The Butcher of Hogsmeade

Compared to the calm of the latter half of February, the situation in the magical world suddenly became dire as March arrived. The struggle between the Ministry of Magic and the Death Eaters over the giant horde intensified.

For several weeks, news about the giants was updated frequently and quickly became a hot topic at the Leaky Cauldron, the Three Broomsticks, and the Pig's Head.

Wizards both loathed and discriminated against giants, using this attitude to mask their fear of them. The reason, as Alastor aptly put it, was: "A wizard who hasn't undergone rigorous combat training, even if he's an adult and has the guts to cast a killing spell on a giant, will most likely only manage to make those brutal creatures bleed from the nose; conversely, a giant could easily slap a wizard's head into his chest."

However, the giants are a race with a violent and warlike temperament, and they often slap people after only a few words.

As more and more signs emerged that many giants were choosing to join the Death Eaters, the wizards' fear of giants inevitably erupted; and this fear would greatly influence public opinion.

If news spreads that the Ministry of Magic has forced a tribe of giants to sever ties with the Death Eaters and relocate to the far north, the pubs are filled with praise; if rumors circulate that a tribe of giants is unruly and is attempting to enter Britain, voices will immediately rise in condemnation of the Ministry of Magic's incompetence, and the patrons will wish they could personally take charge, quell the giant rebellion, and stabilize the magical world.

Amidst the chaos, much of the hidden warfare and real battlefield information is concealed beneath the surface.

During this period, Shen Hou participated in two operations against giants: the first one went smoothly. Under the persuasion of Mr. Barty Crouch with "emotion and reason", a tribe of giants that originally occupied the Shetland Islands moved north to northern Norway, and the Ministry of Magic provided them with food and winter supplies on a regular basis.

The second operation, conducted half a month after the first, was carried out immediately. A giant tribe of about thirty people was almost completely wiped out, leaving only five or six women and underage giants. They were forcibly sent to Norway and merged into the first giant tribe that was willing to cooperate. The blood of the dead giants stained the entire valley red. It took at least twenty wizards two whole days to clean up the stench of blood and the corpses, and to disguise the scene as environmental damage caused by a sea storm landing.

Shen Hou's "Iron Wall Curse" shone brightly in action, almost the only curse that could negate a Titan's full-force attack and also hinder the Titan's charge.

After the operation concluded, Shen Hou returned to London to rest, only to receive a bombshell announcement upon his return to the Ministry of Magic: "Rufus Scrimgeour was critically injured during the operation and is nearly fatal."

"What happened? The main force of the Auror Office went with Barty to deal with the giants. How could they launch any other operations?" Shen Hou and the Prewitt brothers were both surprised and couldn't understand what kind of operation could have seriously injured the director of the Auror Office.

"It was a trap. Old Barty fell for it, and Scrimgeour was careless too." The speaker was Alice Longbottom, one of the very few Aurors who had not participated in the hunt for the giants and had been ordered to stay behind at the Ministry of Magic.

"Tell me in detail, was Scrimgeour taken to the hospital? Is his life in danger?" Alastor immediately came over when he heard the commotion, his burly figure squeezing Shen Hou and Fabian aside.

Alice said, "Not long after you left, Scrimgeour received a tip that the giant tribe that had migrated to Norway had changed their minds, been recruited by the Death Eaters again, and was returning to their old base in the Shetland Islands. The informant's information indicated that the giant migration route would pass through a Muggle fishing village on the island. Scrimgeour, worried about trouble, rushed there with only a few men. What they encountered wasn't giants, but a group of Death Eaters. Scrimgeour personally covered the retreat of the others, and was seriously wounded in the process. He survived after being taken to the hospital, but..."

"But what?"

"But he's crippled in one leg," Alice said. "It's said to be some kind of black magic I've never seen before, something like a cutting spell. It pierced through Scrimgeour's 'Iron Armor Charm' in an instant, striking his ankle. Hemostatic and healing spells were useless. He almost didn't survive the massive blood loss when he got to the hospital. In the end, although the bleeding was stopped, the bones and tendons were all severed by the spell, and no healing spells or potions could repair it. The doctor said it's probably never going to heal."

Mad-Eye roared, "Do you know who did it?"

Alice shook her head and sighed: "The attackers were all wearing masks and the black robes that Death Eaters usually wear."

"Damn it, this is a provocation against the Auror office!" Alastor was furious. "If you can't find the Death Eaters, find that informant. He's definitely in cahoots with them."

Alice stopped Mad-Eye and explained, "Frank has already been there and found that the informant was already dead in his own bathtub. The time of his death was around the time Scrimgeour met 'him.' Frank judged that it was possible that the Death Eaters used Polyjuice Potion to impersonate the informant, or it was possible that the informant did indeed betray Scrimgeour. But either way, he was silenced after the deed was done."

With nowhere to vent his anger, Alastor said, "I'm going to St. Mungo's," and turned to leave. He didn't even notice Alice reaching out to stop him, and strode out of the office. As he left, he pounded the ground with his wooden cane, as if he wanted to pierce through it.

Fabian watched Alastor leave, then sighed, "Scrimgeour has been having a really bad run of luck lately. I hope he's alright."

Gideon noticed Alice hesitated, then asked in a low voice, "Is there anything else, Alice?"

Alice glanced around to make sure no one else was watching, then said in the same low voice, "Dumbledore sent an owl to inform you that we will meet at Shen's safe house tonight."

Shen Hou's eyes lit up: "He has results on his end?"

"It wasn't mentioned in the letter," Alice said, spreading her hands. "But I think it probably is; I just don't know if the outcome will be good or bad."

"It's about time we got results." Shen Hou said with a sigh, "It's been a full twenty days since we encountered Voldemort. If we still can't find him, it just means I was wrong from the start. Even if he was moved afterward, there should have been some trace left behind."

With a mix of anticipation and worry, Shen Hou lingered in Auror's office until the end of the workday.

Back at the safe house, Sirius Black was excitedly fidgeting. As soon as he saw Shen Hou, he shouted, "We've found a cave sealed with dark magic. There must be something good hidden inside!"