Chapter 23
Alex, Hermione, and Ginny arrived in Arras, France about midmorning.
"It'll take days to search even a small city like this one, especially since we're technically hiding from Aurors." Ginny said.
"Then we better get a move on," Hermione said. "If we're really lucky, the jewel will be in this city and we won't have to waste more time searching the other border cities."
"How many cities are there?" Ginny asked.
"Several," Alex said. "At least five."
"Seven to be more exact," Hermione said. "I looked it up yesterday."
"When did you do that?" Ginny asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You have your secrets, like how you mysteriously got the tickets to the Louvre. I have my own secrets as well," Hermione said, smirking at her friend.
Ginny grumbled and glared at her.
"Let's go," Alex said. "You have time to bicker later."
"We're not bickering," Ginny and Hermione retorted in unison.
Alex raised an eyebrow before turning away from them.
"So where are we supposed to start?" Hermione asked, looking around.
"According to what that curator said, a follower of that Egyptian pharaoh took the jewel. Maybe that guy has descendants?" Ginny suggested.
"We don't even know anything about the pharaoh, let alone his followers," Hermione said.
"Something is strange about that story," Alex said.
The two witches looked at him.
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.
"The British, Americans, and French all going down to Egypt just to get a circlet back? The circlet is from Belgium, but was stolen by France before ending up in Egypt. It seems strange that the British and Americans would involve themselves in something that is clearly only France's problem. And it is strange Belgium didn't try to get their own circlet back. Also, you said that the circlet was used in some kind of strange ritual. There's the big question: what kind of ritual was it?" Alex said, frowning thoughtfully.
"Then it must be a pretty important ritual if Harry's after the circlet," Ginny said.
"And then, there's also the fact that Harry has attacked the Ministry of Magic," Alex said. "Harry should know about the circlet's history and he should know the circlet was given back to France. The circlet was supposedly destroyed, but Harry no doubt found it in Egypt, which means it was buried with the pharaoh. But...if retrieving the jewel was his first priority, he would already be in France. But, we have yet to see him anywhere near France. There's something else about that massacre in Egypt. I don't think the circlet was the only thing everyone was after."
"There's also that pendant," Hermione added. "You think Harry found more dark artifacts that can help him do whatever it is he plans to do?"
"At this point, that is the most reasonable explanation," Alex said, sighing. "If we assume that he's after other dark artifacts, his main focus isn't on the jewel...not yet anyways. That means we still have time to get the jewel before he does. When he figures out we have the jewel, he'll be forced to come to us."
"Sounds like a plan," Ginny said. She looked around. "But if we want to find that jewel anytime soon, we need to start searching now."
"We should split up to make the search quicker," Hermione suggested.
Alex nodded in agreement.
"Still have the mirrors?" he asked.
Ginny and Hermione nodded.
"Good," Alex replied. "I'll go this way."
Without another word, Alex left them.
"You know, he hasn't changed a bit," Ginny said. "Even if he is disguised, I can still imagine his icy blue eyes glaring at me."
"Icy blue?" Hermione raised an eyebrow in amusement.
"What? Don't tell me you think they're a different color," Ginny said, crossing her arms.
Hermione chuckled.
"I guess they are 'icy blue', but I never really thought of them like that." Then she frowned, looking at Ginny with a scrutinizing stare. "Why are you acting so friendly with Alex anyways? You never really got close to him or Harry as friends during Hogwarts," Hermione said.
"I was close to those two through you, Ron, and Eric," Ginny said. "Besides, he saved me from the basilisk."
"I'm pretty sure that was planned," Hermione said. "Harry is very smart; he most likely figured out what was happening early on and then waited for me to ask him to clarify it. Then, he ordered the basilisk to petrify us both to take the suspicion off of him."
"Wow," Ginny said. "Impressive, Hermione."
"I put a lot of thought into it. From the very first time we met, those two were probably playing us all like pawns on a chessboard...or at least Harry was," Hermione said.
"But the diary was a Horcrux, right? How did they manage to get it?" Ginny asked.
"I bet Harry did something to protect the diary," Hermione said. "Maybe a replica?"
Ginny shook her head.
"I was connected to that diary, Hermione. It was possessing me. When the diary was destroyed, it was like all my energy came back to me instantly." she said. "A replica can't do that, no matter how good Alex and Harry are with magic. Eric destroyed the real diary in that chamber."
Hermione frowned.
"Are you saying Alex let Eric destroy the actual diary?"
"I wouldn't have woken up if it was a fake," Ginny said. "The diary was using me to create a body, right? I would've still been killed unless the Horcrux detached itself from me, either willingly or from being destroyed."
Hermione hummed thoughtfully.
"That's really weird." she said. "Alex and Harry purposely befriended us to get the locket from the Number 12 Grimmauld Place. They got the diadem and the cup, so why would Alex let Eric destroy the diary?"
Ginny shrugged.
"We can ask him later." she said. "But right now, we have a jewel to find."
Hermione nodded in agreement.
"You're right," she said, pushing the newfound information to the back of her mind. "Let's focus on this first."
Eric yawned and stretched. He and Ron were waiting to cross the street in Shanghai, China.
"Man, I'm tired," he grumbled.
"Same here, mate," Ron said. "By the way, I got word from Moody that three other teams have finished searching South Korea and Japan. They've been reassigned to help us search China."
"That's good," Eric said. "Where are we supposed to go after Shanghai?"
"West, still along the coast," Ron said. "I'm not sure of the specific location yet though."
Eric sighed as they walked across the street.
"I hope it's a smaller city; anything's better than huge cities like Shanghai. It took us days to search even half of the city! Please tell me we don't have to search Beijing, at least not by ourselves." he grumbled.
A few people looked at him strangely.
"No, we don't have to go to Beijing," Ron said. "Apparently, they're sending in a bigger team just for Beijing, mostly because of the Great Wall."
Eric sighed in relief.
"That's good," he said.
Eric looked at his best friend.
"How do you think Hermione, Ginny, and the kids are doing?" he asked.
Ron shrugged.
"We haven't been able to send a letter to them yet. Although we could always firecall them when we get the chance. We can't exactly find an owl out here." he said. "You know, tell them what's going on, where we are."
"Yeah, that sounds good," Eric nodded. "I bet the kids would like some souvenirs. I know Mark expressed some interest in going to any foreign country."
"Or we could always come back at a later time," Ron said. "Have them see China for themselves. Maybe France? Or even Egypt!"
"Egypt is too hot," Eric said. "I think France and China is good for a start. We'd have to ask Hermione and Ginny where they want to go after all this is over."
Ron nodded.