The Servants of Egypt

Chapter Six

Jim was frustrated that they had lost the boy, wondering who had sent him and how the child had even managed to get into the restaurant and find them.

Olivia was thrilled. "Someone is finally willing to talk to me!"

Clark Croaker was worried, and said so. "You can't just go running off to Luxor to meet with smugglers by yourself!"

"She won't be going alone," Jim assured him.

"She's been told specifically to go by herself," Clark argued. "That could be very dangerous."

Olivia intervened. "He said that you couldn't go, Mr. Croaker. He didn't say anything to Jim at all. And even if I have to go alone, I will. I'm going to find my father, whatever it takes. I've been asking everyone I meet to send me word if they know anything about where he is. Now someone has. I have to go. I have to keep trying."

"All right," Jim said quickly, trying to distract them both. "Olivia and I will go to Luxor. What do you know about the Old Winter Palace? It does fit, because that's where Mr. Malfoy was staying when he was in Luxor."

Croaker sighed. "They mean the Sofitel Winter Palace. There are two buildings. The old building has about a hundred rooms, the new one about two hundred and sixty. The Old Winter Palace was built in 1886, right by the temple of Luxor, and about fifteen minutes from the airport. It was built to attract the nobility of Europe and has a lot of Victorian charm. It's been kept up well. Howard Carter was staying there when he found Tut's tomb in 1922. The first news anyone had of the discovery was a notice he put up for the other guests on a bulletin board there. It's known for the 1886, which is one of the most formal restaurants in Egypt. Take a coat and tie if you plan on checking it out."

"I'm not going to be sociable," Olivia said icily. "I'm going to find my father!"

"If Jim is going with you, and I strongly advise against it, but if he is," Croaker said, "you've got to stick to your cover story that he's just a boyfriend you picked up here. It's too late to change that now, and you don't want him taken too seriously by anyone there. If they think he knows too much, they won't tell you anything while he's around, and he won't be able to protect you."

"Oh, fine," Olivia answered, rising. "Let's go. We have to see how soon we can get a flight south and if we can even get reservations at this hotel. They'd better have rooms available. If we can't get a plane, we'll have to check the train schedule"

"Come with me to my office at the museum. I can get you coordinates to Apparate," Croaker said slowly. He still had a bad feeling about the whole situation, but couldn't quite figure out why.

"While you two do that, I'll go back to my hotel and see about getting us into the Winter Palace," Jim said. "Olivia, go back to your room and start packing as soon as you get the coordinates from Uncle Clark. I'll meet you in the lobby of your hotel tomorrow morning and we'll firm up our plans. How does nine sound? Too early?"

"No, that's good. Nine will be fine," Olivia said, and willing to forget Egyptian custom for a moment, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Jim left, and Clark Croaker quickly paid for their meal and led Olivia outside the restaurant. They had a quick discussion about the location of his office, and then both Apparated there.

Croaker began to dig through some papers on a shelf behind his desk. "The Winter Palace is on Corniche el Nile. It shouldn't take me too long to figure this out," he said, starting to scratch out some figures. "The manager's name is Randolph Edmonds. I've met him a couple of times. If you need to get hold of me through a Muggle, you can trust him."

Olivia smiled at him. "I'll remember that, and I'll send my owl on ahead to meet me at the hotel. He's an eagle owl, so don't be surprised if he shows up with messages. Thank you for helping me. You're much nicer than I expected you to be, after what my mother said about you."

"I can just imagine," Croaker said, his blue eyes twinkling.

"She did admit you were the best Dark Arts teacher she ever had, though."

"That's not saying much, considering some of the Dark Arts teachers they had at Hogwarts in those days." He checked and rechecked his figures, and wrote them down on a fresh piece of paper. "Here you go. This should take you near the bottom of the main front stairs, but for Merlin's sake, please be careful! I'm responsible for Jim, and if anything happens to him, the Potters will never forgive me. That family is very close."

"We'll be careful," Olivia said, putting the paper in her bag, "and we'll keep in touch. I don't want anything to happen to Jim, either. I like him. I really do. He's very, very sweet. He's not what I expected him to be."

"That happens a lot in the wizarding world," Croaker said, looking the blonde girl straight in the eye. "Many things are not always what they seem."

Olivia hesitated. "The Ushabti...what's happening with them is not right. It's not just the thefts. It's the whole idea. If I find my father, then I know we can find a way to stop them. Please believe me. If you and Jim are with me about finding my father, then I'm with you on that. You do understand, don't you?"

"I understand." He smiled at her.

Olivia smiled back at him impishly. "My mum was right about one thing, by the way. I'll bet you were really cute at Hogwarts!"

Then she Apparated away, leaving Clark Croaker quite dumbfounded.

Jim and Olivia spent the next day preparing to leave. They both gave notice that they would be leaving their rooms at their hotels in the morning, although they explained that they might be back in a few days. They went over the coordinates for the Winter Palace, until they were sure they could Apparate there without splinching themselves or being seen by any Muggles.

Jim had made a reservation for them at the Winter Palace. Olivia gave him a stern look when he told her about the room he had reserved.

"One room, eh?"

"This is where things start getting tricky," Jim defended himself. "I'm not leaving you alone, especially at night."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

He looked hurt. "You don't trust me?"

"Do you trust me?" Olivia asked him, smiling thinly.

Jim decided to tease Olivia a bit. "Do you mean I have to worry about you taking advantage of me at night?"

She laughed at that. "The whole situation just seems so odd. I just met you, but yes, I do trust you. I like you, and I appreciate you worrying about me. I can't believe you are willing to help me look for my father after some of the stupid things he's done, and I admit they were stupid."

"My dad did some stupid things at school, too, and probably after. Who cares? That has nothing to do with us."

Olivia shrugged. "You talk about us an awful lot. What do you think will happen to us?"

"I don't know, but I'm willing to find out. Give it a chance." He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the mouth, and she kissed him back. The kisses got longer, and deeper. He had never felt anything like her kisses. Her eagle owl ruffled his feathers and gave an exasperated hoot. Jim glanced up at him. "I don't think your owl likes me very much."

"He's been in the family a long time," Olivia answered. "Haven't you, Alexei? Maybe he's heard stories about the Potters, too."

"That reminds me. I have to send a message to my parents. I don't want to use the mirror, in case they try to talk me out of going with you. Do you think your feathered friend here would mind taking a very long trip?"

"He's got to take a letter to my mother, too. I'm sure he could handle both." Olivia sat down and began to write.

Dear Mum:

I have to go to Luxor to meet with some people who might know something about Dad. I'll be staying at the Sofitel Winter Palace. Any messages you have for me should reach me there.

Love,

Olivia

When she had finished and was rolling up the parchment, Jim wrote to his parents.

Dear Mum and Dad,

I'm going to Luxor with Olivia Malfoy. She is supposed to meet with some people who might know where her father is. We'll be staying at the Sofitel Winter Palace, near the Luxor Temple. Uncle Clark is going to keep in touch with us about any new developments in Cairo. Don't worry.

Love,

Jim

Harry Potter was disturbed to receive his son's note, delivered by an eagle owl, and he did worry. He threw the parchment down on his desk with a frustrated groan.

"What's the matter, Daddy?" Kiya asked, coming up behind him.

Pulling her onto his lap, Harry cuddled his youngest child. "You're all going to have to go stay with Aunt Ginny and Uncle Neville for a few days. Your brother has gotten himself into mischief, and your mother and I are going to have to go to Egypt and see what it's about. Run and get her for me, won't you? Then tell your brothers to start packing. Don't worry, Baby. We shouldn't have to be gone more than a few days."

Luna came into Harry's study just as he finished talking to Neville Longbottom through the fireplace. Neville had assured Harry that the Potter children were always welcome at Longbottom manor, and had wished Harry luck in sorting things out with Jimmy.

"What's going on?" Luna asked.

"We're going to Egypt!"

"Oh, Harry, do you think that's wise?"

"Jimmy has gone off to Luxor with that Malfoy girl to look for Draco. Clark is still in Cairo. I'm not leaving Jimmy there by himself. The other kids can go to Neville and Ginny's place. I've already cleared it with Neville."

Luna finally gave in, realizing that Harry wouldn't be happy until he had seen the situation first hand. Harry spent the next hour or so on his Muggle telephone, trying to get through to Egypt and get a room at the Winter Palace, but was unable to do so. He took a room at the Luxor Hilton instead. He and Luna had stayed there before and he knew the unprepossessing exterior hid an excellent interior, and that the hotel was well managed. It was close enough, and would have to do. He then worked out the coordinates to Apparate there.

As Luna packed a bag, Harry leaned over to kiss her.

"All set!" Harry said with a smile. "We can drop off the kids first thing in the morning and then be on our way."

"It will be nice to see Egypt again," Luna sighed, hugging her husband, "and I do miss Jimmy. Should we let him know we're coming?"

"I think we'd better surprise him," Harry said. "I don't want to give him a chance to complain about it. I'll send an owl to Clark, though, to let him know where we're staying."

If Jim Potter has known about his parent's upcoming visit, he would certainly have resented it. He was having a wonderful time in Egypt with Olivia Malfoy. He had found the Winter Palace to be one of the finest hotels he had ever stayed in. It definitely had Victorian charm.

Once they had checked in, they had decided to do a bit of sight seeing. Since it was so close, they went to see the Luxor Temple in the center of town on the Corniche. As Jim paid their entrance fee, Olivia stood off to the side. When Jim turned back around, two Arab men were obviously appraising her. Coming back to her side, Jim gave them a look that could have melted a cauldron.

"Imshi!" he snapped, telling them to go away. They shrugged and laughed.

"Jim!" Olivia scolded, pulling him away and toward the temple complex. "You didn't have to be rude."

"I won't have anyone look at you like that. It was nasty!"

"Don't take it so personally, all right? Do you honestly think it's the first time I've ever had a man look me over?"

"Well, they're not going to do it in front of me," Jim said stubbornly, the furious look still on his face.

He settled down though, as they began to look around. Dedicated to Amun, Mut and Khonsu, the temple complex was a spectacular site. Although neither of them was an expert on Egypt, they knew enough to recognize some of the images they were seeing.

Amun, sometimes called Ra, or Amun Ra, was the sun god of Thebes, and represented the aspects of the sun: light and heat. He was usually depicted wearing ram's horns, or a feathered Atef crown. He was believed to be the creator of all things, and to order the time and the seasons.

Mut was his wife, and considered to be the mistress of heaven. Her name meant mother, and she was both the giver of life and bringer of death. Most often she was represented with a double crown of Egypt on her head, and either a vulture's head or lioness's head on her forehead.

Khonsu was their son, a moon god, and usually depicted wearing a disk of the full moon and horns on his head, or the head of a falcon. To indicate his youth, he was shown with the braided sidelock of hair worn by all Egyptian princes. Khonsu had the ability to act as an oracle, cast a wide range of spells, and dispel demons. Together the three gods were known as the Thebian Triad.

An avenue of ram-headed sphinxes lined the approach. Standing at the First Pylon, Jim and Olivia could see at once how awe-inspiring the Temple must have been in its prime. Jim and Olivia entered the Peristyle Court and learned that the east end of the court had not been excavated because it was the site of a mosque, the Mosque of Abu el-Haggag, the patron saint of Luxor. The mosque was mostly 19^th century, although it did have a minaret that was much older. The local people apparently still favored the mosque at the temple, even though another mosque with the same name had been built nearby.

They went to the south end of the court to the portal flanking the entrance to the colonnade and found two black granite statues bearing the name of Ramses II but the feathers of Tutankhamen. Many pharaohs had worked on the complex over time. The Colonnade of fourteen columns had been built by Amenhotep, but finished by Tutankhamen and Horemheb.

The second Peristyle Court was the Court of Amenhotep III, which led to the Hypostyle Hall. Most of the ceilings were gone, leaving light and shadow to play and blend and wash over the pillars, with their extensive hieroglyphic texts and bold reliefs. Olivia and Jim were both fascinated. This was the Egypt they had wanted most to see. One of the chambers had been converted into a Coptic Church during the 4^th century, and the reliefs had been plastered over and covered with early Christian paintings. In a few places, they were amused to see the stucco crumbling way, leaving the original reliefs visible, as if the old gods were defiantly making their presence known in spite of the new.

Jim and Olivia also had a look at the Offerings Chamber, and the Sanctuary of the Sacred Barque. The ancient Egyptians had believed that Ra sailed across the sky each day in a barque, beginning the day as a youth and aging as the journey went on.

They spent a good four hours looking at the complex in detail, and then returned to their hotel to get dressed for dinner. As a surprise, when they had arrived that afternoon, Jim had made reservations at the 1886 restaurant that his great-uncle had told them about.

Jim had showered quickly as Olivia laid out her clothes for the evening, then let her have the bathroom. She was in there so long that he almost fell asleep waiting for her, still in his coat and tie, but when she finally emerged, he was awestruck by her beauty. She was wearing the black dress again, but she had swept her hair up into a intricate pile on top of her head, and was wearing a gauzy, black lace shawl over her shoulders that made her skin look like alabaster of Egyptian statues that he had seen. The restaurant was as superb as it was famous. The food was excellent, and the high ceilings and carefully arranged lighting gave the entire place a warm glow.

After they had eaten, they passed a bevy of American children happily splashing in the swimming pool, and went for a walk in the tropical garden. They discussed everything they had seen, and speculated on when they would be contacted in Luxor by whoever had sent Olivia the mysterious message. In the shadows of the garden, Jim had no qualms about taking Olivia's hand, and at one point, she leaned against him, smiling. Jim, to tease her, reached out to set one of her hanging silver earrings swinging. She turned her head, and he found himself looking straight into her gray eyes. He leaned in and kissed her, and she kissed him back, first gently, then with passion.

"I love you."

He had found himself saying it before he even realized he was doing so.

She smiled, and spoke lightly.

"I'm sure you think you do, but I'm not sure if you really do. What girl could fail to make a conquest by involving a handsome young man in a adventure in an exotic country?"

"Is that all you think it is? I won't have you think that of me! I've never met anyone like you. I've been waiting my whole life for someone like you!" Jim said, hotly.

"I've never met anyone like you, either, but I'm glad I have. I do care about you, but I don't know if this is love, or if it's right."

"It feels right," Jim answered, kissing her again, but she only allowed him to go so far before she drew back and shook her head.

"When it's really right, IF it's really right, I'll know. I'm sorry," Olivia added, seeing the frustrated expression on his face.

Jim managed a grin. "Ah, ha," he said to himself, "but easy does it." Out loud, he continued, "Whatever you say, Princess. Let's just call it a night. I won't bother you. I promise."

"You're not bothering me. Believe me, you're not bothering me," Olivia said, pressing her lips to his cheek.