SD ~ everything you recognize from HP belongs to Madame Rowling, and everything you recognize from TMR belongs to Stephen Sommers and Universal Studios. all else is mine.

AN ~ okay, first and foremost, I love "The Mummy Returns" and, of course, I love R/Hr fics. the similarities between Rick and Evie and Ron and Hermione were uncanny (okay, maybe only to me) so I knew I had to take a shot doing this. so the story's probably going to sound pretty winded, I'm sure - but hell, it's my first crossover, and it's. . .a crossover, so. . .you know how weird they are. LOL.

The Wizard Returns

-dutchtulips-

Thebes, Egypt. Within the ancient city lay the stone ruins of an ancient temple, which was very ancient indeed. It had been there since around 1280 B.C., and the design itself had been overseen by the Grand Priest of Ibis, High Wizard of Zorba - Lord Jaakko. However, he had betrayed Minister Leopold, and his memory banished from the wizard kingdom. Now in modern times could the temple's majesty only be imagined.

Deep within the temple, in the catacombs, was Ron Weasley. His eyes piercing, and his nerves alert, Ron walked through the catacombs, his wand pointed out in front of him. He had the collar of his robes open, and was quietly creeping along through the temple corridor.

This place is creepy. . .how'd I let 'Mione talk me into coming here? Ron thought, peering in the darkness ahead of him. Suddenly there was a noise, and his fingers tightened around his wand. All right, this place is possessed. . .time to get the family and go.

But then it was quiet and tranquil again. Ron shrugged to himself, turned back around, and suddenly let out a terrified yell, having come face to face with another person. . .

. . .Who fell to the sandy floor, and grinned up at him.

Ron blinked, and took in a quick breath. "J-Jordan?"

The young boy let out a laugh. "What were you thinking, Dad? Someone had come back to life?"

Ron shook his head dismissedly. "Reading too many books. Just like your mother." He pocketed his wand. "What are you doing down here? I told you to wait for us up in the anteroom."

"But Dad - I saw your tattoo!" Jordan exclaimed, clamping his fingers to his father's wrist, pulling up the sleeve of Ron's robes to reveal the tattoo of a phoenix's wings forming a pyramid in the center with a large eye. "There's a cartouche just like it, above the doorway!"

"Really?" Ron questioned.

The auburn boy beamed. "Uh huh!"

"Well, er. . .all right. I'll be up to look at that in a minute. Get back to the anteroom and I'll meet you in there later, all right?" He said.

Jordan started to protest. "But Dad, I don't - I want to go with you - "

"No buts, Jordan! It's dangerous down here! Now get your rucksack and go." Ron gripped his son's shoulder and spun him around, back the way he'd come.

The young boy reluctantly went. "W-what should I do?"

"Surprise me," Ron replied hastily, taking out his wand again. "Learn a new spell -" he dropped his voice, heading in the opposite direction, " - while your mother desecrates another tomb."

~*~

Deeper in the tomb, beyond the catacombs, there was another person. Young, slim, and extremely pretty, Hermione Granger Weasley could have passed for an ancient princess herself. She took out a brush and was delicately clearing away cobwebs and dust from a massive obsidian door, revealing the cartouches of two princesses, locked in hand-to-hand combat.

Hermione was suddenly distracted by a hissing noise, and looked down to see a slender black snake uncoiling itself next to her foot. Instead of being afraid, she put on a look of disgust and hooked the creature under her toe. "Go away!" She spat, sending the serpent flying across the room.

Ron, who had come upon her, suddenly ducked out of the way as the snake sailed straight towards him. Smirking, he suddenly remarked, "You wanna watch it with those things. They're poisonous, you know."

She turned around. "Only if they bite you." Hermione veered back to the door, clearing away the dust with her hand now. "Did I hear you and Jordan talking up there?"

"Yeah. . ." Ron replied, hefting over a few magical tools. "He was wanting to show me something. I swear, he gets more and more like you everyday. Books, studies. . ."

"Don't you mean more handsome, devilishly charming. . ." Hermione mused, a smirk on her face.

"I know, and it's driving me bonkers." Ron leaned forward and kissed her. "Ready to smash this thing?"

"No, we'll do it the right way," Hermione replied, taking out her wand. "Alohamora!" She cried, waving it at the door. The massive obsidian jiggled for a moment, and then ceased from moving.

Ron looked over at her. She sighed. "All right, all right, fine. We'll do it your way."

He grinned and raised his own wand, shouting out, "Toluenous!" With that, the door smashed apart, leaving room for them to enter.

Hermione fearlessly stepped through ahead of her husband, a look coming over her face. "This place is all I've been able to think about - since I've started having the dreams."

Ron landed hard on the sandy floor, crunching old bugs underneath his boots with every step he took. "And ever since that first dream, I haven't had a decent night's sleep since!"

There was a moment of quiet as Hermione glanced around the cavern. "I've been here before. . ."

Ron shook his head. "Impossible."

"Ron, dear, I know I've been here before!" She exclaimed.

"A place that no one's been in for around three thousand years?" He was bewildered. "You're mad!"

Hermione suddenly reached out, latching onto an ancient torch holder, and pulled. Suddenly a door behind her slid open. "Then how do I seem to know exactly where I'm going, and what I'm doing?"

Ron didn't seem to have an answer. He peered into the dark doorway, and whispered, "Lumos!" The end of his wand immediately lit up and pointed into the next cavern. He looked back at his wife. "Okay, you're starting to scare me, 'Mione."

"Yes, and I'm starting to scare myself."

~*~

Beneath the boiling desert sun, three men rode up towards the temple on horseback, just beyond a large sand dune. Their leader - Macnair, tall and burly, was clutching his wand. He stared at the temple for a moment, and then motioned to the other two men, Pettigrew and Karkaroff. The trio slowly dismounted, and wormed their way inside the temple.

Waving his wand around, Jordan Weasley was sitting atop a large stone within the anteroom, surrounded by piles of artifacts his parents had dug up earlier. He was looking from a book and mumbling to himself. "What's the charm? Laun Chem, something or other. . ."

A sudden noise caused Jordan to stir from his reading. Looking up, he saw shadows moving along the wall. Not thinking twice, he shoved the book into his rucksack and threw it on. Pocketing his wand, Jordan climbed up a nearby scaffolding to hide.

A few minutes later, Macnair, Pettigrew and Karkaroff stumbled in. Looking around for a moment, Macnair pulled out his wand and said, "You two pick through that stuff. See if you can find that bracelet. I'm going to go sort out the Weasleys."

Jordan gasped.

~*~

Ron and Hermione stepped into the next cavern. They held out their wands, which were still aglow, to survey the room. There was another massive door at the other end, this one with a wheel shaped like a sundial on it. Hermione began to walk further inside, after Ron. . .

. . .Suddenly Hermione's view of the room had changed with the flicker of her wand. The small alcove was abruptly new again, hieroglyphics adorning the walls colorful and vivid, golden furnishings sparkling beautifying what was clearly an antechamber. A pretty young woman, a shapely Egyptian witch in headdress and lots of jewelry, moved through the doorway ahead. Inside, Hermione just managed to glimpse two guards standing on either side of a small ornate golden chest. The Egyptian witch heaved the door closed and locked it, twisting the sundial mechanism - five turns to the right and seven to the left - and pushed it inwards. Suddenly Ron appeared in the vision, walking through the young woman as if she were a ghost!

. . .and then Hermione was standing in the dark, ancient antechamber again, the hieroglyphics faded and golden furnishings vanished. She blinked for a few moments, and then began feverishly waving her wand around.

Ron, who was standing in front of the door, shouting various spells at it, turned and looked at his wife's odd behavior. Ceasing from his work, he said, "What're you doing? Trying to write your name in the air?"

Hermione paused, returning his look. "I'm trying to make it happen again. . . .this room, I saw it differently. It was as if I was actually here in ancient times."

Ron lowered his wand. "Well, if you really were here, could you show me how to open this thing? I think there's an Unbreakable Charm on it."

"Sure," she replied, absentmindedly reaching forward and twisting the sundial lock - five turns to the right and seven to the left - and pushed it inwards.

There was a loud rumbling as the door shook, and began to creak open. Ron waved his wand in through the doorway. "Okay, now you are really starting to scare me."

~*~

Jordan lay on his stomach on the scaffolding, peeking over the edge and down at Pettigrew and Karkaroff, who were mumbling to themselves as they rummaged through the artifacts. A sudden thought occurred to him and, quietly, he quietly stole a look inside his rucksack and in his book. His finger skimmed the page, and then he quickly replaced it and pulled out his wand.

Small piles of pebbles littered the sandy floor, where Jordan could see them from the scaffolding. He waved his wand at a pile and whispered, "Expellarmius stone!"

One of the pebbles flew from the pile and hit Pettigrew on the back of the neck. He yelped out in pain. "Cripes! Karkaroff, something just hit me head!"

Karkaroff pointed his wand at him. "Shut up, Pettigrew! This place is cursed."

~*~

Macnair poised in the doorway behind the Weasleys, extending his wand, ready to take care of business. But he paused, what they were doing becoming much more interesting.

Hermione pulled cobwebs away from a large gold disc. Her eyes went wide. "That's the emblem of the Dragon King!"

"Who?" Ron was puzzled.

She continued. "He's supposed to be pure myth. No trace of him has ever been found. No artifacts. . .no nothing."

"Reckon no one wanted him found," he answered.

Hermione looked down at the small golden chest before her. She gingerly touched it. "Ron, let's open it."

"I don't know. . ." He disagreed.

"Oh, come on. Where's your sense of adventure? It's just a chest -" Hermione flickered the light out on her wand and pointed it at the chest, "No harm ever came from a chest."

"Just remember - I was the voice of reason this time around," he replied.

"For once." She started shouting various charms at the chest.

Ron looked on as his wife tried to open the chest. None of the spells seemed to work. As Hermione sighed in disgust, Ron glanced to the side and saw, hanging off a decayed skeleton, a small golden key. It was also shaped like a sundial. Pulling it off the skeleton, he waved it at Hermione.

"Hon, let's do it your way."

She beamed, taking the key from his grasp, and fitting it in a sundial shaped hole on the front of the chest. Hermione twisted it to the right and the lid popped open with a loud hiss.

Meanwhile, Macnair, who was still behind them, looked on with wide eyes.

She looked down at the contents of the chest, astonishment filling her face. "The Bracelet of Arana. . ." Hermione whispered.

~*~

Jordan laughed softly to himself as he launched another stone at the unsuspecting Pettigrew, which hit him in the hindquarters. He let out a yell, and started doing an unusual dance around the cavern. "Ow, ow, ouch! That damn thing hurt!"

"Shut up and get back to work!" Karkaroff shouted at him. Pettigrew whined and turned back to the pile of artifacts, slowly beginning to sift through them again.

Jordan waved his wand at a pile of stones again, and launched another straight for Karkaroff. But to his terror, Karkaroff spun around and caught the rock in midair. Grinning evilly up at Jordan, he crumbled the stone into dust.

The young boy gathered his rucksack and scrambled backwards on the scaffolding, a mouse with no hole to hide in.

~*~

Hermione was fingering the thick golden bracelet when suddenly there was a loud rumbling. She jerked up, and lobbed the bracelet back into the chest and slammed it shut.

"Well, it's a bit late for that, don't you think?!" Ron yelled over the loud thundering, batting away sand that was streaming in from the ceiling.

She lifted the chest. "Hurry! Put this in your rucksack!"

He pushed it back. "Why don't we just leave it here!"

There was another loud crash, and from behind them, Macnair turned and ran.

"What does it say?" Ron was shouting.

Hermione ran her finger quickly along the lid of the chest. "He who. . .disturbs this chest shall. . .drink from the Nile." Pause. "Well, that doesn't sound too bad."

As if on cue, the wall just ahead of them burst, streaming in thousands of gallons of water. Ron stuffed the chest away and grabbed his wife's hand. "Time to go!" He yelled, and the bolted out of the alcove and back through the catacombs.

~*~

Meanwhile, Karkaroff was climbing up the scaffolding to where Jordan was, holding his wand between his teeth. The young boy jerked around, trying to find another way off the scaffolding, but to no avail.

Pettigrew was yelling up at him. "Karkaroff's going to make a fillet out of you, boy!"

Suddenly, Macnair came sprinting into the cavern. "Pettigrew! Karkaroff! Let's get the hell out! This place is going down!"

Karkaroff took one last look at Jordan, and then slid down the scaffolding. Waving his wand at it, he yelled out a spell, and the scaffolding's legs cracked. "Au revoir!" He yelled, and tore out of the room.

Suddenly the scaffolding tipped, taking young Jordan with it. Grabbing onto a nearby pillar, he watched as it fell against another, and then another, creating the domino effect as every pillar in the room tipped and hit the next one.

Climbing off, Jordan, who was now covered in dust and his auburn hair askew, looked around at the now-demolished chamber and uttered, "Whoa."

~*~

While the pillars had been tumbling, Ron and Hermione were dashing to keep ahead of the gushing waters behind them. " 'Mione, this way!"

Then they hit a dead end. Ron's heart was thumping madly in his chest as he looked around for a detour out. Suddenly he heard Hermione yelling out his name.

"Ron!"

Not stopping to think, he grabbed onto his wife as a gigantic wall of water splashed over them. Under the water, Ron waded ferociously against the current, pulling Hermione with him. All of a sudden, he noticed a large grate above them. Latching his and Hermione's hands on it, he pulled them up and to a few feet of air.

"This is bad, 'Mione!" He spluttered.

"We've had bad plenty of times!" She called back.

Before he could answer, the water pulled them back underneath again.

~*~

A loud groaning noise suddenly alerted Jordan and jerked around. One of the large pillars was falling down further, ready to smash into the adjacent wall. The young boy sprinted for the pillar and tried vainly to push it back. But it weighed thousands more than he did, and it won the battle. It crashed into the obsidian wall with such force that it shattered both the pillar and the wall.

Water came gushing out, and Jordan ran to escape it, shrieking all the way. Watching the vast stream, he saw two figures sliding out of the wall, in the water. Sighing relief, he raced forward to where Ron and Hermione lay, soaked to the bone and fighting for breath.

Jordan looked around for a moment, and then down at his parents. "Mum. . .Dad. . .I can explain everything."

~*~

To Be Continued