Crimson Hare's mobile exploratory camp, Arab Republic of Egypt
September 18th, 2001
Tonks whistled appreciatively, taking in the opulent surroundings following the side along apparition to the duo's 'African base of operations', as she'd called it. They'd taken a budget airliner from Glasgow to Athens, with a short layover at Charles de Gaulle. All three had been heavily disguised throughout the journey, though Tonks had no reason to other than her regular appearance drawing attention. Upon arriving in Greece, they'd flown via broom directly south, until finally entering into Egypt proper, where they could freely apparate without triggering the border sensors.
Hermione had done the honors of traveling with the perpetually randy Auror, mostly to shield Harry from her thinly veiled advances. Not that she was completely immune herself. The woman had made it abundantly clear that Hermione would 'do just fine' on more than one occasion, and even worse, Harry had let slip that he would not be opposed to seeing such a scenario play out.
She sincerely hoped he'd said so in jest.
"Nice digs." Tonks finally said, offering up a rare compliment. Seems she was a fan of the old world, as a lot of the furnishings here went beyond the term antique and straight into the category of 'priceless'.
It was such a stark contrast to Harry's residence in Switzerland, Hermione concluded, the Auror's words triggering the thought process. It surprised her that she hadn't noticed before, but then again, the last time she'd been here was right after that horrific night.
Tonks's next words pulled her from her pensive state.
"And here I thought you two were slumming it muggle style; as you did in southern France."
Both Harry and Hermione turned, eyes boring into her.
"How do you know we were in Théoule-sur-Mer?" He wondered out loud when the younger woman's eyes widened in realization.
"The little girl with the dog!"
Tonks grinned from ear to ear. "Bingo. I usually don't reveal my trade secrets, but you two seem like good kids. And besides, I enjoy the praise. It makes my ego purr." She said the last word part far too erotically, making the Inspector blush.
Tonks cackled like a witch five times her age.
oOo
Harry suppressed a chuckle at the older witch's antics. But as enjoyable as it was watching Tonks rile up his l'autre moitié, they had a pyramid to find. With a hand gesture and in Tonks's case, a shove, Harry ushered both women outside, as being trapped inside a tent whilst it folded itself up was generally considered an unpleasant experience.
With only a few swish's and a flick, the mass of canvas and fabric folded in on itself, until finally a compact, twine bound bundle sat amongst the flattened reeds. With a low grunt, he lifted it back into the Roadster. Only then did he realize that the car was meant to hold two occupants.
"Maudit!" He swore.
Five minutes later, the car soared through the sky, with a goggle-wearing brunette behind the wheel. Opposite her was Tonks, and in her lap, there sat a disgruntled looking bunny, which, despite the indignity of it all seemed to thoroughly enjoy the ear scratching it was receiving.
Maidum was their destination, where, hopefully, they'd be able to narrow down their grid roving temple issue to a more manageable number.
Getting around Egypt in a flying car was both easy, and at the same time, trying. While Hermione knew enough Arabic to get by, at least when it came to reading street signs, from a kilometer up in the air, the mud-brick communities all looked nearly identical, and the signs were invisible to the naked eye.
One by one, the towns passed underneath, sand-colored specs on an otherwise green strip of land. She kept close to the outer fringe, where the desert met the fields, on the lookout for a distinctly shaped remnant of history.
Hogwarts had only limited knowledge of Pyramids, and only when referencing curse breaking. As a result, before returning to their camp, the trio had visited the Glasgow Public Library for some much-needed information gathering.
And while magic often trumped the mundane, it could not hold a candle to what the Muggles had coined; the web. The Hare was not ashamed to admit that he'd utilized the internet more in his recent heists. The easy of which knowledge could be gleaned was staggering.
Following a visit to the public library Hermione had a very clear image of what the Maidum Pyramid looked like in her mind, along with geographic reference points that allowed them to find the lesser-known pyramid even from their current vantage point, some one thousand meters in the air.
"There!" Tonks eventually shouted, making Harry flinch. He'd been nearly asleep from the constant droning and her warm lap. Hermione glanced in the rough direction of her stretched out arm, and sure enough, there, in the distance, stood an ancient monument, its geometric lines instantly at odds with the otherwise broken landscape that surrounded it.
With a billowing cloud of sand and dust, the gleaming burgundy roadster's white-walled tires connected with the hard, bone dry ground; the unpleasant sound of pebbles pinging off the undercarriage causing the fluffy, white ears of the Hare to press flat against its back in displeasure.
"Pardon," the driver muttered, equally unimpressed with the quality of the road they suddenly found themselves on. Only Tonks laughed, showing genuine pleasure at both their misery and the sheer novelty of traveling in a flying car.
The site, mercifully, was deserted. While there technically was no tourism offseason in Egypt, the oppressive heat, even in late September, was enough to deter all but the most zealous foreigners. Hermione pulled the car up to the base of the large stone monolith, shrouding the German classic in its shadow.
The two women stepped out, donning sunglasses, and the pink-haired one placed the Rabbit on the ground.
"Let's split up and have a look around, shall we?" Hermione suggested after Harry changed back.
Unfortunately, Lady Sly didn't go into detail regarding how to find the cache, meaning they could be here for some time simply looking for a hidden entrance. The good news is that the muggles likely hadn't found it yet either, as such a find would have been noted during their web-based search back in Glasgow.
Harry set off in one direction, leaving the two girls to round the corner, headed the other way. His eyes scanned the myriad of stone fragments that made up the rubble at the pyramid's base, looking for any obvious entrances apart from the one they'd spotted from the air. That one they'd look over upon completing the initial perimeter sweep.
He didn't expect to find much, but never had a chance to determine this as a Jack Rabbit Patronus appeared from the solid stone wall to his right. Harry scarcely had the chance to ponder why it had to be his Animagus form of all things because the panicked voice behind it spurred him into action.
"Potter, get over here. Hermione's down!"
He swore, wasting not a second. A shrunken broom, meant to explore the steeper parts of the Pyramid, later on, was pulled from his bag. He quickly mounted it and shot up into the air, deciding to go over, instead of around the pyramid.
Upon clearing the far side, he spotted Tonks's maroon Auror robes against the light-colored background with ease.
"What happened?" Harry shouted, jumping off after finding Tonks crouched over the still form of his Inspector.
"She triggered a ward," the Auror explained with a frown, motioning towards a recently overturned granite block with her head, hands too busy to point at the previously hidden entrance and the freshly uncovered set of stairs that presumably lead inside.
"Will she be all right?" Harry pulled his wand, running through the precious few medical diagnostic charms known to him.
"Should be," Tonks muttered, only just determining that she was merely knocked out and nothing more. "It looks like a defensive ward, one meant to deter, rather than kill."
Harry confirmed her hypothesis a moment later, probing the ancient defensive magic around the entrance using the spells Bill had taught him.
"How did you locate this?" He wondered, marginally relieved that no real harm had befallen Hermione.
"That-" Tonks pointed at an intricately carved symbol in the block they'd disturbed. "-means knowledge in Egyptian."
The engraving was faded, but still clearly identifiable. Harry briefly wondered how such a thing hadn't already been spotted by the meticulous muggle. Perhaps it was visible to magicals only? Sure enough, there was a weak muggle repelling charm imbued into the rune.
"Good work." He praised her, kneeling to shift the unconscious girl into a more comfortable position, a conjured pillow supporting her head.
Tonks nodded, lips pressed into a thin line.
"Sorry, Harry. I should have stopped her before she acted. After all, that's what I'm here for."
His hand suddenly found itself on her shoulder.
"Don't. If anyone should be apologizing, it is I. Your expertise in this field has clearly been overlooked by us. I'm beginning to realize your value in this endeavor, and am ashamed to say that I initially underestimated your usefulness when Dumbledore requested you join us."
She blinked, caught flat-footed by his rare compliment, but recovered with a shrug and a small smirk. After all, praise was praise.
"Hey, don't sweat it. We'll wake little miss bookworm over here, and just take it nice and slow from here on out, all right?"
"Oui," he agreed, more than ready to reprimand Hermione for her recklessness.
"Enervate." He cast.
The curly-haired brunette's eyes fluttered open, her features adopting an expression of confusion.
"What happened?" she croaked, groggy from her unintentional power nap.
"That's what we'd like to know," Harry said, attempting to keep the frustration from his tone. Together, they helped her up into a sitting position. "What were you thinking, simply walking into a warded entrance like that?"
Hermione's brows scrunched together further, both at the question and the underlying hint of irritation she was hearing.
"What are you talking about, Harry?"
Tonks glanced up at him, and he briefly locked eyes with her.
"Memory loss?" He asked, ignoring the confused girl momentarily.
"Perhaps," the Auror muttered, now casting a few more diagnostic spells. "Maybe she bumped her head on the way down?"
"Would someone clue me in as to what's going on?" She growled, frustration quickly replacing her confusion.
Tonks obliged.
"You were incapacitated by a ward. What's the last thing you remember?"
"Err, stepping out of the car, I think." She suddenly looked worried. "How long ago was that?"
"Perhaps fifteen minutes." Harry supplied, equally perturbed at the gap. He knew what it was like to not remember. The experience could be quite unsettling.
Tonks, meanwhile, pulled a slim chocolate bar from her bag and offered her a few large squares.
"Dark Chocolate. It's supposed to help with memory recall." She shrugged. "Can't hurt."
She accepted the confection and broke a corner off with her slightly oversized front teeth. It was bitter but rich in flavor. Good quality, she noted, staring ahead blankly and chewing.
"I can't find anything wrong, but let's take ten before we continue, shall we? No point in pressing ahead if we're distracted, yeah?"
They both nodded, and Harry busied himself by setting up a sunshade around them and the ominous entrance, which they steered clear of at the moment. For added measure, he warded their temporary base camp from any prying eyes. They should be safe, at least from outside threats, he thought, peering into the pitch-black hole next to them.
oOo
Maidum Pyramid Ruins, Arab Republic of Egypt
September 18th, 2001
Hermione finished the confection and gulped down half a canteen of water, then deemed herself fit to continue. Tonks, in the meantime, had jacked the ward, creating an opening in the invisible woven net of magic that could be passed through without ill effect.
"Why not just dismantle the ward?" Hermione had asked, stepping down the cramped shaft behind the older woman. Harry brought up the rear, shining his flashlight mostly downward, lest they trip over their own feet.
"Simple. That ward may be tied into others." She explained, her muggle electrical torch casting a concentrated beam of light down the pitch-black stairs, which seemed to continue endlessly. "Removing one could arm other, currently inactive wards, or trigger a self-destruct mechanism, perhaps with an intentional delay built in to bury whoever finds the repository."
"Of course, you can't jack all wards," she continued, before slipping on one of the unevenly carved risers and hitting her tailbone of the unyielding stone. "Bugger me!"
She groaned in discomfort but shot right back up before continuing. "But the outer ones, furthest away from the ward stones, are more susceptible to being…" she paused momentarily, searching for the right word. "-massaged. Yeah, that's a good way to put it. They're easier to manipulate without disrupting the matrix."
For several minutes nothing but the sounds of their feet tapping against the ancient stone could be heard. Tonks would stop frequently to sweep the space immediately ahead, sniffing for wards. So far, there had been no other surprises.
The cramped, narrow passageway continued unabated, well beyond the base of the pyramid, and deep into the limestone bedrock that made up its foundation. The temperature was dropping, already noticeably cooler, almost uncomfortably so.
Soon though, their steady, if slow forward progress came to a crawl, then stopped. From her position at the head of the small group, Tonks whistled in appreciation. Hermione, who was crouching, followed her and sighed in relief at the ability to stand fully upright once again. Only with her out of the way did Harry finally see what they'd discovered.
It was a spacious cavern, perhaps seven or eight meters tall, and twenty wide. Tonks's flashlight wasn't powerful enough to reach the other side, but it had to stretch at least sixty meters from what they were, or in this case, weren't, seeing.
A truly massive amount of material had been excavated from this place, with intricate pillars of solid stone chiseled and left to support the ceiling at set intervals. The walls on either side were equally sculpted, forming crude shelves, many of them filled with rolls of papyrus, brittle and delicate with age.
Yet despite this truly monumental discovery, the trio did not move from the cramped mouth of the tunnel. Instead, they probed their immediate surroundings for invisible defenses, erring on the side of caution following the incident on the surface.
"No detectable wards," Tonks lowered her wand, frowning. "This seems too easy."
She had a point, Harry thought. They'd located this secret chamber in almost no time at all, and apart from a token defensive ward at the entrance, this place was virtually unprotected. Was it all just an elaborate trap, like she mentioned earlier? His hand unconsciously brushed the emergency portkey in his breast pocket, ready to whisk them away to safety at a moment's notice.
oOo
Nile River shore, Arab Republic of Egypt
September 18th, 2001
"We just missed them," Hassan stated, surveying the unremarkable spit of land. Fahid had convinced his superiors into collaborating with the Egyptian curse-breaking department and requested they set up portkey and apparition monitoring nets over a large portion of the Nile delta, all the way up to Aswan High Dam.
The presence of the English Dark Lord had spooked the Egyptian minister sufficiently to give the investigation, and by extension, Fahid, more operational freedom, and resources than he'd ever wielded previously. Weaving the net had taken dozens of Wizards more than three days but would allow them to pinpoint the two most common forms of near-instantaneous magical travel.
Dozens of false leads had been observed, almost all of them by local wizards and witches using back alleys in small towns and villages. Few traveled internationally by portkey outside of the regulated hubs, so the schema was tweaked to pick up on cross border apparitions only.
Less than fifteen minutes ago, two signatures with multiple persons tripped the net, incoming only.
They'd made camp here, and, upon returning, swiftly broke down their camp and departed, means unknown. But with Magic that was to be expected.
He glanced around, getting a better idea of how the site was used. It had been a large tent based on the footprint it had left on the flattened reeds, but also tucked under the canopy of a palm grove.
Curious; built-in expansion charms were standard on nearly all tents, and one of this size would be limited to open and flat areas.
The four deep grooves in the sand to the one side of the rectangle suggested a partial reason for the size at least. A car had sat here, and taken off vertically. More than likely it had been sheltered by the tent, as warding a car independently from the rest of the site created twice the amount of work.
The wards were applied to the fabric most likely, or perhaps a set of ward stones placed in the immediate perimeter to anchor the complexly woven magic. There might be physical imprints from the stones or residual magic that could help them come up with a counter should they make camp again in the future.
Hassan was busy doing just that so Fahid left him to his work, trusting it to be done correctly and thoroughly. They'd been working together for the last three years, and the man was competent, though not overly social. That suited him just fine. Fahid himself had few close friends, and what little spare time he had was spent with family.
A picture had formed in the hours after the museum incident. The Hare had been responsible for the explosion in the desert, using it as a distraction to rescue a captive, the French Inspector, who'd been taken from in front of the Paris Europol headquarters a week prior.
Whether she was an unwilling hostage or an active participant in the hostilities between the two groups, he knew not. But she'd been here, he concluded, studying the footprints in the loamy earth.
As had another female, he noted with interest. There were three distinct sets of footprints. Curious.
But he couldn't linger. Not when time was of the essence.
With a crack, Fahid disappeared, returning to his office to place a call. But first, he needed information.
"Ali, I find me the name of the nearest air force radar to Masrah."
The younger man, a graduate from the University of Cairo that Fahid had hand-picked, was used to shifting gears on a whim and tackled the latest task with favor.
"Accessing the National Defense database," he narrated, pushing a pair of black-rimmed glasses up his nose. "Pulling up a list of ground installations...got it!" He stated with pride, looking up at the older man, who had to suppress a rare smirk at the level of enthusiasm. Quickly jotting down the name of the facility, he handed the folded piece of paper to his superior.
Fahid nodded in gratitude, before turning and stepping back into his office, the door shutting with a soft click.
The patchy wireless network in Egypt was a constant source of grumbling, forcing him to come here often and use the landline. In this case, the call went to his Egyptian muggle counterparts in ELINT, or electronic intelligence.
Fahid would put his previous theory regarding the tracking of the flying car using muggle radar to the test. Egypt, due to its lengthy and often tenuous relationships with its neighbors, had a large and well-equipped air force compared to its neighbors, the Zionists notwithstanding.
The Nile river valley was especially well protected from the desert beyond, with many fixed and mobile stations dotting the peaks around the valley. He hoped that the station scribbled onto the piece of paper had picked up the vehicle.
He waited as the phone rang, the dull beeping reaching his ear. It was incredibly frustrating, communicating in such an antiquated fashion. Perhaps he could use this opportunity to petition the director for a proper command center? It would allow him to delegate matters such as this and focus on what was happening in the field with greater efficiency.
The call finally connected. "Yes, Mohammed? It's Fahid. Can you reach out to our liaison with the Air force and request access to the radar facility at..." he glanced at the neat scrawl, "Al Minya? As soon as possible, my friend. Thank you."
He replaced the receiver and turned to face a near floor to ceiling map hanging from the mint green wall of his office.
Running a rough palm across his equally rough stubble, he located their newest site with relative ease. A red pin pushed through the heavily pockmarked paper, each previously made hole representing a location of significance in investigations past.
What was the next step? The Hare had been at this site for at least three days, plotting his next move. Where was he headed? Why remain in Egypt for so long? Surely this must be irregular behavior for a thief.
Fahid sighed again, willing his frustration away. It wasn't conducive to furthering this investigation. Several more minutes passed while he was lost in thought, staring at that blasted map. How many days of his life had he squandered doing just that?
His wife was a patient woman, but he could sometimes see the frustration within her. She never spoke up, though she had more than earned the right to do so.
It was nearing three in the afternoon. Would he be home in time to break bread with her and the children?
Not a second later, the shrill ring of the phone ripped him from his thoughts.
"Yes?" A pause. "Understood. A thousand thanks, my friend."
With a crack, he vacated the office, returning to the abandoned camp.
Hassan and Assah had been productive indeed. Residual transfiguration magic saturated the sand in the center of the depressed foliage. The spell was a well-known one to them and revealed what the magic had created, before returning to its original state.
Fahid immediately scrutinized the construct, the previous order on the tip of his tongue but unuttered. He was staring at yet another map, almost identical to his own, though the grids were unfamiliar to him.
Four stood apart. Areas of interest perhaps? Considering the scale, each was vast in area. Too large to shadow effectively.
"Preserve this map," he ordered after another thirty seconds. They would have to decipher it later. Hassan nodded, mumbling a spell that splashed over the fine details, setting them in place. A two by two-meter section of the river bank separated neatly at the edge, shrinking, before finding its way into a plastic tote.
"Assah, with me." He held out his arm, which she took without hesitation. A moment later, all three were gone.
oOo
Al Minya Radar Installation, Arab Republic of Egypt
September 18th, 2001
The radar installation and its commander were like any typical military base. Rigid and unyielding. They were made to wait for a full ten minutes in the sweltering heat, despite the earlier call granting them immediate and unfettered access to the logs within the base.
The perimeter was a ten-foot chain-link fence garnished with barbed wire, and a gate manned by armed sentries in desert khaki uniforms, holding Russian made rifles. A large, whitewashed sign boldly stated the name of the facility as 'Al Minya AW Radar Facility.' in Arabic.
Inside, the main dish was a curved lattice of delicate metal rods that spun about lazily, completing one rotation approximately every three seconds.
Concrete shelters dug into the rock provided shelter for vehicles, while portable buildings dotted the site almost haphazardly.
If the heat was affecting them, they didn't let it show. It must have made the guards suspicious, how effortlessly these visitors were enduring the unrelenting sun beating down on everything.
Eventually, they were shown to one of the backup stations, judging, where one of the techs was ordered to assist them.
Fahid and Assah, through some guidance by the technician, poured over the data, accessing the last six hours of telemetry stored in the bulky hard drives in the adjacent server room. Overlaying a map of the sector, including their site, he noted a blip immediately over top of the abandoned campsite, before moving north at two-hundred kilometers an hour.
Fast forwarding, they tracked the blip as it traveled for the next hour, compressed to just two minutes of real-time. It was incredibly fortuitous that it hadn't activated its aversion charms.
The contact eventually dropped off the screen, presumably descending underneath the installation's effective radar horizon.
"What action was taken regarding this unknown target?" He asked the installation's commander, who'd been observing their work.
The man shrugged. "We vectored in two Mig 21's en route from Hurghada to Beni Sueif but lost the target before they were able to close within visual range. They circled twice and reported no aircraft in the vicinity."
The man leaned back and pulled a cigarette from his fatigue's breast pocket, lighting it with a cheap lighter.
"We followed up with a Hip from El Minya, again with nothing found."
The Hip, known as the MI-8, was a soviet cargo helicopter, with little in the way of sensors. It did not surprise Fahid that nothing was found when transport personnel were delegated to performing reconnaissance missions using nothing more than their eyes.
Perhaps that was for the best, as he didn't wish to have to call in the obliviators on this man, or the pilots in question.
He dismissed the commander with a salute, who returned the gesture, only too happy to be dismissed. Fahid didn't waste time, turning back to the map and plotting the unidentified contacts' last known heading on a map. A greasy pencil line cut across the paper. Upon that line, only one name stood out.
The pyramid at Maidum.
oOo
Some five hours after Tonks' poor choice of words, Harry was ready to curse their tagalong Auror for having uttered those words. While they'd found the chamber easily enough, sifting through the countless amount of documents it contained was proving to be a task of staggering proportion, hampered further by their advanced state of decay. There were preservation charms, yes; but their application would have been most effective three millennia ago when these were last utilized.
One spell, a restoration specific variant of the ubiquitous 'Reparo' charm, showed promise. Tonks demonstrated how to properly cast the magic for maximum durability, but the scrolls still had to be handled with the utmost care. Quite often the ink used was faded to the point of near nonexistence, making the already difficult translation even harder.
Realizing the scope of the task and that they could be here for some time, Harry apparated to the car and threw a canvas cover over it, lest it be blasted by the harsh desert winds and sand.
He also removed any trace of theirs from the exterior of the pyramid, going so far as to replace the capstone that had hid the tunnel, and placing a low powered glamour on the stone to hide the mark Tonks had spotted.
Inside, the British Auror had pitched her own wizarding tent, which fit between the repository's massive pillars. Hermione, after only thirty minutes, had transfigured loose stones into sturdy desks and tables which held their reference books.
That set the stage for Tonks to impart on them her limited, but invaluable knowledge of ancient Egyptian. Both Harry and Hermione were impressed with her practical knowledge and relieved that the older witch had asked to accompany them. In fact, it seemed more and more like they were the inexperienced amateurs in this endeavor.
Tonks, ever the deviant, offered them 'incentives' for good grades, or remedial 'one on one' lessons should they struggle, something they both politely turned down with a dusting of red on their cheeks.
The older woman's teasing had lost its edge since working together though, and the pair actually found some of her more outrageous pickup lines humorous, with Harry making inappropriate suggestions when he started growing tired of looking at the old scrolls. The occasional banter was tolerated by Hermione, who, out of the three of them, could focus the longest before requiring a mental break.
The documents ranged from literature to tax records, and while they were all fascinating in their own right, none came even close to helping them solve their calendar inaccuracy problem.
They all had a rough idea of what to look for. Significant events that could directly be linked to the modern calendar. Things like recurring comets, logged in antiquity and well understood by modern astronomy, would be ideal. Earthquakes or floods couldn't be traced back with pinpoint accuracy, but eclipses, both solar, and lunar, would work well also.
The hieroglyphics used to describe both eclipses and comets were very unique, and with that in mind, Harry would often give documents only the most cursory of overviews in search of them.
Time blurred, its passing marked only by mealtimes and sleep. He'd forgone the usual wristwatch, as he would find himself looking at it frequently.
With a frustration-fueled sigh, he pulled another scroll towards him, reminding himself that they were here for a good reason.
oOo
"Why are we wasting time simply tracking them?" Assah hissed, clearly irritated from the days' long surveillance on the car they'd located. Fahid was not a motoring enthusiast, but even he could appreciate the flowing curves and streamlined fenders of a classic such as this. It was an exquisite piece of machinery. One that now held several tracking devices in various unassuming locations. It would make tracking them from this point onward much easier. Should they ever emerge from the ruins immediately ahead, that is.
The unit leader rose from his crouch, having placed the last tracker on the underside of the rear fender, and motioned them to follow.
"Our targets have a certain fondness for this mode of transport, so it was only logical to do this. But fear not, I have every intention of stopping whatever it is they have planned at the earliest opportunity."
The cordial, yet cool, explanation had the desired effect, placating the female vampire.
"We will split up and search these ruins." Drawing his wand, he disillusioned Assah, while Hassan quickly did the same to himself.
"Assah, Hassan. Search the perimeter. I will begin inside the pyramid. Link up at the rendezvous point in one hour, regardless of your finding. Do not engage unless left with no choice. Radio silence unless you are in need of assistance."
Their disembodied affirmatives reached his ear, and he heard the crunching of rubber-soled boots on the hard ground.
"Hassan. Silencing charm." Fahid snapped as an afterthought, knowing Assah would move about unheard. A barely audible mumble and the already faint noise ebbed into nothingness.
He cast the same spell on his own footwear and entered the narrow opening at the back of the depression in front of the pyramid. It was an excavated debris pile from the ancient monolith itself, unearthed decades ago by a near-endless pool of cheap labor and supervised by a select few archeologists.
Fahid pushed the irrelevant internal commentary to the back of his mind. It had been a part of his former life but served him not in this situation.
Waiting for several minutes, he allowed his sight to adjust to the near-total darkness, then cast mage sight on a pair of seldom used spectacles, cutting through the darkness, with the walls now illuminated in shades of ultramarine and violet.
The hallway was a scant three feet wide, and about double that in height, forcing him to crouch, lest he hit his head on the occasional low spot in the ceiling of solid stone. The lack of seams in the stonework suggests that this pyramid was likely built on a rocky outcrop, with the additional quarried stone placed on top to complete the structure. The passageway continued for another fifty meters, the walls becoming smoother with each step.
Eventually, the first writing appeared. He didn't linger to unravel the messages that had transcended thousands of years, their creators nothing more than dust. Instead, Fahid busied himself checking for wards and traps. The fine dust at his feet looked undisturbed, though older imprints could be made out. If they had come through here, they'd covered their tracks well indeed.
'Or not at all', he thought with a frown as the passageway ended abruptly. Lowering his wand, he approached the solid stone, brushing against its roughly finished surface with calloused fingertips.
Not an illusion. In fact, there was no magic here. Fahid frowned. Was the entrance a ruse, to throw off potential grave robbers and looters?
Turning back, he paid closer attention to the walls. The same rough finish marred the stone here, created by soft bronze chisels that bit into the even softer limestone. Patterns emerged, allowing him to visualize how the workers had created this space.
There was an underlying appreciation for their craft, and the time spent to create this tunnel. It couldn't be a decoy. It didn't feel right.
Slowing down even more, and knowing that less than half of his allotted hour was up before having to rendezvous with the others, he busied himself, going over every square inch of the walls. The footsteps had doubled back, meaning whoever was here last didn't have any success. But perhaps that was the point.
It was not uncommon for the pyramid builders to block passageways with massive stone slabs. Here, working from a solid block of limestone, such techniques would give away a hidden space right away, the stone joints out of place in an otherwise seamless wall.
His keen eyes swept continued to sweep over the wall to his right. He'd repeat the process of the left. The chisel marks left finger length sized gouges in the stone, slightly angled, indicating how the tool was held when the hammer had struck its end. All uniform. All parallel.
Until it wasn't.
There! A small portion of the wall had been finished at a different angle. The spot was low, perhaps fifteen centimeters from the dusty ground. Pouring over the spot with his mage sight, nothing immediately stood out.
Fahid though didn't move on. Why had the long-dead stonemason done this? Drawing his wand, he banished the loose debris that had accumulated over the centuries. The stone floor was equally lacking in detail; the finish even rougher.
But what was hidden under the sand and dirt made him smirk.
A single, minuscule rune, easily overlooked.
Studying it, he determined that it was a command rune. It would activate something, though what, he did not know. It could be a trick, meant to lure a foolhardy wizard to their death. What if it activated defensive wards? Or simply collapsed the passageway outright?
Were there more than one? If so, did they need to be activated in a specific manner to prevent unauthorized access?
Conjuring a simple piece of chalk, he marked the location, before beginning the task of cleaning the rest of the passageway floor.
That is where Hassan and Assah found him, having completed their own perimeter sweep ahead of time, and not wishing to wait out in the sweltering heat.
No other runes had been located, though after explaining his findings, Hassan double-checked Fahid's work. The man was truly gifted when it came to charms, and Fahid did not take it as a slight.
"It is not a symbol I recognize," Hassan admitted. "I would be wary to activate it without further study."
Fahid nodded, having no intention to do so at this point.
"Gather any reference material you need and set to work. Pull in the curse breakers if you need to, but keep it to one extra body on site. We don't want to tip them off."
The dark stubbled man nodded, retreating. That left him with Assah.
"Observe the vehicle and report if they come back to it." He hit her with a cooling charm before she set off. Fahid apparated back to his office, the rough report he was about to pen already taking shape in his head.
These updates were inconvenient but ensured his case received the attention and resources it required.
oOo
Two days followed as Hassan and the curse breakers sought to identify the singular rune and its function. Runes were thought to be as old as magic, so it was hardly a surprise that they didn't recognize it.
What surprised Fahid though was not that it had taken so long to solve the mystery he'd uncovered within the Maidum Pyramid, but that their suspects were also still within its bowels, hidden and hidden well.
No outbound apparitions had been detected, and no portkeys were utilized. Likewise, the car had sat untouched under its protective canvas cover.
Their reason for such an extended stay was a mystery and that troubled Fahid. It was also a concern for his superiors, and the pressure to press forward with the rune became more pronounced.
Then, finally, on the third day, he crouched in front of the symbol, wand drawn. It was a C shape, more flared at the bottom, with three parallel lines bisecting it.
His two subordinates were waiting just outside the entrance, ready to lend their assistance if necessary.
Clutching an emergency portkey, he tapped the rune, causing it to flare bright white.
Initially, nothing happened at all. The first change was a slight breeze, felt more than anything. Then, the chemical lights placed along the length of the corridor illuminated...something. A shape was congealing at the far end, not easily identified.
Coiled like a spring, Fahid repositioned himself, wand pointed at the perceived threat. The shapeless mass advanced with the moving air, taking form. As it passed the next chemical light, he identified both the form, and the fact that it was composed of fine dust. It was an effigy of Anubis. Humanoid body, head of a dog. Clutching a double-edged blade. A quick bubblehead charm ensured he wouldn't choke on whatever substance was barreling his way, and a shield prevented it from peppering him.
The Anubis warrior lunged, shimmering fangs barred, and exploded against the Protecto charm, the previously translucent shield shimmering blue from the impact.
A noise not unlike an exhale reached his ears as the specter passed, leaving him crouched, covered in dust despite the shield, and skin tingling with gooseflesh despite knowing it was just magic and not some otherworldly omen.
Up ahead, the previously solid wall had vanished. The way was clear.
"Fahid!" the radio crackled. "Are you all right?"
He clicked the transmit button twice, giving the all-clear signal, and spending the next minute or so controlling his breathing. Not long after, Hassan and Assah joined him.
"Just a harmless bit of spell work to deter the weak-willed," he assured both himself and his team. "Now, let us move ahead."
Just like their targets had done three days prior, the team moved forward slowly, scanning both visually and with their wands for any traps.
They were descending, the previously flat tunnel floor now noticeably angled downward. It was felt in their muscles more than seen with their eyes. Like being on an airplane and glancing down the aisle during takeoff.
The tunnel had several switchbacks that took hours to traverse, on account of their near borderline paranoia. Fahid knew that whatever lay at the bottom was protected by magic. Ideally, he'd let the curse breakers handle this, and gladly would have if time were on their side.
As it stood, they were moving dangerously quickly. His ancient ancestors guarded their burial sites with ruthless efficiency and punished anyone who didn't respect the final resting place of the dead, ignorant or otherwise. Perhaps the Hare and his accomplices were already dead, subdued by wards so old it took curse breakers months to understand them fully, before even attempting a counter.
He cursed at the complications and risks. It was much easier before the past had become involved.
Upon rounding one final switchback, they caught their first glimpse of the chamber below. It looked an awful lot like a sitting room, with scones and pockets for torches carved into the walls. Sturdy stone tables, long and broad, populated the widened space.
But the most important thing was the rubble pile ahead. There was more to this place than even this spacious chamber. Upon confirming that nothing would harm them, Fahid moved closer to inspect the collapse. Large blocks of stone, angular, but not man-made, sealed the adjacent pace from theirs. A natural cave in, perhaps caused by a weakness in the surrounding rock strata?
He left it be, moving on instead to further study the room. Finding furniture was a surprise. Usually, such items were constructed of wood, not stone, and crumpled to dust. There was evidence of chairs that had befallen such a fate, but the stone slabs held firm.
He had no idea as to what their purpose was.
With nothing further to be gleaned here, Fahid motioned to Hassan to join him near the collapse, while Assah hung back.
"Transfiguration, my friend." He cautioned, not wanting to just vanish the rock and risk further cave-ins.
Working in tandem, the rubble leaped upwards, morphing like soft clay in a child's hands. A smooth, seamless arch formed at a little under one and a half meters from the floor, the height not dictated by their magic, but how much mass they were working with.
The first meter was complete, and together they shuffled ahead, crouched, not wanting to break the magic now, lest more debris slide down and into the newly created void.
Working in tandem also cut the strain in half, meaning they could stretch the spell longer.
On and on it went. Two meters, four meters. Fahid wondered how extensive the damage was, and was close to calling for a reprieve when suddenly, they were through.
Instead of a stale, dry air mass they'd encountered in the last room, it was fresh, like a crisp, cool morning on the beach by the Mediterranean Sea.
They were close. Ancient ruins didn't smell like this. Magic was at play here.
With the heavy lifting complete, both Wizards remained at the rear, allowing their more combat-oriented member to take the lead and sniff out what lay ahead.
"I smell them. Two females and one male." Fahid charmed his feet silent and disillusioned himself, watching from the corner of the passageway as Hassan did the same.
Assah on the other hand simply melted into the shadows, noiseless and without effort.
"Scout ahead, but do not engage," he whispered, sure that she'd heard. Whether she would listen was another story. Assah was difficult to manage, but highly effective once an operation reached this stage.
oOo
The Vampiress forged ahead, taking note of the layout. She emerged from the narrow corridor into a wider, elevated mezzanine overlooking a sizable main chamber. An illuminated chamber. Lit scones bathed the stone in an orange glow. She could smell them clearly now, close enough to cause a faint, yet persistent buzzing on the tip of her tongue.
And the blood coursing through them. Young and fresh. Even though she'd fed early this morning, the thrill of the hunt was making her crave it. Besides, it was much better when you had to work for your food, wasn't it?
Now on the far side of the chamber, Assah quickly identified the first target. One of the females, seemingly asleep, head and torso slumped forward on a sturdy looking wooden table.
Defenseless.
Sweeping the rest of the space, it was obvious the other two were inside the tent. Resting as well? Likely, but not guaranteed.
She'd have to move quickly.
Gliding up to the makeshift work area, she could hear the woman's heartbeat, a steady thrumming, not pounding quickly, confirmation enough that she was indeed slumbering.
Assah ran her tongue over her left upper incisor, lightly grazing the wickedly sharp point, though careful enough to keep the delicate tissue unmarred. She imagined grabbing a fist full of that ridiculously curly hair, lifting her head, and exposing her slender neck.
Assah imagined herself leaning down, feeling the girl's pulse on her pale, cold lips before pearly white enamel found just the right spot, identified by a light repeating pressure.
Assah inhaled deeply, fighting against her baser urges. Fahid said resonance only. Not wanting to enter the tent in case the built-in defenses were active, she instead focused on the multitude of artifacts spread out before the sleeping woman.
Satisfied with her findings, she withdrew to report.
oOo
Disorientation. That was how Hermione found herself awakening. No, that wasn't right. She hadn't been roused from sleep. She'd been enervated. Even now, the aftereffects of the stunners counter flooded her body with excess adrenaline.
She gasped, arms reflexively pulling in against her chest, while her knees did much the same.
"Get up." A heavily accented voice ordered in English.
She froze and only then realized that her left side was against the cold, uncomfortable stone of the repository.
Carefully unfurling herself, Hermione took stock of her surroundings. She wasn't in the chamber. This was somewhere else. Still surrounded by stone, perhaps close by? Three figures were with her, all easily seen in the pale green light of a dozen chemical sticks scattered around.
"Where am I? Who are you?" She asked, getting her legs underneath her and immediately creating distance between herself and these unknowns.
A middle-aged man, clean-shaven but sporting a heavy five o clock shadow, answered.
"We are agents of the magical arm of the General Intelligence Service," he stated, his tongue struggling to create the unfamiliar sounds. "And you have answers to questions we have, amongst other things."
oOo
Fahid saw recognition within her following his introduction. A widening of the eyes, perhaps in fear. Odd, considering her position. Why would she be afraid when she held a law enforcement position? It was true that the GIS sometimes handled suspects roughly, but that wasn't unusual in this part of the world.
He scrutinized her more closely now that she was awake. Petite and of average height for a woman, though woefully underdressed for his taste. Her clothes, though muggle, were too tight, showing off her figure. He didn't linger on her body long though, as it was the face and hair that captivated him.
Curly locks, the color of cinnamon, shoulder-length, and framing delicate features. A striking beauty, foreign, though not enough to take away from what was considered attractive in this part of the world.
And yet, those striking features were riddled with fear. More than he'd have expected.
Fahid softened minutely, losing some of the roughness in his voice.
"You, girl. Are you Inspector Granger?" A straightforward question, and one she had no reason not to answer.
A meek nod followed. Her hands were busy checking pockets. Likely looking for her wand, he noted. Fahid produced it from the inner pocket of his overcoat and held it up for her to see.
"You may get this back once we clear up your involvement here. Now, why don't we start with why you haven't attempted to escape from the Crimson Hare, considering he left you with the means to do so."
She swallowed, but the answer came more quickly than he'd expected.
"He saw no need to, considering if I were to flee, he'd kill my parents."
Fahid remained silent, weighing her response. There was no way to tell if she was speaking the truth. Factually speaking, she'd been kidnapped against her will from her home country and brought here, to Africa. They'd been seen entering a hotel together, and leaving again, though she'd required assistance.
He may as well begin there.
"You left Cairo nearly a week ago, obviously injured." He waited momentarily, simply observing her body language before asking the obvious.
Her wariness of them was instantly eclipsed by something else. A flicker of momentary, unaltered terror. A memory, dredged up by his statement. It vanished just as quickly as it appeared.
"What happened?" he asked, voice becoming hoarse from uttering the foreign-to-him syllables. English had never been his strong suit. He knew the language well enough and could understand it perfectly. But speaking it remained challenging.
She swallowed, wrapping her arms around herself. "We were attacked. In the museum."
"You came to take the stone fragment," he stated, relieved she was co-operating.
Another nod.
"Oui. The Hare's plan hinged on it. But when we arrived,'he' ambushed us."
"The English Dark Lord?" Fahid asked, attempting to keep his tone neutral. He didn't want to sound too eager. Removing the girl from the others had been a risk, but it was already paying dividends. Next, he'd ask about the thief's motives. She likely wouldn't know about the other two's current state, seeing how they'd found her resting outside of their presumed bed chambers.
Her expression didn't require her to answer with words. And yet, she did.
"They took me. Ha-the Hare, he bartered with him, offering the stone fragment in exchange for my life." She shook her head. "I'm not sure why he'd do such a thing, but Vol-" she paused. "-he accepted the terms, and the Hare fled the Museum after agreeing on a meeting place. Salah something," she muttered. "A mosque, I think."
Salah El Din Al Ayouby Citadel. He knew it well. Fahid's late father had taken him there once, as a boy. The GIS field commander filed away that new morsel of information for later. There had been no reports of disturbances from that location.
"I was taken to the desert," she continued, her lip beginning to quiver at the reminder. "But not even a minute after arriving, there was an explosion. The Hare grabbed me in the resulting chaos and we ended up back at the hotel, though I didn't immediately realize it was him."
"Very good. You're safe now." He attempted to reassure her. She looked close to tears, and he didn't have the time or patience to console a crying woman.
"Tell me, girl. What is the thief up to?"
Hermione's eyes widened then, focusing on his earlier reassurance. "You're not going to take me from here, are you? He's holding my family. Please, I have to be able to go back! He'll kill them!"
"Peace, child." Fahid said to placate her. "Tell us of his plans, and we will take him and the other into custody. He won't be able to threaten you any longer."
She seemed to relax somewhat following that, but not as much as he'd expected. She was withholding something regarding the matter, but it could wait for now.
"They're looking for a site, somewhere here in Egypt." She hesitated for a moment but continued her explanation. "Potter is a parselmouth, and the stones hold a fourth, hidden language that can only be read upon uttering the passphrase."
"What passphrase?" He asked next, temporarily risking getting sidetracked.
"The one in the manuscript. You see, he's been searching for it back in Paris. That is how I first became involved. He traded a painting stolen from a museum there for the manuscript."
Fahid nodded, wanting to know about the painting, but returning to his original line of questioning instead. "This location. How is it tied to this place? Is this what he was searching for?"
She hesitated but shook her head. "No, it's not. It's simply a stepping stone. He doesn't know what it is yet, or where to find it. We're looking for references in the records housed here. This place is an ancient repository."
Fahid inhaled, frustrated that a petty, honor-less thief was rifling through his country's priceless history. Fragile works by Assah's accounting, as he had yet to lay eyes on them directly.
This had to come to an end, and now. But first, he needed to know more.
"The other with you. Who is she?"
"The ex-Auror? She's a mercenary. A hired wand at best, though she has some experience with this sort of thing. Grave robbing that is," she added with disdain.
He reigned in his urge to simply confront them in the chamber, here and now. Two accomplished combatants and an experienced Vampire against two unknowns, one of whom had confirmed combat training.
Never mind that if it came to blows, they were still in an underground cavern full of irreplaceable artifacts. The idea of a duel down here was unthinkable.
Fahid cursed his luck, before coming to the only reasonable solution.
"Very well. Now, I have a request for you. Your earlier statement was correct. You must return and keep up the ruse. We cannot risk capturing them here."
At that, Assah looked ready to protest, but he locked eyes with the vampiress and pressed on, not giving her the option of speaking out.
"There is too much unknown to us. I will not risk this team in a skirmish down here against opponents with unknown capabilities."
He then re-addressed the inspector, who had remained silent. "The Hare. He favors a flying car."
She nodded, looking surprised they knew.
"He will use it to leave this place, once he's finished his unholy work?" Fahid asked.
She nodded. "Very good. When he does, signal us, when the time comes. We will apprehend him on the surface, and your parents will be freed."
With that, he handed over a stylized silver compact mirror.
Hermione nodded, pocketing it. Only then did he return her wand.
With a nod, Hassan dropped the illusion on the wall, revealing the passageway to the main chamber.
"I'm sorry to ask this of you," he said, and she simply nodded, before turning and heading through the passageway connecting the chambers, glancing over her shoulder one last time. Once through, Hassan reapplied the glamor.
"Was that wise?" He asked, surprising Fahid.
"How would you have proceeded?" He asked in return, curious to know.
The larger man grunted and dropped the matter.
Assah did not object either, though she was clearly unhappy with the decision. Fahid knew the only reason she hadn't forced the issue was the promise of their capture, sometime in the near future.
They ascended the passageway, resealing the connection to the repository.
Fahid opted for a face-to-face debriefing, while Hassan organized a quick response force for the planned ambush at the base of the pyramid.
Assah, meanwhile, stood vigil over the now moonlit site, perched atop of the tall stone structure, gazing at the classic car parked at the Pyramid's base.
oOo
Hermione was physically shaking when she rejoined the others, where she found them, predictably, fast asleep. And why wouldn't they be? This place was thought to be secure. They'd warded what was assumed to be the only viable entrance, the collapsed area near the back thought to be inaccessible. Never would she have guessed that a team of Mukhabarat agents of all things would whisk her away from here in the middle of the night and grill her for information in a previously unknown to her adjacent chamber.
Thank the heavens she'd been coherent enough to spin her situation as that of a victim. And lucky enough that they hadn't stormed the tent right then and there.
'Good grief', she thought, observing the two criminals with 'unknown capabilities', as the unit commander had put it. They certainly wouldn't have posed much of a threat to the people pursuing them. The sight was absolutely pathetic and slightly aggravating.
It was an open secret by now that the Hare and the Inspector shared a bed. But this particular tent belonged to the Auror, and only contained a single if large, bed. A bed in which Hermione found the English witch curled up to her thief, and showing far too much leg.
She'd anticipated the Auror to make a move. It was inevitable considering how closely they worked together. But she'd done so quicker than expected, exploiting an opening caused by the younger witch herself unintentionally falling asleep, engrossed in work.
Harry had retired first, and likely not even woken up when Tonks joined him. Hmm, perhaps her bien-aimé was too used to having a woman warm his sheets.
It was an oversight she would not let happen again. Then again, it was not all bad. Hermione had not intended to fall asleep at the table like that. Her unfortunate sleeping habits, then, had likely saved them from waking up in a prison cell.
One thing was certain, both of these louts were resting peacefully, while she was awake, her nerves frayed.
A cold spray of water changed that, their twin shouts of outrage and surprise providing her with a modicum of satisfaction.
"Merde, Hermione! Are you insane?" Harry sputtered, rolling out of bed instinctively and gasping in ragged, deep breaths.
"What he said." The Auror managed to mutter after the shock had subsided, her nightgown soaked and pressed against a pair of firm breasts that reacted in a marvelous way as a result of their cold awakening.
"Well, I figured this was preferable to all of us waking up in handcuffs." She supplied, instantly regretting her choice of words.
"Depends on what you need the cuffs for," Tonks couldn't help but say, despite being thoroughly drenched as she was, and none too happy about it. A drying charm fixed that, followed by a warming charm.
"Now, what exactly possessed you to do that?" She asked, fully awake and wanting answers.
Hermione crossed her arms defensively but explained her clandestine encounter with the General Intelligence Directorate team that had taken her.
Their perceived anger quickly faltered at the revelation that had she not been outside, they would have all been captured.
Hermione then produced the compact mirror the unit leader had given to her. Tonks was pacing by then, something she did frequently when brainstorming a particularly tricky problem.
"Blimey, I'm not sure whether to be impressed or terrified that they found us. It takes skill and persistence to track like this." She stated, unconsciously nibbling on her thumbnail.
Harry nodded in agreement. "We never cloaked the Roadster while flying. In hindsight, that was needlessly reckless."
"Hmm," Hermione agreed. They had indeed dropped the ball, so to speak. At least the tent had been properly hidden. But from this point onward, they'd need to plan their next steps with the utmost care.
"How should we proceed, moving forward?" Hermione finally asked out loud. A question they were all attempting to unravel.
That was a good question. The date still eluded them, and the General Intelligence Service would not sit idle for long with so many historical texts at stake.
They needed to find it, and quickly.
After that, an exit strategy would have to be thought of and enacted. There were no portkey and anti-apparition wards up, likely to avoid tipping of Harry and Tonks, so the latter part would be simple enough.
oOo
Fahid allowed himself a rare smile following the conclusion of the high-level meeting he'd unexpectedly found himself in. The Director's glowing review of his handling of the situation thus far came as a relief. But his anticipation of their thoughts was more of an ego stroke than any praise from his superiors.
While it had not been a full cabinet meeting, a good portion of its members had been in attendance. Initially, he'd been nervous at the prospect of debriefing these men, but soon their scrutiny of Fahid had given way to barely concealed greed at the report of the historic find of the century.
Several Ministers, namely Antiquities and Culture were adamant that his actions, or lack thereof, had been justified. Risking such a find to apprehend criminals was in their own words, folly.
"Let them find what they are searching for." Fahid proclaimed. "It sounds like no damage is being done to the scrolls."
On the other side of the coin, of course, was the minister of interior, who controlled the Central Security forces. There had always been friction between Interior and the GIS, who worked both within the country and abroad. The latter led to conflict with foreign affairs, which mercifully stayed out of this particular situation.
The GIS worked independently from both these entities, answering to the president directly as opposed to the cabinet.
Never would Fahid have imagined that this operation would garner such attention from the Country's elite. In the end, they voted fourteen to three in favor of continued surveillance as opposed to apprehension. The prospect of finding an ancient site that eclipsed even this newly unearthed repository held their attention like a flame did a moth.
The only worry was that the flame could easily burn the moth, should it stray too close.
His orders had been to continue the pursuit, but observe only. The trackers on the car were a start, but he still had doubts about the French Inspector's allegiance. Therefore, the compact mirror itself held a tracking charm. No, that wasn't right, the hand-carved silver casing was charm free. And due to the precious metal's unique characteristics, the charm placed on the underside of the mirrored glass would remain undetectable unless opened, and the mirror pried free.
It was a simple, yet elegant design that made use of materials not commonly understood. And now, they would be fully aware of the Hare's movements going forward.
Returning to headquarters, the Director granted him further resources in the form of two quick reaction squads. A total of two dozen individuals, all combat trained in muggle tactics as well as wand magic were pulled from different assignments specifically for this case.
Once the Rosetta stone revealed its secrets, the Hare and his accomplices would be detained.
He was looking forward to that day, whenever it may be.
oOo
Like with the stone at the base of the godforsaken pyramid they found themselves in, it was Tonks who ultimately made the discovery, some two days after Hermione's encounter with the Egyptian authorities.
"Oi!" she shouted, shaking the cobwebs from her mind, the wooden chair scraping against the rough stone floor.
Harry was using his arms as a pillow, nearly asleep at his desk, which was littered in papyrus. Hermione, meanwhile, glanced up and over, her delicate looking reading glasses reflecting the bluebell flames that hovered close by.
"I think we have a winner!"
Lifting the large, opened scroll, she moved over to where they sat, Harry busy rubbing an eye and yawning. Around them, tin cups and a pot of coffee lay strewn about. Twice he'd had to use a cleaning spell when the liquid stained the very valuable, very old fibrous writing material, much to the ire of Hermione.
"Listen to this: 'Peret', which means a time of sowing, followed by 'Tybi', the name of the first month in that particular quarterly cycle." She summoned a reference book, the section explaining the Egyptian calendar to the modern Gregorian one already tabbed.
"Let's call it late October or early November. So, sometime around those months, approximately thirty-two hundred years ago, there was a full eclipse, here, in lower Egypt."
The hieroglyphic certainly looked like that of a solar eclipse, and the ink had been applied heavily to get the point across, with much of it still visible.
They'd done it! Now all they needed to do was correlate the exact year that the event had occurred with their modern calendar, and their four possible search grids would be narrowed down to one.
It proved to be a task that was easier said than done.
A/N: Once again I'd like to thank Majerus for all the help in beta'ing this work. Your skills and efforts are greatly appreciated.