Some people never show up when you need them the most, but when you've solved all the problems on your own, they arrive late to claim the spoils.
In the wizarding world, these people have a collective name, the Ministry of Magic.1
The strongest fortresses are often conquered from within, even in the wizarding world, this holds true.
When Allen engineered the powerful vampire to suffer severe injuries, a massive BOOM shook the lab, tearing apart the previously flawless defenses.
Although this sudden change unsettled those waiting outside, they cautiously began to unravel the defensive magical arrays.
As the defensive spells were dismantled, the wizards who were only there to observe suddenly gained a new profession, Explorer.
Their participation immediately signaled the failure of the near-graduating students' exploration mission, though they were destined to fail from the start.
Due to the vampire's intervention, three students were killed, they had refused to cooperate with the vampires and resisted fiercely.
Among the remaining wizards, some were controlled, while others hid throughout the castle. The vampires' relentless pursuit of Allen gave these students valuable time to conceal themselves.
When the Ministry arrived, all surviving students were rescued, and the vampires were cornered. Except for a few who managed to flee, the rest were killed on the spot.
This was the Ministry's way of swooping in and claiming the MVP for themselves.
Of course, the public version was entirely different. At least according to newspapers, the story read like this:
"…According to our sources, the young wizards from Hogwarts and our Ilvermorny Academy, originally in friendly cooperation, were ambushed and kidnapped by shameless vampires during a joint expedition. These despicable vampires attempted to force the young wizards to undergo the 'Initial Embrace', a horrifying ritual that turns wizards into vampires, killing three hostages in the process. Yet our brave young wizards did not yield. Their courage…"
"…Fortunately, our heroic Aurors arrived in time, breaking through the vile creatures' defenses with the help of both schools' professors. All hostages were safely rescued, and the vampires' main forces were eliminated. Our respected Minister of Magic…"
Allen casually placed the newspaper on a bench, stone furniture was cozy in winter, except it was always a bit chilly to sit on.
Overall, everyone was in good spirits, even with a Slytherin dead.
The deceased student's relatives had rushed over, yet his uncle showed no sorrow. As he left, he appeared to be smiling.
The fallen student was Norris, who had traded with Allen. Perhaps his family truly felt sorrow, but the surprise compensation provided by the Ministry for their misfortune seemed to ease it, Allen knew exactly how many valuables were in that lab. Had he not been intent on taking down the vampire, he would never have passed up the opportunity to loot.
The Ministry, having sent the largest group of wizards inside, received generous rewards. They even gave Allen a small "consolation fee", just 100 Galleons, but coming from the notoriously stingy Ministry, that was impressive.
Of course, Allen never revealed that he had acquired some precious books and key experimental logs, slipped into his pockets while gathering materials. The Ministry seemed satisfied with the results and assumed the hired wizards, like Allen, gained nothing from the incident.
••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••
After returning, they were greeted with a grand welcome feast. Allen had just seen the American Ministry leave, and now the British Ministry appeared.
In the East, there's a saying: "Those destined shall dwell among treasures." The West may lack such a phrase, but the principle is similar, survival favors the powerful.
Here, "destined" is simple, whoever has the biggest fists makes the rules.
After the American Ministry happily carried off their spoils, Ilvermorny and the British Ministry arrived in force. "Hey buddy, today we're feeling jealous, can we borrow some dumplings?"
Using the unbreakable law that "within wand range lies truth," their combined declaration of possession was quickly proven.
In other words, while Allen was returning, the American Ministry experienced a rapid transition from elation to disappointment, but Allen had no intention of refunding anything.
Allen and Annie, thanks to their outstanding performance, earned the future privilege of skipping two exams and receiving the highest N.E.W.T. grades, Outstanding (O), making all Hogwarts students envious. Allen, however, couldn't explain how they earned it, he couldn't exactly say it was from fighting.
Returning to Hogwarts was paradise compared to the exchange, minus one professor.
Yes, once again, another Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was gone.
The friendly professor had been fired for participating in the fighting.
Fighting itself wasn't unusual, even professors could lose their temper, but this professor fought in an extraordinary way:
He ganged up… alone.
One professor single-handedly defeated an entire group of wizards.
Much like the Ilvermorny exchange, the Hogwarts exchange atmosphere wasn't ideal. Even if Hogwarts didn't provoke trouble, the opposing students were all troublemakers.
One day, during a student duel, a slightly drunk professor passing by saw it. He slapped one student and subdued all others.
Meanwhile, the other side sent a biased professor to retaliate. Unable to agree, he attacked the drunken Hogwarts professor.
…and then, there was no "after." According to the students tied up by magic, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor fought each opponent in pairs until no reinforcements remained.
The entire exchange group was incapacitated by a single drunken professor, even though Dumbledore couldn't protect them.
Self-defense was understandable, but knocking out the entire school exchange group was excessive.
Thus, Dumbledore began his endless search for a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
Amid this calm, the end of the school year arrived, the House Cup went to Hufflepuff for the first (and possibly last) time in decades. The team's bonus points were simply too high.
On the train home, Allen bid farewell to Annie and acquaintances, the surface looked calm.
But beneath, dark currents stirred.