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Harry Potter and the Ankh of Khepri
A Sequel to "Harry Potter and the Phoenix's Flight"
By The Velvet Ghost
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Chapter Seven - Khepri
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After a few moments of struggling, Harry managed to throw off the creature's
hand, and he shrunk back against the head board, staring up at whatever it was
now watching him from the side of the bed.
"You look different in real life," it said, after a moment, in a
distinctly male voice. There was an odd accent in there that Harry had never
heard before.
"What are you?" growled Harry. "Why are you in my room?"
The creature grinned. Harry hated that smile so much. It almost reminded him of
Lockhart, a glitter of teeth - though these ones were far sharper, and far less
human. "Call me Khepri," he said. "And I'm here to see you...
isn't it obvious?"
"Why?" said Harry, suspiciously. His hand was gripping his wand
tightly, and he was fully ready to defend himself if "Khepri" decided
to pounce.
"To just warn you..." Khepri said, in that odd accent. Where was that
from? Harry couldn't put a label to it at all. "To warn you of danger.
Warn you of a threat. It's taken me a while to find you. You are well hidden,
Harry Potter. And so well protected... you have two guardians, do you not? One
with you now." He tilted his head, and Harry saw that he had long black
hair to his waist, carefully braided and weaved with gold. "But it won't
protect you. And I'm here to warn you."
"What about, exactly?" said Harry. He realised he was still tensed
against the head board, looking up at Khepri worriedly. Those yellow hawk-eyes
were very un-nerving.
"So eager?" Khepri whispered. "When I've come all this way to
see you? No time to talk?"
Harry, up until now, had been a little reminded of Dobby the house elf, even
though Khepri didn't resemble a house elf in the slightest. He was fairly
short, the size of the average first year, but he would have still towered over
a house elf. House elves also had long, pointed ears, but Khepri's ears, Harry
realised, were like a cat's, and perched delicately on the top of his head.
"They'll hear you up here," Harry warned. "Ron and all my other
friends. Or I'll scream for them, if you don't tell me why you're here and why
you've been messing with my dreams."
Khepri grinned, flashing those sharp white teeth. "You can scream for them
all you like. It won't do any good."
Harry felt a cold flush. "What have you done to them?"
"Nothing, nothing," Khepri soothed. "I'm not allowed to contact
anybody except you... not allowed to touch, to appear to... you're the only
person in the world who can see me now. You, and him."
"Him?" Harry repeated, suspiciously. "Which him would that
be?"
"The him I've come to warn you about," said Khepri, grinning at him
again. He really was un-nerving.
"Oh yeah?" sneered Harry. "Who?"
Khepri's grin widened even more, if it was possible, and he whispered,
"He's looking for it. That's why I'm here, to warn you."
"Who's looking for what?" said Harry, angrily, but before Khepri
could answer, the door creaked open.
Snape looked in at him, frowning. "Potter, what are you doing up
here?"
"Can you see it?" said Harry, hurriedly.
"It?" Khepri muttered, scandalised.
Snape's frown deepened. "See what? Don't tell me you're seeing
things..."
Harry pointed at Khepri, his finger barely inches from Khepri's face, and he
panted, begging Snape to understand, "There? Can't you see it? Or him? Or
whatever it is... Khepri?"
"Potter..." Snape's eyes swept to Khepri, and then back to Harry.
"There is nothing there." He reached out, and swiped his fingertips
straight through Khepri, as though he was nothing more than light. Harry's jaw
fell. Khepri beamed at him, fangs winking in the light. Snape was staring at
Harry in alarm now. He crouched down, and pulled Harry's head back to look into
his eyes, frowning. "Your pupils seem fine..."
"You think I'm hallucinating?" said Harry, pulling away and pointing
wildly at Khepri, who was now grinning behind Snape's shoulder. "Look!
He's right there! He's got like... hawk eyes, and crocodile teeth!"
"Hawk eyes and crocodile teeth," Snape repeated, raising an eyebrow,
his tone the sort that was reserved for drunk or mad people.
"You've got to believe me," Harry pleaded. "Professor, I'm not
joking, there's something there!" Khepri gave a soft snicker, his upper
lip curling back to really show off his canines. Harry grabbed Snape's arm.
"There! Didn't you hear him?"
"Potter," said Snape, calmly. He was pulling Harry to his feet, and
Harry knew Snape was only using such a soothing tone with him because Snape
thought he was losing his mind. "Some fresh air for you, I think..."
Khepri reached out, and grabbed Harry's other arm with his lion paws. Harry was
about to try yet again to convince Snape he wasn't crazy, when Khepri
interrupted him, talking quietly and seriously. "Your worst enemy is
looking for it, and when he finds it, he'll have access to a power so terrible
that nobody will be able to save you. Find it before he does. I'll keep in
touch."
And then with a huge puff of smoke that engulfed Harry and Snape, Khepri simply
vanished from sight. Harry reached out to grab at him, beg him for more
answers, but his hands met nothing there in the smoke. Snape was dragging him
backwards from the room in a grip so strong Harry would never have thought him
capable of it. Harry didn't struggle. He was too busy desperately trying to put
Khepri's parting words to memory, and even though they didn't make any sense,
he intended to find out what was going on.
"Galloping gargoyles!" Harry heard somebody shout from the floor
below, as he and Snape staggered out onto the open corridor overlooking the
entrance hall, bringing a cloud of thick black smoke with them.
"Get Lupin up here now!" Snape snarled, dragging Harry out of the
choking smoke. "Somebody has done something to Potter!"
"Nobody's done anything to me!" protested Harry.
Snape didn't reply, and the moment they were out of the worst of the smoke, he
paused for breath, leaning against the banister. He was completely black in the
face, as though somebody had covered him in make-up made from charcoal, and
Harry knew he was probably in a similar state. There were footsteps scrambling
up the stairs, and Lupin appeared next to them, looking utterly bewildered.
"What happened?" he asked, mildly.
"Potter started talking nonsense - "
"It was not nonsense!"
" - and ended up giving off the smoke."
"It wasn't me!" Harry said, desperately. "It was Khepri!"
"It's alright, Harry," Lupin said, in a very soothing voice, drawing
his wand. "Just relax... this smoke can't be good for him... Severus, take
his ankles and we'll get him outside..."
"I'm not delirious!" Harry shouted, though it did no use. He found
himself being carried out of the building by Snape and Lupin, and put down
outside in the grubby little back yard with cracked patio tiles and rubbish
bins.
"Well?" Snape demanded. "What's wrong with him?"
Lupin ignored him, and started testing Harry's temperature with his palm. Harry
didn't know what he could say to convince them, or what he could do to persuade
them to believe him. He was sure he had seen Khepri, completely sure. Harry had
even felt him. But anything he said now would just sound like the babbling of
somebody who had been cursed, or was losing their mind. He just laid still, and
quiet, staring up at Lupin and Snape sadly.
"He's very warm," said Lupin, idly. "Do you have any cooling
draft? I think it would help calm him down as well... what do you say happened?
What exactly?"
"I went to investigate him shouting in his room," said Snape. He
distractedly took a small leather pouch from the pocket of his robes, opening
it up and clinking through the contents. "He immediately started asking
whether I could see something..."
"Khepri," said Harry, desperately, but quietly.
"Shhh, Harry... just be calm," said Lupin, soothingly. He took the
phial that Snape handed him, and uncorked it carefully, pouring a little into
his palm. He then spread it over Harry's forehead with one thumb, turning back
to Snape. "Then what?"
"He was making little sense," said Snape. "I decided fresh air
would perhaps clear his thoughts, but before I could get him out, he gave off
all the smoke."
"It wasn't me," Harry tried weakly. "Please... just listen to
me, for one moment..."
But nobody was listening. He almost wanted to shout at them, to make them see
he wasn't delusional or delirious, but it was no use. Snape and Lupin were both
convinced he wasn't thinking properly, and so there was nothing Harry could do
but lie back, let them talk about him as though he couldn't hear them,
discussing St Mungo's even. Harry closed his eyes in mental exhaustion. What
else was there for him to do but play along with what they thought?
He kept his eyes shut, and after a few moments, he heard Lupin say, softly,
"Shhh... he's blacked out." Lupin's fingers pressed against his
pulse. "Hmm... just sleeping."
Harry frowned slightly, pretending to be asleep, and then he turned his head,
shifting. Snape swatted Lupin's hand away. Harry felt Snape kneeling down
beside him, and a very cold hand pressed carefully about his forehead. Harry
quite enjoyed getting hurt, really. It was the only time Snape's protective
side was unearthed properly.
"Potter," said Snape, quietly. "Wake up, Potter..."
"Where... where am I?" Harry croaked, creasing his face in pretend
confusion.
"Grimmauld Place," Snape muttered. More cooling draft was being
smeared on his forehead, this time by Snape's cold, bony fingers. "What is
the last thing you remember, Potter?"
"I was... walking upstairs..." said Harry, feigning the perfect air
of confusion. He kept his eyes shut, knowing that if Snape looked into them,
he'd realise that Harry was lying. "And then... I don't know... I can't
remember..."
He heard the noise of the back door opening, and then Mrs Weasley's voice above
him, sounding concerned. "Is he alright? I've got Fred and George to start
wafting the smoke out of the windows..."
"Maybe it was just one of those things," said Lupin, mildly.
"He's just coming round now, Molly... seems a little confused..."
"What happened?" Harry croaked, tilting his head in the direction of
Lupin's voice. He felt arms hooking under his elbows, gently hoisting him up
into a sitting position, and then two cold hands resting on his shoulders to
keep him upright.
"You had a little episode," Snape's voice said, quietly.
"Poor thing," Mrs Weasley said, crouching down on Harry's other side,
petting his hair and peeling it back from his forehead. "It must be all
those paint fumes from Fred and George working in the attic... I knew they were
no good, I warned them... poor Harry... will he need anything?"
"Fresh air," said Lupin, reassuringly. "Maybe a good drink of
water... we'd better get everybody else out, or fanning charms in at the very
least. If this is what happened to Harry, I dread to think what Fred and George
are like up there. Remove any sharp objects, Molly, at the very least. In fact,
knowing Fred and George, remove everything."
"Where... where's Ron?" said Harry, hoarsely. "I want to see
Ron... a-and Hermione... and Draco..."
"I'll go and get them," said Lupin, and he moved away through the
back door, followed by Mrs Weasley. Harry was left with Snape, who was still
smearing cooling draft on Harry's forehead.
"Potter?" he said. "Can you hear me?"
Harry nodded, numbly. "I feel weird..."
"Understandably," said Snape. He sighed. "Potter, Potter... why
is it you always insist on getting into danger where I can't protect you?"
"Huh?" said Harry, vaguely.
"In your mind," said Snape. He shook his head idly, and Harry vaguely
registered a tissue wiping away the cream on his forehead. "If it was an
attacker, I could teach you the counter-curse. If you were lost, I could locate
you. If you were diseased, I could cure you. And yet all your enemies are right
in the place that only you can fight them... somedays, Potter, I think you're
awkward on purpose."
"Not my fault," Harry said. He sniffed, opening his eyes a little to
peer at Snape. "I don't mean to..."
"That's precisely the problem," said Snape, with a little smile.
The back door opened again, and Ron and Hermione came out into the night air.
Hermione looked worried as always, and Ron was rubbing his nose, frowning, and
muttering, "Well, it was a bloody silly place to put a wall anyway... and
how was I supposed to see through all that smoke?"
"Harry?" said Hermione, worriedly, as Snape got up and left, closing
the door behind him. "Are you okay? What happened?"
Harry sat up, instantly throwing off the confused act. "Guys... promise me
you'll believe me if I tell you. Promise me."
"We promise," said Hermione. "Why? What's wrong?"
Harry didn't quite know where to begin - it was hard to know what to say,
especially with the fear that Ron and Hermione would deem him
"delirious" just as Snape and Lupin had. Carefully, he said,
"There was a creature in our room when I got there."
"What sort of creature?" Ron asked, absent-mindedly still rubbing his
nose.
"It was... I don't know. I've never seen one before." Harry frowned
slightly. "It was like... as high as a first year. But it wasn't human. He
had fur, like lion fur, and a mouth with crocodile teeth. Eyes like a hawk,
long hair that was braided, and paws. Lion paws." He observed his friends
carefully, praying they understood. "He said his name was Khepri."
He didn't see any major signs of disbelief, and so carried on, watching their
reactions all the time.
"He was just there when I came in... but I've been dreaming about him.
Every night since school finished. He's just there in my dreams smiling at me.
And he was there just now... he said that my worst enemy is looking for
something... I don't know what it is, but he's looking for it. And when he
finds it... something about he'll get access to a power so terrible nobody will
be able to save me." He looked up at them worriedly. "Believe me..."
Hermione didn't look very persuaded, but Ron did. "I believe you,
mate," he said, firmly. "You've always been right about these things
before."
"Um..." said Hermione, nervously.
Ron glanced up at her. "Well, he has." Harry could tell Ron's first
reaction was to get angry at her for not believing Harry, but he had then
quickly changed his mind, and softened his tone.
"Well... what about... about... Sirius..." she whispered.
Harry looked away. "You always bring the worst things up at the worst
times, don't you, Hermione?"
"Oh, Harry... don't be like that..." She gave a little sigh, and sat
down next to him on the floor. "I believe you, you know I do... you're not
in danger right now though, are you?"
Harry was quiet for a while, then he said, "I don't know... I might be.
Voldemort must be my worst enemy... there's nobody else who can really be a
problem... and he's looking for something. But I don't even know what it
is." He sighed and looked down at his knees, still blackened with the
smoke Khepri had left. "Why can't these "messengers" I keep
getting just tell me straight what's going on? My second year would have been
lot less stressing if Dobby had just appeared and said, "Hello Harry,
Voldemort's going to possess your best friend's little sister this year, but
he'll be a sixteen-year-old memory, and to stop it all, just check in her books
when you come back from the shop, they'll be something there, burn it
immediately."
"How did Dobby know about that anyway?" said Ron, looking thoughtful.
"He probably found out about it from Lucius Malfoy," said Harry, with
a shrug. "Or Draco." He looked up, suddenly realising something.
"Hey, where is Draco?"
"No idea," said Ron. He glanced around. "Haven't seen him since
all the smoke went off. He was sitting at the table reading the paper."
"He's probably still inside," said Hermione, shivering a little.
"It's really cold... let's get back in. They'll have set up fanning charms
by now. Harry, if you see that... thing again, tell us, and we'll all go and
talk to Lupin or Dumbledore about it, okay?"
She and Ron helped Harry carefully to his feet, and they made their way inside.
Up near the ceiling, a flock of fans were flapping merrily back and forth,
gradually dispersing the heavy black smoke. Everybody was huddled around the
front door. Mr Weasley was cradling his precious television to his chest as
though it was his first born.
"Harry, dear?" Mrs Weasley called. "Come out of the smoke, we
don't want any more accidents... how are you feeling?"
"Fine," said Harry, vaguely. "Where's Draco?"
"He was in the kitchen reading the paper when the smoke went off,"
said Ginny, peering around at him from the door. "He didn't come out
though. I thought he went to see you."
Harry was getting a nasty feeling low in his stomach. He hurried into the
kitchen, followed by a rather reluctant Ron and a worried Hermione, though it
was empty. There was a copy of the Evening Prophet open on the scrubbed wooden
table, ruffling in the breeze that was trailing in through an open door next to
the stove. Harry had never seen that door open before. He glanced out, and saw
a very dark and dirty looking alley way winding away around the back of some
terraced houses.
Ron stuck his head out into the alley, wrinkling his nose at the smell. He
opened his mouth, and bellow, "Malfoy! Malfoy!" There was no reply,
except the echo of his own voice, and the distant mowl of an alley cat.
"Not out there," said Ron, shrugging. "Unless he's pretending to
be a cat."
"Oh no," Hermione suddenly gasped from behind them.
They whipped around. She was standing over the table, staring down at the
fluttering newspaper, her hand held open on the page Draco had been reading
before he had gone.
"What is it?" Harry asked, worriedly.
"I know where he's gone," she said. "But... oh, that little
idiot! At night! When there will probably be Death Eaters crawling all over the
place!"
"Where's he gone?" said Ron, with wide eyes.
Hermione picked up the paper, and held it out before them. A large headline
over a double page spread told them all the answers they wanted to know -
MALFOY MANOR TO BE DEMOLISHED - Ministry Given Handsome Sum From Muggle
Government For Land. "Motorway" Planned.
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Once they had realised what had happened, they had told everybody else. Mrs
Weasley had gone hurrying upstairs to the fireplace, followed by most of the
other concerned adults. Luna, Neville and Ginny were all still by the front
door fifteen minutes later, getting some more fresh air, while Harry, Ron and
Hermione debated the problem.
"Okay, let's go through it one more time," said Ron, still looking
very confused. "Malfoy has gone...?"
"To Malfoy Manor," said Hermione.
"Because...?"
"It's going to be demolished tomorrow."
"So what...?"
"Oh, Ron, he grew up there. Fond memories, you know."
"And we are all worried because...?"
"If Malfoy Manor is going to be demolished tomorrow, the place will be
crawling with Death Eaters trying to salvage as much of Lucius Malfoy's dark
arks things as possible."
"And...?"
"Draco is wanted by Voldemort, Ron."
"So...?"
"If the Death Eaters find him there, they'll take him away and we'll never
see him again."
"And this is a problem because...?"
Hermione frowned a little. "Because Draco is a valuable person and a good
friend."
Harry, who had been listening to all this rather numbly, had picked up on the
Hermione Warning Signs that Ron had not. He jumped into the conversation to try
and prevent a fight. "And he knows a lot about the Order. They might use
veritaserum on him or torture him."
The door opened, and Snape blew into the room in a billowing cloud of black and
green robes, holding a silver pouch in his right hand. "Potter!"
"What?" said Harry, taken aback. "What have I done now?"
"Nothing," said Snape, coldly. "Bring that wretched cloak you
have, and hurry up. It's time for your first mission for the Order."
"Why?" Harry squeaked. "What am I doing?"
"Going to Malfoy Manor," said Snape. "Professor Dumbledore
believes Draco is more likely to respond to you and I than any other wizards.
We are to leave immediately."
Wearily, Harry got up from the table, and with a call of goodnight to Ron and
Hermione, Snape lead him away upstairs. After a quick stop at Harry's room so
he could fetch his invisibility cloak, they went back downstairs into the
lounge, where the main fireplace was. Snape took a pouch of floo powder from
his pocket.
"If I tell you, put on the cloak," said Snape, calmly, taking a
pinch. "Though you will only need it if there is a definite risk of Death
Eaters there. Stay near me at all times, Potter, and have your wand out... take
no chances... do you understand? I shall be damned if you are killed on your
first Order mission, particularly when you are with me."
"I understand," said Harry. He took out his wand, and stepped forward
into the fireplace.
Snape stood next to him, wand gripped tight in his hand, as he threw the
glittering floo powder around their feet in one long sweep of his arm.
"Malfoy Manor," he growled.
Harry felt his feet lift up off the floor, and he was spinning round and round
and round, whirling through the floo network as though he was little more than
a whisp of smoke. Something caught his foot hard and he tripped, crying out and
swallowing a great deal of ash, but Snape's cold hands grabbed his arms and
held him upright. Then, as suddenly as it all began, Harry felt hard stone hit
his feet, and he keeled over, landing in a heap on the floor, as the spinning
stopped.
