Being the creepy kid as school wasn't all that bad. He didn't have many friends, but that wasn't too different from when Dudley picked on him. Dudley generally avoided him, which was nice, and Aunt Petunia was nice, if a bit fearful. His teachers were a bit more friendly to him, especially the science teacher for some reason. Heck, since he got his brain melted, Uncle Vernon had lost twenty pounds!
All Harry really needed was Rex, though more often than not, Rex created trouble that was far worse than anything Harry had to deal with before. It took only a couple of days before Rex developed a taste for chasing Mrs. Figg's cats around the neighborhood. The fact that the Dursley's had laid off since Vernon's unfortunate breakdown made it managable, if only barely. Harry was worried about what Rex would start doing once he got bored of just chasing the cats around. He didn't want to deal with a neighborhood papered in missing cat posters.
Despite everything, things were at least manageable, which meant that it was only a matter of time before Fate decided to intervene in Harry Potter's life.
It was about a month later, Harry's birthday had passed, and school had started again. As with any new school year, there were new challenges and opportunities to accompany it. In Harry's case, there was one in particular.
ôHEY HARRY.ö
ôHm? What is it Rex?ö Harry asked, pulling his gaze away from the window.
ôI DUNNO... SOMETHING JUST FEELS...DIFFERENT. OR THE SAME. I CAN'T DECIDE.ö
ôThat doesn't make any sense.ö
ôWELL IT'S THE TRUTH.ö
ôClass, I'd like you to meet our new student.ö the teacher spoke up, drawing Harry;'s attention away from his talk with Rex.
ôEveryone, I'd like you to meet Annabel.ö
ôHi.ö
ôNow I expect you all to be nice to her, since she's new, alright kids?ö The teacher smiled, ôWhy don't you take a seat right over there deary?ö
ôYes Ma'am.ö
Aside from the addition of a new student, things proceeded normally. The only real difference was Rex's attitude. For some reason, he was acting....twitchy. Something was bothering him, and he constant mutterings were beginning to get on Harry's nerves.
ôMaybe you should go outside for awhile.ö Harry said, discreetly pushing Rex out the window.
ôBUT HARRY....ö Rex whined
ôJust...go run around for awhile.ö
ôFINE...ö
--- --- --- --- ---
Things were relatively quiet until recess. Dudley, sensing a chance to reassert his place as the alpha, decided to harass the new girl.
ô-URK!ö from out of nowhere, Annabel pulled out a baseball bat, and clocked Dudley in the jaw. He staggered around for a minute, before she elected to give it another shot and knocked him out cold. Clearly, Annabel was not one to be messed with, and not in the way Dudley's creepy cousin was. If you made her mad, she would wail on you until you went down, or someone got a teacher.
Almost immediately, several of Dudley's old friends surrounded her, sucking up to the new queen of the playground. Harry sighed. Hopefully she wouldn't bother him like Dudley used to, but that was probably too much to hope for.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
Much to Harry's chagrin, the new girl quickly became the least of his worries.
Math class was as dull as ever, and though he did his best to pay attention, he found hi attention drifting outside more often than not. It was during one of these drifting moments that Harry noticed what Rex was up to.
Unlike his usual shenanigans, Rex wasn't tasting the various pieces of playground equipment or chasing animals. This time, Rex was fighting.
Immediately, Harry put his hand in the air, ôCan I go to the bathroom?ö The teacher was so involved in explaining the concept of long division, that she didn't notice Harry's question. Deciding that there wasn't any time to waste, Harry got up and quietly walked out of the classroom, before breaking into a sprint.
By the time he made it outside, the fight was in full swing, as the accumilating property damage would attest. Now that Harry was there, he wasn't sure what to do. Fortunately, he was saved from that problem as a second person showed up.
ôHOMER, STOP!!!ö Harry turned in shock to see Annabel screaming at the brawling monsters, looking more irritated than anything else. Sadly, there was very little that could stop a monster fight once it got going. Even a very irate little girl wasn't enough.
The new monster, name Homer apparently, hefted Rex above its head, before hurling him into the school. Given Rex's considerable size, it was no surprise when he crashed through the wall, landing in Mr. Henderson's lab area.
Heedless of the protesting children, Homer pressed his advantage and tackled the stunned dinosaur, crushing several desks and chairs, and shattering dozens of vials. Rex responded with a blast of flames, igniting the newly created firewood, and creating a veritable haze of toxic gases. Masked by the poisonous smoke, Rex charged Homer, plowing into the collection of baseball equipment and forcing the fight back into the playground.
ôDamn it Homer...ö Annabel cursed, watching the havoc the ongoing brawl was causing. ôHey, you.ö
ôMe?ö Harry asked.
ôDo you see some other nimrod around? Help me get their attention.ö Annabel commanded.
ôEr... alright, but how are we going to do that?ö
ôHere,ö she replied, handing him a baseball. ôOn the count of three, throw it at them as hard as you can.ö
ôUm... is that really going to work?ö
ôIt worked last time, but Homer was chasing the neighborhood dog, not fighting a dinosaur. Ready?ö
ôWell...ö
ôOne! Two!!! THREE!!!ö at Annabel's command, the two children hurled the balls at the warring beasts. Despite all logic to the contrary, they actually did, acting like dogs that had been yelled at more than eldritch horrors from beyond.
ôBUT ANNIE... HE MADE FUN OF ME...ö Homer defended, earning an incredulous look.
ôYOU... YOU CALLED ME A PREHISTORIC CHICKEN!!!ö Rex roared, flames flickering in his jaws.
ôYOU SAID BASEBALL WASNöT A REAL SPORT!!!ö Homer shouted, gearing up to fight again.
ôWELL YOU-ö
ôBoth of you! Shut up!!!ö Annabel screamed, stopping the whining once and for all. Sighing in exasperation, she turned to face the relatively quiet Harry.
ôLet's start this whole thing over again. Hi. My name is Annabel, but you can call me Annie. This is my monster, Homer.ö
ôUh... I'm Harry, and this is my monster Rex.ö
The two monsters merely growled at each other, before a glare from their partners put them on their best behavior.
The creepy kid and the weird new girl. Clearly a match made in heaven.
--- ---- ---- ---- ----
The school was closed for the next week, while the local authorities cleaned up after the ôlab explosionö and made sure that the building didn't suffer from any major structural damage. This worked out well for Harry and Annie, since it gave them a chance to get to know each other.
It turned out that Annie had had Homer for months, and his general disregard for property damage had led to repeated moves. Fortunately, she loudly proclaimed, she had finally got him trained, and as long as Rex was on his best behavior, there wouldn't be any problems. While this led to a lot of mumbled complaints from Rex, Harry was perfectly happy with that condition, as long as he had a friend.
Well, he always had Rex, but that went without saying.
--- --- --- --- ---
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
--- --- --- --- ---
By the time the week was over, the newly formed duo were fast friends. While Rex and Homer still didn't quite see eye to eye, they had learned to be tolerant of each other enough to not maim each other when Harry or Annie was around. Had the mayor known, he would have been extremely grateful of Annabel's bat for keeping the two of them in line.
Annabel had quickly asserted his position as the leader of their little group, which suited Harry just fine. Rex had made several growling complaints about being bossed around by a little girl, but soon stopped, as Annabel wasn't one to tolerate dissent, and bashed him in his vulnerable eye. He spent the next two days whimpering under Harry's bed. Once he recovered, he was much less vocal about the power structure.
--- --- --- --- ---
School went was well as could be expected. Several teachers were a bit nervous, but overall, things went smoothly. On the plus side, since everyone was half expecting another explosion, no one assigned any homework. The reason for the expectation of explosion became all to clear when science class came around.
ôHey kids!ö Mr. Henderson exclaimed, far more animated then any of them had every seen him. ôNow the main lab has been closed down for repairs, but there are plenty of replacement chemicals so we'll have plenty available for our... experiments... Yes, plenty for experiments.... my experiments will show them... they'll show them all... yes... Soon they'll all see the truth... no one will be able to call me crazy after I show them...
ôUh... Mr. Henderson, are you sure that the lab is...safe now? One of the students asked,
ôWhy of course it's safe!!! The CDC came in and double and triple checked EVERYTHING! And I've got a plan to make things EXTRA safe so an explosion like that will NEVER happen again!!! Isn't that right kids!?!ö He exclaimed, paying special attention to the newly formed duo.
ôUh... yes sir...ö Harry quailed under the science teacher's grinning facade.
ôWANT ME TO EAT HIS FACE?ö
ôNo you idiot. That'll just get Harry in trouble.ö Annabel admonished the stuffed dinosaur, accompanied by sniggers from Homer, who had compressed himself into a single baseball.
ôSHUT UP HOMER...ö
ôNO, YOU SHUT UP.ö
ôWill you both shut up?! You'll get us in trouble!!!ö Harry whispered urgently. It turned out that his worries were for naught, as Mr. Henderson elected to put a movie open while he took care of some things in his office. The movie of choice?
Frankenstein.
Despite the high volume setting, it was impossible for the movie to drown out the sounds of Mr. Henderson at work. Sounds of grating metal, electric currents, and maniacal laughter (synchronized with the movie, somehow) emitted from the office sporadically, accompanied by rants of Mr. Henderson's genius. The end of class couldn't come soon enough.
--- --- --- --- ---
After the unusual science class, everyone was ready for the end of the day. Once the last bell rang, Annie all but dragged him to the park. Due to her borderline obsession with baseball, at least some of which was probably Homer's fault, Harry found himself drafted into playing almost every day. She hadn't to conscripting more players, so they were currently limited to batting practice or catch, but that suited Annie just fine.
Ever since Annie came along, the park had become much nicer. It used to be Dudley's main hangout, but ever since Annabel put him in his place, kids started frequenting the park without worrying about Dudley or his cronies.
ôHay Harry,ö
ôYeah?ö
ôWhat are we going to do tonight?ö
ôHow about the junkyard?ö
ôWhy would we go to the junkyard?ö
Annabel grinned, ôIf you have to ask, then we definitely need to go there. Tonight's gonna be fun.ö
--- --- --- --- ---
The junkyard, much to Harry's surprise, made for an amazing playground for child and monster alike. There were piles of junk just waiting for for Annabel and Harry to rummage through, and Homer and Rex could rough house as much as they wanted without drawing any unwanted attention. They spent the night collecting odds and ends, and sculpting statues of discarded cans and bubblegum. The night culminated in a car throwing contest, as each monster sought to out do the other. It devolved into shouting match, followed shorty after by a quick brawl, before Annabel stopped them.
All in all, a pretty fun night.
ôI'M GONNA GO FIND A SNACK, ALRIGHT ANNIE?ö Homer said as they headed home.
ôOh... alright, but hurry up, and don't break into any stores, alright?ö Annabel admonished, hopping off of him to walk next to Harry.
ôFINE...I'LL GO FIND SOMETHING. MAYBE SOMEONE LEFT A BALL OUT OR SOMETHING...ö Homer complained, lumbering off to find a snack.
ôDon't eat anyone!ö Annabel called after him, ôSee you tomorrow Harry.ö she commented, heading towards her own home.
ôBye.ö Harry returned, ôCome on Rex. We've got school tomorrow.ö
ôAW...ö
--- --- --- --- ---
The next day, things weren't nearly as smooth. Almost immediately, Harry was confronted by an agitated Annabel.
ôHave you seen Homer? He didn't come home last night.ö she all but demanded.
ôNo, the last time I saw him we were just leaving. Sorry Annie.ö
Annabel sighed in frustration , ôHe doesn't normally wander off like this... Sure, he likes to grab a snack, but he's always back soon...ö
ôWell, we have class now, so there's not much we can do, but I'll help you look after class, alright?ö
ôThanks Harry.ö her worries momentarily calmed, Annabel settled down and they headed to class.
Sadly, Homer was nowhere to be found. The cycle repeated itself. By the third day, Annabel had stopped showing up to class entirely. Harry was solely tempted to join her, but given her borderline psychotic mood swings, he decided that some time away would do some good.
Another reason was to watch Mr. Henderson's continued descent into madness. Gone was the nice, clean organized lab, replaced by minor chemical spills, dissected lab equipment, and strange smells. By this point, even the daily science/horror movie was gone, since Mr. Henderson had taken the projector apart for his project. Most of the students had taken to cutting class and leaving early, since Mr. Henderson wasn't even around. Harry elected to use that time to help Annabel look for Homer, but their searches remained fruitless.
Things finally changed when Mr. Henderson showed up again. His clothes were rumpled, and judging from their stench, he hadn't showered in days. Likewise, he was sporting an impressive stubble, which complimented his greasy and tangled hair nicely. For some reason, he had thrown on a white labcoat, which clashed with the rest of him in its pristine whiteness.
ôHello everyone!!! Now before I pop in the movie, do we have any baseball players in this class?ö Mr. Henderson demanded, grinning widely.
ôUm... what does that have to do with anything sir?ö
ôOh nothing, I just need some baseball equipment for some base reading. My new... project... has some baseball like traits. I need the equipment for comparison.ö
ôAre you designing some new type of baseball bat or something?ö the student asked
ôOf course not! I wouldn't lower myself to working on such a stupid sport as-ö Mr. Henderson cut himself off, and forced his malevolent expression under control, ôI mean... of course its for something like that. We all want our... Pirates to do well.ö
ôOur baseball team is the Dingoes.ö
ôWhatever. Just take me to the baseball equipment.ö
ôYes sir...ö
The conversation on its own was suspicious. With Homer missing and Mr,. Henderson acting the way it was, it was obvious that he was somehow involved. The instant Mr. Henderson left the room, Harry bolted, in search of Annabel.
--- --- --- --- ---
ôYou found Homer?!ö Annabel yelled, shaking the unfortunate messenger frantically.
ôMaybe!ö Harry replied, prompting her to glare at him expectantly.
ôAnd just what is that supposed to mean?ö
ôMr. Henderson showed up again today asking for baseball equipment. He said it had something to do with a new project or something.ö Harry explained, ôSince Mr. Henderson's been gone almost as long as Home I thought they might be connected.ö
ôWell what are we waiting for?! Move it!!!ö
--- --- --- --- ---
Mr. Henderson's house used to be nice. It wasn't exceptional, but it blended well with the rest of the neighborhood.
No longer.
Apparently, Mr. Henderson's drive was so strong, he had scavenged parts from his own house, destroying the veneer of normality, as well as compromising the structural integrity. Parts that he couldn't use were scattered over the lawn, which was starting to look overgrown. While nowhere near hunted house levels, it was certainly creepy.
As the two children approached the desolate building, they suppressed a shudder.
ôAlright, I'll look upstairs. Harry, you check the ground floor. If you find anything, send Rex to get me.ö Annabel ordered.
ôWait, what if you find something.ö Harry asked.
ôFollow the screams. Once I hit someone with this,ö Annabel replied, swinging her bat experimentally, ôThere will be plenty of noise to follow.ö
ôAlright...ö Harry replied uncertainly, following her into the house.
ôLET'S DO THIS.ö Rex snarled, shifting into his true form.
ôI don't think that's a good idea right now Rex. You'll probably break the house.ö
ôFINE...ö Rex replied, shrinking down into his stuffed toy body. Harry sighed, before following Annabel in.
Once inside, Harry began to cautiously explore each room. Most were similar to the front yard in regards to condition. Bits and pieces of junk were scattered everywhere, the kitchen sink and garbage can were filled to the brim with dirty dishes and take out boxes, and anything technological was ripped apart.
As he continued his explorations, Harry heard the sound of something coming from below. A few seconds of listening identified it as Mr. Henderson's mad laughter. Look around, Harry quickly located the door leading to the basement, and braced himself. A week's worth of monster movies told him that whatever was downstairs was going to be disturbing.
Sadly, cheesy movie gore was nothing like the real thing.
Mr. Henderson had Homer strapped down on a table, cackling madly to himself. He completely ignored Homer's growls of anger, aside from the occasional threat to remove his vocal cords. Homer's hands were completely absent, and Mr. Henderson was busy working on the rest of his arms, taking care to place each baseball in a separate jar for later experimentation. Black ichor oozed from the ends of Homer's hands, which Mr. Henderson took great care to contain.
ôRex, got get Annie. Now!ö Harry hissed, unable to tear his eyes away.
ôIöM GONNA RIP OFF YOUR FACE AND EAT IT AS SOON AS I'M FREE!!!ö Homer declared, fighting against his bonds.
ôMy, you're full of fighting spirit, don't you agree Gigatron?ö Mr Henderson cackled, glancing over his shoulder.
ôBeep.ö Harry's eyes widened as he noticed the hulking wall of machinery wasn't just another bank of computers and electronics, but a massive robot. The robot, apparently Gigatron, moved away from the wall to help Mr. Henderson. Harry watched in horror as it raised a buzzsaw, coated in the same ichor coming from Homer. The bladed circle began to spin ominously and Homer howled in rage as it began to approach his mask.
ôHOMER!!!ö Annabel shrieked, jolting Harry away from the scene to look upon a horrified Annabel. She immediately sprinted forward, forcing Harry grab her, to keep her from rushing headlong into the realm of madness. Unfortunately, holding her back didn't keep Mr. Henderson from hearing her.
ôWHO'S THERE!?! WHO DARES INTRUDE INTO THE LAIR OF MICHAEL HENDERSON!?!ö
ôLET GO OF HOMER!!!ö Annabel returned, almost frothing at the mouth.
ôHomer... ah, so that's the name of this subject... I think I'll label it Subject H...ö
ôINTERESTING... I THINK I'LL LABEL YOU... LUNCH.ö Rex snarled, assuming his full malevolent form.
ôAh! A second subject! Gigatron! Forget that one, help me capture this new specimen!!!ö Mr. Henderson commanded, his focus diverted to the idea of new experiments.
As Mr. Henderson turned his attention away from the bound Homer, Harry released Annabel, who dropped her favorite bat in order to help, or at least comfort Homer.
Harry picked up Annabel's bat, as the insane scientist charged towards Rex. Fortunately, since the scientist was so focused on the new monster, he didn't pay any attention to the small child next to it, giving Harry an easy shot at his kneecaps, which he took with gusto.
As Mr. Henderson fell shrieking to the ground, Rex charged at the approaching robot, his jaws biting down on its head, sending a shower of sparks all over the room. The robot responded by attempting to tear into the prehistoric beast, but was unable to pierce his tough hide.
ôSo these monsters are your partners, eh?ö Mr. Henderson hissed, pulling a scalpel from his jacket. ôI think some experiments on the two of you will be necessary as well!ö he yelled, lunging towards Harry. Harry dodged out of his way, prompting a bout of hysterical cackling.
ôOh, is the little boy afraid of a little surgery?! Don't worry Harry, it only hurts for the first few hours!ö Henderson laughed, scalpel slashing at his student. Harry managed to avoid his attack, and responded by taking a swing at his vulnerable stomach. Unfortunately, the attack presented Henderson with an opening, which he took full advantage of to slice into Harry's thigh. Harry's scream mimiced Rex's roar, as Gigatron fried his arms. Rex repaid the favor by biting into his head once again.
The brawl was momentarily disrupted by Annabel's shout of triumph, as the restraints on Homer released, and the infuriated monster joined the fight against the unlucky robot. Even without his arms, a second monster made the fight far more formidable. Annabel, likewise hungry for revenge, joined Harry against Henderson. Wordlessly, Harry passed her the bat, picking up a pipe to use instead.
With an ally beside him, Rex, tore into the robot with gusto. Unfortunately, Henderson was far from incompetent, and Gigatron proved quite resistant to their attacks. Sadly for the science teacher, he was not so resistant to attacks as Harry and Annabel attacked his legs again. One lucky blow to the kneecaps later caused their teacher to shriek as he fell to his knees, agonizing pain forcing him to drop his scalpel, giving them an opportunity to attack with impunity, resulting in a sickening crack as Annabel smashed his hands.
His screams provided the monsters with the motivation to renew their dismantling of Gigatron, which they continued with gusto. Rex finally managed to tear off the robot's head, which he gleefully munched on in victory. Not wanting to be outdone, Homer body slammed it into the wall, causing part of its chest to collapse. With the loss of its head, and damage to its circuits, Gigatron was severely hindered, making its destruction only a matter of time.
Harry backed off, as Annabel's rage took hold of her and she began to brutally beat their teacher. Deprived of his weapon, Henderson was almost helpless against her unrelenting assault. He screamed as Annabel destroyed what remained of his hands, his blood changing her bat from silver to a dark red. As he collapsed to his knees Annabel smirked psychotically before muttering under her breath
ôSwing for the bleachers.ö
Being a young girl, Annabel lacked the strength to pulverize Mr. Henderson's skull, and paint the wall with his brain and bone fragments. However, she was more than powerful enough to knock him unconscious, and probably give him some form of brain damage.
Panting heavily, Annabel did her best to regain control as the monsters finished their dismantling. As the last of Gigatron's parts were rent asunder, she locked eyes with her friend and partner. They stared at each other for a long moment, before Annabel's eyes began to well up.
ôHOMER!!!ö Annabel sobbed, rushing to wrap her arms around her monstrosity. ôI was so scared! I was so scared that you were gone!ö
Homer floundered, unable to think of how to deal with an emotionally distraught girl. He looked helplessly at his tow companions, silently asking for advice.
ôSO...DO WE EAT HIM?ö Rex clearly wasn't the best source of advice on this subject.
ôHow about we get out of here? ö Harry's advice was equally useless in this regard, but it was much better than devouring their disturbed teacher. Annabel nodded her head in agreement, still sobbing against Homer.
--- --- --- --- ---
The next few days were far more normal. Annabel didn't let Homer out of her sight, but calmed down significantly. There were several looting sprees on the school gym and sports stores to get Homer the materials he needed to grow back his arms, but compared to dealing with Mr. Henderson, it was almost relaxing.
Speaking of Mr. Henderson, when he didn't show up the next day, they sent someone to check on him. It was obvious to all that he was suffering from some sort of trauma, probably from the recent lab explosion. Given his mad gibbering and the damage to his home, he had probably blown himself up while testing his ôGigatronö robot. Since said robot was scattered all over the basement, it had probably exploded. Fortunately, there was a nearby facility for the insane that had opened up just recently, so Mr. Henderson could spend his days in a nice safe environment where nothing bad would ever happen to him again.
On Tuesdays, they even gave him blue jello!
The replacement science teacher, Ms. Blake, was far less psychotic, if a bit stricter. She was much prettier too, which caused some minor conflict between Harry and Annabel. One short scuffle later, and the problem was resolved.
After the events of the first month of school, the remainder of the year was fairly calm. At least, until Harry's birthday.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
Edit: Fixed the lack of Monsterspeak.
There are a couple of parts I want to tinker with a bit more, but overall, I'm pretty happy with this. Let me know if there's a spot where it looks like I forgot something. I think I got them all, but you never know.
Do you guys think I need to include more stuff between Annabel's arrival and Harry getting his Hogwarts letter, or do you think this is enough? Should I try to include some more Harry/Annabel time in flashbacks/letters while Harry's at Hogwarts?
Do the two parts go well together, or should I break them into two chapters?
Couple of notes:
-Monsters give their children some protection. So while Rex's reality rending claws could make mincemeat of a tank without a problem, if he used them on Annabel, she would probably be hurt, but not dead, at least not without some dedicated effort. This is going to translate to some spell resistance or spell mitigation.. For example, a stunner spell with disorient Harry, rather than knocking him out. A second stunner, or a more powerful stunner will accomplish it normal effect. I'm not sure exactly how far I'll take this, but I wanted you guys to be aware of it.
- The Wizards from MaOCT will be called something else. Mad Wizards or Warlocks or Sorcerers, but they are different from normal Harry Potter Wizards. Might not be an issue, but it could come up. It will probably be similar to how Mr. Henderson went from science teacher to Mad Scientist.
So what do you guys think?
