{{Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Intermediate Spoiler}}
Of the four customers in the Hog's Head Inn, two were rather more interested in the students' meeting than perhaps Harry would have liked. The veiled witch in the corner is [[Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Characters/Mundungus Fletcher|Mundungus Fletcher]], who washas watchingbeen overwatching Hogsmeade for the [[Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Major Events/Order of the Phoenix|Order of the Phoenix]]; he was disguised because he had evidently been barred from the Hog's Head, at least according to Sirius in [[Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Books/Order of the Phoenix/Chapter 17|the next chapter]]. And the much-bandaged wizard drinking Firewhisky at the bar is [[Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Characters/Willy Widdershins|Willy Widdershins]], who is in some trouble with the [[Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Places/Ministry of Magic|Ministry]] for charming toilets to make them regurgitate on Muggles. It is likely that he is in disguise because he isto evadingevade arrest. Hoping to beat the penalties for the charges, he reports the meeting to Umbridge, as is discovered in [[Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Books/Order of the Phoenix/Chapter 27|Chapter 27]].
Although Hermione requires each student to sign a parchment bearing an oath of secrecy, she secretlyhardly trusts them and has taken measures to insuresinsure that any "snitches" will be revealed. Unknown to the students whojoining join thisthe Defensive Arts teaching group, soon to be known as [[Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Major Events/Dumbledore's Army|Dumbledore's Army]], Hermione secretly jinxed the parchment that they signed to reveal anyoneany signer's identity who divulges information about the group. When Marietta Edgecombe later informs Umbridge about the secret meetings, she is horrified when purple pimples spelling "snitch" break out across her face.
Associated with that, we here see the first interesting bit of misdirection. The group's eventual betrayer, Edgecombe, is deliberately kept to the periphery, saying nothing apart from the occasional sigh or fidget. Zacharias Smith, with his obvious skepticism, is being presented to us as the most likely to betray the groupbetrayer; his attitude will continue at leastcontinues into the group's first actual meeting, which takes placesession in the [[Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Places/Room of Requirement|Room of Requirement]]. Willy Widdershins' report to Umbridge following the initialHog's Head meeting will resultresults in aall banstudent onorganizations studentbeing organizationsbanned. This in turn will causeleads Harry and Ron,at leastto initially,to believesuspect that thesomeone grouppresent hasat beenthat meeting betrayed by a member present therethem; while the readers' suspicions will likely fall immediately on Smith, Ron will jump to the conclusion that itimmediately wassuspects Michael Corner, based apparently on Corner's relationship with Ginny. Edgecombe's later betrayal of the group will come as a surprise to us.
The innkeeper at the Hog's Head looks familiar for a reason—he is [[Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Characters/Aberforth Dumbledore|Aberforth Dumbledore]], Professor Dumbledore's younger brother, as many readers guessed instantly. An extremely large clue is the goat odour Harry notices as he enters; readers will remember that in [[Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Books/Goblet of Fire/Chapter 24|the previous book]], Professor Dumbledore had mentioned that his brother had beenwas convicted of practicing inappropriate charms on a goat. Aberforth will play an important role in the final book.
