Chapter 01
Previously on Visited by a Doctor in chapters 50-52.
Draco Malfoy ventures through an ancient vanishing cabinet and ends up on the planet Hyspero, where he's taken captive by River Song, they are then taken captive by the Cybermen who then steal a Dalek saucer (capable of time travel).
Meanwhile Harry follows through the cabinet intent on finding Draco, runs into the Doctor, possibly one from another universe (or maybe not who knows?), who then drops him off where Draco last was. Harry meets a blue Dalek, talks poetry, follows the stolen saucer, meets River and rescues Draco (their second meeting of River, first for her, timey-wibbles etc).
Unfortunately they're in deep space and have to escape and rescue themselves, the Doctor aids them in that, a little bit.
-/
Draco couldn't believe it, yet he could after everything today.
Potter had created a Police Box doorway from a muggle phone. Pulling himself up the rope attached to Harry they both stood as the doors opened, granting them access to…
A space so huge Draco felt daunted by it.
A central piece of brass and controls stood in the centre of the space. A large staircase curved in a spiral around the interior of the space.
At the brass controls stood a man, tall in a dark cloak his face full of concentration and worry.
"Harry," he called. His tone worry, concern, possible anger as he threw a switch and a huge system dropped down from the ceiling and Draco felt the floor vibrate beneath his feet. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? A Dalek ship, and deep space."
"Doctor, this is Draco Malfoy," Potter said by way of introduction.
"Draco?" The Doctor stopped in surprise to appraise him, looking at him coldly. "You're injured."
"We both are," Harry coughed. "Deep space and stuff."
"The medical bay," the Doctor said looking around the room. "Come on."
-/
Draco woke up with a jerk and looked around him. He was lying in a comfortable bed, sitting up he breathed in slowly as he tried to remember where he was, and what had happened.
-/
Earlier...
"You've both been exposed to the void of deep space, even with your magic to protect you, it will not have been pleasant," the Doctor was explaining as they were walking along the TARDIS's corridors...he was sure he'd been in the console room and then the Doctor had them come up here.
"The brief exposure-" Harry was cut off by the Doctor by a look from him. He looked to Draco who was looking a bit ill.
"The initial adrenalin will soon be wearing off, your friend Draco is already looking quite ill," the Doctor continued as they walked.
"Potter I think I need to-" And then Draco Malfoy collapsed onto Harry.
"I hope you're not dead Draco," Harry sighed as he levitated Draco up off him, "I came across the vastness of space for you and crashed two spaceships to do it," he continued to himself.
"You're doing remarkably well, Harry," the Doctor said as they reached a doorway, the Doctor pushing it open and gesturing one of the beds.
Harry levitated Draco over and down gently as the Doctor bustled around. Harry found one nearby to sit on, now feeling a bit knackered himself.
"I quite enjoyed the buzz of excitement," he began as he sat on the hospital bed; not quite ready to lie down "I think I've been running on it a bit since crashing the first spacecraft," he idly mused with a smile.
"The shock of deep space should not be underestimated Harry," the Doctor said from a control panel.
Now as he tried to release some of the tension Harry took a moment to look around, it was like a mix of sick bay and hospital, with white roundels inset amongst the green accents similar to those in the console room.
"The biofields in here will assist," the Doctor said off to the side.
"Sounds kinda zero roomy," Harry said as he laid down, a relaxing aura seemingly floating over him.
"You've had a shock to your system, I'll set a delta wave to promote healing, but don't worry if you wake up elsewhere, the TARDIS will move things around."
Harry sat up, "Hang on," he groaned and leaned over towards Draco "Enervate"
Draco groaned his eyes flickering as he looked around, but didn't sit up. "I feel terrible," he groaned "why'd you wake me Potter?"
"If you wake up somewhere else, don't panic," Harry ground out as he fought the tiredness that seemed to be nibbling away at every sense in his body. "You're safe in the TARDIS with the Doctor, we went through something awful."
"Then why'd you wake me?" Draco muttered rolling over.
"Because I don't want you to panic, and I care, I came a long way," Harry finished with a shake of his head as he fell down onto his own bed and into unconsciousness.
-/
Then it all came flowing like a wobbling river back into his consciousness.
Sitting up he saw there was a finely written note on stiff parchment on the marble topped side table.
The script was very neat, the ink seemed to be of exceptional quality too.
A bathroom is located through the door. Wardrobe room across the corridor. Harry's room is on the other side of the drawing room to your right.
The Doctor.
Pulling himself out of the bed Draco looked around him. The room was tastefully furnished, old furniture pieces of burr mahogany, some flame mahogany and some...he wasn't sure what the bed was made from, but it was some form of timber and it looked ancient.
The room seemed to be painted in deep green tones with light coming from round wall lights that gave the room a soft pallet.
His shoes were at the end of the bed, walking around to find them he noticed he was stood on a thick pile rug, it had deep orange and red tones to it.
Entering the bathroom it was well appointed; a huge, even by wizarding standards claw footed bath. Towels and robes hung waiting and his clothes...they were well travelled and he could still feel the blood stains and whatever else on them.
He was tempted to just cast a cleaning spell on them, but knew that even the best spell would not remove everything, even if it was just in his memories.
Plus the bath's grandeur and its offer of true cleanliness was too inviting.
Once cleansed of the previous day and then some's activity, then he could attempt to consider where, how and what his life now was.
-/
With the robe wrapped around his person and a pair of slippers on his feet he slipped across the seemingly endless corridor in both directions into...a well appointed room, it was more than a wardrobe, there seemed to be racks of well designed clothing. It was all somewhat haphazardly laid out, but he was able to secure a few items to take back to the room he had awoken in.
By the time Draco had dressed he was feeling rather light headed when he made his way to the door, supposedly connecting his and Potter's room.
Opening the door he found Potter sitting in a chair, a pot of tea and plate of sandwiches and scones beside him.
"You're looking a bit peaky Draco, you should probably sit down," he greeted as he closed the book he was reading.
Draco fell with an annoyance of lightheadedness into the chair opposite Potter. He allowed Potter to pour tea for him as he suddenly felt exhaustion take hold in a way he'd not felt previously.
After a restorative draught of tea he was able to look at Potter more seriously. "Last night, or whenever it was, did you say you cared about me Potter?" He asked somewhat incredulously.
Potter looked at him with a slight smile. "I did come a very long way to find you Draco," Potter commented idly then added. "The Doctor brought in this spread of sandwiches and scones, he said you'd probably be in soon," Potter shrugged.
"I suppose you've been up for hours?" He asked with a cynical edge.
Potter shook his head. "The Doctor says we were both suffering delayed hypoxia, our casting of the bubblehead charm not quite good enough," Potter smirked to himself "Something to learn I guess for the future."
"A future you envision yourself being in where you have to face the vastness of space with only a wand?" Draco muse as he took a side plate and tongs to take some of the sandwiches.
Potter shrugged. "Who knows what the future holds Draco," he said this sentence in a strange way, like a little joke to himself and smirked "I didn't think my week would lead to rescuing you on an alien planet."
Draco sighed. "It is not how I envisioned my week if I am entirely honest with you Potter."
Potter laughed, and Draco found himself smiling, with the ludicrousness of the situation.
-/
After they had finished their sandwiches and scones, and Potter had made a fresh pot, indicating a space at the back of the room that held a kettle, tap and an array of teas Draco queried Potter.
"How did you find me? I did not even know where I had gone?"
So Potter explained, and Draco's surprise, and respect of the other wizard only increased, and that he would do all that for him...it was...humbling.
"It was a surprise when I saw you and River on the security, even given what we learnt in the past," he mused and gave him a look "Not that we learnt much after she dropped us off."
Draco nodded, that had all been a whir of colours and light when they'd been transported from the 1970s back to their own time. "This was far more of a dangerous undertaking, one I was not expecting Potter."
Potter shook his head and nodded in agreement. "Indeed," he gestured around them. "This was not what I was expecting, after the ship crashed and the cabinet was crushed..." he sighed. "I thought; one problem at a time, my focus was finding you."
Draco looked to him. "I'm humbled Potter, that you would care so much."
Potter smirked at him. "We're friends aren't we Draco? Not many people know as much about me, about my past, and what I got up to there, you and Daphne know more about me than anyone and I trust you beyond most because of that."
Draco wasn't sure what to say for a moment. "I am now even more cognisant of the dangers you and your organisation face, and I thank you."
-/
They'd descended down into the control room slowly, even Potter seemed to be taking it slowly. The Doctor met them halfway down the stairs. Now was the time when Draco could take in the bearing of the man, the Time Lord.
He had the standing of a nobleman, with harsh angles to his face and hair. He had a cool almost detached from the world stance, like some of those the Malfoy family used to associate with. Wearing a dark cloak with green lining, he certainly looked like a gentleman, much more than Potter ever did.
But there was something, a wariness, something...Draco wasn't sure, danger to the person before them.
Potter greeted him in a friendly tone, almost too friendly. "Doctor, we were just going for a wander."
Which was mostly the truth, Potter having gotten bored sitting in the drawing room with him, and if he was honest he needed to stretch his legs.
"You two shouldn't be up and about, either of you," he said in a short tone turning away from them. "I have some things remaining to tidy up on Hyspero."
"We," Potter paused as Draco gave him a pained look "I can help you with-"
"No," the Doctor turned with an arched, almost angry tone. "No, you both need to rest, you're of help if you..." he trailed off, a slightly pained expression briefly flashing over his hard face, an unreadable expression for the briefest of moments he seemed much more human. "Explore the library."
He shouted the directions to where it was located as he went back down the stairs.
Potter leaned over the staircase looking down at the control console.
"You've been in this craft before haven't you?" He asked Potter.
Potter looked conflicted before he answered. "I've been inside the Doctor's TARDIS a few times here and there," he began. "I've not been inside this one before," he paused looking back to him. "Let's find the library, good places to discover things."
-/
Harry opened the double doors, according to Draco, and he had also been listening to the Doctor's instructions also, and concurred with the other wizard that this was supposedly where the library was.
Inside was a hollow space, and huge; almost quadruple the size of the control room.
"This is..." Harry felt a chill pass down his back as he attempted to comprehend just how big this space was, it was unlike the size inside the Doctor's TARDIS when he'd previously been visited or travelled inside the TARDIS. It made the space where he'd stashed the Cessna seem tiny.
"Like it?" Called a voice. A person...Harry still wasn't sure what it was about the individual, the person who seemed to be the Master, but there was something weird about him.
"It's very impressive," Draco said beside him, an equally daunted tone to in his voice to the feeling he had looking around.
"This is the zeppelin hangar," the Master gestured around with the Doctor's umbrella.
"There isn't a zeppelin in here at the moment," Draco pointed out.
"No, there isn't," the Master said watching them, raising his eyebrows at them. "Were you looking for something?"
"The library," Harry answered.
"Next corridor along," the Master said with a brief smile.
Harry nodded and looked to Draco and nodded as they made to exit the room.
-/
Draco was reading out passages from a small leather bound book that didn't try to kill him when he opened it. Unlike the book that Harry had open in front of him.
Only slightly, at least that's what he'd thought when he'd opened it. It was a book of threats, dangers and portents and was wholly interesting, if written in an odd style. Someone, Harry thought the Doctor had made various edits in the margins of the book.
"These Time Lords of Gallifrey are quite cultured Potter. Houses and chapters and an ordered society," Draco was saying.
"Cut throat too," Harry commented as he turned the page covering Fenric and began on Yog-Sothoth. "The Doctor liked to tell me about the Shobogans and the Outlers."
Draco sniffed. "Those that want to live outside the cultured areas of their 'Capitol', I can see how that would appeal to you."
Harry leaned back, looking up at the high cathedral-like space that was the TARDIS library. It was at least twice the size of the zeppelin hangar they'd previously encountered. But while that space had been daunting, this felt...welcoming, inviting in a warm sort of way, here it was all soft warm lighting, light coloured bookshelves and what looked like sunlight filtering through high up in the roof.
While the books had no discernible order, there were some he'd found which suggested in some way that they wanted to be left alone. But picking them up hadn't initiated any alarms, so he'd pursued them, and found some quite interesting subject matters covered.
Draco had found his current fascination in a dusty part of the library concerning history. He'd commented that if he was to be rescued by the Doctor he would know something of him, and his history. Harry had scoffed at that, but that wasn't what Draco had meant. The Doctor's culture, which he'd understood in bites and chunks from the Doctor and Magister.
"Well, what do you know Potter of these chapters?" Draco challenged.
"The Doctor is a Prydonian," Harry leaned back, thinking on it. "Some of their presidents have been Prydonians," Harry paused. He wasn't sure if Magister had told him that or the Doctor had.
"'More Prydonians are renegades than any other chapter, dressed in scarlet and orange'," Draco quoted.
"I hope you're not going to draw some tenuous link between Gallifrey and Hogwarts Draco, because that would be tiresome," Harry commented as he looked over to him.
Draco gave him a withering look. "I, unlike some uncouth people from our school don't go around seeing patterns wherever they might lie Potter."
"Of course not Draco, of course not," Harry commented with amusement. "What else does it say?"
Draco eyed him. "Have you lost the ability to read for yourself Potter?"
"I thought you were entertaining me, reading aloud from your book?" Harry challenged in a teasing tone.
"As you seem uneducated in this arena Potter, might I enlighten you on the passage I was just reading, the houses lacking political power in the Capitol," Draco smirked leaning back.
"You have my full attention Malfoy," Harry said leaning into his own chair, wincing slightly as he did. The energy weapons blasts still taking their time to heal.
"You could have remained resting Potter," Draco commented.
"And miss out on all the exploring we've been doing?" Harry countered. "The chapter houses with the least amount of power," Harry prompted.
Harry listened as Draco listed through the various chapters, and their coloured robes. "Does it say, or have pictures of these various Time Lords wearing their robes?"
Draco looked up from the page, he was detailing what the Patrexes wore and did; they sounded dangerous. "Not that I can see, what of yours?"
"Just a warning at the start that 'that which holds the image of nightmares becomes nightmares'," Harry quoted.
Draco arched an eyebrow at him. "Wonderful Potter, you do choose texts to study,"
"So we have to imagine these Time Lords in their light blue robes, or their silver-grey robes?" Harry pondered. "I know that Time Lords wear big collars, the Doctor's mentioned the 'silly collars' to me before, he drew me some pictures a while ago, along with the Seal of Rassilon," Harry pointed to the seal that adorned the back of the book that Draco was reading from.
"Seals carry and infer great power in some situations Potter," Draco intoned.
"I don't doubt it," Harry mused as he tapped one of the books he'd flipped through, it had an array of symbols pressed into it, the Seal of Rassilon amongst them, turning around to address him directly Harry asked. "What about symbols in magic? Beyond the stuff we learnt in ancient runes? Are there big powerful symbols that I should avoid?"
Draco appraised him curiously. "You're asking me Potter?"
Harry nodded. "My research has been a bit patchy, usually problem solving like when I was in the 1970s the first time around; I did a lot of potions and locating research on maps and stuff, to solve a problem or three."
Draco raised an eyebrow curiously. "You have me intrigued Potter, potions relating to map and defining spells for those purposes..." he paused "sometimes intersect with my restoring of the vanishing cabinets."
"Well, I mostly worked it out from books I bought, dunno if those were republished in the meantime, but I've got the originals and my notes," Harry explained.
"Back on Earth," Draco added.
"Yes..." Harry mused and gave Draco a look. "I will have words with him, just in case he forgets."
"Is that likely Potter?" Draco asked and saw his expression change and looked up around the library. "There is much to learn here I suppose."
"Could be magical books here as well," Harry mused as he stood up. "It is a big library."
-/
Harry had left Draco to retire to bed, they'd had some good, insightful chats. Then broken off to hunt around the library, he'd had a book try to attack him, which had been...fun? He'd probably go back and have a look again, but probably tell Draco he was doing it so he could be ready with a spell.
The Doctor was in the console room studying the controls.
"How goes your tidying up on Hyspero?" Harry asked as he walked down the stairs.
The Doctor looked up from whatever he was working on at the console and arched an eyebrow. "Have you been waiting for me?"
Harry shook his head. "We spent the day in the library, then the food machine, Ian and Barbara spoke of that thing quite...animatedly."
"I've improved it, does a good wine now," the Doctor sniffed.
Harry nodded. "Draco was suitably sated, though he did not enjoy the medium I think, it's still a bit daunting," Harry smiled. "I think as long as he doesn't think about his gentlemen's bedroom and drawing room fitting inside a police box then it isn't too ground shaking for him," Harry said lightheartedly.
"Good," the Doctor said sliding a lever.
Harry watched as the whole assembly around the rotor dropped down as the TARDIS dematerialised.
"On our way back to Earth?" Harry prompted. "Not that the prospect of travelling with isn't appealing," Harry paused. "Hardly really seen inside your TARDIS all that much."
The Doctor looked to him curiously. "You've been inside the TARDIS a lot?"
"When you rescued me, when I needed a lift, maybe it's in our future?" Harry wondered.
"Perhaps," the Doctor said before looking away from him. "On Hyspero, that is a melting pot of incidents, the TARDIS requires calibration."
Harry nodded. "Okay Doctor," he said coming down the stairs to look at him face to face. "Let me know if you need a hand."
The Doctor looked at him surprised. "A hand?"
"I haven't missed the animosity between you and the Master, whatever's going on there..." he shook his head. "And I've had my hands on some time travel tech in the past, bits and bobs left over from UNIT in the 1970s, plus some stuff left from Ian and Barbara."
The Doctor looked at him raising both eyebrows surprised. "That...should have been destroyed."
Harry shrugged. "I got stuck and needed a way of signalling for help, and I couldn't go to you," Harry paused frowning. "It's a complicated story."
"Time travel usually is," he paused softening his expression. "I'm sorry, Harry, meeting you reminded me of something, someone, but you're not..." he turned away shaking his head.
"I'm not someone you've met before?" Harry asked. "No," Harry said watching him "met quite a few of you though."
"You're very observant Harry," the Doctor said.
"I've had good teachers," Harry said turning from the Doctor mock yawning as he did so. "Might get a snack then bed."
The Doctor turned from the console and seemed to want to say something but turned back as Harry looked to him and returned to studying the console's controls.
-/
A/N:
While there's this...situation in the world in 2020, my inspiration for ongoing chapters of the main story has been taking a little bit of a hit. I've got lots planned but just not as much motivation.
So decided to return to something that's been on my to do list for a long time.
As the intro says this takes place between chapters 52 and 53 of Visited by a Doctor.
The Doctor, and the TARDIS are all as appeared in Scream of the Shalka.
Some of the dialogue in this chapter is from chapter 97 (where it was presented in flashback), it's slightly changed here. Harry was slightly out of sorts when he was recalling events in that chapter.
The following chapters aren't going to be very long, and while stuff happens it's not hugely dramatic stuff as this story fits in between the aforementioned chapters, there's stuff I've referenced stuff here and there so there's stuff to cover, that's previously been mentioned, and one or two throws forward to future stuff both in terms of the story from chapter 53 and from the current chapter in the low 100s. This is more an interesting short story interlude, not lots of people shooting at Harry, Draco, Alison and the Doctor as they run down corridors trying to save the world.
Thanks for reading.