The Butcher of Hogsmeade

Fabian's arson spell, cast with almost all his might, spread flames across nearly half the stadium, only to vanish in the blink of an eye as if suddenly thrown into a vacuum and deprived of oxygen. As the caster, Fabian himself stood there, panting heavily, unable to straighten his back, looking like a drowning person just pulled ashore.

"How much did you understand, Mr. Shen?" Dumbledore stood up. Only then did everyone realize that his wand had not been planted in the ground, but only the tip was touching the ground. However, the forceful downward thrust had created a visual illusion.

Shen Hou did not answer immediately, but pondered for a long time. Dumbledore did not urge him, but walked aside and asked Gideon about the recent activities of the Auror's office; when he heard about the smugglers buying and selling Muggle people, and the more detailed confessions of the gang members, the old wizard could not hide his anger and worry beneath his calm expression.

On the other side, Shen Hou began to move. He repeatedly imitated Dumbledore's pronunciation and speed when chanting spells, while simultaneously striking the ground with his wand, over and over again, seemingly searching for the rhythm closest to the old wizard. But he soon stopped trying, looking down at the wand in his hand, his brows furrowing more and more tightly.

"You seem to have some doubts?" Dumbledore came back.

Shen Hou raised his head, a glimmer of light flashing in his eyes full of doubt: "I just reviewed your spellcasting process repeatedly, Professor Dumbledore; I tried to make the spell and the wand-waving movements exactly the same."

"And then?" Dumbledore asked.

"And then? The more I imitated your spellcasting process, the more awkward it felt; I had a gut feeling that I was doing it wrong. The most important thing about this spell isn't the incantation, or the casting action, but something else."

Dumbledore smiled broadly: "So, what do you think that 'other thing' might be?"

"I can't say for sure, maybe it's..." Shen Hou paused, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration, his eyes shining even brighter, "Its ultimate goal?"

Dumbledore didn't answer, but finally burst out laughing.

The old wizard's laughter was the best approval, giving Shen Hou even more confidence and making his thoughts clearer: "Is the 'Spell That Ends All Curses' really just one spell? Like the Ironclad Spell, the Arson Spell, or the Stun Spell, a spell refined and summarized through repeated practice? What is its relationship with the 'Spell That Stops All Curses'?"

"You've hit the nail on the head, Mr. Shen. It seems you've truly figured it out." Dumbledore's laughter grew even more hearty, like a teacher delighted to see a promising student emerge. "Although you haven't received a magical education from a young age, you possess exceptional mental acuity and insight, no less than the best students at Hogwarts."

"So, I've found the right direction?" Shen Hou was overjoyed.

"Come and try it for yourself! Remember your ultimate goal, and with the utmost determination, carry out your will. Remember, goal, determination, will; magic is merely a tool, of course it is important, but it is still just a tool to help you achieve your own will." Dumbledore said, then looked at Fabian, "I'll trouble you again, Mr. Prewitt."

Fabian was still catching his breath, and he felt like a lazy bum who had just run a kilometer and was immediately asked to run another kilometer, without slowing down. He looked at his brother beside him with a worried expression, but Gideon turned his face away and looked at the castle from afar, as if reminiscing about the good old days of his student days.

If the Prewitt brothers still couldn't see that Dumbledore was deliberately messing with Fabian by this point, then they shouldn't be Aurors; they have absolutely no observational skills.

Even Shen Hou understood, and from this he confirmed two things: first, Dumbledore must already know about Fabian's fabrication of rumors; second, this greatest white wizard of the twentieth century wasn't actually that cunning. He looked at Fabian with pity, offering his old friend an encouraging glance, and said loudly, "Let's get started, Fabian, give it your all, I'm ready!"

Fabian's resentful eyes almost spit fire as he ground his back teeth and shouted with all his might, "Incendio!"

The flames spewing from the tip of the staff no longer surged like a river as before, but instead transformed into towering waves on the sea, each wave resembling a galloping horse, creating an instantaneous stampede of ten thousand horses.

This has somewhat turned resentment into reality.

"Finite!" Shen Hou's action of slamming his wand into the ground was completely unlike Dumbledore's: Dumbledore turned his wand upside down, gripped the handle in reverse, and slammed it into the ground at an almost 90-degree angle; while Shen Hou held his wand upright, squatting down as he thrust the wand diagonally into the ground a little over a foot in front of him.

A miraculous thing happened: the two different spellcasting actions, and even the rhythm of the incantation, were clearly different, but the effect of stopping the opponent's spell was exactly the same.

The instant the flames vanished, the sudden temperature fluctuations caused the air to churn violently, and a gust of wind rose from the ground, crashing against the stands in all directions with a howling sound. The wind whipped up sand and dust from the stadium surface, swirling it around and covering everyone with a light layer of earthy color.

Dumbledore's eyes gleamed with admiration, Gideon stared in disbelief, and Shen Hou was completely satisfied; only Fabian was the only one injured on the scene. The spell was abruptly interrupted, like suddenly missing a step while walking. Even if he didn't fall, it was enough to make one's heart pound.

Fabian was panting heavily when sand blew into his mouth, making him cough until his face turned red. Seeing him in such a sorry state, his older brother Gideon couldn't bear it and tried to cast Cleanse and Whirlwind with his wand, but after waving it twice, he had no effect and was quite surprised.

"You'll have to wait a moment; the effects of the Curse of Ending haven't worn off yet. Don't try to force the spell; the more powerful the curse, the more likely it is to backfire and cause a backlash at this point," Dumbledore explained, noticing the Prewitt brothers' actions. "It won't be long, at most a minute or two, before this area returns to normal."

As the old wizard spoke, he extended his wand and cast a cleansing spell on the two brothers, while softly praising, "Within the scope of the All Curses End, this is the least I can cast."

Shen Hou wasn't as composed as Dumbledore. Faced with the mess he had created, he could only put away his wand, cover his mouth and nose with one hand, and brush the dust off his clothes with the other. Dumbledore tidied up the Prewitt brothers and himself, then put away his wand, offering no help to Shen Hou.

"Thank you for your guidance, Professor Dumbledore," Shen Hou said, stepping forward to express his gratitude.

"As for the curse 'All Curses End,' the key is your own talent, not my teachings." Dumbledore's smile gradually faded. "However, it's quite a coincidence that I have something else to say to you besides the curse, Mr. Shen."

"What is it?"

"Let's talk in my office. The two Mr. Prewitts can have a drink at the Three Broomsticks; it won't take long." Dumbledore dismissed the Prewitt brothers gently but firmly, leaving Shen Hou with a sense of unease.