The Butcher of Hogsmeade

When the commotion in the darkness subsided, the earthen tornado dissipated, revealing James and Shen Hou, who were waiting in ambush; however, it was not enemies who approached them, but friends.

"Great harvest, James! I told you there was a big fish among the people we were watching." Sirius strode out of the darkness first, laughing at his best friend. "Guess who we caught? The patriarch of House Avery, and his son."

Behind Sirius, people began to appear from the darkness, including Alastor, whom Shen Hou recognized, and other strangers he had never seen before, both men and women. Beside these people were five or six unconscious figures, being levitated in mid-air using a levitation spell; it was obvious that they were the "fish" Sirius had mentioned.

The most unusual "fish" was an old man with white hair, sandwiched between Alastor and another young wizard, being held in his hand. He was the only one of the "fish" who remained conscious, and was cursing at Sirius when Alastor hit him on the neck with a stick, making him wince in pain, and then he was given the "Silent" spell.

"Is that old man the patriarch of House Avery?" James asked.

"That's him. He used to visit my house a lot when I was a kid. He and...my mother had a lot in common. Ugh, what an annoying old stubborn." Under the dim streetlights, Sirius's expression was complicated. Shen Hou always felt that when he said "old stubborn," he wasn't just referring to the prisoner in front of him.

"He doesn't seem to like you either. Could it be because he heard you calling him an old fogey?"

Sirius sneered: "No, the reason he doesn't like me is that I just beat him up and he felt it was too embarrassing to lose to a junior. When I ran away from home, it was this old guy who liked to show off. He echoed my mother's words and told people everywhere that I was incompetent and a shame to the Black family."

"He's upset because you only beat him by luck and sneak attack, and he even said you got help from a dog..." The wizard standing next to Alastor interjected with a laugh. This person had hair of similar length to Sirius Black's, and also had two small mustaches. If it weren't for the differences in hair color, height, and facial features, one would easily mistake him for a replica of Sirius Black.

"You're listening to his nonsense, Fenwick!" Sirius Black looked embarrassed, though because his back was to everyone, only James and Shen Hou could see him. "He said he got bitten on the hand by a black dog, lost his wand, and was ambushed by me while looking for it. What kind of nonsense is that? A wizard getting bitten by a dog and losing his wand? Is there anything more pathetic and ridiculous than that?"

"It's precisely because he's a coward that it doesn't sound like nonsense!" The young wizard called "Fenwick" retorted, though he clearly took it as a joke.

"Let's go, take all the prisoners back. There are definitely many eyes watching us in the shadows. Don't linger here." Alastor's voice remained deep and somber; even the momentous victory before him couldn't bring him a moment's relaxation.

Since they were carrying an unconscious prisoner, they obviously couldn't Apparate. A group of wizards waved their wands to cast Disillusionment Charms on themselves, making them virtually invisible in the night. Shen Hou, of course, didn't know the Disillusionment Charm, so James had to cast it on him.

The chameleon-like effect of the Disillusionment Charm intrigued Shen Hou, while James cautioned, "Don't walk too fast; vigorous movement will be easily noticed."

The group walked along the street out of the village, maintaining their formation by whispering reminders and using their footprints. They first left the village from the north, and then seemed to wander aimlessly around the wasteland outside the village until Alastor shouted, "Alright, no one is following us!" at which point they all dispelled the illusion spells and reappeared in their true forms.

While the chameleon form is indeed safer, it is also inconvenient for humans to move around in that form, given their behavioral habits.

The group walked deeper into the dense forest. Shen Hou subconsciously looked back towards the village and could only barely recognize that he was in the northwest of Hogsmeade, but he couldn't tell exactly where he was.

There were no paths in the dense forest, and the wild trails that offered footholds disappeared completely after a while, leaving only bushes and weeds, with the dark canopy of trees overhead blocking out the moonlight. Alastor, carrying the head of the Avery family, led the way. After a moment's pause, they heard a rustling sound from the bushes, followed by a pedestrian bridge made of vines rising up. The group followed Alastor and filed onto it.

The vine bridge is not long; it only takes a dozen steps to go down to the other end. But as soon as your feet leave the bridge and step onto flat ground, the scene before you suddenly changes. One moment you are in a deep, dense forest, and the next you are in a spacious wooden house.

Shen Hou's first reaction was to turn around immediately and push open the door of the wooden house. It was quiet outside, surrounded by low hills with lush vegetation, but quite different from the dense forest environment he had been in before; a mountain stream flowed in front of the door, with a small bridge and a stream.

Standing in front of the stream and looking back, the large wooden house is a typical northern English country building, standing alone in a clearing in the woods.

"Wow!" Shen Hou's exclamation perfectly reflected his poor literary cultivation.

"Stay in the room and don't cross that bridge," Alastor's warning came from inside the house. He didn't care whether Shen Hou heard it or not, and ordered his men to take all the prisoners to the back door.

Soon, only five or six people remained in the room, each finding a place to sit and rest, seemingly already used to it. When Shen Hou returned to the room, he saw that the young wizard called "Fenwick" had not left, and had instead gathered around James and Sirius.

"Blake, do you remember where we caught old Avery? If you go back during the day, will you still recognize the place?"

"Why are you asking that?" Sirius asked, puzzled. "Did you leave something there?"

"No, I'm looking for the dog," Fenwick said seriously.

Sirius's cheek twitched slightly, barely noticeable to those around him; "What dog?"

"It's that big black dog that bit old Avery! I saw old Avery's hand on the way here, and it was definitely bitten by a dog. The teeth marks were accurate and deep. That dog is so intelligent, don't you think? I want to try to find it and take it back to raise. If it has an owner, I'm willing to pay for it."

"What black dog? That old man just made that up. You actually believed him?" Sirius's voice suddenly turned shrill, as if he was exasperated by Fenwick's "stubbornness."

"Impossible, I heard it all. There were dogs barking very loudly, a lot of people heard it, James, you heard it too, right when old Avery ambushed you with the evil curse?"

James was speechless, glanced at Shen Hou, and looked very conflicted.

"I'll say it again, I didn't see any dogs at the time, no black dogs, no white dogs, no dogs at all. If old Avery was indeed bitten by a dog, then you'll have to ask him." Sirius's face was completely serious.