Harry Potter and the Monster Books Part 8

(Disclaimer: I don't own the small section of song that was used for setting a scene.)

"This would actually make a decent base with a couple of creature comforts," Harry mused as he floated the dark lord's enchanted leather couch into place. "A bit of white paint and we could use the wall as a movie screen."

"We'd have to find someone that knows something about movie systems," Ginny pointed out as she finished adjusting the silk dress that they'd looted from Valkore's closet.

"I know how to use a VCR and I can probably wire the sound system," Harry replied as he set one of Valkore's enchanted lava lamps on the stand next to the couch, giving the area a touch more light.

"Dursleys?" Ginny asked as she stepped out from behind the dressing screen.

"Nah, one of my friends in the states is…" Harry trailed off as he realized that his friend was gone since he wasn't real. "Was an electrician and he showed me a couple of things or at least I remember him showing me a couple of things about wiring."

"How do I look?" Ginny asked, figuring he needed a distraction.

Harry turned and focused on the teenager wearing a shimmering green dress that was practically see-through everywhere that wouldn't be covered by a bikini. "Considering your age and your mother's temper, I think I'll just leave it at good."

"I'll take good, I'll also take wicked and cute," Ginny teased as she slowly spun around, giving him a nice view of her rear as the fabric was almost sheer on the back.

'Molly is going to kill me,' Harry thought, fairly sure that Ginny would keep pushing things until he eventually folded. 

"Ready to save Sage?" she asked, resisting the urge to adjust his jacket or run her fingers through his hair in an attempt to tame it.

Harry glanced at the magical book sitting on the table that they'd looted from Valkore. "Ready or not, I'm not going to let my sister get murdered by a bunch of magical thugs."

Ginny walked over to the table and grabbed Harry's hand. "Everything should be fine until after her performance then we just have to make sure they don't grab her on the way to her dressing room or once she gets there."

"We're probably going to have to kill her manager considering she's a demon," Harry pointed out.

"Yep," Ginny agreed as she reached out and touched the picture of Sage Potter walking onto the stage, dropping them in an expensive looking muggle lounge filled with people in expensive looking suits and dresses that showed a lot of skin or just about everything because they were transparent or nearly transparent.

Harry glanced around at the naked girls that were wearing cat ears and carrying trays filled with drinks as they made their way around the room then focused on the drop dead gorgeous girl with wild crimson hair that stepped out on stage holding a portable microphone and wearing a sky blue dress that left very little to the imagination. 'Damn, I'm going to need a really large stick to deal with the idiots.'

"Please welcome Azure Sage!" a female voice over the speakers announced.

'Damn!' Ginny thought, realizing that the girl on stage pushed all of her buttons as she gracefully danced across the stage as the lights dimmed and Sage's dress started glowing with sparkles, causing the room to go silent as the crowd turned to watch, already spellbound.

"Come on, come on, uh, yeah," Sage sang, her voice sounding like liquid velvet as she sang to the crowd, her emerald eyes almost seeming to shimmer with light. "I feel like I've been locked up tight. For a century of lonely nights. Waiting for someone to release me." 

Ginny leaned into Harry as she watched half the crowd blow Sage kisses.

"You're lickin' your lips and blowin' kisses my way, but that don't mean I'm gonna give it away," Sage sang as she wiggled a finger at the crowd playfully. "Baby, baby, baby."

Harry's attention was pulled off the chorus when he found himself focusing a bit too much on his sister's body. 'Yeah, I think that dress is enchanted.'

"If you wanna be with me. Baby, there's a price to pay, I'm a genie in a bottle," Sage teased, causing several girls to call out, "In a bottle, baby!"

Sage smiled at the crowd as she ran the fingers of her free hand up her leg. "You gotta rub me the right way."

Harry twitched when Ginny moved his hand that she hadn't let go of up to her breast as Sage continued singing, "If you wanna be with me, I can make your wish come true."

"Play with me," Ginny ordered as she started grinding against Harry.

'I'm going to hell,' Harry thought as he started playing with Ginny's breasts as his sister continued singing, hoping that Ginny wasn't actually under a spell and she was just horny as hell because his sister was smoking hot.

0o0o0

Lucy Wagner studied the man with scruffy hair and worn robes that had arrived on a broom a couple of minutes ago. "Let me get this straight, you're from another dimension and you want us to come with you?"

"I understand how it sounds," Remus admitted, a touch surprised that she hadn't already hexed him since he sounded a bit crazy.

"You really don't," Tonks replied with amusement. "It sounds like you want us to leave the train filled with students and fly into the forest so you can have a threesome with us."

Lucy snickered when she saw Remus's reaction, indicating that he hadn't been thinking about sex at all though she could tell that he found them attractive. "Sounds fun."

"That's not…" Remus trailed off as the door to the compartment they'd borrowed opened, revealing a pair of red haired twins and a vaguely familiar girl with brown hair that was probably a fifth or sixth year student.  

"Can we get back to the part where we're stuck in a pocket dimension?" April Weasley asked, not even bothering to hide the fact that they'd been listening with their extendable ears. 

"Or maybe the part where we're wasting the chance to swipe a collection of ancient spells from the Ministry," Scarlet added.

"I just want to make sure Rose and Hermione are safe," the brown haired girl piped up.

"Screw it," Lucy muttered as she realized that staying wasn't going to fix anything and that the headboy and girl would be able to keep everyone safe until the aurors showed up. "Let's go."

"Do you have brooms?" Remus asked the group.

"Always," April replied with a smirk.

Scarlet just held her broom up.

"I borrowed one," the brown haired girl replied, not seeing a point in mentioning the fact that the owner was unconscious as he'd been laughing about her friends getting cursed.

"Let me tell the head boy that we're leaving," Lucy said as she grabbed her trunk and headed for the door, hoping she wasn't making a mistake but having a good feeling about leaving for some reason.

0o0o0

"Found it!" Harry called out when he checked the compartment window and saw the open chest they were looking for sitting on the table.

"Finally," Rose muttered as she walked over. She jumped back when a dark green snake slammed into the glass.

"I can smell you! I'm going to kill you!" Draco hissed angrily.

"Draco?" Harry asked, surprised that Draco had enough awareness to recognize Rose despite getting turned into a snake. 'How did he even recognize her scent?'

"Makes sense considering he opened the chest," Hermione said thoughtfully as she walked over. "How much of his personality do you think is left?"

"He sounds a bit insane," Harry replied.

"This is her fault!" Draco hissed. 

"Leviosa," Harry chanted as he pointed his wand at the snake, causing the angry and squirming snake to float off the ground and up to eye level. "You're the one that opened the chest, how is it her fault?"

"I wouldn't have had to steal the scroll if she hadn't killed my father!" Draco hissed.

"Dobby stunned your father when he tried to curse me, it's not my fault he hit his head on the wall and died," Rose argued.

"When I get out of here, I'm going to kill everyone you love!" Draco hissed.

Rose picked up the auror's wand that he'd dropped when he turned into a snake then opened the door and pointed the borrowed wand at Draco. "Not if I kill you first."

"You don't have the guts," Draco taunted, knowing the Gryffindor wouldn't sink that low.

"Do you remember back in third year when you said you'd cut my head off and mount it on your wall?" Rose asked as she conjured a metal spike.

"If you stop her, I'll give you gold," Draco offered Harry, suddenly realizing that Rose was probably crazy enough to think she'd get away with killing him.

"Go fuck yourself," Harry told him.

Rose flicked the auror's wand, sending the spike through Draco's eye and into his brain, killing him nearly instantly. "You're never going to hurt my friends."

"I think I got the better Draco," Harry admitted.

"He was seriously unhinged," Hermione agreed as she walked over to the cursed chest and carefully looked down at the contents. "Two ancient looking scrolls and three books."

"Grab everything, the aurors are on their way!" Sirius called out from the hallway.

Harry dropped his levitation spell, letting Draco's corpse hit the ground as he spun around to face the hallway.

"Ignore that!" Tonks called out from the compartment with a hole blasted in it where she'd landed with Remus and the students. "We're here to help!"

"Sirius!" Remus snapped as he stepped out of the compartment.

Sirius laughed at the look on his friend's face. "Come on, it was the perfect line and she's an auror."

"And what if they tripped a curse in their haste?!" Remus snapped, glaring at Sirius for the joke about the aurors since they might actually be on their way.

"We're almost done," Sirius argued, causing Remus to sigh in frustration.

"He was probably worse before Azkaban," Harry muttered as he turned his attention back to the chest. "Give us a minute!"

"Most likely," Hermione agreed. "We should have grabbed some dragon hide gloves."

"Next time," Harry replied as he reached in and carefully grabbed the scrolls, wanting to make sure they didn't fall apart on him.

"We need to find a spell for checking for curses and poison," Hermione suggested as she grabbed the books, being careful not to touch the chest.

"It's on the list," Harry replied as he read the tags on the scrolls. "Scroll of Reincarnation and Contract of Resurrection?"

"And the books?" Rose asked warily.

Hermione frowned when she read the last title. "The Magic of Water, Stone Shaping, Mr Grey's Guide to Cursed Paintings."

"As in Dorian Grey?" Rose asked thoughtfully as she kicked Draco's corpse, venting some of the frustration she had with the idiot.

"Or a relative," Hermione mused as she walked out of the compartment.

"Do you know anyone that makes snake skin boots?" Rose asked thoughtfully.

"Would you really want him touching you every day?" Harry asked.

"I was thinking about it more like stepping on his face every day but letting him rot is probably better," Rose replied with a grin as she followed Hermione out of the compartment, leaving the snake to be forgotten about.

'Note to self, my sister is a touch vindictive,' Harry mused as he followed the girls, more amused about the entire thing than he should be.

"Huh," Lucy muttered when a swirling portal appeared in the door to the compartment that Rose Potter had just exited. "Your friend was actually telling the truth."

"About everything other than his feelings," Tonks muttered under her breath as they walked over.

"If we go through the portal, can we get back?" April asked, wanting to make sure they could get back.

"Do you want your existential crisis now or after you walk through the portal?" Sirius asked with a faint grin.

"The what?" the brown haired girl asked, relieved that Hermione and Rose were alive and more than a bit curious about the handsome stranger with them.

Lucy glanced at the swirling portal then focused on Sirius, wondering why he looked familiar. "I'm not walking through a portal until you explain."

"Okay," Sirius muttered. "You're only sort of real, if you step through the portal you'll be completely real."

Scarlet raised her eyebrows. "Sort of real? Has he lost his marbles?" she asked Remus.

"Several times," Remus replied dryly. "But he has a point."

"Do you have middle names?" Sirius asked as he glanced between the girls.

"Yeah, I'm April May Weasley and she's Scarlet Azure Weasley," April replied with a shrug.

"It's Lily, Tiger Lily Longbottom to be specific," the girl with brown hair offered. "Why wouldn't we have middle names?"

Sirius glanced between Tiger and the librarian. "Because most people don't have particularly detailed backstories."

"Lucy Victoria Wagner and I'm from London. I went to college after leaving Hogwarts and got a library degree. I worked at Milton High until…" Lucy trailed off as she realized that the only face she could remember from her time at the school Milton High School was the set of twins that she'd been having some rather inappropriate fun with. 'What the fuck? What about my professors at college?' she frowned as she realized that the only teacher she could recall the face of looked like her favorite actor. 'Was that what they looked like or am I filling in details?'

"Do you remember who won the second to last world cup or all of your relatives' names?" Sirius asked the rest of the teens.

"We're Weasleys, I'm not sure that's fair," Scarlet replied as she mentally reviewed the list of her family members, making sure that she could name everyone and realizing that she couldn't put faces to some of her extended family, despite the fact that she should have been able to.

"Ireland, right?" April asked, a bit annoyed that she couldn't actually remember. "Okay, I'm willing to admit that something weird is going on."

Tiger shrugged when Rose looked at her. "Nothing jumps out as weird or missing if you ignore the current situation with the cursed snakes."

"If we're not real, how come I remember everything?" Rose asked the group.

"I don't know, maybe because I was one of the people that jumped into the book or because Hermione knows a lot about my life?" Harry offered, not actually sure.

"How much do you remember?" Rose asked Hermione.

"I remember the high points," Hermione assured her, glad that she had memories of the high points and the important things that didn't mesh with what she recalled from her actual life. "I remember the ball and the countless times we curled up in the trunk on the couch and did our homework or took a walk around the lake. I can't say I remember every moment of the last four years but I remember enough."

"If this is a prank, I'm hexing you," Tonks told Sirius then walked over and stepped through the portal.

"What about our family?" April asked, wondering if it was too late to head home and grab them.

"I'm sorry," Remus offered. "I doubt the pocket dimension includes more than a couple of miles around the tracks, just enough to look real if you looked around or had to travel to the rest of the train."

"On the bright side, there are a bunch of Weasleys in the real world and a couple that you haven't met, you'll like them, they have a warped sense of humor," Sirius assured them.

"Some might even say there are a surplus of Weasleys," Harry offered with a grin to let them know he was joking.

April glanced at Scarlet. "What do you think?"

"Pints up and take a swig?" Scarlet asked with a grin. "If they're lying, we get to walk through a portal. If they're telling the truth, our family will still be there and they won't be ready for our jokes?"

"See you on the other side," April said with a grin as she made her way to the portal with her shrunken trunk.

"See you on the flip side," Scarlet told Rose then headed for the portal with a spring in her steps.

"Are you going?" Tiger asked Rose as the Weasley twins vanished into the portal.

Rose glanced at Hermione. "Are we going?"

"Absolutely," Hermione replied. "I'm not sticking around and explaining everything to the Ministry, Fudge has been looking for a reason to toss me in prison."

"Good point," Rose replied as she checked her pocket to make sure her shrunken trunk was where it was supposed to be. "I'll see you on the other side."

"Love you," Hermione told her.

Rose pulled Hermione into a hug and kissed her. "Always and forever," she told her as she turned and ran for the portal, hoping she wasn't making a mistake.

Tiger pulled her attention off the portal and looked at Harry and Sirius. "Do I have family over there?"

"Assuming you're Frank and Alice's daughter, you have a brother and your grandmother," Sirius assured her.

"He's a good friend," Harry assured her.

"Wicked," Tiger replied with a grin. "I've always wanted a brother."

"He's a solid choice," Harry replied with a grin, knowing Neville would appreciate having more family around. 'At least we'll have plenty of space with the mines.'

Tiger smiled as she walked over to the swirling portal and stepped through.

Lucy glanced between Remus and Sirius then walked over and stepped through the portal, figuring she needed to keep the students and her friend safe if it was some sort of trick.

"That went better than I was expecting," Hermione admitted, feeling a massive weight fall off her shoulders.

"Absolutely," Titania said as she walked out of one of the compartments with her bags of loot.

Remus glanced at Titania then focused on Harry. "Did you get everything you wanted?"

"One scroll of Reincarnate, one Scroll of Contractual Resurrection and a couple of magic books that we haven't had a chance to check," Harry replied with a smile.

"We can check them when we get back," Remus told him, hoping the spells worked and wanting to leave before the aurors showed up. He headed over and walked through the portal, wanting to make sure the new people didn't get into trouble or wander off since they hadn't completely cleared out the house yet.

"How many extra memories do you have?" Harry asked Hermione.

"I remember sitting with Rose on the train because Tiger doesn't have a toad and she was sitting by herself. Ron stopped in looking for the Boy-That-Lived and left when he didn't see you."

"Boy-That-Lived?" Harry asked as Titania walked through the portal with her bags. "Shouldn't that be Girl-That-Lived?"

Hermione shook her head. "James had been boasting about how great his son would be and then they went into hiding and no one bothered correcting things because they figured it would be safer. The other Sirius mentioned something about him thinking it was a good prank."

Sirius laughed. "I can see that and Lily would have gone along with it because it would keep Rose safer."

Hermione nodded. "It wasn't until Rose got to Hogwarts that people figured out that the entire legend of Harry Potter was fictional."

"I'll have to compare notes," Harry said thoughtfully, looking forward to getting to know her.

"Wouldn't be a bad idea to get your story straight," Sirius suggested as he walked over to the portal. "Either way, let's go."

"Ladies first?" Harry asked as he gestured toward the portal.

"Thank you," Hermione replied with a smile then walked through the portal, making sure to hold the books tight.

"Come out with your hands up!" a voice boomed outside.

'Remus had a point,' Harry mused as he followed Hermione through the portal and sighed in relief when the scrolls didn't fall apart or burst into flames. He glanced around the crowded room then focused on Dumbledore who was standing in the doorway with a bag of lemon drops and a smile on his face. "Professor."

"Harry," Albus replied as he glanced over the group of strangers, reasonably confident that the girl that looked like Lily with a copy of Harry's scar on her forehead was Harry's alternate and the red haired twins with mischievous smiles were probably Fred and George's alternates.

"Was Sirius playing a prank on us?" Tonks asked Dumbledore, figuring he'd be honest.

"That depends entirely on what he said," Albus replied as he focused on Sirius. "What did you tell them?"

"I told them that everything in the pocket dimension wasn't quite real and that they'd have to come with us if they wanted to live," Sirius explained.

"In that case, I'm afraid that he's correct," Albus admitted as he held the bag of lemon drops out so that people could take one if they wanted. "Lemon drop?"

"Yes please," Tiger replied as she walked over and grabbed one of the lemon drops out of the bag.

"Shite," Lucy muttered. "I don't suppose you need a librarian?"

"I'm afraid Ms. Pince's contract isn't up for renewal," Albus replied, knowing the board wouldn't let him replace her with someone a bit more sociable since she was cheap and related to one of the board members. "We have an open Defense position, how were your scores in Defense?"

Lucy laughed. "Good enough to know better than to take a cursed job without an exit plan."

"If you need a job, I'm building a library and I need a librarian," Hermione told her.

"That would be great," Lucy told Hermione then turned to look at Albus. "No offense but I think I'll take Hermione up on her offer."

"None taken," Albus assured her. "The curse makes it hard to find a competent professor."

"Not a chance," Tonks said when Albus turned to look at him. "I've spent the last couple of years training with an insane auror and running around putting out fires for the Ministry. I want a break and I got paid up front so I have enough gold to survive a couple of months without finding a job."

"You're family, we have plenty of space," Sirius assured her. "I'm sorry about your vault."

"Don't be, I kept my money in my sock drawer and I was planning on going to a poker game in Hogsmeade when I got done with my shift so I have it with me," Tonks replied with a grin. 

"How much did you lose from your vault?" Sirius asked Rose.

"Nothing," Rose replied smugly. "I got really pissed when the goblins wouldn't give me access to my vault back in first year because of 'paperwork' issues and the fact that everyone knew that the last remaining Potter was male. It took Professor Dumbledore a couple of months to sort that mess out and I had my mother's trunk so I just moved everything in the family vault into the vault in my trunk during Christmas break and left."

"You have your entire vault in a trunk?" Albus asked warily.

"It's nearly indestructible and blood-bound so it's actually safer than Gringotts and I don't have to worry about some dark wizard bribing the goblins to stick something toxic in my vault," Rose explained as she walked over and grabbed a lemon drop.

"Fair enough," Albus agreed. "And our other young lady?" he asked, looking at Tiger.

"Tiger Lily Longbottom, I have enough change for the year, but I don't have a vault or anything," Tiger admitted.

"If your Gran doesn't take you in, I've got you covered," Rose assured her friend with a pat on her shoulder.

"Thank you," Tiger replied.

"We've got our supplies and the money from the tournament Rose gave us so we'll be fine," April assured him when Albus looked at them.

"It was a good investment," Rose replied with a shrug, not particularly worried about a thousand galleons.

"Provided we still have a place at Hogwarts?" Scarlet asked.

"Of course, we're not going to turn students away," Albus assured them.

"Good," April agreed. "Mum would tan our hides if we didn't finish."

"Speaking of school…" Rose trailed off as a pair of red haired twins stepped out of one of the mirrors that looked a couple of years older than her. "Weasleys or duplicates?"

"Weasleys," Fred replied with a grin. "I'm Fred, he's George."

"Or am I Fred and he's George?" George asked with a grin.

"You'll have to forgive me if I can't tell the difference, I'm Rose Potter," Rose offered.

"Pleasure to meet you," Fred assured her. "Do you play Quidditch?"

"Seeker," Rose replied with a grin.

"Decent broom?" George asked hopefully.

"Firebolt," Rose replied smugly.

"She's a menace," Hermione muttered.

Rose snickered, used to Hermione's complaints about the crazy game and her flying. "You love me anyway."

"It's always good to have reserves," Fred said cheerfully, looking forward to crushing the rest of the teams.

"I'm April and she's Scarlet," April offered when George turned to look at them.

"Unless we switch," Scarlet added with a grin.

"Which happens now and then," April replied with a grin.

"Of course," Fred agreed, happy that their new sisters seemed to have a good sense of humor.

"And the rest?" George asked, curious about the rest of the group that he didn't recognize.

"Tiger Lily Longbottom," Tiger offered.

"And the lovely lady?" Fred asked Lucy.

"Lucy Wagner, Librarian," Lucy replied with a grin, making a note to ask the twins on a date if things fell through with Tonks and Remus.

"We should probably head down to the drawing room since it's getting a bit crowded," Tonks suggested, wanting a chance to spread out a bit and compare notes as there was obviously some differences.

"An excellent suggestion," Albus agreed as he turned and started walking down the hallway, curious about the extremely magical scrolls that Harry had picked up.

0o0o0