Throughout his enrollment, Wayne had mostly been a model student.
But whenever he stood before the central sofa in Hufflepuff's common room, trouble was brewing.
First year: His debut saw hundreds of Hufflepuffs storm the Headmaster's Office, forcing the gargoyle to expand its capacity.
Second year: They blockaded Slytherin's common room next—Marcus Flint nearly died there.
Third year: With Hogwarts' students having grown remarkably civilised (none daring to provoke Hufflepuffs), Wayne remained inactive.
Through repeated demonstrations, the school learned one truth:
Never cross Hufflepuff. You might bully one or two badgers... but hundreds would come collecting.
And now... had the foreign schools' provocations angered Wayne again?
The badgers watched their central figure with bated breath, awaiting his 'command'.
"I've grasped the situation," Wayne finally spoke.
"Moray, White—when did you notice your badges were altered?"
Both fifth-years—their badges had been tampered with.
A tall boy flushed red: "After lunch. Someone must've hexed them during Charms this morning when I dozed off."
Wayne nodded slightly. "Unlikely to be Hogwarts students. You shared that class with Gryffindors?"
"Correct," chorused the fifth-years.
Leaving aside whether lions possessed such cunning, even the most mischievous Weasley twins and Lee Jordan wouldn't target Cedric, given their ties to Wayne, Harry and Cedric themselves.
"Then demand answers from them," Wayne stated plainly. "Why overcomplicate this?"
The sixth-year female Prefect worried: "But... they're foreign students. Could this spark greater trouble?"
The unknown breeds fear, and anything involving foreign matters instinctively puts people on guard.
"Mocking my friends, slandering my school—we're the victims here. Why should we be the ones treading carefully?" Wayne countered.
No one answered him.
The young man continued speaking as if to himself: "In the past, we overcame Quirrell and those arrogant pure-blood Slytherins through unity. This time will be no different."
"Either we find the real culprit and make them recognise their mistake and pay the price, or we let Hufflepuff's reputation for weakness spread to other countries. Friends, I won't force your choice. Those willing to join me in hunting down the truth, follow me."
With that, he strode towards the entrance without waiting for any response.
The crowd automatically parted to form a path. Toby and Norman followed without hesitation, then Susan and Hannah, Ernie Macmillan, and Justin Finch-Fletchley.
Their eyes burned with fervour. This was right—this was Hufflepuff's true leader!
Cedric had just made to move when Wayne's words reached him:
"Oh, and Cedric—you're not coming. You're a champion. A champion's grievances should be settled on the tournament grounds. This is a war between supporters."
Cedric's two roommates held him back, giving him solemn nods before exiting through the barrel door.
No rousing slogans were chanted. The badgers made their choices in silence. Apart from Cedric and Zacharias Smith, not a single person remained in the common room.
Smith snorted coldly and retreated to the dormitory. For the first time, Cedric wore an expression of disgust towards his housemate, pacing anxiously in circles.
Of course, he wanted to follow too, but he understood Wayne's reasoning for keeping him behind. He found himself torn.
...
Meanwhile, several dozen badgers followed Wayne in a formidable procession upstairs. It happened to be dinner time, with most students still in the Great Hall.
Wayne intended to lead them to block the entrance to the new building, requiring passage through the third-floor aerial corridor.
As they ascended the marble staircase, several students dashed into the Great Hall. Soon, the Hufflepuff table stood empty, many having rushed out with meat pies and steaks still clutched between their teeth.
This bizarre spectacle naturally drew attention. Curious students followed, questioning familiar badgers before reacting with shock.
Ten minutes later, the badgers reached the corridor's end where a wide door stood open, leading to the new building's area.
"Wayne, what's our plan? Do we go straight in to find them?" Hannah asked.
"Without even identifying our targets, who exactly would you be looking for?" Wayne waved his hand. "Clear the passageway. We're not here to cause trouble—let's not disturb innocent bystanders."
The badgers obediently pressed against both sides of the corridor while he conjured a chair and sat squarely in the centre.
"Don't interfere with other students later," Wayne instructed. "We only need to detain the fifth-years. You remember what they look like?"
"Yes!" the badgers chorused, startling the spectators who'd followed out of curiosity.
Soon, several fifth-year students from other schools were forcibly detained where they stood.
They shouted angrily, but their numbers were too few; they were quickly drowned in the sea of badger-clad students.
Wayne then sent some Ilvermorny and Beauxbatons students inside to relay messages, summoning all fifth-years to come out.
"Wayne, what's going on?"
At that moment, Cho, Hermione and Astoria arrived, followed closely by Sakura. Tomoyo, Fleur and Cassandra also emerged from inside the building.
The sound of dense footsteps echoed from the distance, and the wide corridor instantly became unbearably crowded.
Wayne showed them two badges: "Made by fifth-years, but we don't know who. So I've had to keep everyone here to help."
"If the culprit steps forward voluntarily, everyone's happy. If anyone saw who did it, please provide clues. You'll earn Hufflepuff's friendship."
The girls exchanged glances, surprised such a thing had happened.
"What's this got to do with me? Let me go!" A Uagadou boy struggled violently, while a Durmstrang boy, even burlier, broke free from two badgers' restraints, cursing loudly.
"Get lost! I don't know what you're on about. Keep blocking me, and you'll regret it!"
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Several spells hit simultaneously, freezing the Durmstrang boy rigid. Wayne waved his hand, sticking him to the wall.
"Please cooperate. Don't bring trouble upon yourselves."
In an instant, all the badgers drew their wands, even first-years brandishing theirs for courage.
Faced with so many hostile glares, the struggling students quickly quieted down, though muttering complaints continued.
"Sakura, you had History of Magic today, too, right?" Wayne ignored them, turning to Sakura.
"Mm." Sakura had been startled by the Hufflepuffs' decisiveness. Blushing at the boy's question, she admitted:
"I... I fell asleep within minutes, too. The bell woke me up."
She felt terribly embarrassed, but Hogwarts' History of Magic professor was simply terrifying. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't last ten minutes.
At the same time, Sakura privately admired the culprits' determination - committing such an act under those perilous circumstances required incredible willpower.
As more students gathered, foreign school wizards grew furious seeing their classmates treated so roughly, with some even taking action.
Wayne called out names one by one. Those who cast spells were stuck to walls before they could attack, a familiar sight that warmed the badgers' hearts.
Just as the situation threatened to spiral out of control, professors and headmasters finally arrived.
"Make way! Make way!"
Madame Maxime's imposing stature easily cleared a path, other professors following closely behind.
"Merlin's socks! What is the meaning of this?" The headmasters' faces darkened upon seeing their students restrained, dozens stuck to the ceiling.
Karkaroff glared at Wayne: "Lawrence, you—"
Before he could finish speaking, when he met Wayne's gaze, all his anger and complaints vanished, replaced by a chilling sensation that pierced straight to his heart.
He felt frozen to the core.
"You... you... have you been wronged in some way?" Karkaroff forced a stiff, basic smile.
"Oh, Mr Karkaroff, thank you for your concern, but I do feel rather aggrieved."
For a moment, Wayne saw Lucius Malfoy's shadow in him.
These two fair-weather friends must have been quite close back in the day, right?
The Durmstrang students stared at their headmaster in shock, their hearts brimming with indignation.
Professor! It's our people who were bullied!
Just look at the ceiling—most of those hanging up there are ours!
The other headmasters who had intended to reprimand Wayne also faltered, momentarily at a loss for words.
It was Professor McGonagall who broke the impasse. "Mr Lawrence, whatever happened, please release the hostages... no, the students first."
If this wasn't handled properly, it could escalate into an international incident.
Professor McGonagall cursed Dumbledore inwardly for his unreliability. Such a serious diplomatic incident, and he hadn't even shown up—what on earth was he doing?
But this time, Professor McGonagall was mistaken.
...
Headmaster's Office.
Dumbledore sighed helplessly at Ho-Oh, who stood perched on his desk.
"I'm not going to stop Wayne—I'm trying to prevent the situation from escalating."
He had already learned about Hufflepuff's actions through the portraits, but just as he was about to intervene, Ho-Oh appeared, staring him down with a clear message.
Don't interfere.
The old headmaster felt stifled but remained firmly seated.
The price he had paid to enlist Wayne's help in subtly guiding Harry's growth, as well as compensating Cedric, had been far too steep.
For at least this year, Hogwarts belonged to Lawrence, not Dumbledore.
That was the condition they had agreed upon.
No matter how much Wayne stirred things up, Dumbledore couldn't intervene, effectively making him the school's figurehead.
"Chirp chirp~!" Ho-Oh remained unmoved, letting out a soft cry. Fawkes fluttered down from the phoenix perch and stood behind Ho-Oh, cheering on his superior.
Faced with the two birds blocking his path, Dumbledore could only pray that the other schools would fend for themselves.
...
"That's how it happened."
Meanwhile, the students remained suspended in mid-air.
Wayne recounted the whole incident, holding up two badges. Professor McGonagall's expression grew even graver.
"I don't actually care what words were changed."
"But secretly targeting my friends is a direct challenge to Hufflepuff."
"Today it's altering badges—tomorrow, they might dare to ambush and kill!"
"Though we Hufflepuffs are kind and sincere, that doesn't mean we're weak or easy to bully. The culprit must be found today."
"Hand over the culprit!"
"Hand over the culprit!"
The badgers roared in unison, joined by many watching Hogwarts students.
At this moment, house divisions no longer mattered. Faced with an external threat, Hogwarts stood united!
The corridor buzzed with energy. Students from all six schools were cowed by the overwhelming force of their collective outrage, their faces filled with fear.
"Enough!" Katerina pointed her wand at her throat, her voice cutting through the roaring arguments. "Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, is this how Hogwarts treats its guests?"
"Every grievance has its perpetrator, every debt its debtor. My students would never commit such despicable acts. You're simply bullying us with your authority!"
"If you've got the nerve, bring your students to Koldovstoretz and fight us properly!"
The primal ferocity within the Russians flared up. Seeing their Headmaster show such backbone, the Koldovstoretz students drew their wands, the atmosphere growing tense.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Wayne smiled as he applauded. "Professor Katerina, I greatly admire your academy's courage. And I quite agree with your point about grievances having perpetrators."
"So the root of the problem isn't us bullying with authority, but rather the culprit. If they'd stepped forward to confess, would we have had all this subsequent drama?"
"Even if you want to settle scores, you shouldn't be targeting Hogwarts."
Katerina froze.
That... made sense.
"Then release my students."
"Apologies, but until the culprit comes forward, no one leaves."
Seeing Wayne's unyielding stance, the various Headmasters reluctantly summoned all their fifth-year students for questioning.
Karkaroff's face darkened as he glared at them. "Whoever did this, step forward now. If I have to find you, you'll face the consequences."
The fifth-years trembled. Karkaroff had always been strict at school, and students who erred faced severe punishments.
Durmstrang wasn't as gentle as Hogwarts, where punishments meant point deductions or detention.
Their school still practised corporal punishment, and in extreme cases, even Dark Magic torture.
Though such cases were rare.
Under Karkaroff's interrogation, one student finally cracked, raising a trembling hand with tears in their voice.
"P-professor, it was me."
Swish, swish, swish.
Hundreds of eyes turned towards them.
Surprisingly, the culprit was a girl, her eyes red-rimmed, fat tears rolling down her already plain face, making her appear even less attractive.
Between sobs, she explained she'd acted because she felt Cedric and Harry had stolen Krum's spotlight.
Karkaroff's face darkened further. "Apologise. Krum, fetch my whip!"
"Professor! I didn't act alone!" the girl cried. "There was a Mahoutokoro student, too! Yes, him! We did it together!"
Her finger pointed at a pale-faced Mahoutokoro boy.
All heads swivelled towards him now.
Wayne raised an eyebrow, surprised to find students from two schools had conspired in this.
Now the pressure shifted to Mahoutokoro's Headmaster, Koga.