Ronald Weasley and the Armor of Gryffindor

Chapter Nine : The Chamber of Bravery

However, never daunted, I will cope with adversity
 in my traditional manner... sulking and nausea.
 -- Tom K. Ryan (Quoted on the internet)

He knew that this time, there was a good chance that he was on his own. Harry was still absent, and the Professors were all looking for him. Harry had been right when he'd said that when he went after Voldemort, Ron would have to take care of the problems left behind. Harry had seemed to think they would be confined to Malfoy, however, and had never mentioned a giant half-spider.

Ron was walking through the halls. He wouldn't have admitted to being aimless, but he was definitely destination-impaired. He had some idea of where the Arachneataur was, but he also knew that he wouldn't be able to fight it on his own. He needed someone else to help him. Someone, or something, that could give him a chance against the creature.

He did have one half thought. Well, he had two, but "There's nothing I can do" wasn't terribly comforting. He wondered about the legend of Gryffindor's secret chamber, and the Armor that was there. Sure, a giant half-spider wasn't exactly a Muggle weapon, but it wasn't quite an Unforgivable curse, either.

Unfortunately, he didn't have any idea where the Chamber might be, and Hermione wasn't available to ask. He wondered who, apart from the Professors, might have an idea. He could always try the library, if nothing else, although anything useful would probably be in the Restricted Section.

Ron walked towards the library anyway. He hoped that Madam Pince didn't send him back to his dormitory -- he was quite sure that he wasn't supposed to be out and about, when all of the other students were huddled in their Common Rooms.

Well, almost all of the other students. Draco Malfoy stood by the door of the library, trying to get it to open. The usual charms didn't seem to be working. Malfoy hadn't said anything to indicate that he'd heard Ron approach. Ron put his hand on Draco's shoulder, and Draco jumped almost a foot in the air.

"What do you want," Malfoy snapped at him. "Looking for handouts?"

"No, Malfoy, I'm looking for clues. Not from you, of course, I've never seen anyone quite as lacking in clues than a Malfoy."

"Funny," Malfoy responded, "but there's no audience here. Why don't you just leave me alone?"

"Leave YOU alone," Ron replied. "You're the one that has nothing better to do than make my life miserable."

"If that's the way you see it, Weasley, I won't argue. I didn't start it, this time, though."

Ron stepped back from him, out of his face. "Sorry, I guess I'm just on edge."

Malfoy stared at him. "Did you just apologize to me, Weasley?"

Ron smirked, "Like you said, there's no audience. I'd still like to know what you're looking for, though."

Draco got a sort of haunted expression, "There's a book I need, in the Restricted Section. Madam Pince wouldn't let me check it out, and I couldn't convince anyone that it was important."

"What about Snape?" Ron asked, "wouldn't he sign a request for you?"

"No," Malfoy shook his head, "He asks too many questions."

"Well, it looks like she locked it up tightly this time," Ron said, "Not like the old days."

"I'm afraid to ask," Draco said, "but you don't know another way in there, do you?"

"No," Ron shook his head, "but that doesn't mean there isn't one. Look, I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got to save Hermione and Ginny."

"Ahh, yes, the Gryffindor ethic. Care about anyone on your own side, forget anyone else."

Ron looked him in the eye, "What's wrong, Malfoy?"

"Nothing I can tell you about, Weasley," Draco said bitterly.

"Well, forget I asked, then," Ron replied, and walked off. He felt slightly guilty for not pressing more, but when it came to a choice between Hermione and Malfoy, it wasn't even worth talking about.

Ron was on his way down to the Great Hall, when he ran into Valentin Vrag, not quite literally. Vrag was coming from the opposite direction, from the stairs up to one of the Astronomy Towers.

"Aah, Mister Weasley, I should have known I would find you out of your room," Valentin said, his voice expansive. He had a sad look on his face, but seemed to be trying for a jovial tone.

"I'm surprised to see you out, Mister Vrag," Ron said, "aren't you afraid of being eaten by the Arachneataur?"

"No, not especially," Vrag said, "I am just enjoying a study of the architecture of Hogwarts. You know, the founders each left their personal touches on this place. It is amusing, perhaps, that Slytherin left his touch in the plumbing and the dungeons, while Gryffindor put his touch on the..." Vrag trailed off, and looked horrified. He looked like had said something that he hadn't meant to say.

"Yes, Mister Vrag," Ron prodded. This could be the hint he needed. "What did Godric Gryffindor design?"

"The doors, I think," Vrag said, but his diffident tone aside, Ron was sure he was covering up something. "Good evening, Mister Weasley, and be careful. You don't want to be eaten by the spider, I'm sure."

Ron looked around nervously, but didn't leave. He waited until Vrag left, thinking. Slytherin designed the dungeons, and that was where the Slytherin dorms were found. Gryffindor had a tower, and Vrag was on his way from one of the Astronomy towers... could that be it? Godric Gryffindor had a thing for large, prominent, towers? He would have guessed that was more of a Slytherin trait, but what did he know.

An hour later, Ron stood in the tallest Astronomy Tower, alone. He had already checked all of the lower rooms, and he didn't think anything would have been hidden on the top. This place was empty, and he couldn't see where anyone would even put an entrance to another room.

He had failed. He closed his eyes, thinking of Hermione. A tear escaped from one of his eyes, but he resisted the urge to wipe it away. Somehow, standing here alone, he wasn't as concerned about his manhood as about his friends. About Hermione. "I don't know what to do," he whispered into the room. "There's no way I can face the monster without some help, and there's no help to be found."

Ron felt a sort of pregnant feeling in the air, a heaviness, as if the room itself was waiting for something. He backed towards the door, but something clenched at his heart. He needed to say something more, he realized, before he would be able to leave.

"Even if I can't find any help, I'll try," he said, "I can't just leave her. I can't miss the chance to tell her... that I love her."

One of the windows slowly opened. There was a grinding sound, and running to the window, Ron saw a ledge smoothly sliding out from the wall outside, extending ten feet out. Not knowing what else to do, he walked out onto the ledge.

When he had reached the end, he heard a slamming behind him. The window had closed. Then there was a horrific grinding sound, and the ledge started to plummet straight down, towards the earth, sliding along the side of the tower.

Ron couldn't move. His feet felt glued to the stone as it headed towards the earth, straight between a pair of huge flying buttresses. Just before he thought sure that it would hit, there was another grinding sound, and he saw the ground beneath him split, fissuring and providing a space just big enough for his stone platform to slide down and into the ground.

The ceiling slammed shut above him as the ledge continued it's descent. Suddenly, it stopped. He swayed, but Ron didn't feel like he had just fallen from the top of the Astronomy tower to a point underground. It was pitch black. Ron lit his wand, and almost wished he hadn't.

Ahead of him, a stone path continued from the base of the ledge across a green bubbling liquid. The room smelled like rotten eggs, and Ron could already feel the inside of his nose starting to burn from the rancid quality of the air. He coughed slightly. Standing there didn't seem to be a good idea.

Ron stepped out onto the path. The stone shuddered slightly under him, and then started to move downwards. He stepped quickly onto the next, and felt it begin to give way. He almost ran across the room, stepping quickly under a white archway on the other side. The stones behind him had all sunk beneath the surface of the liquid. There was a hissing sound and a whiff of smoke from where they had been.

"Bloody 'ell," Ron swore, but it didn't make him feel better. He looked back at the room on the other side of the archway.

It was shaped like an oval, and furnished entirely with red stone, lit only by Ron's wand. The stone had veins of gold running through it. There was a doorway on the other side, but it was blocked by a thin layer of red crystal. Ron could see a dim light coming through the red crystal, but he didn't put his wand out. He wanted every scrap of light he could get to see what was in here.

There were a dozen small black blocks on the floor. As Ron watched they started to wiggle, and then grow. They had started as cube shapes, but as he watched, they were starting to grow spindly little legs, and nasty pointed teeth. They were also getting bigger - from barely a foot on a side, they had already grown to four feet tall.

Ron decided that he better not wait. He ran through the room, avoiding the blocks as he moved towards the far side. He rammed into the crystal on the far side, but it didn't move.

Ron looked carefully at the crystal, and found a key hold. "Alohomora," he commanded. It still didn't move. Ron turned back, and saw that the black creatures had started to merge. Where they touched, they seemed to ooze together. The merged creatures quickly became a single huge spider in place of many small creatures.

As the last black blob became part of the thing, nearly 12' tall, Ron saw runes begin to shine on the edge of the wall. He looked at them closely, squinting. It took him a minute to realize that they weren't some mystic symbols, they were just much older Greek letters than he was used to.

Ron couldn't translate well -- he recognized the word for "Die", the word for "Brave", and the name "Gryffindor," and that was about it. Even if his Greek had been better, the large black spider would have taken his mind off it.

The spider had moved to the side of the room. There was a clear path back to the entryway, and Ron could see that the stepping-stones had risen again. He could probably make it out, if he needed to. Since there was no obvious way through the crystal, he might just have to.

The black spider seemed to hiss, drawing Ron's attention back to it. He saw something shiny glistening between its fangs, and a moment's study revealed it as the end of a key. This was some sort of sick test, he thought, and he would have to get the key to enter the room. Ron wasn't sure how he was going to do that.

He had a choice, it appeared, and he could either face the spider and get the key, or leave without the armor. Not much of a choice. Soonest started, soonest ended, he thought, and Ron ran straight for the spider. It reacted sluggishly, turning its mouth towards him, but he wasn't going for its mouth. Ron dove under the spider, but as he went, he reached up, through the bottom of the spider's head, forcefully shoving his hand through its gooey flesh. His hand closed around the key, and he rolled out the other side with it.

By the time he looked back, the spider had already started falling apart, back into blocks. Ron walked up to the door and put the key into it -- it slid into the doorway, and the crystal seemed to melt into the surrounding doorway.

On the other side was a tall wooden skeleton, draped in beautiful armor. The main part of the armor was made up of gold-tinged overlapping scales, each shaped like a oak leaf, but there were also arm and leg-greaves, copper tinged with engraved gryphons etched into them. There was a small helmet, really only a skullcap, and a pair of tall maroon leather boots. Maroon -- well, his mother had always said that it was his color.

Ron hesitated. He had fought to get the armor. He was convinced that without it, he didn't stand a chance against the Arachneataur, although he would be willing to die trying. He was equally convinced that if he put the armor on, he would die at tomorrow's first light. Either way, he was dead. The only difference was whether he died in vain. If he got Hermione out, maybe she would think of some way to save him -- but even if she didn't, at least he would have a chance to see her again before dawn.

Ron pulled his outer robe off. He hoped his shirt and trousers would be enough cushioning to wear under the armor, because he didn't have time to find something proper. He yanked the armor on. The shirt fit well, but he had trouble with the greaves -- they were buckled on in back, and it was hard for him to buckle by himself. He was committed now, though, and he couldn't spare time to find someone to help him put them on.

He tossed his outer robe back over the armor. He figured that while the skullcap would be obvious, there was no reason to stand out more than he needed to. Ron walked confidently back to the room with the stepping-stones. He walked across them -- the liquid reached up and lapped his feet, but it didn't seem to affect the boots. He was glad that he'd put on the armor, as he wasn't sure if he could have gone through here otherwise.

When he reached the other side, he stepped up onto the ledge. It shuddered, and then moved towards the ceiling, which ripped apart. Then it stopped, at ground level. Ron stepped off of it, and watched as the ledge ascended back towards the top of the Astronomy tower, before sliding back into the wall.

Well, there was no reason to delay now. He had a wand, a Bat, and a full bag of food. It was at least nine hours before dawn. Ron took a deep breath, and ran into the woods.

A/N: No, it's no coincidence that it was a spider. Think of it as a sort of concentrated Boggart-stuff -- for Ron, it was destined to be a spider.

On referring to the Astronomy towers, above - from book one, "let alone being up the tallest astronomy tower." You could read it a few different ways, but just in case, I'm assuming there's more than one. It doesn't really matter for the story, though.

I use a program called fortune to provide quotes of the day, some of which make it into my stories as the chapter-opening quotes. Fortune has a bunch of quotes of its own, but I also use quotes from elsewhere on the web. Today's chapter opening quote comes from Eclipse's web page of quotes.