Disclaimer: I solemnly swear that Harry Potter belongs to the amazing JK Rowling and that I am most definitely up to no good.

Previous Chapter Summary: Nick tells Harry all about being an apprentice and then takes him to the Ministry to speak to the Children's Welfare Department. Both he and Harry get a surprise when Leona Poole decides to allow the Flamels to go ahead and adopt him on the spot. Meanwhile, Nell berates Dumbledore for leaving Harry with the Dursleys and gives him an ultimatum in regards to sharing any secrets he might be keeping to himself about Harry.

The 20th of July dawned bright and early for those residing at The Journey's End.

Once Harry had finished his shower and gotten dressed in the light cotton clothes Perenelle had laid out for him, saying they would be more comfortable for the climate in Egypt, he bounded up to the kitchen table and eagerly began filling his plate for breakfast.

Perenelle gave a soft laugh as she set his morning potion down beside his plate. "Make sure you don't eat too quickly or it won't settle correctly. This will be your first time traveling via portkey, an international one at that, and we don't need to add an upset stomach on top of it."

"What's a portkey?" Harry asked, quickly gulping down his potion and making a disgusted face before taking a bite of sausage to get rid of the taste.

"A portkey is an object that has been enchanted to transport anyone that touches it to a specific location." Nicolas spoke up as Perenelle sat and began building her own plate. "There are two kinds of portkeys, the ones that are set to go off at a specified time and ones that activate once pre-set conditions are met, such as when someone touches it or says a password. You can get normal portkeys, which allow you to travel throughout Britain, quite easily through the Portkey Office at the Ministry but international portkeys must actually be purchased at least a week or so beforehand because you need the permission of both our Ministry and the Ministry of the country you plan on visiting before you can acquire one."

Perenelle seamlessly took over the explanation as Nicolas took a bite of his breakfast. "Though they are rather easy to make, they are strictly regulated by the Ministry and making an unauthorized portkey can cause you to incur a heavy fine and should anyone get caught doing so multiple times, they can be subject to time in prison on top of it."

"So are they worse than apparating and floo travel?" Harry asked, digging into his chocolate chip pancakes.

"Normal portkeys are pretty on par with apparition in that they can leave you feeling slightly nauseous and giddy but international portkeys are usually worse depending how much farther you are traveling." Nicolas said, getting up and going to a side table just inside the living room to pick up a wrapped present and bringing it back over to set it next to Harry. "I saw this while in Diagon Alley the other day and thought you might like to use it on our trip."

Harry picked up the present and held it reverently in his hands, "But it's not even my birthday or anything," he said in barely a whisper.

Reaching over to comb her fingers through his hair Perenelle responded, "This will be our first trip together, the first of many, and we just want to make sure you enjoy yourself to the fullest and have a way to remember it always."

Giving a small nod Harry began slowly tearing at the wrapping and though he tried not to make a mess at first, his eagerness at opening his first ever present finally got the better of him and he began to tear at it in earnest. When he got the wrapping off and opened the box he gave a small shout of glee as he pulled out a brand new wizarding camera. Also inside the box was a camera case with a strap so he could sling it over his shoulder.

"This is brilliant! Thank you so much." He said and brought it up to look through the viewfinder.

"You're very welcome Harry. It is charmed to be unbreakable and the lens itself is charmed so that it doesn't scratch or get dirty. There are also 12 rolls of film in the front pouch of the case, though I don't foresee you needing all 12 for the trip, I'd rather we be safe than sorry. " Nicolas said, starting to clear away his dishes.

"Can we take a picture of the three of us outside before we leave?" Harry asked as he continuously pressed the shutter release button while pointing the camera all around the room, despite the camera not even being on.

"Of course we can sweetheart. Now, why don't you finish up your breakfast while I make sure we packed everything we need. Our portkey is scheduled to activate at 9:00AM and I would like for us to get there at least 5 to 10 minutes early." Perenelle stated, also gathering her dishes.

Harry reluctantly set the camera down but all during the rest of his breakfast he kept stealing glances at it and smiling.

About 20 minutes later everything was packed, Alcmene was in her carrier, though she was extremely unhappy about it, and they were ready to go. They stepped briefly outside to take a picture, with Nicolas conjuring a temporary stand and showing Harry how to load the film as well as set the camera on a timer, and were immediately set upon by the few fairies that had gotten up early and were eating their breakfast of honeysuckle. All 8 of them, buzzing excitedly, settled themselves onto the three humans within easy view of the camera. Harry had 2 fairies sitting on his right shoulder, one on his left, and one that he was sure was laying down in his hair while Nicolas and Perenelle had one of the remaining four on each of their shoulders, but they paid them no mind and all smiled broadly for the camera.

They broke away as soon as the picture was taken as if nothing had happened, though Harry was secretly pleased with the turn of events, and while the fairies went back to their breakfast, they went back inside so they could floo to the Ministry.

Despite stumbling a bit when exiting the floo shortly after Nicolas, Harry was quite proud when he managed to catch himself before he fell forward and he stood that little bit straighter when Nicolas praised him for his quick reflexes as he vanished the soot off of him. They waited only a few seconds for Perenelle to exit with Alcmene and clean herself off and then they were off, making their way to the elevators.

When they stepped out of the elevator onto level six, Nicolas led the way to the Portkey Office and then to two desks near the back and stopped at the one on the left that had a name plate sitting on it that read 'Jarret Barker' and right below that 'International Portkey Administration' .

The man sitting behind the desk looked up from his paperwork when they stopped before him and recognition flashed across his face. "Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Flamel, good morning to you," He said as he stood up and grabbed a folder off of the corner of his desk. "You are a little early but there are chairs you can sit in in the departure area. If you would follow me please."

After showing them into the portkey departure point and handing them a length of rope that he pulled from inside the folder along with the required paperwork they would need to check in once they reached Egypt, Mr. Barker left them to wait the remaining 8 minutes for their portkey to activate.

"Alright Harry," Perenelle began as she sat him down and made sure he was paying attention, "about 30 seconds before the portkey is set to go off we are going to step into that circle in the middle of the room and each of us is going to grab onto the rope. When it activates you will feel a hook like sensation behind your navel pulling you forward and your hand will seem like it is stuck to the rope. Whatever you do, and this is very important, you must not let go of the rope for any reason until we land. Do you understand all of that?"

Harry nodded his head vigorously but had to ask, "What would happen if someone let go too early?"

"Though its only been done a handful of times, only one of the wizards foolish enough to do so actually survived, all the others died due to major blunt force trauma to the body in the form of multiple broken bones, abrasions, and/or lacerations depending on where they landed. You see, while apparition teleports you from one spot and instantly deposits you to another, a portkey actually pulls you through space to get you to your destination at tremendous speed while also protecting you from both obstacles in your way and from your body turning to mush from traveling so fast. Therefore, if someone were to let go of the portkey mid-flight they would not only continue to travel at high speed until they were stopped but they could also find themselves high up in the air without a broomstick, and that is when major injury occurs."

By the time her explanation was over, Harry was looking at her in complete horror and was unable to speak.

"I think you broke him dear," Nicolas chuckled.

"Maybe I did go a little overboard," She replied and bit worriedly at her lip.

Nicolas knelt in front of Harry and got his attention. "I know what Nell described sounds scary but you have to remember that these things only happen if you let go of the portkey before you land, which is actually rather difficult to do unless you are fairly determined. So, as long as you hold onto the rope until we get to where we are going you will be perfectly safe. I promise."

Nicolas' promise did reassure Harry quite a bit but it took him thinking about all the fun they would have in Egypt for him to be able to screw up his courage and give them both a nod of somewhat reluctant acceptance. Just as he opened his mouth to say that he would be all right a soft buzzer went off.

"60 seconds to departure." Echoed a disembodied voice throughout the room.

"Ok you two, lets get ready. Harry, you might want to hand Nick your camera bag so you don't fall on it by accident when we land and hurt yourself." Perenelle said and watched the young boy reluctantly hand over the camera.

"I will give it back as soon as we get there." Nicolas said, slinging the camera crossways over his shoulder so it was hanging at his side.

"30 seconds to departure."

Both Flamels then ushered Harry forward to stand in the middle of the designated circle and Perenelle held out the rope for them to grab onto with Nicolas taking the other end of it and Harry taking the middle.

"15 seconds to departure."

"This is it Harry. You ready?" Nicolas inquired with a grin plastered on his face.

Harry gave him a small nervous smile in return and tightened his grip.

"10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…0"

And they were gone.

OoOoOoO

When his feet finally slammed into the ground and he toppled over, Harry was extremely glad that the ride was over. However, as he lay there on the floor catching his breath, he realized that he didn't feel nearly as bad as he had when he apparated with Nicolas and Perenelle.

"Are you all right Harry?" Nicolas' voice came from directly above him and when he opened his eyes, he saw that both Flamels were leaning over him with worried looks on their faces.

"I'm ok," He replied and grabbed the hand that Nicolas offered to help pull him up. He took stock of his surroundings and saw that the room they were in was smaller than the one they had just left, with an empty table and a light brown skinned woman with long dark hair which was braided and hung over her left shoulder sitting behind a small desk near the only door. "That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and, except for the landing, I think I actually like it better than apparating."

"That's good to hear. Now if you could look at me for a moment please." Nicolas said and pulled his wand. When he was looking up at him, Nicolas did a circle like motion with his wand and then tapped Harry lightly on the forehead.

Whatever spell Nicolas had cast on him made Harry's throat go sort of dry, his ears start to ring slightly, and his brain and eyes feel fuzzy all at once and he shook his head to try and get rid of the feelings. It only took a few more seconds before everything seemed to go back to normal. "What was that?"

"That Harry, was a translation charm. It gives you the ability to not only hear, read, and understand foreign languages but to also speak them. Quite useful but it does have its down sides. First, it is only temporary so we will need to recast it every 48 hours and two, the more you use it the less effective it becomes." Nicolas explained as he handed Harry back his camera.

"Less effective?"

"Correct, but I'm afraid we will have to wait to go further into it as I'm sure this lovely lady is getting rather impatient with us." And with that he strode over to the desk and the woman behind it stood. When he got to her Nicolas gave a short nod in greeting. "Sorry about that, it was his first time traveling by portkey."

"That's quite all right, it happens all the time." She replied with a kind smile directed at Harry. "We do have some potions to help with the after effects if you need it."

Harry shook his head at the pretty young woman while fighting a blush and returned the smile. "I'm really ok, thank you."

"You're very welcome. Let me know if you change your mind." She said and turned her attention to Nicolas and Perenelle. "My name is Farida Shadid and I will be assisting you with your check-in. Do you have your paperwork?"

"We certainly do." Nicolas replied and handed over the papers he had been given by Mr. Barker before they left.

She took the papers from him and sat back down while pulling a folder from a stand containing at least 8 others. "Ok, 2 adults, 1 child, and a pet kneazle. Here for vacation." She looked up and gazed at the carrier that Perenelle was holding. "Do you have the license and proof of ownership of the kneazle?"

"I do." Perenelle said and reached into her purse and handed the documents to her.

"Thank you." She replied looking them over before nodding. She set the last paper face up on the desk, grabbed some blank parchment from a drawer and set it right next to it. She then pulled her wand, made a swishing motion over it before tapping it and then tapping the blank parchment, making an exact copy of the first.

Harry's eyes went wide and he moved closer to watch as she did this for each piece of parchment in the small pile.

When she was done, she handed them all back to Perenelle and put her copies at the bottom of the folder. "Very good. Now, I do need to get a quick scan of the luggage you have brought if you would set it all on the table please."

Nicolas took their shrunken luggage out of his pockets and set it on the table before stepping back.

Miss Shadid walked over, unshrunk everything, and started flicking her wand all over the bags while muttering incantations, causing them to glow different colors.

Perenelle leaned over while she was doing this and whispered into Harry's ear, "She is checking them to make sure we didn't bring in any dark objects or the like. It's standard procedure for every country."

Harry nodded his head in understanding and continued to watch.

When she finished about 5 minutes later she shrunk everything back down and allowed Nicolas to come forward and reclaim it. She then turned to Perenelle. "Mrs. Flamel, would you bring me your purse please?"

Perenelle stepped forward and placed her purse on the table right in front of her.

This time, Miss Shadid only did three incantations before asking Perenelle to open it so she could peer inside. Once she did that she nodded and turned to Harry with another smile. "Mr. Potter, may I ask what you have in your bag?"

Harry's face lit up and he walked excitedly over to her and held it up proudly. "This is my new camera. Nick and Nell gave it to me as a present."

This drew a laugh from all of the adults as Harry beamed.

"That was very nice of them. Would you place it on the table for a few moments please?" She asked and watched as Harry placed it gently down before her.

When she was done, Harry picked it back up and looked up at her. "Would you take a picture with me?"

That threw the young woman for a moment. "Why would you want to take a picture with me?" She asked in bewilderment.

"Well you're the first person I've met while visiting a new country and you're really nice." He said simply and then gave her the look that he learned seemed to make Nicolas and Perenelle cave the few times he had really wanted something, usually to go flying. "Please?"

It only took a few seconds for her to give into those puppy dog eyes. "Very well Mr. Potter, once we are done getting you checked-in we can take a picture together."

"Yes." Harry whispered and went back over to Nicolas and Perenelle, who were chuckling softly.

"Moving right along," Miss Shadid stated and sat back down. "If I could see your passports please?"

Perenelle reached into her purse again and pulled out three passports. She had taken Harry to the Ministry one morning to get his picture taken for the passport and explained that they were used in both the magical and non-magical world for those witches and wizards that chose to visit the non-magical world in other countries. The picture didn't move but the issue date would change depending on what country they entered, if it was less than 6 months since it was issued. She also told him that they never had to get a new one because the expiration date automatically changed every ten years for her and Nicolas and every 5 years for Harry until he turned 16, though she did add that they would need to get his picture changed as he grew.

When Miss Shadid opened Nicolas' passport, Harry could see that it visibly thickened due to all of the pages that had been added since they had first gotten theirs because of all the different countries they had traveled to. She flipped through quickly and found the blank page she needed before grabbing a stamp and stamping the page. She did the same for both Harry and Perenelle's passport before she handed them back.

"And last but not least, if you could sign these forms stating that you are aware of the rules and regulations regarding the laws of the country, including but not limited to; the list of spells which are illegal to cast within Egypt, the penalties for attempting to leave the country with contraband items, and the penalties for attempting to smuggle unauthorized persons or magical creatures out of the country."

Once they were done signing everything, Miss Shadid put everything away in her folder, slipped it into a drawer, and stood. Nicolas took his camera from him and Harry ran over to the young Egyptian woman to stand shyly next to her and she slid her arm around his shoulder as they both smiled for the camera. After the picture was taken, Harry gave her a brief hug and thanks before he ran back over to take possession of his camera once more.

They said their goodbyes and Nicolas put his hand on Harry's back to guide him through the Egyptian Ministry of Magic. While they walked through, Harry was looking around in fascination and was noticing the vast differences between this Ministry of Magic and the one in Britain. While the British Ministry was impressive, the dark colors and large gold statue at its entrance made it feel somewhat ominous, but this Ministry was all about light earthen colors, stone walls with elaborate paintings all along them, and expansive windows that looked out onto the city of Cairo. It was a big difference and Harry found that he liked the more relaxed state of things here than the opulence of the Ministry back home.

As they stepped outside, Harry was grateful for the clothes that Perenelle had set out for him to wear that morning because the sun was blazing and, though the heat was dry, it was still much hotter than he was used to. He had barely gotten a look around at the clearly magical section of Cairo before they were across the street from the Ministry and walking into the The Sleepy Sphynx Inn.

When they entered the room they would be staying in for the next week, a small creature that came up to Harry's waste, with an over-sized head and eyes the size of tennis balls, popped in and began putting away all of their clothes and things. Upon seeing it, Harry nearly jumped out of his skin but calmed down when Nicolas told him all about house elves and their roles in wizarding society.

Once Perenelle had changed into something more comfortable, the three made their way out of the inn, down the street, and through the large archway that had a large statue of a man with the head of a jackal holding a spear on either side of it which served as the gateway between the magical and non-magical world. On the other side, Harry turned and saw a blank stone wall set in between two columns where they had just passed through. When he looked around, he noticed that people walking by wouldn't come within about 5 feet of the wall and he even saw a few go out of their way to step around the area but it didn't seem like they realized they were doing it.

Khan el-Khalili was their first stop, the very large bazaar located in the historic center of Cairo, where Nicolas got Harry to try a dish called Ful, which, once he got over the spiciness of the chili powder Nicolas had suggested he add to it, he found to be quite good. Perenelle made sure that they stopped by one of the stalls to purchase a few bottles of her favorite blue lotus scented Attar and Harry made the mistake of sticking his nose right up to the edge of the bottle when she held it out for him to smell and promptly began sneezing from the strongly scented oil. Once he had gotten himself under control again she made him hold still and wafted the bottle a little under and away from his nose and he decided that it did smell rather nice, though he couldn't fathom what she would use it for.

The rest of the day after lunch was spent at the Egyptian Museum and by the time they had eaten dinner and gotten back to the inn Harry was exhausted and extremely grateful for the sun protection cream Perenelle had slathered all over his exposed arms, face, and neck as well as the potion Nicolas had made him take that kept him from getting too hot and dehydrated. He had seen dozens of tourists walking around with massive sunburns and sweating like crazy and was glad he didn't have to worry about that.

The next few days were a blur of activity and adventures for the young boy.

While going through a magical tour of the Giza Necropolis, he saw and made sure to take plenty of photos of the skeletons that had grown extra heads and/or limbs due to curses placed on the various tombs to keep out thieves. At one point, he could have sworn he saw a lions tail disappear around the corner of a restricted passage but Perenelle pulled him away before he could even contemplate attempting to investigate the possible Sphinx sighting further. They also came across a fairly young red haired chap named Bill, who was working on breaking through said curses to get into one of the ancient tombs and he and the Flamels ended up having a long chat about ancient runes and the like before he offered to show them around some of the more interesting areas.

Harry got a big surprise when they traveled to Alexandria and actually visited the Ancient Library of Alexandria. Apparently, when it was first built, it was done so with both a magical and non-magical side. However, in 48 BC, during the Siege of Alexandria, when Julius Caesar ordered his troops to set fire to their own ships, the fire became uncontrollable and spread to the docks before making its way towards the library. When the magical Librarians saw that it was in danger they cast a protection ward that surrounded the library in its entirety, therefore saving both sides, before then casting a wide area non-magical repelling charm to hide the library until it was safe to reveal it again, which they did about 20 years later.

In 273 AD, the Librarians were forced to also hide it during the taking of the city by the Emperor Aurelian and then again in 391 AD when Patriarch Pope Theophilus of Alexandria ordered its destruction shortly after paganism was made illegal by the Emperor Theodosius. By the time 642 AD rolled around and Alexandria was captured by the Muslim army of 'Amr ibn al-'As and Caliph Umar also ordered that the library be destroyed, the Librarians hid it for the final time and determined that it would remain hidden from non-magicals until they believe they were ready for its return.

According to Perenelle, one must have several masteries in order to become a Librarian because those with the title actually travel all over the world looking for lost works and so forth to bring back to the library for safekeeping and over the years it had become the largest source of knowledge in the world, both magical and non.

Though his first time swimming in the ocean was fun, Harry enjoyed exploring the International Warlock Convention and seeing all of the different witches and wizards walking around. An older wizard from India had a stall with dozens of different sized carpets displayed and though Harry thought they looked very pretty and elaborate, he was stunned and gazed at them with new interest when he found out that they were actually flying carpets. At seeing the child's look of disappointment as Perenelle told him they couldn't get one because it was illegal to own them in Britain, the man was nice enough to let them fly around the area on an older looking carpet for a bit before they moved on.

While reading through one of the books on Egyptian magical history he had picked up, Harry was intrigued to find out that the British Ministry of Magic very nearly started a war with Egypt around the 1700s and asked Nicolas about it.

"Well, back in about 1728 I believe, a dark wizard who was suspected of killing several British witches and wizards fled when confronted by the Aurors and led them on a merry chase all the way through France, Italy, and Greece before finally stopping in Egypt. Despite having permission to pursue the suspected criminal, when the British Minister attempted to send not only his Aurors, but also a large group of Dementors, into Egypt to capture him, the Egyptian Ministry reacted quite badly.

"You see Harry, in ancient times, the Egyptians believed in an eternal afterlife which would reflect their life here on earth. They believed that once they died, their soul would be judged and should they pass judgement, they would be allowed to move on into an eternal life of bliss. But if they failed, their soul would cease to exist and many witches and wizards today still hold firm to those beliefs. So, when they found that the British Ministry would dare attempt to send what they consider monstrosities into their land, it appalled and angered them greatly."

Seeing that Harry was still a bit confused, he elaborated further.

"You remember what we told you about Dementors when we explained about Azkaban?" He asked and continued when Harry nodded. "Well, because they still believe in the eternal afterlife and that they must pass through judgement to attain it, the very idea of using a creature such as a Dementor to suck out the souls of their people, or anyone for that matter, disgusts them. It is believed that once Dementors kiss someone, they devour and destroy that soul, thereby robbing that person of the opportunity to be properly judged when they pass on."

"But if they're guilty…" Harry began but stopped as Nicolas shook his head.

"That's just it Harry," He said gently. "Humans are not perfect, no matter how much we think we might be, and there are thousands upon thousands of examples throughout history that support that. It is because of this that the Egyptians didn't, and still don't, believe that mere mortals have the right or ability to accurately judge whether a soul should be destroyed or not."

Harry seemed to be deep in thought after that revelation and Nicolas left him to reflect on it in peace.

OoOoOoO

The most interesting, as well as terrifying, event during their entire trip happened on their 3rd day in. It was getting late and they were headed towards the exit of the convention when they passed by a large tent, that Nicolas had told Harry later was actually called a tipi when Harry had pointed it out earlier in the day, which had all manner of jewelry and trinkets displayed outside of it.

An old Native American woman wearing animal skins and feathers in her long black hair was sitting in an old rocking chair and when she looked up from the book she was reading, she took one look at Harry and cried out in shock before standing up and making her way quickly towards them.

Nicolas and Perenelle pulled their wands, ready to protect Harry, but paused when the woman stopped about a foot away and simply raised her hand to run a finger down his scar, muttering to herself all the while. She pulled away suddenly, as if she had been burned and turned to the Flamels with fear and anger in her eyes.

"What do you see?" Perenelle asked with growing concern.

The woman looked around before motioning for them to follow her. "Come inside, this is not for others to hear."

She led them through the entrance of the tipi, which was a great deal larger than the outside, and down a hallway before stopping at one of the many doors. She knocked sharply on it and waited impatiently for a younger man to open it. She whispered rapidly into his ear and Harry saw his eyes widen in surprise before he pushed past them and ran farther down the hall knocking on certain doors as he went.

Nicolas and Perenelle were looking increasingly worried as they were all led back towards the main room and directed to sit on the cushions that surrounded a large fire situated directly below the opening at the top of the tipi. When Perenelle tried to sit Harry in between her and Nicolas, the old woman grabbed him gently and directed him to the cushion on Perenelle's left instead, before she went to sit diagonally across from them.

"I think it would be best if we wait for everyone to get here before I explain what is going on." The woman began as she sat. "My name is Althea Bearheart and I am the head medicine woman of our tribe. Please feel free to call me Althea."

Nicolas bowed his head slightly. "My name is Nicolas Flamel, this is my wife Perenelle and our adoptive son Harry Potter. You may call us Nick and Nell if you like."

Althea's eyes widened a bit as she looked at Harry once again. "Tell me Mr. Potter, have you ever had any pains or odd feelings from your scar?"

Harry tilted his head to the side in confusion before turning to Perenelle with a questioning look.

"It's all right sweetheart, try to answer any questions as best as you can." She said and gave him an encouraging smile as she fought back the fear of why Althea would be asking him about his scar. When Harry turned back to face the old woman, Perenelle reached over and grasped Nicolas' hand tightly in hers and was comforted somewhat when he gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Harry is fine ma'am and no, I've never had any problems with it." He responded.

She gave a satisfied nod of her head as two men and a younger woman walked into the room and began taking seat around them. The last to enter was a man that looked even older than Althea and though he was a bit hunched, he did not seem frail. As he began walking towards where the family of three were sitting, Harry could feel a soothing sort of power radiating from him.

When he was finally situated right next to Harry, Althea introduced them and the man turned to him and gave him a large smile. "Greetings Harry, I am Gabriel Eaglefeather. You may, of course, call me Gabriel. "

As Harry looked up and locked onto the golden eyes of Gabriel, he found himself frozen, unable to look away. The golden orbs seemed to glow brighter and brighter until he thought that he would go blind with the intensity of it, but he couldn't find the strength to even blink, let alone break the connection and before he realized what was happening, Harry felt his whole body go limp and weightless. For what felt like an eternity he floated there in the brightness, consumed by the warmth and radiance, until something grabbed his hand and began pulling him up and up, high into the air, higher than he had ever been.

When he opened his eyes, Harry was back in the tipi, being held up by Perenelle and still gazing up into the face of Gabriel.

"How are you feeling Harry?" He asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"There was an endless sky and I could feel the wind flowing all around and through me as I flew for miles and miles." He sighed happily. "It was great."

Gabriel laughed as Perenelle helped Harry to sit up straight again.

"What just happened?" She asked, trying to keep her anger in check once she saw that Harry was indeed fine.

"I apologize Mrs. Flamel. As a Shaman, I have a certain affinity for spirits and one of my jobs is to assist those who wish to delve within themselves to find their spirit animal. While I have perfected my ability, I must admit that it is rare to find someone that falls so easily into the trance but once I realized what was happening, I felt it best to let him complete the vision. According to what he experienced, should Harry ever choose to attempt the animagus transformation, he will find a bird form with the ability to take to the skies waiting for him."

"You mean I'll really get to fly?" Harry asked excitedly.

He had about peed his pants in fright one day when he and Perenelle were flying around and just as he had landed, a giant wolf came striding out of the woods. Next thing he knew, the wolf transformed into Nicolas and Harry's mind exploded. The rest of the evening was spent telling him all about animagi and getting to see Perenelle transform into a large red fox, who then began playfully chasing Harry all around the yard.

"I have no doubt that you would but you must still go through the training for it like everybody else." Gabriel replied. "I would recommend reflecting more on the vision you had to see if you can pick up any defining characteristics that might tell you what type of bird it is and begin studying various types of birds and their anatomy. Knowing more about your form can help with the transformation once you get to that point."

"Wow." Harry whispered and looked up at Nicolas and Perenelle with a pleading expression. Being able to fly without a broom had been beyond brilliant and he couldn't wait to be able to do it again.

"We had already planned on teaching you if you wanted to learn it Harry." Nicolas said. "But it will be a few years before you will be ready to try it."

"Very good. Now, I don't mean to turn such a fun conversation sour but I believe Althea had some rather disturbing news for us." Gabriel stated and turned to the old woman. "After coming into contact with Harry's spirit I think I know what it is you are going to say but would you please tell us all what it is you saw?"

She gave a sharp nod and declared without preamble, "There is a soul fragment buried beneath his scar."

This news brought gasps from all of the adults in the room, except Gabriel, and the young woman next to Althea began rocking back and forth with her head bowed while muttering under her breath. Perenelle nearly crushed Nicolas' hand as she squeezed it even tighter, though he hardly noticed this as he stared at Althea in shock.

"Are you sure?" He asked once he had gotten himself under control.

"I have the ability to see magic as well as auras and I am telling you with the utmost certainty that young Harry has a piece of another's soul embedded just beneath the skin behind his scar."

"But how…" Perenelle began but sucked in her breath and turned to Nicolas. "Voldemort?"

He nodded gravely. "He does seem the type to resort to such measures and it would explain some of the things we have heard over the years."

Nell turned her attention back to Althea. "You said beneath the skin. So it hasn't attempted to take him over?"

Althea shook her head. "Harry has not felt anything from the scar, which would suggest that it is simply sitting there, dormant. Even if it were to gain some semblance of consciousness, I do not think it would have the power to possess him."

Harry sat there quietly, beyond confused. As amazing as it was, why did magic have to be so mysterious and complex?

"Do you know how it might have gotten there?"

"I can only guess but I would say that it broke off from the master soul piece when Voldemort disappeared, which in itself is quite disturbing because that, and the fact that the fragment is so small, would suggest that his soul was already quite unstable due to previous separations."

"Do you mean to say that Voldemort may have created multiple Horcruxes?" Nicolas asked in astonishment.

Perenelle swatted him across the shoulder in anger. "Who cares about Voldemort right now Nicolas!?" She yelled, glaring at him. "We need to figure out how to help Harry!"

Knowing his wife's temper was not directed at him specifically, Nicolas didn't take offense, but merely gazed at her. Seeing the fear and worry in her eyes, he lightly caressed her cheek. "I know ma chérie and we will help him in any way we can, but we must keep calm to ensure any decision we make is the right one."

At his words, Perenelle's anger at the situation faded somewhat and she leaned into her husband. He then wrapped his arm around her shoulders, accepting the silent apology.

Harry may not know what exactly everyone was talking about but he could see that Perenelle's fear was very real so he reached over and grasped her hand, hoping to help.

When Perenelle felt a small hand latch onto hers and give a comforting squeeze she sat up straight again and looked down at Harry, who gave her a smile. She pulled him into a hug and held on tightly to him before looking to Althea once again. "Can it be removed?"

Gabriel cleared his throat and all eyes turned to him. "That would be where I come in. Since I highly doubt Voldemort intended to plant a piece of his soul within Harry and did not complete the spell necessary to create one, I think it would be safe to assume that Harry is not an actual horcrux. Therefore, I believe that we may be able to remove the fragment via a purification ritual and then destroy it."

"You believe?"

"I am afraid that is all I can give you." Gabriel explained patiently. "Because this has never happened before, that I have heard of, most of what we come up with is going to be guess work. Should you wish to do so, you can of course ask around to see if you can find anybody else who may be able to do something about it but I don't think you want something like this being spread about."

Both Flamels paled at that thought. They had only passing knowledge regarding Horcruxes, since neither of them had ever been interested in learning how they were created, so naturally, they had never heard of a living person housing a soul or soul fragment inside them before without said person giving permission first. If the wrong people found out that Harry had a piece of Voldemort's soul anywhere near him, they may panic and decide to destroy it without bothering to remove it first.

"What would we need to do?" Perenelle all but whispered

"You and your husband will not have a very big part to play in the ritual I'm afraid but Harry would need to completely understand what it is that is happening as well as why the soul piece needs to be removed. The purification ritual is used to extract negative foreign bodies from both the physical and spiritual forms. While I and my people attempt to pull it from him, Harry will need to help push the fragment from his body during the ritual."

The next several moments were spent discussing how the Flamels could help Harry prepare for the ritual before they felt it was time to leave and head back to the inn. Once they got to their room, Nicolas and Perenelle sat Harry down and explained to him everything they knew about Horcruxes and how they were considered the darkest of magic because they required the act of committing murder to create one as well as stepped him through what they were told regarding the ritual in the morning. Though he didn't really need more of a reason to want such an evil thing out of him, learning that the deaths of his parents would have helped cause Voldemort's soul to fracture and latch onto him, Harry was incensed and couldn't wait for tomorrow.

Waking up at 4:30 in the morning wasn't Harry's idea of fun but when he remembered why it was needed, he rose without complaint. After a shower, the three sat down to a large but quick breakfast of nothing but fruits and vegetables. As part of the preparation for the ritual, Harry wasn't supposed to eat or drink anything but foods that Gabriel had told them were considered 'purifying' and so he wasn't even allowed to take his morning potion, which was just as well, since it tasted revolting.

When it had been described to him, Harry had thought that the ritual sounded pretty simple but once they arrived back at the convention area at 5:00AM and stepped through the entrance of the large tipi, he found that he was very wrong.

The next hour was spent in a small room, with a circle etched into the floor that had all manner of symbols painted in white within it, where Harry was stripped of his clothes, though thankfully was allowed to keep his underwear on, and rubbed down from head to toe with an oily concoction that made him tingle all over and feel very relaxed. He was then made to stand perfectly still while Gabriel wrote symbols all over him using a brush, which Harry was told was made from the hair of a Unicorn foal when he asked about the golden bristles. Once that was done it was nearing 6:00AM and Harry was given a relatively clear potion to drink before he was laid down in the center of the circle.

"All right Harry, I am going to numb your forehead so that I can open up your scar, which we are hoping will allow us to more easily extract the soul piece ok?" Althea asked, bending over him slightly.

Harry nodded his head and, despite the numbing charm, readied himself to feel pain as she brought a silver knife up and cut a jagged line on his forehead. All he felt, however, was the slight pressure of the knife biting into his flesh for a few moments before she pulled it away.

"Now, we are about to start the ritual and when it begins you may feel some discomfort throughout your body. This is completely normal and so you need not worry about it. As the ritual builds however, you will begin to feel pressure, and probably even pain, as we begin to remove the soul piece but no matter how much it might hurt, we will need you to continuously try to push the piece out of your scar and not stop until we tell you to." She explained as she moved back to her spot, just outside of the circle.

Harry nodded again as he looked around himself nervously. There were 7 people total that stood around the circle, ready to begin the ritual, and though he did not really understand when Perenelle mentioned 7 being the most powerful magical number and that was why there were so many people there, he chose to simply accept it and take all the help he could get. Both Flamels, not being able to assist with the ritual, were standing near the wall behind everyone else and holding onto each other tightly for support.

They started just as the sun rose over the horizon. Gabriel began to chant, his deep voice resonating throughout the room and seeming to come to rest deep within Harry, and the others soon joined him.

At first, Harry only felt a slight prickling sensation along his arms, legs, and stomach but that was bearable and he tried to relax and focus on the chanting, which had begun to rise in strength. No more than two minutes after the ritual had started, Harry felt a brief shooting pain pierce his scar and though he kept himself from crying out, his head jerked violently to the side. He had barely been able to recover from the surprise pain when it returned a few seconds later and then faded again. It continued to do this for several minutes, as if the soul piece were pulsing, before the pain rose again and became constant.

It seemed as if the more he pushed, the more it hurt, but Harry was determined to remove this monstrosity from inside him so continued. He did not realize when he began screaming but he did manage to keep from convulsing on the floor through sheer force of will. Just when the pain was becoming unbearable and he was in danger of passing out, Harry abruptly felt it lessen somewhat. Thinking that this must be a good thing, he focused on it with all his might and pushed harder.

Slowly, the pain began to ebb away until Harry could barely feel it anymore and thought that it was finally over. He was about ready to let out a sigh of relief when suddenly, a white hot jolt of agony passed through his entire being and the last thing he remembered before everything went black was a small white speck of shining light hovering above him.

Nicolas was a bundle of nerves all throughout the morning as they were preparing Harry to undergo the ritual but he managed to keep it well hidden from the young boy. His wife, however, knew him too well and tried to offer what comfort she could while also being almost sick with worry. They held on tightly to each other as the time grew nearer and they hoped it would all be over quickly.

When Harry began screaming in pain, Nicolas had to strengthen his hold on Perenelle as she made to run towards him and by the time things started to seem like they were settling down, both Flamels had tears running down their faces at having to listen to the suffering Harry was going through and not being able to help him.

A pulse of magic went through each of them as the soul piece was finally ejected from Harry's scar and as much as they hated it, Nicolas and Perenelle still could not go to him. Gabriel wasted no time in slamming his staff down on the ground and shouting out an incantation that they didn't understand, causing a translucent golden sphere to encircle the soul fragment, which looked to be jerking around erratically, trying to find someplace to go.

Everyone that had stood around the circle took a step back, except for Gabriel and his apprentice, Brayden Thunderhawk. They both began to chant in earnest once again and a near tangible power soon began swirling around them. When it seemed like the power would crush them with the utter intensity of it, Gabriel brought his staff up and down, striking the sphere hard, closely followed by Brayden doing the same. They continued to do this and as the fourth blow hit, a scream could be heard emanating from the soul piece before it vanished completely, leaving the magical sphere empty.

"It is done." Had barely left Gabriel's lips when Nicolas and Perenelle flew across the room and knelt down beside Harry. Perenelle promptly began casting every diagnostic charm she knew, which was admittedly few considering she only ever studied basic healing and first aid, and just about sobbed in relief when they all read that Harry was alive but unconscious. Other than his scar bleeding, he had no other marks on him that they could see.

"If I may?" Althea asked as she knelt beside them, holding several potions. She set them down and began casting her own charms on the boy before reaching for one of the potions, explaining as she administered it. "This is for the muscle strain he went through and should help keep him from cramping up." She grabbed two more. "And these are for the physical and magical exhaustion, which is why he is currently unconscious. He most likely will not wake up until late this evening or early tomorrow morning, at which point we can get a better reading on how he is actually feeling."

Harry awoke the next morning around 8 o'clock, feeling tired and achy all over. His memory of the day before was a bit fuzzy and Nicolas and Perenelle were rather glad that he didn't remember the tremendous pain he had obviously been through. They had all stayed with Gabriel and his tribe so that Harry would be close to Althea and her apprentice, Sophia Littledove, in case he took a turn for the worse.

"So it worked?" He asked groggily as Althea checked the bandage on his head. The wound was healed but she said the paste that she kept applying should help lighten the scar.

"It certainly did young one, though it did take much more out of you than we originally thought it would. Are you sure you are feeling all right?" She inquired.

"Yes, I feel a little lighter, as if a weight has been lifted off of me."

She nodded her head sagely. "That makes sense and I am glad that there is nothing else wrong with you. Now, you rest and in a few hours you should be good to get up and walk around. I will let Nicolas and Perenelle know to bring you back here tonight so I can run a check-up scan and then again tomorrow night just to be sure."

"Ah, he is awake! Welcome back Harry." Gabriel said as he came in, followed by Nicolas and Perenelle, and came to sit on one side of Harry's bed while his guardians sat on the other. Despite Althea's muttering about him needing to rest, Harry, Gabriel, and the Flamels spent the rest of the morning and lunchtime talking about Gabriel's tribe and Harry's short time with his new family.

That afternoon Nicolas and Perenelle took him to the Egyptian Centre for Alchemical Studies where he discovered just how old his new adoptive parents were. It was quite the shock when Nicolas was asked to make a last minute presentation regarding his studies on the Philospher's Stone and him mentioning briefly how he, with his wife's help, had found how to successfully create one. Perenelle apologized afterwards for him finding out that way, saying that they had meant to tell him at a later date when everything had settled down but Harry didn't mind one bit and thought it was pretty amazing.

Their last day in Egypt was filled with relaxation since Althea didn't want him doing anything too strenuous and before they knew it, the family of three were back sitting around the large fire and speaking to Gabriel, Althea, both of their apprentices, and Gabriel's son Ryker Swiftcrow.

"Well, I must say that it was a great honor meeting you young Harry." Gabriel said and handed him a small box.

Harry opened the box enthusiastically, once he had made sure it was ok for him to accept it, to find a leather necklace with what looked like a shrunken eagle feather dangling from it. When he touched the feather, Harry felt a soothing sort of contentment wash over him, much like he felt the first time he had met the old Native American wizard.

"If ever you feel afraid or angry, simply grab the feather and focus your mind on the feelings it emits and it will help calm you."

"Thank you." Harry whispered as he put the necklace on. "But I don't have anything to give you."

"That is quite all right. It is a part of our culture to give a part of ourselves to those we meet and grow to like. If you do wish to repay the gift though, perhaps once you perfect your spiritual form, you might come visit our tribe and you and I can soar through the skies together." Gabriel said and before he could even blink, Harry was looking at a large eagle and he could swear the eagle was laughing at him.

OoOoOoO

The surprise visit to Uganda to tour the Uagadou School of Magic rounded off the vacation perfectly.

Learning that the students there were taught how to become animagi early on and that most could transform by the age of 14 excited him beyond belief because it gave him a timeframe to work with and meant that if he tried hard enough, he could be flying in his bird form by his fourth year. Nicolas made sure to ask if they would be willing to send him and Perenelle any notes they could provide in regards to best practices when learning how to become an animagus and Deputy Headmaster Umoja, who was giving them the tour, readily agreed to speak to their Transfiguration Professors about it.

Being visited by a Dream Messenger, who would mysteriously leave a token in the hand of the child who was being accepted into the school sounded so much more interesting than simply receiving an owl with a letter but this did nothing to dull Harry's excitement of receiving his own Hogwarts letter, even if he already knew he would be attending. Deputy Headmaster Umoja even gave him one of the tokens, a stone about the size of his fist inscribed with all kinds of different runes, they would normally leave with the future students as a souvenir of his visit.

Their tour ended out on the large open meadow that sat just below the magnificent edifice carved into the mountainside. There was a forest surrounding the perimeter of the meadow and several greenhouses stood to the right of the stairway that served as the school's entrance. Harry walked into the center of the meadow, admiring all of the different types of flowers that haphazardly covered it in its entirety, before turning around to admire the giant building.

When they had come in that morning the mountainside had been shrouded in mist, making it seem like the school was floating in mid-air, and as cool as that was, it could not compare to the beauty that currently sat before him. With the sun shining down and reflecting off of the many windows that helped make the inside feel more open, the entire mountainside seemed to glow a brilliant gold. Harry brought up his camera and took the last picture of their amazing trip.

A/N: So this was my favorite chapter to write so far and I thought it was a lot of fun to go into some of the history of Egypt as well as delve into the magical world a little more in regards to traveling to different countries. Hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did!