Note: There will be a few rewritten scenes at the end of this chapter, from the Doctor Who episode "The Doctor's Wife". I know the crossover parts of this fic reference scenes from other series, but I am working solely off the DW timeline, and any other scenes would invariably end up confusing. For me, at least. Also, I apologize to anyone doesn't feel this fic adheres strictly to any specific canon. All will be explained much, much later. Trust me on this.

Any reviews or comments would be appreciated. Thanks!

I own nothing. Least of all this.

1:18

"You wanted me, sir?"

Oh, Vernon deserved his place Downstairs.

Just from here, I could see far, far too much wrong with the little boy in front of me. Hopefully, that would change very soon.

I slowly knelt down.

"Yes Harry. Now, I'm sure you've been listening to what we've been saying. Would you mind telling me what you heard? You're not in any trouble at all."

"...I heard sumfin about leaving. For 'merica. Aunt Petunia, Dudley, and me. Did you mean it, sir?"

"Of course I meant it Harry. You are a very important person. It is very important that you and your family are safe."

"...Will Uncle Vernon be coming?"

"No, Harry, Uncle Vernon won't be going anywhere ever again."

"...Is he dead?"

"...Yes. Yes he is."

"...Can I see?"

"...Alright."

I moved out of the way.

Harry moved forward, and stood beside his uncle's body.

And then he kicked it.

Then he kicked it again. And again. Soon he was doing nothing but kicking, as hard as his little body could.

And somewhere along the way, Petunia Dursley joined in.

When it was all over, Petunia was holding a crying Harry in her arms, trying not to cry herself.

I had no right to intrude. But I had to.

"Harry, I'm afraid I need to check something. In your mind. If you could come over here, just for a minute, I would really like it."

He looked up to Petunia, asking with his eyes.

"..Go ahead, Harry. Its okay."

Harry nodded. Slowly, he stood. And made his way over to me.

Gently, I raised my hands, and pressed them to his temples. Good thing I had gotten lots of practice with this.

There it was. Right on top, a black stain on his mind. The good news was, it appeared to function in place of Occlumency barriers, so obliviations and Legilimency by Dumbledore were both right out. The bad news was, I couldn't get rid of it. Only contain it. Maybe, if I was very lucky, sever its connection to the other Horcruxes. Never mind: this was excellent news! None of that 'walk to your death' nonsense.

"Harry. How long have you had your scar."

"..F'rever."

"Does it ever hurt?"

"Coupla times."

"Would you like me to make it not hurt ever again?"

"...Yes."

"Alright. Then I'm going to need you to hold very, very still. You can keep your eyes open if you want, but you can't flinch. Someone put something very bad in your scar, and if you flinch while I'm working, it might wake it up. Do you think you will flinch?"

"...No. M'fine."

"Okay then." I eased my knife up. "I'm not going to lie, Harry. This part will hurt. Do you still want me to do it?"

"...Yes."

"...Then hold...very...still."

I cut.

Not deep, but enough for blood. Enochian required blood. At least for this.

First, 'Bind'. Then, 'Absorb'. And finally, 'Heal'.

Activate.

I could feel a small bit of my soul burn away. Worth it.

One by one, the marks faded in the order I had made them, followed, very slowly, by the infamous scar.

Good. That made things harder for the goat bugger-er.

"I'm done Harry. How does it feel?"

"...Better. Like there was somethin'...pressin'. And now it's not."

"That's good. I've got two things to tell you now, Harry. First: it's alright to be ambitious. It's alright to be smart. Second: don't ever try to be brave. People who try to be brave will always try and make themselves sound more important than they are. Be courageous instead. Now, why don't you go tell your cousin that his mum wants him to come downstairs."

"Yes, sir."

I watched him trudge up the staircase. That poor little fellow.

"Now, Mrs. Dursley, I'm afraid I'll have to check you too. Dumbledore is a master of the mind, and he may have made you forget things you shouldn't have."

"...Okay."

I repeated what I had done for Harry.

No obliviations or mind-reading, hooray! Dumbledore wasn't totally evil in this one!

Still, the old goat deserved every single bit of pulled hair I was about to give him.

"You're fine, Mrs. Dursley. Nothing tampered with."

"...It's Petunia."

"Very well then. Petunia. Everything's gonna be alright."

I found myself wrapped in a hug. "Thank you."

It took me a minute, but I returned the favor. "My pleasure."

"...Mum? Why are you hugging the officer?"

She let go. "Because, Duddykins, the man has paid for us to take a trip! To America! Isn't that nice?"

"Guess so. What's dad doing down on the floor?"

I had this one. "He fainted when he found out how much the trip was, boss. And now that it's just gonna be you, your mum, and Harry, that's exactly what you are: the boss. And it's the boss's job to take care of everyone he's the boss of. Got that, Dudley?"

"Course! I'm the best boss!"

"I'm sure you are. Now, you three have a plane to catch."

"...Come along, Duddykins. Harry. It's time to go."

"But what about toys? Clothes? Jammies?"

"Your mum can buy all of those, and more. She's rich now."

"She is?"

"Yep."

"YESSSS! We're rich! Harry, we're rich! We're gonna go to Disneyland, we're gonna eat all the ice cream we can, we can do anything we want!"

"That's...great, Duds...we...can…"

I just managed to catch Harry as he fell.

"Harry? HARRY?"

"Shh, shh, its okay. He's had a long day."

Long indeed. That 'Absorb' rune had worked a little too well. Oops. Still, it guaranteed there wouldn't be any need for death-by-Mouldy-shorts.

"He's just sleeping. You grab what you need for Dudley and yourself, and I'll put Harry in the backseat of the car."

"...Why? Why would the government, why would you do all this for us?"

"Let's call it a long term investment and leave it at that. Plane! Go!"

She ran, dragging Dudley with her.

Out to the car I went.

Harry went into the floorboard, me doing my best to give him a smooth ride. It wasn't long before I was joined by Petunia and Dudley, throwing what little they had into the boot.

And just like that, they were gone.

Time to take out my insurance policy.

"Castiel, Angel Of The Lord," I prayed, "I know of Dean Winchester. I know what he means to you. To the world. I'm sending him three people: Petunia Dursley, Dudley Dursley, and Harry Potter. They are a family. Help him to protect them. The world depends on it. Trust me: I'm a time traveler. Catch you on the Flip Side. The Witcher, out."

That ought to do the trick.

Now, to correct the mistake I had made earlier.

I rang Arabella Calvers' doorbell once more.

"So sorry, Mrs. Calvers, but I'm afraid I forgot to leave you my phone number."

"That's quite alright, dearie, I'm always…."

I slammed into her mind. I erased every single part of the offer I had told her to give to Harry. Dumbledore could not be allowed to find them. When I was done, I slowly backed out, scrubbing out all trace I had been there.

"...forgetting things. Sorry, what was I saying?"

"You were just asking for me to write my number down."

"Oh! And so I was."

"Here you go, ma'am."

"Thank you very much, dearie. If I ever need you, I'll call."

'Then farwell again, Mrs. Calvers. Sorry to bother you."

"Not at all, dearie."

Right. That was all over and done with. If she needed, she would call. She wouldn't know why she needed me, of course, but call she would. Nice that.

It was finally time to leave.

"Sorry that took so long, Old Girl. You know how it is."

She made a little whistle of indifference.

"Ready to go home, beautiful?"

"Be-yoop* (Of course).

"Excellent. Let me just check both ways before we leave."

I swung the viewscreen over to double-check our route.

Bollocks.

There was a man.

Standing, right where I had prayed thirty seconds ago.

And he was wearing a trench-coat with a blue tie.

Any minute now, he would…

He began walking towards the TARDIS.

...Notice me.

"Nope!"

I threw the lever.

VWHOOOOSH. VWHOOOOSH. VWHOOOOSH.

Castiel or John Constantine, it didn't matter. His expression was still hilarious.

That was a terrifying thought. John Constantine, in a world where Lucifer was played by Mark Pelligrino, not Tom Ellis.

Good thing I was already dipping!

I made a quick loop of the console, pushing buttons, throwing switches, preparing for….

BWAAAAAAAAAAOW.

That.

"We're good, and lost now! You're off the edge of the map, mate! Here, there be monsters!"

I spun the viewscreen around.

"HAAAA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

Barbossa had some of the best quotes.

"...Doctor? What was that...noise?"

I froze.

Bollocks.

Rose Tyler stood at the top of the stairs.

Her mouth hung open.

Right, the desktop. Not what she was used to.

Nor was my face, for that matter.

O course, it was then that there came a knock on the door.

I held up a finger. "Hold that thought."

The doors swung open to VOID.

And one small, glowing cube.

"Oh, not this bit, not now, I'm busy!"

The cube wasn't taking no for an answer.

I barely managed to grab it before it started blaring out its message.

"Right, not dealing with you House, that's the Doctor's busi...Hang on a minute, I can use this!"

I erased the recording, leaned in close, and whispered a new message.

One meant for the Doctor.

Then I let the little cube bounce off back to where it came from.

"And make sure he gets it!"

I slammed the doors shut.

"Right, where were we."

If it was possible, Rose was now looking more confused than ever.

"Oh, right!"

I paused for dramatic effect.

" ...Darlig Ulv Stranden!"


The Doctor's voice rang out. "So there are Time Lords here, then?"

And House responded. "Not any more. But there have been many TARDISes on my back in days gone by."

"Well, there won't be any more after us. Last Time Lord. Last TARDIS."

"I think not, Doctor. One flew by, not long ago at all. They even left a message."

My voice, played over a scratchy connection: "Tell the Doctor this: He left her. He left her, standing on some beach, with naught but a name, and his word it was the one she needed. It wasn't. And neither was His. But maybe mine will be. See you in Glocca Morra, Doctor."

"You see, Doctor? Not the last. But you are partially right: you will be the last to ever pass this way, I think. A pity. Your people were so kind. Be here in safety, Doctor. Rest. Feed, if you will."

It was here the Nose cut in. "We're not actually going to stay here, are we?"

"Well, it seems like a friendly planet. Literally. Mind if we poke around a bit?"

"You can look all you want. Go. Look. House loves you."

"Come on then, gang. We're just going to, er, see the sights."


"So, as soon as the TARDIS is refueled, we go, yeah?"

"No. There are Time Lords here. I heard them and they need me."

"You told me about your people, and you told me what you did."

"Yes, yes, but if they're like the Corsair, they're good ones, and I can save them."

"Like the one that left the message?"

"Ye-NO. No. Not like him. He's not the kind who needs saving. But there are others. Others, who do need to be saved."

"And then you'll tell them you destroyed the others?

"I can explain. Tell them why I had to."

"You want to be forgiven."

"Don't we all?"


"We are in your universe now, Doctor. Why should it matter to me in which room you die? I can kill you just as easily here as anywhere. Fear me. I've killed hundreds of Time Lords."

"Fear me. I've killed all of them."

"All but one. The one, I think, that both of us fear."

"...I don't understand. There isn't a forest in here, or wolves."


"Are you going to make her talk again?"

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Spacey wacey, isn't it?"

"Well, actually, it's because the Time Lords discovered that if you take an eleventh dimensional matrix and fold it into a mechanical then OW! Yes, it's spacey wacey!"

"Sorry. At the end, she was talking. She kept repeating something. I don't know what it meant."

"What did she say?"

"The only water in the forest is the river, and the wolves of the forest are howling. She said we'd need to know that someday. It doesn't make sense, does it."

"Not yet. You okay?"

"No. I watched her die. I shouldn't let it get to me, but it still does. I'm a nurse."

"Letting it get to you. You know what that's called? Being alive. Best thing there is. Being alive right now, that's all that counts."