Chapter 308 "The Niffler"

The Hog's Head Inn caters mostly to eccentric wizards, and even though it's close to Hogwarts, there are smugglers, crazy alchemists, and petty thieves who are regulars here from time to time.

Sean also heard from Hagrid that if you have a certain code, you can even get some contraband in the Inn. Not only prohibited by Hogwarts but also illegal items prohibited by the Ministry of Magic.

He suspected that Hagrid had secretly traded in the Inn many times. After all, in Hagrid's mouth, "There are a bunch of fun guys in the Hog's Head Inn."

However, this was not the purpose of Sean's coming here today. He looked towards the bar, but instead of finding Aberforth or Aurelius, he saw another person. He was not wearing the clothes of the bartender but a thick black cloak, and she seemed to be in the same group as the strange customers here.

But Sean immediately recognized her because she didn't deliberately cover her face.

Nagini.

Sean walked over with some surprise. Aurelius said that Nagini was still recovering, but he didn't expect that she would be able to work as a waiter after a summer vacation. Nagini also saw Sean. She showed an extremely excited expression but immediately suppressed it with her hands on her chest.

"Hey, nice to see you." Sean sat down at the bar and greeted me with a smile.

Nagini took a deep breath and said excitedly in a low voice, "Mr. Wallup, I'm happy to see you. However, I have to suppress my emotions. I hope you can understand."

"Of course, your wellbeing is important. Besides, just call me Sean."

Nagini is over a hundred years old, but because she has maintained her form for a long time, she is not much different from a young girl in her twenties in terms of appearance. Nagini is very mature, but when he sees Sean, she suddenly becomes excited and acts like a little girl.

Soon, she returned to her elegant and rational appearance, but a smile was still on the corner of her mouth.

"It seems that you are recovering well, congratulations." Sean is blessed.

"Thanks to you and Albus. I really don't know how to repay. Also, please call me Nagini." Nagini even lifted the edge of her cloak.

"Nagini, you are too kind."

After exchanging pleasantries, the two, who had only met each other once, got to know each other a lot. But Hermione, who was on the side, was a little surprised. Sean didn't tell her about Nagini, and she didn't know when Sean met such a person.

"Butterbeer?" Nagini asked.

"Oh yes, thank you very much."

Hearing Sean's answer, Nagini took out two bottles of clean butterbeer.

Sean took the drink and asked casually, "How much?"

"No need, it's on me." Nagini smiled, took out four Sickles from her pocket, and put them into an old wooden cash drawer.

The wooden drawer swallowed the money automatically, trembled twice as if afterward, and then calmed down again.

After thanking her, he took a sip of butter beer and asked, "Where are Auri and the others?"

"Are you here to find Aurelius and Aberforth?" Nagini showed an apologetic look, "They both have something to go out, so I'm the one in charge now. They may not come back until night."

"Oh, okay, I'm just asking."

Hearing that the two were not there, Sean was slightly disappointed but quickly put it behind him, as he had expected it before coming.

After taking another sip, he smiled and said, "It's great that they can hand over the work to you with confidence."

Sean was happy for her. She and Daisy were familiar, so he deeply understood the pain that the curse would bring to them.

There were outsiders in the bar, so it was inconvenient to discuss in detail, but Nagini naturally understood what Sean meant and smiled, "Yes, it's a good feeling."

Only Hermione was at a loss. Sean stayed with her and Daisy most of the time, so how could he know so many people?

However, Sean quickly introduced Hermione to Nagini. After a slightly unfamiliar greeting, Hermione is surprised to find that while she looks only in her twenties, Nagini knows a lot about the history of magic a hundred years ago.

Hermione was eager for knowledge and immediately became curious, and Nagini had a good impression of Sean's friend. When she asked, she knew everything.

Sean was drinking a butterbeer and listening to the talks between the two.

While drinking leisurely, Sean's face suddenly became slightly weird. He pretended not to care and moved over a little, letting the front of his robe hang down. The butterbeer held in the right hand was naturally handed over to the left hand, and suddenly felt something.

Sean's hand immediately felt a heavy grip. He lowered his head with a strange expression and saw a magical animal in his hand.

Its whole body was covered with black fluff and had a long snout. At this moment, it was struggling, and at the same time, it used its nimble little claws to grab the Galleons it had just touched from Sean's bag into its belly pocket.

Although the little creature is cute, it has an extreme preference for everything that shines. As a magical animal, its strange ability makes it extremely difficult to detect when stealing things. If it wasn't for Sean's sensitivity and Dave, the Galleons in his pocket might have been snatched.

"Little guy, what are you doing?" Sean patted the Niffler. The ring he was wearing on his hand had been picked up, and he didn't even notice it.

The most important thing is that the Niffler in front of him is not Newt's Niffler. Newt's Niffler has already stolen more than Galleons from Sean, five decorative buttons on the cloak, and countless others. Although Newt returned everything to Sean after that, Sean and his Niffler were already familiar.

This Niffler in front of him, although not much different in appearance from Newt's, is still a different one. Hermione and Nagini also saw the Niffler in Sean's hand.

"Sean, where did it come from?" Hermione also recognized it at a glance.

"I don't know where this little guy came from. Nagini, do you know anything?" Sean shook the Niffler in his hand.

Nagini leaned over, looked at it, and shook her head. "I have only seen one Niffler, but that was a long time ago."

"This guy doesn't look like a wild Niffler." Sean held his chin.

As if thinking of something, Nagini leaned and moved a little closer. She whispered, "It may be a pet kept by a magical animal dealer. This bar often receives all kinds of unknown guests."

"Oh? Is that it?"

Nagini pondered for a while and said, "I'm not sure. After all, this little guy's ability is extraordinary, and this is Hogsmeade, after all."

"It makes sense..." Hermione agreed she wanted to turn her head to look at the customers in the bar, but she stopped abruptly.

She moved to Sean's side and whispered, "What should we do?"

"Let's talk about it in another place." Nagini stood up, walked out, and invited the two of them, "There is a place upstairs."

Sean hid the Niffler in his robe with one hand and beer in the other, walking towards the second floor with Hermione. The second floor of the Inn is a hotel, the corridor here is dim, and no one can see it.

Nagini passed the two, opened a door, and then waved them in.

After Sean and Hermione entered, Nagini closed the door and said with a smile, "This room is generally not rented out, and there is magic when the door is closed, so you can say anything without any worries."

Sean's eyes lit up. He put down the butterbeer, picked up the Niffler with both hands, and turned it upside down. After shaking for a while, a large pile of things fell out.

It was all shiny stuff.

In addition to currency, there are piles of gemstones of various colors, ornamental shields inlaid with worthless gems, strangely shaped medieval crowns, necklaces of gemstones entangled together, and many more. Sean even saw a pair of earrings, which should be the earrings bought by his roommate Terry if he remembers correctly. He seems to be planning to give it to a girl today.

"See if you two have lost anything." Sean said to the two of them.

Hermione looked at it and shook her head to say no. Nagini looked at it for a moment."

"If I remember correctly, this seems to belong to the clothing store down the road. There are many gorgeous robes and cloaks displayed in their cabinets."

"What is it doing other than stealing things?" Sean shook the Niffler, reached in to dig out, and after making sure there was nothing there, he threw it into his ring.

He doesn't have to worry about Niffler and wreaking havoc in the ring. Pudding could take care of it.

Sean looked around at the treasures collected by the Niffler and said, "It must be domesticated. Wild Niffler stockpile is much more than this, and it's much more messy."

Nagini nodded, "When I saw Aurelius away this morning, the clothes in the window at that store were still in stock."

"Interesting." A gleam flashed in Sean's eyes.

He knew Newt well and naturally knew many wizards who dealt with magical animals.

Although the danger level of this kind of creature is very low, its petty theft skills are particularly the thing most mischievous people do. Newt's Niffler was an exception, and the one caught by Sean was not as good as his, but it was still considered a good one.

Wizards who can train this kind of Nifflers are generally quite resourceful. It doesn't matter whether they are strong or not, but they must have hidden a lot of good things in their hands.

Sean suddenly had a twisted mind.

With a Niffler, its owner will definitely try to find it, and Sean is ready to negotiate with them.

If the Niffler ran out by itself, then it is what it is. But if he could use it as a negotiation chip, then it would benefit him greatly.

He can still buy a lot of things in Diagon Alley through his owl. But it would be nice if he could get some good things from that Niffler's owner.

He casually told Hermione and Nagini about his plan. Hermione was dumbfounded, "You are evil..."

Although she is smart, she still has a sense of morality.

Nagini agrees, "It could work. It's illegal to release Nifflers or even steal them. Even if they accidentally lost them, that person can still be accountable for their action. It's reasonable for Sean to ask for something in return."

Sean chuckled, told Hermione a few words, and then walked out of the room alone.

Inside the Inn, a cloaked wizard sitting at the door looked anxiously at the stairs. Waiting for the sound of footsteps on the stairs, he saw the two young students walking out of the bar.

The wizard waited a moment and immediately went out to follow.

On the cobblestone road in Hogsmeade, Sean and Hermione were on the left and on the right. The two occasionally spoke a few words and seemed to be walking towards the school.

The wizard who walked out of the bar walked into the corner, the air twisted slightly, and his figure disappeared.

The invisible wizard unhurriedly followed Sean and Hermione in front of him and hid in the shadows when he got close to the Three Broomsticks Inn. Professors at Hogwarts often went to the Three Broomsticks Inn for a drink.

Suddenly, he stopped and looked toward the window.

The wizard was anxious, but there was nothing he could do. He could only hope that the two children would leave quickly and wander around again.