Hogwarts: I am Snape

Chapter 38 News from Dunge

“Long time no see, Severus.” Ms. Rosmerta placed the tray on the table and nimbly pulled up a chair to sit down.

Her long chestnut hair cascaded down to her waist, and her wine-red lips curled into a charming smile.

She said to Pandora, "Little sister, your butterbeer as usual."

Ms. Rosmerta had a very distinctive floral scent. In the warm bar, this scent, like a cool breeze, drifted into Snape's nose.

“Try it,” Mrs. Rosmerta said gracefully, pinching the cork between her fingers and popping it open with a flick of her wrist. She poured some of the amber-like mead into two glasses. “I have to get back to the bar after this.”

“Thank you, madam.” Snape nodded slightly, raised his glass, and gently clinked it against hers.

The aroma of oak and the sweetness of honey lingered and blended on Snape's palate. He had never tasted such delicious mead before, but he loved it.

“That’s not fair,” a muffled voice chimed in. “I want to have a drink with you too!”

Mundungus, with a grime-covered black pipe dangling from his mouth, was slamming it against the table.

“Shut up, Mundungus!” Mrs. Rosmerta snapped without turning her head. “If you want to be banned from the Three Brooms too, keep slapping your filthy hands!”

"Cough, cough." Mundungus took a deep drag on his pipe, and a mouthful of ash choked him, causing him to cough until his face turned red. He quickly withdrew his hand.

He was banned from the Hog's Head last year, and with Aberforth's memory, he'd probably have to disguise himself as a witch to sneak in. If he gets banned by the Three Broomsticks as well, he'll have nowhere to go.

After stopping his cough, Mundungus put his pipe back in his pocket. The smoke dissipated, but the pungent smell of burnt socks lingered.

Ms. Rosmerta poured Snape another half glass of mead, then left the bottle on the table, got up, and went back to the bar to continue her work.

"Is this good?" Pandora asked curiously, staring at the mead in Snape's hand.

“Not bad,” Snape said. “Would you like to try some? I’ll go get you a new cup.”

After saying that, Snape got up and went to the bar to get a clean glass.

As he passed by Mundungus, he overheard Mundungus whispering to a hooded wizard next to him.

“Have you heard? Burke has moved into St. Mungo’s.” Mundungus’s voice sounded like it was being squeezed out from between his teeth.

“Oh, I found out when I went to Borgin-Bock’s shop at the beginning of the month. Borgin said he’d been sent to that special ward on the fifth floor of St. Mungo’s, which is for people whose brains have been damaged by magic…” the hooded wizard replied in a low voice.

“Yeah, yeah, spell damage department. Burke’s always messing around with some esoteric dark magic; I’d always thought it was only a matter of time before he moved in.” Mundungus grinned, a smug look on his face.

"This is a good thing for us, isn't it?" The hooded wizard chuckled twice.

“I agree. Although Borgin isn’t great either, it’s still much better than Burke. Burke always tries to lower my price. In July, I brought him a bottle of octopus venom, and he insisted that the quality wasn’t high enough, so he gave me twenty Galleons.” Mundungus became more and more angry as he spoke, and his chin trembled.

"Come on, do you think I don't know your little schemes? You dare say there wasn't anything else mixed in that bottle of poison..."

“Excuse me,” Snape finally couldn’t help but speak up, as the two were drifting further and further off track. “Were you talking about Karaktarch Burke?”

“Who else could it be but him? Oh, it’s you, boy.” Noticing Snape, Mundungus grumbled with displeasure, a hint of annoyance on his face. “What is it, Rosmerta’s little man?” “Mr. Mundungus,” Snape asked patiently, trying to suppress the pungent smell emanating from Mundungus, “do you know when Karaktaccus Burke moved into St. Mungo’s?”

"Hahaha, did you hear that?" Mundungus laughed exaggeratedly a few times, then shouted to the wizard beside him, "He called me 'sir'!"

"So you didn't know?"

“Mind your manners, lad,” Mundungus said in a drawn-out tone. “I’ll be merciful and tell you this, since you call me ‘sir.’”

"Bock lost his mind in September. I heard that Bokin waited at the store for several days but Bokin didn't come to relieve him, so he went to Bokin's house.

"Guess what? Bokin found him sitting on the ground alone, wand in hand, muttering nonsense like an idiot, babbling incessantly."

“If Bokin hadn’t gone to see him, Bok would probably have starved to death.”

"What happened to Burke?" Snape pressed.

“Dark magic!” Mundungus slammed his hand on the table. But he immediately shrank back, glancing cautiously toward the bar, afraid that Mrs. Rosmerta would notice.

After catching his breath, he continued, "Bogin said he used the Flashback Charm to recreate the spell that wand had recently cast. It's said to be an extremely evil ancient black magic, and very risky..."

“It’s not that simple,” the hooded wizard whispered mysteriously as he leaned closer. “Bogin tried to look into Burke’s memories, but there was nothing there, just a jumbled mess, like paste.”

"What did the Ministry of Magic say?" Snape asked again.

"Pfft—" the hooded wizard scoffed. "What are you talking about? How could Borgin possibly let the Aurors examine Bork's brain? He probably even helped shake Bork's brains to mix them up."

“Hey kid,” Mundungus beckoned to Snape with a lewd grin and said in a low voice, “I’ve answered so many of your questions,” he pointed slyly to the empty cup in front of Pandora, “how about giving me that cup?”

That was the glass Ms. Rosmerta had just used; her burgundy lipstick mark was still on it.

Pandora was looking this way, seemingly wondering why Snape had been lingering here for so long.

"Goodbye." Snape's lips twitched, and he quickly walked towards Pandora with the empty cup in his hand.

“It’s delicious,” Pandora said, taking a sip of the mead Snape poured for her. Her eyes lit up. “Hmm…it’s sweeter than butterbeer.”

"But the refreshing malt flavor of butterbeer has its own unique characteristics, doesn't it?"

“That’s right. Let’s go and explore other places.”

"Oh, wait a moment." Snape drew his wand and whispered, "Disappear!"

The glass and the butter beer mug instantly vanished into nothingness, into all things.

　Thank you for the monthly pass from Guifanxin.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)