Chapter 332: Invitation
Chapter 332: Invitation
It was now August, and Felix had expected to stay in Diagon Alley until the start of the Quidditch World Cup. However, this changed when he received a letter from student Crema Vera.
'Dear Professor Hep,
I am still working at Gringotts in Egypt. Apart from the somewhat eerie and damp working environment, everything is fine here.
I have met many friendly colleagues. One of them, Bill Weasley, a senior, took me under his wing. When I mentioned you to him, I was surprised to find out that he actually knows you and even entered Hogwarts in the same year as you! I couldn't wait to ask him more about you, and his description was quite unexpected. He called you a "wandering sphinx" because, in the few times you spoke, you politely asked him very profound questions about Ancient Runes and magical theories, which he couldn't answer. This made him a bit embarrassed and hurt his pride (Bill is a very funny and humorous senior, and he was laughing when he told me this), even though you didn't even take Ancient Runes.
I have also made some local friends, who are from the mysterious Wagadu. It is a massive magical school with over five thousand students! It's hard to imagine so many people in one class, but they told me that Wagadu accepts students from all across Africa...
I am currently facing a challenge. After exploring the lowest level of an Egyptian pyramid, we unexpectedly discovered a passage leading to a deeper chamber. It is a long, winding corridor shrouded in thick black mist, filled with various dangerous magical traps. We hadn't even finished exploring the corridor when one of my colleagues was hit by seven or eight curses, and we had to evacuate urgently.
The colleague was taken to the hospital, but he brought back a stone slab from the corridor wall. The slab was inscribed with Ancient Runes, which I had never seen before, and even my grandfather couldn't decipher or translate them. They seem to be from a much older era.
I strongly suspect that these are practical Ancient Runes (I have included a sketch with the letter). I urgently hope for your guidance. If you could come, it would be even better.
Your student, Crema Vera.'
"Tsk! A wandering sphinx..."
Felix put the letter aside and looked at the Egyptian Sacred Ibis beside him. It was a large bird, over half a meter tall, with a white body and black-tipped wings and tail feathers. It was huddled to one side, acting as a mail owl, pecking at small cookies in a dish.
The bird's head and neck were black and bald, and its long, downward-curving beak resembled a black scythe.
Its legs were long and sturdy. Seeing Felix looking at it, the bird kicked over a tightly wrapped package with its foot. Felix opened it to find a square parchment, about three feet on each side, containing the sketches of the stone slab mentioned in Crema Vera's letter.
He carefully examined the sketches and immediately recognized the true nature of the symbols. They were indeed Ancient Runes, and more specifically, a fragment of a Runic Script sequence from some Ancient Magic. When he tried to trace the incomplete pattern, black lightning arcs danced in the air.
Felix reread Crema Vera's letter and felt a sense of contradiction. The owner of the chamber had boldly displayed stone slabs inscribed with the secrets of Ancient Magic in the corridor, suggesting a generous nature. However, the black mist and curses contradicted this notion.
He did not hastily label the owner as a Dark Wizard, as the definition of a Dark Wizard has varied across different eras. In ancient wizarding societies, those called Dark Wizards were extremely evil, far beyond what is considered dark today.
"A powerful ancient wizard sneaked into the pyramid, created a hidden chamber for themselves, and set up complex curses... Could this be a demanding form of inheritance? And the black mist and curses are tests for intruders?"
Or, perhaps it was a way to punish unexpected intruders by exploiting human greed?
Felix wrote a reply, attaching all the information, including his own speculations. He also expressed his gratitude for Vera's invitation and, on a whim, asked if he could bring a student. His assistant had already mastered a significant amount of Ancient Runes knowledge over the past two years, and it was time for some practical experience.
A few days later, Crema Vera's reply arrived, welcoming both Felix and the student. The letter included a formal invitation from Gringotts, with two spaces for names. One was already filled with "Felix Hep", and the other was blank.
Only those holding this invitation would be allowed to explore inside the pyramid.
Felix smiled and filled in "Hermione Granger" in the blank space.
The next morning, Hermione arrived at Diagon Alley's Future World Company, her excitement barely contained as she curiously examined everything. Just the day before, Professor had sent her a letter explaining the situation and inviting her to explore the pyramids of Egypt! She had always wanted to go, even though Professor told her they would mostly stay in the background, there would still be opportunities to safely get close to the magical relics from thousands of years ago.
"Professor Lupin!" Hermione was surprised to see Lupin's figure. "What are you doing here?"
Lupin smiled, "One has to find a job, you know." He led Hermione upstairs, giving her a brief introduction to the company as they went. The employees they encountered along the way all greeted Lupin warmly. Soon, they arrived at an office on the fifth floor.
Felix was sitting in a chair, intently staring at his palm, where a black lightning bolt was swirling. Seeing Lupin and Hermione enter, he dispelled the magic and smiled.
"Remus, I might have to leave for a few days."
Lupin shook his head and sighed, "Will you be going to France when you return?"
Felix joked, "Remus, do you have a talent for prophecy?"
...
"Professor, are you studying magic lamps?" Hermione asked. When she arrived, she saw various magical creatures, each topped with a glowing magic orb, similar to the Ancient Magic spell Luminos she had learned.
Felix smiled, "The research is already complete. They are preparing for the Quidditch World Cup, a large lantern exhibition."
"Lantern exhibition..." Hermione imagined the scene, her excitement growing.
"Alright, we're a bit pressed for time today. When we return from Egypt, you can stay here and explore more", Felix said. He was very much looking forward to Hermione continuing her research on Ancient Runes after graduating from Hogwarts. Her current level already surpassed all the employees at Future World.
And she still had four more years until graduation.
...
Egypt, Nile Valley.
Felix and Hermione walked through the streets of Cairo, taking in the exotic atmosphere. A man with a thick accent asked if they needed a camel, but they declined. Hermione watched the oddly shaped camel walk away, reluctantly feeding it a handful of dry grass before it left.
"Right, we need to meet your senior. She's probably been waiting", Felix said, adding, "Maybe we'll have a chance to ride a camel later? I remember the pyramids are in the desert..."
In a tavern in the city, Felix and Hermione met Crema Vera. She wore a wide-brimmed hat with a transparent scarf hanging down. When she lifted the curtain, they saw her skin tanned to a deep brown, and she was beaming at them.
(End of Chapter)
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