A Doc, A Bookworm, and a Box
Author's Note: I just got back from my yearly pilgrimage to the anime convention! Went this time with my best bud, who dressed quite charmingly as 11, his wife (who made a decent Amy Pond) and went myself first as River Song, and shedding my glasses and Sonic Screwdriver later to don the 16 foot scarf I knitted to be the 4th Doctor. The reaction we got was wonderful, we met lots and lots of other great Who fans, and exchanged a few e-mail addresses and an invitation to another con in September. Should be loads of fun! I can't wait.
A Loaded Deck
Hermione sat at the wide kitchen table, hands wrapped around a steaming mug of tea. Across from her sat Sarah Jane Smith, a woman who she hadn't seen since she was ten, and beside her was a tousle-haired boy of fourteen. Beneath the table, in rest mode, was the robotic dog K-9. The four of them were silent as she nervously sipped her Earl Gray, until finally Sarah Jane reached out, putting her hand on Hermione's.
"I'm sorry. I'm trying to be patient here, but there are some things I need to know," said Sarah Jane, eyes wide with concern.
Hermione nodded. "Go ahead," she said.
Sarah Jane took a deep breath, withdrawing her hand and twining them together on top of the hard oak. "Right. Well first things first, I should probably tell you that I know you're a witch."
"Ah," said Hermione.
"And I'm not technically your godmother," she added. "It's an honorary title, really. You see, I heard about the incidents at your primary school and traced them back to you."
"I see," said Hermione. She sat the mug back down on the kitchen table. She glanced up at Sarah Jane, feeling the longing for her parents intensify in a way she had tried to ignore for the better part of the last several years.
"I already knew about the magical world. For the most part, I try and leave it alone," she said. "My concern is…well…more alien, if you catch my drift."
Hermione very well knew what Sarah Jane was talking about, but for the sake of recent events that were still a little too fresh to let on to she decided to let that one go. "So what made you get involved with me?" said Hermione.
Sarah Jane sighed. She picked up her own cup of tea and sipped gingerly at it as she collected her thoughts. "I suppose it was because, in a way, you reminded me very much of myself. You were eight, remember? And you had it all figured out before I ever met you. You knew you were a witch. And you were so proud of it. In a way I felt it my responsibility to make sure it never stopped being…well, magical."
"That can't be all," said Hermione. She leaned forward, eyes meeting with Sarah Jane's. "Tell me the truth."
Sarah Jane's lip quirked into a half-smile. "Well, if you must know, I once met a girl named Lily Evans. She told me a very interesting story about a time-traveling witch named Hermione."
"Do you believe in time-travel?" Hermione asked.
The young boy gasped, a sound that made Sarah Jane glance over at him with concern. "I do," she said finally.
Hermione sat back, taking a deep breath. "I met a man," she said. "It was barely six months ago, by my time, but five years ago by the rest of the world's. The Doctor."
Now it was Sarah Jane's turn to gasp. She sat up, staring at Hermione. "You didn't!" she said, hand on her heart.
"You know him?" said Hermione.
"Oh, indeed," said Sarah Jane. "I traveled with him, oh, a long time ago now. And not so very long ago, as well," she said.
"A small world," said Hermione.
Sarah Jane shook her head. "No, Hermione. There's no such thing as coincidence, especially not where the Doctor is concerned. There's got to be more to this…although what there is I'm beyond the ability to tell you."
"Well, it doesn't matter now," said Hermione. "We've parted ways, so to speak. I doubt I'll ever see him again."
A few thousand light-years away, the Doctor was staring sullenly at the coat rack next to the TARDIS door. One of Hermione's official robes was hanging from it, swaying gently with the movement of the ship. "She's better off," he said sullenly. He jumped up suddenly, picking up the robe and swinging the door open, preparing to pitch it out.
He stopped himself, staring down at the swatch of black fabric. With a sigh he closed the door back, returning the robe to the rack.
"What's the use of trying to go back for her?" he said aloud. There was no response from the empty ship, and he leaned his head against the wall, closing his eyes. "It's going to be over soon," he said, again aloud. The echo of his own voice came back around to meet him.
There was a sudden beep. The Doctor moved away from the wall and glanced down at it. "Oh, no," he said slowly, staring at the anomaly in the readout. "I should leave this alone," he said. Then he grinned madly, spinning around the console as he put in coordinates, pulling at levers and pressing buttons. The TARDIS pitched wildly and he was once again propelled toward earth.
And, he hoped, to Hermione.
"So what can you tell me about the war?"
Hermione glanced up at Sarah Jane. "What do you know about the war?" she asked.
"Mostly that it was a two-parter," she said.
A little over a month had passed since Hermione first arrived on Sarah Jane's street. Though it would have been easy enough to go back to the Ministry and fight for her old job, Hermione hadn't quite had the heart to explain away a multi-year disappearance. So instead, she had joined Sarah Jane in her investigations. They were, at the moment, in the library, poring over books in an attempt at rounding up her latest investigation.
"Did you ever hear about the boy named Harry Potter?" asked Hermione.
"I knew a James Potter," said Sarah Jane. "And I'm supposing that Harry is the son of Lily and James…the one you told Lily would one day defeat Voldemort."
"How exactly do you know all this?" asked Hermione.
"I got to know the Order of the Phoenix very well in the old days," she said, sitting proudly upright. "I was sort of a muggle liaison, so to speak," she said. "I considered it my duty to be able to warn the rest of the world if we were in imminent danger."
"So you knew most of them?" asked Hermione, more than a little impressed.
"Oh, Lily and James certainly. Mostly Lily, actually, since she was born muggle. We had a bit in common. And Remus…a werewolf! How I wanted him to meet the Doctor," she said, smiling and laughing. "You know, most sources indicate there are at least three different sources of lycanthropy in existence here on earth. And the royal family show traces of one of them."
"No way!" laughed Hermione.
"Absolutely." Sarah Jane sat back, brushing the dust from her hands as she replaced a handful of books on an empty shelf. "How did that old wolf end up? I was quite fond of him."
"Ah," said Hermione. She was silent as she pulled down another book from a higher shelf.
"I see," said Sarah Jane.
"So then you must know Sirius?" said Hermione.
Sarah Jane dropped an armful of books onto the floor, yelping in surprise. Hermione took a step back. "What is it?" she asked.
"Oh, nothing," said Sarah Jane, flushing. "Just a name I hadn't heard in a very long time."
"Hold on," said Hermione. She put the book back and moved over to Sarah Jane. "You know him, don't you?"
"What do you mean by 'know'?" said Sarah Jane. "I heard he went to Azkaban prison. Isn't that a death sentence for your kind?" There was an uncharacteristic bite in her voice that sent chills up Hermione's spine.
"Usually," said Hermione. "He escaped. Why?"
"No reason," said Sarah Jane. She took a deep breath, turning to face Hermione. "Oh, it was far too long ago and far too stupid of me. I had a…a thing with him."
"A thing?" said Hermione. Her mouth fell open in shock. "You and Sirius Black? That old dog!"
"It was a long time ago," said Sarah Jane. "And I'm not exactly proud that I planned to marry a traitor."
"You WHAT?" Now it was Hermione's turn to stumble over her words. She sat right down on the floor where she'd been standing. "I can't believe it! And he's not a traitor, far from it," added Hermione.
"You knew Sirius?" asked Sarah Jane.
"Of course I know him. I saved his life, twice," she said.
"Oh. Oh my," she said.
"I could send him a message if you'd like," said Hermione. "I'm certain he'd be happy to hear from you."
"That will not be necessary," said Sarah Jane, blushing. "I've had a few too many 'blasts from my past' lately."
"But you were going to marry him!" said Hermione.
"Who were you going to marry?" Luke came walking into the library, setting his backpack down on the large desk toward one side of the room.
"None of your business!" said Sarah Jane.
"In her defense, she didn't know he was an alien," said Luke to Hermione.
"That's not what we were talking about!" said Sarah Jane pointedly.
"You were going to marry an alien?" said Hermione.
"Enough!" Sarah Jane stood up straight, fisting her hands at her waist. "We will have no more on this subject. Hermione, I think the book you're looking for is on the fourth shelf under 'Alien Hybrids'. And Luke, don't you have homework to do?"
Luke rolled his eyes and left the room, while Hermione found it best to drop the subject while she dug out the book Sarah Jane had pointed out to her. "I don't know why you can't just meet him," she mumbled.
"Drop it," warned Sarah Jane. Hermione sighed. There were too many things that, just at the moment, she herself wasn't prepared to talk about. It was best to leave it alone.
For now.
"Can you get me that Resonating Postulator?" Jack stood up at the workbench, pulling the wires out of a large metallic device that was hanging from the rafters in Torchwood Institute. Ron yawned, picking up a thin disc covered in wires and handed it to him.
"Can't you get Gwen to help you with this? I have plans," said Ron.
"I'm busy!" shouted a female voice from the other side of the room. Nearby, Ianto Jones shrugged.
"I was going to go visit my godson," said Ron. This stopped Jack in his place, staring into the belly of the device for a long moment until, finally, he sighed. "All right," he muttered. "We'll work on this some more tomorrow," he said, tipping a wrench in Ron's direction as he whooped excitedly, dropping everything he was doing as he rushed off in the direction of the back room.
"That boy's going to get in trouble, one of these days," said Jack.
"If he spends enough time with you yeah, he will," said Gwen.
"Nonsense," said Jack, grinning. Gwen rolled her eyes just as Ron returned to the room.
"What's all this about?" asked Ron, glancing from Ianto to Gwen to Jack.
"Just talking about you, again," said Jack, clapping him on the shoulder. "Magic boy."
"I'm a wizard," sniffed Ron, raising his chin up a notch. "Don't call me 'magic boy'."
"What about Merlin?" piped up Ianto from across the room. "I quite like that."
"Why would you call me that?" said Ron, blinking in surprise. "That's like calling you King Henry or something."
"But King Henry was real," insisted Ianto. Ron stared at him for a moment, with Jack raising his eyebrows and shrugging along. "What, you mean he is real? I'll never get used to you," he opined. "Magic boy."
"Now, now girls, don't fight," said Gwen with a laugh. "Come on Ron, you'd better get headed on out. "
Ron waved at the three of them, when all of a sudden a loud siren blasted through the room, sending all of them crashing to the ground as the alien implements that filled the space began to vibrate wildly out of control. "What the hell is that?" shouted Gwen.
"Something's gone wrong!" said Jack. He began to move toward the display panel. Ron, who was a little closer to the monitor, managed to pull himself to his knees, whipping out his wand.
"Accio gravity accelerator!" he called out. A small metallic device came sailing into his hand and Ron pressed it to the floor, pressing a button. The device stuck, and Ron used it to pull himself up, repeating the process until he managed to reach the console. He tossed it back to Jack, and urgently began to look at the readout. "It's coming from the veil room!" he said, staring in wonder as the small monitor screen showed wisps of black shadow escaping from the arch.
"What the hell is going on?" said Jack, who had reached the screen and was staring at the same display.
"I don' t know. We've been studying that bloody thing for five years and still haven't got anything figured out," said Ron. "And the Department of Mysteries has been at it for even longer than that."
Jack didn't answer. He was staring at the veil, a look of horror on his face. "First the earth gets transported straight across the universe and then this," said Jack. "I think I'm ready for a vacation."
"Hold on, something's happening." Gwen and Ianto had managed to find their ways over and were staring at the veil.
"Something's coming out. Not those Cyberthings again?" said Ron.
"No." Jack swallowed nervously. "No, not Cybermen."
"How on earth is that possible?" said Gwen. Her eyes were wide. Now standing in front of them on the monitor were three men and a woman—near identical copies of themselves.
"Another late night?" Ginny came into the room where Harry sat at his desk, staring at the scrolls before him.
"Yeah. A lot of work to do," he said. He removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose and then, out of habit, rubbed at the old scar on his forehead. "Go on to bed without me," he said. "I don't want you to stay up for my benefit."
Ginny hemmed to herself, leaning over and kissing Harry on the top of his head. "Still no idea why Ron didn't show up?" she asked.
"Torchwood business, probably," said Harry. "I still don't know why he hasn't taken up an official membership with the Institute."
"Because that lot would be more prone to study him than anything," said Ginny. "Besides, after his little fling with Jack ended it would make things sort of awkward, wouldn't it?"
Harry flushed bright red. It was still hard to think about one of his best friends in the context of a non-traditional relationship, though he was the one who had done his best to encourage it in the first place. Not that Ron was admitting anything, anytime soon.
"He'll be interested in knowing Hermione's come back," said Ginny pointedly. Harry looked up at her, taking a deep breath.
"Do you still think…I mean, I know a lot has changed, but he really did love her," said Harry.
"He always will. But it's different now," said Ginny. "I sometimes think of the life we'd have had if she'd never gone off to…to wherever it is she went off to," she said. "It would all be different. I know that for certain."
"It would," confirmed Harry. He replaced his glasses. "I think—" he began, but the statement was lost. There was an urgent tapping at the window and Harry turned. A thick piece of paper folded up like an airplane was ramming itself against the glass. Harry opened it up and the parchment, now totally torn and bent out of shape, fell listlessly on the floor. Harry bent down and picked it, reading it twice before his face went white.
"I'm needed," he said simply. He opened his mouth, pausing. "I…I'm not certain how serious this is," he said. "It's about Ron."
"Then go," said Ginny. Harry nodded and, apparating in a flash, appeared on a lonely cylinder block in the middle of Cardiff. There were at least a dozen people milling around, and none seemed to have noticed that he'd just appeared out of nowhere. Harry barely had time to take notice of this when he felt the ground shift and begin to move beneath him, taking him downward into the earth.
As he approached the first level he heard the siren. The ground began to shake beneath him and he scrambled across the ground before he was pitched forward. Ron reached out and grabbed him by the collar of his robes.
"About time you got here," he said. "Look."
Harry glanced at the computer monitor. There were several figures on the screen. He shouted as the one towards the front turned, her face illuminated by the camera.
"That's Ginny!" he said in horror and amazement.
"And Ianto, and Jack, and Gwen and me," said Ron, pointing to more of the figures. "And look…that's you, over there. And Sirius."
"What the bloody hell is going on?" said Harry.
"I don't…wait," said Ron. They all looked to the monitor as another figure came stepping out of the veil. "Bloody hell. That's Hermione." He pointed to the woman who had just stepped out. She turned slowly and looked directly at the computer screen, reaching out with one hand. "I have to go," he said suddenly and began to turn when both Harry and Jack caught him.
"We don't know what we're dealing with here," said Jack.
"We should call her," said Harry. He was staring at the people on the monitor. "Are those doors sealed Jack?"
"For now," he said.
Harry nodded. "All right. I'm calling my people. You call yours," said Harry. Ron glanced at the both of them as they peeled off in different directions, finally deciding to take off after Harry.
"Are you getting the Ministry involved?" said Harry.
"No. We need an expert on that bloody veil," he said.
"And who were you thinking?"
Harry ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head. "Who else? Sirius."
"We have an emergency." Sarah Jane knocked on the door to Hermione's room.
"Wha-?" Hermione looked up from her desk.
"At Torchwood. We need to go."
"What? Both of us?" she said in surprise.
Sarah Jane tossed Hermione her handbag. "Just let me grab my coat," she said. "Luke will be all right."
Hermione nodded and, slipping the bag over one shoulder, stood up. She waited for Sarah Jane until she came back into the room, extending one arm for Hermione to take. "Are you ready?" she asked as she gripped her hand. Sarah Jane nodded, and squeezing her eyes shut tight she apparated them both to Cardiff.
Both women shrieked as the ground suddenly began to shake beneath them. "What's going on?" asked Hermione.
"It's about that veil!" said Sarah Jane.
"The veil?" Hermione gasped. "What the—oh!" the ground rocked again. To her surprise, and dismay, people continued walking along without seeming to notice that there was anything going on. "Here, right here!" she said suddenly, noticing the spot on the ground where a perception filter had been placed. She pulled Sarah Jane over to it and they both began moving downward.
Hermione moved through the darkness and into the heart of Torchwood. The first thing she saw was Harry and Ron, along with an older man in a greatcoat, huddled around a television monitor. She darted over, ignoring the shaking ground. "What is this?" she asked.
"Something's come out of the veil. Look," said Harry, pointing at the screen. Hermione stared in wonder at the duplicates, her heart beginning to hammer a staccato in her chest.
"Hey, Hermione. Nice to see you again," said Ron.
Hermione looked over at Ron, who was staring at her owlishly.
"Pretty good. Given the circumstances," she added. "Hold on, is that me?" she said, pointing at her down double.
"Yeah. And she seems to be in charge."
"I don't get it," said Hermione. "What could be going on? It's not magical, it can't be."
"It's not alien. At least, not completely," said Jack. "Those people down there, they have traces of magic all over them."
Hermione spun round to stare at Jack, who shot her his most charming grin and extended his hand. "Hello, Captain Jack—"
"Now is not the time!" hissed Gwen, nudging him in the ribs.
They were all standing around debating when there was a loud noise from the lift and, all of a sudden, a loud barking. "Sirius!" shouted Harry, spinning around as an enormous black dog trotted away from the lift and toward Harry, becoming a man as he walked. Hermione glanced Sarah Jane's way and saw that her face had gone pale. Wisely she placed herself between the two of them, reaching back to squeeze her hand.
"Just hang on," she whispered, as Sirius strode over to the group.
"What is this?" he said. Sarah Jane shifted behind Hermione as Sirius came over, glancing into the monitor. Harry quickly apprised him of the situation. Sirius nodded slowly.
"So, there was more to the old veil after all," he said, scratching his head.
"But what?" said Jack. "We've been researching this thing for years and haven't found a damn clue about what's going on with it."
"I think this counts as a clue," said Ron.
"Nice going, Sherlock," said Ianto with a small agitated shrug. "I'd have never figured that out."
"No need to get testy," said Hermione. "Look, we just…" She trailed off when she took another glance in the monitor. The group of doubles was now in deep conversation. Hermione felt a tremor go through her when her own double stopped and glanced up, staring directly into the camera. She pointed her finger and started whispering something. Then, all of a sudden, the screen went blank.
"What's going on?" said Harry.
"They're planning something." Hermione took a deep breath and released it. "We need to figure out what we're going to do next. We need…"
All of a sudden there was a rushing, roaring sound that stopped every single person in their tracks. Hermione's eyes widened. Jack clapped his hands and hooted excitedly. Behind Hermione, Sarah Jane gasped and the rest all turned, looking for the source of the sound.
"What you need is a Doctor," said a familiar voice.
Ignoring the fact that she could barely keep steady on the moving ground, Hermione burst into a run that carried her straight across the room and into outstretched arms of the Doctor. "I knew you couldn't stay away," she said, her voice muffled as she buried her face in his jacket.
"I missed you to," he said, smiling. He allowed himself the indulgence of holding her for several moments, then released her. "Right! Now what's going on here?" he said, clapping his hands.
There was a sudden explosion from the depths of the holding cell and every light in the room went black. There was a brief pause, then a sudden barrage of whispers as four wands and two sonic devices went up in the air, filling the room with a faint glow. Hermione glanced over and saw Sarah Jane and Sirius staring directly into each other's eyes.
"Sarah Jane!" said Sirius. "What one earth are you doing here?" he said.
"No time for chatter," said Jack. "We have a horrible, potentially catastrophic disaster to avert." He glanced over at the Doctor. "Just like old times, eh?" he said with a wink.
The Doctor grinned and winked back, then pushed through the group and past a bewildered Sirius to the computers. He yanked open one of the panels, doing something with his Sonic Screwdriver. "It's been corrupted with high amounts of magical energy," he said. "Hermione, wand."
She handed it to him without question and he connected it to the Sonic Screwdriver, sending a burst of energy into the hard drive. After a few moments the screen flickered back to life and the veil was once again onscreen. "Oh no," he said. "This isn't good."
The entire center of the veil had gone black. "It's the nothing space," said Hermione. "It's…what? Spreading?"
"No," said the Doctor. "It's feeding. When you destroyed the holding chamber…the prison…it must have torn a hole into another of the parallel dimensions contained within the void. And it started feasting."
"So those doubles," said Ron. "They come from there?"
The Doctor froze. He slowly stood up and turned to stare at Ron. "Doubles?" he said. "What do you mean, doubles?"
"He means us, Doctor."
Unbeknownst to anyone, the door to the holding chamber had vanished. A woman that looked in every way like Hermione stood there, a bemused smirk on her face. The only difference between the two was that the entire surface of her eyes was pitch black, like ink. The Harry double stepped up beside her, and the Ron double came up behind.
"Who are you?" said the Doctor. "What do you want?"
"We want this world," said the Hermione clone. She pointed her finger directly at Hermione's heart. "And I want her."
"Sorry," said Hermione, "but you can't have me." She took a cautious step back so that the Doctor was holding onto her arms.
"Oh, but I wasn't asking," said the clone. Her finger remained pointed directly at Hermione's chest. All of a sudden Hermione felt a strong tearing sensation directly at her center. She gasped and fell to her knees. The Doctor started to grab her but she shook her head.
Everything went dark. When the light returned, for the second time, the Hermione clone had vanished, leaving the first kneeling on the ground. Harry knelt down, putting his arms around her. Then Hermione smirked. "You're next," she whispered, and in one swift motion threw Harry across the room.
"Look at her eyes!" shouted Gwen. "They're…they're like…"
"It feels so very good to be alive," said Hermione. She had embraced the darkness, and the world was hers for the taking.