Without the presence of the little wizards, Hogsmeade is a bit deserted today.
Looking from the window, there is only one customer in the Pig Head Bar, drinking alone, and even the boss is missing.
"Hi, Aberforth, are you there?" Ignoring the sloppy guests at the table, Ani called out to the bar owner after pushing the door open.
"Oh, it's little Aini. It's really sad. It seems that you have forgotten what I look like." The guest who had been turning his back to Aini turned around.
His hair was messy, as if it hadn't been washed for several days; his clothes were full of wine stains, and his cuffs were still wet and dripping with water. Aini hoped that it was dripping wine and not saliva.
I have to say that the image of the man in front of me is really terrible. Aini finally understands why the business of the Pig Head Bar is so bleak. The smell of alcohol mixed with body odor on his body is enough to dissuade all customers with normal sense of smell.
The drunken and confused face turned to Aini. Although it looked a mess, it was enough to recognize that it was indeed Aberforth himself.
Aini lowered the operating index of the Pig Head Bar by another level. Now it doesn't even have a single customer, and the only one drinking is the owner himself.
"Sorry, Aberforth, it's just that your dress today is a little, uh, a little unusual." Aini didn't know how to formulate his words. This elder who usually looked carefree exuded a strong aura at this time. sad.
Especially when Ani and Aberforth looked at each other, those eyes containing complex emotions such as regret, pain, nostalgia, regret, etc. seemed to shine into his soul, and all sadness originated from this.
It wasn't until Aberforth spoke again that Ani was freed from this strange state. For a moment, fine beads of sweat quickly climbed up his tailbone. When he looked at the old man again, there was already a hint of horror in his eyes. .
For at least a second, or maybe longer, Ani was completely immersed in the sadness spread by Aberforth, and even lost himself to a certain extent. In his seventeen years of experience, this was the first time. Encountered such a thing once.
The contemporary second son of the Dumbledore family is obviously not as mediocre and harmless as he usually appears.
"Sorry, Ani, I can't control myself." Aberforth let out a long belch, "I should drink less, but we don't always do what we should do, right? ?”
"I think you will agree with me. After all, even my great brother doesn't do everything right."
The old man emphasized the word "great" in a tone that sounded particularly sarcastic.
Aberforth invited Ani to sit down. His brain, numbed by alcohol, instinctively wanted to find someone to talk to.
And whether it was when they got along before, or now, Aini gave him the feeling that he was a trustworthy and close enough junior.
To be honest, Aini didn't want to sit next to him, and he didn't even want to stay in the Pig's Head Bar. The irritating gas here was too strong, and his sensitive nose protested at all times from the moment he stepped into the bar door.
But there was no way, this was another elder who took great care of him.
Aini couldn't leave such an abnormal old man and turned around to leave. Without much hesitation, he ignored the protests from his nose and sat next to Aberforth.
"Do you have any brothers or sisters? Ani."
"No, apart from mom and dad, it's just me and my friends."
Aberforth looked up at Ani, as if wondering about his answer.
In fact, Aini had the same doubts as the old man. In his memory, he should have had an older brother, a brother who was much older than him. At this time, his eldest nephew should be going to magic school soon.
But since he became a member of the Scamander family, he had never seen or even heard from any of his peers. He felt that he had suddenly become Newt's only heir inexplicably.
"Snapped!"
Aberforth slapped his forehead. It was said that Ani's habit of slapping his forehead when he diverted his attention originated from the owner of the Pig's Head Bar.
Amidst the clatter of thunder that followed, Aberforth hurriedly lifted up the wine bottle that had been knocked down by his sleeves. For a moment, the smell of wine in the air became even stronger.
"Unlike you, I have three brothers and one sister." Aberforth seemed to suddenly remember something, and hurriedly skipped the previous question, and went on to tell the story. In a hurry, even the water flowing on the table I didn’t even bother to put away the drinks.
"You recognize two of them. The eldest brother among the three siblings, you know who he is. Then there is me, a mediocre bar owner, and Ariana is undoubtedly the cutest sister in the world."
A proud smile crept up the corner of Aberforth's mouth. He picked up the wine bottle he had just rescued, shook it, poured himself a glass, and fetched a new glass. After filling it, he pushed it to Aini.
"Try it. I brewed it myself. You can only drink it today on this day of the year."
After taking a small sip, it seemed as if there was a touch of crystal bitterness that went straight from the base of the tongue to the bottom of my heart, and then spread to every corner of my body.
"At that time, Albus always thought that the Dumbledore family should become the sun when they flew into the sky, but I just wanted to take care of Ellie at home. She was always so distressing."
"Ellie likes lambs very much. I raised some for her. I remember that she always liked to hold the female lamb and said that it would grow up to become a cute little girl. That lamb was even smaller than Ellie. younger sister."
Aberforth recounted the past to Ani nostalgically, but many things were brushed aside without being explained clearly.
For example, Ariana's tragic experience when she awakened her magic in childhood, why their father was arrested, the death of their mother, the battle between the three and the final outbreak of Obscurus.
But for Aini, these concealments are meaningless.
"That day Ariana suddenly told me that she wanted a dress. I used all my savings at the time to order the best one for her. Unfortunately, she never had the chance to wear it again."
Just like before, Ani also raised his hand and patted his forehead. Fortunately, this time he didn't have a wine bottle at hand.
"Oh my God, I actually forgot. Mrs. Witte asked me to bring this to you." Ani quickly took the dress out of his pocket and handed it to Aberforth who was standing aside.
"Well, it usually comes in the morning. Today is Ellie's birthday. I order one for her every year. Thank you, Aini."
Aberforth picked up his wand and opened the bag through the air. The dress stretched out in the air and danced a waltz as if it were alive.
I have to say that Mrs. Witte's craftsmanship is really great. Although it looks a bit old-fashioned, the workmanship is completely impeccable.
But Aberforth's brows still furrowed. Like Mrs. Witt, he also felt that his "sister's body" was constantly aging.
"It's really bad. It looks like Ellie has lost at least 8 pounds this year. Maybe I should talk to Vernie about this." Aberforth was a little dissatisfied with Ellie's aging, but even he felt that This may be the true growth trajectory of his sister. He wants to prevent Ellie from aging, but he does not want to destroy this natural trajectory.
"Fox was like this before Nirvana. I think a cute girl like Ellie will definitely rise from the ashes like a phoenix. Members of the Dumbledore family are always related to the phoenix, aren't they?"
Aberforth's eyes lit up when he heard this.
