Aberforth Goes Bankrupt

Not only the United States witch, but even William and Hermione were dragged to the Hog's Head by the old man.

In his words: I'm an old man who's about to die, I can't see the road, and I don't have many wizards to help me. What if the goat gets lost halfway there?

Not going? You can't not go. If you say you're not going, they'll lie on the ground and try to scam you.

William realized that the old man was indeed a shill, deliberately blocking the intersection to lure wizards to the Hog's Head.

The old man claimed to be blind, but he didn't seem blind at all. He led the group towards the Hog's Head with practiced ease.

At the entrance of the bar, there was a tattered wooden sign hanging on a Scabbers frame.

The sign depicts a severed wild boar head, its blood soaking through the white cloth wrapped around it.

The three hesitated outside the door.

No wonder everyone was just taking pictures outside and didn't want to go inside for drinks.

Just by looking at the furnishings at the entrance, you can tell that the place is dilapidated inside. They can only fool young wizards and make a living by selling them high-proof alcohol.

So the bar owner must have some powerful connections.

In the entire Hogsmeade, only this place dares to secretly sell strong liquor to young wizards.

The bar is still doing well; it hasn't closed down, Dumbledore hasn't come knocking on the door to kill the owner.

This shop must be owned by a relative of a school leader.

William was particularly experienced because in his previous life, the only snack shop in the school was a family business owned by the vice principal.

He also owns a series of physical businesses such as canteens, bookstores, and stationery stores.

So, whose relative does this bar actually belong to?

William guessed that it wasn't Professor Snape, but most likely that old nerd Trelawney.

One of them was prone to favoritism; the other was a heavy drinker, with bottles of sherry enough to fill several Divination Classroom.

Besides those two, William couldn't think of any other professor who would be so shameless.

He then went to the principal to file a formal complaint, demanding that this unhealthy trend be completely eradicated and that Hogwarts be restored to a peaceful and just environment!

"Come on, let's go inside," William said.

Hermione held William's hand tightly, but she wasn't too afraid.

When they were in Paris, they even went to the Minotaur Bar and caused quite a scene.

Putting everything else aside, Hermione certainly became much bolder after her trip to France.

Previously, it was just violating school rules, but now it's violating the law, and I don't care too much.

William glanced at the witch; her head was hidden under a thick knitted hat, obscuring her face.

However, he keenly noticed that the other person had subtly glanced at them several times.

United States tourists... Could they be Tom's new henchmen?

Surprisingly, although the entrance looked dirty and messy, the bar was very clean once inside.

Fred and George had come here to buy whisky many times, according to their description:

Hog's Head was small, dark, and very dirty, with a strong smell of mutton.

The bar was still dark, but the floor was spotless, the bar counter was immaculate, and there was a faint scent of mugwort in the air.

William soon found out why, as a House-elf came running quickly from behind the counter.

He was dressed haphazardly, with a white scarf wrapped around his head, a white floral robe, purple wide-leg pants, and carrot-shaped shoes...

King Piccolo... is that you?

The House-elf bowed deeply, lowering his head to the ground, and cried out excitedly, "Sir, you're back!"

"No customers this morning?" The old man took off his sunglasses, revealing a pair of bright blue eyes.

Turns out he wasn't blind; this boss is really cunning.

"No." The House-elf shook its pointed, protruding ears.

"We haven't had any customers for months. If this continues, my son and I will have to go begging together!"

The old man's voice was loud, spitting everywhere, as he cursed:

"Damn Dementor! They patrol every morning and evening; no customers dare to come anymore!"

In no time, he had sprayed Fudge and the Auror with his own spray, truly deserving of the title... the most refined and easygoing person in Hogsmeade.

"Sir, while you were out, I cleaned the shop twice more." The House-elf blinked its innocent big eyes.

The old man was taken aback and quickly waved his hands, saying, "That doesn't count! I didn't see it! That doesn't count! No wages!"

"Alright." The House-elf lowered its head, somewhat dejected.

"Hurry up and serve the guests their drinks; I went to great lengths to get them here from the street corner." The old man looked up and said presumptuously, "Let's start with a few bottles of Butterbeer..."

"I'll just have a glass of water," the witch said hastily.

"Hmm?" The old man's eyebrows furrowed.

He looked incredulous, as if to say, "You come to a bar and you only drink water? Are you looking down on me?"

"Oh, alright... then one bottle it is." The witch had no choice but to change her mind.

"Hurry up, kid! Didn't you hear the guest say four bottles?" the old man shouted.

The House-elf looked at the witch with a puzzled expression, and under the old man's gaze, had no choice but to go and get four bottles of wine.

And you?

"Young wizards can't drink outside." Hermione shook her head.

"It's alright, your principal is a complete idiot, he won't know," the old man scoffed.

Hermione frowned; she wasn't happy to hear others speaking ill of their headmaster.

"A bottle of mead will do," William said softly.

"I only brought enough money for one bottle. I won't pay for anything more. Go ask the principal for it."

"Oh, okay... I don't like that. It's too weak and too sweet," the old man muttered.

The House-elf first brought the witch four bottles of wine, then dragged the tray toward William's table.

The old man led his goat toward the backyard.

"Ah, you are Mr. Stark and Miss Granger!" the House-elf suddenly shrieked.

He was so excited that he lost his grip on the tray, which fell to the ground and shattered.

The House-elf stood frozen for a moment, trembling all over, terrified by its own foolish behavior.

"Bad Dobby, you broke the guest's wine."

He charged at the nearest table and began banging his head against it, screaming, "Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!"

The witch was terrified; it was the first time she had ever encountered such a scene.

William waved his wand, Dobby was magically controlled, his body pulled away from the table.

The old man reappeared at the back door, and he said loudly and sternly, "Dobby, I should have told you not to punish yourself!"

If you don't behave, I'll expel you.

The old man's words seemed to have an effect, Dobby gradually quieted down.

He said in a trembling voice, "Dobby understands, Dobby won't do it again... The cost of the drinks will be deducted from his wages."

"Even if you don't tell me, I'll still deduct the money. I don't even earn enough in a month to pay your salary." The old man disappeared.

Dobby grabbed another bottle of wine.

William asked, "You just said your name is Dobby? The Malfoy family -House-elf?"

"They are no longer my masters." Dobby wiped his eyes.

"With Harry Potter's help, the old master gave Dobby clothes."

William and Hermione exchanged a glance; they had indeed heard Harry mention it before.

Last school year, a House-elf prevented Harry from returning to school.

William learned from the House-elf in the school kitchen that Dobby was a Malfoy family House-elf.

"Dobby, how do you know us?" Hermione asked in surprise.

"Your photos are all over the newspapers," Dobby exclaimed excitedly.

"I also heard Harry Potter mention that Mr. Stark defeated the ' You-Know-Who ' and saved his and Mr. Weasley's lives."

Mr. Stark is a really good man.

The witch tilted her ear, trying to eavesdrop.

Dobby bowed again and said, "By the way, has Mr. Harry Potter arrived?"

William shook his head. "No, he's been put in solitary confinement by Professor McGonagall."

"Oh, this is terrible." Dobby shrank back in fear.

He was shocked that Harry Potter would be put in solitary confinement. Wasn't the Boy Who Lived a model student with excellent grades and conduct?

That's incredible.

"Dobby, what are you doing here?" Hermione asked with interest.

Dobby squealed excitedly, "It's the new job that Professor Dumbledore introduced to Dobby!"

You know, it's really, really hard for a fired House-elf to find a new job, especially Dobby is paid.

Then Professor Dumbledore had his brother Mr. Dumbledore, take me in.

"Wait, that old man is the professor's brother?" William exclaimed in shock.

Okay, sorry to bother you.

Since he's Professor Dumbledore's brother, selling high-proof liquor to students... isn't such a big deal.

Consider it a way to train students' alcohol tolerance in advance; it might be beneficial for their future careers.

Whistleblower Program

Cancel!

"Yes, Mr. Aberforth Mr. Dumbledore is a good man," Dobby said happily. "He's the first good wizard who's willing to pay Dobby a wage."

Dobby earns five Sickle just by cleaning the bar once... Dobby can clean it ten times a day!

Ten times a day, that's two Galleon and sixteen Sickle; a month, that's 88 Galleon and four Sickle...

It's roughly equivalent to a Hogwarts professor's salary.

Recently, due to Black's situation, people are reluctant to go out, leading to a slump in bar business.

No wonder the old man had to personally go to the roadside to solicit customers.

Because he's going to be bankrupted by Dobby...!

Bang!

An explosion suddenly rang out from the backyard.

"Ahhh~"

Aberforth came running in a panic from the backyard, and the old man roared, "Dobby, my goat!"

"Yes, sir, I've cleaned them all up," Dobby said fearfully.

"What did you do?!" Aberforth roared angrily.

"I just washed them first... they were covered in fleas... I took out the wool..."

Aberforth dragged out a sheep from behind him; the sheep was bald, all its wool had been sheared off.

Puff!

William and Hermione both spat out the mead they were drinking.

My favorite... goat curly hair... is gone...

Aberforth suddenly felt dizzy and collapsed to the ground.

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