The Butcher of Hogsmeade

James arrived quickly. He was one of the main combat forces responsible for the covert ambush in the plan. He had been waiting for a signal from Shen Hou or the Prewitt brothers. Upon receiving the news, he rushed to St. Mungo's as soon as possible—but Sirius did not come.

James explained, "He stayed in Hogsmeade; there were a few suspicious fellows who had been hanging around the Three Broomsticks tavern ever since Fabian was poisoned, and Sirius was keeping an eye on them."

"Is he alone?" Gideon asked.

"Of course not, there are still our people around; besides, it's not easy to find Sirius; you know, his specialty is stealth and reconnaissance."

"Yes, I know. Peter is also good at reconnaissance. They both have a talent for it, although I don't know how they do it. Alastor even wanted to ask them to give lectures to the Aurors, but they always declined."

"Let them off the hook. It was hard enough to get them to pay attention in class at Hogwarts, and now you expect them to teach others?" James's smile was a little forced.

"Take this back to Dumbledore and see if he can find out what it is." Gideon handed James a small glass bottle, about the size of a thumb.

"What is this?"

"I found it on the Carlo siblings. They seem to be able to control the transformed werewolves with the stuff in the bottle, but it's not wolfsbane—Shen also encountered it."

"Can Death Eaters control werewolves after they've transformed?"

James looked at Shen Hou in shock, while Shen Hou nodded, indicating that what Gideon said was true.

The glass bottle contained the same droplets of water that Alecto Caro had sprinkled on the werewolves. The Caro siblings each took one of the same bottles; Amycus gave his bottle to Scrimgeour to take back to the Ministry of Magic, while Gideon kept the remaining one and gave it to James.

After putting the glass bottle away, James became visibly agitated, and it wasn't until he left the ward and went downstairs that he calmed down.

The first floor suffered far more damage than the fourth floor. The hospital reception area was reduced to ruins, so badly that even a restoration spell couldn't repair it. The main entrance door was shattered by magic and couldn't be repaired anytime soon; people could only enter and exit via the fireplace or Apparition. This added considerable obstacles for many patients who had temporarily lost their spellcasting abilities.

Many people lined up in front of the fireplace, including some injured and ill patients who were probably frightened by the changes in the hospital and preferred to leave early despite their injuries and illnesses.

"At least two people have been bitten by werewolves, and several others appear to have been bitten, but it could also just be scratches; hopefully, it's the latter," James said, his voice low as he looked at the gloomy scene around him.

"So, even in the best-case scenario, there will inevitably be two more werewolves in the world who go out of control on the night of a full moon?"

James sighed and nodded silently, seemingly having suddenly lost the desire to continue the conversation.

During the silent wait, the voices of other wizards talking could be heard from the front of the group, some of which caught the attention of Shen Hou and James.

"Those werewolves infiltrated before dark, looking no different from patients or their families, just waiting for the moon to rise in the hospital. I dare say some of them even used 'compound decoctions,' because I saw a neighbor I'd known for twenty years suddenly mutate, but I'm certain he wasn't a werewolf for the past twenty years."

"It's the Ministry of Magic's fault. St. Mungo's Hospital had no security whatsoever. When the incident happened, there was only one Auror present. Can you believe it? I heard that the Auror was only at the hospital by chance because he was accompanying a family member to the hospital."

"Perhaps we shouldn't be so harsh. Those gluttons... the dark wizard destroyed the main entrance and sealed the fireplace as soon as he came in, otherwise the Aurors would have arrived even faster."

"Isn't it because the Auror office didn't prepare anything beforehand? This time when I went back, I asked the hospital to send the medicine to my home by owl every week, even if it costs more in postage. I'm not going to the hospital or any public places."

Shen Hou and James listened silently, not interrupting the wizards' conversation, until the speakers went into the fireplace and left.

"Our movements have been tracked. The werewolves infiltrated St. Mungo's around the same time Fabian was poisoned and taken to the hospital. From the moment the poisoning began, it was a meticulously planned operation, not a spur-of-the-moment decision," Shen Hou whispered in James's ear.

James nodded slightly, then shook his head, indicating this wasn't the place to talk. Shen Hou understood, and the two remained silent until they entered the fireplace. Passing through the green flames, Shen Hou saw the familiar young post office employee again—the son of the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

"Welcome back, Mr. Shen; how is Mr. Fabian Prewitt? I saw you left in a hurry just now, did you take him to St. Mungo?" Barty Crouch Jr.'s tone was calm, and the slight curiosity he revealed was not beyond the reasonable range of an ordinary eyewitness.

"He's fine, thank you for your concern." Shen Hou didn't find it strange at all, and neither did James Porter. They replied casually, and the two walked out side by side.

Upon exiting the post office, Shen Hou hesitated, unsure whether to return to his residence immediately or visit the crime scene at Three Brooms first. Gideon had sent a letter to summon his Auror colleagues before leaving; they should still be investigating at the bar right now.

Just as Shen Hou was about to ask James for his opinion because he couldn't make up his mind, a loud barking suddenly came from afar; this sound, which was perfectly normal in the village at night, made James turn pale with fright, and without thinking, he drew his wand and waved it forward.

"Protego!"

Simultaneously with Jaime's spell, a powerful curse shot from the shadows, crashing head-on into the newly formed Ironclad Curse Shield.

A violent explosion erupted on the street in an instant, with a deafening roar. A section of the street outside the post office, as wide as the storefront, was completely ripped up and disappeared by the impact of the explosion, leaving behind a huge crater five or six feet deep.

Behind the shield, the two were simultaneously thrown to the ground by the shockwave of the explosion, and the earth, rocks, and snow kicked up by the explosion rained down on them.

Shen Hou reacted with lightning speed; the instant he fell to the ground, he had already formed the hand seals and simultaneously lunged forward to shield James with his body. "Quinn!"

Along with the earth, rocks, and snow, numerous magical spells shot from the dark corners, causing the Quen shield to teeter on the brink of collapse.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

Another incantation came from beneath Shen Hou, and the falling earth and rocks suddenly stopped, as if paused. Then, as if drawn by an invisible force, they spun rapidly around the location of Shen Hou and James, like a brownish-yellow tornado, making it difficult for outsiders to pinpoint their location.

At the same time, a scream suddenly came from the dark corner: "Enemy! Trapped..." The voice stopped abruptly, replaced by a series of rapid incantations, panicked footsteps, screams of pain after being cursed, and dull thuds of people falling to the ground.

The commotion in the darkness lasted only a short while before subsiding, and the village returned to peace, with only the distant and near sounds of barking dogs echoing each other, which would likely eventually subside over time.

When the explosion occurred in the street, a dark brown magic wand was pointing at Shen Hou's back from inside the post office door; and when the commotion arose and then quickly subsided, the wand quietly retreated into the darkness. No one noticed it from beginning to end.