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Harry swallowed a lump in his throat upon hearing that. Before he could say anything, the ghost girl, Myrtle, spoke up. Her long, black, wet hair hung over him. She was damn pretty for a terrifying, fucking apparition. "I'm Myrtle, formerly known as Moaning Myrtle," she said. "I'm your friendly ghost girl - next to me, her smile, although warm, had a somewhat crazy look to it. Since I arrived here and found a purpose, and the girls helped me take care of myself, I've calmed down and gained some body." The definitely mischievous glint in her eye indicated why she needed that.
"That works," Harry muttered with a bow, gazing at her smiling face. Daphne explained that Myrtle was a "woman in white," but Harry had no idea what that meant.
"I have no idea what you just said, but sure," Harry acknowledged her words. He was starting to feel quite comfortable here, on the vampire's lap, and as time passed, it became increasingly clear that at least he was not in any immediate danger. But the questions were already filling his curious mind.
"Those eyes you saw under the bed," Myrtle began, giggling, "belong to Tracey."
"Tracey?" Harry asked cautiously. "Who is that?"
"A catgirl - something like a black cat mixed with a human, but more special than that. She's a runaway from her own dimensional home, different from yours, but perfectly fitting for you and your castle," she explained.
"My castle..." Harry muttered. Those words sounded so strange and foreign. It took him a minute to process them, his heart beating fast, adrenaline shooting through his veins. "Okay," he muttered. "Let me explain this."
They looked at him expectantly, grinning with their beautiful faces. "I was transported to some magical interplane, where dark beasts live, and I was placed under the protection of the castle and its inhabitants. My old life disappeared, right?" he said, needing some clarification on this matter.
"It did," said Daphne, maybe a little too cheekily. "Super-disappeared. Along with the enchanted Soviet atomic bomb.”
Harry nodded, pretending to understand. "Exactly. And - if you'll forgive me for saying so - it looks like most of the inhabitants of this castle are supernaturally attractive women."
Myrtle began to glow, literally glow, holding her cheeks and beaming at him. "You're making me blush," she grunted.
"Where are the other men?" Harry asked, intrigued. Daphne looked at him with fear in her eyes. "Do you want men?"
"What? No, that's not what I -" Harry started, but the apparition covered her mouth in shock, quickly descending from the flattering blush. "We were told you would be that for us," Myrtle said, her high-pitched voice suddenly fretful.
"That for what?" Harry asked, increasingly disoriented by the second.
"To take care of us!" Myrtle said, clearly panicking as she began to rise in frenzied circles, reminding him of how she behaved when someone insulted her in her bathroom. "Oh no, you don't like women?"
"Definitely not," Harry laughed, watching a wave of relief wash over their faces. "I'm just trying to understand, and I'm afraid I still don't quite get it." It amused him that he went so quickly from being terrified of these monsters to being the one trying to calm them down. A chuckle of absurdity escaped him.
The vampire nodded and patted him on the head, looking down at him. She bit her lip before finally speaking. "This castle once belonged to the greatest monster hunter in the entire multiverse, Ignotus Perevell. He hunted monsters all his life, but in his old age, he realized that not everything that happens at night is bad for the multiverse. In fact, without us, much worse things began to appear in our place - Dementors, and sometimes even worse chaotic creatures filled the cracks we left behind."
Myrtle continued. "So Ignotus found the Nexus Interplane, which is largely an uninhabited wasteland - well, except for the central megalopolis, Nexus City. Then he started rescuing such monstrous girls like us from all over the multiverse, especially those associated with darkness, night, or what in your world might be called dark magic."
"Dark girl," Harry said, nodding.
"Yeah," she shrugged. "He allowed us to roam these lands freely. A few years ago, he fell ill in this realm and expressed concern that his mission would soon be forgotten when he passed away, and the damage he did to the multi-verse by killing so many of us would never be repaired."
Daphne nodded, cupping his cheeks between her cold hands. "So, Tracey found you. Catgirls from her world have portal magic, so she quietly abducted you when the atomic explosion almost hit you, cast a few charms on you to make you slightly less prone to panic - I'm sorry about that, they'll wear off soon - and now you're here."
The explanation certainly shed some light on Harry's situation, and he couldn't help feeling chilled by it. "Why me?" he asked, still struggling to understand.
"Because you're the last male heir of Perevell that we could find in the multi-verse."
Harry's eyes widened in shock. "I'm what? That can't be true. I'm a Potter."
"Did you get the Potter cloak?" Myrtle asked, her voice genuinely curious.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean anything," Harry admitted.
"The invisibility cloak that never tore, got lost, or that you were ever able to sell?" Daphne asked, rolling her eyes.
"Fuck," Harry grunted in frustration.
Myrtle interjected with an answer: "Because it's a sacred bloodline! And you must have carried some form of it to be its progeny!"
Daphne looked at Harry with a calm smile. "Even without knowing it, considering the magnitude of your lineage, you never thought that Potter sounds just a little bit like Perevell, and that your birth and entire life were so obviously tied to death from all places?"
"No, I never made that connection. Why would I? I thought it was all fiction," Harry shrugged. "Can I sit down now?"
Daphne frowned but helped him up, and Myrtle slid down to sit next to them. "So, you have it," the ghost said. "Your destiny is to care for this castle and its inhabitants and travel through the multi-verse to save more of our kind. Some of them will live here, with us, and others will live in the nearby wilds. It will be your choice."
Something didn't add up for Harry. "But I'll be abducting monsters from their homeland. And I thought you said removing them was wrong, right? How is this going to help the monster ecology in the multi-verse?"
"Because you have another duty," Daphne blushed, her pale cheeks turning strangely pink. "But we don't have to get into that right away. Maybe... later."
Myrtle was also beaming and blushing. Harry couldn't help but think, what the hell have I gotten myself into? "This all sounds pretty bizarre," he allowed himself that small understatement. "Either I'm dreaming - awake - or destiny intervened in a really fucked-up way."
"I can understand why a human would think that way," Daphne said. "But give us a chance. If you really don't like it here, we'll help you find a way to a world where you could lead a peaceful life."
Harry's stomach flipped once. Going back to a solitary life didn't actually seem all that appealing to him, although it was hard to know whether he should take everything he heard at face value or not. The girls seemed forthcoming enough, but they were also literal monsters, dark beings, and he didn't know enough about them to trust them.
"Wellp," he said, stretching and cracking his knuckles. "Tell me I'm crazy and let my madness run wild; the worst that can happen is dying an honorable death," he quoted.
The pair of monstrous beauties exchanged surprised glances. In the least uncertain terms he could, Harry Potter stated that he would give it a try but would leave the moment he sensed any dishonesty or anything suspicious while listening to the suggestion of reading Antigone by Sophocles. Truth be told, Harry didn't have much to offer in London as he was a beggar on a failing magical street and had lost touch with almost everyone in his life. The only things keeping him alive were alcohol and a few crazy girls who wanted to feel like a real hero from time to time, even if it meant taking in a beggar. However, looking at the paranormal supermodels before him staring at him with admiration, he realized that returning to a world similar to his home would be quite a good reason, but pain, nightmares, and loneliness awaited him at home.
Despite that, Harry was oddly happy with this change on some level, thinking that death was the worst that could happen to him since he was abducted right before attempting suicide. Besides, on the first day, he got a pillow on the lap of a ten out of ten vampire chick, which was hard to beat. Daphne noticed that Harry was getting into it quickly, observing his face journey and coming to terms with the situation, licking her lips. She assured him that they would make sure he was happy and didn't regret it for a moment.
Harry nodded, easily catching the subtext, and asked, "What's the first order of business?"
Daphne smiled, looking at Myrtle, and said, "First, we need to teach you about your powers."
Harry was suddenly excited and asked, "My powers? What powers?"
"Perevell's magic, the power of death!" Myrtle exclaimed, beaming at him. "Time to level you up, master!"
Harry was embarrassed but optimistic and asked, "Level me up?"
Myrtle squealed, "Oooo! I'm so excited to start, master!" In her excitement, she flickered and flew through Harry's body, and every time she did, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.
Daphne noticed the chilling effect it had on him and perhaps felt it too. She said, "Relax, Myrtle. Our master must be led slowly. There is much to grasp in his new life, and we cannot overwhelm him too much."
The trio stood by one of the doors to the left of the bed. The stone walls were lighter than the gray tiled floors and looked smoother in appearance. The doors were made of mahogany, with brass handles and large keyholes through which one could easily peek if they tried.
Harry looked cautiously at the two eerie beauties and asked, "Why are you so worried about overwhelming me? Is this job really that dangerous?"