The Butcher of Hogsmeade

From the moment Shen Hou said that he could not fully trust Alastor and therefore would find it difficult to complete the preliminary preparations for the Loyal Heart Charm, the old Auror had not uttered a single word. When Shen Hou suggested replacing Gideon with the Secret Keeper, Alastor snorted coldly and immediately Apparated away.

"You shouldn't talk like that," James said helplessly, his tone tinged with reproach.

"Telling the truth is the greatest trust I can show Mr. Moody, but I can't go against my conscience and tell myself I should entrust my life to him. Conversely, accepting Dumbledore's request to be my secret keeper is the greatest goodwill Mr. Moody can show me, but he won't consider protecting my life his top priority. Besides, who can a lie fool? Even if I don't tell the truth, won't everyone find out when the Faithful Charm fails?"

James and Sirius were speechless. After entering the wizarding world, Shen Hou and the Prewitt brothers were the earliest acquaintances and the closest friends. After the Battle of Diagon Alley, they had become sworn brothers, a bond that could not be compared to that of Alastor, who would use Legilimency on someone's head at the slightest disagreement.

As night approached, James and Sirius went to Hogwarts for their appointment. Before leaving, the two cast several spells around the safe house.

"Peaceful Protection and All-Encompassing Protection can deter intruders, at least hold them off for a while. I've cast Thief Detection Charms in every direction outside, so if anyone breaks in, we'll be notified immediately and rush back; however, Hogwarts prohibits Apparition, so you might need to hold out for a bit, just a few minutes."

Hearing James's explanation, Shen Hou was naturally extremely grateful; the longer they spent together, the more James's good qualities became, the kind of friend one could trust to entrust difficult problems to.

"The Death Eaters and dark wizards shouldn't be able to get here so quickly in just one night. We're very careful every time we come and go; it will take them quite a while to find the exact location of the safe house!"

"It's better to be careful." After saying that, James opened his invisibility cloak, covering himself and Sirius together, and in the blink of an eye, they blended into the darkness outside the door and disappeared without a trace.

Unbeknownst to Shen Hou, James, and the others, at the very moment they parted, the fireplace in the Hogsmeade Owl Post Office had just been lit by Floo Powder, and three men walked through the flames into the back hall of the post office; standing in front of the fireplace to greet them was Barty Crouch Jr.

"Is everything normal? We can't be discovered beforehand." The first wizard to arrive had long platinum blonde hair, and his appearance, makeup, and clothing were all meticulously crafted. However, the slightly nervous look on his face ruined the composure he was trying to maintain.

"What are you afraid of, Lucius?" Barty Jr. frowned, displeased with his ally's cowardice.

Lucius, in turn, was furious at Barty Jr.'s nonchalance: "I have definite information that Dumbledore has stayed at Hogwarts Castle all day, and he could get here at any time if the news gets out."

"No, he can't." Barty Crouch Jr.'s calm voice betrayed his smugness. "After observing for the past few days, I've confirmed the location of their safe house and made some preparations around it in advance."

"What preparations? Who gave you permission to act on your own? You might be discovered, turning the operation into a trap that will harm all of us." Lucius was furious, whether out of fear of the operation failing or because he was stung by Barty's contemptuous gaze.

"Don't compare me to you, Lucius! Although I haven't served my master for long and am less senior than you, I have never failed a task assigned by my master, not even once—and I won't this time either." Little Barty sneered, a strange, twisted pride overflowing from his words. "Setting up an anti-Apparition Charm is not easy, so I scouted every spatial node beforehand, which is why I know for sure that at least three more people are needed."

"I hope you do as well as you say." Although he said that, Lucius was still a little embarrassed and couldn't help but deliberately nitpick, "Anti-Apparition, why isn't there Anti-Apparition? Aren't you afraid the target will escape?"

"You're so disappointing, Lucius; the task assigned by the master, and you haven't even figured out the basics of the target?" Little Barty's expression and tone grew increasingly harsh. "That Chinese guy doesn't even have a wand. You expect him to learn Apparition in just a few days, and even be able to cast spells without a wand? Isn't setting up one anti-spell much faster and less likely to be detected than setting up two?"

Lucius was speechless after being rebuked, at which point the other two wizards accompanying him had to step in to smooth things over: "Let's hurry up, you two!"

"Follow me!" Little Barty stopped talking and led the way; as he walked, he put on a mask and pulled down his hood. The other three followed silently, all of them making the same disguises.

The four of them walked openly through the front hall of the post office, and the post office clerk guarding the counter window ignored them the whole time, staring blankly at the ground, clearly having been bewitched.

"Before we make our move, let me ask you one question: how many gamblers did you incite this time, Lucius?" Barty, walking ahead, spoke with a steady gait and a voice as unhurried as his steps.

Lucius, his face grim, reluctantly but forced to answer, "Enough to tear the whole house to shreds and drown everyone inside."

"Won't they be scared away by us?" Barty asked again. "Master's reputation is a huge deterrent to the entire wizarding world. They fear Master more than they fear the Ministry of Magic, and they won't fail to recognize our attire."

"Don't worry, they know who they're working with this time. The money accumulated in the underground gambling dens is enough to turn law-abiding citizens into murderers, not to mention that those gamblers are black wizards."

"Are you really planning to rely solely on those dark wizards without lifting a finger yourself? A bunch of rabble, you think you can rely on them?"

"The advantage of a mob is that they can pull us out of the situation." Lucius tightened his hood to make sure it completely covered his platinum blonde hair, and deliberately changed his voice. "Those who came tonight are just the most eager ones. Even if we fail, there's a whole bunch of gamblers who have been betting for a month waiting to win! So why should I take action myself? If I wanted to, there would be plenty of opportunities later."

"Hmph, you're always like this, Lucius; always looking before you act, always wanting to wait and see, to observe the situation, even in your loyalty to your master."

"Shut up! I was Master's follower back in school, when you were still Crouch's good boy!" Lucius roared, barely able to contain his anger. "Master tells you to cooperate with me, so just do as you're told. I don't want to hear you questioning my plans anymore."

"The master's exact words were 'help,' not 'cooperate,'" Little Barty retorted. "You need to distinguish between the two."