God, Egypt was hotter than Harry thought it'd be. He didn't know how Bill could stand to work here. He took in his surroundings and wasn't surprised that all he saw was sand and sky.
"C'mon mate, we're leaving without you." Ron tapped his arm and broke him out of his daze. It always took him a while to gather his bearings after using a Portkey. It was almost as bad as apparating. "Yeah," he replied as he followed the Weasleys.
They trudged through the sand for a few yards to where Bill was waiting for them. He waved and hugged his parents, talking to them excitedly about their visit.
"Hey Bill, aren't you gonna say hi to us?" Fred, or was it George, called out to his oldest brother.
Bill smiled at him. "Of course George."
"Hey! I'm George, not that git," the other twin called out.
"Yeah, can't you tell us apart? That hurts Bill. And to think we thought you knew us the best," Fred sniffed.
"Oh, knock it off you two." Molly intervened and gently smacked Fred's arm. "You know what he meant."
"Hey Ron, Harry, and, of course, Hermione. How're you three doing? Not getting into too much trouble I hope?"
Hermione laughed. "As if. It seems that every week these two are into another sticky situation and I have to help them out of it."
"Or, worse, you get dragged into it," Harry added.
"It's not our fault that you can't help but help us out in our time of need Hermione."
"Shut up Ronald." She crossed her arms across her chest in a huff. Ron sniggered quietly from Harry's side.
"Well, son, what have you got planned for us while we're here? Going to give us a tour of any tombs, a shopping spree for the ladies?" Arthur asked his eldest.
Bill looked around at his family and smiled, clapping his hands in front of him in excitement. "Just you wait and see what I've got in store for you guys. You're going to love it."
"Wow that sounded kind of ominous. Don't you agree Fred?"
"Totally, George."
"Trust me on this, it won't be something you're likely to forget. In a good way, that is."
They were staying in tents located near the Valley of the Kings, just off the bank of the Nile. Bill promised that he'd give them a tour of the tomb that he was currently exploring in search of magical artefacts. After a night of sleep they all awoke the next day to do a full day of tomb exploring.
Just outside of the tomb Bill stopped them to explain some simple rules of safety. "Okay, now, before we go in I need to stress some safety rules. Number one, don't go anywhere I'm not leading you. No exploring off on your own. This is an unexplored tomb and it may be full of traps and curses. Number two, don't touch anything. This is all delicate history and Egypt would like to keep its history intact." He looked pointedly at Fred and George after saying that. "Lastly, should you get caught in a trap or curse just call my name if you can. If not send sparks out of your wand and I'll try and break the curse. It is my job after all."
Arthur nodded. "Alright. I think we all understand. Lead on Bill."
Bill turned and entered the tomb, lowering his head slightly so as to not bump it on the roof. "It's kind of shallow in here so watch your heads."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed the Weasleys into the dark. The air was considerably cooler and staler than the air outside. Harry sighed in relief of the heat and took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness around him. Bill was talking and pointing out paintings on the walls and their meanings ahead of them, but Harry couldn't really hear what he was saying.
Hermione studied the walls in interest; sometimes stopping to take a really good look at some of them. Ron had to gently pull on her arm to keep her moving with the group. "C'mon Hermione. It's not that fascinating."
"Yes it is Ronald. When do you know of the next time I'll be able to study ancient hieroglyphics in an Egyptian tomb?"
"We're going to be here for two weeks 'Mione. You have plenty of time."
Harry smiled at their banter and just followed along after them. They'd been in the tomb for about thirty minutes by then. They'd taken so many turns that he didn't know how Bill didn't get lost in this labyrinth.
Everyone slowed down ahead of them and Bill called back, "Okay, we're about to enter the first treasure chamber. Don't touch anything! Fred, George that means you two especially." He turned toward a big slab of limestone that served as a door and heaved it aside.
They all stepped into a dimly lit chamber that was slightly smaller than Ron's room back at the Burrow. It had broken clay pots and wooden chests scattered throughout the room. There were tables with intricate designs of Egyptian gods and hieroglyphics on it. There was a small dog statue sitting in the far right corner of the room. The black paint on him was chipping and part of his left ear was missing. Small figurines and statues of food littered the floor all around them.
Hermione squatted down to peer at some of the figurines. "Bill what are these for?"
"The Ancient Egyptians believed that in the afterlife you'd need servants to serve you your food and drink so they made these little figurines to do just that. They made sculptures of food so that you could eat that on your trip to the afterlife."
"Wow. Amazing how much preparation went into a funeral," Arthur said.
"Oh, you haven't seen the least of it. Just mummifying one person took seventy days at least. The whole process was long and drawn out. But, of course, you only got a burial like this if you were royalty or rich."
Harry walked over to the statue of the dog in the corner. "What's the dog for? To guard the tomb?"
"Sort of. That's Anubis, god of the dead, leader to the Underworld and then he weighs your heart against a feather to see if you are worthy to enter the Underworld or not."
"So he was an important person," simplified Ron.
"Yes, second only to Osiris." Hermione answered before Bill could.
Harry looked down at the old dog. It suddenly looked more regal than just someone's house pet. The gold that lined its eyes in the typical Egyptian fashion was still gleaming. They seemed to look back at him, knowingly almost. He could sense an old kind of magic attached to the statue which made no sense whatsoever. The Ancient Egyptians probably didn't cast actual spells on their burial objects. However, just to be careful he took a few steps back.
"Alright, on to the next room. Follow me." Bill once again led them out into the dark corridors.
Harry lagged behind the group but didn't let them out of sight. He couldn't get the image of those eyes out of his head. Every time he saw a picture of Anubis on the walls around him he could feel another wave of that magic wash over him. Surely the others sensed it too.
He caught up to Hermione and Ron. "Don't you guys feel that?"
"Feel what?" Ron asked.
"That magic."
"Harry I don't feel any magic. Are you sure you're okay. Is your scar hurting you?"
"It's not my scar Hermione, This is different. I can feel this old magic around me. I started feeling it next to that dog statue in the treasure room."
"Maybe it was cursed." Hermione looked over at him. "You aren't feeling funny are you? No side effects of anything?"
"I'm fine Hermione! I'm not cursed. I just feel a magical presence."
"Old places like this are probably full of old magic. Maybe you're just extra sensitive to it." Ron shrugged. "Just ignore it mate. Maybe it'll go away."
"Right. Let's just go." Harry nodded toward the group which was now twenty feet in front of them. They caught up quickly but Harry couldn't shake the magical awareness. He gripped his wand in his hand just in case.
He knew he was being paranoid, maybe even foolish, but he just needed to be armed in order to feel safe. They walked on, Harry's eyes never stopped darting around in the darkness. The magic was getting stronger the deeper in they went.
Khered…
Harry stopped as the strange word was whispered next to his ear. He whirled around and pointed his wand in the direction that they just came.
"Who's there?" he softly called out.
Again whispering in some foreign language.
"Lumos." A soft glow filled the space around him. Unsurprisingly Harry was alone. "Are you that magic that I felt earlier?"
Inek w'a im chin.
"I speak Parseltongue, not Ancient Egyptian," he muttered sarcastically.
"Perhaps you can hear me now?"
Harry turned to his right. Again, there was no one there. "Yes. Who are you? Where are you?"
"You ask so many questions, mortal."
His heart was pounding. He was facing against someone he couldn't see. He didn't even know if this was some sort of enemy or not. He turned in a circle keeping his wand at the ready.
More foreign words filled his ears, followed by a throaty chuckle.
A sudden burst of wind hit him square in the chest and pushed him back up against the wall. The wind got knocked out of him and he fell to the dirt below him. His wand flew from his hand as if someone kicked it.
"Come magician. Show me what the House of Life has to say for itself now. Do you puny mortals still think yourselves to be more powerful than gods? Do you think that you can control and bind us?" There was so much fury in his assailant's voice that Harry couldn't help but feel intimidated.
"I don't know what you're talking about. What's the House of Life?" Harry choked out after finally catching his breath.
More ancient words were hurled at him. It sounded like whoever it was, was cursing at him. Harry was picked up by his shirt and slammed into the opposite wall. There was a hissing noise as the wall gave way under the impact.
"No…"
Harry heard someone walk past his face in the sand. He coughed and slowly picked himself up. He crawled over to where his wand lay, still giving off a light. He picked it up and stood to see a doorway in the wall.
"Hello? Are you in here?"
"Tell me, magician, are you with the House of Life?"
"No. I don't even know what you're talking about. I'm Harry Potter, from England. I go to Hogwarts, I'm a wizard there."
There was no response and he took that as a good sign. "Right, maybe some light would help me see more. Lumos Maximus." A bright light filled the small chamber to reveal nothing but sand. "Well that's fascinating." He took a few more steps into the room that was just a bit larger than the broom closet that he used to call a bedroom.
"What's the point of this room if there's nothing in it?"
"Search harder mortal."
He walked the entire area of the room. There was nothing in there but dirt and stale air.
"Keep going. There is something in here that the gods have meant for you to find Harry. You wouldn't have been able to open the door had it not been meant for you."
He sighed and kicked up the dirt under his shoes. He casted a silent spell where a gentle breeze began moving the sand about. He began walking around the room shifting the sand around looking for anything that may be hidden under it.
This is pointless. I'm listening to a voice that doesn't have a body in an ancient tomb in Egypt. Last time I listened to a disembodied voice I got accused for petrifying students all around Hogwarts.
"Stop complaining boy. You're not crazy. Besides if you disobey a goddess you're bound to find some sort of consequences."
"Whoa! You're a goddess? You never mentioned that before."
An image of a cobra flickered and took shape in the right corner of the room. The cobra wore some sort of miniature headdress. Harry looked at it weird. "You're a goddess?"
"Do not mock me boy! I am Wadjet, goddess of the snake. You'd be good to remember that." She slithered over to Harry and raised up to look at him. "Try over there…" She turned her head to peer over at the far left side of the room.
Harry sighed and moved over in the direction that she pointed and began shifting the sand around again. He caught a glimpse of something shiny in the sand. He bent down to examine it and came back up with a golden amulet.
It was no bigger than the palm of his hand. It looked like the profile of a jackal's head with the typical Egyptian art style. Where the eye was, though, was a single black gem. It glinted back at Harry as he held it under the light of his wand. "What is this…?"
"I can't believe he let you find it," Wadjet whispered from the same position in front of the doorway.
"Who?"
She looked up at Harry and said, "Anapa."
"Hey!"
Harry jumped and nearly dropped the amulet in the process. He turned to see Bill standing just outside of the room. "What the bloody hell are you doing in here? How did you get in here? And didn't I warn you to stay with the group?"
"Yeah, um, you see…"
"Harry!" Hermione pushed past Bill and gave Harry a big hug. "Where'd you run off to? We were worried sick."
"I um, leaned against the wall to get rid of a headache and I fell through. You guys were already way ahead so I thought I'd look around."
"Harry you could've been cursed without knowing it. You could've blown up the entire place!"
"I'm sorry. There's nothing in here anyway."
Bill looked around. He nodded. "Okay, I think we've had enough fun for today. Let's head back to the tents and we'll do something else tomorrow. Harry I need to check you for curses."
Harry nodded and slipped the amulet into his back pocket.
