Ron wasn't particularly sure how he got there. Lying on the floor of a chamber in a pyramid, he idly tried to remember how he got into this situation - he had hit his head rather hard at some point.
.
.
.
No, never mind. He remembered,
Ron Weasley, budding wizard extraordinaire (or something like that) was currently on a vacation with the rest of his family. Dad had won the Daily Prophet Grand Prize Galleon Draw and decided that visiting Bill in Egypt would be a good use of the money.
Today was their fourth day exploring the pyramids, and Ron was getting increasingly bored of it all. Oh sure, for the first few hours, the pyramids were neat. But three and a half days of nothing but pyramids would drive even Hermione crazy… maybe.
Only a minute ago, he was exploring the pyramid along with the rest of his family. Then, somewhere, somehow, he had pressed a lever or switch, or activated a trap.
The ground had fallen beneath him with a pop, and he was off, shooting down a slide just like the one in the Chamber of Secrets. Eventually, he landed on his rump in an empty, abandoned chamber, head bruising from all the bumps along the way.
Ron slowly pulled himself to his feet, brushing off the sand that had stuck to his clothes. He pulled out his wand - then cringed at the end of it, which flopped around uselessly and emitted royal purple sparks. Rom remembered what happened to Lockhart quite well and quietly put his wand aside.
Magic was out - even if he was allowed to use it, his wand was about as useful as twig right now. Ron looked back through the passageway, which had closed up behind him, sealed tight.
He must have activated some sort of booby trap the muggles hadn't found yet. Any wizard would be able to stop themselves from falling through that kind of hole with magic. He might have been able to save himself if he had been able to use magic.
So, now what? What was he going to do now?
Just from looking around the room, he could already see that there was no way out. There were no tunnels or passageways out of the chamber. To be sure, he took a look around the room to see if there were any special knobs or levers he could use to open a way back up.
There were none. As far as he could tell, he was trapped there - and there was nothing inside the room, anyway! Why would the Ancient Egyptian wizards - no, this was a muggle trap… why would the Ancient Egyptian Muggles build something like this? Just build a normal chamber or something!
Ron sat down, bored. There was nothing to do in this prison cell of a chamber - for all he knew, this was an actual prison cell. He could be stuck here for eternity - though there weren't any bones, which would mean that he was the first person to ever spring that trap.
Just his luck.
Hours passed as he waited for something, anything to happen. He had pressed, pulled, prodded, and punched anything that could be used to spring him free. All he was left with was a hand that continued to ache.
His stomach growled, and a growing sense of panic grew within him.
Was this the way he was going to die?
"Let me out! Let me out!" He screamed. His desperate plea echoed silently in the chamber he was stuck inside.
No matter how hard he screamed, though, there were no answers. He was stuck there, and there was nothing he could do about it.
It was hopeless…
…
…
…
… but hadn't he overcome worse situations with Harry before? Ron had taken out the troll, defeated McGonagall's chess set, and had escaped from the clutches of Aragog.
So how was this any different?
… it was because Harry wasn't here. Back in Hogwarts, he had Harry - the Boy-Who-Lived to help. Here, he was all alone, with no one here to help him.
Ron clenched his hand. Why should that stop him, though? He was just as capable of a wizard as Harry was. If Harry could defeat a Basilisk, then why couldn't he escape a simple locked room?!
He'd break out of this room if it was the last thing he'd do!
Ron got up, ignoring his hunger, and started looking around the room for clues. There had to be a sort of switch or lever somewhere!
His search led him nowhere, though. He retread the same paths he had before - without a new clue or guide, he didn't have an idea about what he could do to save himself. After an hour of searching, his hunger attacked with full force, almost forcing him to his knees.
Ron dry-heaved and coughed, the dry desert air sapping all the water from his breath and making him thirsty beyond all measure. He… he didn't have it within himself to move anymore.
His fingers curled on the sandy floor. Was this all he could do?
Then he noticed something. Underneath the sand of the floor was a black smear. Rubbing his fingers on it, Ron inspected the powder his finger had been smeared with. It smelled curiously like rotten eggs and Dungbombs.
Ron wrinkled his nose. "Urgh… who brought this here," he complained to thin air. He wiped his smelly hands on his trousers. Just his luck. Now he was going to die, not only hungry, thirsty, and tired, but smelling like dung.
He sat down and looked idly around the room. Ron had pretty much lost hope at this point. He had tried his hardest - but there was nothing here. Nothing! There were no knobs, no levers, no switches, no runes - just four walls of solid stone and a sand-covered floor.
There weren't any skeletons or mummies, though - which was a silver lining, if there was one. Ron wouldn't be able to defend himself from any magical creature or monster like this.
How could Ron be the only to fall for such a trap?
As Ron mused, his hand brushed against the odorous black powder again, and he grimaced. Then, a stray thought occurred to him.
If he was the only thing that had ever come down here… why was there black powder underneath the sand?
Ron, ignoring the awful smell of the powder, brushed some more sand away from the floor, and uncovered a line of the awful smelling black powder. It was only a simple curved line of the black powder - but it was something!
Ron feverishly shoveled sand across the floor and uncovered more of the powder. He worked for almost half an hour, continuously shoving sand across the floor to uncover more and more of the powder.
Soon, he had dumped all of the sand in a small corner of the room and looked at the shape he had uncovered. A strange circular array was on the ground, lined in the black powder. There were no runes on the array, which… didn't really mean anything to him. He didn't even know what runes did, in all honesty.
Still… he had made progress, hadn't he?
Ron sat down to look at the center of the circle. There was a lack of sand in that particular spot - Ron didn't have to shovel any sand from there. An odd coincidence, probably…
… Ron took some sand from the pile in the corner of the room and dumped it onto the center of the circle. Once it touched the center, though, it immediately vanished. Ron picked up the sand again, only to be met with the exact same result.
It was magic - this circle was enchanted or warded or something like that.
Ron pulled out his wand. It was clear - he needed magic to escape this chamber. He could explain things to Mum when he found her again. With a few careful taps, he prodded the center of the circle.
Nothing - absolutely nothing - happened. A little angry, Ron started waving his wand around madly, trying to get his wand to do something. All he managed to summon out of the wand, though, were simply more purple sparks.
Ron sat down and started idly waving his wand, wondering what he would do next. He had to use magic to escape - but his wand wasn't working.
Then, a random spark that he had released from his wand floated down and touched a line of black powder. With a roar of purple flame, the powder ignited.
Ron scrambled backward, putting his back against the wall as more and more of the black powder ignited. Soon, the entire circle was ablaze, illuminating the chamber with a bright light.
Ron didn't know what to do. Should he put the flames out with sand? Could he put the flames out at all? Was this supposed to happen-
Then the room started shaking, and Ron started praying for his life. To whom or what, he didn't know, but he dearly wished he would survive what just happened.
Then the circle started turning. A wheel of fire had formed in front of his eyes, taking his breath away. Stone started rising as an altar formed where the center of the circle used to be.
Ron must have activated an altar or something. If there was an altar, then this chamber must have been some sort of religious room. That explained why there were no skeletons or anything either - this wasn't a prison.
Ron cautiously approached the altar, wondering if this was really the right path. Surely his parents would come to rescue him… except that it had been at least five hours since he had gotten lost. If they hadn't found him yet, then there was a chance they never would.
As he neared, the flames parted for him, and a set of stairs appeared. Ron gingerly took one step, then another, as he made his way up the altar.
At the top of the altar, there was a large pedestal. On the pedestal was a golden box - not a sarcophagus, those were much longer and had bodies in them.
Ron beginning to feel apprehensive. If his adventures with Harry told him anything, it was that things like these were usually cursed to the ends of the earth.
Except… this was an altar, not a treasure room or some other place where you would keep cursed artifacts. There was no reason to curse this golden box…
… still…
Then his stomach rumbled, and he doubled over in stomach pain, resting in a fetal position. A few minutes later, he dragged himself to his feet.
"Oh, bloody hell," Ron said. "I'm not going to waste away deciding!"
Mind made up, he grabbed the box. There was no immediate reaction. Tentatively, he pushed the box open, revealing its contents.
Inside the box, he found an ancient Egyptian scroll, as well as a strange amulet.
Wary of the scroll (he still remembered Riddle's diary), Ron decided to look at the amulet. The chain was made of some gold material and felt rather cool on his skin. The center of the amulet, though… it was just some piece of glass.
He bounced the amulet around a bit, testing its weight. It didn't seem to be cursed or anything - in fact, it seemed to be just some random piece of treasure.
Of course, Riddle's diary was like that as well - and he still had yet to actually put the amulet on. Ron decided to take the time to look at the scroll, opening it wide.
And on the scroll Ron found… nothing. It was blank - there was absolutely nothing written on it.
Ron dropped the scroll like it was burning, and pointed his wand directly at it.
He wasn't going to take any chances - something like this was clearly bad news. Something like this wouldn't be treated with such care if it didn't have any magical properties, or was special at all.
These items… he needed to get rid of them. Throw them far, far away, so that no one would be able to find them anymore.
Then his stomach rumbled again, and the pain started again. Ron fought bravely to keep his wits about him but succumbed once again.
He was never going back into a pyramid once he escaped.
Ron looked around the room, hoping that the way to an exit would show itself - but lo and behold, except for the altar, everything was still the same. His parents still hadn't come to rescue him.
Ron sighed, then looked at the amulet warily. Other than his suspicions and paranoia, there was nothing stopping him from putting on the necklace. Nothing but his own cowardice.
He was a Gryffindor - and Gryffindors don't back down!
He took a deep breath, then slipped the amulet on.
A second passed. Two seconds. Three seconds. Four seconds. Five seconds.
…
…
…
Nothing was happening. No voices were whispering in his head. He felt no urge to kill something. Nothing was puppetting his movements or controlling him. He felt absolutely, completely normal.
Ron took the amulet off. Nothing happened.
A crazed laugh left him. He was worked up over nothing! It was just some weird glass amulet - there were no enchantments or anything on it.
Ron's grin fell. That was his last lead. He didn't know what he had to do now - he had used up all of his options. He almost wished that the items were cursed or enchanted - maybe he could have gotten a hint or something.
Ron slung the amulet back over his neck. If he was lucky enough to escape, he would give it to Bill or something. There was nothing wrong with a little extra gold, after all.
After a moment's thought, he took the scroll as well. It didn't seem dangerous to hold, and he could just give it to Bill once he returned.
Still, he didn't know what he was going to do now. His stomach was now constantly rumbling, a near-permanent reminder of his captivity. He had to figure out some way to escape this chamber. He searched the chamber for a fourth time, not hoping for much. Sure enough, he wasn't able to find anything.
Ron was starting to feel tired - as in, he had spent his entire day in this one chamber and hadn't eaten anything.
He sat down back at the altar, the weight of the amulet heavy on his neck, fidgeting painfully. It was hard enough to think with the heat, hunger, and exhaustion. He didn't need this weight as well. Seriously, if it was lighter than-
The weight on his neck lessened. Ron startled.
What happened? He was just thinking about how heavy the amulet on his neck was and how he wished it was lighter and-
The amulet grew even lighter than it had before. Now Ron could hardly feel it around his neck - it was as light as air.
This amulet… it was magic, just as he thought it was when he first picked it up. It must have a Featherweight Charm on it or something - Rom remembered learning that earlier in the past year.
Then Ron brought the amulet up to eye-level and immediately dropped it again.
Through the glass part of the amulet - much like an eyepiece, now that he thought about it - he saw something completely different than what he had seen for the last four searches of the room.
Ron peered through the amulet again.
Glowing green lines were lining the walls of the chamber, pulsing constantly. They formed strange patterns on the walls - irregular patterns.
Ron immediately took to looking at the walls with the amulet. While three of the four walls were simply covered in the strange green lines, the fourth wall was slightly different. A large rectangle, outlined in green, stood, with a small green circle at waist level. In fact, Ron reckoned that it looked similar to a… door.
Ron put his hand on the doorknob circle, which pulsed at his touch. His breath quickened.
Then the circle disappeared, as another circle appeared on the door. Ron slammed his hand on the other circle, which too disappeared.
The process repeated another six times. Then Ron pressed the final circle - and the wall gave way, opening a passage for him.
Ron stood at the door, dumbfounded. Then, ever so slowly, a grin stretched across his face.
"Finally!" He cheered, and after making sure he had everything - the scroll, the amulet, and his wand - he left that thrice-cursed chamber behind.
He came to a flight of stairs and immediately began climbing it. Up and up he went, ignoring the pain his legs went through.
Finally, he came to an ornate doorway at the top of the stairs. With little to no hesitation, he went through the doorway.
He then collapsed in pain. The amulet was on fire.
The amulet seared against his skin, burning it as it clung to his skin. Ron's breath grew ragged as the amulet's gold chain wound tighter and tighter against his neck, the flames licking painfully against his body.
Then there was a strange SNAP as something in him fought against what the amulet was doing to him - killing him. With a final push, he managed to tear the amulet off his skin and threw it to the ground.
He panted as the no-longer-flaming amulet glowed on the ground, the glass twinkling.
He… shouldn't have kept wearing it. It was cursed, alright, and he wasn't taking it with him anymore. Screw the gold he could have gotten from selling it, it was way too dangerous to let near anything.
Without hesitation, Ron threw the scroll so that it landed right next to the amulet. The two artifacts laid innocently on the top of the stairs. With only a moment's thought, Ron kicked them down the stairs. They bumped and clattered their way down, each sound relieving him further.
He didn't need them anymore, anyway. If that thing was supposed to kill him, then they wouldn't make any more puzzles that would need the amulet or the scroll.
Ron moved on through the doorway, not bothering to take note of the walls of the passageway he had entered. If he had, he would have seen strange drawings, dissimilar to the Egyptian Murals that Bill had shown him way, way earlier that day. Images of monsters wielding powers of the elements, of demons and malevolent spirits.
Ron made it all the way to end of the passageway. Then he heard voices, and a familiar crying sound - albeit he rarely heard it for himself. He turned the corner and saw his family.
Ron's mother, Molly Weasley, was weeping and crying, her face inconsolably distraught. Percy hovered near her, offering bland reassurances every now and again ("Mother, there's no need to worry", "Bill and Father will find Ron soon", etc.).
The twins had smiles on their faces as they tried to cheer Ginny, who was nearly on the verge of tears. Although, the smiles were off, somehow. They were more forced than usual.
Then Ron's stomach grumbled, and his family was alerted to his presence.
"R-ron?!" Mum's eyes were wide open. "You… you…"
"Do you have any food? I'm starving."
That opened the floodgates. She rushed to him, nearly tripping over herself. Mum grabbed him in a bone-crushing hug, nearly causing his eyes to bulge out of their sockets.
"Ron! You're alright!" She whispered into his ear, relief abundant.
His stomach rumbled again, demanding his attention. "Mum? I haven't eaten anything all day. Can I eat something please?"
Mum released him and nodded immediately, before barking at one of the twins. "Fred, George, one of you give him a sandwich!"
The twins were looking at him, shocked to see him just standing there. Then an honest, simple laugh came from one of them.
"Did you have a fun adventure, Ickle Ronnikins?" The twins pestered him as Ginny rolled her eyes. "Exploring the big, bad scary pyramid all by your liddle widdle self?"
"Fred, George, that's enough!" Mum snapped. "Ginny, could you please pass your brother some food."
Ginny wiped the tear from her face and nodded, before locking Ron in place with a cold stare. Somehow, Ron knew that he would be at the end of an especially bad prank once they got back to the Burrow.
Fishing the sandwich out, she passed it over to Ron. The stomach demanded food, so Ron ate (even if it was corned beef). The dry sandwich slid down his throat painfully as he coughed. "Water," he croaked.
Before Mum could say anything, Percy passed Ron a bottle of water, which he took gratefully.
As he ate and drank, Mum looked at him demandingly. "What happened?! One minute you were right behind us, and the next you were missing!"
Ron opened his mouth to reply, only to be interrupted by Dad and Bill, who had returned with downtrodden looks on their faces. "Molly, dear, we looked everywhere but we couldn't find him… Ron?!"
"Hi, dad," Ron waved.
Ron's dad looked at him in amazement, before collapsing to the ground. "Ron," his father groaned. "What happened, exactly?"
"Can we go back, first?" Ron replied, his limbs dropping like lead. "I'm… I'm a little tired. I need to rest."
Mum stood up in her bossy way. "Right, right. Everyone, let's get out of the pyramid! It's time we returned to rest."
So it was that the Weasley family left the pyramid behind, Ron feeling no sense of regret whatsoever.
After a brief hour's travel and the setting of the summer sun, the Weasleys huddled back into the tent that Dad had rented for the trip. As they ate dinner, Ron regaled them with the tale of what had happened in the chamber of the pyramid.
Once he mentioned the scroll and the amulet, Ginny paled thoroughly, though Ron didn't pay much attention.
He finished with him throwing the amulet and the scroll away, before meeting up with everyone. He waited for their reactions.
The entire room was silent as they tried to digest the information. Each Weasley was a portrait of a different emotion. Mum held nothing but worry, while Dad was intrigued. Percy looked almost… bored?
Ginny's eyes were distant, as though she was seeing something far, far away. Bill was looking at Ron with a mixture of confusion and bewilderment.
Fred and George were… smiling? They looked almost ready to fall into a laughing fit, so much so that when Ron finished his story he couldn't help but look at Fred and George with concern.
Then Fred laughed. Truly laughed, slapping his knee and catching bewildered looks from everyone in the family, except for George. George soon started laughing as well, doubling over. Ron felt out-of-his-depth as all of this happened.
Fred wiped a tear from his eye. "So, what actually happened, Ickle Ronnikins?"
Ron was affronted. "That was what happened!" He protested hotly. "I didn't leave anything out - I told you everything!"
"But…" George was snickering. "You, discover a secret to an ancient altar and finding some cursed amulet and scroll - which you didn't read - and threw away?"
"What a load of bollocks!"
Ron could tell, sense, that their faith in what he was saying was wavering. "No - no, I actually found a chamber!" He was getting desperate. "Bill, I can show you what I'm talking about tomorrow!" Thoughts of the amulet and scroll and the dangers they represented had almost completely left his mind at this point.
Before Bill could answer, however, Mum had barged in. "Absolutely not! You aren't going anywhere near that pyramid again - you could be lost again!"
"No, mum! And I wasn't lost-"
"No means no, Ronald!" Mum silenced him with a furious glare. "End of discussion!"
Bill coughed. "Anyway, what you were describing, Ron… that doesn't sound like any tomb or chamber I've come across." As Ron was about to object, Bill cut him off. "That doorway… the architecture sounds too much like something you'd find in Europe - the Egyptians would never make something like that."
Ron opened and closed his mouth, gaping like a fish. "But… but…!"
Nobody was believing him, though. Some instinct told Ron that he wasn't going to convince them anymore. Mum believed that he just got lost, the twins thought that he was lying, and Bill shot his story down with something about… doors?
"I can show you, though!" Ron managed to plead. "If you let me go to the pyramid tomorrow, I can show…" Ron trailed off at the furious look on Mum's face.
"That enough, Ronald!" She hissed. "You aren't going back to the pyramid tomorrow - or any pyramids at all. You're going to stay here so that you don't get lost and that I can know where you are at all times!"
Then, as Ron geared up to argue with Mum, Bill chimed in again. "Also, Ron… I've explored that area of the pyramid completely. I never saw anything like you were describing." Bill looked at Ron with pity. "It's okay, you know, if you got a little lost - I've gotten lost in the pyramid too, a couple of times before."
Dad nodded. "Right, Bill. It's okay to get lost." Dad checked his watch. "It's about time we go to sleep, kids. Go to your tents and meet up here in the morning, okay?"
Ron couldn't speak as the rest of his family nodded - well, except for Fred and George, who were still wheezing. Ginny hit them, having recovered from whatever was bothering her, and the twins eventually got up, heading for their tent. Percy left with a disapproving shake of his head toward Ron.
Just before she left, Mum said one last thing to Ron. "Ron, you won't come with us tomorrow to the pyramid. You will stay here with Charlie and help him with his work."
Ron couldn't say anything as Mum left for her tent. For a few minutes, he stood in the communal tent in silence.
Then, in a daze, he slowly started walking to the tent he shared with Percy. When he walked in, Percy was already snoozing on his mattress, wasting no time. Ron sat down on his bed.
"... why didn't they believe in me?" He questioned thin air, balling his hands into fists. "Did they think… did they think that I wanted to be stuck in that chamber? Do they I wanted to be alone, lost, calling for help?!"
Ron growled under his breath, before trying to calm himself down. Percy would throw a fit if he woke him up, and Ron didn't feel like screaming anymore today.
Putting his head in his hands, Ron considered what he was going to do. He wasn't allowed to go to the pyramid, and Charlie would probably tell Mum what he did tomorrow when they returned. Anyway, there would be no point - he couldn't show them the room, because he wasn't allowed to go.
Ron needed evidence to show what had happened to him - but since he couldn't go to the pyramid, he couldn't show anything.
For a brief second, Ron wished that he had at least kept the scroll - the scroll hadn't done anything dangerous, as it was completely blank.
Then Ron felt a weight in one of his pockets, other than his wand. Idly, he reached into the pocket… and felt a strange papery material.
He withdrew his hand and found the scroll in his hand.
Ron stared blankly at the scroll, then dropped it like a hot iron.
"What… how did it come back?!" He whispered to himself. Ron pondered the question - the scroll didn't look like it was doing anything.
Then he realized.
"When the amulet was too heavy, I wanted it to be lighter, and it got less heavy." He reasoned to himself. "When I wanted the scroll back, it appeared back in my pocket."
Against his better judgment, Ron wished the amulet back around his neck, before he could stop himself.
The weight settled itself around his neck. Ron reached into his shirt to uncover the amulet that he had thrown away back in the pyramid - the one that had burned him.
The one that was no longer burning him.
Ron stared at the amulet, then pulled it off his neck and placed it on the mattress next to the snoozing Scabbers (who Ron didn't take with him to the pyramid), covering it with his blanket. Whatever that amulet was, it was still dangerous.
To be completely honest, Ron didn't know what to do with these things, other than using them as evidence. The amulet… while it was useful, with the whole glowing green lines thing, it burned and scorched him.
The scroll, though…
Ron picked it up. There was no reason to look at what was inside - it was completely blank. There was no point in looking at this thing.
Still… it had to have some purpose, right? Why would the Egyptians make the scroll, if the amulet could already kill?
He was a Gryffindor. He could do this.
Ron tentatively opened the scroll and was met with the same nothingness he had previously encountered. The scroll was just a scroll, nothing more.
Except that it was enchanted to come to his call, so it couldn't just be a scroll. It could be enchanted or cursed, just like the amulet. There could be writing still on it, just invisible to the naked eye.
Or… Ron looked at the quill over by Percy's bedside. He went over and took it, before inking it and walking over the scroll.
Ron breathed heavily. If the scroll talked back to him, he was going to burn it, no questions asked. Otherwise…
Ron wrote his name on the scroll.
The ink remained on the scroll for a second. Then the ink disappeared. Ron held his breath… and nothing happened.
Five minutes later, Ron was feeling a bit of relief. The scroll just… erased whatever was written on it? That was it?
Ron wrote My name is Ron Weasley on the scroll, just to see if that gave a response. When none came, Ron was confused.
"Why is this scroll like this?" He whispered, turning it around and inspecting. He was half-tempted to just let Bill have a look at it. The scroll was way too magical for it to just erase what was on it. After all, why would the ancient Egyptian wizards put such important protections on it?
In fact, why was it with the amulet…
Ron had something of a revelation. The amulet revealed things. The scroll was hiding something. If you put those two together…
Ron summoned the amulet to his neck, then held the glass eyepiece up to his eye. Sure enough, green lines appeared on the tent, all emanating from the pole at the top which held it up. The lines were perfectly symmetrical and would have to be looked at later.
But for now, Ron looked at the scroll using the eyepiece.
Lines of ink danced around on the scroll's surface, twisting and turning randomly. It was almost hypnotic, in a beautiful sort of way. Still, it didn't really help him understand what the point of the scroll was. It was pretty, but useless.
Then Ron remembered that the artifacts followed commands, like summons and desires to become weightless. Ron willed the scroll to tell him what its purpose was.
The scroll heated up slightly and glowed. The lines on the scroll merged and solidified to become English text. Ron leaned in to look at what it was saying
Wielder of the Amulet
This is the Scroll of Answers. It contains all of the knowledge held by the previous Wielders. At your command, all of the knowledge held within is for you to examine.
Ron blinked. "So… you can tell me things?"
Yes
Ron was still slightly suspicious. Memories of the diary still ran rampant in his mind. The diary had been just like the Scroll, innocent at first. It could hold more than what he could see right now, and it might not be safe.
Still… it seemed more like a house elf than the diary. Ginny had poured her heart out to the diary, which took advantage of her. The Scroll seemed more like something he got answers from, like one of his textbooks.
And if it gave answers, then Ron could ask it questions - specifically, questions about the amulet.
Scroll, what is the amulet?
The Scroll soon replied
The Amulet of Glass is the tool that the Wielders may use. With it, all forms of magic may be revealed, and those are viewed with it will show the form of the Anima within.
Anima?
Scroll, what is an Anima?
The Anima is the monstrous representation of a person's personality and appearance. A limited number exist, yet all are viewable from the use of the Amulet. Only the Wielder may awaken an Anima using the Amulet.
So… the Amulet could show a monster, that 'represented a person's personality and appearance'... whatever that meant.
Still…
Ron put the Scroll down and turned to look at Percy's sleeping body. At least, that was what he looked like without the Amulet. With the Amulet, Ron could see that instead of Percy on the bed, a strange brown dog with a back of blue fur and a mustache slept instead.
Ron put the Amulet back down, and the dog was replaced with Percy again.
So that was Percy's Anima? It was definitely strange, to see a dog-like monster sleep in the same spot Percy was, especially if he looked to the mattress with one eye to the Amulet and another normal. Two beings occupying the same space gave him a little bit of a headache.
Ron looked back at the Scroll. It mentioned something about 'awakening' the Anima. While the strange dog was asleep, Ron figured that it was because Percy was asleep, not because it hadn't been 'awakened'.
Scroll, what do you mean when you say 'awaken'?
Through the process of awakening, one will gain the ability to turn into the form of their Anima and gain all of the powers the Anima wields. However, be warned - the process of awakening is incredibly difficult, causing incredible pain the first time one undergoes it.
To awaken, one must hold the Amulet in one's hand and say the incantation 'Excitare Anima'
Ron blinked. "Excitare Anima? What kind of a stupid incantation-"
Then the amulet began to tighten around his neck before it once again burst into flame. Ron cursed, then wrestled with the amulet, trying to take it off. No matter how hard he pushed this time, though, the flames grew brighter and brighter, before spreading to the rest his body.
Ron fell to the ground, collapsed in pain. The fire burned deeper and deeper into him, going down into his bone. Ron would scream, except that he had lost all feeling in his mouth ages ago.
Soon the world was a haze to him as he barely managed to stay conscious.
How much time passed, Ron couldn't tell. Perhaps it was months. Perhaps it was years. Maybe it was just a few seconds? All Ron knew was that it was unbearable.
Then slowly… ever so slowly… the pain receded. Ron slowly managed to gather his focus.
He stood up… on four legs.
…
…
…
Was he going insane? What happened to him?
Rom tried to stand up on two legs, not four! But as he tried to balance, he fell over backward and bounced against the mattress.
"I'm dreaming. I'm definitely dreaming." Ron muttered to himself. Except, the words came out of him as a series of growls instead of English words.
Ron slowly clambered to his feet- no, they were paws, not feet. His paws were orange with black pads and two white claws. Ron took a look at his dog-like legs, which were also orange, with a v-like black strip across it.
He was… a dog. An orange dog.
Ron slowly put one leg forward, then another. Then he put a third forward and tripped over himself.
After ten minutes or so of trying out this… Anima form. Ron was able to walk somewhat effectively. He still had balance issues but could walk from one point to another with only minimal amounts of difficulty.
Ron walked out of the tent and headed to the oasis, where his family had collected water from for drinking. Standing at the bank, he looked at his reflection.
An orange dog stared back at him, a beige ruff adorning its snout and large, round ears twitching every now and again.
Ron tilted his head, and the dog did the same thing.
Well, that confirmed it. He was this strange dog thing. Ron sighed, tired beyond all belief - then jumped as a spurt of flame jumped out of his mouth.
He… he could breathe fire!
Ron tried to breathe fire again and saw a tongue of fire leap out of his mouth and onto the oasis in front of him, sizzling to nothing in front of his eyes.
Ron played a little bit with the fire, spitting out ember after ember. It was fun to breathe fire, to see the dancing smoke exit your mouth with your throat hot and your blood racing.
But Ron was getting tired, and the night was waning. And Ron really didn't want to explain to Mum and Dad that he was now an orange dog that could breathe fire.
Ron walked back to his and Percy's tent, and with some difficulty opened the scroll again. He could see all of the lines on the Scroll clearly. In fact, he saw the glowing green lines as well, which lined all of the tents, not just his and Percy's.
Scroll, how do I get back to being a human?
The lines turned back into words.
To return to your original form from your Anima form, imagine your form as a human and believe yourself to be one. You will soon transform back. If you wish to return to the Anima form, imagine yourself as the Anima form and turn into it, or use the incantation.
Was it really that easy?
Ron closed his eyes, imagining himself as a human, standing on two legs, without heavy fur, unable to breathe fire. Ron opened his eyes again and was standing up as a human, fully clothed and back to normal.
Ron was tired - very, very tired. Still, he wanted to try one more thing. He closed his eyes one more time and willed himself to be the dog monster again, with all of the features too.
Soon, Ron opened his eyes again, as a four-legged creature of fire. Ron breathed a little bit of fire, satisfied with the transformation. Ron turned back into a human and slowly put the Scroll away, hiding it from view. Then Ron collapsed onto his bed, falling asleep as he did so.\
He was done for the night - so very, very done.
This is my attempt at a Harry Potter story, and yes, Ron will be the main character for the most part. Ron is an interesting character and one I feel gets strangely underappreciated in Fanfiction when compared to the glories Draco and Snape get. To be more precise, this is a Pokemon Animagus fanfiction - although it will probably go beyond that as the story rolls on.
If anyone reading would like to beta this story, or know someone who would like to beta this story, then please, let me know. Thank you for reading the first chapter - from now on, updates will hopefully be synchronized with one of my other fanfics, The Mechanic's Journey.
If you like reading this chapter, don't be afraid to follow or favorite, and please, if at all possible, leave a review. I read them for feedback.
Thank you for your time and patience.
Metagrossite