Simple backpack strapped on, Harry stepped out of the portkey area to the now familiar view of Shuri's personal lab. He walked out and looked around, trying to sight Jidea and her team, or even James. He belatedly remembered about the notification charm on the portkey point when Shuri rounded the corner in a jog and a wide smile.
"Harry! Welcome back," she greeted. "That was quick."
Nodding in response, "figured it would be better to get started as soon as possible. I'm sure James would appreciate it too." He glanced around for a bit perfunctorily. "Speaking of, where is everyone?"
"Oh, Jidea and her team went to scout the location my brother had proposed as per your recommendation. I believe they asked Sergeant Barnes to accompany them, since his comfort and approval is the most relevant." She began fiddling with the bracelet on her hand, and Harry was intrigued to see some holographic display pop up. The technology here truly was astounding, Hermione wasn't wrong there.
Jidea's profile suddenly popped into view, and Shuri raised her wrist higher to her own face. "Jidea, Harry has just returned. Can you send someone to take him to your location?"
"Will do, Princess," Jidea's incorporeal form nodded. "Oran will be there in a second." With that, Jidea's profile flickered off.
Turning to Harry, Shuri smiled. "Won't be long. The lab has anti-apparition wards for safety and security precautions. But there is an apparition point nearby that Oran will probably have arrived at already." True to her words, it was barely five minutes later that Oran strode in looking slightly winded.
"Ha—Healer Potter!" he called out, grinning widely and waving. "Please come with me, I'll take you to the others."
Chuckling good-naturedly, Harry dipped his head in Shuri's direction before trailing behind the other young healer. They chatted for a bit but Harry could practically feel Oran's jittery nerves – probably still unsure how to act around Harry – so the conversation halted somewhat awkwardly after a while. Thankfully, they reached the apparition point soon enough and then Oran was extending an arm for him to side-along with.
With a pop and a slight stumble, Harry had to blink and squint at the brightness that greeted his view. "Healer Potter, welcome," he heard Thante's voice call out from nearby. Blinking the spots from his vision, Harry turned to see a Jidea, Thante, and a handful of other people standing nearby. He assumed they must be other healers they worked with closely. Close but noticeably separate from the group stood James, who nodded at him in greeting.
"Good morning," he greeted the group. "How're things going here?"
"You haven't missed too much," replied Jidea. "We just scouted the surrounding area and spoke briefly with the inhabitants of the village nearby." She pointed off into a direction, but he could see nothing from here. "The village is about half a day's walk that way. I can introduce you to them another time if you'd like."
Nodding, "if we're expecting to see them often, I would appreciate that," agreed Harry. He took a moment to glance around the area around them curiously. It was a beautiful plot of land located around the lip of a large lake. Around the perimeter were multitudes of plants and towering trees painting their surroundings a vibrant, living green. The deep forest both obstructed the view of what lay beyond the first ten feet or so, and also meant protection from prying eyes.
"We are thinking of setting up some brick and mortar huts here," Jidea began to explain. "At least one for Sergeant Barnes, one for you, and one or two to be shared among the healers that will assist you. Okoye – the leader of the Dora Milaje; Wakanda's special forces and the royal family's elite guard – has offered to have one or two Dora stationed here as well. And some of the villagers nearby have also expressed an interest in popping by every now and then."
"Living quarters should be easy enough to set up," commented Thante. "We will also need a communal facility for storage and meals." He turned, a thoughtful expression on his face, looking out towards the lake. "I'm from another village around this area, so I'm quite familiar with it. I've been here a few times growing up too."
Pointing out onto the lake, "there's lots of fish in this lake," then to the forest, "and if you're persistent, you can even find some good game in there. You'll have to be careful of predators like wolves though." Thante turned back to shoot a grin at both Harry and James. "Plenty of things to keep you occupied while you're here. Can't recall how many hours I wasted getting lost in these forests and diving with the fish when I was younger."
Before either of them could respond, Jidea cleared her throat to regain their attention. "As I was saying, I've drafted up a mock rotation roster for the healers to take turns being on-site. I'll need to discuss with you what sort of number and length rotation would work best for you. Though I assume it'll be mostly a precaution and less a need."
"As discussed, we'll get each new rotation to bring in any supplies from the city. You can get the last rotation to send along any information or questions you may have too. Though obviously if it's urgent you can always send a patronus or apparate over. I'll make sure you're keyed into the apparition wards at the lab."
"Have we thought about protection charms around the boundary area?" Harry brought up. "It seems like the country is quite secure overall though so I'm not sure if you think it's needed?"
Jidea hummed thoughtfully, "Wakanda has both technological and magical wards surrounding the entire country, including both shielding and repelling-type wards. The only additional wards I would add on here may be privacy and protective wards, perhaps to keep away any straying wanderers from other villages. Of course, the Border Tribe in charge of this area are also in charge of securing it."
"However, Sergeant Barnes' entire existence in Wakanda is currently a national secret privy only to those with a need-to-know basis. So, a deterrent around the area will be a priority, anything else can be up to your discretion." Jidea explained casually. Harry nodded in agreement and mentally made a note to think about laying down some basic wards with them later.
"How are you, James?" he turned to his latest patient. "Any thoughts on the place? Sorry if Jidea already asked before I came."
"It's nice," James shrugged nonchalantly. "…peaceful."
Smiling softly, Harry noticed the other healers shooting similar smiles and soft looks at one another. Seems like that was exactly what they had been going for. Certainly, for someone who's had as… eventful a life as James, a little slice of peace can be heaven.
After the other healers had helped set up the wards – on a much wider area than Harry originally anticipated – and enlisted the lingering villagers' help with building a few rudimentary homes to start with. James apparated side-along with Nollewi, the female mind healer who had watched Harry duel Thante and Oran, back to the lab to get his things whilst Harry was shown the nearby village with Jidea and Thante.
The villagers were surprisingly cheerful and welcoming, not at all what Harry expected. Then again, magical Britain aren't generally the nicest folk, so there wasn't much of an expectation anyway. The village elder, Krole, whose son was part of the Border Tribe patrol guard, was a jovial middle-aged man who had a penchant for clapping a firm hand onto Harry's shoulder every time he laughed.
Having gotten a good look of the village, it would be easy for Harry to apparate over if there was ever a need. Krole told them that he was sure some of his village youngsters were sure to pop in now and then to either amuse themselves, try to get them to join them in their games, or perhaps even join them in hunting some of the peskier predators that sometimes scared away the livestock.
Harry had simply laughed in amusement and nodded, saying he'd be happy to join them. Before they left, Krole brought them over to a table that had been laid out not too far away. To Harry's surprise, the table was laden with all sorts of things; some household appliances, cooking utensils, drapes and sheets, and even handmade meals and what looked like some of the traditional garb they wore.
"Please take these, everyone has contributed a little bit to help you and Mr Barnes settle in," Krole grinned at his dumb-struck expression. "The meals are from some of the elders of our village, we hope they are to your tastes. The clothes are from my wife and I."
Harry opened his mouth to protest, feeling a little overwhelmed and shocked at the gesture, however Krole cut him off. "Please accept them, as a token of our welcome and friendship."
Shutting his mouth, Harry stared at the man for a moment, before sighing and reaching a hand out, "thank you very much, Krole. It is my utmost pleasure to be welcomed by you. I will be sure to try and visit often with James."
Instead of grasping Harry's hand in a handshake, Krole's hand shot out and grasped him by the forearm, before pulling him in firmly for a bear hug. His booming laugh reverberated through Harry's body as he replied, "I expect so! As village leader, you and James are my honorary sons for as long as you are here!"
We've reached our location! We only got a short glimpse of it in Black Panther so that's mostly what I've based it on so far. I am trying not to be too nitpicky about details for this fic so same with the dinner scene idk what kinda animals would be native in a Wakandan forest lmao so just bear with me there.
Also I'm basically yolo-ing a lot of people's interactions/customs in Wakanda. Again, can't afford to dive too deep into research since I already have a lot of work to do lol. I'm just going with a random mix of traditional-modern, friendly-but-isolated kinda Wakandan vibe ahaha
