Disclaimer: Not the Rowling, not the Clamp.
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NOTES:
Crack.
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MAGIC KNIGHT RAY...VENCLAW?
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"What are we doing here," hissed Mandy Brocklehurst, pressing herself into the shadows of the first floor corridor.
"I don't know," whispered Ginny Weasley. "I just felt... well, compelled to come here. But not in a bad way... like it's really important we do something here?"
Mandy sighed. "I know what you mean. It's... I just hope it's not a trap. That bitch Carrow is just itching for an excuse."
Ginny gave a small nod. "Or Snape. But it's lunch-time, as long as we're not actually breaking any rules we should be fine."
"And what about that thing?"
Ginny covered her pocket, from which Arnold the Pigmy Puff was observing quietly. "He jumped in at the same time I felt the urge to come here. He's the main reason I'm not too worried — and he's not a thing, by the way."
Mandy gave an apologetic wave of her hand. "Sorry. All right, last dash?"
Ginny nodded again, and the two girls darted across the corridor and into the infamous Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom.
"Ah, good," said Myrtle, floating over to face them. "You've started to arrive."
"What's going on, Myrtle?" asked Mandy.
"Hogwarts isn't happy with things," replied the ghostly Ravenclaw. "Your yummy friend Harry Potter is off trying to save the world, but someone needs to protect the school."
"We know," said Mandy. "Neville is getting people together; we're going to do what we can to stand up to them."
"It won't be enough," said Myrtle. "If it was just the new teachers, he'd do well, but at some point Tom's going to make Hogwarts his palace, and then... well, it'll be just too bad. You and the others are the castle's ace in the hole."
Mandy glanced at Ginny, hoping she could explain the obviously Muggle phrase, but only received a shrug. "Others?" she asked.
Myrtle nodded back to the door to her bathroom, which was just opening.
"I suppose it was inevitable there'd be a Gryffindor at the bottom of this," said Daphne Greengrass, shutting the door carefully behind her and ignoring Ginny's sudden bristling at her presence.
"Not just a Gryffindor," said Myrtle. "One of each..."
"Where's the Puff then?" asked Ginny, then whispered, "Not you Arnold," in response to her pet's questioning chirrup.
"He should be along any— ah," said Myrtle as the door opened a crack.
"Um... hello?" said a male voice. "Is anyone there? Only..."
"You felt drawn here?" Daphne finished the sentence for him.
"Well, yes..." replied the disembodied voice. "But..."
"Oh I've got used to boys tramping through my bathroom whenever the fit takes them," snarked Myrtle. "Come on in."
The door opened just enough for Justin Finch-Fletchley to slip in, looking highly embarrassed. Once inside, he looked around the somewhat-famous room. "Good afternoon Ginny, Miss Greengrass," he said, giving each of them a short bow, then smiled warmly at the third living girl. "Hi Mandy." The three of them replied as per their closeness to the boy.
"This is Myrtle Warren," said Mandy, formally introducing her sort-of housemate. "Myrtle, this is Justin Finch-Fletchley."
"Nice to meet you, Justin," said Myrtle.
"So...?" asked Ginny. "Why have we all been... summoned, I suppose?"
Myrtle nodded with an unusually serious expression, and floated into position in front of them all. "When Hogwarts was founded, before Salazar Slytherin built his Chamber of Secrets, long before the Four split forever, they created powerful Defences to protect the school in times of need.
"These devices were so potentially destructive, they bound them with locks that could only be opened by four people of specific types. The school has enough pupils to ensure that a matching four can always be found.
"These four must be pure of heart and loyal to the school—" Myrtle was cut off by Ginny's instinctive scoff and glare in Daphne's direction.
"Please don't associate me with my idiot house-mates," said Daphne. "My family has never followed any Dark Lord."
Myrtle made a throat-clearing noise reminiscent of a past DADA professor, then continued. "Four pupils, loyal to the school, selected as follows:
"From the House of Water, the refined daughter of wealth, mistress of the sword.
"From the House of Air, the child of knowledge, an archer with glasses and locks of brown.
"From the House of Fire, younger than the others, the red-headed crusader.
"From the House of Earth, the young swordsman, apparently of common stock but hiding noble blood." Myrtle opened her arms, indicating the four living pupils.
"That describes three of us well enough," said Daphne to Justin, "but what of you?"
Justin thought for a moment. "Well, you know I'm Muggle-born, which I suppose counts as 'common stock' to some magicals. And... I don't normally bring it up, but my father's ancestor was awarded land and the title of Baron by William the Conqueror for his service in the invasion, and his family has held them ever since." Mandy shot a questioning glance at her sort-of boyfriend, who gave a 'later' gesture, then went on, "One of the family traditions is the maintenance of our martial abilities: I've been trained in the family styles of rapier and longsword, as well as pistol and rifle."
Daphne nodded. "My family are all proficient with the rapier. We haven't had to use the skill for centuries, but tradition is tradition. And I've heard about your forays into Muggle archery competitions, Brocklehurst."
"I don't have any skills like that," said Ginny, slightly despondent.
"None of you are perfect matches," said Myrtle. "You should also have training with a sword, the Ravenclaw is supposed to be shy and reserved, and the Slytherin and Hufflepuff are supposed to have blue and green hair — apparently those conditions have only ever been met once, long before my time... anyway, there's some leeway in the matches, otherwise there would never be a complete set of four."
"All right," said Mandy. "You have the four of us, imperfect matches that we are. Now what?"
"Now you must be tested," said Myrtle ominously. The floor disintegrated under the three girls, dropping them into darkness. Arnold jumped to safety from Ginny's pocket with a loud squeak.
"Mandy!" shouted Justin, running over to the hole that had swallowed her, but it closed over in an instant. "What have you done to them?" he demanded, rounding on Myrtle.
"Me? Nothing!" said Myrtle with a giggle. "Hogwarts' Defences don't accept just anyone, even if they do match the Founders' criteria."
"And if they fail? What will happen to them?"
"Nothing. They'll be returned here, and Hogwarts' Defences will remain dormant."
Justin sighed in relief, then asked, "What about me though?"
"Your role is to protect the three girls when they're not working the Defences. The power you'll have is nothing compared to theirs, so a full test of character is unnecessary."
"I know Mandy and Ginny don't need any help protecting themselves, and from what I've seen Daphne is no different."
Myrtle floated over to the back wall of the bathroom as she said, "But their roles are critical. If anything happens to them, everything is lost. You have to guard them when they're tired, asleep, distracted... they can't be vigilant all the time. And here is Hogwarts' gift to you," she finished, sweeping her transparent arm over the stonework.
With a grinding noise, the masonry folded back on itself, revealing a niche containing a simple, dull steel shoulder guard, and a gigantic curved sword. Justin stepped forward and took up the shining weapon, gasping at the sudden tingle that coursed up his arms and down his back.
"The sword accepts you," commented Myrtle as Justin raised the blade into an ox guard.
"It's a lot lighter than it looks," he noted, dropping back into a tail guard then running through a series of cuts. "It handles quite like a longsword, and the hilt's the perfect shape... I won't be able to half-sword, given the thickness and the curve, but other than that... I can use this."
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Daphne stood before the giant, blue, winged serpent, her head bowed. It had shown her visions of her family, lies of rejection and disdain, but she had seen through the phantasms and dispelled them with the force of her will. Now Celes, the Guardian Spirit created by Slytherin, spoke in her mind.
"Your worth is proven. Take up my dormant form, and carry it with honour. When the hour of direst need arrives, call my name and I will answer."
The serpent shrank down into a rapier-like weapon, with guards resembling his bat-like wings. Daphne grasped the hilt and shivered as the tingle ran through her.
-=o=-
"Your worth is proven," said Windam, the great green bird with four wings. Mandy had had to face an illusion of losing her wit, of being ridiculed by her peers, but her keen intellect had seen through the lies and countered them with incontrovertible truth. "When the time comes, call my name and I will be with you, to pit my might in the defence of the school. Until then, I shall remain dormant, though still of use to you."
Mandy cautiously picked up the unfamiliar shell-guarded blade that Windam became, then felt herself rise into the air as the sword indicated its acceptance.
-=o=-
Ginny had been confronted with images of her friends' belittling and rejection, but even as the tears of heartache rolled down her cheeks, her fiery spirit burned the falsehoods away. The great burning lion Rayearth had promised to be her steed when the crisis arrived, then shrank down to a long sword with a red and gold guard styled as tongues of flame. Though lacking any skill with weapons, the feeling that coursed through her when she hesitantly took up the blade reassured her that her hand and eye would be guided by its magic.
The blackness opened above her as she rose up to rejoin Justin and the others.
-=o=-
"Everyone was successful," said Myrtle, obviously pleased with the result. "As long as you act with pure hearts, Hogwarts will be safe."
The three girls looked at each other, then themselves. Their school robes had been replaced with gleaming white armour, trimmed in their swords' respective colours.
"Why is my detailing blue?" asked the Slytherin.
"And mine green?" added the Ravenclaw.
"I have no idea," said Myrtle, to the others' consternation. "Look... Hogwarts has explained the process to me; since I was haunting the room that the Defences are in it only made sense for me to be their warden, but I've never actually seen any of this before. The previous wardens had all passed on long before I started here."
"Never mind the colours," said Ginny, happy that hers matched her house affiliation. "How can we go about the school looking like this? The Death Teachers won't exactly be happy..."
Myrtle grinned. "Though the true power of the Defences won't be needed until the final battle, there's a lot to be done before then. Hogwarts is tired of these terrorists masquerading as staff. It's time to cleanse the school!"
The four pupils looked at each other, then started towards the door, shouldering their naked blades.
"But first," said Myrtle, swooping round to confront them, "before you go, there's one more piece to put in place." She gestured to the floor behind them.
They looked round to see Arnold begin to swell to over a foot in height, his fur shortening and bleaching out to the palest pink. A pair of rabbit-like ears grew out of his head, and a large red gem pushed its way through the skin on his forehead.
"PUU!" said Arnold, bouncing towards the door.
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Let us never speak of this again.