A/n: I'm not an Egyptologist, so don't take my word for 100 percent guarantee, but I did do some research so everything that I mention related to ancient Egypt SHOULD be correct. If you spot any mistakes, feel free to mention it to me, and I'll correct it as soon as possible.
Edit: Special thanks to Viridium for offering to help. Gah, I'm so intimidated by actual Egyptologists reading this.
xXxXxXx
When Harry's mind found consciousness again, he was vaguely aware that he had been rolled over in his sleep. He was quick to recognize these things because he was a morning riser, and he also knew that he wasn't one to move about when sleeping.
He had been brought to the hospital wing too many times not to recognize what it was like to wake up tended to.
He groaned and opened his eyes, dimly registering that his glasses were still perched neatly on his nose. He was lying on his back again, but there was no glaring sun beating down on his face. The sight above him focused to a towering sand dune, and Harry was loosely aware that he was underneath shadows again.
With a grunt, the green eyed boy pushed himself up, shivering slightly as his mind finally registered the drop in temperature. While it was not freezing by any means, it was a shock from the blistering temperatures of before.
"Ah, so you are awake," a cheerful male voice rang out, and Harry turned his head to see a weedy looking man in his fifties sitting cross legged a few meters away from him, seeming to have just noticed Harry. Somehow the wizard boy wasn't terribly surprised about the fact that he wasn't alone.
What did surprise Harry was the two rough looking men accompanying the older male, and what they were all wearing.
They all had dark hair and equally dark eyes, and skin as tanned as leather. The two burly men had no clothes on save for a loose beige sash tied oddly around their middles that vaguely resembled a loincloth. The older man was slightly more clothed with a much longer white skirt of sorts, but his chest was also bare.
Three camels hung around lazily by the trio, kept in place by a stone weighing down their… leashes. Harry could hardly believe what he was seeing. Yes, he did know that camels existed, and yes, he did know that they were very prominent when travelling across the desert, but hearing was one thing and seeing was another. This somehow surprised him more than coming face to face with the legendary Basilisk, or finding out that pixies existed.
He knew that staring was very rude, but he had only seen people dressed like that in television. After falling unconscious for a while due to dehydration, Harry's politer mind wasn't quite catching up to itself quick enough.
"We found you in the desert," the man explained, answering what should have been the forefront question on Harry's mind. "I was looking for a rare herb, and we stumbled across you. To be honest you looked half dead already, but you are a youth and a foreigner, so I took you with us to get you treated. The lessons of the desert are harsh, are they not?"
Harry nodded dumbly, and it was at that time that he gathered himself again. He bowed his head, "Thank you sir."
His throat was still scratchy, but it wasn't killing him like it had been previously. He wondered how the man had helped with that.
"Not a problem, not a problem," the man said as he produced a canteen out of seemingly nowhere. He got up, ignoring the sudden tensing of his companions, and sat back down next to Harry. He handed the object to Harry, "Here, it's yours."
Harry hesitated for a fraction of a second before accepting the canteen, drinking greedily. It was cool to his tongue, soothing all the sores that he had not even known had gathered. He felt the last remnants of his dizziness wash away, descending as quickly as the water in his belly.
He noticed that the guards did not look too please. How Harry knew that they were guards he wasn't quite so sure, but he thought it might have had something to do with the hard expressions on their faces.
He stopped drinking with a gasp, and handed the empty canteen back to the tanned man.
"I'm Akil, son of Ramshat," the sixty something man said gently, a kind smile on his face, "and what is your name?"
"Harry er—son of James," the green eyed boy replied with some wariness. While he did not think that the trio was magical, there was nothing wrong with being a little careful. There wasn't really a need to say that he was Harry Potter, and besides, he somewhat liked this new form of introduction better.
"Harry," the man repeated, as if committing the name to his memory. He titled his head, dark eyes sparkling curiously, "Are you here for the Sobek festival, young one?"
"Um," Harry blinked, a little confused by the reference. He did understand the fact that it was something that travellers obviously came here for, but he didn't know enough to pretend that it was his reason. "No I… got separated from my relatives, and somehow ended up in the middle of the desert."
What Harry said wasn't even really a lie.
The man nodded gravely, obviously having expected something like that, "I see. Do you think your relatives will come here to look for you?"
Harry barely held in a laugh. The thought of Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon transporting themselves through magical means just to find their wayward nephew was even more ridiculous than Dudley losing five pounds.
"I doubt it," Harry said with his lips twitching. "Hm, how should I say this? They probably think that I'm dead, so there'd be no need for them to come back and look for me."
"Ah?" The man looked curious, surprisingly. "Foreigners are strange. What would they do if your soul does not find peace because they did not give you a proper burial?"
Harry blinked, and blinked again. He wasn't quite sure what to think of what the man said. He kind of understood that different cultures had different customs, but still this was weird.
"Akil, please stop speaking with him," one of the others said suddenly, his voice rough and dangerous. "He'll bring us bad luck. Either that, or some foreign country's army."
The other guard, who had also been doing nothing but listening, straightened, as if encouraged by his partner's words, "Yes, I completely agree."
"Gahiji, Khnemu," Akil admonished, turning away from Harry and back to the two, "do you really think that Sobek would send us an enemy so close to his day? I am more inclined to think that this is a gift."
"An outsider?" Gahiji snorted, turning his attention away from Akil and sending a withering glare at Harry, "I do not care how you have tricked our priest, but you will not trick us. We have been sent to protect our priest against any and all threats, and if you dare so much as touch the ground that he has sat on, you will find your blood dyeing the sands sooner than you can utter a word."
Harry couldn't help but glare back. Not only was the threat absolutely disgusting, but he didn't take well to being called a liar.
Akil sighed, sending Harry a weary glance, "As you can see, most people do not take well to foreigners."
"That's only because they bring nothing but trouble," Khnemu grumbled, tucking a knee to his chest. "Priest you should know that foreigners are never good news. Even when they bring nothing but gifts to our Pharaoh, they always have on an untrustworthy face."
"The… Pharaoh…" Harry muttered, in a barely perceptible voice.
Somehow that title sounded familiar to him. Harry furrowed his brows, trying to think up of where he had heard the title before, and then, quite suddenly it came to him.
A desert. Talk about burials and priests. Pharaohs.
It didn't take a genius to connect the dots.
Am I in Egypt then? Harry thought in shock.
He had no idea what had happened, but he did know that the Weasleys were here and that he felt safe with the Weasleys. Perhaps his magic had realized that and transported him to the closest place to a haven, especially after he had found out that he could no longer be safe in the world of wizardry.
Magic worked in strange ways, and Harry would not even pretend to understand it.
He took a breath, and nodded to himself. In the end, it didn't matter how he had got here. All that mattered was that he couldn't go back to England, and that Egypt was as good a place to hide out as any.
He had been under the impression that Pharaohs had died out ages ago though, but there was a very high chance that Harry could have just remembered his history wrong. Perhaps Pharaohs still did rule Egypt, and Harry had just been under the mistaken impression that it was no longer the case. He wished that he had Hermione here.
"You," Khnemu continued, indicating Akil. "You are a priest, and are supposed to be kind, but we are guards hired to protect you, and we will do it even if the thing that we are protecting you from is your own kindness."
"You said that he might be a gift," Gahiji sneered, leering at Harry in an uncomfortable manner, "but I think it's more likely that Sobek sent this one to us as a sacrifice. What do you think is more probable?"
"Enough," Akil said, his voice hard despite his elderly age. "That is enough. Harry son of James is my guest, and you two will treat him accordingly."
Gahiji glowered and grumbled, but did not say anything more. At least, not directly. He did exchange some words with his partner, but their voices were low enough that Harry could not hear.
The green eyed boy shifted. He didn't like the glares, but he wasn't going to leave because of it.
He knew now that he couldn't survive by himself in the desert, so he could put up with the two burly men until they reached civilization. Harry was used to hatred from his relatives, and he had managed to stay with them for twelve years.
Added to that, Harry was getting to like Akil.
"What did they call you, a priest?" Harry asked, turning back to the more elderly man in half an attempt to ignore the two guards, and half because he was genuinely curious.
Akil nodded, "Yes, and I've been specially invited to Shedyet for the Festival of Sobek. Although it is the females who do the actual offering, we priests can still be of help."
"Um, I've been meaning to ask. What exactly is Shedyet and Sobek, sir?"
xXxXxXx
Shedyet it turned out, was the nearest city, living off the life of an Oasis. Sobek was a god of crocodiles or something, although Harry had not known there were still people who did such worship in this day and age.
The city should have been a day's journey, but Akil had explained that they could only travel near dawn and dusk, which slowed their excursion considerably. Harry rode on a camel with Akil, which Gahiji and Khnemu hadn't been too pleased with, but had dealt with nonetheless.
The priest told Harry that they couldn't travel in the day because it would give them heatstroke, as it had done with Harry.
The night on the other hand was too cold, and too dangerous, which Harry experienced firsthand when he felt the temperature drop a good forty degrees the first night. They just sat cuddled by a fire, warming themselves.
Akil had a whole slew of knowledge. While he said he couldn't disclose anything related to his priesthood, he was very obliging in pointing out hidden plants in the desert that Harry would have simply passed, and explaining to Harry what they were for when the boy asked.
They travelled for three days in total, although Akil said that his journey lasted for about a week. Harry was very aware that he was an unexpected addition, and because of that, refused food whenever possible, although he could not refuse the water.
By the time they had arrived in Shedyet, Harry and the guards had not warmed up to each other any, but Harry was fine with that because he didn't care much for people who didn't like him. He was content with talking with Akil.
If the two ever wanted to be friends with him, he would reciprocate, but Harry wouldn't bash himself against an unyielding wall. It had taken him eight years to learn that such actions brought about no results.
They entered the city well before the festival began, and under Akil's advice, Harry donned an outfit similar to the Egyptians, except that his covered somewhat more of his body than theirs did. He wore a beige tunic and a considerably longer plait, much like Akil as opposed to his bodyguards.
"You don't really want to stand out," Akil explained. "Well, you'll stand out anyhow, but let's keep it to a minimum, alright? Foreigners have been known to show up to Shedyet, but it's very rare, so we'll try not to draw to much attention to you."
Harry agreed, and Akil showed Harry to the Temple of Sobek where they were to meet at dusk before shooing the boy off to town.
Before Harry had left, Akil shoved something into his hands, and it was only afterwards that Harry discovered that it was money. By that time it was already too late to return the silver.
It was past noon, and while the sun was still beating down relentlessly, the people of Shedyet did not seem to care. Various residents bustled around, occasionally calling out in greeting before hurrying on their way, smiles on their faces.
Harry couldn't help but notice that the girls wearing scant more than undergarments, baskets balanced precariously on their heads as they hummed sweet lullabies under their breaths.
All the men were buff, their skin glistening with sweat, and Harry was almost waiting for their muscles to pop out.
He even saw a man holding a gaudy looking golden scale, shouting at the top of his lungs to a party of muscular men wearing blue and white headdresses. From the way they obeyed him, Harry figured that he was a priest of some sort, because they did wander the city quite occasionally.
The 'city' was less of a city and more of a town, but a very lively town. The houses were all made of mud brick, with some of them having tuffs of grass growing on their roofs. Harry would have almost wondered why, since the sun did not give much chance for plant life to grow, but he noticed that the air in Shedyet was different from that of the desert.
He passed by various streams and canals, and small pockets of lakes and ponds within the city. Moisture permeated the air, making the place humid but less searing than the dry desert air that Harry had spent the past four days travelling across. While it was not exactly cool, or at least that was how Harry felt comparing it to England, it was bearable.
The Temple of Sobek was hard to miss, and Harry could see why Akil had chose the main entrance for it to be their rendezvous. It towered above all other buildings, and was visible from any other part in Shedyet.
The splendid white building was at least twice as tall as any house, and covered the expanse of three blocks. Harry hadn't really been allowed to go inside, but just from looking at the outside alone he found himself almost as impressed as the first time he had seen Hogwarts.
There wasn't any concrete in Shedyet, although there were occasionally paved stones. It seemed to fit somehow, even if it was getting Harry's sandaled feet splendidly dirty. He didn't mind though. He had never been as much of a clean freak as the Dursleys.
The one thing he did mind was the stares he gathered as he wandered around the city. There were many strange people, but apparently none of them were as strange as him.
Harry shifted uncomfortably, flattening his hair. He wondered if he'd already made Egypt's news as a dangerous, escaped criminal. He could almost see it. Wizards would be looking for him just as intensely as the muggles were looking for Sirius Black!
The adults at least, were somewhat discreet. Not so much the children.
There had been a group of boys whispering and pointing at him, and unlike the others they did not stop. Finally, one of the boys was pushed out of the throng, stumbling slightly before he finally regained his balance. The other boys laughed, and the boy scowled at them mock-playfully before taking a deep breath, and turning towards Harry.
The Egyptian boy ran over, stopping right before Harry and pausing. He took another breath, flushing slightly despite his dark skin, "Um, hey. We were wondering, are you from outside the desert?"
Harry wondered if this was some weird way of asking if he wasn't Egyptian.
"Yeah, I'm from Britain," he replied, and then paused, and then winced. It was probably a well known fact that Harry Potter was from Britain, and he didn't need to give any more hints as to what his identity was.
The other boy only looked confused, "Britain?"
Harry let out a sigh of relief. Britain probably wasn't as interesting to Egyptians as Egypt was to Britain.
"England," he said pleasantly, "Europe. It's to the north."
The last statement the Egyptian boy did seem to understand. His eyes lit up, and he nodded sagely, "Ahh, the north! That explains your fair skin."
Harry blinked, and blinked again. He looked down at his hands, and then at the Egyptian boy. They did look very different, Harry realized.
I'm about twenty shades paler than the other guy, Harry thought in amazement, Than anyone!
It was then that Harry realized that that was why everyone had been staring. It was not because they had recognized him, but because he looked completely out of place.
His lips twitched, his gut loosened, and Harry let out a laugh.
The Egyptian boy looked at him, alarmed, "Are you alright?"
"I'm perfectly fine," Harry chortled, shaking his head. It had only been two years at Hogwarts and he had already gotten used to fame. He should have known better. This was not the magical world. If he wasn't careful, he'd turn into what Snape was constantly harping about.
"Oh, well, okay." The Egyptian boy took the simple explanation very easily, or maybe he had just put it down as a foreigner quirk. "By the way, I'm Baniti. What's your name?"
"Har—Harmel," Harry replied, picking the first name that came to mind that sounded somewhat Egyptian.
"Harmel?" Baniti's eyebrows furrowed, and he wrinkled his nose, "What a weird name."
"It's a perfectly reasonable name!" Harry protested, although he had no idea why he was defending a made up name anyway. It probably meant something really weird in Egyptian too.
For a moment Baniti looked shocked, and then his expression turned genuinely apologetic, "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to insult you or anything. If your parents gave it to you, it definitely has power. It's just that I've never met anyone named that before, see? I guess it's 'cause you're a foreigner and all. Hey, tell me about how you guys name your children!"
By the end of it, the Egyptian boy had gone from sorry to completely enthusiastic. It reminded Harry of Hermione with a terrible pang.
They talked a bit more, with Baniti asking all sorts of questions about England and Harry desperately trying to answer them without giving anything magical away. In exchange, Baniti introduced his 'cool new friend' to his other friends, and then waved goodbye to them in able to show Harry around.
"Thanks," Harry said with a blush when he realized what Baniti did.
"Nah, it's cool. I've never gotten to show anyone around before. Besides, all my friends are busy with their apprenticeships."
"Apprenticeships?"
"Yeah, their future trade, you know?" Baniti paused at Harry's confused face, which showed that he really didn't know. "Oh, well, everyone has a job, but not everyone can do everything, or else who's gonna want other people to do the jobs they can do, ya know? The masters provide the apprentices with everything, and in turn the apprentices pass down the trade."
More and more Harry was reminded of Hermione. Baniti's circular reasoning was sounding more like hers by the second. "Yes, I understand. It's hm, basic supply and demand. There can only be a certain amount of people qualified for one type of job, or else wages will drop and that will affect the whole economy."
It had been a while since his last business class.
Baniti snapped his fingers, an impressed expression on his face, "That's it exactly! Wow Harmel, you're able to talk so well!"
"But apprenticeships in this day and age…" Harry frowned, trailing off. It was weird, but then again, they were in a rather small village in the middle of the desert. Perhaps this was truly the easiest way for the people of Shedyet to live. "Don't you also have apprentice duties, then?"
"I go the day off," Baniti said with a grin back at Harry, "and it's a good thing too, huh?"
Harry smiled back.
Baniti spent the rest of the day showing Harry around, taking him to all the interesting places of Shedyet and pointing out all the people to go to or avoid. People still gave Harry odd glances, but it was much better now that an Egyptian boy was chatting excitedly with him.
The Egyptian boy seemed to take his task of tour guide very seriously. He showed Harry their biggest lake and the boats that one could take to fish. He showed Harry the gardens and the wine makers. He even pointed out the people who belonged and the people who didn't.
"And that's the marketplace," Baniti pointed out as they passed by a square with various vendors shouting about their products. The shaded booths were bursting with life as vendors and traders noisily competed with each other and bartered with the citizens. "Although we're pretty far from all the other cities, we still get a lot of merchants. Since it's the Festival of Sobek soon, we're getting more than usual. Look, that guy's selling Hittite spices. Hm, maybe I'll get some for Mother."
There were a lot of things being sold in the market, and Harry finally understood why Akil had given him money. The native market alone was enough to get Harry's head spinning.
There were oils, pottery, bronze and copperware, enamel ware and fine embroidered linens, not to mention a variety of golden jewellery that sparkled brilliantly in the sunlight. Harry was too manly to buy any of it, even he had to admit that it was beautiful.
There were even some vendors selling foods, and although it was nothing extravagant, it did look good and smell even better. Baniti told him that they were snacks that one didn't usually get around Shedyet, but Harry was too frugal to spend Akil's money on delicious treats.
Other than that, there were speciality sellers. There were ones that sold cloth and baskets, and ones that sold animals and pets. There was even a merchant selling snakes!
"Look, there's Farim selling his pottery as usual and that's… woah, magic items. That's new."
"Magic items?" Harry asked curiously. He couldn't help but be interested, because in the end, he was magical.
He was also curious about why the muggle markets would be selling magical things. The muggle world that he knew abhorred all things magic with a passion, but then again, this was Egypt, who had an ancient history with magecraft.
"Yeah, it's for the priests and stuff," Baniti said with a shiver. "They're pretty creepy. Still, sometimes there are a few good amulets for protection, although they're really expensive."
"Hm…" Harry thought that it sounded like one of those fraudulent items that were always being sold, but then again, he didn't know for sure. Fraudulent or not, he wanted to buy one for Akil, although he knew that he would have to choose carefully.
There were a bunch of small wooden blocks with various drawings on them, ranging from animals to specially designed rods. There were also amulets and little waxen figurines of people and scorpions, which were beyond creepy. Lastly there were tablets of Egyptian hieroglyphics, which Harry couldn't read at all.
"Darn it, I wish I knew what these said," Harry muttered as he picked up one of the tablets, frustrated because he did remember doing a small translation project in the fifth grade that involved hieroglyphics, but he couldn't remember for the life of him what those symbols were now. He didn't want to accidently buy Akil a curse.
"Nobody knows how to read," Baniti said encouragingly, "so don't be so down on yourself about it. Besides, you can already speak Egyptian, and at your age too! That's impressive."
Harry gave Baniti an odd look at that, "What are you talking about? I only speak Eng—"
And then the words died in his throat as he remembered another instance where he had thought he had been speaking English, only to find out that it was something else entirely. He hurriedly thought back to his previous conversations, trying desperately to trace whether or not there had been an underlying Egyptian tone to his words.
He found nothing.
All in all, it still sounded to him as if he were speaking English, and that Akil, Baniti and the rest were speaking English too.
And yet, that obviously wasn't the case, with Baniti's reaction. In the case with Akil too, now that Harry thought about it, it would have been unlikely that the priest AND the guards had chosen to speak English to Harry the very first instance they had met. For all Akil knew, Harry was French or something.
When I wished myself to Egypt, did I accidently cast a translation charm on myself too? Harry thought doubtfully. Somehow his situation seemed less and less plausible by the second, and yet he could not think of another explanation.
"Harmel?" Akil questioned dubiously, looking at Harry with worried brown eyes.
"Uh, thanks," Harry said dazedly, "I studied Egyptian very hard. It's good to know that a native speaker can't even tell the difference. So um, I guess these tablets are out of the question, huh? What about these sphere things?"
In the end he bought a silver amulet. It had a small blue stone in the center that sparkled nicely in the sunlight. The piece itself was in the shape of a cross, except that the head was a loop instead, making the whole thing resemble a key.
An eye was painted on the bottom of the amulet, and that was actually the reason that Harry bought it in the first place. He had seen the priest from earlier with an item also having an eye carved on it, and he figured that it might have some significance to Egyptian magic. It was the closest lead he had, anyhow.
He paid for the item in silver, and quickly left the area, feeling uncomfortable in the presence of the Egyptian items. They were much scarier than the ones in Diagon Alley.
"Silver!" Baniti said in surprise as they went in another direction, "Why didn't you tell me that you had some on you?"
"Is it that impressive?" Harry asked curiously, wondering if silver coins might have been worth a lot, just like galleons were. However, the shopkeeper had said that the amulet was cheap, and it had still taken most of Harry's silver to buy it.
"Now that I think about it, probably not," Baniti said thoughtfully. "Nobody really uses that fancy stuff even in a city like Shedyet, but you're a traveller, right? I suppose it makes sense that you would carry around coins, 'cause it'd be hard to lug around sacs of bread to barter."
They wandered around some more, until it was nearly dusk. Harry and Baniti enjoyed their time immensely. One was too impressed by all the things that he had seen, and the other was just happy to be sharing this all with a friend.
When Harry had to go to meet Akil and Baniti had to head home for dinner, they waved each other goodbye and Harry gifted Baniti with a packet of Hittie spices that the Egyptian boy had been eyeing earlier.
The other boy had initially refused, but Harry had worn him down with the logic that Harry would not have even found the marketplace if it weren't for Baniti.
They parted with promises to see each other again, and Harry headed for the huge white building that was the Temple of Sobek.
He found Akil at the entrance, just as promised. Gahiji was with him, although Khnemu was not. Harry and Akil greeted each other with pleasantries, both explaining what they had done that day as they walked to the inn that Akil had reserved. Gahiji just grumbled the entire way.
"Oh and," Harry said excitedly as they got to the part where he found the markets, "I got this for you, Akil sir."
He pulled out the amulet, and shyly handed it to the elder man, wondering if Akil would find it useful, or even like it.
Akil took the amulet, and examined it closely. He held it up against the setting sun, rotating it this way and that before smiling brightly. "My, you really do have the talent. Well spotted Harry, this item is genuine."
Harry flushed slightly. He usually never chose these type of things correctly, and to hear that he did sent a warm tingle throughout his body, "Really?"
"Yes, you are quite amazing," Akil murmured softly as he brought the amulet back down again, and stowed it away in his pocket. He turned to look at Harry, and smiled mysteriously, "I would like to make you my apprentice, I think."
Harry felt his heart skip a beat.
"What?" Gahiji cried out, "That's outrageous! This is an outsider!"
"Do not think that I do not know this," Akil said admonishingly, and turned to an astonished Harry with a smile, "I admit that when I first found you, I had only planned to bring you to Shedyet and let you find your relatives, but you have proved to me these past three days that you have both the will and the ability to become one of the priesthood class."
"This is crazy and you know it!" Gahiji exclaimed, "The court will never accept—"
"Whether or not they accept it or not is their problem," Akil said with a shrug, "I have just found myself a suitable apprentice and I am not about to let him go so easily. So, what do you say Harry?"
"I—this—um—" It was all too sudden. Harry could hardly believe that someone would choose him to be a student when apparently nobody else had the qualifications.
Akil smiled softly, "You don't have to decide right away. I'll give you a few days, perhaps even until after the festival. How about that?"
Harry took a deep breath, "Thank you sir. I'll consider it carefully."
Gahiji's glare intensified, seeming to have switched its target from Akil to Harry.
"You had better accept, boy," the burly guard growled out.
Harry blinked, and blinked again. He wasn't sure if he had heard right. "What?"
"I said," Gahiji repeated slowly, as if talking to a particularly dim child, "that you had better accept Akil's offer of apprenticeship. While I would hate for an outsider to become a priest, an outsider refusing an offer of priesthood is unheard of! You'd better not throw Akil's offer in his face!"
Harry inwardly fumed. He hated how Gahiji tried to turn everything against him.
"Oh Gahiji, what am I to do with you?" Akil muttered with a shake of his head, before turning his attention back to Harry, "Anyway, you don't have to feel pressured. While I would like for you to become my apprentice, you'll only work best if you whole heartedly want the job. So, think about it, okay?"
Harry nodded, although he didn't think that his answer would change. He was stuck in the desert and on the run from the Ministry of Magic. He had no money or supplies, but an apprenticeship would provide all that for him. Added to that, he really liked Akil.
Still, he supposed it was normal to wait a bit before answering a heavy question like that, which according to Baniti decided the rest of an Egyptian man's life. While Harry's answer would not change, he decided to wait before giving his reply in able to set Akil's mind at ease.
"We're leaving right after the Festival of Sobek," Akil continued thoughtfully, a pondering expression on his face. "Do you think you can have an answer by then?"
Harry nodded, resolutely. There was no hesitation in his reply. "Yes, definitely."
xXxXxXx
If life could have continued that way, Harry would have probably been able to live finally as a normal person for the rest of his life, but life rarely goes the way one wants it to.
Harry hummed to himself as he walked down the streets of Shedyet. Looking around the marketplace wasn't as glamorous as before when Baniti was showing him around but it was still interesting nonetheless.
Day by day new people arrived, and Harry made a game of predicting what they did. Everyone seemed to have an ancient occupation, but Harry supposed that was normal for a town like this. He had read in the papers that African cities were different from their European counterparts.
Akil was busy with preparations for the festival, and because Harry wasn't officially his apprentice yet, there were many things he could not participate in.
Still, there were quite a few things that he could watch, and Akil said it was important because it would allow Harry to get a sense of what his future duties would be like.
He paused when he heard the words 'Hellas oils' in the air. At the moment he was on an errand for Akil, who needed various things to prepare for the upcoming ritual. Looking around, Harry identified the merchant and hurried to the stand.
He paid for the commodities. The small jar of rich oil exchanged hands, and Harry's task was done for the day. Pleased with himself, Harry pushed out of the crowds to head back to the Temple of Sobek, when suddenly, a scream split the air.
Harry paused, his fingers tightening around the little jar. He knew it wasn't any of his business but—oh who was he kidding?
Turning heel, Harry quickly raced towards the direction of the scream, all other events forgotten as he dodged by the people rushing past him. As he neared the source, he found that people were running away as opposed to towards, and it was all he could to do keep from being trampled over.
Finally he pushed past the last wall of people, and stumbled into a horrific sight
Trapped within the wine maker's alleyway was a huddle of people, their faces pale with fright as they clutched onto each other. Some were sobbing with fear, and others seemed to be trying to dreg up the last bits of their courage as they shakingly raised small sticks to fend off their enemy.
Stalking a semi-circle between the bundle of people and the rest of the crowd was monster that looked like it had come out of a nightmare. It was something halfway between a panther and a cat, except that its fur seemed to be made purely of jagged shadows. It had wide yawning jaws and glittering green eyes, the cruel look on its face accentuated by its predatory purrs. It was also about the size of three people.
It grinned wickedly, and took a menacing step towards the huddled group of people.
It took a second for his brain to register what was going on, and then Harry was moving. If he moved any later, he knew he would be too late.
Maybe it was Gryffindorish instinct, or maybe Harry just wasn't very good at calculating what would happen if he acted, but the next second he had whipped out his wand and had snapped it towards the creature.
"Expelliarmus!" He shouted.
The red spell hit the creature off center, ploughing into its left shoulder and sending the monster spinning. It hit the other wall with a crack, sending down a rain of loose mud bricks. The creature let out a pained cry, and slumped to the floor.
And then, a low, deathly rumble filled the air as the creature slowly ascended again, rising from the scattered bricks like a wraith that could not be killed. Its green eyes blazed like fire, fixing upon Harry with an intensity that nearly froze him.
It let out a vicious snarl, its shadowy fur sharpening until they glittered like blades. It took one step towards Harry, and then another, its whole presence promising pain.
Harry gritted his teeth, his hand tightening around his wand as he got ready to fire off another spell. Although 'expelliarmus', his best, had failed, Harry would not give up until the end. It was not in his nature.
The thing leapt, and somehow Harry knew that this time there would be no avoiding it. Harry let out a war cry, hurling forwards with his wand held high… but before anything happened a beam of golden light suddenly encased the creature, sending it flying back.
The creature let out yelp as it hit the ground, twitching in pain. Harry's mouth dropped open as he watched the creature that had seemed so terrifying just moments before being transformed into a pitiful puppy, its wide green eyes filled with what might have been tears.
The thing let out one last, whining cry, and then it disappeared into the golden shield that had been cast around it. One of the men in the crowds suddenly let out a scream, and slumped to the ground, seemingly lifeless.
Harry's head whipped back around to the bystanders, green eyes wide with shock as he stared upon the crumpled body of one of the men. He had no idea what was going on.
"Don't worry about him," one of the crowd said, his voice low and gentle. He stepped forward, and Harry noted with some shock that it was the priest from before. The one with the scales. "He was actually the one to summon the Ka beast, and when I subdued it, this man here received a shock. Thank you for your help, young one. You were very brave."
It was then that Harry noticed the large stone tablet behind the priest. He had no idea when it had gotten there, but he did see image on it, and it was exactly same as the monster that Harry had battled just moments before.
Harry's lips parted, and as if in a trance, he glided towards the tablet.
He stopped before it, putting one pale hand on the cool surface. It pulsed with energy. Somehow, Harry knew that without a doubt the creature was now trapped within.
Green eyes widened. It was magic. That had definitely been magic.
The man smiled at Harry's gaze, his dark eyes crinkling with the motion, "I see that you can sense something special about it as well. Your powers must be great."
Harry didn't listen. He couldn't afford to listen. Stuffing his wand back into his pocket, Harry scurried between the legs of the remaining Egyptian men and made a break for it. He couldn't afford to get caught by the Ministry, not now.
"Wait, boy!" The man with the golden scales called out, but Harry didn't pay heed. He darted out of the alleyway, weaving skillfully through the crowd of people that had gathered. Within seconds he was out of hearing range, and out of sight.
