Chapter 7 – Panic Attack

The entrance lobby of Gringotts was deathly silent as Voldemort's voice reverberated off the high ceilings. His appearance in Diagon Alley wasn't something that Romana had counted on. She knew it was highly likely that the Dark Lord would have some spies staking out the place but she never expected news of their arrival to reach him so quickly. Her plan called for the Goblins to hand over the Horcrux quickly and leave before the Death Eaters could arrive. Maybe on reflection that was too much to hope for and now she had to improvise, something she had never been that great at. The Doctor had a knack of evading any trap, Romana though wasn't as slippery. During her time onboard the Doctor's TARDIS it had become a running joke how often she was captured.

Looking around Gringotts, Romana noticed there weren't too many options available. They could retreat further into the bank but that could risk trapping them inside or worse, earn the wrath of the Goblins. The only other exit was out the main door and entering into direct confrontation with the Death Eaters. Neither looked particularly appealing right now, "Romana, what are we going to do?" Ron whispered.

For the first time since her regeneration Romana was lost for words. In the face of insurmountable odds she was frozen into inaction. There was a slim chance they could slip out the door and into the TARDIS but they still wouldn't have the Horcrux. She couldn't rely on the generosity of the Goblins to deliver the offending item even if they did locate it in the vault. Standing and fighting would almost certainly lead to their demise. Voldemort was unlikely to enter the Alley alone, more than likely he had brought a fair number of his followers with him.

The Time Lady became acutely aware of several pairs of eyes on her, eagerly awaiting her response. As the seconds ticked by and it became apparent that she wasn't acting, the tension in the atmosphere increased. Fortunately Romana was saved by the purposeful voice of Harry beside her, "We'd better see what he wants".

"Mate, are you crazy?" Ron gasped, "he's probably brought his entire army with him".

"I don't see too many other options", Harry replied, "we can't risk him entering the bank, too many lives would be lost". Romana slipped out of her mental funk long enough to notice the surprised looks on the faces of the Goblins. Not too many wizards stood up for the creatures, maybe this noble act could be turned to their advantage. Assuming they lived long enough to continue their negotiation.

Romana was happy to see Harry take the lead out of the bank, content to slip into the supporting role for the next few minutes. Exiting through the heavy doors, Romana's worst fears were confirmed. There must've been two dozen Death Eaters blocking their path down Diagon Alley. Stretching out her time sense, the Time Lady could also feel a dozen more in hidden inside some of the abandoned shops. They were cornered and Romana knew it, "Harry Potter", hissed in delight, "our meeting today is most fortunate".

"I'm glad to be of service" Harry scowled in return, "let's skip the pleasantries Tom and get on with the true reason for your appearance".

From her position beside Harry, Romana could feel the malice rolling off Voldemort. She found it hard to concentrate on the Dark Lord though, his very presence felt wrong. He felt like a fixed point in time stretching out into eternity, yet at the same time he also felt dead. Romana guessed it was a side effect of the Horcruxes, he was dead yet also alive at the same time. She tried to keep her gaze on the monstrosity but it was incredibly hard.

Harry and Voldemort traded jibes for a couple of minutes but strangely the Dark Lord and his followers didn't make a move on the trio or the bank. Voldemort wasn't stupid, he must've had a vague idea why they were here. Clearly he didn't want to risk the wrath of the Goblins in case they looked into his followers vault. This might be something Romana could use to her advantage. It was time to take a leaf out of the Doctor's book and poke this dangerous situation with a stick, "As much as I love this witty banter could we move this along before I die of old age", Romana called out, "and believe me, that'll be an impressive feat".

Romana could feel several pairs of eyes glare in her direction. Instinctively her hand went to the Sonic Blaster positioned on her hip, she might be able to get a few shots off before the Death Eater knew what hit them, "Ah yes, the mudblood who thinks she's an alien", the Dark Lord smirked, much to the amusement of his followers. Romana could clearly pick out the cackling hyena laugh of Bellatrix Lestrange amongst the gathered mass of dark robes, "Tell me, what makes you think you can possibly challenge me?" Voldemort taunted.

Suppressing her urge to vomit at the nausea just being in the presence of Voldemort, Romana returned the Dark Lord's stare intensely, "Hundreds of years of experience", the Time Lady shrugged. She then broke into a small chuckle, "It's funny, you strived for eternal life but believe me, living for centuries isn't all it's cracked up to be". That peaked the interest of the Dark Lord which amused Romana greatly, "Tell me, what do you know of the Time Lords?" she asked the gathered crowd.

"A myth", a scornful voice called out, "a whisper emanating from the Department of Mysteries telling of creatures who controlled time itself".

A small smile crossed Romana's lips, "Not sure if I like being described as a creature but then again you lot class werewolves and Veela as creatures so that shouldn't surprise me". A small murmuring of annoyance travelled through the gathered Death Eaters, "There is something about Time Lords that you might find interesting", Romana addressed Voldemort directly, "did you know that on suffering a fatal injury we can regenerate our bodies".

A cruel grimace flashed across Voldemort face as he waived some of his supporters back, "Romana what are you doing?" Harry whispered, watching carefully as Voldemort inched towards the bank.

"Buying us some time", Romana replied, "when I give the signal, head for the TARDIS".

"But what about the Horcrux?" Ron asked.

"It's not much use to us if we're dead", the Time Lady said carefully, "we'll have to fall back and think of something else". She paused, checking once again that her Blaster was ready to fire, "Maybe the Goblins will have a change of heart". The disbelieving snort from the two teens told its own story that perhaps generosity a little too much to hope for.

A loud cannon like blast brutally interrupted their conversation, "Good that got your attention", Voldemort stated, lowering his wand slowly, "assuming I believe this ludicrous tale of your", he directed that comment towards Romana, "how does someone learn this regeneration process?"

"Ludicrous tale?" Romana snorted, "I find your lack of faith disturbing your Lordship". She chuckled at her joke but no one else was smiling, "That was a Star Wars reference", she continued, "you Purebloods need to get out more". She didn't need to be psychic to feel the anger rolling off the Dark Lord, "Regeneration isn't something you can learn from a book, it's a genetic trait unique to the Time Lords".

"You mock me with your words girl", Voldemort growled.

"Girl? I'm four hundred and thirteen years old", Romana snapped, "I doubt you'll make it that far, even with your magically constructed body", she lowered her voice slightly, "or soul anchors". Voldemort's eyes widened, "By cheating death you've disturbed the natural order of time Thomas", she continued, "as a Time Lady, it's my duty to erase your stain from time".

Voldemort anger reached its peak and Romana instinctively reached for her weapon. Ron and Harry sensed this too, subtly reaching for their wands, "Then you will die, Time Lady", the Dark Lord spat, a nasty curse on the tip of his tongue.

Before Voldemort could act Romana fired her Blaster into the ground near his feet. The sonic blast shattered the stone pavement, sending large fragments of debris into the gathered Death Eaters. She rolled behind a pillar, firing indiscriminately into the sea of black robes, "This plan of yours Romana", Harry shouted over the spell fire, "I'm beginning to think we should've gone with ours instead".

Romana didn't reply but she was thinking the same thing, maybe breaking into Gringotts would've been a better idea than taking on dozens of murderous wizards. The trio were firing into the crowd, stunning spells from the boys and stun bolts from the Time Lady. Suddenly Romana saw an acid green curse flash past her ear and crash into the door of Gringotts. A Death Eater had tried to use the killing curse when her back was turned. Fortunately Harry hit him straight between the eyes with a stunner, sending the wizard tumbling through a nearby shop window.

The curse froze Romana in her tracks, she never thought about the consequences of getting hit with a killing curse. Would the spell trigger regeneration or would it cause actual death for the Time Lady? It began to dawn on her just how reckless this plan was. The colourful bolts from the various wizards began to bring back memories of the Time War, the battle for Arcadia and the constant bombardment of the sky trenches above Gallifrey. For what felt like an eternity Romana had lived under constant threat of death at the hands of the Daleks. This exchange of spell fire brought back horrible memories of the deaths of hundreds of her fellow Time Lords. The physical and mental pain of their psychic presence being extinguished was a horror that Romana could never forget.

Memories of that dark period flooded her senses and Romana could feel her chest tightening. Her breathing became rapid and her hands began to shake. She could feel her hearts thumping away inside her chest, threatening to burst out at any moment. Her breathing became so erratic that her respiratory bypass kicked in, saving her from blacking out in the middle of the Alley. She grasped her hands against the side of her head, begging for everything to stop. The Time Lady let out a silent cry, hoping to be released from her torment.

Romana was enveloped in mental darkness but something was trying to drag her back into the light. She could feel her body moving and someone trying to speak to her. Slowly she opened her eyes and looked into the concerned features of Ron, "You're alright", the red head suddenly pulled her into a tight hug, "I thought I lost you again", he gasped between panicked breaths.

Once Romana regained full uses of her senses, she relaxed into Ron's hug. She might not feel as strongly for the wizard as her human self did but that didn't stop her caring for him deeply. She could also see Harry crouched nearby, a startled look on his face, "We thought the worst when we couldn't see you breathing", the dark haired teen stated, "If you want to talk about something then we're all ears".

"Yeah that was a Time Lord thing", she left terribly embarrassed, panic attacks were something that happened to lesser species. Time Lords had evolved beyond such emotional responses and to breakdown in the middle of Diagon Alley was mortifying, "Thank you for the offer Harry but we've got more important things to worry about".

It then dawned on Romana that neither Harry nor Ron was defending themselves against spell fire. The pair were powerful wizards but not even they could defeat that many Death Eaters. The Time Lady stood up and noticed most of the dark wizards were still there and still firing spells in their direction, only none of them were reaching them. They were all being absorbed by some kind of invisible shield, "Lady Romana", the Time Lady recognised the voice of Ragnok the Goblin, "the Gringotts defences will not hold forever, I suggest that you come back inside". The trio didn't need to be told twice. The teen carefully pulled Romana off the cold floor and led her inside Gringott, leaving a seething Dark Lord silently screaming vengeance on the other side of the shield.

A/N - Wow, over 100 followers now and more than 60 favourites. Massive thank you everyone. Romana's panic might seem a little sudden but I don't think she's truly stopped and thought about the horror of the War until forced to by this fight.

Next time, Romana comes face to face with her unlikely saviour...