Veritas

Part One: Dawning Along the Horizon

Chapter One - Letters from Egypt

The sun bore down mercilessly upon his shoulders. Thick waves of heat obscured the distance along the horizon. The hot air wrapped around every living creature. The sand reflected the sun's heat many times over. There was stillness out in the heat that was nothing more but a mirage. He was leading a group of explorers through the deserts as they trekked off to go and find more treasure. The sun was already too hot to bear. They stopped to breathe for a moment.

"Too hot for you, Weasley? I know that Englishmen are used to cooler weather," said Amir, a young Egyptian wizard with tan skin. He had short, curly brownish-black hair along with a short beard on his chin. He was only nineteen years of age and quite excited. This was his first trip into the open desert, hunting for treasure.  "You just came back from England because you were specifically summoned here.  Have you gotten soft?"

Bill Weasley sighed as he wiped the back of his hand across his forehead. A hot wind kicked up, messing his hair. He wore it in a ponytail at the nape of his neck. It was now midway down his back. Bill refused to cut it. He had allowed his hair to grow out ever since he had graduated from Hogwarts. He wore a dragon fang earring on his ear. He was dressed in khakis and a light shirt. He wore heavy-duty boots that were slightly worn at the heels.

"I've gotten used to this.  You're right.  England was too cold," said Bill with a wide grin and a shrug of his shoulders. He pulled his ponytail out from under his shirt. "Besides, it's not even that hot yet."

Amir chuckled in agreement. "You're right. I've never seen foreigners take to the heat as well as you do."

"After a couple of years, it isn't a problem. Where's that blasted contact?" Bill surveyed the distance again. They were waiting for someone who had contacted the bank three days ago asking for someone to appraise a find. It was not unusual for the wizarding bank, Gringotts, to send out representatives rather than have things sent directly. It was for security purposes. A curse was also easier to break in original sites, rather than in the bank. Sometimes a cursed object could do enormous damage to the insides of the Egyptian branch of Gringotts, if not handled properly.

This person had contacted Bill's supervisor. It took more messages back and forth before they settled on a meeting place, which was located near a dig site that was currently being excavated by Muggle archeologists. The area had been surveyed by wizards ages ago. The area still held great interest with the Muggles. The wizards had cleared out any dangerous artifacts before any Muggle had set foot there.

Gringotts Bank specifically gave him orders to temporarily return to Egypt because the contact specifically requested a curse breaker with Bill's experience.  Bill was more than happy to return to Egypt, if only temporarily.  He had missed everything about it, but he had very important business to deal with in England. 

Bill turned around and was startled by the sudden appearance of a man dressed in traditional Egyptian garb. His clothes were a shade of off white. He had dark hair and dark eyes that flashed dangerously. He had a beard at his chin. He looked almost like a Bedouin, but his clothes lacked the markings of sun and wind. He looked about Bill's age, but his eyes were older. At his waist, he wore a short knife, but Bill was sure that he had a wand concealed somewhere on his person.

"My apologies for the lateness of my arrival," he said in English accent. He looked at them, especially Bill, before he went on, "Are you from the bank?" He was careful not to use the name of the bank out loud.

Bill was the first to recover. "Yes, we're from the bank," he replied with a nod.

"My name is Asmodeus," said the man in perfect English with the slightest Egyptian accent. He looked at them with his dark eyes again and they flickered ever so slightly towards the Muggles.

Bill and Amir had no choice, but to follow Asmodeus. "This object was found not too far from here. You are to take it back to the bank for safe keeping." He led them straight to a spotted Arabian horse. It was unusual for someone out in the desert to use a horse rather than a camel, which was what most of the locals did.

Amir's face displayed confusion as he voiced, "But we were summoned to appraise something."

Bill immediately signaled the young Egyptian to be quiet by raising his hand. However, Asmodeus gave an answer. "I could not say what the object in question was in my letter. It was not safe to do so. Even now. The object was crafted here, but it was commissioned by a native from your country, Mr. Weasley." Asmodeus' tone had a distinct sharpness to it. No one was to ask him any more questions, even though he had admitted to deceiving them. Bill's instincts told him it was best that they concluded their business quickly.

Asmodeus opened the saddlebag after saying something in Arabic. It must have been a protective spell, but neither Bill nor Amir saw Asmodeus draw a wand. He opened the bag and drew out a velvet cloth. There was something tucked into its folds. As far as Bill could tell, it wasn't very big. His curiosity increased even more.

The velvet cloth was contrary to everything about Asmodeus that Bill could see. The velvet was something posh and fine, compared to the long flowing Bedouin robes Asmodeus was wearing. Bill mentally noted that Asmodeus had not stopped deceiving them. He gripped his wand waiting for the object that was under the cloth. His eyes paused to look at the dagger that was located at Asmodeus' waist. Bill added the word "dangerous" to his mental note.

Asmodeus unfolded the cloth. Laying on it was a small orb. It looked like an opal, but it seemed to give off some sort of energy. Asmodeus folded the cloth up and handed it to Bill. "What is it?" managed Bill, feeling the heat from orb through the velvet. He knew it was not the heat in the desert.

"It is the only way," replied Asmodeus. "My leader has given orders that it is to remain in the vaults of the bank here in Egypt. When the new leader comes, it is to be given to him."

"What?" asked Amir, utterly confused.

Bill was not too sure either. He noticed that the heat from the orb had not increased, but it didn't cool either. "What is this?" he demanded again.

"The leader only knows what it is," admitted Asmodeus. "It was only my duty to deliver it. Nothing more." He closed the saddlebag and mounted his horse.

"We can't possibly keep it in our vaults, if it's dangerous!" exclaimed Amir. "We don't even know if our supervisor will allow us to do so!"

"It is not my problem," said Asmodeus simply. "I only follow orders from the leader."

This time Bill spoke up, "How do we know you're not a bloody Death Eater?!" He was still clutching the velvet cloth. He made a move to return it to Asmodeus, but the horse reared back suddenly, knocking Bill to the ground. He got back on his feet.

Asmodeus glared at them. He raised his arms and pulled down the sleeves of his robes. "There," he said harshly. "There's your proof. I am no Death Eater. I will not have you jackals insult me. If you know what is good for you, you will return to your bank and store the orb." Before either Bill or Amir could speak, Asmodeus rode off, leaving them disoriented for several minutes.

Bill was the first to recover. "Are you all right?" he asked Amir who appeared shaken. Amir gave a feeble nod. "What are we going to do?" he asked.

"We go back," replied Bill with a shrug. Amir nodded again and they Apparated back to the Gringotts Egyptian branch in Cairo. The first thing they did was go to their supervisor's office. Their supervisor's name was Brent Muhammad. He was half English and half Egyptian. He was taking care of his paperwork and looked up as Bill and Amir strolled in.

"Welcome back, Weasley. Hazr," said Brent. "How did the appraisal go?"

Bill placed the velvet cloth on the table and unfolded it, displaying the orb. It was small enough to fit in a grown man's palm. It was only about an inch and a half in diameter. "Not too well. The contact lied to us. It wasn't an appraisal at all, Mr. Muhammad. He wanted to put this into one of our vaults. We don't even know what it is, Mr. Muhammad," reported Bill.

Brent picked up the orb. "It feels warm. Did you do any of the usual curse breaking spells?"

"We didn't," admitted Bill. "We've never encounter anything like this. At least, I have never seen anything like this."

Brent opened his top left hand drawer and pulled out a magnifying glass. He peered through it at the orb. "It has a definite energy about it. Weasley, I want you to put this in one of the high security vaults. Not one of the security deposit boxes. Put it in a vault by itself. Put protective wards up. No one is allowed to go into the vault except for the three of us here. Hazr, I want you to go to the library and the catalogs. Look up anything that remotely resembles this. As soon as you find anything, come back and tell me."

Bill and Amir nodded. Brent folded up the velvet cloth and handed it back to Bill. He noticed how Brent's hands trembled ever so slightly. Bill always knew Brent to be a very calm man who was virtually unshakable in almost any situation.

They walked out of the office. "This is very strange, Bill," muttered Amir. "I don't like this at all."

"Neither do I. But, it's part of the job," said Bill in a reassuring tone. "You'll feel better as soon as you find out what this thing is. And I'll feel better, too."

Amir nodded. "I'll start with the Egyptian files. If it doesn't work, then I'll try the British and Irish catalogs." It was a logical plan of attack. If the orb was crafted in Egypt there was a good chance that there would be something in the extensive catalog of magical objects. And if an English person commissioned the orb, there might have been a chance that there was some information in the British and Irish catalogs as well.

"I have to put this in the vault," said Bill as he walked off towards the high security vaults. He approached to one of the goblins. "This requires a private security vault along with protective wards."

The goblin grunted, which Bill automatically took as a yes. He followed the goblin to the high security vaults. The goblin ran his finger along the lock, opening the great double doors. Bill followed the goblin until they got to vault that was labeled 206. The troll opened the vault with a key that had a charm on it to prevent duplication. Several large, heavy doors made out of metal, the last being titanium, opened. Bill walked in without the goblin following. He checked the cloth again and then placed it on floor of the vault. It was an awfully big vault for something so small.

Bill walked out of the vault. The doors slid shut. The goblin locked the door, securing it tightly before Bill could do the incantations with a wave of his wand, putting up the protective wards. He walked back to his office after that. The weight of the orb being in the vault was not a relief at all.

Over the next few days, Amir was buried in the books, catalogs, and other files, looking for any trace of information. Brent did not want any tests done on the orb because he did not want to risk blowing up the bank.  The orb obviously had incredibly unknown powers. After much thought, Brent summoned Bill back to his office.

"I want you to find out more about this Asmodeus and what that blasted thing is," ordered Brent. "I would rather not have it in the bank at all, but I would like even less for it to fall into evil hands."

"Would you like me to return to England to search for more information?" asked Bill.

"Very well. Do that.  Besides, you have to return to England anyway," agreed Brent. "Either way, I want to know what the Hell that thing is."

Bill nodded in agreement. "I'll do what I can." He left Brent's office again and went back to his. He found an owl waiting for him and immediately recognized it as Charlie's owl, Talon. Bill took the letter and offered Talon some figs that were on the desk. He opened the letter. It read.

Dear Bill,

I hope you're not working too hard. There are a lot of things going on in England right now. Mum and Dad have a lot of business to take care of with Professor Dumbledore. It's a good thing that Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny are away at Hogwarts where it's safe. Unfortunately, there has been no word from Percy. He's still angry with Dad. He hasn't even talked to Dad at the Ministry. So, I have no idea what's going on with him. Do you mind writing him a letter? See if he answers you. Mum's worried about him.

I personally think that Percy is being a real prat about the whole thing.  Everyone knows that Voldemort is back now.  The Ministry has admitted it.  All Percy has to do is swallow his pride and apologize to Dad and Mum.  He's being really stubborn about the whole thing.

Anyway, would you like to meet me for lunch tomorrow in Egypt? I have some free time. I would like to see you.

Charlie

Bill sighed when he was done reading it. Percy's actions came as a surprise because he had always been the most compliant child out of all of the Weasley children. He would follow rules. He learned them quickly and lived by them. Bill could understand how Percy felt. It was the first time that Percy ever really learned that the world was truly unfair. Just because one played by the rules did not mean that everyone else did. The events from last summer had shaken the very foundation of what made Percy's personality the way it was. Bill was worried about Percy as well. He was worried about his whole family.

Bill worried about Fred and George because they were reckless. He worried about Ginny because she had already fallen prey to Voldemort before. Finally, there was Ron. Bill thought that out of all of his younger siblings, Ron was the most likely to get killed because his best friend was Harry Potter. Bill played it cool, but wrote Ron more frequently than the others. However, with Charlie's letter, Bill was more concerned for Percy. There was no telling what was going to happen to him.

Like his parents and Charlie, Bill was a member of the Order of the Phoenix. They were part of Albus Dumbledore's inner circle. They were the only line of defense against Voldemort and the Death Eaters. The British Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, refused to even acknowledge Voldemort had risen again. He would not even enact the Aurors to do anything about it, even though the signs were surfacing. If Fudge wanted to live in a world with blinders on that was all well and good, but not at the expense of lives.  A couple of months later, everything was revealed and practically the whole Ministry of Magic had to retract previous statements about Voldemort not being alive.

It was an unknown fact that the Weasleys were members of Dumbledore's inner circle since the beginning. Bill took pride in his family's history in fighting the Dark Arts. He knew that the Weasleys were around for most of the major skirmishes against evil forces. At least, he knew about his father's side's part. Come to think of it, Bill didn't know much about his mother's side.

Molly Weasley had come from not only a pure blood wizarding family, but also from a wealthy, affluent family.  Her children had never seen hide or hair of any member from her side. Bill had a vague idea of why. He knew that his grandfather detested Muggles and Muggle lovers alike. Bill knew that his grandfather had a lot of pride when it came to being a pure blood.  There was also a connection to the Dark Arts on Molly's side of the family. 

Bill picked up a piece of clean parchment and proceeded to write his response to Charlie. He wrote that they could meet at the usual restaurant and that he would write a letter to Percy as soon as possible. He handed it to Talon who took it and flew off. Now, Bill took out another clean piece of parchment and an envelope. He didn't know Percy's address, so he addressed it in care of the Ministry of Magic. He had forgotten which department Percy had been transferred to, so he had to send it to the general offices.

Taking great care in the selection of his words, Bill penned a letter to Percy. He made it short, but didn't make any indications of forcing him into going home or speaking with their father.

Dear Percy,

How are you doing? It's been a while since I have heard from you. I know that you must be very busy, so I apologize if this letter interrupts your day.  Things are busy here in Egypt. I was wondering if you might have any free time coming up. I could come and visit you or you could come here for a visit. It can just be Charlie, you, and me. You know like before the twins, Ron, and Ginny were born. Just kidding, but it would be nice to see you.

Please reply. If you are too busy to do so, I understand.

Bill

Bill reread the letter again before putting it in the envelope. Walked over the cage where his hawk, Zeus, was sleeping. Different parts of the world used different birds for mailing, but owls were the primary birds used. "Zeus, I need you to go to England again," said Bill.

Zeus opened his eyes and jumped off his perch as Bill opened his cage. "It seems like you have been going there a lot. It must be tiring for you," said Bill, stroking Zeus' feathers. Zeus clicked his beak and stuck out his leg for Bill to tie the letter to it. He gave a reassuring blink of his eyes before flying out of the window at top speed.

Bill decided to do some paperwork, but Amir knocked at his door. "Come in," he said. Amir came in. He looked tired because he had spent a good fourteen hours a day in the archives. "You didn't find anything today, did you?"

"No," said Amir. "I got to thinking about it. What if nothing like it has ever existed before? That might be the reason why we haven't been able to find anything. I'm nearly at my wit's end. On top of that, Mr. Muhammad keeps asking me over and over again if I found anything. Whenever I say no, I feel like I've let him down."

"You might be right about the orb," admitted Bill. "I could tell him, if you want." He didn't want Amir to get into trouble on his first case. Amir reminded Bill strongly of Percy. He wanted to help him as much as possible.

Amir shook his head. "I don't think so. It was my duty to go and look for the information. If I cannot find, then I cannot find it. I will just have to report it to Mr. Muhammad," he said gloomily. "Don't worry about me."

Bill nodded. "What if I am right? What are we going to do with that thing?" continued Amir nervously. Bill shrugged his shoulders. "We'll have to wait and see. The best thing we can do is wait. I think if we leave the orb be, it will do nothing."

"I just thought of something. Did we ever introduce ourselves to Asmodeus?" asked Amir.

The thought jolted Bill's memory. Did they introduce themselves? They did not. It wasn't unusual for the employees of the bank not to introduce themselves. Asmodeus seemed too much in a hurry for such formalities. However, Bill distinctively remembered being addressed as "Mr. Weasley" during their brief encounter. Weasley wasn't a common name in Egypt. How did Asmodeus know his name?

"He also did that spell on the saddlebag without a wand," added Amir. Bill slowly nodded. "I didn't quite understand the spell because it was in Arabic, but I'm sure it was a ward of some kind."

"Don't tell this to Mr. Muhammad. Not until we find out more," decided Bill.

Amir stood up and nodded to go back to the archives. He did not look too convinced by Bill's words. "I'll talk to you later."

"Yes, see you."

The very next day, Bill went early to the little cafe where he usually met Charlie. He waited a good half hour thinking about things from home again. He spotted a young couple meeting for an afternoon rendezvous. Bill looked away from them. His thoughts were betraying him again. They always led him to the same place. Sidney.

He used to think of her everyday, but now he did not think of her so often. Bill could not fight himself for very long. His thoughts came to her at least once a week. Bill did not want to think in what ifs. He didn't want to think what it would have been like if he had married her right out of Hogwarts as he had planned. Instead, Bill would like to think of what Sidney was up to. He hoped that she was happy wherever she was. He wondered if she looked different from before. Bill had changed when he finally left home away from his parents. He decided that he would live his life as he saw fit. That included growing out his hair and getting the dragon fang earring.

Bill was hoping to get back to England.  Fleur Delacour waiting for him.  Recently, she had started working for the bank to improve her English, but she was spending loads of time around Bill.  She was part Veela and very beautiful.  She was a welcome distraction.  Being around her, helped Bill forget about Sidney.  It was something he didn't want to admit to himself. 

"Earth to Bill. This is Charlie speaking. Earth to Bill," whispered Charlie into his ear, jolting Bill from his thoughts.

"Charlie! Don't do that!" exclaimed Bill. His ears turned red with embarrassment. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that."

"But, you wouldn't have noticed me anyway. You were staring off into space," said Charlie, grinning ear to ear. He took the chair from across him. "What were you thinking about?"

"Nothing. Just problems at work. We've run into something that we're having a Hell of a time trying to classify," replied Bill. "How are things in your end?"

"Quite all right. Did you write to Percy?" asked Charlie. "I tried writing him just a while ago, but I got no response from him. He's still pretty angry."

"I just sent him a letter yesterday. Perhaps, he's too busy to respond. He won't stay mad at Mum and Dad forever. Percy's not the type to do that. Maybe, you or Ron, but not Percy," said Bill thoughtfully.

"What do you mean Ron and me? You think I would hold a grudge against our parents?" asked Charlie incredulously.

"I was only kidding," laughed Bill.

Charlie calmed back down, but only for a moment before saying, "What about Ron? Do you think he'd hold a grudge against Mum and Dad?"

Bill did not know how to answer that. Ron certainly had a temper on him and being the second to youngest there were times he was ignored. Every once in a while, Ron reminded everyone of a time when their parents had forgot something about him or did something to him. Bill had a lot of pressure being the oldest, but Ron had just as much being the youngest son. "No, of course not," Bill replied after a long silence.

"It took you a while to answer that," said Charlie with a grin. "Ron is doing well this year. Despite everything. I just hope Percy comes around. He'll join up with us later. I think.  He's definitely a Weasley though.  He's got loads of pride.  He's not going to back down after all the things he said to our parents.  He's too embarrassed about the whole thing.  That's probably the reason why he won't look Dad in the eye at work."

Percy joining them in the Order wasn't a sure bet. Percy was the wild card of the family. He had a tendency to spend more time by himself than the others. He was not really into sports and preferred to study and read more. It seemed that he had more ambition than the others. It wasn't hard for Bill to imagine Percy as Minister of Magic someday. Percy was not talking to anyone. He had left home during the summer just as Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny returned from Hogwarts. No one, except their father, had seen him. Their mother had seen him briefly, only to have a door slammed in her face.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," said Bill as the waitress came up to them. They had not been talking all that long. She smiled at them and took their orders. As soon as she was gone, Charlie said, "There will be a meeting soon. Hopefully, Percy will be on our side by then."

Bill chuckled. "You've always been an optimist, Charlie."

"And you're the type to say that there's no glass at all," quipped Charlie.

It was time to change topic, so Bill said, "When is the meeting?"

"No idea. Soon, I reckon."

Their food came and the waitress asked if they needed their drinks refilled. They got their drinks refilled as they continued their conversation. Most of the people around them couldn't care less about what they were talking about. The other patrons after all were Muggles. They had no idea of the impending danger they were in.

The brothers moved on to another topic all together and discussed the Quidditch games in Europe, specially their favorite teams. Charlie talked about the newly hatched eggs and how much the hatchlings thrived. He even mentioned that the girl he had been seeing had broke up with him, but it did not seem to faze Charlie all that much. Bill did not ask any further questions about that. In fact, his love life wasn't discussed at all.

Both of the brothers did not say exactly why neither of them wish to settling down anytime soon. They did not want to have a family when the world was going to burst into open war at any moment. So, they discussed things that were only in the immediate future.

Written by kirikarin

Beta Read by IvyDragon

AN: This story is already hard for me to explain. I have a feeling this will be a complex one again. The ideas for some of this have come from Sugarquill.net and from the fifth book. I got writer's block on the last story and did some exploring outside of fanfiction.net because of that overload thing. I am trying to gear up and write my own original story, so I am trying to make this story as much like a book as possible.  This is a Percy story.  I'm sorry that it hasn't appeared that way for right now. 

kirikarin.livejournal.com

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.  This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission.