What do you do when a brat is being too bratty? Most of the time, it's because they've been spoiled. The solution? A good thrashing usually does the trick.
Even if that brat thinks he's making the ultimate sacrifice to redeem his pride, Allen felt no sympathy. On the contrary, all that edgy, dramatic posturing only made Allen want to laugh, and worry that his counterattack might not be harsh enough.
There's a tale about a famous seer who lived in a village full of wizards. One day, he came home to find his witch of a wife beating their child. He tried to intervene:
"Why are you hitting the kid? That's not good for his development!"
The wife snorted and said, "Your son read a few books and is now claiming he can predict the future. Worse, he's bragging about it to the other young wizards."
"So what?" the seer replied. "He's just showing off a bit. Just talk to him!"
"Oh? He's been boasting that he can foresee your death."
The seer paused.
"Put him down. I'll handle it."
Right now, Allen felt the same way as he glanced at Valor, who had already launched a sneak attack.
"Put him down. I'll take it from here."
The results? Outstanding.
From the moment Valor made his move, the fate of that gang of little Slytherins was sealed, especially when their reaction to being ambushed was painfully slow.
But Allen wasn't planning to let them off easily this time. Those who humiliate others should be prepared to be humiliated in return.
Moments later, Allen walked away whistling.
Behind him was a scene of smoky ruin… and one that was painfully hard on the eyes.
Thanks to his time at the exchange program, Allen had learned a unique spell from a professor at Uagadou. He wasn't as flashy or skilled with it yet, but it was more than enough to, say, burn someone's clothes.
Since they were so eager to strip him and humiliate him, Allen figured it was only fair to return the favor, in kind.
Looking completely unbothered, Allen strolled away from the ambush site with Valor at his side.
That very evening, Hogwarts was abuzz with a new rumor: some students had gone streaking across the grounds, supposedly due to "exam stress." Naturally, no one believed that excuse. Exams were already over! It was clearly premeditated nonsense.
As Allen had predicted, he was summoned to Professor Pomona Sprout's office that same day. But to his surprise, there was no punishment waiting for him. Instead, the school offered him a position, officially, to help support his studies.
The pay was decent, but the job took up almost all of his free time. Clearly, this was a form of disguised detention.
Though Allen hadn't technically done anything wrong, he figured Dumbledore must have pulled a lot of strings to arrange this outcome.
You see, hitting a student isn't the end of it. Especially not when that student belongs to an old pure-blood family like the Slytherins, who held considerable sway in the magical community. This subtle punishment was, in truth, a form of protection for Allen.
But Allen didn't mind in the slightest. He knew Voldemort would return eventually, and until he took that monster down himself, all these fools would just keep being purged by their own kind anyway.
As far as Allen was concerned, if people wanted to self-destruct, as long as they didn't cross a certain line, he was happy to sit back and watch.
"So, Allen," said Professor Sprout, eyeing her student carefully, "how do you feel about the school's arrangement?"
Everything about the boy pleased her, except for his constant troublemaking. She just hoped he wouldn't reject the offer. If he did, she might be forced to reveal the darker side of the magical world to him before he was ready.
"No problem at all, Professor. I'm happy to help," Allen replied politely. He gave a respectful bow and left the office.
No need to rush. Harry Potter hadn't even enrolled yet. For now, Allen's only job was to build up his strength, slowly, patiently.
••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••
A simple student job like his didn't stir up much gossip, and the humiliated Slytherins certainly weren't about to brag about how badly they got wrecked.
By the time the End-of-Year Feast rolled around, the atmosphere among the four Houses was… tense.
After all that fighting and scheming, everyone had just discovered that, for the first time in Hogwarts history, perhaps, all four House hourglasses held exactly the same number of points.
So, for the first time ever, the usually colorful Great Hall was left undecorated. No House dared to put up their banners when the scores were equal.
"Another year has come and gone!" Dumbledore announced cheerfully. "But before we feast, I must ask everyone to endure an old man's rambling."
"What a marvelous year it has been! On top of our usual lessons, we had the pleasure of hosting a wonderful exchange with Uagadou."
"I'm sure your young minds have grown in ways you haven't even realized yet. The clash of different magical systems must've sparked a lot of thought. But don't worry! A long summer lies ahead, plenty of time to digest what you've learned and clear your heads before next term begins."
"Now, as far as I know, we must first award the House Cup. But there's a… peculiar situation. For the first time in Hogwarts' thousand-year history, the Houses are tied in points!"
"So, I'm afraid I'll have to keep the House Cup here for safekeeping. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, after all, the glory goes to Hogwarts itself."
"Still, isn't the Great Hall looking a bit plain?"
With a clap of Dumbledore's hands, each House table was suddenly decorated with its respective colors. Floating above them was an enormous Hogwarts crest, shimmering with pride.
A few days after the celebration, final grades were released. As expected, at least by the Hufflepuffs, Allen had ranked first in nearly every subject. The only exception? History of Magic.
But even that was no loss, another Hufflepuff from the Lovede family had claimed the top spot in that subject. Which meant Hufflepuff students had taken first place in every subject this year.
As tradition dictated, another feast was held in the Hufflepuff common room that night.
The Weasley twins, just as they'd expected, passed only the subjects they actually cared about.
"Too bad there wasn't a Defense Against the Dark Arts exam this year," one of them sighed. "We might've scored an Outstanding in that."
When the time came to board the Hogwarts Express, every student was handed a familiar notice reminding them that no magic was to be used outside school.
Allen, of course, had no intention of obeying that rule. Any rule I haven't personally signed? Might as well be toilet paper in training.
On the train, Allen made plans with the twins to visit his home over the summer. Even Charlie took a moment to stop by and remind him not to forget the date.
Being one of the last to disembark due to the crowded carriages, Allen waved goodbye to every familiar face he passed. Only after most people had gone did he finally flag down a taxi.
He waved at one last student, another first-year still waiting for his family to arrive.
"Have a great summer!" Allen called.
"You too, Allen! Enjoy your break!"
••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••
A/N: New volume/arc…..
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