AN: This was the prompt that caught my attention from the Snape-Potter Snarry-a-Thon fest. The prompt wanted both Harry and Severus to be companions, but I saw this as part of the tale I started with Severus as the Doctor. So, here is the continuation. Thanks goes out to Raya Light, Badgerlady and Torino for taking it into hand and making it better. Enjoy!
Maintenance and Complications
Harry shook his head as he watched the center rotor stop. "What happened to the console?"
The Doctor ignored him as he flipped different switches, turned a collection of knobs, and finally peered at a tiny screen that had lifted up out of the console.
"Snape, can you fix it?" Leaning against a wall, Harry watched as his former Potions Master, who was now an alien Time Lord, frowned at the screen.
"I've told you many times now, Harry. I am no longer Snape. I am the Doctor." The Doctor focused his attention on his Companion for a moment longer, making sure that he had understood this simple fact. It didn't matter that he still reacted to that name, he was not a wizard anymore. That false persona, Severus Snape, was long gone.
Harry shrugged before he answered. "I've known you as Snape for too many years to change what I call you easily. I mean, you look the same. Besides, 'Doctor' is just a title."
The Doctor's hand slapped down on a control-free section of the console. "It is what I am called, Harry, use it."
"Okay, I will, Doctor." The answer was said on a sigh. As soon as the words left his mouth, Harry watched as Snape, or rather the Doctor, turned back to the broken center console and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. He held it just as Harry remembered the man holding his wand.
Sinking down to the floor, Harry lost himself in memories. He had returned to the Shrieking Shack to check on Snape after the end of the Final Battle, only to find the body missing. He had been completely shocked when the man had walked into the room alive and uninjured. It was on the way to the Floo in the Three Broomsticks that Snape had explained that he was a Time Lord. The former Headmaster had handed him a pocket watch and had said that that was the cause of everything, including the reason Snape could no longer use magic. If anyone asked, Harry was going to blame shock, or maybe a potion in the jelly baby that he had taken when offered, as to why he was currently flying through time and space as a Companion. That is what the Doctor was prone to call him.
Harry had later learned that the pocket watch was called a Chameleon Arch and that it did not keep time. That was during their first adventure, on a planet called Freedonia. It wasn't quite as free as Snape had remembered, and the Time Lord had felt compelled to fix that. 'I should have realized then that I wasn't the only one with a need to save people. Of course, Snape's is worse. He has to save whole planets. We've been to so many places, seen so many things... it is amazing. I can't believe that I've been with him for an entire year, traveling from place to place, saving some, helping others, drifting through still more.'
Harry was roused from his thoughts when Snape opened the spare parts cupboard and started rifling through the pieces. "What do you need to fix the TARDIS right?"
The Doctor stopped and stared deep into the cupboard before turning to face Harry, his face blank. "I would have to go to Gallifrey and find the stock room. Not that it would be that much help, since this old girl would still be hard to find the parts for."
"Gallifrey?" Harry stood up and crossed over to where the Doctor was standing. "Is that where they are made?" At the quick nod, he continued. "She is a time machine, right? Why don't we just go back to a time when there were more of this version around? Then we could acquire the parts we need to repair her properly and leave."
The Doctor shook his head. "If it were that simple, I would have done it years ago, Harry. No, I would not put us on Gallifrey unless it was a dire necessity. I'll have the ship up and running shortly. Why don't you go study some of the books that we brought with us while you wait?"
"I thought you said you weren't a professor any more." Chuckling, Harry headed towards the library, leaving Snape to tinker.
Once in the library, Harry picked up one of the books from Spinner's End and his attention was caught by the writing in the margins. 'The Half-Blood Prince... I'll say he was half-blood alright – or maybe pure-blood alien. But this Snape - the Doctor - is him. The wit, brilliance, and sarcasm are there. It is like in the book, Snape could really show who he was.' Leaning back, he stared at the walls of books, thinking about his dilemma. 'A year... I've had just one year to see the real man behind the facade that was Professor Snape. The problem is that I truly like what I see. It breathes life into the image of the scribbler of the margin notes. The brightness of his eyes, the mischief in his face, the quirky smile, and of course the flash temper and low tolerance for idiots.'
Exhaling softly, Harry ran a finger over the writing. Liking what he saw was starting to become an understatement. His dreams were slowly starting to revolve about how to get a Time Lord to agree to be with a human. He knew that he should be slightly weirded out by the idea, but honestly, he had a harder time imagining a human and a giant together, yet Hagrid was proof it had happened.
Looking at the book once again, he focused on the material that he had missed during his last year of school. If nothing else, this last year of traveling had helped him catch up on what he should have learned when he was doing what he could to stay alive and sane.
An hour later, Harry felt the ship moving again.
-o-o-o-o-
The Doctor looked at the scanners and then turned on the screen, taking in the landscape that surrounded the TARDIS. They had made it to Earth. Now all he had to do was find a source of Time Sand.
He battled against his anger at the Time Lord Council. Twice... twice they had banished him to Earth... twice they had forced him to regenerate... twice they had tampered with the TARDIS to trap him where they wanted him. The second time, they had partially failed. They didn't know his TARDIS the way he did. They couldn't comprehend the repairs that he had made with whatever he had on hand, contriving a means to make materials do things they were never intended to do. This time, among all the other destruction they had wrought, they had emptied most of the Time Colloid that helped to focus the TARDIS power source and direct the ship through time and space.
The Doctor was glad that the sand from the Time-Turner that he had used to augment the Time Colloid had worked, but it was not enough to keep the TARDIS running. The Doctor knew that he and Harry should have collected the Time Sand when they first left the Wizarding world at the end of the Final Battle, but he had wanted Harry to see more of the universe first. The delay had also given him time to research the Time Colloid, finding out just what it was composed of and how it was created. He had then applied all the knowledge he had gained as Severus Snape and devised a potion that he could suspend the sand in. Now, all he needed to do was gather more Time Sand and find a safe place to brew. All of his research and preliminary experimentation indicated that making the Colloid inside a TARDIS might be interesting but not particularly safe or successful.
"So, where are we now, Doctor?" Harry looked at the screen, taking in the familiar looking landscape, wondering if it was really Earth.
"We, Harry, are in Scotland sometime in the tenth century." Flashing a mischievous smile, the Doctor opened the door. "Shall we see how good your history is? Or rather how accurate it is?"
Flinging a familiar black robe over his clothes, the Doctor headed out the door with Harry following close behind.
When they stepped outside, Harry transfigured his jacket into a set of robes similar to the ones that Snape was wearing. "So, are we just here to strengthen my understanding of history, or is there something in particular we are looking for?"
The Doctor scanned the area they appeared in and almost groaned. How did they end up on the edge of the Forbidden Forest? At least this far inland they might not have to worry too much about the Viking forces, though he knew that they were making massive inroads into the interior. He needed to learn the exact date. Too many skirmishes were fought over the control of the lands here. He and Harry didn't need to get involved with that.
Shifting a quick glance at his Companion, he returned his attention to the Forest. "We need to find some Time Sand. Once we have that, I can brew a potion that will allow me to replace a necessary component that the Time Lords decided to mostly remove when my trial was finished and I was banished to Earth."
Harry raised an eyebrow before asking an obvious question. "You said when you changed from a Wizard back to a Time Lord, you lost your magic. How are you going to be able to brew a potion?"
The Doctor turned about and pinned Harry with a look. "You were my student, weren't you? How many times did you use a wand in my class?"
Harry stared into the dark eyes glaring at him and repressed a tiny frisson of excitement, which was laced with a bit of uncertainty. In those robes, with the forest behind him, he could only think of Severus Snape, not the Doctor. "None. But surely you have to have some sort of magic, or else why is it only Witches and Wizards that brew potions?"
Turning back around, the Doctor continued attempting to figure out just where on the edge of the Forbidden Forest they were. If Hogwarts was built it would give him a clue as to when they were. He was doing his best to ignore the idea that he could still feel the magic running under his skin. "And what about tea, hmmm? Or ancient healing remedies like chicken soup? Some do require a magical person to create, but this one doesn't. I developed it so that I can brew it. It will rely on the innate magic in the ingredients alone."
Harry watched as Snape's robe billowed behind him as the taller man strode away. Shaking his head, he followed. Leave it to the former Potions Master to come up with a combination that would allow him to brew without using active magic. 'But just where are we going to find the sand that they put into Time-Turners?'
Skirting the edge of the Forest, Harry and the Doctor eventually rounded a corner and spotted a small building sitting right where both of them knew Hogwarts had stood in their day.
Harry stopped as he searched for any other familiar landmarks. The Doctor stopped next to him, obviously doing the same. "The Black Lake is there - I can see the edge of it, but there are no gates yet, Hagrid's hut isn't here... but it is obviously where Hogwarts is going to be." He turned to Snape. "Is there Time Sand around here somewhere?"
The Doctor frowned slightly. "I don't know, Harry. The place where the Time Sand was discovered is very classified. Even the Unspeakables had no clue where it came from. Voldemort spent several years and damaged many people trying to find it."
"Then why are we here, if you don't know?" Harry gazed up at the pale face, taking in the quiet reassurance in it.
The trust in those green eyes warmed the Doctor's hearts. 'I'm glad he trusts me now. The first couple of stops he had problems with that.' He refused to acknowledge that his hearts were more warm than that show of trust warranted.
"Because the TARDIS brought us here, and she always lands us where we need to be. We just need to search it out..." The Doctor's eyes widened. "Try a locater spell and see if it can show us at least the general direction. You've held a Time-Turner before, you have seen the sand and have a sense of what it can do. Concentrate on that as you cast."
Harry cast a quick look around before pulling out his wand and resting it flat on his palm. "Point me to Time Sand."
His wand spun about and eventually pointed directly towards the Forbidden Forest. Green eyes met black once again as they both thought about what could be waiting for them in there.
"At least the acromantulas aren't here yet. Hagrid brought them in." Harry watched as one dark eyebrow raised at his attempt to look on the bright side.
"Before we go tramping through there, we should attempt casting this spell at different places around the Forest." With that comment, the Doctor began walking about the edge, heading into Hogwarts lands. Three hours later, Harry stopped and cast once again. His wand pointed once again towards the Forest.
As they set off again, Harry sighed. "I wish we had a broom. I would fly you over the Forest, or even around it, just to shorten this hike." He knew it was useless to think of using the TARDIS for something like this. If they were lucky, they might end up on Earth.
The Doctor chuckled and trudged on. "The brooms in this era would not be very comfortable. They haven't developed the cushioning charms or half the other things woven into the brooms of your time, Harry."
"I would cast a cushioning charm for both of us. Could you teach me how to fly without one? Maybe I can carry both of us." Harry cast a hopeful look at Snape.
"No, I can't." The Doctor bit out the answer, and when he saw the look on Harry's face, he continued. "It will call too much attention to us, and that might just be a Muggle living in that house. Surely you remember what they did to people they even suspected of witchcraft in the Middle Ages. We'll travel through the edge of the Forest; it should cut off some of the time."
That said, Doctor headed into the Forest with Harry right beside him.
It was late when they made it to their next checkpoint. The wand pointed towards the heart of the Forest once again.
Sighing, Harry dropped to the ground. "It looks like it is in there. I think we should wait till morning before trying to find it. Shall I Apparate us back to the TARDIS?"
"The morning would be a good time." The Doctor took Harry's arm and let the younger man vanish them away back to the TARDIS.
-o-o-o-o-
Harry leaned against the cave wall, just inside the opening, and watched to make sure nothing was coming. His wand was held at the ready as he listened to Snape moving around behind him. 'One day I might actually think of him as the Doctor.'
A movement made him redirect his attention back to the trees. They had had a run in with a clabbert on their way in. The green frog monkey creature had startled him, but Snape had just kept moving. A pustule on the creature's head had flashed red briefly before it stopped. It had then charged Snape, screeching, throwing sticks and other plant debris. They had dodged and ran until they were out of the creature's territory.
A sigh of relief left Harry when he spotted the empty branches. Scanning the ground between the trees, he spotted a thestral.
Later, when a bugbear strolled past, Harry decided it was time to see when they could leave. "About done in there, Doctor?"
The Doctor sat back on his heels and stared at the pit of sand as the grains floated back down to the ground. He could feel the time shift as they did. Moving carefully, he closed the dimensional box that he had filled to capacity with the sand. Tucking the cube into his pocket, he headed for the entrance.
"I'm finished. I have enough Time Sand to complete the task." Flashing a smile at his Companion, he headed back into the Forest. "Now I just need to find a suitable place to brew my potion."
Harry walked beside him, almost matching the longer strides. "Do you have all the other ingredients?"
When the Doctor patted his pockets, Harry just shook his head. He had long ago decided that this man had more things in his pockets than Hagrid ever did.
-o-o-o-o-
Harry and the Doctor were met as they left the Forest.
Out of habit, Harry hung back, checking the surroundings. Moody's 'Constant Vigilance' had saved his hide on more than one of his adventures with Snape. He watched as the four figures analyzed both of them.
The Doctor's eyes widened for a moment before an almost jovial expression settled on his face. He had not expected to see the four Founders of Hogwarts here, since there was no construction on the school. He closed the distance between them, gesturing for Harry to keep up. "Greetings. It is wonderful to see fellow travelers. I am the Doctor and this is my Companion, Harry."
Slytherin stepped slightly in front of his friends, his hand resting on his wand, as he addressed the man he was certain was a Muggle. "We are not travelers. This is our property. I suggest that you hie yourself out of here."
Harry realized just who these four were and quickly checked to see if they were on Hogwarts' ground. "Sorry, sir. I thought that our path put us out off the Forest closer to the other edge."
Slytherin's eyes narrowed as Ravenclaw stepped beside him and addressed the two trespassers. "What were you doing in the Forest?"
The Doctor smiled as he moved a few steps closer. "We were looking for ingredients for a potion that I am experimenting with. You are the owners of this establishment?" He waved towards the little house as his dark eyes looked into the surprised blue ones before moving to take in the other three. The Doctor continued once he was sure he had their undivided attention. "Did you just acquire it recently?"
Hufflepuff answered instead of the other two. She could tell that Gryffindor was watching the Companion. "We acquired the land this last month. Were you considering the purchase of it?"
The Doctor's smile bloomed into a face-splitting grin. He now had a good idea the part of the century they were in. Hogwarts was opened at the very end of the tenth century, so it had to be in the last quarter of the century. "It was a thought, but alas, I see that we have missed our chance. Well, thanks for your time. Harry and I will head into the little town that I spotted on our way here."
With that, the Doctor ushered Harry off in the direction of Hogsmeade. The Founders watched them as they walked away.
-o-o-o-o-
The Doctor and Harry had checked out Hogsmeade and discovered that there was no place suitable for the brewing of the Colloid. So, with no other options, they had started combing the hillsides hoping to find somewhere private enough. The cave that the Doctor finally chose as a potions lab was the same one that Harry remembered finding Sirius in. It was fairly clean, the ground wasn't too dusty, the light was enough to see by, and there was adequate ventilation. Out of habit, one born from being on the run for an entire year before the Final Battle, Harry had warded the cave to keep prying eyes out.
This morning, two days after the encounter with the Founders, Harry helped to carry the cauldron and other materials up for Snape, while the dark-haired man carried up loads of firewood. It took no time for the Potions Master – Harry refused to say he was a former one, since Snape was still inventing potions – to start preparing his materials.
Harry watched for a little while before the feeling of being useless took over and he headed out. He was going to wander Hogsmeade and scrounge up food and other necessities.
The Doctor was glad when Harry left. Setting his knife down, he leaned against the rock that he was currently using as a table and let out a long breath. Something was different. That was all there was to it. He shouldn't be feeling this way, not towards Harry and not in his own skin.
His Companions had always been that, companions. People who traveled with him from place to place. Someone to talk to, someone to share memories with, even for a brief time. He would save them, since it was he who brought them to a place where they could get in trouble, almost a paternal connection, but there was never a romantic involvement between him and them. There had always been a line, one that he could see drawn in the air between them. Now, though...
Closing his eyes, he tried to forget the feelings that welled up when bright green eyes met his or that quirky, knowing grin flitted over his Companion's face. Instead, he decided to focus on the other difference, the one that scared him more.
Reaching into his robe, he touched the thin stick of wood that he couldn't bear to be without. It was with him as much as the sonic screwdriver. Pulling out his wand, he stared at it. Every fiber of his being was positive that if he tried hard enough, he would be able to cast a spell as easily as he had been able to as Severus Snape. He hadn't dared to try since that first failure in the Shack, even though this feeling had haunted him since Freedonia. 'I shouldn't be able to. The Chameleon Arch changed me into a Wizard, so I was able to do magic then, but when I opened it in the Shack, it changed me back. I know it did.'
Even as the thought flowed through his mind, the counter arguments started up. 'The Chameleon Arch was damaged or tampered with. It changed me into a four-year-old, not an adult as it should have. When it changed me back, I was in the process of dying. I didn't regenerate, though. It should have changed me back into a Gallifreyan and then I should have regenerated. Instead I kept the same form, which means one capable of working magic.' His jaw tightened as his fingers curled about the black wood. 'There is one way to prove it to myself one way or another.' He dug deep into his psyche, looking for the thread of power that he had learned to associate with magic. Focusing on the cauldron, he held the wand over it while his mind pulled that thread forward. "Aguamenti."
His hand trembled as water poured out of the wand and filled the cauldron. Canceling the spell, the Doctor sat hard on the stone floor, staring at the rocks around him. He was still Severus Snape, Wizard, but he was also the Doctor, Time Lord. The Chameleon Arch had messed up. Was he capable of regenerating? Would he be stuck in this form forever? Was he going to die at the end of this regeneration even though he had others left? Just how badly were his genetics scrambled?
Shaking his head, he dismissed that idea for a moment. Maybe the Chameleon Arch just caused him to be able to work his psionic powers easier? He had been exposed to the Eternal Flame, and the Sisterhood was known for their psionic arts. Maybe this was just another manifestation of that? 'But then why does it appear to be magic? How was I a wizard before? This needs further investigation just in case the Arch was damaged and did make a mistake.'
With a shaking hand, he put the wand away. The questions would have to wait. He had a potion to make and a ship to repair.
-o-o-o-o-
Harry walked slowly through the small town, really just a tiny village, that would one day become Hogsmeade. He was still surprised to see that among the buildings, Hog's Head Inn was there. He hadn't recognized the building, since it was new, or fairly new. It had taken Snape to point it out to him. 'I really need to call him the Doctor. One day, I am going to slip up and call him Snape again, but calling him Doctor feels as impersonal as calling him Professor. I don't feel that removed from him. That barrier just isn't there anymore. We are companions, not student and teacher. Maybe I could try Severus instead?' Rolling the name about in his head, Harry tried to get the feel of it.
"Harry!"
Harry jerked about, his hand wrapped around the handle of his wand, his eyes searching to see who would know his name here, in this time. It had been a female voice. His gaze finally found Rowena Ravenclaw stepping out of the weaver's shop. Looking at her, he was reminded of the Grey Lady. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her to hide her diadem, but he stopped the words when he spotted the other Founders filing out behind her.
Rowena stopped next to the young man and gave him a quick once over. His clothes just didn't quite fit in. "Harry," she paused for a moment, her lips compressing tightly. "Surely you have a surname that the Doctor neglected to use."
Harry bit back his chuckle. Severus had yet to mention Harry's surname anywhere they went. He was just Harry and he liked it that way. Besides, with his luck, Harry Potter would be recorded in the history books, and then Hermione would have even more to say. "Just Harry."
Helga raised an eyebrow. "You don't know who your father is, or are you disowned?"
Harry growled lightly in the back of his throat. "I know who he was, and no, I was not disowned. It is just Harry, since that is what I wish to be known as."
Godric flashed a smile at him. "So, just Harry, where did the Doctor find to brew?"
Harry felt a spurt of irritation at Gryffindor's bluntness, and then almost laughed. 'This must be how Severus felt every time we tried to get information out of him.' Shaking his head, he looked at the founder of his house. "You expect me to tell you where HE is? You would charge there and start peering over his shoulder. If one thing happened to a single ingredient, I would be blamed. No thanks. I don't feel like dealing with his sharp-tongued temper today."
That was one thing Harry had learned this past year; the Doctor's personality had not changed while he was Severus Snape, or vice versa. Whichever it was, Severus was still the git he had always been. He just smiled more, which was almost scary at times, but Harry was starting to get used to it. It was the sweets offering that reminded him of Dumbledore that still freaked him out.
Salazar raised an eyebrow at that. "So, he has found a location that is suitable for brewing the potion he wishes to create?"
Harry remembered when they had walked into the cave and Severus had taken a good look about. The only thing he had said was that he had brewed in worse conditions. Harry wasn't sure he wanted to know what those were. "He found one that he is willing to work in."
"What is he a doctor of? Medicine?" Helga searched Harry's face, looking for a clue to his thoughts. "And are you his student?"
"He is not a doctor of medicine, he holds a mastery in potions, and I am sure there are others that he has as well. And, no Madam Hufflepuff, I am not his student." Harry almost cursed when the Founders' eyes widened at his use of her name. He wasn't supposed to slip up that way.
"You know who I am?" Helga watched as Harry sighed. "How can you?"
Harry shook his head slightly. "We've traveled far and heard plenty. Good luck here."
He was about to turn and leave when he felt the sticking spell hit his feet. He thought about canceling it, but opted to wait to see what was next. It wouldn't do good to make the Founders mad at him.
Salazar narrowed his eyes. "And just how do you know her likeness? Do you know our names?"
Harry looked at each of them and sighed again in defeat. "You are Salazar Slytherin, she is Helga Hufflepuff, the other gent is Godric Gryffindor, and the tall lady here is Rowena Ravenclaw. Your fame has spread far and wide. The Doctor also mentioned it after we met you the other day. He mumbled that it was a pity you, Slytherin, didn't have a lab that he could work in built."
Salazar studied the man for a long moment before accepting it as the truth. "I would like to see what he is brewing."
"I doubt he will allow that, research and credit stuff, you know." Waving his free hand, Harry canceled the sticking charm and walked away. Helga caught up to him and paced alongside.
"If you are not his student, just what type of companion are you?"
Harry could see the thoughts running behind her eyes. She thought that he and Severus were more than friends. Heat trickled through him as he considered just what it would feel like to be that type of companion. Shucking the thought away, he stopped again and quirked a half smile at her. "One that makes sure he eats and has someone to yell at. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to prepare lunch and get my daily dose of complaints."
He nodded politely and strode away, leaving the Founders watching after him.
Salazar noticed the tracking spell that Godric cast at the retreating back. "He is magical, do you think he is part of the hunting group?"
Rowena frowned slightly, but shook her head. "I don't think so. He just doesn't seem like one of the ones that would sell his own kind to those monsters. I don't know if this Doctor character is magical or not, though."
Helga sighed. "Do we need to find another location for the school? This one is perfect, what with this Wizard village and the layout of the land."
Godric frowned and swore under his breath. "The tracing spell failed."
Four pairs of eyes met for a brief moment. They didn't want to leave, so that meant that they had to find out just who those two were. Not only for themselves, but for the village as well.
-o-o-o-o-
Harry leaned against the wall of the cave, his eyes watching the precise movements of the Potions Master who was very carefully pouring sand into the cauldron. The wards on the cave had been strengthened until the outside appeared to be a haze.
Yesterday, when he returned, Harry had told Severus about the conversation in Hogsmeade. The man had pinned him with a glare and then told him that they had to work on protecting the cave better. Besides wards, there were a few pieces of equipment that Severus had retrieved from the TARDIS and set up about the back of the cave.
Running a hand over his face, he watched as Severus walked away from the cauldron, his robes sweeping out behind him. "What is the next stage? How soon can we leave?"
The Doctor did his best not to stare overly long at Harry as he answered. "It should be ready in three days, if it worked. It has to partially solidify, like a soft gelatin."
"Can't it do that in the TARDIS?" Harry looked back out the front of the cave, wondering if they were still being hunted. Since he had broken the tracking spell, he had been worried about going back to Hogsmeade.
The Doctor shook his head. "It can't be influenced by the dimensional fluxes that carrying it into the TARDIS would subject it to. It is fine, Harry. They can't find us here. They'll forget about us, and then settle down to build Hogwarts."
Harry looked into the dark eyes that were reassuring him. "Why has no-one in the future found the Time Sand? I mean, it is in the heart of the Forbidden Forest, but nobody seems to know that."
The Doctor looked deep into bright green eyes and shrugged. "Maybe we go back to the cave and prevent people from finding it? But, that doesn't explain where the sand for the Turners is from."
The container that they had filled caught Harry's attention. "Maybe we give those four whatever you have left. Have you refilled the Time-Turner yet?"
The Doctor nodded yes. "The first morning after I had the sand."
"So, give them that and the rest of the sand. It would give Ravenclaw something to puzzle over for years, decades possibly."
The Doctor laughed. "That it would. Maybe that is what happened."
-o-o-o-o-
The potion was done and it was finally time to leave this time period. The Doctor was fairly certain that they had been forgotten by the Founders, and was more than willing to keep it that way. They cleaned up the cave, leaving no trace of their recent occupancy, and headed back towards the TARDIS carrying the cauldron, its lid sealed fast so that nothing could destroy a week's worth of work.
The attack came when they stepped into a clearing. Three red beams flew at Harry, and one at the Doctor. The Doctor didn't think, he just reacted by pulling his wand and deflecting the attack. He then went on the offensive, Harry next to him doing the same. It was a quick skirmish that ended with the four Founders bound to the trees near them.
Keeping his wand in his hand, the Doctor glared at the four prisoners. The only reason that they were only bound was that Harry was not hurt. "We did nothing to you, we didn't threaten you, we didn't even talk to you but for a moment. Why have you attacked us?"
It was Helga that answered. "We couldn't take a chance that you were working for the Hunters. Harry knew our names, and said that you knew them as well. The only ones who know our names and our faces are the Hunters."
"Can we just tell them, sir? Then we can give them the sand and head out." Harry watched the black robes billow as Severus stalked in front of their prisoners. There was no way he could call this wand wielding, robed figure Doctor. No, this man was completely Severus Snape. A small section of his mind was yammering to know just when he could cast spells again.
"Tell us what? Leave us what sand?" Salazar glared at the two, doing his best not to let his fear be seen. They had been captured, and the Doctor was suddenly not a congenial, non-magical person. The spells that had flown by and herded them to this place where they were pinned were quick, strong, and dangerous.
Looking at Harry for a brief moment out of the corner of his eye, the Doctor decided that they might as well. These four were supposedly able to do brilliant things; maybe they used the Time Sand to help build the school in the short time that it was going to take. Leveling his hard gaze on the Founders, he answered Slytherin. "What my Companion wants you to know is that we are not from this time. We came here to harvest the material needed to allow us to travel through time." He pulled out his Time-Turner. "This little device was broken, but is now repaired. Harry thinks we should leave it and some of the Time Sand so that you might be able to accomplish the feats which you are credited for in his time."
He set the tiny hourglass down before pulling out the storage container and a thick bag. He poured the Time Sand from one to the other, taking care to control the time fluxes that were trying to form. "Here you go. Do be very careful with these."
A slow smirk curled his lips. "Shall we, Harry?"
They left the four bound to the trees as they went to the cave where the sand originated. The entire walk was done in silence, but both were sneaking looks at each other, looking for injuries. Harry's looks were also filled with silent questions.
Upon entering the cave, Harry spun about, facing the taller man. "Severus, I thought you couldn't use magic anymore! What happened?"
The Doctor started to scold Harry for calling him that name, but then stopped. Who was he really? Was this truly the end of the line for him? He still had no idea. "I couldn't in the Shack, Harry. Ever since we visited the third planet in the Orion system, I had a feeling that I could cast, but never tried. The day you talked to the Founders in Hogsmeade I tried it again. I was amazed that I could do something." Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know what this means, or how it will affect me."
Harry took a cautious step forward, and rested his hand on the right side of the man's chest before moving to his left. "You have two hearts still, but you can use magic. Maybe the Chameleon Arch let you keep the better of both sides? I mean, you retained the knowledge that you had learned as a Wizard.. Maybe all that time just let you sense magic again and made it so that you knew how to access it?"
Dropping his forehead on top of Harry's head, the Doctor sighed. "Maybe." Drawing in Harry's scent, he felt the stirring of interest. "I should take you home. Let us seal off this place, and then see if the new Colloid works."
Harry wrapped his arms about the thinner man and hugged him tight. It felt so right to be settled against that thin chest. They would discuss his return home once they found out if it was possible, but he was sure what his choice would be. "I think we need to restock your supply of sand. Just in case."
The Doctor nodded as he returned the hug. The interest that had stirred earlier flamed into a burning of desire. Yes, he needed to take Harry home. 'Or should I keep him? If he wants to, of course. This might be my last incarnation; we would pass away around the same time if that was so.' Dismissing that thought, he headed to the sand pit while Harry warded the cave entrance. He added his own wards before they headed out.
A few hours later, they were standing in the console room.
The Doctor set the cauldron onto the floor and unsealed the lid. Working quickly, he pulled out the Time Colloid tube out of the rotor. "Are you ready, Harry?"
Harry held the stirring rod and nodded.
The Doctor carefully poured the material in the tube into the cauldron. "Now, slowly three times right and then three times left."
Harry followed the directions precisely. "Done."
"Good, now use the ladle and fill the tube. Do. Not. Spill. It." Holding the tube completely steady, not tipping it one way or the other, the Doctor watched as Harry did as he instructed. When the new Colloid was inside the tube, he sealed it back with the sonic screwdriver and then gingerly inserted it back into the rotor. "Now we test it."
Harry dropped the ladle into the empty cauldron. "Where are we going to?"
The Doctor looked at his Companion. "I am taking you home. I was thinking of arriving just after we left, so no one would miss you. Are you ready to meet your adoring public?"
Harry's eyes narrowed. Looking back to when he had begun his travels with Severus, Harry could tell that they had been dancing around the emotions that were between them. A look here, a touch there, and a number of comments – each made on a different planet - all of these led him to believe that his regard was returned. The hug in the cave had seemed to be them moving to the next step. He did not want to go home. "No. I don't want to go back. I want to stay with you."
The Doctor's gaze locked onto the bright earnest green eyes, his hearts beating faster. 'Just tell him and then he'll want to leave.' Taking a breath, he started. "Harry... I don't know what will happen if you stay. As I said in the cave, I don't know what happened to the Chameleon Arch, I don't know just how much time I have left in this universe. I... want things that I shouldn't."
Harry closed the space between them, running his hands up into the dark hair, looking into the guarded face. "Would one of those things be me?" A quiet nod was his only answer. "I think it would be good to find out how we would work together." The dark eyes that he was watching widened in surprise. "We can go back to my first year and get the Philosopher's Stone before Dumbledore destroys it, and see if that could cure you of the malady that you think you have. You said you could live for centuries. As a Wizard, I am capable for living a few of them myself. If we work, then we can see about how long the Stone will keep me around." He touched his lips to the thin ones briefly before grinning. "And if we don't work, then there is always returning me home and a memory charm to make me forget."
With a soft groan, the Doctor pulled Harry close to him, kissing his lips in earnest. His answer was clear. This time they would do it Harry's way.