Disclaimer: recognizable characteristics of the Potterverse belong to J. K. Rowling and the name that Helen uses as a psuedonym has been taken from the books by Baroness Orczy. All else is based on historical fact/opinion and my own imaginings.
The Sands of Time
Thebes, 1323 BC
The night sky covered the world like a thick blanket, the only light coming from the tiny pinpricks of light shining from distant stars. On the rocky ground before the tomb, a young woman, dressed in finery that betrayed her queenly status, looked up at these stars, seeing the Great Hunter to the north, his loyal dog following him through his celestial journey. She desperately wished for the ceremony to be finished, preferring to mourn her late husband behind the walls of their palace. Although she would never speak against the gods, she thought it unfair that they had seen fit to take her husband's life in a cruel twist of fate.
Nineteen was too young an age to begin the journey to the afterlife, especially when that journey had to be taken alone.
Ankhesenamun, queen of all Egypt, sighed bitterly as she watched the empty shell of her husband enter the hastily-carved stone tomb. Since Tutankhamun had been very young at his death, there had not yet been a tomb made for him, therefore he was being placed within the tomb of a lesser noble, not the grand palace of death usually granted to a pharaoh. Even the treasures that were supposed to be his belongings in the afterlife were not of the highest quality, neither were there as many as there should have been.
The light from the flaming torches cast an eerie glow upon the inner sarcophagus decorated with gold and precious stones. The priests sung the incantations, the magic flowing from their rods of office and surrounding the door of the tomb. Once the body was placed within, the final incantation would be given and the tomb magically sealed.
If it was not serious enough for Ankhesenamun to lose her beloved husband, the stillborn bodies of their two children would also be placed within the tomb, to spend eternity with their father, who would most likely be proud of them. Tutankhamun had always been that sort of man. He had been the kindest and gentlest of Ankhesenamun's husbands, respecting her as though she were an equal, not a stupid child. Together, they had brought back the Old Ways, restoring the gods to their proper positions and bringing peace and constancy to a slowly cracking society. They had done everything together, as a king and queen should.
Now, all of that would be gone. Ankhesenamun would once again be married off to the highest bidder, a mere commodity, no longer a queen, but a slave of men.
"My lady," said a voice beside her. "Why do you not weep for your husband?"
It was Ay, the old king's vizier and perhaps her least favourite person in the world. He was not a cruel man, but nor was he kind. He would use her as his way to the throne of all Egypt, becoming pharaoh upon marrying her, the daughter of the old king and widow to the late pharaoh. It would be in his best interest to do so since Tutankhamun left no heirs, but Ankhesenamun would have preferred to remain a widow. Her heart and soul belonged to Tutankhamun, and to have her body violated by another man's lust would forever mar her in the eyes of Osiris. Never again could she be whole, a piece of her soul would always be lost in the darkness of Seth's realm.
"I do not cry because my eyes have no tears left," she replied sharply. "These last two moon cycles have dried my eyes like a desert wind."
"Do you regret his death then, my lady?" he persisted, hoping to catch her like the crocodile she knew him to be.
"Of course I do!" she exclaimed, her voice rising. "I loved Tutankhamun. That is something you will never understand, Ay, since you are only a lowly commoner! Now leave me in peace to mourn for my husband." She turned away, tears dripping down her copper cheeks and falling into the sand below.
Ay smiled wickedly, his dark eyes shining. "Then you will forgive me, my lady, if I go to add the final protection to your beloved husband's tomb. No tomb robber will dare to desecrate the pharaoh's tomb with such a protection as mine. With a mocking bow, he left Ankhesenamun, who was now surrounded with handmaidens busy drying her tears.
Although she did not dare watch Ay perform the final spell, she could hear his harsh voice reciting the words of an ancient spell. It had rarely been used in the past centuries - too many feared its power - but Ay's pride would not stop him from using it on the tomb of the young pharaoh.
He stood before the tomb's sixteen steps, holding his rod high above his head. As the words poured from his mouth, magic surrounded the tomb door. Suddenly, a black shape appeared in the air above the mourners, causing them to cry out in fright. The shape swirled around the tomb and Ankhesenamun could have sworn that she heard it crying out in pain. Whatever the being was, it did not want to be locked inside the tomb. Once Ay completed the spell, the being was sucked into the heavy stone door, becoming a part of the tomb itself.
After seeing the being, she knew exactly what the spell Ay was using would do. For eternity, the being would be trapped inside the tomb, forever guarding it from tomb robbers. If the tomb was ever opened by anyone except Ay, the being - perhaps it was a demon, Ankhesenamun thought - would have to destroy all who desecrated the tomb of the great pharaoh, sending them into the depths of darkness with no hope of an afterlife.
Ankhesenamun shivered, thinking of a death without the hope of living again. As a handmaiden wrapped a shawl around Ankhesenamun's thin shoulders, the young queen looked once more at the stars, hoping that her own death would not be long in the future.
Although most of the facts within this story will be true, a few will be exaggerated. And if you are wondering how this will have to do with the Potterverse, the next chapter will explain it for you. )