However, even though Alan had permission, he did not venture out to Hogsmeade on the weekends. The school was his safe haven now; given the actions of the pure-blood faction, even a fool would know they were preparing to strike at him the moment he stepped off the grounds.
And it would definitely be a ruthless strike.
"You're looking for an opportunity, but so am I. Rozier's side is almost ready; I just need to wait a little longer. Besides, what's the fun in playing with these children? If I'm going to fish, I need to catch a big one," Alan mused.
With that thought, he went to the Forbidden Forest cabin and waited.
Before long, Higgs, Charles, Vivian, and the others arrived. Charles even brought someone with him: Bill Weasley.
"Alan!" Bill hadn't seen Alan since the opening ceremony, and seeing him now, he excitedly ran toward him.
Alan had asked Charles to bring Bill along. After some consideration, he decided he needed to include the boy in his training plan. Since Bill was at Hogwarts, Alan felt a responsibility to "take care" of the Weasleys' eldest son.
Charles fully approved of the plan. He had grown quite fond of being a co-coach, sternly directing Vivian and William Higgs in their training throughout the day. Watching Bill cheerfully greet Alan, a smile of cryptic meaning appeared on Charles's face.
After Alan explained that he wanted Bill to train with them, the boy readily agreed. In his opinion, Alan was giving him special tutoring. Why would he refuse when his friend wanted to help him grow?
Very quickly, however, Bill came to regret his decision.
As soon as classes ended in the afternoon, the enthusiastic Charles would drag him to the cabin. Once there, he would start by guiding Bill through grueling standing balance exercises, followed by core endurance training. After one round of these operations, Bill was essentially unable to get up.
Meanwhile, Charles, Higgs, Vivian, and the others still had to perform footwork drills, target practice, and spell rehearsals. Bill watched from the side, stunned. Was this the training that awaited him? Would such high intensity really not lead to a total collapse?
No matter what Bill thought, the moment Alan entered training mode, he transformed into a drill instructor from hell. If anyone made a mistake, he would scold them harshly, not even sparing Vivian.
However, the effects of the training were undeniable. Bill found that both his perception of magic and his speed in mastering spells had made significant progress. As he gradually adapted to the rhythm, he found that his physical fitness had improved, and his mental focus was sharper than ever.
As time went on, the atmosphere within Slytherin grew increasingly oppressive. Following Alan's advice, William Higgs no longer directly opposed the committee members. Alan, for his part, left early and returned late every day, keeping a low profile. This led the pure-blood faction to believe they were scared, and their behavior became increasingly reckless.
When people gain power, find themselves no longer bound by rules, and lack self-control, ambition begins to swell into something ugly.
These boys were not disciplined people. Since their campaign to remove Muggle items was progressing without resistance, they gradually began to squeeze the life out of the half-blood students. Wilkes took total control of the Slytherin Quidditch team and banned any clubs involving Muggle interests, with the exception of Vivian's Mahjong Club. A reading club organized by a half-blood student and a Muggle Studies study group were both forcibly disbanded. Wilkes even threatened younger students, ordering them to change their elective courses.
Alan had wondered why their Head of House, Professor Snape, didn't intervene, but aside from Potions class, he rarely saw the man, who apparently did not stay at the school very often.
The entirety of Slytherin spent more than two months in this stifling atmosphere, and finally, the conflict erupted.
On this day, Alan was drilling Charles and the others by the cabin, but Vivian was missing. Higgs mentioned that Vivian had gone back to the common room to put away her books, but she usually didn't make them wait this long. Alan even wondered if she was slacking off because the training was too demanding; she was usually the one who complained most about fatigue and secretly tried to avoid the extra work.
Alan didn't have a perfect solution for her attitude, so he mostly let her act as a mood-setter, keeping the pressure on her relatively low.
Just as he was lost in thought, Vivian appeared, accompanied by Evan Ganber. Evan still had tear stains on his face and a look of absolute misery, while Vivian looked indignant. As they drew closer, Alan saw that one side of Vivian's face was red and swollen, as if she had been struck.
"What happened? Did someone hit you?" Alan and the others quickly stepped forward.
At the sight of them, Evan seemed to remember the trauma all over again and burst into fresh tears.
"What else could it be? Those bullies... they don't even spare the first years," Vivian said angrily, explaining the story.
It turned out that in the common room, the committee members had discovered a photo of Evan's grandmother. Because his grandmother was a Muggle, they confiscated it. Little Evan wouldn't let it go and argued with them, but he was just a first year and had no way to resist. They had thrown the photo into the fireplace and burned it to ashes right in front of him.
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Bonus Chapters just because I feel good today.