Q&A

Why is Harry not contemplating healing one of the only people he knows in this world?

Well, he can't. Sure, Harry is a wizard and an auror. But he isn't a healer… he only knows a few healing spells and he can't really do any potions he didn't bring with him. It would for example be impossible to get dragon scales in the Torchwood universe and he isn't Hermione. He wouldn't bring a magical library with him.

When will jack start believing Magic is real? And will Harry find his godfather?

You will have to read and see =)

Chapter NINE

"Ain't you happy you chose to join the team full-time?" Owen asked sarcastically as they the left the camp. "Why pour drinks in a nice warm pub when you can be out gathering firewood in the bloody countryside?"

Harry couldn't help but agree, he had had enough of camping during the war. He would have been happy never seeing a tent again for as long as he lived. Instead he ended up with muggle tents on the Welsh countryside while looking for possible aliens abducting humans. In the last five months 17 people had disappeared in the area. The police was lost and the case had caught Jack's eye somehow. One minute the missing people had been there and the other- gone.

Jack's brilliant idea to get to the bottom of it had been camping, without warning anyone on the team before hand. Had he known Harry would have brought his own tent, he wouldn't mind seeing Jack trying to explain it. After all it was bigger on the inside, fully furnished and went against almost every law of muggle physics.

Jack seemed to have decided that magic was merely a strong connection to the spirit world and nature that allowed certain people and creatures to manipulate it. It may seem like magic but in someway it was science, he was sure that if studied it could be explained. Hence he admitted to the possibility of a world where humans possessed some of the abilities the 'fairies' possessed and even that Harry came from it. He also believed Harry had played a key part in a war between people possessing these abilities, which they had dubbed magic. But magic in the 'magical' sense was not real.

He claimed it had to be a mutation that they weren't able to detect because it hadn't happened or started to happen in this universe so they wouldn't know where to look. Just like they hadn't know why some aliens were able to read minds while humans weren't. It had taken them nearly 300 years to figure out the answer. There was nothing magical about Harry, just different mutations and evolution that allowed him to do different things. It had taken him two days to come up with that answer after Harry had told him his life story. He should have known Jack's easy acceptance that day had been too easy. But instead of asking questions or voiced his scepticism he had come up with an explanation on his own in silence. Now whether Jack really believed his theory or if it was just him trying to rationalise what Harry told him Harry wasn't sure. One thing Jack however hadn't done was ask Harry if he could do any tests on him, not even non-invasive ones. Maybe he was afraid of the results.

Harry shook his head, analysing Jack would take far too much time, they needed to collect the firewood and get back. The thought had barely crossed his mind when Harry saw something move from the corner of his eye.

"Owen! Something is here." Harry warned. Hoping to catch sight of it again he carefully turning around in a circle. Owen on the other hand didn't move an inch; he was listening.

"There!" He suddenly yelled before taking of in the same direction he had pointed. Harry wasn't far behind. But somehow whatever had followed them had gotten away.

"Damn." Harry muttered to himself, however it wasn't seconded. Something had caught Owen's eye. Not far away from was a piece of white tarpaulin covering something. On instinct Harry's hand moved towards his wand rather than the gun as Owen moved closer. He caught himself a second before he raised it went for the gun instead.

With some hesitation Owen used a stick to push the white material away, revealing a human caucus stripped of not only its cloths and skin, but as far as Harry could see its organs too. But while Owen jumped back at the sight Harry only stared at it with emotionless eyes.

"We should call the others."

Minutes later the whole team was gathered around the body, Owen on his knees next to it. Harry, Jack and Tosh close by, listening to his findings, while Ianto put up the crime scene tape.

"So this is just a dump site?" Tosh asked as Owen finished his rapport. "Why now? Why here? We're too close."

"Maybe they didn't know and then we disturbed them so they ran away?" Owen offered.

"Maybe it's a warning from whatever it is that is responsible." Ianto suggested. "Not to go into their territory."

"Cause of death?"

"Impossible to tell. The body has been stripped of the flesh and body organ-" The next thing they heard were tire scratching cutting him off.

"Was that ours?" Tosh asked, looking at the direction the sound came from. Jack was off and running before any of the others had even moved.

By the time they reached the campsite tents were already run over and the car was disappearing in the distance.

"Fantastic." Owen said sardonically. "Now what do we do?"

"All our stuff was in there, there is nothing useful here." Tosh complained, glaring at Owen. "It's basic security protocol! Don't leave the keys in the car!"

"I'm sorry alright… I forgot. I'm human, I make mistakes."

"Looks like that body wasn't a warning." Jack commented, looking at Harry. "more of a decoy."

"That would mean they have been watching us the whole time we've been here."

"Tosh!" Jack called out. "Can you get a tracking signal?"

"Already done." Ianto told them, holing up a smartphone. "I took the liberty. It's currently 3.4 miles northwest from here. Seems to be parked."

"There is a small village in that area." Tosh informed them.

"Trap." Harry responded immediately.

"I was just thinking the same thing." Jack said before smiling cynically at them. "Anyone fancy a walk?"

50 minutes later the car was still parked in the village somewhere, not that there was much life there either. As far as they could see they were completely alone, it was almost as of they had entered a ghost town. Taking control Jack quickly sent Tosh and Owen off to find the car while he, Harry and Ianto went looking around town, more specifically the pub.

Like the streets the inside of the pub was completely deserted of people, not a single light was lit. Harry found it a little spooky to be honest, even Hogsmeade had been more lively at night during the war than this place. Ianto went behind the bar, there was still money in the cash register, it seemed like everybody had left in a hurry.

Guns at the ready all three of them started searching the premises, so far the only sign of life had been a buzzing fly in the kitchen. Following the noise Harry soon found himself staring at yet another decomposing body. Only this time not all the skin had been removed, it looked more human than the body in the woods.

"Jack, Ianto." Harry called out and within seconds both of them were there staring at the same sight as he was. Like in the woods Harry's eyes were blank, Jack's looked troubled, and Ianto horrified.

"What's going on here?" Harry whispered more to himself than the others but Jack answered, speaking just as quietly as Harry had.

"I don't know." A second later they heard the door downstairs slam shut making both Harry and Jack fly down the stairs while Ianto remained, staring at the body.

Moving from house to house they kept finding new human remains, almost all identical. All missing, if not all then most of, their skin and all organs. Harry didn't show any emotion as they moved on from one house, one body, to the other. At least not until they were greeted with a bang. Shock clouded Harry's eyes as he looked down and saw blood on his hand as he touched his stomach. Then he fell. He was vaguely aware of being moved and seeing Jack's face looking down at him. Maybe he could die after all; maybe he wasn't protected against muggle methods. He certainly felt like he was dying. Then, just as he was sure he would find himself back at King's Cross Station, the world cleared up again. He felt refreshed, energetic and with a renewed vigour he stood up. He tended to just absorb spells that would kill an ordinary wizard. That was it. This was something completely new. Soon he noticed Jack watching him, Harry couldn't really identify the look in his eyes. Shock? Awe? Curiosity?

"Is this what it's like when I come back?" Jack suddenly asked and suddenly his expression made sense.

"How- What- How is that possible?" A third unidentified voice yelled in near hysteria. That had to be his shooter. Following the source of the noise Harry saw a boy shaking in fear.

"Bulletproof vest." Harry told him calmly. "Don't worry about it, I'm fine."

"No! I saw the blood! You were dying!" Harry removed his shirt and walked up to the boy.

"See? I'm perfectly fine. The blood you saw wasn't real. It's all about perception." He added, knowing that whether he believed him or not at that moment he would eventually. It was the only thing that made sense. "Now, what's going on here?"

"Where is the vest then?"

"Can't you just be happy you aren't a murderer?" Harry glanced over at Jack. "Maybe you should…" That seemed to shake him out of whatever trance he had been in. The boy didn't have much to say, he didn't know much more than they did. Although he seemed determined to barricade the door.

"No, we will make base at the pub. Our friends are getting our car, they will meet us there." Again the boy seemed to disagree but saw the benefit of larger numbers and followed.

When they reached the pub Harry was greeted with a gun for the second time that day, though this time it didn't go off before Ianto lowered it and let them inside.

"I have barricaded the other doors." He told them. "I have tried to reach Tosh and Owen. They won't answer. Should we go after them?"

"Not until we know what we are dealing with." Jack told him.

"What if it's too late then?" The situation seemed to be getting to him.

"They are not children, they know what they are doing." Jack told them with absolute certainty. Ianto didn't buy it, and the boy's insistence that they were dead wasn't helping. Suddenly Ianto stopped and took a good look at Harry.

"What happened to your shirt?"

"It got bloody." Harry said and before he could stop him Ianto started unbuttoning his own.

"What are you doing?"

"It's fine, see I have a t-shirt underneath." He said as he finished unbuttoning it and handed Harry the shirt.

"Thanks." Harry smiled a little, before something outside caught his eye and he reached for his gun. "Did anyone else see that?" At the same time they could hear glass smashing at the other side of the house.

"Same one or different?" Ianto asked, all three of them now on alert. "He said they'd come back." He added glancing at the sleeping boy.

"Let's not jump to conclusions." Jack told them. "We don't know who they are or what their intentions are."

"I'd say it's rather obvious." Ianto disagreed, but he didn't get the chance to finish before the lights went out. "That's not good."

Seconds later someone or something was pulling at the basement door and Jack glanced over at Ianto. "You didn't check the cellar?"

"Thought I did." He replied just as Jack tore the door open and started shooting down into the darkness. Sometime during the madness that followed the boy was taken, pulled away from them. Noticing his disappearance Jack turned to Ianto and Harry. "I will take the one in the cellar. It hurt, it took three bullets. You follow Kieran." With a nod they were off.

TBC…