When a group of curious young wizards rushed outside, Allen clearly saw the boundary of the magic's effect. Outside the academy's outer walls, the grass was lush and green, while within, thick snow fell in feathery flurries.
This wasn't some small-scale illusion either, Uagadou's campus was actually larger than Hogwarts.
At this incredible weather-altering magic, Allen could only think: Uagadou really knows how to put on a show.
Judging by the not-too-surprised reactions of the Uagadou students, it was clear this wasn't the first time the spell had been cast, likely something they did every year. Allen even began to suspect that being able to perform such magic might be a requirement to become headmaster here.
Whatever the truth was, Allen noticed the fatigue carefully hidden behind the headmistress's smile. A spell of this magnitude surely consumed an enormous amount of magical energy.
Still, wasteful or not, Allen had to admit two things: first, this was undeniably a powerful piece of magic; and second, yes, Christmas just doesn't feel like Christmas without snow. It's like a completely different season!
As Allen stood there marveling at the snowfall, he suddenly sensed something flying at him. He shifted slightly, and the object hit the ground beside him, a snowball.
His attacker? Dipan. And judging by the looks on the other Uagadou students' faces, they were all itching to join in.
Sure, this snow magic was impressive, and they were upperclassmen who'd seen snow before. But Allen suspected that, collectively, they hadn't experienced even a fraction of the snowy days he had. In a snowball fight, practice makes perfect.
Magically-enhanced snowball fights skipped the whole "packing snow" step, but aim and timing? That still came down to good old-fashioned experience.
To Allen, these students were like low-level newbies in a game, just reaching level 30 and barely geared, facing off against a seasoned pro smurfing on a low-level account.
As for how that ended? Let's just say the results were predictable.
Except for Emma, whom Allen graciously spared because she was a girl, everyone else got a snowball down the back of the neck. With precision control, Allen sent each snowball past their feeble defenses and straight into their collars.
Unfortunately, snowballs don't render people unconscious, and as the battle continued, the Uagadou team began to catch on. It seemed the more they were pelted, the faster they adapted.
In the end, Allen experienced the ultimate snowball fight finishing move, they ganged up on him and buried him in snow.
••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••
The little wizards, having gone all out in the morning snowball frenzy, spent nearly the entire afternoon drying their clothes. Cleaning charms just didn't work on that kind of damp.
So, with not much else to do, Allen was introduced to wizard chess, those endlessly chattering pieces nearly made him fulfill a childhood wish: to toss an entire chess set into the fireplace.
They wrapped up Christmas with a bountiful feast.
One notable absence, however, was Professor Sigma. Not only did he skip the Christmas celebration, but even the students who knew him best were whispering rumors, something about the professor cooking up big news. Lately, he had been terrifyingly gentle during class, his teaching methods suddenly so proper it felt like he'd been replaced.
Still, to everyone's disappointment, Professor Sigma never showed up, not even once that evening.
And in the days that followed, his classes remained oddly soft and straightforward, no pranks, no traps.
Naturally, this made all the students extremely nervous. They feared that when Sigma finally dropped his "big news," it might land squarely on them.
They guessed at the cause, but no one could have predicted the outcome.
••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••
The day of departure came quickly. Allen received farewell gifts from his Uagadou teammates, and a goodbye kiss from Emma, though he strongly suspected she was just teasing him.
As the students and staff of Hogwarts gathered inside the Stone Colossus, ready to leave, stone steps retracted and the giant slowly sank into the earth.
Only then did someone notice, Professor Sigma was missing!
Yes, there were originally supposed to be three Hogwarts professors leading the delegation. But now, Sigma was gone!
Neither Professor McGonagall nor Professor Snape offered any explanation, and the young wizards had no choice but to shallow their curiosity for the moment.
On the journey home, however, the students could no longer contain themselves. After a group discussion, they approached Professor McGonagall and asked the question on everyone's mind:
"Where's Professor Sigma?"
And finally, they got their answer. And what an answer it was.
Sigma's big news had truly lived up to the name.
Professor Sigma… had gone on the run.
Yes, you read that right. He wasn't just missing, he was being hunted.
And not by just anyone, this was a level of danger that even Dumbledore himself couldn't shield him from. Right before departure, Dumbledore had used a secret method to contact Professor McGonagall and warn her: tell Sigma to run.
Why?
Well… Professor Sigma had allegedly eloped with multiple high-profile young women.
One was the saintess of a major religion. Another, a princess from a constitutional monarchy. A third, the primary heir of a multinational potion consortium. The list went on.
Normally, even this kind of scandal wouldn't be enough to overwhelm Dumbledore.
But Sigma had done everything, everything, he wasn't supposed to do. So of course, the magical communities involved had discovered it and banded together to pressure Dumbledore.
Their demands were actually quite simple: they wanted Sigma to make it right, by holding a wedding.
Unfortunately, some of the factions involved strictly forbade their daughters from marrying out of the family. Which meant… if caught, Sigma would be the one getting married into their households.
It wasn't an outrageous request, and Dumbledore couldn't refuse. But unfortunately for them, Sigma wasn't exactly eager to get "married off."
So with Dumbledore's warning, Sigma vanished into the wind.
Once again, Voldemort's curse had taken effect, Sigma didn't last a full year as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Now, he was staring down the rest of his life… in a gilded cage.
For some reason, a line popped into Allen's head that fit Sigma perfectly:
"I used to be an adventurer like you… until I took an arrow to the knee."
He used to be a professor, until he took an arrow to the knee.
••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••
The journey back was long, but the bittersweet mood of parting was completely overshadowed by the bombshell about Sigma being hunted down for eloping.
Everyone began trading stories of the professor's wild, unpredictable ways, and sent their best wishes to their fugitive teacher.
Merlin, please watch over our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Sigma.
••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••
P.S.: Your friend, Professor Sigma, has gone offline.
Notes:
The "arrow to the knee" is a famous line from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. It's commonly used as a joke, but in old British idioms, taking an arrow to the knee can also imply marriage, though this hasn't been definitively proven.
==========
You can find much more on my Patreon: Patreon.com/Veltoria
There are currently 5 active fanfictions on Patreon, with over 442+ advanced chapters available across them!
From Naruto Onwards, I Control Time — Up to Chapter 285
Haikyuu!!: Rise of Sengoku — Up to Chapter 219
Danmachi: Is It Wrong To Aspire to Be An Adventurer? — Up to Chapter 97
Legend of Hogwarts (Harry Potter x League of Legends) — Up to Chapter 127
I Am Luffy: Partner System Online (One Piece) — Up to Chapter 110