Now, before we get onto the second sample chapter, I'll say that I was surprised at how much interest was generated by the prologue of Paint It Black. I'm heartened, as I thought the recent The Mummy film didn't get as big a fanbase as the Nineties one.
However, I must reiterate something: There is no guarantee whatsoever that this story will become a full one. In fact, I had to change the setting from Year 5 to Year 3, as I realised doing it in Year 5 was screwing with the plot logic too much. But even if this version of the story goes the way of the dodo, I will still do a one-shot variant of it for Halloween, so you Harry/Ahmanet shippers can get your fix...
PAINT IT BLACK
CHAPTER 1:
ACCLIMATISATION
In the rather luxurious hotel suite, the rather handsome redheaded man pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "So, upon communing with your god, you decided to take an unsupervised trip to Iraq, despite the fact that it's a warzone, and released an ancient Egyptian princess, even though she murdered much of her family, and who is currently enjoying a hot shower. Harry, I…words fail me, they really do. We're still trying to deal with the fallout of finding you in that chamber in Egypt, of all places, and then, you decide to do this?"
"Would you rather I left her in there to rot?" Harry asked.
"…Until I know she can be trusted, yes. I mean, given the writings about that time, and given that it's the Early Kingdom Period, they're sparse writings, she sold her soul to Set, killed her father, stepmother, and half-brother, and was about to summon Set in corporeal form. I need to be cautious, Harry. Nobody wants a repeat of the Hamunaptra incident(1). And of course, there's the fact that you have all sorts of terrorist groups in the Middle East. Those bastards are no different from the Death Eaters."
"That being said, I need you to keep this quiet from Dumbledore, Bill," Harry said, looking to the door leading to the bathroom. "I know he's a respected leader amongst you wizards, but he also left me with the Dursleys. I'd thought that almost a dream until you found me in that tomb Menehptre left me in."
The redhead, whose name was Bill Weasley, nodded solemnly. "I can understand your lack of trust. My parents and most of my family trust him completely and utterly, but…well, the mistake he made with you was a big problem with me. My worry is that he has links to the Prodigium, and that is trouble."
"The Prodigium?"
"Right, I didn't get around to telling you. The Prodigium was founded by Abraham van Helsing, a Dutch doctor who had experience with the supernatural. He'd helped vanquish a powerful vampire, the one known as Dracula."
"Dracula was real? Huh."
"Hmm. But after van Helsing died, the Prodigium lost its way, especially after they lost members in the Second World War fighting the Nazis' own monsters…well, you don't know that much about world history, so I'll say it's not really a good place. It used to be, but under its current leader, well…I don't trust them. Not because they're Muggles, not like half the Ministry of Magic would think, but because they're too heavy-handed in dealing with the supernatural. So you'd better be careful who you say you're the lover of an ancient Egyptian princess who also committed familicide."
Harry knew that. Even after coming back to this time that he had serendipitously left after a particularly bad beating by the Dursleys, he knew that. His childhood in Little Whinging had seemed like a fever dream when he first arrived in Egypt 5000 years prior. Then again, considering he was wandering through the desert, half-mad through heatstroke and dehydration, before being found by a curious girl who had wandered from her family's caravan, well, who could blame him.
The Priest of Set who took him in had taught him their language, even devising a spell to help him learn their language, the earliest form of Ancient Egyptian, easily. He said he had seen Harry's coming in a dream, supplied to him by his god, Set, one of the most feared of Egypt's deities. A child of Set, assaulted by one who followed Apophis.
Childhood was hard, but kinder than it was at the Dursleys. Harder, but kinder, paradoxically. His mind was trained, the gifts the Dursleys denounced as freakish cultivated, revealed to be magic. Harry was a zau, a wizard. And he was the Priest of Set's apprentice.
One of the things that made it worthwhile was the meetings he had with the girl whom she had met upon arriving in this time, a beauty of dark hair and eyes, musical voice, and a gaze that seemed to penetrate the soul, even at her young age. Ahmanet, named for the goddess, the name meaning 'gift of the Moon'. She was a princess, the sole child of Pharaoh Menehptre, and his sole heir.
Oddly enough, his lack of deference to her station when they first met endeared her to him, though not to her father, the humourless bastard. She often snuck out of her palace to travel to the Temple of Set where he resided, to talk with him. The pale-skinned boy with emerald eyes and the strange language was a novelty to her, he knew. But her father always feared his influence over her.
He remembered the old bastard's words after he laid him out in the sealed tomb, paralysed by the poison from the darts from his hired workers. "It would not do for Ahmanet to be sullied by a foreign boy who forgets his station, and one who is an acolyte of Set," he had said. "And I have no need for a woman on the throne, and the people will not have it. My son, when he is born, will be my successor. Ahmanet will do her duty and be wed for an alliance. She will believe that you have run off with another woman. Better that, than to have her bring our land under the thrall of Set…"
He was to die, starved of air in a sealed tomb once the drugs wore off, and charms set into the stone would prevent him from using his powers to blast his way out. But the charms only worked against offensive spells. A stasis charm, fuelled by his magic, helped him sleep until he was woken by the man sitting across from him. A cursebreaker from Gringotts, a bank run by Goblins. A tomb-robber, but one who coveted knowledge as much as riches. And who recognised him, which was astonishing, considering Harry had never met Bill Weasley before. A number of his family were with him too, having won money in a lottery.
Bill, along with an old man he had summoned called Dumbledore, had explained matters. Now, Harry listened as calmly as he could. He accepted, albeit with considerable reluctance, the apologies of Dumbledore. He'd spent fifteen years in Ancient Egypt, over half his life, and he was a man grown, a skilled wizard, albeit in arts that were partly lost to this time.
"In any case, I believe he may have a job for you," Bill said. "Dumbledore, I mean."
"A job?" Harry asked incredulously. But before he could ask any further, the door to the bathroom opened, and Ahmanet walked out. He had to persuade her somewhat that she needed to don the clothes of this era rather than a variation of the clothing she wore five millennia ago. On a whim, he'd gotten her a shirt with a print of the old Universal studios film The Mummy on it, showing a wizened Boris Karloff in repose. Jeans completed the ensemble. And while she would have preferred to dress like royalty, she at least acknowledged his practicality…and his sense of humour.
The fact that it showed off her lithe form nicely didn't hurt.
"Did you have a nice shower?" Harry asked in the Egyptian of their time.
She smiled. Her eyes, while still amber, no longer had the dual irises in each one. "So much hot water…I never believed it possible. My skin has never felt so clean. The soaps seemed strange, though. Still…I miss having slaves to clean me. A good slave is hard to find, and with slavery being forbidden in this time…in any case, I wish for this one to make haste and leave us, so we can properly reunite."
Ahmanet sat down next to Harry on the lounge, and Bill leaned forward. "Princess Ahmanet, you'll forgive my impertinence, but we should get on with this."
"My thoughts exactly," Ahmanet said. "For what reason does a tomb-robber linger in my presence?"
"Necessity. Gringotts has, as a matter of policy, a number of procedures in place. You're far from the only person from antiquity we have uncovered in any state of life…or unlife, as the case seems to be with you. Since the Nitocris Fiasco of the 1870s, Gringotts is required to guide those who have woken in modern times, as well as help them. Harry has doubtlessly told you that the world has changed significantly since your internment."
"Indeed he has. My homeland is now in the hands of…what did Harry call them? Muslims? There has been no pharaoh for over two thousand years, and the last king was toppled decades ago. Magic is hidden, out of fear of the mundane populace, the ones you call Muggles. Harry has explained to me why it would be…difficult for me to reclaim my birthright. If I came forth and declared myself to be the rightful ruler of my homeland, I would be subject to ridicule at the very least, if not hostility, and while I am confident I could overcome most opposition with the power at my command…my beloved has warned me of the weapons of this time, ones that can annihilate whole cities with a fury Ra himself would quail at. And between my kingdom and my beloved…I would choose him every time."
Bill sighed with relief. "That's good to hear, Princess Ahmanet. While Harry has substantial holdings at Gringotts, we are also prepared to offer a stipend, funded partly by the sale of artifacts from your…prison, what little they are. Of course, this won't be done without your consent."
"Sell them if you wish," Ahmanet said immediately. "I have no desire for reminders of my prison. As for my circumstances, there are luxuries in this time far beyond my own. No, I want to know what happened to my personal artifacts."
"Nobody knows," Bill said. "There are rumours that, during the Second Crusade, some Crusaders who ended up in Egypt plundered the artifacts from a storehouse that may have included your own items." On her blank look, he clarified, "The Crusaders were soldiers from across Europe who came to the Holy Land to…free it from the Muslims in the name of Christianity a little under a thousand years ago. Most were ambitious pillagers rather than pious men, and they probably came to Egypt to plunder what riches they could. So the artifacts could be anywhere in Europe."
Ahmanet grimaced. "Damnation…may Ammit feast on their hearts," she muttered to herself in Ancient Egyptian. Harry knew that she wouldn't seek Bill's help for doing so either. What she wanted most was the arcane dagger Set granted her, the one that would allow Set to incarnate himself physically into the world. Bill was already wary of Ahmanet, given her reputation. He didn't know her like Harry did.
"We'll let you know if we find anything, Princess Ahmanet," Bill said gently and respectfully. "If there's anything we can do to further help you acclimate to this time…"
"My beloved can do that for me, as kind as your offer is," Ahmanet said. "He can even disguise my features when we walk abroad so that my more…conspicuous features may remain hidden. Is that all?"
"For now," Bill said, standing, and giving them a smile. "I hope things work out, I really do. Perhaps you can find happiness in this life, Princess Ahmanet. Goodbye."
As he left the hotel room, Harry idly removed a staff, seemingly from the very air itself. He waved it in a few lazy patterns, and nodded. "No listening charms. Either he trusts me to keep you from doing anything, or else he's an idiot. I hope it's the former," he said in Ancient Egyptian. "I've placed a Privacy Ward in place, just in case I missed anything."
"For a tomb-robber, he is at least deferential. Not enough due to my station, but these are different times, and he did not live in our own," Ahmanet said. "But he fears me."
"Can you blame him? You're a familicide who, as far as he knew, sold her soul to a deity whose reputation has not been the best. He didn't know your father, or your stepmother, let alone you. And even if he did, you still killed your infant half-brother. Never mind the fact that your father's reign was in an obscure part of the early history of Egypt."
"But you do not fear me, do you?" She placed a pallid hand over his own. Cold over his warm.
"Never. The day you give me cause to truly fear you is the day our love is truly sundered, Ahmanet," Harry said.
Ahmanet chuckled softly, if somewhat sadly. "…May that day never come. In a way…coming to this time is a liberation. No more expectations to fulfil. Just my desires and your own. Still…what does Lord Set desire from us? You communed with him prior to seeking me out."
Harry looked to the former princess. "He has given us a task, one which may prove to be more vital than seeking out his dagger and incarnating him into the world. In truth, Lord Set has weakened during our respective internments, as have all the gods from Egypt. The Roman pantheon, which they stole from the Greeks, Christianity, Islam, they corroded the influence of our gods, Ahmanet. This includes Apophis. But…Apophis has a taint within this world. A follower who may yet become a vessel. We need to nip this in the bud. Which is why I am considering an offer from Dumbledore very carefully."
"The old fool who left you with those animals?" Ahmanet asked, her nose wrinkling in contempt.
"Yes. I still do not trust him, but he spoke of a man called Sirius Black, a man who was my godfather, and yet, somehow, betrayed my family, and that of Neville Longbottom, the Boy Who Lived, to Voldemort. Recently, Black escaped incarceration from a wizarding prison of Azkaban. He was heard to say something about someone being at Hogwarts, the British wizarding school Dumbledore runs. Many believe he is targeting Neville Longbottom. Whoever he is targeting, he somehow escaped Azkaban, something considered impossible, and has evaded the law enforcement of both the mundane and magical authorities, as well as the guards of Azkaban. Dementors."
"And what are they?"
"Foul demons who subsist on happiness," Harry sneered. "They can even devour people's souls, like bastard monstrous offspring of Ammit, from what I could gather from Bill."
Ahmanet's eyes widened. "And they put such foul demons in charge of a prison? What fools the mages of this time are. I suppose then that Dumbledore wishes for your help to stop Black?"
"Indeed. He wishes for me to pose as the…teaching assistant of a man called Remus Lupin. The man knew my parents, but was prevented from adopting me due to his affliction. He is a werewolf, albeit one who struggles with the beast within."
"How curious. You do know, though, that I will not be leaving your side?"
"I know better," Harry said to the undead princess, who gave a smirk. "I'll just say that you're my girlfriend. If anyone persists, I'll say that you're from the Egyptian magical community. Bill's working on identity papers for you at the moment. We'll have to find a way to disguise you, though. The pale skin and amber eyes are disturbing enough, but Set's brands will cause alarm in those who don't know you."
"They would be right to fear Set, and myself, but as you said, inspiring too much fear would end in my downfall."
"And with Set's power diminished in this time, you're far from invincible. But once we have dealt with Apophis' acolyte…we will find the dagger, and then…I will become Set's vessel." On her look of concern, he said, "Don't worry. Lord Set will fuse with me, rather than usurp me. I mean…you're pretty much immortal now, whereas I'm not. And Lord Set's power is not what it once was. We will be together until the end of days, my princess."
She leaned into him on the lounge, smiling. "That sounds wonderful, my beloved priest…"
CHAPTER 1 ANNOTATIONS:
So, there you have it. Harry and Ahmanet are getting settled into the 21st Century, but things are still happening.
Now, if Ahmanet seems OOC here, I should address my train of logic. Even in the movie, you have glimpses of humanity in Ahmanet. Reading up on her backstory, I see her villainy and destructive nature partly due to her father pulling the dick move that he did. You see similar things happen in history and fiction all the time: Empress Matilda got usurped by her nephew Stephen of Blois during the English civil war known as the Anarchy, which itself was the partial basis of the Dance of the Dragons from the backstory of Game of Thrones. Given that her father threw away all those years of training he put her through, I don't think he truly valued her much.
The Ahmanet in the movie had nothing more to lose, hence her obsession with summoning Set. However, because she has Harry, she has a chain anchoring her to, if not morality, then restraining her destructive impulses. While technically Harry's superior, they are closer to equals. Ahmanet may have more raw power than Harry thanks to her Mephistophelean deal, but Harry has the knowledge of his era. Neither wants the other to be hurt because of their actions, so Ahmanet is restraining herself for Harry's sake. In the end, what she wants is love and adoration, even the canon Ahmanet.
This is actually a dynamic I have touched on before in other stories where Harry is paired with a villainous character. Harry, through his actions, acts as an anchor to humanity and morality for a number of characters who are canonically antagonistic. Medea from my Fate/Stay Night crossover Separated at Birth, Jeanne d'Arc Alter from my Fate/Zero crossover Ephemeral Flames of Vengeance and Desire, Tiamat from my Fate/Grand Order crossover Primordial Song, Eto from my Tokyo Ghoul crossover Janus, they are a few examples I have done, and I will be doing a similar pairing model in future stories, I hope. They are tricky to do, as I find it hard, unlike some people, to write Harry as evil (I can write him as lacking in some morals, certainly, but not wholly immoral), and so I have to adjust the pairing, and do so without sacrificing the essentials of their character.
The Ahmanet in the movie was a self-centred force of nature who cared only about making Tom Cruise her husbando, a baffling concept, really. This form of Ahmanet is more calm and collected, but heaven help anyone who tries to either harm her, Harry, or separate them. I wanted to see more of the queen she wanted to be, hence her being polite and calm to Bill Weasley. She may not like his lack of deference, but she tolerates it, partly because this is a different time, and partly because she knows he's scared of her. If he was actually disrespectful to her, then it would be another story.
I also toned down Set's destructive nature, but this is actually based on real mythology, something other fanfic writers have touched on, like KitsuneToRyuu did with their own crossover with the same pairing, Her Darkness, His Darkness. Although Set's villainy has been established in myths about Osiris and Horus, this does contradict with firmly established myths of him helping Ra oppose Apophis. Reading into the history of such matters, where Set's reputation declined after he was adopted by foreigners known as the Hyksos as a deity…well, I decided that Set, while not a particularly good god, was far from the monster he was seen in the film (let alone his Whoniverse equivalent, Sutekh the Destroyer, from the classic Doctor Who story Pyramids of Mars). I think of Set in this story as being somewhat like Beerus from Dragonball Super, mixed in with some of the traits of Stannis Baratheon from Game of Thrones, doing his duty, but resenting his peers for having a larger slice of the pie.
Also, keep in mind, according to the Dark Universe wiki, Ahmanet lived about five thousand years ago, at the very beginning of Egyptian civilisation (which goes to show the screenwriters did sod-all actual research), back when Set may not have been so vilified. So yeah, there's that.
1. Yes, the events of the 1999 film The Mummy actually happened in this story's backstory.
