Dawn soon realized that, contrary to the hesitant personality he had imagined, Harris was actually quite a man of action.
The day after he decided to visit Tutankhamun's tomb, Harris began going out early and returning late, buying all sorts of supplies.
In the somewhat cluttered living room, Dawn curiously picked up a bottle of milky white potion. The liquid inside was thick and viscous, bubbling constantly.
"What's this?"
"A magic revealing agent," Harris replied, glancing up in the middle of his busy work.
"It stains places imbued with magic purple. It can sometimes help tomb raiders avoid curses. And in some cases, it can even reveal hidden passages concealed by magic."
"Wow, that convenient?" Dawn raised his eyebrows in surprise.
He gently shook the bottle, watching the milky liquid stick to the glass wall and slowly slide down.
"But if something like this exists, then why are there still undiscovered chambers in the pyramids after thousands of years?"
"Because it's not as useful as you think."
Harris pulled out the rest of the items he had bought and began inspecting their quality one by one as he explained,
"While it can reveal traces of magic, whether those traces belong to a secret passage, a curse, or simply some decorative magical residue still has to be judged up close.
"And once you enter the pyramid, you'll understand why curse-breaking has flourished in Egypt for centuries—because the number of curses in there is simply endless!"
As he spoke, Harris suddenly paused. He picked up a bottle of pale red potion, examined it carefully, and then angrily threw it to the other end of the table.
"Damn swindlers! They even faked a bottle of Luminescent Potion for me!"
Dawn picked up the discarded bottle and examined it. "Hmm… tap water with sneezewort juice? You actually bought this by mistake?"
"…Who would've thought they'd fake something that costs less than one Daben to make?" Harris muttered with a helpless look.
He snorted, accepting his misfortune without going back to the vendor. After all, there was no such thing as after-sales service here.
Dawn chuckled and put the fake potion back on the table, steering the conversation back on track.
"If the curses inside Egypt's pyramids are really as numerous as you say, then why has the Muggle world, after all these years of research, only heard of a handful of curse legends?"
"Because most of the curses are inside hidden chambers, which they can't access."
"They can't access them? You mean Muggle-Repelling Charms?" Dawn raised an eyebrow. "But those were only developed in modern times, weren't they?"
"No, not Muggle-Repelling Charms," Harris shook his head.
"The ancient Egyptians used magical sensory wards to separate Muggles.
Anyone without magical power simply couldn't find the real burial chambers or hidden passages, so they never encountered the dangerous curses."
He spoke while stuffing a compass-like instrument into his magically extended backpack.
.....
It was clear to the eye—Harris had truly been busy these past few days.
But that wasn't going to stop Dawn from squeezing value out of him.
On Dawn's third day in Luxor, he forcefully demanded that Harris take a day off to accompany him in practicing Apparition.
Unable to resist, Harris postponed his trip by a day.
Apparition…
It was a spell Hogwarts students only began to learn in their sixth year, and one needed to pass an exam to receive a license.
Dawn believed that, compared to other spells that emphasized incantations and gestures, Apparition best reflected the idealistic nature of magic.
The three key principles of Apparition were: Destination, Determination, and Deliberation.
One had to clearly imagine the target location, firmly believe they would arrive there, and maintain calm and smooth actions during the spell.
In terms of sheer belief in the idealism of magic, Dawn considered himself superior to most others.
And indeed, he was.
On his very first attempt, he chose a wooden ring ten meters away as his target.
The movement was perfectly smooth, and he landed inside the ring without the slightest deviation—not even a single hair was left behind.
That wasn't to say everything went without incident, though.
Toward the end of the practice session, Dawn grew curious. He wondered whether Apparition altered his own body's structure or the natural environment's.
That brief moment of distraction caused his newly manifested body to appear… missing half an arm.
Apparition mishaps resulting in Splinching were quite peculiar—though the limb was severed, no blood came from the cut, and he could still feel his fingers.
Of course, if the limb wasn't reattached quickly, this miraculous connection would vanish entirely.
Harris carefully lined up the detached half of Dawn's arm and reattached it with a simple spell. After a brief hesitation, he said,
"Before we head to the tomb, I want to send William back to England so my father can look after him."
"No."
Dawn flexed his newly restored arm, rejecting him without even looking up.
"William knows my identity too. If you want him to go back to England, he'll have to make an Unbreakable Vow as well."
He glanced at William, who was sitting still on the steps, and shrugged.
"Besides, judging by that kid's wooden expression, he doesn't exactly look like someone capable of completing the ritual."
It was a lofty excuse.
The real reason, of course, was different.
Dawn planned to begin studying blood curses once Harris entered Tutankhamun's tomb.
So naturally, he couldn't let William leave his side at such a critical moment.
Harris was filled with frustration, but bound by the Unbreakable Vow, there was nothing he could do but accept his passive position.
"Leave him at home, Mr. Carter. I'm not going to harm him," Dawn said, ending their practice.
He picked up a glass of iced water, downed it, and wiped his mouth. "After all, I'm still counting on you to bring me back that scarab beetle. Why would I do anything to upset you?"
"Hah!"
Harris let out a cold laugh. Thinking about the curse on him and how uncertain his future was, he snapped back, "Only beggars sit and reap the rewards of others' labor!"
"Capitalists do too," Dawn replied carelessly with a grin.
"So to make sure you keep working for me instead of perishing with me, of course I'll take good care of your weak spot."
Harris was left speechless for a moment.
He took a deep breath and briefly considered whether he could summon his father to Egypt.
But after a glance at Dawn, he realized that would be like throwing his father into a fire pit.
So the matter of leaving William at home was silently settled between them.
The next day, Harris continued shopping for supplies near the Valley of the Kings, and Dawn tagged along.
Aside from being curious about how this place differed from the pyramids of Khufu, he was also scouting the area in advance—seeing which local wizards would be the easiest to capture and use as experimental material.
One notable event took place inside a store that specialized in contraband: Dawn shamelessly extorted Harris, forcing him to buy a large bottle of Polyjuice Potion and several small vials of Veritaserum for him.
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