Entry for the Quidditch Fanfiction League Competition, Season 6, Round 7 – Wigtown Wanderers vs Appleby Arrows
Position: Captain
Prompt: You can use the film for inspiration however you wish - The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008)
Word Count: 2,335
Betas: DinoDina, Inlibris
Hungry For Adventure
When Oliver and Percy had planned their first vacation together, Oliver had been excited. He'd never been to a country as far away from home as China, and exploring this different wizarding culture with his best friend sounded like the best thing in the world. Deciding on what places they would like to visit and where they would stay had been exciting already, and they'd spent many evenings reading guides for the travelling wizard and copying the lists of things that one shouldn't miss when visiting China.
The journey had been long and exhausting — travelling by Portkey would never be a comfortable means of travel — but neither of them had minded, lulled in by the anticipation of the adventure.
During the first day, this little wave of excitement and curiosity had continued to carry them on while they explored the vicinity of their hotel, discovering the loud, narrow alleys of Beijing's wizarding market, vendors and their small carts crammed into every available bit of space. They inspected the souvenirs, pets and objects on sale with fascination and tasted their way through the endless variety of exotic street foods. Taking a walk hand in hand through the alleys after the vendors had packed up, the stars twinkling above them, their path lit by colourful paper lanterns and musicians playing, the vacation was just as they'd imagined it.
Percy made excessive use of the second-hand magical camera he'd bought before the trip, eager to document every food, every whimsical object and beautiful corner or building so these extraordinary experiences could never be lost. They were both happy that they had the means to capture all the fascinating things they saw, especially when they visited the Forbidden City with its countless courtyards and richly decorated buildings, all built in a special formation that ancient Chinese wizards had believed to strengthen their magic. It was so much at once that a human mind couldn't memorise all the intricate details, and so it was good that the camera could do that for them.
However, while the camera had its obvious advantages, Percy also created downsides, too.
He seemed to have a picture of every single metre of the Great Wall, and while Oliver found his enthusiasm adorable, he had also been a bit annoyed about Percy's constant assurances that they would only walk 'a few more metres' — something he'd said about a dozen times. Almost as if he'd been afraid that if they didn't walk just a bit further, they would miss something really important.
And as the days passed, he found it increasingly difficult to share his boyfriend's excitement about the things they saw on their sightseeing tours, since they seemed to repeat themselves — a market, a temple, impressive old buildings, monuments. It had been nice at first, but slowly though surely, Oliver started to long for a change, for something with more action. He'd tried to convince Percy to visit a Quidditch game of two teams from Beijing, but his boyfriend had scolded him for thinking about work while on vacation.
And so, Oliver got more bored with every day, with every sight visited, with every hour they'd walked. For the sake of Percy, he'd tried to act like he was having fun, but it had only taken a few hours for the facade to be revealed for what it was, which had led to a huge argument. Percy was upset that Oliver wasn't happy with their vacation program anymore, accusing his boyfriend of agreeing just to make him happy, while Oliver was pissed that Percy proved to be incredibly inflexible and unwilling to adjust said plan. The evening ended with hurt glances and them sleeping on opposite sides of the bed, as far away from each other as possible.
Upon waking up the next morning, neither of them said a word, awkwardly avoiding each other's gazes while getting ready for the day; they probably freaked out the other guests in the breakfast room with their performance of the silent duo that seemed to get closer to the point where one of them would burst with every chew of their breakfast. It was impossible to hide the tension that was hanging between them, the negative feelings boiling just below the surface. They both knew that they had to talk about their fight from the previous evening and work it out, but sometimes it was difficult to just be an adult and take the first step towards a compromise.
After finishing breakfast they silently made their way back upstairs, both wrecking their heads about how to start this conversation.
"What will we…"
"Can we…"
They stared at each other in surprise, then Percy cleared his throat. "What do you want to do, then?"
Oliver hadn't been prepared for his boyfriend to just ask him straightforward about what he wanted, his mouth opening and closing a few times while his eyes widened.
What did he want to do?
He wanted it to be something that Percy would find interesting too, so Quidditch was (unfortunately) out. But there just had to be something that would be okay for the both of them. Trying hard to remember all the brochures they'd read and the tips some of the guides they'd met on the tours they'd taken so far, he looked at Percy apologetically. "I'm sorry for not being honest with you, Perce. And please don't think I haven't had a good time on our trip so far, because I really enjoyed everything, especially the Forbidden City and the guide's story about the… tombs…"
Oliver trailed off, remembering the tale of the very first emperor residing in the Forbidden City and the legends of his tombs being hidden somewhere under the impressive buildings. Maybe that was just the adventure he'd been looking for… and Percy would surely be excited to go to the Forbidden City again and see even more of its beauty…
"Percy, I think I got something that'll be fun for both of us. And you should definitely take your camera."
OoO
Oliver was having the time of his life.
Coincidence had it that they'd met a student of magical history from the Beijing Academy of Magic and her girlfriend while searching for the entrance to the tombs, and the two couples had spontaneously teamed up once they'd realised that they were all looking for the same thing. Percy obviously was a little anxious about doing something that was technically illegal, but he was soon distracted from that fact by the interesting facts that Jiao could tell them about the place they were seeking.
The entrance was guarded with curses and traps that required both physical and academic strength, and everyone was in their element — it was just what Oliver had been looking for. There were secret passageways and hidden doors, traps to detect, special riddles to solve, the action never ceasing. This was the kind of activity that would make the vacation wholesome, a special story to stand out from the row of ordinary, touristy things they'd done so far.
This was the best vacation he'd ever had.
With combined forces, they advanced towards the actual grave chamber quickly and without big interferences, not counting the time Nuan was almost hit by a gush of stinking, murky water coming from a hole in a wall. While Jiao and Nuan inspected the ancient writings on what they suspected the entrance to the chamber to be, consulting each other with hushed voices, Percy wrapped his arms around Oliver's waist and leaned into his side with a content smile.
"I have to admit that I was sceptic, but I'm having loads of fun. And I got many amazing pictures to show our friends."
"Please, Perce, don't keep the one where I have the wonton filling on my face."
Percy smirked at his boyfriend. "That's going to be my favourite one to show around. Maybe I should frame it and put it on my desk at work, make sure as many people as possible get to see it."
Oliver shook his head and laughed, holding Percy close; just a moment later, Jiao made a noise of excitement and triumph when the heavy stone wall started to shutter and slowly moved out of their way. "We made it!"
Hurrying to raise his camera and snap some pictures, Percy congratulated the young woman while Oliver rubbed his hands in excitement, curious for what they would find beyond the entrance.
The four of them entered the giant chamber slowly, the light of their torches not reaching the ceiling or even the opposite walls, and Percy's camera whirred and flashed, releasing little puffs of smoke while he documented every single step they took. "Jiao, Nuan, smile!"
Quickly posing for him, the two grinned happily into the camera; Oliver meanwhile wandered a little deeper into the chamber, spotting a huge sarcophagus on the other side of a deep chasm that the light had only now fallen onto.
An excited smile curled his lips as he tried to figure out how they would get to the other side and he took another step forwards. A loud, mechanic click echoed through the chamber and Oliver froze on the spot while everyone else whipped around to stare at him, witnessing how he glanced down to his right foot, which was resting on a stone tile clearly standing out from the rest.
Just a second later, a loud screech ripped through the air and everyone covered their ears, groaning when the sound seemed to penetrate their skulls. Panic rushed through Oliver and he looked over to Jiao with helpless, wide eyes, his voice trembling when he exclaimed: "What did I do?"
"You set off a trap. I think you shouldn't move… I got no idea what it will do!"
A low rumble started to rise, vibrating under their feet, in their bones, and Oliver glanced over to the sarcophagus, a thought shooting through his head. What if…
The heavy lid of the sarcophagus was moving.
Nobody moved; all they could do was stare in fascinated horror how the sarcophagus opened, clouds of dust swirling in the air, and a groan came from inside it, making them realise that they'd seriously managed to wake the emperor.
Eventually, a hand appeared on the edge of the sarcophagus, the oddly greyish and bony fingers flexing before gripping the stone tightly. Under the eyes of the four young witches and wizards, the emperor raised from his sarcophagus stiffly, obviously still feeling the thousand years of sleep, and slowly climbed down the steps leading towards the chasm.
Percy's mouth was wide open and he didn't take his eyes off the emperor while he raised his camera, wanting to capture this moment…
The camera flashed, ripping Oliver, Jiao and Nuan from their daze, and they turned to their companion, glaring at him — what the hell was he thinking?
Of course the emperor had noticed the flash too, lifting his hand with an ugly noise, pointing at Percy, and suddenly, stepping stones hovering over the chasm appeared.
"Oh shit, why did you do this? You pissed him off!" Jiao groaned and Oliver finally dared to step away from where he'd stood since setting off the stone that had started all of this.
"I think we should go!"
"I second that! Get moving!"
"I'm not the idiot who woke him in the first place. That's probably what's pissing him off more right now," Percy protested, but didn't fight when Oliver grabbed him by the arm and dragged him towards the exit. Upon glancing over his shoulder, he saw the emperor stumble over the stepping stones, his stride wobbly but determined.
"We can discuss that later! Move!"
Oliver pulled on his boyfriend's arm a little rougher than intended, due to the worry about the question if he would get him out of here unharmed — the hell Molly Weasley would give him if he came back to Britain without her son — and Percy almost fell over his own feet. As he grabbed on to Oliver to regain his balance, his camera fell to the ground with a loud, cluttering sound.
"No, wait! My camera!"
"Forget the damn thing, we have to get out of here!" Nuan yelled over her shoulder and Oliver wholeheartedly agreed. He could live without some of their vacation memories, but he couldn't live without the man that he had actually made these memories with. And having a boyfriend killed by an ancient emperor that he resurrected accidentally wasn't something he could find a support group for.
At first, Percy even seemed to listen to them, trying to keep up with Oliver, but then he looked back, and a second later, Oliver could feel him pulling against him. "That dusty lunatic has my camera!"
Oliver tried to hold on to him, sensing that Percy was about to do something stupid; unfortunately, Percy managed to get away anyway, reaching for his wand and striding towards the emperor, who was inspecting the device in his hands.
"Give that back!"
To Oliver it was as if the whole world was stopping in that moment, and for the second time on that day, he froze in place, damned to be a mere spectator as the emperor raised his head and looked at Percy through lifeless, black eyes that seemed like a void that sucked all life and light into oblivion.
"That's our whole vacation on there! Hand it over or you'll be dead for good!"
"Is he crazy or something?" Jiao whispered, then made a shrieking noise when Percy whipped his wand and summoned his camera from the emperor's hands. While it flew his way, Percy stepped closer and punched the ancient man in the face angrily.
"You're not going to ruin my first vacation with my boyfriend, you creep!"
A fond smile started to spread on Oliver's face, and while he still gazed at his boyfriend, he answered Jiao happily: "Yeah. Yeah he is."