Title: Dust in the Sky
Part: 4 of 6
Author: Batsutousai
Beta: Shara Lunison
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Harry Potter/Tenth Doctor (minor Rose/Tenth Doctor, Martha/Tenth Doctor and Jack/Tenth Doctor)
Warnings: Slash, minor Ginny!hate
Summary: Sequel to Hanging by a Thread. Harry has a life to live now with a wife and children, but he can still find time for the Doctor, no matter what he looks like.
Disclaim Her: Nope.
A/N: A lot of you have commented that Ginny isn't really such a bad lass, considering what a bad husband and father Harry's been. Figured I should probably address that, as, yes, their problems are somewhat Harry's fault, but the fault doesn't lie with him alone.
A large part of their marriage has always been based on Ginny's long-standing awe of Harry Potter and Harry's love of the entire Weasley family. (This seemed true to me even in the books.) And, no matter who you are, that's no basis for a marriage. Add in a friend who Harry grew to love after travelling for a bit and it just gets more complicated, especially since Ginny hates the Doctor so much. Really, Ginny's demands that Harry stay away from the Doctor just made him want to see the Time Lord that much more.
Harry is very attached to his job. Even in canon, he seemed the sort to be attached to his job. Not so much because he loved doing it as that he needed to do his job for the future of his family, so he could live knowing his children and nieces and nephews and godson would all have a better world to grow up in than he did. Just because he's fighting aliens now instead of Dark wizards doesn't make that any less important.
I do hope that helps a bit.
-0-0-0-
-0-0-0-
"So why are we sneaking around this building again?" Harry asked as the Doctor led the way into the Adipose building.
"Because it's weird."
"What's weird about a diet plan that works?"
The Doctor grinned at him. "Other than everything?"
"Ah. Good point." Harry shook his head. "So, while you're creeping about upstairs, watching the presentation for Health and Safety, what am I doing?"
The Doctor blinked. "Coming with me?"
"What, and have two of us use one piece of paper? I think not!" Harry shook his head. "What's the name of the woman who owns this company? Foster?"
"Sounds about right."
"Good. I'll be in her office. Ring me," Harry held up his mobile, "when you're heading out and I'll meet you."
"Mmm... Stay out of trouble, you."
"Listen to your own advice for once!" Harry retorted, catching a lift up to the floor Foster's office was on.
-0-
The lock hadn't put up much of a fight, and neither had the guard, who Harry had stunned and Obliviated. The files behind Foster's desk had some incriminating information in them, but nothing the Doctor hadn't already surmised on their way over.
Harry was about to give it up as a bad job when he spotted something in Foster's pen-catch. "Hello," he whispered, picking the false pen up, "you don't belong here." He considered the pen for a moment, then clicked it. It made a curious noise, then a thin laser shot out the side where the pen tip would have been, making a hole in the ground right next to Harry's foot. Harry clicked it off and grinned. "Gotcha."
Voices sounded in the hallway. This was the only room down this hallway, so they must have been heading there. Harry shot a quick rennervate towards the guard, then apparated back downstairs to where he'd left the Doctor earlier. He leaned against a wall and pulled out his sonic screwdriver to examine the laser pen while he waited.
He didn't have to wait long. The lift dinged after a few minutes and the Doctor stepped out, mobile from Martha in his hand. "Ah. You beat me."
Harry grinned and tossed him the pen. "Laser. It was on her desk."
"Mmm. Aliens?" the Doctor surmised, using his own sonic screwdriver to examine the pen. "Ooh. It doubles as a torch. Look." He clicked the button again and the pen tip glowed with a pale white light. "Clever." He made to stuff it in his pocket.
"Oiy! Finders, keepers, git." Harry held out a hand for the pen.
The Doctor considered him for a moment, then handed it back. "What are you planning to do with it, then?"
Harry shrugged. "Murderous torch that looks like a pen? I think I'll use it to light dark tunnels when their are muggles about."
The Doctor laughed and handed Harry a sheet of paper. "Names and addresses of people using Adipose. Let's each try one."
Harry considered his sheet, then snorted. "She's a witch," he commented, pointing to a name on the list.
"Good. You take her, then, my very visible wizard friend, and I'll take..." The Doctor closed his eyes and randomly pointed at a spot on his own sheet. "This bloke, here."
"And here I was, hoping you'd spot an alien and take them on," Harry joked as they made for the exit.
"I can't, actually, spot aliens by looking at their names, you know. Anyway, seems like we'll be taking on an alien here in this very building."
"Ah. Point."
-0-
Harry was woken the next morning by his mobile. "Potter," he mumbled.
"Any updates on Adipose?" Mary-Beth asked from the other end.
Harry groaned and dropped his head back onto the pillows. An arm snaked around his middle and pulled him closer to the other man in the bed, instantly making Harry feel a little better. "We've only had a day on the case, Mary-Beth. You can't go around expecting miracles."
"This is you and the Doctor we're talking about," Mary-Beth retorted. "I can and do expect miracles."
"Miracles never come to those who expect them," the Doctor muttered.
Harry snorted. "We talked to some people yesterday. Found a laser pen in Foster's office that's too advanced for Earth. We're going back in tonight for some snooping after the lights go out. I'll ring you as soon as we know something."
"Potter, knowing how you work, the whole city will know when you've learned something," Mary-Beth replied drily.
"We'll try not to blow anything up this time," Harry promised, eyeing the Doctor over his shoulder. The Doctor just grinned.
"Don't go draining any bodies of water, either," Mary-Beth suggested, then hung up.
Harry dropped his mobile back on the table and turned around to snuggle against the Doctor. "What time is it?" he asked the man.
The Doctor considered that for a moment. "Seven."
Harry groaned. "Bloody woman."
The Doctor chuckled and kissed his human bed mate, then slipped out of the bed. "Might as well make our way over there."
"They don't open until nine," Harry replied, burying his face into a pillow.
The Doctor paused to consider that, then sat back down on the edge of the bed. "Good point. But I'm awake now."
Harry peeked an eye up at him from the pillow. "I've a couple of ideas."
The Doctor grinned.
-0-
"I still don't understand why we can't just wait to pop in until they close for the night. It's not like we have to go in the front door like your average muggle," Harry pointed out as the crept back into the Adipose building.
The Doctor shrugged. "The TARDIS scanned the building last night and noticed something odd."
"Is that why she was beeping at you so insistently when we walked into the control room?"
The Doctor grinned.
Harry rolled his eyes.
They stopped in front of a janitor's closet.
"Oh, I can make up so many bad jokes about this," Harry commented as they squeezed inside. "And I'll bet, if Jack were here, he could come up with even more."
"Best Jack isn't here," the Doctor replied, shoving at the false wall to open it. "We'd be a bit too cosy."
"I'm sure he wouldn't mind."
The Doctor eyed Harry curiously. "No, I dare say he wouldn't. You could vanish some of the clutter."
"Mmm... I begin to see why you drag me along on these sorts of trips," Harry commented with a grin, then started vanishing clutter.
The Doctor probed at the alien tech in the wall and muttered under his breath to himself a few times. Finally, after Harry had vanished all the cleaning supplies and was enlarging the room to amuse himself, the Doctor said, "Can't get in."
Harry finished his spell and knelt down next to the Doctor. "Deadlock?"
"Mmm... Triple."
Harry nodded and considered their options. "Well, you could spend all day hacking into it, or we can go out and have a bit of fun, then come back and try her office once everyone's gone home?"
"That's assuming she goes home," the Doctor replied drily.
"Either way, there'll be less witnesses if I stun her," Harry pointed out.
The Doctor considered the options for a moment, then sighed and nodded. "Right. Museum?"
Harry laughed and helped the Doctor to stand up. "You're a fun date."
"Oiy! I like museums!"
"S'ok. So do I. Come on."
"You're not just saying that, are you? Because we can go some–"
Harry grabbed the Doctor's arm and dragged him out of the closet. "Come on, you git. Museum."
The Doctor grinned.
-0-
Harry apparated them up to the roof shortly after six. "You're sure about this?" he asked, eyeing the window-washing contraption hanging over the edge.
The Doctor nodded. "She might have something to recognise other aliens wired up in her office, especially if she's doing something illegal. It won't be set for humans, so you'll be safe."
Harry sighed. The Doctor had a suspicion that Ms Foster was doing something illegal, and since she'd triple deadlocked the tech in the wall, that meant it was pretty likely she'd have booby-trapped her office. Which meant only Harry could get in without setting it off. So Harry would go in and poke around a bit more while the Doctor sat outside as back-up in case Harry either needed him to get into the tech – assuming it wasn't also deadlocked in her office – or needed a distraction to get out of there.
"Yeah, yeah," Harry said, shaking his head. "Motion to me when you're in position."
The Doctor grinned at him, then hopped up into the contraption and started down. Harry leaned over the edge of the building and waited until the Doctor waved at him before apparating into the office.
Harry was barely there long enough to walk behind Foster's desk to the wall which his sonic screwdriver said hid the tech, when the door of the office opened. With a silent curse, Harry made himself invisible and shrank back into a corner as Foster and her two constant goons came in, dragging a woman behind them.
It turned out the woman's name was Penny and she had noticed a lot of the same warning signs about the company that UNIT had. She was intending to print them in the papers and Harry rolled his eyes. Muggles.
Not to say that a magical reporter in Penny's position wouldn't have said the same thing. But, then again, a magical reporter wouldn't have cared about a muggle business, no matter how many magical customers they had.
Foster happily informed Penny about what Adipose was, doing a lot of Harry and the Doctor's research for them.
Harry was just thinking that he'd have to find a way out, since Foster seemed to be a bit busy with Penny and didn't look to be leaving anytime soon when Foster suddenly stopped talking. Harry looked up to see what had stopped her and saw the Doctor, apparently enthralled by something across from him, which Harry couldn't see.
"Are we interrupting you?" Foster asked.
The Doctor mouthed, 'Run!' and pulled out his sonic screwdriver to lock the door to the office to give whoever he'd been talking to time to escape, while Foster sent her goons after them. Then the Doctor used his sonic to zap himself back up to the roof.
Foster's goons shot the door down, then they and Foster herself left the office.
Harry figured that the Doctor could probably take care of himself and whoever he'd seen just fine, so he slipped around the table he'd hidden behind and tried to figure out how to open the wall.
"Who's there?" Penny demanded, still tied up.
Harry banished his invisibility and waved at her. "Hello. Fancy meeting you here."
Penny stared at him while Harry turned back to the wall. After a moment, she demanded, "Are you just going to leave me tied up, then?"
"Ah. Sorry about that." Harry waved his wand behind him to free her, not bothering to look away from the wall and the readings he was getting from his screwdriver. Definite alien tech, part of whatever was downstairs, and a gentle shove wasn't going to get this door open.
Harry turned around to check the desk for more alien tech, only to find Penny going through a file folder. He took a deep breath. "Look, you're best off running. Don't stay around and poke about in things. Just get out."
"And what about you, then?" Penny demanded, glaring up at him.
Harry rolled his eyes. "First off, I came with a partner, who is perfectly capable of both distracting Foster and keeping just out of her reach. Second, I'm with the government, so I have the papers to be in here. You don't. Now run along and let the officials deal with this."
"And never let the public know?" Penny snapped. "London must be told about the–"
"You reporters and your high horses!" Harry snapped back. "Always deciding what the public needs to know, never caring about government laws protecting some secrets or about the feelings of the people you're reporting about. You lot are despicable. And–"
Harry's rant was cut off by something kicking the window.
"The hell?" he muttered, walking over to the window and peeking up. It only took him a moment to recognise the woman hanging outside the window and he forced it open. "Donna?"
The woman in question looked down at him. "Harry!" she wailed.
"Bloody hell, woman," Harry said, shaking his head. He pulled his wand out and cast the levitation charm. "Let go of the beam, Donna!"
"I'll fall!"
"No, you won't! I've got you!"
"I'll fall!"
Harry closed his eyes for patience then stuck his head out the window. "Donna, either you let go, or I make you let go!"
Donna considered that for a moment, then let go. She hung in the air for a long moment, then Harry gently levitated her down and helped her into the office. There, she hugged him. "I thought I was gonna die!"
Harry grinned. "Nah. Wouldn't have let you. You'd have come back from beyond the grave to scream at us."
Donna laughed a bit weakly at that.
The Doctor dashed in, then grinned madly when he saw Donna standing with Harry. "Good show. Wasn't sure you were still in here."
Harry shrugged. "Couldn't get that bloody door open."
"S'ok. I've got a sonic pen," the Doctor replied, twirling said pen.
"Fancy. Downstairs, then?" Harry decided, motioning that they should make for the door.
"Brilliant." The Doctor turned and led the charge back out again, leaving Penny with her files.
Out in the office, they met Foster and her goons. "Well then," she said, taking off her glasses. "At last. And you've added to your number."
"Hello," Donna said.
"Nice to meet you, I'm the Doctor," the Doctor said.
"Harry."
"And I'm Donna."
"Partners in crime," Foster said. "And evidently off-worlders, judging by your sonic technology."
"Oh yes. I've still got your sonic pen," the Doctor replied, pulling out said pen. "Nice. I like it. Very sleek." He grinned and wiggled it. "And if you were to sign your real name, that would be...?"
"Matron Cofelia of the Five-Straighten, Classabindi Nursery Fleet. Intergalactic Class."
"A wet-nurse," the Doctor realised. "Using humans as surrogates."
"I've been employed by the Adiposian First Family to foster a new generation after their breeding planet was lost."
"What do you mean, lost? How do you lose a planet?"
"Oh, the politics are none of my concern. I'm just here to take care of the children on behalf of the parents."
"What, like an outer space super nanny?" Donna asked.
"Yes, if you like."
"So, so those little things, they're made out of fat, yeah? But that woman, Stacie Campbell, there was nothing left of her."
"Oh, in a crisis, the Adipose can convert bone and hair and internal organs. Makes them a little bit sick, poor things," Foster explained, making a little pouty face.
"What about poor Stacie?" Donna asked.
The Doctor did not look amused. "Seeding a level five planet is against galactic law."
"Are you threatening me?"
"I'm trying to help you, Matron," the Doctor replied. "This is your one chance. 'Cause if you don't call this off, then I'll have to stop you."
"I hardly think you can stop bullets," Foster replied and her two goons cocked their guns.
"Hold on, hold on, hold on!" the Doctor shouted, reaching into his jacket pocket. "Do you know what happens if you hold two identical sonic devices together?" He pulled out his sonic screwdriver.
"The aurors come down on your heads," Harry replied drily, then shot off two quick stunning spells before grabbing Donna and the Doctor and apparating them down to the closet they'd found the terminal in that morning. "I swear to Merlin, Doctor, if you do that again, I'll kill you."
The Doctor grinned and pushed open the door to the closet.
"Well," Donna said, looking in after the Doctor. "That's one solution, hiding in a cupboard. I like it." She glanced around a bit. "Bit bigger than they usually are. Cleaner, too."
"Yeah, we were down here earlier," Harry replied as the Doctor shoved the wall back to reveal the terminal. "Great, big alien computer hooked up throughout the building. Couldn't get in, earlier."
"Yes," the Doctor agreed. "But now I've got this." He held up the pen.
"She does like her pens," Harry commented, leaning against the wall next to the Doctor and obediently holding a handful of wires the Time Lord gave him. Seeing Donna's confused look, Harry dug the laser pen out of his pocket. "Found this on her desk yesterday. It's a laser, but it can also act as a very cool torch." He shoved it back into his pocket, grinning. "These aliens come up with some of the coolest stuff."
"I'll take that as a compliment," the Doctor muttered, attaching wires to the terminal.
"Figured out what it's for, yet?" Harry asked.
"Nope." The Doctor grabbed a wire from Harry and sonic'd it. "Donna, I thought you were going travelling?" he called over his shoulder, to where Donna was still leaning in the doorway, watching them.
That got Donna talking. The Doctor kept working while she told them about her failed attempt at travelling. She finished with commenting that she must have been mad to turn down that offer.
"What offer?" the Doctor asked, not completely paying attention.
"To come with you."
The Doctor turned to look at her, blinking. "Come with me?"
"Oh yes, please," Donna replied, looking hopefully between the Doctor and Harry, who was looking just as surprised.
The Doctor blinked again, but before he could respond, the machine said, "Inducer activated."
"What's it doing that for?" Donna asked, stepping into the closet.
"She's started the program!" the Doctor said, then started working a bit faster to turn off the computer, talking about how Foster had switched the Adipose to full strength, which meant they'd convert everything. People would die.
He pulled out the little capsule he'd gotten from his last visit and hooked it up, but the power was just increased and the Doctor got a little panicked.
Harry grabbed his shoulder. "Breathe. We can still stop it," he said in a firm voice. "What do we need?"
The Doctor nodded. "Second capsule," he said.
Harry was just about to apparate up to the offices and hope he could find one when Donna pulled one out of her suit. They all froze and stared at each other before laughing a little. Then the Doctor grabbed it and hooked it up, killing the computer completely.
They were all breathing a sigh of relief when they heard something a bit loud and rather impressive above them.
"What's that?" Donna asked.
"The nursery," the Doctor replied.
"Oh boy," Harry said, rubbing at his forehead.
"Shouldn't we be going to stop them?" Donna asked as the terminal switched back on.
"Hold on," said the Doctor, leaning forward. "It's instructions from the Adiposian First Family." He read them quietly for a bit, then, "Oh. Oh. We're not the ones in trouble now; she is!" He dashed for the door.
Harry shook his head as Donna rushed after the Doctor. "Muggles," he muttered, then apparated to the roof. When the Doctor and Donna finally got up there, he rose an eyebrow at them and the Doctor grinned while Donna glared.
"What are you going to do?" Donna asked as they all stood there, watching the Adipose float up towards the spaceship. "Blow them up?"
"They're just children," the Doctor replied. "They can't help where they came from."
"Well, that's a change from last time," Donna commented.
"This time, they're not about to eat every human on Earth," Harry replied drily, then shot an innocent smile at Donna when she frowned at him.
A couple of the Adipose waved at them and they all waved back. "I'm waving at fat," Donna said, somewhat disbelieving.
"Actually, as a diet plan, it sort of works," the Doctor commented with a smile. "There she is!" He jumped forward as Foster came into sight, being held up by the tractor beam. "Matron Cofelia! Listen to me!" the Doctor shouted.
"Oh, I don't think so, Doctor. And if I never see you again, it'll be too soon," Foster replied.
The Doctor groaned. "Why does no one ever listen? I'm trying to help! Just... get across to the roof! Can you shift the levitation beam?"
"What? So you can arrest me?"
"Listen. I saw the Adiposian instructions. They know that it's a crime. Breeding on Earth. So what's the one thing they want to get rid of? Their accomplice."
"I'm far more than that," Foster replied. "I'm nanny. To all these children." She looked up at the ship, smiling.
"Exactly! Mum and dad have got the kids now. They don't need the nanny anymore!" the Doctor said.
Foster looked down to smile at him, but the tractor beam chose that moment to switch off.
"Harry!" the Doctor shouted, but Harry already had his wand out and was casting the levitation charm to catch Foster.
Harry carefully brought her over to the roof as the ship streaked away. Foster had a shocked expression on her face as she was set down on the roof and crumpled to her knees. Harry knelt in front of her, smiling. "Since you mentioned it, Matron, I think I will arrest you. UNIT will have some questions for you. But, don't worry, they're a bit nicer about it than, say, the Judoon." He shot some ropes at her from the end of his wand and grinned up at the Doctor and Donna. "Alright?"
The Doctor shrugged. "It's your planet."
"Glad we agree," Harry said, then pulled out his mobile to call UNIT Headquarters and request for someone to come out and pick Foster up for questioning.
After Harry put his mobile away, they stood around for a bit, Foster still looking shocked while the Doctor and Harry avoided looking at each other and Donna looked between the two men with a frown.
Finally, Donna turned to Harry. "You're travelling with him, then?"
Harry shrugged. "Have been, yeah. Need to get back home, though, for a bit. Haven't seen my kids in almost a year now. S'only been been a month or so for them, but..." He shrugged again. "You really want to go travelling with him?" he asked.
Donna nodded and looked at the Doctor. "If that's okay with you, Doctor?"
"Take her," Harry said, firmly. "I need some time with my family. Before Ginny strangles me, preferably." He grinned.
The Doctor smiled back. "Like I said before, just mention my name and it'll make everything better."
The two laughed and the last bit of awkward disappeared. They'd known when they started this mission that Harry would need to stay at home for a bit, and ignoring that had been easy while on the mission, but once it was over...
"Take her," Harry repeated, smiling at Donna. "You're happier when you've got someone around to jabber at. And Donna might actually be able to keep up with you. Possibly even surpass you."
The Doctor nodded. "Will you be okay?" he asked, referring to the reason Harry originally decided to travel with him again, which was to get away from the people who didn't remember the year they'd spent aboard the Valiant.
Harry smiled at him and nodded. "I'll be brilliant," he replied. "So stop worrying. You're worse than Mum."
The Doctor gave a mock shudder. "Worse than Molly Weasley? You wound me!"
Donna looked between them and shook her head. "Men," she said.
The Doctor chuckled. "Did you tell them you were on the roof?" he asked Harry.
"Nope." Harry shrugged. "Probably best take her down, hm?"
"Probably," the Doctor agreed.
So they all trooped downstairs, Harry leading Foster, and met the UNIT men sent to pick up their alien friend downstairs. The four men all saluted the Doctor and Harry, making the Doctor groan, then shuffled Foster into their convoy and drove off.
Harry turned to the Doctor and Donna. "Well, then! I'll be off. Probably have to explain the giant spaceship to Ginny." He gave a long-suffering sigh.
Donna grinned and they shared a quick hug. "Tell your wife hello for me," she said, sounding almost like she knew Ginny personally.
"Is there something I should know?" Harry asked, suspicious.
Donna shrugged. "Went by your house a few times, looking for you. But you were always off at work or, I guess, with the Doctor."
Harry snorted. "She probably thinks you're another stalker."
"You get stalkers?" Donna replied, looking incredulous.
"Are you kidding? Harry Potter, saviour of the wizarding world?" Harry laughed. "Get them all the time. Sometimes I see them at work, getting dragged off by some of the other aurors."
Donna shook her head. "Unbelievable."
Harry grinned. "That's me!" Then he turned to the Doctor. "I'll see you around, yeah?"
The Doctor nodded. "Yeah. You've got my number."
Harry nodded. "So I do," he agreed.
Donna rolled her eyes at them. "I'm going to grab my things from my car," she told them, then turned and walked off.
The Doctor blinked after her. "What was that all about?" he asked.
Harry laughed and grabbed the Time Lord's tie. "I think we were being transparent. Kiss, then I'm off."
The Doctor sighed and shook his head in disbelief, then leaned down far enough to kiss the wizard. "Don't go getting yourself killed by Dark wizards while I'm gone."
"And don't you get yourself killed by aliens," Harry replied, grinning. "I'd rather not have to get used to another new face, thanks."
"Makes two of us," the Doctor replied.
Harry laughed and, after checking for muggles, apparated back home.
-0-
"You know, Harry, you'd probably be better off if you officially transferred to the Unspeakables," Ron pointed out. "You're on missions for them more often then you're at your own desk here, and everyone already considers you one of them." He shrugged. "Might keep this from happening, too," he added, jerking his head towards the door they'd just walked out of.
On the other side of the door were a couple of teenage wizards who had been causing trouble starting during the month that Harry had been gone with the Doctor. The boys would do something stupid around a muggle, then apparate away as soon as the aurors showed up; until Harry had been part of the auror squad sent to grab them, then they both knelt in front of him and let him cuff them to be taken in for questioning.
It wasn't the first time they'd had a case like it, and the perpetrators had always acted out just so they could tell their mates that Harry Potter had arrested them.
"Don't think I haven't considered it," Harry replied, knocking his head against the far wall. "Do you know how embarrassing it is to have a friend out-rank you in a month?" he added, referring to Martha, who had joined UNIT shortly after the year that never was and currently out-ranked him. Of course, Harry was still on the official books as a part-time member of UNIT – even though they'd started using him like he was full-time since the year that never was – so he didn't really have a rank above civilian. Even Hermione out-ranked him.
Ron just shook his head. He still didn't get the whole alien thing, or why someone would want to be working in the Department when they could be working in the Aurors, doing the same things, but with a higher chance of survival. He understood Dark wizards, he didn't understand aliens. However, his best friend and his wife loved their job, and Ron did his best to support them, even if he did think they were barmy.
Harry shook his head. "Maybe I'll talk to Jeff," he decided, nodding towards the Head Auror's office. "Even he's treating me more like an Unspeakable, these days."
Ron snorted. "Yeah, really. I was actually surprised when he called you to help in catching those guys. We all were."
Harry grimaced. He, himself, had been rather shocked when he'd been called out. Even after almost two months back from his latest trip with the Doctor, he wasn't often called for auror duty.
Harry shook his thoughts away and waved at Ron, then wandered over to the Head Auror's office. He knocked on the door frame and poked his head inside the room. "Jeff? Can I talk to you?"
"Oh, Harry!" Jeff Branstien smiled at him from his desk. "Please, come in. I hear you and Ron finally caught those thugs."
Harry sighed and took the chair in front of Jeff's desk. "They sort of offered themselves up," he commented.
Jeff grimaced. "So it was that sort. Sorry, Harry. Should have sent you out sooner."
Harry shrugged. "Couldn't have known," he replied, then sighed again. "Jeff, would you be terribly cross with me if I transferred permanently to the Unspeakables?"
Jeff shook his head. "Not really. I'd half expected you to do it a couple of months ago, after you got back. Why all of a sudden?"
Harry ran a hand through his hair. "Feeling a bit out of place. And Ron is thinking that if I officially transfer, you might stop getting kids like these ones."
Jeff chuckled and leaned back in his chair. "Ron might be right." He pulled something out of a drawer and handed it over to Harry. "Official transfer form. Have at."
Harry considered the form, which had already been mostly filled out by Jeff and the Unspeakable Head. "You lot have just been waiting for me to bring it up, haven't you?" he accused.
Jeff nodded, unashamed. "Been waiting since you said you were going to take that assignment on that sky ship of the muggles'. Almost gave it to you then, but the Department of Mysteries Head suggested we wait until you came to one of us."
Harry sighed and stood. "Yeah, yeah. I'll finish filling it out and send it to Records. Am I expected to move downstairs today?"
Jeff chuckled at that. "Aren't you already mostly moved down there?"
Harry nodded. "Well, yeah. But, you know what I mean."
Jeff chuckled some more. "We'll have a party for you tomorrow. Go pack up what's left of your desk, Unspeakable."
Harry shook his head and wandered off to do just that.
-0-
Two months later, Harry was sitting in his new office in the Department, grinning around at the walls. He'd never had an actual office before, despite his official auror rank, but he'd just been promoted to major by UNIT, which not only got him a corner office, but also put him at a higher rank than both Hermione and Mary-Beth.
Technically, his rank was about the same as Martha's, who was a medical officer and not an actual soldier. Both of them had experience on the field, unlike some other officers who shared their rank, and they also had off-world experience, which no one else in UNIT seemed to have. (Well, except for a general Martha had heard about one afternoon who had been to the moon, once.) Both of them had joked, on occasion, that they should have higher ranks, since they had more experience than anyone else they knew of in UNIT.
Harry had almost been upset that his UNIT rank was lower than his auror rank, but had admitted, if only to himself, that the aurors were a smaller group, so ranks were generally a bit easier to come by than in UNIT, which was a huge organization. More-over, holding the rank of colonel in the aurors hadn't meant a lot, but holding it in UNIT meant he was expected to be in charge of a group of men, which Harry wasn't completely comfortable with. For now, he was content to have charge over the small group of men and women in the Department that he'd been given.
Harry was just about to pull out a file to work on when a knock came at the doorframe and a grinning face poked in. "Hey, Harry."
"Martha Jones!" Harry hopped up from his chair and met her for a hug. "What brings you to my corner of the world?"
Martha took a seat as Harry returned to behind his desk. "Couple of things," she said. "Heard about your promotion and came to congratulate you, for one."
Harry snorted. "I'm only a major, Martha. Nothing special about that."
Martha winked. "Sure there is." They both chuckled at that. "But, really, I came to offer you a chance to cause some mayhem with me."
"Oh? I'm listening." Harry leaned forwards, looking eager.
Martha snorted. "You've been spending too much time with the Doctor."
"Oh, come on. I haven't even heard from him for four months."
"You know what I mean."
They both grinned.
"Okay, then. What's this mayhem we're causing?" Harry leaned back in his chair, still grinning.
Martha sighed and pushed something across the clean desk. "I know you don't own a car, but surely you've heard of ATMOS?" she replied in a serious tone.
Harry took the file, all signs of a smile gone as he flipped through it. "Yeah. We've got it in the Department van," he said, referring to the single vehicle the Department owned, just in case they needed to get somewhere in a muggle manner. "Bloody hate the thing, myself, but a couple of them love it. Purebloods, mostly. Drives the van for them." He motioned behind Martha to include everyone outside the office. "Ooh... That's interesting..." he murmured, reading over the specs of one of the boxes.
"It's almost as bad as Lazarus," Martha commented, referencing the too-advanced technology that Lazarus had been using which the Master had helped him create.
Harry nodded, flipping the page. "Fifty-two simultaneous deaths? All across the globe?" he asked, looking up at Martha in disbelief. "That's not statistically possible. Is it?" He frowned and looked back down at the report. "I may not know much about muggle cars, but even I know that shouldn't have happened."
"My thoughts exactly." Martha leaned forward. "Headquarters wants it checked out, so they've got Colonel Mace leading a team to take out one of the factories. I'll be with them and I think it would be nice if we had another experienced eye on board."
Harry hummed. "The Doctor?"
Martha laughed and leaned back in her chair. "Yes, him too, but I really meant you. You're experienced, same as me, but you've also got a weapon what no one else in this group will have; you've got magic."
Harry considered her. "Is it okay if I bring a couple of my people with me, do you think? Not so much soldiers – Merlin knows we'll have enough of those! – but people like Hermione? Scientists, like."
Martha nodded slowly. "I don't see why it would be a problem, really. I can phone Mace if you want to round up the people you want?"
Harry grinned and stood up from behind his desk. "Have you got one of the Doctor's special phones?"
Martha pulled it out. "Yes. Why?"
"Normal muggle phones don't work down here," Harry replied. "I'll be back."
-0-
"He put you in charge of calling the strike?" Harry asked, leaning against the wall next to Martha. The UNIT troops, as well as Harry's hand-picked magical group, were all waiting just out of sight of the giant factory they were standing near. Martha had just rung the Doctor and told him to come down, so she and Harry were waiting for the TARDIS to land.
"Yes he did."
"Blimey. Either he really trusts you, or you've got more weight to throw around in UNIT than I have in the Ministry."
Martha laughed.
They both turned at the sound of the TARDIS materialising. The door creaked open and out peeked a head of tousled hair. As soon as the Doctor saw them, he grinned and waved, then hopped out of the TARDIS and walked forwards. "Martha Jones and Harry!"
Martha hurried forward and got a hug, laughing a bit. "It's good to see you, Doctor."
"It's good to see you, too." The Doctor looked up at Harry, who was still leaning against the wall and grinning. "Both of you." He looked back down at Martha. "How's your family?"
"Recovering," Martha replied, still smiling.
Donna stepped out of the TARDIS, looking a bit uncertain. She saw Harry and smiled at him, waving a bit.
Harry grinned back and finally pushed off from the wall to walk over and hug Donna. "Hullo, Donna. Good to see he hasn't lost you or some such."
"Oiy!"
"So this is the mysterious Donna?" Martha asked, smiling at the older female.
Harry nodded. "Donna, Martha. Martha, Donna." He grinned up at the Doctor. "Oh, and, hullo. Git."
The Doctor laughed then and swept Harry up in a hug, earning him a cry of, "Put me down this instant, you bloody giant!"
"You were trying to ignore me!" the Doctor said, setting Harry back on his feet.
"Nah. Just letting everyone know who's more important," Harry replied.
"Now who's the git?" the Doctor demanded, but he was grinning like a loon.
"Mad, those two," Donna commented, then held out her hand to Martha. "Donna Noble. The Doctor talks about you all the time; it's good to finally have a face for the name."
Martha took the hand and they shook. "Martha Jones."
"Not for long, I see," Donna commented, holding up Martha's left hand. "Who's the lucky guy?"
"Lucky guy?" the Doctor asked, coming over with Harry.
"She's engaged," Harry said, casually leaning against the Doctor like he'd been leaning against the wall.
"To Tom Milligan," Martha replied, glancing up at the Doctor. "Works in paediatrics. He's off in Africa right now." She glanced back at Donna. "And, yes, I know. I've got a Doctor who disappears off to distant places. Tell me about it."
"He's an okay bloke," Harry commented, snickering when Martha turned to glare at him. "Well, okay. Real nice, then. Good catch." When Martha continued to glare, he asked, "What d'you want me to say, then?"
Martha looked like she might respond, but the radio at her belt crackled and said, "Doctor Jones, report to base please. Over."
"Almost forgot," Martha said, then picked up the radio. "This is Doctor Jones. Operation Blue Sky is go, go, go. I repeat, this is a go."
They all stepped forward out of the alley, Harry moving forward to stand with Martha, and watched as the troops rushed in and set up base outside the factory. Martha continued leading the main troops while Harry waved to his group and motioned for them to stick with the base for the moment. Hermione, who he'd put in charge, looked nervous, but nodded and hurried the tiny group of two magicals towards the base.
Martha eventually finished directing the troops and walked back over to Harry, the Doctor and Donna, the latter of which looked a little out of their depth. (Well, Donna looked out of her depth. The Doctor just looked mildly disapproving.) "We're setting up a field base on site," Martha told the Doctor. "They're dying to meet you."
"Wish I could say the same," the Doctor muttered as they all walked towards the truck that housed the base. When he passed her, the Doctor smiled at Hermione, who managed a smile back, then motioned Harry over.
"Go on," Harry told Martha, then stepped over to his group. "What's up?"
"You didn't tell me the Doctor was coming," Hermione hissed, watching the tan trenchcoat disappear into the truck.
"Mmm... Wanted to surprise you," Harry replied.
"Sure it wasn't a surprise to you, sir?" Aria Wells asked, smiling. She was a mistress of alien tech and had managed to get a fair portion of the Department's various machines working without any help from anyone else on staff.
Harry chuckled and shook his head. "Nope. Knew about it coming in. Martha – Doctor Jones to the rest of you – told me about it when she asked me along."
"Rumour has it you've travelled with the Doctor," Robert Crow, commented. He was a muggleborn, like Hermione, and had gotten certified in medical assistance, both muggle and magical. He also took great joy in finding ways to disrupt alien tech with magic, which made him invaluable to the Department.
"Hmm..." Harry shrugged. "Love those rumours. You know, if I believed even half of them, I'd practically be a god."
"That's a rather terrifying thought," Aria commented.
"Yes, he travelled with the Doctor," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "Honestly, Harry."
Harry chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. "It's been about two years, all told, that I've travelled with him," Harry admitted. "Couple months here, couple there. Course, it's only been about two months of my missing for you lot, but that's 'cause this is the Doctor we're talking about and he can usually manage to get you back whenever."
"Except the day of your wedding," Hermione added.
"Could have been worse," Harry commented, wagging his eyebrows, "Rose missed an entire year. Three days, to her, but an entire year for those of us on Earth. Her mum was frantic."
"Occupational hazard," Robert offered.
"Just a bit of one," Harry agreed. "Well, I'm in to save the colonel from... Well, either the Doctor or Donna. Haven't decided which, yet."
"Good luck, sir," Robert called as Harry hurried up into the truck.
Harry got in just in time to hear Donna say, "Donna. Donna Noble, since you didn't ask. And I'll have that salute."
"Wish I could get him to do that for me," Harry said teasingly as he walked over to where the Doctor was standing. The colonel gave him a hard look and Harry grinned back – he'd learned regulation from the Doctor, which was to say, not at all. "Good show, Donna."
"Major Potter," the Colonel said, glaring a bit.
Harry was saved from the impending dressing down by the Doctor asking what was going on with the factory. He got the list of their suspicions and the group entered the factory, Harry waving for his team to follow them. Colonel Mace looked a bit disapproving, but Harry's group were special ops, and they might very well be needed. It was why Mace had allowed their involvement.
They brought the Doctor to a working model of the ATMOS and Martha commented that they'd found nothing wrong with it, so they'd brought in the Doctor as an expert to look it over.
The Doctor studied the ATMOS a bit and sonic'd it some. He also insulted Colonel Mace a bit by telling him to back off because he was wearing a gun. Harry, who was looking over another ATMOS with his group – they hadn't had the chance to study them yet, and Harry figured it was as good a time as any – snickered a bit and waved at Mace, who frowned at him.
"Stop antagonising him," Martha admonished Harry between admonishing the Doctor.
Harry snickered some more and walked over to them, leaving his team to play on their own a bit. "I can't help it," he told Martha. "And it's not 'cause he's got a gun," he added, looking at the Doctor, who smiled a bit. "He just reminds me of some aurors and politicians I've met over the years. Made a bit of fun of them, too."
"Did he ever," Hermione added.
Donna walked back in and gleefully told them all about finding an empty file which should have contained info on sick leave and the such. Mace had Martha set up a medical examining room and Donna went with her. Mace and the Doctor wandered off and Harry checked up on his team.
"Harry, we'll never get anything done with you hovering," Hermione commented. "Go follow the Doctor and irritate him and Colonel Mace."
"Cheers," Harry agreed, grinning. Just before he stepped fully out of the room, he looked back at the group, serious. "If something goes down, I want all of you apparating back to the field base right away. I don't care if a muggle sees you. You aren't soldiers and I won't have you in the middle of a minor battle. Am I understood?"
"Sir!" all three called, saluting.
"Now get out of here," Hermione added, then turned back to her work.
Harry chuckled to himself and hurried after the Doctor and Mace. He found them discussing going to Rattigan Academy and how the Doctor didn't want to have anyone going with him who was carrying a gun. He caught up with them properly as they were reaching the jeeps. "If you want, Doctor, I can take you," he suggested.
"Major Potter, are you cleared for driving a vehicle?" Colonel Mace demanded.
Harry cocked an eyebrow at him. "The Department does have us all certified, sir. I don't drive often, but I'm certainly capable of it."
The Doctor grinned. "Just like old times, then."
Harry smiled back. "Yes, except I'm driving instead of you. Should be a less sick-up inducing trip."
"Oiy!"
Mace sighed. "Very well, Potter. If the Doctor tells you to do something, you do it. Understood?"
Harry nodded and, with a straight face, said, "If the Doctor tells me to do something, be completely contrary. Yes, sir."
"Just like old times," the Doctor said again while Mace just sighed. "Donna!" the Doctor called, catching sight of the woman. They spoke for a moment and the Doctor completely misunderstood what she was trying to say, leaving Harry in stitches. Finally, they all climbed into the jeep and headed off.
"You can actually drive?" Donna asked in surprise as they left the factory behind them.
Harry sighed. "Muggle-raised? Live in a muggle neighbourhood?"
"But you don't own a car," Donna replied.
Harry rolled his eyes. "Work for a super-secret, alien-hunting department that collaborates with muggles regularly?"
"Is it really super-secret?" the Doctor asked.
"Most of the Ministry doesn't even know it exists," Harry replied. "They just think the Department of Mysteries is all the same thing. So far as most people know, we don't care about aliens. Muggle problem."
The Doctor grinned. "I love humans."
Donna elbowed him.
-0-
"Harry?"
"Hmm?"
The Doctor tapped the ATMOS that was giving them directions on the dash. "I don't suppose you'd know why this jeep has one of these?"
"Have to. Standard for government vehicles. Department van has one too. Some of the magical-raised really like them, since it can help you drive the car. I hate it." Harry glanced at the ATMOS with a look of disgust. "Ginny actually suggested she might be willing to drive, with one of these. Been vetoing the idea for months."
The Doctor shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder about that woman."
"You and me both." Harry eased them around a turn, then said, "She's threatening to divorce me."
The Doctor glanced at him. "What did you say to her?"
"Nothing." Harry shrugged. "On one hand, I've been talking about getting a divorce for years. On the other, she'll get the kids."
"What, you won't even be able to visit them?"
Harry snorted. "I'll be able to visit them fine, but they can't live with me." He glanced at the Doctor. "I practically live at work these days, ever since I resigned from the aurors. Got promoted to major just last week and that's been more work already. Never mind my little trips with you." He sighed. "James is four now, Doctor. He barely even recognises me. I'm just the strange man who's home sometimes and kisses him good-bye every other morning."
"I'm sorry," the Doctor whispered.
"Stop that!" Harry frowned at him. "I picked this life, not you, so stop blaming yourself. Honestly, if I didn't love my job so much, I could just quit. Potter fortune's more than big enough to see me to my old age, and probably see the kids through until they've all got jobs. But I like working with UNIT. Like being useful." He smiled. "I like getting out of the house. Having a reason to run into you."
The Doctor smiled at that. "I suppose. Still don't like the idea of you losing your kids."
Harry shook his head. "I'm not losing them, they're just moving a bit further away than down the hall. I'll just have to make time for them, now, if I want to see them. It'll probably do me some good. I'll actually have to visit, rather than just take it for granted that they'll always be there."
"I suppose," the Doctor repeated. When Harry glanced at him, he still didn't look pleased with the way things had turned out, but he didn't look quite like he was beating himself up anymore, either.
-0-
At Rattigan Academy, Harry stood back a bit and let the Doctor have fun. Harry figured that he must have been doing a pretty passable imitation of a normal UNIT soldier – sans uniform, any identifying features on his clothing and a gun, of course – since none of the kids gave him a second thought. It gave Harry a chance to look around, which he did. He saw the things the Doctor commented on, but he also noticed the kids, many of whom didn't really look like they were enjoying their time at the Academy. They looked more like they needed to like the Academy, or something horrible would happen to them.
Harry wondered what Rattigan did to those who decided they didn't like him.
In Rattigan's office – which looked more like a playroom to Harry, but what did he know? – the Doctor found a transporter, which he used, then came back down on. As soon as he got back, he jumped out of the way, leaving room for a strange armoured creature he called a Sontaran to come through. After which, the Doctor happily broke the transporter with his sonic screwdriver.
The Doctor cheerfully talked all about the Sontarans, eventually commenting on their one weakness and using a ball he'd picked up to knock the Sontaran to his knees. The he grabbed Harry's arm and they both ran for it.
After they'd gotten away from the Academy, the Doctor tried calling the base on the radio, but it wouldn't connect.
"The Sontarans?" Harry inquired.
The Doctor nodded. "And if they're blocking that, it means they can isolate the ATMOS."
"Turn left," the ATMOS said.
"Try going right."
Harry tried and shook his head. "Nope." He reached over to try over-riding the auto-drive, which he sometimes had to do with the Department van, but it beeped negatively at him.
The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and tried to use it on the ATMOS, but it had been deadlocked. Now, they could see the river ahead of them.
Harry grabbed the Doctor's hand and apparated them out of the car. They both landed on their bums, since they'd been sitting when Harry had apparated them, but they were both still alive when the jeep went off the end into the river.
"Oh, I'm going to have so much fun rubbing their dependence on ATMOS in those purebloods' faces," Harry muttered, shaking his head.
The Doctor sighed and pulled Harry into a hug. "What would I do without you?" he asked, shaking his head after the jeep.
Harry snorted. "You'd have thought of something. Now, come on. Let's go get Donna." Harry stood and reached down to help the Doctor up.
"Are we walking?" the Doctor asked, sounding pitiful.
Harry snorted. "Nah. I thought I'd just apparate us. Saves time and doesn't involve ATMOS."
The Doctor laughed. "Tell me about it."
Harry apparated them to just down the road, where they'd dropped Donna off. He led the way to Donna's house, which he'd looked up shortly after Donna and the Doctor left, just in case he needed to get in contact with her family – watching the Jones family had taught Harry a thing or two about being one of the few of the Doctor's companions who lived on Earth and who had the authority to go to someone's house and explain things when the Doctor disappeared for too long.
There, the Doctor knocked on the door and managed a smile for Donna when she answered. "This day is gone mad. How're you doing?"
Donna blinked a few times, then glanced around the Doctor at Harry, who waved at her. "Mad?" she asked, looking between them.
"You said you've got ATMOS?" Harry asked.
Donna nodded and led them over to the car. There, the Doctor started using his sonic on the ATMOS box he had with him again while Donna tried Martha's mobile and commented on the Doctor having done all that already.
Donna's grandfather, Wilfred Mott, came out to meet the Doctor and exclaimed over having met him before, when the Doctor disappeared in front of him on Christmas Eve.
"Was that before or after your stunt with the Titanic?" Harry asked, pulling out his mobile to ring Hermione. He wanted to know if they'd found anything.
"Before," the Doctor replied.
"That was you?" Wilfred demanded.
"That wasn't real," Donna insisted.
"Sure it was," Harry said. "I've still got the readings from that giant hunk scaring the hell out of everyone back in my desk. Hermione!" He turned and stepped away from the rest of the group as Donna finally got an answer from Martha. "Have you lot found anything?"
"Not really," Hermione replied, sounding frustrated. "It's still just a hunk of too-advanced technology!"
"Mmm... They were made by a race called the Sontarans. Rattigan is working with them. Don't know why yet, but the Doctor's trying the ATMOS again. Says he knows what he's looking for, now."
"Whoa!" the Doctor called as spikes popped out of the ATMOS. "It's a temporal pocket. Knew there was something else in there."
"I heard him," Hermione said before Harry could ask. "We're on it."
"You're amazing. Ring me if you find anything!"
"Will do."
Harry hung up and came over as Donna's mum came out to see what they were up to. "Hermione and them are looking into it more," he said to the Doctor.
"Mmm..." the Doctor sonic'd it for a bit more, then a billow of smoke shot out. "Get back!" he shouted, shoving them all back a bit. He sonic'd it from a distance until the ATMOS stopped billowing smoke, then stepped forward, Donna's mum complaining about how he'd blown up the car. "That wasn't just smoke," the Doctor commented, ignoring Donna's mum. "That was some sort of gas."
"But if that means they've got poisonous gas in every car on Earth," Donna said.
Wilfred got into the car, saying he'd get it off the street, but as soon as he was inside, the car started up on its own and started pouring gas out the exhaust. He couldn't get out and neither the Doctor nor Harry could get in – sonic screwdriver didn't work, and Harry didn't know any spells for breaking into cars.
Donna's mum was the one who came to the rescue, in the end. She brought out an axe from inside the house and smashed the front window of the car.
"Hmm. Axe," Harry muttered as he and Donna hurried to help Wilfred out and the Doctor kept playing with the ATMOS, trying to see if he could stop it.
Harry's mobile rang and he left Wilfred to his family while he answered it. "Potter."
"Harry! All the ATMOS devices are pouring out smoke!" Hermione cried.
Harry glanced around the street, where every car was pouring out the gas. "Yeah, I know. Get away from them. The gas seems to be poisonous. Get into the base and stay there, understand? See if you can't figure out what the gas is."
"Right. Also, did you tell Colonel Mace about what you found out?" Hermione asked, much calmer now that she had something to do.
"Yeah. We told Martha. Why?"
"Then Martha hasn't told him. He was just in here, before the gas started, asking if we'd found anything."
Harry turned to look at the Doctor, who'd given up on the ATMOS and was helping Donna and her mum get Wilfred into the house. "Hermione, I want you to tell the colonel, then. Code Red, Sontarans. Understood?"
"Sure. You don't think Martha is going to?"
"I'm not sure," Harry replied, running a hand through his hair. "It's possible she just hasn't run into him, yet. Maybe she's busy. I don't know. But Mace needs to be told."
"I'm on it. See you back at base?"
"We'll be back soon," Harry promised, then hung up and hurried over to the Doctor. "We need to get back to base."
The Doctor nodded. "Donna! Are you coming?"
"Yeah!" Donna called back. She had a moment with her mother telling her not to, but Wilfred told her to go ahead.
"Just stay indoors," the Doctor told them, motioning for Harry and Donna to walk around to the other side of a bush. Once they were out of sight of the two muggles, the Doctor said, "To the TARDIS, please."
Harry nodded and took both of their hands, then apparated all of them to just outside the TARDIS. "Oh, hell," Harry muttered and banished some of the gas before casting a bubble-head charm on himself. He couldn't see any better with the charm, but at least he could breathe. He waited while the Doctor ushered Donna into the TARDIS, then they both took off towards the base.
At the base, Harry hurried over to his team and checked them over while the Doctor talked about taking the TARDIS up to the alien spaceship.
"Have you phoned Ginny?" Hermione asked Harry.
Harry saw the Doctor grabbing Martha to go with him towards the TARDIS. "I'll do it now," he promised, pulling out his mobile and hurrying to join the Doctor and Martha. "To the TARDIS?" he asked, dialling the number for his house and hoping Ginny would pick up for once.
"Oh yes," the Doctor agreed.
The phone picked up on the other end. "Harry?" Ginny whispered.
"Ginny, I need you to take the kids down to the cellar and block off the door to the main part of the house," Harry ordered. "You'll be safe down there."
"Harry? What's happening out there?" Ginny pleaded.
"Sweetheart, just trust me and do as I say, okay? We'll work it out here, but I need to know you and the kids are safe. Now, cellar. Take the phone with you."
"Okay," Ginny replied and Harry heard Lily whimpering and James laughing a bit, which meant she had the kids and was herding them. "Don't you die on me, Harry Potter!" Ginny added into the phone.
Harry laughed. "Not a chance," he promised, then hung up. The Doctor and Martha had hurried on ahead, so Harry hurried to catch up to them. When he rounded the corner he stopped to stare at the place where the TARDIS had been mere moments before.
The Doctor was wandering around, tasting the air. "Teleport exchange," he said, mostly talking to Martha. "It's the Sontarans. They've got her." He looked a bit disgusted. "But that means I'm stuck on Earth like a normal person. Like a human. What rubbish is that?" He glanced at Harry and Martha. "Sorry, no offence."
Harry shrugged while Martha mostly ignored him.
The Doctor stared at Martha for a long moment and Harry wondered if he'd, perhaps, noticed something wrong with the young woman. Something that might explain why she hadn't told Colonel Mace about the Sontarans.
Martha finally turned to him with a frown. "What?"
"I was just wondering if you've called your family," the Doctor replied.
"What for?"
"About the gas. Tell them to stay indoors," the Doctor replied.
"Of course I will," Martha said with a little laugh, but she didn't seem too concerned about it. "Where's Donna?"
"Oh." The Doctor shrugged and glanced at Harry. "She's gone home. She's not like you. She's not a soldier." The Doctor looked back at Martha for the last bit, then nodded. "Right! So, avanti!" He turned and led them back to the base.
There, he asked about the gas – which they were still working on – then tried to tell off Mace for thinking about a nuclear strike and, finally, called the Sontarans and sat down in an open chair to talk to them. When General Staal, the head of the fleet, showed them the TARDIS, the Doctor cheerfully worked Donna's name into a message and suggested she use the phone in the TARDIS to communicate, then told the Sontarans that he had a remote control for the ship. They ended the transmission pretty fast after that.
Mace set about bringing up NATO defences while Martha considered the gas sample they'd collected again. The Doctor went over to her and Harry walked over to his group, all of whom looked out of place. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"There's not a lot for us to do," Aria replied, waving at the busy room. "Hermione's the only one who knows anything about gas, and she doesn't hold up to Doctor Jones' knowledge. We're not soldiers."
"I'm sorry," Harry whispered, shaking his head. "I'd send you home, but I don't want to have to call you back again if we suddenly need you."
"What might you need us for?" Robert asked.
The group of soldiers behind them chose that moment to announce that the NATO defences were online and they were priming for launch. The Doctor spun around to yell at Mace and Harry sighed. "Other than stunning Mace so he'll stop doing stupid stuff?"
The other three laughed a little nervously and looked around Harry at the desperate Doctor and the nervous Mace.
The missiles didn't fire and the grid went down. Mace ordered them to get the grid back up and it looked like the Doctor might snap a bit more, but a call came in from one of the groups inside the building that they had Sontarans in the factory. Mace ordered them to fire and the Doctor tried to tell him to get them out of there.
The guns didn't work and the team that had run into the Sontarans was slaughtered.
When the Doctor yelled for Mace to order a retreat again, he listened.
Their forces were severely depleted by the time they got out of the factory and closed it up.
Mace motioned for the Doctor to follow him into the little side meeting room and called, "Potter!"
Harry sighed. "I'm sorry," he told his group, then hurried to join Mace and the Doctor.
Mace turned to Harry. "Do you think you can use magic to bring those Sontarans down?"
Harry crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the glass wall. "Can I? Most certainly. Do I have troops for that? No."
"You have those three–"
"They aren't soldiers," Harry reminded him sharply. "They're scientists. They don't do battle."
"Everyone here 'does battle'," Mace insisted.
"Oh? Even Martha? Even the Doctor? Because I can guarantee neither of them will be interested in fighting the Sontarans. I'd like to see you try and make them."
Mace leaned forward over the desk he was sitting behind. "Potter, you are under my command, here–"
"If we're playing the 'who's in charge' game, Colonel, I think you'll find that the Doctor out-ranks you." Harry turned to the Doctor, who was watching the argument like one might watch a tennis match. "Doctor?"
The Doctor sighed. "They're not fighting. In fact, no one is fighting. You can't fight Sontarans!"
Mace looked between the two men. "How were they stopping the bullets?" he demanded.
"You can't fight–"
"Thank you, Doctor. But I need people who can fight them anyway. That means either Potter's little band of stick-wavers need to play a part, or we need a way to shoot our guns. Do you understand me?"
Harry and the Doctor traded looks. "They're using a cordolane signal, which causes the copper to expand. It jams the guns," the Doctor said, almost looking defeated.
Mace nodded and stood. "I'm on it. And, Potter?"
"Sir?" Harry ground out.
"You might as well tell your team to go home." Mace smiled at them, then turned and left the office.
Harry muttered some under his breath, then waved Hermione towards him. When she reached him, he said, "You lot might as well go home, then. Mace seems pretty sure he's got everything in hand."
Hermione frowned at him, clearly worried. "Are you sure? I don't want to leave you, only for you to have to call us back and all."
Harry shook his head. "If it turns out Mace decides he needs you after all, I'll deal with it. Go home. Say hi to Mum and your kids for me, yeah?"
Hermione nodded. "Okay. Do you want me to check on Ginny?"
Harry shrugged. "Sure? I told her to hide in the cellar and seal herself in with the kids, so she should be fine. You can, if you want."
Hermione nodded again and squeezed Harry's shoulder, then hurried back to the other two Department members.
Harry looked back at the Doctor, closing the door. "What's wrong with Martha?" he asked.
The Doctor grinned. "You noticed!"
"Of course I did, you git. She never told Mace about the Sontarans. Hermione did that. And she doesn't seem to care about her family like she ought." Harry rolled his eyes.
The Doctor nodded. "She's a clone, made by the Sontarans, with Martha's memories."
"Of course," Harry said, nodding as if the explanation made perfect sense. "And you figured this out, how?"
The Doctor grinned. "Oh, a couple of things. Can I borrow your mobile?"
"I'm beginning to think you only give straight answers when under duress," Harry commented, handing over his phone. "Calling Donna?"
"Let it never be said you're not clever," the Doctor replied, dialling the number of the phone in the TARDIS. He talked Donna through getting around in the Sontaran ship a bit, but hung up when Mace came back in and ran out to meet him. "Think about what you're doing?" he pleaded. "More people are going to be killed!"
Mace tossed him a gas mask, then waved one at Harry, who shook his head. "I have thought about it," he told the Doctor. "And we're getting back into that factory. Now, come on."
"You're not going without me," not-Martha said, hurrying over to join Harry and the Doctor as the Doctor grabbed his coat.
"Wouldn't dream of it," the Doctor replied.
Harry cast the bubble head charm on himself again before stepping outside. When the Doctor put his gas mask on, Harry snorted. "Who's the more ridiculous-looking, do you think?"
"I refuse to answer that," the Doctor replied as they stopped next to Mace. Then, turning to the colonel, he asked, "Are you my mummy?"
Harry, who had heard about that adventure from Jack, shook his head while Mace demanded that the Doctor be serious.
Mace called down the Valiant to help clear away the gas, then had the airship use a weapon adapted from Torchwood's facilities to blow a hole through the factory. That started the strike and soldiers on the ground used bazookas to take out the doors. The soldiers started cutting a path into the building for Mace, the Doctor, Martha and Harry, all of whom hurried in.
Eventually, the Doctor split off from the rest of the soldiers and Harry and Martha followed. Down the empty corridor, they came across a room with another teleport and the real Martha, lying prone on metal bed. The Doctor ran forward saying, "Oh, Martha. I am so sorry."
Not-Martha reached under her coat like one might when pulling out a concealed weapon and Harry pressed his wand up under her chin. "I wouldn't, if I were you," he commented with a smile. "You know exactly what I can do with this."
Not-Martha's hand moved away from the gun and held her hands up in a surrender position. Harry took the chance to pull out her gun himself and toss it away from them. She eyed him in disgust, then looked at the Doctor, who turned to look at them. "I've been stopping the nuclear launch," she said, as if she expected it to bother them.
"Doing exactly what I've wanted," the Doctor agreed. "I needed you to stop the missiles, just as much as the Sontarans. Not having Earth start an interstellar war. You're a triple agent."
"When did you know?" not-Martha asked, looking between both of them.
"Right from the start," the Doctor replied. "Hermione told Harry you'd never told Mace about the Sontarans, and I could tell from looking at you. Reduced iris contraction, slight thinning of the hair follicles in the left temple and, frankly, you smell."
"Time Lords," Harry muttered, shaking his head.
The Doctor smiled just the slightest bit and stood over Martha's head. "The Sontarans have been protecting her," he commented, half to Harry, half to not-Martha, "to help feed the clone with Martha's memories. Martha Jones has been keeping you alive." Then he tugged the tech off of Martha's head, causing her to wake up and not-Martha to clutch at her chest, unable to properly breathe.
The Doctor helped Martha for a moment, but Harry's phone rang in the Doctor's pocket and he hurried to answer it, leaving Martha to Harry. "Good to see you again," Harry commented, helping Martha up. She hugged him briefly, then turned to stare at her clone in disbelief.
After the Doctor had given his latest instructions to Donna, he donated his coat to Martha, then directed Harry to help him fix the teleport a bit. Harry was set to sonicing a batch of wires while the Doctor went after the control box and Martha got not-Martha to tell them about the gas, which turned out to be something the Sontarans had created so they could raise their clones.
The Doctor got Donna down to the planet, then called the TARDIS back down, too. They all got into the teleport pod and the Doctor sent them to Rattigan Academy, where they found a shaking Luke Rattigan with a gun. "Don't tell anyone what I did!" he cried.
The Doctor just walked right up to him, grabbed the gun and tossed it aside, then continued on to the science labs. The girls and Harry followed him, Donna commenting on the coat Martha was wearing.
In the lab, the Doctor fixed up some of the stuff Rattigan had, talking a mile a minute about why the Sontarans hadn't wanted missiles being fired on Earth. As soon as he was done, he grabbed his creation and hurried outside, everyone following.
There, the Doctor shot off his toy, igniting the atmosphere and clearing up all the gas all over the world. When the fires cleared, only blue sky was left and the four humans laughed, Rattigan commenting on how the Doctor was a genius.
"Now we're in trouble," the Doctor said and, grabbing his toy, ran back inside.
They caught up with him in Rattigan's office/playroom. There, the Doctor told his three companions thank you and told Rattigan to do something clever with his life.
"You're saying good-bye," Donna realised.
"Sontarans are never defeated," the Doctor replied. "They'll be getting ready for war. And, well, you know. I've recalibrated this for Sontarans air. So..."
"You're gonna ignite them," Martha said.
"You'll kill yourself," Donna whispered.
"Just, send that thing up," Martha suggested, "on its own. I don't know. Put it on a delay."
"I can't," the Doctor said, shaking his head.
"Why not?" Donna asked.
"I've gotta give them a choice."
"Even when you already know their answer?" Harry demanded. "They're never defeated. They won't refuse, Doctor. You know that."
"I've got to give them a choice," he repeated. And then he smiled and whispered something Harry had heard him say before, in the Doctor's bedroom. It was something the TARDIS would never translate, but Harry had always taken it to mean, 'I love you'.
And then the Doctor was gone.
Harry turned away from the pod and apparated back to the TARDIS. There, he rested back against her and stared up at the clear sky. "Damn you," he whispered. "Damn you." He closed his eyes.
Harry wasn't certain how long he stood there, trying not to feel, before his mobile rang. He pulled it out and stared at the name – Martha – for a long moment, not sure if he wanted to answer. Not quite sure that he could.
He finally flipped the phone open and answered it. "Potter," he said.
"Here," Martha said, and the phone was handed over.
There was silence, for a moment, then, "I'm sorry."
Harry swallowed at the Doctor's voice and closed his eyes. "Don't tell me they ran away?" he said, trying for joking and failing miserably.
"No. Luke Rattigan used the teleport to switch us," the Doctor admitted.
Harry nodded. "I should go tell Colonel Mace that the Sontarans are gone, then."
"I'm sorry," the Doctor whispered again.
Harry laughed a painful sort of laugh. "If it had been me, I'd have done the same thing," he replied.
The Doctor sounded like he might apologise again, so Harry ended the call and shoved his phone back into his pocket. He stood there for another moment, breathing and reminding himself that the Doctor was still alive, the git. The stupid, self-less git.
He pushed off from the TARDIS when he felt more in control and wiped at his face, erasing the evidence of his weakness. Then he turned and walked back towards the base. He needed to let Mace know about the Sontarans.
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A/N: One reviewer – from FFN, I think, but I can't remember their name – suggested cutting this chapter just before the ending of this Arc, since that two-part episode had all the companions, and since I seemed to be breaking it up by character... Thought it was a brilliant idea, myself, but I burned out a bit near the end of what I was supposed to have in this chapter, so I cut it off a bit earlier than intended. I'll work on the next bit and possibly add a bit of Harry without-the-Doctor-time to help flesh out the next chapter a bit. We'll see.
I figured you lot might be a bit sick of the wait, at any rate. XD
Until the next chapter!
~Bats ^.^x
