The barman in the Hog's Head

[stickbook41]

No: HPFGUIDX 126621


During a recent reread of OotP, this passage during the Hog's Head
scene caught my eye:

"The barman sidled toward them out of a back room. He was a
grumpy-looking old man with a great deal fo long gray hair and beard.
He was tall and thin and looked vaguely familiar to Harry." (Chapter
16: In The Hog's Head)

It really drives me nuts sometimes that Harry doesn't pay more
attention to these things--WHY does he look familiar?  I'd like to put
forth the theory that the barman is (drum roll please) Aberforth
Dumbledore.

Arguments in favor:
- Physical description is similar to that of Albus
- Harry saw Aberforth in Moody's photo of the original Order (Chapter
9: The Woes Of Mrs. Weasley), possibly explaining why he looked
familiar
- Aberforth appears not to have been very involved with the other
members of the original Order--Moody tells Harry that he only ever met
Aberforth one time, and that he was a "strange bloke"--and this could
explain why none of the current Order members seem to be familiar with
his whereabouts
- This is just fun: Harry notices that the Hog's Head "smelled
strongly of something that might have been goats."

Arguments against:
- Why would Mundungus have been the one to spy on Harry at the initial
DA meeting when the Order could have used Aberforth?  (Refutes could
include a falling-out between Albus and Aberforth, or that Aberforth
is an ultra-secret agent for Albus.)

Any other ideas?

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