RISING FROM THE ASHES
Chapter Six – The Guardian of the Vault
"Right this way," Ragnook said briskly. He struck a match with a soft hiss and lit a candle, his wrinkled face looking waxy in its light. He turned to his right, facing a limestone wall with a small carving of a dragon in its upper corner, and began to chant in a language which Harry did not know.
"Coimirceoir cara dúinn an fear boghta mé iarr ar tú go oscailte do doras do leabhair sin cé tháinig cad é atá tú a dhéanamh miré fiúntas le an fear anam cé peanné an fear seo gairm. Mé iarr ar tú go ceadaigh an fear seo gasra go onfais isteach i do rúnda, agus taiscéal do suaimhneach. Siad críochnóidh mé amárach glac cad é an saghas atá aige in ceartlán iad. Mé buíochas a ghabháil le duine tú,"1 he recited.
A sound rather like the ringing of a gong pervaded throughout the room, resounding and echoing off the walls, which slowly began to crack. The cracks spread throughout the wall, forming a web-like pattern, until finally the entire wall collapsed at their feet. In front of them stood an ancient looking dragon. Ragnook blew the candle out immediately, plunging them into darkness. They could still, however, see the dragon's bright purple pupils staring at them through the darkness.
Hermione gasped, stepping back hastily, and Fred let out a low whistle.
"Cool," he whispered.
The dragon surveyed them majestically. It had dark, rough looking scales, with ridges down its back and a spiked tail.
"D'fhéadfadh sé teacht do tine dóigh geal,"2 said Ragnook solemnly. The dragon nodded at him, and snorted. A tiny spurt of flame flew out of its nostril, igniting the stick which Ragnook held aloft. They could see once again.
Ragnook motioned for them to step over the rubble, and they continued onwards. Harry looked back to see the wall behind them completely constructed, with no visible cracks in it.
They walked in silence for several minutes, until Ragnook finally announced their arrival at Dumbledore's vault.
He ran his long fingers along the door, and it slowly began to open.
"Wow…" breathed Mrs. Weasley.
Wow, indeed.
The vault was filled to the top with gold. Galleons lay in heaps on the stone floor, glimmering in the faint light of the dragon's fire.
"One hundred thousand galleons to the young Weasleys," said Ragnook gruffly, pulling a sack from the lining of his blue jacket and beginning to stuff it with the galleons. When he had finished, and the vault was empty, he handed it to George, who accepted it, knees buckling with its weight.
"It's sort of strange though, isn't it?" asked Ginny as they headed back up the passageway, "That all Dumbledore would have had in his vault was gold? I thought there'd be a bit more than just money in there."
"So did I," admitted Hermione, "It is rather odd. I guess Aberforth already removed it when he came to collect his gold."
Ginny shrugged. "Guess so."
"Alright," said Fred, "We'll take twenty five thousand of that. Ron and Ginny, you can each take one thousand. Charlie and Bill can have one thousand a piece as well. Mum, dad, you take the rest.
"A-are you quite sure, son?" asked Mr. Weasley tentatively.
"Yes, dad," said Fred firmly.
"But dear," Mrs. Weasley protested, "That's over seventy thousand galleons! What are we to do with seventy thousand galleons?"
"Well," said George, "Dad can put the money into researching Muggle stuff, and mum you can use it to pay for Bill's wedding, and maybe fix up the house a bit, buy yourself some new clothes, y'know?"
"Alright," said Mr. Weasley uncertainly, "We should deposit that in our vault, then. Excuse me, Ragnook, would you please accompany my wife and me to vault 242?"
"Certainly," said Ragnook, turning around and leading them in the opposite direction.
"You lot can find your way on your own, can't you?" Mrs. Weasley called over her shoulder.
"Well, let's go then," said George, and they continued on along the passage.
After a short period of time, they reached a split passageway.
"C'mon," said Ron, and he began to walk towards the right doorway.
"Ronald," said Hermione complacently, "You're going the wrong way…"
"I am not!" Ron retorted, "I think I remember which way we came from, Hermione!"
"Really?" she asked, "Then why is it you never remembered to do your homework?"
Ron opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by Fred.
"ENOUGH, you two!" he shouted, clapping his hands over his ears, "I'm sick of your rows. They were amusing at first but now you're acting like mum and dad – and it's really starting to get on my nerves!
"Mine too," George said, crossing his arms and leaning against a statue of a giant sphinx, "Give it a rest, will you?"
"No!" Ron protested, turning to face Hermione, "Remember when Harry nearly forgot about our Potions essay? Who reminded him? I did! But no, you took all the credit!"
"Maybe that's because I practically wrote it for him!" Hermione shouted.
"Oh, come off it!" Ron bellowed, "You're always trying to steal my thunder!"
His voice reverberated around the stone chamber.
Steal…steal…steal…
Behind George, the eyes of the sphinx lit up, glowing yellow in the dim light.
"Get off," it hissed. George did as he was told.
The sphinx yawned, and stood up, the stone transforming to flesh and the thick layer of dust to fur, until finally it closely resembled the sphinx which Harry had come across in the Triwizard maze in his fourth year.
"Planning to steal something, are you now?" it asked Hermione coyly. She shook her head frantically.
"N-no!" she objected, "It's just an expression. Stealing one's thunder means that–"
"I don't care what it means," said the sphinx softly. "But if none of you can answer my riddle, I will devour all of you, whether you be a thief or not. I will devour the thunder thief first, however."
"No!" The other five shouted at once.
The sphinx smiled slyly.
"Very well then. Do you want to save the girl, and yourselves? Answer my riddle correctly, and you shall pass unscathed. Are you ready?"
"Y-yes," said Hermione, her chin quivering.
"Don't worry, Hermione," said Ginny, "We'll be here to help you, if you need it."
The sphinx opened her mouth, and the six fell quiet as she began to speak.
"I glimmer in the morning light
My coat is fair, my body bright
But when nighttime falls, what's left to gain?
My coat is dull, my body plain
I do, however, have a friend
Who's not so cruel as to pretend
The sin of man, the driving force
Of greed and need he is the source
If you mistake me for him, a poor fool you'd be named
Now answer my riddle if you don't wish to be shamed
What am I?"
"Er…" said Harry, "Can we discuss the answer before we give it to you?"
"Yes," the sphinx replied, swishing her tufted tail.
The five turned to Hermione, who was looking quite apprehensive.
"Well," she said uncertainly, "I suppose the best way to go about this would be to break down the riddle one line at a time. Keep in mind, metaphors and personification are often used in riddles, and sometimes part of the answer is hidden in the question without our knowledge."
"Right, then," said Fred, "I glimmer in the morning light. So what glitters when it's light out?"
"Jewelry?" Ginny suggested.
"I don't really think that fits with the rest of the riddle, Ginny," Hermione said thoughtfully, and she began to pace, muttering to herself.
"You know," said Ron, "I reckon it's the second part of the riddle that's more important, because if whatever this is 'has a friend' it probably means they're similar, so if we can figure out what that friend is, we can guess the answer to the riddle."
Hermione opened her mouth to retort, but closed it and said softly, "It's worth a try … Alright, so whatever this is has a friend who's 'not so cruel as to pretend.'" She stopped pacing, tapping a finger on her jaw. "That must mean that the first thing does pretend, does that make sense?"
"Yeah," said Harry. "It does. So its friend is real, and it is 'the sin of man'. Er, but what's the sin of man?"
"Hate?" suggested George.
"Well, yes," said Hermione, "But it's like Ginny's answer – it only works for that line,"
"Of greed and need he is the source," Ron said, with a slight smile on his face, "So what's the source of greed? Is that asking what causes greed?"
"It would seem that way, yes," Hermione said, running her fingers through her bushy hair.
Ron began to laugh.
"It seems ickle Ronniekins has gone off his rocker," Fred whispered to George, who grinned.
However, to Harry's amazement, Ron did not make to attack either of them. He simply stood there, laughing.
"Harry!" he choked, "Surely you know the answer? Don't you remember what happened in our fourth year? Don't you remember the Quidditch World Cup?"
"Of course I do," Harry replied, perplexed, "But what has Quidditch got to do with the answer to the riddle?"
Ron turned to face them, a huge smile stretching across his face.
"I glimmer in the morning light, my coat is fair, my body bright," he recited, "Makes you think of gold, doesn't it?"
"Yes but…" Hermione began, but was cut off by Ron, who held out his hand.
"Hear me out, alright?" he requested.
"But when nighttime falls, what's left to gain? My coat is dull, my body plain," Well, it can't be gold then, can it? Because gold still glimmers when it's dark. The riddle says that whatever this is has a friend who doesn't pretend to be something it's not. What makes people greedy? What does everyone need? Gold!" he exclaimed. "So the answer to the second part of the riddle is gold. So if we go back to the first part, with that in mind, it would seem that the first thing is similar to, yet not, gold. And if we mistake this for gold, we'd be poor fools. Get it, like we'd think we were rich but weren't?" He turned to face Harry.
"Sort of like that Leprechaun gold we got during the Quidditch World Cup, isn't it, mate?" he asked.
"Yeah," said Harry slowly. It all made sense, it all fit, "Yeah, it is,"
Hermione gasped, and they all turned to look at her. "In the Muggle word," she said, "There's a substance called pyrite, better known as fool's gold! It fits with the word play. We'd be poor because we'd think we had gold, and we'd be fools because we would have mistaken the pyrite for the actual gold!"
The sphinx swished her tail. "Is that your answer?" she asked.
"No!" Hermione said, "I want to make absolutely sure that –"
"Yes," Ron interrupted. "The answer is fool's gold."
They waited with baited breath as the sphinx sat silent. A few seconds later, she jumped up, as if to pounce, but Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as she simply moved aside.
"You have answered my riddle correctly," she told them, "And by the way," she said, addressing Hermione, "The boy was correct. It is the right door through which you want to head.
"Oh," said Hermione, "Well, er, good job, Ron!" She said in a false cheery voice, and headed through the door on the right, head held high.
"What'd I do?" asked Ron, baffled.
"You proved her wrong, little bro," George said, and clapped him on the back, following Hermione through the door. Harry followed, grinning.
…
They arrived at the stone wall from which the dragon had come, at the same time as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Ragnook simply stroked the wall and it crumpled to the floor again, allowing them to pass through. The dragon did not reappear.
"Okay, you lot," said Mr. Weasley, "Anyone up for an ice cream?" She pointed to the shop which Florean Fortescue used to be the proprietor of. However, it now read 'Delilah's Delicious Daytime Delights' and was painted a putrid shade of pink as opposed to the former light blue it had been when Fortescue owned it.
"No, thanks," said Harry, Fred, George, and Ron simultaneously.
"Oh, Mrs. Weasley," said Hermione hurriedly, "I'd really like to go to the bookshop, and I know Harry, Ron, and Ginny would as well, isn't that right?" she asked, giving them a pointed look.
"Yeah, we do," said Harry quickly, catching on.
"What are you on about, mate?" asked Ron, "I don't want to go to the ruddy – OW!" he exclaimed as Ginny punched him in the arm.
"We'll be back by 1:00," she promised, and the four of them walked away quickly.
"That was close," panted Harry when they had arrived at Flourish and Blotts.
"Yes, it was, that place reminded me of Umbridge," said Hermione with a shudder, "Thank goodness we're at the best shop in Diagon Alley now!" She sighed with relief, and hurried off in search of a new read.
"Really?" Ron said sarcastically once she had left, "Doesn't look like this place sells broomsticks to me,"
Harry chuckled, and said, "I'm going to go see if they've got any books on Defense. See you later, mate,"
"Yeah, see you," Ron said, heading in the opposite direction for a series of shelves with the label of 'Books for Blokes'
…
"Excuse me," said Harry, tapping a tall wizard with dark hair on the shoulder.
"Yes, excuse you," said the bookseller without turning around, "I'm rather busy at the moment, you'll have to find someone else to — Oh…it's you…" he said sheepishly, "The famous Harry Potter, it is quite an honor to meet –"
"I'm looking for books on Defense Against the Dark Arts," Harry interrupted, sick of being treated differently because of his scar.
"Yes, right away Mr. Potter," said the attendant.
Harry followed him past shelves of shelves of books, until they finally reached the Defense Against the Dark Arts section.
"Looking for anything in particular, Mr. Potter?" asked the man eagerly.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I am," said Harry sarcastically, "Something that will make me and Voldemort the best of friends. You know, maybe a book of spells for turning enemies into tea cozies? Something along that line?"
The assistant flinched at the sound of Voldemort's name, and hurried away, flustered.
Harry shrugged, and pulled the first book off the shelf that caught his eye.
Moste Potente Potions
Now, what's that doing there? Harry wondered, and shrugged, picking it up at flipping through its pages with mild curiosity.
I've got nothing better to do…
He came upon a page titled 'Spiritus Timere3' and began to read aloud.
"Often referred to as a liquid dementor," he whispered to himself, "When brewed correctly this potion should give off a faint greenish glow. The potion causes its victim to relieve their worst memories, experience their greatest fears as though they were reality. If its effects are not counter-acted, it will reduce them to a state of utmost despair and hysteria…"
Harry stopped reading, mouth agape.
Could this be what Dumbledore had drunk, that night in the cave?
His train of thought was interrupted by Hermione.
"I've found a few new books!" she informed him excitedly from behind a tower of tomes.
"A few, Hermione?" Harry asked incredulously, setting Moste Potente Potions aside, "What do you consider a fair amount, then, fifty?"
"Very funny," she snapped, "Seen Ron anywhere?"
"No," said Harry.
"What've you got there?" she asked, pointing to the book next to him.
"Nothing," said Harry quickly, setting it back on the shelf.
"Well, I'm off to find Ron," Hermione said, "Meet you at the front desk in, say, five minutes?"
"Alright," said Harry. He waited until she was out of sight, and then removed the book from the shelf, tucking it under his cloak. He hurried over to the front desk and quietly exchanged his ten galleons for it. He had just wrapped it in plain parchment and tied it together with a spare piece of twine when Hermione approached with Ron and Ginny in tow. Ron had a noticeable book-shaped bulge underneath his cloak as well.
"Ready?" asked Hermione.
They left the shop together, pausing briefly in front of Quality Quidditch Supplies so that Harry, Ron and Ginny could admire a new pair of gloves that allowed for a better grip on the broom handle. They would have gone inside, but Hermione was already tutting impatiently, and reminding them they were due to meet Mrs. Weasley in five minute's time.
"Alright, alright!" Ron said exasperatedly, turning away from the window to face an irritated Hermione, "We're coming, keep your hair on."
They arrived at the meeting spot at exactly 1:00, and headed back to the Burrow for further wedding preparations. And, in Harry's case, to further examine his new purchase.
This is written is Gaelic, as I know someone who is Irish and was kind enough to translate for me. It roughly translates to: "Guardian of the vault I ask you to open your doors for those who have been deemed worthy by the soul who penned this summons. I ask you to allow this group to delve into your secrets, and explore your contents. They will take only what is rightfully theirs. I thank you."
2 "May your fire always burn bright"
3 Latin for 'Essence of Fear'. At least, according to my friend. If she is wrong, please do not hesitate to tell me in a review so I can change it! Thanks!