The Wand and The Scepter

Chapter Twenty-One - The Temple of Anubis

Albion took full control over the team at this point. Once the threat had been eliminated, Rowan relinquished command and let the archaeologist do his job.

The first order of business was to undo as much of the restoration work as they could. This proved difficult, as the repairs were so complete it was hard to tell what each building looked like before they were rebuilt. In the end, they chose to remove the thatched roofs, break up the wall as Albion remembered it looking, and breaking down some of the buildings. The palace was restored to most of its prior glory, allowing the second floor to remain in ruin.

The Disciples of Horus agreed to assist in the work, since they, too, cared about the site, and wanted to fix the damage they caused. The team scrounged clothes with which to replace the outfits that Anubis forced upon them. The endeavor took time, but wasn't difficult, as Ministry agents were all trained to restore things to they way Muggles expected them. Perri enjoyed watching the camaraderie that sprung up between her team and the Disciples of Horus.

Arati recovered during this time. Rowan healed the wounds expertly, but she lost a lot of blood, which only time could heal. Perhaps, if they had access to a proper house of healing, they would have been able to speed up that process, but in the wilds of the Sahara, the young Auror had to rely on her own recuperative powers.

Still, Arati felt better quickly and joined her companions on the third night after the defeat of Anubis as they sat around the bonfire. Rowan frowned and tried to force the witch to return to her bed, but she would have none of it and demanded to hear all the stories of the battle from as many people as was willing to tell it.

She walked slowly, clearly in pain from her injuries, and settled herself with some effort. She stubbornly refused all offers of help, and everyone held their breath as she lowered herself onto a chair Eudo summoned for her.

"I knew you had it in you," Arati said to Perri after she heard Thaddeus recount of how Perri had stood up to Anubis to buy him time. "You understood the situation more clearly than the rest of us did."

Perri scoffed at that. "Only because they abducted me and told me their plans."

"And yet you got the better of him. Over and over again. I must say, you've missed your calling. Improve your nonverbal spells, and you would make a cracking good Auror!"

"Oh, my! No, I am certainly not the Auror type."

"What about your search for adventure?" said Thaddeus. "You told me before we set out on this mission that you were longing for it."

"Oh, the occasional adventure would be wonderful. But I don't want to spend my days fighting evildoers. That would spoil the fun of it."

Everyone laughed.

"Mr. al-Moussa," said Rowan to the leader of the Disciples of Horus. The Egyptian wizards joined them by the bonfire and enjoyed the hospitality of the Ministry team. "I hope you and your people are coming along fine. Prolonged exposure to the Imperius Curse can be hard to recover from."

"My people are recovering well, sir. I will thank you again for your assistance, Mr. Ilver."

Perri smiled at the man. "So, you've decided to trust us Ministry people after all. I'm glad."

"We have nothing to fear from the people in this team. You have proven yourselves to be honorable. The rest of your Ministry... well, I suppose we shall see in time."

"So, Albion, what comes next," said Eudo. "The place is back in its ruined state, and we've found the artifact. What is left to do here?"

"We must search the site for other magical artifacts and clues to the existence of the Wizarding world."