The Butcher of Hogsmeade

The small boat carried Dumbledore and Mia to the center of the pool, where there was a rocky island, or rather, a flat, smooth black rock, about the size of the Hogwarts Headmaster's office.

Having come here twice before, Dumbledore walked with ease, while the house-elf Mia was much more nervous. The blurry green phosphorescence in the center of the island filled her with inexplicable fear.

"If you're scared, I won't force you. You can still go back to Hogwarts now," the headmaster said gently to his "little" staff member.

"Mia isn't afraid... no, Mia is afraid, but Mia is willing to do it," the house-elf said, tilting her head back.

Dumbledore nodded approvingly and led Mia to the center of the island in the lake. There, a stone platform rose from the ground, and on the platform sat a stone basin filled with a bright green liquid; the hazy green phosphorescence they had seen came from this liquid.

"Mia, please remember what I am about to say, every single word; and you must swear to do as I say and never give up halfway." Dumbledore's face was reflected in the green liquid, his expression serious.

"Yes, Mia would never disobey Dumbledore's orders."

"Listen carefully, I'm about to start drinking this potion in this basin. It tastes terrible and will be very painful to drink. I might stop halfway through and be too scared to drink anymore. My order to you is: if I stop halfway through, you must continue to feed me this potion until I drink all of it."

Mia blinked, asking worriedly, "Do I really have to drink this potion? Is it poison?"

"You don't need to know any of this. Just remember my words... no, remember my orders." Dumbledore's tone was calm, but his attitude was serious and resolute. "You must keep feeding me the medicine, no matter how much I refuse or beg you, no matter how much pain I seem to be in. You cannot stop. Until I finish this potion, everything I say to you is null and void. You must unconditionally obey the orders I am giving you now. Can you do that?"

The house-elf was clearly terrified and hesitated to answer.

Dumbledore softened his tone: "If you don't resolutely carry out my orders, I will suffer even more, like the students in the school hospital who refuse to take their medicine. You've seen students like that, haven't you?"

Mia nodded repeatedly.

"Very well, then you can think of yourself as Mrs. Pomfrey, supervising the students as they drink their medicine; you must make sure I finish the potion in the stone basin. Once I've finished, I'll give you new orders, and until then, whatever I say, you must not listen to it."

Mia paused for a moment, then nodded vigorously, a gesture that seemed to require a great deal of determination from her.

"I've got it. I'll do exactly what Dumbledore says."

"Then let's begin!" Dumbledore casually gestured, and a crystal goblet appeared in his hand. He then scooped the first cup of potion from the stone basin. "Having experienced it the first time, it seems your resolve has been weakened quite a bit from the start this time..."

The old wizard's voice was so low that even the house-elves couldn't hear it. This cave, thoroughly imbued with dark magic, relentlessly swallowed all sound and light.

"Can house-elves fulfill Dumbledore's request?" Fabian lingered on the water's edge, muttering to the others to mask his unease. "I've been to the kitchens at Hogwarts countless times looking for food, but I've never seen a house-elves, even though most students and teachers are already aware of their existence."

Sirius Black chimed in, "That's how house-elves are. They serve the wizards, but they can't disturb them with their presence. That's their code of conduct. They certainly do a great job in the kitchen, don't they? Otherwise, how come you always seem to have food to steal every time you go into the kitchen?"

"Looks like you spent a lot of time in the kitchen when you were in school?" Fabian winked. "You seem quite familiar with the habits of house-elves!"

“I had one in my family… I mean the Black family. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t just one house-elf, but an entire family of house-elves, passed down from generation to generation.” Sirius Black spoke expressionlessly, his tone as cold as if he were talking to a stranger when he spoke of his former home. “I didn’t like house-elves because, from childhood, my impression of them was that they were cowardly, ignorant, rude, and lacking in self-respect; but the house-elves of Hogwarts gave me a completely different feeling.”

"Hearing you say that makes me even more worried." Fabian looked towards the center of the pool, but apart from the unchanging hazy green light and the smooth, still water, he could see nothing else.

Time ticked by in anxious waiting. Suddenly, a faint, rustling sound came from the darkness, like a stone falling into water and splashing. Just as everyone was wondering if they had misheard, the entire pool boiled over in the next instant.

Countless gray-white figures broke through the water, swimming and walking towards the center of the pool.

The group of people by the water immediately realized that something was wrong, but none of them knew what to do; Dumbledore had repeatedly warned them not to go near the water, and they kept this in mind and dared not disobey.

Just then, a sharp "snap" rang out, and the house-elf Mia struggled to emerge from the air; as soon as she landed, she cried out anxiously, "Dumbledore is in danger... Mr. Shen, Dumbledore sent me to find you..."

Shen Hou stepped forward quickly: "That's me. What does Dumbledore want me to do?"

"Fire! Dumbledore said fire! He told you to set the biggest fire ever! He told you to burn this pool!" Mia shouted in a shrill voice.

Without the slightest hesitation, Shen Hou rushed to the water's edge, recalling the first time he learned the Fire Spell. He swung his bone spike wand forward with all his might: "Incendio!"

In an instant, the dark cave was filled with light; blazing flames spread rapidly forward and to the left and right along the water, as if a carpet woven from fire had been unfurled before everyone's eyes, covering the entire surface of the water in a very short time.

By the light of the fire, everyone was finally able to see the island in the middle of the lake and what had happened on the island.

Hundreds of undead were swarming onto the island; their limbs were stiff and their movements slow, but each step was heavy and firm as they approached Dumbledore on the island.

From a distance, Dumbledore was almost completely engulfed by the gray-white corpses, but fortunately, a ring of flames surrounded his body, keeping the Inferi a few steps away by their fear of fire.

The flames covering the water suppressed the infernal corpses still in the water, ensuring that Dumbledore on the island in the middle of the lake wouldn't face further pressure; however, the young men were at least a hundred feet away from the old wizard and could only watch helplessly, unable to offer any further assistance. Because of the distance, the young men didn't even dare to cast spells on the island, fearing that a misfire would only make things worse.

Just as she was getting anxious, there was another "snap" in her ear. It was Mia Apparition again. She not only successfully returned to the island in the middle of the lake, but also landed right in the middle of Dumbledore's circle of fire, just in time and with great difficulty, she helped the swaying old wizard.