It's late at night, and it's a late autumn night, and the chill is thick on the Hogwarts campus.

On the cobblestone path from Hogwarts Castle to Hogsmeade Village, a lone young man appeared in the direction of the castle.

He seems to be a student, but he doesn't seem to look like him in terms of his dress.

At the same time, a witch wearing a thick hat full of patches happened to be passing by...... She was short, covered in dirt, and her wand glowed brightly.

The young man quickly hid behind a pile of bushes, and without making a sound, his body became illusory and integrated with his surroundings.

Professor Pomona-Sprout stopped, and glanced around with some suspicion—

"Strange, I heard something!" she muttered to herself.

After cautiously observing her surroundings for a while, and confirming that it was just her "hallucination", Professor Sprout ended her routine tour of the area and chose to leave and return to the greenhouse.

Hiding continued to hide patiently for about ten minutes, and after making sure that there was no risk of being discovered, the "Hidden One" quietly walked out from behind the bushes and continued in the direction of Hogsmeade.

It wasn't long before he came to the oak gate.

Throughout the gate, there were a dozen or so huge iron locks lined up in turn—they were so tightly locked that no one could pass through.

He simply stretched out a hand, caressing the door, and whispered:

"Open!"

"Bang", "bang", "bang", a continuous crisp sound came from the gate, and the iron locks opened one after another, obeying his orders.

It wasn't until he stepped out of the oak gate that it was locked at the same time.

......

"Who is it?" said almost two beats slower, and a panicked voice came from the side of the oak gate.

It seems that the "caretaker" was also a little caught off guard by the presence of someone on campus in the middle of the night.

"Confundus!"

Out of his sight, a calm voice rang out.

Then, the caretaker's gaze became glazed for a moment, and he shook his head a little to look around, and then slowly sat back down.

Jon Hart, who had used the "Transfiguration Charm" on himself, walked lightly past the Auror who guarded the door for Hogwarts.

The other party looks strong on the outside, his stiff hair is short, he doesn't smile, and his hair is grayish...... This Auror Jon is still quite familiar, and vaguely remembers that his name seems to be "Delix"?

Although there are no curfews or the like, due to special times, no one can be seen on the streets of Hogsmeade...... On the way to Hogsmeade Village, I felt a little uncomfortable, and my face was a little painful from the cold, and then I was about to go numb.

Walk along Central Avenue and turn into a side road from the post office, where you will soon see two bars facing each other......

One of the rooms is exquisitely decorated and looks quite warm inside, with an elaborate sign hanging from the door with three broomsticks painted on it. A middle-aged woman in her forties, who looks and has a very good figure, is busy at the door of the bar. Ms. Rosmerta was pouring unfinished butterbeer, mead, redcurrant rum, and violet water into the drain.

She wasn't the target of Jon's trip, though. So Jon just stopped in the cold night, waiting for the other party to finish his work, and then continued to walk to another bar.

The other bar was small and shabby, with a tattered wooden sign hanging from a rusty stand on the door, on which a severed pig's head was drawn, blood seeping through the white cloth that encased it.

Jon Hart walked over briskly and knocked lightly on the door.

"Who is it?" a vigilant voice quickly came from within.

"Mr. Dumbledore, it's me!" Jon replied quickly.

The door to the pig's head bar was opened, and there was a tall, lanky old man with gray hair and a strange temper.

......

"Butterbeer, it's too cold in here!" Jon shivered as he slipped into the basement of the Hog's Head Bar.

"Hmph...... Wait!" Aberforth-Dumbledore snorted, then picked up a glass and walked in the direction of the barrel.

When he came to the basement, he found that the other party had lit the fireplace in the basement, and the whole room was illuminated red.

"That's a lot better!" Jon said as he gulped down a few sips of butterbeer.

On the painting by the fireplace, Ariana Dumbledore pursed her lips and chuckled at Jon.

Aberforth sat across from him, and the scruffy old man pondered for a moment, then took the initiative to speak, "Are you here for my brother's business...... Tell me the truth, where is he now?"

"Honestly, I don't know!" Jon replied, putting down his beer glass, "but I guess...... Maybe he's fishing for salmon on Lake Belga?"

"Lake Baikal, it's thousands of miles from Hogwarts...... My brother has never been so far away from England except for attending international conferences!" Aberforth said calmly.

"But now, times have changed......," Jon replied with a smile, smiling, "I've convinced Mr. Dumbledore to experience a new, much easier life." ”

"Really, you convinced him?" said Aberforth, frowning, "How did you do that...... No one knows him better than I do, how stubborn and stubborn he is......"

"Actually...... It's easy!" Jon explained, gesturing, "Still, it's better not to know the details." ”

"Forget it, if you don't want to say it. Aberforth didn't get to the bottom of it, he picked up a clean rag, walked over to the painting, and carefully wiped the stains on the wall next to him.

Ariana Dumbledore's big watery eyes and a little more worried were depicted in the painting, and she winked at Jon as if asking for something.

Jon nodded solemnly to her, signaling that she didn't have to worry.

"That bastard, is he with Albus too!" Aberforth said slowly, turning his back to Jon, "I heard interesting news from a passing traveler...... Rumor has it that Neumengard has suddenly collapsed, and the Austrian Ministry of Magic has been unable to find out why. ”

"Are you still well-informed?" Jon asked, somewhat stunned.

"You just have to tell me yes or no?" Aberforth's voice was tinged with anger...... He looks like a goat that will attack at any moment.

"Yes. Jon nodded, he wasn't lying.

The girl in the painting looks at her brother with a pleading look in her eyes.

"Hey!" Aberforth sighed heavily, "That's it...... So many years have passed...... Let's just let it all end......"

The old man sat down on the ground and said quietly, "Albus has left Hogwarts, and my old bones are of little use...... Ariana, maybe we should leave Hogsmeade and let us go back to Godric's Hollow, how about we?"

"You're saying that you're interested in transferring the Pig's Head Bar?" Jon, who was on the side, suddenly said with some interest, "Mr. Dumbledore, why don't you make an offer...... A thousand Galleons?

"Fuck off!"

"You didn't mean...... Are you ready to leave Hogsmeade......"

"I've changed my mind!"

......

After a full glass of butterbeer, Jon Hart only felt warm on his body.

"If nothing else...... It's time for the Hog's Head Bar to close!" Aberforth Dumbledore unceremoniously ordered the eviction.

"No, no, no, Mr. Dumbledore, there's one more thing......" Jon said quickly.

As he spoke, Jon placed his suitcase on the ground and took a large case out of it with some effort.

"It's ......," Aberforth frowned.

"I beg you to pass this on to Mrs. Rosmerta...... Your neighbor......" Jon said with a smile.

"Rosmerta......" Aberforth frowned, "She's been a little abnormal lately!"

"yes, it's because she's not normal. Still smiling, Jon said, "You told her that it was handed over to her by Stan Sampak and that it just fell into your hands by accident, and you can make up the specific reasons for this...... Then tell her that the item needs to be handed over to Draco Malfoy. ”

"Alright, leave it to me!" Aberforth nodded, "So, what's in this box?"

"In this chest?" Jon replied without hesitation, "a gift from the Dark Lord." ”