Young wizards and witches have long been waiting for a new story to come out of the magical universe J.K. Rowling created with the release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s (or Philosopher’s, if you’re in the U.K.) Stone nearly two decades ago.

　　将近二十年前，J.K.罗琳以《哈利波特与魔法石》的发行为起点，开创了一个魔法世界。长久以来，年轻的巫师和女巫们一直对新的魔法故事翘首期待。

　　This weekend, there’s no more need to practice your accio manuscript spells, as the wait for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will be over. Here’s what you need to know about the new story before its July 31 release:

　　这周末，再也不需要练习你们的"手稿召唤咒"了，因为对《哈利波特与被诅咒的孩子》的等待已经结束。下面是在7月31号图书发行前你需要知道的：

　　This isn’t a new Harry Potter novel — it’s a play script.

　　这不是一本新的哈利波特小说——它是一个剧本。

　　“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts I and II” is a play currently running in London’s West End. When rumors of an eighth Harry Potter book release started circulating on social media, J.K. Rowling was quick to clarify that the new release would be a script of the London stage production, not a novel.

　　《哈利波特与被诅咒的孩子：第一部分与第二部分》是正在伦敦西区上映的一个剧本。当第八本哈利波特发行的流言开始席卷整个社交网络，J.K.罗琳很快澄清即将发行的不是小说，而是伦敦舞台剧创作的脚本。

　　The play was written by Jack Thorne, a screenwriter and playwright who’s worked on the U.K. series “Skins” and “Shameless.” Thanks to a #KeeptheSecrets campaign led by Rowling, few spoilers have been publicized — so you’ll just have to pick up a copy to see what happens.

　　这个剧本由杰克·索恩编写，他是一位编剧，也是剧作家，负责英剧版《皮囊》和《无耻之徒》。由于罗琳(推特上)发起的#KeeptheSecrets(保守住秘密!)活动，(该剧本)几乎没有剧透被公布出来——所以你还是需要购买一本书，看看它到底是个什么样的故事。

　　The new story picks up after the epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

　　新的故事承接了《哈利波特与死亡圣器》的结局。

　　Fans will remember that Rowling’s finishing flourish to her seven-book series ― whose final installment was released July 21, 2007 ― saw our faves as married parents 19 years after the Battle of Hogwarts and Voldemort’s defeat. Harry and Ginny Weasley were wishing their boy Albus Severus good luck as he boarded the Hogwarts Express with his older brother, James, as Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley sent off their daughter Rose.

　　书迷们依然记得：罗琳为她的七本书系列挥就的结局——最后一部分于2007年7月21号出版发行——看到我们最爱的角色在霍格沃茨VS伏地魔大战19年后结婚生子。在他们的儿子阿不思·西弗勒斯要和哥哥詹姆斯登上霍格沃茨特快列车之时，哈利和金妮·韦斯利祝他好运，同时赫敏·格兰杰和罗恩·韦斯利也在送别他们的女儿罗斯。

　　The epilogue felt a little too saccharine for some fans, especially with the neat concluding line, “All was well.” The dark undertones of this latest story seem to suggest that Rowling’s send-off contained more ominous irony than we’d originally thought.

　　这个结局对于有些书迷而言显得太过美好，特别是配上那句干脆利落的结语：“一切太平。”最新故事的黑暗寓意似乎预示着罗琳结局中包含的不祥反讽比我们最初想到的更多。

　　Here’s the synopsis for the new story, released by Pottermore:

　　下面是Pottermore(J.K.罗琳推出的哈利波特全球性网页社交游戏网)中公布的新故事梗概：

　　It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.

　　做哈利·波特总是很难，作为一名工作超负荷的魔法部职员、一位丈夫和三个学龄孩子的父亲也不会比这容易多少。

　　While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: Sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.

　　当哈利努力与如影随形的过去作斗争时，他最小的儿子阿不思则必须不断抗争以摆脱自己不想要的家族传承。当过去与现在带着恶兆地融合在一起，父亲和儿子都了解到这个让人不安的事实：有时候，黑暗来自意料之外的地方。

　　Your favorite characters will be back, along with some new faces.

　　你最喜欢的角色会回来，同时也会有一些新面孔。

　　So Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny have all returned, but so has the complicated villain Draco Malfoy, now father to a young Scorpius. People reported that “major players from the series now all have children heading off to Hogwarts and will be present throughout the play.”

　　所以哈利、罗恩、赫敏和金妮都回归了，但同样的，矛盾复杂的反派角色德拉科·马尔福也回来了，他现在是小斯科皮的父亲。《People》杂志报道称：“这一系列的主要人物现在都有自己的孩子，而且他们的孩子都前往霍格沃茨就读，并会贯穿整个剧作的始终。”

　　Will we see Neville shape young minds during Herbology lessons? Did Goyle have henchman-worthy children? We’ll know by Saturday.

　　我们会看到纳威在草药课上给年轻的学生授课吗?高尔(马尔福的朋友&跟班)会有值得追随的孩子吗?周六我们就知道了。

　　If you can’t make it to the play, there are plenty of ways to get a peek at what the grown-up characters look like.

　　如果你无法看到这部戏剧，那仍然有许多方式能让你一睹那些角色长大成人后是何风采。

　　What does a Ministry-of-Magic-employed Harry Potter look like? Search no further than these cast photos of Harry and Ginny or Ron and Hermione. Allow them to color your Cursed Child fanfic for the rest of your days.

　　录用哈利波特的魔法部长是什么样子呢?去搜寻哈利和金妮或者罗恩和赫敏的照片吧。让他们在接下来的日子里装点你的《被诅咒的孩子》同人文。

　　And for more feel-good photos, check out this amazing snap of the time Emma Watson (that’s film Hermione to you) met her “Cursed Child” counterpart, Noma Dumezweni.

　　想要更多好照片，可以去看这次艾玛·沃特森与她在《被诅咒的孩子》里的赫敏扮演者诺玛·杜梅温尼相见的照片，令人惊叹。

　　The revived Harry Potter madness won’t quiet down soon.

　　再度苏醒的哈利波特狂潮不会很快降温。

　　With the November release of “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” a story created from a textbook Rowling penned in 2001 in conjunction with the charity Comic Relief, expect the magic to stick around for quite some time. The film, which follows Newt Scamander in a magical 1920s United States, won’t overlap with the Cursed Child storyline, but will introduce a new world of witches and wizards toHarry Potter fans.

　　罗琳在2001年与喜剧救济基金会协力创作了一本魔法教科书，11月上映的《神奇生物在哪里》是依据此书创作的故事，期望这阵魔法热潮能够停留相当长的一段时间。这个电影讲述了纽特·斯卡曼德20世纪20年代在美国的魔法冒险，与《被诅咒的孩子》故事线不会有重叠，但是会给哈利波特书迷带来一个全新的巫师和女巫的世界。

（编辑：何莹莹）