"Sooooo... they're adults?" Harry asked in a puzzled voice.
Harry was in the hall, walking with Draco and the rest of the Slytherin first years to their first class of the year. When Jack and John had walked down the opposite hall, Harry had wondered out loud about where they were going. Draco had jumped into a long rant explaining what UNIT was and how those guys were de-aged agents of it, so they would be attending different classes then them.
"Not really," answered Draco. "At least, not anymore. Their brains were regressed with their body, so all the weird chemical things work like they did when they were first kids. They remember everything from their adult lives but they perceive it like kids would."
A Dark skinned boy snickered, "They probably wear diapers to bed."
Harry blinked, really not getting it "Huh?"
A girl glared, "That's not funny Blaise."
"Oh lighten up Millicent," The dark skinned boy rolled his eyes, "It's well known de-aged boys piss themselves."
"Not all of them and besides what's it matter if some wet the bed," Millicent glared, "Kids aren't meant to deal with adult traumas. Bedwetting is just a side effect of the brain not being able to cope with adult memories,"
"Have something you want to tell Milli?" Blaise laughed.
"Honestly!" Milli exclaimed, "You're so immature. My father is a healer, remember. He has more dealings with de-aged kids then most,"
She actually met a few of them well accompanying her father to work. Her father thought it would help the newly turned kids adjust if a real child was willing to play with them and show them reliving their childhoods could be a good thing. They had a very small ward for it in the state hospital with a handful of children.
Most of them were turned into toddlers, with magical burns and deformities that needed to be treated. The UNIT guys were lucky as all hell. Potion accidents like that are normally much worse.
Jack took his leave of the Doctor and wandered into his first class of the day. Truthfully it was his only class of the day. A remedial course to teach raw energy manipulation, that lasted a good 8 hours.
He had this class all day on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. With Runes, Potions, Herbology, Enchantments, and a remedial course in Magical Creatures on Tuesday and Thursday. He was able to test out of magical theory and History over the summer, even got his Newt for it. He tried for his Mastery but only spell casting and magical crafts went that high. The more mundane fields were the typical, 7 years of university, doctorates. He'd be obligated to at least attend a wizard university if he wanted that... he wasn't really sure if he did.
The Doctor was thoroughly enjoying his youth. He was even giddily talking to the Brigadier about new wizarding universities that opened up in the last thousand years. It looked like he actually wanted to attend one and see how magic had evolved since his days as Merlin... if that was the case Jack guessed he'd probably have to go to... still he was kinda hoping that when they turn 17 he could convince the Doctor to start traveling the universe again.
Guess there was no real rush. Both the Doctor and Jack were centuries old. 7 years as kids in school really won't make a difference. The Doctor was even thrilled to be reliving his youth. He was running around playing and generally making an ass of himself all summer.
The bell rung, pulling Jack out of his thoughts, and the kids piled into the classroom. There weren't many kids in this one at all... and one of them wasn't even human.
The kid was a purple humanoid squid with an exposed brain and only one eye... A Sec? What was he doing here? Secs were a humanoid race of Dalek that, according to the Torchwood files, the doctor helped engineer. They mostly lived on a large island near New York City, although in recent decades they had set up their own neighborhoods in magical villages... still... weird to see one attending a human school. They had their own schools after all.
From what Jack read in the reports, vivisection reports... yes Torchwood was that messed up. Anyhow, from what Jack read they had some Time Lord DNA in the which gave them limited magic, like Jack, and a healing factor instead of full blown regeneration. They were basically Deadpool if he could use Goku style ki attacks... maybe Jack had been reading too many comic books, Japanese or otherwise, since he was de-aged.
Strangely Jack found he was not the only one staring at the Sec in Hufflepuff robes. The entire class had their eyes on him.
The teacher suddenly stormed in with a piece of toast in his mouth. He was pulling on a red robe with purple trim well wearing a blue suit with red pin stripes... he was a Sec to. As racist as it was to say, that was hardly a coincidence. Secs just didn't go to human schools. They prided themselves on being superior to the other magical races.
The teacher proved a bond with the Sec child as he patted the kid's head well quickly rushing passed. The boy blushing green as he tried to hide his face in a book.
"Good morning children," The older Sec smiled as he took the toast out of his mouth, "Sorry I'm late. My name is Professor Dest. I'll be working with you on controlling your new found powers. The staff like to call this a remedial class for children with 'Special needs' but I can assure you that is far from the case. Fact is by manipulating magic in it's raw form you have more destructive power then Voldemort himself,"
The children, save for Jack, gasped at the name but Dest just gave a devilish grin.
"It's not like I have anything to fear from someone who can't so much as levitate a book without their stick, and neither do you.
"That little potion many of you took was designed by my own people, after making observations of our own abilities, so in a sense you are our responsibility. It unlocked your true potential, without the restraints a wizard has. As others of you have noticed, you never took the potion, but your parents did. This is because it was alchemical engineering at a genetic level. Your gifts come from a magically dominant gene so it is unlikely it will ever be bred out of you.
"There is no formal NEWT for your style of magic, as the law has yet to catch up with science, so we will be studying under my own people's methods. This is not a matter of learning a handful of worthless spells, in 7 years, and being done. Our gift is a lifelong pursuit, but it starts with the most important lesson. Understanding your limitations. You need to know when to stop yourself because you are a threat. Magic serves wizards as a tool but it makes us a living weapon.
"Our magic is powered by our own physical limits which, if properly trained, can always be surpassed. That is, thanks to the potion. Your own magic now alters your own physical limits. They are interconnected, feeding into one another.
"For your first year, as you learn the basics, you will be kept apart from my other students, as you are a danger to everyone around you and need more attention, but afterwards you will be studying in a group with children of all ages in a dojo like setting. Advancing in rank on your own merits well helping less skilled students in the art. Skill and age really don't correlate," Dest shrugged
"I can teach you to fly without a broom, to bend light to create illusions, conjure gravity wells, manipulate your core element, or even, if you work hard enough, how to channel enough destructive power to level a city with a wave of your hand.
"Wizards know this and they still underestimate your power, but fact of the matter is, you are superior to them. You can even cast their most complex spells, through runes as they do wands, without need of jazz hands. There is not a damn thing wrong with any of you. You, are the future of the wizarding world. I'm here to teach you how to take pride in that,"
The Doctor grinned eagerly as he pranced towards his classroom. All the rooms were still exactly where they were a thousand years ago. It's like nothing had changed. Well not quite, the people had changed... people always changed.
The Doctor suddenly stopped, feeling a sudden wave of sadness. That was the bad thing about this body, so emotional. Human lifespans were so short... even Jack would leave him eventually.
He was tired of watching his friends die. That's the good thing about this whole deaging thing. He finally got a break. He could finally have a normal life again. His only concerns would be homework and passing test... there was the whole Voldemort thing but that really didn't concern him... A single disembodied wizard was hardly a threat to him. The Doctor had killed entire armies. His body count was in the hundreds of billions... The Master would be proud...
"Hey kid," The Doctor blinked looking over at the, much, taller boy and his clone... no, twin was more likely, for this time period anyway.
"What's wrong?" asked the identical gingers.
"Nothing," The Doctor wiped his eyes, they were a little moist but he hadn't actually been crying, "I'm fine," he insisted and started his journey.
The boys appeared to be following him. His first impulse was to blast them with his Sonic Screwdriver but he restrained himself. They were just kids. They didn't mean him any ill will. The Doctor turned and they turned, then he turned again and they followed.
"Is there a reason your following me?" The Doctor glared.
The twins swore, "We're- not," they insisted, finishing each others sentences, "Our class is- This way,"
The Doctor eyed them suspiciously.
"What about you?- There are no firstie classes- in this direction," The twins eyed him back.
"I was bumped up, so to speak, I'm taking Advanced Potions for 3rd years,"
The twins stared at him, dumbfounded for a moment, "So are we!" they exclaimed, "How the bloody did- you get into THAT class- as a Firstie!?"
The Doctor blinked and gave a smug grin, "Long story, let's just say I experienced an unexpected bath in a potion,"
The twins awed, "You're that guy- that got himself- all shrunk. Pleasure to meet you- we are the local fence- in a manner of speaking- yes, perfectly legal- but as newly claimed 3rd years- we can get you whatever you want- from Hogsmeade- you just have to pay- the cost of the merchandise- and a small- very small- fee- quite competitive our rates- indeed they are brother."
The doctor shrugged, "Sorry to burst your bubble but I'm allowed certain privileges denied other first years. They include visits to Hogsmeade, so long as I stay close to a Slytherin Prefect."
"Well tell- your friends- about us."
The Doctor looked puzzled, "Why would I do that when I can take your plan as my own? It be a great way to get to know my housemates."
One of the twins crossed his arms angrily, well the other smiled.
The smilely one said to his brother, "It seems we have competition, Fred,"
"Indeed we do, George," Fred glared, "Bamboozled by slytherins. I blame you for wanting to cheer him up,"
"We could always blackmail him," Suggested George.
The doctor blinked, "With what?" out of genuine curiosity.
George grinned, "You give us a percentage of your profits and we won't tell everyone we found you crying in the hall,"
The Doctor raised an eyebrow. He honestly didn't care about so stupid a thing, although Earth children might react differently, "If you want a cut I would need something more substantial. Say... a donation? My allowance will only take me so far and I do need backers before my business can flourish."
George grinned at Fred, "We do have a few spare Galleons from last years, specialized merchandise." Making a point not to say what it was encase the kid tried to steal that idea to.
Fred sighed, "Fine, but it's coming out of your cut."
The Doctor couldn't resist, "If only George is giving me money then perhaps I should only share my earnings with him."
"Oh I like you," George grinned.
Fred groaned and muttered, "Bloody Snakes. Fine." before both boys took out their coin purses.
The Doctor ended up walking away with an extra 19 Galleons for his new business venture. He wasn't really good with money but he had Jack to help with that.
The Doctor ended up sitting with Fred and George, helping them brew a complex potion on their first day. It wasn't a brew The Doctor recognized. A new form of the old cure disease potion, now curing a handful of magical illnesses in addition to all the regular human ones.
The boys even declared The Doctor their permanent lab partner after getting an 'O' from Snape. Not to say The Doctor did all the work. All he did was stir. The older, biologically, boys handled everything else. The Doctor suspected they put him in charge of stirring, the most difficult task, more out of a chance to test him instead of laziness. Even Fred seemed impressed by what he did.
The boys might be weird, and business minded, but The Doctor found he liked the youths. By the end of the class he hoped he had made his first friends outside of Jack.
Once classes ended, and The Doctor was about to walk out, Snape got his attention.
"Mister Lethbridge-Stewart," Snape called, "Remember to report to the Hospital wing after school."