Chapter 35
Disclaimer: None of the characters you recognize from the international best-selling series known as Harry Potter belong to me. They belong to the wonderful and filthy rich JKR. I am just a poor American, or, even better, Alabamian, who most certainly does not own the British-based books. I also cannot make this story purely British, for I sometimes put in American slang because it is so ingrained in my subconscious, and I cannot spell things in the British way because my spell check goes bonkers, as, most likely, would my beta reader. Sorry. I only have this little bit of plot.
A/N: Like I said, I apologize for the "Americanisms" I insert to the story, since they have recently been pointed out to me. And now, we will discover some of the secrets of the artifact.
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"Okay, hit me with it."
Hermione sighed. "Did you ever wonder why I was in France, exactly?"
"When you found Fred?" Ron paused. "You know, none of us even thought about it. We were just so happy to have Fred back, and then you, that the topic never even came up. It never even crossed my mind."
"I was picking up an artifact from the Louvre. A crown removed from King Tut's tomb that portrayed people doing magic."
"Yeah?"
"Well, it had something very interesting engraved on the side of it."
"What did it say?"
"You won't believe it."
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Harry, Ginny, and Mr. Weasley were still in the Weasley flat.
Harry was trying to engage in any kind of conversation possible, while Mr. Weasley loomed nearby in the kitchen.
"Lovely weather we've been having lately, huh?" Harry asked.
"No. It's January. I hate January," Ginny said flatly.
"Yeah, well, but it's not as foggy as it could be."
"I've seen clearer days."
Harry was grasping at straws. "How are the Cannons going to do this season?"
"You know their motto: dreadful, of course."
"I'm sorry, okay! I'm sorry for everything! I just thought I was the problem. I thought I was the one upsetting you."
Ginny looked deep into Harry's eyes. "No, Harry. You weren't the problem until you gave up on me. If you of all people don't believe in me, then why should I even try to get better?"
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"Why won't I believe it?" Ron asked. "Is it bad or crazy?"
"Crazy, definitely. It didn't make sense when I first read it."
"Well, what does it say?" Ron cried.
Hermione just rattled on, completely ignoring him. "I thought I was reading it wrong, or worse, that it was just a cruel joke. But we tested the engravings, and they're of the correct age. And the runes translate correctly. They're written in a hurry, like the person was afraid of revealing too much or was interrupted or both."
"Hermione, just tell me!" Ron demanded.
"It's a message from your brother Bill."
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"I didn't give up on you, Ginny," Harry said softly. "I never have and I never will. I just was trying…"
"Well, you failed," Ginny snapped. "How can I possibly trust you not to leave me alone in my times of need? History tends to repeat itself."
"Ginny, I…"
"I don't want to hear it!"
"But I didn't leave you alone! You had your dad…"
"And he ended up just as bad."
"And George…"
"He got upset too, luckily not as bad as me and Dad."
"And Ron."
"Yes, Ron. Thank Merlin for him. He had to pick up the pieces you and the Death Eaters had left behind."
Harry leaned over and cupped her chin in his hand. "I never meant to hurt you, Ginny, but if it gives you any consolation, when I left you that day, my heart broke."
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"A message from Bill?" Ron's jaw dropped.
"Honestly, Ron, why are you so surprised? It was an Egyptian artifact! He probably found it while he was a curse-breaker…"
"Well, what did it say?" Ron interrupted.
"I was getting there, Ron. Goodness!" Hermione sighed. "I'd tell you, but it'd be so much easier to show you. You see, it's a little bit difficult to explain." She looked around and grabbed a quill and parchment from a side table. "It looks like this," she said sagely.
T. R.
↓
Gaul
B. Weas
Ron peered down at Hermione's note. "Are you sure it's Bill's work?"
"I wasn't at first, but I compared the etchings to other ones done by Bill that we had on file. They match perfectly."
"Oh how. What does it mean?"
"It took me a long time to find out. I only recently figured it all out."
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A/N: I didn't say we'd figure out what it meant, did I? Well, now you can't complain that you don't know what it says.
Thanks to jwoods471 for being my beta and helping me figure out how the artifact said what it said, if that makes any sense to all of you.
PLEASE REVIEW. Yell, tell me I'm evil; I don't care, for I just want to hear from you.