Fortunately, a few wizards quickly regained their composure and sprang into action.
"Finite Incantatem!"
But when the dust storm ceased and everyone looked around for Wentworth again, they were stunned to discover he was already standing behind Kwame, a wand pressed firmly to the top of his head.
Seeing this, the crowd that had been about to rush forward froze in place, exchanging uneasy glances, unsure of what to do.
Bound in place by Wentworth's magic, Kwame struggled to speak.
"How... how could you still have another wand?!"
Wentworth sneered.
"You didn't honestly think I'd just hand over my wand like an obedient schoolboy, did you?"
At that moment, one of the wizards who had accompanied Kwame pointed at Kwame's hand in shock.
"Look at his hand!"
Everyone turned. To their surprise, at some point, the wand Kwame had taken from Wentworth had transformed into a single gold Galleon.
Without missing a beat, Wentworth plucked the Galleon from Kwame's hand and casually tossed it to Jabari.
"As long as we haven't officially entered Uagadou, our agreement still stands. This is your payment for the past minute."
Jabari caught the coin with satisfaction, and despite the curious stares from those around him, stuffed it away without a care.
A witch from Kwame's group shouted out angrily:
"Let him go, now! Or don't blame us for what happens next!"
Wentworth chuckled.
"So you're saying what you did earlier was you being polite? I'd love to see what you consider being impolite."
At that, the witch fell silent.
Wentworth turned his focus back to Kwame, who remained frozen in place by his magic, and said meaningfully:
"Kwame, was it? You seem to recognize the crest on my robes."
Kwame, now trussed up like a bundle of sticks by his own clothing, quickly stammered:
"Crest? What crest? I—I don't know anything about any crest!"
Wentworth lightly traced his wand across Kwame's neck, and at once, Kwame let out a pained cry.
Seeing this, several of the wizards who had come with Kwame couldn't hide the fear in their eyes.
Unfazed, Wentworth continued coldly:
"Back where I come from, there's a saying, liars have to swallow a thousand needles."
Sweating profusely, Kwame managed to gasp out:
"I... I'm not lying... I really don't know anything about a crest..."
Wentworth shook his head and pulled out a small vial of potion from his robes. Seeing it, Kwame's expression changed to one of pure terror.
"What are you doing?! This is Uagadou!"
Wentworth gently patted him on the shoulder, motioning for him to calm down.
"Shh. Don't worry. It's not poison, just a simple dose of Veritaserum. I'll give you one drop. If you really don't know what crest I'm talking about, then all's well. But if you do..." he smirked, "then I'll make sure you get to relive that little moment of pain... 999 more times."
Kwame turned deathly pale. Still, he protested:
"You're bluffing! There's no way you'd be carrying such a valuable potion around!"
Wentworth calmly unscrewed the bottle.
"Why not? Ever heard of the Wizarding Schools Potions Championship? I'm one of the competitors. Veritaserum? Hardly difficult."
As he spoke, he began to tilt the bottle toward Kwame's mouth. Kwame panicked, thrashing in place.
"Wait! I'll talk! I know the crest, it's from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! The House of Hufflepuff!"
At his confession, Wentworth leisurely stoppered the vial and returned it to his robes. He didn't notice the strange look Jabari was giving him.
All of Wentworth's attention remained on Kwame. He slowly traced his wand along Kwame's skin again, making the man tremble violently.
Then, with measured calm, Wentworth asked:
"Now talk. If you knew I was from Hogwarts, why do all this? Did you think I came to Uagadou just to stir up trouble?"
Kwame swallowed hard, hesitating. Wentworth gave a cold snort, and Kwame flinched as if struck.
"I'll explain!" Kwame cried quickly. "Just earlier, news spread to all of Uagadou's students. We heard that the representative sent by the International Confederation of Wizards to investigate the accusations made during the recent Animagus Symposium… was a Hogwarts student!"
"I—I only wanted to take your wand... so you'd be more cautious while on Uagadou grounds."
Wentworth stiffened. A terrible premonition crept over him.
At that moment, someone called his name from behind.
He turned, and there stood his kind and familiar headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, accompanied by Babajide Akingbade and a stern-looking middle-aged witch.
The trio approached. Dumbledore raised a hand toward Kwame, and with a simple gesture, broke the binding spell.
As soon as he was freed, Kwame darted behind the middle-aged witch, blurting:
"Headmistress Adisa, this person—"
But she cut him off with a raised hand. From her robes, she produced a small pouch of powder and said firmly:
"We'll see for ourselves."
She blew the powder into the air, and it quickly spread, forming a shimmering mist. Within seconds, the events of the past few minutes replayed in vivid detail, like a living memory for all to witness.
After the vision faded, Dumbledore let out a hearty laugh. Rather than scold anyone, he turned to Wentworth and said warmly:
"Layla, this is the student I told you about—the one who will represent Hogwarts in the Potions Championship. My young protégé, Wentworth Dumbledore."
Then, gesturing to the woman beside him, he added:
"And this, Wentworth, is Lakayla Adisa, the current Headmistress of Uagadou."
Headmistress Lopez smiled briefly at Wentworth before turning to Kwame, her face hardening.
"Do you understand what you did wrong?"
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TN: This fanfic has been fully translated and is available on my Patreon —— patreon(.)com/PrimalDemon [remove the parentheses ( )]