After Alan finished speaking to the group with a smile, he flicked his sleeve and walked straight out of the house.
Once outside, Alan subtly glanced toward a shadowy corner nearby. When the battle had first erupted, he had felt someone vaguely watching him, and when Yaxley cast the Killing Curse, that sensation had become far clearer. He could sense a distinct magical resonance coming from that direction.
It was because he had sensed this hidden observer that Alan remained restrained earlier, delivering precise blows rather than anything permanently debilitating.
"Heh. It seems these boys' actions have always been watched by certain eyes. Yaxley, you'd better show some backbone. I went through quite a bit of trouble to build you up so high just to smash you down. It wouldn't make sense if you didn't have some spirit left, would it? Besides, everyone is staring at you—the perfect bait for a deep-sea catch. I hope you don't just chicken out now." Alan sneered and left the area without looking back.
Alan had played a long game. He had previously had Rozier suggest the establishment of the Purity Committee to Yaxley, later drugged him, manipulated him into using an Unforgivable Curse, and then subjected him to extreme torment and humiliation. All of this was designed to make Yaxley lose his mind and lead Alan to his true target.
Meanwhile, back in the abandoned cabin, the young wizards collectively let out a sigh of relief as Alan disappeared. Many of them simply collapsed onto the dusty floor, their nerves finally snapping after the intense pressure. As they recalled the day's events, their hearts were heavy with grief, and they turned resentful eyes toward Yaxley, who still lay on the floor. They blamed him entirely for their current predicament.
"Yaxley, you've really messed us up! Didn't you say joining the committee was about restoring the glory of pure-bloods? Where's the glory now? All we've gained is agony!" a senior wizard roared with deep resentment.
"Hmph, what do you have to be ashamed of? We're the truly unlucky ones," a fourth-year student spat. "You seniors will graduate soon, but what about us? We still have to endure Alan's exploitation for years!"
"This isn't over," Travers's voice rose, though it was strained with pain. He and Wilkes had taken the brunt of the physical punishment. "That bastard humiliated us, which means he humiliated all pure-bloods. He must pay the price!"
"Pay the price? What, do you want to get beaten again?" the fourth-year retorted. "So many of us couldn't take him down together. Don't drag the rest of us even further into the dirt."
For a while, the group argued amongst themselves. It was the standard ritual of shifting blame; humans always prefer to attribute their failures to the mistakes of others.
Rozier, acting like a ghost, silently stayed to the side. He watched them carefully, secretly recording names and temperaments as Alan had instructed. He kept track of which pure-bloods were still clinging to thoughts of revenge and which had abandoned all resistance. After today, Rozier no longer dared to defy Alan. Furthermore, he had Alan's word that for his efforts in delivering information and sabotaging the potions, his own fees would be waived and he would receive a cut of the future profits. He and Alan were now firmly on the same side.
After the arguing died down, the wizards began to disperse unhappily. It was only then that Yaxley recovered enough to struggle to his feet. He had heard every bitter word. The Purity Committee was dead; his ideals had been shattered in a matter of hours.
Fueled by physical pain and a boiling inner resentment, Yaxley stumbled out of the shack, leaning heavily against the rotting exterior wall. Watching his followers depart, his eyes turned bloodshot from hatred. Combined with the corrosive side effects that the Killing Curse had on his soul, he seemed enveloped in a dark, heavy gloom. He cast one final, vicious look toward the distant silhouette of Hogwarts, then disappeared into the snowstorm without looking back.
Back at the castle, Alan met with Higgs and Vivian at the Forbidden Forest cabin. Seeing him return unharmed, the tension in their faces finally evaporated.
"How was it? What happened? Did Yaxley actually attack you?" Higgs asked anxiously as Alan stepped inside. "Since you got away, we need to report this to the Headmaster immediately. Attacking a student outside of school is a serious offense."
Alan hadn't shared the finer details of his plan to keep them from worrying. They didn't know he had just fought an entire squad of pure-bloods, nor did they realize how many people had been involved. They assumed he had simply outmaneuvered a small ambush. It wasn't surprising; Alan was not only uninjured, but he barely had a speck of dust on his robes.
Alan had no intention of hiding the reality from them, so he recounted the events, omitting only Rozier's specific role.
"What? They sent that many people? And Yaxley actually used the Killing Curse?" Higgs asked, his voice shaking with shock. "Does he not know the consequences?"
Alan didn't mention that he had previously instructed Rozier to spike Yaxley's Invigoration Potion with a madness-inducing substance. He knew Rozier was the one providing the pure-blood clique with their supplies, so it was a simple matter to ensure Yaxley was acting irrationally. Forcing him to use an Unforgivable Curse was a calculated move.
"I couldn't say," Alan said, feigning ignorance. "Who knows what goes on in his head? Anyway, the mess is over now, isn't it?"
"But is it really a good idea to collect protection money from them?" Vivian asked worriedly. "That has to violate school rules. What if they report you to Snape or Dumbledore? Wouldn't it have been better to just send them away? Why invite the extra trouble?"
Alan looked at Vivian and smiled. "It seems you're not entirely familiar with how things work in our world. Let me ask you: how would they even prove it was me?"
"Huh? What do you mean?" Vivian asked.
Alan glanced at Higgs, signaling for him to explain.
Higgs nodded. "Vivian, in the wizarding world, convicting someone is remarkably difficult without a witness or a confession. If I hurt someone but I wasn't caught in the act, I could claim someone used Polyjuice Potion to frame me, or that I was under the Imperius Curse. If I leaked a secret, I could claim I was forced to drink Veritaserum. Do you see?"