When Muggles weren't looking, Stephen performed Apparition several times. Even so, wary of getting lost or missing his target, he used the spell sparingly. His progress was slow, and it was nearly sunset by the time he reached his destination.
All around him stretched endless yellow sand and rolling dunes—not a single cactus or scrap of green in sight. Still, the map in his hand insisted: this was the place.
He drew his wand, murmured a complex incantation, and traced a pattern through the air, the tip finally pointing skyward. At once, like a mirage shimmering into focus, a towering, cone-shaped structure appeared before him.
A pyramid.
But not just any pyramid—a pyramid only a wizard could discover.
Nearby stood a cluster of low, temporary shacks, clearly meant for workers or perhaps residents. But now, the entire site was deserted.
Once, Bill Weasley and his Gringotts colleagues—along with a pack of treasure-hunting Nifflers—had worked here. They'd even witnessed a blinding white light shoot straight up from the heart of the pyramid. (Note: Nifflers are magical creatures obsessed with shiny things, especially gold.)
After that day, Gringotts had sealed off the site, forbidding anyone from approaching.
But now, an unexpected visitor had arrived…
Surveying the scene, Stephen nodded in satisfaction. After a brief pause, he strode toward the pyramid.
When he emerged again, it was already dawn.
Standing outside, he stretched his arms toward the rising sun, a contented smile tugging at his lips. In a low voice, he murmured, "This feeling… it's wonderful."
So, where to next?
He gazed across the endless dunes, waved his wand, and vanished with a crack.
Behind him, the pyramid shimmered and faded, swallowed by the desert as if it had never existed.
…
…
Cairo, Gringotts, Curse-Breakers' Office.
To call it an office was generous—"workshop" was closer to the mark. The spacious room was cluttered with all manner of ancient artifacts, each one radiating an air of mystery and age.
"Bill, I really envy you—another summer trip back to England!" grumbled a bearded, rugged-looking wizard.
"Haha, what can I do? The boss put me in charge of escorting Adam to England for school. I suppose I'll just have to suffer through the long journey," Bill replied, not bothering to hide his smugness.
There was no denying it—being a Gringotts Curse-Breaker was a grueling job, rarely affording the chance to go home. Bill had only arrived in Egypt last year, and that summer he'd returned to England to oversee a shipment of curse-broken treasures. This year, he was going back again—this time to take Adam to school.
No wonder his colleagues were jealous.
Adam, for the record, was a Muggle-born young wizard from Cairo. Bill had been the first to recognize his magical talent. Afterward, Gringotts, eager to win favor in the local wizarding community, had made Adam a priority—helping him learn about the magical world and, through a web of connections, securing him a place at Hogwarts.
After all, Hogwarts was the best wizarding school in the world—or so Bill insisted. To study there was a stroke of tremendous luck.
To ensure everything went smoothly, Gringotts' Cairo branch had decided to assign a capable young wizard to accompany Adam to England and see him safely onto the Hogwarts Express on September 1st.
Naturally, the task fell to Bill, who had grown closest to Adam.
Today was meant to be their departure day.
…
"Bill, my mum's sick again. I need to take her to the doctor. We'll have to leave another day…" In a modest Egyptian home, a thin boy spoke with a mixture of helplessness and sorrow.
This was Adam Quinn, the boy Bill was meant to escort to England.
"Oh? Aisha's ill again? Is it serious? Want me to come with you?" Bill asked, genuinely concerned.
"No, it's alright. I can handle it," Adam replied with a faint smile.
That smile reassured Bill, who nodded. "Alright, then. Take care of your mum first. Once she's better, we'll set off."
"Thank you, Bill," Adam said quietly.
"No need to thank me. I promised I'd help you," Bill replied, giving the boy's shoulder a gentle squeeze.
After Bill left, Adam slipped into the back room, where a woman in her thirties sat in a wheelchair.
When she saw the boy enter, terror flashed in her eyes.
"Uh… uh… uh—"
Her throat worked frantically, but she couldn't form a single clear word.
"My dear mother, I'd planned to leave today—so you wouldn't have to be afraid of seeing me anymore. But it seems someone's gone somewhere they shouldn't, and I need to check it out. Be patient just a little longer. Soon, I'll be off to the greatest wizarding school in the world."
As he spoke, Adam picked up a clean towel with his gloved hand and gently wiped away the drool from the woman's chin. Throughout the process, her body trembled uncontrollably.
By the end, tears streamed silently down her cheeks.
"Woo… woo…" she whimpered, the sound thick with pain and sorrow.
…
Once his mother was asleep, Adam slipped out of the house.
Moments later, his silhouette flickered in the desert.
Then, just as quickly, he appeared at the foot of a pyramid—beside it, the same temporary shacks.
He entered the pyramid and made his way to a stone hall within.
At the center of the hall lay an Egyptian-style, human-shaped stone sarcophagus. The lid had been shoved aside, revealing a mummy swathed in thick linen.
Adam approached, curiosity shining in his eyes.
Suddenly, it was as if some unknowable voice echoed through the chamber.
He listened intently, then nodded. "Oh, so you're a descendant of the Executor."
A pause. He listened again, then shook his head. "Sorry, I can't wake you up right now… but I can give you a little help. The rest—you'll have to manage on your own."
With that, he removed his woolen gloves, stood on tiptoe, and pressed his hand to the mummy's forehead.
On the back of his hand was a scar—a scar shaped like a circle and a lightning bolt.
——Dimensional Wall——
(A bit of patchwork for previous plot threads—Swinton's background, the awakening of the Egyptian boy. This is an original storyline by the author, but it won't be expanded much for now.)
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