The Butcher of Hogsmeade

The three walked and talked, the atmosphere easing. Shen Hou gradually relaxed and was able to easily laugh at himself: "If I could have noticed something was wrong, why would I have inexplicably run here and gotten beaten up?"

"Oh, Aberforth does have a bad temper, and nobody wants to mess with him." Gideon said, half intimidating and half dissuading. "After all, you broke into his house, so it's understandable that he'd be angry. I have a friend who's been kicked out by him more than once, and I remember he was just as embarrassed as you were."

"I understand. The wind can enter, the rain can enter, but the king cannot enter," Shen Hou said with a slightly teasing tone.

"Well said! Who said that?" Fabian praised from behind.

Shen Hou was taken aback: "Isn't this what your British Prime Minister said? You didn't know?"

"Prime Minister, Muggle Prime Minister? Which one are you talking about?" Fabian laughed. "Never mind, we don't know him at all."

"ha?"

"Wizards and Muggles don't interact much," Gideon explained. "If it weren't for the fact that Muggle families often have children with magical talents, the two sides would be almost completely isolated."

Shen Hou seemed thoughtful: "I see... So that's why I've never heard of wizards. Is it because the two sides never interact? Is it the same in China?"

"More or less!" Gideon stopped and turned around in front of a dilapidated shack at the end of the road. "Most countries have joined the International Secrecy Act, and it is a consensus among most wizards to keep Muggles away from all information about the magical society."

"But now that I know, what are you going to do with me?" Shen Hou asked with concern.

"We won't punish you; this matter needs to be reported to the Ministry of Magic. Now we'll take you to a safe place—I mean a place where you won't come into contact with any more wizards—to settle you down temporarily, and then we'll wait for the Ministry of Magic to come and take you over."

What is the Ministry of Magic?

"The only government of wizarding countries in the UK that has the authority to liaise with the Muggle government is the Ministry of Magic. If you want to go back, you can only do so through them." Gideon seemed to sense the young man's unease, explaining while also offering gentle reassurance, "Don't worry, incidents of Muggles accidentally coming into contact with wizards happen from time to time, it's not unusual. As long as it's confirmed that it's harmless to wizards, they will send you back; of course, they will take some measures to ensure that you don't leak the information to more people, but they won't make things too difficult for you."

"Isn't it unusual for someone like me to have traveled across half the globe?" Shen Hou remained worried.

"Oh, your situation is indeed a bit special, but it shouldn't have anything to do with you personally. It's possible that the Ministry of Magic will send people to search your house, because the most likely reason is that you accidentally came into contact with some kind of magic or item that can teleport long distances, such as a 'Port Key'; in this case, Muggles are generally not held legally responsible, the main responsibility lies with those who misuse magical items or allow magical items to enter the Muggle world."

"You want to search my house again?" Shen Hou asked with dissatisfaction; although he mocked the nonsense of "the king cannot enter," he was not happy to have his house searched.

Fabian explained from behind, "It was a necessary operation. You don't want to be teleported here again for no reason, do you? What if next time you're not teleported to Hogsmeade, but to some more dangerous place? Besides, we have to explain to the pub owner; think about it, a bunch of wizards are having a nice drink, and then suddenly bang, you're in the fireplace—who wouldn't be startled?"

Before he could finish speaking, there was a loud "bang," and a figure seemed to be squeezed out of thin air, falling down behind Gideon, startling all three of them.

Shen Hou's mouth moved faster than his brain, and he muttered, "This is indeed quite frightening..."

The Pwitt brothers reacted far more intensely than Shen Hou, both turning pale with shock upon seeing the newcomer's face: "Remus, what are you doing here? What happened?"

"I want to see Dumbledore, or Alastor, take me to them." The man who suddenly appeared staggered to his feet, his voice weak and feeble. He was a young man in his late twenties, almost thirty, but Shen Hou felt a little unsure, because in his memory, adult white people always looked older than their actual age.

The Prewitt brothers stepped forward, but didn't get too close. Instead, they subtly pointed their wands at the newcomers, and Gideon asked, "What do your best friends like most about you?"

"My face." The man's answer surprised Shen Hou, because he really couldn't see what was so likable about this ordinary face; but then he thought that this might be some kind of code, and his doubts only grew stronger.

What kind of people, and under what circumstances, would need acquaintances or friends to exchange code words upon first meeting? Judging from their tense demeanor, it doesn't seem like a joke or game between friends.

After exchanging the code words, Gideon stepped forward to help the man up, asking, "What happened, Remus? You look like you've been chased by hounds for miles."

"It's not a hound, it's Greyback!" The man called Remus managed to say, as he was helped toward the shed.

Fabian drew his wand and tapped on the wooden boarded-up door of the shed. Shen Hou noticed that there seemed to be a pattern to the location and rhythm of his tapping. When he stopped tapping, the door opened from the inside out, and the wooden boards nailed to the wall and door frame seemed to be just for show.

A short, stout man stood in the doorway. When his gaze fell on Remus, his tense expression suddenly changed drastically: "Merlin's Beard, what's wrong with Remus?"

"I don't know, we just met him. Let him in quickly, he needs to rest," Fabian replied.

"No, I want to see Dumbledore. If all else fails, call Alastor. Are James and Sirius here? Let them know as soon as possible." Remus was panting heavily, utterly exhausted. "Greyborough will be here soon, with his werewolves."

"Where are you, Hogsmeade?" Gideon asked in surprise.

"Yes, Hogsmeade. He and his werewolves are leading the charge for the Death Eaters. The intelligence about the attack on Hogsmeade is true; they will definitely come, and they're not far from here."

"How many of them came?"

"All of them!" Remus managed to say with all his might. "The werewolves who were scattered all over the place—Greyborough's men—have all been gathered together." Remus staggered into the room and slumped into a chair. "I mingled with one of the groups and went to their rendezvous point, but Greyborough recognized me by accident."

"Where is the assembly point?" Gideon pressed.

"To the north, right at the edge of the swamp; it would only take half an hour to walk there." Remus paused abruptly, a complex look of fear crossing his face. "Tonight, it's a full moon."