Disclaimer: Anything you recognize is the property of either JK Rowling or BBC. I do not own Harry Potter or Doctor Who, and I do not gain anything from this romp into fanfiction other than creative release (which money can't really buy anyway, yea, so that's ok!)
1997; Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Astronomy Tower
Paralyzed by Dumbledore's petrificus totalus, Harry had no choice but to stay hidden, silently, under his invisibility cloak as the scene unraveled before him. Draco Malfoy had yet to fulfill his threats to murder the weakened headmaster, but the sounds of the fighting below were steadily getting closer. Harry knew it was just a matter of time before the fragile balance that had been built between Dumbledore and the frightened Slytherin was broken. His attention to the conversation before him filtered in and out as he tried to figure out just how far away the battle was from them.
"... I can help you, Draco," he heard Dumbledore explain in a tone he supposed was meant to soothe and persuade.
"No, you can't," Malfoy responded dolefully. "Nobody can. He told me to do it or he'll kill me. I've got no choice."
The conversation continued as Dumbledore explained to Malfoy that the Order could protect him and his family. The headmaster's blue eyes were focused on the boy in front of him, imploring him to understand that this was not his only option, that the situation wasn't hopeless.
"... Come over to the right side, Draco... you are not a killer..."
Harry watched as Malfoy's shaking wand hand faltered, and then dropped to his side, the desperation in his face making his already pointed features seem sharp.
"What do I do?" The tone of the other boy's voice made Harry's heart clench in sympathy, despite his dislike for him. In that moment, Harry was reminded that they are all just children, 16 year old students.
A sudden crash in the staircase reminds all three occupants of the room that the fight is coming to them, and soon. Malfoy flinches at the sound, but doesn't raise his wand again, unsure of what to do. Harry feels the body bind being lifted, and rises to his feet, still hidden from view under his cloak.
"Draco," Dumbledore begins, "right now, all that I need you to do is trust me. The two of you have to get out of here. Now. Preferably together."
"Two of us?" The sudden confusion on Malfoy's face would have been amusing to Harry if the statement hadn't been followed by a shout from below. The Death Eaters were getting closer.
Time to act then, I suppose, Harry thinks sharply. He quietly mutters an expelliarmus and watches Malfoy's eyes widen as his wand leaves his fingers. Flinging aside the cloak, Harry catches the wand.
"You may be good and ready to trust him, Professor," he says, turning to Dumbledore as he walks toward the Slytherin, "but I'd just as soon not have him armed if we're going to try to escape."
The look Dumbledore levels at Harry is a mixture of disappointment and understanding. But he nods, snapping his fingers. There is a distinct popping sound as Dobby appears in front of the headmaster.
"Dobby, I need you to transport Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy out of the tower, bring them to my office, and keep them there until the castle is secured."
"Dobby is always happy to help Harry Potter!"
"We are not leaving -" Harry's protest is cut off as Dobby grabs his and Malfoy's hands, and with a popping sound, transports them to Dumbledore's office.
"So what's going to happen with Malfoy? 'S not like he can go home for the summer," Ron asks, changing the topic slightly as he, Harry, and Hermione meander around the edge of Hogwarts' lake. Dumbledore's funeral had just ended and the three of them have been discussing their upcoming search for the remaining Horcruxes.
Harry answers looks up at Ron and Hermione's expectant faces. When McGonagall found the two of them in Dumbledore's office after the battle, he had reiterated everything that had happened to his head of house. She proceeded to summon Remus Lupin, and the two of them had discussed in hushed tones what would happen to Malfoy. "He's going into hiding at one of the Order's safe houses," Harry replies.
"Well, that's good. Maybe he will actually become an asset to the Order, instead of just a bystander," Hermione offers.
"This is Malfoy," Ron scoffs. "Not wanting to die is a far cry from wanting to fight for the Order."
Harry shakes his head at the two of them. "Doesn't really matter, as long as he doesn't go back over to them. We have more pressing things to be concerned about than the future of Draco Malfoy."
"Too right, mate," Ron agrees as they finish circling the lake, chatting amicably about Bill and Fleur's upcoming wedding.
A little normalcy before all hell breaks loose, Harry muses to himself, something we will definitely need.
2007; TARDIS, the Time Vortex
"Forty-second time's a charm, then," the Doctor mumbles to himself as he jogs back up to the console of the TARDIS, running his hands through his hair in frustration.
The time ship hums tiredly in agreement, and with a sad smile on his face, the Doctor lays his hand on the time rotor.
"One more try before we stop off in Cardiff to refuel, yeah?" The lights flicker once in affirmation. He double checks the spatial and time coordinates of his destination – that much stays the same, every single time – and then moves down the console to the trans-dimensional computer. Scrolling through the complicated equation on the screen, he finds the variable that he is searching for and alters it slightly. Walking a little further around the circle, the Doctor stops, flips a switch, and feels his ship shake as it flies from the Time Vortex, across the Void, and into what he hopes will finally be the correct alternate universe.
With a jolt, the TARDIS lands, and the Doctor picks himself up off of the jump seat. He approaches the doors; closing his eyes to steady himself, the Doctor flings the doors open.
Never in his unbelievably long life has the Doctor been so relieved to see a zeppelin obscure the London skyline. He had finally made it.
"Let's go get her, then, shall we?" He asks his ship as the Doctor rushes back to the console and starts the dematerialization sequence with a look of triumph on his face. By his calculations, the TARDIS has just enough energy left in her reserves to make this jump, and then one back to their home universe. "I'll just have to nail this landing then, won't I," he says aloud to himself and his ship, his voice determined.
He grasps the console, bracing himself for the inevitably bumpy landing and isn't surprised when he falls backward as the TARDIS reaches their destination. Opening the doors, the Doctor is happy to note that – for once! – he is exactly where he meant to go.
The utterly shocked look on Jackie Tyler's face when he finally sees her, only further proves to him that he is indeed in the right place.
"Well hello there, Jackie!" He says excitedly, stepping out of his ship.
She eyes him suspiciously, putting her cup of tea on the table in front of her and approaching him slowly. Jackie stops in front of him, and the Doctor flinches as she lays a hand on his cheek.
"Oh my God, you're really here," she whispers, looking behind the Time Lord into the open door of the TARDIS. She removes her hand from his face. "Oh my God, it's really you. You're really here. After all that talk of impossible, here you are, standing in our living room like it's the most natural thing in the universe."
"I suppose it's not the most natural thing in this universe. Was in the last one though, wasn't it? Besides, I've never really been big on impossible," he smiles smugly down at Rose's mother. Not that he'd ever admit it out loud, but he had missed her as well as Rose, though not nearly as much.
Jackie stares at him in shock for another full minute before looking at him as though she has made a decision. Before the Doctor knows what's happening, Jackie Tyler has punched his shoulder.
No, definitely not nearly as much, the Doctor muses to himself as he looks at her in disbelief and makes a disgruntled noise, rubbing the spot she had hit. It takes the Doctor a minute to realize that Jackie is scolding him.
"… a year and a half Doctor, she's been miserable for a year and a half, since we saw you on that bloody beach in bloody NORWAY! All that talk about how it's impossible and how it'll tear both universes apart and here you are in my-"
He yells her name, effectively stopping her tirade. She looks at him, clearly expecting him to explain himself.
"I thought it was impossible," the Doctor sighs to himself, and then continues in a weary voice.
"It took me over a year to figure out how to get here without the help of another Time Lord. And even then, I didn't actually land here until my forty-second attempt. I have been fighting for over a year to get her back, Jackie," the Doctor locks eyes determinedly with Jackie before concluding. "I'm here to bring her home, if she wants to come with me."
Jackie seemed to deflate as she let go of her tension. "Well, then. Why don't I make you a cuppa while we wait for her to get home from the market?"
The Doctor nods, a silent thank you, and watches as Jackie walks out of the room.