The Butcher of Hogsmeade

Dozens of wizards worked together, and the troll tribe was quickly subdued. More than forty trolls were on the scene, regardless of gender or age, all rendered unconscious by the stun spell. In the entire battle, only two trolls died: one was an adult, the unfortunate creature Shen Hou had witnessed being trampled in the pit by his own kind; the other was a juvenile troll who slipped and fell while surrounded by flames, and was trampled to death by his own kind in the chaos.

As for the injured giants, there were actually quite a few. The out-of-control flames—in fact, Shen Hou didn't really put much effort into controlling them—burned half of the giants to a crisp. However, Fabian told him about the giants' super strong regenerative abilities, and most of the monsters that looked so miserable now would recover in a few weeks.

However, while the plan to stop the giant was successful, the subsequent transportation plan went awry; the transportation officers who were originally scheduled to transport the giant to the deserted island in the North Sea did not appear on time.

The "goods" were packed, but the "freight driver" was late, causing some discord within the Auror organization. Then, news of the attack on the Department of Mysteries spread among Shen Hou's group. It was only at this point that the higher-ups heard the news from their other subordinates.

Old Barty, his face darkening, approached the Prewitt brothers and Shen Hou, demanding, "Did Dumbledore give you this message?"

"Didn't you already know that among all the wizards in Britain... no, I should say the whole world, only Professor Dumbledore's Patronus is a phoenix?" Fabian finished, not forgetting to ask in return, "Haven't you and Mr. Piastricht received any news from the ministry yet?"

Before the words were even finished, a wizard came hurtling down from the horizon on a flying broomstick, landing almost headfirst next to the group. Before he could even get his footing, he shouted, "The Ministry of Magic has been attacked! The Minister has ordered both directors to return to the Ministry immediately and hand the scene over to Director Scrimgeour for command."

"Oh, looks like they've received the message." Fabian added fuel to the fire, but the big shots were too preoccupied to care about him.

"What exactly happened? Who was the attacker?" That's what Old Barty asked.

"Is the attack still ongoing? Don't we need the Aurors to come back for reinforcements?" This was Scrimgeour's question.

"There's still a cleanup to be done here, and the Muggles in Godric's Hollow need to be appeased and explained to. How can I leave? Doesn't the minister know what's going on here?" The last sentence comes from Piastrelli.

To sum it up, everyone was talking at once, with each person asking an average of two questions, leaving the messenger completely bewildered. He stood there for a while before stammering out a reply.

"The Department of Mysteries was attacked; I know nothing else. But the Minister has ordered the two department heads to return immediately, and the troll containment mission continues. I have not received any orders for the Aurors to return to reinforce."

Seeing the messenger's bewildered expression, the three bigwigs lost their temper; however, Barty the Elder pressed on with one last question: "Was Albus Dumbledore at the Ministry of Magic when the attack occurred?"

"Uh, I don't think so?" the messenger stammered, even more confused. "If Professor Dumbledore were there, who would dare attack the Ministry of Magic?"

This rhetorical question was flawless, silencing Old Barty immediately; however, as he was leaving, the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark: "Dumbledore really keeps a close eye on his little circle, sending you a message privately... Oh, no, Mad-Eye, who's currently intercepting forest trolls in Snowdonia to the north, should also have received the news, don't you think I'm right?"

"If Professor Dumbledore is in the Ministry of Magic, why don't you just go and ask him?" Shen Hou asked in a flippant tone, showing no respect for his superior, which made Old Barty's face darken even more.

After the two directors left, Scrimgeour, who remained at the scene, glanced at Shen Hou and the other two without saying anything; but his serious expression made it clear that as the head of the Auror office, he was not without resentment towards Dumbledore for forming cliques on his turf, just not as hostile as Barty the Elder.

Shen Hou didn't care about Barty the Elder and Scrimgeour's attitude. He had no sense of belonging to Britain or the British magical community, let alone the Ministry of Magic. At most, he would only care about a few close friends or the specific troubles he was facing.

Gideon said, "The fact that the Aurors weren't sent back to reinforce means the attackers have left and the Ministry of Magic is safe. I just don't know how much damage and casualties were caused. Arthur... his office is far from the Department of Mysteries, practically the most remote place in the entire Ministry. He should be alright, right?"

"It's not easy for outsiders to find that office... as long as he doesn't rush out to play the hero," Fabian said.

"The question is, why the Department of Mysteries, and who is Professor Crocker?" Gideon asked Shen Hou.

Shen Hou waved his hand: "Let's get to work first, or Scrimgeour will start yelling at us."

"That's no fun at all," Fabian couldn't help but complain.

"Get to work first." Shen Hou remained unmoved. "I don't know as much as you do, so I can't answer your questions. At most, I can only say that... the attackers are most likely after me."

"We could all have guessed that. The first time you appeared at Hogsmeade, Dumbledore sent you to the Department of Mysteries. When you reappeared half a month later, you were an employee of the Ministry of Magic. Of all of us, you are the one with the deepest relationship with the Department of Mysteries, so Dumbledore's news must be related to you. The key question is, why?" Fabian pressed on relentlessly.

"After we finish this job, we'll go back and ask Dumbledore." Shen Hou shrugged. "Right now, I just hope Professor Crocker is alright."

"And who is Professor Kroc?" Fabian persisted, but it was Scrinker who came to Shen Hou's rescue.

The Auror's office manager yelled at the three people who were having a small meeting to the side, "What are you guys doing over there? Come and help! We need to restore this entire area to its original state within an hour at most; once the Muggles find out the fire is out, someone will definitely come to check."

"Just erase the memory if someone comes. There are so many memory erasers here!" Fabian said reluctantly, but dared not disobey his superior to his face, and could only mutter under his breath.

About fifteen minutes later, the staff of the Department of Magical Transportation arrived late, bringing with them the equipment for transporting the trolls; one after another, black boxes of similar size, which looked like cast iron, were used to pack the trolls one by one.

Finally, the forty-odd boxes were stuffed into a slightly larger metal box with twelve locking posts around the edges, which was then lifted up by four traffic officers and flown away on flying broomsticks.

The remaining personnel rushed to remove all traces of magic from the scene—though not all of them could be guaranteed—before the one-hour deadline, and then quickly disappeared from the sight of Muggles.

Back at the Ministry of Magic, Shen Hou and the Pewter brothers finally learned more details about the attack.