Disclaimer: Nope, sadly enough (at least for me) I own neither Harry Potter nor Doctor Who. I am merely a writer with far too much time on her hands and a rather large fascination with both fandoms. I am also not in any way, shape or form, profiting from writing this stories.

Inheritance

By BlackBlade

A Gift

The world seemed to be a little bit darker, drearier, each passing day. The very air around them seemed to carry not just a rather disturbing chill (strange in that it was summertime) but the promise of some grim ending to it all. Everywhere he looked he could see, if only just for a moment before they hid it away, the worry and fear in everyone's eyes. He knew what it was because he could see it every time he looked into a mirror, in his own green eyes, worry and fear.

It was July 31st, his birthday. Even with the party and the cake and everything Mrs. Weasley had done to try and make this a bright, cheerful day, the outside world and its sorrow and grimness still managed to find him. This time it was in the shape of Minister Scrimgeour and the items he brought, inheritance from Dumbledore himself. Oh, Harry had deep and honest affection for his now deceased Headmaster, and would have normally loved anything the man had gifted him. But now, the snitch that would not open (not until 'the Close' at least, whatever that meant) was a reminder that the man was dead, that he had also left him an impossible job to complete, that the world really was messed up enough to leave its fate in the shoulders of a seventeen year old.

He was now sitting alone in Ron's room, as he shared the ginger's abode whenever he visited the Burrow, holding the golden snitch in his hand and turning it every once in a while, his eyes focused on it but not really taking in the sight, his mind faraway and lost in not-so-happy thoughts.

It was actually a bit of a relief to be broken out of his rather pessimistic mood by the sudden arrival of a very regal eagle owl. The bird soared through the open window and landed gracefully in the headboard of Ron's bed, having just dropped a parcel in the mattress, before sticking out its leg to show the piece of parchment tied there.

Harry, who after so many years of being part of the wizarding world was used to this usually unusual way of delivering post, quickly moved to untie the letter and give the owl one of the treats he kept in his trunk just for this sort of occasion (preciously also used to calm Hedwig whenever he feathers got ruffled by some perceived offense, but he was not going to go there, not going to think about his dead owl who'd proven to be a true friend).

The letter was from Gingotts Bank, which was very much unusual as he had never received anything from them before. It was a simple notification that they had send a parcel under specific instructions from James Potter, to be delivered on Harry's seventeenth birthday. The boy's grim thoughts vanished almost instantly as a wide grin split his face and his eyes brightened in happiness. He had gift, a birthday gift from his father, the first that he could ever remember.

Without thinking much about it, he tore open the paper, only to find a dark wooden box with the Potter family crest carved on its top. His fingers traced the crest softly, almost afraid to erase it should he press too hard, before the temptation finally won out and he opened the box.

Inside it he found first another letter and then, beneath the paper, a shiny silver pocket watch. He took he watch out of the padded inside of the box and held it reverently in his hands. It was obviously an antique, for it had that feeling of oldness, ancientness that all antiques carried; its front was adorned with cravings of circles everywhere, some over each other in a chaotic pattern that somehow managed to look elegant despite its seeming randomness.

He didn't open the watch though, because he knew the watch was broken and wouldn't open, but even broken it was a precious heirloom and gift from his father and he would treasure it always. Carefully, as though it were made out of glass instead of sturdy silver, he placed the watch back inside the wooden box and turned his attention instead to the letter he had put aside before.

Dear Harry,

Well son, if you find this letter then it means I didn't take it out of the box before you received it which then means that I'm dead. Don't worry about me though, I'm sure death's not all that bad and I'll probably get to watch you grow up from here. Take care of your mother and don't let her get too depressed without me, I don't want either of you to be sad ever in your lives.

Anyways, if you received this it also means that today is your seventeenth birthday so congratulations son! You are now a young adult Harry and that means that you get to partake in an old Potter family tradition. As you probably know, it's customary to give young wizards a watch on this day and this particular watch has been in the family for who knows how long. My father gave it to me and his father gave it to him and so, I'm not even sure how old the thing is, but it is yours now, to give to your own son when he reaches majority.

I wish you the best in your life Harry, and I'll be watching out for you as much as I can. Remember to always be happy and live life to its fullest.

Love,

Your father, James Potter.

Harry hadn't even noticed the tears until they fell into the parchment and made little wet stains. He hurried to wipe them off before they further damaged the precious reminder that yes, his father had loved him, had wanted him and had even gone so far as to arrange for a gift to be delivered after his death. He placed the letter back inside the box and once again took out the watch. He contemplated the time device a bit more, for a moment considering trying to open it before he remembered that he couldn't, and then finally placed it in his pocket with as much care as was possible, attaching the silver chain so that even if it somehow fell out of his pocket, he would not lose it. He would never lose it, never ever, for it was one of the last few things he had from his parents.

He closed his eyes, just to wipe the last tears off, just for a moment. And as he did, for just a second he caught just a glimpse of something…something else, different and…otherworldly, a glance of another life. Then, as suddenly as it came it was gone, and he convinced himself he had only imagined it.

He went to sleep that night without the smallest notion of what was to come, not even when the strange dreams came, with the voices and flashes of images; not even when he woke up and could still hear the strange sound, echoing as though half-way real and half-way imagined, the strange grinding noise of something he could not name but knew all the same.

Harry Potter had been marked for Death ever since a Seer had first made that prophecy, in a room of a dirty pub, which set the Dark Lord after him. Yes, Harry Potter had always been destined to die, but this destiny was only made clearer, his time shorter, when he received that pocket watch.

One way or another, Harry Potter was going to die.

AN: Not too bad for a first chapter, is it? I'm afraid the first of the action isn't until next chapter so I hope this chapter is not too boring for you all.

Thank you everyone for the reviews, they're truly wonderful to read. I know a lot of you are wondering how can Harry be the Doctor when he was born human, and wouldn't the Doctor have died when his human form did? And is Harry, as a personality and individual separate from the Doctor, going to just disappear? I promise you the answers to all these questions in the very next chapter so stay tuned!

Oh, and just so you all know and in case I mention it later on, I'm using the version of Hedwig's death from the movie because I honestly think it was a better way to go than stuck in a cage and hit by accident.

Another thing, which I should have mentioned in the Prologue, is that this is AU in Doctor Who-verse after the ending of Season 4 of the new series, with the difference in that the Doctor didn't die and regenerate, but instead used the chameleon arch and became human. It will also obviously be AU in Potter-verse sometime during Deathly Hallows, but you'll find out exactly when next chapter so I'm not giving up any hints.

See you all next chapter!