The Butcher of Hogsmeade

When Shen Hou and his companions left Hogwarts, the eastern half of the sky had already brightened, while a few stars could still be seen stubbornly twinkling in the western sky, emitting their last glimmer of light.

On the way from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade, the small group of five was simultaneously filled with a mix of emotions: excitement, doubt, impatience, and gloom. As the group reached the edge of Hogsmeade village, Sirius Black suddenly stopped, standing bolt upright, and as if in a trance, shouted, "Kreacher!"

"What?" Startled by the shout, the companions stopped in their tracks, looking at Sirius with utter confusion.

"I know who to talk to now." Sirius Black seemed to have just woken up from a dream, completely unable to control his emotions and voice. "I know how Regulus did it, that trap that even Dumbledore struggled with, that island in the lake..."

Shen Hou strode forward and slapped Sirius on the forehead, interrupting him. He lowered his voice and scolded sternly, "Are you crazy? Saying this here as if you're afraid no one will hear you? Why don't you just go to the post office and say it in front of that Voldemort spy?"

The Witcher's melee reaction speed came into play at the most crucial moment. His slap was fast, accurate, and perfectly timed, leaving Sirius helpless and waking him up.

"Let's agree on a story. If anyone asks, I'll say it's because Scrimgeour was attacked by mysterious dark magic, and we were sent to Hogwarts to ask the professors about the principles and defenses against dark magic." Gideon reacted quickly and made arrangements immediately. "We'll go with Shen through the Floo network at the post office, since Shen can't Apparate; and you, James and Sirius, don't show yourselves in Hogsmeade. Stay here and use Apparate to leave."

Everyone agreed and dispersed. However, to Shen Hou's surprise, he met James and Sirius again just ten minutes later at his safe house in London.

"Why aren't you home? What are you doing here?" Shen Houfei, who had just entered the apartment building and was reminded by Mrs. Feige, rushed upstairs and questioned the two uninvited guests at his door.

"It's almost dawn," Sirius said.

"What does this have to do with you being here?"

"James said..." Sirius paused, ignoring James's eye roll, "Every time it's almost dawn, that's when Harry is sleeping the best, and Marlene... I mean Lily, is definitely still asleep with Harry at that time..."

"Are you afraid that going back suddenly at this time will wake them up?" Shen Hou understood, and became even angrier.

"Isn't that right?" Sirius pulled James to stand with him.

Shen Hou finally understood what it meant for "people to actually laugh when they're speechless." As he opened the door, he questioned, "So you two, one doting on your wife and kids, the other doting on your girlfriend, feel perfectly justified in bothering a bachelor like me?"

"You said it yourself, you're a bachelor." Sirius Black squeezed through the door before Shen Hou could. "Anyway, you're just like us, you haven't slept all night, so an hour or two won't make a difference."

"Dumbledore said that James will take you back to the Potter family's safe house and keep an eye on you the whole time so you don't run away." Shen Hou followed him into the house and only mentioned Dumbledore's name after locking the door.

"The important thing is to keep an eye on me and not let me wander off, not the Potters' house," Sirius Black argued. "Anyway, they're both safe houses, protected by the Faithful Charm. Dumbledore is the Secret Keeper here, so it might even be safer than the Potters' house."

Shen Hou scoffed, "So you knew that, huh!"

"I didn't come here to discuss this with you," Sirius muttered.

Upon hearing this, Shen Hou immediately became alert, but said calmly, "Didn't you come here to catch up on sleep? I still have to go to work at the Ministry of Magic. I hope Scrimgeour's injury is a bit more serious, and I hope Barty has a lot on his plate, so maybe I can take a nap in the office."

"Stop, stop, I have something important to tell you!" Sirius said urgently. "I've come to ask for your help. Come back to the Black family's house with me."

"Looking for your pet elf?" Shen Hou stopped pretending to be stupid.

"That's right."

"Investigate what happened to your brother before and after his disappearance?"

"certainly."

"Going it alone, bypassing Dumbledore?"

"Uh...yes."

Shen Hou rolled his eyes so hard they almost reached the sky: "Why do you think I'd go crazy with you? And why would you even think of having me go with you? James is sitting right there; having him go with you would just be a good way to carry out Dumbledore's order to 'keep an eye on you the whole time.'"

"How can that be? That freak is chasing James! You want me to take a target who's being hunted by Death Eaters to the territory of a family that advocates pure-bloods?" Sirius looked at Shen Hou like he was an idiot.

Shen Hou almost laughed in anger: "Have you forgotten? I'm being hunted by Death Eaters too! Just because James Potter can't die doesn't mean I can, right?"

"You won't die... at least, much safer than James. Even Dumbledore turned to you first when he was in danger." Sirius scratched his head awkwardly. "Besides, there's no one else to choose from. Last night, only a few of us knew the situation. The Prewitt brothers are Aurors; letting them leave the Ministry during working hours would be too much of a commotion. You're different. A striker can ask for leave without even going through Scrimgeour, and Scrimgeour is still in the hospital!"

"Heh, should I praise you for being so thoughtful in disobeying Dumbledore's orders and acting on your own? You even knew to have someone accompany you instead of acting alone," Shen Hou said sarcastically.

Sirius shrugged. "If I go alone, James definitely won't let me. He wants to come with me, but I can't agree to that either."

"Oh, it seems Dumbledore's arrangements are truly watertight, taking all your ideas into account." Shen Hou casually pulled the Hogwarts headmaster into the conversation, joining in the mockery.

"Don't listen to him," James quickly defended himself, vehemently denying Sirius's "slander." "I absolutely disagreed with him going back to the Blacks on his own, and I certainly won't go along with his nonsense. Even coming to your house was a lie; at first, I genuinely thought he didn't want to wake the women and children!"

Shen Hou understood: "Does he think that if he can convince me to go with him, you'll agree to let him go out?"

James nodded: "You guessed right!"

"Has this guy always been this childish?" Shen Hou was astonished.

Sirius, holding his head, sighed, "You're getting more and more boring, James."

James gave a wry smile. "This isn't the time for us to go on nighttime strolls around the school, Sirius."