The Butcher of Hogsmeade

"They see me as a second you?"

"Isn't that right?"

Sirius and Shen Hou asked each other questions, and then couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"It seems the same trick can't be reused!" Sirius shook his head with a hint of regret.

Gideon disagreed with Sirius's attitude, reminding him, "Your safety means the Potters are all safe, which is much better than catching two more dark wizards."

"What I'm worried about is what kind of conspiracy that pervert is plotting now." Sirius Black had gotten used to using "pervert" instead of "mysterious man" as his new nickname. "When the Death Eaters frequently clashed with us, the situation was certainly dangerous, but at least we knew what they were doing. Now that they've gone into hiding for a long time without showing their faces, they're unfathomable and even more worrying."

"Scrimgeour said the same thing as you, but he was more worried about his reputation." In the safe house of Shen Hou, and being comrades of the Order of the Phoenix, Gideon didn't mind revealing some inside information about the Auror office. "The search of the three smuggling families' estates yielded some results, but it was far from what was expected. Scrimgeour is under a lot of pressure."

"Didn't you catch old Gore? He's my cousin's right-hand man, isn't that enough?" Sirius said, his tone devoid of any respect or intimacy when he referred to his "cousin's brother-in-law," only mockery and contempt.

"If it weren't for old Goyle and Travers, the Auror office would probably have been overwhelmed by public opinion; but that was an unexpected gain after all. Looking at Scrinker's original plan, the result was not satisfactory."

Sirius Black couldn't help but sneer, "Knowing the officials at the Ministry of Magic as I do, they're bound to come up with some new schemes at a time like this; and these schemes will most likely bring misfortune to others while benefiting themselves. So, what is Scrimgeour planning?"

"His idea is similar to yours: to lure the Death Eaters out."

Sirius Black scoffed, "What, does he also have a 'Dark Wizard Butcher' thrown into the gambling table, or a 'Prophecy Child' being hunted by a psychopath?"

Plagiarism is probably the most despised behavior by intelligent people, and Sirius Black, who considers himself intelligent and is also proud, naturally looks down on Scrimgeour.

"He had nothing, only a clue of dubious authenticity and unclear direction," Gideon said. "It was the stretch of coastline we'd been investigating for the past few weeks."

"Didn't we find nothing?" Sirius used the word "we" rather shamelessly, even though he had only been there on the first day, less often than James and Lily, who were under protection.

Gideon nodded: "That's true, but Scrimgeour wants the Death Eaters to think we've made a discovery."

"Trying to fool them?" Sirius's expression turned slightly serious. "This kind of thing can easily backfire. If the information released is too far from the truth, people won't fall for it. The problem is, Scrimgeour doesn't have any real information at all; the fake news he releases is entirely fabricated."

"His idea is to release the testimonies of those tainted witnesses, including their identities. The goal is to make the Death Eaters realize that the Ministry of Magic is serious, and that they'll search every inch of coastline, even if it means turning over hundreds of miles of coastline, to find their secret locations where they create and stockpile armies of Infernals."

"By doing this, he's essentially betrayed those tainted witnesses." Sirius's face returned to disdain, tinged with a hint of admiration. He despised his character, but admired his courage.

If this gets exposed, even if the Death Eaters are caught, Scrimgeour won't get away with it.

"How the hell could this be made public?" Fabian interjected. "It must be...it has to be because of a Death Eater spy planted in the Ministry of Magic that the information was leaked."

"Leaving aside the possibility that the Death Eaters might see through the false information; if everything is as Scrimgeour predicted, and this false information really hits the Death Eaters' weak spot, and that unknown hidden location on that remote coastline is indeed a stockpile for the Infernal army, then wouldn't the first ones to face danger be the Aurors who are on a mission there, which means you?" Jaime, who had come with Sirius but hadn't spoken until now, realized the crux of the problem.

Gideon nodded helplessly: "So when Scrimgeour asked for my opinion, I didn't agree immediately, but said I needed to think about it."

"Does an official even consider the opinions of his subordinates?" Sirius sneered.

"Whether this plan succeeds in the end or not, it will require a lot of manpower at the beginning to have even a slight chance of catching any trace of the Death Eaters; but Scrimgeour also knows very well that there are many of our people in the Auror office, such as Alastor, Frank, and Alice, who are either senior leaders or key members. Without our cooperation, the chances of the plan succeeding will only be lower, and we will also needlessly offend a large number of our most capable subordinates."

"What's your conclusion?" Sirius asked.

"I'd like to ask Professor Dumbledore's opinion first. I don't doubt Scrimgeour's determination to fight Death Eaters and Dark Wizards, but..." Gideon's answer seemed obvious, but he hesitated to finish.

Sirius Black continued, "But you doubt his intelligence, right? They're always being played by the Death Eaters, even though they know the other person is a murderer, a smuggler, and has done countless violations of the Secret Service Act, but they just can't do anything about it. I'm worried that if Scrimgeour really were to devise a plan, wouldn't that freak know the details of the plan before the Auror office staff do?"

Gideon remained silent, while Fabian happily clinked glasses with Sirius and James, as if they were kindred spirits.

The more senior a Ministry of Magic employee is, the more they understand the helplessness this official institution feels in dealing with the Voldemort threat; otherwise, why would so many elite Aurors join the Order of the Phoenix?

I'm a regular soldier, I'm officially part of the military, okay?!

Two days later, Dumbledore made a special trip to Shen Hou's safe house in London and gave him and the Prewitt brothers three door keys respectively.

"I requested the Minister to conduct a large-scale cleanup and reorganization of the Department of Magical Transportation. This batch of Portkeys is specially made and can be triggered at any time as needed by wizards. I will tell you how to trigger them later. In name, they are all registered in the Department of Transportation, but in reality, only the Minister and the Director of the Department of Transportation in the Ministry of Magic know of their existence."

Dumbledore's expression and tone were extremely solemn, as if he were afraid that the three young people might have the slightest misunderstanding.

"From now on, you will continue to search the Somerset coastline as ordered by the Auror's office, but I want to emphasize this to you: you must carry your house key with you every time you go out—remember, every single time. Gideon, you are responsible for checking the house key every time you go out."

Dumbledore's words seemed to be addressed to three people at the same time, but his gaze would always linger on Shen Hou for a longer period of time, whether intentionally or unintentionally.