The Wizard Returns

Chapter Five

-dutchtulips-

On the outskirts of Cairo lay a small airport hangar, a rickety sign nailed outside of it in the sands, reading Fizzing Whizbee Airways. George Weasley expertly swung his Dusenberg up next to the sign, and he, Fred, Ron, and Hermione all got out.

Hermione took one look at the sign and said, "This is the Fizzing Whizbee you were talking about?"

"Don't worry, Our old friend Seamus is a professional. It'll be fine," Ron replied. Turning to Fred he said, "Unload our bags from the car, will you?"

"Sure, old boy, but my hands are a little full right now." He was lobbing the Scepter of Ibis between his hands.

Ron snatched it from the air. "Go."

"All right then."

Hermione strode up next to her husband. "I didn't know Seamus went into piloting. How did you know?"

"Well, er, before you and me got married I, uh, traveled. . . a couple of places with him," Ron replied awkwardly. "Come on."

At that moment, the door opened and out stepped Seamus, wearing greasy coveralls and his wand holstered in his pocket. He looked up just as Ron called out, "How goes it there, Seam?"

"Weasley!" He rushed back into the hangar and slammed the door.

Hermione glanced at Ron. "He seemed to have a great time, huh?"

Not responding, Ron whisked out his wand and shouted the unlocking spell, alohamora, and the lock shot off. Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Dear, you're not a subtle man."

Ron shrugged, kicking the doors open. "We don't have time for subtle."

Spotting Seamus he called, "Seam, c'mere."

"No way!" He shouted back, rushing around the hangar, collecting scrolls. "Every time I hook up with you, Ron, I practically get myself killed! Last time I almost got my leg blow off! Remember that time in Bristol you had half the Ministry on your tail?"

"Oh really?" Hermione raised her eyebrows again.

Ron looked sheepishly at her. "It's not how it sounds. My intentions were noble, you know. . .and besides, it was just the Disposal of Magical Creatures department!"

Seamus slammed the scrolls down on a counter. "It's exactly how it sounds!" He shot back, and then turned to Hermione. "I'm flying high, the Redhead Boy here flags me down for the OK. So I fly in nice and low for the pickup. Next thing I know I'm laying in the road with my guts hanging out and he's waltzing off with some dancing witch girl!"

"Dancing witch girl? Seamus, I think you and I should talk," Hermione replied, glancing at Ron.

"Talk I'm for so long as I don't get meself hexed."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Look Seam, I'm paying you this time." He tossed his friend a small bag filled with gold galleons.

Seamus caught it. "Ron old boy, I'm stationed here in the desert, huh? What the heck am I going to spend this on?" But he pocketed the money anyways.

"Seam, let me cut to the chase. My son Jordan's out there," he swept his hand out towards the desert, "He's been kidnapped. I'm going to do whatever it takes to get him back."

Ron noticed Seamus's eyes was glued intently to the Scepter of Ibis in his hand. He moved his hand, and the pilot's eyes moved with it. "Ron, if you give me that golden staff thing, you can put the Imperius curse on me and make me tap dance on a unicorn in the nuddy-pants."

Ron tossed it to him. "Didn't we do that in Liverpool, New Years?"

As the Weasley party followed Seamus outside, he said to Hermione, rather sheepishly, "You're not really catching me at my best here, Herm."

"Oh, I'm sure I am," she smiled. "It's good to see you again, Seamus."

He beamed and started to hurry around to the back of the hangar, but stopped short as he saw at least a dozen Auror chiefs on hippogriffs. "I knew it. I'm going to get meself killed!"

Harry, who was in front, slid off his hippogriff and came towards the Weasleys. "These are the commanders of the twelve Auror sects." Pause. "Hedwig!" He called out.

The beautiful snowy owl flew down to Harry's outstretched arm, nipping his finger affectionately. "Hedwig will let the commanders know of our progress, so that they may follow at a distance."

"Oi, everyone!" A voice, Seamus's, called, who was waving the Weasleys back to the hangar. Ron led the way, but stopped short as he got a look at Seamus's 'plane.'

"Bloody hell, Seam," he grumbled.

"Isn't she a beaut'?" Seamus exclaimed.

The 'beaut' was a blue-hued dirigible, lofting, and held down by mooring lines. Its underbelly was an old battered fishing trawler - an airplane propeller extended itself from the end.

Ron dropped his hands. "It's a balloon!"

"It's a dirigible!" Seamus said.

"What happened to your plane?"

"Oi, airplanes are a thing of the past!" He said good-naturedly.

Ron shook his head, fighting off despair. "Seam, you were right."

"I was?"

"Yeah. You're going to get hexed!" Ron yanked out his wand.

Seamus held up his hands. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, Ron! Hold on there! She's faster than she looks! Quiet, perfect for sneaking up on people."

Considering that, Ron pocketed his wand.

"Plus, it's better than barging in with weapons blazing, hexing people!" Seamus put in.

Ron shrugged and sighed. "All right, then. Might as well get going."

"Everyone onboard!" The pilot called, waving Ron, Hermione, Fred and George, and Harry all onto the trawler. He cut the mooring lines, and they were off.

~*~

It was sometime later and the Weasley party was now overlooking a deep purpling sky, the dirigible lofting steadily along with the nighttime breeze. Fred and George were sitting near the captain's cabin, passing a scroll between them, while Harry sat next to them, talking.

"Ron is reluctant to admit it, but he flies like Hedwig towards his destiny," he was saying.

"Yes, yes. . so tell us more about this golden pyramid," George said, laying the scroll aside.

"Ditto," Fred replied.

Harry scratched his head, thinking. "Well. . .in Auror's training we've read that no one since the time of the Dragon King has seen the pyramid and returned to tell the tale." As he talked, Fred was rummaging his arm around in the porthole in the captain's cabin.

"Where is all this stuff written?" George inquired.

But before Harry could answer, Fred suddenly rang out with, "Got it!" He waved the Scepter of Ibis in the air.

"I'd keep that close if I were you," Harry said. "Snape and his minions must not get it."

"The Gods could get this from me, old chap!" Fred exclaimed, but no sooner had he said that when Seamus appeared out of nowhere and snatched the scepter from Fred's grasp.

"This one's mine. Keep your hands off it."

As Seamus sauntered away, Harry just looked on and smirked, stroking Hedwig.

Out at the bow, Hermione was staring out at the now sapphire-hued sky, from time to time glancing down at the sand dunes below. She seemed to be fighting off the urge to cry.

Ron, who had been watching nearby, finally decided to approached her. Slipping an arm around her waist, he said tenderly, "Hey there."

Hermione let herself fall against him, and clutched her husband's hand. "I want him back, Ron. I want to hug him and hold him again."

"I know," he whispered. "We've taught him well. He's braver than me. He's smarter than you."

Hermione sniffled. "I just love him so much, I can't -"

"We both do," Ron replied. "And Jordan knows we do." He paused, his voice dropping even lower. "I'll get him back. I promise, 'Mione."

~*~

Across the Sahara, the train carrying Jordan Weasley still continued chugging along the tracks, speeding alongside the desert's magnificent sand dunes, and underneath the ever blazing Sahara sun.

Within a tight passenger car on the train, a certain dark robed wizard was playing nursemaid to a certain eight-year-old boy, and was not amused.

Jordan, seated across from Malfoy, drummed his fingers on the small table separating them, and stared at him, asking over and over again, "Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

This went on for several more moments, until, midway through, "Are we there yet?" Malfoy yanked out his scimitar and slammed it into the wood of the table, right in between Jordan's index and middle finger.

"Wow! That was amazing! Perfect aim!" The young boy exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Malfoy said nastily. "I missed."

Jordan's eyes widened for a moment, and then, casually, started drumming his fingers on the tabletop again. He looked down and noticed Malfoy was doing the same, and smirked. Malfoy drummed his fingers once, Jordan following suit, and then again.

He drummed them twice, having the feeling the boy was mocking him, and when Jordan drummed his twice as well, Malfoy practically pounced on him, completely annoyed.

"I have to go to the bathroom," the eight-year-old quickly said.

Malfoy grabbed Jordan's arm and pushed him into the next room, the toilet, which turned out to be one of the most foulest rooms Jordan had ever stepped into. "Hurry up!"

"I can't go when someone's watching!"

Malfoy said nothing but slammed the door behind him, leaving Jordan alone. Looking around at the repulsive surroundings, the young boy took note of the most revolting toilet he'd ever seen. Hastily he flipped up the lid, and a look washed over his face.

"God!" He exclaimed, indeed repulsed. "Doesn't anyone know how to flush a bloody toilet?" Jordan yanked the chain and watched the fecal matter empty itself from the latrine, and right out on the passing train tracks.

Suddenly struck with an idea, he nimbly took hold of the rusty toilet and ripped it off its slot. Staring down at the hole in the floor, Jordan yanked the emergency brake and dropped through the hole.

Running straight ahead, he spotted the Temple of Karnack, and dove in between the ruins as he dodged magic explosives that were being hurled at him from the train. He didn't bother to look back, although if he had, would have seen a boxcar open, Jaakko in the door way, accompanied by dark haired Pansy.

Jordan scrambled into the limestone temple, looking for a place to hide, when suddenly the gold Bracelet of Arana on his wrist sparked yet another vision. . .

. . .the chamber around him was surrounded by delicately carved relief of the triumphs of Minister Leopold. Then Jordan's vision raced, speeding across the desert, landing on another temple, the Temple Island of Philae, when suddenly a man in deep robes came striding forward into the vision. . . .

The vision disappeared and Jordan found himself staring straight at Jaakko, was raising his hand slowly, causing the young boy to rise in the air as well. Jaakko merely waggled his finger at Jordan, saying, "Tsk, tsk, tsk."

~*~

It was fully dark over the desert now, as the blue dirigible floated over the landscape. Inside the trawler, near the cabin, sat Ron. He was checking over his magic explosives as Harry sat across from him, talking to him.

"If a man does not embrace his past, he is unprepared for the future," the Auror chieftain was saying.

Ron sighed. "Even if I'm some sacred Auror Knight, what good does it do me now?"

"It is the missing piece of your heart," Harry answered. "If you accept it, you can do anything."

The redhead did not reply. Rubbing his brow tiredly, he asked, "So what can we expect from ol' Jaakko?"

Harry's eyes grew solemn. "His powers are restoring quickly. By the time he reaches Yané Seek even the Dragon King won't be able to defeat him."

"Hmm. . ." Ron said.

Meanwhile at the bow of the trawler, Hermione stood once more, overlooking the landscape, and fog drifted around the lip. A sudden feeling washed over her as she heard a faint whisper in anicent Egyptian, saying, "It is time to remember who you were. . .and are."

At that very moment, in the Temple of Karnack, Jaakko was kneeling in front of the water, Pansy next to him. He was speaking to her in his ancient tongue. "It's time for you to remember who we were together."

Waving a hand over the water, the fog dissipated to reveal a fantastic vision, one in which both Pansy and Hermione were both seeing.

In the high-ceilinged, pillared royal chamber of the palace, Minister Leopold sat upon his throne with his high priest Jaakko standing beside him. A pair of apparent princesses in golden regalia, clinging robes, and faces concealed by ornate gold masks were standing, facing each other.

With a clap of Leopold's hands, the women sprung into action, beginning a ferocious duel. Trading blows from their tridents, punching, kicking, and expertly diving, they were clearly skilled in battle further beyond any male warrior.

One of the lovely combatants was hurled to the floor with her opponent pointing a trident down at her. The woman on the floor, breathing hard, slowly lifted her golden mask, revealing the her lovely face. . .

. . .a face identical to Hermione's.

The comely brutal foe who had thrown the princess to the floor pulled up her mask as well. "Put your mask on! We wouldn't want to scare our pretty face!"

But the princess, with Hermione's face, suddenly jumped back to her feet and lunged at her opponent, tridents driving forward. The combat broke out yet again, with more vicious parrying, blocking, and striking. The first princess lost her weapons, and was flipped onto her back by her foe, trident dimpling her throat.

Applause rang out, the duel finished. "You have improved greatly," the victorous woman said, and then with a smirk, "I'll have to watch my back."

The princess on the floor, with Hermione's face, did not appreciate the sarcasm. Her eyes filled with fury, she replied sharply, "Yes. . .and I'll watch mine."

The two women rose from the floor moments later, Minister Leopold stepping forward. "Bravo, bravo!" He exclaimed, and then said, "Who better than to guard the Bracelet of Arana than my lovely daughter, Maricarmen." He put an arm around the princess resembling Hermione. "And who better than to protect me than my future wife, Cat-a-la-lina."

Embracing her father, Maricarmen glanced over his shoulder, seeing the high priest Jaakko walk by, glancing at Cat-a-la-lina, who returned it, following him with her eyes, as if a private secret existed between them. . .

The vision shared by Hermione and Pansy seemed to shimmer into the darkness, and suddenly. . .

. . .It was night, the sky a curtain of sapphire with a handful of diamonds. Princess Maricarmen stepped out on her balcony, savoring the sweet Nile breeze, her dreamy gaze drifting across the courtyard at Cat-a-la-lina's quarters. She glimpsed the lithe, petite form of the paramour slipping through a wall of silk drapes and out on her balcony, where she met another familiar figure, Maricarmen's father's high priest Jaakko. He and Cat-a-la-lina embraced, and then kissed!

The princess could not believe was she was seeing. Reeling in fury, she forced herself look back again after hearing a loud noise, and saw the two breaking apart in panic. "The minister!" Jaakko exclaimed.

Maricarmen saw the figure of her father in the drapes, and then glimpsed Jaakko coming forward with a scimitar, Cat-a-la-lina also had one raised, and they sunk them deep into Minister Leopol'd body, his shrieks of pain echoing through the palace.

"Nooooo!" The princess shrieked, eyes brimming with tears, weaving in shock. . .

. . .and Hermione, who was at the bow of the trawler, experiencing the same sensations, bobbed against the railing, and started to fall over the side.

" 'Mione!" Ron yelled out, diving over and grabbing her before she plunged to her death, and clutched a fistful of fishing net that was strung over the side of the trawler, keeping them from falling off.

~*~

But Pansy's vision had not ended the same time Hermione's had. Her trance continued on, witnessing some else, something more. . .

. . ."You must go, my love," Cat-a-la-lina told Jaakko. "Go, and save yourself!"

But the minister's guards were coming upon them fast, grabbing Jaakko, pulling him away as he yelled out, "I won't leave you!" But nevertheless, he was dragged away, and Cat-a-la-lina was left alone, until a troop of Auror Knights had approached her from behind, and she swung around.

"My body is no longer his temple!" She yelled, and then plunged her scimitar into her heart.

Pansy's eyes snapped open, blank and glassy as obsidian. Jaakko was still kneeling nearby, The Book of the Dead propped open in his hands as he read from its pages.

A black fog floated from the surface of the small shimmering pool, sinking into Pansy, enveloping her. A long moment of silence passed, and then she blinked her eyes. She looked to the side of her and exclaimed, "Jaakko!"

He returned her glance. "Cat-a-la-lina."

~*~

Back on Seamus's trawler, they were all sitting around together, listening to Hermione as she explained what she'd seen and experienced. Finishing her story, she said, "Honestly, I'm not loosing my mind it all makes perfect sense. These visions, they're memories of my previous life."

Harry nodded, not a tinge of doubt in his mind. Turning to Ron he said, "Now do you believe it, mate? Clearly you were destined to protect this woman."

"Sure," Ron replied sardonically, sarcastically. "She's a reincarnated princess and I'm an Auror Knight."

"And Jordan leads the way to Yané Seek! Three sides of the pyramid. This was all preordained a very long time ago," Harry replied.

"So how does the story end?" Hermione wanted to know.

"Only the journey is written, not the destination," the Auror chieftain answered.

"Convient," Ron put in.

"How else do you explain Hermione's visions?" Harry pointed out. "How do you explain your mark?"

"Coincidence, mate."

Harry shook his head, a small smile on his face. "Ron, there is a fine line between coincidence - and fate."

~*~