Chapter Text
Harry and Draco took a taxi to the university and wandered the grounds for a bit before their appointment at the Ethnological Museum. The gardens and fountains on the grounds were beautiful and well maintained. The students who milled about were smartly dressed, which cheered Draco greatly. More than once, he suggested that Harry should learn some fashion sense from them. In response, Harry suggested that Draco find himself an Ethiopian girlfriend, which earned him a barb about Ginny.
They found some students who agreed to lead them to the museum in exchange for practicing their English. Harry enjoyed asking questions about the city and what education was like in Ethiopia. One student, Ajani, informed Harry, "I have an aunt in Bahar Dar, my mother's sister. You should look her up if you visit." Ajani wrote her contact information in Harry's notebook.
When they reached the museum, Draco darted indoors, citing susceptibility to heat and the ubiquitous dust that made everything outside appear dingy. At nine o'clock, they checked in for their appointment. The man at the information desk told them that Mr Alemayehu was not in yet, but would arrive shortly. They sat to wait and Draco proceeded to ask every five minutes when the folklorist would be in. Harry spent the time skimming the texts they had borrowed from the National Museum.
At ten o'clock, the harried desk attendant suggested with some exasperation that they explore the museum until Mr Alemayehu arrived. Draco reluctantly allowed Harry to drag him off to an exhibit about ceremonial music. Harry enjoyed looking at the instruments, especially the stringed ones, and listening to the samples of music that the museum supplied. Draco followed reluctantly and did his best to ignore both Harry and the other patrons.
Harry's favorite instrument was the begena. It appealed to him for two reasons: first, it sounded pretty and second, it was said to be Biblical in origin. When he mentioned that to Draco, Draco said, "So what? It was supposed to belong to someone named David, who is neither Elias nor Ibrahim."
The most confusing instrument for Harry was the masenko. According to the description, it was quite popular, but a fiddle with only one string and a bow to play it made no sense to Harry and the music samples did not sound very good, either.
From the music exhibit, they wound their way through stone carvings, lifestyles, and ceremonies. Draco stopped abruptly before one exhibit, a series of photographs from Lake Tana. Harry stopped beside him. "What did you find?"
"Maybe nothing, but the men in these pictures are Ethiopian Orthodox monks. They live in monasteries on the islands in that lake and their monasteries are painted with images of major prophets. The description mentions Elias specifically."
"Think we should visit?"
Draco shrugged. "I think we should ask."
Harry pulled a muggle spiral notebook out of his pocket and wrote down the details. "I wonder if Lake Tana and Aksum are the only two monastic places. I think we should visit all of the important ones."
Draco nodded his agreement and looked around, but nothing else caught his attention. They were just weaving around the display to reach the next exhibit when someone called, "Mr Potter!"
Harry looked up and led Draco toward the man standing near the entrance. He was about their age, Harry guessed, with an immaculate business suit and a briefcase in his hand. He led them through the museum to a room they had missed earlier, which held historic coins and medals, then through a door in the back of that room. The white-walled corridor beyond was as dull as the museum was interesting.
Mr Alemayehu's office was as spotless as his suit. Harry briefly imagined borrowing some house elves from Draco to organize and clean their office, then concluded that Kingsley would probably have a heart attack as a result, and dismissed the idea. He and Draco took seats before the desk and let Mr Alemayehu speak first.
After greetings and small talk, the folklorist finally got to the point. "You mentioned in your letter that you are researching Elias the prophet. Is there anything in particular that you want to know?"
"Yes," Harry said. "An old journal in the university archives mentions a legend about an object called the Elias strand. Have you heard of it?"
"No, I'm afraid not. Was it connected with any other legends?"
"Abraham sacrificing his son, Elias raising a boy from the dead, and the Ark of the Covenant."
Mr Alemayehu sat back. "An odd combination. Do you know what this object represents?"
Harry shrugged. "We thought maybe it is a necklace that would provide health and long life to the wearer or something. Are there any legends about necklaces by other names?"
Mr Alemayehu shook his head. "Not that I can think of, but there are legends that associate Elias with immortality. Scholars note that he has been interpreted as a god, angel, half-angel, priest, and earlier incarnation of St John the Baptist, depending on the cultures and religions of the stories. He has also been conflated with Helios, Al-Khidr, and Moses."
"Please slow down," Harry said as he scribbled notes. "I don't recognize most of those names. Also, I thought Jews were monotheistic."
"They are. However, like many other Middle Eastern cultures, they have old beliefs in spirits and angels. Also, some of the stories arose as the idea of Elias spread to new cultures that already had their own folk heroes. The conflation of Elias and the sun god Helios, for example, is entirely fantastical and likely due purely to similar names and a shared association with fiery chariots. By the time Elias was born, worship of Helios had already largely fallen out of favor."
"I see," Harry said. "Is it worth noting any of the stories about Elias as anything other than human?"
"I do not put any stock in them, but it depends on your research question. Regarding the Ark of the Covenant, you could try asking one of the foremost experts on the Ark, Mr Ankelb. He lives in the old capital of Gondar to the north. Have you visited Ethiopia before?" He wrote as he spoke.
Harry shook his head. "This is our first time."
"Then while you are up north, you must visit Lalibela as well. It is an amazing place."
"How so?"
"That is the place where eleven churches were carved whole from the stone. Some of them are three stories high and all of them are still used. Perhaps the priests and monks who live there will be able to help you."
"We'll look into it. Would you advise going to Lake Tana or Aksum?"
"Of course. You can find lodging and a boat to explore Lake Tana in Bahar Dar. It is a bit touristy, but as long as you are polite, you should have no trouble. Is there anything else?"
"Not just now. We will call if we need further assistance. Thank you."
"Of course. Here is the address and phone number for Mr Ankelb."
The two wizards thanked him and headed over to the library. The library was larger and better stocked than Harry expected and contained surprisingly little dust. Draco took a couple deep breaths as Harry showed their University of York IDs and requested to see the folklore section.
An attendant as smartly dressed as everyone else on campus (except Harry, apparently) introduced herself as Bilen and led them to a section of bookshelves that looked to Harry exactly like every other section. "Folklore is here, Sir. Most books on Ethiopian folklore are on these two shelves. Is there something specific you are looking for?"
"And object called the Elias Strand," Harry said. "We believe it may be connected to the prophet Elias."
Bilen ran her finger over the books and finally pulled one off the shelf. "I have never heard of an Elias strand. This book is about the prophet Elias. It is by a German folklorist who collected many stories about the prophet in Ethiopia. Maybe he mentioned it."
"Thank you. Would it be possible for us to borrow this book for a couple weeks?"
"I will need to ask Mr Tadesse. I have heard sometimes he can arrange special library cards for foreign researchers. Come with me."
As they followed her to an office in the back of the library, Draco said, "Your veil is very pretty, Bilen. Do you know where I could find one like it for my mother?"
Bilen flushed at the compliment. "I bought it in Gondar when I visited for Timkat some years ago. Do you plan to visit Gondar?"
"We may visit next week," Harry replied.
"It is such a lovely city. The city market will have many veils that your mother will like, Sir. You must visit the Royal Enclosure and Fasilides' Bath while you are there, and promise you will ride in a horse-cart."
Harry smiled at her enthusiasm. He glanced at Draco, who had become reticent again. "We'd love to do all those things if we have time," he said.
At a small office, Bilen knocked on the door. "Sir, these gentlemen are from University of York. They inquired about borrowing a book."
"Which book?" the man inside asked.
"The Prophet Elias Through Ethiopian Story, Sir. They asked about something called an Elias strand."
"If stories of it are told in Ethiopia, Dr Voigt will have heard them. I'm Nahome Tadesse. Provide your IDs and I will arrange temporary library cards for you."
---
For lunch, Harry led Draco to a café just off campus. Harry ordered the layered juice and was unsurprised when Draco ordered tea. They both ordered some pastries that looked vaguely French and sat outside to eat.
"That monstrosity is going to give you food poisoning," Draco said.
"Bilen recommended it," Harry replied. "It's called sprice juice and it's delicious."
"What on earth is in it?"
Harry studied his glass with its three layers of juice. As he pointed from top to bottom, he said, "Mango, papaya, avocado. Taste some." Harry offered Draco his spoon, which was about half full of thick mango juice and half thick papaya juice.
Draco recoiled in horror. "Absolutely not. I refuse to die in this horribly dirty country."
Harry shook his head and ate the spoonful. "Your loss. How's the tea?"
"Subpar. At least the pastries are passable."
"You should have gotten the juice."
"Shut up, Potter."
---
Back at the hotel, they read for several hours. After a European dinner in the hotel restaurant, Harry settled down on his bed with a book in one hand and his electronic tablet (bespelled by Hermione to not run out of battery) in the other. Setting down the book, he logged onto the hotel network and logged into his email.
Draco glanced over at him from the desk in the corner. "What are you doing, Potter?"
"Emailing Hermione."
"Whating who?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "Emailing. You know, on the internet."
"I do not know."
"Seriously? Do you never leave the wizarding world?"
"Only when I can't avoid it. Show me." Draco vaulted onto Harry's bed and pressed against his shoulder. "It looks like bespelled parchment."
"A bit, I guess, but it isn't magic. When I type on the keyboard, it sends a wireless signal to the tablet, which displays the letter."
Draco pressed a few keys experimentally without looking at them and watched in fascination as the letters appeared on the screen. Then he noticed what Harry had already written. He read aloud, "Dear Hermione, we arrived safely in Addis Ababa. The clothing market was fun until Draco got distracted by the massive burlap sacks of spices. They all looked the same to me, but he was sniffing and tasting each of them like some kind of spice sommelier. Then today he had the gall to claim the juice I bought at one of the local cafes would give me food poisoning!" Draco looked up at Harry. "Do you often complain to Granger about me?"
"At least once a week," Harry said cheerfully. "Now I'd like to finish my letter."
"Absolutely not!" Draco claimed the tablet and keyboard. "How does this thing know the letter is for Granger?"
"I entered her email address at the top." Harry valiantly tried to channel the same patience he (usually) had for little Rose or his godson Teddy. He pointed. "There. H Granger at weas whiz whease dot co dot U K." He personally found the joke shop's website domain ridiculous and had been surprised to learn that its online non-magic shop was popular among muggles.
Draco deleted Harry's entire message and wrote, "Hi Granger, Potter's showing me his email contraption thing. Ethiopia is dirty and boring and their tea is awful. The only good thing so far is that everyone at the university, even the gardener, dressed better than Potter." He looked at Harry. "Now how do I tell this thing to owl it to her?"
"If I tell you will you return my tablet?"
"I want to know what else it can do."
"Later, Draco. We need to finish our notes and I do need to send Hermione a message." Draco stared at him. "Fine. Tap the send button at the bottom with your finger."
Draco obeyed and squeaked when his message vanished. "What happened?"
"It sent, unfortunately. The email program will have saved a copy in the sent folder on the left."
At Harry's direction, Draco opened the sent folder, then his message, to assure himself it had not simply vanished. Then he finally returned Harry's tablet.