Caught a Niffler

The Hog's Head Inn is frequented mostly by eccentric wizards. Of course, even though it's close to Hogwarts, it's also a regular haunt for smugglers, eccentric alchemists, and petty thieves.

Sean had also heard Hagrid say that if you had a secret code, you could even get some contraband at the Hog's Head Inn —not just things prohibited at Hogwarts, but also illegal items banned by the Ministry of Magic.

He suspected that Hagrid had already made several secret deals at the Hog's Head Inn, after all, according to Hagrid, "There's a bunch of fun guys at the Hog's Head Inn."

However, this was not Sean's purpose in coming here today. He looked towards the bar, but instead of Aberforth or Aurelius, he saw someone else.

The other person wasn't wearing bar staff clothes, but rather a thick black cloak, making them seem to be part of the group of strange customers here.

However, Sean recognized her immediately because she didn't try to cover her face.

Nagini.

Sean walked over with some surprise. Aurelius had said that Nagini was still recuperating, but he didn't expect that after a summer vacation, she would be able to work as a waitress.

Nagini also saw Sean, and she showed an extremely excited expression, but immediately suppressed it by covering her chest with her hands.

"Hey, it's nice to see you, ma'am," Sean said with a smile as he sat down at the bar.

Nagini took a deep breath and said in a low but excited voice, "Mr. Wallop, it's so nice to see you! But I have to suppress my rather strong emotions, I hope you can understand."

"Of course, your health is the most important thing. Also, you can just call me Sean."

Nagini is actually over a hundred years old, but because she has maintained the form of Maledictus for a long time, she looks and feels no different from a young person in their twenties.

Having experienced many major events, Nagini is actually quite mature. However, upon seeing Sean, her savior, she suddenly became excited and appeared somewhat like a young girl.

She quickly regained her elegant and rational demeanor, though a smile still lingered on her lips.

"It seems you are recovering very well. Congratulations, madam," Sean said sincerely.

"Thank you for this, and thank you Albus too. I really don't know how to repay you. Also, please just call me Nagini." Nagini even lifted the edge of her cloak and saluted Sean.

"Nagini, you're too kind."

After some pleasantries, the two, who had only met once, became quite familiar with each other, while Hermione, standing to the side, was rather surprised. Sean hadn't told her about Nagini, and she didn't know when Sean had met such a mature and beautiful woman.

"Butterbeer?" Nagini asked.

"Oh, yes, thank you."

Upon hearing Sean's reply, Nagini retrieved two clean bottles of Butterbeer from under the bar, a stark contrast to the dirty glasses on the other customers' tables.

It seems I don't need to bring my own cup since I'm a friend... Sean took the drink and casually asked, "How much?"

"Of course it's on me." Nagini smiled gracefully, took out four Silver Sickle from her pocket, and put them into an old wooden money box.

The wooden drawer automatically swallowed the money, shuddered twice as if after a jolt, and then calmed down.

Sean didn't stand on ceremony. After thanking him, he took a sip of his Butterbeer and asked, "Where are Aurelius and the others?"

"Are you here to see Aurelius and Mr. Dumbledore?" Nagini asked apologetically. "They went out on business, so they asked me to look after them. They probably won't be back until tonight."

"Oh, it's nothing, I was just asking."

Hearing that the two were not there, Sean, who had hoped to get some information out of them, was slightly disappointed, but he quickly put it out of his mind. He had expected this before he came.

He took another sip and smiled, "It's great that they can entrust the work to you with peace of mind."

Sean was genuinely happy for her. He knew Daisy, the Little White Flower girl, very well and naturally understood the pain that the Blood Curse would bring to the cursed.

There were other people in the bar, so it wasn't convenient to discuss the specifics, but Nagini naturally understood what Sean meant. She smiled easily and said, "Yes, it feels good."

Hermione was completely baffled. Sean spent most of his time with her and Daisy, so how could he know so many people?

However, Sean quickly introduced Hermione to Nagini. After a slightly awkward greeting, Hermione was surprised to find that although she had only mentioned it casually, this lady Nagini, who clearly looked to be only in her twenties, was extremely knowledgeable about the History of Magic from a hundred years ago!

Hermione, with her inquisitive mind, immediately became a curious child, while Nagini, naturally fond of Sean's friend, answered all her questions without reservation.

Sean, sipping his Butterbeer, was quite relaxed, finding it rather pleasant to listen to the intellectual exchange between the two beautiful women, one tall and one short.

As Sean was leisurely drinking his beer, his expression suddenly turned slightly strange. He pretended not to care and bent down a little, letting the front of his robe fall down.

He naturally transferred the Butterbeer from his right hand to his left, then slowly moved it off the bar, before suddenly grabbing it inside his robe!

Sean immediately felt a heavy grip on his hand, the smooth and soft fur wriggling in his palm.

He lowered his head with a strange expression and saw the Magical Creatures in his hand.

A chubby little Niffler.

Its entire body was covered in black fur, and it had a long snout. At this moment, it was struggling while using its nimble little paws to stuff the Galleon it had just taken from Sean's bag into its belly pouch.

This little creature, though adorable, has an extreme affinity for anything that glows, and as Magical Creatures, its unique abilities make it incredibly difficult to detect when it steals. If it weren't for Sean's keen sensitivity to all magical processes, coupled with Dave's Biological Alarm, those Galleon in his pocket would probably have been stolen.

"Little guy, you're quite cunning..." Sean patted the Niffler, and the ring he was wearing on his hand had been pulled down to his fingertip without him even noticing, even though he had only been slightly distracted thinking about the Niffler's information.

Most importantly, the Niffler in front of them wasn't Newt's. Newt's Niffler had already stolen more than ten Galleon from Sean, five decorative buttons from his cloak belt, and countless Copper Knut —although Newt returned everything to Sean after scolding the Niffler, Sean and that little cutie were already very close.

While the Niffler in front of us doesn't look much different from Newt's, the difference in its methods of committing crimes is quite significant.

Hermione and Nagini, who were talking, also saw the Niffler in Sean's hand.

"Sean, where Niffler?" Hermione recognized it at a glance.

"How would I know where this little thief came from? Nagini, do you remember him?" Sean shook the Niffler in his hand. This guy was still up to his old tricks and wanted to steal more even after being caught on the spot.

Nagini leaned closer to Niffler, then shook her head. "I've only ever seen one Niffler, but that was a long time ago."

"This guy doesn't look wild..." Sean rested his chin on his hand, staring at the Niffler.

As if she had thought of something, Nagini leaned closer to the bar and whispered, "It's probably a pet owned by some Magical Creatures dealer. This bar often serves all sorts of customers of unknown origin."

"Oh? So they've got their eyes on me, this fat sheep?"

Nagini pondered for a moment and said, "I'm not sure. Maybe they didn't lock up the Niffler properly. After all, that little guy is incredibly good at running away, and this is Hogsmeade, within the Hogwarts grounds. Wizards usually wouldn't dare to steal here. But you never know, maybe it wasn't Mr. Dumbledore minding the shop today, and he saw you students and thought you were easy targets, so he wanted to make some extra money."

"That makes sense..." Hermione agreed. She wanted to turn around and look at the customers in the bar, but she stopped herself.

When Sean arrested the Niffler, he was sitting with his back bent, and his robe blocked the view, so the customers behind him probably hadn't seen it yet.

She moved closer to Sean, naturally blocking the last remaining gap, and then whispered, "What should we do then?"

"Let's talk somewhere else..." Nagini straightened up, stepped out from behind the bar, and invited the two of them, "There are seats upstairs."

"Pretty skilled..." Sean grabbed the Niffler, hiding it inside his robe, and with a beer in his other hand, he and Hermione headed upstairs.

The second floor of Hog's Head Inn is a hotel, and the corridors there are dark, with no one in sight.

Nagini, who came up behind them, opened a door past the two of them and then waved for them to come in.

After Sean and Hermione went inside, Nagini closed the door and smiled, "This room is not usually rented out, and it has magic when the door is closed, so you can whisper secrets."

Sean's eyes lit up. He put down the Butterbeer, picked up the Niffler with both hands, and turned it upside down.

After a shake, a huge pile of things that were completely out of proportion to the Niffler's size fell out of its belly pouch.

Everything was shiny Winky sparkly.

Besides currency, there was a pile of various gemstones, as well as decorative shields inlaid with cheap glass, oddly shaped medieval crowns, and a Gemstone Necklace —a whole bunch of things huddled together. Sean even spotted a pair of earrings; if he wasn't mistaken, they were the pair his roommate Terry Boot had bought? He seemed to be planning to give them to a girl today...

"Check if you two have lost anything," Sean said to the two of them.

Hermione looked and shook her head to indicate no, while Nagini rummaged through the contents and pulled out a whole bunch of Winky gem-encrusted buttons.

"If I remember correctly, this seems to be the Elegant Wizard Clothing Shop. Their display cases show off many gorgeous robes and cloaks. These are decorative buttons..."

Nagini shook the two buttons, which were clearly a pair, with a G and a W appearing on each side, the mark of the Gladrags Wizardwear.

Sean patted Niffler, who, even while hanging upside down, still managed to stuff the dangling Gemstone Necklace into his pocket.

"Did you steal this from somewhere else?" Sean shook it Niffler it again, then reached in and rummaged around to make sure there was nothing there before tossing it into the ring.

He doesn't need to worry about the Niffler causing trouble inside the ring; the agile Magical Creatures Wampus Cat with hypnotic abilities can control such a troublemaker.

Sean looked around at the treasures the Niffler had collected and said, "They must be domesticated. Wild Niffler have a much larger and more varied collection."

Nagini nodded. "When I saw Aurelius off this morning, the clothes in Fengya's shop window were all in good condition."

"Interesting..." A sly glint flashed in Sean's eyes.

He was acquainted with Newt and naturally knew many wizards who dealt with Magical Creatures.

While Niffler are generally considered low-dangerous creatures, they don't readily adopt owners, and their petty theft skills aren't particularly outstanding. Newt's Niffler is an exception, practically a notorious thief, while the one caught by Sean, though not quite as skilled, is still a formidable Niffler.

Wizards who can tame these Niffler are usually quite skilled. Regardless of their actual strength, they must have a lot of good stuff hidden away.

Yes, Sean suddenly had some crooked ideas.

Such a Niffler would not be easily given up by its owner, and Sean was prepared to negotiate with the other party on terms.

If the Niffler came out on its own, then it's a normal transaction, consider it making friends. But if the person deliberately let the Niffler out to steal things, well, then don't blame Sean for asking for an exorbitant price.

Buying things through the owl in Diagon Alley is always inconvenient, but if you can get some good stuff from that unknown guy, that would be nice.

Moreover, with the Sneakoscope, the Obscurus, Dave, and the Disillusionment Charm, and still within the Hogwarts territory, Sean had no worries whatsoever about the other party resorting to desperate measures.

He casually told Hermione and Nagini about his plan, and Hermione stared in disbelief. "You're really ruthless..."

Although the girl is intelligent, she still has the mindset of a student in an ivory tower, but Sean's methods are no different from those of a member of the working world.

Nagini agreed, "That makes sense. Releasing Niffler steal is illegal, and even if it's an accident, the person is still responsible. It's reasonable for Sean to ask for a discount on his purchases because of this."

Sean chuckled, gave Hermione a few instructions, and then left the room alone to go downstairs.

Inside the Hog's Head Inn, a cloaked wizard sitting by the door looked anxiously at the stairs. When footsteps were heard coming from the stairs, the two young boys and girls walked out of the bar.

The wizard waited a moment, then immediately went out and followed.

On the cobblestone streets of Hogsmeade, Sean and Hermione walked side by side, exchanging a few words occasionally, and seemed to be heading towards the school grounds.

The wizard walked out of the bar and around the corner. The air distorted slightly, and his figure disappeared.

The invisible wizard followed Sean and Hermione at a leisurely pace, and when they got close to the Three Broomsticks, he deliberately hid in the shadows— Hogwarts professors often went to the Three Broomsticks for a drink on their days off.

Suddenly, the two people in front of him stopped and started talking under the window on the second floor of the Three Broomsticks building.

The wizard was anxious but helpless. He could only hope that the two children would leave quickly and not wander into the Three Broomsticks again.