11

11

Where India was hot and humid, Egypt was simply hot. Hot and bright and absolutely miserable. Even Remus couldn't deny just how bad it was. Thankfully they had magic and could cool themselves easier than the poor non magical folk they passed. Sirius had suggested they go to Cairo since he wanted to see the Giza Pyramids, but Remus quickly overruled him. Remus was worried about Aurors, since this was the closest they had been to Europe since they fled with Harry fourteen years ago, and they couldn't be sure those magical police weren't searching for them. And really when had Sirius ever wanted to be involved in history? It was a new tidbit that Remus hadn't known about his friend.

While they argued on the roadside in the middle of sandy nowhere, Harry couldn't help but think about his fathers', and his own, past. He had always known that his fathers' had taken him from their homeland and that they had been running from the authorities that may, or may not, still be looking for them. They had never once kept this a secret from him. It was strange for Harry to think about. Harry always thought of his home being where his mothers lived in Canada, but he wasn't sure if that was necessarily true. His fathers and his parents all came from an island in the north called the United Kingdom. The place he had been born and lost his parents, but never really spared much thought. It was just knowledge that didn't elicit any kind of an emotional response.

Remus ended up winning the argument, but agreed to compromise. They would avoid Cairo, but they would go through Luxor for some light sight-seeing. Sirius followed it up with a comment about the Egyptian Queens that Harry didn't catch in his musings but figured it was something dirty when Remus smacked him upside the head.

It was still a bit of a drive to Luxor from where they had their roadside squabble. Harry pulled out a pair of dark sunglasses from his bag. He had received the final report from the students he met in Australia earlier in the morning. Harry chose to dig into it since his fathers were still fighting during the ride. He was impressed that he got it since he never told them how to find him.

"What book is this, pup?" Remus asked him after he had been reading for some time. Probably because a quiet Harry made Remus almost as nervous as a seriously quiet Sirius. He shook his head free of that thought.

"Those college students in Australia finally finished their research into magical genetics. They sent me a copy." Harry snapped the bound report closed and flipped the title to show it to Remus before going back to reading the report.

"How'd they send you a copy?" Sirius asked incredulously. "It's been so long since we've left Australia."

"No idea." Harry shrugged. "I was going to ask them, but it's unlikely I'll get an answer. Owls?" Harry sounded out but didn't dwell on the idea.

"That's a little bit concerning," Remus muttered to himself. "I'm continually surprised with the magic we encounter in our travels."

"Makes Great Britain seem a little foolish sometimes, doesn't it?" Sirius added as he winked at some muggle women in a passing car, making them giggle.

"Yes, it certainly does..." Remus trailed off thoughtfully as he turned his attention back to Harry. "So, what did their research find?"

"It's mostly about magical genetics and how inbreeding amongst 'purebloods' is damaging more than just their bodies," Harry replied as he flipped back to the introduction paragraph and summed up the findings.

Sirius and Remus shared a look. "Really?" Sirius asked in a quiet voice.

"Yeah! It's actually really interesting," Harry turned the paper to show Remus the section he was on. "This whole section is about how inbreeding can cause a person's magical ability to shrink and is possibly linked to an over reliance or even dependence on darker magic."

"Darker magic? Is that like the Dark Arts?" Remus asked as he looked over the passage with his voice carrying interest.

"I'm not sure, since it hasn't been covered yet, but I imagine it is," Harry mused. He tapped his temple with his finger as Remus looked over the paper flipping the page to finish the thought he was following. Harry continued, "Australia can't have much different definitions for that sort of thing than Great Britain or the U.S."

"They list any other effects of inbreeding?" Sirius asked without looking at Harry.

"Low fertility. Low infant survival. Increased propensity for mental illness. Increased health problems, diseases and such. Decreased longevity." Harry replied ticking off fingers as he listed terms that he had already read through. "The same things the non-magical society noticed with their version of 'purebloods'. The only real difference is the non-magical society noticed it centuries ago," He followed that up with a final thought, "Magic may have just extended the period before the effects became too much to compensate for."

"Sounds about right. The muggles tend to be more ahead of the curve than the magical community when it comes to those things," Remus nodded to himself as he handed the report back to Harry.

"They're right, though." Sirius sighed unhappily. "My family has been dwindling for generations and half of them went mad." He shook his head angrily. "It's a damn shame that old prejudice is destroying so much."

"At least you see what they did not." Remus patted Sirius' arm in both condescension and support, bringing a smile to Sirius' face.

The conversation died quickly after that. Sirius had always been cagey when it came to his family and it seemed like this research hit him a little too close to home. Harry couldn't even begin to guess what it was exactly that bothered Sirius so much. Whether it was the fact he was the product of inbreeding or if it was because of their extreme prejudice that drove him away or some other reason entirely. There wasn't much Harry could do other than get a job and pay for a really good therapist, and if it was to help him out at all, a good male therapist.

They traveled for several days in the blistering sun to make it to Luxor and it was thankfully cloudy when they arrived. Remus suggested that he and Harry go to the open air market for supplies while Sirius loitered with his bike near one of the many museums. Harry could guess it was to give Sirius some time alone to deal with whatever it was that was eating at him.

Harry wandered away from Remus in the market and pretended he didn't notice the tracking charm he attached to him, Remus might as well just put a leash on him. The market was a strange mix of magical and non-magical items and people that Harry always thought was interesting. His fathers often spoke of their homeland where there were clear divisions between the two worlds. Harry couldn't imagine not coexisting with different types of people and creatures, but his fathers always said that was because of his unusual childhood, which he supposed was a valid argument.

Harry milled amongst the many stalls for goods while his many drones came and went from his bag with various little things from around the market. He had made sure their concealment magic was nice and strong, so even any magical people wouldn't be able to see them. Couldn't be too careful with this many people around or with this much latent magic in the air. Harry was surprised to see so many pale people wandering around the market, but he had heard various people talking about excavations going on nearby, so they were probably foreign specialists, archeologists? Remus collected him not too much later and they walked through the crowds back to Sirius, whom, much to Harry's delight, seemed to be in a much better mood.

"Hey!" Sirius called out to them once he saw them. "There's a museum nearby that doesn't have a lot of people in it. Can we go?" He asked Remus much like a young child would ask a parent for permission to play with friends.

"Sure, James." Remus spoke calmly, as he normally did when either Sirius or Harry were upset.

Sirius pushed the bike down the road as he led them to the museum he wanted to see. The museum was a large building with an open floor plan that allowed many artifacts of different sizes to be put on display. Sirius was like a child as they meandered their way through the many exhibits. The placards next to many of the artifacts stated that most of them came from the Valley of Kings that was still being excavated nearby.

Harry was enjoying watching his father be so happy, especially after his little depressive episode earlier that day, and really most of the last few days with that report. It was always rough dealing with the mood swings of either father since they were constantly on the move and rarely away from each other for very long. Harry was looking over the burial urns of some pharaoh when he noticed the spot on his chest where the twins had given him the henna was burning again. It had taken some time and experimentation to figure out that the burning was meant to warn him of something with ill-intent was approaching him. He looked around the large room casually and saw his fathers talking quietly near a large sarcophagus and another young couple on the other side of the room sketching a large bust of some pharoah. There was a magical presence just around the corner of a hallway near his fathers and he could guess that was the source of the henna's warning. Harry walked as casually as he could manage past his fathers since he didn't want to alarm them, or worse, have them stop him.

Harry turned the corner walking the long way back toward where the man was observing Sirius and Remus through the pottery and stone carvings to better catch whomever was approaching them off guard. No one should expect to be attacked by someone of Harry's age meandering through a museum. Once Harry was sure he was out of sight of his fathers, and he had drawn near to the corner separating him from his assailant Harry drew in a small breath and quickly stepped around the corner. Harry's left hand flashed out and a strong stinging spell slapped across the man's wrist where he was holding his wand. Following the surprise attack with more, Harry kicked out with his right foot, hitting the knee of the younger looking man with bright red hair that had been pulled into a ponytail. A quick grab to around his wrist and a mild fire spell on his hand sent the wand in the assailant's hand falling to the ground and a quick flick of Harry's foot sent it further skittering across the marble floor. Harry's instincts flashed and he slapped away a punch with his right hand before driving his fist into the man's belly and then slamming an elbow under the assailant's chin and pressing into the flesh under his jaw and against his throat. Using an inhibiting spell he learned from the monks in China to hold the red head's body against the wall. Oheo slithered down his bicep to his elbow and hissed at the man, or vibrated he supposed, she was under his skin after all.

The man looked down at the 'hissing' dragon tattoo with big eyes. "Is that a magical dragon tattoo?" He asked unable to move but still able to speak.

"Uh...yeah…" Harry replied, unsure why this guy was more concerned with the dragon on his arm than the elbow at his throat.

"That's so cool. My brother would freak if he saw it!" The man said with a large smile.

"...what?" Harry didn't know what else to say. This was a fight right?

"Logan! What?!" Remus yelled from behind him. "Stop!" Harry released the young man and took several steps back from him.

"Yeah, I don't think Arthur would appreciate us harming his eldest son." Sirius muttered sarcastically. "How are you doing Bill?" He asked the man.

The man stood up and quickly retrieved his wand from the floor. Harry could see now that the man was dressed unlike the locals they saw around town. He wore tight blue jeans paired with a white shirt that had the top few buttons at the top open that showed off several necklaces and a long sleeve jacket tied around his hips.

"Been better." He glanced over to Harry before looking back to Sirius. "I'm quite surprised to see you, Sirius. It's been over a decade since anyone last saw you…" He nodded to Remus. "...or you." He finally turned back to Harry. "I'm gonna guess you're Harry Potter."

"Lucky guess." Harry muttered.

"It wasn't a guess, but thanks anyway mate." Bill smirked at him. "So what's going on here?" Bill drug out his words as he raised his eyebrow at the men his parents knew.

"You're going to have to be a little more specific with that question, Bill." Remus replied coolly. "A lot of things have happened since we last saw you as a little firstie."

Bill looked around the room, seeing that a few more tourists had walked into the museum. He motioned for the three of them to follow him to another area of the building. Harry wasn't going to follow him, this had 'trap' written everywhere, but Remus motioned for him to follow, so Harry did, after he sighed and shrugged.

"This area is off limits to the general public since we're still removing curses from these artifacts. We can speak freely here," Bill sat down on a bench near a large sphinx statue. "I don't know if you've read the final verdict the Ministry gave concerning the death of the Potter's, but I have."

"We have, actually." Remus spoke slowly, trying hard to keep his anger in check at the accusation. "How did you get a hold of it?"

"Dad got a copy from work," Bill smiled like a cat that got the canary. "He let us read it and explained why they were wrong years ago. I didn't fully understand why the government would lie about something like that, but since I've been working with Gringotts as a curse-breaker...well. It makes a lot more sense."

"You're not going to turn me in?" Sirius gritted out. Harry wasn't worried about Bill's answer. He was more than ready to put this guy in the ground if he didn't like his answer.

"No, I'm not gonna do anything like that," Bill waved a dismissive hand. "The Ministry is full of idiots and leeches. No one with half a brain trusts their official statements. That's what father always says."

"Good to know Arthur had our back all these years," Remus let out a breath with most of his fight and worry as well.. "So, how's the family?"

Bill's carefree demeanor changed suddenly. All mirth drained from his face as an invisible force weighed him down and darkened his visage. "I won't lie. It's bad back home."

"What?" Both his fathers replied shocked.

"I'm just finishing up my contract here before going back home," Bill swallowed down his emotions. "They need me."

Remus walked over to Bill and placed a hand on his shoulder. He was good at giving comfort. "What's happening back home?"

Harry watched the three of them talk with one another, but he had a hard time keeping up with the conversation. He didn't want to be rude, but it all involved people he didn't know in a place he had never been. It was important to his fathers, so he kept himself under control while they spoke, but he did allow his attention to wander. There were many artifacts in this room that were teeming with magic. So much so that he could barely tell where one magic stopped and another started. He walked a small ways away from his fathers while they spoke to look at some of the more magically charged items near them. A small bust that looked like the head of a woman sitting next to some jars with heads had some serious protective charms placed on them, some kind of hand mirror was enchanted to change the appearance of the looker, and a few rings that had some nasty hexes that would harm anyone who put them on. Harry would like to examine these objects closer, but he had the feeling that Bill would have something to say about that.

Near the back wall, there was a large set of golden scales with many small hieroglyphics pressed into the base and some figure he could assume was a god perched at the pointed top. He couldn't read the script, but he could feel the huge amount of magic that it was infused with. The thing that confused Harry was that the magic was not offensive, defensive, or even really enchanted. It was almost as if it was made of magic. When Harry walked closer to the scales, he noticed the figure at the top turned it's dog-like head towards him. It's eyes lit up with a bright green light and the wall behind the scales melted away to show another wall that appeared to be covered in full bookshelves that stretched far higher than he was tall.

Harry looked back to where his fathers were and found that they were no longer there. In fact, all the artifacts, except for the scales, were now gone. The room looked a lot like the old library back at the Monastery in China. Bookshelves that went all the way up to the ceiling that were easily twice as high as a standard room and several shelves that came out from the walls to make a maze.

"Hello!" A woman's voice startled him, but he calmed himself when someone came around the corner of one of the many bookshelves. She was a tall, dark skinned woman wearing a thin white dress that was bunched up by a few belts. She looked like one of the many Ancient Egyptian pictures of women around town. This woman was...strikingly beautiful. He did like how her black hair was pulled back into a bun with the bun portion left loose, creating a little puffball on her head. "Always a pleasure to receive one of the deserving." She spoke with a large smile as she approached him. She was much taller than him and both his fathers.

"Deserving?" Harry asked quietly before shaking his head. "No offense, but what's going on here? I was at the museum with my fathers and their friend. Where did I go? Where am I?"

"They are still there. As are you," She spoke serenely, confusing Harry further. "I am Seshat, the guardian of this library."

"Library?" At least that made sense, considering he was nearly drowning in books.

"Yes. This is the Library of Alexandria. You are free to view the books at your leisure. I will be here to answer any questions you may have." Seshat smiled at him, her eyes full of sincerity as she watched him.

"Library of Alexandria? Is that the old library that was destroyed?" Harry remembered reading about ancient treasures that had been lost or destroyed while they traveled to Luxor at Sirius' behest.

Seshat smiled broadly down at him. "It was threatened a long time ago. The magical pantheon came together and used their combined abilities to move it to protect it."

"Moved it? Moved it where, exactly?" He asked as he started to look around. How do you move this many books with… oh magic.

"Neither here nor there. It's the space inbetween," came Seshat's amused reply.

Her words only confused Harry further, so he decided to leave it with the other things that were beyond him. He walked slowly around the library and was overwhelmed by the amount of books contained on the shelves. Sesaht walked not too far behind him as he went. Not imposing or threatening. She was simply there, in the corner of his eye. He saw a book on one of the shelves that had an interesting design on the spine, so he pulled it off and opened it, but found only blank pages.

"Miss Seshat? I'm confused. This book doesn't have anything written in it." He turned the book to show Sesaht as she came closer.

"It has writing. You just don't know what it says," Harry looked at her, the confusion clear on his face. She chuckled softly. "Another safeguard on the library. You can only read the books that contain knowledge you are already aware of. It helps with potential abuse of knowledge."

"What happens when nobody knows about it anymore? Is it lost forever?" He huffed as he thought about already knowing about the subject and the book here being useless to him.

"There are other safeguards in place for those situations. Every eventuality has been accounted for." Seshat's smile never wavered as he waved her hand to indicate the library.

Harry looked at this woman closely, trying to figure her out. "Are you really here or are you just another enchantment?"

"I existed once, but you are correct. I am a type of enchantment, here to care for the Library and its visitors."

Harry nodded and continued on his way. Some of the books he picked up had writing and he wasn't that surprised to find that he could actually read the scripts. With the help of Seshat, he got copies of the books he could read. She assured him they would be in his personal library 'on the other side'. Harry was surprised to find another person in the library when he turned a corner, but as he looked closer he realized this person wasn't solid. He could see the books on the shelves behind him.

"Ah," The person spoke like a sickly old man. His voice wheezed as he spoke, "It's been awhile since the Library had another visitor."

"I had no idea what I was getting into when I approached those scales," Harry muttered.

"Few anymore do," He cackled breathlessly. "What did you come looking for?"

"I didn't come for anything in particular. I wasn't planning on any of this." Harry motioned around him.

"Well, if you ever come back. I may have a job for you." The ghostly figure smiled at him with a broken, gap-tooth grin. "If you're up for it."

"I can certainly keep it in mind. What kind of a job is it?" Harry wasn't sure what kind of a specter this was or if he'd even want to do the job it needed done. He could get the information for it at least and consider it later.

"A fetch mission of sorts," the thing looked Harry up and down before grinning again. "But you're going to be busy with something else very soon. Come back when you're free."

"Alright. What's your name?"

The specter grinned wide again, "Herpo."

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance," Harry nodded to him before moving on.

Harry had no idea how long he spent in the library. Many hours, if not longer. Time felt very different in this place.

"You are ready to leave?" Seshat asked in her melodious voice as he began to wonder how he was to leave.

"Yeah, I think so. Can I come back later?" Harry asked. He would like to come back once he's learned more.

"Of course! The Scales of Anubis have judged you worthy. You may come and go as you please," Seshat placed a hand on his cheek as he leaned in to whisper in his ear. "I look forward to seeing you again."

She brought her hand up to run her fingers through his hair and leaned into him. Her lips delicately parted as she ran her finger down his nose and then suddenly he was back at the museum. He looked back and found his fathers still talking with Bill by the sphinx statue. The figure at the top of the scales was back to its original position. Harry really had no idea what to think about what had just happened to him. One would think he would be used to crazy things happening to him, but it seemed like he hadn't quite reached his limit for insanity. Best not tell his fathers. Their tolerance for this kind of thing was much lower than his own.

"What can we do?" Sirius exclaimed as Harry reentered the conversation. "I'm still wanted by the Ministry."

"I don't know." Remus sighed as he shook his head. "Things have obviously gotten bad back home, but what can a werewolf, a fugitive, and a teenager do?!"

"I don't know Remus, but we've got to do something." Bill stood up with a sigh. "Doing nothing has gotten us here. I'm tired of doing nothing. I'm going back home and to help take care of my family. You should think about doing the same."

"Thanks for the update, Bill." Sirius slapped Bill's shoulder. "We'll get in contact with you if we're in the area, ok?"

Bill nodded to Sirius and said their goodbyes since he still had work to do.

Remus turned to Sirius once Bill disappeared around the corner. "You're not serious about this, are you? We have no idea if the Aurors are still looking for you and Harry."

"We've got to do something. There are still people back home that we care about!" Sirius declared heatedly before taking a breath and calming himself down. "Andromeda and Nymphadora will be in danger." Sirius practically growled. "I can't stand by and let anything happen to the only family I have left. Harry's not a baby anymore so maybe it's time to go back and take care of them?" He trailed off uncertainly as he looked at Harry.

Remus looked down at the floor, no doubt weighing their options. "How about this…" Remus started softly. "We go through Italy and get a feel for the situation?" He looked back up to Sirius. "That's still Europe without boxing ourselves in. We can always come back down to Africa and figure out a Plan B."

Sirius nodded before slowly walking away from them. Whatever they talked about with Bill must have been bad news.

"Looks like you might get to see home, pup." Remus turned to him with a strained smile. "Promise me you won't do anything crazy. At least until we figure out how bad everything is?" He was practically begging Harry.

Harry thought about all the crazy things that had happened to him during their travels. His fathers didn't know about half of the things that had happened to him, even if they did suspect them. He knew there was no way to promise not to do anything crazy. He was a lightning rod for crazy cleverly disguised as a teenage boy.

"I promise." Harry stated firmly. It was a half-truth at best, but it would put his father at ease.

"Thank you." Remus smiled at him and pulled him into a firm hug. "We'll get through this. One way or another."

"No one has cancer dad. It's just another adventure," Harry said into his shoulder with a smile.