A/N: This is a short chapter. The history of the syndicate is linked to Ancient Egyptian History. Fun fact, the historical details on Osiris and his descendants are as accurate as can be. Also, Ptolemy I Soter is the founder of the House of Ptolemy which ended when Cleopatra VII lost Egypt to Augustus Caesar (the first Roman Emperor).
I changed the official name of the syndicate because one friend of mine gave me a better Arabic translation. So, if you check the previous chapters, the real name of the crime group is updated as well. (Added this, just in case you notice that particular detail)
I am looking forward to your reactions to this chapter.
Your reviews, faves, and follows are highly appreciated.
P.S. Yes, I love Ancient Egyptian History and folklore.
Translations:
'Aabee = Father
'Um = Mother
Old World = Europe
Marhabaan = Hello
My Cheating Heart
By: tweety-src-clt9
Chapter Thirty-three: The Throne of Osiris
As Hermione's magic protects her body from any physical harm, her mind is bombarded by memories of the darkness that has been dwelling in the long history of the descendants of Osiris and Isis, the first Master and Mistress of Death...
An old and weary Osiris is on his deathbed laying beside his wife, an equally frail Isis. The time has come for the Master and Mistress of Death to pass on from the land of the living and to accept their duties in the afterlife. Osiris called for his three sons, Horus, Min, and Anubis…
"'Aabee", his sons chorused as all of them knelt by their father's bedside. It is painful for the three sons to see their father, the Pharaoh of Egypt, to be slowly fading away towards his death.
"My sons… your 'um and I are passing soon. I give you these. Symbols of our family's blessing from the Creator. The wand for Horus, the stone for Min, and the cloak for Anubis…Use it well", the frail Osiris slowly levitated each hallow to his sons.
As the sons of Osiris accepted their gifts, the Master and Mistress of Death passed on to start their new adventure.
Horus, Min, and Anubis ruled Egypt as equals by dividing the provinces in unity and prosperity. They protected their realm and cared for their people. When they passed on, they passed the hallows to their children…and the family tradition continued so on and so on…
As the hallows pass on from generation to generation, the darker and greedier the rulers have become… Slavery, cruel punishments, burying people alive, the descendants of Osiris have abused the blessings bestowed upon them by the Creator who entrusted their forefather with very special gifts.
When a descendant of Osiris created the first Horcrux, that became the final straw for the Creator. The hallows magically disappeared from Egypt and all three were lost to an unknown location… Never to be seen again by any member of the House of Osiris, the one who unified all of Egypt.
Egypt started to encounter economic and political problems. The eviler the ruler, the harsher the punishment. During the time of Moses, the Creator finally intervened and sent the Ten Plagues which resulted in the freeing of the Hebrew slaves.
When Ptolemy I Soter, one of Alexander the Great's generals conquered Egypt, the throne of Osiris fell. The descendants of Osiris were forced to serve the new non-magical rulers. When Cleopatra VII fell at the hands of Augustus Caesar, the first emperor of Rome, the descendants fled Egypt to save themselves from their land's latest conqueror.
The descendants of the House of Osiris stayed in what is now known to be as Saudi Arabia with a promise to reclaim what they believe is rightfully theirs.
Sometime in the nineteenth century, there is a prophecy that a woman who bears the same characteristics as Isis shall restore the rightful legacy of the House of Osiris. This woman shall be of the Old World…
So, from the confines of Saudi Arabia, the remaining descendants moved to India. There, they started to amass wealth by forming the 'Atbae 'Iilah Al-mawt (The God of Death's Followers). The original operations of the criminal empire started as a prostitution den in one of the busiest provinces, Mumbai.
The members of the 'Iilah will lure innocent women with promises of fake jobs but in the end, they will be distributed to various brothels managed by the syndicate. Since most of the inner circle are wizards, they find it easy to kidnap non-magical women to be included in their prostitution business…
After that, they expanded into smuggling and eventually moved their operations to Europe, hoping to find the woman described in the prophecy. As descendants waited and waited, the headship of the 'Iilah has been passed on... Along with the turning over of power in managing their criminal empire, the desire to restore the legacy of Osiris remains stronger than ever as each generation passes.
Karim Hajjar was born to Ahmos Hajjar and one of the prostitutes he molested. Ahmos groomed his son to be the perfect crime lord. At age five, Karim shot his first man. He was trained in various martial arts and weapons handling.
Karim tortured the few women in his prostitution den that he keeps as personal sources of entertainment. The man is brutal and evil…
All the horrors that Karim has ever done in his life, remains to be one of the vilest things she had ever seen…
The man is so cruel and heartless. He enjoys killing his enemies for sport in the obscenest ways.
The man only cared about two things – money and power.
He destroyed the lives of thousands of people. Women he ordered to be kidnapped or lured into prostitution… The people who became addicted to the illegal drugs manufactured and distributed by his followers.
Karim Hajjar had been stalking her for years and learning all he could about her life by following her friends and reading their memories of her. After that, he obliviates them by injecting a mystery substance into their bloodstream…
She could see his dark plans for her as he molds her to be his perfect queen...
She could see the dark ritual that he has been planning to do with her ever since he read the news that she is finally able to heal all those children from the epidemic in Britain.
Karim will destroy Hermione Granger by altering her mind forever…
In doing so, she will be his perfect partner as he reclaims the lost throne of Osiris.
Despite being in a magically induced coma, tears fell from Hermione's eyes...
Harry Potter had already thoroughly discussed with the Supreme Mugwump about the very tight timeline they have to save Hermione. Since he had a bad feeling about the New Year, due to Irie's research findings, it's been agreed that they will commence their rescue operations on the evening of the 29th of December.
As world leaders continue to pour out their support by sending troops and weaponry, the current bearer of the Deathly Hallows paced around his temporary lodging. He is once again thinking about the details of Irie's research. Deciding to just go with his gut feeling, he turned the resurrection stone three times and thought of Osiris…
A few minutes later, a tall, dark-skinned man with a strong lean build floated in front of him. The spirit is wearing a half-pleated kilt wound around his body, with the pleated section drawn to the front. He was wearing some sort of pauldron made of leopard skin across his shoulders. The thick golden belt on his waist is decorated by a lion's tail hanging from it. On his head, a headdress of white cloth decorated by a thin golden crown with a snake poised at the center. His wrists both have an elegant golden band on them. He was barefoot but he could tell that this style of clothing must have been the epitome of wealth and regality in his time.
"Osiris?", he asked.
"It is my great honor to stand in the presence of my future successor. Marhabaan, Harry Potter", Osiris greeted by placing his closed fist across his chest and a quick head bow.
"Hello, sir", he returned the respectful gesture.
"Why have you summoned me, Harry Potter?", Osiris' voice was deep, strong, and dare he say, mystic. The spirit of Emrys Myrddin is joyful and well, flirtatious. But Osiris projects elegance, strength, and power. Just like how he imagined Pharaohs would be.
"Should I call you Pharaoh, sir?", he said awkwardly. It's a good thing Osiris speaks English or I would not be able to talk to him at all… The dead must have too much time on their hands to learn new things.
Osiris laughed. It reverberated all over the small room.
"No, Harry Potter. Osiris would do. My Isis and I were never big on titles", the spirit replied. His deep brown eyes sparkling with what must have been mischief if only he weren't so regal.
"Er, right. You can call me Harry, sir", he muttered.
"So, Harry, why have you summoned me?", the spirit extended a hand in a gesture that indicates he should just say whatever it is he wants to.
"Sir, I was wondering, how did you and your Isis bind yourselves in service as the Master and Mistress of Death in the afterlife?", he finally got one of his important questions out in the open.
"Oh. That is an excellent question. But before I answer that, why do you want to be Merlin's successor?", Osiris said with an eyebrow raised.
"I want to fix my mistakes, sir. I want a second chance. With Viola Lily and Hermione. I don't know what is happening to her right now, but I'm sure that Hermione is suffering right now. And sad to say, it's my fault. I should've been more careful. I should have followed her… If only I – ", he was unable to continue with his monologue since tears were already flowing down his cheeks. He angrily wiped them away. This is bloody embarrassing! I'm crying in front of Osiris!
"I see… It seems we have the same motivation as before. I wasn't able to save my sister Isis, and so, when I found the hallows, I bargained for a second chance just so I can protect her and the rest of Egypt better", Osiris remarked thoughtfully.
"Yes, sir. So, what must I do?", he internally winced at the desperation that was so apparent in his voice.
"Well son, the first thing you have to do is to finally defeat my disgusting excuse for a blood descendant", Osiris scoffed at the word descendant.
"So Irie's research and my theories are right, sir?"
"Yes, yes… My last living blood relation, Karim Hajjar, the current leader of the 'Atbae 'Iilah Al-mawt, I hate that my vile relations named their crime group after me, is the one who captured your Hermione", he could hear the anger in Osiris.
"Do you know of his plans, sir?"
"There was a prophecy many years ago about your Hermione. It's about a woman who is the perfect resemblance of my Isis' character. She is destined to be the one who will cause the rightful restoration of the legacy of the House of Osiris. My crazy and evil descendants interpreted it wrongly though. They think that they can retake Egypt! Which is wrong!", Osiris' eyebrows furrowed in anger and disdain for his blood relations.
"Why is it, wrong sir?"
"Your Hermione shall be the reason why the House of Osiris shall finally atone for the sins they have committed ever since my sons Horus, Min, and Anubis passed on. I hate how as every generation passes; my descendants get crueler and crueler... Anyway, you Harry Potter! You and your Hermione shall cause the House of Osiris to pay for their sins. I need you to end Karim Hajjar and defeat him forever… You need to free all the people he has victimized… The women he lured into prostitution. Those people whose lives were destroyed because of using illegal drugs… I need you Harry Potter to defeat my last living descendant and restore the honor of my great house", Osiris pleaded.
"So, you believe sir that the prophecy states that Hermione is the woman who shall cause the restoration of your legacy since I will end your last descendant in my attempt to save her? Is that it?", Harry confirmed.
"Yes, that is correct. You will save your Hermione, will you not?", Osiris challenged.
"Of course, I will! I will do anything for her!", he exclaimed with determination.
"I know you will, son. You have always kept your Hermione safe, didn't you?", Osiris said teasingly. Harry felt his cheeks heating up.
"Well, I try my best to sir", he muttered.
"You know son, for a lad to actually fight a troll at eleven to save a lady, and then kill a basilisk that petrified the same lady at twelve… surely that must have been gigantic clues for you to be able to determine the depths of your feelings for your Hermione? That's not even counting the time you shielded her from a werewolf", this time Osiris' eyes shone with mischief.
"Yeah, I know… I am a clueless idiot", he sheepishly admitted. There is no use in hiding the blush in his cheeks now.
"You know son, in my day, when a man saves a lady, it's the greatest declaration of intent… Time sure has changed a lot of things. It seems relationships get more complicated as people become more, well, civilized", Osiris added with a chuckle.
"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up", he huffed.
"Anyway, do you want me to tell you of the ritual now or after you save your queen?", Osiris inquired.
"Is there a way to exclude Hermione in all of this? Like Merlin? I want to not let her be burdened by all of this sir. Besides, we could always be together, but only I will carry the burden of the hallows in the afterlife", he confessed.
"Oh, son! Before you make hasty choices, you should talk about it with your queen first. Nasty business when making decisions without consulting your woman", Osiris paled towards the end of his statement. Isis must have been a real scary witch, he thought.
"Hmmm…that's true. Is the ritual difficult though? Like do I have to learn a spell or something?", he prodded.
"No. Not really. First of all, you have to concentrate on all that you've got as you prepare yourselves to accept the legacy of being the Master and Mistress of Death. And then, you just have to wear the Hallows, hold hands with your lady, and then each of you will have to cut your skin and pour your blood in the same cup. After that, you both drink the blood. That shall signify the merging of blood. For merging of magic, both of you hold the Elder Wand at the same time and cast any spell that shall declare your intent. Once that is done, the merging of the flesh is conducted in a separate ritual. It's like a magical marriage of sorts which concludes in the physical consummation of love. You will know if your sacrifice is deemed worthy by the current Master of Death, and the Creator, if a physical mark shall appear on your skin and that of your lady", Osiris thoroughly discussed.
"I see… But sir, what about Merlin? He's alone in the burden of being the protector of the gates", he inquired.
"That's true… I'm not sure what ritual he did. Because I am no longer the incumbent Master of Death when he performed the ritual of attestation on sincerity, so I think it was Hades who contemplated if he was ready for the task or not", Osiris mused.
"How many, er, Masters of Death have served in the afterlife, sir?", he fished for more information.
"Nice try, son. You will only know how many, once you are deemed worthy", Osiris winked conspiratorially which made him chuckle.
"Alright…Well, do you have any other tips for me, sir? In beating your descendant?"
"Don't attack without a plan. Karim Hajjar is cunning and wickedly smart, that's his greatest weapon… But in sheer power, you're a hundred times better", Osiris told him.
"A hundred times better?", he said with disbelief.
"Well you are a strong candidate to take on the role of being the next Master of Death, so obviously a hundred times better in power", Osiris smirked.
"I suppose so", he modestly remarked.
"No need to be so modest, son. If you remain that way, you would have to be the most modest Master of Death in history. All of us seem to be the roguish self-assured sorts", Osiris laughed.
"Oh."
"Come now, Harry Potter! Own it. You are the most powerful wizard alive! You are mine and Merlin's equal in magic. Be confident. Besides, women find confidence an aphrodisiac", that was Osiris last advice before the spirit disappeared.
Harry Potter was slack-jawed as he replayed all the things that Osiris told him. It seems that he is not the only person of his acquaintance that has a prophecy revolving around them. Hermione is destined to be the cause of the downfall of a royal bloodline. A bloodline that has violated the trust of the Creator. A bloodline that is founded by a great and honorable man, but whose descendants failed to maintain their proud legacy…
If I accept the responsibility of being the Master of Death, should I do it alone? Like Merlin? So that Hermione could live freely in the afterlife… Or, will I ask her to share this burden with me?
He was filled with conflicting thoughts as he contemplated about Osiris' words. And then, he thought about the warning from Osiris…
Karim Hajjar is a cunning and smart man. That is his enemy's strongest weapon against him. So, the rescue operation that they will be executing should be as flawless as possible. Hermione's life is on the line. Everything should fall into plan.
He took a deep breath. He always thought that when Voldemort dies, all will be well in his life. But now, he has a bigger task to do. He must save his queen and put an end to the throne of Osiris forever…
I will do anything for you, Hermione… I will die trying just so that I can save you…
He walked to his bed and closed his eyes. He needs to be well-rested. For tomorrow night, he will challenge the last living member of the House of Osiris for the safety of his queen… For Hermione Potter is his queen, she had always been…ever since he jumped on a mountain troll's back just to save her.