守望者

Originally published on pottermore logo on Aug 10th 2015

[翻译自贴吧_偶_素_丝_，原帖已消失] 

The Malfoy name comes from old French and translates as 'bad faith'. Like many other progenitors of noble English families, the wizard Armand Malfoy arrived in Britain with William the Conqueror as part of the invading Norman army. Having rendered unknown, shady (and almost certainly magical) services to King William I, Malfoy was given a prime piece of land in Wiltshire, seized from local landowners, upon which his descendants have lived for ten consecutive centuries. 

马尔福（Malfoy）的姓氏来自古法语，意为“背信弃义”。像许多英国贵族家庭一样，阿尔芒·马尔福（Armand Malfoy）作为诺曼军队（Norman army）的一员，跟随威廉（William the Conqueror）来到了不列颠（1066）。由于马尔福在此期间为威廉提供了某些未知的暗中帮助（基本确定是魔法），他得到了威尔特郡（Wiltshire）黄金地段的一块土地。这块土地本属于当地的地主，他的后裔在这里生活了连续十个世纪。

Their wily ancestor Armand encapsulated many of the qualities that have distinguished the Malfoy family to the present day. The Malfoys have always had the reputation, hinted at by their not altogether complimentary surname, of being a slippery bunch, to be found courting power and riches wherever they might be found. In spite of their espousal of pure-blood values and their undoubtedly genuine belief in wizards' superiority over Muggles, the Malfoys have never been above ingratiating themselves with the non-magical community when it suits them. The result is that they are one of the richest wizarding families in Britain, and it has been rumoured for many years (though never proven) that over the centuries the family has dabbled successfully in Muggle currency and assets. Over hundreds of years, they have managed to add to their lands in Wiltshire by annexing those of neighbouring Muggles, and the favour they curried with royalty added Muggle treasures and works of art to an ever-expanding collection. 

老奸巨猾的祖先阿尔芒将许多让马尔福家族与众不同的特质铭刻进了血统之中。正如他们姓氏所暗示的那样，马尔福家族一直有着狡猾之名，并在一切地方尽可能地追求着金钱和权利。尽管他们是纯血的鉴定簇拥着，并且一直坚信巫师的基因优于麻瓜，但必要时他们从未停止过讨好麻瓜们。这使他们成为不列颠最富裕的家族之一，多年来也一直有诸如“马尔福家成功涉及麻瓜资产和货币”的传言。几百年来，马尔福们成功计划并兼并周围的麻瓜土地，而且凭借和皇室的良好关系，他们的麻瓜艺术品收藏也不断扩大。

Historically, the Malfoys drew a sharp distinction between poor Muggles and those with wealth and authority. Until the imposition of the Statute of Secrecy in 1692, the Malfoy family was active within high-born Muggle circles, and it is said that their fervent opposition to the imposition of the Statute was due, in part, to the fact that they would have to withdraw from this enjoyable sphere of social life. Though hotly denied by subsequent generations, there is ample evidence to suggest that the first Lucius Malfoy was an unsuccessful aspirant to the hand of Elizabeth I, and some wizarding historians allege that the Queen's subsequent opposition to marriage was due to a jinx placed upon her by the thwarted Malfoy. 

漫长的历史中，贫穷麻瓜和那些有钱有势的人在马尔福的世界里有着明确的界限。甚至在1692年巫师保密条例实施前，马尔福仍然活跃在出身高贵的麻瓜圈。据说考虑到必须退出麻瓜社交圈，他们还是当时该条例的坚定反对者。尽管马尔福的后代对此坚决否认，但有充分的证据显示，第一位卢修斯·马尔福曾不成功地追求过伊丽莎白一世，甚至还有魔法史学家称，女王之后反对婚姻是因为马尔福的诅咒。 

With that healthy degree of self-preservation that has characterised most of their actions over the centuries, once the Statute of Secrecy had passed into law the Malfoys ceased fraternising with Muggles, however well-born, and accepted that further opposition and protests could only distance them from the new heart of power: the newly created Ministry of Magic. They performed an abrupt volte-face, and became as vocally supportive of the Statute as any of those who had championed it from the beginning, hastening to deny that they had ever been on speaking (or marrying) terms with Muggles. 

几个世纪以来，马尔福一直奉行着明哲保身的原则。自从保密守则生效后，马尔福就与麻瓜贵族断绝了往来。马尔福认为进一步的反对和抗议只会使他们远离新的权力中心——刚刚建立的魔法部。他们的态度发生了一百八十度大转弯，开始像那些自始至终支持法案的人一样声援条例，并否认他们与麻瓜有过任何交往（甚至通婚）。

The substantial wealth at their disposal ensured them considerable (and much resented) influence at the Ministry for generations to come, though no Malfoy has ever aspired to the role of Minister for Magic. It is often said of the Malfoy family that you will never find one at the scene of the crime, though their fingerprints might be all over the guilty wand. Independently wealthy, with no need to work for a living, they have generally preferred the role of power behind the throne, happy for others to do the donkey work and to take the responsibility for failure. They have helped finance many of their preferred candidates’ election campaigns, which have (it is alleged) included paying for dirty work such as hexing the opposition. 

大量的财富保证了他们对魔法部相当（且令人厌恶）的影响力，尽管马尔福们从未考虑过部长之位。人们常说犯罪现场永远找不到马尔福的影子，尽管犯罪的魔杖上也许布满他们的指纹。独立的财富，没必要谋生，这些使得马尔福更倾向成为权力宝座背后的角色，也更乐于看着别人辛苦工作并承担失败。他们在竞选中资助自己看好的候选人，据说还包括做一些脏活（比方对反那个对者下咒）。

The Malfoys' unfeigned contempt for all Muggles who could not offer them jewels or influence, and for the majority of their fellow wizards, drew them naturally towards the pure-blood doctrine, which seemed for several years in the twentieth century to be their likeliest source of untrammelled power. From the imposition of the Statute of Secrecy onwards, no Malfoy has married a Muggle or Muggle-born. The family has, however, eschewed the somewhat dangerous practice of inter-marrying within such a small pool of pure-bloods that they become enfeebled or unstable, unlike a small minority of fanatic families such as the Gaunts and Lestranges, and many a half-blood appears on the Malfoy family tree. 

马尔福对不能带来珠宝或影响力的麻瓜以对及大部分巫师的明显蔑视，自然地将他们引向了纯血论。这似乎也是他们在20世纪的几十年里，获得不受约束的权力最可能的来源。从保密条例实施起，马尔福家再无一人与麻瓜或麻瓜出身者通婚。但与冈特（Gaunt）和莱斯特兰奇（Lestrange）家族不同，马尔福家族规避只与少数纯血家族联姻可能造成的衰弱和不稳定，所以马尔福家谱上有很多混血。

Notable Malfoys of past generations include the fourteenth-century Nicholas Malfoy, who is believed to have dispatched many a fractious Muggle tenant under the guise of the Black Death, though escaping censure by the Wizards' Council; Septimus Malfoy, who was greatly influential at the Ministry in the late eighteenth century, many claiming that Minister for Magic Unctuous Osbert was little more than his puppet; and Abraxas Malfoy, who was widely believed to be part of the shady plot that saw the first Muggle-born Minister (Nobby Leach) leave his post prematurely in 1968 (nothing was ever proven against Malfoy). 

过去几个世纪马尔福家的著名人物包括尼古拉斯·马尔福（Nicholas Malfoy），他被认为是通过装黑死病赶走了一批暴躁的麻瓜房客，但却逃脱了无事委员会的谴责；赛普迪莫斯·马尔福（Septimus Malfoy），他对18世纪末的魔法部有巨大的影响力，很多人认为当时的魔法部长昂科图·奥斯博（Unctuous Osber）只是傀儡一个；阿布拉克萨斯·马尔福（Abraxas Malfoy），人们广泛认为他涉足了迫使第一任麻瓜魔法部长诺比·里奇（Nobby Leach）提前离职的那个黑幕。

Abraxas’s son, Lucius, achieved notoriety as one of Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters, though he successfully evaded prison after both Lord Voldemort's attempted coups. On the first occasion, he claimed to have been acting under the Imperius Curse (though many claimed he called in favours from high-placed Ministry officials); on the second occasion, he provided evidence against fellow Death Eaters and helped ensure the capture of many of Lord Voldemort's followers who had fled into hiding. His son, Draco, was saved by Harry Potter during the Battle of Hogwarts, and currently resides at the family estate in Wiltshire. 

阿布拉克萨斯的儿子卢修斯成为了一名食死徒，但他在伏地魔的两次失势后都逃脱了入狱之罚。第一次，他声称自己中了夺魂咒（尽管很多人相信他与魔法部高层有勾结）；第二次，他提供了之前反对食死徒的证据，并协助魔法部逮捕了很多逃亡和藏匿的食死徒。他的儿子德拉科在霍格沃兹大战中被哈利救下，现住在威尔特郡的庄园。