On the River Nile’s Bank

Below is the brief story of Daughter of the Nile, if you'd like to know:

Carol, an American college student in Egyptology, was cursed when her brother ordered an ancient tomb to be excavated. She was pulled into the ancient Egyptian time and fell in love with the Pharaoh, Memphis. Many rival nations knew about her knowledge of the 'future' and tried to steal her away from Memphis. He fought to get her back, someone stole her again, etc...

I think though that the tug-of-war (no pun intended) is rather ridiculous, so there won’t be much Harry-stealing involved, if at all.

A/N: Written for the History Challenge, prompt: Ancient Egyptian. Canon or not, I refuse to believe that Harry will suddenly grow up that fast after living with the Dursleys for years, so he'll still be rather small in my story.

The cold morning air greeted them at the Burrow when Harry was startled awake by a loud bang. He glanced at his friend's bed to find Ron already up and looking around, as bewildered as him. It took them a few moments to realise that the sound was someone knocking on their door. Loudly.

"Get UP!" A voice shrieked, and it sounded terribly familiar to the two boys. It was Hermione's. And she was in her Head Girl mode. They winced.

"I said get up!"

At the command, both boys groaned and reluctantly left their cosy beds, knowing full well that Hermione wouldn't let them sleep in any longer.

"I'm up," Ron grunted and went to open the door to see Hermione properly dressed and frowning at them both. Harry dragged himself to his trunk and fumbled around for a clean shirt, all the while cursing the cold floor for prickling his feet and making them tense up uncomfortably. He would not even bother changing out of his pajama bottoms.

"Honestly, you two!" Hermione chided, moving from her previous spot at the door to poke at Ron when she noticed his closed eyes and his soft snore. Harry snorted and ran a hand through his hair. It was a lost cause, he knew, but he had to keep trying.

Rubbing his eyes sleepily, Ron scowled and put on his favourite Cannons sweater. Harry inwardly cringed at the bright orange color. He was not a morning person, and seeing bright things this early gave him a headache. He had been enduring Ron's choice of favourite colour for the past 6 years, but honestly, seeing it every-bloody-day since the beginning of this summer was getting on his nerves. Harry almost regretted that he had not obeyed Dumbledore's order and spent at least a month with the Dursleys.

They were going on holiday at Aunt Marge's, and she had vehemently insisted that Harry didn't come with them. Harry was more than glad to comply. He didn't want to be with his so-called relatives again, that much was obvious. Blood Protection at the Dursley's was waning, he could feel it. With his maturation approaching, Harry knew that Aunt Petunia's affection (not that she had any) could no longer protect him. The Order, with Dumbledore gone and the risk of Voldemort's attack looming over them, was reluctant to allow any Order member to 'baby-sit' Harry and reasoned that he'd better off with the Weasleys. At least they would know how to protect themselves against the Death Eaters. Besides, he had much better things to do, like finding the Horcruxes and training himself for when he had to face Voldemort again.

A few minutes later saw Hermione, Ron, and Harry stepping out into the corridor. Ron clung on Harry and they both swayed left and right, knowing that would annoy Hermione. So when she huffed and grumbled about their immaturity, the two snickered.

Hermione was carrying a book, which was not unusual. It was thick, leather-bound, and had Dumbledore's family crest on its cover. Dumbledore had given her free reign over his personal library since they needed to find as much information about the Horcruxes as they could. (Not that they could find anything, but they had tried.) Knowing Hermione, she had probably read all the information about Soul magic, and was starting on the binding rituals. Harry shook his head and smiled slightly. This girl would never change.

Surprisingly, Ron was just as enthusiastic about this task. He had even helped Hermione take notes on occasions. Harry didn't help them much, for he was more worried about practicing his Occlumency. His shock from Dumbledore's death and the realisation that he now possessed the vital information made Harry feel the need to practice blocking his mind from intruders more than ever. Whether Voldemort would try the same trick again or not, Harry wouldn't take the risk.

Last year, Snape betrayed them all and joined Voldemort. The Order was still furious about that, and some members had voiced concerns about the information that Snape could give to Voldemort. Personally, Harry believed Snape had been giving information to Voldemort since Harry's fifth year when Snape was teaching Occlumency to him, and he resolved to correct his weak points that he had had then, so that Voldemort wouldn't gain the upper hand because of Snape's prying into his mind.

Learning Occlumency by books alone had not helped him much, until Hermione found a book named 'Deceiving the Undeceivables'. The book suggested a simple method involving meditation, Veritaserum, and Imperius. Ron and Hermione were at first horrified by the prospect of using the Unforgivables, but then realised that it was necessary. They asked Moody for help with that. Harry was glad that he had successfully fought off the Imperius curse before, or he would have troubles with that part of the training. According to the book, only a few had successfully learnt this method, because not many could fight against the mind control curse.

They had discussed about the possible Horcruxes and how to find each one, even though they were not certain of what they would do if they actually acquired them. Half of their Summer holidays had gone by, and the three were only marginally ready to start on their quest to destroy the Horcruxes. Still, Harry felt strangely optimistic about this hard task, and his good mood immensely encouraged his friends.

When they entered the kitchen, they found Molly about to place the plates on the table and went to help. Hermione put the book in a chair and neatly arranged the plates and cutlery while Harry took out a jar of orange juice from the cooling cabinet. Ron was hovering over a pan full of eggs, sniffing approvingly. Molly smiled benignly at them and started serving breakfast.

Ron was decidedly cheerful this morning, Harry reflected, as his friend went on and on about the upcoming marriage between Bill and Fleur which they would attend in a few days time. The ceremony was to be held at the local church and there would be a small party afterwards at the Burrow. They all listened patiently as Ron continued his monologue with his mouth full of bacon. Hermione sniffed in disgust and pointedly ignored Ron in favour of her book. Harry suspected it was the one she had just bought by owl order a week ago.

"Can I have more eggs, mum?" Ron asked, already reaching for the serving plate. Molly nodded mutely, staring at her plate and pushing a slice of bacon around with her fork.

Molly was strangely quiet this morning. She was also paler than usual, but it was understandable. She had been burning herself out with all the preparation for Bill's wedding, even though Ginny and Hermione had helped with the decoration of Bill and Fleur's new rooms. Arthur had been going on about building a separate house for Bill and Fleur somewhere on their yard, magically enlarged of course, but Molly insisted that they stayed in the house. Arthur had complained, but added a wing for them into the disfigured house anyway.

"Bill will be back this afternoon with Fleur," Ron informed everyone for the third time that morning.

Harry rolled his eyes and drank some juice. "Really."

"They have to go to Gringotts first." Ron continued, not really expecting anyone to listen. "Bill said the goblins had a last assignment for him before his honeymoon."

That was new information.

"What kind of assignment?" Harry asked. He had been curious about Bill's work since the first time he had heard that Bill was a Curse-breaker.

"I'm not sure," Ron replied, frowning slightly. "I remember him talking about a cursed box sending from Egypt. I guess the goblins found some kind of hidden treasure again."

"They didn't find the treasure, Ron," Hermione said in an exasperated tone, temporarily forgetting her book. "That's what they hire the Curse-breakers for."

Ron mumbled something and glared at his girlfriend. Watching them playfully bickered back and forth, Harry grinned.

Molly prodded Harry's shoulder gently to gain his attention. "Harry dear, do you want anything special for dinner tomorrow night? I'll cook your favourites, but if you want anything else, just tell me."

"It's okay, Molly," Harry said shyly. "Just what you planned to cook is enough."

For a moment, Molly looked like she was about to burst into tears. The Weasley matriarch was unusually emotional these days, with all her sons matured and ready to fight the Dark Lord and her daughter not far behind.

Harry was saved from a potentially awkward situation when the twins ran down the stairs, shouting excitedly about accomplishing something. Harry was almost afraid to know. He then was forced to listen to the twins chattered non-stop about their supposedly going to be a hot hit firework for any quidditch match from now on.

When Bill and Fleur finally arrived, everyone was waiting patiently at the dinner table. Molly smiled and motioned at them to move into place so that she would start serving.

Bill looked at the seating arrangement in alarm and ushered Fleur to sit opposite Arthur instead of between Ginny and Ron. Everyone smirked at his action except Ron, who sulked playfully. He still couldn't resist the pull of the half-Veela, but he was getting better.

"So," Ron started when they all began digging into the food. "What did the goblins want?"

Bill shrugged. "Same old, same old. Their agent in Egypt sent a something to the headquarters last night; they called me to make sure there's no curse left on the items. Well, the first Curse-breaker did a wonderful job, but I still had to break some remaining nasty ones. Fortunately, the curses are pretty old and the power behind them was waning."

"Is it some kind of treasure map?" Harry asked, intrigued. "Can I see it? If it's not a secret, that is."

"Not really," Bill frowned, looking at Harry in contemplation as he recalled something important. "I think you might have to see this, actually."

"Huh?"

"Are you finished?" Bill asked, gestured at Harry's half-eaten dinner.

Harry blinked, then gulped down as much of his remaining food as possible without choking himself. Hermione made noises of disgust and even Ron was looking at Harry respectfully. In minutes, Harry's plate and glass was almost as clean as new. "Yeah, I guess."

Bill grinned at Harry affectionately. "Then follow me."

Bill's pace was fast and Harry had to rush after him. Behind them, Fleur was shouting that she would wait in the kitchen when they were finished, and Ron was mumbling something about 'not fair' and 'Harry's got all the fun'.

After ushering Harry to sit on the small settee and spell-locking the door, Bill opened the black box he was carrying around since he had arrived and grabbed a parchment from his small desk. Harry peered into the box curiously and had to blink in slight disappointment.

Inside the box was a clay tablet, but unlike many others, this tablet was coloured. Harry glanced at it, intrigued by the strange shapes, --hieratic script, he supposed-- but forced himself to look up when he heard Bill chanted a complicated spell and pointed his wand at the parchment. Soon enough, words began to appear on the parchment. From what Harry saw, it seemed to be Old English. Bill grinned at Harry's disgruntled expression, waved his wand once, and the Old English words turned into what Harry could easily read. He picked it up when the words stopped changing.

"Go on, read this," Bill said, shoving the parchment under Harry's nose. Harry half-heartedly glared at him then looked back down at the parchment.

"What's this?"

"It's the translation of the tablet," Bill explained. Harry shrugged and read the neat script on the scroll.

...his hair shone like the blaze of sunset, skin as white as limestone, then I realised that the Sun God had graced me with his presence. Along with him was a sweet creature, Hari, whom I gladly took in as per the God's order. He was to be treated as royal, the God had commanded, and thus I treated him.

Hari was a delightful addition to my court. His raven hair, as black as the night, always attracted the attention of maidens. Even my beloved sister, Isis, could not resist the urge to touch his wild hair. For I, I found his eyes most fascinating. They were as green as new leaves, or the rare, precious, jade. He was so young; so small and light I could carry him with an arm. But he was wise for his age. He knew many things, useful things, such as the wielding of magick. By his help, I conquered the land of Assyrians and the Hittites. And it was rumoured that the Gods favoured Egypt above all else. Neighbours were coveted, and many challenged me the right over such a favour. I defeated them all, and in doing so, brought prosperity to my kingdom.

Time passed, and Hari's heart softened for me, as mine for him. It was treasure, his love, and I could not imagine my fortune to have such a fine creature returned my feelings. It was like a blessing from the Gods. One small taint was that I had not dared touch him, for I feared the wrath of the Gods. But his sweet lips and body was like a fire to my moth, tempting like ambrosia to us mortals.

When the Sun God made his appearance again, I knew that my time with Hari was over. On his last night in my arms, grief consumed us. It was overwhelming; this great desire to belong with him. So I took him, for I cared no longer of the Gods. He gave himself to me, freely, beautifully, eager like the baked soil yearned for Mother Nile's flood after a long drought. Our consummation was as gentle as the trickling of water teasing the lotuses, but as voluptuous and intense as the sandstorms.

Then the morning came, and with it the Sun God. My Hari was taken away back to the realm he descended from, and took my heart with him.

I cursed the Sun God and his cruel grasp over our fate. I cursed him for bestowing the chance of love to me, and destroyed it. I swore upon the Goddess Isis' true love for Osiris, that if I had one more chance with my Hari, I would cage the minute, I would not let him go, no matter what...

"What?" Harry frowned, suddenly regretting ever wanting to know.

"That's a.. I guess you could call it diary, of a pharaoh. We couldn't make out the name yet, the Archeowizard and I, but he refused to be near it more than is necessary, so I'm keeping this tablet."

"The goblins let you keep this? I mean, it could be sold or something, right?"

"It's not permanent." Bill shrugged. "And it's not of much value for them anyway. Besides, the Archeowizard thought that the tablet was cursed. I'm safe-keeping it until they figure out what to do."

"So, what is this all about? I mean…" Harry trailed off. He wasn't sure what he had meant either. But he was even more unsure of what Bill meant by all this. He had this nagging feeling that he wouldn't like the answer.

"I couldn't be helped but being curious about all the little detail about this 'Hari' person, could I? What caught my attention however, is this sign," Bill said, pointing at the lower left corner of the tablet where two serpents lie entwined under the Sun's rays. Harry was speechless when he saw what was in the background, faded colour almost invisible from the old age; it was a lightning.

Bill gave a rueful smile. "I think you might be the Hari he mentioned, Harry."

"What?? But... But how can that be possible? How old is this tablet? 3,000 years old? Time-Turners can't get you that far back in time, right?"

"Actually, it's more like 3,500 years old," Bill said. "I don't know how either, but it seems fit. The name, the lightning, Hari's eye colour, his ability to perform magic, all pointed to you."

"It might not really be magic, and the name and the lightning are just coincidence. About the eye colour, well, I'm not the only one with green eyes, you know. Or, all of this is just that-- a myth."

Bill shook his head, lifting his hand to stall Harry when he tried to speak up.

"I don't think so, but enough of that. I have a more important thing that you might like to know. Hmm… for this, we might need the use of your famous name," Bill smirked and Harry, suddenly nervous, fidgeted.

"So, you're going to Egypt," Ron said, his voice betraying his displeasure. "Why can't I go with you and Bill? The last time I was there we did visit some places, but there're still so many more I wish to see!"

"Don't be such a child, Ron," Hermione called from beside Harry's trunk. She was packing a few changing clothes for Harry. "You know he's going to find the clue for a Horcrux. I want to go too, but I'm not whining, am I?"

"There! You said it! He's going to find a Horcrux. I'm supposed to help him, so why can't I go with him?"

Harry swallowed back his irritation. Ron had to stop this jealousy nonsense already. It was simply ridiculous!

"You know Bill can barely handle the two of us, how can he look out for you too?" Harry pointed out. "It's not safe anymore, Ron, even in other country. Who knows, Voldemort might already send an envoy to the mummies!"

Ron bit his lip. He knew that, and knew what Harry hadn't mentioned. Bill couldn't afford for Ron too, even with Harry's help with the money. His damn big brother wouldn't hear it when Harry had offered to pay for all the costs, and only reluctantly agreed when Harry threatened to go to Gringotts and open an account for the Weasleys for this. No one knew what would happen if Harry really opened the account and Molly knew about it, and they were too wise to find out.

"Which one of the Horcruxes is it anyway?" Hermione asked.

Harry recalled what Bill had said last night. "Decades ago, the Egypt government requested our Ministry of Magic to give 'the Book of Death' back. The news was well-known, and Voldemort must have heard of it too. There's this rumour that one of Ravenclaw's ancestor was the person who had stole it in the first place. The Ministry couldn't find it anywhere in England, so it's still hidden somewhere. Bill suspected it was still in one of the Ravenclaw's estates."

"Why do you have to find it in Egypt then, if it's in Ravenclaw's possession?"

"The Ministry tried all the tracking spells and any way else they could think of with no result, so, unless it was already smuggled out of the country, Bill reckoned it's still hidden somewhere in Egypt," Harry explained. "We have nothing to lose, starting the search from there. Besides, there's this thing that I have to investigate. For myself."

"Something personal?" Hermione ventured, effectively quieting Ron.

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know if I should tell you this, but anyway… It was the thing Bill showed me last night. There's a clay tablet, I think it’s around 3,500 years old, with the name 'Hari' on it. It said Hari was to help the pharaoh. Bill thinks it's me."

Hermione was intrigued. "Wasn't that 'Heri'? As in, 'Hery Seshta'?"

"No, I clearly remember Bill said Hari. What's He—" Harry frowned at the strange pronunciation. "Hery? What's Heri anyway?"

Hermione seemed a bit overexcited. "Well, I'm interested in ancient Egypt, so I took to reading about it a lot in my spare time. Heri, or rather Hery Seshta, was the title for a priest, meaning the Chief of Mysteries and Secrets. He could use magic and was believed to be the one responsible for reciting the spells during the making of mummies as well."

"So it might not be me after all?"

"Not likely," Hermione replied. But then Harry thought of the mention of green eyes and he had to ask.

"There happened to be a few foreign Herys here and there, right?"

"Foreign? You mean the Nubians or other tribes around there?"

Harry fidgeted with the blanket. "I mean Europeans; blond hair, blue eyes, the like."

Hermione laughed nervously. "Harry, of that… I’m not quite sure. I think it can be assumed that not much Europeans travelled that far deep into Egypt during or right before the time that tablet was made."

"So there's no chance of a random European turning up in Egypt?"

Both Ron and Hermione looked at Harry with pity, and he had to sigh.

Hermione sighed too. "You should take some potions with you. I'm not sure if it can cure local diseases, but if you got infected at least it might slow down the infection a bit. I heard of the Pharaoh's Curse, and it's not pretty."

Harry smiled at Hermione affectionately; leave it to Hermione to think of those little things.

Ron grumbled. "You should take a few additional robes too. It might be hot during the day, but it's freezing at night. Charms can only do so much."

Harry nodded in thanks and tossed his school robes to Hermione, who put them in his trunk. He thought distractedly that he might have to buy more robes soon.

"Where are you going to stay?" Ron asked. "Whatever Bill told you, just don't stay in Cairo."

Harry was puzzled by Ron's warning, but let it slip. "We’re going to stay in Aswan for a few days to meet a professor there. I'm not sure who he is yet, but Bill insisted we have to see him. Then we're going to Thebes."

"Oh, Thebes!" Hermione exclaimed with dreamy eyes. "It was once the capital of ancient Egypt, you know, almost as famous as Memphis or Khmun."

Ron's eyes were starting to glaze over by all the foreign names, but Harry frowned. Something was tugging at the edge of his consciousness.

Something important…

Molly was still fussing over him when Harry was waiting in his queue to use the floo. Bill was laughing with Fred over something George had done, while Ron pouted childishly at everything and everyone. Harry suspected his friend was still miffed that he couldn't come with them. Hermione, being almost as bad as Molly, was hovering over his trunk and checked the trunk's locks if they're still secured.

Bill and Harry would travel by the international floo network, which Harry was not thinking very kindly of, but it could not be helped since Harry strongly refused taking portkeys. Harry couldn't apparate yet, and Bill could not apparate them both for that long distance, even being considered powerful.

"Are you sure you've got all the things you need, dear?" Molly asked for the tenth time. Harry suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and answered patiently.

"Yes, Mrs Weasley, I have everything I might need."

Molly nodded, but still glanced at his trunk as if she would love to go through his belongings and see for herself. "Then I'll make it smaller and lighter so you can carry it more easily. Bill will remove the spells when you two arrive at the hotel."

"Thank you, Mrs Wealsey," Harry smiled, grateful. Molly smiled back and casted the spells.

"It's our turn, Harry," Bill was calling from in front of the fireplace, so Harry put the shrunken trunk in his pocket and moved to stand beside Bill.

In a flash of green flame and a shout of destination from Bill, they were gone.

Harry was starting to think that travelling by floo was not that bad when the spinning started picking up the pace. Harry believed he felt a part of his brain was leaking from his ears, and perhaps his appendix was moving to attach itself to his lung. Harry wanted to whimper, but feared that the floo would take that as his destination. He did not want to find out that there was really a place called 'Ergh' or something of the likes, after all.

So, after throwing up for the best part of a day in a hotel in Aswan where they would stay for two days, Harry had to reconsider his opinion about taking a portkey home. Bill was not being helpful at all. In fact, he was snickering all day because of Harry's ungraceful landing and his colouring afterwards. It would seem that Harry had the most impressive green complexion Bill had ever seen in his life.

"But it matches your eyes," Bill had commented, then dissolved into laughing fits again. Harry hadn’t thought it was funny and told him so. When Bill had responded with another crack about Harry's toad-green eyes, and his now matching grass-green skin, Harry refused to speak to him all day.

Harry was glad that by the second day, he was feeling very much better. Besides, Bill had finally stopped smirking every time he saw Harry. It wasn't until midday that they started discussing about the Horcrux and their 'quest' for the meaning behind the tablet.

"Anyway," Bill had said after they took turns taking their third shower of the day. Harry was propped on his still queasy stomach on the bed while Bill sat beside him, flipping open a booklet he had brought from a tour agency. There was a small picture of a golden crest on it, and Harry had to squint to see its detail.

"You said you're finding Ravenclaw's possession, so I think you might like to see this crest. Not many know it's actually a Ravenclaw's heirloom that first appeared around 3,000 years ago. Do you notice the materials used to forge this crest and how it was made? It was made in the Bronze age, using ancient methods of shield-forging."

"You believe it's made during the times of Ancient Egypt?" Harry asked, even though he already knew the answer.

Bill nodded. "And the magic forged into the crest was simply amazing. There are not many people with that much power, but Ravenclaw's ancestor was seemingly one of them. I don't know why you're interested in the Founders' history suddenly, Harry, but I assume it's about Voldemort."

Harry didn't deny or confirm Bill's suspicion. "It holds a large amount of power?"

"Extremely large," Bill replied.

"Can we go take a look tomorrow?"

"Only after we met Professor Brown. Rest now, tomorrow will be a tiring day," Bill grinned.

Harry was starting to think that the Power That Be around here must have hated him, as suddenly the temperature had gone from hot to boiling when they were about to go out.

Bill made him wear long sleeves even though Harry had complained about the temperature for almost half an hour. Now, though, he was glad that Bill had forced his hands. The earth was burning so hot that Harry could see mirages, and the sun ray was abnormally bright on the endless sea of sand. For ten minutes now, Harry had tried fanning the small glossy pamphlet around to cool himself to no avail, and the scorching metal bars on the jeep they were travelling in was not helping his predicament at all.

After being assured for the third time from both Bill and their chauffer that their destination was not too far now, Harry swallowed an agonised moan and looked out into the blank horizon.

Dune after dunes of sand and animal skeletons, and Bill finally grinned and pointed at something red and blue and white amidst the browns of a small pyramid and mountains of sand.

The site was huge and looked as if it had seen chaos. Everyone was running around, doing their business, and fewer than few paid them any interest. Harry wiped the sweats off his forehead and squinted at the light blue tent Bill had pointed to him earlier. There was someone standing just outside it, waving at them enthusiastically. He was a plump man with reddish pink skin, his curly hair and beard waving white fan in the winds. As soon as they reached him, Bill introduced Harry to the old man.

"Professor Brown, this young man is whom we discussed on the telephone; Harry potter. Harry, this is Professor Brown, he is in charge of this excavation site."

"Hello, professor," Harry intoned, accepted the offered hand and smiled tightly. “Pleased to meet you.”

“Likewise, child,” the professor replied absently as he looked at Harry from above his glasses. "So, this is The Hari?"

Harry almost heard the capitalisation and that irked him a little. Before Harry could start to protest, Bill cut him off with a cautious 'Yes'. Harry glared at him, but both Bill and the professor had already started heading inside the tent so he bit his lip and followed.

“It’s rather embarrassing but I don’t have anything other than coffee to welcome you boys,” the professor said, reaching for three mugs in various state of cleanliness. Harry tried not to think too much when he accepted one and waited patiently for the professor to pour him some coffee.

“No, it’s fine, really,” Bill assured the flustered older man. “It’s actually my fault that we came here with such short notice…”

Brown waved his apology off easily. “That’s not a problem at all! I’m just glad that you young generations are interested in an old man’s passion. Well, since there’s no better time than simply now, how about we discuss the crest you’re wondering about and then I’ll give you a tour of the place before sundown to avoid this heat wave?”

“That would be great, professor,” Bill said, and Harry also nodded in agreement.

“Very well, then.” Brown clapped his hand and gestured for them to sit down on the director chairs while himself walked a few steps to fumble around in a plastic folder for some papers.

In less than a minute, he was back with a few close shots of the crest Harry had seen on the pamphlet yesterday. Up close, Harry found that the material looked polished and seamless.

“This crest was not directly related to this site. In fact, it was discovered from a site near Abydos. But my assistant, Carol, noticed that a symbol on the crest was also found inside a chamber in this the pyramid, so I took some pictures here to compare.”

Harry’s interest was piqued. “Which symbol was that, sir?”

“The raven,” Brown said, brows furrowed slightly. “Ravens here, it’s not— You see, the people of ancient Egypt, they believed in Gods and magic, and nature. When they looked at a cat, they didn’t see an animal, but the deity Bast, Jackals were representative of Anubis, cobras were children of Wadjet, and so on. Many things were, to their beliefs, sacred. To see a raven, instead of something more commonly respected at that time, engraved on a crest and inside a pyramid was rather hard to miss.”

Glancing at Bill and saw that he was as perplexed as the professor, Harry decided to temporarily change the topic and move on to the next issue.

“Do you think the…err… owner of this tomb and the one near Abydos were related?”

“If they’re related, their relationship would be of master and servant type,” Brown replied, looking thoughtful. “Before you arrived, Carol just cracked a mystery. The owner of this tomb, his name was Pharaoh Memphis. This name was crafted into practically every space inside the Abydos’ tomb.”

The name, Harry thought as his heart thumped against the inside of his chest in painful and irregular tempo, it sounded so familiar…

With no apparent reason, Harry felt himself yearn for something, and it hurt so much that he almost gasped aloud. For how long, Harry wasn’t quite sure, but Bill and Professor Brown had apparently talked things through enough about the crest and had moved on at some point to the general affairs around here. Harry didn’t panic that he lost his concentration, figuring that he could always ask Bill if he ever wanted more detail on it later. To his chagrin, Harry found out that during his black out, a young man and a pretty girl had joined the conversation at some point as well. Catching from their conversation here and there, Harry now knew the young man as Jimmy and the girl was called Carol.

"As you may already know, this site is sponsored by an American company. Mr. Ryan Linton, vice president of the Linton Corporation, has taken to sponsoring the excavation here. We’re supplying him with what we found from the site, he put them on display at the museum, we got to study everything throughly afterwards, and the things found will then be returned to the Egyptian government,” Jimmy explained.

Carol nodded and eagerly pointed at a table full of newly discovered artifacts. They mostly consisted of potteries and jewelry. Everything was tagged and numbered neatly, but it still reeked of organised chaos.

By now, Harry was starting to be wary of breakable things around his clumsy self, so he stayed quite a few feet away while Bill strode down the length of the long table to stare at the objects curiously. After some quiet chatter with Carol and Jimmy, Bill waved him over.

Wearily, Harry walked to stand beside Bill, but still kept a bit of distance.

“That’s the original copy of the tablet I showed you,” Bill explained, pointing at a clay tablet the size of a Roman solider breastplate. It might just be his imagination, but Harry thought it seemed a lot more fragile than the one Bill showed him only few nights ago.

“I thought that one was an original?” Harry wondered out loud.

“They found a few smaller copies of this tablet lying around the pyramid. My employees,” Bill said, careful not to use the word goblins in front of the muggles, “allowed me to take a copy with me to try and break the cur— code on it, hoping I’ll find them some treasure. But the real thing, this one, was forbidden from being moved by Egypt’s government.”

Carol nodded and said, “We were going to put it on display at the museum, but Professor Brown thought you should see it first.”

“Is it just me or this one was kind of a whole paragraph longer than the one I took with me?” Bill asked, staring at the tablet as if he could actually read it.

To his mild surprise, the professor almost jumped in delight at his observation.

“See, here, this part your tablet doesn’t have is what we assumed a ‘blessing’ from the priest to the pharaoh,” Brown was saying, hands gestured wildly. “Supposedly, the high priest would bless this clay tablet and personally craft and paint every word into it along with some more verbal blessing to protect and lull the pharaoh to a peaceful sleep until it was time for him to wake up.”

“I see,” Bill murmured, seemed to be satisfied with the explanation. Then he furrowed his brow and bended down to examine something.

Too curious to be cautious any longer when Bill pointed to the lower left corner of the tablet, Harry moved in to inspect where Bill was pointing and found what he had subconsciously realized would be there. Once again, the lightning bolt was engraved there, red paint almost as vibrant as if it was put on the tablet just yesterday, and Harry felt like he couldn’t breathe, all the power of his brain sucked out. As such, he didn’t hear Bill when he said to hold on as he passed the tablet for Harry’s closer inspection.

Just then, the tablet slipped from his numb fingers and shattered into millions of piece on the floor, then promptly turned to dust.

“Goodness!” Brown exclaimed, horrified beyond belief.

All eyes turned to focus on the patch of floor where at least tiny specks of the shattered tablet should have been, but saw only nothing.

Nothing, except the sound of rustled papers as a sudden strong breeze whipped past them.

Bill visibly paled.

“What is it, Bill?” Harry asked, aware of the serious situation but couldn’t quite grasp how serious it was just yet. Everyone around him was in frantic now, and Harry himself still felt like fainting.

/Oh yes, this should be the perfect time to rest, don’t you think, Master Hari?/

Spooked by disembodied voices whispered directly into his ears, Harry didn’t notice that the blur before his eyes was not from fatigue or sickness or whatever it was anymore. It was because everything except Bill was fading out of their existence.

/…Shes--/

Blackness…

continue in part II (soon!)