12. Gryffindor's Sword.

"STOP!" Amycus bellowed from behind Severus, waving his wand wildly in the vague direction of three students who were sprinting away from the office. "CRUCIO!"

One of them went crashing to the ground, yelling, and the Doctor recognised her as Ginny Weasley even as she squirmed on the floor, dropping what looked like a sword.

Severus stunned the other two in quick succession and turned to Amycus. "Lift the spell, we don't want-"

"Another one, Severus?" McGonagall demanded, rushing to the scene and drawn, no doubt, by Ginny's continuing shrieks.

"I thought you were in the Hospital Wing."

McGonagall huffed indignantly. "Well I would be, if the Hospital Wing's supplies weren't being used faster than they can be brewed. Poor Horace can't keep up – and now the students are going to suffer for it, Severus, if you don't do something to stop it!"

"Cancel the spell," Severus repeated through gritted teeth. "Bartemus, Miss Noble, if you would...?" he jerked his head at the two stunned students.

The Doctor obediently walked over to them and tied them in ropes, noting the blond hair of Luna Lovegood and the tall build of Neville Longbottom. He frowned in annoyance, remembering the warning he had given Neville about not getting in Severus' way.

Ginny Weasley's yelling stopped and Severus rendered her unconscious and tied up with a single spell.

"This is completely getting out of hand!" McGonagall was saying, going red in the face.

Severus ignored her, turning instead to the small gathering of students who had been congregating nearby. "Why are you not in the Great Hall?"

"We – we were on our way there, but..." the student glanced at Ginny.

"Go, then. Now - before I change my mind and keep you in detention for wandering the halls."

McGonagall stared, oblivious to the Doctor, Amycus and Donna's presence. "What has happened to you, Severus? You used to be-" she stopped herself, lips becoming a thin line.

"On your side?" Severus sneered, voice tight. "How incredibly naive of you, Minerva, to think so."

The older woman looked mutinous for a moment, but changed tack. "Ginerva Weasley needs the Hospital Wing-"

"No."

There was a tense silence, then, "Amycus, you may leave for now. It seems that our... discussion shall be postponed."

"What about the troublemakers?"

"Bartemus and I can manage without you. I suggest you return to your long-awaited dinner."

"They tried to steal a sword, Headmaster!" Amycus exclaimed, waving the weapon about from where he had picked it off the floor after Ginny Weasley had dropped it. "A weapon! You can't just let them get away with this!"

"They will be punished in due course, and you do not need to be here to supervise it. Leave. Now, Amycus. And give the sword to me."

Handing the sword over with ill grace, Amycus slouched off, leering at McGonagall, who stared stiffly back. As soon as he was gone, the conversation resumed.

"They were right to try to steal it, of course. It doesn't belong in your office, Severus."

"And you're getting out of line," the Doctor growled, when Severus didn't reply.

McGonagall barely even glanced at him, and instead nodded at Ginny Weasley, still lying unconscious on the floor. "Headmaster...Severus, please, I must insist-"

Her tone seemed to make Severus snap back to life. "Well, well. Begging, Minerva? It hardly becomes you."

"Must you make everything so difficult? Severus, the way you're running this school-"

"Is none of your concern," Severus enunciated clearly. "Kindly escort these three reprobates to Hagrid for a three hour detention in the Forbidden Forest. And make sure to wake them first – I don't want them unconscious for the duration."

"At night?"

"Yes, at night. It would hardly be a punishment if they were picking daisies in the daylight. Bartemus, accompany her-"

"You know of the creatures that come out at night! They'll be mauled-"

Severus smirked cruelly. "They should have thought of that before they broke into my office. Bartemus," he continued, as if he had never been interrupted, "make sure that she does what she's told."

The Scotswoman stiffened. "This will all come back to get you one day, Severus. I only hope I'll be there to see it happen."

"Gloating now, Minerva? You have changed." With one last smirk, Severus stalked off to the dungeons and Slughorn's office. The Doctor strongly suspected that, despite his harsh words, he was about to brew the potions the Hospital Wing needed, or at least drag Slughorn into the dungeons to do it.

The Doctor woke Luna and Neville. "The Headmaster has a little surprise for you, after your little stunt," he sneered. "Three hours in the Forbidden Forest – with only that great oaf Hagrid to protect you if werewolves come at your throats."

He reached down and grabbed hold of the shoulders of their robes, dragging them to their feet. "Send me a postcard. If you can."

oOo

The Doctor walked through the grounds, uncaring of the darkness surrounding him. The three students had returned safe and sound from their detention in the Forbidden Forest, during which Severus had reinforced the wards surrounding his office and other areas of interest.

Though the school body was subdued – as they always seemed to be these days – there was an air of smugness, as though this signalled the changing tide of the war. Now that Luna, Neville and Ginny had stood up to Severus, there was a small glint of hope in the eyes of some students.

Despite this, there were notable gaps around the House tables, as numerous students were either called home by worried parents (in which case, they were in more danger in the outside world) or escaped to the Room of Requirement to live permanently. The room was still used by Neville as training grounds – the Doctor, as their link among the staff, was well aware of this – but also allowed access for students who wished to live there permanently. Such students were also members of the impromptu army, and the Doctor could not help but wonder what he had unleashed.

This too had occurred in the books, but this did nothing to ease his conscience. What if he had convinced these students to needlessly endanger their lives? They weren't ready. He was giving Neville as much instruction as he could manage, with their busy schedules, but he was often wary of the Doctor and slow to trust the spells taught to him. He had little doubt that he was attempting to teach the army, but that could never erase the fact that these students were still children and completely unprepared for war.

Well...it was at least a comfort that he was teaching them something. Even the smallest spell could help in a matter of life and death. He had been in enough battles to know that even the direst situations could be overturned.

He squinted into the distance. Was that...? No. It couldn't be. No one would be stupid enough to be in the Forbidden Forest now. He stared, wondering when everything had become so pear shaped, and cursing whatever gods he could name that everything always had to happen at once.

He shook his head and carried on walking, hand clasped around his wand.

It was winter now, the summer having well and truly faded, and a cold wind whipped through the air. Donna was safe in their quarters, warm and asleep, but he hadn't found himself quite so lucky. His thoughts had been whirring non-stop for a while, now, and it was becoming increasingly more difficult to switch off and simply rest. Especially when he knew that anything could happen at any moment, in this castle.

The rest of the staff, with the notable exceptions of Filch and Hagrid, who were more removed from the circumstances, seemed to be equally as stressed. The Carrows hardly counted in his mind, he thought with a small snort of hatred. Rarely did the Doctor ever find himself hating with both his hearts – and yet he hated the Carrows. They were lazy, arrogant and sadistic. They awakened within him long forgotten instincts, instincts which had died during the last Time War. Instincts that had died along with his people.

He hated to think how he'd feel should he ever meet Voldemort when he was in his right mind. He shook his head, disgusted at the only memory he possessed of the psychopath. The longing for approval and respect associated with the memories made him want to go back in time and drag his alter ego away from the gathering, to shake some sense into him, but that was impossible.

Something flashed in the distance, and he drew to a halt. It was back – the light he had seen before, and it was coming closer.

A quick, muttered word made him invisible and inaudible. Creeping forwards, wand held aloft, he stepped into the forest. He could hear snapping footsteps now, crushing twigs beneath heavy shoes. A muffled oath and he was able to locate the person. Left a bit. There.

He flicked his wand and there was a muffled thud. Somewhere, an owl hooted, but otherwise the Forest was quiet. Almost ominously so.

Drawing closer, he rendered himself visible and audible once more, the better to unnerve the intruder and perhaps gain information. He had bound them with ropes, but left them able to speak. He bent and picked up the dropped wand, twirling it in his fingers as he approached the felled figure.

If the figure was friend – or at least, thought they were – the reaction would be positive. If enemy...well, he would be glad that they were wandless.

"It's you!" a young voice exclaimed, sounding slightly winded from the fall. The Doctor came to a halt, blinking in surprise. The voice was slightly different to the actor's, but recognisable all the same.

"Ronald Weasley," he stated, emotionlessly.

"It can't be you – you were Kissed!" the boy struggled against his bonds, eyes wide.

"Surely you heard of my return." Time to dig for information. He twirled the wand again, knowing that the action was an insulting one to a disarmed wizard lying helpless on the floor. "Of my little time machine?"

The boy said nothing.

The Doctor crouched next to him, keeping eye contact. "What are you doing here, Ronald?"

Ronald grimaced. "Don't call me that."

"Ron, then," the Doctor replied, ignoring the wince. "Why are you in the Forbidden Forest alone, hmm? It's dangerous out here – lots of spiders, creepy crawlies, werewolves..."

Ron paled. "And I s'pose you love all that, you insane bastard-"

"We've only just met, and you're already swearing at me," the Doctor observed, forcing humour into his voice, though inwardly he simply wished he could come clean. "How crude."

"Yeah, well we've only just met and you've tied me up – you can't talk."

"True. Now, much as I'm enjoying this banter, I really don't have time for it. Why are you here?"

"You know why – you tortured my sister!"

"Not I – Amycus had that honour."

"And then," Ron continued, not listening, but breathing hard and straining against his ropes, "you sent her out here, at night!"

The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "With Hagrid. Not really much of a punishment now, is it?"

Ron frowned. "What?"

"Where is Harry Potter?"

A shadow passed over Ron's face. "He's not – what are you – I'm not telling you that!"

"Ah, so you know where he is, at least, even if you're not willing to share the good news. How is he?"

Ron stared at him as if he'd grown another head.

"Let's try this another way. You've broken into Hogwarts grounds. I take it you apparated as close as you could and walked from there."

"That's none of your business."

"Of course not, but it's obvious. Headmaster Snape should be arriving at any moment, and I want to find out what you know before he does."

"You'll just have to wait, then, won't you?"

"Expecto Patronum." His Patronus – an indistinct, four legged animal, it moved so fast - galloped off to the castle with the intent of finding Severus and telling him that the intruder was not dangerous.

"Now then, we can either do this the easy way, or the hard way. Which would you prefer?" The stubborn tilt of the Gryffindor's chin gave him the answer he needed. "Very foolish, but luckily for you, not a catastrophic decision. I know about Potterwatch."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, come off it. Do you think I haven't heard the students talking about it? I know that you get your information from there. You probably heard that Ginny had been hurt from an inside source-"

"I'm not telling you who it is!"

"No, of course not. I only wanted to tell you that, as sources go, that one is very unreliable."

"You bastard! What have you done with her?"

The Doctor forced himself to smirk. "Oh, nothing as bad as what'll be done to you when the Headmaster arrives. You make a very visible and entertaining target, Ron – all lit up like a Christmas tree. I'm sure he'll be very amused to hear it."

"You'll pay for this! You're going to wish I was never-"

Before the boy finished his tirade, the Doctor flicked his wand and the ropes disappeared. He handed the boy back his wand. Ron stared at it, stupefied, jaw slack.

"The Headmaster likes his sport," the Doctor explained by way of explanation. "He'll have put more wards in place by now – he likes those he's trying to catch to run without hope. It appeals to his sense of irony. Of course, that depends on the victim not knowing, and I'm not supposed to tell but," he smirked, "telling appeals to my idea of fun."

"You're a-"

A light coming closer indicated Severus' arrival.

"I don't think it's the appropriate time for insults, right now. Off you go, Ronald. Run."

Ron scrambled to his feet, staring at him. "You lot are mental," he spat, before haring off into the forest, wand tip mercifully not lit this time.

"So I've been told," the Doctor muttered to himself, hoping that at the very least he had warned Ron against the folly of returning to the castle.

Mere moments later, Severus ducked into the clearing, quickly scanning the area. He scowled and slashed at the air when he saw no one else in the vicinity. The Doctor felt magic slide over him, and knew that Severus had protected them from potential eavesdroppers.

"Well?" he demanded, stalking closer to the Doctor. "The wards alerted me to an unauthorised presence, you send me a Patronus, telling me to hurry, and now no one is here? Is this your misguided idea of a joke, Doctor?"

"It's not a joke, Severus. Ronald Weasley was here."

Severus' sneer fell off his face, to be replaced with surprise. "What?"

"He came here to get his revenge for what happened to his sister-"

"Potterwatch," Severus spat. "It could at least get its facts straight."

"Propaganda rarely does," the Doctor pointed out. "They're trying to turn everyone against you."

Severus scowled. "And they endanger their lives by doing it – I might as well just leave them to their fate."

"But you couldn't do that, could you, Severus?"

Severus' scowl returned. "And why did you see fit to let young Mr Weasley leave? If, indeed, he has left."

"He's left. I told him you'd put up extra wards to keep him from escaping and that you were hunting him."

Severus' eyebrows began a quick ascent to his hairline. "Explain," he ordered tersely.

"Explain? Explain what? He couldn't stay here – he has to keep searching for Horcruxes! I gave him some advice and then told him to run-"

"You gave him advice," Severus repeated, incredulous and angry, "and then told him to leave? Doctor, I don't know how much you value your cover or, indeed, your life, but let me assure you-"

"No – no, no, no – it's not like that – I-"

"We could have kept him here," Severus snarled. "I need to find Potter – as you know, since you mentioned it earlier – and luring him here-"

"Would have been stupid!"

Severus folded his arms and levelled his best stare at the Doctor. "And how, exactly, would luring Potter here away from outside danger from the Dark Lord, to give him more information, be a stupid effort?"

"Because he probably hasn't found all the Horcruxes yet! And much as you hate the idea of them being alone and looking for them, you know someone has to - and we're both busy here, the adults are fighting for their lives-"

"You know nothing of-"

"I know the books!" the Doctor countered, "and I'm willing to bet that something as big as that – something as important to Voldemort as that is going to be the same! If Harry hasn't yet been sighted near Hogwarts, he hasn't finished them off!"

"The Horcruxes may be the same," Severus replied, "but the location may be different. How do you know that, simply because he has not yet returned, he has not finished?"

"Alright, then – what about you? He'll want to kill you, surely – he hasn't done that yet."

"Potter may be an idiot, but he is not stupid enough to put killing me before killing the Dark Lord."

"But one way or another, he hasn't come here yet," the Doctor emphasised, "and I've essentially just saved the life of his best friend. Ron is likely to tell him – about me being Bartemus, about me giving him backhanded advice – everything. And that, at least, will plant enough curiosity in them all to wonder about the management at Hogwarts."

Severus stared into the distance, arms still crossed, considering the Doctor's words. "Slow seeds of doubt – doubt that the Granger girl will no doubt try to back up with evidence before she lets the other two fools act…"

"Exactly. And you need to help them on their search, don't you, Severus?"

Severus looked at him sharply. "You know about the purpose of the sword."

"Of course," the Doctor said, unable to hide a grin. "That's the same in my world as well. Think about it, Ron has just seen a four legged Patronus, he's just been freed by me – even if it is slightly dubious, they know that my return is mysterious – even some Death Eaters doubt it. Time machines don't exist yet – even Ron, a Pureblood, knew that – even if the Dark Lord can be tricked into thinking they do. This way, I'm a red herring."

Severus smirked, his lips threatening to twitch into a full blown smile for the first time since the Doctor had known him. "How Slytherin of you."

The Doctor dipped his head, grinning madly. "Thank you," he said sincerely, before something occurred to him and his expression became serious once more. "Now, tell me, because this could be the one thing that differs in this world and if it is…it'll blow that plan sky high."

Severus' smirk disappeared at the Doctor's tone. "Well?"

"Is your Patronus still a doe?"

Severus' jaw went slack. "I – yes. That is why you showed your Patronus, I presume?"

"I made sure it moved too fast for Ron to see the shape. You're the spy, Severus and – I don't know what it is – but something tells me you're meant to be the one to give them the sword, like in my world." He smiled grimly. "But there's nothing telling me that I can't be a decoy. When they see your Patronus, they'll think it's me – my arrival and help is more likely to be believed than an unknown stranger mysteriously managing to give them advice. Especially because I've already helped them once."

Severus looked thoughtful. "It would appear that the pieces of the puzzle are beginning to fall in place," he commented suddenly, before swirling around, cancelling the spell, and stalking back into the castle. Before the Doctor could even allow himself a brief moment of confusion at that comment, Severus added "and next time, Bartemus, don't let them get away!"

And then he was gone, leaving the Doctor alone with his whirling thoughts.