Chapter 2: The Talk and Egypt

Weeks had passed since Mr. Weasley had won seven hundred galleons in the Daily Prophet's Grand Prize Galleon Draw. Tomorrow was the day they would be leaving for Egypt and the whole household was bursting with excitement. Everyone was planning to pack today so all they'd have to do tomorrow is use the Floo Powder to get to Egypt. When Claire and Ginny woke up, they got dressed and went downstairs to the kitchen. As they entered the kitchen, they saw everyone was already eating.

Erroll, the Weasleys' owl, flew into the kitchen, landing on the floor.

"Claire, be a dear and get the post will you?" Mrs. Weasley asked Claire.

"Sure." Claire picked up the owl and put him on his perch outside. She took the letters from him and looked through the stack. There were several for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and one each for herself and Ron. She handed the letters to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Ron. Claire then opened hers. It was from Harry.

Dear Claire,

Well, I guess I've kept the House-elves away from my mail because I received your letter. Ron also told me that you're going to Egypt. Did you hear Hermione's going to France for the summer? I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous. I hope you enjoy your vacation in Egypt.

Your friend,

Harry

P.S. Don't call me on the telephone. Uncle Vernon still hasn't forgotten when you and Ron called me the other week.

As Claire read the P.S., she remembered last week when Ron and her had called Harry and Ron was literally yelling into the phone instead of talking normally. Harry's uncle wasn't too happy with that. Claire smiled slightly at the amusing memory.

"What are you smiling about?" Fred asked curiously.

Suddenly, George appeared behind Claire.

"How did you-you were just there and-HEY!" George snatched the letter from her hands.

"Oh, that's why. Look, Fred." George handed the letter to Fred.

"Hmmm, it seems we'll have to have a word with Harry when we see him again, George." Fred said.

"Why? He just sent me a letter." Claire said utterly confused.

"Exactly, it all starts with a letter. It seems you'll have competition Ginny." George said.

"No, I won't. I don't like Harry anymore." Ginny replied.

"When did that happen?" Ron asked with his mouth full of food.

"Ronald Weasley! Do not talk with your mouth full!" Mrs. Weasley scolded him as she placed a few sausage links on Ginny's plate.

"Well, when we came back on the train, I actually talked to him and I realized I didn't like him in that way anymore." Ginny said. "Besides I think Claire and Harry would make a cute couple."

"Couple? Hold on-what?" Claire was flabbergasted. "We're just friends."

"Yea, Harry's definitely your friend. Your boyfriend." Fred snickered.

"I'm lost what exactly are we talking about?" Ron questioned.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head ickle Ronniekins," George teased.

"What's this about Harry being your boyfriend, Claire?" Mrs. Weasley questioned placing a few slices of toasts on her plate.

"Harry's not my boyfriend. He is my friend. Just my friend." Claire clarified.

"Yikes, Harry's been sent to the friendzone, George." Fred whispered to George, but loud enough for Claire to hear. She sent them a glare.

"Have I given you and Ron the talk yet?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

The kitchen was utterly silent at that moment. Claire knew exactly what Mrs. Weasley was talking about and by the looks of the others they also knew. Claire hoped that she wasn't actually going to talk about it.

"I think Ron and I know all about that stuff. Right, Ron?" Claire said, praying Ron would realize what was about to happen.

"What stuff?" Ron questioned.

Claire groaned.

"Well, I think we should talk about this." Mrs. Weasley told them. "Fred, George you've already had this conversation with me so you may leave. And Ginny you're too young for this talk so you may leave as well. Go ahead and start packing for tomorrow."

They didn't hesitated to leave. They rushed upstairs within a few seconds.

"Traitors." Claire muttered.

Ron must have just realized what was about to happen because he said to his mom, "Mum, I don't think we're at the right age to talk about this."

"Nonsense, you're the right age. Right, Arthur? Arthur?" Mrs. Weasley turned to her husband and saw he had put on his coat and was by the front door, hand on the doorknob. "Where are you going?"

"Oh, um," he smiled sheepishly, embarrassed that he was caught in the act. "I have several things to take care of in the shed before we leave tomorrow. Sorry, Molly, dear."

Before Mrs. Weasley could stop him, he had practically sprinted out the front door.

"Ron, we were ditched by your whole family." Claire muttered to him.

"She's not really going to give us 'the birds and bees' talk, is she?" Ron hoped she wouldn't.

"That's exactly what's going to happen." Claire muttered.

Mrs. Weasley sat down in front of them and began to talk. "There comes a time in every person's life that they experience changes-"

For the next mortifying hour, Mrs. Weasley went into details on those exact changes. Claire wished nothing more than to apparate out of the room. Ron seemed to turn a dark shade of red by the time Mrs. Weasley finished.

"And that's how it all works," she finished. "Now, if you have any questions just come to me, alright? You can leave now."

Ron and Claire bounded upstairs as though their lives depended on it. When they reached the level their rooms were on, they saw Fred and George laughing at them.

"Thanks a lot for abandoning us," Claire glared at them.

"Hey, we all had to do go through that." Fred said.

"So, which part was worst the birds or the bees?" George laughed.

"Both." Ron said grimly.

"Did Mum tell you about-" George was cut off by Claire.

"Stop talking about it!" Claire glared at him. "We will not speak of this moment ever again! Got it? Got it!"

Claire walked to her's and Ginny's room. She slammed the door and then sat on her bed.

"Drama queen, much?" Ginny teased Claire as she threw in some of her clothes in her trunk.

Claire glared at Ginny. "You just stole my line. Now I definitely know I've been a horrible influence on you."

Claire got up and opened one of her trunks.

"You know, after Egypt, we'll only have one week of summer left." Claire said, throwing some of her stuff into the trunk.

"That sucks!" Ginny groaned.

"But look on the bright side," Claire began, "at least we'll get to see Bill."

"Yea, I haven't seen him in ages!" Ginny putting the last few things in her trunk. "I bet he has loads of stories to tell us about his work."

"I would imagine so if you're a Curse Breaker at Gringotts Wizarding Bank." Claire said.

They finished packing and then sat in silence for a few moments.

"I wish we could listen to some music." Claire said aloud. "You think your mum will let me bring the radio from the kitchen up here?"

"I don't see why not." Ginny replied.

Claire went downstairs into the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley had just finished cleaning up breakfast when she spotted Claire.

"Oh, hello, Claire," Mrs. Weasley greeted her. "Do you have a question about our conversation earlier-"

"No! I mean, no, Mrs. Weasley." Claire said. "I was going to ask if Ginny and I could borrow your radio to listen to music."

"Of course," Mrs. Weasley took the radio off the counter and put it in Claire's hands. "Just be careful with it, alright?"

"Thank you." Claire went upstairs and back into the bedroom.

She set the radio on the desk in the corner of the room. Claire then turned a few knobs and the radio turned on.

"You're listening to the WWN Wizarding World Network!" said the announcer. "This next song is from an upcoming band called the Weird Sisters! This is their first single and it's been requested several times today. It's time to ask yourself, can you dance the Hippogriff?"

The song began to play. The singer's voice was actually good, which surprised Claire seeing as most of the stuff they played on the WWN were people like Celestina Warbeck, who Claire did not like.

"They're amazing!" Ginny said.

"Yea, it's a good song." Claire agreed.

When the song ended the announcer began to speak again.

"What an incredible band! Now, we here at the WWN station are going to do something a little different. We're going to play some muggle tunes. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the muggle music!"

Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen blared through the speakers. Claire began to sing the lyrics softly.

"Too late, my time has come, sent shivers down my spine, body's aching all the time. Goodbye, everybody, I've got to go, gotta leave you all behind and face the truth."

"You know, Claire," Ginny began. "You have a good voice."

"No, I really can't sing." Claire said.

"Of course, you can. You sounded really good. Accept the compliment and move on, got it?" Ginny replied.

"Geez, I got it," Claire said. "Well, that about does it. All packed and ready to go."

"DINNER!" Mrs. Weasley yelled.

"Just in time to," Ginny said.

Claire turned off the radio and brought it downstairs with her and Ginny. They went into the kitchen and Claire put the radio back in its original position. The boys had just come downstairs and began digging into the food. Mr. Weasley came through the the front door and sat down at the table, eating as well. Claire and Ginny joined them and after dinner ended, they headed upstairs to get some sleep before leaving in the morning.

Mrs. Weasley woke them up at eight in the morning the next day because though Ginny and Claire had finished packing, the boys still had to pack. Mrs. Weasley yelled at the boys for fifteen minutes straight for not being packed. She had made herself go hoarse. Fred, George, and Ron were able to pack in less than fifteen minutes. They dragged their trunks downstairs into the living room. After eating a quick breakfast, they checked to make sure they had all the belongings they needed.

"Are you all positive you haven't left something? Remember you won't be coming home before Hogwarts." Mrs. Weasley said.

"They seem to have everything Molly, dear." Mr. Weasley said. "Now, we'll be Flooing to Egypt. So, this is what you're going to say when it's your turn: Gringotts Wizarding Bank Egypt."

Mr. Weasley went first, then Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, and Claire. When Claire tumbled out of the fireplace with her trunk, she saw that the Gringotts Bank looked exactly like the one in Diagon Alley. She spotted the Weasleys amongst the many people in the bank.

"Why are there so many people at this bank?" Claire muttered to herself as she shoved her way through the crowd to the Weasleys while trying to carry her trunk.

"There you are, Claire," Mr. Weasley said. "Alright, now that we have everyone, let's go check into the hotel and then we'll find Bill."

The moment they stepped out of Gringotts they noticed that the temperature had increased dramatically. The sun's rays were beating down on them as they looked at the scene before them. There were vendors selling various products and people crowding the streets.

"Where exactly in Egypt are we?" Claire asked Mr. Weasley.

"Cairo," Mr. Weasley said. "Oh, there's the hotel! Now, this is a muggle hotel, so try not to draw attention to yourselves."

The building was fairly tall. It was a sandy color and had large double front doors. They climbed the stairs and entered the building. Mr. Weasley went to go check-in while Mrs. Weasley went to go get a few trolleys to carry their belongings to their rooms. After they were checked in, they went to their rooms and unpacked.

"Bill should be meeting us in the hotel lobby soon," Mrs. Weasley said, as they finished packing. "Let's go ahead and go down there."

When they entered the lobby, they spotted the familiar redhead. Bill saw them and waved at them.

"Bill, how are you dear?" Mrs. Weasley smiled brightly and hugged him.

"I'm fine, mum," Bill replied. "Hi, dad,"

"Hello, Bill," Mr. Weasley said. "How's the job going?"

"It's been pretty slow lately," Bill said.

He then spotted Ron, Claire, and Ginny.

"Look at you three," Bill exclaimed. "You've all grown up a lot since I last saw you. How was your first year Ginny?"

"It was uneventful. I made some friends but other than that nothing really happened. Well, except for the whole Chamber of Secrets opening." Ginny replied.

He then turned turned his attention to Ron and Claire.

"I heard all about your adventures the first two years," Bill said. "I've also been told that you two have friended Harry Potter and Claire seems to be more than friends with him."

Claire groaned then rolled her eyes. "Let me guess, the twins said that."

Bill nodded.

"Well, don't listen to them. Harry and I are just friends for the five hundredth time." Claire said annoyed.

"Ok, but if I hear about any relationships, just let them know if they hurt you they have six brothers and a sister to answer to." Bill said.

Claire laughed. "Sure, no problem."

"Well, it's been a while." Bill said to Fred and George.

"I'll say," George said.

"But you know what you can do to make up for not visiting us," Fred began.

"You can take us on a tour of the tombs here." George finished.

Bill raised a eyebrow. "I didn't think you'd be interested in seeing a bunch of old moldy tombs."

"We are. Right, Fred?"

"Right, George."

Claire scoffed. "They only want to see the tombs because of the jinxes in them."

Fred and George glared at her and Claire smiled sweetly back at them.

"That sounds like the Fred and George I remember." Bill said. "Well, we'll actually be visiting the tombs while you're here."

"When?" The twins asked anxiously.

"Tomorrow."

The next day, the Weasleys and Claire apparated to the Valley of the Kings. Claire was extremely excited. When Hermione heard about her going to Egypt she sent all the books she had about Egypt to Claire via owl. Claire read all about the Valley of the Kings and found it to be extremely interesting. She had seen photos of the Pharaohs' tombs but now she was going to see it in person.

It was a sunny, hot day when they arrived at the Valley of the Kings. Tourists were walking in and out of tombs with their cameras snapping pictures at everything, reminding Claire of Colin Creevey.

"So," Bill began. "Here we are the Valley of the Kings."

Bill motioned to the valley.

"Where're all the tombs? Are they invisible?" Ron asked.

"No," Claire said. "They're underground."

"She's right." Bill said. "The Pharaohs would build their tombs underground because they cost less than constructing the grand pyramids and it would be harder for tomb raiders to steal from their tombs."

"Fascinating," Mr. Weasley said.

"Steal from the tombs?" Fred questioned.

"Why would they want to steal a dead body?" George asked, furrowing his eyebrows in a look of disgust.

"The tombs didn't just house the Pharaoh's body." Claire began. "The tombs had personal belongings of the Pharaoh's which includes clothes, food, pets, and even gold. Most of the tomb raiders just wanted to find the tombs for the gold."

"That's crazy. They're dead. What are they going to do with all that stuff?" Ron asked.

"Well, the Egyptians believed their Pharaohs were Gods. The Pharaohs would have to go through a dangerous journey through the underworld just to get their happy ending. They believed all of their belongings would follow them to the afterlife." Claire answered.

"Well, it seems someone's been doing some research." Bill said.

"My friend Hermione sent me several books on Egypt. Now, can we actually go see one of the tombs?" Claire said.

Bill lead them to one of the entrances to the tombs. There was a plaque on the the entrance wall that said: Tutankhamen's Tomb. As they entered the tomb, they saw colorful drawings and pictures on the walls.

"Tutankhamen's Tomb. Boy Pharaoh. Lived from 1341 B.C to 1323 B.C. Died at age 18." Bill said. "The Muggles here believe that his tomb was cursed because the people who extracted items from it died from mysterious deaths."

"Is the tomb cursed?" Fred asked.

"Yep," Bill said. "Tomb robbers were a big problem back in ancient Egypt so the Pharaohs tried to find some way to prevent them from taking their stuff. They knew just burying them in tombs would't be enough. Thus, witches and wizards would put jinxes and curses on the tombs to prevent them from entering or cursing them if they took items."

"Did it help any?" Claire asked.

"It took a few years for the robbers to stop but as they started to realize bad things were happening to the grave robbers they stopped." Bill said.

"What sort of jinxes and curses were placed on the tombs?" George asked.

"If I tell you, you have to promise not to use them," Bill said.

Claire, Ginny, and Ron explored the tomb while Bill told Fred and George about the jinxes and curses. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were looking at the drawings on the wall while Claire, Ginny and Ron went to another part of the tomb.

"Bill's crazy for telling Fred and George those jinxes," Ron said.

"I know," Claire replied. "we'll have to be careful around them from now on."

They soon entered another part of the tomb. In the middle of the room was a golden sarcophagus decorated with blue, orange, red, and green. As they got closer to the sarcophagus they saw that it looked like a man.

"That's creepy," Ginny said.

"Yea, why does the coffin look like a man?" Ron asked.

"It's a sarcophagus." Claire corrected him. "And it looks like a man because it's supposed to show what the person looked like before they died. The hieroglyphics on the sarcophagus tells us his name."

"The what?" Ron questioned.

"Those picture-like drawings on the side." Claire pointed to the pictures. "That's the Egyptian writing system. They're also on the walls of tomb."

"Why are they on the walls?" Ginny asked, observing one of the hieroglyphics on the walls.

"It's suppose to be a story about the Pharaoh's life. Also, there could be hints on how he should journey through the underworld." Claire answered.

Claire began looking at the walls. One of the wall had six people on it. They seemed to be preparing the Pharaoh's body for the afterlife.

"What are they doing to the Pharaoh?" Ron asked seeing the wall.

"Mummifying him," Claire replied.

"What's that?" Ron asked.

"That's how they preserved the bodies." Claire said. "They took out the liver, lungs, stomach, and intestines and placed them in canopic jars. Then the Egyptians used a long hook to pull the brains out through the nose. The only organ they left in the body was the heart because they believed it to be the center of intelligence and feeling and they'd need it for the afterlife. After they used a salt called natron to dry out the body, they wrapped it in bandages and buried the body in the tomb."

Ron and Ginny grimaced.

"That sounds painful," Ron said.

"You'd be dead when they do it," Claire replied

"Still not the most pleasant thing," Ginny said.

They continued exploring the tomb for several more minutes until Bill and the others found them.

"There you three are," Mrs. Weasley said. "Come along, we're going to visit the pyramids now."

As they walked out of the tomb, Claire stopped when she saw one of the drawings on the walls. It looked to be a blue box with the words Police Public Call Box plastered at the top. She knew she had seen this blue box before. Standing next to the box was a man and a woman. The strange thing about them was that they seemed to be wearing modern day clothes. They were surrounded by Egyptian soldiers pointing their weapons at them. That's strange. Claire thought to herself.

"Claire, come on!" Ginny exclaimed.

"I'm coming!" Claire yelled, turning away from the painting.

As she left the tomb, she couldn't help but wonder why that police box and the man and woman in modern clothes were painted in King Tutankhamen's tomb.

The rest of their stay at Egypt went by pretty fast. They had sailed the Nile River, explored tombs and ruins, rode camels, and even saw the Great Pyramids.

"This was the best vacation ever!" Ginny said, as she packed up her trunk.

"It was the only vacation we've ever had." Claire said, packing up her trunk as well. "But you're right."

There was a knock on the door and Mrs. Weasley came in.

"Are you two ready to go?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

They nodded and soon met up with the rest of the family. They apparated to London where they would stay at the Leaky Cauldron for the final week before going back to Hogwarts. That night at dinner, the Weasleys and Claire ate there. Mr. Weasley had gone to get a paper and when he returned he seemed to pale. He showed Mrs. Weasley the paper and she too looked pale and worried.

"Children, it's time for bed," Mrs. Weasley said.

"But, mum-" Ron stopped as Mrs. Weasley gave her infamous glare.

Everyone began to head to their rooms.

"Claire, dear," Mrs. Weasley said. "Stay here for a moment. Arthur and I have something to tell you."

Fred, George, Ron, Percy, and Ginny all looked at Claire before continuing up to their rooms. Ginny seemed to hesitate before Claire urged her to go on.

"Sit down, dear," Mrs. Weasley said.

Claire took a seat as did Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Claire began to feel very nervous.

"Is there a reason you needed to talk to me?" Claire asked, feeling more worried by the second.

"She has to know, Molly. We've kept her in the dark too long. She needs to know everything, including her parents." Mr. Weasley said to his wife.

"My parents?" Claire said in shock. "You mean, you're actually going to tell me about them?"

Mrs. Weasley sighed. "Claire, it's time you knew the truth."

Well, this chapter took forever to write. I'm proud of how it turned out. I loved writing the whole 'birds and bees talk' and also King Tut's tomb. I really love Ancient Egyptian history. What did you all think of this chapter? Did you love it or hate it? What about the picture in the tomb with the blue box? What does it mean? Finally, what do you think Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are going to tell Claire? Also, I know this won't be for several chapters but what do you think Claire's boggart should be? I would really like your suggestions because I'm not sure what I want it to be. I know right now I don't want it to be Tom Riddle/Voldemort because it's overdone so what should it be? Please comment and review! I love to hear what you think about the series.

Reply to Reviews:

Rainpelt the Doctor: I wrote part of the trip. I didn't want to write the entire trip because only the scene that I wrote actually plays a part in the part. Or it will I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet but I'll figure it out.

NicoleR85: Yea, I'm being discreet about the Doctor and Carina's return. I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter. Remus and Sirius' return will be epic. I thing they're amazing characters.

OliviaNeith: I'm glad to hear that! That means I'm doing my job as a writer!

TENZA: Yes, I know Claire didn't use the sonic or River Song's book. I didn't want her to because of the diary. The diary is like an addiction and when you're addicted to something you focus primarily on that. Remember when the others were talking or doing homework she would just write in the diary? That's the same idea she didn't focus on anything except the diary. This book will definitely bring those two items back though. As far as Claire having two hearts, I've been debating on it. I've decided that she will have two hearts. Later in the series something will be revealed about them that will play a part in the plot.

Guest: The X-mas special was awesome.

Mad(Guest): Here's the next chapter. There was sort of an appearance on him in the tomb. Otherwise, there won't be an actual appearance of him until Carina and him return.

Thanks to the new followers/favorites: melliebear94, silent song of shadows, Keeperofhounds, and 47.

I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER OR DOCTOR WHO! ONLY CLAIRE AND CARINA SMITH, JASON SAXTON, AND ANY OTHER CHARACTERS OR EVENTS THAT YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE.