After Wentworth had distributed the long horns of the Nile Tricorn to each of the Uagadou students present, he returned to Amari's side. She leaned in and asked softly:
"Has this spell become popular in Europe?"
Wentworth shook his head and replied,
"No, it hasn't. It's one of Professor Snape's exclusive techniques, only taught to students at Hogwarts, provided, of course, they actually paid attention when he was insulting them."
At his words, Amari chuckled, as if recalling something.
"Sounds like he hasn't changed one bit after all these years."
Before Wentworth could respond, Professor Amari began detailing the steps for brewing a Revitalizing Draught.
Wentworth had seen notes on the potion before, in the Half-Blood Prince's annotations, penned by Snape himself, but as Amari spoke, he was surprised to find that she had developed some of her own modifications. Intriguingly, many of her ideas aligned with Snape's, as if the two had reached the same conclusions independently.
Once the brewing began, Wentworth, combining the insights of both Amari and Snape, worked at a pace the other Uagadou students simply couldn't match. Before long, he had finished brewing the draught. The entire process was smooth and unremarkable, at least outwardly.
Throughout the session, Amari stood openly at Wentworth's side, observing every step of his work without reservation.
When he finished, Amari sighed and remarked,
"That bastard Snape, his tongue might be sharp, but there's no denying his brilliance in Potions."
Hearing her describe his professor that way, Wentworth could only offer an awkward smile, saying nothing.
Shortly after, Wentworth bade Amari farewell. As he prepared to leave, she handed him the Revitalizing Draught he had just brewed. Though he tried to decline, she insisted,
"Take it. Otherwise, if Severus finds out, he'll say I made his student do grunt work. And I have no interest in sparring with him verbally!"
Faced with that, Wentworth had no choice but to accept the potion and take his leave.
Once he was gone, Amari gazed after him and murmured with a faint smile:
"Wentworth Dumbledore… Quite impressive already. But still a little slower than Nala."
"Severus Snape, I may have lost to you back then, but this time, my student won't lose to yours!"
After leaving Amari's classroom, Wentworth, who had remained composed all throughout, finally exhaled deeply, shaking his head as he muttered to himself:
"Professor Snape, I guess that repays the debt I owed you for those notes. We're square now."
Feeling physically and mentally drained, Wentworth returned to the small villa Uagadou had arranged for him. He decided firmly that until Headmaster Dumbledore returned, he wasn't going anywhere.
But not long after he lay down, drifting into sleep, he was jolted awake. The protective charms he had set around his villa had been triggered.
Without panic, Wentworth drew his wand and crept silently toward the door, only to hear a knock.
Then a familiar voice called out from the other side:
"Wentworth? Are you in? It's Juma, Juma Kalembo!"
Hearing the voice, Wentworth suddenly remembered: he had agreed to attend the welcome dinner Juma had arranged for him that morning.
Realizing his mistake, Wentworth opened the door, and found not only Juma standing there, but also a striking young woman, dark-skinned and curvaceous, with an air of confident charm.
At the sight, Wentworth froze for a moment, eyes widening. Juma grinned and introduced them cheerfully:
"Wentworth, to welcome you properly, I've arranged a European-style dinner in your honor, thought you might appreciate a taste of home. And since you came to Uagadou alone, I've even prepared a companion for you!"
He gestured toward the girl.
"This is my cousin, Malika Kalembo. She's also a student at Uagadou, and as it happens, in the same year as you."
In truth, Juma had misunderstood Wentworth's reaction. While he had indeed been momentarily stunned upon seeing Malika, it wasn't quite for the reason Juma thought. Though Wentworth had met many Black witches, even at Hogwarts, he had simply never seen someone quite this dark-skinned before.
Still smiling, Juma continued,
"My cousin is absolutely in love with all things European. She's the foremost expert on Western wizarding culture in our whole family. I'm sure the two of you will have loads to talk about!"
Malika beamed, walking gracefully to Wentworth's side and slipping her arm through his. Flashing a brilliant smile, she said cheerily:
"Wentworth Dumbledore? Lovely to meet you! I'm Malika Kalembo. I've been to Britain, and to London! It's my favorite place in the world! So, tell me, what's your favorite country?"
Wentworth paused, then replied slowly:
"China."
Malika blinked.
"...???"
When Wentworth and Juma arrived at the dinner venue, Wentworth was surprised to find it was a standalone building, just like his own villa, but four stories tall.
Walking beside him, Juma smiled proudly.
"This is my apartment. It's not far from where you're staying, feel free to drop by anytime."
Looking up at the lavishly decorated building, Wentworth couldn't help but comment:
"Uagadou really spares no expense, huh? At Hogwarts, two students share a cramped dorm room."
Juma chuckled and shook his head.
"Not quite. Most Uagadou students stay in standard four-person dorms."
"But there are always a few who manage to live a little differently, like you. Like me."
At that, Wentworth fell silent for a moment, then chuckled knowingly:
"Cost you a pretty Galleon, I'd wager?"
Juma blinked, then threw an arm around Wentworth's shoulders and laughed heartily.
"You have no idea. Building this place cost me over six hundred Galleons! And even then, I only have the right to live here until I graduate. After that, the school takes it over."
"It was a special dispensation from the Headmaster himself!"
Wentworth laughed too, his expression unreadable.
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TN: This fanfic has been fully translated and is available on my Patreon —— patreon(.)com/PrimalDemon [remove the parentheses ( )]