Only one corner away from the crack-science kitchen, Harry realized he was utterly lost and that the strange ship or building they were in was much larger than he had originally anticipated. When Amy had been guiding him he was so consumed with worry for Hermione that he had not been able to pay attention to where he was going. At one point, after climbing up a flight of stairs, he came upon an indoor swimming pool in the middle of a library, and swore he was going mad or had been slipped the mickey before stumbling upon what looked like a massive control deck in some low-budget science-fiction film.

There were buttons and knobs and levers and screens of all shapes and sizes, tubes and wires, and in the middle of it all an enormous glass…something. After years of experience with Dumbledore's many gadgets in his office, Harry figured it would be best not to touch anything, but couldn't resist making a poke at one of the many screens along the center console.

The doctor's face flickered into life on the screen the moment Harry touched it, one eyebrow quirked and looking hilariously stern. "Now, why are you mucking about in my things?"

Harry jumped back, startled. "Sorry," he muttered absurdly before remembering he was talking to a screen.

The doctor on the screen laughed. "You just apologized to a video, didn't you? You did! Aha, this is so weird! Okay, well, you touching this has sent off a signal to my sonic screwdriver, so by the time you turn around I'll probably be right there waiting for you to explain yourself. Good luck, cheerio!"

There was a tap on Harry's shoulder, and he turned to see the doctor himself waiting with arms crossed and a self-satisfied smile. "Harry," he greeted cheerfully, "you're snooping!"

Again, Harry jumped back. "Sorry," he repeated. "I was just looking for you, Doctor…sorry, Doctor who?"

The raggedy young doctor grinned and seemed to bounce once on the balls of his feet before replying, "It's just the Doctor, Harry, and may I say, it is an honor and a privilege to see you without a shirt on."

"Without a…? Oh! Merlin…" Harry impulsively crossed his arms to cover up his bare chest, and there was a bubble of laughter somewhere off to his right as Amy appeared, chucking a t-shirt his way with a smirk. "Thanks. Um, Doctor then, is it? Where are we, exactly?"

"Well, Harry, that depends," answered the Doctor. "Are you asking where we are standing or where the thing we're standing in is?"

"Um…both, I suppose?"

The Doctor seemed even more greatly amused by Harry's trepidation than any of his previous hi-jinks. "You're on my TARDIS," he explained as cool as anything, "and my TARDIS is currently orbiting a collapsing supernova."

"A what?" asked Harry, certain that he had not heard the Doctor correctly, which only made the slightly-older man's smirk widen. "A supernova? A real supernova?"

"Not a real supernova, Harry, a collapsing one. Though I suppose that still makes it a real one..." replied the Doctor as though he were distracted by his own unceasing thoughts.

Despite being unsatisfied with the answer the Doctor gave him, Harry figured it would be best for him to go on with the conversation rather than argue about whether or not they were really orbiting a collapsing supernova. "Er, alright then. Well, Hermione's not exactly in top condition, and I was wondering if maybe you could do something…?" he asked while buttoning the shirt Amy gave him.

The Doctor, having had just turned toward the steering console, swung back around with a most patronizing quirk of his eyebrows. "Rest. The girl needs rest," he sternly said as though Harry had just suggested they all take turns doing cartwheels around the TARDIS. "A good night's sleep should have her to rights in no time. Amy, put her to bed? In the blue room, please."

"Which blue room? They're all blue…" grumbled the red-headed woman as she stalked back to the kitchen.

Watching her go with a wry and yet almost saddened look on his face, the Doctor shook his head as Harry looked inquiringly at him. "I promised her we'd go to Space Florida, and we ended up in Space Majorca. Still don't think she quite forgave me for that one, but I said 'Hey, you're the one who bit four psychiatrists!' Girls and their imaginary friends, I ask you…" He continued to fondly gripe on about his friend (or girlfriend?) under his breath as he turned back to the steering mechanism and absently pulled a few levers.

Now that Hermione was being taken care of, clothes were on his back and he was no longer quite as worried about being in a Death Eater base (at least not as worried as he was about being in the home of a mad physician), Harry turned away from the steering console and peered out the windows in the TARDIS' front door. "How do you know who I am, anyway?" he asked, not entirely sure he believed he was in a spaceship until he saw the stars for himself and his breath was taken away. "Doctor?"

"Everyone knows who you are," said the Doctor absently while staring into a screen. "You're Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, the Chosen One, Seeker, Student, Prodigy, Friend - shall I go on? Only I've got steering to do."

"But why does everyone know who I am?" replied Harry, remembering now how Amy had believed he was joking when he introduced himself. "Other than the Wizarding World, of course, because Amy's a Muggle and even she seemed to know."

The Doctor looked up from the work he'd been absorbed in and smiled mysteriously. "Oh yes, Harry. Yes, I do wish I could tell you everything, of the masses of adoring children who are probably at this very moment opening Christmas presents down on Earth, hoping and praying that it will be one book or film or doll from the special and magical Harry Potter universe...but I'm afraid I can't."

Still smiling at the astonished and frankly disbelieving look on the younger man's face, the Doctor turned back to his screen. "You can sleep the night in the, ah, blue room."

"The blue room? But Hermione—"

"The other blue room."

"...Right."