Mortie Wimsey, Blaise Zabini and the Sorcerer of Egypt

The students and the teachers of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were having their breakfast in the Great Hall of the Hogwarts Castle, when, as usually, hundreds of owls flew in, bringing correspondence to the wizards and the witches. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Mortie Wimsey and Blaise Zabini were reading their letters lazily, when they heard that at the High Table their Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Remus Lupin, exclaimed:

'What! Look, Albus, Hassan al-Hardun, the descendant of the famous Dark wizard Gamal Ibn Faris, kidnapped Mr. Weasley, who is a curse-breaker of Gringotts Bank in Egypt! That's Bill Weasley, young Ron's elder brother, isn't he?'

'Indeed,' Professor Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster, said.

'They require my help,' Professor Lupin said.

'Go Remus,' Professor Dumbledore said.

'But first we have to tell young Mr. Weasley,' Professor Lupin said. 'He has to know - it's his brother, after all.'

'I think he heard it already, Remus,' Professor Dumbledore said. 'You weren't exactly whispering. But I have to make an announcement, so that everyone knows.'

He rose and cleared his throat. Silence fell.

'Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. William Weasley, of the Gringotts Bank was kidnapped by a Dark wizard, so Professor Lupin has to go and to reclaim him. Owing to this, the Defense against the Dark Arts classes will be cancelled till Professor Lupin returns. My condolences to Mr. Ronald Weasley, the kidnapped young man's brother.'

'Er, sorry, Professor,' Blaise Zabini said. 'Did I hear that the Dark wizard is descended from Gamal Ibn Faris?'

'Yes, Mr. Zabini.' Professor Dumbledore said. "Why?'

'You see, Professor, we know a person who would be glad to assist this operation,' Blaise said. 'A very powerful one.'

'And who might this be, Mr. Zabini?' Professor Dumbledore asked.

'Er, it is Zinat al-Maljidi, Professor,' Blaise owned.

'Zinat al-Maljidi?' Professor Lupin said. 'How do you know her? She was missing more than a thousand years, and she suddenly reappeared this year. No one knows where she has been.'

'Er, she was imprisoned in a great sapphire guarded by a siren snake in a cave near this castle,' Blaise said. 'Mortie Wimsey and me were strolling one day and saw a blue light coming from that cave. We looked inside and saw the siren snake. I distracted her by talking, and Wimsey cast the Full Body-Bind on her. We passed the snake and saw it was a great sapphire that was giving that light. Then we heard a voice from inside the sapphire, a female voice. It was Princess Zinat. The sapphire had the Solomon's Seal engraved on it, so she asked us to turn the sapphire so she could leave it. We did so, and she went out. She told us her name and who put her in the sapphire. It was Gamal Ibn Faris. And we told her our names. She asked what we wished, but we reserved our wish for later. She then went to her people. That's all.'

'And you never told anyone about it?' Professor Lupin said.

'Well, Harry knows, so do Ron and Hermione,' Blaise said. 'But nobody else, yes. I'm not a boaster, Professor.'

'And neither am I,' Mortie Wimsey added.

'Well!' Professor Lupin said. 'Do you know that Princess Zinat of the Banu Maljid is the most powerful of her kind?'

'Yes Professor,' Blaise said. 'That's why I spoke up. I looked her name in the Library after that accident.'

'This is a very gratifying coincidence,' Professor Lupin said. 'It looks like you are on it, too, Mr. Zabini and Lord Saint George.'

'We will be happy to help, Professor,' Blaise and Mortie said.

'We will recover Bill, Ron,' Blaise said. 'Don't worry.'

'Thank you, Blay,' Ron said. 'I won't.'

'Well, Mortie, Blaise, come with me,' Professor Lupin said.

'Yes Professor,' Blaise and Mortie answered.

Blaise and Mortie followed Professor Lupin to his quarters. When they were there, Professor Lupin said:

'We will now Floo into Bayt al-Hikmah,' You know what is it?'

'Yes Professor Lupin,' Blaise said. 'The Arabic school of magic.'

'Correct,' Professor Lupin said. 'The Headmistress of Bayt al-Hikmah will meet us, and we will proceed further.'

He took a pinch of the magic Floo powder, threw it in the fireplace and said: 'Bayt al-Hikmah!'

He stepped into the fireplace. Blaise and Mortie followed him. They felt the usual dizziness, and then they found themselves in an unfamiliar place. They were in a large room with its walls covered in glazed tiles with a pattern of flowers - roses and tulips, a bright carpet with intricate ornament in gold and red and long pile, some chests along the walls, an arched window and a desk of Oriental fashion near it, with some books, papyri, an inkpot and a reed pen on it. A tall woman with fine chiseled forms, deep black eyes on her noble face, raven hair in a braid with a dark blue ribbon under a long white veil, loose burgundy robes falling from her shoulders, stood before the fire, waiting for them. She looked at them and said:

'You must be Professor Remus Lupin. And who are your companions? I didn't expect you not to be alone.'

'Yes, I am Remus Lupin,' Professor Lupin bowed. 'These are Mr. Blaise Zabini, the Slytherin prefect, and Mortimer Wimsey, the Viscount Saint George, from Gryffindor. It turned out to be they will be great help to us. And you are Professor Farida Fasil, the Headmistress of this school?'

'Yes,' Professor Fasil said. Blaise and Mortie bowed. Professor Fasil looked at the young, pale teacher with brown hair stroked with gray and in gray battered robes, then at the two students - the sixteen-year-old one, short and slender, with olive skin, black curly hair and black eyes, with the badge bearing the letter P oh his black robes and green and white striped scarf around his neck, and the twelve-year-old, also short and lean, but with straw-colored hair and large gray eyes, with long nose on his long lean face, also in black robes, but with a red and yellow striped scarf around his neck. A second-year and a sixth-year, she thought. Was the senior one Italian, French or Maltese? The junior definitely was English. But their teacher - he was so pale, was he ill?

'Pleased to meet you,' Professor Lupin, Blaise and Mortie said.

'Pleased to meet you too,' Professor Fasil said.

'One of my ancestors was a teacher here,' Blaise said. 'He was rather famous - Alim Ibn Najib, he was called.'

'Alim Ibn Najib? One of the best Potions masters in this school?' Professor Fasil said. 'His granddaughter Madina married a wizard called Rinaldo Zabini, I know.'

'From Corsica. My ancestor,' Blaise nodded. 'I'm from Ajaccio.'

'Potions is one of Blaise's fortes,' Professor Lupin said. 'Others are Care of the Magical Creatures and Herbology. But Blaise is good at all subjects, except Charms. Though in crucial moments he can perform charms well enough. Now Mortie's strongest point is Charms, and his worst performance is in Transfiguration.'

'Alas,' Mortie smiled an engaging smile.

'Yes, Mr. Zabini and Lord Saint George are very talented,' Professor Lupin said. 'This is the reason they are here. You see, it seems they once went for a walk around the grounds of the school, and saw a blue light coming from a cave. They looked in and saw a siren snake. The source of light was behind it. And then Mr. Zabini distracted the snake by talking, and Lord Saint George cast the Full Body-Bind on it. They then saw the source of the light. It was a great sapphire, and then a voice spoke inside it and asked them to turn the stone the Solomon's Seal down and let her out. They did, and she got out. She was Zinat al-Maljidi.'

'The Princess of Banu Maljid?' Professor Fasil asked. 'The most powerful of the jinn of the world? The one who disappeared a thousand years ago and reappeared suddenly this year?'

'Yes,' Professor Lupin said. 'It seems Gamal Ibn Faris put her in that stone. And she was very thankful to Mr. Zabini and Lord Saint George, asked what she could do for them, but they reserved their wishes for later, Professor.'

'Well!' Professor Fasil said. 'Wait, you said he distracted it 'by talking'? A snake? Does it mean...'

'That I'm a Parselmouth?' Blaise cast his eyes down modestly. 'That's right, Professor Fasil. But without Wimsey, I wouldn't succeed. I'm a very weak Enchanter.'

'I thought the only Parselmouth in Hogwarts was...'

'My friend Harry?' Blaise said. 'Well, he isn't. I'm the second.'

'Well, Professor Lupin was right in bringing you,' Professor Fasil said. 'Please follow me.'

Professor Lupin, Mortie and Blaise followed her.