aftermath

*Narrator pov*

Panicked shouts and screams were heard throughout the large stadium, Uagadou professors and students lept to their feet whipping out their wands.

Albus motioned for Abara and Yowie to stay still and focus on the dueling team as he stood up. His long gray beard swayed elegantly in the wind, and his hand rose pointing toward the sky wand in hand, "SILENCE!" He intoned deeply his wand spitting an ethereal Phoenix in the air

The stadium fell silent, "Listen to the professors they will guide you to safety. The attackers have been apprehended but to be safe you will need to leave the stadium do not worry with us here nothing will happen." despite talking normally his voice reached the ears of all

The old headmaster then turned to Davu the Uagadou headmaster, "I am truly sorry about this my friend, please bear with us while we sort out this matter." the Hogwarts professors were already in action leading the students into the castle

Davu nodded in understanding while looking to his left, "Guide our students with the others I will stay here," the dueling professors nodded and quickly began to lead the students out of the stadium

"I will stay here headmaster," Professor Omari said with a frown

Davu nodded, "Very well,"

Soon the only people left on the stadium floor were Albus, Davu, Omari, Abara, and Morpheus. Abara stayed behind seeing his father stay behind both frowning at each other.

Morpheus walked over to the group a smile a lit on his lips, "All criminals secured," a chuckle escaping his lips when he remembered what happened minutes prior with Lestrange

***

Lestrange and Malfoy were frozen in shock at the events that transpired. Nothing was supposed to go like this! They were defeated in mere seconds.

Lestrange shivered at the thought of what Lord Voldemort would do on his return.

Just as he was about to leave along with the crowd hoping to bypass the professors a figure stepped in front of him.

"Lord Lestrange!" Morpheus said with a giant smile his shout drawing attention to them despite the chaos

The man's lips thinned at the sight of the pale professor "Professor Morpheus." he said darkly, "Please move we must exit lest another attack happens,"

Morpheus's smile somehow grew even larger, "Of course," he moves out of the way as the two Lords went to pass Morpheus continued, "I just wanted to thank you for alerting us to this attack, if it wasn't for your shout we would have never seen it,"

Murmurs spread amongst the nobility in the guest section as Lestrange's face contorted, "Of course," he bit out, "Now we really must be going,"

"Oh before you leave," Morpheus said while bending down to pick up something under Lestranges seat, "Did you drop this?" in his hand was a thin rope tied into the shape of a bracelet small bones acting as charms threaded through

Lestrange paled at the sight, "I've never seen that in my life," he uttered before turning and rushing out

The dark mocking laughter of the professor seemed to be chasing after him. After all in his hand was one of the very cursed objects the death eaters were going to plant near the students.

Its purpose?

To promote anxiety, overthinking, and nervousness.

Lord Lestrange realized the moment he saw the object in Morpheus's hand that he didn't make a mistake and call out early.

He was played.

***

Albus nodded his head. "Good. Is anyone injured?" he asked.

Morpheus shook his head. "Not physically, but mentally, perhaps. It's not every day you see the Killing Curse spewed about," he said, looking unconcerned as he turned away from the group to watch the students being shepherded away.

Davu hummed thoughtfully. "I say, Albus, you all handled this rather swimmingly. A little too well, some would say. You even knew about the dangers."

Albus nodded again, sounding tired and mentally exhausted from the day's activities. "We had an idea," he admitted.

Morpheus had to suppress his scoff at the headmaster's words. The man could certainly play it up when he wanted to.

"Why was I not informed?" Davu demanded. "What reason could you have for keeping this from my staff and me? We could have helped." A heavy frown was present on the Uagadou headmaster's face.

Albus sighed deeply. "I'm sorry, my friend. I didn't see it as prudent. I hoped the state of Europe wouldn't be revealed today. Not all of my professors were even aware."

Abara grunted in displeasure. "He tells the truth. I hadn't been informed either."

His father sneered. "How can we be sure you're telling the truth?"

"Stop," Davu said, his voice not raised but commanding respect nonetheless.

Omari frowned deeply but stopped talking.

Davu gazed at Albus, both headmasters locked in a staring contest. "What you did was beyond foolish and put my students at risk," he said sternly.

Albus shook his head, but before he could speak, a voice cut in. "You are a guest here, Davu. Do not forget that fact. Dumbledore had an inkling that something might happen and planned accordingly, preventing any injuries in the process. You are not required to know any of this. Hogwarts handled this matter as any school would, with precision." Morpheus's voice was not loud nor quiet as he spoke.

Davu looked over at the Professor. "Did you divine this would happen?"

Morpheus smiled mysteriously. "I have divined many things, Captain of the Sluimerende Kraken."

Davu's lips thinned. "I see," he said, and silence stretched between them before he turned back to Albus. "I shall join my students. We should discuss with the judge what will happen next."

Albus nodded in agreement. "Indeed. We must ensure the safety and well-being of all students present. This incident, while unfortunate, must not detract from the purpose of our exchange."

With a final nod, Davu turned and walked away, his robe billowing behind him. Albus watched him go, feeling the weight of the day's events pressing heavily on his shoulders. The balance between transparency and security was a difficult one to maintain, and today had tested it with not only his fellow headmaster but also his own professors. He could feel the weight of Abara's state settling on his side.

"Abara join your fellow professors, I'm sorry I kept you in the dark I didn't want you to lose focus on the duelists," The headmaster spoke compassionately

A heavy sigh escaped the duelist coach's lips, "I am just glad no one was hurt," thus he walked away intent on checking on the students

Morpheus stepped closer to Albus, his expression unreadable. "This is just the beginning, Albus. Dark times are ahead."

"I know,"