As Juma Kalembo left with his usual entourage in tow, Wentworth pulled from his robes the beaded bracelet Juma had so insistently pressed into his hands. After examining it closely, his brow furrowed in confusion. He muttered under his breath:
"Nothing? No hexes, no enchantments, not even a trace of mischief? Could it be… Uagadou is actually more straightforward than Hogwarts?"
Just then, a hand suddenly clapped down hard on his shoulder from behind.
Wentworth didn't even look back.
"Jabari Nwadike," he said dryly, "if I weren't already familiar with your footsteps, you'd be hanging upside down in the air right now for sneaking up on me."
Jabari, behind him, froze. The image of himself dangling from a tree yesterday flashed through his mind, and he shuddered involuntarily. Hastily, he replied:
"Hey, Wentworth, come on now, we're old friends! I was the first person you met at Uagadou, remember? No need to be so heartless!"
Without waiting for a response, Jabari plopped down beside him uninvited, grabbed a piece of bread from Wentworth's plate, and began munching away.
At the same time, he gestured toward the direction Juma Kalembo had just gone and pointed at the bracelet in Wentworth's hand.
"Looks like Juma's not stingy when it comes to you," Jabari said with mock cheer. "That bracelet looks pretty nice! Congrats, Wentworth, just your second day here and you've already made such a wealthy friend. Don't forget about us poor folks once you're rolling in Galleons!"
Wentworth just smiled calmly, unfazed by Jabari's snide tone.
"I don't choose friends based on how much gold they've got. Frankly, none of them have more than me anyway."
Jabari blinked in surprise, then swallowed the rest of his bread in one gulp. Raising a thumb in admiration, he mumbled:
"You Europeans really know how to show off."
Wentworth gave a short laugh and turned to Jabari with a raised eyebrow.
"All right, enough chatter. What do you want? Let's not waste time, just say it."
Brushing crumbs from his hands, Jabari said breezily, "Nothing much. Just thought, since you're clearly a generous spender, maybe I could earn a few more Galleons off you."
Wentworth arched an eyebrow, then chuckled.
"Well, at least you're honest. But I really don't see how someone like you could be of any use to me right now."
Unbothered, Jabari replied with a smirk:
"News travels fast at Uagadou. Word of your exploits spread the moment I got back. Quite the reputation, Special Independent Investigator."
He leaned in, grin wide.
"Don't you want to know who that student was, the one who turned into an elephant at the International Animagus Symposium?"
Wentworth eyed Jabari up and down, so thoroughly that Jabari began glancing over himself, self-conscious. Finally, Wentworth spoke.
"Who sent you to tell me this, Jabari?"
Jabari hesitated for a moment, then looked away. But he still answered:
"No one sent me. I just want to earn a few Galleons. You people from the great wizarding families, especially ones like you from pure-blooded European lineages, could never understand how desperate we are for gold."
He added with a cheeky grin, "But fair warning, my information doesn't come cheap. Old friend or not, I don't run tabs."
Wentworth gave a noncommittal smile.
"Oh? All right, let's hear it."
Jabari beamed and held out his hand, palm up.
"Ten Galleons. Friends and family discount."
Without hesitation, Wentworth pulled ten Galleons from his pouch and dropped them into Jabari's hand. Jabari counted them twice, gleefully, before pocketing them and nodding toward the path where Juma Kalembo had disappeared.
"That student who turned into an elephant? He's Juma Kalembo's younger cousin, Luan Kalembo."
Wentworth fell into a thoughtful silence, then asked:
"This Juma Kalembo… he's not your average student, is he? He doesn't quite fit in with the others."
Jabari only smiled in response, saying nothing. Wentworth rolled his eyes and, sighing, pulled out another ten Galleons and tossed them to him.
Catching the coins, Jabari finally replied:
"Of course he doesn't fit in. You see, at Uagadou, once students are admitted, they're treated equally, but before that? Their status couldn't be more different."
Wentworth leaned forward, clearly intrigued.
"In Europe, wizards are grouped by country. But here in Africa, most wizards come from distinct wizarding tribes, and the difference between them is massive."
"Some tribes barely survive, scraping by with the bare minimum. Others are so wealthy, they could rival entire nations. In fact, many magical governments in Africa are heavily influenced, if not outright controlled, by the dominant tribes. Smaller tribes? They hardly get a say."
He pointed again in the direction Juma had gone.
"Take Juma Kalembo, for example, he comes from the Kalembo Tribe, the most powerful wizarding tribe in Uganda."
Wentworth nodded slowly, then suddenly asked:
"And what about you, Jabari? Which tribe are you from?"
Clearly caught off guard, Jabari hesitated, then gave a bitter laugh.
"I'm not so lucky. The Nwadike Tribe is just a small one from Uganda. We're barely surviving. A lot of our people, wizards included, have had no choice but to leave home, head to Europe or the Americas, and become bounty hunters."
Wentworth gazed at him for a long moment, then said quietly:
"Jabari Nwadike, if you ever do become a bounty hunter… you'll make a damn good one."
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TN: This fanfic has been fully translated and is available on my Patreon —— patreon(.)com/PrimalDemon [remove the parentheses ( )]