Some people never show up when you need them the most.
But when you've already solved all the problems on your own, they arrive late—just in time to claim the spoils.
In the wizarding world, such people have a collective name—the Ministry of Magic.
The strongest fortresses are often breached from within—even in the wizarding world, this rule still holds true.
When Allen designed things so that the powerful vampire suffered severe injuries, the massive BOOM of the explosion instantly turned the laboratory's once-flawless defenses into a riddled mess.
This sudden change naturally made those waiting outside uneasy, but even so, they cautiously began dismantling the defensive formations once more.
As the protective arrays were broken, the wizards who had originally been mere guides instantly gained a new profession—explorers.
Their participation directly declared the failure of this exploration carried out by near-graduation students—though, to be fair, it had already failed long ago.
Due to the vampires' involvement, three students were killed. They had refused the vampires' recruitment and put up fierce resistance.
Among the remaining wizards, some were captured, while others hid throughout the castle. The vampires' all-out pursuit of Allen bought them precious time to conceal themselves.
When the Ministry of Magic finally entered, every surviving young wizard was rescued, while the vampires were hunted down. Aside from a few that escaped, the rest were killed on the spot.
That was the full story of how the Ministry of Magic swept in late, stole the kills, seized the credit, and claimed the MVP.
Of course—this wasn't how the story was told to the public. At least, that wasn't what the newspapers said. The official report read as follows:
"According to our paper, students from Hogwarts and Ilvermorny, who were engaged in friendly exchanges, were shamefully ambushed and kidnapped by despicable vampires during a joint exploration. In an attempt to force them to accept the The Embrace—a horrifying ritual that transforms wizards into vampires—the vile creatures brutally murdered three hostages. Even so, our brave young wizards refused to yield, displaying indomitable spirit—"
"Fortunately, our heroic Aurors arrived in time. With the assistance of professors from both schools, they successfully broke through the vampires' defenses, rescued the hostages, and eliminated the main vampire forces. Our beloved Minister of Magic—"
Allen casually folded the newspaper and placed it on his chair. Everything about stone castles was fine—except that stone furniture was unbearably cold in winter.
Judging by the overall atmosphere, everyone seemed to be in good spirits—even though a Slytherin student had died.
After the death was announced, the victim's relatives came personally. Strangely, the deceased's uncle showed not a trace of grief; no matter how one looked at him, he seemed to be smiling when he left.
The dead student was Norris—the same one who had struck a deal with Allen. Perhaps his family truly felt sorrow, but it was clearly soothed by the generous "compensation" quietly provided by the Ministry of Magic. Allen knew exactly how many private goods were hidden in that laboratory. If he hadn't been single-mindedly focused on killing the vampire, he would never have passed up the chance to loot it himself.
As the group that sent in the most wizards, the Ministry of Magic reaped enormous benefits—so much so that they even paid Allen a "shock compensation fee." Though it was only a hundred Galleons, it came from the notoriously stingy Ministry!
Naturally, Allen had no intention of telling them that he'd obtained several rare books and important experimental logs—the latter having been casually stuffed into his pocket while searching for materials. In any case, the Ministry was clearly satisfied with the operation's results and had already set the expected earnings of these hired wizards at zero after such an accident, hadn't they?
After Allen and the others returned, they were greeted by a grand welcome banquet. No sooner had they sent off the American Ministry of Magic than they encountered the British Ministry instead.
There's an old saying in the East: heavenly treasures belong to those with fate. The West may not have such a phrase, but the rule works much the same.
Of course, this requires an explanation—what does "having fate" actually mean? Simply put: whoever has the bigger fist makes the rules.
So after the American Ministry happily packed up its gains and left, Ilvermorny and the British Ministry banded together and came knocking. Hey, buddy, we're feeling jealous today—mind sharing a few dumplings?
Based on the unshakable principle that truth exists within wand range, the joint declaration of "what's yours is mine, and what's mine is still mine" was swiftly proven correct.
In other words, during the time Allen and his group were returning, the American Ministry went through a dramatic emotional shift—from joy to disappointment. Allen, however, had no intention of issuing refunds.
Thanks to their outstanding performance, Allen and Annie earned the privilege of directly receiving the highest grade—Outstanding—in two future subjects, exempting them from those exams altogether. This left countless students back at school green with envy. Unfortunately, Allen couldn't exactly share his "experience"—he couldn't very well tell them it was earned through fighting.
Returning to school felt like heaven compared to the exchange program—except for one thing.
Yes. Yet another Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was gone.
The kind and gentle professor had been dismissed.
The reason was simple: he had participated in a fight.
A fight, by itself, wasn't a big deal. Even professors lose their tempers. That alone wouldn't warrant dismissal.
The problem was that his fight was… unconventional.
It was a group fight—more precisely, one man beating up a group of wizards.
Just like during the Ilvermorny exchange, the atmosphere at Hogwarts wasn't exactly peaceful either. Even if Hogwarts didn't want trouble, the visiting students were nothing but troublemakers.
One day, when students from both sides arranged a duel, a professor who had been drinking happened to pass by. He gave each student a slap—and completely subdued them all.
Hogwarts' side might have ended there, but the other side sent in a professor to play favorites. Words failed to reconcile the situation, and that professor chose to attack the slightly drunk professor Chen.
And then—there was no "after that."
According to the students who had been magically bound during the duel, their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor fought like this: one opponent, one beating; two opponents, double the beating—until no reinforcements remained.
An entire exchange delegation was flattened by this drunken professor alone. That was why even Dumbledore couldn't protect him.
It was self-defense, yes—but knocking out an entire school's delegation was a bit excessive.
And so, Dumbledore once again found himself trapped in the endless cycle of searching for a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
Amid such calm, the school year came to an end. For the first time in decades—perhaps the last—the House Cup belonged to Hufflepuff. There was no helping it; the Quidditch team's points were simply too high.
On the train ride home, Allen pulled Annie along as he said his goodbyes to everyone he knew. Everything seemed peaceful.
But beneath the surface, undercurrents were surging.