Chapter 216： Pig head bar (1/2)
After entering November, the weather became very cold, and the mountains around Hogwarts Castle were covered with white snow.
In the morning, a layer of frost appeared on the windows. Albert covered a yawn, rolled over and curled up in the bed, and he was slow to get up. There was a desperate scream and curse from the dormitory, ”Damn it, why didn't it rain today.”
”George, shut up.” Lee Jordan pulled the sheet over his head and couldn't help complaining. ”Early in the morning, don't yell, it's noisy.”
”It's cold, close the window.” Albert, who was huddled under the covers, couldn't help muttering.
”Will you enter the woods today?” Fred poked his head out of the bed and asked, looking at the closed window, ”Can you find jumping toadstools in this weather?”
”It's hard to tell.” Albert proposed. ”We should go to Hogsmeade. Remember the pig's head bar I used to talk about? It is said that it is a trading ground on the black market. Today it is Hogwarts students going to Hogs. In Maude's days, even if someone accidentally broke in, it wouldn't seem too abrupt.”
Albert looked quite mature, and there was no problem pretending to be a third-grade student. Anyone who doesn't know him will not know that he is a second-year student.
”Black market? I haven't been to the black market yet. What kind of place is that?” Lee Jordan immediately agreed with Albert's proposal. Although he couldn't go to the forbidden forest to find jumping toadstools, he went to the black market in Hogsmeade. It's actually good to go shopping.
”I don't know, but it's best not to expect too much.” Albert explained, ”I heard about this from Hagrid.”
”Go to Hogsmeade!”
After a few people discussed briefly, the decision to go to Hogsmeade was finalized.
During breakfast, everyone was talking about Hogsmeade, and they all seemed extremely excited, but there were a few lower-grade students eagerly listening to other senior students talking about the only wizarding village in the UK, talking about Hogsmeade Something interesting and novel.
After breakfast, the four of them played two more rounds of wizard cards. After a little digestion, they passed the secret path to Hogsmeade. This journey was time-consuming. When the four of them came out of the secret path, they were all frozen. Shivering.
”Go to three broomsticks and drink a cup of hot butter beer to warm up.” Albert's proposal was unanimously approved by several people.
Ms. Rosmerta looked at the four young customers in surprise, turned her head and glanced at the mechanical clock next to her, and asked in surprise, ”You actually arrive before the other students?”
Albert put his hand on the glass filled with butter beer to warm his hands, smiled at the barkeeper and said, ”This is our secret!”
”Oh, well, secret!” Ms. Rosmerta said to herself: ”I think I should go and prepare, it will soon become busy here.”
”When will you say that the first batch of students will arrive?” Fred sat by the fireplace and warmed himself.
”Anyway, we didn't come early.” Lee Jordan sipped a sip of Butterbeer, narrowed his eyes comfortably and said, ”If only I could take some back and drink it slowly.”
”This is a good idea.” Albert asked Ms. Rosmerta, turning his head. ”I want to buy a keg of Butterbeer.”
”That's not okay.” Ms. Rosmerta simply refused. ”I don't want the Dean of Hogwarts to write to me and complain that some students are drunk at school.”
”Is this stuff still drunk?” Albert couldn't help muttering.
”It's a shame.”
”I know where I can get a lot of Butterbeer.” Albert said mysteriously after waiting for the barkeeper to leave the counter.
”Pig's head bar?” Fred immediately guessed what Albert meant.
Albert nodded, indicating that Fred was right.
After drinking the butter beer and after the body was warm, the few people got up and left the three broomsticks, and began to look for the pig's head bar around Hogsmeade. It should be a relatively remote bar or hotel, and it should also be on the side of the trail. It should not look very good. The hanging sign should be a pig's head.
Hogsmeade is actually a small village. There are not many wizards in itself. A few people have already found the location of the Pig Head Bar before the Hogwarts students arrived.
”Is here?” George pointed to the tattered wooden sign with pig's head painted in front of him and said to his companions. In fact, they didn't spend much time, they just wandered around Hogsmeade Village, then turned from the post office on Central Avenue into a small road next to it, and found the pig's head bar in the teleportation.
Albert pretended that he was just passing by, glanced inside, and walked in casually. The bar is small, dark, and very dirty, and the air exudes a strong smell of sheep mutton, which is similar to the black market in his guess.
The most important thing is that there are no customers, which is why Albert brought Fred in.
”It's dirty,” George couldn't help muttering.
”This is the black market?” With a look of disappointment on his face, Lee Jordan closed his mouth obediently after being glared at by Albert.
As soon as he entered the pig's head bar, Fred and the others began to look around the environment of the bar. It was a different world from the three broomsticks.
Thick dirt was piled up on several windows, light from outside could barely penetrate into the bar, and some candle heads were lit on the rough wooden tables on both sides.
”It's really choking here.” Albert pressed his irritability in his heart. There was no other way. There were centuries of dirt accumulated under his feet. At first glance, he thought the ground was compacted mud. This makes Albert directly think of the dung road in the Middle Ages in Europe, which is really disgusting.
”What do you want for something?” the bar owner leaned out from a back door and greeted them, muttering.
”This is a bar?” Albert looked at the tall and thin little old man in front of him and asked uncertainly.
”Yeah.” The old man with gray hair and white beard replied casually.
”Can we buy a small barrel of Butterbeer from here?” Albert asked again. They had just drank Butterbeer, but they didn't plan to continue drinking here. Moreover, the sanitary conditions of the Pig's Head Bar were better than expected. It's worse.
”A Garon.” The man bent down and pulled out a small, dusty, dirty oak barrel from under the counter, and placed it on the bar again.
”Here.” Albert took Garon from his pocket and placed it on the rough counter.
”It's heavy.” George reached out and moved the barrel, only to find that the small barrel was a little heavy.
The barkeeper put the money Albert gave him into an old wooden cash drawer, and the wooden drawer automatically slid open and swallowed the money in.
He took out the dirty rag and started wiping the wine glass, and looked at the four people with interest, as if to see how they handled this heavy small wine barrel.
”Get out of the way.” Albert stretched his hand away from George, drew his wand from his pocket, waved at the barrel of small beer, and chanted it to shrink it drastically. Then, in full view, he picked up the small beer keg and put it into the pocket of his robe.
”Why didn't I expect it.” George reached out and patted the back of his head, and couldn't help muttering.
”Let's go.” Albert greeted everyone to leave the Pig's Head Bar. He didn't want to stay here.
”Do you feel that the bar owner is a bit familiar, as if you have seen it somewhere.” Lee Jordan said suddenly.
”I also feel as if I have seen it somewhere.” Fred and George agreed.
Albert glanced at the barkeeper and murmured: ”Probably a relative of Professor Dumbledore.”
His voice is not loud, but it is enough for everyone in the bar to hear.
”Principal Dumbledore's relatives?” Fred and the others were very surprised. They turned to look at the barkeeper. In most students' minds, Dumbledore was no different from a great man.
”Why are you here?” Behind them, a familiar and surprised voice suddenly sounded.