The Butcher of Hogsmeade

The house-elves' sudden act of bravery not only surprised the young people, but also astonished Dumbledore. In this cave shrouded in dark magic and an atmosphere of fear, even Aurors like the Prewitt brothers could hardly perform normally, let alone a race considered inherently timid and naturally accustomed to obeying and depending on wizards.

"Professor, I'll take you there. Mia isn't scared anymore. Mia can take you away." The little elf's big eyes sparkled in the flames.

Even though Dumbledore was used to all sorts of things, he was momentarily stunned when he heard Mia's words, but he quickly smiled and stretched out his free hand, saying, "Alright, then I'll leave it to you. Take me to the other side and let me join them."

The house-elf grasped a few of the old wizard's fingers—her hands were too small to hold an adult's entire palm; the next moment, both figures disappeared from the island in the middle of the lake and landed with a "thud" beside Shen Hou and the others.

"Professor!" James and Sirius ran up to him quickly.

"I'm fine, at least I'm not dead." Dumbledore, helped by Mia, sat down on the spot, not hiding his weakness. "Ah, Mr. Shen, you can stop your magic now; if I'm not mistaken, the Inferi will return to calm the moment I leave the island in the lake. You shouldn't still not know how to stop the pyrotechnic spell by now, should you?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Hou pursed his lips, focused his mind, and the flames gushing from the tip of his staff immediately ceased. The flames on the water's surface also extinguished one after another a little over a minute later, and the cave returned to darkness. As Dumbledore had predicted, the Infernals sank into the water and never resurfaced.

"How could this be, Professor? When you first came back from drinking the potion, you didn't seem to be in this much pain. We thought you could control the poison..." James asked anxiously.

"Arrogance and pride are the devils that are hard to eradicate from the human heart, James, and I am no exception. It was because the first time I drank the potion that I did not suffer serious consequences that I underestimated Voldemort's methods. I did not realize that the third of the potion I drank the first time had already caused serious damage to my body; and when I returned the second time, I was not faced with the remaining two-thirds, but a full basin of the potion, restored to the original amount."

Dumbledore would occasionally gasp for breath while speaking, completely lacking his former vigor and the composure that was typical of the Hogwarts headmaster.

"Shouldn't we leave now, Professor?" Gideon said. "Or do you think we should clean up the corpses here?"

"No, the infernal must be dealt with, of course, but that's for later; let's get back to Hogwarts now and find out exactly what I've found. Besides, I desperately need Madam Pomfrey and Professor Slughorn's help right now." Dumbledore struggled to his feet, Mia still supporting him, and led the group out of the cave.

Fawkes the Phoenix was already waiting outside the cave, circling over the rocks, emitting short, sharp cries because it disliked the damp, cold environment of the sea. When it saw Dumbledore, the Phoenix flew down and landed on his shoulder, turning its head to look at the old wizard with an extremely human-like look of concern.

"Take them to Hogsmeade, everyone," Dumbledore said. "Don't worry about me, Mia will take me back."

Fox turned his head and counted the number of young people present: one, two, three, four, five?!

The worry in the little phoenix's eyes vanished instantly, and it angrily let out a shriek at Dumbledore, but fortunately it did not do anything more violent.

When they returned to Hogwarts via Hogsmeade, the sky was already beginning to lighten; Madam Pomfrey and Potions Professor Slughorn of the school infirmary were the only two people who were awakened, and when they saw the frail Dumbledore, they were so shocked that they could hardly speak.

"I need an antidote, Horace," Dumbledore said to the Potions professor. "I'm sorry, I can't give you any information about poisons, because I've drunk them all; also, whatever your treatment plan is, please make sure I stay conscious, I have many things to do."

"You need to rest now!" Mrs. Pomfrey warned sternly.

"I will rest, but not now," Dumbledore pleaded. "Half an hour, at most half an hour. I must finish what I have to do immediately."

Mrs. Pomfrey refused to accept this, saying in an almost stern tone, "Nothing is more important than your health, Albus!"

"No, of course there are. In times of war, there are far more important things than a person's health or even life," Dumbledore insisted.

Madam Pomfrey was furious. Seeing that Dumbledore refused to back down, she turned her anger towards the group of people who had returned with Dumbledore. To Shen Hou's surprise, from Gideon to Sirius Black, whether they were honest or mischievous, they all looked away, and not one of them dared to meet the gaze of the angry middle-aged woman in front of him.

Slughorn stepped in to smooth things over: "I won't ask what you've been through, Albus; but you need to give me a little time, even just ten minutes, so we can examine your condition. Otherwise, how will I know which potion to prescribe? Even the most universal antidote needs to be applied appropriately."

"Of course, of course, it's a must." Dumbledore was overjoyed and nodded quickly in agreement, glancing nervously at Madam Pomfrey, fearing she might reject his proposal again.

"Mia, you've had a hard day. Now, please go back and rest, but please keep this a secret; you must not tell anyone what you saw or heard tonight, including everything you did, not even the other house-elves in the kitchen."

"Mia knows, but she won't tell anyone. Only Mia will ever know about this."

"Thanks."

The house-elf vanished from the medical room like a phantom; Madam Pomfrey pointed at the young people and snapped, "If you're not injured or sick, all of you get out of here..."

"Let them wait outside. I have something to tell them to do." Meeting Madam Pomfrey's gaze, Dumbledore pleaded pitifully, "Just a little while, please, Bobby."

"Get out, get out!" Madam Pomfrey didn't even look at Dumbledore, waving her hand to shoo them out the door, but she didn't say they had to leave the school hospital. The young people ran away with their heads in their hands.

"Merlin's beard! Why do I feel like Madam Pomfrey has become even more terrifying?" Fabian didn't dare to speak until he ran to the other end of the corridor, away from the door of the medical room.

Sirius Black shook his head and said, "Because the more mischievous a student is, the more likely they are to get hurt. The more they get hurt, the more Mrs. Pomfrey scolds them. The more they are scolded, the more afraid they become."

Fabian asked in surprise, "Your summary makes a lot of sense. How did you come up with that?"

Gideon said quietly, "Because, like you, he was one of those who got scolded the most by Mrs. Pomfrey when he was in school."

At this moment, the only non-Hogwarts graduate present complained bitterly: "I understand you guys getting scolded, but why should I get scolded along with you?"