The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 140 Quirrell and Harry

In fact, Quirrell didn't need to hide from others. Seeing him like this, the two or three remaining customers in the bar were walking around him. Those who knew he was a professor at Hogwarts, and those who didn't thought he had escaped from a mental hospital.

Seeing Quirrell who seemed to be suffering from paranoia, Ada patiently asked again, "Professor, I am a student of Hogwarts. What's wrong with you? Are you in any danger?"

Quirinus Quirrell seemed to have finally regained his consciousness. He stuttered and said, "I... I'm fine. I just... I just remembered something scary."

His voice was a little unclear, his eyes were avoiding others, and he kept trembling while speaking, making a sound of teeth knocking against each other. Ada was afraid that if he continued to tremble like this, he would bite his tongue.

Ada walked back to the bar, poured a large glass of brandy, and placed it on the table where Quirrell had been. As for why it was brandy, not whiskey or other alcohol, it was because brandy was cheap.

Quirrell stepped forward cautiously, staring at the glass for a long time before daring to take a sip. Seeing that nothing happened after he finished drinking, Quirrell raised the glass and gulped it down his mouth, almost like drinking a donkey.

After drinking a large glass of brandy, Quirrell's pale face had a hint of redness. The alcohol made him braver, and he was not as scared as before. But he still stared at everyone in the room, as if to prevent them from suddenly turning into vampires or werewolves.

Other people's little stutterers are so pretty and have good figures, but the little stutterer in Hogwarts is nothing like others except for his stuttering. He is a cowardly, timid and ugly boy.

Old Tom came over and asked Ada softly, "What's going on? His appearance is affecting our business!"

Ada shrugged helplessly. She said, "I can't help it. He sees me as if I were a monster. Maybe I'm too pretty. He feels very inferior after seeing me, so he avoids me."

Old Tom didn't believe Ada's nonsense. He took two steps towards Quirrell. When Quirrell was about to step back, Old Tom stopped and kept a safe distance from Quirrell. Old Tom said, "Professor Quirrell, do you need me to contact Professor Dumbledore or Minister Fudge? You look terrible."

"No, no need. I can solve any problem by myself! I don't need anyone's help!" Old Tom's words seemed to touch Quirrell's sore spot. He rejected the proposal sharply, and he didn't stutter at all when he said this.

"Then let me help you go upstairs and have some rest. You look very tired," said Old Tom.

"Okay... okay. I... I do... I do need a break."

Old Tom raised his hands and slowly approached Quirrell, supporting him as he walked toward the stairs. Old Tom said to Ada, "Little Ada, it's getting late. You should go home first."

Although Ada was a little suspicious of Quirrell's behavior, she did not stay to find out the truth. It was better to have less trouble than more. There was no Professor McGonagall to support her here. It would not be too late to talk about it after returning to school.

But the next day at work, Ada didn't see Quirrell in the Leaky Cauldron. Old Tom said that Quirrell left before dawn and seemed to have returned to normal, at least not as bad as before.

A very talented adult wizard who is also a professor at Hogwarts should be excellent, but Quirrell's appearance is completely unrelated to excellence.

Quirrell was so strange, he was afraid of everything, and everything around him seemed to kill him. Ada even suspected that he had used Dumbledore's backdoor to teach at Hogwarts, otherwise how could he be a professor?
What made Ada most angry was that, since Quirrell could remember to pay for his own accommodation, why couldn't he also pay for the brandy?
Ada was even more angry when she received her pay slip on July 42. She was supposed to get 41 gold galleons, but she only got , plus a few pitiful silver Sickles, because Old Tom included the money for the brandy in Ada's salary!
Decadent, evil capitalism! Disgusting, inhumane!
On the 31st, the Leaky Cauldron welcomed its most important guest, but Ada was not in the mood to care about these things. She was still feeling sad for her little Qianqian whose "death" was unclear.

As the number of customers in the bar gradually increased, Quirinus Quirrell once again appeared in the Leaky Cauldron. Although only ten days had passed since the last time, Quirrell seemed to have changed. He no longer looked afraid of everything, and he could talk to the people around him. If he hadn't still stuttered and was a little timid when he spoke, Ada would have almost failed to recognize him. Before Ada could settle accounts with Quirrell, the door of the bar was opened again, and a huge figure appeared in the bar.

Looking at this figure, Ada took out a small bucket from under the bar and asked, "Still following the old rules, Hagrid?" This small bucket was specially prepared for Hagrid. Others used small buckets, but Hagrid only used a big cup.

The broad figure belonged to Rubeus Hagrid, the gamekeeper and key keeper of Hogwarts. There was no one in the whole of England who looked exactly like him. Hagrid said, "No, Ada, not today. I'm working for Hogwarts."

There was a boy hidden in Hagrid's tall figure. Hagrid turned sideways, and Ada could see the boy's appearance. He had messy hair and a pair of emerald green eyes.

"I told you we'd meet again." Ada said to the boy with a smile, "Welcome, welcome back, Harry Potter!"

Harry looked at the girl standing at the bar. It was the same girl he saw at the amusement park. She was still as beautiful as ever, with her long golden hair tied behind her head, revealing her slender white neck. Harry said, "Long time no see..."

"Ida, you actually know Harry?" Hagrid asked, "I've never heard you mention him before!"

"It was just a chance encounter." Ada took out a pen and paper and handed it to Harry, "Harry, please help me and sign your name. Just write: Happy birthday to Ginevra Weasley. Then just sign your name."

"Oh, OK." Harry nodded blankly, and then began to write blessings and signatures on the parchment under Ada's guidance. At this time, the guests in the bar also became noisy, and they recognized who the boy who was writing with his head down was!

Chairs clattered, and the patrons in the bar stood up and lined up to shake Harry's hand. Everyone was expressing their excitement to Harry, especially when Harry remembered Dedalus Digger, the little old man was so excited that he almost jumped to the roof.

Quirrell, who was as timid as a mouse, also grabbed Harry's hand and spoke to him stutteringly. From Quirrell's words, Ada also knew that Quirrell would be the school's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor in the next semester. The timid person unexpectedly did something full of courage.

The people in the bar were still talking about Harry Potter, even though he had left with Hagrid. Ada put Quirrell's matter aside for the time being, because there was something more important waiting for her to do.

Sure enough, the considerate old Tom had appeared beside Ada, holding a bottle of butter beer in his hand. Ada knocked on the bar to attract the guests' attention, and she said loudly: "Welcome back Harry Potter, cheers to Harry Potter!"

"To Harry Potter!"

There was another sound of crackling and clinking of glasses in the bar. Harry Potter's name was useful, and Ada had already taken advantage of him twice.

After doing all this, Ada began to look for Quirrell in the bar, but she couldn't find him. She also didn't know when the professor left, so she had to put the debt collection matter aside again.

However, Ada was still thinking about Quirrell. The contrast between the two meetings and his extreme behavior made Ada very interested in him. What exactly happened to this newly transferred Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?

Thanks to the book friend Luoyue Ruzheng for the reward
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(End of this chapter)