Chapter 1270: The Value of a School's History (Part 3)

It had only taken a single night.

Some people really are born to make a living off this kind of thing.

“Yes, that’s him.” Ian confirmed, feeling certain. Finding Newt meant he had found the key person who could get him back to Europe. He handed the photo back to Baboua, then cheerfully took a small pouch of Gold Coins from his Money Bag and tossed it over. “Well done. This is extra payment.”

Baboua fumbled to catch the Money Bag, weighed it in his hand, and his face lit up at once. He thanked Ian over and over: “Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir! You’re so generous!”

Inside, he was ecstatic.

This powerful wizard really was lavish with his rewards!

This pouch of Gold Coins would let him live it up for quite a while.

But he didn’t dare get carried away. He hurriedly schooled his expression and went on to report the more important information.

“Sir, about Mr. Scamander’s current whereabouts… according to the latest information I’ve obtained, he might… have run into a bit of trouble.”

Ian’s brows knit slightly. “What kind of trouble?”

Baboua licked his lips, choosing his words very carefully, because he couldn’t tell whether Ian’s attitude toward Newt was hostile or friendly. “He… he seems to have been ‘invited for tea’ by people from our African Magic Creatures Management and Control Department. Just yesterday afternoon, during a… uh… ‘routine inspection’ near Lake Victoria, they spotted him.”

“Invited for tea?” Ian’s tone turned to one of surprise. “What exactly happened? Spell it out.”

He realized Newt’s situation might be rather bad. Being ‘invited’ by an official agency usually wasn’t a good thing—especially when the person already carried the reputation of a ‘smuggler.’

Baboua noticed the change in Ian’s tone, felt his heart tighten, and hastily explained in more detail: “It was because some ‘passengers’ in his suitcase caused a bit of a commotion and just happened to be noticed by patrolling Aurors. You know how strict we are here about unregistered entry with high‑risk Magic Creatures.”

“So he should have been taken to the African Ministry of Magic’s Nairobi office for investigation. I’m afraid… he’ll be facing some questioning and procedural trouble.”

Baboua had already realized that Ian might have a close connection to this Newt, so as he spoke, his tone unconsciously shifted toward exonerating Newt.

“Right, when Ministry of Magic people say ‘tea,’ it basically means interrogation. They suspect he’s carrying prohibited creatures with the intent to sabotage the Ancestral Spirit Seal.”

As he spoke, this information broker added another tidbit.

Ian’s eyes sharpened.

He did not believe Professor Newt was some kind of saboteur. He knew the African Ministry of Magic was different from the British Ministry of Magic: more rough in its methods, and extremely hostile toward ‘outsiders.’ Newt loved Fantastic Beasts, but in their eyes, these creatures were either ‘exploitable resources’ or ‘potential threats.’

And this ‘Ancestral Spirit Seal’ might well be nothing more than a trumped‑up charge.

“Why do they suspect him of trying to break the seal?” Ian asked.

“Because…” Baboua hesitated, seeming to weigh his words. He didn’t know what Ian’s relationship with Newt was and feared saying the wrong thing and getting himself killed.

“Just say it.” Ian’s tone was calm, but it carried an undeniable pressure.

“Because… Mr. Scamander has an ‘Earth Core Bat’ in his case,” Baboua said in a low voice. “It’s a creature that only lives in the deep underground abyss and is said to be able to sense fluctuations in the ‘seal.’ The Ministry of Magic believes that bringing such a creature to Africa means his intentions are suspect.”

Ian fell silent.

Of course he knew what an Earth Core Bat was—it was an extremely sensitive creature, capable of detecting the flow of Magic Energy beneath the earth’s crust. Newt had likely brought it to study Africa’s unique magical ecology, with absolutely no malicious intent. But in the eyes of the African Ministry of Magic, this amounted to ‘espionage.’

Maybe the Ministry of Magic’s control really was that strict in Africa.

But with Ian’s understanding of this land—this could just as easily be the groundwork for an attempt at extortion. Not that the British Ministry of Magic was any better; they pulled the same stunts.

Ian had read similar cases in Hogwarts: A School History.

What?

Why would something like that show up in Hogwarts: A School History?

Obviously because the ones being extorted were Hogwarts students.