A crackling sound came without warning on the path leading to Hogsmeade, and a cloaked man appeared out of nowhere. He looked around, reached into his pocket and took out a mechanical pocket watch, glanced at the time on it, and walked along the path shrouded in dusk.
When the cloaked man walked into Hogsmeade Village, it was completely dark, and lights were flashing in the windows of shops on both sides of the street. He walked on the main street for a few minutes and turned into a side road. A noisy sound came from the Hog's Head Pub not far away.
The Hog's Head Inn is even more lively at night. Many wizards living in the gray area come here to try their luck. It is not uncommon to encounter peddlers who smuggle, resell potions or sell other contraband items in the bar. There are even wizards who take robbery as their secondary profession.
As long as there is something you need, the bar owner can introduce you to the right seller or buyer. Selling drinks and acting as an innkeeper have become his side jobs.
As soon as the cloaked man walked to the door of the Hog's Head Tavern, he felt a lively atmosphere mixed with ale rushing towards him. He looked up at the bar counter, looking for the dragon egg smuggler who had agreed to meet him.
The cloaked man didn't see the person he had agreed to meet at the counter; the other person was late.
"Has that guy arrived?" The cloaked man sat down at the counter and asked the bar owner who was wiping the wine glasses with a rag. The guy who smuggled dragon eggs was the seller introduced to him by the bar owner.
"Jack hasn't come yet, please wait for a moment." The bar owner looked at the man in front of him who was wrapped up tightly and asked indifferently, "What would you like to drink?"
"Whiskey," the cloaked man croaked.
In fact, the cloaked man was reluctant to conduct the transaction in the Hog's Head Bar and planned to choose a better place himself, but Mr. Jack insisted on completing the transaction here, so he did not object.
"He's too late!" The cloaked man's temper became a little bad. He didn't care what happened to the damn smuggler, but he was very concerned about whether he could get the dragon egg today.
Not long after, a middle-aged man with thinning hair hurriedly turned into the Hog's Head Bar. As he walked through the noisy crowd, he did not forget to greet others.
"Jack, what good stuff did you get?"
Most of the wizards who often come here to drink know this guy who likes smuggling, and some even greet him with a smile.
"Sorry, I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long!" the man code-named Jack said to the bar owner, but his eyes never left the man in the cloak next to him.
"Where is what I want?" the cloaked man asked impatiently.
"Here's your cargo."
Jack opened the suitcase in his hand, revealing the contents: a dragon egg.
"I spent a lot of effort to get it. Not a single Galleon can be less than the agreed amount." Jack closed the suitcase again and rubbed his fingers together to indicate that both parties should start the transaction.
“Here!”
The cloaked man untied his purse and threw it to the other party. "Not a single cent is missing, but you have to pay for this glass of whiskey. You wasted a lot of my time."
"Oh shit, okay, I'll treat you to a glass of whiskey, for Galleons' sake." Jack almost smiled as he took the heavy bag of money.
He also handed his suitcase to the cloaked man in front of him, asking him to check the authenticity of the goods inside.
The cloaked man took the suitcase and checked the dragon egg inside again.
"This is a very rare Norwegian Ridgeback dragon egg. You will definitely get it for free." Jack said to the buyer while inspecting the dragon. "You just need to roast it over a fire and the dragon egg will hatch on its own. After it hatches, you need to feed it a bucket of brandy and chicken blood every half an hour."
At this point, Jack's tone suddenly paused, "However, I need to warn you in advance that these things are difficult to tame, and they are quite dangerous."
"Do you have any other questions?" Jack asked the big money man in front of him after counting the galleons.
"No." The cloaked man closed the suitcase.
"Then...deal done."
Jack took out a few Galleons from his purse and placed them on the bar owner's counter as an introduction fee.
"Do you know who that mysterious guy is?" Jack asked as he looked at the cloaked man's departing back.
"I don't know." The bar owner calmly swept the gallons into the wooden cash box beside the counter. "It seems like he's a middleman, but the price you offered is a bit high."
"Not expensive, it's a deal we both agreed to." Jack glanced at the bar owner, drank all the butterbeer in the glass, and muttered, "Forget it, I'd better disappear for a while!"
Jack, who made a large sum of Galleons by smuggling dragon eggs, was very satisfied with the deal. The only drawback was that he was being targeted.
He noticed that there were many greedy eyes staring at him.
This is the disadvantage of choosing to trade in the Hog's Head Bar. Once you make too many Galleons, you will easily be targeted by some greedy guys.
As for the advantage, it is that you don’t have to worry about being directly robbed by others.
In the Hog's Head Bar, everyone will try to remain restrained as much as possible. The rule here is to solve problems outside. Although it is fragile and cannot be guaranteed, everyone still abides by this rule silently. No one wants to be robbed during a transaction.
If you want to get a dragon egg, you naturally need to spend a lot of Galleons.
Jack undoubtedly made a fortune and became a fat sheep in the eyes of countless people. Highway robbery is also a side job for many wizards living in the gray area.
After Jack hurriedly left the Hog's Head Inn, several wizards with greedy looks on their faces immediately stood up and followed him.
A series of crackling noises rang out outside the Hog's Head Pub.
Half an hour later, Jack finally succeeded in using Apparition to shake off the tail that was following him.
"A bunch of rubbish, you rubbish want to rob me." Jack spitted on the ground with disdain, and just as he was about to leave, a spell shot out from behind without warning, focusing on Jack's back. Just as he was about to fall down, he saw a familiar figure holding a wand and aiming at him.
“It’s… you!”
Jack's face was full of resentment and anger. He never expected that the buyer would actually rob him. After saying his last words with gritted teeth, he just collapsed.
The cloaked man walked out from the shadows and looked expressionlessly at the fallen guy in front of him. He pulled the wand from the other's hand and pointed it at Mr. Jack who was unconscious on the ground.
The next moment, an ominous green light lit up in the darkness.
After the cloaked man retrieved his Galleons from Jack's body, he used a Transfiguration spell to turn the body into a stone, and then dug a deep pit and buried the stone in it.
As for the opponent's wand, it was directly destroyed and burned to ashes, without even any evidence left.
"You were such an idiot that you didn't even notice that the money bag was under a tracking spell."
The bright moonlight fell on the cloaked man, and the stranger's face was trembling slightly under the cloak. The compound potion was gradually losing its effect, and the cloaked man's original face returned to normal. If the students of Hogwarts were here, they would definitely recognize their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at a glance.
Quirrell stepped twice on the place where Mr. Jack's body was buried, turned around and disappeared.