When Headmistress Lakayla Adisa posed her question, Kwame's face turned pale. He lowered his head and replied softly:
"I realize I was wrong, Headmistress."
Hearing Kwame admit fault so quickly, Adisa's expression remained stern as she continued:
"Oh? You realize you were wrong? Then tell me, what exactly did you do wrong?"
Kwame still kept his head down, answering cautiously:
"I shouldn't have acted without permission against the visiting Hogwarts student. I ask for your forgiveness, Headmistress Adisa."
Adisa inhaled deeply, then spoke slowly and deliberately:
"I knew it, you don't even understand what you did wrong! Was that really a mistake? If anything, it was a minor misstep! Your real mistake was this: all of you, so many of you, were completely outwitted by a single student from Hogwarts! It's an utter embarrassment to Uagadou!"
Kwame's cheeks flushed red at her words, and he lowered his head even further.
Meanwhile, Wentworth turned his head with a bemused expression and glanced toward Dumbledore, only to see the old Headmaster discreetly make a calming hand gesture, signaling him to stay composed.
Standing to the side, Babajide Akingbade cleared his throat deliberately and, with some awkwardness, said:
"Well… it's getting late. Headmaster Dumbledore, and this fine young gentleman, would you care to sample some of Uagadou's traditional dishes?"
At his words, Adisa shot Kwame one last sharp glare before turning to Dumbledore and Wentworth with a polite smile.
"That's right. To welcome the two of you, I asked the kitchens to prepare a variety of our local specialties. Please, enjoy!"
Dumbledore chuckled heartily at this and said cheerfully:
"Then my student and I are in for quite the treat today!"
Led by Adisa, the group began making their way into Uagadou School of Magic.
Just as they were about to leave, Wentworth seemed to remember something and made a point of walking over to Jabari. He retrieved the Dream Messenger token from his robes and returned it to Jabari.
All eyes turned toward Jabari, who blushed slightly as he accepted the stone from Wentworth. He turned to go, but Wentworth caught his arm before he could leave.
Leaning in close, Wentworth whispered:
"You're always welcome in Britain, at Hogwarts."
Jabari gave him a meaningful look and replied:
"Wentworth, we'll be seeing each other again very soon."
Then, under Wentworth's surprised gaze, Jabari turned and walked away.
At that moment, Dumbledore appeared beside Wentworth, his eyes following Jabari's retreating figure. He said:
"I was just wondering how you managed to get up here. Looks like I've found the answer."
At this, Wentworth let out an exasperated breath and said:
"Headmaster Dumbledore, surely you knew there's no way I could've reached this place without that Dream Messenger token? Or were you deliberately testing me?"
Dumbledore quickly waved a hand, explaining:
"You're mistaken, Wentworth. I wasn't trying to test you at all! But as the special independent investigator on this mission, if you didn't have the strength to command respect, they wouldn't have taken you seriously."
Wentworth's eyes widened in realization, and he immediately asked:
"Wait a moment, Headmaster Dumbledore. What do you mean, 'special independent investigator'? And just now, I heard Kwame mention that the International Confederation of Wizards sent someone to Uagadou to investigate the recent accusations made during the Animagus Symposium. He said it was a Hogwarts student."
Taking a deep breath, Wentworth said slowly:
"My dear Headmaster Dumbledore… that Hogwarts student isn't me, is it?!"
Without flinching, Dumbledore replied in his usual calm tone:
"But of course, Wentworth. You're the only Hogwarts student I brought with me."
Wentworth clenched his teeth and said through gritted teeth:
"Headmaster Dumbledore, that's not what you told me back at Nurmengard! What's really going on here?!"
Unperturbed, Dumbledore gestured for Wentworth to follow him as they continued into Uagadou School of Magic. He explained:
"It all goes back to last month's Animagus Symposium. During the conference, someone accused Uagadou of allowing students to use magic, specifically Animagus transformations, without sufficient oversight, thereby violating the Statute of Secrecy and increasing the risk of exposure to the Muggle world."
"Not only that, the accuser claimed that because so many underage witches and wizards at Uagadou had learned to become Animagi, they lacked the control needed to manage such power. It was suggested that this could cause chaos in the wizarding world, or worse, lead to accidents among students."
"As a result, they proposed tighter oversight of Uagadou, ideally, by having local representatives from the African Ministry of Magic placed here to supervise instruction."
Wentworth looked baffled.
"How does that make sense? Animagi causing chaos? That's absurd! We're all wizards, what's there to fear from an Animagus?"
But before he could say more, he saw Dumbledore looking at him with a half-smile, and the Headmaster said slowly:
"Quite right, everyone thought that way too. Until, during the symposium, a Uagadou student suddenly lost control and transformed on the spot… into an elephant weighing several tons."
"If I and a few old friends hadn't been there, that student might've crushed several people around them. That's what triggered this investigation."
Wentworth nodded, absorbing the story, then said thoughtfully:
"Headmaster Dumbledore, the whole thing reeks of conspiracy. Don't you find anything suspicious? Like the fact that the student just 'lost control' and transformed out of nowhere?"
Dumbledore nodded, clearly pleased by the observation, but then added:
"Not long after the incident, that very student announced they were leaving Uagadou, without even returning to school. Their reason? They felt they had brought shame upon the school and couldn't face their professors or classmates."
At that, Wentworth let out a sharp laugh, filled with disdain. Then, looking squarely at Dumbledore, he asked:
"Nice story. But what does any of this have to do with me?!"
——————————
TN: This fanfic has been fully translated and is available on my Patreon —— patreon(.)com/PrimalDemon [remove the parentheses ( )]