The Butcher of Hogsmeade

The moment the sound rang out, all magical brilliance vanished simultaneously, regardless of type, effect, or strength. In that instant, wands became no different from fire pokers.

Wizards are most sensitive to this change, just as Muggles suddenly lose all their strength and coordination; a nameless panic instantly shatters their last remaining shred of reason.

Shen Hou was unaware of this change because he was using a cold weapon, not magic; it wasn't until he repeatedly pierced the heart of a dark wizard who dared to use a killing spell with a triangular bayonet that he realized something was wrong.

At that moment, the magic vanished from the room. The wizards struggled to wave their wands, their movements resembling a musician showing off his baton on stage. No matter how hard they tried or how loudly they chanted, they couldn't emit even the slightest bit of magical light.

At least a conductor's baton can direct the orchestra and produce some music.

Shen Hou pulled the triangular military dagger from the black wizard's chest, and blood spurted out along the blood groove, adding another layer of scarlet to his pajamas.

The dying embers illuminated every face in the room, revealing only utter terror. Shen Hou was now bewildered, for the black wizard before him had lost the ability to resist, and had almost lost the will to resist as well. He didn't know whether to continue his deadly attack, and at the same time, he worried whether the cause of all this change meant even greater danger.

The next moment, his hand suddenly felt lighter, and the triangular military dagger was pulled out of his hand by an invisible force, floating to the ceiling; along with the triangular military dagger were all the wands of the black wizards.

A tall, slender figure walked in through the doorway. With a gentle wave of his hand, the room was suddenly illuminated, but the light source was not any of the magical lamps that were originally in the room. Instead, it was a dazzling ball of light; just like the flares that Shen Hou had seen in movies and TV shows, it floated steadily between the wand and the triangular bayonet below the ceiling.

"Dumbledore... Professor Dumbledore..." a dark wizard stammered, his voice filled with terror, as he recognized the newcomer.

"Judging from how you address me, are you also a graduate of Hogwarts?" Dumbledore sighed. "I feel very disappointed and very defeated."

The room was completely silent. If you didn't see it with your own eyes, you probably wouldn't believe that there were at least ten dark wizards standing or lying in this small house, not to mention the three corpses in the bedroom and bathroom.

Dumbledore said nothing more, but gently raised his wand. All the dark wizards who were still standing stiffened and collapsed. Only after doing this did the old professor turn his attention to the people he had come to rescue.

"Mr. Shen, you look exactly like a butcher right now." Dumbledore's face was ashen, his brows furrowed, and a piercing, menacing gaze flashed behind his glasses.

Shen Hou looked down at himself. His pajamas looked as if they had been washed in blood five or six times, each time adding a thicker layer of crimson stain.

Looking around, a short, stocky corpse lay beside the fireplace, a tall, thin young man leaned lifelessly against the wooden stairs leading to the attic, and two other corpses lay in the narrow corridor leading to the bedroom. Shen Hou remembered that he had stabbed one of them to death first, and the other had tripped over the corpse and then been finished off by him. Further away in the corner of the kitchen, there lay a middle-aged man who had crawled there to hide after being seriously injured, but had eventually died from excessive blood loss.

Including those in the bedroom and bathroom, there are a total of eight people who are confirmed to be dead. As for whether any of the people who ran out of the safe house after being injured will die from their injuries, Shen Hou could not see. After counting them carefully, he had to nod in agreement with the old wizard's assessment.

In just a few minutes since the attack, at least eight lives have been lost; if it weren't for the Witcher's memory illusions and his experience from the Battle of Diagon Alley, Shen Hou would probably have vomited on the spot.

However, as a NEET youth in 2026, Shen Hou's values ​​have been repeatedly eroded by countless self-media and short videos. Once the physiological resistance is resolved, he will feel even less guilty for self-defense.

"That's why I hate the wizarding world—you're either the butcher or the butcher. And you're a few minutes later than expected, Professor Dumbledore?"

"Someone has laid a large-scale anti-appearance charm in Hogsmeade, so I had to walk the last part of the way."

"Have you caught the person?" Shen Hou didn't ask who did it, because either it was a Death Eater or an accomplice of the Dark Wizard.

"They escaped. It seems they were prepared. The moment they saw me appear, they immediately Apparated and left."

"You let them escape?" Shen Hou was slightly surprised. "Tonight you called James and Sirius away. I thought it was another carefully planned trap, but it turns out it wasn't?"

"Of course it's not a trap, otherwise they wouldn't have had the chance to set up the Anti-Apparition Charm." Dumbledore said seriously. "Let's go, let's get out of this room. The smell of blood here is very unpleasant."

Shen Hou readily agreed: "Alright, if you don't object, I'd like to change out of these pajamas, otherwise the smell of blood will follow me wherever I go."

"I'll wait for you outside." Dumbledore turned and left; without any extra movement, the triangular bayonets and wands on the ceiling—including the wand that Shen Hou had snatched and thrown into the corner—floated out with his steps.

Stepping outside, Shen Hou saw several dark wizards lying in the open space. He wasn't surprised when he saw that the wounds on their bodies had all stopped bleeding.

"How are James and Sirius?" Shen Hou asked. "What should we do now? Wait for the Ministry of Magic to send someone to clean up the mess?"

"They're both fine and on their way. There shouldn't be any danger on the way. The Ministry of Magic should have received the news by now. Actually, every Owlpost is an informant for the Ministry of Magic. Post office staff have a responsibility to report any local emergencies to the Ministry, since transmitting messages through the Floo Network is the fastest way," Dumbledore replied seriously. "However, we'll probably have to handle the cleaning ourselves."

Shen Hou was speechless, because the old wizard obviously didn't understand Muggle jokes, especially the "whitewashing" joke that wouldn't appear for more than twenty years—if that movie existed in this world.

"How did you manage to disable all the dark wizards' spellcasting abilities in an instant?"

"All Curses End, a spell that can terminate large-scale magical effects and temporarily disable a wizard's ability to cast spells."

"Can I learn it?" Shen Hou pressed. Ever since he learned the Ironclad Spell, he had developed an even stronger curiosity about the spells of this world, and the effect of "All Curses End" sounded very much in line with the fighting style that Witchers were best at.

Dumbledore didn't answer directly, but instead spoke about the characteristics of "End of Curses" as if giving a popular science lesson: "This spell is powerful, but also complex; it can stop the killing and destruction of evil curses in time, but usually it requires the combined efforts of multiple wizards to achieve its perfect effect."

"But you used it all by yourself just now?"

"Yes."

"So, are you showing off your magical abilities, or are you trying to discourage me from learning this spell?"

"Neither." Dumbledore looked calmly at Shen Hou. "I just want you to understand one thing: the goal of the End of All Curses is to stop killing and destruction, not to create better opportunities for killing."

As the old wizard spoke these words, the triangular military dagger slowly fell from the sky, carrying a strong bloody scent, and returned to Shen Hou's hand.