The Black-Robed Figure at The Hog's Head

"Hey Hagrid! I knew you'd be here!" Kayson greeted Hagrid, who was fertilizing pumpkins.

"Kayson! How's the professor gig? Are the little wizards being a handful!" Hagrid straightened up in response.

"Not really, to be honest. The wizards taking my Alchemy class have all been quite well-behaved. By the way, are you free today?"

"So... honestly, it's better to drink at your hut. This place is a bit too dirty." In The Hog's Head, Kayson somewhat disdainfully wiped the counter in front of him with a handkerchief. As for the drinking glasses, he brought his own.

"Don't mind the details. Drinking here has the right atmosphere, and we can drink to our heart's content without worrying about danger like in other places. The owner here is a terrifyingly powerful wizard, and no one dares to cause trouble in his establishment," Hagrid said comfortingly.

"Alright, once I've had too much, I won't remember any of this." Kayson picked up the whiskey on the table and poured it into his glass. He clinked glasses with Hagrid and then gulped it down.

"Huh? I don't feel that dizzy feeling from last time. Looks like I've made quite some progress in terms of my alcohol tolerance."

"Of course! Before, when I drank with others, I wasn't even having fun before they were on the floor. Only you can match me drink for drink... But I remember you saying last time that if you drink more, you'll turn into a dog?" Hagrid scratched his head.

"Oh... did I say that?"

Hagrid's eyes darted around. "No, you didn't. I must have misremembered!"

"That's right!" Kayson picked up his glass again and clinked it with Hagrid's. However, this time he was already feeling a bit dizzy.

Slowly, he could no longer count how many bottles of whiskey were in front of him. Of course, it wasn't just whiskey. Various distilled spirits like vodka, gin, brandy, and tequila, which are used as base spirits outside, filled the table in front of them.

And also the floor around them.

A figure in a black robe, whose face was obscured, carefully considered where to place their feet and finally sat down.

"Gentlemen? Would you mind sharing a drink?" the black-robed figure asked in a low voice.

"We mind very much," Kayson shook his head.

"Then, would you mind a wager? I have the stakes. Look at this big fellow! I won it from someone. Such a large dragon egg!"

The moment he heard "dragon egg," Hagrid, who had been groggy, suddenly woke up quite a bit, though only a bit.

"What are you betting?"

"Actually, I know you, Hagrid, the gamekeeper of Hogwarts. I've heard you're quite knowledgeable about magical creatures. Coincidentally, I have a three-headed dog, but it seems a bit too agitated. I'd like to know what I should do to calm it down. If your method works, this dragon egg is yours," the black-robed figure said.

"That's simple. Three-headed dogs love music very much. You just need to play some soothing music for it, and it will calm down until it falls asleep. I recommend the harp; three-headed dogs are particularly fond of that kind of music."

Kayson leaned on his wine bottle and looked at the black-robed figure beside him. For some reason, he felt something was off about him.

But his alcohol-addled brain couldn't quite grasp what was wrong.

Ah, whatever!

He poured himself another glass of wine and gulped it down. Soon, the black-robed figure handed the dragon egg to Hagrid and then turned his gaze to Kayson, who was still groggy.

"Professor Kayson, honestly, you've been making quite a splash recently. I heard you've made many alchemical creations using a type of red stone you refined yourself?"

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Kayson let out a hiccup and recalled. Yes, he had indeed made an advanced version of an alchemical induction cooker for Snape using Redstone.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Please don't misunderstand. This is just a small request. I made a small device myself based on the Redstone theory you explained in your sixth-year lecture, but I accidentally wired it incorrectly when setting up the circuit. I don't know which is the actual switch. What should I do?" the black-robed figure asked softly.

"Where did you get the Redstone from?"

"A sixth-year student gave it to me, saying it was their professor's alchemical product and that I should cherish it."

"I see. Simply cut off the main Redstone line, and then connect the main Redstone line to the Redstone block."

"That simple?"

"Haven't you learned Runic? Aren't the two patterns similar?"

Kayson's hazy mind was finally starting to piece together who this black-robed figure was.

If he had only asked Hagrid about the three-headed dog, it's possible he genuinely had a three-headed dog.

But then, he also asked about Redstone. A three-headed dog plus Redstone... In any case, he didn't believe there was such a coincidence in this world. Therefore, he concluded that this black-robed figure was most likely Quirrell.

But this was perfect. Dumbledore had previously asked him to subtly tell Quirrell how to pass through the piston door. He had been wondering how to do it.

And now, it was like a pillow arriving just when he felt sleepy. This was perfect.

"Thank you both. Oh, and Hagrid, this dragon egg is for you." The black-robed figure, or rather Quirrell, left the dragon egg on the table and departed The Hog's Head.

"Haha, Kayson! I never expected we'd get such a big surprise just by coming for a drink – a dragon egg! Haha!" Hagrid, who had been cheerfully holding the dragon egg, suddenly stopped laughing when he saw Kayson continuously pouring wine into his mouth.

"Did I go a bit overboard?"

"What do you think?"

"Sorry, sorry, cheers!"

The next day...

"It's 29 gold Galleons plus 6 silver Sickles in total. I'll round it down for you to thirty gold Galleons," the old man with the goatee said calmly.

Kayson paused his motion to pay, clearly stunned by this reverse rounding-off maneuver.

However, he didn't have much of an opinion on it. He and Hagrid had slept at the pub all night yesterday, occupying a table until this morning, which did indeed disrupt the owner's business.

Moreover, nothing was missing from the two of them who had slept all night. From the dragon egg to the Galleons, after a whole night, and in a crowded, watchful pub at that.

With security maintained to this extent, paying an extra Galleon was no big deal.

"Thirty Galleons, please count them?" Kayson took out thirty Galleons and placed them on the counter.

"No need." After the old man collected all the Galleons, he stood back and continued wiping his dirty mugs with his dirty rag.