7 July 1993, Egypt, Valley of the Kings
An unprepared person cannot be inside one of the Egyptian pyramids for a long time.
Anybody does not know precisely, what occurs so. Either the narrow and dark corridors are to blame for everything, or the stale smell of the shadow and eternity inside the tomb of the ancient king, which is not cleaned to the end by Muggle hoods and spells of the wizards working in the pyramid. Maybe the thing is that even though the eyes can't see it, a man secretly remembers the giant mass of stone that hangs over his head and presses only with his presence. Or maybe people just go on their fantasies and create and feed their fears...
Bill Weasley had never before thought about the reasons for the fear and discomfort that people felt when they entered the tomb of the long-time king. He was proud to have been able to overcome this feeling, but he was not filling his head with philosophical questions. Until he came up with the idea of showing his family where he worked. Of course, he acted out of his best intentions and was sincerely glad that his parents, brothers and beloved little sister would be able to get out of the frozen Nora, get a lot of sunbathing and new impressions. But William was also going to boast of his success. But it all went a little differently than he imagined. And it all began with the news that Ron's best friend, Neville Longbottom, was going to Egypt with the Weasley family...
Bill shook his head, drove away his memories, and bent down to bypass the narrow aisle, entered the spacious central hall, noting to himself that the melodic metal ringing from there immediately stopped.
- Ah, Mr. Weasley," said his manager, Ragnac, welcoming him back to the meditative pours of gold jewelry between his clawed fingers. - I must admit, this time you coped with the opening of the sarcophagus with a great advance schedule. But it seems a little strange to me that you invited not the representatives of the bank to the autopsy, as required by the instructions, but your family ...
- It's my fault," Bill bowed his head a little bit. - But there was no evil intent. The autopsy was due to take place next week. I was just doing a legal tour.
- So what happened? - Ragnarok was interested in looking back at the flooring of the debris and returned to his class.
- As you know from the reports," Bill sighed and started. - All the locking spells were removed from the sarcophagus four days ago. However, his lid was a solid monolith weighing several tons in weight. As usual, I ordered Muggle's equipment for lifting, which was to be delivered and installed on-site. However, an unaccounted-for factor intervened...
- Your relatives, right?
- That's right. Well, younger brother Ronald and his friend Neville. When they heard from me that all they had to do to open the sarcophagus was wait for the lid to rise, they, um.... caught fire and cast a levitation spell of such power that the lid was thrown up like a fluffy!
- I guess then they ran out of strength, and they dropped the lid on the floor and broke it into pieces? - Ragnock's eyebrow curved.
- As if not so! - Bill breathed a sigh of sorrow. - Pharaoh's rest was guarded by stone golems hidden in the walls. They activated and appeared outside after the sarcophagus was opened. Of course, I ordered everyone out of the room immediately so as not to risk their lives. However, the problem was solved in a few seconds. Mr. Longbottom shouted that he would protect his friends with the power of his flaming youth, and while I was trying to figure out what he meant, half of the golems were still cracked into pieces by the same lid.
Bill kicked one of the stone fragments into the wall in a confused manner:
- I understand my guilt, Mr. Ragnak, and I'm ready to take responsibility for what I did...
- Mr. Weasley! - interrupted his goblin. - Where's your little brother and Mr. Longbottom now?
- I sent them on a desert tour," Bill shrugged. - They won't break anything there, and they won't get into any trouble. What's the matter? It's all my fault, and my guests can't be held responsible...
- Please, William, - Ragnar raised his hand with an earring caught on a claw, calling the interlocutor to silence. - I must inform you that the bank in my person intends to offer Mr. Neville Longbottom and Mr. Ronald Weasley the contracts of the spell-breakers. We were impressed by their successes and the shortest time frame in which they were achieved.
- But... - Bill was stunned. - they're still too young...
- I don't think that's enough for their future employment, Mr. Weasley. And I will make every effort to get the contract before the end of this year. And if I can't..." the goblin smiled predatorily, exposing his sharp teeth and showing much higher awareness. - I will try twice as hard and hire them after graduating from Hogwarts.
I went back to pouring gold jewelry, showing that the conversation was over.
To be continued...