Disclaimer: Harry Potter and
his people, in this case, Draco and Ginny and Bill, belong to JK
Rowling, not me. No offense intended, no money being made.
The Curse-breaker's Sister
Chapter 16
They were going to Atlantis.
Ginny had paled a bit when Draco announced their destination. She was silent for a few moments before speaking. "That's so strange," she told him quietly.
"Strange?" he asked. "Why so? I thought you'd be excited."
"Oh, believe me, I am excited, but this Atlantis bit, well, it's a bit odd. I read a lot of books while you were out the other night; one of them was about Atlantis. The funny thing is, it told the legend from a Mesopotamian point of view. That's why I read it, because we'd just returned from there."
Draco looked perplexed. "What did the book say?"
"Just that there was a correlation between the Greek and Roman gods, that they were derivations of the original gods, Mesopotamian ones. It said the god Ea cursed Atlantis and sent it under the ocean because it was haunted by demons. Ea made a barrier around it that would keep the demons in, protecting the people that lived on the earth from harm."
"Any mention of Ugarit in your reading?"
"Ugarit? No, nothing about that. What's Ugarit? A town? A demon?"
"A city, sort of. Ugarit was the capital of the Ugarit kingdom, 2000 years ago. It's on the Mediterranean coast. It's supposed to be beautiful, but I've never been there. Nothing left of it but ruins. And the portal to Atlantis."
"I guess we're going to Ugarit, then," Ginny said. She began to pack up their belongings.
"Don't pack yet, we've still got to write down the incantation. And figure out how we're going to get there."
"Can't we Apparate?" Ginny asked.
"I don't think so. I don't know where it is, who knows where we'd end up. Here," he said, pushing a blank roll of parchment towards her, "you make a good copy of the incantation, I'll see about getting us to Ugarit."
Ginny made three careful copies of the incantation. The first was a copy of exactly what Draco had written down earlier, minus the ink smudges and crossed out words. The second was a phonetic version that they could use as a pronunciation guide. The third was what the incantation translated into English. Ginny felt it would be helpful to know what it was they were saying.
The first part of the translation was purely instructional.
On the day before the moon is full, when lunar power is the strongest, Atlantis will rise again. The second section contained the chant.
Hear my cries, Ningal, moon goddess. Hear my prayers, Sîn, god of the moon. Give me that which I desire, Mot and Anat. By your powers combined, I command Atlantis to rise from the sea!
Ginny put down her quill and looked at the words she had just written. It didn't seem like anything special. Colin Creevey had written her better love poems while they were at Hogwarts together, even his tenderhearted missives had been better then this.
She flipped through one of the reference books Thérèse had provided. Like Ningal and Sîn, Mot and Anat were moon gods. Maybe there was some sort of connection between it all.
Ginny didn't have time to purpose that thought any further as Draco returned, Thérèse in tow.
"Thérèse is going to help us get to Ugarit!" he exclaimed.
"That's wonderful. Thank you, Thérèse."
Thérèse fluttered her long, blonde eyelashes at Draco. "Anything for an old friend," she purred.
Draco ignored her and started packing up their scrolls.
"Get the translation done al right?" he asked Ginny.
"Yes," she told him. "Three copies."
"Perfect! We've got to hurry, though. Algie's Algerian Rugs closes in an hour. He's all the way back in Timgad, we're going to have to hustle."
Thérèse put her hand on top of Draco's. "Draco, I already offer to have you stay at my house. Ve can go out for dinner, eet will be fun! Then I will take you to Uncle Algie's tomorrow, oui?"
"I'm sorry, Thérèse, no can do. I appreciate all your help, but Ginny and I are in a bit of a rush, aren't we Gin!'"
"Uh, yes, that's right."
Thérèse stood back from Draco, allowing him to pack. She watched them both with her arms crossed and a sulky pout marring her otherwise pretty features.
"I suppose eef you are not going to stay, I could let you use the libraries connection to ze Algerian Floo Network. Then you vould get to Uncle Algie's before he closes."
Thérèse was definitely not happy about Draco leaving, but she was polite when saying good-bye. She tried to kiss Draco on the lips, an incident which he managed to avoid by ducking away at the last second. Thérèse ended up kissing the collar of his shirt and did not look happy about it.
Ginny went first. Draco was afraid to leave her alone with Thérèse. Not that he was afraid for Ginny. He was afraid of what Ginny would do to Thérèse if the French librarian said anything out of line.
They arrived at Algie's Algerian Rugs in one piece, though Draco was covered in soot. Ginny helped to dust him off, commenting on the state of the Algerian Floo Network.
"It wasn't the network," Draco said quietly. "It was a parting gift from Thérèse."
"Oh, I'm sorry about that," she managed to say in between giggles.
The sound of her laughter alerted Algie to their presence.
"You must be Malfoy," said a deeply tanned, and very wrinkled old man. "Welcome to Algie's Algerian Rugs. Call me Uncle Algie."
"I'm Draco, Draco Malfoy. And this is my...friend Ginny Weasley. We'd like to rent a flying carpet."
"I don't do rentals, but I have some nice models I can sell to you. Come on 'round back."
The rug itself was stunning. Intricately woven threads of golds and yellows created an eye-catching pattern that according to Algie, 'Anybody would want to display in their house', but that was beside the point. The carpet flew and that's all that mattered.
Not only did it fly, but it came with an invisibility option and built in back-seat pillows, guaranteed not to fall off! It was also large enough to carry both Ginny and Draco and their belongings.
It took Ginny a while to release her death grip on Draco's arm and lean over the edge far enough to look at the land below. Once she got over her fears, she began to enjoy the ride. Draco had managed to get an English speaking station to play on the in-carpet wireless network and was absently singing along with the music. Sometimes he'd point out places on the landscape below them. Mountains, castles, and occasionally an oasis in the dessert below.
"Ever flown by carpet before?" Draco asked her, mid-flight. He'd set the carpet to autopilot and was lounging on one of the built in cushions.
"Never. They're banned in Britain, you know that."
Draco grinned at her, and for a moment he looked like the snide, blood- proud prat he'd been as a child.
"Let me guess," Ginny continued. "That didn't stop the Malfoy's from having a flying carpet."
"You know me too well."
"I did get to ride in a flying car once."
"Before or after Potter's run-in with the Whomping Willow."
"Before. I caught Fred and George sneaking out one night. Being a nosy little sister, I followed. They took me with them on a short trip around Devon in exchange for my silence."
"It must have been fun, growing up with all those brothers and sisters," Draco said wistfully.
"Oh yeah, loads of fun! Siblings mean there is always somebody to boss you around, take the biggest pancakes at breakfast or short-sheet your bed."
"At least you weren't lonely."
"Lonely? With Crabbe and Goyle around all the time? With Pansy Parkinson hanging off your arm?"
"That's not what I meant. I was thinking more along the lines of family. You know what my father was like."
Ginny nodded. How could she forget Lucius Malfoy, the man responsible for the disastrous events of her first year at Hogwarts.
"Anyway," continued Draco. "Let's not dwell on the past when we should be looking to the future." He draped an arm around Ginny's shoulder and pointed to the sky in front of them.
In the distance, blue-green waves lapped at a sandy beach. Ginny could see the ruins of old cities on the ground below. The carpet began its ascent and a few minutes later, landed by a crumbling, granite wall.
"After you," Draco said, allowing Ginny to step off the carpet first.
The moment they lifted the last bag off the carpet, it flipped up off the ground and rolled itself up.
"Algie said we can use it as a tent, but I thought we'd do some exploring first, before it got too dark," Draco said.
"Good idea. According to the lunar calendar, it's three days before the full moon. We've got some time to explore. Or at least find a safe place to set up camp"
"Lumos," Draco said, and the tip of his wand started to glow. "Shall we?"
Author Notes: Actually, I don't have any. Unedited (for the moment) beyond me pretending I was beta'ing somebody else's work:) And apparently, the new FireFox (v. 0.9 and otherwise a very sexy browser indeed) is not friends with FF.net and I can't bold anything. Sorry, folks!
The Curse-breaker's Sister
Chapter 16
They were going to Atlantis.
Ginny had paled a bit when Draco announced their destination. She was silent for a few moments before speaking. "That's so strange," she told him quietly.
"Strange?" he asked. "Why so? I thought you'd be excited."
"Oh, believe me, I am excited, but this Atlantis bit, well, it's a bit odd. I read a lot of books while you were out the other night; one of them was about Atlantis. The funny thing is, it told the legend from a Mesopotamian point of view. That's why I read it, because we'd just returned from there."
Draco looked perplexed. "What did the book say?"
"Just that there was a correlation between the Greek and Roman gods, that they were derivations of the original gods, Mesopotamian ones. It said the god Ea cursed Atlantis and sent it under the ocean because it was haunted by demons. Ea made a barrier around it that would keep the demons in, protecting the people that lived on the earth from harm."
"Any mention of Ugarit in your reading?"
"Ugarit? No, nothing about that. What's Ugarit? A town? A demon?"
"A city, sort of. Ugarit was the capital of the Ugarit kingdom, 2000 years ago. It's on the Mediterranean coast. It's supposed to be beautiful, but I've never been there. Nothing left of it but ruins. And the portal to Atlantis."
"I guess we're going to Ugarit, then," Ginny said. She began to pack up their belongings.
"Don't pack yet, we've still got to write down the incantation. And figure out how we're going to get there."
"Can't we Apparate?" Ginny asked.
"I don't think so. I don't know where it is, who knows where we'd end up. Here," he said, pushing a blank roll of parchment towards her, "you make a good copy of the incantation, I'll see about getting us to Ugarit."
Ginny made three careful copies of the incantation. The first was a copy of exactly what Draco had written down earlier, minus the ink smudges and crossed out words. The second was a phonetic version that they could use as a pronunciation guide. The third was what the incantation translated into English. Ginny felt it would be helpful to know what it was they were saying.
The first part of the translation was purely instructional.
On the day before the moon is full, when lunar power is the strongest, Atlantis will rise again. The second section contained the chant.
Hear my cries, Ningal, moon goddess. Hear my prayers, Sîn, god of the moon. Give me that which I desire, Mot and Anat. By your powers combined, I command Atlantis to rise from the sea!
Ginny put down her quill and looked at the words she had just written. It didn't seem like anything special. Colin Creevey had written her better love poems while they were at Hogwarts together, even his tenderhearted missives had been better then this.
She flipped through one of the reference books Thérèse had provided. Like Ningal and Sîn, Mot and Anat were moon gods. Maybe there was some sort of connection between it all.
Ginny didn't have time to purpose that thought any further as Draco returned, Thérèse in tow.
"Thérèse is going to help us get to Ugarit!" he exclaimed.
"That's wonderful. Thank you, Thérèse."
Thérèse fluttered her long, blonde eyelashes at Draco. "Anything for an old friend," she purred.
Draco ignored her and started packing up their scrolls.
"Get the translation done al right?" he asked Ginny.
"Yes," she told him. "Three copies."
"Perfect! We've got to hurry, though. Algie's Algerian Rugs closes in an hour. He's all the way back in Timgad, we're going to have to hustle."
Thérèse put her hand on top of Draco's. "Draco, I already offer to have you stay at my house. Ve can go out for dinner, eet will be fun! Then I will take you to Uncle Algie's tomorrow, oui?"
"I'm sorry, Thérèse, no can do. I appreciate all your help, but Ginny and I are in a bit of a rush, aren't we Gin!'"
"Uh, yes, that's right."
Thérèse stood back from Draco, allowing him to pack. She watched them both with her arms crossed and a sulky pout marring her otherwise pretty features.
"I suppose eef you are not going to stay, I could let you use the libraries connection to ze Algerian Floo Network. Then you vould get to Uncle Algie's before he closes."
Thérèse was definitely not happy about Draco leaving, but she was polite when saying good-bye. She tried to kiss Draco on the lips, an incident which he managed to avoid by ducking away at the last second. Thérèse ended up kissing the collar of his shirt and did not look happy about it.
Ginny went first. Draco was afraid to leave her alone with Thérèse. Not that he was afraid for Ginny. He was afraid of what Ginny would do to Thérèse if the French librarian said anything out of line.
They arrived at Algie's Algerian Rugs in one piece, though Draco was covered in soot. Ginny helped to dust him off, commenting on the state of the Algerian Floo Network.
"It wasn't the network," Draco said quietly. "It was a parting gift from Thérèse."
"Oh, I'm sorry about that," she managed to say in between giggles.
The sound of her laughter alerted Algie to their presence.
"You must be Malfoy," said a deeply tanned, and very wrinkled old man. "Welcome to Algie's Algerian Rugs. Call me Uncle Algie."
"I'm Draco, Draco Malfoy. And this is my...friend Ginny Weasley. We'd like to rent a flying carpet."
"I don't do rentals, but I have some nice models I can sell to you. Come on 'round back."
The rug itself was stunning. Intricately woven threads of golds and yellows created an eye-catching pattern that according to Algie, 'Anybody would want to display in their house', but that was beside the point. The carpet flew and that's all that mattered.
Not only did it fly, but it came with an invisibility option and built in back-seat pillows, guaranteed not to fall off! It was also large enough to carry both Ginny and Draco and their belongings.
It took Ginny a while to release her death grip on Draco's arm and lean over the edge far enough to look at the land below. Once she got over her fears, she began to enjoy the ride. Draco had managed to get an English speaking station to play on the in-carpet wireless network and was absently singing along with the music. Sometimes he'd point out places on the landscape below them. Mountains, castles, and occasionally an oasis in the dessert below.
"Ever flown by carpet before?" Draco asked her, mid-flight. He'd set the carpet to autopilot and was lounging on one of the built in cushions.
"Never. They're banned in Britain, you know that."
Draco grinned at her, and for a moment he looked like the snide, blood- proud prat he'd been as a child.
"Let me guess," Ginny continued. "That didn't stop the Malfoy's from having a flying carpet."
"You know me too well."
"I did get to ride in a flying car once."
"Before or after Potter's run-in with the Whomping Willow."
"Before. I caught Fred and George sneaking out one night. Being a nosy little sister, I followed. They took me with them on a short trip around Devon in exchange for my silence."
"It must have been fun, growing up with all those brothers and sisters," Draco said wistfully.
"Oh yeah, loads of fun! Siblings mean there is always somebody to boss you around, take the biggest pancakes at breakfast or short-sheet your bed."
"At least you weren't lonely."
"Lonely? With Crabbe and Goyle around all the time? With Pansy Parkinson hanging off your arm?"
"That's not what I meant. I was thinking more along the lines of family. You know what my father was like."
Ginny nodded. How could she forget Lucius Malfoy, the man responsible for the disastrous events of her first year at Hogwarts.
"Anyway," continued Draco. "Let's not dwell on the past when we should be looking to the future." He draped an arm around Ginny's shoulder and pointed to the sky in front of them.
In the distance, blue-green waves lapped at a sandy beach. Ginny could see the ruins of old cities on the ground below. The carpet began its ascent and a few minutes later, landed by a crumbling, granite wall.
"After you," Draco said, allowing Ginny to step off the carpet first.
The moment they lifted the last bag off the carpet, it flipped up off the ground and rolled itself up.
"Algie said we can use it as a tent, but I thought we'd do some exploring first, before it got too dark," Draco said.
"Good idea. According to the lunar calendar, it's three days before the full moon. We've got some time to explore. Or at least find a safe place to set up camp"
"Lumos," Draco said, and the tip of his wand started to glow. "Shall we?"
Author Notes: Actually, I don't have any. Unedited (for the moment) beyond me pretending I was beta'ing somebody else's work:) And apparently, the new FireFox (v. 0.9 and otherwise a very sexy browser indeed) is not friends with FF.net and I can't bold anything. Sorry, folks!