Silence, this time, it was a longer silence.

The solution lay right before them, and it was a perfect fit.

No rule-breaking, more precisely, no recorded violations. The cost of broom collisions was just a penalty, but after taking out the entire Slytherin team, what did such a small punishment matter?

Untrained players simply couldn't stand against trained ones, especially when none of the house teams had prepared substitutes.

Victory was within reach; breaking Slytherin's blockade was right there. Even the long-forgotten House Cup seemed to hover before these players. The temptation to bring the trophy home to Hufflepuff, who hadn't won it in ages, was nearly irresistible.

All eyes turned to Captain Alex, the decision rested with him.

••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••

A tired, hoarse voice answered, as if the speaker had just escaped a fire-breathing dragon.

"No… Allen, we can't." He shook his head, firm in his conviction.

"We fight for honor, but that kind of honor isn't what we want."

"We are Hufflepuff, we are just, loyal, honest, and hardworking. We desire honor, but we desire a fair fight. That victory's temptation is great, but, Allen, we truly can't choose that path…"

"So Allen, help us, we believe in you, you can do it." Alex stepped forward and grasped Allen's hand.

Let go! Even in England, I still like soft-hearted girls!

But it was no use, the sincere eyes before him and the huge problem were undeniable.

I knew this would happen.

The pride of the Hufflepuffs was so strong they rejected this kind of glory.

Just like Cedric's naive demands and Gryffindor's rematch lost because Harry fell.

"I won't listen to you all! Wait, I'll think it through!" Allen turned and left, leaving their complaints behind.

And so, the trouble truly began.

His momentary stubbornness brought him big trouble, but this was the Hogwarts he imagined.

After lunch, the afternoon flying lesson started.

The smug Slytherins gathered to watch their Quidditch team practice, if nothing went wrong, their team would remain the strongest and keep the championship.

Meanwhile, Allen received approval for free flight, admired by many classmates, Madam Hooch didn't intend to have him score for his house.

Approved, Allen mingled with his house's Quidditch team.

"Listen, even though we don't plan to win the championship that way, we still need to recruit a second team."

"The second team members will swap half with the first team by lottery, then play actual matches."

"That's right, practice as if it were a real game; everything simulates combat."

"For formations and tactics, we can try to learn from Muggle sports and find their weaknesses during matches."

••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••

Professor Sprout approved the plan, meaning a big expense, flying brooms weren't cheap.

As Alex said, Hufflepuff never feared the hardships of chasing glory, including their Head of House.

But for Allen, this was only a suggestion; the choice was theirs.

Meanwhile, more important matters awaited the first-year students, Professor Sigma's class had started!

What if students who never learned magic properly were useless?

Most likely, they'd be hopeless… ahem, probably psychological barriers, which Sigma would handle well.

Last class, they learned the "Leg Lock Curse," an interesting attack spell.

The young witches and wizards racked their brains trying to figure out what tricks Professor Sigma might pull with it.

Judging by the odd smile on Sigma's face (yes, that's right), it was going to be another unforgettable lesson.

As expected.

Welcoming them were giant dung beetles, a small relative of a dung beetle species that feeds on dragon dung.

They habitually rolled dragon dung into giant balls, half a person's height, back to their nests, at the maze exit.

This was a simple maze-running game, especially if you could follow the returning creatures.

The only downside was Professor Sigma had designed many special tunnels, tiny holes in the maze walls impassable by humans.

"Good luck, kids! Remember your spells and move quickly, or these clever little guys won't hesitate to roll dung balls on you while you climb out!"

Heh, the students suddenly felt an urge to attack the professor, not sure how many points that would lose them?

Allen earned a pass under the pretense of demonstrating for everyone, though the blocked exits were probably going to be cleared by Sigma anyway, he declined to sneak through.

Allen's performance earned him praise from both professor and classmates, his alternating use of the Leg Lock Curse and Barrier Curse completed the task smoothly and set a good example. Though unfamiliar with the Leg Lock Curse, everyone's Barrier Curse was decent!

As a result, Sigma's prank-filled class wasn't very successful, only a few students failed to escape his grasp because they hadn't mastered both spells.

But Sigma didn't seem discouraged, instead, he smiled and said, "Very good! This is the best lesson I've taught! Well done, Hufflepuff, +10 points! Congratulations on mastering the correct use of spells, no one says when exactly you have to use them. If you think a spell will help, try it! Nothing wrong with that!"

This became bragging rights among students at noon, they didn't rely on others this time, and Allen was one of their own.

They started praising Professor Sigma enthusiastically.

Naturally, Slytherin and Ravenclaw got the success tips too, and cleared Sigma's new classroom maze that afternoon.

For a moment, Hogwarts buzzed with excitement, the long-awaited guide for Sigma's dungeon series had finally arrived!

This nearly cost Allen his first victory that day, the overjoyed Slytherins forgot their usual daily attack quests!

Amidst all this celebration, Allen spent another week at Hogwarts, but unfortunately, he still didn't get a weekend off.

••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••

PS: How many got fooled? Haha, why would I have Hufflepuff do a suicide mission? That's not Hufflepuff at all.

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