2 days later, in the evening, we left. Dad had managed to get special permission for the Burrow to be connected to the Egyptian Ministry of Magic's tourist fireplace, so we wouldn't have to travel by the dreaded Portkey. Floo still isn't pleasant, but in my opinion at least it's much better than a Portkey. At least the fireplace flames make it warm. We arranged for Bill to meet us when we emerged from it. He was wearing classic Egyptian clothes, which were branded with the Gringotts logo, as he worked as a curse breaker for the bank, who's premises in the country were located within their Ministry.
"How are you all, long time no see eh? Especially the siblings" he said.
"Has it really been long enough that you'd forget our names?" I asked jokingly.
"Of course not Geraldine" he replied, playing along.
"Hey" said Fred, nudging me, "as long as he remembers we're called Gred and Forge it's fine" and we all laughed.
I took a good look around the place we had arrived into. It was a huge and spectacular marble hall, with many fireplaces on both sides. On each end there were stone sculptures of sphinxes, and in the middle, there was a large donation fountain similar to the one in the British Ministry of Magic. We turned left and headed towards a great glass door, which had "tourist exit" written in black letters stamped on to a gold plated sign.
"We're right in the middle of central Cairo" Bill told us. "They did have some trouble building the Ministry without the Muggles noticing though. Eventually they were able to under the disguise of a tourist office closing. On the outside, this place has looked abandoned to Muggles for about 50 years. Now, this works a lot like the entrance to platform 9 3/4. You just walk straight through the glass here, and you'll find yourself in Tahrir Square. There are various charms and stuff to stop Muggles noticing, but still, for safety's sake, it's best if you do it one by one"
So we did so, and found ourselves in front of a roundabout packed with Muggles, both in cars, and on the pavements.
"I thought Charlie was coming, Dad?" said Ron. We were heading to the wizarding suburbs of Cairo, where our hotel was, and that required a specially hired car that Bill had arranged for us.
"He won't be here until tomorrow" Dad replied, as we got in to the car "That was the earliest he could get off work".
"Do they play Quidditch here?" I asked Bill
"Yes, although it's not followed as passionately as it is in the UK. Flying carpets are still commonly used here, brooms have only recently become popular. A lot of the older magical folk prefer tradition though and won't go near a broom. The national team gets a lot of support though. Speaking of Quidditch, I've heard my little sis here has turned into a damn fine player" he said, giving me a one armed hug.
"Well yes, I'm very good, I'll admit it, but everyone talks about me as if I'm the next Harpies legend or something"
"You've got potential to be Gin, seriously" said Ron. "Stop downplaying yourself, appreciate that praise, it's very rare that anyone gets that"
I bit my lip
"Ok then" I said eventually "but don't expect me to be brash and arrogant about it, it's not in my nature"
"I'm not the biggest Quidditch fan in the world, but I'll try and come to see you play one day. Are you on the Gryffindor team?" said Bill
"Only the reserve team at the moment, but I am captain of that"
"What's the wizarding world like in general here then?" asked Percy
"It's very different to the UK. As I said, a lot of people prefer to use flying carpets here. There's plenty more to it than that though, as you'll see in the coming days".
Soon, we turned into a narrow alleyway that looked like it was leading to nowhere.
"Umm, are you sure this is the right way" Dad asked as we pulled up to a brick wall.
"Oh yes, don't worry" replied the driver, and she pulled out her wand, rolled down her window and pointed it at the wall.
We then drove at full speed straight towards it!
I braced for the impact, but it never came, and suddenly we found ourselves in a brightly lit street.
"Welcome to Stallion Way" said the driver. "I used a spell on that wall back there to identify us as magical. Any muggle that tried to gain entrance would find the wall solid"
"Thank you very much" said Bill, and he paid the driver in a few rather odd looking coins.
"Oh yeah, we forgot to say" said Dad, seeing our confused looks "they don't use Galleons here, they use Gwengos. Don't worry, we got most of our winnings converted before we got here, they're in one of our trunks"
We walked to the entrance of a fancy looking hotel.
"No way, we're not staying here are we?!" burst out George
"Yes we are indeed!" replied Dad "when you win the lottery you have to make the most of it! You all have a room each!"
"Amazing! This is gonna be the best trip of our lives!" I called out
As we entered the hotel grounds it certainly appeared so! There was a large swimming pool at the front, which several guests were using, which also had a high diving board! I was definitely going to make some use of that! There was also a wizarding sauna, which uses multiple intense heating charms to recreate the effect of Muggle ones, and a small Quidditch pitch behind.
"You won't need to wait to see me play then, Bill!" I said "we can just make use of that pitch while we're here!"
"I suppose so" he replied. "Anyway I've got to head off home now, I only came to make sure you got here alright"
He left after taking a hug from each of us, promising to return in a couple days once we'd settled in. He said he would try and use his contacts in Giza to arrange us a VIP tour of the Pyramids.
I settled down to sleep that night in the biggest and most comfy bed I'd ever seen in my life, one which made my Hogwarts dorm bed look like concrete! And that's really saying something, as the Hogwarts beds, with their warming pans underneath, are absolute heaven to sleep in! This though, was truly something else, an experience of luxury I'd never had up until that point, and never would again until my Harpies career! My feet didn't reach anywhere near the end of the bed, and yes I am quite short, but still even I had reached further than that in a bed before. The room also had an en suite bathroom, with a big bath that had taps that sprayed various colours and temperatures, like the Hogwarts prefects bathroom.
House elf room service was available 24/7, which I thought was brilliant, though I didn't know how often I would need to use it.
As I got myself comfortable, I felt so peaceful, so content with life at the moment. Here I was, in Egypt, about to have the best holiday ever. We had won the lottery, everything seemed so perfect. As soon as I fell asleep however, that all changed.
Suddenly, I was back in the Chamber of Secrets, and there was Tom Riddle, standing over me, with the basilisk right behind him.
"You thought you'd escaped me, didn't you, Ginny Weasley. No, no one escapes Lord Voldemort, and especially not puny little girls like you!"
I screamed and backed away, but Tom spoke to the Basilisk and it lunged towards me, sinking its fangs into my leg, and I felt a horrible, searing, burning pain, and screamed again, surely this was it, I was about to die, and that's when I awoke. I had clearly been thrashing around as the blankets were all tied up around me awkwardly.
Mum and Dad were there and my room door was open.
"Ginny, what's going on, are you alright"
"Mum, Dad, run, it's Tom, it's the Basilisk, we have to leave now-"
"No, Ginny dear, it isn't" said Mum
"Yes it is, we have to get out of here-"
"No, Ginny" said Dad firmly "It was a nightmare, there is no Riddle, there is no Basilisk, we are in Egypt, on holiday"
"But my leg hurts, that's where it bit me"
"Look at your leg Ginny" said Mum
I looked, and found that the pain was not coming from a Basilisk fang, but from the heat of the summer sun streaming in underneath the curtains.
"You see. There's nothing to worry about" she said
Biting my lip, I nodded. She was right, but it didn't mean I wasn't worried. What did this nightmare mean, and would there be more?