When school finally ended the boys (Harry, Jack, and the Doctor) found themselves sitting on beds in the hospital wing.
"I wanted to see them in the morning, Severus," The old healer glared.
"Which was completely unreasonable, Poppy" Snape glared. "They had class in the morning, and I wasn't about to wake them up at 6 AM just so you could probe them."
The older healer huffed, "Child services is CLOSED now Severus. We won't be able to report Harry's abuse until Tomorrow now."
"Oh no, tomorrow you say, but surely the boy will die well safe in our care." Snape snipped.
"Honestly!" Poppy exclaimed. "With the amount of immature sarcasm you spew, I half wonder if you were de-aged yourself!"
"Just get to your leeches woman," Snape scoffed. "The boys have homework to do."
The healer huffed again and walked over to Harry.
The boy gulped, "You don't... really have leeches, do you?"
Jack giggled well the Doctor looked curious.
"Red leeches have a very potent venom that cures many illnesses when properly brewed," The Doctor noted, something he learned in class today.
He previously knew the venom was deadly as all hell but it's amazing the wizards found a way to use it to kill viruses well not harming the host. The Doctor always was fascinated by human ingenuity... or was it their sheer stupidity to try things that made no logical sense but somehow still worked. Eh, same thing.
"That may be," Poppy glared at Snape, as if it is his fault. "But I don't apply leeches to children, only irritating potions masters."
"I wanna be a potions master," Harry squeaked in fear.
Jack grinned, "Best stay on her good side mate."
Poppy groaned, rubbing her temple, before ignoring the rest and walking over to the doctor.
"This is really unnecessary," The Doctor but in. "They did a medical scan on us immediately after the accident, and The Brigadier had us checked out by UNIT doctors the second we got home."
"Just let me make sure nothing serious developed since then," Insisted the med witch. "You can never be too careful. Besides I need to get a scan of you myself. It's best to be cautious when dealing with Hybrids,"
The doctor froze, "You know about that?"
"Of course I do," The med witch rolled her eyes. "It's dangerous to treat half humans with the same potions as everyone else. The Elixirs need to be properly modified or they may interact badly with your magical pathways, which can lead to physical illness and-"
"Who told you!?" The Doctor snapped.
The med witch blinked at the suddenly angry little boy, "Why your guardian of course?"
"HE HAD NO RIGHT!" The Doctor screamed. He told that to Alistair faces ago! He thought he could trust him!
The med witch looked confused, "I just told you why I need to know."
"Then you just blurt it out in a room full of people!" The Doctor screamed, "Something I've been hiding for nearly 900 YEARS!"
"Lethbridge-Stewart!" Snape snapped, "You will not speak to Madam Pomfrey that way!"
"Sod off!" The Doctor snapped.
Snape growled and pulled out his wand. The next he knew, the Unit agent had his wand pointed at him. Snape just barely managed to dodged the blasting hex that ended up obliterating the wall behind. Chunks of stone exploded from the impact and when the smoke cleares... the wall was gone, just a bunch of stone shards on the floor.
The boy, who's mind terrified things without emotion, slowly pointed his wand at Snape, daring him to try again.
Snape had forgotten for a moment, that he wasn't dealing with an ordinary child. The boy had training and power... and obviously didn't understand not everything was a threat to him.
"I wasn't going to hurt you," Snape glared, clutching his own wand tight in case this did not end well. "I was going to cast a soapy mouth hex for your vulgar language and disrespectful attitude."
The boy's face suddenly exploded in it's own right, turning a deep shade of crimson, "Oh?..." was all he said as he lowered his wand. He squirmed in his seat. Finding the act of almost killing someone over a misunderstanding more embarrassing then morally questionable... this child... really shouldn't be in a school... but Snape couldn't think of anywhere else to put him. At least here he could keep an eye on the little psychopath.
Snape turned his back and used his magic to fix the wall. Mostly to let the child know he wasn't afraid of him. Once he was finished, he walked over to the little dark lord in training and knelt down in front of him, so that they were eye level.
"No one here will hurt you," Snape assured, "This is a school and you are a child. And children, when they misbehave, are punished... but not in anyway that could truly hurt them or cause even the slightest injury... you are safe here, understand?"
The boy was still blushing as he nodded his head.
"If you were anyone else you would be expelled for that little stunt and your wand snapped."
The little boy hugged his techno magic wand to his chest.
"Good you understand," Then Snape said something immediately afterwards, that should have been a few sentences apart, "Now give me your wand."
The boy looked petrified.
"You've proven you cannot be trusted with it. I can't risk an altercation with a student resulting in a body. You will get it back for classes, delivered by a house elf in front of each class. Then I expect you to give it back to the elf at the end of each class..."
"That seems a tad extreme," The boy insisted.
Snape groaned, "The fact you don't understand why attempted murder is a cause for-"
"I wasn't trying to kill you!" The boy seemed adamant and sincere, "I knew you would dodge."
"Well I'm relieved to hear that, what if I hadn't dodged?"
"You're an expert duelist," The boy rolled his eyes. "It's obvious in the way you carry yourself. I doubt you couldn't dodge the clumsy wand movements of a preteen."
"And that mindset is exactly why I'm taking your wand," Snape informed. "You're judgment is skewed. When you prove you can be responsible with it, you'll get it back."
The boy looked down at his wand, clearly debating about giving it over... and Snape got the uncomfortable feeling the other option he was considering was using it.
"Come one Doctor," The boy's adopted brother snorted, "You're the one who wanted to come to this school and enjoy the normal life of a kid."
He had? Snape did his best to show no reaction to the information. Although it did relieve some of his concerns. The boy wanted their help and guidance. He was just having trouble giving up control.
Jack went on, clearly knowing how to talk John down, thank Merlin. "That means letting them boss you around and not blasting them when they try to punish you," John's blush deepened, clearly showing regret. So Jack pushed on. "You know he has a point. With your skills and killer instincts, muddled up with a child's over emotional and often irrational reasoning skills, the LAST thing you should have is your Screwdriver."
John groaned as he gave his techno magic wand one last look, and Snape was relieved to see it was no longer calculating but rather a farewell. A moment later the boy handed over the device.
"Thank you John," Snape gave a firm nod. "Now, I'm going to put the soapy mouth hex on you and take a seat next to you. Then I want you to bare your bottom and crawl over my lap,"
The boy groaned but thankfully it was in that "I accept my fate" sound children make when they resigned themselves to punishment.
Snape slowly, and as unthreatening as possible, took his wand and pointed it at the mini dark lord. He gave it a gentle flick. Then watched as the boy started to squirm as suds filled his mouth and began to drip down his chin. The child gagged a bit and started making exaggerated grossed out sounds.
Snape rolled his eyes and sat down next to the boy. He let the child have a moment to get used to the sensation of the hex, but not too long as the taste of soap got nastier the longer the spell was active.
"Forgetting something?" Snape asked and the boy sent him a remarkably innocent / pleading look as he choked on the soap. "Now John," Snape insisted, firmly. He tended to use the first name of his Slytherins when they were in private or when he was disciplining them.
The boy sniffed and peeled off his robe. He tossed it to the side of the bed as he hopped off. Without a thought for decency he pulled his trousers and shorts down, allowing everyone to see his boyhood. Usually, when given the option, children just pulled the back down just enough to put their bottom on display well still hiding their front.
After all Snape really wasn't interested in that part and just needed the bottom itself bare so he could see the progressing shade of pink. It was the best way to make sure he did not accidentally hurt the child more then intended.
John seemed to feel no sense of shame though, and was much more interested in wiping the suds from his mouth then hiding himself.
Hesitantly, John pulled himself over Snape's knees, and dangled just inches away from the bed. Snape quickly adjusted the child and gently pinned both of his arms to his back. The boy started to panic a little at that and fidgetted.
Snape soothed, "I promise you John. I'm not going to injure you. The worst you'll have after this is a stinging rear," he assured. "This might hurt more then you remember but nothing will be permanent. Your skin is just more sensitive as it is still raw due to your body growing,"
Jack assured, as he watched with a slightly lecherous grin, "The Doctor knows all that. The Brigadier has torn into our asses almost weekly with how often we get into trouble. Right Doctor?"
John hesitantly nodded and steeled himself. Though trusting the Brigadier was an entirely different matter. The Doctor had known him since they were teenagers.
"Ready then?" Snape asked.
John tried to talk but just ended up gagging on the soap. So instead he nodded his head, then shot his eyes tightly and clenched his bum as Snape's hand raised.
Snape waited. The boy couldn't keep it up forever, and sure enough the little bottom relaxed after a few moments. That's when Snape chose to strike.
His hand snapped down at the little bottom and John jerked at the force. Snape's large hand fit perfectly to the small rear, as it often did for boys this age.
The hand quickly left, and came right back with the exact amount of force as before.
Poppy got Jack's attention, "Well your Head of house tends to that, let's get started on your exam." Jack groaned as the healer began poking and prodding him. "I realize there isn't much that can actually prove lethal to you, being a Boekind, but you could very well be a carrier of numerous diseases," she explained as she examined him. "How many times have you died?"
Jack... blinked, The brigadier really didn't hold anything back when he contacted the school. Oh well, at least he didn't tell them who they were. The wizarding world would flip if they realized the Doctor was effectively a reincarnation of their prophet Merlin and that Jack was the first of the immortal race.
The witch doctor poked him, "Well?" recapturing his attention.
"I've lost count after it hit the triple digits," Jack gave an honest shrug.
The med witch sighed, "Boekind can be careless due to their near immortality. How many times was there a magical element?"
Jack shrugged, "A few." As he tried to listen to the doctor's on going spanking. The healer was forcing his attention on her so he couldn't look but at least he could listen.
The med witch sighed again, and magically pulled the curtain around the bed, "Take off your clothes. I need to make sure your bones and organs healed properly. It's rare for Boekind, but sometimes things don't put themselves back where they are supposed to when magic is involved." wow, this lady actually knew her stuff.
Well that was happening Harry was left ignored, just watching The Doctor get spanked. The de-aged kid seemed to have as hard a time trusting adults as Harry, himself, did. Harry was certain, if he had the ability, he'd blast Uncle Vernon to.
Once Snape was finished he pulled the boy into a hug, which seemed to seriously freak the kid out. But after a few moments, the boy settled and enjoyed it.
"Now pull your pants up," Snape commanded when he finally let the boy go, and dispelled the soap, "No one wants to see that."
The Doctor continued to gag as he rubbed his still bare bottom, "I can still taste it!"
"Yes, it tends to linger," Snape rolled his eyes. "Now, pants, up." he ordered. After one last smack, the doctor finally obeyed and pulled his clothes back on.
It was near an hour later when the boys were finally set free. They were now sitting in the garden, relaxing with each other, trying to find a way to process what happened.
"What's a Boekind?" Harry asked Jack, but strangely it was the Doctor that answered.
"They are a human subspecies of all male, near immortals, that have limited magic powers," The Doctor explained, then went on, more for Jack's benefit, "The fact they can pass on their immortality is directly linked to their magic. An unintended side effect of the Magic Blesser. It mixed with the existing 'Fixed Point' energy and started getting passed down to future generations,"
Basically Jack will one day go further back in the past, get himself pregnant after a one night stand, and then that kid will eventually have kids, and so on and so on until they build a proper society in the wizarding world. There are only a few thousand Boekind, in a world of 6 billion, so they are technically an endangered species, but seeing as they can't actually stay dead that might be pushing it.
The Doctor knew they had been avoiding modern Jack, paradoxes and all, and half expected to see Jack's fist swinging at him. After all, the Doctor knew the whole time how to pass his curse onto his kids so he wouldn't have to watch them die. Luckily Jack seemed too stumped by the knowledge to make the connection.
The Doctor chose to move on and ask his question well he had the chance. Looking at Harry he started, "You're not going to..." The Doctor tried to find the words. "You know... tell anyone... about what you heard... in the hospital wing?"
"Don't worry," Harry promised, "I won't tell anyone about your exploding tantrum, or the tanning you caught for it."
"Oh I'm not concerned about that," The Doctor waved off. "I... well..."
Jack, having recovered, decided to 'help', "He wants to make sure you won't blab to anyone that he's only half human."
The Doctor glared well Harry shrugged.
"Why should that matter?" Harry tilted his head. He didn't really know that was an option until he found out about the wizarding world but since then he had seen tons of magical people that weren't human, but still clearly people.
"It shouldn't," Insisted Jack.
The Doctor sighed, "My people... didn't look fondly on my human heritage. My mother... was the one person who didn't care... but I lost her at a very young age and was placed in an orphanage... things got worse from there. My entire childhood I heard my professors condescendingly praising my genius 'despite the disadvantage'... I left eventually... lived with humans for a while and just fell in love with the culture... but I couldn't really relate to them either. I don't think like humans do... or even like Time Lords, my people... I've always felt... caught between worlds... I don't like to dwell on that...
"The Brigadier... Unit gave me a purpose... I had friends who accepted me... But Time Lords live so long... it was inevitable that I would lose them all..."
The Doctor looked over at Jack, "I'll even lose you... eventually,"
Jack smiled, "You probably don't want to hear this but I find that thought comforting."
The Doctor smiled back before continuing his story, his smile fading, "There was a prophecy my people had... about the destruction of their civilization. You should know a thing or two about the cruelty of fate." The doctor looked at Harry as the boy absentmindedly touched his scar.
"Since I got here..." Harry sighed, "Everyone I meet seems to think I'm destined to kill a man that is already dead... sorta..." Thinking of the Horcrux The Doctor found in his head.
"My destiny... wasn't as kind," The Doctor informed, "A sort of 'Seer of All' informed me my home would be destroyed by a hybrid of two great warrior races... my people assumed their greatest enemy was the other half... but I knew the truth... so I ran, ran as far away as possible... but eventually I had to go back... and fulfill the prophecy."
Harry's eyes widened well Jack's looked more calculating. The Doctor never talked about himself so much. These were facts not even Torchwood knew about his life. He never told anyone this.
The Doctor sighed, as if reading Jack's mind... maybe he was? "Being turned into a child has made it harder to keep these things bottled up."
"Why?" Harry asked.
The Doctor shrugged, "Probably just the altered brain chemistry and adolescent mindset making me want comfort... stupid..." The Doctor looked away from them.
"No," Harry clarified. "Why did you have to go back and fulfill the prophecy?"
"Because if I didn't... my people would have burnt the universe to ash... I had to make a choice. The ultimate problem with free will... My people... or all life... I chose to the greater good... and slaughtered every last man, woman, and weeping babe of my race... to save everyone else... my greatest regret?... I didn't do it sooner."
Dumbledore sat in his office, looking at the portrait, as the castle showed him something it thought he needed to know. He heard what the de-aged child had to say and a spike of fear shot through him. How could it not? He knew the story like all pure blood wizards.
Young John was describing the Time War. The very thing that resulted in the creation of the magical world... the boy had fought in it... he, himself, had ended it. It fit with who Dumbledore now understood the boy to be... and the notion terrified him more then any of the dark lords he had faced.
That's why they had trouble finding the boy's schooling records. They hadn't gone back far enough. There was one child, back when the school was recently founded, who could make death itself cower in fear. A champion of the light through embracing the darkness. A holy man that guided both muggles and wizards into a golden age... the very reason house elves bound themselves to wizards, as they believed this child to be their god and wizard kind his favored race.
It would make sense that this child, that legend tells he lived his life in a none linear fashion, would have a part later in his life that would give birth to the wizarding world itself.
A Lord over time with a human soul... guess that makes sense that particular line in the wizarding bible meant the boy was actually half human.
Yes there could be no other explanation. The apocalypse had begun just as was prophesized, and it started with the second coming of a prophet... A holy man that stained his soul with blood and long since forgotten what it was like to feel mercy... Merlin had fallen from grace. The very notion would shake the wizarding world to it's core.
If John was actually an older, more vengeful, Merlin that would make his companion... The Face of Boe, the first of Boekind. The Face of Boe maybe living in a colony in Cardiff at the moment but if Merlin was involved it wasn't that hard of a leap to believe the other child was a younger version of the Face of Boe... a much younger version.
Thoughts of the dark lord disappeared from Dumbledore's mind. That demon was no longer the largest threat. That in itself was a terrifying notion... soon, all of reality would be in the balance. Soon, The Prophet and his new heneration of Disciples would battle on a stage for the soul of the universe. This could be years from now or this very day... but it would be within Dumbledore's lifetime... The Time War... was about to start a new... and end all life...