Chapter 108: Doro Strikes
In the Adventurers' Club, the various enchanted models went about their daily roughhousing, as lively and energetic as the instruments in Nicolas Flamel's workshop. They rarely ventured far from the club, as their power was drawn from the magical arrays embedded in the room. There were a few exceptions, of course: the wolf pup and astronaut models, and Doro, who had been "borrowed" by Penelope.
But today, the sounds of chaos from the castle corridors had alerted them. The little golems peeked out of the club and saw the fire, the strange stone statues, and the students being attacked by other students who seemed to be in some kind of trance.
"What do we do?" the wolf pup model asked. As the security team for the Adventurers' Club, created by Ryan with their own rudimentary consciousness, they felt a strong sense of loyalty to the club and to Hogwarts.
"Humans. Good. Must save," Doro declared. "Ryan foresaw this. He left us a weapon."
"Good," the astronaut model's voice crackled from its helmet. "What did he leave us?"
Doro trotted over to the sofa and, with a grunt and her chubby cheeks puffed out, began to push it aside. A small, tattooed golem with a green spear slung over its back came to help. Beneath the sofa lay a broken sword. It was not snapped in the middle, but was a blade without a hilt, with only a small, indented socket at its base. Beside it lay a short rod, one end of which was carved with an intricate pattern that perfectly matched the socket on the blade.
With some effort, Doro fitted the two pieces together, forming a small spear that was still several times her own size. "Assemble!" she cried, tapping the butt of the spear on the ground.
From every corner of the room, dozens of golems of all shapes and sizes emerged and formed a haphazard line. "Assembled!" they chirped in unison.
"Comrades!" Doro squeaked. "The wizarding world is vast, but we have nowhere to retreat! For this is Hogwarts!"
"Defend Hogwarts! Protect Hogwarts!" the golems chanted raggedly.
"Very good! Then let us—" Doro paused, a blank look on her face. The other golems, assuming the speech was over, began to applaud. Doro pulled a small slip of paper from her pocket, glanced at it, and then continued. "United as one, with a common will, we shall overcome all obstacles! For a better tomorrow!"
After confirming that she was finished and not just forgetting her lines again, the golems offered another round of scattered applause. "Charge!" Doro shouted, brandishing her oversized spear. The wolf pup, ever the loyal steed, grew slightly in size, and Doro leaped onto its back.
The wolf and its rider charged out of the club, a motley crew of several dozen tiny golems at their heels. They looked less like an army on its way to war and more like a scene from a children's story.
A suit of animated armor, standing guard at the end of the corridor, raised its sword, ready to swat the "toys" out of the air. There was a faint ripping sound, like tearing cloth. The knight froze. Its strength was gone, the magic that animated it draining away like water from a sieve. What's happening? it wondered, its newly-sentient mind unable to comprehend the situation. It looked down and saw a clean, impossibly sharp cut on its leg, right where the pink toy's spear had pricked it. How could a single touch dispel the powerful magic that gave me life?
In its confusion, the knight's movements slowed, and it reverted to an ordinary statue. Then, with a series of cracks, it crumbled into a pile of rubble.
"Forward!" Doro squeaked, waving her spear. "None can stand before us!"
The golem army swept through the corridors. Some engaged in melee combat, others fired off miniature spells. They were an unstoppable force, a thirty-centimeter-tall wave of righteous fury.
They rounded a corner and saw a group of students desperately fending off another animated statue. The students' spells were mostly ineffective; the only reason they were still standing was that two of them, a boy and a girl, were physically holding the statue's arms, locked in a desperate struggle.
Neville and Hannah were straining with all their might, afraid to even breathe for fear of losing their grip. They had been practicing the Strengthening Charm Ryan had taught them, and their friends were casting every weakening and strengthening spell they knew, but they were still losing ground. Flesh and blood, after all, could not contend with enchanted stone. Neville felt his arms begin to buckle.
Suddenly, he heard a series of surprised, but not frightened, yelps from the students behind him. Something small and fast zipped past his ankles. In the next instant, the statue went completely limp. Neville and Hannah, caught off guard by the sudden lack of resistance, sent the statue flying. It crashed to the ground and shattered into a thousand pieces.
They looked at each other, bewildered, and then turned to see the corridor was filled with tiny, toy-like figures, some of which were already tending to the injured students. Something tapped Neville on the knee. He looked down and saw a small, pink creature riding a wolf pup.
"Humans," Doro said, her voice full of admiration. "You are very strong!"
The little pink thing can talk, Neville thought, a vague memory stirring in his mind. He recalled Harry, Hermione, and the Weasley twins arguing over which of the models in the Adventurers' Club was the cutest. They had mentioned one named Doro. But the creature that had just single-handedly defeated a statue a hundred times its size... "cute" was not the word that came to mind. "Dangerous" seemed more appropriate.
"Hello," he said, still a bit stunned. "I'm Neville Longbottom. Professor Welles taught me and Hannah a Strengthening Charm. That's why we were able to hold it off." As he spoke, a small, pink, egg-shaped golem began to heal their scrapes and bruises.
"So, you are students of Ryan!" Doro said, nodding sagely. "Do you know the cause of this fire and attack?"
~~~
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