The Butcher of Hogsmeade

When Voldemort left, he didn't immediately Apparate; instead, he transformed into black smoke, just as he had arrived, and disappeared only after flying a long distance away. It was only at this moment that Shen Hou "heard" the Prewitt brothers beside him resume normal breathing.

The sound of him exhaling with a sigh of relief was deafening.

"My God, we actually survived!" Fabian exclaimed, completely unconcerned about saving face. "The moment the door key broke, I started to regret not leaving a will beforehand; I was going to leave all the magical items I had saved up to Fred and George."

"Those two boys are already naughty enough, don't cause Molly any more trouble." Gideon's voice was still a little unsteady even now, still shaken by the experience.

Dumbledore walked over, carefully looked everyone over, and asked, "Are you all alright, gentlemen?"

Fabian quickly replied, "Aside from being terrified and breaking out in a cold sweat, everything else was fine."

"We're all fine, but the door keys are all destroyed, Professor," Gideon said.

Shen Houze asked, "How did Voldemort know we had the key? Wasn't it said that besides us users, there were only three or four other people who knew? Were there Voldemort's people among them?"

"It could be a spy, it could be the Imperius Curse, or it could even be that he just used Legilimency to see it in your minds; especially if you were thinking about the Portkey so intensely, it would be easy for him to read it." Dumbledore was unwilling to draw a conclusion easily.

Recalling his earlier encounter, Gideon had a guess in his mind: "He didn't mention the door key when he first spoke with Shen, until he saw me and Fabian..."

"Hey, is it our fault again?" Fabian grumbled.

"We can investigate the reason later. You should leave now." Dumbledore casually broke off a branch from the roadside and tapped it lightly with his knotted wand, and a new Portkey was formed.

The Portkey led to Shen Hou's safe house. When the three landed, they knocked the tables and chairs over. Dumbledore, however, was nowhere to be seen. After a while, he Apparated to the porch, knocked on the door, and came in.

"I went back to the Ministry of Magic and informed the Minister, the Director of Transportation, and the Head of the Auror's Office about Voldemort's appearance," Dumbledore explained his whereabouts.

"What did they say?" Fabian asked. "They tried to go fishing, but when they cast their line, they hooked a horse-shaped water monster that almost dragged them into the water."

"Without a doubt, the plan has been temporarily suspended. No one would dare risk sending an Auror or any other Ministry of Magic official directly to Voldemort; that wouldn't be luring them in, it would be sending them to their deaths." Dumbledore pulled up a chair and sat down. "Judging from the Minister's tone, she seems inclined to support Mr. Crouch's suggestion to launch a preemptive attack to wipe out the giant tribe that has clearly sided with Voldemort. If we can't capture the core Death Eaters, we'll eliminate some of their allies first; the giants' brutality and the crimes they've committed recently are well-established."

"That makes sense, but it's not easy to do," Gideon said.

Fabian chimed in, "It would take at least four or five elite Aurors working together skillfully to have a chance of defeating an adult giant; if it were an attack on an entire tribe, not just a lone giant, the manpower required would be even greater, and giants are not monsters."

Dumbledore nodded slightly: "Yes, Mr. Crouch's plan is for all of the Ministry of Magic's combat personnel to be deployed, and for any spells to be used against giants who refuse to surrender during the battle—this is the most controversial point, and also the point that makes the Minister the most hesitant."

Not only the Prewitt brothers, but also Shen Hou understood what the so-called "any spell" truly meant. Given Barty Crouch's consistent style, if he could use the Unforgivable Curse on Death Eaters without trial, could there be any more restrictions when dealing with Titans?

Death Eaters are still wizards, after all!

"Ha, if it weren't for his selfish motives, and if it weren't for the fact that he had a Death Eater son who became a spy for the Mysterios, I would quite like this Director. At least, he has commendable courage." Fabian sneered, making it impossible to tell whether he was praising or mocking Old Barty.

Gideon added helplessly, "If he and Scrimgeour could have fewer disagreements, having such a strong-willed director would actually be quite good."

"The only way to keep them from arguing is for one of them to drug the other with a love potion." Fabian laughed before he could finish speaking.

"Why haven't you said anything, Shen?" Dumbledore suddenly looked at Shen Hou.

The Pwitt brothers then noticed that Shen Hou hadn't said a word since returning to the safe house, and had been sitting with his back to the window, seemingly lost in thought.

"Could you have been scared out of your wits by that mysterious person? It's certainly unsettling to see that face for the first time." Fabian said, half comforting and half teasing.

"I..." Shen Hou wanted to say that this wasn't the first time he had seen Voldemort's face, but he realized it was inappropriate and swallowed the words back. "I was just reviewing the events."

Fabian waved his hand impatiently: "Review what? You did well enough just now. That 'End of All Curses' bought us at least a minute, otherwise we would have just been waiting to die; the Mystic didn't need to destroy the Portkey, and he didn't attract Dumbledore."

Dumbledore was clearly not as carefree as Fabian; he asked seriously, "Have you thought of something?"

Shen Hou thought for a moment, then instead of answering directly, asked two questions. The first was directed at the Prewitt brothers: "Voldemort didn't just appear right next to us, right? It wasn't Apparition, nor a Portkey or anything like that?"

Gideon thought for a moment before nodding: "Indeed, when he appeared, it seemed as if he had flown all the way here, using his unique flying technique, which no other wizard knows."

Shen Hou's second question was directed at Dumbledore: "Besides Voldemort, have any other Death Eaters been found nearby? Have the Aurors lying in ambush nearby, or those monitoring the Death Eater strongholds, detected any movement towards Somerset?"

Dumbledore shook his head: "As far as I know, no. According to Iscringe, the semi-public Death Eaters he was monitoring were all behaving normally today, and the Transport Department did not detect any large-scale Apparitions or illegal use of Portkeys near the coast."

"In other words, we can assume that Voldemort acted alone today, right?" Shen Hou pressed.

"So what? Isn't it normal for him to act alone? Both James and Frank have encountered the mysterious man more than once; he mostly acts alone, otherwise James and the others might not have been able to come back so many times." Fabian was puzzled by Shen Hou's series of questions.

"Do you think it's worthwhile for Voldemort to make a special, solo trip, just to kill me or the three of us, and even have to fly through the air searching for us?"

Fabian scratched his head: "You...we...are probably...not worth it?"