Hog's Head? You Must Have Missed a Zero

A dilapidated wooden sign hung on a Scabbers frame, depicting a severed wild boar head.

A gust of cold wind blew by, making the signboard creak, and the three of them were also disheveled in the wind.

"This is the place they chose?" Xilin asked in surprise. "I bet no students would come here normally."

"Perhaps that's why they decided to hold the meeting here!" Aaron forced a smile, then pushed open the door and went inside.

"Ugh!" Draco exclaimed with a look of disgust as soon as he walked in. "How long has it been since this floor was cleaned?"

"I don't know." Xilin looked at the thick layer of mud on the ground, her expression not very good. "It's probably been there for at least several decades."

Not only were the floors uncleaned, but the windows were too.

The light is almost completely blocked out, and most importantly, the smell here... I don't really like the smell of mutton.

"We should have been mentally prepared." Aaron didn't seem to care much and found a reasonably clean seat to sit down.

He participated in the dwarven expedition, where the environment was dozens of times harsher than here.

There were only a few guests in the small, dark, and dirty room. They were all wrapped up so tightly that their faces were almost invisible.

The bar owner emerged from the back door. He was a tall, thin old man with long, gray hair and a beard, and blue eyes.

Aaron's pupils contracted slightly the moment he saw this person, and he was speechless.

He was pretty sure this was the first time he had met this person, but he was also sure the bar owner was a master, maybe even a Grand Archmage.

However, after glancing at his appearance, Aaron wasn't so surprised.

This old man is probably over a hundred years old. With his exceptional talent and a century of accumulation, it seems only natural that he has reached the level of Grand Archmage.

And if it's just about opening a tavern... then you probably want to live a secluded life, so there's nothing to worry about.

"Would you like something to drink?"

"What's here?" Aaron asked with a smile.

"Butterbeer, Firewhisky."

"Then..."

"Senior," Xilin quickly stopped him, "I personally think this place is unhygienic..."

"If you don't want to drink, you can leave," the owner said unhurriedly. "Other customers aren't as picky as you."

"Firewhisky." Aaron placed the order directly, then pulled three glasses from Abei's pocket. "Each of them will have Butterbeer. You don't mind if I use my own glass, do you?"

The boss looked at the three empty cups, and his eye twitched involuntarily.

But he didn't say anything, picked up the glass and went behind the bar.

"I really suspect the drinks here are expired," Draco said, annoyed.

"No way," Aaron said confidently. "Look at those guests, aren't they enjoying their drinks?"

"Ten Sickle."

The owner placed three drinks on the bar, the middle one with a red flame and wisps of white smoke constantly rising from its rim.

Aaron then took a Gold Galleon from Abei's pocket and casually tossed it onto the bar.

"No need to look anymore, three more friends are coming later."

Could you please prepare three more Butterbeer? They'll be there shortly.

The boss put Qilong into the wooden money box, and the drawer opened automatically, swallowing the coins inside.

"Do you need a straw?" the shopkeeper asked. "We generally don't recommend students drink this kind of alcohol."

"No need." Aaron ignored the flames above, picked up the cup, and drank.

The bar owner raised an eyebrow, while Draco and Xilin looked surprised.

"Isn't it hot?" Xilin asked worriedly.

"Here you go, but don't imitate me," Aaron said dismissively, then pushed two glasses of Butterbeer in front of the two men.

At that moment, the bar door opened again, Harry and his two companions walked in.

Looking at the environment inside the room, they couldn't help but gasp.

"Hmph!" Draco snorted. "You guys really know how to pick a place."

"It's a bit remote, but it's safer," Hermione said with a complicated expression.

"I'm afraid you yourself have never been to this place before!"

Hermione was speechless for a moment; it was indeed her first time in this bar.

"Alright, the location isn't important," Aaron waved his hand. "I also ordered a Butterbeer for the three of you. There aren't any other drinks here, so make do with these!"

"Then how come you..." Ron looked excitedly at the Firewhisky in Aaron's hand, "Can I try this?"

"Sure!

The price is three times that of Butterbeer, about three-tenths of a gallon, and you pay for it yourself.

Ron's face immediately fell; he didn't have that much money on him.

"Haha!" Draco laughed out loud, quite unkindly. "That's a bit unreasonable. The Weasley are notoriously poor."

"I'll pay," Harry said, stepping forward.

"No, we can't drink this kind of wine yet," Hermione said with a displeased look, then looked helplessly at Aaron, "You're Prefect, you should set a good example!"

Aaron smiled without saying a word. His family had a huge wine cellar, and without those things, he might not have been able to get through the tutoring classes.

"You don't need to worry about that." Xilin glanced at Hermione with a meaningful look. "We Slytherin are not like your Gryffindor."

She emphasized the second half of the sentence, making a very clear distinction between Slytherin and Gryffindor.

Hermione then looked at the fourth-year Slytherin. The two girls stared at each other, their eyes seemingly crackling with electricity, and the atmosphere instantly became eerie.

Harry and Ron didn't dare to breathe, Draco watched the standoff between the two with a meaningful look, while Aaron thought it was boring and didn't care.

Clang!

Three dusty bottles were placed on the table.

The bar owner glanced at Aaron, then his gaze lingered on Harry's scar for a few seconds. "Your Butterbeer."

"What a disappointment," Draco muttered, pursing his lips.

Harry and Ron also complained that their boss lacked tact, as this was a rather rare occasion.

Hermione and Xilin seemed to realize what was happening, and they toned down their imposing manner, clinking their glasses together in unison.

"Isn't it almost time?" Aaron asked.

"I told them the exact time when I notified them." Hermione glanced at her watch anxiously. "But no students usually come here at this time, so we might be a few minutes late."

"If no one comes, that would be the worst thing ever," Draco said quite frankly. "The more people there are, the more pressure he'll be under, won't he?"

I never agreed to him teaching the three of you, not to mention he brought in a whole new group of people."

"It's not that serious." Aaron waved his hand sheepishly. "It's just a few people, and besides, nobody's coming right now. It was just a false alarm."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the bar door opened.

Two long shadows were cast on the ground by the sunlight, then a third, a fourth...

First to enter were George, Fred, and Lee Jordan, followed by the other three members of the Gryffindor House Team, then Neville, Dean, Lavender, Ginny, Luna, Cho Chang, the Creevey brothers, and the four Prefect from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. In addition, there were some students whose names Aaron did not know.

"Three or five, huh?" Aaron's lips twitched slightly, then he glared at Hermione. "You've probably forgotten to add a zero!"

"This... this shows that Umbridge is indeed very disappointing," Hermione said, forcing a response.

"This is too much!" Xilin said angrily. "This is not the same as what they say."

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" Draco said coldly. "There are people from all levels, are you sure you're not trying to make things difficult for them?"

"No, that's not it." Harry didn't know how to explain it either. "We didn't expect so many people to come."

"Yeah! Enough to fill a whole class," Ron nodded.

"The bar owner probably didn't expect this either," Xilin said. The owner was staring in disbelief at the scene; his bar had never had so many people before.

"Boss, please bring us..." Fred paused, carefully counting the number of people before continuing, "Twenty-five bottles of Butterbeer."

The bar owner nodded and placed bottles of Butterbeer on the bar counter.

"Thanks!" Fred handed out the beer. "Everyone should chip in; I don't have that much money to buy beer."

"No need," Aaron said hastily, then took four Gold Galleons from Abei's pocket. "Consider it my treat."

Fred didn't refuse; he knew Aaron wasn't short of money.

"Everyone, please have a seat," Hermione said. "We'll rest for a bit before we start the meeting again."

More than twenty students found seats and sat down to savor their first drink of the morning.

Aaron took a deep breath. "Is it too late for me to leave now?"

"You can't leave." Hermione grabbed Aaron's arm quickly. "This is when we need you the most."

"I believe in Harry, he can definitely do it," Aaron said seriously. "He's the the Boy Who Lived, he's more than capable of teaching these people."

Harry:...

"Let go of his hand." Xilin looked at Hermione with a hostile expression. "You guys lied to the senior first."

"Aaron was very reluctant when I suggested bringing Crabbe and Goyle in, but I didn't expect you guys... you're really shameless."

Harry and Ron both lowered their heads in embarrassment. Normally, they would have been able to retaliate against Malfoy's mockery, but now they were truly ashamed.

Aaron tried to break free from Hermione's hands, but she held on tightly and refused to let go.

"How come I never noticed you were so shameless before?" Aaron said without getting angry. "I have my own things to do, I really can't teach so many people."

"How will we know if we don't try?" Hermione asked, feeling guilty yet remarkably determined. "They came because they believe in you."

Aaron chuckled inwardly. If it weren't for his upbringing, he would have already started swearing.

I didn't know anything about it, and I just stumbled into this huge pit without even realizing it.

"Could you help us one more time?" Hermione pleaded in a low voice.

"I didn't say I wouldn't help you. In fact, it was not easy for me to convince myself to come, and I even raised the standards to five."

"But you multiplied it fivefold!" Aaron said, on the verge of tears. "I wasn't prepared at all. You can't play games like this!"

"I'll be your assistant," Harry interjected. "It won't be so difficult if the two of us work together."

Upon hearing this, Aaron was briefly caught in a dilemma.

"To be fair, Potter," Draco scoffed, "It's not that I look down on you, but do you think you can teach me?"

"That's why I said I was an assistant," Harry said impatiently.

"No hesitation at all?" Hermione pressed her advantage immediately. "This matter isn't as difficult as you think."

"Not difficult? Do you even believe that yourself?" Draco sneered.

"Actually... it's not impossible."

"You..." Draco wanted to say something, but Aaron glared at him and stopped him.

As for Xilin, she quietly drank her Butterbeer. Since her senior had agreed, she just had to support him.

A few minutes later, more than twenty people sat together in a corner of the bar.

Opposite them stood a somewhat resigned Aaron, two haughty Slytherin, and three awkward and reserved Gryffindor.

"Uh, hi!" Hermione greeted. "Everyone knows why we're here. We need a teacher, a competent teacher, a teacher with real experience in defense against the Dark Magic."

"Why?" Michael Corner asked.

"No reason why?" Aaron said immediately. "If you don't want to learn, you can leave now."

To be honest, no one wants you to leave more than I do.

"Uh... I didn't mean that. I was just curious about why you gathered us here."

"The You-Know-Who is here, you idiot," Ron said, somewhat angrily.

As soon as he finished speaking, the reactions of the crowd varied: some were panicked, some were nervous, some were doubtful, and some were disdainful.

"What evidence is there that the You-Know-Who has arrived?" asked a blond Hufflepuff.

"Dumbledore," Hermione said.

"Dumbledore said this because Potter said it, but where is the evidence?"

Some people turned their attention to Harry, hoping he would provide an explanation.

"I won't tell you," Harry stood up. "If you want to hear it, then please do!"

"I don't think there's any evidence!" Draco said sarcastically, then looked at the others, "If you want to find out about Mr. Potter's lies, you're probably going to be disappointed."

"In fact, he wasn't lying," Aaron suddenly said. "Voldemort has indeed come."

Everyone's attention was instantly drawn. A look of joy flashed across Harry's face as he felt he was no longer fighting alone, while Draco was extremely embarrassed, his face turning pale and then purple.

"Are you serious?" Hufflepuff, with his blond hair, looked at Aaron suspiciously. "But if it's true, how come you've been testifying for Potter for over a month?"

"What good is testimony?" Aaron retorted. "You don't believe the Chosen One, you don't believe the White Lord, the greatest of the 2nd century, do you expect me to believe a Slytherin?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Although I don't care, being called a fraud by the Daily Prophet still affects my mood."