第九节 试着同夫人谈谈

 

 

Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. "Er -- Petunia, dear -- you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?"
As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister.
　 "No," she said sharply. "Why?"
　 "Funny stuff on the news," Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls... shooting stars... and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today..."
　 "So?" snapped Mrs. Dursley.
　 "Well, I just thought... maybe... it was something to do with... you know... her crowd."

　　Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name "Potter." He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, "Their son -- he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?"
　　"I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly.
　　"What's his name again? Howard, isn't it?"
　　"Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me."
　　"Oh, yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree."

　　德思礼太太端着两杯茶来到起居室。情况不妙。他应该向她透露一些。他心神不定，清了清嗓子。“唔——佩妮，亲爱的——最近有你妹妹的消息吗？”
　　不出所料，德思礼太太大为吃惊，也很生气。不管怎么说，他们通常都说自己没有这么个妹妹。　　“没有，”她厉声说，“怎么了？”
　　“今天的新闻有点奇怪，”德思礼先生咕哝说，“成群的猫头鹰……流星 雨……今天城里又有那么多怪模怪样的人……”
　　“那又怎么样?”德思礼太太急赤白脸地说。
　　“哦，我是想……说不定……这跟……你知道……她那一群人有关系…… ”
　　德思礼太太嘬起嘴唇呷了一口茶。德思礼先生不知道自己是不是该大胆地把听到“哈利”名字的事告诉她。他决定还是不要太冒失。于是他尽量漫不经心地改口说：“他们的儿子— —他现在该有达力这么大了吧？”
　　“我想是吧。”德思礼太太干巴巴地说。
　　“他叫什么来着？是叫霍华德吧?”
　　“叫哈利，要我说，这是一个不讨人喜欢的普通名字。”
　　“哦，是的。”德思礼先生说着，感到心里突然往下一沉。“不错，我也这么想。”