Chapter 9
Harry was furious.
It was the kind of white-hot fury that caused a person to do stupid things like threaten other people, and throw things, and get arrested. In an effort not to do anything rash, Harry threw himself into his studies, hoping for a distraction. His effort paid off when the last weeks of school flew by, and Harry surprised even himself with the test scores he received on his final exams.
There were others just as furious as Harry. The Bulgarians, for example. They had lost a student, a celebrity, a National Treasure. Quidditch fans globally were in an uproar. The star seeker, a youth with great potential, was gone. All because of a stupid rule regarding how to (mis)handle prophecy.
Harry watched things unfold on a global level as his school year wound down. Britain was trying to foist their guilt off onto Hogwarts, specifically Headmaster Dumbledore. According to The Egyptian Owl, Remus's favorite newspaper, the British Ministry had started a smear campaign saying the man had gone batty. It helped that Ex-Auror Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody had been found to be an imposter! The old man had been attacked in his home the summer before school started. Dumbledore, who was supposed to be an old friend, had not noticed the change in his friend's behavior.
"Preposterous." Sirius declared. "Anyone could do a passable impersonation of Moody. All you have do is be the most paranoid you can be."
"And say 'constant vigilance' every so often" Remus added.
"James did that once." Sirius said, cracking a smile. "Convinced the whole department that he was Moody and no one questioned it. Well, until the real Moody walked in."
Excitedly, Harry sat down to listen to another story about his dad. Every so often something would remind the two marauders about James, and Harry got to hear more about him. With each story he was told he felt closer to his parents.
With school out for summer, the students (and therefore Harry) were left to their own devices. Before Harry could find a way to get into trouble, Shadi announced that he had other plans for his apprentice. There was nothing more he could teach Harry, and so the boy was ready for the big test of his abilities.
The trial was to take place in the tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh. According to Shadi, successful navigation of the tomb required a mastery of Shadow Magic and would be a good test of Harry's skill. Remembering how lost he had been on the last trip into the tomb, Harry could see where Shadi might be right.
The day of the test dawned cloudless and hot. Harry arrived at the entrance to the tomb to find all of the Ishtars waiting there with Shadi. Marik stood fidgety and sulky with Odion's large hand on his shoulder. The way Marik kept shooting quick glares at Shadi told Harry exactly how close his friend was from attacking the older Egyptian. As Harry neared, Odion pushed his brother forward.
"What's up?" Harry asked looking between each of his gathered friends.
Marik mumbled something too soft for Harry to hear. Odion sighed and Ishizu snorted in an unladylike manner. Marik turned to glare at them which resulted in a momentary staring contest between the three siblings. It ended when Marik turned back around with a huff.
Harry was confused. What was going on?
Marik straightened his shoulders, bringing himself to full height. Oh, Harry thought. This was going to be formal.
"As Head Keeper for this tomb," Marik began, "I grant thee, Harry Potter, the right to enter and use this sacred space for the duration of your Final Trial in Shadow Magic, or until the sun sets on the Western Horizon, whichever comes first. You may proceed."
That sounded serious. Unsure if there was a formal response, Harry decided to just nod his acknowledgment at Marik, his friends, and Shadi before heading toward the tomb. He thought he might had heard a "good luck" as he turned to enter, but neither paused nor looked back.
Once inside, Harry traveled down the ancient tunnel. He walked past the rows of hieroglyphs interspaced with images of monsters Harry now knew to be the souls of the dead. When Shadi had first told him of this it made Harry more aware, more deliberate, in his summonings, which was definitely Shadi's intention.
As Harry walked deeper into the tomb, he came to a fork in the tunnel. Harry looked around. He hoped there would be markings in the murals to indicate direction, but nothing looked directional to him. Harry was unsure which way to go.
Reaching into his pocket, Harry pulled out his deck of Duel Monsters. Harry had discovered early on that the cards could be used as a focus for the spells and summons. It was his favorite trick. Harry had spent hours making theoretical arrays of complex spells out of his cards, and even tried a couple with Shadi's help.
This was nothing quite so complicated. Harry dug through his deck for a simple monster to lead the way. Kuriboh was the first to slip into his hand. Perfect.
Harry raided the the card in offering to the shadows. A shape formed from the darkness, but it was not the almost spherical body of Kuriboh. Instead the the form of a man took shape. Out of the shadows stepped Anubis, god of the underworld, and Harry gulped.
No good. No good! Harry thought as he readied himself for an attack.
But the attack never came.
Harry straightened warily. He continued to watch the shadow monster, still looking for an attack. Instead Anubis turned and began to walk down one of the passages. He was going to guide Harry through the tomb?
He hurried after the god, letting it lead him through the confusing twists and turns. Harry lost all sense of direction long before Anubis stopped. When he did, it was not so much he stopped, as he simply dissipated. The shadows breaking up of their own accord.
Now alone, Harry stood outside a new chamber. The wizard stepped in cautiously and looked room was a small octagon, only about ten feet from side to side. On each wall there was a depiction of a crocodile in relief, mouth open as if to eat the intruder. It room was quite intimidating. After a moment Harry was able to look away from the crocodile mouths and realized there was no door. No obvious way onward.
The room was not the end of the line. If the shadows led him here then there had to be another way out. Harry looked more carefully at the walls for a switch or lever, anything out of the ordinary. There was only one difference between the panels, inside the mouth of a single crocodile was a hole deep enough to stick an arm into. Harry looked at the panel dubiously. He had to stick his hand in there?
But there was no other way. He had checked. Harry summoned all his Gryffindor courage and reached inside.
There was an intense pressure on on his hands, but not in a physical sense. Harry pushed back at the pressure, letting his magic flare for a brief second. With a horrible scraping sound of stone-on-stone the panel moved enough to reveal the pathway beyond. Harry pushed it a tad farther and slipped through to continue on.
This time the pathway opened into a cavernous room. There was a strip of ledge where harry stood, another across the room, and a deep pid took up the remaining floor. Between the two ledges spanned a thin sliver of stone. A bridge of sorts, though it did not look stable.
The ledges were lit by magelight, powerfully bright and did not allow shadows to form in the room. If there had been, Harry could have traveled between them to the next ledge. As it were, Harry wished he had brought his broom. His trusty Nimbus 2000 would have taken him across with ease.
No other way to go, Harry ever so slowly placed his foot onto the bridge. As he put more and more pressure onto the foot, the stone held firm. Finally took his other foot off the ledge and completed his first full step onto the bridge. Carefully, Harry took another step. And another after that.
As he reached the middle, Harry made the mistake of looking down. Below the shadowy blackness seemed to writhe. The patterns their writhing made was hypnotic, keeping Harry from looking away. As he watched on, shapes seemed to form and dissipate, reaching up to grab him right from the ledge.
Harry broke free from his trance and jerked back up, almost losing his balance, but he righted himself before swiftly crossing to the other side of the bridge. He sighed with relief as he stood on solid ground once again. From there Harry could see a passageway leading up and out of the cavern.
Harry ascended the stairs into another chamber. It was neither as ornate as the first chamber, or as large as the second. But that did not matter. The moment Harry entered, his eyes were drawn to the center of the room where a large circular dias dominated the floor. An ornate pattern decorated the raised floor set with lapis lazuli and gold, and at the center rose a pedestal.
But Harry barely took in any of that, for leaning against the pedestal was the Pharaoh!
Harry immediately bowed low.
"There is no need to bow to me Harry." The Pharaoh said.
Harry rose stunned. The Pharaoh knew his name!
"Sir…" Harry began, but was unsure how to continue.
"How am I here?" The Pharaoh guessed as a teasing smile played across his face.
"You are not a ghost." Harry stated with a frown.
"No, and I will not be telling you more today."
"Not even a hint?" Harry asked automatically and immediately cursed himself for being so casual with a pharaoh.
But the Pharaoh replied "One hint: Learn Japanese."
"That's not much of a hint." Harry pouted."
"It is the hint you are getting. Tell the Ishtars to learn it too."
"Yes sir."
"Now, I want to congratulate you on graduating."
"... but I haven't passed yet."
"This is you passing."
Harry gaped at the Pharaoh. The expression caused the Pharaoh to laugh at the boy, which knocked him out of his stupor. The boy then scowled at the ancient egyptian.
"Come Harry." The pharaoh ordered after he stopped laughing.
The boy did as ordered. He stepped up on the dias and moved to stand beside the man. The Pharaoh stepped aside to reveal what rested upon the pedestal. It was the golden scales Shadi had used on Harry's first day in Egypt.
"As I said, I want to congratulate you on passing, and graduation deserves presents. These are for your use. As one of mine you deserve them."
"But I-" Harry started to protest then cut off sharply.
He was alone in the room. The Pharaoh gone like he had never been there.
Shaking his head at the empty space Harry summoned a monster to lead him back out. This time kuriboh formed instantly. The monster began to move away, and Harry followed, tucking the scales under his arm as he went.
Making it back to the tomb's entrance, kuriboh dissipated. Harry stepped out into the bright day, squinting as his eyes adjusted. Everyone was still there waiting for him. They had erected a shade to protect them from the sun, and were gathered about a table playing a game with dice. Marik still shot Shadi distrustful glances, but they were not as heated or frequent as they had been before.
Ishizu was the first to notice him approaching, followed by Marik moments later. Odion and Shadi noticed their companion's distraction and turned to look.
"You're out already!" Ishizu exclaimed.
"And what's that?" asked a suspicious Marik.
"This?" Harry asked, holding up the scales so they all could see. "A gift. From the Pharaoh."
Odion stiffened, preparing to stun his brother while Harry starred his friend down, but Marik just scoffed and glanced away. Harry saw Odion's jaw drop in awe as he glanced between the two boys. Had Harry tamed his brother?
"Well," Shadi said, ignoring the silent conversation going on around him. "Congratulations Harry. You are now a Shadow Master."
"Thank you, sir."
His other three friends were quick to follow Shadi, congratulating Harry. Harry accepted their platitudes. He then quickly bid them farewell so that he could go tell his godfather the good news.
Sirius was having tea with Remus in his office when Harry found them. Since they did so frequently, Harry figured he should have checked here first. The pair had pulled out a whole package of biscuits the boy noticed with amusement.
"Back already!" Sirius exclaimed.
"Everyone's said that!" Harry complained, pulling a chair over to join the pair. "Shadi said it could take up to eight hours, not that it would take that long. Can you honestly see me taking a test for that long?"
Remus snorted into his teacup. Harry flashed his honorary godfather a quick grin as he sat down. The enchanted tea set automatically poured him a cup and sweetened I it just right. Harry grabbed a couple of biscuits out of the package and popped one right into his mouth.
"So you're done now." Sirius said.
Harry nodded before taking a sip of his tea.
"Do you have any plans for what you want to do next? " Remus asked.
"I was thinking of getting a part time job. Maybe a work-study program from the school. They're for students who complete their apprenticeships early, which is what I've done. My guidance counselor stopped to talk to me about it before school let out."
"Oh, good." Remus said. "Do you know where you want to work?"
"I dunno. Maybe in the Temple of Justice?"
"Law enforcement. Good choice." Sirius commented.
Harry decided now was not the time to tell his godfather he wanted to do more than chase after crooks. He liked how the Justices could say something and have it be so. Like how Harry had been able to remain in Egypt because the Justices said Sirius was innocent and Harry's guardian. Harry wanted to be a Justice.
"I should owl the Temple of Education and see if they have any positions available." Harry said instead as a way to excuse himself.
Harry quickly penned two letters, one to his guidance counselor and one to the Temple of Education and sent them off with Horus. He hoped the bird would return soon. Sirius had borrowed Hedwig to send a letter to the ICW. While Harry never asked, he figured the letter was about Britain's treatment of the prophecy.
While he waited, Harry spent a lot of time talking to Hermione. Originally, the mirror was to go home with Ron, but the boys felt she would need it more after Krum's death. Harry could barely contain his surprise when Ron had brought the topic up. Their friend he might be, but Ron sometimes had trouble noticing when he needed to use tact.
Hermione was doing as well as could be expected. She cried a lot while Harry sat there feeling awkward, but afterward she would smile at him and say "Thanks Harry. I needed that." so Harry felt he was doing alright.
When Hermione was not crying, the pair would chat. Hermione was excited for Harry, passing his second mastery so soon after the first. She thought little of Divination, especially the way it was taught in Hogwarts, but Shadow Magic sounded amazing. Harry knew better than to tell her everything, his rule oriented friend would not like the somewhat dark aspects of that branch of magic.
When not consoling Hermione, Harry spent a lot of time studying the Scales. He knew it would tell if someone was lying (Sirius had demonstrated that for him), but he wondered what else they could do. The boy decided the best person to ask was Shadi since he had produced them for Sirius' use that day.
"There isn't much I can tell you." Shadi told Harry when he asked. "I never mastered the device, and so I can only tell you the basics."
"I'll take what you can tell me." Harry said.
Shadi explained the basics of the device. The scales could work as a lie detector, balanced for truth and tilted for lies, which is what Harry observed when he saw it in use. The scales could also hold a full trial, judging based on answer and then doling out an appropriate punishment, where "appropriate" was based on Shadow Magic and historical norms.
Harry knew how Shadow Magic punished people. It could drag a soul into the Shadow Realm and tear it apart. How the Shadows could hurt or even kill had been Harry's first lesson. Shadi wanted to make sure his student knew just how dangerous the magic could be.
While Harry was well informed on forms of Shadow Magic punishment, he was not so good on the historical ones. Horrifyingly enough, Marik was an expert. In great and gory detail he laid out the whole Ancient Egyptian punishment system. What would get you beaten, what would get you branded, what would get you exiled, and what would get you killed. Through the whole ordeal Marik kept a gleeful smile on his face that told Harry the crazy persona was close to the surface.
Almost a week had passed when Harry received a reply from the Temple of Education. Several places had work-study available, and yes, the Temple of Justice was one of them. If Harry was interested, he could start out as an acolyte and see how things went.
Harry was ecstatic. He scribbled out a message saying yes, he was very much interested before dashing off to tell Remus and Sirius.
The position of acolyte started a couple of weeks before school did, but that was the summer away. In the meantime, Harry played with his friends like a normal kid. He still hung out at Imam's house at least once a week, and he talked with Hermione every other day. Once Hermione's summer classes were over, she went to visit with the Weasleys, and Harry was able to talk to Ron as well.
Harry also started learning Japanese. When Marik found out it was because the Pharaoh told Harry to, the Egyptian boy decided to learn as well for reasons only he knew. Ishizu thought it was a lovely idea and brought Odion along for fun. So all four of them were learning the language together.
It was a lot easier to learn than Harry expected. Maybe it was because he had someone to practice with, maybe it was because this was his third language. Harry found the language and its writing fun. Sirius and Remus found themselves picking up a word or two as well, just from Harry slipping them into everyday conversation.
The summer moved on, and soon enough Harry was starting his first job. The Temple of Justice brought their new acolyte in two weeks before school was to start for a day of training. Sirius (whose attempts to get out of his own work were legendary) was horrified by how excited his godson was. By contrast, Remus smiled proudly as he saw the boy off.
When Harry first arrived at the temple he was greeted by a young Justice who introduced himself as Justice Zuliki. The young Justice took Harry around the main parts of the Temple before introducing him to several of the other acolytes.
The acolytes ranged in age from thirteen to twenty-two, the youngest of which was Mana. When Justice Zuliki bid them farewell, she happily volunteered to give Harry a more in-depth tour. While Mana pointed out specific places and things Harry should know, she also told Harry a little about herself. Mana was the daughter of a clerk, and had started work as an acolyte immediately after finishing her last final.
Half way through the tour they were joined by the oldest of the acolytes. He introduced himself as Hasani, and was very interested in knowing everything about Harry. As the trio continued around the Temple's main building, Harry noticed that Hasani knew a lot about the people they were working with.
"I'm a professional gossip." Hasani said with glee when Harry pointed it out.
Mana rolled her eyes. "Justice Shati called him that and he took it as a complement. Though, when Mutaridaan Toma calls him an inner-office snitch the man does mean it as a complement."
Harry laughed at her comment while Hasani puffed up like a peacock. He was going to like it here.
