HPMOR 第20章｜贝叶斯定理（中英对照）
哈利向奇洛教授摊牌，说自己有个「黑暗面」；奇洛把整间教室沉进一片真实的星场，邓布利多破门而入，谈定哈利的读心防护课，奇洛也交出了自己溜进 NASA、在先驱者号金色铝板上施过法的秘密。
英文原文取自 HPMOR 官方第 20 章。下文保留章首题记，并严格按官方故事正文的自然段与分隔线逐段排列；每组英文在上、中文在下；中文为依据英文独立校订的非官方译文。hpmor.xyz 对应章 仅用于核对理解、专名、术语与遗漏，未原样转载。
That which can be destroyed by the Rowling should be.
凡能被罗琳摧毁的，就应该被摧毁。
Harry stared up at the gray ceiling of the small room, from where he lay on the portable yet soft bed that had been placed there. He'd eaten quite a lot of Professor Quirrell's snacks - intricate confections of chocolate and other substances, dusted with sparkling sprinkles and jeweled with tiny sugar gems, looking highly expensive and proving, in fact, to be quite tasty. Harry hadn't felt the least bit guilty about it either, this he had earned.
哈利躺在一张被人搬进这间屋子的床上——说是便携床，倒很柔软——仰头盯着小房间灰蒙蒙的天花板。奇洛教授的零食他吃了不少：巧克力和别的什么东西做成的精巧点心，撒着亮闪闪的糖粒，还镶着细小的糖宝石，看着贵得离谱，吃起来倒确实挺好吃。哈利也没觉得有半分过意不去，这是他自己挣来的。
He hadn't tried to sleep. Harry had a feeling that he wouldn't like what happened when he closed his eyes.
他没试着睡觉。哈利有种预感：自己闭上眼之后发生的事，他不会喜欢。
He hadn't tried to read. He wouldn't have been able to focus.
他也没试着看书。就算读了，他也集中不了精神。
Funny how Harry's brain just seemed to keep on running and running, never shutting down no matter how tired it got. It got stupider but it refused to switch off.
说来好笑，哈利的脑子好像就那样一直转一直转，再累也不肯停。它会变笨，却死活不肯关机。
But there was, there really and truly was a feeling of triumph.
但确实有——真真切切有——一种胜利的感觉。
Anti-Dark-Lord-Harry program, +1 point didn't begin to cover it. Harry wondered what the Sorting Hat would say now, if he could put it on his head.
「反黑魔王哈利计划，加 1 分」，这个说法根本不足以概括。哈利想知道，要是他现在能把分院帽戴到头上，它会说些什么。
No wonder Professor Quirrell had accused Harry of heading down the path of a Dark Lord. Harry had been too slow on the uptake, he should have seen the parallel right away -
奇洛教授会指责哈利正走在成为黑魔王的那条路上，一点也不奇怪。哈利反应太慢了，他本该立刻看出这个对应关系——
Understand that the Dark Lord did not win that day. His goal was to learn martial arts, and yet he left without a single lesson.
要明白，黑魔王那天并没有赢。他的目标是学武术，结果却一节课都没上就走人了。
Harry had entered the Potions class with the intent to learn Potions. He'd left without a single lesson.
哈利走进魔药课时，是想学魔药的。他一节课都没上就走了。
And Professor Quirrell had heard, and understood with frightening precision, and reached out and yanked Harry off that path, the path that led to his becoming a copy of You-Know-Who.
而奇洛教授听见了，理解得准得吓人，然后伸出手，把哈利从那一条路上硬拽了回来——那条会让他变成神秘人翻版的路。
There was a knock at the door. "Classes are over," said Professor Quirrell's quiet voice.
有人敲门。「今天的课都结束了。」奇洛教授的声音很轻。
Harry approached the door and found himself suddenly nervous. Then the tension diminished as he heard Professor Quirrell's footsteps moving away from the door.
哈利朝门口走去，忽然觉得自己紧张起来。随后他听见奇洛教授的脚步声正从门边远去，那股紧绷感也就消退了。
What on Earth is that about? Is it what's going to get him fired eventually?
这究竟是什么意思？难道这就是最终会害他丢掉教职的那件事吗？
Harry opened the door, and saw that Professor Quirrell was now waiting several bodylengths away.
哈利开了门，看见奇洛教授已经退到好几步开外等着。
Does Professor Quirrell feel it too?
奇洛教授也感觉到了吗？
They walked across the now-deserted stage to Professor Quirrell's desk, which Professor Quirrell leaned on; and Harry, as before, stopped short of the dais.
两人穿过此刻空无一人的舞台，走到奇洛教授的书桌旁。奇洛教授靠在桌边；哈利则和先前一样，走到深色矮台子跟前就停住了。
"So," Professor Quirrell said. There was a friendly sense about him somehow, even though his face still kept its usual seriousness. "What was it you wanted to talk to me about, Mr. Potter?"
「那么，」奇洛教授说。他身上不知怎的透着一股友善，尽管脸上还是平常那副严肃。「你想找我谈什么，波特先生？」
I have a mysterious dark side. But Harry couldn't just blurt it out like that.
我有一个神秘的黑暗面。 可哈利不能就这么冲口说出来。
"Professor Quirrell," Harry said, "am I off the path to becoming a Dark Lord, now?"
「奇洛教授，」哈利说，「我如今算是离开成为黑魔王的那条路了吗？」
Professor Quirrell looked at Harry. "Mr. Potter," he said solemnly, with only a slight grin, "a word of advice. There is such a thing as a performance which is too perfect. Real people who have just been beaten and humiliated for fifteen minutes do not stand up and graciously forgive their enemies. It is the sort of thing you do when you're trying to convince everyone you're not Dark, not -"
奇洛教授看着他。「波特先生，」他郑重地说，只带一点笑意，「给你一句忠告。有一种表演，叫演得太过完美。真正刚被揍了、被羞辱了十五分钟的人，不会站起来，宽宏大量地原谅自己的对头。那是你一心想要说服所有人相信你不黑的时候才会做的事，而不是——」
"I can't believe this! You can't have every possible observation confirm your theory! "
「我真不敢相信！你不可能让每一种可能的观察结果都来证实你的理论！」
"And that was a trifle too much indignation."
「这一句的愤慨又稍稍过头了。」
"What on Earth do I have to do to convince you? "
「我到底要怎么做才能说服你？」
"To convince me that you harbor no ambitions of becoming a Dark Lord?" said Professor Quirrell, now looking outright amused. "I suppose you could just raise your right hand."
「说服我你并没有想当黑魔王的野心？」奇洛教授说，这会儿他看上去已经毫不掩饰地被逗乐了。「我看你只要举起右手就行了。」
"What?" Harry said blankly. "But I can raise my right hand whether or not I -" Harry stopped, feeling rather stupid.
「什么？」哈利茫然地说，「可不管我想不想当，我都能举起右——」他打住了，觉得自己挺蠢。
"Indeed," said Professor Quirrell. "You can just as easily do it either way. There is nothing you can do to convince me because I would know that was exactly what you were trying to do. And if we are to be even more precise, then while I suppose it is barely possible that perfectly good people exist even though I have never met one, it is nonetheless improbable that someone would be beaten for fifteen minutes and then stand up and feel a great surge of kindly forgiveness for his attackers. On the other hand it is less improbable that a young child would imagine this as the role to play in order to convince his teacher and classmates that he is not the next Dark Lord. The import of an act lies not in what that act resembles on the surface, Mr. Potter, but in the states of mind which make that act more or less probable."
「的确，」奇洛教授说，「两种情况你举起来都一样轻松。你做什么都没法让我信服，因为我会知道，那正是你存心要做的事。要说得更精确一点：依我看，完全善良的人勉强也算有可能存在，虽说我一个也没碰到过——但一个人被揍上十五分钟，然后站起来，对揍他的人涌起一阵仁慈的宽恕之情，这仍然不太可能。反过来讲，一个小孩把这一套想成自己该扮演的角色，好让老师同学相信他不是下一个黑魔王，这种可能性倒没那么小。一个举动传达了什么，不在它表面上像什么，波特先生，而在于什么样的心理状态会使得这个举动变得更可能或更不可能。」
Harry blinked. He'd just had the dichotomy between the representativeness heuristic and the Bayesian definition of evidence explained to him by a wizard.
哈利眨了眨眼。他刚听一位巫师讲清了代表性启发法和贝叶斯式的证据定义之间的分别。
"But then again," said Professor Quirrell, "anyone can want to impress their friends. That need not be Dark. So without it being any kind of admission, Mr. Potter, tell me honestly. What thought was in your mind at the moment when you forbade any vengeance? Was that thought a true impulse to forgiveness? Or was it an awareness of how your classmates would see the act?"
「不过话说回来，」奇洛教授说，「谁都可以想让朋友高看自己。这未必就是黑。所以，波特先生，这不构成任何形式的认罪，你老实告诉我：你禁止大家复仇的那一刻，脑子里想的是什么？那个念头是真正想宽恕的冲动吗？还是你意识到同学们会怎么看这一举动？」
Sometimes we make our own phoenix song.
有时候，凤凰的歌声是我们自己唱出来的。
But Harry didn't say it out loud. It was clear that Professor Quirrell wouldn't believe him, and would probably respect him less for trying to utter such a transparent lie.
但哈利没有说出口。奇洛教授显然不会信他，而且多半会因为他想说这么一眼假的谎而更看轻他。
After a few moments of silence, Professor Quirrell smiled with satisfaction. "Believe it or not, Mr. Potter," said the professor, "you need not fear me for having discovered your secret. I am not going to tell you to give up on becoming the next Dark Lord. If I could turn back the hands of time and somehow remove that ambition from the mind of my child self, the self of this present time would not benefit from the alteration. For as long as I thought that was my goal, it drove me to study and learn and refine myself and become stronger. We become what we are meant to be by following our desires wherever they lead. That is the insight of Salazar. Ask me to show you to the library section which holds those same books I read as a thirteen-year-old, and I will happily lead the way."
沉默了一小会儿，奇洛教授满意地露出一丝笑。「信不信由你，波特先生，」教授说，「你不必因为我知道了你的秘密就害怕我。我不会叫你放弃当下一个黑魔王。如果我能让时间倒流，想办法把那份野心从我小时候的脑子里取走，此刻的这个我也不会从这项改动里得到什么好处。只要我还把那当成目标，它就一直逼着我去学、去钻研、去打磨自己、变得更强。我们顺着自己的欲望走，不管它把我们引向哪儿，最后就成了我们注定要成为的样子。这是萨拉查的洞见。你要我带你去找图书馆里收着我十三岁读的那些书的那一区，我很乐意带路。」
"For the love of crap," Harry said, and sat down on the hard marble floor, and then lay back on the floor, staring up at the distant arches of the ceiling. It was as close as he could come to collapsing in despair without hurting himself.
「真是活见鬼，」哈利说，一屁股坐到坚硬的大理石地面上，接着又仰面躺倒，瞪着远处天花板的拱顶。这就是他在不弄伤自己的前提下，所能做到的最接近绝望崩溃的样子了。
"Still too much indignation," observed Professor Quirrell. Harry wasn't looking but he could hear the suppressed laughter in the voice.
「这一句还是愤慨过头了，」奇洛教授点评道。哈利没有看他，却听得出那声音里压着的笑意。
Then Harry realized.
接着哈利明白过来了。
"Actually, I think I know what's confusing you here," Harry said. "That was what I wanted to talk to you about, in fact. Professor Quirrell, I think that what you're seeing is my mysterious dark side."
「其实，我想我知道你在这儿是被什么弄糊涂了，」哈利说，「那正是我想跟你谈的事。奇洛教授，我觉得你看到的，就是那个神秘的黑暗面。」
There was a pause.
一阵停顿。
"Your... dark side..."
「你的……黑暗面……」
Harry sat up. Professor Quirrell was regarding him with one of the strangest expressions Harry had seen on anyone's face, let alone anyone as dignified as Professor Quirrell.
哈利坐了起来。奇洛教授正打量着他，那副神情是哈利在别人脸上都极少见到的，更别说这人还是奇洛教授这样有威严的人物。
"It happens when I get angry," Harry explained. "My blood runs cold, everything gets cold, everything seems perfectly clear... In retrospect it's been with me for a while - in my first year of Muggle school, someone tried to take away my ball during recess and I held it behind my back and kicked him in the solar plexus which I'd read was a weak point, and the other kids didn't bother me after that. And I bit a math teacher when she wouldn't accept my dominance. But it's only just recently that I've been under enough stress to notice that it's an actual, you know, mysterious dark side, and not just an anger management problem like the school psychologist said. And I don't have any super magical powers when it happens, that was one of the first things I checked."
「我一发火就会这样，」哈利解释。「血会变凉，周围一切都变冷，所有东西都变得清清楚楚……现在回头看，它跟着我已经有阵子了——我在麻瓜学校上一年级的时候，课间有人想抢我的球，我把球藏在身后，抬脚照他的腹腔神经丛踹去——我读到过，那是人的一处弱点，从那以后别的孩子就不来惹我了。还有一次，数学老师不肯承认我说了算，我就咬了她一口。但直到最近，我承受的压力才大得让我发现，这确实是个，怎么说呢，神秘的黑暗面，而不只是学校心理医生说的那种情绪管理问题。而且它发作的时候我并没有什么超自然的魔力，这是我最早核查的几件事之一。」
Professor Quirrell rubbed his nose. "Let me think about this," he said.
奇洛教授揉了揉鼻子。「让我想想，」他说。
Harry waited in silence for a full minute. He used that time to stand up, which was more difficult than he had expected.
哈利一言不发地等了整整一分钟。他趁这一分钟站了起来，这个动作比他想的要费劲。
"Well," Professor Quirrell said after a while. "I suppose there was something you could say that would convince me."
「好吧，」过了一会儿，奇洛教授说。「看来你确实有一句话能让我信服。」
"I have already guessed that my dark side is really just another part of me and that the answer isn't to never become angry but to learn to stay in control by accepting it, I'm not dumb or anything and I've seen this story enough times to know where it's going, but it's hard and you seem like the person to help me."
「我早就猜到过，我的黑暗面其实就是我自己的另一部分，解决办法不是永远不发火，而是学会接受它，从而管住自己。我又不傻，这种故事我看得够多，知道后面会怎么发展。可这很难，而你看上去就是能帮我的人。」
"Well... yes... very perspicacious of you, Mr. Potter, I must say... that side of you is, as you seem to have already surmised, your intent to kill, which as you say is a part of you..."
「嗯……是的……很有洞察力，波特先生，我得说……你的那一面，就像你已经推测到的那样，是你的杀意；而按你说的，它也是你自身的一部分……」
"And needs to be trained," Harry said, completing the pattern.
「而且它需要训练，」哈利说，替他把这个句式补完。
"And needs to be trained, yes." That strange expression was still on Professor Quirrell's face. "Mr. Potter, if you truly do not wish to be the next Dark Lord, then what was the ambition which the Sorting Hat tried to convince you to abandon, the ambition for which you were Sorted into Slytherin?"
「而且它需要训练，没错。」奇洛教授脸上还是那副古怪神情。「波特先生，如果你真的不想当下一个黑魔王，那么分院帽想劝你放弃的那个野心是什么？你就是因为那个野心才被分进斯莱特林的。」
"I was Sorted into Ravenclaw! "
「我是被分进拉文克劳的！」
"Mr. Potter," said Professor Quirrell, now with a much more usual-looking dry smile, "I know you are accustomed to everyone around you being a fool, but please do not mistake me for one of them. The likelihood that the Sorting Hat would play its first prank in eight hundred years while it was upon your head is so small as to not be worth considering. I suppose it is barely possible that you snapped your fingers and invented some simple and clever way to defeat the anti-tampering spells upon the Hat, though I myself can think of no such method. But by far the most probable explanation is that Dumbledore decided he was not happy with the Hat's choice for the Boy-Who-Lived. This is evident to anyone with the tiniest smidgin of common sense, so your secret is safe at Hogwarts."
「波特先生，」奇洛教授说，这会儿他脸上又挂回了平时那种冷淡的笑，「我知道你习惯了身边所有人都是笨蛋，但请别把我也算进他们里头。分院帽在你头上做出它八百年来的头一个恶作剧，这种事发生的可能性小到不值一提。你打了个响指，就琢磨出什么又简单又巧的法子破了帽子上的防篡改咒语——这勉强也算有可能，虽然我自己想不出这种法子。但可能性大得多的解释是：邓布利多不满意帽子给大难不死的男孩挑的学院。稍有常识的人都看得出来，所以你在霍格沃茨的这个秘密很安全。」
Harry opened his mouth, then closed it again with a feeling of complete helplessness. Professor Quirrell was wrong, but wrong in such a convincing way that Harry was starting to think that it simply was the rational judgment given the evidence available to Professor Quirrell. There were times, never predictable times but still sometimes, when you would get improbable evidence and the best knowable guess would be wrong. If you had a medical test that was only wrong one time in a thousand, sometimes it would still be wrong anyway.
哈利张开嘴，又闭上了，心里满是无力感。奇洛教授错了，可错得那么有说服力，哈利甚至开始觉得，就奇洛教授手头这些证据而言，这确实是合乎理性的判断。有些时候——你预料不到是哪些时候，但它就是会来——你会拿到一些本来极不可能出现的证据，而当下最说得通的那个猜测偏偏是错的。好比一项一千次里才错一次的医学检测，有时候它照样会出错。
"Can I ask you never to repeat what I'm about to say?" said Harry.
「我可以请你永远不要把我下面要说的话讲出去吗？」哈利说。
"Absolutely," said Professor Quirrell. "Consider me asked."
「当然，」奇洛教授说。「就当你问过了。」
Harry wasn't a fool either. "Can I consider you to have said yes?"
哈利也没那么好骗。「那我可以当作你已经答应了？」
"Very good, Mr. Potter. You may indeed so consider."
「很好，波特先生。你确实可以这么算。」
"Professor Quirrell -"
「奇洛教授——」
"I won't repeat what you're about to say," Professor Quirrell said, smiling.
「我不会把你下面要说的话讲出去，」奇洛教授笑着说。
They both laughed, then Harry turned serious again. "The Sorting Hat did seem to think I was going to end up as a Dark Lord unless I went to Hufflepuff," Harry said. "But I don't want to be one."
两人都笑了，接着哈利又正色起来。「分院帽好像真觉得，我要是不进赫奇帕奇，最终就会变成黑魔王，」哈利说。「但我不想当黑魔王。」
"Mr. Potter..." said Professor Quirrell. "Don't take this the wrong way. I promise you will not be graded on the answer. I only want to know your own, honest reply. Why not?"
「波特先生……」奇洛教授说。「别误会我的意思。我保证答案不打分。我只想听你自己诚实的回答。为什么不呢？」
Harry had that helpless feeling again. Thou shalt not become a Dark Lord was such an obvious theorem in his moral system that it was hard to describe the actual proof steps. "Um, people would get hurt?"
哈利心头又涌上那股无力感。汝不可成为黑魔王在他的道德体系里是一条太显然的定理，真要一步步写出证明过程反倒很难。「呃……会有别人受伤？」
"Surely you've wanted to hurt people," said Professor Quirrell. "You wanted to hurt those bullies today. Being a Dark Lord means that people you want to hurt get hurt."
「你肯定也有想伤害别人的时候，」奇洛教授说。「今天你就想伤害那几个恶霸。当黑魔王，就意味着你想伤害的人会被伤害。」
Harry floundered for words and then decided to simply go with the obvious. "First of all, just because I want to hurt someone doesn't mean it's right -"
哈利一时找不到话，索性说出了最直白的那句。「首先，我想伤害某个人，不等于这件事就是对的——」
"What makes something right, if not your wanting it?"
「如果不由你想不想来决定，那还有什么能让一件事成为对的？」
"Ah," Harry said, "preference utilitarianism."
「啊，」哈利说。「这叫偏好功利主义。」
"Pardon me?" said Professor Quirrell.
「请再说一遍？」奇洛教授说。
"It's the ethical theory that the good is what satisfies the preferences of the most people -"
「它是一种伦理学理论：善就是让尽可能多的人的偏好得到满足——」
"No," Professor Quirrell said. His fingers rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I don't think that's quite what I was trying to say. Mr. Potter, in the end people all do what they want to do. Sometimes people give names like 'right' to things they want to do, but how could we possibly act on anything but our own desires?"
「不是，」奇洛教授说。他的手指揉着鼻梁。「我想说的好像不是这个。波特先生，说到底，人做的都是自己想做的事。有时候人会给自己想做的事起个名字叫『正确』，可我们除了自己的欲望，还能照着什么去行动呢？」
"Well, obviously," Harry said. "I couldn't act on moral considerations if they lacked the power to move me. But that doesn't mean my wanting to hurt those Slytherins has the power to move me more than moral considerations!"
「这还用说，」哈利说。「如果道德考量没有力量推动我，我根本没法照它行动。但这不说明我想伤害那些斯莱特林同学的念头，推动我的力量就大过道德考量！」
Professor Quirrell blinked.
奇洛教授眨了眨眼。
"Not to mention," Harry said, "being a Dark Lord would mean that a lot of innocent bystanders got hurt too!"
「更别提，」哈利说，「当上黑魔王还意味着有很多无辜的旁观者会跟着受伤！」
"Why does that matter to you?" Professor Quirrell said. "What have they done for you?"
「那对你来说有什么要紧？」奇洛教授说。「他们为你做过什么？」
Harry laughed. "Oh, now that was around as subtle as Atlas Shrugged."
哈利笑了。「哦，这回这招的含蓄程度，差不多赶得上《阿特拉斯耸耸肩》了。」
"Pardon me?" Professor Quirrell said again.
「请再说一遍？」奇洛教授又问了一遍。
"It's a book that my parents wouldn't let me read because they thought it would corrupt me, so of course I read it anyway and I was offended they thought I would fall for any traps that obvious. Blah blah blah, appeal to my sense of superiority, other people are trying to keep me down, blah blah blah."
「那是一本我父母不让我读的书，他们觉得它会把我带坏，所以我当然还是照样读了；他们竟然以为我会掉进那么明显的陷阱，这让我很不高兴。巴拉巴拉巴拉，迎合我的优越感，别人都想打压我，巴拉巴拉巴拉。」
"So you're saying I need to make my traps less obvious?" said Professor Quirrell. He tapped a finger on his cheek, looking thoughtful. "I can work on that."
「所以你的意思是，我的圈套得做得不那么明显？」奇洛教授说。他用一根手指点着脸颊，像是在琢磨。「这个我可以练。」
They both laughed.
两人一起笑出了声。
"But to stay with the current question," said Professor Quirrell, "what have all these other people done for you?"
「不过还是回到刚才的问题，」奇洛教授说，「这些人到底为你做过什么？」
"Other people have done huge amounts for me!" Harry said. "My parents took me in when my parents died because they were good people, and to become a Dark Lord is to betray that!"
「别人为我做过太多事了！」哈利说。「我爸妈在我亲生父母去世后收留了我，因为他们是好人，而变成黑魔王就是背叛这一点！」
Professor Quirrell was silent for a time.
奇洛教授沉默了一阵。
"I confess," said Professor Quirrell quietly, "when I was your age, that thought could not ever have come to me."
「说实话，」奇洛教授放低了声音说，「换作我在你这么大的时候，这种念头压根不会找上我。」
"I'm sorry," Harry said.
「对不起，」哈利说。
"Don't be," said Professor Quirrell. "It was long ago, and I resolved my parental issues to my own satisfaction. So you are held back by the thought of your parents' disapproval? Does that mean that if they died in an accident, there would be nothing left to stop you from -"
「不用道歉，」奇洛教授说。「那是很久以前的事了，我和父母之间那点问题，我自己已经解决得满意了。所以挡住你的是『父母会不赞成』这个念头？那么，要是他们出意外死了，就再没有东西拦着你去——」
"No," Harry said. "Just no. It is their impulse to kindness which sheltered me. That impulse is not only in my parents. And that impulse is what would be betrayed."
「不，」哈利说。「就是不。庇护我的是他们向善的冲动。这种冲动不只在我父母身上。会被背叛的，正是这种冲动。」
"In any case, Mr. Potter, you have not answered my original question," said Professor Quirrell finally. "What is your ambition?"
「不管怎么说，波特先生，你始终没有回答我最初的问题，」奇洛教授终于开口。「你的野心到底是什么？」
"Oh," said Harry. "Um.." He organized his thoughts. "To understand everything important there is to know about the universe, apply that knowledge to become omnipotent, and use that power to rewrite reality because I have some objections to the way it works now."
「哦，」哈利说。「唔……」他理了理思路。「弄懂宇宙中一切值得知道的要紧事，拿这些知识让自己变得无所不能，再用这份力量改写现实——因为我对现实目前的运作方式有些不满。」
There was a slight pause.
停顿了一小会儿。
"Forgive me if this is a stupid question, Mr. Potter," said Professor Quirrell, "but are you sure you did not just confess to wanting to be a Dark Lord?"
「波特先生，如果这个问题太蠢，请见谅，」奇洛教授说，「可你确定刚才那句不算承认自己想当黑魔王吗？」
"That's only if you use your power for evil," explained Harry. "If you use the power for good, you're a Light Lord."
「那只是在你用力量作恶的时候才成立，」哈利解释说。「你要是用这份力量行善，你就是光明王。」
"I see," Professor Quirrell said. He tapped his other cheek with a finger. "I suppose I can work with that. But Mr. Potter, while the scope of your ambition is worthy of Salazar himself, how exactly do you propose to go about it? Is step one to become a great fighting wizard, or Head Unspeakable, or Minister of Magic, or -"
「我明白了，」奇洛教授说。他伸出一根手指，点了点另一侧脸颊。「这个说法我大概能用得上。不过波特先生，你的抱负之大，连萨拉查本人都当得起，可你究竟打算怎么走？第一步是成为一位厉害的战斗巫师，还是首席缄默人，还是魔法部部长，还是——」
"Step one is to become a scientist."
「第一步是成为科学家。」
Professor Quirrell was looking at Harry as if he'd just turned into a cat.
奇洛教授看着哈利的那副神情，就像哈利刚变成了一只猫。
"A scientist," Professor Quirrell said after a while.
「科学家。」半晌，奇洛教授才说。
Harry nodded.
哈利点点头。
"A scientist? " repeated Professor Quirrell.
「科学家？」奇洛教授又问了一遍。
"Yes," Harry said. "I shall achieve my objectives through the power... of Science! "
「是的，」哈利说，「我要靠着……科学的力量，实现我的目标！」
"A scientist! " said Professor Quirrell. There was genuine indignation on his face, and his voice had grown stronger and sharper. "You could be the best of all my students! The greatest fighting wizard to come out of Hogwarts in five decades! I cannot picture you wasting your days in a white lab coat doing pointless things to rats!"
「科学家！」奇洛教授说。他脸上是毫不掺假的愤慨，声音也变得更响、更尖。「你本可以成为我所有学生里最好的一个！霍格沃茨五十年来最厉害的战斗巫师！我实在想象不出你穿着白大褂，一天天耗在老鼠身上，做那些毫无意义的事！」
"Hey!" said Harry. "There's more to science than that! Not that there's anything wrong with experimenting on rats, of course. But science is how you go about understanding and controlling the universe -"
「喂！」哈利说，「科学远不止这些！当然，拿老鼠做实验本身也没什么不对。可科学正是你用来理解宇宙、掌控宇宙的办法——」
"Fool," said Professor Quirrell, in a voice of quiet, bitter intensity. "You're a fool, Harry Potter." He passed a hand over his face, and when that hand had passed, his face was calmer. "Or more likely you have not yet found your true ambition. May I strongly recommend that you try to become a Dark Lord instead? I will do anything I can to help as a matter of public service."
「傻子，」奇洛教授说，声音低低的，苦涩而强烈。「你是个傻子，哈利·波特。」他一只手从脸上抹过，等那只手移开，他的脸平静了些。「或者更可能的是，你还没找到自己真正的抱负。我能不能强烈建议你，改去当黑魔王？出于公益，我会尽全力帮你。」
"You don't like science," Harry said slowly. "Why not?"
「你不喜欢科学，」哈利慢慢地说，「为什么？」
"Those fool Muggles will kill us all someday!" Professor Quirrell's voice had grown louder. "They will end it! End all of it!"
「总有一天，那群蠢麻瓜会把我们全杀光！」奇洛教授的声音更响了。「他们会了结这一切！了结所有的一切！」
Harry was feeling a bit lost here. "What are we talking about here, nuclear weapons?"
哈利有点跟不上。「咱们说的是什么——核武器？」
"Yes, nuclear weapons!" Professor Quirrell was almost shouting now. "Even He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named never used those, perhaps because he didn't want to rule over a heap of ash! They never should have been made! And it will only get worse with time!" Professor Quirrell was standing up straight instead of leaning on his desk. "There are gates you do not open, there are seals you do not breach! The fools who can't resist meddling are killed by the lesser perils early on, and the survivors all know that there are secrets you do not share with anyone who lacks the intelligence and the discipline to discover them for themselves! Every powerful wizard knows that! Even the most terrible Dark Wizards know that! And those idiot Muggles can't seem to figure it out! The eager little fools who discovered the secret of nuclear weapons didn't keep it to themselves, they told their fool politicians and now we must live under the constant threat of annihilation!"
「没错，核武器！」奇洛教授现在几乎是在喊了。「就连那个连名字都不能提的人，也从来没动用过这种东西，也许是因为他不愿统治一堆灰烬！这种东西根本不该被造出来！而且往后只会越来越糟！」奇洛教授直起了身子，不再靠着书桌。「有些门是不该推开的，有些封印是不该打破的！那些管不住自己、非要去碰的白痴，早就死在没那么凶险的灾祸里了；活下来的人都明白，有些秘密，你不能分享给任何一个缺少智识和自律、自己发现不了它的人！每个强大的巫师都懂这个道理！连最可怕的黑巫师都懂！偏偏那些白痴麻瓜就是想不明白！那些急吼吼的小傻瓜发现了核武器的秘密，却没把它憋在心里——他们告诉了那帮白痴政客，于是现在轮到我们天天活在毁灭的威胁底下！」
This was a rather different way of looking at things than Harry had grown up with. It had never occurred to him that nuclear physicists should have formed a conspiracy of silence to keep the secret of nuclear weapons from anyone not smart enough to be a nuclear physicist. The thought was intriguing, if nothing else. Would they have had secret passwords? Would they have had masks?
这种看事情的角度，和哈利从小习惯的那一套很不一样。他从没设想过，核物理学家这帮人本该结成一种缄默的同盟，把核武器的秘密瞒住所有不够聪明、当不了核物理学家的人。别的不说，这个念头本身就挺有意思。他们会有接头暗号吗？他们会戴面具吗？
(Actually, for all Harry knew, there were all sorts of incredibly destructive secrets which physicists kept to themselves, and the secret of nuclear weapons was the only one that had escaped into the wild. The world would look the same to him either way.)
（其实就哈利所知，物理学家手里确实攥着各种各样破坏力惊人的秘密，核武器的秘密只是唯一一个溜出去、散到外头的。两种情形下，他眼里的世界都一样。）
"I'll have to think about that," Harry said to Professor Quirrell. "It's a new idea to me. And one of the hidden secrets of science, passed down from a few rare teachers to their grad students, is how to avoid flushing new ideas down the toilet the instant you hear one you don't like."
「这事我得想想，」哈利对奇洛教授说。「对我来说是个新想法。科学还有一条不外传的门道，只有少数难得的老师会传给自己带的研究生，那就是：听到一个自己不喜欢的新想法时，怎么才能不立刻把它冲进马桶。」
Professor Quirrell blinked again.
奇洛教授又眨了眨眼。
"Is there any sort of science you do approve of?" said Harry. "Medicine, maybe?"
「有没有哪种科学是你认可的？」哈利说，「比如医学？」
"Space travel," said Professor Quirrell. "But the Muggles seem to be dragging their feet on the one project which might have let wizardkind escape this planet before they blow it up."
「太空旅行，」奇洛教授说。「可偏偏那个能让巫师赶在这颗星球被炸掉之前逃出去的项目，麻瓜们却一直拖着不肯推进。」
Harry nodded. "I'm a big fan of the space program too. At least we have that much in common."
哈利点点头。「我也很迷太空计划。至少我们还有这么点共同点。」
Professor Quirrell looked at Harry. Something flickered in the professor's eyes. "I will have your word, your promise and your oath never to speak of what follows."
奇洛教授看着哈利。教授的眼里有什么闪了一下。「我要你给我一句话、一个承诺、一个誓言：接下来要发生的事，你永远不许说出去。」
"You have it," Harry said immediately.
「我答应，我承诺，我发誓。」哈利立刻说。
"See to it that you keep your oath or you will not like the results," said Professor Quirrell. "I will now cast a rare and powerful spell, not on you, but on the classroom around us. Stand still, so that you do not touch the boundaries of the spell once it has been cast. You must not interact with the magic which I am maintaining. Look only. Otherwise I will end the spell." Professor Quirrell paused. "And try not to fall over."
「记着守住你的誓言，不然你不会喜欢那个结果的，」奇洛教授说。「我现在要施一个罕见而强大的咒语，不是施在你身上，是施在我们周围这间教室上。站好别动，免得咒语施成之后你碰到它的边界。我维持的这个魔法，你不许和它有任何接触。只许看。否则我就把咒语收掉。」奇洛教授顿了顿。「还有，尽量别摔倒。」
Harry nodded, puzzled and anticipatory.
哈利点点头，心里又困惑，又期待。
Professor Quirrell raised his wand and said something that Harry's ears and mind couldn't grasp at all, words that bypassed awareness and vanished into oblivion.
奇洛教授举起魔杖，说了些什么，哈利的耳朵和脑子完全抓不住。那些词绕过了他的意识，径直湮没无踪。
The marble in a short radius around Harry's feet stayed constant. All the other marble of the floor vanished, the walls and ceilings vanished.
哈利脚边一小圈范围内的大理石还在原地。地板上其余的大理石全都消失了，墙壁和天花板也消失了。
Harry stood on a small circle of white marble in the midst of an endless field of stars, burning terribly bright and unwavering. There was no Earth, no Moon, no Sun that Harry recognized. Professor Quirrell stood in the same place as before, floating in the midst of the starfield. The Milky Way was already visible as a great wash of light and it grew brighter as Harry's vision adjusted to the darkness.
哈利脚下是一小圈白色大理石，他站在无边星野的正中央，那些星星烧得极亮，一动不动。没有地球，没有月亮，也没有他认得出的太阳。奇洛教授还站在原来的位置，整个人悬在星野当中。银河已经显出一大片光晕，随着哈利的眼睛适应黑暗，它越来越亮。
The sight wrenched at Harry's heart like nothing he had ever seen.
这一眼狠狠揪住了哈利的心，他这辈子见过的任何东西都没这样揪过他。
"Are we... in space...?"
「我们……是在太空里……？」
"No," said Professor Quirrell. His voice was sad, and reverent. "But it is a true image."
「不，」奇洛教授说。他的声音又悲伤，又虔敬。「但它是真实的图景。」
Tears came into Harry's eyes. He wiped them away frantically, he would not miss this for some stupid water blurring his vision.
泪水涌上哈利的眼睛。他慌慌张张地擦，他可不想让一点蠢水模糊了视线，害自己错过眼前的景象。
The stars were no longer tiny jewels set in a giant velvet dome, as they were in the night sky of Earth. Here there was no sky above, no surrounding sphere. Only points of perfect light against perfect blackness, an infinite and empty void with countless tiny holes through which shone the brilliance from some unimaginable realm beyond.
星星不再是嵌在巨大天鹅绒穹顶上的小珠宝了——在地球的夜空里，它们原本就是那副样子。这里头顶没有天空，四周也没有包住你的天球。只有完美的光点，衬着完美的黑；一片无限而空荡的虚空，上面布满无数细小的孔，光从某个远得无法想象的所在透过来。
In space, the stars looked terribly, terribly, terribly far away.
在太空里，星星看上去远得可怕，可怕，可怕。
Harry kept on wiping his eyes, over and over.
哈利一遍又一遍地擦着眼睛。
"Sometimes," Professor Quirrell said in a voice so quiet it almost wasn't there, "when this flawed world seems unusually hateful, I wonder whether there might be some other place, far away, where I should have been. I cannot seem to imagine what that place might be, and if I can't even imagine it then how can I believe it exists? And yet the universe is so very, very wide, and perhaps it might exist anyway? But the stars are so very, very far away. It would take a long, long time to get there, even if I knew the way. And I wonder what I would dream about, if I slept for a long, long time..."
「有时候，」奇洛教授说，声音轻得几乎不存在，「当这个有毛病的世界显得格外可恨，我会想，是不是另有一个地方，在很远的地方，是我本该待着的。那个地方是什么样，我好像怎么也想不出来；要是我连想都想不出来，又怎么能相信它真的存在？可宇宙这么大，这么大，也许它到底还是存在的？只是那些星星太远，太远了。就算我知道路，也要走很久很久才能到。我还想知道，要是我睡得很久很久，会梦见什么……」
Though it felt like sacrilege, Harry managed a whisper. "Please let me stay here awhile."
这话说出口近乎亵渎，哈利却还是挤出一句低语：「让我在这里多留一会儿。」
Professor Quirrell nodded, where he stood unsupported against the stars.
奇洛教授点了点头。他就那样立在星空当中，脚下没有任何依托。
It was easy to forget the small circle of marble on which you stood, and your own body, and become a point of awareness which might have been still, or might have been moving. With all distances incalculable there was no way to tell.
你很容易忘掉脚下那一小圈大理石，也忘掉自己的身体，变成单纯的一个意识点，既像静止，又像在移动。一切距离都无从计算，也就没有半点办法分辨。
There was a time of no time.
那是一段没有时间的时光。
And then the stars vanished, and the classroom returned.
接着星辰尽数隐去，教室重新回来了。
"I'm sorry," said Professor Quirrell, "but we're about to have company."
「对不住，」奇洛教授说，「我们很快就会有客人上门。」
"It's fine," Harry whispered. "It was enough." He would never forget this day, and not because of the unimportant things that had happened earlier. He would learn how to cast that spell if it was the last thing he ever learned.
「没关系，」哈利低声说，「已经够了。」他永远不会忘记这一天，而且不是因为早先那些无关紧要的事。就算那是他此生最后学会的东西，他也要学会那道咒语。
Then the heavy oaken doors of the classroom blasted off their hinges and skittered across the marble floor with a high-pitched shriek.
接着，教室那两扇厚重的橡木门被轰离了铰链，尖啸着在大理石地板上滑出老远。
"QUIRINUS! HOW DARE YOU! "
「奎里纳斯！你怎么敢！」
Like a vast thundercloud, an ancient and powerful wizard blew into the room, a look of such incandescent rage upon his face that the stern look he had earlier turned upon Harry seemed like nothing.
像一大团雷雨云，一位古老而强大的巫师像一大团雷雨云似的卷进了房间，他脸上那副怒火白热的模样，让先前他投向哈利的那道严厉眼神显得微不足道。
There was a wrench of disorientation in Harry's mind as the part that wanted to run away screaming from the scariest thing it had ever seen ran away, rotating into place a part of him which could take the shock.
哈利脑中一阵失重的错位：他身体里那个想尖叫着逃离这辈子见过最可怕的东西的部分真的逃走了，另一个顶得住这冲击的部分被转到前面来。
None of Harry's facets were happy about having their star-gazing interrupted. "Headmaster Albus Percival -" Harry started to say in icy tones.
观星被人搅了，哈利身上没有哪一面为此高兴。「校长阿不思·珀西瓦尔——」哈利用冰冷的腔调起了个话头。
WHAM. Professor Quirrell's hand came down hard upon his desk. "Mr. Potter! " barked Professor Quirrell. "This is the Headmaster of Hogwarts and you are a mere student! You will address him appropriately!"
砰。奇洛教授的手重重砸在书桌上。「波特先生！」奇洛教授喝道，「这位是霍格沃茨的校长，你不过是个学生！你对他说话得放尊重些！」
Harry looked at Professor Quirrell.
哈利把目光转向奇洛教授。
Professor Quirrell was giving Harry a stern glare.
奇洛教授回给他一记严厉的瞪视。
Neither of them smiled.
两个人都没有笑。
Dumbledore's long strides had come to a halt before where Harry stood in front of the dais and Professor Quirrell stood by his desk. The Headmaster stared in shock at both of them.
邓布利多迈着大步走过来，在两人跟前停住：哈利站在那座深色矮台子前面，奇洛教授站在自己的书桌旁。校长震惊地盯着他们两个。
"I'm sorry," Harry said in meekly polite tones. "Headmaster, thank you for wanting to protect me, but Professor Quirrell did the right thing."
「对不起，」哈利说，语气温顺而有礼，「校长，谢谢您想保护我，可奇洛教授做的是对的。」
Slowly, Dumbledore's expression changed from something that would vaporize steel into something merely angry. "I heard students saying that this man had you abused by older Slytherins! That he forbade you to defend yourself!"
邓布利多的神情慢慢变化，从足以把钢铁汽化的那副样子，变成了单纯的愤怒。「我听学生们讲，这个人让高年级的斯莱特林来欺负你！还禁止你还手！」
Harry nodded. "He knew exactly what was wrong with me and he showed me how to fix it."
哈利点了点头。「他很清楚我身上哪里出了毛病，还教我该怎么修好。」
"Harry, what are you talking about? "
「哈利，你在说什么？」
"I was teaching him how to lose," Professor Quirrell said dryly. "It's an important life skill."
「我在教他学会认输，」奇洛教授干巴巴地说，「这是一门要紧的人生本事。」
It was apparent that Dumbledore still didn't understand, but his voice had lowered in register. "Harry..." he said slowly. "If there's any threat the Defense Professor has offered you to prevent you from complaining -"
看得出来邓布利多仍然没弄明白，但他把嗓音压低了一个调门。「哈利……」他慢慢地说，「如果黑魔法防御术教授拿什么威胁过你，好让你不敢抱怨——」
You lunatic, after today of all days do you really think I -
你这个疯子，都经过了今天这些事，你竟然还以为我会——
"Headmaster," Harry said, trying to look abashed, "what's wrong with me isn't that I keep quiet about abusive professors."
「校长，」哈利说，尽量装出难为情的样子，「我的问题可不是对虐待学生的教授闭口不谈。」
Professor Quirrell chuckled. "Not perfect, Mr. Potter, but good enough for your first day. Headmaster, did you stay long enough to hear about the fifty-one points for Ravenclaw, or did you storm out as soon as you heard the first part?"
奇洛教授轻笑了一声。「不算完美，波特先生，不过第一天能做到这样已经很不错了。校长，您是留到听完拉文克劳那五十一分的事才走的，还是刚听了个开头就怒气冲天地冲出去了？」
A brief look of disconcertment crossed Dumbledore's face, followed by surprise. "Fifty-one points for Ravenclaw?"
邓布利多脸上飞快掠过一阵窘迫，接着才是惊讶。「拉文克劳得了五十一分？」
Professor Quirrell nodded. "He wasn't expecting them, but it seemed appropriate. Tell Professor McGonagall that I think the story of what Mr. Potter went through to earn back the lost points will do just as well to make her point. No, Headmaster, Mr. Potter didn't tell me anything. It's easy to see which part of today's events are her work, just as I know that the final compromise was your own suggestion. Though I wonder how on Earth Mr. Potter was able to gain the upper hand over both Snape and you and then Professor McGonagall was able to gain the upper hand over him."
「波特先生并没有指望拿到这些分，不过这么给挺合适。请告诉麦格教授，在我看来，波特先生为挣回丢掉的分数吃过哪些苦头，这段经历拿去讲清她的道理同样够用。没有，校长，波特先生半点也没向我提过。今天这些事里哪一部分出自她的手笔，一眼就能看出来，正如我知道最后那个折中方案是你自己的主意。不过我很好奇，波特先生到底怎么才做到同时占了斯内普和你的上风，接着麦格教授又怎么占了他的上风。」
Somehow Harry managed to control his face. Was it that obvious to a real Slytherin?
哈利总算管住了自己的表情。在货真价实的斯莱特林看来，这事竟那么明显吗？
Dumbledore came closer to Harry, scrutinizing. "Your color looks a little off, Harry," the old wizard said. He peered closely at Harry's face. "What did you have for lunch today?"
邓布利多走近哈利，细细端详。「你的脸色有点不对劲，哈利，」老巫师说。他又贴近去看哈利的脸。「你今天中午吃的什么？」
"What?" Harry said, his mind wobbling in sudden confusion. Why would Dumbledore be asking about deep-fried lamb and thin-sliced broccoli when that was just about the last probable cause of -
「什么？」哈利说，脑子被一阵突如其来的困惑晃得发飘。邓布利多为什么要问油炸羔羊肉和细切西兰花，这两样差不多是最不可能引起——
The old wizard straightened up. "Never mind, then. I think you're fine."
老巫师直起腰。「算了，不问了。我想你没事。」
Professor Quirrell coughed, loudly and deliberately. Harry looked at the professor, and saw that Professor Quirrell was staring sharply at Dumbledore.
奇洛教授咳嗽了一声，又响又刻意。哈利转头去看教授，见奇洛教授正目光锐利地盯住邓布利多。
"Ah-hem! " Professor Quirrell said again.
*「啊——哼！」*奇洛教授又出声提醒。
Dumbledore and Professor Quirrell locked eyes, and something seemed to pass between them.
邓布利多与奇洛教授目光相接，仿佛有什么东西在两人之间过了一道。
"If you don't tell him," Professor Quirrell said then, "I will, even if you fire me for it."
「你要是不告诉他，」奇洛教授这才开口，「我就替你说，哪怕你为这个把我开除。」
Dumbledore sighed and turned back to Harry. "I apologize for invading your mental privacy, Mr. Potter," the Headmaster said formally. "I had no purpose except to determine if Professor Quirrell had done the same."
邓布利多叹了一声，转回哈利这边。「波特先生，我为窥探你的精神隐私致歉，」校长语气正式，「我没有任何别的目的，只想确认奇洛教授是否也做过同样的事。」
What?
什么？
The confusion lasted just exactly as long as it took Harry to understand what had just happened.
那份困惑持续的时间，恰好等于哈利弄明白刚刚发生了什么所需的时间。
"You - ! "
「你——！」
"Gently, Mr. Potter," said Professor Quirrell. His face was hard, however, as he stared at Dumbledore.
「别急，波特先生，」奇洛教授说。可他盯着邓布利多的那张脸绷得很紧。
"Legilimency is sometimes mistaken for common sense," said the Headmaster. "But it leaves traces which another skillful Legilimens can detect. That was all I looked for, Mr. Potter, and I asked you an irrelevant question to ensure you wouldn't think about anything important while I looked."
「读心术有时会被误认作常识，」校长说，「但它会留下痕迹，另一个熟练的读心术师能察觉出来。波特先生，我找的就是这些痕迹，我还问了你一个不相干的问题，好保证我在看的时候你不会想到什么要紧的事。」
"You should have asked first! "
「你本该先问一声！」
Professor Quirrell shook his head. "No, Mr. Potter, the Headmaster had some justification for his concerns, and had he asked for permission you would have thought of exactly those things you did not wish him to see." Professor Quirrell's voice grew sharper. "I am rather more concerned, Headmaster, that you saw no need to tell him afterward!"
奇洛教授摇了摇头。「不是这样，波特先生。校长的顾虑有他的理由；他要是先开口要许可，你恰恰就会想到那些你不愿被他瞧见的东西。」奇洛教授的语气越发尖锐。「校长，我更在意的倒是：你事后压根没觉得有告诉他的必要！」
"You have now made it more difficult to confirm his mental privacy on future occasions," Dumbledore said. He favored Professor Quirrell with a cold look. "Was that your intention, I wonder?"
「这么一来，以后想核实他的精神隐私就更难了，」邓布利多说。他冷冰冰地看向奇洛教授。「我倒想知道，这是你的用意吗？」
Professor Quirrell's expression was implacable. "There are too many Legilimens in this school. I insist that Mr. Potter receive instruction in Occlumency. Will you permit me to be his tutor?"
奇洛教授的表情不为所动。「这所学校里的读心术师太多了。我坚持波特先生必须接受大脑封闭术的训练。你允许我来当他的导师吗？」
"Absolutely not," Dumbledore said at once.
「绝对不行，」邓布利多当即回答。
"I did not think so. Then since you have deprived him of my free services, you will pay for Mr. Potter's tutoring by a licensed Occlumency instructor."
「我原也没指望你答应。那么，既然你不让他白白受我的指教，你就来出钱，替波特先生请一位持照的大脑封闭术讲师。」
"Such services do not come cheaply," Dumbledore said, looking at Professor Quirrell in some surprise. "Although I do have certain connections -"
「这类服务开销不低，」邓布利多说，带着几分意外看了奇洛教授一眼，「不过我确实认识一些人——」
Professor Quirrell shook his head firmly. "No. Mr. Potter will ask his account manager at Gringotts to recommend a neutral instructor. With respect, Headmaster Dumbledore, after the events of this morning I must protest you or your friends having access to Mr. Potter's mind. I must also insist that the instructor have taken an Unbreakable Vow to reveal nothing, and that he agree to be Obliviated of each session immediately afterward."
奇洛教授坚决地摇了摇头。「不。波特先生会去找古灵阁替他管账户的那个人，请对方推荐一位立场中立的讲师。恕我直言，邓布利多校长，今天早上那件事之后，我必须反对让你或你的朋友接触波特先生的心智。我还必须坚持一点：这位讲师要立下牢不可破的誓言，保证什么都不说出去，并且同意每次授课结束后立刻被施遗忘咒。」
Dumbledore was frowning. "Such services are extremely expensive, as you well know, and I cannot help but wonder why you deem them necessary."
邓布利多皱起了眉。「你也清楚，这种服务极其昂贵，我实在忍不住要问，你为何觉得它有这个必要。」
"If it's money that's the problem," Harry spoke up, "I have some ideas for making large amounts of money quickly -"
「如果问题出在钱上，」哈利开了口，「我倒有几个快速赚到大笔钱的主意——」
"Thank you Quirinus, your wisdom is now quite evident and I am sorry for disputing it. Your concern for Harry Potter does you credit, as well."
「谢谢你，奎里纳斯，你的明智如今已经明摆在那里，我很抱歉先前还质疑过它。你为哈利着想，同样值得称赞。」
"You're welcome," said Professor Quirrell. "I hope you will not object if I go on making him a particular focus of my attentions." Professor Quirrell's face was now very serious, and very still.
「不客气，」奇洛教授说，「我希望你不会反对我继续把他当作特别关注的对象。」奇洛教授此时的神情非常严肃，也纹丝不动。
Dumbledore looked at Harry.
邓布利多看向哈利。
"It is my own wish also," Harry said.
「这也是我自己想要的，」哈利说。
"So that's how it is to be..." the old wizard said slowly. Something strange passed across his face. "Harry... you must realize that if you choose this man as your teacher and your friend, your first mentor, then one way or another you will lose him, and the manner in which you lose him may or may not allow you to ever get him back."
「事情就只能这样了……」老巫师缓缓说道。他脸上掠过一丝奇怪的神色。「哈利……你必须明白，如果你选这个人做你的老师、你的朋友，做你的第一位导师，那么你无论如何都会失去他；而你是怎么失去他的，决定着你日后还能不能把他找回来，也许能，也许再也不能。」
That hadn't occurred to Harry. But there was that jinx on the Defense position... one which had apparently worked with perfect regularity for decades...
哈利从没往这上面想过。可是黑魔法防御术教授这个职位上确实有那么一道咒……而且几十年来似乎一直精准应验……
"Probably," said Professor Quirrell quietly, "but he will have the full use of me while I last."
「多半如此，」奇洛教授轻声说，「但只要我还在，他就能用得着我全部的本事。」
Dumbledore sighed. "I suppose it is economical, at least, since as the Defense Professor you're already doomed in some unknown fashion."
邓布利多叹了口气。「至少这样还算划算，毕竟身为黑魔法防御术教授，你已经以某种未知的方式注定要完蛋了。」
Harry had to work hard to suppress his expression as he realized what Dumbledore had actually been implying.
哈利这才明白邓布利多真正在暗示什么，他得费好大劲才压住自己的表情。
"I will inform Madam Pince that Mr. Potter is allowed to obtain books on Occlumency," said Dumbledore.
「我会通知平斯夫人，波特先生可以借阅大脑封闭术方面的书，」邓布利多说。
"There is preliminary training which you must do on your own," said Professor Quirrell to Harry. "And I do suggest that you hurry up on it."
「有一项基础训练，你必须自己先做，」奇洛教授对哈利说，「我确实建议你抓紧办。」
Harry nodded.
哈利点了点头。
"I'll take my leave of you then," said Dumbledore. He nodded to both Harry and Professor Quirrell, and departed, walking a bit slowly.
「那我先告退了，」邓布利多说。他向哈利和奇洛教授各点了点头，转身离开，脚步比平时慢一些。
"Can you cast the spell again?" Harry said the moment Dumbledore was gone.
「你能再施一次那个咒语吗？」邓布利多一走，哈利立刻问。
"Not today," said Professor Quirrell quietly, "and not tomorrow either, I'm afraid. It takes a lot out of me to cast, though less to keep going, and so I usually prefer to maintain it as long as possible. This time I cast it on impulse. Had I thought, and realized we might be interrupted -"
「今天不行，」奇洛教授轻声说，「恐怕明天也不行。施这个咒很耗我的力气，维持着反倒省力些，所以我通常愿意让它尽可能撑得久一点。这回我是心血来潮才施的。要是我当时想过，料到我们可能被打断——」
Dumbledore was now Harry's least favorite person in the entire world.
这会儿，邓布利多是哈利全天下最不喜欢的人。
They both sighed.
两人都叹了口气。
"Even if I only ever see it once," Harry said, "I will never stop being grateful to you."
「哪怕我这辈子只看过那一次，」哈利说，「我也会一辈子感激你。」
Professor Quirrell nodded.
奇洛教授点了下头。
"Have you heard of the Pioneer program?" Harry said. "They were probes that would fly by different planets and take pictures. Two of the probes would end up on trajectories that took them out of the Solar System and into interstellar space. So they put a golden plaque on the probes, with a picture of a man, and a woman, and showing where to find our Sun in the galaxy."
「你听说过先驱者计划吗？」哈利说，「那是几艘探测器，会依次飞过不同的行星，拍下照片。其中两艘的轨道最终会把它们送出太阳系，进入星际空间。于是人们在探测器上放了一块金色铝板，板面上是一个男人、一个女人的形象，还标出在银河里哪里能找到我们的太阳。」
Professor Quirrell was silent for a moment, then smiled. "Tell me, Mr. Potter, can you guess what thought went through my mind when I finished assembling the thirty-seven items on the list of things I would never do as a Dark Lord? Put yourself in my shoes - imagine yourself in my place - and guess."
奇洛教授沉默了片刻，随后笑了。「告诉我，波特先生，你猜猜看：当我把那份『我当了黑魔王之后绝不会做的三十七件事』列完的时候，我脑子里冒出来的是什么念头？换位想想——把自己放到我的位置上——然后猜。」
Harry imagined himself looking over a list of thirty-seven things not to do once he became a Dark Lord.
哈利想象自己正翻看一份清单，上面写着他当上黑魔王之后不能做的三十七件事。
"You decided that if you had to follow the whole list all the time, there wouldn't be much point in becoming a Dark Lord in the first place," Harry said.
「你发现，如果整份清单、无时无刻都非守不可，那当黑魔王这件事本身就没多大意思了，」哈利说。
"Precisely," said Professor Quirrell. He was grinning. "So I am going to violate rule two - which was simply 'don't brag' - and tell you about something I have done. I don't see how the knowledge could do any harm. And I strongly suspect you would have figured it out anyway, once we knew each other well enough. Nonetheless... I shall have your oath never to speak of what I am about to tell."
「正是如此，」奇洛教授说。他咧着嘴笑。「所以我要违反第二条——那条很简单，就叫『不许吹牛』——跟你讲讲我干过的一件事。我看不出这件事让你知道了能有什么坏处。而且我强烈怀疑，等我们彼此够熟了，你反正也会自己想到。不过……我还是得先让你发誓，绝不把我接下来要说的事讲出去。」
"You have it!" Harry had a feeling this was going to be really good.
「我发誓！」哈利有个预感，这件事会真的很精彩。
"I subscribe to a Muggle bulletin which keeps me informed of progress on space travel. I didn't hear about Pioneer 10 until they reported its launch. But when I discovered that Pioneer 11 would also be leaving the Solar System forever," Professor Quirrell said, his grin the widest that Harry had yet seen from him, "I snuck into NASA, I did, and I cast a lovely little spell on that lovely golden plaque which will make it last a lot longer than it otherwise would."
「我订了一份麻瓜的简报，靠它跟进太空旅行的进展。先驱者 10 号发射时他们作了报道，我才头一回听说。可等我发现先驱者 11 号也会永远离开太阳系，」奇洛教授说，他脸上的笑是哈利迄今见他笑得最开的一次，「我溜进了 NASA，真的溜进去了，然后在那块可爱的金色铝板上施了一个可爱的小咒语，让它能比原本保存得久得多。」
...
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...
"Yes," Professor Quirrell said, who now seemed to be standing around fifty feet taller, "I thought that was how you might react."
「没错，」奇洛教授说，他此刻看上去像是高出了五十来英尺，「我猜你可能就是这个反应。」
...
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...
...
"Mr. Potter?"
「波特先生？」
"...I can't think of anything to say."
「……我实在想不出该说什么好。」
"'You win' seems appropriate," said Professor Quirrell.
「说『你赢了』大概正合适，」奇洛教授说。
"You win," Harry said immediately.
「你赢了。」哈利马上说。
"See?" said Professor Quirrell. "We can only imagine what giant heap of trouble you would have gotten into if you had been unable to say that."
「看见没？」奇洛教授说，「要是你当时说不出这句话，真不知道你会栽进多大的一堆麻烦里。」
They both laughed.
两人都笑了。
A further thought occurred to Harry. "You didn't add any extra information to the plaque, did you?"
哈利又想到一件事。「你没往铝板上添什么多余的信息吧？」
"Extra information?" said Professor Quirrell, sounding as if the idea had never occurred to him before and he was quite intrigued.
「多余的信息？」奇洛教授说，听那语气，仿佛这念头他以前从未有过，而此时又相当感兴趣。
Which made Harry rather suspicious, considering that it'd taken less than a minute for Harry to think of it.
这让哈利颇为起疑，毕竟哈利想到这一点用了还不到一分钟。
"Maybe you included a holographic message like in Star Wars? " said Harry. "Or... hm. A portrait seems to store a whole human brain's worth of information... you couldn't have added any extra mass to the probe, but maybe you could've turned an existing part into a portrait of yourself? Or you found a volunteer dying of a terminal illness, snuck them into NASA, and cast a spell to make sure their ghost ended up in the plaque -"
「说不定你录了一段全息信息，像*《星球大战》那样？」哈利说，「或者……嗯。一幅画像似乎能存下相当于整个人脑的信息量……你没法给探测器加上额外的质量，但也许你能把已有的某个部件变成你自己的画像？又或者，你找到一个得了绝症、快要死的志愿者，把他偷带进 NASA，再施个咒，确保他的鬼魂*留在铝板上——」
"Mr. Potter," Professor Quirrell said, his voice suddenly sharp, "a spell requiring a human death would certainly be classified by the Ministry as Dark Arts, regardless of circumstances. Students should not be heard talking about such things."
「波特先生，」奇洛教授的声音突然变得尖利，「凡是需要用人命来完成的咒语，不管在什么情况下，魔法部都一定会把它归入黑魔法。学生不该被人听到在谈论这种话题。」
And the amazing thing about the way Professor Quirrell said it was how perfectly it maintained plausible deniability. It had been said in exactly the appropriate tone for someone who wasn't willing to discuss such things and thought students should steer away from them. Harry honestly didn't know whether Professor Quirrell was just waiting to talk about it until after Harry had learned to protect his mind.
而奇洛教授这句话真正了不起的地方，是它把「事后可以矢口否认」这件事做得滴水不漏。那个语调不差分毫，正属于不愿讨论这类话题、也觉得学生该躲开它们的人。哈利实在说不准，奇洛教授究竟只是在等，等哈利学会守好自己的心智之后，再来谈这件事。
"Got it," Harry said. "I won't talk with anyone else about that idea."
「懂了，」哈利说，「这个念头我不会跟别人提。」
"Please be discreet about the whole matter, Mr. Potter," Professor Quirrell said. "I prefer to go through my life without attracting public notice. You will find nothing in the newspapers about Quirinus Quirrell until I decided it was time for me to teach Defense at Hogwarts."
「整件事都请你谨慎些，波特先生，」奇洛教授说，「我这一生都不喜欢招来公众的注意。在我决定该去霍格沃茨教黑魔法防御术之前，报纸上你找不到任何关于奎里纳斯·奇洛的东西。」
That seemed a little sad, but Harry understood. Then Harry realized the implications. "So just how much awesome stuff have you done that no one else knows about -"
那听上去有点让人难过，但哈利明白。接着哈利想到了这话的含义。「那你到底干过多少没人知道的厉害事——」
"Oh, some," said Professor Quirrell. "But I think that's quite enough for today, Mr. Potter, I confess I am feeling a bit tired -"
「哦，有一些，」奇洛教授说，「不过我觉得今天到此为止就足够了，波特先生，我承认我有点累了——」
"I understand. And thank you. For everything."
「我理解。而且，谢谢你。为了这一切。」
Professor Quirrell nodded, but he was leaning harder on his desk.
奇洛教授点了点头，但他在书桌上倚得更用力了。
Harry quickly took his leave.
哈利很快告辞离开了。
梗与典故
- 题记把一句理性主义名言里的「真相」换成了「罗琳」：P. C. Hodgell 1994 年的小说《Seeker's Mask》里有一句 "That which can be destroyed by the truth should be."，意思是「能被真相摧毁的，就该被摧毁」1。本章的题记把这句里的 truth 换成了 Rowling。这句话常被误挂在卡尔·萨根名下——萨根的版本迟至 2013 年前后才出现在网上，Hodgell 本人 2016 年公开确认那是她小说里的句子2。在理性主义社群里它被叫作「Hodgell 连祷文」3，Yudkowsky 在《Twelve Virtues of Rationality》里把它作为第二条美德「舍弃」的题引4。
- 正文里的「读心术」，正典的正式名称是摄神取念：摄神取念（Legilimency）是从别人头脑里提取情绪与记忆的魔法分支，施术者称 Legilimens；大脑封闭术（Occlumency）是与之相对的防御技术，修习者称 Occlumens，霍格沃茨通常不教2122。邓布利多在正典里被列为已知的摄神取念者，原著却没有一句写他对哈利施过术；正典支持的只有「被侵入的人自己会感觉到」和「行家能借此判断对方是不是在说谎」22——本章那条「另一位善此道者能看出上一次读心的痕迹」的规则，是本书自己加的。顺带一句：正典里哈利始终没学会大脑封闭术，邓布利多凭「你从来不是个好的 Occlumens」当场识破他说谎，是原著里最接近本章这段对峙的实写22。
- 画像存不下「整整一个人脑的信息量」：哈利在猜奇洛往铝板上加过什么料的时候，想到画像似乎能存下整整一个人脑的信息量——这个量级在正典里没有依据。正典的画像是在本人活着时画好的，本人还会不时去「把记忆和其他性格特征传达给画像」，所以它能说出本人的口头禅、模仿他的举止；罗琳本人的说法是前任校长们只留下「一缕淡淡的印记」，「几乎就是在重复口头禅」，《被诅咒的孩子》里麦格说得更直白：画像连本人的一半都代表不了27。
References
- 1That Which Can Be Destroyed By The Truth Should Be（Quote Investigator）
quoteinvestigator.com
- 2
- 3Litany of Hodgell（LessWrong）
lesswrong.com
- 4Twelve Virtues of Rationality（LessWrong）
lesswrong.com
- 5Bayes' Theorem（Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy）
plato.stanford.edu
- 6Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases（Science, 1974）
sites.socsci.uci.edu
- 7
- 8Consequentialism（Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy）
plato.stanford.edu
- 9consequentialism（Britannica）
britannica.com
- 10Atlas Shrugged（Britannica）
britannica.com
- 11What I Think About Atlas Shrugged（John Scalzi, 2010）
whatever.scalzi.com
- 12Einstein-Szilard Letter（Nuclear Museum）
ahf.nuclearmuseum.org
- 13Szilard Petition（Nuclear Museum）
ahf.nuclearmuseum.org
- 14The Franck Report（Nuclear Museum）
ahf.nuclearmuseum.org
- 15Phoenix Song（Harry Potter Lexicon）
hp-lexicon.org
- 16Fawkes（Harry Potter Lexicon）
hp-lexicon.org
- 17HPMOR 第18章（hpmor.com）
hpmor.com
- 18Pioneer Plaque（NASA Science）
science.nasa.gov
- 19Pioneer 10（NASA Science）
science.nasa.gov
- 20Pioneer 11（NASA Science）
science.nasa.gov
- 21Legilimency（Harry Potter Lexicon）
hp-lexicon.org
- 22Occlumency（Harry Potter Lexicon）
hp-lexicon.org
- 23Unbreakable Vow（Harry Potter Lexicon）
hp-lexicon.org
- 24Memory Charms（Harry Potter Lexicon）
hp-lexicon.org
- 25Jinx on the DADA position（Harry Potter Lexicon）
hp-lexicon.org
- 26HBP20: Lord Voldemort's Request（Harry Potter Lexicon）
hp-lexicon.org
- 27Portraits at Hogwarts（Harry Potter Lexicon）
hp-lexicon.org
- 28Sorting Hat Songs（Harry Potter Lexicon）
hp-lexicon.org
- 29Sorting Hat（Harry Potter Lexicon）
hp-lexicon.org
- 30Salazar Slytherin（Harry Potter Lexicon）
hp-lexicon.org
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