Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot and anything that isn't canon for either Harry Potter (JK Rowling) or Doctor Who (BBC). Also, the original Pixel, the Cat Who Walked Through Walls was created by Robert Heinlein, I just gave him a different origin. If you're weird enough to think I -do- own more than the plot and stuff of my own creation, I've got seven bridges I'd like to get off my hands.

Author's Note: In which the Rani is practical, and the Doctor has issues with ethical treatment of prisoners vs. the ultimate in safe imprisonment. And a timeskip. Also, the Doctor's timeline has now moved up to between Planet of the Ood and The Sontaran Strategem.

Thank you to all my readers and reviewers!


Chapter 8 - Foundations

A few hours after a surprisingly well-made meal, Harry was off to bed, complete with feline and avian companions, and the Rani was sitting on the glider out back. It jostled slightly when the Doctor joined her, but she kept her eyes on the treeline and smirked a bit.

"You've got a new tree, I see," he said, very nearly neutrally, though a hint of anger could still be discerned. "I thought you'd given up on those tree-mines of yours.

"Mmm. It isn't my fault," She wasn't in the mood for a fight, not after that decadent dessert (which nearly made up for being sent to nap like a child), so she attempted to explain in a way that wouldn't rile him. "And I never did give up on a perfectly-functional defense. I simply...modified it, with the help of Patraxas crystals, so that the mines would be triggered by intent rather than mere proximity."

"What?" He winced when she smacked him and hissed at him to keep his voice down, then rubbed his arm and frowned at the Rani. "You...you made your tree-mines intent-based?" He stared at her with a raised eyebrow. "I suppose you've scattered the mines all through the back for security?"

She smirked smugly at him. "Of course I have. I've even developed two levels of reaction. Trespassers that mean no harm get a dose of forgetfulness and a shove away from the house. Those who mean someone within the bounds harm become much more ecologically friendly." She leaned back and relaxed, toes lightly pushing at the flagstone of the patio.

Warily, the Doctor glanced sidelong at her and gave a light nudge that sent the glider into motion. "Rani...exactly how liberal is this definition of 'harm'?"

"Hmm?" She glanced at him, then shook her head and closed her eyes a moment. "Nothing you'd disapprove of. Anyone who means to injure or kill anyone resident here, or anyone who wants to abduct Harry is considered 'intending to harm'." She shrugged and opened her eyes again. "The month after you established us here, there was a veritable rash of intrusions...I've got a circle of laburnum further out that consisted of persons who wanted to torture and kill us. As well as some other trees."

"And you could tell this how? Did you turn them back and question them?" He really was grateful that one other Time Lord was still alive, and even being (mostly) well-behaved, but sometimes he just wanted to shout at the Rani and shake her and make her see why she just couldn't do things like that so callously. Even if she was only acting in actual self-defense this time.

"The Patraxas crystals, of course. They turn blue if they've dealt with an idiot, red if someone was intending to abduct, and black if the person or persons were intending to commit injury or death." If only the Doctor would be more practical about issues such as these, instead of so incredibly moral, she'd find him much easier to be around.

"I should like to see that for myself. Especially as regards your latest tree."

"What, right now?" She turned to look at him, and he nodded. "Oh very well. Do you have a torch on you?"

"Yep," he said as he stood, then offered her a hand while he shuffled about in a pocket. "Always keep one on me...oh wait, that's the sonic." He dug about a bit more, then came up with a torch and clicked it on. "There we go! Now, lead on and let's see about your tree-security."

She swatted at his proffered hand, stood, and lead the way. Once they reached the new tree, she frowned at how close the person had gotten to the house and mumbled to herself. "...I'm going to have to start mining the patio, I think..." She then pointed to the triggered mine and the crystal atop it. "See? It's black, which means that this cretin," She paused and flicked one of the branches of the new yew tree. "meant to seriously damage or kill myself, Harry, or...possibly you, since you've been here almost a month this time."

The Doctor looked over the yew and watched it tremble in the still air, then eyed the mine the Rani had pointed out. He then found another for comparison and nodded. "Very clever. But you really should question them and arrange for their arrest."

She snorted and rolled her eyes at him. "Idiot. It's far too late for the laburnum circle and the juniper...and I believe it's too late for the elder, the witch hazel and the holly. Changing them back now would be just changing a tree into an approximation of a person with no mind and maybe a memory or two if they were lucky. This particular cretin," she waved at the new yew to illustrate, "I could change back with no deleterous side effects for up to six months. But I fail to see the need. He or she came here to attempt pain or death, and I'm not curious enough to want to know which of us the attempt was against."

The Doctor heaved an exasperated sigh. "Rani, you can't play judge, jury and executioner-"

"Why not? You do it all the time," she interrupted, sharply. "Besides, it's my peace of mind and Harry's safety at stake, so I'd think you'd be pleased I wasn't killing them." She flicked the yew again and watched it cringe away. "I could, you know. It would be very easy to simply lay mines that...well, were mines. And then I'd have a well-mulched and fertilized backyard."

"Rani, enough. Now turn this idiot back into a human so we can find out his purpose."

"And when he tells you who he was going to kill, am I going to be allowed to turn him into a tree again? Or are you going to trust your pet humans in UNIT to deal with someone who can do what Harry can, and has likely had years to refine his talent?"

The Doctor stood there with his mouth open, trying to find an argument that would stop the Rani from being so casual about her prisoner. But she was right, to an extent - he couldn't hand someone with Harry's talent over to UNIT. Not even with all the experience they'd gotten while he'd been exiled on Earth and after - they'd be more vastly outgunned than they'd know how to expect. And it wasn't like they could call up the 'magical' police either; they had no method to do so, nor did they have any reason to trust that the prisoner wouldn't escape or be let loose on a technicality to come back and be made a tree again. Not to mention, what would the magical police do to the Rani for making someone into a tree without being 'magical' herself? And even if they were fine with the tree-thing...what about Harry? They'd probably try and take him from her, and while he ordinarily would pay to see that sort of confrontation, he'd just gotten her to calm down about Harry's future departure. So even if they could contact the 'magical' police, since they'd likely try to kidnap Harry, they weren't an option.

He sighed and ran his hands through his hair, tugging lightly at the end of the movement. "I don't like it, Rani. There has to be another way of keeping prisoners safe that doesn't involve them losing what little remains of their humanity."

"None that I care to risk as they all have too great a chance of escape, and thusly a danger that they would return in greater force."

"Couldn't you put them in stasis or something? Do you have to leave them as trees to lose their minds?"

"Fitting punishment for trying to kill myself or my son. And even putting you at more risk than you get yourself into on your own is unacceptable." She wrinkled her nose at him and snorted. "Harry likes you too much to allow that." She waved at the yew, but didn't touch it. "Did you want to interrogate or no?"

"Only Harry likes me that much, hmm? I suppose you're just putting up with me because of him?" For an instant, one might have thought the Doctor was actually a bit hurt by that idea, but the next second, his mood shifted to a grim one, and he nodded. "Yes, I think I'd better."

"I've gotten used to you being about, idiot." She heaved an exasperated sigh, then dug in the pockets of her long coat until she came up with a hypospray. "Give me a moment, then you can quiz the cretin to your hearts' content."

The next few minutes were rather busy ones, not that the Rani would ever remember everything that occurred. The moment the yew became human again, the Doctor was flicked away with a wave of a stick, and before the Rani could do anything, the dark-garbed twit pointed that stick at her, shouted 'Crucio', and pain was her world until it suddenly ended. In fact, the next clear moment of awareness after the pain stopped was being cradled in the Doctor's arms while he whispered "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry."

"...when I find out what that was, I'm going to turn that foul walking dungheap back into a tree, chop the tree down down and burn it." She made a noise that she would forever after refuse to admit was a whimper and rode out a round of muscle spasms in the Doctor's arms. "And do hush before a headache joins the rest of the pain I'm in. I ought to have had something to hand to deal with the future bonfire."

"Hush?" he asked, softly, the question tinged with guilt. "It's all my fault - if I'd not forced you to turn him back, you'd never have been hurt, and you want me to hush?" He gently stroked the hair back from her face and readjusted his hold. "I shouldn't have pushed you - not without more adequate security measures ready. You...he hurt you so badly...you were...I've never heard anyone scream like that before, not from just a word."

She swallowed and winced at the residual burn that proved that yes, she had been screaming, quite loudly. "It hurt quite a lot, as you can imagine. It was..." She paused and rode out a briefer round of muscle spasms, then stayed silent a moment or two longer, attempting to order her thoughts. "It was as though every nerve in my body was activated to carry signals of excruciating pain. I wasn't aware of anything else other than the pain." Although it hurt, she leaned her head back to look up at him. "So, what happened to end it? And where is the cretin?"

He shifted his hold again, to support her change of position, then shook his head. "Well, I went flying, you remember that?" When she made a noise to admit that yes she did remember, he continued. "Well, while he was...erm,"

"Distracted?" She smirked up at him. He was so amusing when he was sheepish - she almost wanted to draw the moment out longer. But she really did want to know what happened, so she settled back and attempted to control the next round of muscle spasms.

The Doctor boggled at the woman in his arms for a moment. Distracted? All that agony she went through (and was still suffering) and she called herself and her suffering a distraction? She was way too practical - he'd have to try and do something about that. But later - if he didn't finish summarizing, she'd be liable to hit him. Or something more vicious. He ignored her amused smile at the faces he'd been making with his reaction and continued. "Yes, well. While he was...distracted...I...well, I blindsided him into another mine. It was all I could think of to make sure he stopped."

"You pushed him into another mine. Why Doctor, how very...practical of you." She laughed, softly, at the face he made for that, then winced and curled a little tighter into his lap. "Well, since he's no longer a threat to worry about, I don't suppose you'd care to get me back to the glider and then go make sure all the noise didn't wake Harry?"

The Doctor scowled down at the Rani, annoyed with her for a number of reasons. But only one precluded his doing exactly what she asked, and since she would forcibly hold off regenerating to find out how Harry was, he couldn't very well insist she allow him to tend to her first just because she was in pain. Not without even more arguing and delays in treating her.

He stood, carefully, and carried her back to the glider where he was met by two distraught cats and one half-grown kit. Two and a half feline scoldings later, he was finally allowed to go inside and upstairs to check on Harry. Who had amazingly enough slept through all the screaming, though he attributed that to Quaiz and Hedwig, both of whom were awake and on edge. He murmured softy and reassuringly to them both, double-checked to make sure Harry really was properly asleep, then went back downstairs to argue the Rani into allowing herself to be properly tended to. And to reassure her that he wasn't going to say anything much anymore about what would happen to anyone who'd come with the intent to harm. Not after what she'd just been through - despite his original opinion, he'd come to the conclusion that anyone who became a tree while intending to harm Harry or the Rani could just stay a tree and be done with it.


The next two years passed in a relatively sane fashion. The Doctor had named Xeles' kit Pixel, then acted surprised when he started walking through walls, doors and other barriers. She had been rather surprised at that herself - she'd expected the offspring of a Gallifreyan cat and an Arcerateran teleporting cat to...well, teleport. Instead, it seemed as though Pixel eeled between the molecules of whatever barrier was in his way. Or at least she and Harry hypothesized the method - they never could catch Pixel in the act. The Doctor wasn't quite as concerned with the how as to the why - Pixel was very taken with the Doctor, and was attempting to claim him.

As well, the Doctor had taken to traveling again, and picked up another human to travel with. Fortunately, Donna was usually more than tolerable, reasonably intelligent, and didn't put up with any of the Doctor's nonsense. Harry liked her too, and enlisted Donna's aid in convincing the Doctor to accept Pixel's adopting. They hadn't succeeded yet, but they were both amused by the Doctor's reactions. And Pixel's antics in attempting to claim the Doctor were just as amusing. He'd give in, it was only a matter of time.

It was interesting to talk to Donna, the Rani admitted, even if the woman would come up with difficult subjects to discuss. Not to mention, Donna had a way of making even her feel uncomfortable - this despite the woman's own lack of self-esteem. Somehow, Donna just knew what to say, when to say it, and wouldn't let anything stand in her way while she was determined to get her point across. Such as one uncomfortable discussion regarding how the Rani treated the Doctor.

"Look," Donna had said, about her third visit. "It's not that I object to you calling the Doctor an idiot - God knows I call him that myself. But...you don't ever see the look on his face when you tell him he's only wanted for Harry's sake."

The Rani had raised an eyebrow and stared at Donna for a solid minute, but when the woman didn't even twitch, she sighed. "The Doctor and I have a long and checkered history, Donna. And we aren't the sort that could be happy together for long periods of time, much less settle down and raise ten or twelve children." She'd snorted, then, and shaken her head. "And it's not like I haven't said I'd miss him if he never came back, I have."

"Yeah," Donna had drawled, "but apparently both he and I have missed it. Maybe, since he's such an oblivious prawn, you could try telling him outright that you'd miss him? Or even tell him to hurry back without mentioning Harry? It'd do both of us a world of good - he'd stop moping around for hours after we leave, and I could stop worrying about jollying him out of being a mopey git."

Telling the Doctor 'just because you're a stupid git doesn't mean I don't miss having you about, so come back soon or I shall have to stalk you and hurt you' probably wasn't what Donna had meant, but according to a phone call made later, the idiot wasn't nearly such a mopey git after they'd left and was, actually, reasonably cheerful. So all was well on that front.

And the study front as well, so long as she could keep Harry focused on his studies, and not running experiments all the time with the things others had determined his abilities capable of. He was already at University level in all of his normal studies, and well past in some - maths and physics of varying categories being the main, though his chemistry and biology wasn't far behind. The Rani was rather strict during lessons, because the idiot wizards and witches didn't pay attention to the sciences at all, and she didn't want Harry to lag horribly far behind whenever he did finally go away. It would probably be this year, the year Harry turned eleven, and she wasn't going to let Harry get away with being an idiot just because wizards and witches were.

A different set of lessons that were harder for Harry to master and always had been, were the attempts to teach Harry what Time Lords were capable of doing. He had superior reflexes and stamina, but he never could step sideways or speed or slow his perceptions of Time without an enormous amount of emotional stress. He knew the disciplines, it was simply that his body was mostly human, while his mind was more than part Time Lord. She could have done something about that, but it would have lead to more problems than it would have solved, so she simply had to let it be and console Harry with the knowledge that he could do it, it was just incredibly difficult.

Perceiving was easier, being one of the wholly mental disciplines, though he never did get even the details that she did, much less the Doctor when he was paying attention. At least Harry would know when something was going wrong, and he could use his studies of magical and non-magical history to try and determine exactly what the problem was. From there he could either fix it on his own, or call for help...if they could ever get a mobile to work in high-energy fields.

So really, other than practicing and continued study, all there was left to do that could be done was wait and see how these wizards collected their students. And celebrate Harry's eleventh birthday, hopefully celebrating first.