As we traveled between the dimensions, I pulled the letters from Earth Bet and then pushed our letters back. I still didn’t see any change in Vicky’s gem and I had to admit that I was glad that she was ok. Looking at Riley’s gem I confirmed it was also the same. It looked like they were both still alive at least, which was a good sign for Earth Bet’s survival. Still I grabbed the letters the girls had written to their families and stuffed them in the tube and retrieved the ones Dragon had forwarded from their families. I wasn’t about to read them myself, but I hoped they would help the girls as I was pretty sure Amy, Taylor, and Dinah were a bit homesick. I was also a tad worried for Sabah since she had neither written any to her family nor received any back. Still I didn’t think I was close enough to bring it up before she did.
As I felt the new universe arriving, I tried to brace myself, but it still felt like someone hit me over the head with a bat. The good news was I didn’t collapse this time. After a moment, I realized that none of my remaining girls had either. Dinah didn’t exactly count as she was asleep in her gem by her own request again.
Sighing, I leaned back in the sofa in our family room and just breathed. “Well, we made it. Hopefully this is the Harry Potter reality and we won’t need to jump again any time soon. I just hope I got the timing right since I don’t want to end up visiting Hogwarts in the 1600s. I mean, we would probably still learn a lot, but I admit that I kinda want to meet the main cast. Plus, I would prefer a modern muggle world with hot water heaters for the summers when we are out of Hogwarts.”
The girls all chuckled, even Ahri. She had really enjoyed our hot showers once we explained how they worked. She really was smart, just well behind the times since she had grown up in the arctic wilderness and then kept away from major cities and towns.
Amy prepared lunch as we started to move around and clean up a little. The reality hopping didn’t exactly shake the house, but there were still a few things lying around from being quickly loaded up in Runeterra.
By the time that lunch was ready, Dinah had been woken up, and we all sat down to eat.
There wasn’t a ton of talking, but the quiet was pleasant. I still wanted to get an MP3 player though. The computers took too much power to play music easily, and a smaller device would be easier to move around with us.
As we finished eating and Taylor began to put the dishes away, I sighed and helped wipe down the table before I brought up the question we were all waiting on. “How are you doing, Dinah, are you able to answer questions?”
Dinah mumbled to herself for a moment before nodding. Nodding back, I asked my first question. “Did we make it to the world of Harry Potter and is the world safe for us to visit?”
Dinah winced then replied. “1.2% chance we are in the world of Harry Potter. 8.6% chance of death during the next year in this world.”
I sighed and facepalmed. “Well, that is… unfortunate, isn’t it. At least we probably won’t die, I guess.”
Amy began to giggle, then snicker, then laugh. After a moment I joined in with the other girls giggling as well.
Turning back to Dinah, I sighed. “Chances we could learn magic here?”
Dinah opened her eyes wide with a smile. “98.1%”
I blinked before smiling back. “Well then, why don’t we see what we have going on?”
I opened a scrying portal to look outside our home. It took a moment to understand what we were looking at. In front of us we noticed a line of girls at the edge of a balcony holding brooms. Behind them was a moderately impressive castle with more throughout the grounds. As I moved the portal closer I noticed the girls jumping off of the ledge. Before I could become concerned I noticed each of them mounting their brooms and flying to another tower quite easily.
I still wasn’t quite sure where we were, but that changed when the final girl nervously approached the edge. The teacher seemed annoyed at her hesitancy and simply bumped her off the edge and she plummeted downwards. I blinked for only a moment at the callousness of the teacher before I reached out to place another portal below her to try and stop her fall.
To my dismay she twisted in the air and I missed. Reaching out I tried again only to see her twist on her broom again which made me miss a second time. Gritting my teeth I tried to place my portal one final time before she hit the trees quickly coming up from below. Yet as I tried one final time she finally got a small boost of speed from the broom and completely missed my portal again. Wincing I watched the girl as she started falling through the branches, breaking most, before hitting the ground. Then a moment later her broom hit her, bonking her on the top of her head.
I blinked. Turned to my girls, then back to the portal, then back to my girls. Slowly I sat back and facepalmed.
Sighing, I started chuckling while my girls furrowed their brows in confusion before explaining. “Well, we did hit a magical school alright, one that could theoretically teach us a lot. This one is even filled with magical girls to learn from or collect if that was all we wanted. The problem is that this is Little Witch Academia.” Everyone paused and looked at me. I sighed. “This is an anime for little girls where I am from. The problem is that this world seems to be following that style of ridiculous comedy.”
Sabah was the one to speak up at that. “What do you mean?”
I sighed. “We are going to have to get you more familiar with anime storylines. However, for right now, you should know that this world seems to be filled with the ridiculous. On top of that, this world is going to put these girls in extreme levels of danger near constantly. Danger they will all survive by the skin of their teeth while repeatedly saving the world. Seeing what just happened, I have to assume that the magic in this world really is somehow protecting these girls as well.” Gesturing out the portal I sighed. “That fall should have killed Akko, no questions about it. The thing is I am not sure if we would be covered by the same protections. Dinah’s predictions seemed to imply we wouldn’t die here, but that might change if we get involved with the main plot.”
Amy was the one who spoke up to ask. “So are you familiar with this world then?”
I sighed and nodded before pausing and shaking my head. “Yeah, well… actually no, I really shouldn’t say that. The world of Little Witch Academia follows Akko here, but I have to admit that I haven’t seen more than the first two episodes. Any other knowledge is from hearing other people talk about it or seeing clips online.”
Turning to the scrying portal I had been using to slowly follow Akko I noticed her roommates had grabbed her to take her back to her dorm room. Gesturing toward Akko I sighed. “The problem is, just like in Runeterra, I don’t feel like I know enough to get involved. I am not even sure this school would allow me to study here with you, since it seems like this is mostly a witch only school.” I turned and looked at my girls. “I said I didn’t mind being a woman occasionally if it helped, but I am not sure I want to be one for the years it would take to learn magic here.” I paused and turned towards one of our computers. “Actually, I think I remember Earth Bet having this Anime when I was downloading everything I could. Did any of you watch it?”
After a round of head shakes I sighed and pulled up one of the laptops. A few minutes later the girls were watching the first episode. I had to admit that the girls watching the animated version of what we had literally just seen happen in real life was kinda crazy. The girls seemed to agree as Taylor was pale and Amy looked sick. Dinah had put her face in her hands and was breathing deeply. I guess they had remembered that their stories existed in fiction, and it had not ended well for those three in particular. On the other hand, Arhi and Sabah looked like their worlds had been flipped on their head. Yet compared with the first three they looked comparatively alright. Then again, they didn’t have such a horrible future so it was probably less personally terrifying.
However, as we looked back at the real world of Little Witch Academia, and spotted Akko now talking with her roommates I sighed and turned to my girls. “All in favor of trying again to get to the world of Harry Potter?”
Everyone raised their hand. Even Ahri after a moment of hesitation.
I tapped my knee as I sat on the sofa. “The question is if we should try to learn anything here before we go. And while I think I might be able to aim better if I use a larger soul, I am not sure if I can hit the timeline exactly, so I want to discuss our overall plan. I also want to discuss a little vacation here.”
The girls all eyed each other before Amy spoke up. “The bigger soul makes sense. Is there a person like that here you can pop? Also, what do you mean by plan?”
I smirked. “As much as you think I always know everything.” Everyone, including Ahri, scoffed at that, and I covered my heart in mock offense before I continued. “You five have almost seen as much of this anime as I have at this point. However, I am pretty sure this is one of those animes where there are very few truly evil people. I suspect that even if we watch the entire series, everyone will end up either misunderstood or redeemable. Instead, I think I will just pop hookwolf. I don’t really care about studying his powers, but they should be enough for a good jump.”
Everyone nodded and Ahri added a little shrug. She hadn’t really known anything about the man, so she just trusted our judgment on him. Seeing the agreement, I continued. “The strategy is what we are going to be trying to accomplish in Harry Potter.”
Everyone just tilted their heads in confusion so I sighed.
Taylor was the one to ask. “What do you mean? We go in, kick Voldemort’s ass, learn magic, meet Harry, then move on to another world.”
I nodded, but held up my hand to wait. “Yeah, we are going to have to get involved at least a little. Tom Riddle is basically magical Hitler 2.0. We obviously aren’t going to let him kill the kids if we can help it. The question is how involved we will be and our overall strategy for helping.”
Taylor frowned before she spoke up. “Would it not be best to try to kill Tom immediately, like when he goes into Gringotts to try to steal the stone? A few words to the goblins should make sure the vault traps the man if we can’t get to him first, like we did with the mercenaries.” I had to admit that I was happy she had started to really plan things out, but in the fanfics I had read there were a lot of different ways this could all play out. In those stories the goblins were only rarely helpful and I didn’t like relying on that if we didn’t have to.
I nodded and then waved my hand in a so-so gesture. “In an ideal world, yes it would be as simple as that. However I have no idea if your bugs would work against a wizard even with Amy increasing the potency. I also don’t know if the goblins would help, in some fan fictions they help a lot and in some they don’t care as long as they are paid. Plus, while I have ideas for the horcrux in Gringotts, we also won’t have access to the one in the Black townhouse or the other in Malfoy Manor.”
Everyone frowned at that. Amy sighed. “When would you suggest?”
I frowned back. “I don’t actually know. I have two trains of thought. The first and simpler plan is that we don’t do anything for Harry’s first three years. Perhaps even attend Beauxbatons then transfer to Hogwarts for the tournament. The reason is that it is a miracle that those first years don’t end in tragedy and I am afraid of butterflying things too badly and ending up with deaths everywhere. There is simply so much that can go wrong.”
Everyone grimaced at that so I continued. “During Harry’s fourth year we will have multiple opportunities to get all of the Horcruxes and I should be able to pull the one out of his scar personally. So, as long as we finish before the end of the year, Harry can just win or lose the event like it is a normal tournament… although we might need to protect him a bit for the maze since Crouch Jr did that in the story and we would want him removed.”
Amy smirked at me and I narrowed my eyes in mock challenge as she spoke. “And being nearer to Fleur while she is growing up has nothing to do with it, I am sure.”
I scoffed in pho haughtiness. “Of course not. I am sure I have no idea what you are talking about. Plus, I am pretty sure it would be you and Sabah who would be sneaking peeks at that veela tushy.”
Taylor tapped her cheek thoughtfully as she asked. “That makes sense, but in that case, what is your second plan?”
I winced. “It is basically what you suggested, but with a potion. We hit Quirrell at the beginning of the year with the draft of the living death. With luck Tom’s wraith will also be dosed, but even if he isn’t, I might have enough time to do something as a soul mage. The problem is that there are a lot of ifs and we will have a very limited time frame to learn enough magic to try to help pull it off.”
Amy and Sabah slowly nodded, Dinah and Ahri were still thinking, but Taylor looked contemplative before she spoke. “Plus it might call down scrutiny on us.”
I nodded and then smiled. “Yes, exactly. If we act early, especially if it fails, then we will have to figure out how to avoid notice from perhaps three of the most skilled Legilimens practitioners alive. Tom, Severus, and Albus would probably use it on anyone they felt were a threat or acting too strangely.”
Amy sighed. “In all seriousness I think it will also depend on what women we are planning on adding to the family. If we don’t care, then we can try to help before leaving quickly.”
I nodded and gestured towards her. “That is also true.”
I could see Sabah once again slightly uncomfortable, but surprisingly I noticed Taylor frowning a bit. Deciding to approach Taylor’s issue later I sighed before lifting up my fingers while counting out. “Yes, there are a few that could help us as we move forward. Everyone likes Hermione once she stops being a bookworm and she probably deserves better than Ron who abandons them multiple times. Second would Luna as long as this version is sane since she is absolutely adorable while being incredibly kind and loyal. Third is Ginny, she isn’t bad, but mostly lacks direction early in the cannon story, but we might be able to give her that earlier. Fourth is Fleur, veela and powerhouse, enough said. Fifth is Tonks, I want to make sure she doesn’t end up with Lupin since a man who would run away from a pregnant woman doesn’t deserve her. Sixth is Winky or Dobby the house elf, ideally both if they want to join us, as that would help tremendously with keeping our house clean and working.”
Amy and Sabah looked at each other while Ahri whistled. “That is quite the list.”
Waiving dismissively, I nodded before I pointed to the girls. “Yes, yes, but if we like them then it is better to ask them to join and be rejected than not asking at all. Is there anyone else you all think we should consider?”
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Everyone looked contemplative before Dinah spoke up. “What about Gabrielle Delacour?”
I smirked. “I agree, she is adorable in the movies, but she will probably be younger than you since you are 12 now and when we arrive she will probably only be 6 at the start of the story.”
Taylor frowned. “That does bring up how we will get admitted to the schools.”
I sighed and gestured to Amy. “I don’t think there is much choice. We are going to have to revert to 9 and 10 year olds. I am sorry, I am not looking forward to going through puberty again either.”
Everyone winced, while Amy frowned. “What about other positions like getting in as a teacher or something. Pretending to be a child isn’t going to be fun for anyone.”
I nodded seriously. “Yeah, it is absolutely going to suck in pretty much every way. But if we did it that way, some or all of us would pretty much have to go through an entire Hogwarts education and then go on mastery in that subject before we could even get started. That would mean trying to get an education during Tom’s first war. I also wouldn’t be comfortable recruiting the girls in Hogwarts, until well after they graduated which would require even more time there.
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “I want to make sure we can move on fairly quickly if we need to.” I noticed the confused looks but once again ignored it. “The only other goal I have besides learning magic is looking into rehabilitating Bakuda and Squealer as they would be extremely useful in future tech worlds.” I tapped my hand on the arm rest before nodding “I would also like to capture Dolorus Umbridge, but mostly as the soul we pop to leave. She tortured kids, tried to kill Harry, and started Muggle born concentration camps. Really, she is nearly as bad as Tom.”
Everyone grimaced slightly before nodding, but it was Amy who spoke up as she noticed me frowning. “Hey Max, what are you thinking about now?”
I sighed and leaned back. “There is one more thing I just thought of. I mentioned that fan fiction worlds might also exist somewhere, so there is a question of if we should aim for one of them instead.”
Taylor was the one who asked the question. “Why would you want a non-canon version of the world?”
I smirked at her. “First, other HP worlds may have more advanced or varied magic. The canon HP world is kinda simplistic, while others envisioned worlds with much more magic to master. Plus, Harry Potter could become Heather, Iris, Holly, or Hazel Potter and as a woman I would want to grab her too. I mean a female Harry would be powerful, kind, and moderately smart.” Everyone rolled their eyes at me, but I could see everyone was thinking about it. “The other change I would be considering is finding a universe where everyone is aged up slightly.” While everyone was thinking about that I spread my arms. “Although now that I am thinking about it, we can pop away temporarily so there really isn’t a reason to leave before seventh year and when we do we will bring as many magic books with us as we can.”
Amy breathed deep and nodded in agreement before she asked her question. “I can see this female Harry Potter being an interesting recruitment, even if it would be kinda a big deal to magical Britain if she disappeared with us. But on the other hand, why would you want everyone to be aged up?”
I nodded before I explained. “Well one, it would make more sense. Giving magical weapons to eleven-year-olds is kinda ridiculous. Worse, allowing fifth years who pass their OWLS, kids who may still be 15, to cast whatever they wanted without restrictions is kinda foolish. Then again, not letting the students practice during the summer in say, Diagon alley, during the summer also seemed kinda dumb as well. We will have to wait to see if purebloods can block the trace via their home’s wards, since that seems exactly like something they would do, once we arrive but that is a separate discussion. The second reason is that I would feel much less weird about attempting to bind girls who are seventeen and eighteen in their fourth year because they started Hogwarts at 13 or 14.”
Everyone looked at me before at each other before Taylor spoke up. “You really do prefer the women a little older, don’t you?”
I noticed something in her voice, but nodded anyway. “I prefer adult women, but adults can mean a lot of different things to different women. I would say some women are full adults at maybe 19 while there are females who act like young girls well into their 20s”
Dinah spoke up at that. “Like how Akko here is actually sixteen?”
Everyone swiveled their heads to stare at Dinah. “Really?”
Dinah nodded her head and I sighed. “Yeah, that is a good example. She may be 16, but she still acts like a child. Dinah may only be 12 now, but as much as I am not happy about you rushing your childhood, you are already much more of a young woman than Akko is.”
Everyone just looked at each other for a while and I decided to close the meeting with a small clap. “Ok everyone. Let's rest for a bit after that jump. Why don’t Taylor, Sabah, and Ahri work on finding and copying any magical books in town. Amy, Dinah, and I will be poking the nearby villagers in their sleep to try to understand how they access magic. Everyone, if you can try to get access to the school then try. I don’t think it is a good idea to just try to portal into the dorms or library, but if we can get access, all the better.”
Then I smiled. “If we can do that I think a vacation is in order.” Everyone looked a little confused. “Remember I mentioned that this world is an anime for young girls. That means there is a pretty much guaranteed beach episode somewhere. I think a week on a beach where I take each one of you on a date will be a good change of pace.”
I smiled as I watched each of them smile as they got up to get to work.
The basic books ended up being moderately easy since we had some gold coins from Runeterra, but access to the school wasn’t as easily gained. This version of Little Witch Academia was a girls only school and worse yet, they only accepted student applications in June so we would need to wait nearly an entire year.
Amy and I had started our explorations of the townspeaple by shaking hands and people watching respectively, but we weren’t getting very far very quickly. After an entire week I could only now start to see a section of the witches' souls that seemed unique to them. Amy had also found parts of their bodies that seemed different from the general populace as well, but hand shakes didn’t give her enough time to really study them.
Dinah, who was probably eager to try magic, had asked if we wanted to test them on her. Still, after an uneasy glance with Amy we decided not to do anything yet. We didn’t want to change our bodies or souls just here since Harry Potter might be different, especially without being able to study the bodies in greater detail.
The major change was on the fourth night here when I heard a knock at my door. I opened it up to find Ahri standing at the doorway. I was momentarily shocked to find her fidgeting in a fairly revealing nightgown. Her tails waived slowly behind her in a pattern I recognized as nervous. Even from a quick glance I could tell she was wearing nothing underneath and I slowly swallowed and with difficulty brought my eyes up to look at my beautiful fox girl’s face. Opening the door wider, I smiled while keeping my eyes on her’s. “What can I do for you, my dear vixen?”
Ahri rolled her eyes, but still stepped inside. Then with a little bit of embarrassment she continued talking while fiddling with her tails. “I am not yet in heat, but with Amy’s help I might not ever need to worry about that again.” She seemed happy about that, but her nervousness continued. “But I still want to connect to you like the rest of my sisters.”
I smiled as kindly as I could. “That is perfectly fine. I am happy to spend time with you whenever you want to. Plus, I would be happy to sleep with you if you want, but you don’t need to if you aren’t ready.” I paused and smiled sheepishly. “That and I have to ask. Will it cause problems trying to sleep together if you aren’t in heat? I don’t really know anything about your species’s mating habits.”
Ahri simply nodded, “Yes, I am sure. And no, Amy helped me make sure it wouldn’t cause any problems.”
I smiled a little more surely as I walked forward and embraced her as I leaned down to kiss her. I was absolutely going to enjoy this. Plus, I kinda wanted to bury myself in those tails.
Half an hour later I could confirm. Being buried in fox tails after being buried in her was absolutely amazing.
Surprisingly it was Ahri who was happily humming while asleep. It wasn’t exactly a cat’s purr, but it was close and I loved it as I slowly fell asleep while spooning her.
I woke the next morning surprised with someone touching me. That was surprising as Ahri had seemed pretty wiped out when we fell asleep yesterday. Plus, she didn’t really seem too experienced in that sort of thing, even if she was the only girl so far to not have been a virgin when we met.
However, just before I called out her name, I opened my eyes. Shocked, I was glad I did. There wasn’t the raven black hair of my fox girl, but Taylor’s beautiful brown locks.
Reaching down, I stroked my youngest lover’s head and sighed internally. “I appreciate the wake up call, but where did this come from?”
Taylor frowned before sighing and grumbling. “Amy and Dinah say I need to talk to you.” She turned away from me before continuing softly, almost sadly. “I just don’t want you to forget me now that you are getting more beautiful women.”
I winced and sighed internally. I really should have seen this coming and it made me feel like scum to have missed it when I knew she still had some pretty extreme insecurities. However, I tried to keep my voice even and smooth on the outside. “Taylor, look at me. You are essentially my first girlfriend since Dinah definitely doesn’t count. You and Amy have been with me since the beginning, I mean we took down the bloody Slaughterhouse 9 together. Seriously, you two have been central to my life along with being my first two wives. That would make you unforgettable by itself, but what you don’t seem to understand is that you are both incredibly beautiful, smart, and talented as well, even before Amy’s modifications. You are the complete package, Taylor.”
I reached out and hugged her tight. “I know you are worried, but I want you to know that I truly am impressed with you. You are the youngest besides Dinah and you are already learning to plan and fight despite your supposedly weak powers. Again, you were absolutely crucial to the fight against the gangs and the S9 on Earth Bet. You took the hunter exam and passed. You are incredible, Taylor, you are smart and only getting smarter. You are strong and only getting stronger. You are kind and you continue to be kind despite everything. I know you have trouble believing it, but you really are.” Taylor was starting to tear up so I pulled her closer before I smirked. “I mean, if you need proof then all you need to do is look down to tell just how attractive you are.”
Taylor giggled wetly, still a little teary before I pulled her into a kiss. Obviously, this could only end one way, and we both enjoyed the follow-up as well.
Thirty minutes later while walking downstairs with my arm around Taylor, smelling something cooking, I came around the corner to another surprise. It seemed that Amy had made breakfast while Sabah was cuddling up to her. It seems like all of my wives except Dinah had enjoyed some affection since dinner. With a creak from the floorboards behind me I noticed Arhi arrive while drying her tails from her shower. Looking around I noticed that it was only Dinah who wasn’t awake yet so I pulled Taylor into the room before I spoke up. “You know when we have time like this, I think we might want to instigate date night every Friday night. We can play games, watch movies and just talk. Afterward, any of the adults that want to can join in for the night together. How does that sound?”
All the women except for Amy instantly turned scarlet. Amy, proving she was not only enjoying the dynamic, but thriving, simply smirked before looking at me. “Sounds good to me, love~”
I was a little surprised at her saying the L word right now in what was obviously a fairly serious manner, but after a second I decided that yes, I had started really falling for her and Taylor. It was also good to see and made me happy that she was doing well here. She had been denied affection and affirmation by just about everyone except for her sister Vicky for so long back at home. So considering that, It probably wasn’t surprising that she was improving while surrounded by affirmation and affection while doing a job that was absolutely central and critical to our group.
Ultimately it only took a moment before I responded in kind, I smiled and simply stated. “Yes, I think I have really started to love you and Taylor.” I gave Taylor a little squeeze in my arms. “I think you Sabah, and you, Ahri, are coming along in my heart as well.”
Sabah was surprised when she was included, but after a moment of obvious indecision she stood up from Amy’s arms and marched over to me and proceeded to kiss me on the cheek then quietly add. “I really wasn’t sure at the beginning, but it is clear you do care in your own way. So, while I can say I tried it and I still really prefer girls… I can say that I definitely do care about you as well.”
Ahri didn’t say anything, but after a moment of hesitation, she leaned forward and gave me a peck on the lips, saying nothing, with a smile before going to sit down for breakfast. Amy rolled her eyes, muttering “Damn sappy man.” before marching over and giving me a kiss as well.
Despite the somewhat romantic mood, we didn’t head right back up to the bedroom and instead just finished breakfast. Especially since it was only a few minutes later before Dinah arrived for breakfast. Still, I could feel my spirits lift at the positive atmosphere and I was pretty sure the girls felt the same.
The problem was that regardless of the good mood, we didn’t find anything definitive to help us with our magic quest.
We had combed just about all the publicly available books in town and had confirmed there were no other books that explained how to get magic and specifics on how to cast it. Or at least no other books they would sell to strangers. We might have been able to steal them, but without being able to defend against even simple anti-theft charms, that was a really stupid idea. Heck, we couldn’t even tell if they were charmed in the first place.
I looked at the girls before Dinah sighed. “Chances we will find something in the next month. 18.3%.”
I sighed back and shook my head. “I don’t like those odds. It sounds like getting magic here is going to be a little more complicated than we would prefer, and we really did want to head to Harry Potter anyway.”
Everyone nodded before I smiled. “Guess it is time for a beach trip.”
I smiled wider as Amy and Sabah eyed each other before eyeing me in turn. Taylor had already started grinning and Ahri’s tails started dancing happily. Even dinah looked like she was stopping herself from bouncing in place. A few questions to the townspeople gave us the general direction and we were off.
It took nearly three hours but soon enough we were stepping forward to the edge of the beach town and walking into a clothing store. I had been curious why Sabah hadn’t made everyone a swimming suit, but when I asked she had responded. “I didn’t think to get the materials in Brockton Bay and besides, shopping for swimming suits is fun.” I smiled back and rolled my eyes as I saw her eye the other girls with me.
Amy ended up with a navy blue bikini with a matching wrap. Taylor hesitated for several minutes before, with our encouragement, picked a maroon red bikini with a white wrap. Dinah was disappointed when I requested she wear a one piece swimsuit, but agreed when I let her buy a bikini to wear when she was a little older. Ahri drew a few strange looks, but this world was just magical enough that she didn’t need to hide her fox features. In the end she picked a black bikini that really highlighted her pale skin and raven hair. I actually gulped as I looked at her smirking at me. Sabah was the last one to pick and ended up with a purple Bikini with a matching wrap. She smiled as she saw Amy checking her out, but to my surprise she gave me a little twirl so I could check her out as well.
Smiling, I complimented each of them. I had to admit that I loved their blushes even as I made a note to pay extra attention to our surroundings as I didn’t want them to be harassed.
However, I was surprised when I saw the girl’s faces turn a little predatory. Even Sabah looked like she was smiling a little too viciously.
Gulping, I took a small step back and asked. “What? Why is everyone looking at me like that?”
I watched as the girls turned to smile wider at each other before I paled as the girls approached holding up several different speedos for me to try on.
The following twenty minutes were mortifying even if my ROB given body with Amy’s modifications didn’t leave me with anything to be ashamed about. Really I probably wouldn’t have minded if we had done it in private, but only five minutes in the show had already attracted both men and women who were all chuckling at me. A few of both genders even seemed to be eyeing me speculatively. The entire time I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be flattered or embarrassed.
In the end I paid for a speedo which was only a little bigger than the girl’s bikini bottoms along with normal swimming trunks with a Hawaii palm leaf type pattern.
Still, the girls deserved to be pampered so that is what I decided to do.
The first day was spent all together on the beach and in the ocean. I was a little concerned when I realized that neither Ahri or I really knew how to swim, but by the end of the day we weren’t useless in the water anymore. We even ended up making a sand castle and only had to shoo away two guys for hitting on the girls. In fact it was Taylor who did most of the intimidating. Her death stare was just as scarry in person as I had read about in the story.
I had considered taking each girl out on an individual date each evening based on when they joined me, but before I could voice my opinion, Dinah pulled me aside and pointed towards Taylor. After a moment I nodded. It was a good idea to reinforce how important she was to the group so around dinner I pulled her aside and it became a date with just me and Taylor. When I asked what she wanted Taylor actually smiled and simply requested a stroll across the beach before a private dinner.
The second day was spent relaxing in a spa. Well the girls relaxed while I read the wheel of time. It was another world I was interested in, even if I was terrified of actually going there. That night, I took Amy to a fancy steakhouse before sitting on a bench and watching the ocean.
The third day was spent relaxing on the beach a little further away to avoid being bothered. That night I finally got to Dinah. This time I suggested a movie date in a public theater followed by a simple dinner with the family. It was the most Platonic way I could think to approach this, which despite a small conflicted look at the beginning when I explained the plan, she seemed to appreciate.
The fourth day was spent shopping in town followed by a date with Sabah. I was surprised when she requested her own stroll down the beach followed by a fish fry dinner instead of something like a movie. I suppose that proved that she did like me just a little, even if it might not ever go further.
The fifth day ended up with the rest of the girls doing a girls day out while I was left alone to once again study the few magic theory books we found. That night, I ended up going swimming with Ahri since we were both finally getting it, followed by dinner on a rooftop.
All in all, it was a peaceful week and I had to admit that I was glad we took the time to do it. Yet, we needed to move on. After buying a little more food to replace our stores, I called everyone to the living room.
After a little longer pause, I reached through a portal and picked up Hookwolf’s soul jar. Taking a deep breath, I asked one more time. “Bigger souls seem to give me a better ability to determine where we go. So, does anyone have a problem with me popping Hookwolf and aiming for a non-canon Harry Potter universe?”
Everyone looked at each other before one by one they shook their heads before Amy spoke up. “Just keep in mind it is better to get a canon Harry Potter than something else or even a doomed version of the universe. Let's not even think about a version where Tom was never actually defeated or where Dumbledore is Evil.”
Nodding, I winced. “You’re right.” Taking a breath, while Amy and I put Dinah to sleep, I considered the target as carefully as I could.
After a moment, I decided to speak out loud to try to keep it straight in my head. “We wanted the HP universe. Arriving maybe 1 or 2 years before Harry starts school. We want Tom temporarily defeated, with events following the cannon story. We want a universe a little more rich in magic and lore. Likewise, we want the students to be a little older than 11. Also, if possible, we want Harry to be female without gender flipping everyone.”
Reaching out, I could feel the possibilities had diminished considerably with all of these options before I found one that was almost what I was looking for. I couldn’t find any others exactly what I wanted, so deciding to just go for it I released the power and we were on our way.
Interlude Taylor:
Taylor was still a little embarrassed about what she had done by going in and waking Max up like that last week. Still, at the time she hadn’t been able to stand it anymore.
She could still feel the worry in the back of her head, but Max had done his best to reassure her.
She knew objectively that she had never been what the 3 bitches in Winslow had claimed she was. She wasn’t ugly, just a bit thin. She wasn’t stupid, she was actually smarter than any of them. She wasn’t weak and she was only getting stronger.
None of those bitches would have been able to make it through the hunter exam. She had even kept the Hunter ID card from that test in a frame on the wall, just to prove it.
Yet, sometimes it was hard to remember that.
If she was being honest, she was pretty sure half of why she had come with Max in the first place was just to have someone who wanted her. To remind her that she mattered.
What she had gotten was way better than that. Amy was supportive if a little brusk at times. Especially when she didn’t have her coffee. Even if she did seem to enjoy teasing everyone about threesomes a little too much.
Dinah was like a younger sister she never had.
Plus, while she wasn’t quite certain what to think about Ahri or Sabah, they had been nice to be around so far. No, she shouldn’t think like that, those two weren’t like Emma, they wouldn’t betray her or Max at the drop of a hat.
No, she could admit that part of the problem was her own insecurities. Insecurities that should be gone when Amy had arguably made her look amazing.
She sighed. She needed to focus and everyone agreed she needed to have more confidence in herself.
She was going to get magic and become even stronger. Not for Max, but because it would allow her to control her own life and her own destiny.
Yet, she felt a tiny smile when she reminded herself that she would still have Max and the girls behind her.