A loud cracking sound shattered the quiet without warning on the path leading to Hogsmeade. A cloaked man materialized out of thin air. He glanced around, reached into his pocket to pull out a mechanical pocket watch, and after scanning the time displayed on its face, set off down the path draped in twilight.
By the time the cloaked figure walked into the village of Hogsmeade, night had fallen completely, and lights glowed from the windows of shops lining both sides of the street. He walked down the main thoroughfare for a few minutes before turning into a side alley, where a wave of rowdy noise drifted from the Hog's Head Inn not far ahead.
The Hog's Head Inn was even livelier at night. Many wizards living in the shadowy fringes of society came here to try their luck, and encountering peddlers smuggling goods, fencing potions, or selling other contraband inside the tavern was hardly unusual, not to mention the wizards who moonlighted as highwaymen.
Chapter 388