A/N: I have a big request on you: I've grown to like the 12th theme of the HP film soundtrack (Christmas at Hogwarts) very much, but there are a couple of words in the song that I don't understand. Would someone be kind enough to write the whole song down and send it to me in an email? Thanks in advance.

And now to your reviews:

Elizabeth: I'm glad that you didn't think my fic was a lame one :-)

Lishel Fracrium: sorry, I'm not telling what Ginny will do. You'll get to know in time. (I know, I'm evil… keeping all the readers in suspense…)

K-K: you asked why they didn't need to find Ron. Sorry, if I told you, I'd spoil the surprise. Don't worry, Harry'll get his memories back. You'll get more Ron/Hermione in the next chapter that will be about Christmas.

joebob1379: you have seen the movie for three times??? I'm green with envy! (I've read that someone who had seen it, thought that it was too childish. What's your opinion?)

PadmeSkywalker: I also liked the Fat Lady ;-)

fire*child: Draco becoming friendlier??? Weeeeeell… who knows? I'm pretty unpredictable, so no possibilities can be excluded…

Isis: thanks for the correction of Thoth's name. This chapter will contain some other Egyptian gods' names. If I wrote them wrong, feel free to correct me. (Get my story published in Noble and Barnes? Lol… you people write so funny things…)

Atalanta Zora: get Peeves removed??? No way! I like him! How many of your friends have read my story? Don't you people in America (you live there, don't you?) use the hours until 24 hour??? We use them in Hungary.

Waldomier: oh yeah, the stupid centaurs never make sense. (But still, they know something that no one else does – well, maybe except for good ol' Albus…)

Sailor Chibi: I'm glad to have picked this title, it really attracts attention. (Truth be told I had two other titles for the fic, but I'm happy to have chosen this one, because it tells things, but not too much, while the other two would have told way too much and you'd already know what to expect :-) Nice to hear that you like long fics – this one is gonna be really long.

Tilulu: you asked how Harry is gonna find out who he is if that Egyptian guy cannot help him – but did you really expect me to answer this question? All I can tell you about Harry regaining his memories is that you might never guess how it will happen :-)

Song*4*Fluffy: I might disappoint you. Sorry. But I promised a happy end to every reader, so you won't be too disappointed ;-)

Hermione Granger: so you do have a feeling why the centaurs called her saviour. Hm… I have to tell you that not many people have the slightest idea what will happen with Ginny, but my mother managed to find it out pretty early (either she's a genious or she has the Sight.) About Harry being evil I must tell you that I think those people are evil who say that Harry is evil! And not only are they evil but they are extremely stupid as well!

Vanilla: yeah, I'm from Hungary, and yes, I have already heard that Oliver was hot :-) Can't wait to see the film!

Avada Kedavra: so you liked the password? I'd never guess why… lol

Enjoy!

Chapter 21

The secret of the Great Pyramid

Two weeks had passed since Abysmal sun-Amun started his therapy on Gilderoy. Abysmal didn't want to leave the pyramids – they needed his protection, in his opinion – so Gilderoy stayed with him, and so did Sunny and Harry. Mr. sun-Amun advised that his daughter and the boy should return to Cairo and give some company to poor Abdul, but Harry didn't want to leave Gilderoy, for he was the only 'friend' he knew. Of course he and Anck-sun-Amun also became friends, but Harry never ceased to feel that something was missing from his life, besides his memories. Neither Gilderoy, nor Sunny could make up for Ron and Hermione, and deep in his heart he felt that not only old friends were missing, but someone else, too… some he loved.

24th December was the longest night of the year – in Christian cultures it was celebrated as Christmas, but Moslems didn't regard it as something of great importance.

Gilderoy and Abysmal, having had a hard day behind them, were already asleep, but Harry didn't feel tired at all. He had spent the day watering camels and listening to ancient Egyptian tales told by Sunny.

The sky now was pitch-black, millions of celestial flames burning above the desert.

"That is the Orion." Harry said. He simply knew that constellation, though he didn't remember the astronomy classes with Professor Sinistra. "With the three stars in its belt."

"Yep. The three stars are called Almillam, Alnitak and Mintaka." Sunny replied. "Did you know that the Great Pyramids were built to depict the Orion belt? They are situated exactly like those three stars, and they are even standing in such an angle to the Nile, that it exactly corresponds with the position of the Orion belt compared to the Milky Way."

Harry shook his head. "No. I didn't know that." he pointed his finger at a very bright star. "What is that one called? I can't recall its name."

"Sirius." the girl answered.

Harry furrowed his brow. "Sirius?"

"Yup. Or you may call it Alpha Canis Maioris. It's the brightest star of all."

*Sirius… Sirius… Sirius…* the word echoed in Harry's ears. *Why does a star's name make me feel this funny?* he thought. As though Sirius had meant more to him than just a star's name.

Not much later Anck-sun-Amun and Harry said good night to each other and climbed into their respective tents.

It was shortly before midnight when Harry heard a strange voice – a faint one, like the sound of the wind. It was calling out to him.

Deep inside the greatest tomb,

Like a child still in the womb,

There's a secret so well-kept,

That if you are an inept,

Don't even try finding it,

'Cause you'll be but a spirit

by the time you reach the gate,

You'll have faced your deadly fate.

But if you are 'capable',

Enter then, now or never.

You will have two hundred days,

Before the tomb hides its ways.

If you now miss the chance,

Don't even try enchantments,

Time is up, the tomb-gate seals,

For more than thousand years.

At first Harry thought he was dreaming, but as the voice kept repeating its short verse, he got convinced that he was wide-awake.

He got out of his tent, expecting to see wizards swarming into the direction the voice came from.

To his greatest surprise he saw no one stir.

The camp was peaceful and silent. Silent, apart from the voice that repeated those lines.

Harry crouched down before Sunny's tent. The girl was fast asleep.

*How is this possible?* he thought. For a moment he paused to wake the girl, but he decided against it. He didn't want to irritate her – if she woke up and heard nothing, she'd not only be angry, but would also take him for a complete fool.

He hesitated whether to follow the mysterious voice, or stay put and ignore it.

Somehow he felt that he needed to have a look at that secret the greatest tomb – the Kufu Pyramid – was hiding. He couldn't explain why he felt that way – there were many things that couldn't be explained, and this one belonged to them.

He had to follow it, Harry just knew it instinctively.

For a moment he listened to the camp's noises – he wanted to make sure that no one saw him leave – but all he could hear was the snoring of the members of the Let's Save the Pyramids League.

Some camels stirred under a bunch of palm-trees. Fortunately Abu was also asleep – bringing curious monkeys into mysterious, magical places was thoughtless – proved by Disney Co.

So Harry began to follow the voice through the camp, wondering why all the others were still dozing. Could he be the only one to hear the voice?

By every passing moment he got more and more convinced of it.

After about half an hour he reached the basement of the Kufu Pyramid.

*Now what?* he mused. The voice immediately told him to knock on one of the basement stones with his wand – the stone had a small eye engraved in it – the symbol of Isis.

Harry obliged, and a secret gate opened in the wall of the pyramid.

He gulped, fought back a sudden attack of fear and stepped in.

He found himself in a narrow passageway.

"Lumos!" he said, and his wand illuminated the corridor around him. In the light of the wand he saw peeling paintings on the walls: pictures of Isis and Osiris and those of the pharaoh Kufu.

The voice kept telling him the way, so as he reached a fork, he immediately knew which passage to choose.

Soon he arrived at a fake burial vault – cursed by a scarab-beetle curse (in a nutshell: you open the fake coffin and get attacked by not fake, but totally real scarab-beetles that eat themselves into your body.)

Harry didn't even care about the coffin – he knew it wasn't what he was looking for.

The voice carried on giving him instructions, leading him through a whole maze of corridors (some of which were littered with human bones: two and three-skulled skeletons, surely due to curses that Ron had talked about. However, Harry didn't remember Ron.)

He had already spent about an hour in the pyramid when he realised that he wasn't alone. Someone was following him.

A shiver ran down his spine. *It must be the mummy!* unfortunately he didn't remember Professor Lupin's mummy-repelling charm.

He raised his wand, ready to do something – a futile effort when you don't remember a single spell but Lumos and Nox.

Suddenly a small lilac light appeared in the corridor. The light came from a wand that actually belonged to Anck-sun-Amun.

"Whew!" Harry let out a sigh. "You've frightened me. I thought you were the mummy… but what are you doing here? You are supposed to be sleeping."

"So are you." the girl replied. "I followed you. Anyway, I could ask you the same question: what the hell are you doing in here?"

"Um, well, following the voice." Harry shrugged.

"What voice?"

"Can't you hear it?"

The girl shook her head. "What is that voice telling you?"

"Oh, well, it was talking about some secret in the Great Pyramid, then showed me the way in here. It's leading me to the secret, I guess."

Sunny frowned, clearly not approving of Harry obeying a voice that only he could hear.

"What if that voice only wants to lure you into a trap?" she asked. "Or what if it only exists in your imagination?"

Harry knitted his eyebrows. "The fact that I'm amnesiac doesn't mean that I'm crazy. I HEARD that voice. Still hear it."

"And what is it telling you right now?" she crossed her arms.

"It is telling that… it cannot lead me any deeper into the pyramid. I've arrived to the very last wall separating me from the secret, and have to find out how to get through it."

"Now you see…" Sunny shook her head. "It wanted to trap you. It led you into the bowels of the pyramid, deep enough that you won't be able to find your way back, then left you. What a pathetic try of delusion! Good that I can lead you back."

"Back? How?"

"Have you heard of Ariadne?" Harry shook his head. "She was an ancestors of mine, who gave a thread to Prince Theseus to find his way out of the labyrinth of the mynotaur. Look, I have the latest development of Ariadne's thread." she showed him a ring on her index-finger. In the light of the two wands, Harry could see a very thin, silver thread coming out of the ring. "Cool, isn't it? Since the ring ejects the thread, I don't have to bother with the ball, it doesn't tangle up, either. I've souped it up a bit with an anti-break charm. So, let's go!"

"Let's go?" Harry frowned. "No way, sister. I've come this far. I want to know what that secret is."

"Oh, so you do." she wrinkled her nose. "If your greatest desire in life is to be chased through the pyramid by a bunch of blood-thirsty mummies, then do so – go ahead."

"That's exactly what I'm gonna do." Harry declared, determined.

"You've got a sun-stroke, don't you?" Sunny folded her arms before her chest. "You spent the whole day watering the camels, so no wonder that…"

"I'm fine!" Harry interrupted her. "Listen, there was a voice, talking only to ME. It wanted me to get to know something, and I have the feeling that I might come upon something important… dunno, maybe something that will help me get my memories back. You can go back, Sunny, I'd never risk your life. But I HAVE TO go through this. Have to."

The girl saw the determination in Harry's green eyes. "Shit, I'm gonna regret this!" she spat.

"What?" he gave her a questioning look.

"I'm coming with you. You can't read the hieroglyphs, can you?"

Harry shook his head.

"Okay, then. If we find a huge heap of gold, the half of it belongs to me."

The boy grinned. "I don't think this whole thing is about treasures, and neither do you."

Sunny smiled back, and raised her wand to illuminate the wall before them.

"Look! The mark of Apophys!" she pointed at a serpent-painting.

"Apophys?"

"The snake-god." she explained. "The hieroglyphs say that only the chosen ones can hear the voice, and only once in a millennium. Only they can open the secret gate leading to the light of life." she turned to Harry. "The light of life? What could that mean?"

The young man shrugged. "You're the local here, not me."

Sunny read the text once more. "…only the chosen ones can hear the voice… oh, holy Isis! Do you know what that means?"

"What?"

"This sentence is told by Apophys. He talks about the voice, that only you could hear. That… that means you are… Parselmouth."

"Parcel…what?" Harry blinked.

"Parselmouth. You can speak the language of serpents." the girl shuddered – not from cold, but from horror. "It is a bad omen, you know… Apophys was evil, so were his successors, the three Basilisks."

"Basilisks?" Harry found that word pretty familiar. "The snakes that are born from a chicken egg hatched under a toad?"

"How do you know about them?" the girl's eyes widened.

"Dunno." he shrugged. "I just know it."

"I have a bad feeling about this." Anck-sun-Amun stated.

"But you will help me, won't you?"

"Sure I will." the young woman sighed, and turned back to the wall. "Okay, so Apophys talks here about a flame that he was born from. That flame can only be accessed by a Parselmouth."

"And what is that flame good for?" Harry asked.

"No idea. I think we'll find it out if we find that flame."

"Do you think that flame is the secret of the Great Pyramid?"

"Very likely." she nodded. "Okay, the script on the wall says that you have to place your hand here and say 'Open' in Parseltongue." she showed Harry a brick with a serpent on it.

The boy complied and no sooner did his hand touch the brick, than the wall started to shudder.

"Open!" he said aloud, but nothing happened - even the shuddering of the wall stopped. "What did I do wrong?"

"You said it in English, not Parseltongue."

"But I don't know how to speak Parseltongue. Is there an English-Parseltongue dictionary in your camp?"

Sunny couldn't help but laugh. "No, there's no dictionary like that at all. So few people speak Parseltongue that is was not necessary to write one."

"Oh, I see." Harry nodded. "What could I do then?"

"Well, I guess if you should imagine that you're talking to a snake, then you'll actually speak Parseltongue."

"Okay, let's give it a try." he imagined a huge boa constrictor, and said 'Open!'

The wall shuddered again and a door opened in it.

Harry let go of the brick with the serpent on it, and peered into the room. He expected it to be totally dark, but it wasn't. In the middle of the room stood a torch, burning with an ethereal green light.

"It's beautiful." Harry whispered.

"Uh-huh," Sunny answered, but didn't waste her time ogling the unaccustomed torch. She searched immediately for hieroglyphs, instead.

"This is the Green Flame Torch." she said, turning to the boy.

"Really?" he raised an eyebrow, with a hint of amusement on his face. "I would never have guessed."

The girl didn't react upon the mocking tone of his voice, just carried on with reading out the script: "So, this flame is the one from which Apophys was born, and it can only be accessed once in a thousand years, only for two hundred days, and only by a Parselmouth."

"Already heard that." he pointed out.

"Repetitio est mater studiorum." she replied with a serious face. "So, if the Green Flame Torch isn't found and used by a Parselmouth within those 200 days while the tomb is open, then it only will be accessible more than 1000 years later."

"Uhum." Harry nodded. "There was something like this in the verse, too."

"Let me continue." Sunny said, clearly not happy about being interrupted. "So, it can be used within the two hundred days. This chamber opened yesterday, so…" she made a bit of mental arithmetic, "it can be used until 11th July."

"But what do you mean by using it?" Harry inquired.

"The Green Flame Torch, my friend, is able to resurrect people. When a Parselmouth uses it, he has to step into this circle here," she pointed at a circle of two metres in diameter drawn on the floor, "and has to ignite it with the torch around himself. Then he can choose a dead person to come back from death."

Had Harry remembered his past, had he known that he had lost his beloved parents, he would surely have decided to bring one of them back now. But he didn't remember.

"What if… what if I don't want to use it now, only later? After I've regained my memories… maybe there's someone I'd want to bring back then."

The girl shook her head. "The hieroglyphs say that if a Parselmouth leaves the pyramid without using the torch and wants to return later – still within the 200-day period – he'll have to face all the dangers of the tomb that avoided him for the first time. Next time you won't be led by the voice, and you can get lost or killed."

Harry seemed to contemplate her words. "What if we draw a map about the corridors we've come through? I'm sure I'll remember the signs I had to touch or knock with my wand."

"It isn't that simple." Anck-sun-Amun answered. "This is an enchanted tomb, as are many of the ancient Egyptian tombs. Once someone leaves it alive, the inner construction gets changed. It gets rearranged. You won't be able to come in the same way once again. Quite tricky, huh?"

"Yeah." Harry sighed, then shrugged. "Never mind. I don't remember anyone now whom I would like to bring back, and don't think I'd ever need this torch."

"Are you that sure? There won't be another opportunity like this."

"Yes, I'm sure." he said. "Let's go."

Sunny shrugged. "As you wish. It is your choice to make. But next time don't expect me to help you."

Harry grinned. "I don't think there will be a next time. It was fun, though." he yawned. "It must already be dawn, right?"

"Very likely." she stifled a yawn. "Man, I'm tired."

The two youngsters stumbled out of the chamber, the door of which closed with a hiss.

Now they only had to follow Sunny's silver thread and half an hour later they reached out of the pyramid. The sky was still dark, but a light pinkish hue already appeared on the horizon.

"Good morning." Anck-sun-Amun smiled.

"Good night, you mean." Harry climbed into his tent, and immediately fell asleep.

A/N2: now you must be wondering what this whole thing with the torch was good for… you'll find out in time.

Review, please!