The Butcher of Hogsmeade

In Shen Hou's eyes, James and Sirius had very similar and compatible temperaments. Although they looked very different, when they stood together, others would immediately think that they were brothers—and they were obviously not.

Beyond their similar temperaments, the two are clearly different. For instance, James's persuasiveness in speaking is far superior to Sirius's. This persuasiveness has nothing to do with personal image or eloquence, but rather with astonishing insight.

The bespectacled young man immediately saw through Shen Hou's dissatisfaction with the Director of the Magic Law Enforcement Division, and his words struck at the heart of the matter like a knife.

Shen Hou's situation has been forced into this point by Barty Crouch. Using him as bait to lure out the Death Eaters is almost his only way out at the moment. The only choice he can make is who will be the fisherman.

Is it the director who only used Shen Hou as a tool from beginning to end, or Professor Dumbledore and his allies who were relatively innocent in the whole matter and actively provided help afterward?

Regardless of which side is stronger or more trustworthy, based solely on personal perception, who would one lean towards?

Even Shen Hou himself was a little confused about his emotional changes, but a peer he had only met twice saw through them at a glance and quickly grasped them.

Even after all that, Shen Hou still didn't immediately agree. Instead, he calmly asked a question: "What is your relationship with the Ministry of Magic, or rather, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement? Allies? Rivals? Internal strife?"

"In dealing with the Void and the Death Eaters, our goals are aligned with those of the Ministry of Magic and Mr. Barty Crouch," Dumbledore continued, a question only he could answer. "However, it's inevitable that we'll have disagreements on specific methods when dealing with certain issues."

"Like this disagreement with Barty Crouch?"

"Yes," Dumbledore said bluntly. "Mr. Crouch is under too much public pressure, which has made him lose his composure; his plans are too ambitious, too radical, and extremely risky."

Shen Hou chuckled coldly: "You guys knew his plans in advance?" Then he glanced around and suddenly realized.

From Alastor to the Prewitt brothers, three senior Aurors sat in the room, theoretically all subordinates of Barty Crouch, and elite among Aurors. It wouldn't be difficult for them to get information from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, would it? Not to mention that Dumbledore's relationship with the Minister of Magic seemed quite good, and the Minister had just had a fight with Barty Crouch.

"To put it another way, Mr. Crouch's plan isn't even what we call 'fishing,' but more like an invitation. By provoking the pride of the mysterious man, it forces him to the gambling table for a fair bet with the Ministry of Magic—a full-scale battle, ignited by you. Barty the Elder has been blinded by public pressure and is eager to achieve a decisive victory, completely eliminating the Death Eater threat. Even if he can't, he wants to achieve a glorious victory to wash away the bad reputation of his years of ineffective efforts against the Death Eaters, to surpass his predecessor, and to strike at his workplace rivals."

Shen Hou no longer thought about what role he would play in Barty Crouch's plan; in the midst of a meticulously planned decisive battle, personal fate would be insignificant unless he was the commander of the war.

"You don't think highly of Mr. Crouch's plan, so what is your plan, Professor Dumbledore?"

"Fishing! If we're lucky, we can catch a few big fish, making the Death Eaters suspicious and unsure if you have any protection. Even if your safety is compromised again in the future, they'll worry that it might be another trap waiting for them," Dumbledore replied sincerely. "The ideal outcome is to solve your future safety problem while also helping us fight the Death Eaters."

"Does that mean you're forcing the Death Eaters into a difficult choice? Making them feel that the risk of continuously investing their power in me is too great, far outweighing the potential benefits, and therefore not worth it?" Shen Hou concluded.

Dumbledore smiled approvingly: "Very well said. It would be even better for you if public opinion could calm down in the future and the title of 'war hero' could be forgotten; I suppose you don't really like that title."

"Who wouldn't want to be a hero? But..." Shen Hou sneered, "I don't like having a label forced on me, even if the label is called 'hero'."

So, are you willing to cooperate with us?

"I'd like to understand your plans first."

"Of course, it would be more appropriate for Mr. Black to present this; he certainly has a lot of ideas." Dumbledore handed the stage to the young man.

Sirius Black visibly became excited again, no longer embarrassed when Shen Hou had retorted earlier.

"The most crucial point of the whole plan is how to dispel the mysterious man's suspicion. We can't let him realize that there's a trap involved. Therefore, the choice of the pre-arranged battlefield must be reasonable; it must make people feel that Shen's presence there is indeed to protect his safety, not as bait."

"Where?" Shen Hou asked, genuinely intrigued rather than simply following up. How could he not ask about a place the enemy might consider advantageous to his safety?

"Hogsmeade!" Sirius's eyes shone brightly, just like the star of the same name in the sky.

"Why there?" Shen Hou asked, puzzled.

"Because of Dumbledore," Sirius said. "As everyone knows, the safest place in the wizarding world is Hogwarts, because Dumbledore is there. That's why the Void and the Death Eaters never dare to invade the castle. You're not a teacher or student at the school, so you can't enter the castle, but placing you in the closest place to Hogwarts is enough to prove to the outside world that you're under Dumbledore's protection."

"To someone unaware of the situation, this is a perfectly reasonable deduction," James added. "Everyone knows the Death Eaters will take action against you, and everyone also knows that Dumbledore is the Death Eaters' mortal enemy and will do everything in his power to stop and sabotage their operations. If they don't want to use you as bait, then having Dumbledore protect you is the most appropriate and reasonable course of action."

Shen Hou had no doubt about what these two "peers" said. Whether it was what he saw with his own eyes on the first day of his transmigration in Hogsmeade or his later exchanges with people in the wizarding world, he could feel the high prestige of the Hogwarts headmaster in the wizarding world.

Dumbledore's power was so great that wizards almost regarded it as a religion.

Shen Hou was concerned about another issue: "But now there's someone who wants to use me as bait. How are you going to persuade Mr. Barty Crouch? He doesn't seem like an easy person to talk to."

"There's no need to persuade him; his thoughts don't matter." Alastor, who had remained silent until now, spoke his second sentence since entering the room.