Okay so this is only a short story, a few chapters long. You all have Carly aka Floss to thank for this. She wouldn'tlet me to go to Egypt unless I promised to write a story about Bill in Egypt.

DISCLAIMER: I am not JKR. Anything that you recognise isn't mine. The plot is my own (and a little of Carly's too) but that is all.

The Curse of a Breaker

Total darkness surrounded him. He was aware of the smallest of noises. Straining his eyes he could still make out the distant footfalls of the muggles. Suddenly his foot slipped and he fell forward slamming his chin on rock.

"Damn it."

Bill Weasley stood running his hand through his long red hair. His blue eyes swept over the place as he finally lifted his wand.

"Lumos."

A small amount of light streamed from his right hand. He directed it at the wall and touched it to the scarab beetle. Then slowly he moved his wand to the head of Horus and a cracking sound stirred into the darkness.

A new path emerged and he followed it. Walking down the steps he looked up at a large stone gate in front of him. A small sigh left his lips. A riddle was etched onto the stone, oh he hated riddles. Why did the Ancient Egyptian wizards see the need for them?

He had never been good at riddles. Yes he usually solved them but he was nowhere as near as good at them as Charlie. His brother had loved riddles as a kid and would spend hours looking through books solving them. Bill couldn't understand the fascination with them. Why was it that he had to go into the job that centred on them while Charlie went off to play with dragons?

With another sigh he lifted his wand a little higher to study the words. Bill might hate riddles but he had long got use to them. They seemed to be part of his everyday job in Egypt. Although he had been complaining to himself about his choice of work he loved it. Bill you see was a curse breaker for the wizarding bank Gringotts. He loved the work to no end. But the pay wasn't the best in the world.

The pay for a curse breaker wasn't all that bad everything considered. It was enough for him to live comfortably for himself. But it wasn't good for a family. No and Bill was trying everything he could to help his family back in England. Bill Weasley you see was the eldest of seven siblings. He had been out of school now for four years but most of his siblings were still in education.

Charlie had been out of school for two years. Like Bill he had left England but had headed to Romania where he was now working with dragons. Charlie was a good guy and like Bill sent some money home around about June to help with the cost of school supplies. Books cost a lot of money after all.

The next brother in line was Percy. He was just out of Hogwarts (the school they all attended) and was starting out in work. He had gotten a job in the ministry working in the Department of International Magical Co-operation working under Barty Crouch. Bill smiled thinking about the workload; Percy had no idea what it was going to be like. He was still idealistic but that would change soon enough.

Although the three brothers were now out of school Bill's three youngest brothers and sister were still studying. The twins Fred and George would be entering their sixth year. Bill couldn't help but wonder what subjects they would chose. The pair were smart when they wanted to be but they were all about the good time.

Then there was Ron. He would be entering his fourth year. Well that wasn't too bad. Bill remembered back then, how it had all been so easy. And judging from his fathers letters Ron would be having a great fourth year.

The youngest of Bill's siblings was the only girl, Ginny. She would be entering her third year at Hogwarts. Bill was aware that although there were six brothers Ginny could be considered one of the more expensive to keep in house. That wasn't because she was spoilt but because unlike his brothers she couldn't have the hand-me-down clothes. No she needed girl's clothes which could be expensive.

Yes he knew he wasn't responsible for his brothers and sister but he liked to help. His father wasn't the best paid man in England. No Arthur Weasley was quite poorly paid because of his fascination with Muggles. Instead of going for a high-flying job he had decided to work with the Muggle artefacts. Then there was the fact that his mother didn't work so she had no income.

Although now there were less Weasleys for his parents to pay for they were still poor. New robes for school, potion supplies, books, food. It all costs and Bill was determined to help them out. That was why when the opportunity arouse he did some off the books work. Yes Bill loved being a curse breaker for Gringotts but he also loved being a freelancer. When other wizards needed help to get something that was well protected they would come to him and he would help, not that the goblins knew though.

Bill found his job fun but he liked doing the freelance work. That was why he was in the pyramid now. He was doing a job for a client named Samah, or Sam. Sam was an important Egyptian businessman. Bill had met him nearly two years earlier and had been doing regular jobs for the man, he was a good man.

Shaking his head Bill tried to get back onto track. He forced his eyes to focus on the Hieroglyphics chiselled onto the gateway. He had learnt to read the ancient writing when he had first moved to Egypt and now found it as easy as reading English. He slowly began to read the riddle out loud to himself.

"It cannot be seen, cannot be felt

Cannot be heard cannot be smelt.

It lies behind stars and under hills,

And empty holes it fills.

It comes first and follows after,

Ends life, kills laughter."

Bill stood there trying to think of the answer. What the hell could it be? The more he thought the more he was sure he knew it. In the back of his mind he could hear Charlie's voice reading it. It was so frustrating. He knew that Charlie would know the answer. He began to pace slightly and then ever so suddenly the answer came to him.

Bill looked behind him at the darkness that was closing in and grinned. It was so easy. Charlie's voice (which seemed to be etched into his brain when it came to riddles) laughed and yelled the answer inside his head.

Carefully he looked at the Hieroglyphic alphabet in front of him. Raising his wand he pointed the tip at the hand which represented the modern letter d. He looked for the falcon next and spelt out the word 'darkness'.

Once he had finished the gate slowly began to open. Once it had swung to the full extent Bill stepped inside carefully. As his eyes scanned the room they landed on the figure of the prized object. A solid gold statue of the god Ra stood on a pedestal. He knew instantly that it was worth a small fortune. He couldn't help but wonder how much someone would pay on the black market, but then he would never know. Sam was a good man and never put anything Bill fetched him onto the black market. No he was an archaeologist and his goods went to the people. He never disclosed where he 'dug' because he went around finding wizarding goods. He then would put them into museums so that wizards and muggles alike could see.

He took a step closer and instantly felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He knew the signs and stopped moving. There was strong magic in this room. That would be the reason Sam had called him in. Sam was okay with simple curses but he couldn't break the more complex. That was Bill's job.

Lifting his wand in front of him he did a detector spell which showed where the source of the curse was coming from. He wasn't surprised to find that the pedestal was the centre of the spell. Stepping forward slowing he did a revealing spell and nodded. Yes it was a complex spell but nothing that he couldn't break.

Ten minutes he stood there working his magic on the curse. Sweat dripped down his nose but finally he had done it. However he was a pro at this and didn't step forward straight away. He had learnt the hard way that some things weren't as simple as they seemed. In some cases the Egyptians had added extra curses so that if one was broken another took its place.

He closed his eyes and held his breath just trying to feel anything else out. It all seemed safe to him. He lifted his wand and did another detector spell but it didn't find anything. He moved forward a few steps and slowly reached his hand out. His fingers brushed against gold and he smiled.

He gently tucked the statue into a bag and shrunk it down placing it into his pocket. As quickly and quietly as he could he walked out of the room back up the passageway. As he reached the main tunnel he turned and pushed the open door back into the wall so that the muggles would never find it.

Wiping the sweat beads from his brow he began to make his way up towards the muggle sounds above. He moved quickly not wanting anybody to see him in this section. As he stepped out into the crowded area a hand fell to his shoulder.

Slowly he turned and found himself facing a please-man holding one of those big things they used as a weapon. Bill didn't think they were half as effective as a wand but he supposed they did their job. The man spoke to him in Arabic and Bill shook his head.

"Sorry English."

The man waved the thing at him (Bill thought it might have been called a gum) and pointed at a sign. NO ADMITTANCE. That was the thing with Muggles they didn't understand the importance of pyramids. They thought them to be death chambers. Okay a few Muggle bodies had been found there but no. They had been meeting places for wizards, store rooms for their gold. Most had been protected by charms that had worn away with time but others were still well hidden.

Bill joined a British tourist group who were being told about the wonder of the pyramid. He would have left straight away normally but that guard was giving him funny looks. Yes Bill could have dealt with him but then it would have led to all kinds of questions. It was best to blend in (well as good as you can with long ginger hair and a fang earring).

Twenty minutes passed before Bill stepped into the dry heat of the late afternoon. He found that the weather though lovely was a slight disappointment for him. Yes he liked the sun and the heat but for someone who was use to a shed load of rain for lots of months well Egypt just didn't provide. Then there was the fact that between the months of May to September the heat was almost unbearable. It was impossible for somebody to walk around the country between the hours of eleven and three and still feel comfortable. He wasn't at all surprised that even now when it was six in the evening the heat of the day still clung to the air.

Without pausing long enough for the muggle sales men to start hassling him he ran through. His head was up and his eyes fixed at the end of the shop row. This was one of the things he hated about the tourist spots. The muggle men were everywhere trying to flog their goods to the visitors. They always followed Bill yelling about pounds and whatnot. He didn't use their currency so he would try to get passed without causing too much agro.

Rather quicker than most of the people who had left the pyramid with him he reached the muggle busses. He always found them fascinating (something he had picked up from his dad). Unlike the magical Knight bus they were only one level and their seats didn't look all that comfy. Slowly he turned his back to them and walked away towards the streets of Cairo.

Cairo was one of those cities that tugged at Bill. He had moved to the Egyptian capital straight out of Hogwarts back in 1989. One of the first things that he noticed was how run down it looked. He was use to the peaceful and beautiful town of Hogsmeade with its all wizarding population. Then there was the hectic city of London. London had never been his favourite place but it was so well built up.

Due to that he found that Cairo scared him at first. He had thought that there had been some major disaster. He had of course later realised that the city just wasn't as developed as others he had visited. But as he walked through the streets on this occasion he couldn't help but smile at the way it was developing. Okay it still had a long way to go but it was getting there. Parts of the city remained as it had when he had first arrived four years earlier but others, well they were filled with muggle shops called MacDonald's that he saw everywhere.

As he walked through the streets he noticed how the silence was growing. Without realising it he held himself quieter. He began to steal through the silent streets looking around for signs of trouble. It was therefore with a large amount of surprise that he reached a small pub. A grin spread to his lips as he looked at its name 'Tutty Fruity'. He shook his head slowly at Samah's sense of humour. He claimed to have named the bar after the legendary pharaoh Tutankhamun.

He opened the wooden door and blinked to get use to the suddenly dim lighting. Large amounts of smoke swept the room from the mouths of many of the drinkers. That was something that had taken Bill a lot of time to get use to; the amount of smoking that took place in Egypt. It seemed that they all did it. One of Bill's friends, Ramah, claimed that they could smoke as much as they wanted because of all the hot drinks they had, it somehow cleared their chests.

His eyes stopped watering and he was able to get a good look inside. It was a shambles of a bar if Bill had ever seen one. There were wooden stools up by the long bar and then comfy armchairs around several small round tables. But then around the longer rectangular tables there were wooden chairs with cushions on the seat. Another one of Samah's ideas. Apparently he had such a mismatch so that people could choose which ones they liked better.

It was at that moment that Bill saw the man in question. He had been in the back room behind the bar. It would seem that the Egyptian had seen him long before he had spotted the older wizard.

"Bill! You are here. I wasn't expecting you for another hour or so. Please take a seat I shall get you a drink."

The man bowed slightly to him and ran off. Bill couldn't help but smile. He liked Samah or Sam as he always insisted Bill call him. He was older than Bill by quite a few years. Bill wasn't sure how old the man was but he suspected he had reached his fifties already. Although unless one was to see him up close they would never guess. Sam was a very neat man; his dark hair was always short. The thing that hinted of age was his neat goatee that had hints of grey embedded among the black. His clothes too were very prim and proper. He was always seen in a pair of brown trousers with a cream tweed jacket over a loose fitting shirt.

"Here you are Bill. Please sit down."

Sam was back holding two bottles of local beer. The man sat down on one of the armchairs and Bill took the seat opposite. He was very tempted to place his feet on the table and make himself at home but he felt somebody watching him so resisted the temptation. Instead he just took his bottle and put the rim to his mouth taking a long swig.

"Do you have it?"

Sam looked eager and slightly jumpy. He was leaning forward in his seat his brown eyes fixed on Bill's. As an answer the Weasley boy reached into his pocket and pulled out the bag. He then enlarged it to its original size and smiled.

"Is that it?"

"Could be."

Sam instantly began to fidget. Quickly he pushed his wire rim glasses up his nose and looked around. Then his hand went inside his jacket to where his heart roughly was. A few seconds later the jangling of a money bag sounded as it hit the wooden table. Bill's eyes went to the small bag but he didn't reach for it. Instead he pushed his own bag forward into Sam's hands.

The man opened the bag and peered inside. A smile came to his face. He nodded but didn't remove the statue; there were too many eyes present. Bill had long ago learnt that although the pub had a homely feel the clients weren't too friendly. He never looked at anyone other than the bar staff and Sam. To do so would usually cause trouble, as Percy had learnt the hard way only the summer before.

"Like always you deliver."

"That's why you pay me Sam."

The man grinned pushing the bag towards Bill. He leaned forward as if to pick up his bottle again and looped his finger through the string of the bag. He didn't open it to count. Bill trusted Sam had it all there. Never in two years had Sam tried to withhold any of the agreed amount. The pair had a good trust for one another.

Putting the bottle back to his mouth Bill downed it before standing. It might still be early but he couldn't hang around in a pub. He thought that maybe he should head back to his flat and get on with a few things that needed to be done. For one thing he had a letter to his mother to write. He was finalising the arrangements for him to go home in five weeks (beginning of August) for the Quidditch World Cup.

Then there was another letter to Charlie he had to finish up. He was going to go to Romania two days before heading home to spend some time with his brother. Charlie would be going back to the Burrow (the family home) too, but there was some catching up that needed to be done. In truth Charlie was the only one that knew about Bill's extra work and he wanted to show off with all the riddles he had solved.

Of course there was a third letter that he needed to write. Percy had only been in his job three days and he had already sent Bill a letter on his work. Bill needed to reply to him and inform him that the Goblins didn't give a damn about the thickness of Cauldrons. Bill couldn't understand why Percy had wanted to know what thickness was used in the bank. The Goblins didn't use cauldrons so the thickness didn't affect them at all.

"Before you go Bill…"

Bill had already taken a few steps when Samah spoke up. He turned so fast his ponytail swung round and caught his cheek.

"Yes Sam."

The man didn't look at Bill though. He was looking a little over Bill's right shoulder. Ever so slowly the elder wizard lifted his finger and pointed. Slowly the oldest Weasley turned ready to deal with whatever the problem was. He was surprised though by what he saw. A middle aged man in a pair of faded jeans and a plain white T-shit stood there with a cigarette in his mouth smiling.

"Ah Mr Weasley. Samah has told me good things about you. If you would care to join me for a drink. There's a small matter I wish to discuss with you…"

I can't promise when the next chapter will be because this is all that I've written for the time being. I wrote it when I was away. So now I have to finish my last essay and do a bit of revision. But I promise that there will be another chapter as soon as I get it written.

Kris