The Butcher of Hogsmeade

Listening to Gideon and Arthur's pleasantries, Shen Hou learned for the first time that the two were actually related by marriage. Arthur's wife, Ms. Molly, was from the Pewter family and was Gideon's younger sister, and naturally, also Fabian's younger sister.

The conversations between the brother-in-law and sister-in-law were mostly about family matters, with only occasional mentions of their respective departments' work, and none of them involved any secrets.

Gideon arrived at a convenient time. After chatting for a short while, it was time to leave work. He invited his brother-in-law to "go to the pub for a drink," and naturally invited Shen Hou, who was in the same room, along as well. After all, they were acquaintances and had fought side by side in some ways.

“Let’s go together, Mr. Shen,” Gideon said. “Actually, both Fabian and I are very curious about your hand gestures and spellcasting, but unfortunately we didn’t have a chance to discuss it in detail at the time; I even made a bet with him that you might be a student of Vagado, from Africa.”

"Should I go too?" Shen Hou hesitated. The two people opposite him were his brother-in-law and sister's husband; he was an outsider. "Is it appropriate?"

"Of course, there's nothing wrong with it. Me, Fabian, and the two of you, just the four of us, let's go to the bar for a drink."

"Then why don't we go to my house..." Arthur suggested, but his suggestion was rejected before he could finish.

"Don't joke around, Arthur. You know Molly's personality. Even if she's pregnant, she won't stay idle when guests come over. This is a time for a few men to relax after get off work. I don't want my sister to work so hard."

"Alright, you make a good point. I'll listen to you. Shen, let's go together. You've been here for a week, and as your boss, I do owe you a welcome ceremony." Arthur was persuaded by his brother-in-law, and his echoing of Gideon's invitation had the final say, leaving Shen Hou with no way to refuse.

"Is Leaky Cauldron far from here?"

"It's not far, it's at Charing Cross Road, just a few blocks from the Ministry of Magic, but... at a time like this, I think it's best not to flaunt my robes in front of a bunch of Muggles. Let's use Floo Internet Cafe instead," Gideon said. "The route from the Ministry of Magic to the Leaky Cauldron is one of the very few routes that are still in normal use these days."

"Is that bar special?" Shen Hou asked.

Gideon replied, "Of course, the oldest pub in the wizarding world, and the gateway to the most prosperous commercial street in the British wizarding world."

"Understood." Shen Hou nodded. It was certainly necessary to maintain convenient transportation between the political and economic centers, even if the British magical world was so small that both centers were located in the same city and the same borough. The Ministry of Magic's offices were located in Westminster, London, deep beneath Whitehall; and Charing Cross Road, where the Leaky Cauldron was located, was also in Westminster. The straight-line distance between the two was only about one mile.

At the Department of Magical Transportation, under Gideon's guidance, Shen Hou used Floo Powder for the first time in his life, then passed through green flames and emerged from a fireplace for the second time in his life—again, in a pub fireplace.

Fortunately, this time no one came with a wand to drive him away and beat him like a stray dog.

"Welcome, Shen. How are you doing under Arthur? How are you getting along with him?" Shen Hou was the first to arrive. As soon as he stepped out of the fireplace, he heard Fabian's greeting. He casually replied, "Pretty good." The next moment, as if he had thought of something, his brows furrowed slightly, and his steps toward Fabian slowed considerably.

"What's wrong?" Fabian asked.

"It's nothing, it's just that... this place reminds me of Pig Head Bar." Shen Hou pretended to look around, trying to cover up his embarrassment.

Fabian exclaimed, "Are you kidding? The Leaky Cauldron is much cleaner than the Pig's Head, even though it's just as small."

As they spoke, the green flames in the fireplace lit up twice in succession, and Gideon and Arthur arrived one after the other; the four of them sat around a small table, which was hidden in the shadows in the corner of the room.

"Hey, old Tom, I'd like a beer, Gideon too." Fabian called over the bar owner, an old wizard who was not young and had a bald head.

"Where are the other two guests? Oh, Arthur, it's been a long time. How are the children at home?" The bar owner was very welcoming. "I haven't seen this gentleman before. Is this your first time here?"

"Hello, Tom, I'd like a glass of mead," Arthur said.

While Shen Hou was still looking at the wine list on the wall, Fabian chuckled and suggested, "Shen, why don't you try their signature drink, the Gampo Aged Social Wine? If you can down a pint in one go, you'll get a 100 Galleons reward. Hey, Old Tom, that challenge still counts, right?"

Tom laughed and replied, "Of course it counts. That's the Leaky Cauldron's centuries-old reputation. I keep my word." Like his hair, most of his teeth had disappeared since he was younger, making his mouth look a bit sunken.

Taking advantage of the situation, Fabian emphasized in his tone, "Look, that's a hundred Galleons! Your office salaries are always very low; a hundred Galleons is equivalent to several months' income."

To be honest, Shen Hou was actually a little tempted when he heard the figure. The Ministry of Magic's main purpose in providing him with the job was to keep an eye on him. The job and salary were just a legitimate excuse to provide living expenses. The money wouldn't be much, otherwise they wouldn't have assigned him to a peripheral department. Therefore, Shen Hou's salary wasn't high, but it was more than enough to support himself, and it wasn't easy to save any money.

An extra 100 Galleons in income, which can be saved up in one or two years by relying solely on the remaining salary after expenses.

However, before Shen Hou could agree, Arthur exposed Fabian's trick: "Don't listen to him, Shen, he's trying to set you up!"

"What happened?"

Arthur explained, "Gampo is indeed the signature drink here, and the challenge of 100 Galleons is real, but almost three centuries have passed since the challenge was first launched, and no one has ever been able to win 100 Galleons."

Gideon added with a laugh, "That's right, Gampo's aged social drink is terrible. Let me put it this way, I once ordered a glass out of desperation, but I only took one sip and poured the rest away, without even feeling bad about wasting the money."

Shen Hou, suddenly realizing what was happening, glanced sideways at Fabian out of the corner of his eye; the latter complained loudly, "Come on, what a rare opportunity this is! It's so hard to find someone who doesn't know the reputation of Gampo's aged social wine, you guys are really wasting it! Arthur, to be honest, I'm used to Giddens being an old fogey, but you... you're not even as interesting as your twins!"

Arthur feigned annoyance, his face cold: "Molly and I both agree that Fred and George's 'funny' behavior is at least half due to your bad influence. As their uncle, you should set a good example."

"Leading by example, of course, you know, the kids all love me, especially Fred and George."