"Ah—"
Regret.
In short, Ron is very regretful right now.
The almost white-hot sun was scorching the golden sand of the desert, creating shimmering waves of heat that made the sandy surface look like it had a watery sheen. A light brown lizard scurried quickly over the tan rocks, its four claws seemingly leaving phantom trails on the unbearably hot stones—
"Merlin's oversized socks, why... did I, today, decide to go out?"
Thick camel hooves stirred up the sand, and the brown camels with their heads held high walked leisurely in a line past the base of the pyramid. Ron's skinny figure was hidden in the camel's hump, his flushed cheeks almost matching his family's signature fiery red hair—
Clearly, his face was already somewhat sunburned.
"You were the one who wanted to ride a camel, we weren't planning to take you—"
Fred's voice came from the camel in front of Ron, but he wasn't faring much better. The relentless sun made him feel like he was being steamed dry, unable to even sweat.
"Yes, Little Roni, you could have been shopping with Ginny and Mom and Dad."
George's voice came from behind Ron. He looked and dressed just like Fred, as was their habit—making it hard for others to tell them apart, which was essential for their increasingly successful pranks.
"Carry bags?… I'd rather not,"
Ron weakly tried to shake his head but only managed a slight tilt, "I'm just regretting not sleeping in this morning."
"Stay at the hotel? With Percy and his 'Ministry of Magic Tales'?"
Fred objected, looking at Ron with a forced grimace, then turned his attention elsewhere, "Hey, Bill, how much longer do we have to ride camels? Little Roni is about to dry up like a piece of bacon—"
"You two aren't any better off—"
Ron shouted "loudly" with some indignation, but his droopy appearance on the camel's back made his words unconvincing.
"...Uh, soon."
A long-haired man riding the second camel in line leaned forward for a bit, listened, then sat up straight again, lazily letting two words escape his mouth. Compared to his droopy red siblings, this eldest member of the Weasley family seemed unbothered—
After graduating, Bill Weasley, who had been working at Gringotts for three or four years, was used to such temperatures.
"Soon—this is the twelfth time today you've told us 'soon."
George groaned, slumping forward onto the camel's hump, and the two camels in front of him echoed with continuous groans. However, the cries of these droopy redheads sounded pathetically weak.
"That's because you've asked me twelve times in less than half an hour—"
Bill indicated that it wasn't his problem. Riding camels for half an hour in the desert was considered quick for seasoned travelers like them.
And as Bill said, it really wasn't long before they slowly rode on camels into the large shadow of the Giza Pyramid Complex. The refreshing coolness in contrast to the earlier sun made them all moan in relief.
"We've arrived, Weasley."
A very short figure jumped off the frontmost camel. If he hadn't moved, people might have mistaken him for a camel with three humps due to his dark brown attire from head to toe.
"Alright, Mr. Groo—"
Bill nodded and helped his brothers off their camels after jumping off himself. Although the Weasley family had won a windfall of seven hundred Galleons and decided to visit him in Egypt during the summer holidays, as a Gringotts employee, Bill didn't have the luxury of a summer break.
Though he took a few days off, Gringotts wouldn't give him a full month's vacation. So after spending some days with his family in Cairo City, he had to return to work—
On this field trip, his twin brothers tagged along, and since there was nothing confidential about this assignment, he sought and received approval from the team leader, Mr. Groo, to bring his two pesky brothers... oh, and also Ron, who was tricked by the camel ride excuse.
As an experienced Gringotts Curse-Breaker, Bill quickly made his preparations and followed the goblin Groo with a scowl on his face towards a hidden entrance at the back of the Khafre Pyramid—
The three younger Weasleys, as instructed, followed quietly behind Bill... or did they?
Fred and George exchanged a glance; the notorious troublemakers from Hogwarts had a "plan," which was why they got up early to come to this godforsaken place... well, not quite godforsaken, since the pyramids weren't far from Cairo City.
But for the sun-baked duo, it made little difference.
"...What are you planning?"
As the closest and only younger brother to Fred and George, Ron had grown up being pranked by them. He could tell what shape trouble they were planning just by their expressions. He immediately knew their reasons for coming here were not as simple as they seemed.
"..."
Seeing their plan seen through by their younger brother, Fred and George, prepared for this, didn't panic. They paused, then quickly moved forward from either side, locking arms around Ron's shoulders.
"...What are you going to do?"
Ron's voice trembled more than before, rising slightly in pitch. Knowing his brothers well, he knew this meant trouble... Whatever Fred and George were planning, it wasn't going to end well for him.
Most likely... no, definitely, he'd end up being pranked by them.
"What's going on?"
Bill, having heard the raised voices while following Goblin Groo into the pyramid's entrance, turned to look back at the clustered trio.
"Nothing—"
Fred clamped a hand over Ron's head, signaling him to stay quiet, and Ron obliged—no way he'd resist, or he'd be "played" by the twins to no end back at the hotel.
"Well, hurry up then—"
Bill glanced back at them, puzzled, but didn't dwell on it as he continued into the entrance with his tools.
"Don't worry, Little Roni—"
Seeing Bill disappear, Fred released Ron's head, and George spoke softly, "You're not the target this time."
"..."
Hearing George's "comfort," Ron merely winced, not responding.
...So you're saying all those seemingly casual pranks before were aimed specifically at me?
*, **.