The Butcher of Hogsmeade

The transfer from the Office for Prohibiting the Misuse of Muggle Items to the Auror Office may seem like a routine job change, or perhaps even a hidden promotion, but for Shen Hou, it was like opening a window to a deeper understanding of the magical world.

Because his new assignment was to investigate smuggling, the Prewitt brothers had to give Shen Hou a crash course in economics and trade in the magical world in order to give him a better understanding of what was to come.

Thus, Shen Hou learned for the first time that not only were wizards within the magical world closely connected, forming a socio-economic system encompassing the vast majority of wizards, but the relationship between wizards and Muggles was also much closer than he had previously known or thought.

"So many of the necessities for a wizard's daily life are sourced from Muggle markets?" Shen Hou exclaimed in amazement as he flipped through the Ministry of Magic's internal documents. "Food, salt, cloth, candles, timber... even everyday items like pots, pans, tables, chairs, and clocks are imported from Muggles, then magically modified to suit the wizards' aesthetics and needs, and to adapt to the magical environment. Even the malt used to brew beer for the three brooms is sourced from Muggles?"

"Why are you so surprised?" Fabian countered. "Do you think wizards would do manual labor like farming, weaving, or logging? You should know that for most of history, wizards have served as advisors to Muggle kings and nobles."

Shen Hou was astonished: "I thought you didn't like 'The History of Magic,' and you always say you sleep during that class?"

"Classrooms are another matter. I don't care about Professor Binns' classroom discipline, but that doesn't mean I don't care about the most glorious period of wizarding history," Fabian said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Unfortunately, Prwitt's younger brother encountered his brother Prwitt, who was most adept at undermining him. Gideon abruptly asked, "Besides the legendary King Arthur and Merlin, do you know of any other wizards in history who served as advisors to any king?"

Fabian's face flushed red instantly, and he stammered for a long time without being able to give an answer. Finally, his gaze fell on the import and export trade documents in Shen Hou's hand, and then he had a sudden inspiration: "Malfoy, one of Lucius Malfoy's ancestors served as an advisor to the Muggle King and even pursued the Muggle Queen at the time, wanting to go from advisor to royalty."

"Hmph, just muddle through, like every time I take the History of Magic exam," Gideon said indifferently.

"You talk as if you've ever seriously taken a 'History of Magic' class," Fabian retorted.

Shen Hou was astonished by the secret he had just heard: "The Malfoy family's ancestor even pursued the Queen of England? Which ancestor, which queen?"

"I don't remember..." Fabian finally revealed his true nature as a poor student. "I heard that the queen never married in her life. There's a rumor that she was cursed because she rejected a man from the Malfoy family."

Compared to wizards, Shen Hou's historical knowledge was a solid foundation laid by nine years of compulsory education. Upon hearing the name of the British Queen who "never married," a name immediately came to mind.

If it really was that Virgin Queen, then one can only say that the Malfoy family's ancestor was incredibly bold and ambitious. That was Britain's first golden age, laying the foundation for the British Empire; to actually let a descendant of a wizard rule a future global superpower... tsk tsk!

"Does the Malfoy family still have connections with Muggle society?" Shen Hou asked again.

"It always has. Before the Ministry of Magic cracked down on their business, the connection was much stronger than it is now." Gideon's historical record was far better than his brother's. "They once held noble status under the Muggle king, entering the upper echelons of Muggle society. When the Act of Secrecy was first implemented, these people actually opposed it; even as the Act of Secrecy became increasingly strict, it was impossible to completely sever trade ties with Muggles. People like Malfoy became middlemen, accumulating vast wealth and gaining immense influence in the wizarding world."

Shen Hou was utterly perplexed: "Such a family, on the one hand, relies on the Muggle economic system to make money, and on the other hand, it fanatically promotes the theory of bloodline, despises wizards of Muggle origin, and even despises all Muggles... Isn't that contradictory?"

"Who knows what those Death Eater lunatics are thinking; maybe they think they're not making enough money with Fair Trade and they think Mysterio's idea of ​​enslaving Muggles will make them even more?"

"That's really daring..."

"Indeed, with the Ministry of Magic's continued crackdown, these people are making less and less money." Gideon ran his wand along the list of goods in the document. "All transactions with Muggles, because they involve currency exchange, have now been largely taken over by Gringotts goblins; we don't need to worry about that, those greedy goblins won't give Malfoy and his allies any chance. Trade with other countries' magical communities is the Ministry of Magic's main focus. Our task this time is very clear: keep an eye on the trade route from Egypt to England."

"Where should we start?" Shen Hou asked, rubbing his hands together with great interest.

"Living magical creatures are the easiest smuggled goods to track." Gideon explained the basics of the job to the new striker. "Smuggling activities in the magical world are very difficult to investigate and collect evidence. A box with a Unseen Stretch Charm can carry enough smuggled goods to supply the black market for a year. Therefore, most smuggling cases can only be investigated at the source and the place of sale. However, living magical creatures are different."

Shen Hou instantly understood: "Because living beings cannot be transported using the Seamless Stretch Spell?"

"At least it can't be used for large-scale transportation, especially for those large magical creatures. The Unseen Stretch Charm can expand space, but it can't create an environment suitable for the survival needs of living beings... Anyway, in all my years as an Auror, I've never heard of anyone being able to smuggle large quantities of live magical creatures using just a few boxes."

Fabian interjected, "Scrimgeour has agreed to our plan and has even coordinated with the Department of Magical Creatures Control for us. They will send magical creature experts to help us with the case. In addition, we also have our own informants gathering information."

"That informant isn't Mundungus, is he?" Shen Hou asked.

Fabian laughed: "He definitely has a share; he's a celebrity in the black market."

"He probably won't be eyeing those underground gambling profits anymore, right?"

Fabian laughed even harder: "Maybe he'll still think about it, but he'll only dare to think about it. As far as I know, Mundungus has always valued his life. Although he likes money, he would never risk his life for it."