Chapter 34
"Harry," Daphne said once they were inside.
"Yes...?" Harry looked at her curiously, she seemed anxious and annoyed, two emotions he often didn't see on her.
"Who's the Doctor and how did you get into the 1970s?" She asked in a deathly calm voice.
"Ah..." Harry started and wondered how Daphne had managed to come across the Doctor so early in his machinations into the present day, it wasn't as though anything major had happened...except...then he wondered if 10am was too early for a drink. Maybe a champagne breakfast, though one look at Daphne suggested that breakfast as a stalling technique wouldn't fly.
A few days ago...
Harry cursed himself for giving the Ministry the phone in the first place.
"If you didn't want to be contacted why bother with it? You liked your reclusive attitude to them didn't you?" Judith asked, intruding into his thoughts as he drove towards the centre of London.
"Whereabouts are you?" He asked.
"Walking Harry, it's what some of us do to avoid the congestion charge."
"We're exempt," Harry said as he changed gear. He had decided to take his E-Type out, now that it had finished being fixed up. But also because it didn't contain as much plastics, not that he was worried about his Lotus coming to life and trying to kill him. But given the Nestene Consciousness was in town, he had to be somewhat careful.
"You're claiming your Jag as a government vehicle?" Judith laughed. "That's going to look good when you pull up near a bomb site."
"An explosion site, a bomb went off though that's not just what we're investigating," Harry countered.
What they were investigating was somewhat more vague.
All he had was a message left on his messaging service he'd set up.
"Is this thing? Damn this muggle...! Henrik's Department Store, in muggle London was destroyed last night. Your organisation is charged with investigating, this muggle organisation 'unit' isn't letting anyone in. The site is used as a secure meeting place for wizards." Was the message he'd received earlier that morning.
After going to Hogwarts he'd been able to work out further what technology would work around a lot of magic and what didn't. He'd gotten the heaviest duty satellite phone and left instructions with Minister Shacklebolt that it was to be used only in extreme emergencies. Though, given the Doctor's experience with his time-space telegraph Harry reflected he should have known better.
But considering they were heading into turbulent times, not everything could wait for the post. If he'd been contacted sooner they might have avoided the business with the Krynoid, which still had question marks around it.
He also wasn't sure who it was who'd left the message. But it was saved securely, just in case he needed it in the future, or their voice print.
He wasn't sure what exactly "secure meeting place for wizards" meant.
"You know that this place could be a place for meeting prozzies" Harry had forgotten he'd left Judith on the phone while he mused.
"Haven't you hung up yet?"
"You're paying for the call, it's amusing to listen to you mutter to yourself."
"That's the engine," Harry muttered flippantly.
"There you go," Judith answered, amused. "Ioan said he's apparating in." Harry began to open his mouth in worry. "Away far from the site. Don't worry."
"I need to worry. I'm sure I've heard of Henrik's before though."
"Half remembered conversations with the Doctor no doubt, unless you've been buying your clothes there."
"And never realised?" Harry shrugged. Dudley had been taken into London on some occasions to buy his clothing, or have it specially made as was sometimes the case. Those were not entirely pleasant memories, not as unpleasant as some but...
"Bad memories," he said to himself, or Judith. But there were many bright ones.
"Sorry," Judith said calmly.
"There are far greater nerves to touch on Judith than my childhood with my relatives," Harry said as he overtook a bus and nearly hit a cyclist who made a very rude gesture at him.
-/
He'd had to show his newly issued security ID, one of the many things he'd been organising, while his organisation, his League, did have the required security clearances, acknowledgements and passes he hadn't really needed any of the identifications, security passes or other things like that until now. Until now he'd been able to do things quietly, or subversively. But the world was about to get anything but quiet the coming years. He was relatively sure that if not UNIT he would no doubt need to work closer with the British security services as well as the Ministry of Magic and its various entities. All the while somehow the League of Paranormal Investigations was to remain a "quiet league" according to the Minister. Which from the way the Minister had queried him about Harry's walking into the Ministry through the front door Harry took it to mean he needed to return to using less obvious methods, unless there was an emergency.
Sometimes all this double talking amused, him, on other occasions it annoyed him.
There was also the issue that had been brewing in the back of his mind for a while, the businesses that started in San Francisco seemingly innocent, plus Shakespeare's Globe and then the Krynoid at Hogwarts.
But for now he had to deal with the present crisis to which he'd been ordered to address.
"Enjoy your walk?" He asked as he slung what would appear to most as an old army bag onto his shoulder. While he valued his magic enlarging bags greatly some of them had failed somewhat after being around the explosions and magic at Hogwarts. He and Ioan were still investigating why, their pet theory was it was just the overload of magic and the Kyrnoid and everything. Their spell and charm work was good, but Hogwarts was better.
His bag was a different sort of bigger on the inside, and there wasn't much likelihood of its dimensions exploding outwards. Or perhaps the same likelihood as there being a TARDIS whose dimensions had exploded out into the world.
"Embracing" Judith smiled. "Enjoy your drive?"
"Thrilling," Harry deadpanned as he looked around for Ioan and saw him with an annoyed look coming from one of the many security checks.
"I was ready to stun that guy!" He hissed.
"Police or UNIT?" Harry asked.
"Police, seems they're pissed at being shoved aside," Ioan commented looking up at the building.
Judith followed his gaze. "Could almost be Harry's work. Explosions, magic, maybe aliens."
"And all in a few days of the," Ioan paused and muttered. "Autons."
"Nestene," Harry countered. "Come on, time to climb the stairs, surprisingly they don't let the lifts run in a building affected by bomb damage."
-/
There were open doors along the floors of the building, but surprisingly it was only the top floors that had any significant damage. They walked out onto the top-most floor before the lift.
"Odd," Judith said breathing in as they three stood looking around at the damage wrought.
"Odd?" Ioan asked he had his wand drawn, but like Harry had remained just outside the door frame.
"There blast pattern comes down from the roof," Judith gestured an area at the back of the floor.
"Interesting," Harry said as he pulled his bag half off and pulled out a large bulky device, it was his further iteration of an energy detector, which he'd continued to develop since his first prototype. Bulky though it was, he was sort of sure it wouldn't bugger up near magic. "Residual energy readings," he said looking at the small screen. He noticed Judith and Ioan peering at it.
"Very Star Trek Harry," Judith commented.
"I'm more of a UFO fan." Harry replied.
"You-Foe?" Judith repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, Anderson," she smiled and shook her head. "So is it safe to walk around?"
"Are you asking magically or structurally speaking?" Harry asked.
"I know it's structurally sound, there's no tape warning us of the fact," Judith commented.
"Red or otherwise." Harry looked over to Ioan. "What do you think?"
Ioan was looking at the ground and tapping his wand against a patch where the ash and mud from the fire fighting had created a fine slurry. There were a set of footsteps leading away from the door where they were standing and then another coming back, but they didn't quite make it back to the door.
"A disapparition happened here," Ioan said louder as he muttered spells to himself.
Harry made a thinking noise. "How long ago?"
"Less than 5 minutes." It was Judith, rather than Harry or Ioan who answered.
"Should I even bother asking how?" Harry asked.
"There was a smell, in the air as we came in." Judith looked around. "The perfume and soaps and whatever counter is downstairs."
"Seems like I'm not the only one who doesn't shop here," Harry commented. Judith glared at him. "Someone was in here, their disapparition must have cast their scent around."
"Anything else enlightening?" Harry raised an eyebrow to her.
"Fairly neutral, floral notes, not a very strong perfume. More of a practical side to cleansing than for a perfume's sake, I think."
"I didn't think you appreciated perfume that much Judith," Ioan commented.
"I don't, but like Harry and his knowledge, it's all useful," Judith said with deference to Harry.
"I'm going to head to the roof," He paused and looked to Ioan. "Check for any human residue in case anyone got stuck in the blast. And those footprints – photos." Ioan nodded.
"Ooo, so commanding Harry," Judith lightly mocked.
"I've been taking management classes," Harry smiled slyly.
"Really?" Judith stared at him.
"Yes, follow orders or I shoot you," Harry said with a straight face, though Judith laughed.
"Come on, let's see the origin of the bomb."
The concrete stairs to the roof had been particularly damaged and contrary to the rest of the floor there was significant warning tape around this area.
"OH&S overload here," Judith commented to herself. "Somewhere an official is having an aneurism that we're not wearing a high visibility vest and filing out forms every five seconds."
"How about we just risk our lives and you can give me an after action report later about it and I'll compensate you with a house," Harry said casually.
"From your village you inherited via flame thrower?" Judith smirked. "I've spent more time there recently, I'll have squatter's rights soon."
-/
The door was missing when they got to the roof. There wasn't much left.
"So what does your gizmo say?" Judith asked.
"You've used the 'gizmo' before, I've just been trying some improvements," Harry said as.
Judith sniffed. "Making it uglier and heavier than before."
Harry nodded. "Exactly." He pulled it out of his bag again and hummed to himself. "Oh. Not unexpected."
"Oh, what Harry. Sigh!" Judith said in a high pitched exaggerated way and then added. "'Eye flutter'."
He looked at her.
"I can do that myself as you've pointed out Harry, plus I could have destroyed this building with better expertise than whoever blew it up."
"I know, sorry," Harry said passing her the energy detector.
"A matching wavelength?" Judith nodded. "So this is Nestene related. The plastic pals of Polymos strike again. Which would mean we know who blew up this."
Harry was silent for a moment. "Yes, we do. Though something of an overkill."
"The Doctor, overkill?" Judith said in mock shock.
"There's been numerous spells cast downstairs," Ioan's voice travelled up the stairs. "Probably a few bodies taken away as well."
"Oh?" Harry asked as he came up to the roof, joining them.
"There's a dispersal pattern in one corner of a portkey being used. I used to see it on the grass when we went for Quidditch matches."
Harry was silent for a few moments longer than was normal.
"You're wondering if the explosion killed them," Judith said, not at all lightly.
"And then the Doctor killed them?" Harry asked and then shrugged. "'The Doctor lies, the Doctor kills, he just has a righteous justifications for it'" Harry quoted. "Something an old friend once told me."
"There was some plastic residue everywhere, so I'm assuming Auton activity here," Ioan continued.
Judith nodded. "That's what was blown up here."
Harry walked around the roof space, there didn't appear to be anything of the explosive, or its target left. "Okay, lets have one final look around downstairs and then we can get home and not be in London."
"For when the Autons start their kick off," Judith said as they walked carefully down the stairs. The explosion having done significant damage to the concrete.
"Well we didn't find anything that matched the device the Doctor and Dr Shaw built in the 70s," Harry paused as they reached the shop floor again. "I've been going through some old UNIT files and there's some information of a Code 7 at a facility and a Sally Arnold who instigated the call of a Containment Team there." Harry shrugged to himself. "Not sure what it was about though."
"What's a Code 7?" Ioan asked distractedly.
"Preparation of death certificates, in case the operation goes south," Judith answered almost immediately.
Harry looked over at her. "There's a few more codes above that one. UNIT went through a period of outsourcing," Judith answered Harry's unasked question.
-/
There wasn't much more to be found on the top floor, they checked the subsequent floors to the basement and all they found was use of a sonic device in the basement.
"It's odd," Harry looked around one final time. "It's like walking around in his life."
"Like someone else's adventure," Judith observed sagely.
"Except he's not going to swan in and save the day, and the wizards who're around are more likely to stab us in the back, despite we're working for them." Ioan added.
"We're not just paid by the Ministry, well, LPI is and then I pay you large sums of money. And," Harry paused. "I'm perfectly willing to stab any wizards who come calling, in the back, chest or where ever is convenient, for me."
Ioan nodded. "Good, though I already knew that. But it's still good to know."
Outside it was cooling in the early hours of the morning. "I'll take all the samples and everything you gathered Ioan," Harry gestured towards his car.
"Now I just need to find a place to disapparate home," Ioan sighed.
"I'll give you a lift, Judith, you need-" Harry started, but it seemed between walking from the building and going to his car she'd slipped off.
"She's able to do that remarkably well," Ioan commented lightly.
"Yes. One of the many remarkable things about her. So, lift?"
Ioan nodded. "Yes, with the Nestene broadcast signals around, it's any wonder they used a portkey. Apparition in and disaparition out of it while that was going on would have been difficult."
"Though not impossible now it's gone," Harry pondered as he locked the boot.
"No," Ioan conceded.
-/ - \\-
Present...
They'd settled for mugs of tea, as the kettle boiled Daphne had remained resolutely silent.
She, understanding he wanted to have the conversation in a calm environment, very British, over tea. Once they were settled in his lounge room she asked her question again.
"Which question would you like answered first, and what led you to it?" Harry paused and Daphne started to open her mouth but he interrupted. "And are you willing to keep an open mind?"
"Yes." She smiled warmly at him. "In reverse order, yes. I had an experience" Harry raised an eyebrow, but didn't ask anything yet. "And the question of you time travelling and this photo." She removed a sheath of papers from her coat and passed him an old wizarding photo.
His breath caught in his chest for a moment. It was in a bar, the photo's focus wasn't him, but was oddly; a bottle of gillywater. But in the background were two men, brothers and then as the photo shifted through its wizarding motion a figure joined them at the table, the figure was wearing a brown leather jacket and it was unmistakably him.
"How did you find this?" Harry said, his voice breaking slightly. He did in fact have a few photos of Gideon and Fabian, from his time in the 70s, knowing them. But considering he had Hermione and Ron and Daphne around at his house, having a photo on display that showed him and those two, together, would've raised some hard to answer questions.
Daphne was surprised, slightly by his question. "Certain people collect information, stored and cross referenced, you just need to know where and when to look." She passed him a second photo. It showed another photo of a different bottle of gillywater, and then there was another photo where he was sitting with the brothers and then, he pulled out a UNIT radio, pulling out the aerial, before leaving the photo. He remembered that day, he'd needed to leave the pub to hear anything through the magic-induced static.
"Ah," was all Harry said and handed back the photos to Daphne. "You know who those two are then?"
"Gideon and Fabian Prewett, were murdered by Death Eaters during the first Wizarding War with Voldemort," Daphne answered almost immediately.
Harry nodded.
Daphne was looking at him curiously as though realising something. "You knew them, and your use of the present tense..." She trailed off in thought.
"Yes," Harry exhaled. "I know Gideon and Fabian." Harry looked at the photo and added. "Knew."
There was some silence between both of them.
"How?" Daphne finally asked.
Harry looked over to Daphne and wondered, where to go from here. "You're an intelligent woman Daphne."
She raised an eyebrow in amusement at his proclamation. "As you are Harry, an intelligent man. Who's stalling with platitudes."
Harry laughed. "That was meant to be sincere!" Daphne smiled at him.
Then she started; "I saw the Doctor, his blue box and a blonde woman a few nights ago." Harry was immediately wide eyed staring at her. "And your surprise suggests you knew all of this."
"Yes," Harry said. "You know about aliens then, if you managed to get from knowing about the Doctor to the 1970s."
Daphne looked at him and smiled. "Yes. And unlike many less informed wizards I am not going to claim you're a deviant who needs to be cast out of our society. I can look beyond provincial ideas that play upon those of lesser intelligence and understanding, all is needed is the correct starting point."
"Good to know," Harry paused to sip his tea. "So what do you know about the Doctor?" Daphne stared hard at him. "Working with the fact you think I know more than you, you can tell me and I can fill in what you don't know," Harry said meeting her stare. Harry leant forward. "Daphne, I won't lie to you, but..." Harry trailed off leaning back. "Yes, I know the Doctor, but it's complicated."
Daphne looked at him for a long time they were both silent. "He is a Lord of things not of this Earth, but connected some how. He travels in cabinet that is larger within than without. His aspect is far more than any other." She paused removing another set of photos spreading them out on the table between them. There were at least 20 photos of different police boxes, for all the photos the police box wasn't the focus of the photo, but for many of them there were people in the background near the police box. An old man with a young teenager and two people, a separate photo again with the old man and a man and a woman. In another a man who seemed to have a stick of celery on his lapel. In another a man in a multicoloured quilt of a coat. A man with long curls in a frock coat. One that looked like someone wearing a fez. Another seemed to be wearing a blue coat and had short blonde hair, they were leaning against the blue box, while the photo seemed the focus on a the trees above.
"His cabinet exists through the sea of time, his aspect changing as the times do." Daphne looked over to Harry who was surprisingly silent and unsurprised at her revelations. The information, had initially been hard to find, but once she had settled on the initial aspects of 'the Doctor' she was able to seek out private libraries, information troves and files of associates, even her mother's files had significant information, collected by their family or purchased from others' estates. There were many diary entries acknowledging the cabinet in passing, but these were far less striking than the photographic evidence she had found.
"I know this one." She removed a more recent looking photo, placing it in front of him. It was of the Doctor in his leather jacket and Jack Harkness, when he was travelling with the Doctor. "Was at the Quidditch World Cup," she paused. "That man was also the man I saw the other night," she paused. "Discussing the," she paused again, trying to remember the pronunciation. "Ness-teene Consciousness."
Harry inhaled a breath deeply. "Ah," he continued to pause. "I've known the Doctor much of my life. Though how I ended up in the 70s is a different issue entirely."
"Oh?" Daphne asked.
"Which would you like the answer to first?" Harry looked over at her and wondered if distraction sex might be a better answer to the situation they were in at the moment.
"The 1970s, for which I could not find much evidence of your presence there." Daphne conceded.
"What do you know about," Harry paused for a moment. "Ginny Weasley?"
"Aside from your former relationship?" Daphne asked.
Harry nodded.
"She was admitted into the Ministry's buildings several month ago, there is no information of her exiting the Ministry. She was part of a group advocating severe action against deviants in alien-aware activities. Something your relationship ended over," Daphne reported.
Harry had a look of surprise on his face, again. "Yes, our relationship did end over the existence of aliens and her refusal of their existence."
Daphne nodded, though remained seated and took another sip of her tea.
Harry sighed. "Ginny and a group her most devoted ended up in the 1970s, I followed to stop them."
"With the assistance of the Doctor?" Daphne asked.
Harry shook his head. "Not directly. He...assisted my return to my contemporary timeline."
"So his cabinet, this Police Box, rides the sea of time." Daphne asked.
Harry nodded. "Yes." He remained silent once more as she considered the information. "Do you want to know about the Doctor, or" Harry paused, again, this time for a longer period. "Do you want to leave, never see me again?"
Daphne looked over at him, her face both caring and predatory, laughter at the edges of her mouth. "No Harry," she said looking at him, hard. "I'm not going to leave. I think we both know that," she said.
Harry looked at her, he shouldn't have been surprised but he was. "The Doctor's an alien, he travels through time," Harry suddenly blurted out and then laughed.
"I was hoping for somewhat more information than a sudden burst like that Harry." Daphne smiled at him.
So Harry told her.
-/
Daphne looked at the man across from her. A man many in wizarding society would call a mad, insane deviant, who had a friend whom people would say was at best imaginary and at worse evidence of deep psychosis that would only be solved by a encephalectomy.
But the evidence was in front of her and in her notes at home, and it was in the words, in the tales from Harry and the passion with which he told her.
"And you were never tempted to leave with him?" Daphne asked curiously.
Harry shook his head. "Once or twice, but I had my friends here and there was that prophecy and of course Voldemort. There's been a few offers." Harry smiled over at her. "But no. There's plenty to keep me busy here."
"I hope you don't mean me Harry," she asked coolly, while Harry was sentimental he wasn't that sentimental, that amount of sentimentality was somewhat twee, not something Daphne abided.
-/
Harry chuckled at her comment. "No. Not entirely"
"Thank you very much Harry," she mock sulked.
"I'm sure you noticed aliens have visited the Earth many times before," he paused and gestured at the photos and her other papers. "From your research."
"That was something that seemed to be within the information I uncovered, though not acknowledged by any wizarding government or many citizens," she explained from her observations.
"Well, they're out there and they will keep coming, and as a friend of mine likes to say 'the 21st century's when everything changes, and you gotta be ready'," Harry quoted Jack again.
"And this is part of what you do?" Daphne asked.
"When we're not shagging," Harry provided.
Daphne chuckled. "How very succinct Harry, a parlance that now makes more sense given your stay in the 1970s."
They were silent for some minutes. Then their silence was broken by the phone ringing.
Daphne looked at Harry and he looked back. "Do you mind?"
"It might be important," Daphne said as Harry rose, but then added. "At least it rings, firecalling is sometimes obtrusive."
"You could always just throw some coal on the fire and tell them to piss off," Harry said as he grabbed the phone.
"Sarah, hi," Harry smiled hearing her voice. "Yes, I noticed the commotion in London. Oh? Oh dear, uh...I can't at this moment, but...yes...tomorrow, pending any emergencies. Okay Sarah, I'll bring my bag of tricks. See you." Harry put down the phone, it seemed K9 the irritating, smug, jumped up excuse for a computer had 'died'. Probably something during the Nestene's song and dance, maybe.
"A problem has arisen?" Daphne asked.
"Nothing a good oil change and a good kick won't solve," Harry said as he sat down again.
Daphne stood up and sat down next to him, Harry started to smile.
"I am so glad I asked you to the Yule Ball," Harry said in a soft voice.
"I still find it amusing, but knowing more of your manner it surprises me less than it once did," she smirked at him.
-/
A/N:
Harry, Judith and Ioan arrive inside Henrik's just after Daphne disaparates.
I didn't write Harry explaining how and where he met the Doctor to Daphne, it'd just be a lot of repetition; tedious to write and read.
