They stepped off the plane and smiled in the hot African sun.
"I tell you, it sure is great to be off that plane." Ron said.
"Hang on..." Tiffany said. "Aren't you dead? Deadly virus? Doing Luna?"
Ron looked ashamed. "Sorry about this, but it was the only way I could get you to take me to Africa with you." He then morphed into a girl of about sixteen, same age as the proverbial 'gang'. She had long, black hair, and green eyes to rival Harry's. "I'm really your long lost twin sister, Harry."
"Wow!" Harry said. "What's your name?"
"Harriet."
"Where have I heard that name before?" Tiffany asked herself. "Oh, that's right, it's so close to Harry's name. You're not really his long lost twin, are you."
"Sorry! I swear to god, this is my true form." She said, morphing into a girl with long, blood red hair and deep blue eyes. "The name's Sinthya."
"You mean Cynthia." Tiffany corrected.
"No, Sinthya."
"Cynthia."
"Sinthya!"
"Cynthia!"
"Does it matter?" Harry cut in furiously. "It sounds the same anyway."
Tiffany pouted and walked towards the airport terminal, Harry running after her, yelling at Sinthya. "NOW LOOK WHAT YOU MADE HER DO!"
-----
Stepping into the cool hotel room, they breathed in the cold air happily. Walking for half an hour in summery Africa heat made them all want to just keel over and die on the footpath. But they had spurned on, and reached their destination, with only one person needing to be rushed to the ER. But they were fine now, flopping on couches and refrigerators to have a long, refreshing sleep.
Tiffany was the only one who stayed awake. She packed her backpack with common kitchen knives, making sure that she charmed them to not cut through the material and fall out. She also put in her bag common kitchen machine guns, just in case the knives mysteriously disappeared.
"Time to go." She said to Harry, shaking him awake. She shook awake Ginny, Sinthya, and McGonagall, too, exiting the door to grumbles from the dream team.
"But I wasn't even asleep yet!" Ginny complained. "And that room was booked for a week!"
"We have to go. Or do you want to get murdered by the curse placed upon me?" Tiffany snapped, exiting the hotel lobby. As soon as they exited the double doors, their clothes had miraculously changed. Tiffany wore an army print bikini top, and army print cargo pants with chunky black boots. Ginny wore a khaki tee, which only just came down to below her chest, and black hotpants, with black boots. McGonagall wore a tree green top with long sleeves, and khaki pants, with white runners. Harry wore a tight black tank, showing off his never-before-seen muscles, and tree green pants so baggy it was a wonder they weren't used as a circus tent. Sinthya wore a black tank top, and a short tree green miniskirt. They all had guns, not to mention black belts in jujitsu, karate, and all manner of Chinese fighting styles. Tiffany looked in her backpack, to find that her common kitchen knives and machine guns had transformed into hunting knives and Mag Vega's.
"Alright, I'd say we're ready for the jungle." Tiffany said.
-----
They trekked for days through the jungle, not finding anything. Once or twice they were attacked by wild boars (they blamed the gravy stash in McGonagall's bag) and a small Shetland pony tried to drown them in slobber, but apart from that they had a relatively boring time.
"I say we split up." Sinthya said.
"But I'm the one who has to deliver this goddamn thing to Sharap'n!" Tiffany shrieked.
"What goddamn thing?" Harry asked mildly.
"I don't bloody well know!" Tiffany squealed like a stuck pig.
"Make sure we packed extra Tampax," Harry said. "This girl's PMS-ing."
"NYAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Tiffany screamed, shaking the mountains with her cry. A large stone fell out of place, and revealed the once hidden entrance to a dark cave. A golden light seemed to shimmer inside of it, and Tiffany beckoned the others to follow her inside. Once in the cave, she tackled Sinthya, ripping from her pocket a black lighter.
"Could've just asked." Sinthya grumbled, but Tiffany ignored her. Flicking the little fire into life, she led the way deeper and deeper inside the cave. It was obvious no one had been inside this cave for years, decades, centuries.
"Do you see what I see?" Ginny asked softly. Everyone saw it. Light. This wasn't a cave. It was a tunnel. Through an African mountain to regions unknown and unexplored by any pioneer, as they probably wouldn't know it was even there, due to the large, black mountainous mountains surrounding the area they stepped out to. They were on the side of the mountain, looking down at their route. There was a large temple – on the other side of the area. Tiffany estimated the area to be a couple of kilometres either way, completely closed off by nature. Another temple, slightly closer to where they were, lay at the bottom of the mountain.
"I'm guessing Sharap'n is in that temple way over there." Tiffany said. "We can sleep down at that close temple tonight, but we have to be off first thing tomorrow morning."
Her friends agreed with her, following her down the mountainside towards the tiny temple. Upon reaching it, they found it to be drafty in the main area, but once they stepped into the living and sleeping areas the air was warm and comfortable.
"Old spell," Tiffany explained. "Be on the lookout... Sharap'n might have been here, and the floating skull in my dream told me that he is vengeful and hates being woken. Watch for deathtraps."
Her companions nodded and went off to their respective sleeping compartments, but there was a shrill cry from McGonagall's room, and Tiffany went inside to check what was going on.
"Have you ever watched Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark?" Tiffany asked.
"No." McGonagall whimpered.
"Oh, such a good movie, you have to watch it. There's this trap, where when you touch the light, spikes come out to impale you. I think this is what happened here."
"Thank you, captain obvious!" McGonagall said irritably. "Now can you get this steel rod out from my leg?"
"Avast, ye scurvy dogs!" Tiffany said, leaping from side to side and swinging her arms around her head. The spike retreated into the wall and Tiffany used an extremely complex spell to cement up the wall, so as for that never to happen again. "Simple. Simply dance around and sing a sea shanty and they retreat. I've found that Aztec-like traps have a particular dislike for seafaring pirates and will do anything to be away from them."
"How do you know all that stuff, Tiff?" McGonagall asked, flopping onto her rapidly red staining bed.
"Oh, when I was eighteen months old I went on a trip with my adoptive parents to Aztec-Land... I found out a lot of interesting stuff, including the fact that feet do not taste good at all."
"Can you do anything with this leg? I think I'll bleed out and die if it's not tended to."
"Can I just tell you about the time I went fishing in Russia –"
"I really hate to be a thorn in your side, but I am feeling rather woozy."
"Fine! Don't listen! See if I care! Selfish bitch!" Tiffany muttered as she bandaged up McGonagall's leg. "Bloody bold font!"
"I tell you, it sure is great to be off that plane." Ron said.
"Hang on..." Tiffany said. "Aren't you dead? Deadly virus? Doing Luna?"
Ron looked ashamed. "Sorry about this, but it was the only way I could get you to take me to Africa with you." He then morphed into a girl of about sixteen, same age as the proverbial 'gang'. She had long, black hair, and green eyes to rival Harry's. "I'm really your long lost twin sister, Harry."
"Wow!" Harry said. "What's your name?"
"Harriet."
"Where have I heard that name before?" Tiffany asked herself. "Oh, that's right, it's so close to Harry's name. You're not really his long lost twin, are you."
"Sorry! I swear to god, this is my true form." She said, morphing into a girl with long, blood red hair and deep blue eyes. "The name's Sinthya."
"You mean Cynthia." Tiffany corrected.
"No, Sinthya."
"Cynthia."
"Sinthya!"
"Cynthia!"
"Does it matter?" Harry cut in furiously. "It sounds the same anyway."
Tiffany pouted and walked towards the airport terminal, Harry running after her, yelling at Sinthya. "NOW LOOK WHAT YOU MADE HER DO!"
-----
Stepping into the cool hotel room, they breathed in the cold air happily. Walking for half an hour in summery Africa heat made them all want to just keel over and die on the footpath. But they had spurned on, and reached their destination, with only one person needing to be rushed to the ER. But they were fine now, flopping on couches and refrigerators to have a long, refreshing sleep.
Tiffany was the only one who stayed awake. She packed her backpack with common kitchen knives, making sure that she charmed them to not cut through the material and fall out. She also put in her bag common kitchen machine guns, just in case the knives mysteriously disappeared.
"Time to go." She said to Harry, shaking him awake. She shook awake Ginny, Sinthya, and McGonagall, too, exiting the door to grumbles from the dream team.
"But I wasn't even asleep yet!" Ginny complained. "And that room was booked for a week!"
"We have to go. Or do you want to get murdered by the curse placed upon me?" Tiffany snapped, exiting the hotel lobby. As soon as they exited the double doors, their clothes had miraculously changed. Tiffany wore an army print bikini top, and army print cargo pants with chunky black boots. Ginny wore a khaki tee, which only just came down to below her chest, and black hotpants, with black boots. McGonagall wore a tree green top with long sleeves, and khaki pants, with white runners. Harry wore a tight black tank, showing off his never-before-seen muscles, and tree green pants so baggy it was a wonder they weren't used as a circus tent. Sinthya wore a black tank top, and a short tree green miniskirt. They all had guns, not to mention black belts in jujitsu, karate, and all manner of Chinese fighting styles. Tiffany looked in her backpack, to find that her common kitchen knives and machine guns had transformed into hunting knives and Mag Vega's.
"Alright, I'd say we're ready for the jungle." Tiffany said.
-----
They trekked for days through the jungle, not finding anything. Once or twice they were attacked by wild boars (they blamed the gravy stash in McGonagall's bag) and a small Shetland pony tried to drown them in slobber, but apart from that they had a relatively boring time.
"I say we split up." Sinthya said.
"But I'm the one who has to deliver this goddamn thing to Sharap'n!" Tiffany shrieked.
"What goddamn thing?" Harry asked mildly.
"I don't bloody well know!" Tiffany squealed like a stuck pig.
"Make sure we packed extra Tampax," Harry said. "This girl's PMS-ing."
"NYAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Tiffany screamed, shaking the mountains with her cry. A large stone fell out of place, and revealed the once hidden entrance to a dark cave. A golden light seemed to shimmer inside of it, and Tiffany beckoned the others to follow her inside. Once in the cave, she tackled Sinthya, ripping from her pocket a black lighter.
"Could've just asked." Sinthya grumbled, but Tiffany ignored her. Flicking the little fire into life, she led the way deeper and deeper inside the cave. It was obvious no one had been inside this cave for years, decades, centuries.
"Do you see what I see?" Ginny asked softly. Everyone saw it. Light. This wasn't a cave. It was a tunnel. Through an African mountain to regions unknown and unexplored by any pioneer, as they probably wouldn't know it was even there, due to the large, black mountainous mountains surrounding the area they stepped out to. They were on the side of the mountain, looking down at their route. There was a large temple – on the other side of the area. Tiffany estimated the area to be a couple of kilometres either way, completely closed off by nature. Another temple, slightly closer to where they were, lay at the bottom of the mountain.
"I'm guessing Sharap'n is in that temple way over there." Tiffany said. "We can sleep down at that close temple tonight, but we have to be off first thing tomorrow morning."
Her friends agreed with her, following her down the mountainside towards the tiny temple. Upon reaching it, they found it to be drafty in the main area, but once they stepped into the living and sleeping areas the air was warm and comfortable.
"Old spell," Tiffany explained. "Be on the lookout... Sharap'n might have been here, and the floating skull in my dream told me that he is vengeful and hates being woken. Watch for deathtraps."
Her companions nodded and went off to their respective sleeping compartments, but there was a shrill cry from McGonagall's room, and Tiffany went inside to check what was going on.
"Have you ever watched Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark?" Tiffany asked.
"No." McGonagall whimpered.
"Oh, such a good movie, you have to watch it. There's this trap, where when you touch the light, spikes come out to impale you. I think this is what happened here."
"Thank you, captain obvious!" McGonagall said irritably. "Now can you get this steel rod out from my leg?"
"Avast, ye scurvy dogs!" Tiffany said, leaping from side to side and swinging her arms around her head. The spike retreated into the wall and Tiffany used an extremely complex spell to cement up the wall, so as for that never to happen again. "Simple. Simply dance around and sing a sea shanty and they retreat. I've found that Aztec-like traps have a particular dislike for seafaring pirates and will do anything to be away from them."
"How do you know all that stuff, Tiff?" McGonagall asked, flopping onto her rapidly red staining bed.
"Oh, when I was eighteen months old I went on a trip with my adoptive parents to Aztec-Land... I found out a lot of interesting stuff, including the fact that feet do not taste good at all."
"Can you do anything with this leg? I think I'll bleed out and die if it's not tended to."
"Can I just tell you about the time I went fishing in Russia –"
"I really hate to be a thorn in your side, but I am feeling rather woozy."
"Fine! Don't listen! See if I care! Selfish bitch!" Tiffany muttered as she bandaged up McGonagall's leg. "Bloody bold font!"
