哈利再也看不清那些彩色的小点，那是驶进驶出首都的汽车。 他们不停地飞啊飞，飞过一片片绿色和棕色的乡村，飞过蜿蜒穿过大地的道路和河流，就像一道道光溜溜的缎带。 “你认为它在找什么？”他们向北飞得越来越远，罗恩喊道。

"No idea," Harry bellowed back. His hands were numb with cold but he did not dare attempt to shift his grip. He had been wondering for some time what they would do if they saw the coast sail beneath them, if the dragon headed for open sea; he was cold and numb, not to mention desperately hungry and thirsty. When, he wondered, had the beast itself last eaten? Surely it would need sustenance before long? And what if, at that point, it realized it had three highly edible humans sitting on its back? The sun slipped lower in the sky, which was turning indigo; and still the dragon flew, cities and towns gliding out of sight beneath them, its enormous shadow sliding over the earth like a great dark cloud. Every part of Harry ached with the effort of holding on to the dragon's back. fclnef. "Is it my imagination," shouted Ron after a considerable stretch of silence, "or are we losing height?"

“不知道。”哈利吼道。 他的手冻得麻木了，但他不敢挪开他的手。 他一直在想，如果他们看到海岸在他们下面飘过，如果巨龙向大海游去，他们会怎么办？他又冷又麻木，更不用说又饿又渴了。 他想知道，这头野兽上次吃东西是什么时候？ 它肯定很快就需要食物了吧？ 如果，在那一点上，它意识到它背上坐着三个非常可食用的人呢？ 太阳在渐渐变成靛蓝的天空中低垂下来；恶龙仍在飞翔，城市和城镇在他们的视线中滑行，它巨大的影子像一片巨大的乌云一样在地面上滑动。 哈利使劲抓住巨龙的背，浑身上下都隐隐作痛。 “是我的想象，”在一阵相当长的沉默之后，罗恩喊道，“还是我们的高度在下降？”

Harry looked down and saw deep green mountains and lakes, coppery in the sunset. The landscape seemed to grow larger and more detailed as he squinted over the side of the dragon, and he wondered whether it had divined the presence of fresh water by the flashes of reflected sunlight. Lower and lower the dragon flew, in great spiraling circles, honing in, it seemed, upon one of the smaller lakes. "I say we jump when it gets low enough!" Harry called back to the others. "Straight into the water before it realizes we're here!" They agreed, Hermione a little faintly, and now Harry could see the dragon's wide yellow underbelly rippling in the surface of the water. "NOW!" He slithered over the side of the dragon and plummeted feetfirst toward the surface of the lake; the drop was greater than he had estimated and he

哈利往下看，看见深绿色的山峦和湖泊，在夕阳的映衬下呈铜色。 当他眯着眼睛从巨龙的侧面看过去时，周围的景色似乎变得更大、更细致了，他怀疑巨龙是否通过反射的阳光猜到了淡水的存在。 龙飞得越来越低，绕着巨大的螺旋，似乎在一个较小的湖泊上磨炼着。 “我说当它足够低的时候我们就跳！”哈利又对其他人喊道。 “在它意识到我们在这里之前，直接跳进水里！”他们同意了，赫敏的声音有些微弱，现在哈利可以看到巨龙宽阔的黄色腹部在水面上荡漾。 “现在!”他滑过巨龙的侧面，脚朝下掉向湖面；降幅比他估计的要大，他

hit the water hard, plunging like a stone into a freezing, green, reed-filled world. He kicked toward the surface and emerged, panting, to see enormous ripples emanating in circles from the places where Ron and Hermione had fallen. The dragon did not seem to have noticed anything: It was already fifty feet away, swooping low over the lake to scoop up water in its scarred snout. As Ron and Hermione emerged, spluttering and gasping, from the depths of the lake, the dragon flew on, its wings beating hard, and landed at last on a distant bank. Harry, Ron, and Hermione struck out for the opposite shore. The lake did not seem to be deep: Soon it was more a question of fighting their way through reeds and mud than swimming, and at last they flopped, sodden, panting, and exhausted, onto slippery grass. Hermione collapsed, coughing and shuddering. Though Harry could have happily lain down and

使劲打水，像石头一样跳进一个冰冷的、绿色的、长满芦苇的世界。 他朝水面踢去，喘着气浮出水面，只见罗恩和赫敏摔倒的地方泛起了巨大的涟漪。 巨龙似乎什么也没注意到，它已经在五十英尺开外了，正低低地俯冲在湖面上，用它那伤痕累累的鼻子舀水。 罗恩和赫敏喘着粗气从湖底冒了出来，恶龙奋力拍打着翅膀飞了起来，最后降落在远处的河岸上。 哈利、罗恩和赫敏向对岸划去。 湖水似乎并不深，很快，他们就得在芦苇和泥泞中奋力前行，而不是游泳了。最后，他们扑通一声，浑身湿透，气喘吁吁，精疲力竭地来到了滑溜溜的草地上。 赫敏瘫倒在地，咳嗽着，浑身发抖。 虽然哈利本可以愉快地躺下来