Time passed, and it was now 1990.
One day in February, Murphy received a letter from Lucius Malfoy.
He went to Malfoy Manor.
The snow and ice had yet to fully melt, but Draco Malfoy and his little friends were already impatiently playing Quidditch.
They had set up a goal, with Goyle as the keeper while Draco Malfoy and Crabbe fought over the Quaffle, taking turns to shoot.
With so few people, they quickly grew bored and asked Murphy to join them.
Murphy had never cared much for the sport when he was in school, much less playing with a few children. Still, he readily agreed, took a bat, and sent a Bludger flying at a time, knocking Crabbe and Goyle to the ground.
Then he released the Golden Snitch. As the three children stared dumbfounded, he said to Draco Malfoy, "Why play with a Quaffle? If you're going to play, play for the Golden Snitch. Your future opponents will be Chasers. Go on, Draco Malfoy. If you three can't catch the Golden Snitch, none of you gets dinner today."
"But the Bludgers..." Goyle looked at the Bludgers darting wildly through the air.
Trying to catch the Golden Snitch while two Bludgers were attacking? That took skill worthy of a professional team.
"So why aren't you two going to protect him?"
After sending the three children away, Murphy went to the sitting room, where the House-elf Betchy poured him a glass of wine.
"Gin from '83, brewed at Buckingham Palace," Lucius Malfoy introduced. "I heard you weren't satisfied with my liquor. Selwyn specifically sent this as a gift."
It was no secret that a certain national treasure of Great Britain enjoyed fine drink, and tales of her having people brew alcohol from plants in the gardens of Buckingham Palace were