Journal entry the twenty-seventh

It just occurred to me that I have not made any real predictions with this journal recently. Shame on me then, and I shall now endeavor to catch up. Just don't overdo the firewhiskey Sevvie dear, I have plenty more surprises up my sleeve after all. If I were a gambling man, I would bet the farm that when you are reading this journal you are already in Egypt, most likely near your destination. I will also bet that you have not yet discovered my secret library, since your sense of caution and innate cunning would prompt you to check the journal for any potential clues, knowing full well that I most likely neglected to seed them in this entry. Or, did I?

Well, with that bit of prankish taunting out of the way, if you've made it as far as I suspect then I'm sure that you have felt the powerful magics surrounding your present location. I know that I have stated this before, but it is the folly of the modern world that they believe themselves far more advanced than those before them. Tell me, what modern wizard or wizards could create spells that still burn brightly even after four thousand years after all. As far as I'm concerned, the only institution that could and likely will have that kind of longevity would be Hogwarts itself, mostly because I'm busting my arse making sure of that fact. It's gorgeous, isn't it Sev? When I first stepped foot in that area I was moved to tears. I hope you took Tom along with you, because there's a little side trip I think you'll find interesting. Oh, but where would the fun be if I just told you my dear Sev? Find the place where the hawk can spot the serpent devouring the sun, and follow the serpent to it's lair. See, not that bad a clue, and one I'm sure you'll moan and groan about but have little difficulty with. At least I'm not dredging up old tools like the Mirror now. If you think you had a hard time looking into that Mirror, imagine what I went through. Not only did memories of that moronic Quirrell come flooding back, but needless to say the images I was presented with threatened to shatter what's left of my heart. Bloody useless thing, why it was even stashed in the school is beyond me. Same goes for a lot of artifacts, even the Sorcerer's Stone. Only a truly twisted mind would use a school as his own private vault. Ye gods, I still shudder when I think about all the damage that good ole Dumbles managed to do to my school during his reign.

Speaking of which, I think that the old coot is finally starting to figure out that his plans are starting to be thwarted, by a third party yet unknown to him. I personally don't know why it took so long for him to catch on, especially after Tom and his merry band of rogues changed tracks so rapidly. One of the portraits let me know that, with the absence of Death Eater attacks, the smarmy git is planning to stage Death Eater raids with Order members under the influence of Imperio. I of all people should know that he's a piece of filth, scum not worthy to grace the planet, yet even I am shocked by the depth of his depravity. Of course I cannot let this happen, but to act against Dumbles would show a bit more of my hand than I would have liked. Can't be helped, I suppose. I'm sure I can get Tom to come along on this lovely little adventure, and imagining the shock on the coot's fate when his 'Death Eaters' are being opposed by the real Death Eaters, whom will be trying to save the innocents he would have slaughtered.

Since I don't trust the coot as far as I can throw him, I will be in attendance at the battle as well, as will Sylvain. Of course, neither of us will look like ourselves, I think it's time to shake things up a bit. Most likely you will have been there, Sev, since you are so close to Tom, so I will let you in on the joke. Remember that strange fighter with greenish-silver hair and sharpish teeth? I'm sure most will think him some type of vampire, but that is what I like to call Sylvain's animagus form. Since wizards shift into animals, why can't an animal that shifts to human have that designation after all. He doesn't really like human form too much, but he does like thumbs. I'm not really sure what form I will take but I am inclining towards a blood gift that I haven't really used to near its full potential, and one that my patron finds highly amusing. If I can get a boost from him, I'll likely use it. If not, I'll just take serpent form and scare the crap out of everyone. That's always a fun evening for me after all, the scent of fear is something of a narcotic. Or if I'm not up to shifting at the moment I could always just use the Bard skill and make everyone on the field do the chicken dance or such. We'll see, I suppose. Maybe I'll do it all. Variety is the spice of life, after all.

Ah, now I feel in a pranking mood, but if I am correct you are nowhere near Hogwarts. Perfect. If you are near a muggle TV, turn it on and pick a random channel. If not, I recommend getting to one if you wish to watch. Wait until all the professors and students would be filing in for supper, and when you are ready for some giggles say the word "traitor". This should throw everyone for a loop, since you and the journal are quite far away and would not be logically blamed for this event. That should make all the involved parties extremely paranoid. I'm getting better at this kind of spell, it seems. Maybe I can use it for more than my own twisted delight, and the delight of others whom I choose. Maybe I should use this power for the forces of good, to fight the wicked and set the wrong things right... Nah. It's too ripe for prank possibilities, and I have other ways to accomplish my goals. This is just for laughs, after all.

I can't help but wonder if a spirit has found its way towards you, and if so is it accompanying you on your journeys. That would be... interesting, in so many ways. That would definitely be a factor I can't anticipate in the least, but the die is cast and I must let things lie as they may. I pride myself on being quite the prankster, and let's just say that my patron and I are kindred spirits in a way, not to mention an extremely distant blood relation. Damn, my ancestors were horny little buggers. I digress, if there is a spirit it was chosen by my patron, and all the spirits around him share our love for pranks, then I think I actually pity you somewhat Sev. Once again, knowing my patron's snarky sense of humour, he'd likely send the worst of the bunch. I am both highly amused and sympathetic regarding your potential plight, my dear Sev. Hopefully the damage won't be too bad considering that the spirit would be incorporeal. Still, good luck my dear Sev, I think that you will likely need it.

I know that the Egyptian heat is likely quite stifling, despite cooling charms which I think you will find do not work as well as they did farther north. If you wish to heed the advice of a dead man, I advise you to tread carefully. Even though you and whatever companions you brought have protection, there are forces still at work around you. Ancient magics that over time have developed something of a life of their own can be quite tempting, but it would easily consume you. Not only that, but by all means if you get even a papercut make sure that all blood is staunched.. a drop of magical blood in certain places would activate things perhaps best left in the past. Unless of course you wish to be pursued by various types of undead or minor gods through the desert. I somehow don't think that you would find such a thing enjoyable. I certainly didn't, at least. See, I was scouting out locations for the library when I had a coughing spell, and a few flecks of blood hit a stone altar, which resulted in me playing silly buggers with a few dozen crocodile-headed pygmy zombies. Fortunately they weren't too bright and fell down an air shaft, but I don't think the risk is worth it.

Most importantly Severus, I want you to enjoy yourself. So help me, if you spend all your time brooding and wasting your life moping about I'll find some way to exact revenge. You are alive, Sev, and free from all masters. Just keep telling yourselves that things are not what they seem, and hopefully you will soon bear witness to the prank to end all pranks, one that would turn the wizarding world upside down even more than I already have. What is this prank you may wonder... you'll just have to wait and see, Sev. I see you shiver with antici...pantion. Hah, couldn't resist the RHPS, did anyone ever tell you that you would make a marvelous Frankie? I digress, it grows late and I am ever the busy man.

Bah, it seems that for every piece of information he gives us access to it only raises many more questions. For example, if the crow is actually the spirit Harry refers to, which I believe it to be, why the hell does it have a corporeal form. As skilled as Harry was with such schemes, I can't help but think that near the end another force began to intervene without his knowledge. This is the third time that Harry's predictions haven't quite gone to plan, the second being our adventures in the Necropolis.

When dawn broke, Tom once more held the pendant to the window and once more we were rewarded with a very detailed three-dimensional map. Unlike previous times, the map was not of Egypt itself but the surrounding necropolis. The glowing point led us to a tract of land on the west banks of the Nile, not to far from the tombs of long-dead pharaohs. Since neither of us can be called headstrong Gryffindors, we both sat down and discussed our approach. It was a reasonable enough deduction that we would be heading towards an area that has yet been unmolested by tourists, since Harry would never leave something so precious out in the open, and the ancient magics surrounding us have served as something of a warning. We would have been foolish to rush off into a potentially dangerous situation, protection or no, so rather than head directly to the location indicated by the pendant we decided to spend some time figuring out the side trip presented to us by Harry, riddle and all.

We emerged from our hotel room, indeed sweltering in the mid-day heat despite cooling charms, and took advantage of the wealth of tourist information available to us. After scouting several possible locations, only one really stood out as a potential starting point within the Temple of Karnak, the Precinct of Amun-Re. Since most information provided to your standard tourist is laid out in a very user-friendly manner, we found that Amun-Re was, at times at least, a sun god and commonly represented as bearing a hawk head. The only reference we could find of a serpent was the god Apep, who continuously tried to devour the sun out of jealousy and spite. Needless to say, Tom was not very happy at this revelation, seeing as serpents have been unjustly reviled through most of history. From the rest of the clue, we deduced that if we were to find a high point within the Precinct of Amun-Re and look westwards towards the setting sun, there would be some type of visible clue that would lead us on this side trip.

We spent some time trying to figure out how we could gain access to the Temple in that way, considering the large number of tourists at all hours and the extensive wards blocking magic. We were just about to move on to our other quest when our dear feathered friend solved our problem for us by perching on Hatshepsut's obelisk and cawing like a fiend. It then rejoined us and began to lead us westward, out of the temple complex towards a rather unremarkable looking stretch of land. That answered one of my questions at least, the only way the bird could have known what we were looking for was to have read it over my shoulder. Giving each other an almost out of character shrug, Tom and I slipped away from the crowds and followed the feathered menace. It came to rest not to far from the Temple, far enough that we would be out of sight yet close enough that we could still make out much of the layout, and perched on a strange looking piece of rock. Dusting it off, we revealed some rather worn engravings and hieroglyphs, yet there was one image that seemed untouched by time, a carving of a large serpent, likely Apep himself. We were somewhat at a loss, and once again it was the bird that prodded us into action, namely by dive-bombing Tom until he began hissing in frustration. I'm not sure I wish to know the parseltongue profanity shared that day, but after a few rounds the surface of the stone began to shimmer, and shifted to reveal an underground passageway, accessible by a narrow staircase. The bird immediately plunged into the darkness, and since we weren't about to be showed up by a bird we descended into the darkness ourselves, relieved when lumos charms seemed to work. We followed the passageway, which bore many reliefs and paintings on the wall in remarkable, if not perfect condition, depicting the serpent Apep succeeding in his goal. Tom grew more animated as we progressed, fascinated by the images of serpent worship and eagerly anticipating what lay ahead. I will confess it was rather rewarding to see that gleam in his eyes once more, for just that moment he was the man I remembered from my youth.

We came to a halt at a seeming dead end, our path blocked by a large stone with an immense serpent carving. Remembering the crow's lesson, and perhaps thinking back to the Chamber, Tom began to speak to the carving. If stone could look surprised, that carving came as close as possible before retracting into the wall, revealing a large, underground chamber illuminated by various natural minerals. Tiny trickles of water ran down the stone walls, to add to the lake covering much of the floor, indicating that if we weren't in fact under the Nile itself we were close enough to make no difference. A stone altar graced the far wall, guarded by an immense golden statue of what appeared to be a basilisk. Before we could fully take in our surroundings, we were interrupted by a strange rumbling, splashing sound which unnerved us, to say the least. The only reason we likely did not retreat was our faith in Harry's directions. If he did not want to see harm befoul us, I doubt that he would lead us into a situation with unnecessary amounts of peril. Shortly after the noise started, we were graced with the cause of the uproar. Easily larger than any basilisk Tom had ever witnessed, a truly immense basilisk slithered into the room, it's scales reflecting the light with rainbow colours. It began to speak, but sensing that I was unable to follow it did a snake equivalent of rolling it's eyes and stared at the pocket that the pendant was currently residing. With hands only trembling slightly, I put on the pendant and was surprised when I could suddenly understand, and presumably speak parseltongue.

Satisfied with my action, it resumed its dialogue. Needless to say, the basilisk was even more surprised at visitors then we were to encounter such a creature. It then proceeded to explain that this was the long-lost Temple of Apep, where only those humans given the gift of parseltongue through divine means were allowed to worship. The basilisk, which indeed went under the name of Apep despite being female, was surprised once more to realize that Tom carried basilisk blood, seeing as the only basilisk line to breed with other species was the Naga-im, and she thought that the human line had ended. I explained some of Salazar's story, but she cut me off to explain that she had met the individual of which I speak less than a year ago, and that they had quite a lovely conversation. Apparently when Harry was in town he decided to pay a visit to the resident serpent god, who as it is revealed is actually his aunt, the sister of Salazar's father. Tom was the primary speaker during the conversation, anxious to learn more about his family, but we were interrupted by a cawing nuisance. When the crow made its entrance, Apep actually drew back somewhat, a wary look in her eyes, and after a moment of thought ordered us to go. She gave us pieces of crystal from the cave, which would serve as a portkey should we ever wish to visit her again, and she sent us on our way. I know that the comparison is rather odd, but I found myself reminded heavily of a serpent version of Molly Weasley.

As we made our way back to the hotel room, Tom was quite incensed that the crow would be so bold as to interrupt the family reunion and was about to hex the bird into the next country when the bird suddenly looked over towards the stone. We turned our attention that way and a cold shudder came over us when we saw a strange fog engulf the area, dissolving any organic material that happened to rest near the now closed stone. If we had delayed a moment longer, we likely would have been caught in that mysterious cloud. Tom immediately put away his wand and stared at the crow with reverence. The crow at least was not fazed by the near hexing and decided to ride home on my head, still clutching the statue this entire time. I for one was quite anxious to return to the room and attempt to get a good night's rest, to the point where I didn't even bother to remove the noisy, clever bird from my head despite the stares and occasional evil eye sent my way.

By the time we arrived at our room, it was decided that we could use something to lift our spirits so we decided to investigate this remote-controlled prank. Making ourselves comfortable on the beds, with the crow sitting on the nightstand eating something that I hope is some kind of dried fruit, we turned on the television and, journal in hand, uttered the word traitor. It was indeed dinnertime in the Great Hall, with everyone in attendance when suddenly all hell broke loose. First, in an attempt to make a point about class unity each and every student's robe was suddenly tie-dyed in vivid shades of red, blue, green, black, silver, and gold. That was met with surprise, but after the initial shock most of the students seemed quite pleased with the results. At the head table, however, the prank was not being met with such good spirits. Each and every professor present experienced a change in dress as well, except they were suddenly wearing giant fuzzy suits of various cartoon animals. After a moment of confusion, another aspect of the prank revealed itself when the professors suddenly started acting like the creatures they were dressed as. Minerva, dressed as a black and white cat, was being chased by a prancing Flitwick, dressed as a skunk, with many cartoon hearts coming from his head. Hagrid was perhaps the only one taking the change in good spirits, lounging about dressed as a giant rooster, but Madam Hooch and Professor Sprout were in a bit more distress, being dressed as an odd looking coyote and a blue and purple bird with long legs, respectfully, due to the frequent explosions and high falls of random cliffs that would appear in the floor, only to have them fall through the ceiling instead. It was quite amusing to see our colleagues subjected to a dose of humility, after all it is good to have a reminder that there are forces out there beyond your control. I am reminded of that myself by the bloody bird, so such pranks would not suit me well anymore.

After laughing ourselves to sleep, we awoke just before dawn feeling refreshed and almost prepared for the journey laid out before us. Packing a few emergency essentials, including our new portkeys, we set out to the west bank and found the spot shown to us on the map. With baited breath, we watched as the first light of dawn struck the pendant once more, showing us an even more detailed map with not just one glowing point but a line leading into the cliffsides. Cross-checking the ancient map with our own, we laid our course and found our way to the spot indicated, dodging tourists the whole way. Investigating the sheer cliff wall that seemed to be our destination, I found a raised, oddly smooth stone that did not seem to belong and before I was aware of it I had pressed the stone in, triggering a chain reaction that revealed a narrow, yet passable tunnel. We ventured in, lighting our wands once more as we followed the passageway further into the cliff. The hallway was surprisingly unadorned, but well-made and free of debris. After a brief hike, which we were taking at a leisurely place while frequently checking for traps, we were pleasantly surprised to arrive in a large chamber. The only exits from the room were the way we came and a large door, guarded by life-sized twin statues of the jackal-headed Anubis that still retained their original paint as if they had just been commissioned. The door itself was decorated with a large bas-relief of an embalming scene with the god standing over the body.

As Tom and I approached the door, I could feel the bird on my shoulder tense somewhat, and seeing as I have never seen the bloody thing ruffled by any situation this unnerved me, yet I continued to press forward. As we got near the door, I took the necklace out and, after a flash of inspiration, held it before the door. The emerald began to glow with an eerie light that mocked the Avada spell, and the twin statues suddenly moved, kneeling down on one knee with heads slightly bowed. The door began to slide open, and before it was finished we heard a terrible growling sound emerge from the room beyond. Our wands came out, only to be snatched by the bloody bird that began scolding us severely. It then perched on one of the statues and began cawing at its highest, shrillest volume, competing with the growling. After a few minutes of this racket, the source of the growling was revealed when a large, man-sized creature entered the room. Even though it possessed the head of a crocodile, body of a lion, and hindquarters of a hippopotamus, it still reminded me of a rabid watchdog, and it was eyeing the bird like it was a tasty treat. In a remarkable show of either bravery or sheer bloody-mindedness, the bird puffed up to twice its size and dive-bombed the strange guardian, ripping out chunks of flesh and fur with the most terrible sounds coming from it. After a few rounds, we stood there forgotten while a large crow somehow managed to take a horrific creature from myth, which I learned later was named Ammut, and made it cower in the corner like a scared puppy. Once the guardian was taken care of, I swear that bloody bird bowed like a stage actor.

We very carefully walked past the scared guardian through the doors, and were rewarded with a breathtaking sight. Placed in this ancient chamber were modern-style bookcases, and in many ways it resembled the library of Hogwarts. We found a letter attached to the wall from Harry, explaining how he used portkeys to travel back and forth between this library and the school, and that we could make our own if desired. We stood there, likely grinning like fools with our find, when once again our reverie was disturbed by the crow. By this point we had learned that the bird only acted like such when our attention was needed, so rather than scowling or dismissing it we immediately gave it our full focus. It was standing on a strange stone that was protruding from the wall, and after giving us a look that could only be described as wicked, it placed the stone statue that it had carried all the way from Alexandria on the stone and hopped off. As soon as the crow had removed itself, a section of the wall began to shimmer and as we watched a new passage was revealed, this one heading deep into the earth. This would be the second omission, the first being the Founder's resting places of course.

Our curiousity piqued by now, and reassured by the presence of the bird that seemed to know what it was doing, don't ask me how, we followed it down. We came out in a strange antechamber, and after scanning the room we found another entranceway with a very powerful yet transparent ward placed over it. Gazing into the sparingly illuminated room, we detected nothing for the longest time until we heard a ghostly scream of pure agony. Raising the ambient lighting, we scanned for the source of the noise and what we saw left us standing immobile and speechless for a long while. There, partially concealed in shadow, was the unmistakable figure of none other than Albus Dumbledore bound to an altar. His body could only be described as broken, and he appeared to be awake despite the damage. As we watched, an unearthly glow surrounded his body as his soul was ripped from his corporeal form. The ghostly Albus was the source of the earlier scream as strange green beams of light shot through him, and the torture continued for a bit until his soul was returned to his body. I don't think we could have moved even if we had tried, yet we jumped in unison as the crow once more began to caw, halting the slight ambient noise coming from the chamber.

Suddenly it felt like ice water was running down my back, and the ambient temperature in the room dropped. The crow was the only one holding its ground, staring into the room as if expecting acknowledgment. Suddenly a figure came into view, absolutely terrifying and majestic at the same time. He glowed with an eerie, otherworldly light, and stood easily over seven feet tall. His skin was bronzed, and he wore a garment that could have been the model for many of the tomb paintings. Of course, the most striking feature woud be his face, vaguely humanoid yet showing the characteristics of a jackal, with a cold, alien intelligence burning in his emerald eyes. His arms and feet looked more like paws than human appendages, yet blended into his body with natural ease. He gazed first at us with a neutral expression, then when it rested on the crow a grin that contained far too many pointed teeth for my taste graced his face. The crow, which was perched on my shoulder, gazed down at me and stared the being directly in the face. This seemed to amuse the glowing being, and he gazed at Tom first with new interest before gazing at me with a look that could only be described as smug. He then pointed to the much tortured figure of Dumbledore and raised an eyebrow. Without any hesitation we shook our heads in a negatory fashion and instinctively bowed before him. He laughed, a chilling sound that struck some primal chord within us, and with a wicked grin pointed towards the door from whence we came. Not needing any further prompting, we backed out of the room as quickly as humanly possible. After a moment apparently chatting with the strange glowing being, the crow joined us, immediately picking up the statue and allowing the wall to reappear, sealing the entrance flawlessly. We were quite shaken by this turn of events, and after making a portkey for each of us we sped out of there. As we passed by the guard creature the crow took it upon itself to get one last blow in, resulting in some amusing whimpers.

We returned to our modest hotel room, making preparations to head back to Hogwarts and burning through a few bottles of palm wine that we purchased at a local vendor. As I sit here, penning this adventure, the last few words of Harry's entry seem to come back to haunt me. Indeed, I am alive, and absolutely free. We should both take this advice, after all we witnessed first hand a fate far more horrible than anything we could dream. I don't think that we shall reveal Dumbledore's fate to the public at large, but we will inform those who are in our closest circle, the ones that we can trust and have a head on their shoulders. Those screams, as I realized from whom they emanated I did not feel even once ounce of desire to rescue him from that fate. Indeed, I felt a strange sense of satisfaction at this twist of events, once I set aside the mind numbing presence of the being that I can only presume to be Harry's elusive patron. Throughout Harry's narrative, he talks about his patron almost as a buddy or equal, and now that I have met him after a fashion I am in awe of the brass ones that Harry possessed. The power he radiated even eclipsed that of Apep, and she was awe-inspiring.

I find myself too weary to continue with this, and will join Tom and the crow, which are both passed out drunk on the bed, shortly. The Library notwithstanding, I have far too much to think about at the moment, and need to clear my head somewhat. I think we'll extend our vacation, relax and assimilate these events before returning to Hogwarts. I think that getting out of Egypt is mandatory, it's too bloody hot here for one used to the more temperate Scottish climes. We'll see in the morning.