To Allen's surprise, the background character whose name he had already forgotten didn't report him. He simply claimed he had fallen into the trap by accident.

Which, to be fair, wasn't too strange. The way he fell in was just a bit more dramatic than most, but plenty of students had ended up the same way. As we mentioned, our dear Defense Against the Dark Arts professor didn't set up that maze for laughs and giggles.

Though the aftermath was a battlefield of messy students, many were still cheering. After all, not everyone had the guts to tackle a maze designed by the famously eccentric Professor Sigma.

Even those who failed didn't seem too discouraged. By now, halfway through the term, the students had learned that while Professor Sigma's lessons often ended with pranks, the learning outcomes were surprisingly effective. As for the mess? Well… they'd just gotten used to it.

Most of the students had gone in just for the challenge, what none of them expected was that a first-year would be the one to claim victory. But then again, considering how often they'd heard his name lately, it wasn't that surprising.

"Alright!" A kindly but commanding voice rang out, drawing all the young witches and wizards to attention, it was Dumbledore.

"First, let us all thank Professor Sigma for this year's Halloween special!" Dumbledore's words brought all the chatter to a stop, and Sigma stood up and gave a slight bow in response.

"However, after such activities, a bit of cleanup is necessary, " With a small flick of his wand, every student suddenly found themselves completely clean. Allen, who had been increasingly stressed about money lately, was hit with inspiration: What if I opened a magical dry-cleaning business? With that speed, it would be a hit!

"Now, I have an exciting announcement to make," Dumbledore continued, his voice full of warmth. "In the spirit of cross-cultural learning, we have established a short-term exchange program with the Uagadou School of Magic in Uganda."

A ripple of shock spread through the students, as if a bucket of ice water had been poured into boiling oil. Most had never even heard of this place.

"Settle down, everyone," Dumbledore said, patiently waiting until the excitement faded before continuing.

"The Headmaster of Uagadou has only recently taken up his position. He believes, as I do, that without exchange and new perspectives, a school's thinking can grow stagnant."

"After discussions with Headmaster Ignatius, we've agreed that Hogwarts will send 50 students from across all year levels, along with three professors. In return, Uagadou will send 50 of their students and their top three professors."

"Due to scheduling, I regret to inform you that the selected students will be spending Christmas abroad, returning only in January of next year."

Dumbledore paused to let the shocking news sink in.

"I truly hope many of you will take this opportunity to broaden your horizons," he said sincerely. "However, I must also share the unfortunate reality, due to budget constraints, students who wish to participate must cover their own travel expenses. You may coordinate with your respective Heads of House."

"But don't worry if you can't go. We'll still gain something from this exchange, three new professors will be joining us to share the wisdom of a faraway land."

"Oh, and one last thing," Dumbledore added, "due to the absence of our own professors, a temporary adjustment has been made to the class schedule. The new timetables have been posted in each common room. Please check them and prepare accordingly."

With a final wave of his hands, Dumbledore hushed the now buzzing crowd once more.

"Since this is an exchange, we must also do our part to prepare. The prefects of each house, as well as today's maze champion, Allen, will automatically be granted a spot in the program. Their expenses will be covered by the school."

"And now, my dear students, enjoy tonight's desserts!"

The announcement of the nine selected students sparked no controversy, prefects were generally elected based on popularity and ability, and even the Slytherins had to admit that Allen, for all his quirks, was legitimately talented.

Even the appearance of new desserts on the tables couldn't compete with the excitement now coursing through the Great Hall. Their thoughts were entirely on the exchange.

The wizarding world was far more insular than the Muggle one. Differences in magical laws between countries made intercontinental cooperation even trickier. Take, for instance, the British ban on wand ownership by non-wizard creatures, compared to America's house-elves, who all carried wands of their own. (Shout-out to Fantastic Beasts.)

To most of these students, even the Triwizard Tournament's three European schools were mysterious enough, so Uagadou, a school all the way in Africa, was practically another world.

Everyone was eagerly speculating about what awaited them, what kind of magic would they see? What strange creatures? What exotic foods? What fascinating Professors?

Allen didn't have any experience with African magic, so he stayed quiet and just listened. He had to fight to keep from laughing at some of the wild theories. One student described a snow-white beast called a polar bear said to roam the deserts of Africa, Merlin helped that poor bear.

Only one student, Leon, had his story debunked. He claimed he once visited African Muggles with his family and had "conquered a tribe with food." That earned him a chorus of boos.

Not until the very last dessert vanished from the tables did the students reluctantly rise. Some even wandered off to other tables to exchange "intel" between houses, though most of it was nonsense.

Among them, the award for most impressive tall tales went to Ravenclaw. Their legendary level of academic bluffing earned unanimous praise from students across three houses, why only three? Because the Slytherins, curious as they were, couldn't bring themselves to join in. Pride of pure-blood lineage and all that.

Amid all this excitement, Allen suddenly had a dreadful realization.

Three professors… what if one of them is Professor Sigma?

Oh no. Merlin helps the students of Uagadou.

••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••

P.S. We're heading into a whole new arc! Uagadou is one of the eleven wizarding schools introduced by J.K. Rowling.

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