Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 552 (550): Fairy Contract

In Hogsmeade, where snowflakes fall like goose down, ice crystals hang from the soft, silvery eaves.

A black cat walks on the rooftop where smoke occasionally rises, then disappears from sight.

The Pig Head Bar was dimly lit.

Just like Aberforth's eyes, sparks only occasionally ignite.

He slowly closed his eyes, muttering words that were difficult to understand.

The silver Pensieve was placed to one side, and floating silver threads of memory appeared in Aberforth's recollections.

Beside the fireplace, the fire rose, accompanied by a pricking pain.

He could barely breathe; he couldn't even imagine it.

Beyond the curtain, without his care, how will she endure these long and torturous years?

Ninety-five years after Ariana's death, Aberforth thought of her for the thirty-thousandth time.

He remembered that after his mother passed away, he was the only one who could comfort her.

When her magic surges, he will reminisce about the days they used to feed the sheep together, and when she hears him, she knows it is him.

So after she left, he raised many sheep.

But no matter how loudly the sheep bleat, they can never recapture those days.

Few people know that his favorite story is "Crumb the Dirty Goat," a story that isn't particularly funny.

But whenever her mother told this story, Ariana would listen carefully and with suppressed excitement.

Therefore, Aberforth didn't actually like anything.

However... he likes Ariana the most.

"Albus!"

The funeral flashed through his mind again, and he punched the guy so hard his nose was broken.

But will his sister, his poor, adorable little Ariana, return with a twisted nose and his twisted heart?
So the fifteen-year-old boy paid the price for his mistake. When he was focused on standing up for himself and his sister, he completely forgot that his anger was also for her sake.

Anger ignited everyone and burned everything.

The Ariana he cared for, the Ariana his mother cared for, the Ariana his father had instructed him to care for… fell in a pool of blood.

"It was my fault……"

Aberforth's unkempt beard was stained with droplets of glistening liquid, and boundless guilt and remorse made his throat feel as if it were filled with a hot coal.

"The master of dreams and mists, the bridge between life and death, the symbol of eternal good fortune..."

He muttered to himself and suddenly wiped his face.

The sound in his memory overlapped with his own voice during meditation.

"Make a wish upon me, lucky Miss Ariana."

"I make a wish to you, revered deity..."

Aberforth was like a drowning man grasping at his last straw.

"If one day, the night becomes the prelude, and the fog blurs the boundaries, at the dawn..."

The bridge will open for you.

"Please open the bridge for me."

"I am willing to give everything."

Aberforth's voice was too soft to be heard.

……

Fairy Tale Corner.

Quirrell had been waiting for a long time.

Sheen and the professor carefully slipped out through the back door, avoiding the wizards who lingered after closing time.

A few minutes later, the two figures had completely disappeared from Hogsmeade.

After passing through the still surging crowds in Diagon Alley, they arrived at a snow-white building that stood tall above the surrounding shops.

Beside the gleaming bronze gate stood a figure dressed in a scarlet uniform trimmed with gold.

Upon seeing Professor Quirrell, it quickly sidled up to him.

"Qi-Luo?"

Its voice sounded like it had a toffee stuck in its mouth. Professor Quirrell nodded slightly, then glanced around.

"So...you...you are..."

The fairy in the scarlet uniform immediately became eager, looking at the little wizard and lowering its head in self-control.

A second later, it seemed to realize it had misspoke, so it nervously shut its mouth and shakily led Sheehan and Professor Quirrell into Gringotts.

A few seconds later, they were standing in the huge marble foyer.

Behind the long counter, fairies sat on high stools, greeting the first customers of the day.

The scarlet-uniformed fairy led them toward an older fairy who was examining a thick gold coin through a lens.

It scrutinized Quirrell with a mixture of admiration and disdain, its expression changing drastically in an instant:

"You, you've arrived—oh dear! What can I do for you today?"

“I think we’ve reached a consensus, Verne.”

Professor Quirrell stepped forward, blocking the goblin's view, and said seriously.

“Oh, of course, of course…we can provide that kind of thing, even more, but…”

The fairy named Verne narrowed his eyes.
"But this is paid; there must be compensation."

"What do you want? Gold?"

Quirrell exchanged a subtle glance with Sheehan.

"I don't want gold."

Verne said,

"We have plenty of gold."

His cloudy black eyes shone brightly, with no whites showing.

What do you want?

Quirrell frowned and tilted his head slightly.
"Sir, I must ask you, the contract you need is not only found in Gringotts, nor is it only available to goblins."

Sheen did not answer; he stared at Verne in silence, deep in thought.

He needs a solid contract to ensure the plan goes smoothly.

In Ravenclaw's memory, goblins have held a firm grip on mysterious contract magic since the founding of Hogwarts Castle.

Before Verne was just a young, expressionless face, but once it thought about the identity that the name represented and the foreseeable future, it couldn't help but become nervous.

"Please don't worry. We are not thieves, sir. We will not covet wealth that we have no right to."

The old fairy relented and took a step back.

Tell my husband what your request is.

Quirrell stared at the aged fairy.

He knew that fairies were all clever and cunning.

If there's anything to be trusted about them, it's that they won't easily break their promises.

"Please be aware that revealing Gringotts' secrets is against the rules. Those deeply buried contracts are one of Gringotts' greatest secrets."

Therefore, we are merely guardians of immense wealth, responsible for what we protect, even if those things are often things we created ourselves.

The old fairy stood up straight.
"We'll give you a magic that will never betray you, but..."

He looked at the second door knocker, on which was engraved the verses that thieves would surely be punished.

“We must obtain a sufficient reward in exchange, despite your power and fame. But you only have one bargaining chip here to exchange for this magic.”

"what?"

Sheen's eyes flickered.

He recalled his teacher Ravenclaw saying that fairy magic was a very special kind of magic, a completely different system from wizarding magic.

Now, Verne's words resonated with him even more.

Contract magic...

"Your friendship, sir."

Verne bowed with a smile.

(End of this chapter)