The Butcher of Hogsmeade

Shen Hou suddenly raised his head from the meditation basin. The sunlight shining down from above and the sleeping phoenix not far behind him brought him some warmth, and the cold feeling receded from his body.

"Was what I just saw real?" he asked anxiously, searching for Dumbledore.

"If you are asking about the authenticity of that memory, I can answer you that it is all true; as I assured you before, the person who provided the memory is trustworthy." The old wizard sat in his principal's office chair, his arms outstretched on the table, his gaze calm.

Shen Hou found a chair and sat down, facing Dumbledore across the table. He tried to organize his thoughts and digest the information he had just received, while casually asking, "Since it's a memory, does that mean the person who provided the memory personally experienced, or witnessed, the entire event?"

Dumbledore nodded slightly: "Of course, what you see are memories, not hearsay stories."

"Who is he? Who was the person you planted next to Voldemort?" Shen Hou unconsciously changed his words, uttering the name that most wizards dared not utter. "He was probably standing by the fountain, with those core Death Eaters, very close to Voldemort, right?"

"I'm sorry, I cannot reveal his name." Dumbledore shook his head in refusal. "He is our most powerful weapon, at least one of them, and his identity will be top secret. As of now, no one else knows who he is, or even that he exists. You are the only one who knows he exists."

"Is that why those Death Eaters are all blurred out?"

"Hmm...you mean the white mist that obscured their faces? Yes, all the unusual mists that appeared in my memory meant that the memory had been altered; it could be that something was being concealed, or it could be that something was being fabricated."

Shen Hou suddenly realized, "I see! Okay, I understand, so I won't ask anymore. But since he sent this message back, it means he knows me and also thinks this message is important to both of us; he seems to know me quite well?"

Dumbledore readily admitted, "It is indeed familiar, because I was the one who told him."

"You didn't tell him the reason you gave him, did you? You wanted him to find out among the Death Eaters whether I was Voldemort's spy for the Order of the Phoenix?"

Dumbledore paused, then gave a wry, apologetic smile: "Your mind is very sharp, just like your talent for learning magic."

"Not only am I quick-witted, but I also speak quite directly," Shen Hou deliberately mocked himself. The answer he got from Dumbledore resolved a long-standing question for him: why would Dumbledore dare to admit a foreigner he had only known for a little over a month into the Order of the Phoenix?

Just because Shen Hou killed a Death Eater, and the Death Eaters are trying to retaliate against Shen Hou? What makes you so sure this conflict isn't a staged act, a self-inflicted injury?

Now I finally understand. It turns out that Dumbledore had another source of information among the Death Eaters and had already verified Shen Hou's identity.

However, despite understanding the situation, Shen Hou did not feel offended; as he himself said, some things are understandable.

"Let's get back to the main point. What did the Sphinx mean by what it said to Voldemort? It emphasized prophecy, fate, the future, and time. Aside from the fact that I'm a time traveler and might be related to time, what do the other three things have to do with me?"

Dumbledore pondered for a moment, his voice low and slow: "Three things, in fact, can be reduced to one thing."

Shen Hou thought for a moment, then tentatively asked, "A prophecy?"

"Yes, a prophecy." The old wizard's voice suddenly trembled. "A prophecy that may have foretold Voldemort's demise has been known to him; and he is preparing to follow the clues of the prophecy to try to rewrite the ending of his fate."

"Did the prophecy mention me?" Shen Hou asked.

"No, as far as I know, there isn't." Dumbledore paused, then slightly changed his words, "At least, before that Sphinx appeared, there was no evidence to link you to that prophecy."

Shen Hou sneered: "That's not what the Sphinx said. It implied that I was specifically sent to sabotage Voldemort's plans and prevent him from changing his fate; it wished Voldemort would find me today and feed me a Killing Curse."

"Perhaps its behavior explains our long-standing questions?"

"What?"

"Why are you here at Hogsmeade?" Dumbledore's gaze was extremely serious. "We haven't found the Time-Turner, we haven't found your parents or relatives, we haven't found any clues about your origins. Although I believe you are trustworthy, one question remains: where did you come from, and why are you here?"

"It wasn't that Sphinx who sent me here."

Yes, but undeniably, it came for you.

"So you agree with what it says, and you also think I'm related to prophecy?"

"That's one possibility, and of course there's another," Dumbledore said. "It's spreading alarmist rumors, deliberately misleading Voldemort, with the sole purpose of using Voldemort and the Death Eaters to kill you. But whichever the reason, it proves that it is indeed here for you."

"Besides the conversation between the Sphinx and Voldemort, did that person send back any other information? For example, where did the Sphinx go?" Shen Hou asked urgently. He fully agreed with Dumbledore's judgment that the Sphinx had come for him; conversely, if he wanted to find his past origins and memories, he might have to start with this Sphinx.

Unfortunately, Dumbledore did not provide the answer Shen Hou sought.

"He only learned about the Sphinx's origin, but none of the Death Eaters knew its whereabouts."

"The origin? Isn't it just what the smugglers said, that it was smuggled from Greece a couple of days ago? That's just a cover... wait, whose eyes are they trying to hide?" Shen Hou realized in horror, "Someone who can come and go freely in the Death Eaters' stronghold, someone even Voldemort's Killing Curse can't touch, why would it need to use this method to fool anyone?"

Dumbledore nodded: "The Sphinx wants to kill you, and there is no doubt that another force will hinder its actions. Although we do not yet know who the two forces surrounding you are... Your origins are far more mysterious than any of us have imagined, Mr. Shen."

"Perhaps we should start with the Sphinx. Voldemort said he had never heard of a winged Sphinx, which he probably wasn't just making things up. Professor Dumbledore, have you ever heard of or seen a winged Sphinx? Perhaps those unusual wings are our clue?"

"Like Voldemort, I've never heard of a winged Sphinx, but I'm not an authority on the subject of magical creatures. So, I just wrote to an old friend to ask him for a definitive answer."

Shen Hou asked, "After you get the answer, could you please pass it on to me?"

"It's only natural."