Fortune or Misfortune

If Quirrell knew that Albert was currently struggling with what to do with the Philosopher's Stone, he'd probably be so frustrated he'd want to vomit blood! To increase his chances of stealing the Philosopher's Stone, Quirrell had put a lot of effort into intelligence gathering, and finally managed to subtly obtain information about the mechanisms Protect the Philosopher's Stone from several deans.

As it turned out, those so-called magical mechanisms were easily cracked by Albert in just a few moments.

Quirrell's painstaking plan to obtain a way to subdue Three-Headed Dog from Hagrid was completely thwarted by Albert's casual remark about a Greece myth.

In some ways, Quirrell was undoubtedly lucky, because he was completely unaware of it.

The nights in April were already quite hot and humid.

Quirrell had taken the Polyjuice Potion before coming to the Hog's Head Pub.

Not only that, Quirrell was also wearing a cloak and a hood, covering himself up completely, as if he was afraid of being recognized.

The Hog's Head Pub is always frequented by some strange and eccentric people, so it wouldn't be surprising to see an oddball who's completely covered in a cloak and wearing a hood; you see guys like that occasionally anyway.

Quirrell walked to the counter, asked the bartender for a bottle of Honey Wine, then turned around and looked around the bar. He saw Hagrid sitting in the corner, and his eyes narrowed.

It was quite a coincidence.

There were no empty tables at the Hog's Head Pub, so Quirrell sat down in the empty seat next to Hagrid. There were a few people playing cards there, and Hagrid was playing cards too, but he seemed a little distracted.

Quirrell, of course, had no idea that Hagrid's absent-mindedness stemmed from his search for him—the wizard who could deliver the dragon egg to him.

Hagrid had been waiting here for some time but hadn't found the person yet. However, he hadn't forgotten Albert's reminder and hadn't made himself act strangely.

When the people around him suggested playing cards, Hagrid agreed. After all, everyone was just looking for fun, and losing a game would only Sickle.

After Quirrell sat down, all three of them turned their heads to look at him.

Quirrell said hoarsely, "Mind if I join you too?"

No one objected, and Quirrell was allowed to join the game.

While playing cards, the group boasted about their great achievements.

The middle-aged man to Hagrid's left is a smuggler who is boasting to everyone about his smuggling exploits.

He said he had just returned from India and brought back a lot of Asia specialties.

"If you're interested in anything, you can contact me for a 10% discount."

The smugglers told them that a strange fellow had bought a nest of Occamy egg from him for 100 Galleon, claiming he wanted to use the Occamy egg to make a so-called shampoo.

"That guy gave me a bottle; he said it can lock in the shine of your hair and told me to go buy it from him if I wanted it." As he spoke, the smuggler actually took out a small bottle of shampoo from his suitcase.

For some reason, his expression was particularly complicated when he talked about this.

"Shampoo made from the yolk of Occamy egg is truly luxurious."

Hagrid's eyes lit up when he heard the word "egg," but then the guy pulled out a bottle of shampoo from his suitcase, leaving him stunned and losing interest.

The thin young man next to the smuggler was smoking a cigar and slowly exhaling a large smoke ring, looking quite pleased with himself.

The young man examined the shampoo with interest, a faint smile playing on his lips. He raised his hand and tapped his hair lightly, asking curiously, "Your hair doesn't look like it has any shine locked in."

In fact, everyone noticed that the smuggler's hair was indeed very strange, as if it had been gnawed on, which made people want to laugh.

"Because... this shampoo can be dangerous if not used correctly," the smuggler shrieked angrily, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

As he spoke, he threw the bottle of shampoo on the ground and stomped on it until it was smashed to pieces.

"I must have been crazy to believe his nonsense, what kind of nonsense is this about needing to be diluted according to a certain ratio? It's unbelievable!" The smuggler took another big gulp of wine, clearly a bit tipsy.

"Want one? I guarantee you'll feel great after you smoke it." The young man smoking a cigar smiled and handed one to the smuggler. "Since you're in a bad mood, I'll give you a 20% discount today."

"Don't think I don't know you added something to it." The smuggler reached out and brushed aside the cigar the young man offered, threw all the cards in his hand on the table, and got up to leave.

Do you want it?

Hagrid and Quirrell both shook their heads and refused.

"What a pity." The young man smoking a cigar took another puff, reached for the cards the smuggler had thrown on the table, and sneered, "As expected, he's a sore loser."

With that, he got up and left, intending to find other customers interested in topping cigars.

The game ended halfway through, but nobody really cared.

"What do you do?"

Hagrid asked the man next to him, who was wrapped up tightly, with curiosity.

This guy kept his face hidden in the shadow of his hood, making it impossible to see his appearance.

"I'm just a small-time vendor, selling all sorts of things," Quirrell said calmly. "If you need anything, I can find it for you. Anything is negotiable, as long as the price is right."

"A peddler? That doesn't sound like something a peddler would say," Hagrid said, surprised.

"There are many kinds of vendors, and I have a wide range of expertise. As long as the price is right, everything is negotiable." Quirrell poured himself and Hagrid a glass of wine and then asked, "What about you?"

"Me? I'm the Hogwarts Hunting Grounds Keeper." Hagrid took a big sip of Honey Wine, smacked his lips, and said, "Everyone who knows me knows that."

"Hunting Grounds? I deal with a lot of Hunting Grounds, you know, they sometimes sell interesting things." Quirrell was pleased to steer the conversation in the direction he wanted.

"I remember there are many local specialties in the Forbidden Forest that are very popular," Quirrell asked, feigning curiosity.

"Are you interested in this?"

"Yes, I'm interested," Quirrell replied calmly. "After all, I'm a peddler, and I might have to deal with you sometime."

The two continued playing cards and chatted about Magical Creature.

In order to successfully get the answers he wanted from Hagrid, Quirrell made a lot of preparations, even steering the conversation towards Magical Creature during casual conversation.

Quirrell talked about many Hunting Grounds he had visited and tried to get closer to Hagrid, saying that the two sides could cooperate in the future and make money together with Galleon.

Under Quirrell's persistent questioning, Hagrid revealed the Magical Creature Magical Creature he had cared for and how he dealt with them.

"Why are you asking these questions?" Hagrid's face was already showing signs of drunkenness.

"A friend asked me to find out. Of course, I won't let you tell me this for nothing. As payment, I can buy you a drink or give you some Galleon." Quirrell bought another bottle of whiskey from the counter and poured Hagrid a large glass.

"I've always really wanted a dragon," Hagrid muttered to himself, not forgetting why he was there.

"A dragon?" Quirrell was very pleased that things were developing more and more as he had expected.

"Raising dragons is illegal, you know. There's been a big incident recently, and because of it, I have a dragon egg stuck in my hands that I can't sell."

Quirrell sounded very upset when he talked about it.

In fact, he was quite frustrated, as he had been sitting here with Hagrid for over an hour.

"A dragon egg!" Hagrid's slightly dazed eyes instantly cleared.

Albert's Prophecy is truly about to come true.

Hagrid was thrilled that he could actually obtain a dragon egg today, but then he remembered Albert's words and said, "If you're willing, I'm willing..."

"If you want it, we can play cards and make a bet!" Quirrell said. "If you can beat me ten times, I'll give you the dragon egg. If you lose once, you give me ten Galleon, no, five Galleon will do. Of course, if you lose to me twenty times, it's yours too. You know, if I wasn't in a hurry to get rid of it, a dragon egg would be worth more than that."

"I don't have that much money on me," Hagrid said helplessly.

"This price is already very cheap."

"You don't seem to really want it?"

"The Ministry of Magic is very strict. If they find out I have a dragon egg, I'll be in big trouble," Quirrell said casually, making up an excuse. "Of course, if you're willing to pay Galleon, I'd be happy to sell it to you."

"Let's play cards."

Hagrid considered it for a moment and agreed.

They played cards and drank alcohol, and there were already quite a few bottles on the table. Hagrid was already a little drunk.

After Hagrid won five rounds, Quirrell suddenly said, "By the way, I need to find out if you have the ability to deal with a dragon."

Hagrid's face showed astonishment and confusion.

"I don't want the dragon to run off and cause trouble, and then the Ministry of Magic will come after me. After all, I just want to do business, not cause myself any trouble."

"Don't worry, I'm quite adept at dealing with these ferocious beasts," Hagrid said, patting his chest as he downed half a glass of beer.

"Which Magical Creature have you dealt with?" Quirrell asked as he shuffled the cards.

"I once raised Thestral, Hippogriff, and Acromantula in the Forbidden Forest. I've fought with the Centaur Tribe and Troll, and I could even keep Three-Headed Dog in check. A dragon is nothing compared to that..."

"Three-Headed Dog, I've heard of that creature. They're said to be quite dangerous." Quirrell was overjoyed; all his efforts were finally about to come to fruition.

"I've heard that some wizards have unique methods to subdue Three-Headed Dog," Quirrell asked curiously. "How did you do it?"

"Three-Headed Dog is actually easy to handle. You just need to play some music for it, and it will fall asleep quickly."

"Play music?"

Quirrell could hardly believe his ears. Hagrid's way of subduing Three-Headed Dog was by playing music? This wasn't like he was putting a child to sleep.

At that moment, Quirrell felt completely overwhelmed.