THAT SUMMER, Chapter 10
By Reija Linn
Bill
It was good, seeing my brothers and sister again, especially after Ginny had recovered from her post-traumatic state. We talked until late in the evening, drank spiced Rumanian red wine, and tried to remember the good times we'd had with Dad and Ron - and that wasn't hard, throughout the years, though there had been plenty of tragedy and problems, we had always shared much happiness between us. I also met Charlie's friends again, whom I remembered from Hogwarts - Charlie had been only one year behind me, after all.
Sunday morning, we had a fabulous breakfast, prepared by Fred and George - who would have ever thought those two would learn to cook! As it turned out, one of Charlie's friends -who's father was actually a chef - had showed them, and though I did not want to imagine what havoc those two could cause to a kitchen, they had obviously grown quite good at it.
Parting was not as hard as we had thought, though I was worried for Percy, who was returning to England, although he assured me there was no safer place than the ministry, save perhaps for Hogwart's, and he promised to write as often as he could manage to get letters through to me.Ginny was looking remarkably better, even though she was in a real bad shape of health, and she promised to take care of herself while I was gone, while Harry and I assured her that we would pass by when the day came on which we would return to England.
So, when Sunday afternoon came, we started our journey back to Egypt. I took care to take many breaks on the way, even though Harry never complained, I remembered well how straining Apparition could be if you weren't used to it.
Back home, we both weren't up to much more than having a light supper and falling into our shared bed exhaustedly, though once we lay there, sleep would not quite claim me, or Harry, to judge from his shallow breathing.
"Hey - you still awake?" I whispered, not wanting to wake him in case I had been mistaken.
"Yeah - miracle, since I feel real tired after that journey."
"I have another day off work, tomorrow, boss told me there's not much to do for me anyway - I'm trying to find my old teacher, the one who gave me Akasha's writings, once, to find out more about that... dream... you had. Last I heard, he was at the Serpent Goddesses' temple... I'm not sure if he's still alive, but if he is, he'll know something about such things. He's a priest, apart from being a wizard, and knows much about spirits and ghosts and so, though most people used to claim he was crazy... would you come with me, and tell him about the dreams you've had yourself?""Sure," Harry replied, sounding more than a little drowsy now, and snuggled closer to me. Darn my hormones, I actually enjoyed the feeling of a warm, male body against mine, even though I knew I should not.
Now, I had never been very prudent about my affairs, I'd known I was gay from early age on, and never really had a problem with it, and I'd had my share of lovers - but Harry was as a brother to me, and feeling anything but friendship in his embrace had to be extremely wrong...
Willing myself to fall asleep, I couldn't quite shake off the feeling of being attracted to this boy I had come to love as a sibling, though I pledged to myself I would not, under any circumstances, let my hormones get the better of me.
The next day, after sleeping out our travel weariness and starting the day slowly, we left for the Renenutet's and Wadjet's temple, that was situated far in the desert. Luckily, I had some floo powder left, thus not having to subject Harry to another Apparition so soon after our return from Rumania. It hadn't been enough for the multiple travels on our way to Rumania - crossing borders that way was not only illegal, it was not possible, since the borders were proofed against this kind of magic - but it should be enough for the distance to the temple and back.
I could see Harry's wide eyed wonder at the sight of the temple. Large it was, carved entirely out of red sand stone, and covered with hieroglyphs, but the most amazing thing was the large cobra that seemed to guard the entrance to it, and that looked remarkably alive, though it was carved from stone. This was only one of the many old sacred places that were hidden from Muggle eyes, but it was one of the most amazing, I agreed, though I had seen it once before. And a little terrifying, for it's size, and of course for it's whole meaning, when regarded from someone not accustomed to ancient Egypt religion. Snakes were, in England, looked upon as foul creatures, at least since Voldemort had started his first reign, and he was known to be in liaison with snakes and serpents, while her in Egypt, they were looked upon as holy creatures, as the very children of Mother Earth, or the greatest and oldest of serpents as actual Gods."Renenutet, who is also known as Renenet, Ernutet, and Termuthis, is the ancient Egyptian Goddess of Snakes. She is known also as a protector of the dead, as Goddess of Fertility, Destiny and Fortune, as well as of Nourishment. Wadjet, who has many other names, too, is the Serpent Goddess of Childbirth, Children, and protector of the Pharaoh - that's why there's a snake protruding from the Pharaoh's crown. Of course, the Egyptian Muggles don't believe in her anymore, but most of the wizarding folk still worship the old Gods at least for form's sake, and to show respect to the Pharaoh."A woman in plain white robes opened the gates of the temple, though we had not made notice of our presence in any way - but then, a temple as this was sure to be guarded by many protection and spotting spells.
"What do you seek of these ancient halls, males?" She was speaking ancient Egyptian, but I had put a translation spell on both of us beforehand.I fell down on both knees, as was custom before a priestess, and signaled Harry to do the same. "We seek but wisdom and advice. Does master Udschat still dwell in these halls?""The high-priest does dwell here. What is thy business with him?"
"He was my teacher, and I come to seek advice. My friend is the pupil of Azhame, guardian to the Divine One.""Thee and thy companion shall be permitted to enter. Master Udschat will learn of thy presence. Until then, prove thy worthiness by entering the halls of the Serpent Goddess unafraid."
Harry and I progressed through the gates of the temple, through a great hallway, and into a large room. In the front, where we were led, there was an altar, where a lower priestess or novice was polishing golden ornaments that had to be very valuable just by the look of them. The altar was carved of yellow sandstone, but disconcerting brown stains had dyed the stone - probably blood. They never sacrificed humans, of course, but in old times, many animals had been offered to the Gods They didn't do that nowadays, though traditionalists claimed it was the only way of true worship.
"Wait here;" the priestess who had led us in told us, then she disappeared through another door at the other end of the room. Only then did I notice the large serpent that was coiled around the altar, definitely too close for my liking. Even living in Egypt hadn't taken the natural uneasiness many people felt towards snakes of me, and this one was... huge.
Harry, on the other hand, seemed quite unafraid, and I gasped in shock when the serpent uncoiled from the altar and slithered towards the two of us - or rather, towards Harry. The novice - I recognised her as this by her shaven head - did not even acknowledge our presence, but continued with her work imperturbably.
The snake emitted a low hiss, and to my surprise, Harry responded to her (or him) in snake-tongue. I remembered then that Harry was a parcel-mouth, Ron had once told me about that, but I had forgotten since then. I could, of course, not understand a word of what they were saying - the translation spell worked only on human languages - but at least Harry wasn't showing any signs of being afraid of the large serpent.
"I see you have made friends with our Mother Serpent, boy," the priestess who had led us in remarked from the doorway in which she had suddenly reappeared. Was I mistaken, or did she sound awed? "It is a rare treat of the Gods to grant a human knowledge of this tongue - have you ever been trained in serpent-lore, boy?"
Harry shook his head.
"A pity, if you ask me. It is such a rare ability, and even rarer in males. The high-priest is the only one I know of, though I have heard there is another one in your home country, who uses this gift ill. Oh well. Master Udschat has agreed to see you. Please follow me."
We went after her through one long hallway after the other - the temple hadn't seemed quite this large from the outside, enormous though it was - until finally we arrived at my old teacher's room. I noticed the large serpent had followed us, though I hadn't seen her, and though I marveled how such large a creature could keep up with the speed with which the priestess had led us through the temple.
Udschat had hardly changed since I'd been trained by him, though then he was not high-priest but one of many priests, which was why he had taught me - cursing, and curse-breaking, were always taught by local priests in Egypt, who held the position of teachers throughout the country. There were no magical schools in Egypt, rather, when the time arrived for a youngster to be taught, he or she was sent to one of the temples for training, which was one of the reasons the ancient religion was still practised here. Udschat was clad in crimson red robes, the privilege of the high-priest and priestess, the long, silver hair and beard falling loosely.
"Ah," the old wizard greeted us. "Bill, my old student. How good to see you again. And this is your Chosen, yes?"
We both must have looked quite dumbfounded at that, for the old wizard broke into hearty laughter. "Ah, time will tell. But I trust you have not undertaken this journey just to greet your old teacher. What troubles your heart? Is it the situation in your country? I'm afraid I can say little to that, except for that which has been prophesied."
"That would be interesting to hear, though it is not why we have come." I progressed to tell him of the dream Harry had had, and of what I knew about Mum and Ginny, who had seemingly had similar dreams, and then Harry recounted his own dream himself. Udschat listened silently throughout this, unmoving except for one hand that was petting the Mother Serpent's head, who had coiled together next to him.
When Harry had finished, he turned towards both of us. "All I can tell you is what you yourself must know, already, in your hearts. Before the spirits of the dead pass into whatever realms they wander after death, they look upon those they leave behind, and take their parting. Mostly, they do this silently, but if they feel they have a last duty to fulfill with that person, or are unwilling to go for some reason, they may show themselves in dreams or visions. They are free to leave only when no guilt holds them back. Ghost are the spirits of the dead who are altogether unwilling to leave, who have committed a crime they must yet set right, or who have not yet fulfilled their destiny. Spirits that appear in dreams are almost prepared to take their leave, but feel they have one last duty to take care of.
"Of course, while ghosts can move freely around and use some of their senses still - they can hear, they can talk, they can see, though they cannot smell or taste, and feel only to a degree, spirits are bound to the world beyond already, and can move only in the subconscious thoughts of the people left behind.
"As to the prophesies... the prophesies tell of a world of darkness, of a soul blacker than coil, that will reign the north. That is your Dark Wizard Voldemort, I presume. The serpents have told us of the one that can speak with them, yet they fear him - that is seldom, normally, they are attached to the humans that speak their tongue. As this one seems to you, boy," he said to Harry. "Yes, you have been prophesied to fight the dark, to fulfill your destiny. Unfortunately, destiny can fulfill itself in many ways, and so I cannot tell you if you will survive - not that I would if I knew, anyway. It is wrong to know of ones own death, unless it is imminent, or one has experienced a vision.
"I am sorry I cannot help you more, but your future is not for me to tell. All I can tell you is this - you are on the right path. Be true to your heart, always."
He smiled at both of us then.
"I trust the writings I have once given you, Bill, are in good hands now?" I wondered if he had seen the future all along, and had given me the volume for the single purpose that I might pass it over to Harry. "Boy, there is great wisdom in them. The Queen Akasha herself was a servant of Isis, who is akin to the Serpents... but never forget she was also a creature of the dark, a vampire. Good and evil were balanced in her, as it must be in everyone of us. No one is without evil, but none should be without good."
This was all he would tell us, I could tell by the way he closed his eyes in a dismissing gesture, and as if by telepathy, the priestess from earlier suddenly appeared in the door again.
"Oh, boy," Udschat called after us, or rather, after Harry, before we passed the doorway. "When your destiny is fulfilled, and you should still be alive, seek me out at this temple. The gift of Serpent-tongue is rare, and you could achieve great things with it... or you could leave it at that. Whatever. But seek me out anyway, if your time allows. And Bill... take care of your Chosen..."
After this, and without allowing me further questions, the priestess led us back out of the temple, all the way through the halls and out towards the open, and the open fire that was still burning in front of the temple.
"You may travel through this."
With these words, she was gone, and seconds later, so were we, to find ourselves back in my own room.
We hadn't learned too much, though I guessed we had to be content with what Udschat had told us - he had always been a man of mystery, and not likely to speak without riddles.
By the time we had come back home, it was almost time for Harry to depart for his lessons, so all we had was a light meal.
"Was Akasha really a vampire?" Harry wondered. "You can't tell from her writings."
"Well, what would you tell it from? She certainly knew enough curses and counter-curses to be a creature of the dark. And after all, you know a werewolf - would you say he's that much different than most people? Yet werewolves are betitled creatures of the dark. As legends go, Akasha was a queen, but through a curse was turned into a vampire. It is unknown whether she is still alive - well, as alive a vampires can be. If yes, she would be amazingly old, but no report of her death has ever been filed. And vampire hunters are the last to not boast with their conquests."
"Hm. I suppose you're right. Wow. So I'm actually learning from a vampire's writings? Guess most people wouldn't be too pleased with that."
"Not in England, I agree. But in Egypt, Akasha was by far too respected as a Queen in Ancient Times to be shunned as a vampire. Legend tells of hundreds of volunteers who offered their own blood and life to her - of course, no one would do that now, but her writings still are one of the milestones in cursing and curse-breaking."
"And what," Harry asked me between two bites, "what did Udschat mean by your 'chosen', Bill?"
"I honestly have no idea." Of course, I knew what my old teacher had been insinuating, but this I had already deleted from my list of possible things to happen.
Though it was strange, indeed, that both Shezra from the pub, who was known as a seer, and my old teacher had used the same name.
Still, this possibility was by far too complicated to ever work. There was the age difference, there was the fact that Harry was still mourning for Ron, the fact that we would probably see each other only scarcely once the battle was over, if indeed we both survived it - which was indeed questionable -
And finally, it wasn't that kind of love I was feeling, right? Brotherly love, friendship, and, I grudgingly had to admit, perhaps even sexual attraction... but nothing that would suggest...
When Harry left for his lessons, he left me behind with far too much to think about.
But then... Udschat had probably just confused me with his talk of destiny and then with that one phrase... it could be pure coincidence that he and Shezra had used the same term, or maybe, it was a commonly used word if one suggested two men to be lovers... and though Harry and I weren't, it wasn't too hard for any outsider to come to that conclusion - I had never been shy about admitting I was gay, and Harry was a handsome young man...
No, it had to be by pure chance, and nothing to do with that kind of feeling on my side. And I certainly wouldn't pester Harry with this kind of weird thoughts I was having.
By Reija Linn
Bill
It was good, seeing my brothers and sister again, especially after Ginny had recovered from her post-traumatic state. We talked until late in the evening, drank spiced Rumanian red wine, and tried to remember the good times we'd had with Dad and Ron - and that wasn't hard, throughout the years, though there had been plenty of tragedy and problems, we had always shared much happiness between us. I also met Charlie's friends again, whom I remembered from Hogwarts - Charlie had been only one year behind me, after all.
Sunday morning, we had a fabulous breakfast, prepared by Fred and George - who would have ever thought those two would learn to cook! As it turned out, one of Charlie's friends -who's father was actually a chef - had showed them, and though I did not want to imagine what havoc those two could cause to a kitchen, they had obviously grown quite good at it.
Parting was not as hard as we had thought, though I was worried for Percy, who was returning to England, although he assured me there was no safer place than the ministry, save perhaps for Hogwart's, and he promised to write as often as he could manage to get letters through to me.Ginny was looking remarkably better, even though she was in a real bad shape of health, and she promised to take care of herself while I was gone, while Harry and I assured her that we would pass by when the day came on which we would return to England.
So, when Sunday afternoon came, we started our journey back to Egypt. I took care to take many breaks on the way, even though Harry never complained, I remembered well how straining Apparition could be if you weren't used to it.
Back home, we both weren't up to much more than having a light supper and falling into our shared bed exhaustedly, though once we lay there, sleep would not quite claim me, or Harry, to judge from his shallow breathing.
"Hey - you still awake?" I whispered, not wanting to wake him in case I had been mistaken.
"Yeah - miracle, since I feel real tired after that journey."
"I have another day off work, tomorrow, boss told me there's not much to do for me anyway - I'm trying to find my old teacher, the one who gave me Akasha's writings, once, to find out more about that... dream... you had. Last I heard, he was at the Serpent Goddesses' temple... I'm not sure if he's still alive, but if he is, he'll know something about such things. He's a priest, apart from being a wizard, and knows much about spirits and ghosts and so, though most people used to claim he was crazy... would you come with me, and tell him about the dreams you've had yourself?""Sure," Harry replied, sounding more than a little drowsy now, and snuggled closer to me. Darn my hormones, I actually enjoyed the feeling of a warm, male body against mine, even though I knew I should not.
Now, I had never been very prudent about my affairs, I'd known I was gay from early age on, and never really had a problem with it, and I'd had my share of lovers - but Harry was as a brother to me, and feeling anything but friendship in his embrace had to be extremely wrong...
Willing myself to fall asleep, I couldn't quite shake off the feeling of being attracted to this boy I had come to love as a sibling, though I pledged to myself I would not, under any circumstances, let my hormones get the better of me.
The next day, after sleeping out our travel weariness and starting the day slowly, we left for the Renenutet's and Wadjet's temple, that was situated far in the desert. Luckily, I had some floo powder left, thus not having to subject Harry to another Apparition so soon after our return from Rumania. It hadn't been enough for the multiple travels on our way to Rumania - crossing borders that way was not only illegal, it was not possible, since the borders were proofed against this kind of magic - but it should be enough for the distance to the temple and back.
I could see Harry's wide eyed wonder at the sight of the temple. Large it was, carved entirely out of red sand stone, and covered with hieroglyphs, but the most amazing thing was the large cobra that seemed to guard the entrance to it, and that looked remarkably alive, though it was carved from stone. This was only one of the many old sacred places that were hidden from Muggle eyes, but it was one of the most amazing, I agreed, though I had seen it once before. And a little terrifying, for it's size, and of course for it's whole meaning, when regarded from someone not accustomed to ancient Egypt religion. Snakes were, in England, looked upon as foul creatures, at least since Voldemort had started his first reign, and he was known to be in liaison with snakes and serpents, while her in Egypt, they were looked upon as holy creatures, as the very children of Mother Earth, or the greatest and oldest of serpents as actual Gods."Renenutet, who is also known as Renenet, Ernutet, and Termuthis, is the ancient Egyptian Goddess of Snakes. She is known also as a protector of the dead, as Goddess of Fertility, Destiny and Fortune, as well as of Nourishment. Wadjet, who has many other names, too, is the Serpent Goddess of Childbirth, Children, and protector of the Pharaoh - that's why there's a snake protruding from the Pharaoh's crown. Of course, the Egyptian Muggles don't believe in her anymore, but most of the wizarding folk still worship the old Gods at least for form's sake, and to show respect to the Pharaoh."A woman in plain white robes opened the gates of the temple, though we had not made notice of our presence in any way - but then, a temple as this was sure to be guarded by many protection and spotting spells.
"What do you seek of these ancient halls, males?" She was speaking ancient Egyptian, but I had put a translation spell on both of us beforehand.I fell down on both knees, as was custom before a priestess, and signaled Harry to do the same. "We seek but wisdom and advice. Does master Udschat still dwell in these halls?""The high-priest does dwell here. What is thy business with him?"
"He was my teacher, and I come to seek advice. My friend is the pupil of Azhame, guardian to the Divine One.""Thee and thy companion shall be permitted to enter. Master Udschat will learn of thy presence. Until then, prove thy worthiness by entering the halls of the Serpent Goddess unafraid."
Harry and I progressed through the gates of the temple, through a great hallway, and into a large room. In the front, where we were led, there was an altar, where a lower priestess or novice was polishing golden ornaments that had to be very valuable just by the look of them. The altar was carved of yellow sandstone, but disconcerting brown stains had dyed the stone - probably blood. They never sacrificed humans, of course, but in old times, many animals had been offered to the Gods They didn't do that nowadays, though traditionalists claimed it was the only way of true worship.
"Wait here;" the priestess who had led us in told us, then she disappeared through another door at the other end of the room. Only then did I notice the large serpent that was coiled around the altar, definitely too close for my liking. Even living in Egypt hadn't taken the natural uneasiness many people felt towards snakes of me, and this one was... huge.
Harry, on the other hand, seemed quite unafraid, and I gasped in shock when the serpent uncoiled from the altar and slithered towards the two of us - or rather, towards Harry. The novice - I recognised her as this by her shaven head - did not even acknowledge our presence, but continued with her work imperturbably.
The snake emitted a low hiss, and to my surprise, Harry responded to her (or him) in snake-tongue. I remembered then that Harry was a parcel-mouth, Ron had once told me about that, but I had forgotten since then. I could, of course, not understand a word of what they were saying - the translation spell worked only on human languages - but at least Harry wasn't showing any signs of being afraid of the large serpent.
"I see you have made friends with our Mother Serpent, boy," the priestess who had led us in remarked from the doorway in which she had suddenly reappeared. Was I mistaken, or did she sound awed? "It is a rare treat of the Gods to grant a human knowledge of this tongue - have you ever been trained in serpent-lore, boy?"
Harry shook his head.
"A pity, if you ask me. It is such a rare ability, and even rarer in males. The high-priest is the only one I know of, though I have heard there is another one in your home country, who uses this gift ill. Oh well. Master Udschat has agreed to see you. Please follow me."
We went after her through one long hallway after the other - the temple hadn't seemed quite this large from the outside, enormous though it was - until finally we arrived at my old teacher's room. I noticed the large serpent had followed us, though I hadn't seen her, and though I marveled how such large a creature could keep up with the speed with which the priestess had led us through the temple.
Udschat had hardly changed since I'd been trained by him, though then he was not high-priest but one of many priests, which was why he had taught me - cursing, and curse-breaking, were always taught by local priests in Egypt, who held the position of teachers throughout the country. There were no magical schools in Egypt, rather, when the time arrived for a youngster to be taught, he or she was sent to one of the temples for training, which was one of the reasons the ancient religion was still practised here. Udschat was clad in crimson red robes, the privilege of the high-priest and priestess, the long, silver hair and beard falling loosely.
"Ah," the old wizard greeted us. "Bill, my old student. How good to see you again. And this is your Chosen, yes?"
We both must have looked quite dumbfounded at that, for the old wizard broke into hearty laughter. "Ah, time will tell. But I trust you have not undertaken this journey just to greet your old teacher. What troubles your heart? Is it the situation in your country? I'm afraid I can say little to that, except for that which has been prophesied."
"That would be interesting to hear, though it is not why we have come." I progressed to tell him of the dream Harry had had, and of what I knew about Mum and Ginny, who had seemingly had similar dreams, and then Harry recounted his own dream himself. Udschat listened silently throughout this, unmoving except for one hand that was petting the Mother Serpent's head, who had coiled together next to him.
When Harry had finished, he turned towards both of us. "All I can tell you is what you yourself must know, already, in your hearts. Before the spirits of the dead pass into whatever realms they wander after death, they look upon those they leave behind, and take their parting. Mostly, they do this silently, but if they feel they have a last duty to fulfill with that person, or are unwilling to go for some reason, they may show themselves in dreams or visions. They are free to leave only when no guilt holds them back. Ghost are the spirits of the dead who are altogether unwilling to leave, who have committed a crime they must yet set right, or who have not yet fulfilled their destiny. Spirits that appear in dreams are almost prepared to take their leave, but feel they have one last duty to take care of.
"Of course, while ghosts can move freely around and use some of their senses still - they can hear, they can talk, they can see, though they cannot smell or taste, and feel only to a degree, spirits are bound to the world beyond already, and can move only in the subconscious thoughts of the people left behind.
"As to the prophesies... the prophesies tell of a world of darkness, of a soul blacker than coil, that will reign the north. That is your Dark Wizard Voldemort, I presume. The serpents have told us of the one that can speak with them, yet they fear him - that is seldom, normally, they are attached to the humans that speak their tongue. As this one seems to you, boy," he said to Harry. "Yes, you have been prophesied to fight the dark, to fulfill your destiny. Unfortunately, destiny can fulfill itself in many ways, and so I cannot tell you if you will survive - not that I would if I knew, anyway. It is wrong to know of ones own death, unless it is imminent, or one has experienced a vision.
"I am sorry I cannot help you more, but your future is not for me to tell. All I can tell you is this - you are on the right path. Be true to your heart, always."
He smiled at both of us then.
"I trust the writings I have once given you, Bill, are in good hands now?" I wondered if he had seen the future all along, and had given me the volume for the single purpose that I might pass it over to Harry. "Boy, there is great wisdom in them. The Queen Akasha herself was a servant of Isis, who is akin to the Serpents... but never forget she was also a creature of the dark, a vampire. Good and evil were balanced in her, as it must be in everyone of us. No one is without evil, but none should be without good."
This was all he would tell us, I could tell by the way he closed his eyes in a dismissing gesture, and as if by telepathy, the priestess from earlier suddenly appeared in the door again.
"Oh, boy," Udschat called after us, or rather, after Harry, before we passed the doorway. "When your destiny is fulfilled, and you should still be alive, seek me out at this temple. The gift of Serpent-tongue is rare, and you could achieve great things with it... or you could leave it at that. Whatever. But seek me out anyway, if your time allows. And Bill... take care of your Chosen..."
After this, and without allowing me further questions, the priestess led us back out of the temple, all the way through the halls and out towards the open, and the open fire that was still burning in front of the temple.
"You may travel through this."
With these words, she was gone, and seconds later, so were we, to find ourselves back in my own room.
We hadn't learned too much, though I guessed we had to be content with what Udschat had told us - he had always been a man of mystery, and not likely to speak without riddles.
By the time we had come back home, it was almost time for Harry to depart for his lessons, so all we had was a light meal.
"Was Akasha really a vampire?" Harry wondered. "You can't tell from her writings."
"Well, what would you tell it from? She certainly knew enough curses and counter-curses to be a creature of the dark. And after all, you know a werewolf - would you say he's that much different than most people? Yet werewolves are betitled creatures of the dark. As legends go, Akasha was a queen, but through a curse was turned into a vampire. It is unknown whether she is still alive - well, as alive a vampires can be. If yes, she would be amazingly old, but no report of her death has ever been filed. And vampire hunters are the last to not boast with their conquests."
"Hm. I suppose you're right. Wow. So I'm actually learning from a vampire's writings? Guess most people wouldn't be too pleased with that."
"Not in England, I agree. But in Egypt, Akasha was by far too respected as a Queen in Ancient Times to be shunned as a vampire. Legend tells of hundreds of volunteers who offered their own blood and life to her - of course, no one would do that now, but her writings still are one of the milestones in cursing and curse-breaking."
"And what," Harry asked me between two bites, "what did Udschat mean by your 'chosen', Bill?"
"I honestly have no idea." Of course, I knew what my old teacher had been insinuating, but this I had already deleted from my list of possible things to happen.
Though it was strange, indeed, that both Shezra from the pub, who was known as a seer, and my old teacher had used the same name.
Still, this possibility was by far too complicated to ever work. There was the age difference, there was the fact that Harry was still mourning for Ron, the fact that we would probably see each other only scarcely once the battle was over, if indeed we both survived it - which was indeed questionable -
And finally, it wasn't that kind of love I was feeling, right? Brotherly love, friendship, and, I grudgingly had to admit, perhaps even sexual attraction... but nothing that would suggest...
When Harry left for his lessons, he left me behind with far too much to think about.
But then... Udschat had probably just confused me with his talk of destiny and then with that one phrase... it could be pure coincidence that he and Shezra had used the same term, or maybe, it was a commonly used word if one suggested two men to be lovers... and though Harry and I weren't, it wasn't too hard for any outsider to come to that conclusion - I had never been shy about admitting I was gay, and Harry was a handsome young man...
No, it had to be by pure chance, and nothing to do with that kind of feeling on my side. And I certainly wouldn't pester Harry with this kind of weird thoughts I was having.