Over breakfast, Mr. Weasly informed the group of how they were going to get to the pyramids.
"We'll just use the Floo-Powder, and leave from that big fireplace in the lobby. We're going to arrive in this nice little shop that some of Bill and Charlie's friends own." He explained. At the mention of a shop, something reminded Ron that he hadn't got Harry anything for his birthday, which was just around the corner.
"Fred, stop making Ginny make that awful face." Percy commanded. Ron suspected that he was still asking questions.
"Have you noticed, Perce? Ginny looks like that all the time." George said as he made a piece of toast dance across the table.
"George dear, are you sure that you don't want to EAT that toast before we go?" It was Mrs. Weasly's friendly reminder to the family that they should all have eaten the three plates of food that she had set down for them.
"No thanks, Mum. Aren't we ready to go yet?" he asked. George and Fred seemed awfully excited, and it made Ron wonder what they were planning.
"I suppose so... lets go on to the lobby, then!" Mr. Weasly stood up, and ushered the family from the dining hall.
"Now, I'll go first. We're going to Ryan's Treasure's of the Pyramids. There aren't any muggles or anything through that are, so don't worry." Mr. Weasly said of this very fast as they neared the fireplace. The group of chairs seemed to be empty. Ron didn't know if he felt relieved or disappointed.
"Okay, ready?" Mr. Weasly took a handful of Floo-Powder from Mrs. Weasly. "Ryan's Treasures of the Pyramids!" It was a mouthful to say, especially when you're standing in a fireplace.
When Mr. Weasly had disappeared, Mrs. Weasly pushed Ginny forward. She took her Floo-Powder, tossed it in the flames, then stepped in. And when she was gone, it was Ron's turn.
"Right then, Ron. Next is the twins, then Percy, then I'll follow. See you in a bit!" Mrs. Weasly said cheerfully.
So Ron carefully tossed in his Floo-Powder, and stepped in. The last thing he saw before he left for the pyramids was the desk clerk waving him goodbye.
"Ryan's Treasures of the Pyramids!" he exclaimed, and then instantly he was on his way.
When he arrived in the fireplace grate, he coughed up some soot and it made Ginny laugh.
He looked around where he had arrived. The shop was brightly lit, and shelves stretched way to the front of the store. Ron stepped away from the fireplace. Ginny and Mr. Weasly were seated in two chairs against the wall. As Ron walked over, another chair softly 'popped' out of the thin air.
Just then, a tall boy of about twenty walked out of a room next to the fireplace.
"Hullo! I'm Ryan!" he grinned. Ryan had shaggy black hair that he kept shaking out of his dark brown eyes.
"Dad, can I look around?" Ginny tugged on Mr. Weasly's sleeve.
"Of course. Just don't touch anything. Or pick things up. Or breathe on things." He added.
Ron jumped up with Ginny, and they shuffled towards the front of the shop.
"Ooh, look at that!" Ginny pointed to a shelf of whizzing, lit-up spinney things. Only one item, a triangular clearish one, remained still. A poster above the shelf listed all of the names of the items.
"Like those?" Ryan had come up behind Ron. Ginny had wandered off to the next display of glittery things.
"Yeah, but what's that one do?" Ron pointed to the inanimate object.
"That's a Pocket Sneakoscope. If theres anything fishy, you know, a dangerous untrustworthy person around, it will light up and spin around. Hey—you're Bill and Charlie's brother, right? You can have it for free. Your brothers are nice blokes, Ron." Ryan smiled and lifted the Pocket Sneakoscope from off the shelf.
"Hey, thanks!" Ron grinned, and pocketed the Pocket Sneakoscope. "My friend Harry would love this—he's always getting in to trouble." Ron laughed, suddenly realizing what he was going to send to Harry for his birthday.
"Ready to go?" Mrs. Weasly popped up behind them. It seemed like the whole family had arrived. The Weaslys were ready to explore Ancient Egyptian Pyramids.
They left Ryan's shop, and immediately the family was amazed by the sight of the immense pyramids.
"Wooooow..." even the twins were impressed.
As they neared the first pyramid, a person stepped in front of him.
"Are you the tour guide?" Mr. Weasly asked excitedly.
"Yes, I am." The tour guide was a young woman, probably about Ryan's age. She had a blonde ponytail and big blue eyes.
"Hi! I'm Fred." Fred elbowed his way to the front of the group.
"Hey." She giggled. "I'm Estella."
"So, do we get to go in these pyramids?" George pushed past Ron to stand next to Estella.
"Some, yes. But some might not be... suitable for younger children." Estella glanced at Ginny and Ron. Ginny huffed a little, but neither said anything.
They walked over to the first pyramid, and Estella began spitting facts.
Ron, the twins, and Ginny poked their heads into the entrance. Percy and their parents stayed behind with Estella.
"Its too dark!" George said with disappointment.
Estella had finished talking and she followed behind them with a lit wand.
The light flooded over the stone walls, illuminating a few small animal bones.
"Most interesting things are going to be in inner tunnels and lairs. Unfortunately, most pharaohs put lots of nice little curses and hexes over their treasures." Estella explained. They left the entrance to the pyramid and walked on.
"Over there is a sphinx. Ancient Egyptians built these in honor of their pet cats." Estella led them over to the next pyramid.
"Hey, Mum, wouldn't Errol look just spiffing as five hundred foot tall statue?" Fred wondered aloud. Mrs. Weasly shot him a dirty look.
"Now this one you might not want your youngest darlings to look in. It contains the remains of a Muggle who suffered under a curse put on the entrance. Its perfectly safe to go in now, though. We think..." she added in an undertone.
"Why don't you go in first Percy, and check things out for us?" George suggested.
"Let's move on to the next one..." Mrs. Weasly said anxiously, and Estella, Ginny and her parents moved forward.
"C'mon, lets look in real quick..." George leaned into the entrance.
"You're crazy!" Percy exclaimed. He started to walk off, but stopped when he heard a yell from Fred.
"Look Percy! A collapsible cauldron!" he yelled.
"Really? How fascinating!" he hurried over, and leaned into the entrance way. As soon as he stepped forward, the twins gave him a humongous push and Percy tumbled into the dark hallway.
"Push, Ron!" George yelled, and together they managed to push the entrance stone about one-half way over the entrance hole.
"FRED! GEORGE! RON! GET AWAY FROM THERE!" Mrs. Weasly screamed.
"Okay, Mum. If you say so!" Fred shrugged, and they all walked away from the pyramid and from a shrieking Percy.
"GET YOUR BROTHER OUT OF THERE!" she added in another screech.
"Wait!" Estella yelled. "I'll do it!" she ran over to the pyramid, flicked her wand and mumbled a few words, and the stone slid away. Percy fell forward, gasping for air.
"You're not claustrophobic, are ya, Perce? Afraid of the dark?" George frowned, looking the part of a concerned younger brother.
"Gee Percy. You should of told us!" Fred added.
"B...b...bite me." Percey hissed, still trying to catch his breath.
The twins and Ron managed to keep a straight face until Percy had pulled ahead of them. Then, Estella hung back and laughed with them.
"You're the funniest people I've ever met." She giggled.
"We'll just use the Floo-Powder, and leave from that big fireplace in the lobby. We're going to arrive in this nice little shop that some of Bill and Charlie's friends own." He explained. At the mention of a shop, something reminded Ron that he hadn't got Harry anything for his birthday, which was just around the corner.
"Fred, stop making Ginny make that awful face." Percy commanded. Ron suspected that he was still asking questions.
"Have you noticed, Perce? Ginny looks like that all the time." George said as he made a piece of toast dance across the table.
"George dear, are you sure that you don't want to EAT that toast before we go?" It was Mrs. Weasly's friendly reminder to the family that they should all have eaten the three plates of food that she had set down for them.
"No thanks, Mum. Aren't we ready to go yet?" he asked. George and Fred seemed awfully excited, and it made Ron wonder what they were planning.
"I suppose so... lets go on to the lobby, then!" Mr. Weasly stood up, and ushered the family from the dining hall.
"Now, I'll go first. We're going to Ryan's Treasure's of the Pyramids. There aren't any muggles or anything through that are, so don't worry." Mr. Weasly said of this very fast as they neared the fireplace. The group of chairs seemed to be empty. Ron didn't know if he felt relieved or disappointed.
"Okay, ready?" Mr. Weasly took a handful of Floo-Powder from Mrs. Weasly. "Ryan's Treasures of the Pyramids!" It was a mouthful to say, especially when you're standing in a fireplace.
When Mr. Weasly had disappeared, Mrs. Weasly pushed Ginny forward. She took her Floo-Powder, tossed it in the flames, then stepped in. And when she was gone, it was Ron's turn.
"Right then, Ron. Next is the twins, then Percy, then I'll follow. See you in a bit!" Mrs. Weasly said cheerfully.
So Ron carefully tossed in his Floo-Powder, and stepped in. The last thing he saw before he left for the pyramids was the desk clerk waving him goodbye.
"Ryan's Treasures of the Pyramids!" he exclaimed, and then instantly he was on his way.
When he arrived in the fireplace grate, he coughed up some soot and it made Ginny laugh.
He looked around where he had arrived. The shop was brightly lit, and shelves stretched way to the front of the store. Ron stepped away from the fireplace. Ginny and Mr. Weasly were seated in two chairs against the wall. As Ron walked over, another chair softly 'popped' out of the thin air.
Just then, a tall boy of about twenty walked out of a room next to the fireplace.
"Hullo! I'm Ryan!" he grinned. Ryan had shaggy black hair that he kept shaking out of his dark brown eyes.
"Dad, can I look around?" Ginny tugged on Mr. Weasly's sleeve.
"Of course. Just don't touch anything. Or pick things up. Or breathe on things." He added.
Ron jumped up with Ginny, and they shuffled towards the front of the shop.
"Ooh, look at that!" Ginny pointed to a shelf of whizzing, lit-up spinney things. Only one item, a triangular clearish one, remained still. A poster above the shelf listed all of the names of the items.
"Like those?" Ryan had come up behind Ron. Ginny had wandered off to the next display of glittery things.
"Yeah, but what's that one do?" Ron pointed to the inanimate object.
"That's a Pocket Sneakoscope. If theres anything fishy, you know, a dangerous untrustworthy person around, it will light up and spin around. Hey—you're Bill and Charlie's brother, right? You can have it for free. Your brothers are nice blokes, Ron." Ryan smiled and lifted the Pocket Sneakoscope from off the shelf.
"Hey, thanks!" Ron grinned, and pocketed the Pocket Sneakoscope. "My friend Harry would love this—he's always getting in to trouble." Ron laughed, suddenly realizing what he was going to send to Harry for his birthday.
"Ready to go?" Mrs. Weasly popped up behind them. It seemed like the whole family had arrived. The Weaslys were ready to explore Ancient Egyptian Pyramids.
They left Ryan's shop, and immediately the family was amazed by the sight of the immense pyramids.
"Wooooow..." even the twins were impressed.
As they neared the first pyramid, a person stepped in front of him.
"Are you the tour guide?" Mr. Weasly asked excitedly.
"Yes, I am." The tour guide was a young woman, probably about Ryan's age. She had a blonde ponytail and big blue eyes.
"Hi! I'm Fred." Fred elbowed his way to the front of the group.
"Hey." She giggled. "I'm Estella."
"So, do we get to go in these pyramids?" George pushed past Ron to stand next to Estella.
"Some, yes. But some might not be... suitable for younger children." Estella glanced at Ginny and Ron. Ginny huffed a little, but neither said anything.
They walked over to the first pyramid, and Estella began spitting facts.
Ron, the twins, and Ginny poked their heads into the entrance. Percy and their parents stayed behind with Estella.
"Its too dark!" George said with disappointment.
Estella had finished talking and she followed behind them with a lit wand.
The light flooded over the stone walls, illuminating a few small animal bones.
"Most interesting things are going to be in inner tunnels and lairs. Unfortunately, most pharaohs put lots of nice little curses and hexes over their treasures." Estella explained. They left the entrance to the pyramid and walked on.
"Over there is a sphinx. Ancient Egyptians built these in honor of their pet cats." Estella led them over to the next pyramid.
"Hey, Mum, wouldn't Errol look just spiffing as five hundred foot tall statue?" Fred wondered aloud. Mrs. Weasly shot him a dirty look.
"Now this one you might not want your youngest darlings to look in. It contains the remains of a Muggle who suffered under a curse put on the entrance. Its perfectly safe to go in now, though. We think..." she added in an undertone.
"Why don't you go in first Percy, and check things out for us?" George suggested.
"Let's move on to the next one..." Mrs. Weasly said anxiously, and Estella, Ginny and her parents moved forward.
"C'mon, lets look in real quick..." George leaned into the entrance.
"You're crazy!" Percy exclaimed. He started to walk off, but stopped when he heard a yell from Fred.
"Look Percy! A collapsible cauldron!" he yelled.
"Really? How fascinating!" he hurried over, and leaned into the entrance way. As soon as he stepped forward, the twins gave him a humongous push and Percy tumbled into the dark hallway.
"Push, Ron!" George yelled, and together they managed to push the entrance stone about one-half way over the entrance hole.
"FRED! GEORGE! RON! GET AWAY FROM THERE!" Mrs. Weasly screamed.
"Okay, Mum. If you say so!" Fred shrugged, and they all walked away from the pyramid and from a shrieking Percy.
"GET YOUR BROTHER OUT OF THERE!" she added in another screech.
"Wait!" Estella yelled. "I'll do it!" she ran over to the pyramid, flicked her wand and mumbled a few words, and the stone slid away. Percy fell forward, gasping for air.
"You're not claustrophobic, are ya, Perce? Afraid of the dark?" George frowned, looking the part of a concerned younger brother.
"Gee Percy. You should of told us!" Fred added.
"B...b...bite me." Percey hissed, still trying to catch his breath.
The twins and Ron managed to keep a straight face until Percy had pulled ahead of them. Then, Estella hung back and laughed with them.
"You're the funniest people I've ever met." She giggled.