Chapter 40

They'd all apparated to the house, or rather the road outside the house. The last time he'd driven to their house was 30 plus years ago, and anyway himself, Draco and Daphne had spent more time apparating around when they were back in the 1970s than driving.

-/

They'd departed from Harry's house, for no other reason than timing wise it was best to leave together and they all knew where that was.

They all probably knew where Malfoy Manor was as well. But Harry didn't have any issue with Malfoy returning to his house, or the road outside his house.

Daphne had a tall box in her hand, wrapped in a delicately decorated wrapping paper tied with simple string that she held onto.

Malfoy. Harry corrected himself mentally Draco held a thin oblong shape in one hand, it too was wrapped, in what appeared to be green velvet.

Harry on the other hand had two bulky bags slung over his back. They were, he had discovered like his not-magical but still bigger within than without bags.

He'd found them in the boot of the car the Doctor had given him for Christmas.

Inside the bags he'd discovered a great many things, including a cloak that matched Barbara's description of a Thal cloak and an outfit that matched Ian's description of the one he wore while adventuring with Marco Polo.

Upon discovery of these things he stopped going through the bags and repackaged them as he'd found them.

The house had weathered time well.

There were a few more plants around the house and the trees had grown in the intervening 30 plus years.

"It is strange returning here again," Daphne mused.

"A peculiarity of experience that I hope I do not have to experience again Potter," Draco looked pointedly at Harry.

"It wasn't all fun and games for me Draco, I've very much been there and done that. Twice," Harry said as they walked slowly towards the front door.

"Even though you have friends in that time Harry?" Daphne asked gently. They hadn't really spoken of their time in the past in great detail.

"Even so," Harry mused. "Knowing they were to die, would be dead now." Harry shook his head. "I thought about mentioning I'd been where we were to Neville."

"Longbottom?" Draco asked curiously. "Why?"

"Chatting with him. But I realised that you two are the only ones I can really speak of about our time there," Harry said with a touch of amusement in his voice.

"It amuses you Potter that we share a bond?" Malfoy asked, though Harry couldn't really discern his tone.

Harry shrugged. "I never thought I'd be shooting to kill Ginny, it's funny how things turn out isn't it?" Harry said with a bit of an odd smile.

"The mad cow," Draco said with a snort of amusement.

Daphne just remained silently amused, Harry could tell she was, just by the flickering of amusement at the edges of her lips.

As they reached the door Harry looked between the two others, neither stepped forward to ring the bell.

"It seems I'll do it," Harry said to no one but himself and rang the door bell.

They could hear footsteps padding to the door and as it opened, though before he could see who was within chills ran down his back. It was the same sensation he got when he'd called on Sarah Jane Smith for the first time and to a much greater degree seeing the Brigadier again after practically the same time gap between then and now after he'd returned the first time.

Plus there was the knowledge that he had watched over Harry when he'd been young; that the Brigadier had gone looking for him, yet knowing he couldn't interfere.

"Harry?" The door had opened to reveal Ian Chesterton. "Daphne? Draco?"

"Hello Ian," Harry said with a broad smile. "You're looking remarkably well."

"We thought, to return and visit after…" Daphne trailed off.

"Barbara, we've got visitors!" Ian shouted into the house as he ushered the trio inside.

-/

As they came in Harry marvelled at how everything was the same and yet different, it was one thing knowing people like the Brigadier between times, it was another having met Ian and Barbara once in childhood, then again and then being in the same house twice in different time periods it was…a little odd.

Then Ian grabbed his hand shaking it and bringing him into a hug. "It is very good to see you, all of you." He did the same to Daphne and a surprised Draco. "After such a long time."

"Time has been kind to you," Daphne observed. "To both of you," she said as a surprised Barbara came in.

-/

Draco straightened himself after Ian had embraced him in such a friendly manner. He had never been welcomed in such a way, certainly not by a muggle in such an embrace it was…curious. Though not surprising given that they had known the couple with a 30 year period of no contact for them. Maybe himself, Daphne and Potter were to them like that Doctor they travelled with, a brief contact with something unbelievable.

Something else, that Daphne had just noted as Barbara came into the room. Time had indeed been kind to them. They had it seemed barely aged since they had met them. It was almost wizarding-like in the way age had approached them, with delicate kindness the ages had passed their touch on them.

The marks of wisdom, rather than age were present for those who knew where to look, a some touches of grey in their hair, some additional wrinkles. But by far they were not as old as he had expected them to be. He had visited upon many witches and wizards who had aged far more inappropriately than this pair had.

It was quite fascinating.

-/

"So how long have you all been back in your," Ian paused and looked to Barbara.

They had moved from the kitchen to living room where again they had all sat on several nights together.

"Your own time?" Barbara finished.

"A month or so," Daphne answered and looked to Harry as Ian and Barbara seemed slightly surprised.

"I had several things to take care of, the location that sent us to the past in the first place required some dealing with, my organisation-" Harry was cut off by Ian.

"The League of Paranormal Investigations," Ian said with a knowing smile.

Harry rolled his eyes and sighed. "Secret organisation is obviously meant in the same way that UNIT is a secret organisation." Harry shook his head.

"Merely a curious investigation Harry, I had to do something while waiting for you to show up again. You're easier to find than the Doctor," Ian said with a smile.

"You can find him if you know where to look," Daphne added mysteriously. Harry just nodded.

"There were some other more disturbing factors that left Potter occupied," Draco added looking to Harry.

Harry just nodded in reply. "Yes. That did take some precedence I'm afraid."

"World changing danger I expect?" Barbara asked. "Always was with the Doctor."

"Something similar," Harry replied not wishing to get into detail. He had managed to compartmentalise those memories into little boxes in his mind so he didn't need to consider the memories of what happened at the facility with those things and what happened.

There was a short period of silence before Daphne stepped out of her seat and presented Barbara with the box she had beside her.

"This is just something, an appreciation of your offering us your home when we were here," Daphne said.

"You didn't have to Daphne," Barbara said in a surprised tone.

"Anything to help Harry, and his friends, we would do to help," Ian added.

Barbara had removed the paper and inside a box that seemed to fall away as the paper was removed was a crystal vase.

"It's wonderful!" Barbara said.

"It's magical," Daphne said. Barbara looked to her and Draco and Harry in surprise.

"It will fill with water and exchange it. I had noticed that you like freshly cut things in the kitchen when we were last here," Daphne said by way of explanation.

Barbara looked from the vase to her with a look of disbelief. "Thank you, this is…wonderful."

Draco moved forward. "This is something for both of you." Though he handed it to Ian who pulled away the velvet. There was a box inside and within it what appeared to be an 8 inch piece of woven rope.

"It's very intricate," Ian said, though there was a trace of puzzlement in his voice as he looked between Draco and Harry.

Harry shrugged. Draco hadn't explained what he had in the box.

"You offered us sanctuary, this is something I wish to return. Potter-" Draco paused as Ian looked up. "Harry " he looked in Harry's direction. "Has indicated that the times ahead will not be the safest for this planet. Should you require sanctuary of your own in times of dire need, you both simply grasp it and say 'sanctuary' together and you will be transported to a secure location." Draco looked to Harry. "That not even aliens may find," Draco paused. "It will return you here in the same manner." Malfoy finished.

"That is quite an offer Draco," it was Daphne who spoke and her tone spoke volumes to Harry. It was seemingly quite an offer. Quite an offer especially for Draco.

"This is quite an offer Draco." Ian repeated. "Thank you," Ian said looking into Draco's eyes.

"Is there really a danger in the future? We survived the dinosaur invasion, not that we were in London at the time, but Johnny was." Barbara said.

"Your son?" Daphne asked.

"Quite the musician," Harry praised.

"Did you know Harry, when you came and visited?" Barbara suddenly asked.

Harry smiled mysteriously. "I knew of his work," Harry took a breath. "But I couldn't speak of what would happen in your personal timeline, to your family. Just as I couldn't to people I knew then. The web of time is a tricky thing and I don't yet understand it all. But what I do informs me not to interfere with things with history and native to that time zone," Harry finished as the occupants of the room looked at him.

"Sometimes you're uncannily like the Doctor," Ian chuckled. "Except he seemed to blunder in whenever he wanted."

"He got better at it, with age and wisdom," Harry said and picked up the two bags handing one to Barbara and one to Ian. "Thinking of. These were left in something the Doctor gave me. I think he intended me to pass them on to you."

"What are they Harry?" Barbara looked at the bag curiously.

"Well, they're sort of like the TARDIS," both Ian and Barbara looked up and dropped the bags suddenly. "Bigger on the inside," Harry explained.

Ian and Barbara seemed to let out a collective sigh of relief. "They also seem to contain everything from your travels. Though I didn't look through everything."

"Our travels?" Ian and Barbara said together.

"I assume. I never got to mention it to the Doctor, or maybe I will in the future." Harry shook his head. "But it appears so. I found things from Skaro and your travels with Polo. I assume the Doctor grabbed everything from your travels."

Barbara was already rummaging around in the bag. "Oh Ian, look!" She pulled out the Thal cloak. "Do you remember this?" She brought it to her face. "It still smells like the petrified forest."

"I remember." Ian said and paused a look of worry on his face for a moment. "It was also very radioactive," he looked to Harry.

Harry shook his head. "I checked and shoved several scanners into both to check; no radiation readings and nothing that's dangerous. It very likely sat in the TARDIS for several years. Its interior sits in a state of grace in any case." Harry paused. "So the Doctor says."

"And how is the old boy? You were quite reticent about him last time," Ian asked curiously.

"He's…" Harry started and then trailed off. "He has many guises, sometimes he's mysterious, sometimes he's excitable, and then other times he's changed," Harry continued vaguely. He knew the Doctor that would soon visit this time period would be the latter.

"That was always him, never constant, except grouchy," Barbara added with the smile as she looked at the open bag filled with memories of their travels.

-/

Much later the trio departed the house, Harry assured them he'd call or drop by on occasion.

"You were somewhat hesitant Harry." Daphne began as they walked away from the house.

"Yes Potter, not your usual chatty self," Malfoy commented.

Harry exhaled. "It's just somewhat hard, they haven't lived a life since the Doctor in connection with aliens like-" Harry stopped himself as he remembered who he was with. "Some others who I'm in contact with."

"Please Potter I care not for what muggles you associate with," Malfoy said as they reached the edge of the property.

"Well I guess we say goodbye Malfoy until the next emergency," Harry said holding out a hand to Draco. "Draco."

"Potter," Draco said without much malice and shook his hand. Then he let go and disapparated.

"That is quite forward of you Harry," Daphne said as they looked around them.

"It is?" Harry mused. "Calling him Draco or shaking his hand?"

"It is maturing in you, I would hope that there are no further wizards and witches that are in both Draco and my circles that you will need to dispose of," Daphne commented as they made to apparate.

-/

Returning to his house Harry heard a tone coming from his office. It was one of the many warning noises that the space monitoring network he had constructed used.

Sitting down at the computer he beamed at the screen, it heralded something he'd been expecting. The arrival into the North Sea of something, something distinctly not human.

"Harry?" Daphne called, she was lingering near the study door, but as part of their unspoken policy of keeping their lives separate or the secretive bits of pieces of it at any rate separate, had not followed him in.

"Nothing to worry about." He said tapping a code into the keyboard silencing the warning tone.

"Those sorts of noises are things to be concerned of Harry. Muggle machines, computers do not make noises like that when something is right." She looked at him.

Harry tapped something into the computer and the screen went dark again. "Maybe it's because I built it, and wanted a sense of danger in my life," Harry replied.

Daphne glared at him. "That I might expect of you." Daphne took a seat on the chair beside his desk in front of the bookshelves. "But you prefer real danger Harry, not something you falsify."

Harry grinned. "You are beginning to know me too well Daphne."

Daphne smiled and motioned for him to go on.

"I think this is when everything changes."

"Oh?" Daphne looked at her beaming boyfriend curiously.

-/ - \\-

It was early March, Harry had indicated he'd detected 'significant activity' and his vehicle that the Doctor had given him, the one that was so very strangely designed, yet could fly through unknown means. The one that was sitting behind them, had indicated 'temporal activity', so Harry had said.

They were standing on this roof top because, as she could see utilising a modified set of omnioculars she's brought with her she could see a Police Box sitting within a muggle housing facility, a set of tall buildings located within London.

From where they were they could also see the Palace of Westminster, the Clock Tower in particular Harry had indicated would be changed on this day. But had not indicated further what might happen.

-/

"What is it that we are waiting for Harry?" Daphne asked. The police box had not moved, except that since they had been here a hoodlum of some description had painted 'BAD WOLF' on the side. Which indicated to her that outside influences could affect the box; the TARDIS's exterior. Though Harry had indicated, as had Barbara and Ian that the TARDIS was indestructible. But seemed that its internal elements could effect how this interaction between outside and inside altered the interactions it had with the world.

"Something interesting," he said as he pulled out a small computational device he had inside a pocket.

Then she heard it, a long droning noise from far away. Gazing around she saw it.

It was unlike any muggle craft, not an aeroplane, not a helicopter like the ones Harry had a fascination for. Nor was it like the craft Harry and her father were working venturing forward on. This was something…

Its shape almost rebelled in her estimation of what it was.

The shapes these she could recognise. But its existence, how it behaved in the air, there was something.

"Alien," she breathed, Harry grinned at her as she realised she said it out loud.

"This is where they grab the attention of everyone, supposedly," Harry said. The Doctor had recounted this event in some detail to him, it seemed fresh in his mind when he'd met him at the Quidditch World Cup. Looking back it was likely he was avoiding other topics.

Like the Time War.

Daphne was unsure of what Harry meant by this, he had been quite reticent to discuss his foreknowledge of events that were to take place shortly. Although she knew that any foreknowledge must be managed, and the Doctor could not be someone who would use this information irresponsibly.

She only briefly had time to consider what would draw attention, as the alien crafted adjusted its course. It was quite clearly not out of control as it had managed a few banking turns until it was level with clock tower of the Palace of Westminster.

"Harry, it can't," she said as she watched the craft approach.

"Grand gestures and great destruction will always grab people's attention," Harry mused though he was cringing slightly as the craft approached, seemingly at a very slow rate as it completed another small correction.

"It's deliberate," Daphne breathed out in sudden realisation.

Beside her Harry nodded. "It's also not from space and very deliberate," Harry said as he removed from his pocket a pair of binoculars. They were not of the wizarding variety, but nor did they look like they were of a regular muggle production.

Like many of the items that Harry used in the pursuit of his work they were of an origin that she could not quite discern.

"Splash down," Harry said as he replaced the device within his pocket. "Time for us to go." Harry said.

Daphne turned her binoculars back to where she was monitoring the Doctor's craft; his TARDIS.

"You are not going to make contact with the Doctor or these aliens?" She asked as she followed Harry back towards his own craft where he was opening the 'windscreen' that allowed entry to it.

He shook his head and got into the craft as she joined him he began the starting procedures.

"My life with the Doctor is complicated enough and this aspect of him is…" He trailed off. "Affected by his experiences," he said finally as the craft lifted off the rooftop with almost no noise.

"Experiences?" She asked. Harry had never gone into vast amounts of detail about his association with the Doctor, as a friend who had been with him throughout childhood and far beyond it was perhaps one of the longest friendships Harry had.

"When I met him he was quit saddened by events in his recent past." Harry said in a faltering way. "Something close to him happened." He chanced a glance to her away from the view outside and the instruments, his expression was awkward and almost pained.

"You don't-" Daphne began but was cut off.

"It's just complicated without context. He seemed to indicate this event, here was close to the traumatic events of the past. If I meet him here…" Harry trailed off. "When I met him in the 70s it was early in his life, I think and I knew him quite well, his future and I'd known him," Harry paused as the craft manoeuvred in the air. "I'm not sure if meeting him now would be a good thing. Perhaps later when he's more reconnected with humanity a bit," Harry said finally.

Daphne had only begun to understand the true complexity that was the Doctor and his various aspects, but this man, this alien whom Harry cared for, how someone so powerful that could walk the winds of time, what damage could be inflicted on such a being?

Then a noise interrupted her thoughts. It was a familiar noise to Harry's home, the noise of the phone.

"It's the Ministry, on my special phone," Harry explained as he pushed a button, a rustling of noise played throughout the cabin. "Yes?" Harry said.

"Uh…I was told to use this number there's been a crash."

Harry's expression portrayed confusion and for a moment Daphne couldn't identify the voice, she had heard it before but couldn't for the moment place it.

"Hermione?" Harry asked surprised.

"Harry?!" The voice exclaimed.

Daphne knew that Hermione Granger was working with the Ministry whilst completing her final portions of her muggle study. It was something that involved Aurors as well. Though she hadn't found anyone who knew anything more. Draco or one of his contacts probably knew something of what was going on within the various departments of the Ministry. But it wasn't something of great concern. Harry was in somewhat regular contact with Hermione Granger and he'd shown no reticence with introducing her, or rather reintroducing her. She had had some contact with Hermione Granger when they were at Hogwarts. Unlike many of her classmates Daphne had still regularly used the Hogwarts library for additional study. There were several unique texts within its shelves, often that were not within the Restricted Section.

Although now there were far more libraries that she could access, were it needed. Though most texts that were relevant to her family's business were held within her family's estate.

"You've called the League of Paranormal Investigations, and if you're using that phone it's important. What do you want and why are you calling?" Harry said as he looked to another of the craft's screens. Daphne had already discerned this one's function as a map so Harry could pilot the craft back to his home.

"I…uh…there's a spaceship that's crashed into Big Ben." For an archaeologist Ms Granger had made something of an error in her reference to the building, although she did hear the bell ring out as the craft crashed into it.

"You know that it actually hit the Clock Tower, and dropped a few bits of debris along the way," Harry quite correctly pointed out.

"You know, you were there," Granger reasoned pausing briefly. "You knew Harry! You knew this was going to happen."

Daphne's estimation of Hermione Granger increased somewhat.

"Hermione. What do you want? You've obviously not just come across the phone sitting on a shelf that says 'for use in emergencies' and if you have I'll be having words with people in the Ministry."

Daphne heard Granger audibly sigh and could imagine the woman staring at Harry because of his method of distracting her from her actual goal.

"I was here for a briefing Harry, I'm heading out in an hour to help stabilise the Clock Tower of the Houses of Parliament. Happy?"

Harry grinned to himself. "Very. Again I'll repeat, what do you want?"

"I didn't know I was calling you or I just would have gone outside and called you with a normal phone, this thing's not exactly compact."

"Shall we discuss exactly what went into making a satellite communication device that I could leave with the people at the Ministry that was unbreakable and unmagicable for a later date?"

Granger sighed again. "Fine Harry. The Ministry is throwing up anti-apparition wards around the site and other areas of London. They want you, and I suppose your organisation there as well. All I was told to say is 'there's an incident in London that requires your knowledge and experience' by some lackey in the Ministry who was dealing with a bunch of paper planes."

"Fine, tell-" Harry shook his head. "Don't bother trying to find anyone, if they ask just say you go through to the answering service."

"You mean you don't come when called Harry?" Granger had a sarcastic tone in her voice. "How very like your attitude to the Ministry."

"When something intrigues me I will arrive on time," Harry replied. "Look after yourself Hermione."

"And you Harry." Then the call ended.

"Thanks for staying quiet through all that," he said as they made the final approach towards his house.

"I understand you have concerns to take care of Harry." She touched his arm gently. "But I thank you for allowing me to witness the event. I understand it is one of many."

"Before the day is out," he murmured to himself. Then nodded more noticeably. "Yes. This year will prove to be interesting I think."

-/ - \\-

"Shit storm is the word," Judith said at Ioan as she waved a pass through the side rear window of the Land Rover. "You're still messing with your wand secretively," she called forward to Ioan.

"Trying to determine how many spells the Ministry has thrown or tried to throw over this shit storm," he explained distractedly.

"One that I didn't think we'd get called into since Harry knows the ending," she said in an accusing tone.

"I know bits, it's like reading a powerpoint presentation," Judith groaned as Harry answered.

"More than once I've wanted to kill someone after one of those," she muttered.

"A well written one," Harry clarified. "I think we're here." Here seemed to be the command centre set up near the river to deal with the space ship.

"You think?" Judith asked in a semi-sarcastic tone.

-/

The government was trying its hardest, Harry had to give them that, but how do you cordon off a huge section of the River Thames?

"Do you think there's Ministry goons around here?" Harry asked Ioan looking around.

"Would we have been called in if they were going to do that?" Judith asked and both Harry and Ioan gave her similar looks. "Of course we would."

"I think it's very possible," Ioan said remembering. "There was a Quidditch World Cup in the 60s when Britain hosted the cup, they hadn't anticipated the crowd or the celebrations and a lot of people witnessed things."

"Your phallus riding antics," Judith commented casually.

"The Ministry took the opportunity to push their alien-magic cover up, I remember when I was doing my research they went back to the surrounding areas and continued to stage 'alien events' with magic. Just to further the ideas that that they'd magicked away the spectacle. It was widely reported."

"I recall reading something about that," Harry was going to say more when a man, who looked like he was in charge strode over to him. Harry sighed and held up his security pass.

"Maybe it's the London Eye, maybe that's what's attracting all this alien stuff," Judith said as she and Ioan had their passes inspected.

"Thank you Sir," the military man, whose own ID indicated he was part of the Parachute Regiment said.

"Has a perimeter been established?" Harry asked.

"Yes sir and divers are preparing to approach the craft," he paused for a few moments. "We were waiting for UNIT to give the all clear."

Harry looked to Ioan and Judith. "Unpack the portable detectors," he said and turned his full attention back to the soldier. "I can give you danger assessment, but I'll need to talk with your commander."

"Yes sir. I'll just check," he said, not quite coming to attention as he left them.

Judith appraised him when Harry turned back to them.

Harry shrugged. "Military minds are much easier to manipulate, rigid thinking."

"Nothing to do with you wanting to show off your domineering side to us?" Judith asked.

"None at all," Harry paused. "Judith, do a perimeter sweep and then go for a wander."

Judith nodded. "Looking for anything special?"

"Anyone from Torchwood. They would have to be all over this, Torchwood One's somewhere around here," Harry commented in a curious tone.

"I thought you were best friends with Torchwood." She teased. Harry's expression hardened.

"In Cardiff with Jack yes. But Torchwood One's an entirely different beast," Harry pondered..

"All the power at the top." Judith looked to him. "If I find anyone?"

"I'll leave that to you," Harry paused. "Make sure they leave, this situation's already complicated enough, Ioan and I will handle any wizards wanting to take advantage."

"If I see any I'll deal with them," She paused and smiled at him and held up her hand. "No witnesses."

"Sir, Brigadier James Sterling," the solider said as he walked up with an older man; solidly built and looked over both Harry and Ioan. Harry noted that the man instantly knew what weapons himself and Ioan had with them.

Harry offered him his hand. "Harry Potter, LPI."

"League of Paranormal Investigations, was expecting UNIT to turn up and shove their hands all over this mess," he commented, shaking Harry's hand and gave Harry and Ioan a hard look. "Or other people."

"It's the other people I'm worried about Brigadier," Harry said and had a moment of déjà vu as he spoke and smiled.

"Something the matter Harry?" Ioan asked curiously.

Harry shook his head. "My associates will check the area around here, there are very likely several parties already nosing around."

"Clearance?" Brigadier Stirling asked.

Harry shrugged. "None or higher than yours, or they like to think it is. I can go with your boarding parties to the craft, make sure it's secure."

"Good. Sergeant," Brigadier Stirling barked an order and Harry picked up his case.

As they walked down towards the river Harry spoke again with Brigadier Stirling. "Once I've checked it's safe and there are no occupants I want this sent to Porton Down."

Brigadier Stirling looked at him. "I've had orders to leave it in the River."

Harry grimaced. "I bet you have," Harry mused. "Torchwood?"

"An organisation I shouldn't know exists." He gave him a careful look. "Though outside of your organisation's acronym I shouldn't know what you do either Mr Potter."

Harry smiled carefully. "Well, who do you trust Brigadier? A man who's standing in front of you offering to go with your men to a potentially dangerous alien craft who's instructing you to get that craft out of the water to an MOD site," Harry paused. "Or a faceless nameless person from an organisation which doesn't even have business cards."

With the last statement Brigadier Stirling chuckled.

"And you do have business cards Mr Potter?" He asked curiously.

"I've also got an address," Harry added as the boat made it down to the river. There were two boats one with divers and one with soldiers in it. "Potter here will be your specialist for this," Brigadier Stirling began. "UNIT has decided not to turn up, again." This made the soldiers before him smirk. "Mr Potter." Stirling looked to him.

"When we approach I'll check for any energy leaks, radiation surges and any energy fields that we need to worry about. Divers," Harry paused and look to the second boat. "Check for any hull breaches, don't go into the craft that way, there could be a lot of danger," Harry said vaguely looking over at the craft. "Once you've checked for hull breaches or any damage we'll proceed inside." Harry turned to Brigadier Stirling. "Be prepared to send another boat for any survivors," Harry paused. "Or any bodies."

"Any special equipment?" Stirling asked. "Outside the usual."

Harry shrugged. "A snow shovel, or something like it." Harry said with a grimace of memory.

Stirling looked at him. "Snow shovel?"

"If it came down without any inertia limiting systems the inhabitants may have been turned into something similar to rough custard,"

Stirling stared at him for a moment before nodding.

-/

None of the soldiers asked any questions when he told them to stop a few meters from the craft as he opened the two plastic cases that held the equipment he'd slowly been trying to shrink down from the land rover boot sized equipment.

There was a limit to what could be done, especially with the need to have everything survive a magical rich environment.

As he set the scanner to power up he extracted his wand and carefully checked around them. It didn't look like the Ministry had got this far out into the middle of the river yet.

It was fortunate, though probably deliberate that the craft was where it was, almost in the middle of the river.

"Scans are clear, we're safe enough to go forward." Harry said to the Major who was leading this element of soldiers.

-/

Ioan watched as Harry went out to the craft and continued the calculation that he had begun in his head a few moments ago. When he'd started to learn the intricacies of Quidditch, part of his cut short career by the bigots of wizarding society there had been an emphasis on various flight styles and calculations. How long with would take a broom to stop, when, what was the best angle to approach a snitch.

That craft, which was in the river, at the speed and angle that it hit the clock tower, had it not hit it, the velocity that it had been travelling at, in order to do the damage that it had done would have meant that the Thames wouldn't have provided enough cushioning to drop its velocity down.

Instead it would have continued along the river and crashed into the bank of the river, before floating back into the middle. Which meant the ship, or the ship's pilot either deliberately hit the tower to slow down or…or all of this was to get people to look at the river.

-/

Harry had told them that 10 Downing Street would be destroyed today, that it was good that most of the cabinet was outside London at the moment.

And that a ship would crash into the Thames.

Although that was the extent of his knowledge, broadly he'd said.

Stabilising the clock tower was at least a good use of the Ministry's efforts. Putting up random notice me not charms everywhere wasn't, Ioan wasn't sure why they were bothering, but he was still finding them, and at a variety of strengths.

Some were Quidditch ground strengths and others weren't anything beyond Hogwarts graduate levels.

Ioan suspected there was a department within the Ministry somewhere that was already drafting a story to explain this as another example of the Ministry and of Magic's power he thought with a sneer.

Then he noticed something, something incredibly stupid.

A solider looking into the barrel of a pistol; his own pistol. This wasn't exactly a wizarding taking advantage, though Ioan did wonder where the solider was, the one from whom this wizard had taken his clothes or at the very least weapon.

Looking around Ioan spied two soldiers. "You men, with me," he said in his most authoritative voice.

"Sir?" They looked to him as he showed his pass. Something about it made them give him their full attention.

"That man," Ioan gestured discreetly at the man who was still looking at the pistol. "Is an imposter," Ioan realised before he'd finished talking that the soldiers had recognised this and were already moving.

Ioan followed and arrived moments behind them, one already had the man in a firm hold.

Ioan walked up and the man's expression shifted slightly as he took in Ioan and more to the point the wand in his pocket.

Ioan meanwhile patted down the man, finding a similar wooden object within his uniform.

"Sir?"

Ioan realised the men were addressing him. "Keep him around here, and restrained," Ioan said placing the man's wand in a secure pocket of his own clothing. The solider took out some very thick plastic ties and bound the man's hands.

"I was under the impression everyone was stabilising the clock tower," he said in a low voice. "And any wizarding around could wait until after this situation has passed."

An expression passed over the man's face that Ioan recognised almost immediately. "There are anti-appariation wards around here," he said hoping he didn't have to explain what would happen if the man tried. If the man was a man, it was clear he'd taken the polyjuice potion.

"I see you've captured yourself a spy," Judith said, she'd used her uncanny ability to sneak up on him. "The soldiers pointed me in your direction."

Ioan was certain that wasn't the case, usually it was Harry she surprised like this.

"Harry's off doing what he enjoys," Judith continued.

"Throwing himself into imminent danger," Ioan muttered.

"Do you want me to deal with him?" She asked curiously.

"I think someone will notice if we kill him," Ioan said casually, the man stared at them with wild panicked eyes.

"Everyone's already distracted Ioan, I think they won't notice much," Judith said equally as casually.

"Or we could just interrogate him, if it is a him," Ioan said as he voiced his own internal musings.

Judith looked at him with a smile. "Kinky, you phallus waving fanatics continue to surprise me." Judith walked over and looked at the wizard, or witch.

Ioan watched on for a moment, just in case Judith did get a little too enthusiastic with the man or woman.

"We're going to have a nice chat," she said calmly.

"And if…if I don't…?" He asked looking at the older woman.

"Well I won't do anything, I'll just…" Ioan didn't hear any more as Judith leaned down and whispered something into the polyjuice façade of the man's ear.

The man's body language, or rather the polyjuiced man's entire body seemed to tense and slump as his mind worked through what Judith had sad.

A few moments later she stepped away and the man seemed not broken but certainly worried.

"What…" Ioan started and Judith raised an eyebrow to him. "Never mind." Ioan continued after a moment.

-/ - \\-

The divers had reported, the hull appeared to be intact.

"Sir?" One of the soldiers was handing him a torch, the man leading the squad was also looking to him. They were what looked like a hatch.

"I'm leading the way it seems," Harry said, mostly to himself.

"No, but if you could open the door sir," said the man who was leading the troops.

"Not UNIT." Harry remembered as he grabbed his energy scanner, slipping it into his bag which couldn't possibly hold it if it were a normal bag, and then pulled himself up onto the craft. Another of the soldiers joined him up on the edge.

Opening the hatch was simple, painfully simple.

"Far, far too simple," Harry said out loud as the hatch ground its way open.

"Sir?" One asked.

"Be careful. I think this is a trap," Harry said as he looked around out to the banks of the river.

Though there was danger here there was also danger on the river banks, and probably in the clock tower.

There was also a Time Lord wandering around with a Northern accent. Which was also dangerous in his own way.

There was also Rose Tyler that he needed to not meet, as she seemed to genuinely not know who he was when they'd first met.

He followed the soldiers into the craft after half of them had entered, Harry was still mindful that there could be all sorts of danger lurking, in addition to this being a trap, he wasn't sure exactly what sort of trap this was going to end up being.

The only other things he was certain of for the outcome of all of this was that Downing Street would be destroyed and that someone called Harriet Jones was important.

The corridors inside the ship were large and the ceilings also high. Harry smirked to himself as he reflected he'd now seen inside enough spaceships to actually make observations like that and compare it to a wealth of experience.

Then they found the pilot.

Well, they, the soldiers did.

It wasn't what he was expecting, Harry had to admit.

-/

As Harry arrived back to shore as night was approaching, the body would soon be moved to Albion Hospital, he'd agreed to meet it there also with a medical professional that one of the organisations that had its fingers in the various fingers in the multiple pies around here had sorted out.

Judith was waiting for him.

"Any trouble?" Harry asked.

"A wizard under polyjuice, was just told to monitor the situation, mind wipe anyone who talked about aliens too loudly," Judith reported.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "That's a bit drastic," he said. "Considering." He nodded towards the clock tower, which still didn't look stabilised.

"Plenty of magic going on in there." Judith said in reply to his head nod.

"None of it dangerous," Harry said as he looked back over at the clock tower, every so often he could see the flare of a spell, even from this distance.

"No," Judith confirmed. "Ioan's doing another sweep of the perimeter. Here he comes now."

Harry looked around and didn't bother being surprised when he came up behind him.

"Just saw some Ministry people turn away a few wizards and witches on brooms, wanting to have a look," Ioan said his tone amused, though probably not in relation to the Ministry.

"We shouldn't need to deal with this for much longer, there's a tug boat and a crane on their way that'll get rid of the ship," Harry said jabbing a finger towards the river.

"What was inside?" Judith asked curiously.

When he told them both Ioan and Judith stared at him.

Harry shrugged. "Is it any stranger than the Bandrils?"

Ioan looked at Judith and shrugged.

"I thought it'd be you guys who'd make pigs fly with your perverted magic sticks not aliens," Judith commented.

-/ - \\-

Harry looked up at the security cameras approached Albion Hospital. Judith and Ioan he'd told to go home, or at the least not to hang around Downing Street, or London for that matter.

There wasn't anything else they could do, the ship was in the process of being craned out of the Thames and would soon be on its way to Porton Down, a facility that among other things wasn't under the thumb of Torchwood One as far as he could tell. Nor was it aligned with UNIT, which seemed to please Brigadier Sterling.

He'd had to walk and make it through several layers of security, he'd let Ioan take the Land Rover Defender with him when he left. Though apparating wasn't an option at the moment.

It seemed like the whole of London had been blanketed with anti-apparition wards.

Ioan had told him that the strength of them had steadily increased as afternoon turned into evening. He said it felt like a Quidditch game-style wards multiplied by about 100.

Harry could tell there was something, but Ioan said that you could sense those things if you played games around such wards.

Maybe in a parallel universe Harry had been such a bloke, playing Quidditch games with Ron and Ginny. That thought now made him grimace.

Now he only used a broom for the occasional flight. Other aircraft being far more interesting to fly than riding around on a broom, plus he didn't have to worry about his extremities freezing on long flights.

As he passed through the last layer of security his phone rang.

Which was odd, because not that many people had the number to his phone in his pocket.

"Mr Potter," said the voice of Mr Harry Pearce, MI5 Section D.

"Mr Pearce," Harry said as he stepped off to the side. The soldiers guarding the hospital's entrance paid him no heed as he'd passed through all the security without being shot. "How long have you been watching things Mr Pearce?" Harry asked.

"Sooner than anyone else might have. How much do you know?" Pearce asked getting down to business.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Do you really expect me to give you an answer to that question?" The silence from Pearce confirmed he didn't.

"Should I consider it fortunate that most of the cabinet is outside London at this time?" Pearce asked.

"Very," Harry replied. "You should also remove any operatives that you have at, near or even in the general vicinity of Downing Street," Harry said and hoped Pearce wouldn't ask anything further of him.

"And why would that be Mr Potter?" Pearce asked.

Harry sighed. "Just as your friend was stuck in the past and I had to venture outwards to get a solution to that problem, this is another of them."

"An answer without any information, isn't much of an answer."

Well it's the best you're going to get. Harry mused to himself. "I am simply trying to preserve" Harry paused as he was about to say 'the timeline'. At that moment Harry hated knowing the future. Hated that there were some things he knew he couldn't interfere with, that there was a wider continuity, a wider web around him. He could take away a few stands of the web, move them around but some things had to hold the web up. "I'm trying to preserve…." He started again and trailed off and sighed again.

"Mr Potter?" Pearce asked curiously.

"Mr Pearce, can you take it on good faith that what I'm telling you is true and honest. Bug Downing Street if you have to, do it in the next hour and then get out."

Pearce's silence indicated he had to explain further.

"The events going on over the next 24 hours fall into the same category as the Shoreditch Incident, Black Thursday and the business with Operation Golden Age," Harry finished.

"Evacuation is not an option I take it?" Pearce asked, himself sighing.

"No," Harry said. "I have some things to investigate, I can swing around later and explain further and assist you and your team in person," Harry offered. It was something he didn't think he was going to do himself, but somehow the Doctor had managed to fire a missile remotely from a somewhere that would destroy Downing Street.

How he'd done that and the fall out would need to be managed. If he didn't do it he wondered who would.

There was some silence from Pearce.

"Someone will meet you when you enter Thames House. Good day Mr Potter."

Then the line went dead.

"Probably not a good day," Harry said to himself as he walked into Albion Hospital.

-/

It was as he was approaching the mortuary that he heard and felt a wind barrelling through the corridors of a space-time vessel dematerialising.

There were also a lot more soldiers around as he made his way towards the mortuary entrance.

"What's the situation?" Harry asked showing his pass to the solider who appeared to be in charge.

"The…" He paused for a moment seemingly trying to think of the right word.

"Specimen," Harry supplied, he wasn't sure if these men were ready to casually talk about aliens.

He nodded. "The specimen came to life and escaped from the mortuary, it was shot."

"And there was a man," another of the soldiers said. The lead soldier nodded.

"A man?" Harry asked. "Northern accent, leather jacket, wandering around like he owns the place?"

The soldier looked at him in complete surprise. "Is he one of your lot sir?"

Harry shook his head mildly. "I've met him," Harry said and left it at that.

In the mortuary he found something he didn't expect. And a dead pig.

"I didn't think Torchwood had its fingers in this pie," Harry said as he found a woman that Jack had described, to him, though he'd not met.

"T-T-Torchwood?" The woman turned and he noticed a bandage on her head.

"Are you alright Ms Sato?" Harry asked.

She nodded and adjusted her glasses. "How do you know me?"

"Jack and I have a drink every so often." She almost rolled her eyes and Harry quickly added. "Not like that." Harry smiled. "I know Jack likes to shag anything with a pulse. We're just friends."

"Who are you?" She asked cautiously.

Harry showed her his pass. "Harry Potter, LPI."

"The League of Paranormal Investigations," she said by way of recognition. "You get copied on UNIT's security bulletins."

"And I thought Torchwood had a rift to worry about and I didn't know you were a medical Doctor?" He asked.

She shook her head. "I, well, Owen asked me to cover for him." She gestured to the slab where the dead pig was lying.

"A good shot, straight through the brain," Harry said and walked over to the X-rays on the wall. "Scrambling anything useful in there," Harry said to himself. "So how come you're here and not someone from the towering importance of Torchwood One?"

Sato smiled slightly at his dig at One. "Jack pulled some strings said we should deal with it." When Harry didn't seem surprised she continued. "You know why." She fixed him with a questioning look.

"As I said Jack and I are friends." She looked at him knowingly. "Not sex buddies. Though he keeps trying."

Harry took one final look at the body.

"What…what should I do with the body?" Sato asked as Harry turned to leave.

Harry shrugged, he wasn't really sure. He'd come because he'd been asked to look in, and because he was curious. "If Jack doesn't want it someone from the military will be along to claim it."

"You're not…" She trailed off.

"No. There's far too many people around for me to take it, and it's not my field." Not unless someone's pretending to be a pig or turned something into the pig. Which, Harry mused was possible he wondered if there had been any experiments on when happened when someone died in animagus form. He then quickly dismissed it as other magical experiments involving humans and aliens came back into his mind, making him shudder slightly.

-/

Harry exhaled as he left Albion Hospital.

"One crisis down several more to sort out," Harry said as he looked up at the security cameras again.

-/ - \\-

Thames House.

His security clearance very likely exceeded everyone's here in the general sense. Broadly speaking he and LPI had clearances that went up, above and beyond most things.

Though that didn't mean he was copied or had immediate access to every bit of information that was going through the security services. Nor did he want to.

There was enough to worry about with magic and aliens without mixing in the geopolitical issues that were constantly bombarding the security services.

Said security clearance had let him walk through the various security checkpoints and it wasn't until he had reached the corridor, well, one of the corridors that he suspected that Harry Pearce's section lurked down.

"Harry Potter?" A woman stepped into his field of vision. He recognised her from somewhere but couldn't quite place it. Likely a security briefing of some sort that passed his attention that wasn't related specifically to geopolitical or local security stuff.

Harry nodded. "That's me."

"Could I see your pass?" She asked.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "I've managed to get this far into Thames House, if I managed it without a pass your security's seriously flawed and I'll go and watch the alien incursion from my house."

She smiled. It was a smile that he used frequently when he had to go into the Ministry, a smile he'd used with the Minister. He and Kingsley had drifted somewhat, though he still conversed it wasn't really friendly.

It probably wasn't going to get more friendly after today and what was to come.

Harry sighed and handed over his security pass.

"Thank you," she said after more than glancing at it, she really studied it, then she gestured down a non-descript corridor.

Through a fairly normal looking door were a set of circular pods. Harry adjusted the bag he had slung over his shoulder and stepped in.

Then as the pod doors rotated and he felt a slight tingle up his back of a powered scanning device. It was obviously alien technology, or maybe it was something of Torchwood's some reverse engineered gubbins.

Then the alarm went off and the pod was bathed in a friendly red light. The woman who had entered the pod with him looked back to him.

"Jo Portman," Harry said aloud as he finally remembered her name. She'd been guarding the Prime Minister's son during some disturbance earlier this year. The son that no longer had a father after today, or perhaps he hadn't had a father since before today, dead via alien encounter. Harry didn't let that weigh on his thoughts, too much. There were other larger concerns.

"Response 160a, that's interesting," said a man with glasses who rushed up and switched something on the pods and allowed Jo Portman to leave.

Harry at this moment briefly wished for a sonic screwdriver.

"Let him out Colin," called a voice Harry recognised and saw Harry Pearce walking over.

As the doors opened Harry walked out. "I'm sure it's a scanning error, or it could be the weapons on my person," Harry said casually as he shook Pearce's hand.

"My office Mr Potter," he said walking away.

-/

"So what's going on at Downing Street?" Harry asked as he took a seat in one of the chairs in Harry Pearce's office.

"They're collecting their alien experts. You weren't invited?" Pearce asked curiously.

"I'm not in their address books," Harry replied simply.

"Not since the 1970s," Pearce countered.

Harry exhaled. "One complicated thing at a time."

"This is as complicated a situation that we have faced since that '97 disaster." Pearce said gravely.

"Be thankful that the Prime Minister and the cabinet wasn't slaughtered this time around and an Ice Lord made ruler of Great Britain," Harry offered.

Pearce stared at him. "Small mercies." Then someone opened the door and walked in.

"Harry, we've just been copied on a response to the keyword search for the panic line," said a woman with brown hair and a calm yet flustered state to her body language.

"Panic line?" Harry Potter asked curiously.

"'Support hotline'," Pearce provided. "Another section deals with that, thank goodness. Ruth Evershed, Harry Potter."

"League of Paranormal Investigations," Harry said offered her his hand.

"Yes, I know, you're one of the clearance-all people, above UNIT and all that," she said as she passed pieces of paper to Pearce.

"Code Nine; Red flagged?" Pearce asked.

"Key words during a crisis like this, we monitor it like the other help lines as sources of information. Just in case something turns up."

"And what words came up?" Harry asked. "As red flagged," he clarified.

"There's been a registration of 'blue box', 'the Doctor' and 'TARDIS'," Harry felt a chill go down his back.

Pearce noticed. "You know these?" He passed the pieces of paper to Harry.

The three words weren't the only words on the list. The list was columns and columns worth of words that covered several pages.

Harry wished he had a photographic memory so he could remember all of them, but he couldn't. But he did recognise several of the words.

"What's happening now?" Harry asked.

Ruth responded looking between them. "The army's been mobilised with orders from Downing Street, to get him, he's one of these experts there're collecting."

Pearce looked to Harry. "Let them do it, what is about to happen will happen." Harry said with a sigh. He knew that several good, smart people from UNIT and elsewhere were already in Downing Street.

He could stop this, but what of the effect on his past, and the Doctor's future was tied into his own past.

He hated this sometimes.

"Get Colin and Malcolm onto getting those links up," Pearce ordered.

"Adam and Zaf are finishing up now, they wanted to stay near by to monitor things," Ruth said and looked between the two men.

"Get them back to the Grid Ruth," Pearce said, and when Ruth was at the door he spoke again. "No disruptions Ruth," he said fixing her with a look. She nodded and slid the door closed.

"I suppose you'll want an explanation," Harry said with a sigh.

"Yes," Pearce said. Watching him.

Harry leaned back, knowing this discussion was coming hadn't made it any easier to prepare.

"Your friend who got sent back in time. He knew the future but didn't try to alter it," Harry began.

Pearce watched him curiously.

"You also know that I was in the 1970s." Harry didn't add he'd been there twice. "You might also know that my parents were killed in the 1980s."

Pearce nodded. "I was aware of that Mr Potter." Harry must have looked surprised. "I like to know what I can about other security organisations Mr Potter."

"We should have lunch sometime, when we're not in the middle of a crisis," Harry said flippantly and leaned back further into the chair, trying to calm himself. "You accept I was in the 70s?"

Pearce nodded. "Enough evidence exists Mr Potter. Especially considering you were on the payroll of the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce and advised the Prime Minister, and were involved in a major military strike force to rescue a diplomat."

Harry snorted. "Fine. Yes. Another time," Harry said. "I was in that time period with the knowledge that my parents would die. That a lot of people would die in the intervening years, people I cared about, and armed with all that knowledge I knew that I could do nothing." Harry took a breath of air. "Because to do so, to make a change like that would alter history."

"But Mr Potter this is currently your present, unless you've been on another jaunt to your respective future, your actions are your own," Pearce replied in a reasonable tone.

Harry blinked and for a moment wasn't sure what to say.

"After our meeting and my subsequent research I've been reading of Whitaker's temporal research and Doctor Elizabeth Shaw's theories on meta-temporal realities," Pearce provided.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "I have it on good authority Whitaker was a bit of a mad man."

"Operation Golden Age, I know Mr Potter," Pearce commented.

"You know who the Doctor is then," Harry said after a few moments.

"That he was UNIT's scientific advisor for some time during the 1970s and 80s," Pearce paused, then added with little dramatic flair. "And that he's a time traveller."

"That would be a yes then," Harry said. "I think I'd like a drink of water." He rose and walked over to where a tray was sitting.

-/

"So who is that guy?" Jo asked Ruth as she watched Harry's office. The man who was about her age and Harry seemed to be having a serious, though seemingly friendly conversation.

"Harry Potter?" Ruth replied distractedly.

"Yes. They look like they're old friends," Jo observed.

"He's in charge of a meta-security investigative organisation," Ruth replied as she worked on something, several somethings Jo suspected.

"He set off the pods, I've never seen them behave like that," Jo said aloud.

"As he said, he was carrying weapons, and something else the pod systems couldn't identify," Colin said as he pushed his chair over to where they were. "It wasn't an error, it was just reporting something that we don't have in our database of alerts."

Jo looked over to Harry's office as the man stood up and walked over to the tray where Harry kept a jug of water beside his whiskey and other things. Then the man, Harry Potter walked quickly over to the windows and let the blinds down obscuring her view into the office.

-/

"Portman was looking very curiously in here," Harry said as he returned to sit opposite Pearce.

"She is a security officer," Pearce said calmly.

"From here on this is between us, because you want to know," Harry said heavily.

"Want to?" Pearce raised an eyebrow.

"I could just leave it here, go home." Harry took a sip of the water. "But then you'd probably work it out eventually," Harry sighed. "The Doctor's a time traveller, and I've known him for a long time," he paused, swallowing. "And he's told me some things about the future and his future is also my personal past."

"I see," Pearce said after a long pause. "Doesn't any interaction threaten that?"

"The way he and others have explained it to me is some things are fixed, others aren't." Harry shrugged. "Other times he's said that the beginning, middle and end are important what happens in between can change."

"And what do you think Mr Potter?" Pearce was studying him.

"I know what I know, I can't un-know these things," Harry paused and took another sip of the water. "If not by now, then later tonight all the human alien experts inside number 10 will be dead," Harry paused and crossed his arms, making sure his wand was still in his jacket pocket. "Early tomorrow morning someone, I don't know who, someone outside of Number 10 will access a system and order a missile strike on Number 10, under the orders of someone human inside Number 10."

Pearce was silent for several seconds. "What sort of missile?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Something within British waters, probably from the Royal Navy."

Pearce was again silent. "I see, and these are fixed?"

Harry nodded, Pearce was taking this very well and Harry said as much.

"I make it a point Mr Potter to know about things that might threaten the country, even the unbelievable things."

They were silent for a few moments and then the phone intercom on the desk made a noise. Pearce rose and pushed a button.

"Harry, we've got surveillance up for Downing Street."

Pearce looked back to Harry. "Shall we?"

-/

"So this is the numpty that triggered the red flash?" Adam was looking over Jo's shoulder, he and Zaf had just arrived back from Downing Street. "What's Harry up to?"

"Talking with someone from LPI." Jo looked over at Harry's office, now hidden from the outside world. The man had closed the blinds 10 minutes ago.

"And this guy, and the girl with him?"

"Her name's Rose Tyler, lives with mother in the Powell Estate, been missing for a year," Jo said, a missing posted flashed up on the screen. "Went missing just after those shopping deaths."

"Which UNIT investigated," Adam said as he looked back to Harry's office.

"Adam" Colin called. "Links are up."

"Get Harry," Adam said as he walked in the direction of where Colin was.

-/

Barely a moment later Harry and another man joined him.

"Adam Carter; Harry Potter from LPI, he'll be liaising with us throughout this situation."

"Will I?" The man, Potter seemed darkly amused but offered Adam his hand. "Hi," Potter greeted.

"LPI?" Adam asked.

"League of Paranormal Investigations," Harry Pearce said without any preamble. "Colin, let's see inside Downing Street."

"I've been getting significant EM fluctuations from inside Downing Street and it's just starting the clear," Colin provided.

"Interesting," Potter said and looked to Harry. "They're probably all dead by now."

Adam looked between Harry and the LPI man. But Harry didn't seem surprised by Potter's announcement.

"I see."

"Under the jurisdiction of the Emergency Protocols I authorise you to execute this man." Adam recognised the man in the uniform as General Asquith who was chief of the Defence Staff.

"Can they do that? Under the Protocols I mean?" Potter asked aloud, though he didn't appear to be asking anyone in particular.

"Adam," Harry said.

Adam leaned out of the partition. "Ruth, Emergency Protocols."

"Right, on it." She called back.

"They're probably something alien related," Adam heard Potter muttering to Harry.

The man on the screen was talking nervously, but there was something about him, something that was off about the man.

"Lift," Potter said simply and then the man on the screen jumped backwards into it.

"He was the one brought in on the code nine," Adam said. "Along with Rose Tyler," Adam paused and watched Potter. "Could they be in on this?"

Potter shifted. "Depends. They won't kill anyone" Another very slight pause. "Before the day's out."

"Follow him, first floor," Harry Pearce ordered.

There was a change of camera angle as Colin hit some keys on the keyboard and it showed…

Adam wasn't sure what it was, it was something green, over 6 foot tall with claws. "What the-" He began.

"Interesting," Potter said. "Go back to Asquith."

Potter had a tone of authority that seemed to make Colin obey him. Adam was about to interject.

"…The upper floors are under quarantine you will stay where you are, you will disregard all previous instructions. You will take your orders directly from me."

"Mr Green sir, you should come with me, we should evacuate the entire building," the armed police officer said.

"He's got some sense at least," Colin muttered.

"…Have you read the Emergency Protocols?" Asked Joseph Green, somehow he had become the most senior parliamentarian in London during all of this. Somewhere in Thames House a big argument was going on with the rest of the Cabinet that was trapped outside London.

"Then don't question me, seal off number 10, secure the ground floor. And if the DOC-tor makes it down stairs shoot on sight!"

-/

"No cameras in the lift I take it?" Potter asked.

"Not linked up to the security system," Colin said.

"Let's see where Tyler and...there was another person in the background when the Doctor stopped in the lift," Potter said looking at the screen.

"Okay, just a second….oh." Colin paused as another camera filled the screen, this one's sound seemed distorted, or maybe it was the huge green things with claws that didn't sound right.

Adam was struggling with what he was seeing, though he noted that neither Harry Pearce nor Potter or Colin were surprised by what they were seeing.

Potter seemed quite interested in it.

"Who's the woman?" Adam asked.

"Harriet Jones," Colin said almost immediately. "She's one of handful of MPs still in Downing Street."

As they were talking the man in the leather jacket burst in with a fire extinguisher and started releasing it around the room at the…at the aliens. It was ruining the sound.

Then the two women and the man took off out of the room.

"Harry, I've got the Emergency Protocols," Ruth said.

"Keep monitoring it Colin, anything…" Harry looked to Potter.

"Anything more weird than giant aliens chasing those three along some corridors give us a shout," Potter said that with an incredible amount of casualness, it made Adam instantly suspicious of him.

-/

"The Emergency Protocols are a series of procedures and information detailing what the British government should do in the event of a catastrophic event," Ruth said as she handed out sheaths of paper to the people seated around the table.

Adam noted that Potter seemed interested, but not as much as the others.

"Some of it's tied into alert phrases here and at GCHQ, most of it was implemented after the '97 incident. But there's been protocols in place since the late 70s." She continued.

"Implemented under advisement from UNIT I'm guessing?" Potter asked.

"Yes. There's a list of people in the Protocols that can help in a crisis, some with search terms associated with them," Ruth continued.

"A lot of them are already present inside Downing Street," Jo said.

"Scratch them off the list, they're all dead," Potter said, almost flippantly, but there was something else to his voice, an edge.

Then someone's phone rang, it turned out to be Potter's.

"Sorry, have to take this," he said answering it. "Hermione?" Then he stepped out of the room.

-/ - \\-

"Hermione?" Harry answered and stepped out of the room.

"Harry!"

"That's my name Hermione," Harry exhaled and leant against the corridor wall. "I'm guessing you're calling about something of great importance that's happening?"

"I was asked to contact you again Harry, something's happening at Downing Street, something that made the portraits all leave in terror." Hermione's tone was accusatory.

"I've not had anything to do with that," he said carefully.

"But you know something. Where are you? I saw you working with the military but no one saw you after they took away the spaceship it seems you left as well."

"I have several things to take care of Hermione. Tell whoever it is who is annoying you to annoy me not to go anywhere near Downing Street." Harry explained quickly.

"Is this something to do with what you or the Doctor knows?" Hermione asked calmly.

Harry wanted to say yes, and wanted to trust Hermione but she was ringing on behalf of the Ministry and might feel compelled to tell them.

Obviously he'd taken momentarily too long to reply. "I see. Are we safe at the Clock Tower? Aside from the damage already caused." That last bit seemed directed at him, like it was his fault a spaceship crashed into it.

"Perfectly safe," he answered immediately. The people that were going to die were already dead, it just left the aliens in Downing Street. "Though no one should return to Downing Street for…" He trailed off. "The rest of the week."

"I see. Is this something you'll share with me?" She asked and Harry wanted to say yes, but wasn't sure if Hermione would want to be burdened with the knowledge.

"Of course," he lied. "In time."

"Liar." There was some humour in Hermione's voice. "But a good lie. See you soon Harry" There was a pause. "You're not anywhere dangerous are you Harry?"

"I am perfectly safe. There's even tea and biscuits where I am," Harry said as he looked across the room.

Hermione snorted. "Trust you to find somewhere like that." Then she ended the call.

-/

Harry bumped into Adam Carter as he returned to the room.

"Colin says something's interesting's happening," Carter said and then continued back to the room where Colin was.

Pearce was already there waiting when the two men arrived.

"Rose Tyler, Harriet Jones and the man who triggered the code nine red flag," Ruth said from where she was seated beside Colin.

Harry looked to Potter. "You'll find he's on the books as 'the Doctor', UNIT will have a file for him." Harry Pearce replied to Ruth's quizzical look between himself and Potter.

"Still have video from the cameras, no audio," Colin explained, and seemed to pause and then smiled. "I've managed to hack into the conference phone in the Cabinet Room, we should have audio too."

There was a noise and then. "…something's brought the Slitheen race here." said the man with the Northern accent; the 'Doctor'.

"They're really aliens," Adam said aloud.

"Shh," Potter shushed.

From the camera angle they could only see the backs of the aliens. One of them began to talk, though it was somewhat muffled, likely due to where the microphone of the conferencing phone was.

"Slitheen is not our species. Slitheen is our surname. Draf…day…Slitheen at your service."

"Almost a sales pitch," Harry Pearce said from beside Potter.

"Yes. I wonder what they're here for," Potter wondered.

"So…a family." Said the Northern man.

"A family business," countered the alien.

"Then you're out to make a profit. How can you do that on a god-forsaken rock?"

"Charming," Harry Pearce said again.

"Maybe he's just talking the Earth down, we don't want to be invaded," Potter commented.

"There was enough of that in the 60s and 70s," Harry Pearce replied.

Adam looked to Harry but he didn't give anything away.

The alien seemed to be groaning. "Your device will do what, triplicate the flammability?"

"That's nonsense," Colin exclaimed.

"Is that what I said?" Asked the Northern man.

"You're making it up."

"He is," Colin said. Adam was about to say 'don't agree with the alien' but stopped himself.

"Oh well, nice try. Harriet, have a drink I think you're going to need it." Said the Northern man, the Doctor, passing the bottle with his right hand.

Adam mused that that was wrong, though he couldn't remember why.

"You pass it to the left first," Harriet Jones said.

Then Adam remembered it was something Fiona had said when they'd been on a mission together.

The man then passed it in the other direction to the young woman.

"Now we can end this hunt. Let us slaughter," said the alien that had been speaking. Adam couldn't tell which alien was speaking, they all appeared to be similar in size and shape, but one was gesticulating with its claws at the front of the group.

"He's very confident," Ruth observed.

"He is that," Potter agreed.

"2000 years ago this was marsh land. 1730 it was occupied by a Mr Chicken."

"He knows his history," Ruth said

"He was probably there," Potter muttered again.

"1796, this was the cabinet room. If the cabinet's in session and in danger these are about the four most safest walls in the whole of Great Britain. End of lesson."

Metal barriers slid across the door way, but it didn't appear to stop the audio.

"Installed in 1991 three inches of steel lining every single wall. They'll never get in."

"And how do we get out?" Said a young female voice.

"Ah."

"Is that true?" Adam asked.

Potter shrugged. "Which part?"

"There is a steel lining to the cabinet room. They practically disassembled the cabinet room, built the box and then rebuilt the cabinet room," Ruth started. "It was lined in 1991 and then after the 1997 incident it was rebuilt and reinforced based on the damage the invaders' weapons had done," Ruth had paused slightly over the term 'invaders'.

He'd been in the Middle East during that crisis and coup executed by Greyhaven and Staines. Though even now most of what went on had been placed under the Official Secrets Act.

Then there was a noise of the sound cutting out.

"Looks like they've cut communication lines into the cabinet room," Colin said.

"Continue monitoring the rest of Downing Street," Pearce ordered.

-/ - \\-

"Harry, they're making an announcement to the media," Harry looked up and realised Jo wasn't talking to him but Harry Pearce.

They stood for a few minutes watching the "acting Prime Minister" speak to the media.

"Can we cut the transmission?" Pearce had asked. Ruth shook her head.

"They've opened up the cabinet bunker again." Colin called over as the "acting Prime Minister" finished talking.

"I've got sound coming in from the desk outside the cabinet room." Colin said as Adam and Potter joined him. Harry Pearce had walked quickly to his office to make phone calls.

"…cause there's nothing there. You attack every other country on Earth, they retaliate; fight back. World War Three. Whole planet gets nuked."

"And we can sit through it in our space ship waiting in the Thames." A woman's voice, not one of the aliens'.

"No they can't," Potter said with a half smile.

"Not crashed. Just parked. Barely two minutes away."

"But you'll destroy the planet, this beautiful place." Harriet Jones' voice again. "What for?"

"Profit. That's what the signal is beaming into space. An advert."

"Sale of the century…reduce the Earth to molten slag then sell it. Piece by Piece. Radioactive chunks….there's a recession out there Doctor. This rock becomes raw fuel…"

"Still getting some interference," Colin explained for as static threatened to overwhelm the audio.

"A cost to 5 billion lives…I give you a choice…Leave this planet or I'll stop you."

There was a noise of laughter.

"Yes. Me."

Then there was a noise of the bunker doors closing.

-/ - \\-

"They're saying there's proof of 'massive weapons of destruction'." Pearce threw down the telephone and looked at Potter sitting opposite him in the chair. "The rest of the cabinet can't get through to United Nations."

"A spaceship crashing into the clock tower is pretty convincing," Potter mused. "Maybe there shouldn't have been such a concerted effort to clean up after the '97 incident."

"That mess." Pearce shook his head. "Staines wandering around with that Ice Lord."

"If you're interested his name was Xznaal," Potter commented off-handedly, stumbling over the pronunciation, he'd only ever seen it written.

Pearce looked over at Potter. "Unsurprising you should know that Potter." Pearce paused. "Now we just wait until the world is brought to the brink of nuclear destruction to preserve this timeline of yours?"

Potter shrugged. "UNIT's been of no help?" He asked curiously.

"UNIT's been through several transformations since the mid-90s Mr Potter."

"Probably not the organisation I remember.." Potter mused.

"From the 1970s, before you were born." Pearce queried curiously.

"Exactly," Potter said. Then his phone started to ring. Potter sighed. "Who wants me now?" He said as he answered it walking over to the other side of Harry's office. "Yes?" Harry watched as Potter nodded. "Good, it's safe there then." Potter paused. "Oh? I'm at Thames House. Section D. Vid-link, um yeah. Okay." He ended the call.

Harry rose and eyebrow at Potter.

"You'll get a call in a moment. Seems there's more than one crisis." Potter explained as the phone rang.

-/

Several minutes later he and Pearce were in the meeting room looking at the screen.

"Vid-link up now Harry," said Colin's voice through the intercom.

"Mr Potter, Mr Pearce." The scientist nodded to both of them.

"Professor," Harry said, but beyond being told by the officer in charge the woman's title he didn't know her name.

"The ship was has been brought in and we've neutralised all energy output."

"That's not what you've contacted me for. Though I thought I disabled everything," Potter said.

"There was a secondary power source, emergency we think." She reached to the desk in front of her and the image Potter and Pearce were looking at changed.

"We discovered this on the spacecraft, it seems it tagged along for the whole journey."

Potter looked at the screen. Harry squinted at the image. It looked like a pigeon. The screen switched back to the woman.

"Not to state the obvious but," Pearce began.

"That's what we thought at first Mr Pearce. But we detected ratings close to Silverberg energy."

"You suspect it's a magical disguise?" Potter asked seriously.

"Yes, you are the organisation for the intersection of such things, and you sent us the ship."

"Better with you than in the Thames," Potter paused. "Or with certain other organisations."

The woman smiled briefly at him. "Something all of us down here are happy to deal with. Not that UNIT's been much better lately. Their 'homeworld security' clauses they've pushed through give them more power than our people are happy with," she muttered.

Harry made a note to look into these things, he'd heard some things from the Home Secretary about UNIT's moves and their 'undisclosed detention facilities' that they were operating within the United Kingdom and internationally. But UNIT's actions weren't quite within the purview of his section and they'd had enough on their plates without digging into UNIT's business.

"It shouldn't be able to leave. Is all of Porton Down equally…" Potter trailed off.

"Mr Potter?"

Potter seemed to be thinking. "Heavy exposure of grounds and areas to alien technology prevents certain magical transportation or makes it extremely dangerous."

"We're aware of this."

"Whoever it is, if it is someone, likely won't try to shift away. But keep guards on it all of the time, cordon it off from the ship. It's not connected, probably."

"Not another pig?" The professor seemed curious.

"A distraction," Potter dismissed it.

"And you'll come and assist us?" She pressed.

Potter nodded. "After this crisis works itself out, I promised Mr Pearce here I'd assist throughout it," Potter paused. "But there is something you can do in preparation for when I come…"

Pearce stood silent as Potter explained what he wanted the people at Porton Down to do, he obviously had his own subterfuges to create when he dealt with the things that was not a pigeon.

Then in the brief moment as both Potter and the Professor paused Harry spoke. "Speaking of which, there appears to be a communication device in the North Sea."

Harry noticed Potter nodding. "We're trying to organise the Navy to capture, disable or destroy it at the moment Mr Pearce."

"Good. Keep us informed if you need anything professor." Pearce said.

"Mr Potter, Mr Pearce." Then the signal went dead.

"Now what Mr Potter?"

Potter shrugged. "Wait and see how gullible the UN is, we can see how much we should trust them."

-/ - \\-

"Humanity's first intergalactic war begins…"

"Nice to see the Americans reporting in such a level headed way," Adam commented.

-/

"It's starting!" Colin shouted.

"Show time it seems," Potter said to him as they exited his office.

"What's happening Colin?" Harry Pearce asked.

"Someone's using a cypher entrance to the Royal Navy intelligent remote command system," then he added. "It's still in testing."

"It's a way for arms to be authorised remotely by government order," Ruth supplied to the surrounding group.

"I'm tracing the IP of the computer using the override codes now." Colin reported.

"They've selected a submarine; the HMS Taurean," Ruth said from the computer beside Colin's.

"That's a Trafalgar Class submarine," Adam provided.

"They're entering coordinates for the missile and authorising its launch," Colin reported.

"Where?" Harry Pearce asked looking at Potter, they both knew the answer to the question. This was happening just as Harry Potter had said.

"Downing Street," Colin replied in a calm tone edged with concern.

"Sound any and all alerts for everywhere surrounding Downing Street," Harry Pearce said as Adam bolted away. "God help anyone who's around there."

Potter turned watching for a moment. "How long until they can fire?"

"The system updates the user for when weapons are free and ready to fire, but it hasn't been tested, I'm not sure how they bypassed the security so fast." Ruth wondered.

"Inside knowledge no doubt," Potter said.

"Missile launch!" Colin exclaimed.

"And so it begins," Harry Pearce said looking at Potter.

"Warnings will start hitting every air traffic control between here and the coast," Colin warned. "Counter defence 556 is beginning defensive procedures," he continued in a neutral tone.

"Overridden," Ruth said a moment later.

"Is this how war would start by aliens meddling?" Pearce wondered.

Potter shrugged again. "Perhaps."

"Missile coming over land," Colin continued to report.

"Now we stand by and allow a missile to hit Downing Street," Harry Pearce said. Ruth looked up at him questioningly, then she looked to Harry Potter who had a determined look on his face.

-/

"All areas around Downing Street have been cleared, it's just the armed police inside who aren't responding," Jo said as she dropped the phone into its cradle.

"The internal warning systems will alert them any moment now." Adam said.

"5 seconds to impact," Colin announced.

There was a noise of a dull thud from somewhere outside of the building.

"Impact," Colin said needlessly.

"Looks like the press are already swarming," Adam said as he looked at the TV. Harriet Jones was running up to the awaiting media.

-/ - \\-

Two or three crises down, still several more to go Harry mused as he drove up to Porton Down having been out to where the wards that seemed to have been thrown somewhat haphazardly didn't extend to. He'd apparated to his house and picked up a vehicle for the drive to his current location.

Porton Down did not have a friendly drive way. Which was just as well, this wasn't a place you visited for a picnic. Unless you wanted your picnic blanket to come to life and try to strangle you, which was what supposedly some of their experiments with some remains of Auton plastics did in the late 70s.

His LPI pass got him instant access through the gates, a soldier was waiting for him where he parked to escort him to where ever it was that the space craft and the pigeon which wasn't a pigeon was being held.

"Mr Potter." Greeted the professor as he was lead into a monitoring room.

"Professor..." he paused looking for some sort of identification.

"Hawksburn," she replied offering him her hand.

"Nice to meet you in person." Harry said as he shook her hand. "So this is our mysterious hitch hiker."

She nodded and pushed some keys on a keyboard bringing up what appeared to be some form of medical scanner output.

"We've registered complex brain function coming from the being, highly suggestive of a meta-transformation," she paused and looked to him.

Harry shrugged. "I suspected that they might get curious."

"They?" She asked.

Harry shrugged again. "The Ministry or someone within the Ministry, I've got some suspicions," Harry paused. "And I still have your commanding officer's assurance I can walk whoever it is out of here?"

She nodded. "Keeping individuals who are under your purview is not something we need to enter into at the moment."

-/

The doors opened in front of him and he stepped into the dull grey room where the pigeon had been corralled into; away from the spacecraft.

Harry made a show to the pigeon of walking around the room and the carefully removed his wand and used it to destroy the cameras that had been placed there at his request. There was no doubt in his mind that there were dozens if not hundreds of others and other recording devices focused here.

"The muggles aren't watching," Harry said looking down at the pigeon.

The pigeon seemed to look at him for a few moments and then transformed into a man.

"Eddie Carmichael?!" Harry exclaimed and shook his head.

"Potter," he grinned as he stretched. "Thought I'd never be able to stand up with the muggles watching me." He grinned again. "Great work, simple. What spell was that?"

Harry didn't bother to answer him. Eddie Carmichael had tried to sell him and Ron some brain elixir or something. Hermione had later suggested it might have contained a psychotropic substance or something.

"How come you didn't jump off when the ship was retrieved?" He almost said 'by the Army', but he was trying to keep his voice as neutral and mildly curious as he could. Harry wasn't sure exactly who the pigeon, Eddie Carmichael was working for.

He looked at him surprised at the question. "They said to keep watch over the ship. Didn't think I'd see you, there, with the muggles, organising stuff."

Harry shrugged and turned around to muse on the paint used on the walls, though they didn't have any, dull concrete was its actual material. He was just giving himself a moment to think.

"I liaise with the muggles in certain situations," Harry explained carefully.

"Really?" Eddie seemed surprised.

Harry nodded. "If I hadn't it would have been impossible for you to leave."

Eddie frowned. "I thought there was something…" He trailed off he looked at him oddly. "Have you put up some wards, to stop apparition?"

His tone Harry noted was somewhat accusatory. "Security is a big thing here." Harry explained vaguely, though Eddie seemed to take this as an affirmative.

"You going to let me out Potter. The 'monger's going to want to know what I've seen. You too."

Harry didn't let his interest show, and instead slotted "'monger" away as something to investigate further.

"Oh?" Harry asked.

"If you've been helping the muggles with this space stuff," he said with a shrug as he continue to stretch his muscles. "Never thought I'd get out of that pigeon," je muttered.

"That is what liaise means Eddie," Harry said watching him. This was a guy who had supposedly gotten nine Outstandings in his OWLs. Although, Hogwarts didn't really teach any of the standard GCSE subjects, maybe Carmichael really didn't know what liaise meant. Ron had some surprisingly big gaps in his knowledge. Hermione had joked to him during one of their drunken nights a few years ago that Ron had some odd ideas about sex, marriage and how babies were born.

"What, oh yeah," Eddie said readdressing him once more. "So, we leaving, you going to let up the wards? Before the muggles notice you've destroyed their things?"

Harry didn't make any movements, except to lean against one of the walls. "There aren't any anti-appariation wards here Eddie. This is just a very bad place to apparate," Harry said in a calm tone. "Who should I report to, should you fail to get out?" He meant it as a neutral question, but it had an underlying note of threat to it. The sudden change in tone of the conversation seemed to throw Eddie.

"What Potter?" Eddie started to look around. "Cohort'll know." He said looking around at the cameras Harry had destroyed. "You sure the muggles aren't watching?"

"Quite sure," Harry said, completely lying.

"So I could apparate away," he said, to himself.

"I wouldn't," Harry staring at Eddie. "I have no inclination to be sprayed with your body Eddie."

He looked terrified at him. "What?"

"Explosive bodily apparition," Harry paused. "is at least one of the terms I've tried."

"What?" Eddie repeated.

"When a relatively powerful wizard tries to apparate through an anti-apparition ward, the results are not pretty," Harry smiled, though it wasn't a nice smile.

"What do you want Potter?" Eddie seemed to take an uncontrolled step away from him.

"Just to talk, and get you out of here," Harry replied innocently with an underlying calm tone.

"I…I can't…" Eddie started.

Harry smiled again.

"Cohort Dow, the 'monger…that's all." Eddie suddenly said and then looked to the ceiling as though he were concentrating, preparing to try and apparate.

That's when Harry stunned him.

-/

"You were worried he was going to attempt transmigration?" Professor Hawksburn asked.

Harry nodded. They were walking behind a solider who was pushing a stretcher that held Eddie.

"I have no desire to be covered his body, blood and guts from a failed apparition," Harry replied.

"And the knowledge you gained, it means something to your organisation?" She asked curiously.

Harry shrugged. "I'm not sure. It joins the pile of questions I have about what's been going on at the Ministry. In between crises I should have some time to work on these problems." He mused as they passed through another security check point.

"This crisis hasn't finished?" Hawksburn asked curiously and then added. "For you?"

Harry shook his head. "I still have some things with Section D to sort out."

-/ - \\-

London was slowly coming back to life, the lockdown of the streets had ended, though everywhere around the Clock Tower was out of bounds. The structure at least had been stabilised.

Pulling the Lotus Exige in next to the government looking car that was waiting he stepped out, just as Harry Pearce also stepped out of his vehicle.

"Mr Potter."

"Mr Pearce," Harry said in greeting as he looked around him at the flats that made up the Powell Estate. The Doctor's TARDIS had landed near here, several times in fact.

"Colin detected a sophisticated worm coming from Mr Smith's IP address," Pearce said, handing him a manila folder.

Harry opened it up and read through the highlights of it. It seemed Section D had kept close taps on what Michael Smith, commonly known as 'Mickey'.

Harry knew vaguely about him, though neither the Doctor nor Rose had mentioned much. He knew from the missing persons report that he had been accused of her kidnap and murder when she went off with the Doctor.

The notes stated that the worm had been isolated and also sent off to computer science experts. Smith's internet activity continued to be monitored, as did his real world activity.

Which was understandable, he did launch a terrorist attack on 10 Downing Street.

Now he and Pearce would have words with him; Harry knew some of the information. Pearce wanted to know what Smith knew. There were also other entities buzzing around. UNIT probably had a cell waiting in one of their detention facilities. And no doubt Torchwood was also lurking to claim Smith for Queen and Country.

Harry closed the folder and returned it to Pearce. "I take it there's still people keeping and eye on him?"

"Of course," Pearce said shortly as they made their way over to the stairwell.

-/

Mickey pushed himself away from his computer in frustration. His internet had been buggy ever since the Doctor had asked him to use the magic disc he'd been given. He still had it on his desk, despite the information on the disc saying it was useless, use once thing. He'd also started to look further into the Doctor, more so than when Rose had disappeared. He'd actually seen what the Doctor was, what his life was like.

How dangerous he was.

Walking over to the kitchen he emptied the kettle and refilled it, a practice his gran always used to do.

Flicking it on he looked around for a clean mug. Everything in the kitchen smelt a little bit of bleach and other cleaning supplies. He'd used buckets of the stuff to get rid of the Slitheen that had exploded in here. He'd managed to get rid of the sulphur smell at least and the green stains. Though he'd had to bin one of his favourite t-shirts.

Then as he was caught in thought there was a knock on the door. He tensed for a moment before un-tensing, it was probably just Mrs Bradley up the corridor wanting help with her printer or her dodgy satellite she'd got on the cheap.

Instead when he opened the door he found two men at the door.

"Michael Smith."

"Mickey," he said to the older bloke.

"We'll come in," said the younger bloke pushing his way in.

"Hang on what…" He started.

"Who are we, why are we here?" Asked the older bloke as he followed the younger guy in.

"Yeah."

"Or should we start with your terror act on Number 10 Downing Street?" The older bloke asked in a deathly serious voice that made his skin run cold.

-/

As he walked in Harry caught a fairly strong smell of bleach coming from the kitchen.

"Cleaning up some bodies Mr Smith?" Harry asked as he went into the small lounge room. Pearce waited until 'Mickey' was seated before taking a seat opposite.

Pearce looked to him, but also noticed how Mickey tensed at the question.

"Dunno what you mean."

"That amount of bleach, I don't think you're spring cleaning." Harry took a seat across from Pearce and looked around the rest of the flat.

Mickey crossed his arms and looked like he wasn't going to say anything.

"You're in something of a precarious situation Mr Smith," Pearce said in the same cool tone.

"And who are you two?" He demanded.

"Does it matter Mickey?" Harry asked. "We know about your attack on Downing Street-" Harry was cut off by Mickey.

"That wasn't me! I…" He trailed off.

"That was an order from within Downing Street by an MP. Harriet Jones," Harry finished for him. Now Smith was interested.

"You then tried to erase any information of what you had done and erase several search terms associated with the recent business," Pearce finished.

"What'd you mean tried?" Smith asked in an uncertain tone.

"A terror attack on London and you didn't think you were being monitored?" Pearce looked over to Harry, Harry shrugged, he knew very little about this man before him. Pearce probably knew a lot more.

"What…I've got rights!" Smith started.

Harry almost laughed at the naivety of the man. In this situation he was extremely lucky that he wasn't at best incarcerated and at worst dead.

Pearce said so and then continued in a level tone. "Tell us what happened Mr Smith, in Downing Street."

"What?" He looked at them.

Harry exhaled and it seemed to turn into a sigh. "What happened while you were in communication with Harriet Jones, your friend Rose Tyler and the individual known as the Doctor."

Smith almost jumped at the mention of the Doctor.

"You know about him?" He looked at Harry shrewdly.

"We both know about the Doctor Mr Smith, probably far more than you think you know," Pearce continued. "Now, please explain what happened and you may avoid being detained."

"Detained?" Smith croaked looking between them and settled on Harry.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "You don't seriously think a missile attack on one of Britain's political buildings wasn't going to be tracked back to the man who pushed the button?" Harry suspected that Pearce's division would have even snuck into Smith's flat and gathered physical evidence that he'd been the person to have literally pushed the button.

Smith slumped into his chair. "What're you going to do with me?" He mumbled.

"That depends Mr Smith." Pearce began as Smith looked up. "And depends on how much help you can give."

-/

It was a several hours later that they departed Smith's flat.

Harry hadn't quite known what Pearce was going to do with regard to Smith. But having him as an informant on things that threatened the UK, of the alien variety and whatever else Smith might be interested in made some sort of sense. MI5 wanted to develop its own contacts and with the way that UNIT was going, and Torchwood and whatever else was out there.

Like his own particular problem, it made sense.

He'd said that to Pearce once they were on the ground floor.

"There have also been situations in the past where your Doctor might be better equipped than my officers or UNIT," Pearce had added with some reluctance.

"UNIT isn't the organisation I remember," Harry mused. "Maybe it's just better funded."

"Something you've still yet to explain thoroughly Mr Potter."

Harry smirked. "I have to keep some secrets," Harry paused as he unlocked his car. "I hope our paths don't cross again, but I think that is quite unlikely. Don't you think?"

"'The 21st century is when everything changes'," Pearce quoted.

"I have a friend who's always saying that," Harry said as he got into his car.

-/

A/N:

Unwieldy is what this chapter is, it's also probably too long.

Around about triple the length of what I thought it was going to be. But any of the cut points where I could have cut it would have implied something mammoth happening, which isn't really the case.

The Spooks part of this is set in Series 5, after episode 2 and before episode 5.

I looked back at Aliens of London / World War Three to write this and was surprised how much doesn't happen. Action wise there's; the ship crashing, UNIT people dead and then a missile strike. Those are the big bits of action. The rest is some running around and a lot of talking.

I've tried to include Harry and others in the action as much as possible without having Harry and the Doctor in the same room. As is stated in the chapter the Doctor's still in a bad post-Time War place.

In this chapter I've also re-framed Harry and LPI with regard to UNIT; moving Harry away from UNIT a little bit (not that in this time period they were close) and closer to the British Armed Forces and intelligence community.

Mickey is an informant for MI5, it's mostly setup for School Reunion I wanted a more plausible explanation than 'Mickey's been looking for aliens' to bring the Doctor and Rose to Deffrey Vale High School in School Reunion.

Finally, in this chapter I flirted with killing off Ron.

The two wizard spies in the chapter, the polyjuiced person and the pigeon might have been Ron. But after what happened with Ginny I decided not to.

Thanks for reading.