The Butcher of Hogsmeade

Shen Houyi prepared to cast a spell, but as soon as he raised his wand, Fabian grabbed his arm and pushed him around, turning him to face the bay.

Facing Shen Hou's disdainful look, Fabian retorted confidently, "Safety first, otherwise what's the point of bringing you here? Floo Powder isn't cheap!"

Shen Hou, too lazy to argue, steadied himself and let out a crisp, decisive shout at the lake: "Incendio!"

As the incantation ended, a burst of flame erupted from the tip of the staff, and a sudden gust of intense heat swept across the lakeside, which was still chilly in the spring air.

Fabian stood beside Shen Hou, feeling as if he were standing next to a violently erupting volcano. The crater was filled with surging heat waves that instantly evaporated all the moisture in the surrounding air; the crimson flames, like magma erupting from the ground, surged outward from the tip of the Bone Spike Wand, seemingly slow but actually fast, and in the blink of an eye, they covered the entire surface of the bay.

The floating ice in the shallow water near the shore melted instantly. Wisps of hot air first rose from the flames, then clump together like clouds and mist, turning the entire lake surface into a giant steamer; that was the water vapor formed by the evaporation of the lake water by the intense heat of the flames.

"Stop right now!" Gideon shouted.

"How do I stop it?" Shen Hou was completely bewildered. You only taught me the incantation for casting the spell, but not the incantation for stopping it!

Without a second thought, Fabian drew his wand, pointed it at the tip of the bone spike wand—the "source" of the molten lava—and shouted, "Finite Incantatem!"

The effect of "Stop the Curse" lasted for less than half a second. The flames dimmed slightly for a moment, then suddenly surged as if in retaliation. One of the fire lines even shot through the air towards Fabian along the straight line between the tips of the two wands. Fabian was so frightened that he scrambled to his feet, but fortunately he managed to cast an Ironclad Charm in time to block it.

Gideon, losing his temper, yelled, "Control it! I told you, the size of a flame can be controlled by a wizard! What the hell were you thinking when you were casting the spell?"

What are you thinking about? I'm thinking about "lighting up a lake"!

The moment Shen Hou had the thought, the flames spewing from the tip of his staff intensified even further; the lava not only surged on the lake's surface but also began to spread towards the shore. The aquatic plants on the bank were the first to suffer, followed by the trees. From their leaves turning yellow and withering to being ignited, it all happened in an instant, and it was clear that the flowing lava was about to spread deeper into the shore, beyond which lay Hogsmeade Village.

"Finite Incantatem!" Another incantation was cast, the voice chanting ancient yet powerful, not far behind the three.

The flames at the tip of the staff suddenly receded, as if a dam had closed its gates, stopping the flow of water. No new lava appeared, the old flames lost their source, and the flames on the lake surface quickly subsided, extinguishing one after another in clusters and clumps; but the high temperature brought by the flames did not dissipate immediately, and gusts of hot wind blew in all directions.

Despite the sweltering heat, Shen Hou and the Puwitt brothers were still shaken, cold sweat pouring down their ankles.

"Mr. Pewter and Mr. Shen, could you tell me what you are doing?" the aged voice that uttered the incantation "Stop the Curse" asked from behind.

The three turned their heads and saw Dumbledore, who was still wearing pajamas and a nightcap.

"At this hour, even the most studious students at Hogwarts are just getting up, yet you've traveled all the way from London to the Black Lake and almost set Hogsmeade on fire. So, what on earth are you doing?"

The old principal spoke calmly, but anyone could hear the anger hidden beneath that calm tone.

Shen Hou secretly guessed that this included some of the grumpiness from being woken up.

"We...we're helping Shen practice his spells," Gideon answered softly, head bowed. He had a strange feeling of being back in his student days, caught by the teacher again for making a mistake.

"Practicing a spell? A spell that almost set Hogsmeade ablaze?"

Fabian hurriedly explained, "It's just a fire curse, really, to deal with the Infernal."

"I heard about Mr. Scrimgeour's orders last night, but if you hadn't told me, I would have thought it was a Fiendfyre curse!" Dumbledore was clearly being sarcastic. How could the greatest white wizard not be able to distinguish between a pyromaniac curse and a Fiendfyre curse?

Neither of the two Prwitt dared to utter a sound.

After suppressing his two former students, Dumbledore's gaze finally fell on Shen Hou.

"It seems I underestimated your wand, Mr. Shen."

Shen Hou looked embarrassed; the reality of almost becoming an arsonist made him feel extremely guilty: "I didn't expect this either..."

"A mature wizard must have a mature mind and a strong will in order to control magic, rather than be controlled by it." Dumbledore softened his tone, sounding more like a school professor than before. "Using the bone spurs of a fire dragon as the wand material, this wand may naturally have a powerful effect on offensive magic and fire magic, and may even be very violent, but that does not mean you cannot control it."

Shen Hou felt extremely uncomfortable. Having been away from school for two or three years, he was really not used to being forced to be criticized and lectured. His eyes darted around, and he suddenly said, "Besides mind and will, controlling magic also requires reliable methods, right?"

"What do you want to say?" Dumbledore frowned slightly, as if he had guessed what Shen Hou was about to say.

"All curses will end! If I had already mastered the art of ending all curses, I wouldn't have been at a loss just now," Shen Hou said confidently.

Dumbledore remained silent for a long time, finding himself unable to find a rebuttal.

"I remember mentioning to you before about the prerequisites for learning the art of ending all curses?"

Shen Hou's eyes lit up: "Of course, if I learn the Guardian Angel Spell, I can release a physical guardian spirit, right?"

"You've already done it? This is different from what Mr. Blake told me."

"It's been several days since he last saw me practice the Patronus Charm." Shen Hou raised his wand and waved it. "Patriot!"

The silvery mist tumbled in the air, radiating light, and quickly coalesced into a creature with a very long tail. It trotted around in the air once, then suddenly lay down and remained motionless in mid-air.

"Is this... a raccoon?" Fabian asked curiously, peeking out and mustering his courage.

"No, this is a nine-section wolf," Shen Hou explained casually, his expression strange.

"A wolf?" Fabian looked at the motionless silver creature several times with suspicion, but couldn't see anything that resembled a wolf. "I've never heard of such an animal."

"Okay, it also has a scientific name, the red panda, which is native to China and the Indochina Peninsula. The 'nine-section wolf' is just its nickname. It also has another status: it's a Class II protected animal in China… a little piece of trash!"

"You like these little things?"

Shen Hou shook his head, his tone wistful: "I can't say I like it, but... it's always drowsy during the day, but becomes active at dusk, late at night, and early in the morning. It's quick-witted but habitually lazy, and it doesn't have much ability but likes to bluff."

"so what?"

"You look just like me!"