Of Basilisks and rubies

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 155553

With all the threads on alchemy and the symbolism of the four Houses,
I started wondering about the Sword of Gryffindor, the hilt of which
is encrusted with rubies. Ruby is, of course, the birthstone for
people born in July and consequently for Harry, and (like Phoenixes)
it's associated with fire and therefore with Gryffindor, but I also
came across this tantalizing tidbit from a late medieval lapidarium
(which I take to mean a book on the symbolism of gemstones written by
a lapidary or gem cutter):

According to the website ("Medieval Jewelry"), "The twenty-fourth
chapter [of the lapidarium] is entitled 'On the virtues of carbuncle,
or Ruby, and how it is the master of all stones.' Its virtues are many
and powerful: 'If you wear it on you, neither spiritual poison can
harm you, nor air, nor water, however poisonous it would be, nor even
the sight of a Basilisk.' 

Here's the URL for the site if anyone is curious:

http://www.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/SRM/symbol.htm

I wonder if JKR had that passage or a similar one in mind when she had
Harry fight the basilisk using a ruby-encrusted sword. Sounds to me as
if he should not only use it to fight and kill the venomous Nagini
(who would also represent "spiritual poison" if she's a Horcrux), but
have it in hand when he fights Voldemort as well. Even though I doubt
he'll destroy Voldemort that way, it might still protect him. (Could
it also protect him against protective curses placed on the Horcruxes?)

Carol, thinking that the Sword of Gryffindor will play a role in the
battle against Voldemort one way or another and just tossing out ideas