By J.K. Rowling
Originally published on 

on Sep 21st 2015

波特家族
J.K.罗琳
原载于
2015年9月21日

The Potter family is a very old one, but it was never (until the birth of Harry James Potter) at the very forefront of wizarding history, contenting itself with a solid and comfortable existence in the backwaters.
Potter is a not uncommon Muggle surname, and the family did not make the so-called ‘Sacred Twenty-Eight’ for this reason; the anonymous compiler of that supposedly definitive list of pure-bloods suspected that they had sprung from what he considered to be tainted blood. The wizarding Potter family had illustrious beginnings, however, some of which was hinted at in Deathly Hallows.

波特家族是一个非常古老的家族，但它从来没有（直到哈利·詹姆斯·波特出生）站在巫师历史的最前沿，满足于在穷乡僻壤过着稳固而舒适的生活。
波特是一个常见的麻瓜姓氏，而这个家族并没有因为这个原因而制作所谓的“神圣的二十八岁”；这份所谓的纯正血统名单的匿名编辑者怀疑，这些血统是从他认为是被污染的血液中产生的。魔法师波特家族有着辉煌的开始，然而，其中一些暗示在死亡圣器。

In the Muggle world ‘Potter’ is an occupational surname, meaning a man who creates pottery. The wizarding family of Potters descends from the twelfth-century wizard Linfred of Stinchcombe, a locally well-beloved and eccentric man, whose nickname, ‘the Potterer’, became corrupted in time to ‘Potter’. Linfred was a vague and absent-minded fellow whose Muggle neighbours often called upon his medicinal services. None of them realised that Linfred’s wonderful cures for pox and ague were magical; they all thought him a harmless and lovable old chap, pottering about in his garden with all his funny plants. His reputation as a well-meaning eccentric served Linfred well, for behind closed doors he was able to continue the series of experiments that laid the foundation of the Potter family’s fortune. 

在麻瓜的世界里，“波特”是一个职业姓氏，意思是制造陶器的人。波特家族的巫师是12世纪的臭康姆巫师林弗雷德的后裔，一个在当地广受爱戴的怪人，他的绰号“陶工”，随着时间的推移，变成了“波特”。林弗雷德是个神志不清、心不在焉的家伙，他的麻瓜邻居经常来找他看病。他们谁也没有意识到林弗雷德治疗天花和疟疾的妙方是有魔力的；他们都认为他是一个无害的可爱的老家伙，在花园里摆弄着他那些有趣的植物。作为一个好心的怪人，他的名声对林弗雷德很有帮助，因为他能够关起门来继续一系列的实验，这些实验奠定了波特家族的财富基础。

Historians credit Linfred as the originator of a number of remedies that evolved into potions still used to this day, including Skele-gro and Pepperup Potion. His sales of such cures to fellow witches and wizards enabled him to leave a significant pile of gold to each of his seven children upon his death.

历史学家认为林弗雷德是许多药物的创始人，这些药物后来演变成了药剂。至今仍在使用，包括骨固和提神药水。他把这种治疗方法卖给巫师同伴，使他能够在死后给他的七个孩子每人留下一大笔金子。

Linfred’s eldest son, Hardwin, married a beautiful young witch by the name of Iolanthe Peverell, who came from the village of Godric’s Hollow. She was the granddaughter of Ignotus Peverell. In the absence of male heirs, she, the eldest of her generation, had inherited her grandfather’s invisibility cloak. 林弗雷德的长子哈德温娶了一位年轻貌美的女巫，名叫艾奥兰特·佩韦雷尔，她来自哥德里克山谷的村庄。她是伊诺图斯·佩佛瑞尔的孙女在没有男性继承人的情况下，她作为同辈中的老大，继承了爷爷的隐形衣。
It was, Iolanthe explained to Hardwin, a tradition in her family that the possession of this cloak remained a secret, and her new husband respected her wishes. From this time on, the cloak was handed down to the eldest in each new generation.

依奥兰丝向哈德温解释说，拥有这件斗篷是她家的传统，一直是个秘密，她的新婚丈夫尊重她的意愿。从这时候起，斗篷就在每一代新一代中传给最年长的人。

The Potters continued to marry their neighbours, occasionally Muggles, and to live in the West of England, for several generations, each one adding to the family coffers by their hard work and, it must be said, by the quiet brand of ingenuity that had characterised their forebear, Linfred. 波特一家继续与他们的邻居结婚，偶尔会嫁给麻瓜，并在英格兰西部生活，几代人以来，每一个人都通过自己的辛勤工作为家族增加了财富，而且，必须说，他们的祖先林弗雷德也有着安静的独创性。
Occasionally, a Potter made it all the way to London, and a member of the family has twice sat on the Wizengamot: Ralston Potter, who was a member from 1612-1652, and who was a great supporter of the Statute of Secrecy (as opposed to declaring war on the Muggles, as more militant members wished to do) and Henry Potter (Harry to his intimates), who was a direct descendant of Hardwin and Iolanthe, and served on the Wizengamot from 1913-1921. 

偶尔会有一个波特一路飞到伦敦，家里的一个人曾经两次坐在威森加摩上：RalstonPotter，他是1612-1652年的成员，是保密法（相对于对麻瓜宣战，正如更多的好战分子希望做的那样）和亨利·波特（哈利对他的密友），他是哈德温和伊奥兰特的直系后代，从1913年到1921年在威森加摩服役。

Henry caused a minor stir when he publicly condemned then Minister for Magic, Archer Evermonde, who had forbidden the magical community to help Muggles waging the First World War. His outspokenness on the behalf of the Muggle community was also a strong contributing factor in the family’s exclusion from the ‘Sacred Twenty-Eight’. 亨利公开谴责当时的魔法部长阿彻·埃弗蒙德（ArcherEvermonde），因为他禁止魔法界帮助麻瓜发动第一次世界大战，这引起了不小的轰动。他代表麻瓜社区的直言不讳也是这个家庭被排斥在“神圣的二十八年”之外的一个重要因素。

Henry’s son was called Fleamont Potter. Fleamont was so called because it was the dying wish of Henry’s mother that he perpetuate her maiden name, which would otherwise die out. He bore the burden remarkably well; indeed, he always attributed his dexterity at duelling to the number of times he had to fight people at Hogwarts after they had made fun of his name. It was Fleamont who took the family gold and quadrupled it, by creating magical Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion ( ‘two drops tames even the most bothersome barnet’ ). 

亨利的儿子叫弗拉蒙特·波特Fleamont之所以叫这个名字，是因为亨利的母亲临终时希望他能延续她的处女名，否则这个名字就会消失。他很好地承担了这一重任；事实上，他总是把决斗的灵巧归因于他不得不在霍格沃茨与取笑他名字的人搏斗的次数。是Fleamont创造了神奇的Sleekeazy头发药水（“两滴就能驯服最烦人的芭妮特”），把家族的黄金翻了两番。

He sold the company at a vast profit when he retired, but no amount of riches could compensate him or his wife Euphemia for their childlessness. They had quite given up hope of a son or daughter when, to their shock and surprise, Euphemia found that she was pregnant and their beloved boy, James, was born.

退休后，他卖掉了公司，赚了一大笔钱，但再多的财富也无法弥补他和妻子尤菲米雅的无子之痛。当尤菲米雅发现自己怀孕了，他们心爱的儿子詹姆斯出生时，他们已经完全放弃了生儿育女的希望，这让他们又惊又喜。

Fleamont and Euphemia lived long enough to see James marry a Muggle-born girl called Lily Evans, but not to meet their grandson, Harry. Dragon pox carried them off within days of each other, due to their advanced age, and James Potter then inherited Ignotus Peverell’s Invisibility Cloak.
弗莱蒙和尤菲米雅活到了詹姆斯娶了一个麻瓜出身的名叫莉莉·伊万斯的女孩，但却没有见到他们的孙子哈利。由于他们年事已高，龙痘使他们在几天内相继死去，然后詹姆斯·波特继承了伊诺图斯·佩韦雷尔的隐形斗篷。