Luxor, once called the City of a Hundred Gates, was the political and religious center of ancient Egypt during its peak, a place with a history spanning nearly four thousand years.
It lay 670 kilometers away from Cairo, a drive of roughly seven hours. But with Apparition, the journey took less than five minutes.
Pop!
With a sharp, piercing crack, Dawn clutched his stomach, forcing down the sour taste that surged up his throat.
His face turned pale. It was his first time trying Apparition, and even though he had mentally prepared himself, he almost couldn't hold back the urge to vomit.
However, compared to Harris, who had started retching the moment they landed, Dawn's condition was much better.
"Damn it!"
Dawn suddenly felt a chill of fear. "With a reaction like that… don't tell me you never got your Apparition license?"
Harris nodded.
Dawn's face instantly darkened.
If he died in some bizarre accident because of a botched Apparition, he'd definitely end up as a featured case in [A Wizard's Stupid Ways to Die].
"…Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"People's bodies react differently. Even the Pharaohs in Egypt feared frogs…
I didn't get my license because I'm more sensitive to Apparition than most, not because I can't do it," Harris argued weakly, pale-faced, bracing himself against the wall.
Perhaps because Dawn still looked like an eleven-year-old, Harris subconsciously relaxed a little, despite his wariness.
Forget it.
Dawn wiped the corner of his mouth, glanced at William—who was curled up by his feet—and waved Harris away. "Take your son to wash up. Just look at the state he's in."
He couldn't help but find the father-son relationships in the wizarding world fascinating.
Wizards could love their children deeply, yet subconsciously they didn't treat the effects of magic as real dangers.
Like Harris, who had Apparated while holding William.
.....
The house was three stories tall, located beside the Nile River. From the rooftop, one could see the line of ancient temples across the river.
Harris carried William and opened the front door.
"By the way, Mr. Carter," Dawn said as he followed behind, "I want to learn Apparition tomorrow. If I get splinched, please help piece me back together."
Harris wasn't exactly reliable, but under the binding of an Unbreakable Vow, he could be trusted.
"Alright," Harris agreed without hesitation. He didn't bother with the usual warnings about age and danger.
He first took William to the bathroom, washed him clean, then sat him on the couch with the television on. Afterwards, he found Dawn wandering around the house.
"Want something to drink?"
"Anything's fine."
"Ice water?"
"Sure."
A brief exchange.
After a moment of hesitation, Harris glanced at Dawn. "About what you said earlier… the method to extend the blood curse's activation time…"
"It's called the Flesh-Splitting Curse," Dawn said, pulling out a sheet of paper and writing the incantation on the table. "Like I explained, it works by expanding flesh and blood to increase your total magical power."
He handed the paper to Harris.
Harris accepted it, thought for a moment, then asked something that genuinely surprised Dawn:
"Why did you say the more magical power one has, the stronger their resistance to the blood curse?"
He looked confused.
"A young wizard's magic deepens as they grow, but the frequency of blood curse attacks also increases as they age. Doesn't that mean the less magic you have, the fewer attacks occur?"
"Well…"
Dawn hesitated. He didn't quite know how to explain it.
To someone unaware of natural magic, Harris's reasoning did seem correct.
Dawn rubbed his index finger thoughtfully. "Do you believe in the existence of natural magic?"
"Natural magic?"
"Magic that exists in all things in the world."
Harris frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Simply put, besides wizards and magical creatures, the world itself contains magic."
Dawn clicked his tongue lightly and continued, "The blood curse's repeated attacks and struggles are actually the natural magic trying to turn the cursed into beasts, while their own magic resists it through willpower."
He explained as simply as he could.
But clearly, for a wizard who couldn't directly perceive natural magic, this was a difficult concept to accept.
"…Are you serious?" Harris looked at the paper in his hand. "If everything in the world has magic, why do Muggles exist?"
…Huh. That was actually an interesting angle.
If Muggles contained natural magic too, didn't that mean they had the potential to become wizards?
Dawn stroked his chin thoughtfully. At the end of the day, how was magic produced in the first place?
Seeing Dawn's distracted expression, Harris grew more skeptical. "I'll… think about it," he said, clearly unconvinced.
"Suit yourself," Dawn shrugged, not forcing the issue.
He did want to run some experiments on William, but that could wait until the curse was resolved.
However, there was one thing he couldn't miss.
Dawn tapped the table, snapping Harris out of his thoughts. "Which room is William staying in?"
"Second floor, left side. Why?"
Dawn looked at the chubby boy watching TV obediently on the couch. "I want to stay with him."
"What?"
Harris froze, blinking in disbelief.
"Why?" he asked instinctively, his mind immediately flooded with all kinds of scandalous associations—Edward II, Oscar Wilde, Roman bishops…
Some of Britain's less savory traditions flashed through his mind, and his face went stiff.
"Stop looking at me like that," Dawn snapped, frowning.
He knew exactly what Harris was thinking. He just didn't want to miss the next occurrence of the blood curse.
"I don't agree!"
Harris slammed the table and shot up, panicked. "William's just a child! You can't—"
"Shut up!" Dawn cut him off sharply. "My orientation is perfectly normal! I'm just curious about the blood curse's activation process! And I'm a child too, for god's sake!"
Harris still looked doubtful.
Curious about the blood curse? That was the lamest excuse he'd ever heard. What was so fascinating about turning into a donkey?
Dawn couldn't be bothered to argue anymore. He ended the conversation coldly. "Tell me where you keep your books."
Harris wanted to stay silent in protest, but as the magical heat flared on his wrist, he felt that familiar helpless frustration and finally gave in.
"In the basement. There's a hidden entrance under the rug in the middle of the living room."
Dawn snorted and walked over, ignoring Harris's wary gaze. He lifted the rug to reveal a trapdoor blending in with the floorboards. With a Levitation Charm, he pulled it open.
Creak—
The sound of iron scraping was sharp and grating.
Beneath the trapdoor, a staircase sloped downward.
°Lumos°
Dawn cast a lighting spell to illuminate the way.
He waved the dust away with a hand and descended the steps. After a dozen or so steps, he entered a small underground library.
The basement was modest, about fifty square meters, but shelves packed with hundreds of books filled the space.
A quick glance told him that while most of the books were in Egyptian, there were quite a few in English as well.
Titles like:
[The Imagination of Worms]
[Curses and Counter-Curses: The Art of Self-Defense]
[Confessions of the Cursed: From Health to Collapse]
Dawn's eyes stopped on a book titled "Collected Curses and Their Remedies."
He pulled it off the shelf, skimmed through it, and decided to start with this one. However, since there was no table in the basement, he headed back up the stairs.
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