An unexpected buyer

Gerald pulled up his cloak's hood to cover half his face, lowered his head, and hurried across the main road into a narrow alley beside it.

The Hog's Head stood at the very end of the alley, its frontage even shabbier than the Leaky Cauldron's.

A wooden sign riddled with cracks hung above the doorframe. It depicted a severed boar's head, its blood faded to dark brown.

He pushed open the door. The pub was better inside than it looked from outside. At least it was brightly lit.

Several wizards in heavy hoods sat talking inside, Butterbeer before them. They raised their heads slightly as Gerald entered.

An old man who looked decidedly ill-tempered stood behind the bar.

Gerald knew this old man was Aberforth, Albus Dumbledore's younger brother, though he looked nothing like his elder brother.

He was short and stocky, with a tangled mass of long gray-white beard. A pair of sharp blue eyes sized Gerald up.

Though Gerald was only eleven, he already stood a little over 1.7 meters tall.

Under his cloak, no one would recognize him as a child.

"What'll you have?"

Aberforth's voice was rough.

"I'm not here to drink." Gerald approached the bar, took two bottles of Foundation-Stabilizing Liquid from his cloak's inner pocket, and set them on the counter. "I'm here to do business."

Gerald's voice sounded muffled, deliberately so.

Aberforth glanced down at the two small glass bottles. He picked one up, held it before his eyes, and gave it a shake. The liquid gleamed a clear green in the dim light.

"What's this stuff? Never mind. Find yourself somewhere to sit. Stall fee's one Galleon."

That's a steep stall fee.

Gerald took a Galleon from his pocket and placed it on the counter. "This potion strengthens the foundation and cultivates the origin. It's rarely seen in the wizarding world, refined from entirely natural ingredients, with no side effects. You can try it first, free of charge."

"Strengthens the foundation and cultivates the origin?"

Aberforth stared at Gerald for quite a while, as though trying to see his true face beneath the hood.

Then he unscrewed the cap and held the bottle beneath his nose. His expression shifted slightly.

He poured a little into a nearby glass and took a small sip.

A few seconds later, Aberforth's eyebrows shot up. He picked up the remaining Foundation-Stabilizing Liquid and downed it in one gulp.

"Interesting." He set the empty bottle on the bar, his tone noticeably milder. "How much per bottle?"

"What do you think a bottle of this potion is worth, sir?"

Aberforth turned the bottle over to inspect it, then held up two thick, stubby fingers. "Two Galleons a bottle. I'll take whatever you have. Not for myself, though. I'm getting it for a few old friends. If you have any other varieties, bring those along too."

Gerald nodded.

He was in no hurry to haggle. For one thing, the Foundation-Stabilizing Liquid cost him almost nothing to make, and two Galleons a bottle was already far more than he had expected.

For another, Aberforth might look rude, but he was actually very reliable. Making this connection mattered far more than the price of a bottle or two.

"This is just part of what I have. I wanted to test the market first."

Gerald pushed the two bottles of Foundation-Stabilizing Liquid on the bar toward Aberforth.

"You can sell them for me and set the price yourself. Anything above two Galleons is yours for the trouble. If they sell well, I can bring more next time, perhaps other varieties too."

Standing near the entrance, Aberforth nodded. He was about to reply when his gaze suddenly flicked past Gerald.

Gerald turned to follow it.

A figure in a black traveling cloak stood in the doorway. His hood concealed most of his face, leaving only a sliver of pointed chin and a strand of greasy black hair visible.

The figure stepped forward, his hollow black eyes looking past Gerald and Aberforth to the Foundation-Stabilizing Liquid on the bar.

Gerald's heart lurched.

That's Snape. What's he doing here?

Before he could think further, Snape spoke.

"Did you brew this yourself?"

"Of course I brewed it. Want to buy some?" Gerald lowered his voice, making it even rougher than before.

"A proper potion requires a reliable source." Snape picked up a bottle of Foundation-Stabilizing Liquid and tapped the cap twice. "The proprietor of the Hog's Head barely qualifies as a supplier."

"But choosing to sell in a place like this suggests you don't want too many people knowing you brewed it. So, who are you?"

Gerald quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

For those few seconds, he had genuinely feared Snape's next words would be, "Gerard Green, leaving school without permission. Fifty points from Gryffindor."

As long as he hasn't recognized me, this will be easy.

"Snape, I don't see how my identity is any of your business."

"You know me?"

Snape's eyebrows twitched, so slightly it was barely noticeable.

"The renowned Potions Master, Severus Snape, professor of Potions at Hogwarts. Who doesn't?"

Snape narrowed his eyes slightly. For some reason, there was something strangely familiar about the person before him.

He picked up the glass bottle containing the emerald-green liquid, opened it, and sniffed.

"Strange. It's unlike any potion I know, and the ingredients are unfamiliar too."

Snape was deeply shocked. This was the first time he had encountered a potion like this.

Could it be a lost potion recipe? But even if it's a potion I've never heard of, surely there should be at least one ingredient I recognize.

No, I need to take this back and study it.

"I'll take this bottle. Two Galleons?"

Gerald could tell Snape was very interested in the Foundation-Stabilizing Liquid. Why pass up the chance to fleece him?

"Ten Galleons."

"Why don't you just rob someone?"

Snape had distinctly heard this man offer it to the Hog's Head's proprietor for only two Galleons. He was clearly taking Snape for a sucker.

"Take it or leave it."

"You-greed comes at a price."

Gerald turned a deaf ear.

An awkward silence hung over them for several seconds.

Snape frowned, but eventually took out ten Galleons and held them out.

He simply couldn't resist a potion he knew nothing about.

Hmph. This damned bastard's getting a bargain.

Gerald gestured for him to place the Galleons on the counter. Only after Snape left did he reach out to collect them.

"You've got quite a head for business,

"haven't you?" Aberforth said, watching Snape leave the pub.

"No reason to turn down a profit." Gerald tucked the Galleons into his inner pocket, keeping his voice steady. "But our agreement stands. Two Galleons a bottle. The remaining six bottles are all yours."

Aberforth nodded, retrieved an iron box from beneath the bar, and placed the six bottles of Foundation-Stabilizing Liquid inside one by one.

He handled them carefully, completely at odds with his rough appearance.

Then he took a small cloth pouch from his apron pocket, counted out fourteen Galleons, and pushed them toward Gerald.

"That's for seven bottles. I'm not drinking the first one for free either."

"Then I'll accept it. Here's to doing more business together."

Gerald took the pouch and weighed it in his hand. Together with the five Galleons he had just fleeced from Snape, he now had twenty-four more Galleons in his pocket.

He put the pouch away and tugged at his hood, preparing to leave.

"You're a Hogwarts student?"

Just as Gerald's hand touched the door, Aberforth's casual voice came from behind him.

Gerald paused and turned around. The shadow of his hood concealed most of his face perfectly.

"You must be joking, sir-"

"Remember to wear gloves next time and cover your hands," Aberforth interrupted. "One look at those hands tells me you're a kid in your teens."

Gerald looked down at his right hand resting against the door.

His fingers were long and slender, his skin smooth, without so much as a decent scar.

That's what gave me away?

There was simply no guarding against everything.