"That's right," Alan added. "Those Death Eaters who fled were essentially villains who would rather die than surrender, or they were individuals caught red-handed with witnesses to testify against them face-to-face."
"It's simply too difficult to collect evidence otherwise," William Higgs noted. "Only wizards with specific authority or pristine records are usually allowed as witnesses. The situation for those students changed the moment Yaxley cast the Killing Curse at Alan. To prove they were coerced by you, they would first have to admit they participated in the ambush. Admitting that makes them accomplices to attempted murder."
"If they want to go down with me, at most I'll be expelled, but they are very likely to end up in Azkaban. Moreover, I can shift the blame for the collection onto Rozier. Since I didn't handle the gold personally, no one can prove I was involved. If you were in their position, what choice would you make?" Alan asked with a teasing smile.
"Hiss! So those pure-blood families are essentially under your thumb now?" Vivian was staggered by the revelation. Alan was truly playing a deeper game than she had realized.
"That depends on their behavior. Even a cornered dog will jump a wall, so I won't do anything too outrageous. Honestly, I'm less interested in protection fees than I am in the knowledge hidden within those old family libraries. No student has that much gold anyway. I'll propose a price they can't bear, then offer a less costly alternative in the form of books or materials. Even a fool knows how to choose that trade," Alan said.
William looked at Alan with a newfound sense of caution. The boy was meticulous, ruthless, and remarkably powerful. Those pure-blood students were out of their minds to have provoked him.
Vivian, however, was thrilled. Alan had finally settled the score. The idea of Milly swaggering around in her skin made her blood boil; the girl deserved every bit of what she got. With Alan around, who would dare to bully her now?
"So, now that those guys are dealt with, does that mean the committee is finished? Can I have my Mahjong Club back? And can I join the Quidditch team?" Vivian asked excitedly.
"That's up to William," Alan said. "I'll keep the pure-blood faction in line, but maintaining day-to-day order is a job for our senior. I have other projects that require my attention."
William nodded. "The half-bloods have been waiting for this. Without the committee's suppression, I believe Slytherin will return to a state of peace quite quickly."
With the tension finally broken, the group began to enjoy the true spirit of the holiday. Alan personally prepared a feast, and they shared the meal together in the warmth of the cabin.
The next day, Alan returned to his solitary routine. Vivian and William were not officially staying at the castle for the duration of the break; their families were waiting for them, and early that morning, they departed via the Hogsmeade Floo Network.
Having put one major worry to rest, Alan began to deconstruct the battle. He didn't just look at it from his own perspective; he meticulously re-analyzed the engagement as if he were the enemy commander.
"Most of my preparations weren't even needed. The enemy's combat experience, discipline, and willpower were all fundamentally flawed. This is likely due to the revolving door of Defense Against the Dark Arts professors. The quality of instruction is so inconsistent that the students have no idea how to actually fight a duel. Professor Gentil, for instance, seems more interested in inducing clinical depression than teaching anything of substance.
So, if I were Yaxley and I wanted to defeat an opponent like myself, what would I do? Assuming no specialized equipment and no prior knowledge of my traps, could I win through a superior tactical combination?"
Alan laid out a large sheet of parchment and began to sketch the battlefield from memory, marking the positions of every participant.
"The opponent had seventeen people: five seniors, four fifth-years, and eight younger students. If I were arranging them, I would have divided them into five small fire teams, each led by a senior. I would have deployed them in a triangular or trapezoidal formation to create inner and outer perimeters, rather than a single line. Each team would have a dedicated defender, one or two attackers, and one person focused on interference. Ideally, one team would be designated as anti-interference.
Immediately upon engagement, the seniors should have cast the Supersensory Charm. If I were encircled, I would try to break out or cause area-wide disruption. Their primary task should have been forcing me back into the kill zone.
The rear team should have used Revelio to strip my Disillusionment Charm. The front and flank teams needed to coordinate a saturated volley of fire along my projected path. They should have anticipated my movements, prioritizing the Knockback Jinx and the Impediment Jinx. The interference members should have focused on the Sticky Feet Charm; it's less likely to cause friendly fire than a targeted curse.
Even with an item to increase my speed, it is unlikely I could dodge a wall of spells. I would be forced to use Protego, which would slow my positioning and force me to waste magic breaking through obstacles.
Assuming the enemy breaks the first line, the second line should provide covering fire. When the fog was cast, the seniors should have used their sensory charms to track me while the anti-interference team cleared the air with a Hurricane Curse. During that window, every member should have ceased fire and formed a back-to-back triangular defense to prevent an ambush.
The seniors would report my location in real-time. Interference members would use area-of-effect charms to slow me down, while the attackers used precise probing hexes and the defenders remained vigilant against both me and their own allies' stray fire."