The Butcher of Hogsmeade

"He's been poisoned!" Gideon made the judgment almost immediately; he reacted quickly, lunging over as Fabian fell to the ground, pulling a dung stone from his pocket with one hand—an essential item for every Auror on field missions—and forcefully prying open his brother's teeth with the other, ignoring the stench in his mouth, and stuffing the dung stone into his mouth.

Fabian had lost consciousness, the veins in his neck were bulging, and the muscles near his throat were spasming severely, making it impossible for him to swallow.

"Hold him up, straighten his upper body." Gideon shoved the man into Shen Hou's arms, then pulled out his wand and pointed it at Fabian's throat. "Relashio! Locomotor stone!"

The chanting of the incantation was very soft, and an extremely fine spark was emitted from the tip of the staff, striking Fabian's neck; Shen Hou could clearly hear Fabian's throat make a "gurgling" sound, and something slid through his throat and fell into his esophagus and stomach.

"We have to get him to the hospital. Give me a hand." Gideon's voice was urgent but not panicked. As he and Shen Hou helped the man up, his gaze quickly swept over the faces of the people who had gathered around. His eyes lingered on the face of the female boss, Rosmerta, for a moment, but he said nothing.

Fortunately, the Floo Network in the wizarding world is far more convenient than Muggle ambulances. A few minutes later, Fabian was transported to St. Mungo's Hospital via the post office fireplace, which is also one of the very few Floo Network passages that remains open. Less than five minutes after Fabian was taken away, five or six Aurors, led by Frank Longbottom, poured out of the post office fireplace and headed straight for the scene of the crime, the Three Broomsticks Tavern.

Little Barty watched coldly until everything inside and outside the post office had returned to calm, then quietly lit the fireplace and threw a letter into the green flames.

St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries and Illnesses—Shen Hou never expected to be back here after only a week. The last time he was lying in a hospital bed, Fabian joked that he should come to the higher floors of the hospital to see all sorts of bizarre cases of injuries and illnesses in the magical world; but this time it was Fabian's turn to be in a hospital bed, and even more seriously, being rushed into the emergency room, thus securing Shen Hou the opportunity to observe the higher floors of the hospital.

The department treating magic potions and plant poisoning was on the fourth floor. Shen Hou sat alone outside the emergency room. The long corridor was empty, with more than a dozen wards on both sides. Only occasionally would one or two medical staff enter or leave the wards.

It was only then that Shen Hou realized that the internal structure of St. Mungo's Hospital was very special. Many spaces were small and cramped, the internal passages were complicated and varied, and the number of doors and windows visible in the line of sight was not only small, but also very narrow. The overall feeling was not that it was built specifically as a medical institution, but rather that it was converted from a large medieval castle.

It was cleaner and tidier than a medieval castle, and the lighting was brighter, all thanks to magic. Shen Hou looked at the various magical lights shaped like bubbles and fireflies on the corridor ceiling and made comparisons and judgments in his mind.

A short while later, Gideon pushed open the door to the emergency room and came out; he had just described to the emergency doctor the time, process, and symptoms of the fecalith poisoning, and also mentioned the dosage of fecalith, and was then ushered out after all the information was provided.

"How is Fabian?" Shen Hou asked, still shaken. The battle in Diagon Alley was dangerous, but it happened so suddenly that there was no time to think. And because of his swift counterattack, the Prewitt brothers actually escaped a fatal danger. But this time, Fabian was on the verge of death. The short ten minutes from the three brooms to St. Mungo's felt like centuries to Shen Hou.

"The doctor has identified the type and concentration of the poison. Fortunately, it's not some rare or unorthodox remedy, and the hospital has a well-established treatment plan. The physical damage caused by the potion will likely require hospitalization for a period of time, and he will suffer quite a bit, but his life has been saved."

Gideon spoke slowly, only letting out a long sigh after he finished speaking. Clearly, his level of anxiety was not much better than Shen Hou's. He relied purely on his professional skills as an Auror to complete a series of actions, including providing first aid, sending the patient to the hospital, and notifying the Auror office.

"Who do you think did it? The female boss?" Shen Hou finally felt relieved and immediately began to investigate the case.

"I don't know. The Auror office has already sent people over, and now we can only wait for their investigation results, but..." Gideon paused slightly, his hesitant tone quickly turning into certainty, "The target of the poisoning wasn't Fabian, it was you."

"Me?" Shen Hou looked doubtful, unlike his companion who was so certain.

"It's you," Gideon reiterated his judgment. "Do you remember what Fabian said when he asked for wine?"

"He said... he ordered the butterbeer in my name." Shen Hou thought for a moment, then suddenly realized.

Gideon nodded slightly: "His shouts for drinks could be heard throughout almost the entire bar; Rosmerta didn't realize the drink wasn't for you until it was delivered, and the others obviously wouldn't have known that."

Shen Hou remained silent for a long time, feeling both relieved to have escaped death and guilty for implicating his friends. Then, he couldn't hide his doubts: "So this was done by the Death Eaters? But would poison alone be enough? Didn't Fabian get rescued?"

"Perhaps the other party didn't expect that I always carry dung stones with me when I go out on fieldwork. Perhaps he didn't plan it in the first place, but simply met me by chance in a bar and thought he had found an opportunity, so he recklessly tried it." Gideon made two speculations, but neither of them was convincing enough. "I can only wait for the investigation results of my colleagues. I hope they go quickly enough."

"Besides the Aurors, we have other helpers lurking in the shadows!" Shen Hou was even more optimistic. "Although they won't show themselves unless we give them a signal, secretly monitoring them actually gives us a better chance of finding clues, doesn't it?"

"I hope so!"

"Now that I think about it, what I'm more worried about is what if someone had attacked us back then? They didn't need to be very powerful; just creating chaos and holding us off for a few minutes might have meant that Fabian wouldn't have made it to the hospital in time."

"Perhaps the poisoner lacked confidence in their own strength, or... because the person poisoned wasn't you." Gideon's expression was cold, his eyes flashing with a fierce light. "If you were the one poisoned, then creating chaos and buying time would be worthwhile, whether it's maintaining the dignity of the mysterious man or winning a large sum of Galleons in the underground gambling ring; but if the one poisoned is just an ordinary Auror, then it's not worth the risk."

"So, this further proves that the other party is after me?" Shen Hou's sense of guilt grew stronger.

"We anticipated all of this, didn't we?" Gideon saw through Shen Hou's thoughts and gently patted the young man's shoulder. "From the moment Sirius proposed the plan, we all knew what kind of risks we would face; and among all the participants in the plan, your risk is actually the greatest."

Shen Hou felt a warmth in his heart, and a smile appeared on his face. Just as he was about to say something, a mournful wolf howl suddenly rang in his ears. In that instant, he remembered the full moon night when he first came to Hogsmeade.