The night is already freezing in early October, and the Hogsmeade Village seemed gloomy and cold as Felix walked through the empty streets, the streets were deserted, even the Aurors and Hit-Wizards who were on patrol had found shelter from the cold, they would not come out unless someone pressed the alarm or triggered the Caterwauling Charm.
All the shacks and shops along the street were closed, and the Hog’s Head Inn was no exception, but Felix spotted a faint light through a gap in the closed door or window, and after two minutes of persistent knocking on the door, it finally opened.
In the doorway stood a sharp face resembling Dumbledore’s, but with an angry look on his face, the older man who towered a little over him looked tall and lean, and stood firmly in front of him.
“Why I never realized this before.” Felix muttered.
“It’s closed, come back tomorrow if you have any business!” The barman’s tone was snappy, and he had the same long beard as Dumbledore’s, only it is grey in colour.
” There’s no need to be so gruff with your customers,” Felix laughed lightly, his head inclined towards the side, “let me in, I can see two men drinking in the corner! And on an extra note, your closing hours are usually pretty late.”
Aberforth Dumbledore, the owner of the Hog’s Head Inn and its only barman, glared as Felix gestured in the direction of the icy stone wall of the Inn, and if one passed through it, one would see that his statement was unmistakable.
“They’re lodging.” Aberforth Dumbledore stated.
Felix shrugged and didn’t reply, and the two men stared at each other for a few seconds before Aberforth reluctantly moved out of the way.
“Don’t make any trouble or I’ll throw you out.” He whispered threateningly and slammed the door behind him after Felix stepped inside.
Felix stood and looked around the room, the bar is small and reeked of goat smell, it is also very dimly lit – probably because of the night – with a few candle heads burning quietly. He took a quick glance at the only other customers in the bar, it is now nearly midnight, so neither of the two men are in any disguise, allowing Felix to see their faces clearly.
There were two bottles of liquor on the table, and the both bottles looked dirty.
What a coincidence, Felix thought to himself, those two faces looked exactly the same as the profile he had read before, exactly two of the three targets he was looking for, a notorious group of dark wizards who have been moving around multiple countries committing lots of bloodsheds.
He walked towards the bar as if nothing had happened, but the two dark wizards in question froze, a little dumbfounded that the target they had been strategizing about had just appeared out of nowhere. But Felix Hap had been rumoured to be a force to reckoned with, having made a big splash at the Quidditch World Cup, taking down hundreds of wizards all by himself – a rather impressive number even if he had faced a bunch of confused, drunken people who were just venting their frustrations.
Their eyes followed Felix all the way to the bar where he sat down, at which point Aberforth also walked in through the bar’s side door and returned to his usual and familiar spot.
“What kind of drink do you want?” He asked gruffly, casually picking up a tattered rag to wipe his goblet.
“A Firewhisky – ugh, never mind.” Felix looked at the dirty rag in Aberforth’s hand, the thing looked like it hadn’t been replaced for centuries and seemed to be from the same era as the stone floor that looked completely unrecognizable from its original form.
” I want to enquire about an intel.” Felix said, and his words caught the attention of the two wizards in the corner, who had their ears cocked to the side, but they couldn’t hear anything when Felix tapped on the bar top.
“I’m not an information dealer or an information broker, I’m just an owner of an Inn.” The old man said impatiently.
On the other side, the two dark wizards looked at each other.
” Shall we do it?” One of them asked, licking his lips.
“Wait a little longer, that barman is not easy to mess with, he has thrown out a dozen unruly men in the last two days; When Felix Hap leaves, we will follow him and wait for the opportunity to attack …”
“Should we notify the old man? He has had a lot of drinks, and neither the fourth nor the fifth have returned.”
“Don’t startle the snake, it won’t be good to attract that man’s attention.” The other dark wizard said with a grim look on his face, that is the Elder Wand they’re talking about, and if he obtains it, the more people there are, the more trouble he will have to deal with it.
The two dark wizards were obviously unaware that they had become the subject of discussion as well. On the bar, Felix squinted slightly in the direction of the corner, and Aberforth also followed his gaze.
…
“I’m taking three people.” Felix continued as if he hadn’t heard what the opposite party had been saying, “including those two.” He sounded like a customer who was ordering a normal meal.
The barman at the Hog’s Head Inn looked deep into his eyes, the dirty rag he was holding hovered in the air as he growled in a low voice, “You think I would agree to that?”
“You should be able to understand my concern, they are all dangerous people … and it is my responsibility.” Felix said.
“Oh? Aren’t you the famous Professor Hap, when did you start to do the Auror’s job?” Aberforth Dumbledore said with no shortage of sarcasm, “Or Is it because of a damned, For the Greater Good thingy?” His blue eyes resembled his brother’s, except Felix, was unable to associate the colour with the deep, calm vastness of the sea, no matter how he looked at it.
His eyes brimmed with storms of emotion like they were ready to tumble into waves of turmoil.
Felix understood; after all, the younger brothers were always a little more lively.
“Speaking of that, unbeknownst to me, I’ve acquired a lot of identities, and occasionally I struggle with them,” Felix said with a grin that didn’t look bitter at all, “Let’s just say that lately I’ve been carrying the title Ministry of Magic’s Advisor, as well as the Ministry of Magic’s specially approved bounty hunter. ”
“Bounty hunter?” Aberforth Dumbledore seemed confused.
“Yeah, like a vampire hunter, except the latter has been deemed an illegal profession, and my bounty hunter status was only recently granted.” Felix said cheerfully, waving his left hand around as a piece of parchment suddenly appeared in front of the two men’s sight, “Do I need to show it to you for inspection?”
Aberforth stared at the Ministry of Magic’s seal that was stamped on the parchment, and his breath quickened.
“Bang!” He slammed his fist on the bar as the bottles and goblets shook. It made Felix notice one more thing that made him different from Headmaster Dumbledore, probably because he was used to doing physical work, his body is more sturdy with thick muscle and prominent veins.
He said gruffly, “If I had met someone like you who is playing with the law twenty years earlier, I would have broken your nose with one punch and thrown you out-”
“I was four years old back then, are you sure about that?” Felix grinned.
Aberforth glared at him, getting tired of the rumbustious boy in front of him; he had never been comfortable with the school, he never had read many books in his life, and he had only dealt with things like quill and parchment a handful of times since graduating, and now he had some trouble controlling his anger.
He admitted that he held prejudice against Felix Hap, a prejudice that stemmed from the man who lived in the Headmaster’s office at Hogwarts Castle. Because they were in the same team.
But a good idea suddenly popped into his head, the type of idea that had not come up very often in his life, and he decided not to waste the inspiration. In a tone full of sarcasm, Aberforth quipped, “So you’re trying to tell me that you were this nasty when you were just four years old as you are now?”
“In a way – sort of, I was more mature than the average child.” The man opposite to him laughed, ” As far as I’m concerned, I’ve said all this to make sure you understand that I have a valid reason, but of course, I don’t want to make too much of a scene, in case we run into each other at a private party, it will inevitably be awkward for you … I’m always well liked.”
He was referring to the Order of the Phoenix and combined with the old man’s name, and the customer base the Hog’s Head Inn had always had, Felix knew this place would be another pair of eyes of Headmaster Dumbledore.
After a moment of silence, Aberforth huffed and asked, “What are you going to do? Don’t tell me it’s Albus’ order.”
“Of course not, it was my own decision.”
Felix stepped out of the spell’s range and stomped on the floor which caused a loud creak, and the two wizards in the corner looked over in unison, their eyes fixed dead on the wand he had just taken out of his pocket. For a moment, the only sound in the Hog’s Head Inn is the crackle of the hearth fire.
” Do you wanna have a go? This is a great opportunity to release your frustration-” Felix asked with a tempting tone.
“Shut up, boy!” Aberforth exclaimed.
The two dark wizards looked at each other, their identities seemed to have been exposed, “Do it!”.
Felix stepped forward, his eyes lit up like stars, one of the dark wizards’ body swayed as if he had received a blow on the back of his head, his body suddenly lost its balance and fell to the ground, and the other dark wizard still remained emotionally composed and did not panic at his companion’s fall.
Despite the fear that threatened to spill out of his eyes, his movements remained fluid.
He raised his wand, the tip of which gathered a deep black aura, “Deletri – ” Felix took another step forward and his wand stabbed out, suffocating the dark wizard’s last word – in the physical sense. The Dark Wizard suffocated, his chest caving in heavily and his entire body slammed into the wall.
“There’s one left, in room nine.”
Felix looked towards the stairs, which was the piece of information he had just received. From behind the bar, Aberforth looked furious, the wand in his hand pointed at him.
“Get out of here! This is no place for you to fool around. I’ll let it slide since those two were the ones who started it just now, but don’t you dare to drag my guest out of his bed.”
“How touching, you should know what kind of people they are, and I only picked off the most dangerous ones …” Felix said, but Aberforth didn’t budge in the slightest, stubbornly holding up his wand.
“I’ve been running this bar for decades, and I know what rules I have to follow.” He said hoarsely, his expression becoming very intimidating.
“And if I insist?” Felix locked eyes with him.
“You can try!”
“All right.” Felix took a step back and seemed to have compromised.
But with a downward stroke of his wand in his hand, the air rippled like water, and a fold of layers stacked up. The small, dark room suddenly lit up for a moment, a strong light bursting from Felix, followed by a rapid dimming.
Aberforth looked at him warily, his magic spell gathering its momentum, but he soon opened his mouth wide in surprise, which made Felix laugh out loud, he had never expected he would see such a comical surprised expression on the face that resembled Dumbledore’s.
The silvery glow spread in all directions and all furnishings became new everywhere it went; the greasy, muddy floor became flat and smooth; the dusty brass candelabra looked yellow and shimmered with a metallic sheen; Aberforth picked up a rag from the table and surveyed it; the stains and grease from long use on the rag disappeared as its original bright colour returned…
His bar seemed brand new, just as it had been when he had first taken over.
But it only lasted for a few seconds and soon the room was back to its original state.
“What have you done?” Aberforth asked with a furrowed brow. He didn’t see what had happened, and that was the worst of it. He is not a weak man – to be precise, he is considered much stronger than the average man. And for that reason he could clearly feel the unfamiliarity in the building he had lived in for decades, an oppressive atmosphere enveloping him and isolating him.
He definitely wouldn’t be surprised if the rag in his hand suddenly jumped up and gave him a quick jab in the next moment.
Felix put his wand away and waved his hand at him.
“Let’s both take a step back, and I won’t go up there and make a scene, but if the man comes down on his own and decides to come with me, it’s none of your business, I suppose.”
” Transfiguration?” Aberforth didn’t respond, he looked down and pondered for a moment before blurting out.
The answer made Felix a little curious as well, and he couldn’t help but ask, “Can Headmaster Dumbledore do something similar?” It is a trick he has developed on his own.
“If you mean controlling a piece of terrain,” Aberforth muttered, “he did it back in 1945, not so sure about now.”
“That legendary duel? You were there?”
“Legendary? Legend?” Aberforth sneered.
He suddenly calmed down, as he shoved his wand back into his pocket and began to wipe the goblet with the dirty rag again, but he seemed somewhat absent-minded, occasionally looking in the direction of the stairs. After a while, there was a movement from upstairs, and he stopped what he was doing and stared at the darkened stairway as if to confirm something.
A man appeared horizontally as he floated out.
Red face, yellow hair, scarred and pot-bellied body, his face dragged on the floor as his one leg is held up by something tall.
The dark wizard who lived in room nine had not floated down like he had originally thought before, but had been dragged down by a tall man, and the man whose face he knew so well, as he sees it every day when he look in the mirror –
He looked just like the other Aberforth Dumbledore.
“Thanks, Aberforth.” Felix said mischievously as the ‘Aberforth’ who is carrying the Dark Wizard remained silent and dropped the Dark Wizard in his hand to the floor, “Bang.” The real Aberforth in the back of the bar’s eyelids jumped as the dark wizard’s head bulged with a large bump, he was obviously hit by something.
Before he could ask, he knew what had knocked the unlucky wanted man unconscious: he saw his other self suddenly jump up and revert to its original form in mid-air – a brass candelabra. The candelabra fell on the bar, wobbled, and spun twice, before stopping in front of him.
Aberforth probably guessed how Felix had done it: he had used some method to spread his magic throughout the bar, probably on the same principle that he knew exactly where the dark wizards in question were before he even entered the Inn? And this dark wizard was probably blissfully sleeping unaware of the approaching danger or perhaps the alcohol made him lose his usual vigilance; in any case, the metal candelabra above his bed would’ve floated into mid-air and knocked him senseless, then the candelabra morphed into his own form and carried the dark wizard downstairs …
“I hate pranks.” Aberforth glared at Felix and said stiffly, “You have achieved your purpose, you can leave now.”
“Do you need me to pass your greetings to Albus?”
“No need!” Aberforth yelled in no good humour, he had just had enough for the night.
“If I say that I’ll come back tomorrow night-”
“Get out of here!”
Felix stopped talking as he beckoned the two Dark wizards who had passed out earlier, and the three Dark wizards hovered in a continuous row like a train in mid-air, and followed him silently, “I’ll take my leave then, Mr. Dumbledore.” He headed towards the door after he had spoken.
Aberforth stared at Felix’s back with an unexplainable feeling of wonder, he had keenly sensed that the young man resembled his brother in some ways, a courteous exterior hiding an unnoticeable mixture of arrogance and stubbornness – the words that were always used to describe him, but his grumpiness was perhaps just more outwardly apparent.
But then again they are very different, though Aberforth, at least the guy who lives in the Headmaster’s office at Hogwarts wouldn’t have done what Felix had done today. He suddenly called out to Felix.
“What are you going to do with them?”
“Send them where they need to go. Sadly, I don’t really want to do this either.” Felix replied.
Aberforth was taken aback, “You’re going to kill them?”
“Mr. Dumbledore, that’s an appalling notion, I just want to trade them for some money – I told you at the beginning, I’m a bounty hunter.” Felix turned back to the old man, his trophy huddled together and their heads rubbed against the ceiling.
Turns out he is going to hand them over to the Ministry of Magic …
“But I did come across two lost guys at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, and they fumbled their way to the perimeter of the Hogwarts-” Felix pushed open the door of the bar and a gust of wind blew in, which made the old man’s hand shake. Felix stood at the entrance with one foot outside the bar as he guided the three dark wizards that were hovering in the air to float out one by one.
“And then what?” Aberforth asked after him.
He figured out that the young man’s character was brimming with mischief, and so he guessed if he didn’t continue to question on this, the young man would be gone, and he hated when people leave their sentence half spoken, as it would keep him awake all night.
” Of course, they’re dead.” Felix said calmly as the door closed behind him.
————-
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