Chapter 42

Harry looked around what passed for a park in inner city London. He'd actually considered apparating in here. The traffic at this time of year was starting to get hectic. But despite being able to fit most of the tech he might need into his not magic, though still dimensionally transcendental bag there were some things that were more practical to put in the boot of a car.

Apparating was also becoming a little more fraught, not like his house which would be lethal for anyone, but he could understand why places like Henrick's were useful. Or rather had been, now that it had been blown up with alien tech there was a similar issue as his house. Though of course not as bad. There were no really big danger zones for apparition in London, none that could do serious damage.

-/ - \\-

For now though he was sitting on a bench waiting for his contact.

"Thank you for coming Mr Potter."

"Ms Portman," Harry smiled and turned to look at the woman who'd been suspicious of him when he'd been in Section D.

"I take it Harry has cleared and briefed you on anything we might discover today?" Harry looked up at her.

She looked at him with a cool, verging on cold expression. "I have clearance."

"Goody," Harry said. "Lets walk and talk," he said leaping from the bench.

"You're worried someone might be watching?" She asked slightly curious.

Harry shook his head. "No. But if someone's going to attack us better to be moving than standing still, don't you think?"

"Are you at risk of people shooting at you?" She asked as they began to walk measured steps.

Harry smiled at the woman, she was about his age and had cool eyes that he often had when he looked in the mirror. Still, that wasn't all the time. "On the good days," he said mysteriously with a smile. "So what's Harry being mysterious about?"

He'd received a call from Harry Pearce earlier in the week about signs and signals that had started appearing in whatever it was that Section D monitored. 'Bad Wolf'.

The Blaidd Drwg rift. Blaidd Drwg power plant.

When he'd received the call he'd started looking, it seemed to be everywhere, but no one had noticed it until now.

That was what had intrigued him, and had obviously intrigued Harry Pearce, enough to call him.

"Over here," Jo Portman said gesturing a tarmacked sports area.

Harry followed her through some broken fences and vacant land with various bits of grass trying to grow around it.

"Interesting," Harry said.

"It's weird, it's old but…no one's noticed it until now," Jo said some confusion and difficulty present in her voice as though she couldn't quite describe what she was seeing, or feeling.

"But it's everywhere not just in London but around the world," Harry continued her thoughts as he walked up to it, though careful not to actually walk onto it.

"Yes," she said in a clipped tone. "Is this something to do with your organisation?" She asked.

"Something my organisation deals with, very probably," he paused and looked to her. "And something that UNIT doesn't need to get involved in, despite the global nature of this problem?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

She gave him a look. "The concentration of these events is in the United Kingdom."

Harry nodded as he extracted his wand from his pocket and cast a few detection spells near one of the pieces of art.

It could be a magical thing, something like magical performance art, Daphne had mentioned there was such a thing. By "eccentric" witches and wizards sort of like crop circles. Harry had mused at one point that maybe they were the ones creating some of the fads that became popular around the world.

It was perversely amusing to think that the reason people suddenly liked pogo sticks or that a certain song became insanely popular was a manipulation of semiotics by a wizard or witch doing performance art with magic.

Who the audience would be for that he wasn't really sure. There probably wasn't one, that was probably the point.

Portman had remained silent while he cast his spells and hadn't asked any questions, she'd just stayed relaxed but alert looking around at the surrounding buildings.

A cloud of fog materialised from one of his spells for a few moments before disappearing in a shower of magical sparks. It left a slight burnt smell in the air for a moment, like burning sugar.

"There's something like a notice-me-not on here. Like a perception field. Or there was." He mused aloud, he did at least this time have someone to talk to.

"A what?" Jo was immediately alert to his musings.

"Something that stopped most people from noticing it. Like the TARDIS." He said watching her reaction.

"That police box?" She asked immediately.

He smiled a controlled smile. "Yes."

"This though…" Harry opened the bag and removed a bulky device with a long aerial on it and then dug around in the bag for a battery pack. It was something he'd managed to extract from one of the Daleks he'd liberated from the UNIT storage facilities he'd found and "visited". Together with some of Whittaker's temporal research he'd managed to build a temporal scanner.

Portability and power was still an issue.

If only Sarah would let him properly take K9 apart and see what made him tick. The annoying metal mutt had yet to come back to life, although she'd continued to cart him around with her, as he'd suggested. Just in case someone might turn up to fix him.

"Should I ask what that is?" Portman asked.

"Only if you want an explanation," Harry said as he looked at the readings on the display. Half the characters were still in Kaled or Skarosian or whatever it was the Daleks used as a language. He didn't have the benefit of the TARDIS's gift of translation, either the TARDIS wasn't around or maybe he'd not been granted it having only travelled with the Doctor on short hops through time and space. He wasn't sure.

He was mostly certain of what the symbols meant. He'd worked out zero and he'd worked out what might be extremely high.

Portman crossed her arms and Harry could sense without looking at her that she was frowning and being impatient. It was all about how she moved her feet. Or at least that was what Daphne informed him was how Hermione showed her displeasure.

"It detects whether this was put here recently," Harry said grinning to himself. It was like the Doctor, having someone around to explain things to.

Actually Harry mused as he stepped around the graffiti it was actually more annoying.

He wished the spy would just bugger off and leave him to it. He could report later to Pearce without Portman hovering around beside him.

The temporal scanner was getting hot, which meant it was working and he'd need to change the battery pack soon. The symbols were also appearing on the screen as he poked it at the ground.

The bitumen was old, relatively speaking but the graffiti was older and newer, probably.

He'd not quite worked out what the symbol in Dalek was 'buggered if I know'.

But he was getting the distinct impression that was what his device was saying.

If he was interpreting it correctly, the graffiti was both older than the bitumen it was painted on, current and over 90 thousand years old.

"Does this have security implications?" Portman sounded impatient.

"Are there some other terrorists you'd prefer to be out hunting Ms Portman?" Harry asked adopting the tone that Pearce used when he made a sardonic comment.

Harry drew himself up and looked down at Portman. "Because this might have just as much import as any security assets that you might be out and securing," Harry paused looking past her and feeling something. Then a spell was flung out of somewhere just out of sight at them.

It harmlessly collided with a shield that Harry cast, rebounding and exploded into a shower of sparks and energy above them.

"What? What was that?" Everything about Ms Portman changed as she shifted from vaguely annoyed to active and engaged.

"Possibly something to do with this, or perhaps not," Harry grinned manically at her. "It's good either way, people shooting at us."

"Why?" She asked as though he were a mad man.

"It's exciting," She stared at him so he added. "Means we're doing something to annoy someone," Harry said as he looked around.

"What?" She asked in a pissed off tone.

"Shh," Harry said as he looked around. The day was relatively warm for winter, with not too much wind. He could cast anti-apparition wards around here, but he still wanted to conduct some research.

Then he heard and felt it, the pop of apparition, the displacement of air. "A group I think."

Then another spell, from the opposite site of the land they were on. Harry shoved Portman out of the way and tracked the spell and at the last moment, letting his long since used seeker skills cut in jumped out of the way. The spell sailed past losing momentum as it made its way past them and fizzing out.

"This is something to do with your organisation. The paranormal," she said pushing herself up off the ground, she'd rolled with Harry's shove rather than falling.

"Something like that. Operating at long range, and relatively good," Harry mused as he opened his bag and replaced his scanning device inside and extracted his bulky magic-proof phone.

"The ambient energy will disable any regular mobile phone signals for a while," he said by way of an explanation to her.

"Ioan. Yes it seems this might be a shit fight with the Ministry," Harry said as he made the call and paused looking to Portman. "Keep an eye out for anything unusual, shoot to disable," he said nodding to her hip, though it was actually on her back neatly hidden by her jacket where she had her weapon, he didn't think Harry Pearce would have his officers armed for a simple investigation.

"Ah, you're still dealing with that. No, I want to know about Cohort Dow, that investigation is more important. Yes than me facing possible injury or death. Yes, I'll give Judith a call." Harry smiled. "Yes I'm sure she'll find it amusing," Harry said as he ended the call and called another number.

As he was doing so Portman gestured the end of the land they were on, it seemed she'd noticed something. Possibly the apparition point. "Down there."

"Good. Let's waltz on slowly," Harry said as he dialled a number. "Judith. Yes. Yes, oh good and you were able to purchase it. Oh good," Harry said. "Of course. Yes I know. Yes. I am. Not completely," he said as he tucked the phone back into his bag. "Now Ms Portman, anything you see, hear or feel is covered by all those things you've signed."

"I know," she said quickly.

"Just checking." Harry said looking along the length of the land they were standing on. At the end there a haze forming, like a mirage of heat.

-/ - \\-

Obviously a charm of some sort, because while the sun was out it was far from being warm enough to create anything more than a mildly pleasant winter's day.

Another spell was flung out from somewhere not from the group ahead, this time Harry had to put up another shield. This time it impacted with some force as they continued walking towards the heat haze slowly.

"Aren't you interested," Jo flinched as another spell was flung at their backs. "As to who is shooting at us?"

"Quite," Harry said looking around, not that it'd make any difference. "But I want to give my backup time to get into position," he paused. The shimmering wasn't going away as they got closer to it. "And I want who ever it is that's shooting at us to get as many shots off as they want to."

"Why?" Portman asked, her voice still tense.

"Because whoever it is that's generating the haze ahead." Harry nodded ahead of them. "Aren't shooting directly at us, maybe can't see us," Harry said as they arrived at the edge of the mirage.

"It's still blurry," Jo said as she reached out Harry shook his head.

"Not until I'm sure what it is," he said aiming his wand at the field. "Probably like a camouflage net," he said as he jabbed his wand at the mirage it went through with no resistance.

"Probably safe," he said in a low voice.

"Probably?" Jo asked with a smile.

Harry shrugged and walked through.

Inside there were wizards and witches standing around tables, it looked like dug up a piece of land and were examining it.

And of course there were people pointing wands at them, though he ignored that part and only dealt with it until someone spoke.

"A muggle," someone younger than him pointing a wand up him said.

"A wizard," Harry said with sarcastic incredulity and reached forward in a quick move again from his long past seeker days and grabbed the wand out of the wizard's hand. He stared at him in shock. "Give that back!" He demanded.

"Here," he handed it to Portman. "Sometimes I wish people were disciplined," Harry muttered with a sigh.

"Sir, someone's breached the barrier," said one of the other younger people. "It's Harry Potter!" Harry was sure he recognised the voice or maybe he just recognised the tone.

"Harry?" Asked an older voice from somewhere with the other wizards working in the background. Harry recognised this one.

"Hello Ron," Harry said neutrally, though he didn't put away his wand. Nor did the wizards and witches who were pointing their wands at him. Though the other witches and wizards working did briefly stop.

"What're you doing here mate?" He paused and pulled and puffed himself up. "Um Harry Potter?"

"I investigate this stuff. Hermione not with you?" Harry asked looking around.

Ron seemed to go even more red. "I'm in charge here Harry."

"As I see, with all your minions." Harry paused. "Housemates of ours I suppose?"

"Nothing wrong with that," Ron started defensively. "Just no Slytherins." The younger people around him nodded along with this sentiment.

Harry audibly sighed. "Really? Still?" Harry looked at Ron. "The past is long gone Ron. Draco has gotten past it, I thought you were." Harry shook his head as Ron's face bulged and Harry couldn't help but allow himself a little smile himself as he wondered if Ron might explode.

Which Harry mused was somewhat morbid, especially as his sister had exploded in various bits through various wards in the past. Harry chastised himself briefly for such morbidly amusing thoughts.

"Malfoy," Ron screwed up his face. "You're on first name terms with him?"

"Yes, I'm also on first name terms with my girlfriend who's also a former Slytherin. We are all far beyond Hogwarts," Harry paused to look at all Ron's minions. Harry suspected Ron had hand picked them all. "So are you, the real world is nothing like Hogwarts," he said seriously looking briefly at each of them.

"Harry what are you doing here, who's this?" Ron looked at Portman.

"She's from the security services," Harry said. "I'm here because odd messages turning up around the world and especially around the United Kingdom is something people notice," Harry said and then added. "Well they're noticing it now."

"Oh," was all Ron said he seemed to deflate slightly.

"And I think you need to have words with your minions about how you conduct an investigation," Harry said seriously to Ron who did not take the suggestion well.

"What Harry? You're the one who walked in through the-" Ron began.

Harry snapped his fingers making some of the younger ones jump. Harry really hoped they weren't going to be on the front lines of anything. Or maybe he was just used to facing down Dark Idiots with amazingly complicated names based on long acronyms.

"He's not talking about that, we were shot at, at least 15 times as we walked out in the open towards your little mirage," Portman said finally speaking up.

Harry was glad of the interruption, his little tête-à-tête with Ron could wait for another day.

"You what?" Ron asked looking at him, he briefly managed a glance at Portman.

Harry nearly rolled his eyes.

"Us, shot at Ron. That thing where you say words, cast a spell at people, nothing too nasty," Harry paused. "Not that there's much your little squad could do that's nasty" Harry paused for dramatic effect. "for me."

Ron bristled. "I told them to watch for intruders Harry. Defensive measures."

"That includes shooting at muggles?" Harry raised an eyebrow and shook his head, he didn't want to get into another argument with Ron.

Ron started to open his mouth when Harry cut him off. "And don't say they could tell I was a wizard, because unless everyone out there," Harry jabbed a finger backwards to the edge of the area they were within or behind "had omnioculars they wouldn't have been able to see much more than figures at first."

As Ron paused seemingly considering his response the area they were in was bathed in a red light.

"Spread out, this might be an attack," Ron ordered his minions as he rushed off to the more senior wizards leaving Harry and Portman alone. "Cover all points of the charm," he said rushing away.

"What's going on?" Portman asked quietly seeing Harry was unconcerned.

"My backup it seems has arrived," Harry saw Ron look over at him.

Harry waved cheerily.

"Your friend looks annoyed," Portman observed.

"Isn't he just," the red light intensified. "Best cover your eyes." Harry said putting his into his arm. "If I'm guessing correctly my associate has borrowed an industrial scanning laser that was going to be used to investigate sites for the Olympics." Harry said. "You might feel your ears pop."

"Harry! What have you don-" Ron's annoyed shout was cut off by a pained cry.

"That would be why we need to cover our eyes," Portman deadpanned.

Harry hadn't told her the whole truth, the laser was being used for what he said, but it had come via Porton Down and in a way via him as a sort consultant.

It was in being used to take down various alien shields and other forms of disguise used on alien craft. There were any number of alien sites around London and many of them where Olympic venues needed to be built.

As long as you knew what your were pointing it at it could work like a scanner and a disabling weapon.

It had come from UNIT's laser technology in the 1970s, based on their lasers they used against the Krynoid. Except Porton Down had been authorised also during the 70s to begin investigations into using it against magical shields and charms.

Unfortunately the technology remained flawed in this usage, as the power required was in the order of 'one or two nuclear power plants' and anyone inside the field had a tendency to be reduced to their constituent atoms, or on a good day slush, something to do with forcibly collapsing the magic involved.

Although, with the right modulation and power packs it could be rendered sort of safe, as long as it wasn't trying to pull down anything exceptionally heavy duty.

However even that research had been abandoned and it was only through being brought into closer association with the security agencies that he'd managed to get his hands on some of the more "esoteric" investigations.

He hadn't found out who'd closed down the investigations into this technology, he suspected when it got close to combating some magic someone had ensured that the research hadn't been pursued further.

It was a somewhat worrisome issue, even for him, skirting along on both sides as he found himself doing.

There were plenty of situations where muggles and wizards needed to interact and needed to not be doing things like frequent memory modifications, like what seemed to happen at the Quidditch World Cups. If there was some sort of better acknowledgement of these things, the rather brutal constant memory medications could hopefully be avoided.

Or at least that's what he hoped could happen one day.

For now he was confident that the modifications that Judith had affected to make the laser work for the current usage would mean they weren't in any danger and could be removed. Especially before anyone who'd derailed the initial research noticed.

-/ - \\-

Harry carefully opened his eyes and found the cool winter sun beating down on them. Wincing slightly after the dullness of the mirage field they been in and having his eyes shut he tapped Portman on the shoulder.

"Time to leave I think Ms Portman," Harry said in a low tone looking over to Ron and his minions.

"What about them?" She asked wincing as she looked around.

"I'll deal with them, go out to the east side," Harry paused. "Get on the phone to Colin and get him to do a search for a police box. It'll have turned up recently."

Portman opened her mouth to speak but Harry had already turned away.

-/ - \\-

Harry sighed as he bent down to feel Ron's pulse. There shouldn't be any permanent damage. Certainly not permanent in terms of wizards and magic and healers and things like that.

His pulse was a little fast, but nothing to worry about.

How had it come to this, that he felt that he would be more comfortable sitting down with a pint or more likely a glass of wine with Draco Malfoy than one of his best friends; Ron Weasley? Harry mused as he case a few spells of diagnoses around the crowd of mostly unconscious and beginning to stir people.

Maybe he'd gotten older and more mature, and Ron had just gotten older? Harry shook his head, it wasn't as simple as that.

Maybe it was that himself, Draco and Daphne had shared a lot more as adults. He and Ron had shared many things as children and as teenagers.

Or maybe, Harry thought to himself as he turned to leave maybe there was a bit of Ron and maybe a bit of himself that was never the same since the Tri-Wizard. Trust and consistency. Draco had been moderately consistent, but he'd demonstrated he could change and evolve.

But, Harry thought a part of him, maybe deep down in his mind, maybe he hid it, maybe. Hid that Ron might one day decide to flip again and cast him out, 3 years should have been enough to establish consistency of character for him but when his name had been read out; entered into the Tournament what he'd really, really needed was his friends by his side.

"Ha-rry?" Ron groaned. Harry took that as his time to leave, no doubt he'd be called to account at a later date. He'd rather deal with his superior ie the Minister, rather than Ron being pompous.

-/ - \\-

"This isn't a standard issue car." Portman said with a smirk.

"Just put the light on the roof," Harry said as he got in to the Exige, referring to the blue light that Portman had removed from the glove box.

-/

It was a short distance from where they were, Colin had managed to find the TARDIS within a quite short amount of time.

Unfortunately they arrived just as it was dematerialising.

Harry looked to Portman and decided he couldn't be arsed giving an explanation.

"Isn't that Mickey Smith?" He mused looking between the green Mini and the large yellow truck. "Your informant?" Harry raised an eyebrow as he and Jo Portman got out.

Harry grabbed his temporal scanner and switched it on. It immediately showed big, very large graphics that even with his little knowledge of Dalek iconography he knew wasn't good. Whatever had happened here with the TARDIS was dangerous, probably lethal. The amount of temporal energy even lingering here was probably not good for the local environment, though it was dissipating.

"I'll deal with Ms Tyler," Harry said as he strode over to the woman who was standing a short ways from Smith.

-/ - \\-

Harry strode over to Jackie Tyler, mother of Rose Tyler. She who had called the panic line during the last crisis to befall London.

"Hello Ms Tyler."

"Who are you?" She said looking him up and down and then over at Mickey Smith. "Who's that."

"You don't need to worry about her," Harry said stepping around to meet her gaze and stare into her eyes.

"Don't need to…" She murmured.

"Jackie Tyler you will obey me, do you understand?" Harry stated calmly.

"Obey you, I will obey you…" She repeated in a monotone.

"Good. Was the TARDIS just here?" He asked slowly.

"The TARDIS! That Doctor, his TARDIS!" She exclaimed as much as she could. "My daughter, Rose, oh Rose…she said she had to go back. In the future, she said he was there fighting these things." Her eyes were wild. "She said she'd met her dad in the past, it was what he would have done."

Harry shunted that random rambling information away for later. "What were you doing with the truck?" Harry briefly looked away from her, there was a tow rope that seemed to go to where the TARDIS had been. "Was it something in the TARDIS?"

"The TARDIS!" This seemed to resonate with Tyler. "Rose, she said, something inside, she had to get into the TARDIS, something powerful, she had to break in."

A chill ran down Harry's back. Both Magister and the Doctor had told him of the power that was within the TARDIS. And Rose Tyler and her chums had used a big yellow truck to break in.

Rose Tyler. Harry wondered if this was when she died, the Doctor had been reticent to talk about her, when he'd met Martha Jones, when he'd nearly died.

Opening up the power of the TARDIS could be catastrophic, and very probably deadly.

"I see. Now Jackie, who did you get the truck from?"

"Rodrigo. Have to get it back soon," she said in a lower monotone.

"Good. Now, when I snap my fingers you will return the truck to him and you will have no memory of speaking to me. You will obey me you understand," Harry ordered.

"I understand," she said, then Harry snapped his fingers.

In a somewhat clockwork manner she walked over, disconnecting the chain and then got into the truck and drove away.

"Nice trick," Portman was standing behind him.

"Anything useful out of Smith?" Harry asked.

"Aside from him forgetting to inform us of anything unusual?" She asked looking over at him. He looked even more guilty than when Pearce and he had met him.

"We could always torture him to teach him a lesson," Harry said casually.

"What about you?" She asked.

"Only worrying things," he said looking at his temporal scanner. Where the TARDIS had been had left a distinct scar of energy on the landscape. He was moderately sure it wasn't dangerous. Though he still thought he should call in the military to cordon off the area, he shared these thoughts with Portman.

"Are we at risk?" She asked.

Harry gave a vague shrug. "Depends, I wouldn't go dancing on top of that land there." He nodded back towards where the TARDIS had been.

-/ - \\-

Later, in December he was, as he'd guessed he would be summoned to the Ministry of Magic.

Upon walking into the Minister's office Harry guessed that he didn't want to hear about how traffic was murder this time of year, even with all his special permissions and everything. Short of driving through London with blues and twos going everything was moving, very slowly.

Of course, he could have apparated in, that would have solved the congestion issue.

But it was heading towards Christmas and that was when something was likely to happen, he'd rather drive around with a boot full of stuff to potentially solve a problem than wander around with a magic bag, which wasn't infinite in size of stuff.

Plus with the various authorities a car made him seem a bit more professional than a magic bag. Even if it was a sports car some of the time.

"Potter." Minister for Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt looked annoyed with him. "Our agreement was that-"

Harry cut him off. "I know our agreement and I am not just the special response team when someone picks up my phone. The 'Bad Wolf' phenomena was brought to my attention by the muggle authorities as a possible magic or alien" Kingsley still twitched when he said alien. "problem."

Kingsley stared hard at him. "The group that was present was attempting to determine something similar," he said after a long pause.

"And they thought a mirage charm was the best way to avoid detection?" Harry queried.

Kingsley pursed his lips. "That was security decision."

"In the winter," Harry countered and then added. "Albeit on a sunny day."

"Mr Weasley has plenty of experience as I'm sure you know Mr Potter," Kingsley said. "He also has the benefit of his Auror training."

The thinly veiled suggestion was that he did not have that training that Ron has.

"Did his training also include telling his" Harry paused and decided not to call them 'minions' this time. "associates to fire on a muggle?"

Kingsley remained silent.

"I was present with a muggle investigating, several spells were fired at us from a great distance," he paused and gave the Minister a brief smile before returning to seriousness. "While I can applaud their ability to fire a spell at such long distance, with offensive spells like that they shouldn't be firing off. Especially around a muggle housing estate."

"There is still the case of the wizards and witches you assaulted Mr Potter," Kingsley said after some silence between the two. He held up a scroll. "Most were rendered unconscious, some required treatment following the event."

Harry fixed the Minister with a careful look. "Are you quite sure that I was the one who did that."

"You were present and then you departed as Mr Weasley was regaining consciousness," the Minister said simply.

"That doesn't prove I had anything to do with it," Harry paused. I merely had the sense to leave with the muggle that accompanied me on the investigation."

"I trust the muggle had her memory adjusted from the events?" Kingsley asked though his tone implied Harry had already done so.

"Of course," Harry lied smoothly.

"And what of your investigations Mr Potter? Have you discovered something further of this Bad Wolf phenomena that was not discovered by those from my Ministry?"

Harry slightly raised an eyebrow. "You would prefer a verbal report?"

Kingsley nodded. "One less report from you that I must lock away or destroy Potter is all the better."

Harry smirked. "The Bad Wolf phenomena is temporally related."

"Temporally? A time turner?" He asked.

Harry shook his head. "No. I don't have all the information, but whatever happened it seemed to be leading to a certain point when we all started noticing it."

"And now that affect is lessening like a charm that has reached its endpoint and begun to crumble," Kingsley mused.

"Poetic," Harry commented. "But yes. I'm not sure if it was a message or a notice or what it was. It was left through some means that I can't say but was related to time travel. In the cases I examined the message was older than the surrounding materials."

Kingsley nodded. "I have similar reports."

"Interesting," Harry said. He'd like to read those reports but doubted the Minister would let him. The sharing of information from the Ministry's investigations to him wasn't part of their agreement. Especially considering what had happened with them this time.

It would probably be easier just to sneak into the Ministry and steal the reports for himself.

"Unspeakables believe the Bad Wolf samples may assist in producing more time turners," Shaklebolt added. "The Ministry's supply has been limited for some time."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "As long as you're not giving it to any Hogwarts students to attend classes."

Kingsley didn't respond to his comment.

Harry felt he needed to press it. "Please tell me the Ministry isn't lending out any more time turners Kingsley?" Harry asked a slightly pained tone to his voice.

"Ms Granger's use, while unorthodox did nurture her analytical mind Mr Potter," Kingsley commented idly.

Harry resisted the urge to groan, instead he sighed. "Yes. I suppose so." He looked at Kingsley. "The muggles discovered a form of time travel and they tried to use it to turn back the Earth to the time of dinosaurs, so the Ministry using it to let people attend extra classes isn't so bad in comparison."

Shacklebolt looked at him as though he were mad.

Harry mused if it was his mention of dinosaurs, time travel or muggles using it that caused that look.

Harry opened his mouth to ask about Ron, but he found himself paused, not really sure what to ask.

In the end he ended his meeting with the Minister assuring him that what had happened with Ron and his minions wouldn't happen again. At least he'd try his hardest.

-/ - \\-

In the end he didn't end up inviting Ron and Hermione andDraco Malfoy to Christmas lunch.

While he fancied Draco might find it amusing he doubted that Ron, especially in light of recent events would be able to even remotely keep his cool.

He wasn't even sure how he and Ron were.

He'd had a drink with Hermione not long after his meeting with the Minister.

Flashback…

"Are you alright?" Harry asked. They were sitting in an old pub in central London that had been renovated into a "gastro-pub" for the trendy business crowd, but it had some nice secluded areas that meant you could discuss anything without danger of being heard.

Hermione laughed a short laugh. "They say couples shouldn't work together," she said taking a long draw of her drink.

Harry remained silent but reached forward and took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

Hermione looked up at him smiling gently. "I tried to be professional, but Ron is…" She trailed off. "Ron."

"So you're working apart now?" Harry asked gently.

"And as soon as we do you run into him Harry!" She shook her head. "And attacked him," she chastised him gently.

Harry held up his hands. "I didn't mean to, but Ron was being." He looked at Hermione with a smile. "Ron."

"He ranted and raved about you," she paused. "And Malfoy. Apparently you're on chatting terms."

"Draco and I have become…" Harry shook his head. "Something."

Hermione smiled. "Who'd have thought."

Harry nodded, taking a sip of his drink.

"We've decided take a short break and not work together unless it's under orders," Hermione said after a long pause.

Harry offered her to have Christmas lunch with himself and Daphne, but she refused. "It's been a year or two since I had lunch with my parents, the last few were with Molly." Hermione shook her head. "Dropping hints about grandchildren."

"Lovely dinner table discussion then," Harry commented.

"Supposedly some of the people we went to Hogwarts with have already started 'creating their families' so Molly says."

It was still a little odd to call her Molly Harry mused. Even though he'd hung out with her brothers.

"What's the matter Harry?" Hermione asked suddenly worried.

"What? Why?" Harry asked slightly panicked.

"You just seemed sad for a moment," She observed with worry.

"Memories of the past. It's nothing Hermione," he said pushing those experiences away.

Hermione gave him one of her serious looks, one of those 'I know you're lying Harry Potter' looks. "You have too many secrets of the past Harry," she paused to take a sip of her own drink. "I hope you're able to share some of them with Daphne."

Harry nodded. "Yes. I can, we have shared some of those secrets. And Draco Malfoy as well," he added as a bit of an after thought.

"House allegiance runs deep with him. Still wary of people from Slytherin," Hermione said shaking her head speaking of Ron again.

"He didn't take kindly to my mentioning of Draco." Harry's tone was mostly amusement.

Hermione exhaled. "That's been part of the problem, working together I've felt like I had to be the negotiator." She looked at him. "Least the Ministry's departments are understanding. Seems like it's an ongoing thing."

"Someone should do a study on how Hogwarts House allegiance affects workplace cohesion in the Ministry," Harry mused.

Hermione stared at him. "You've been attending too many normal government meetings or reading 'muggle'" She said making quotes with her hands. "reports. Do you think the Ministry cares about the psychology or social cohesion?"

"Cares enough to let you and Ron work apart," Harry pointed out.

Hermione let out a short snort. "They're just diversifying. More 'unknown' and other dangerous stuff out there to investigate, that at least is progressing."

"Maybe you'll be able to explain why they're so reticent in embracing technology," Harry mused.

Hermione shook her head. "One of the many things that is interesting Harry that I'm not paid to look into," she paused and looked at him. "Unless you'd like to fund a side investigation."

"Money grabbing."

Hermione looked at him with wide eyes. "Merely trying to investigate a subject you seem to be interested in Harry Potter," she said far too innocently.

"If you can make them see there's a value in following a certain technology then they'll go with it," Harry observed.

"How do you know that Harry?" Hermione asked focusing on him.

"Just some things," he said vaguely.

Hermione wrinkled her nose at him. "Fine, be mysterious and secretive Harry Potter, see if I care!"

"Good," Harry drained his glass ignoring her annoyed look at him.

Present…

He'd accepted the invite from Osric and Agave Greengrass to attend Christmas lunch with them almost reprising their previous year's gathering.

Their house was close to London, but he didn't think, or rather he hoped that any alien activity during Christmas didn't drop onto their doorstep.

-/ - \\-

He wasn't entirely sure what to expect, the Doctor had been a little bit vague about this Christmas. He'd 'drunk some tea, slept a bit, had a bit of a fight' was all he really remembered the Doctor saying to him.

There were other things, things on the horizon to worry about. Things the Doctor had alluded to though hadn't explained very much in full. He was quite aware that his foreknowledge would soon be running out.

-/

Martha Jones, she was as far as he could gather the last person who travelled with the Doctor whom he'd met who would be present and alive in his upcoming future.

Martha Jones, he remembered her tending to his wounds, helping him. When he was dying in the graveyard.

It felt like a lifetime ago, those long painful hours or it might have been days in the TARDIS as he recovered. Some of it through a drug haze as the pain killers or whatever it was worked their brilliance on him. During those times of unconsciousness and pain he came to know the voices of the Doctor and Martha Jones and the ebb, the hum, the being of the TARDIS as he drifted away from death.

-/

Martha Jones was still training to be a doctor, she was still on Earth and wasn't on any UNIT watch lists. Which meant she hadn't started travelling with the Doctor. Everyone who'd travelled with him had a file somewhere in UNIT.

Contemporarily speaking the Doctor was still travelling with Rose Tyler and Captain Jack Harkness. Which was weird, it meant somewhere they were meeting him at the Tri-Wizard. But Rose was also breaking into the TARDIS with a yellow truck.

That made him worry, the powers of the TARDIS and the time vortex through which it travelled were beyond immense, they were untamed. Only TARDISes could contain them, only they had…Harry didn't have the language to be able to conceptualise it. The Doctor had once told him some tales of the founders of Gallifrey, how they bent black holes to their will and fought great battles across time and space. Those powers were not to be trifled with.

If Rose had come into contact with any of those ancient powers either of the vortex or the heart of the TARDIS it would mean death or more for her. But he also knew that she probably travelled with the Doctor whom Martha travelled with. It led him to some thoughts, that the Doctor had somehow saved Rose from whatever she'd done.

Maybe he was wrong, the Doctor had been at times vague about the inner workings of the TARDIS, but he had always maintained that its heart needed to be treated with respect. The 'old girl' sometimes needed coaxing, pushing and repairing but at its heart it was a mighty and powerful thing.

Harry exhaled shaking his head. He'd once again brought his E-Type to the Greengrass's Kensington home, it somehow suited it more than his other sports cars with all their synthetic materials. The E-Type was a classy lady and this house fitted in with her perfectly.

-/

That wasn't to say he hadn't packed for the emergency that he knew would follow, even more so than his previous meeting. He knew something big and bag was coming.

As he'd left he'd detected something on his space tracking dishes, he'd looked into UNIT and NASA's deep space tracking networks and there appeared to be something out past Jupiter, or it could have been one of its moons.

There were some internal papers within UNIT that the various destructions of space fleets over the past 40 years was inhibiting their ability to detect alien craft in the solar system.

There had been at least 2 Cyber-Fleets destroyed, plus Mondas' destruction in the 80s. All of that junk was for the most part still flittering around the solar system.

When he'd left he'd hoped it wouldn't be something catastrophic. If it was he thought the Doctor would have mentioned that something drastic would happen aside from some tea drinking and a little bit of a fight.

At least he knew the Doctor would deal with it.

Though like many things he'd been involved in past and present it was all the little things that were outside of the 'main battle area' to borrow a phrase from the military.

For now the only space-going concern for the United Kingdom was Guinevere One. Why the British Rocket Group were sending something to Mars was another question entirely, it seemed various governments had passed and forgotten Greyhaven's coupe. But Prime Minister Harriet Jones seemed to be a big supporter of it, and no government really wants to think about a coupe or the deposition of their monarch by an alien Ice Lord.

-/ - \\-

"Harry." Daphne said in a calm tone, far too calm for the situation, but then she'd travelled back to the 1970s with him, seen angel statues that can make you time travel and met Captain Jack Harkness.

They had also spent much time together. Naked for a lot of it.

Harry smirked Daphne gave him an odd look. "Sorry. I just had an amusing not relevant thought," Harry shook his head. "It's really rather fascinating."

"Harry?" Osric, Daphne's father called from inside the house. "Your bag is making a noise, I believe your telephone it ringing."

Harry nodded and walked inside nodding to the elder wizard whom he had given a mark 2 magic proof sat-phone it was a partial gift and part of their business arrangement, so he knew what one sounded like when it was ringing.

Walking further into the house he retrieved his phone from his bag he'd set aside explaining to his hosts that he might need it today.

"Don't you have any time off Pearce?" He said as he heard the man on the other end of the phone.

"The security services never sleeps Mr Potter. I do not need to appraise you of the situation I trust?" Pearce's tone was calm, though it was mostly always calm.

"No," Harry said as he walked back through the house to the balcony where he had a view of people ready to throw themselves off of buildings. No one in their household seemed like they wanted to do it. "I don't believe this is magically related."

"You're sure?" He asked. "We have information of such compulsion being implemented previously."

Harry raised an eyebrow, he'd never heard of anything on this mass scale, but he didn't say that to Pearce. "Yes. It doesn't have the feel of magic," he said looking over at Daphne who had moved to stand just outside of earshot with him.

"So this is most definitely an alien event. It seems we will need another cover story."

"Cover story?" Harry asked.

"You did not see the television broadcast?"

"I am, would you believe somewhere without a television," Harry said as Pearce explained the transmission from Guinevere One.

"And which idiot broadcast that live?" He asked.

"One of the many questions Mr Potter that will be answered later. Do you have any suggestions as to what may be done?"

"Waiting until it ends is not the sort of answer you're looking for is it?" Harry mused as he walked back inside to gather his bag.

"No Mr Potter. You are our expert in these matters."

"I think this falls into UNIT's sphere of coverage," Harry mused. "But I will attempt to discern something. I will call back in 20 minutes. Potter out," he said hanging up.

"Harry? Your associates called?" Agave asked she had cover over to join them on the balcony while he'd been speaking.

"Yes, sort of, not my associates, more people within the same circles. You mentioned last night that there's some other wizards in the area?"

Agave nodded. "I will floo them."

Harry paused. "Tell them I'm coming, I think I'll drive considering what's happening we don't know how it could affect magic. Or even if it does," he said.

-/

It did.

Harry stood on the edge near the edge of the roof. Father, son and aunt were stood on the edge, mother daughter and uncle had tried several things to get them moved.

Side along apparition seemed to work, but once inside they just came back.

Daphne was stood with them keeping them back while he worked as they were by now in almost hysterics. Daphne indicated she knew the son in passing, he worked for Daphne's family business as a navigator on one of their ships.

"Davius? Can you hear me?" Harry asked slowly as he edged around, wishing he had a broom with him at the moment so he could make proper eye contact. "Are you aware?" He asked in an even tone.

Leaning forward he put his ear to the man's chest, the breathing was even, perhaps a little slow.

There were many questions he had and wondered if they could try them all.

Whatever this was it controlled the body and the mind, forcing them to an ledge. But what of the places in the world where there were none. It couldn't be everywhere.

Stalking calmly back to the family behind them he relayed his idea.

"I need you to apparate somewhere that doesn't have a ledge, to the moors or something like that."

"That'll fix him will it Mr Potter?" The uncle whom he hadn't learned his name asked.

Harry shook his head. "I don't know. But I need to start somewhere before we head towards more drastic solutions." Harry said looking over at the group.

"Do you have a broom by any chance?" Harry asked.

"Not…not something…" The mother began. Her daughter shook her head, watching her father with steel in her eyes.

"Astoria has one," Daphne said as she stepped away to apparate.

As the family including the possessed one disapparated together Harry held a breath and waited.

Several minutes passed with nothing happening and then someone popped back onto the roof making those around him, though not Harry jump. Then he walked calmly back to the edge.

"Fascinating," Harry whispered. "And worrying."

"You have a look of wonder on your face Harry, it is not entirely fitting to the situation." Daphne's tone had a slight amused undertone as she handed him broom.

"This is a nice broom," he said sliding his hand along it.

"It's Draco's when he was visiting upon my sister a gift she did not wish for," Daphne explained.

Harry made a face. "So I am to ride Draco's broom. Where's Captain Harkness when I need him?"

Pushing off he was now able to really come face to face with the youngest of those on the ledge.

"Davius, are you in there?" Harry asked looking into his eyes. They were…lost. Like he was asleep, or something. It was odd.

"Davius, I want you to listen to my voice, I want you to listen to me and obey me. Do you understand?" Harry said as he shifted position slightly on the broom to look deeper into the man's eyes. There was a lacking in there, but he could still see responses, operation. The body was still functioning. The mind too.

That he had been able to appartate meant something, it meant…that he was still functioning. Able to apparate home from where ever. It was…instinctual.

"Davius," Harry said his name calmly. "You will obey me. I want you to step away from the ledge."

Davius' lip trembled ever so slightly but he did not move. "Step away from the ledge." Harry repeated.

Nothing happened.

Turning the broom away he landed back on the roof. There was another thing he wished to try.

"An unforgiveable?" They looked at him surprised and concerned, he wondered if it was that proposition or that he Harry Potter was suggesting it.

"It's clear they are being controlled. By what I'm not sure. But if I can force him away from the edge then that would eliminate some things," Harry said. "I will not do this without your consent," he said this time addressing Davius' mother.

She looked at him for several moments and then shook her head.

Harry nodded. "I understand."

"You have another idea?" Daphne asked.

"Yes. It is somewhat more dangerous, though I am sure we're up to the task."

-/

Harry was sitting on the broom ready to catch him and others were on the ground below.

It was a theory he had, something Magister had told him of hypnotism.

Extracting information and persuading people to do tasks was one thing, but over riding instinct was something much more tricky. As with everything it could be overcome.

But this, on this scale was impressive. But the people weren't doing anything, aside from standing on the ledge or being forced to stand on the edge, or maybe the idea to stand on the ledge was planted in their minds. He wasn't sure. He did know he wanted to know more when this was over.

"Ready," he called out. "Remember just enough of a push to get him to the edge," he said. Enough that if you wanted you could stop yourself from falling.

"I…I know." Came the still rattled reply.

Harry watched a Davius was pushed, he stumbled and came close to the edge and then self corrected, an instinctual response. Then he repositioned himself back to his original position.

Harry grinned.

-/ - \\-

"You think it is safe for them to remain there?" Daphne asked as he drove back to her parent's house.

"Safe enough, whatever this is can't make them throw themselves off the edge," he reasoned. "It's an instinctual thing."

"So it is not magic," Daphne mused.

"No," Harry mused. "but it must be something within of the body or mind. Davius was able to apparate. That's more than instinctual, it requires a thought process."

"Not," Daphne started. "Not all the time. One may apparate to remove oneself from danger, an instinctual response. Like your bouts of childhood accidental magic. A response to danger," she said as he turned a corner.

"Curiouser and curiouser," Harry said as he turned back into the Greengrass's driveway.

As he was extracting his phone to call Pearce it rang.

"Yes?" Harry asked and didn't recognise the voice. "Who is this?" Harry asked. "With the Ministry, oh. Yes," Harry said. "I've done some tests it shouldn't be permanent and it's not life threatening." Harry nodded a smile to Agave and Osric and continued out onto the balcony. "It should all resolve itself so-" The rest of his sentence was cut off as a spaceship flew slowly down through the atmosphere.

"Sonic wave," he said aloud as he felt the pressure difference flood across the city. Whatever it was it was huge and descending far too quickly.

"Oh shit," Harry said. "I'll have to call you back." Ending the call and flinched as windows all around him shattered. He tensed to duck away from the windows he was standing beside and say them flexing as the spacecraft descended.

Then he was joined on the balcony by Daphne and her parents.

"Harry that is-" he father was saying.

"A spacecraft indeed Osric," Harry said reaching out and taking Daphne's hand squeezing it and grinning at him. She smiled back her eyes wandering upwards at the huge rock of a spacecraft that was dropping rapidly towards the city.

"Will it crash Harry?" Agave asked her voice full of cautious tension.

"No, if it were going to it would have by now," he said as his phone started ringing again.

"Intrusive isn't it," Agave mused.

"Less so than a floo," Harry said with a brief smile. "And I can stop the call coming through if I wish. Not today though."

"As you can with a floo Harry," Agave said her gaze still fixed on the spacecraft above London.

"Hello Pearce, I suppose you have not missed the large spacecraft over London?" Harry asked.

"No Mr Potter I have not. Have you made progress with the other situation. These are linked I would presume?"

"I think it likely," Harry paused. "It's some form of deep rooted hypnosis, normal body function continues and some instinctual responses too. They won't jump or fall off the edge."

He heard Pearce exhale a breath. "I sense a but Mr Potter."

Harry nodded. "I can't disable it, not at the moment. It should rectify itself."

"Is this blind hope or do I presume you know some advanced knowledge of this situation?"

"Educated guesses mostly," Harry admitted as he wandered away from the balcony and out of earshot of the Greengrasses. "If it does not rectify itself by days' end we will need to look at destroying the spacecraft ourselves," Harry paused. "I'll contact Porton Down and I have one or two things that may be of…" Harry trailed off as looked back into the room. Lying against one of the sofas was the broom he'd been riding earlier.

"Potter?"

"I just had a rather stupid idea to gather some intelligence Pearce," Harry began.

"Judging by your tone Mr Potter I take it is quite dangerous," Pearce's tone was slightly amused.

"No point in living if you're not going to live dangerously some of the time. I'll call you later Pearce," Harry said as he rushed out to the Jag. On the backseat was his small store of magical related things he'd brought with him; namely his invisibility cloak. He'd always wanted to see if it'd work on aliens.

Donning the cloak he rushed back inside and grabbed the broom on his way to the balcony.

"Harry?" Osric looked at him concerned.

"Harry!" Daphne exclaimed and then looked hard at him. "You are about to do something dangerous."

Harry grinned at her. "Yes." Then he kissed her. "Should be fun," he said kicking off towards the clouds.

-/ - \\-

The ship was enormous, it appeared to be large asteroid or maybe a small moon carved into a spacecraft.

"Who does that?" He mused aloud against the wind to himself. Flying right up to its edge he put his hand out in front of the rock. It was warm, not hot, but warm like closer to body heat.

-/ - \\-

Flying around the ship he saw a flat portion that looked like some sort of arena there was what looked like a large door. It looked rather large and the sun was out and shining here. Discounting that he flew around to the side.

Most spacecraft had more than one docking port and he hoped that spacecraft made out of asteroids followed similar design principles. Grinning to himself he found he was right, it was a very narrow, seemingly barely used door. There was enough room to stand.

The controls didn't work when he slapped the shoulder height button.

"I wonder. Will Clarke's Law prevail?" He asked. "Alohomora," he said with some force at the door. His eyes went wide as it shifted. Not much, but enough to force himself through.

Slipping through he found himself staring at the TARDIS. And Rose Tyler was wittering on about the "Gelth Confederacy." The only Gelth he knew of was in Dickens' "lost manuscript" lost in the sense that either UNIT or Torchwood had it.

Even though he was hidden by his invisibility cloak and the main alien had his back to him so he kept himself partly obscured behind one of the many rocky outcrops, which could have been computer banks for all he knew.

There were, he could see from here thousands of aliens around on the ship cheering.

Possibly not for Rose he mused.

Rose seemed to be on the verge of a mental breakdown, considering she was mentioning the Daleks with such confidence.

Maybe there were nice Daleks somewhere, they'd finally abandoned their galaxy conquering ways to make tea and Rose Tyler had met some of them.

Harry gave Rose plus one for enthusiasm though confidence was lacking somewhat.

He realised the Prime Minister was standing behind her, it was the first time he'd met her. Well, not met. Been in the same room with her. Which wasn't a room. More of a spaceship-cavern sort of thing.

It probably didn't count Harry mused as he edged his way around.

Then as the man next to the Prime Minister was reading out a translation of the alien Harry felt a chill go down his back as he suddenly understood what the alien was saying. Which begged the question why it hadn't happened before.

"Hello Doctor," Harry whispered to himself. It was the Doctor, the one who had rescued him from the graveyard. He looked…younger somehow. Maybe it was the pyjamas.

As the Doctor walked around the room it became quickly evident to Harry that the Doctor had recently regenerated.

Harry guessed it had been saving Rose's life as she wasn't dead with her essence smeared across the timelines.

He'd wanted to talk about regeneration with the Doctor, and when he'd met Iris Wildthyme he'd broached the subject with her. But according to Iris talking about regeneration was to Time Lords as talking about sex was to humans.

It was nice for the Doctor to confirm his theory of hypnotism or "blood control" as he called it.

From the way the Doctor was acting he definitely matched the description the Brigadier had given when he'd regenerated in front of himself and Sarah. Sarah hadn't really wanted to talk about it. Like losing an old friend she'd said, watching him die and change before her eyes.

He'd not really thought of it like that. Each Doctor, each of his incarnations they each had adventures, each had lives and he'd known all of them, or most of them.

He didn't really think of them ever dying, they were always out there leaving their marks, he was always finding evidence of each of the Doctors' footsteps on history.

Their death their regeneration wasn't the end, they continued and he felt while the end was a fixed point they continued to explore. Just because he had met the incarnation that followed, he didn't think that meant he couldn't meet those that came before again. Maybe. Harry wasn't sure.

During his musings and the Doctor's talking it seemed the Doctor had decided to take the leader of the Sycorax in a duel…for the planet.

As Rose, Mickey, the Prime Minister and unnamed civil servant followed outside side Harry took up the rear following slowly.

Stepping off to the edge he carefully got on his borrowed broom and stepped off the edge manoeuvring so he was just hovering in line with the edge of the spaceship.

While he was standing around there invisible there was a chance people around him would notice.

Harry stared wide eyed as the Sycorax guy lopped the Doctor's hand off.

Which was odd. Because when he'd met this Doctor he'd had two hands.

"…first 15 hours of my regeneration cycle…" Harry smiled to himself, so he had guessed correctly.

"Witchcraft," said the Sycorax as the Doctor regrew his hand.

Harry frowned and wondered if the fact he was able to use magic to gain access to the spacecraft was because these people had magic, or believed in magic enough for it to be a reality. Or that magic worked wherever in the universe he was as long as he had himself.

It was interesting and a question he didn't really feel equipped to answer. The Doctor had been at times vague about magic, but had said in brief and in passing that even Gallifrey had an age of magic and prophecy.

-/ - \\-

Harry's eyes went wide for a second time again as the Doctor threw whatever the orange thing he was holding at the door control dumping the Sycorax over the edge.

Harry wanted to follow them back in, but it sounded like the spaceship was leaving soon.

Or maybe the Doctor was going to blow it up, maybe he was in that sort of mood. He'd done it to Skaro after all.

-/

Harry sat watching the spacecraft and then had to grip the broom hard it started to generate vortices as its anti-grav drives started up.

Harry dropped his altitude heading back in the vague direction of the Greengrass's house before spinning around so he could fly gently backwards, he wanted to watch the spacecraft leave the atmosphere.

Just to make sure that it would leave. It did, amazingly.

-/

Then, just as he was making it back he saw it. Five beams from a large scale energy weapon combining in the sky. It made his hair stand up on edge the energy rippling through the air.

Who knew what it was doing to London's power supplies.

They combined and a single beam tore through the atmosphere.

He didn't need satellite tracking to know what the target was.

It was amazing how long they, whichever agency was firing it managed to maintain it for, close 15 seconds maybe more of continuous firing. That was some feat.

-/ - \\-

"Porton Down's finished analysing the ash," Harry said. He and Pearce were walking down the Thames. "It was from the alien ship. Good work on the cover story by the way. I'm really surprised anyone bought it."

Pearce sniffed. "As am I Mr Potter. There does not appear to be any lasting affects of the 'blood control' though we've had chatter that other agencies think it was an advanced terrorist attack."

"In a way it was. Dispatched by the Prime Minister," Harry said. "Was it Torchwood or UNIT?" He asked Pearce.

"Torchwood I believe," Pearce said watching him.

"They have a rather large amount of power. The Prime Minister shouldn't even know what they're up to. She hasn't even had the magic briefing from what I know," Harry said.

"Is it something you believe should be rectified?" Pearce asked.

"Do you want me to do it, or should we keep the Prime Minister in the dark?" Harry asked in the most casual way one could when discussing deceiving the Prime Minister.

"The Home Secretary is briefed on your organisation's coverage," Pearce said carefully.

Harry nodded as they continued their slow walk down the riverbank.

-/ - \\-

A/N:

This chapter underwent a significant rewrite before I even finished it. I began with The Christmas Invasion stuff, but it was originally set at Harry's house with Daphne and her parents over at his house. Then he sees Harriet Jones' address on the TV and then goes and has a phone conversation with Harry Pearce whilst looking at stuff on the computer. That was an efficient way to tell the story.

Just not very interesting. So I left that behind and wrote the Bad Wolf stuff.

This allowed me to finally write some proper Ron and Harry interaction, I'm still not sure how well I'm writing Ron. But I'm quite happy with how he appears in this chapter. He's an adult, just still not so mature. I'm channeling the Ron of the epilogue of the DH. Still immature about Slytherins.

I'm still undecided about Ron and Hermione, they're still in a relationship, a rocky one though. Making them work apart gives me more opportunity to highlight Ron and Hermione. Especially now I've worked out how to write Ron a little better.

I've previously said in replying to reviews and messages that not a lot happens in The Christmas Invasion. But going back and having a look at it and thinking about it from a perspective of those not the main characters it becomes fairly interesting.

That's why I had to rewrite how I'd initially started this chapter. So Harry's again at the Greengrasses for Christmas. And because they don't have a TV Harry doesn't get brought into the action until the blood control starts.

When Harry is on the Sycorax ship he gains access through a different door to one the Doctor uses. When he's inside he's either off to the left out of shot or where the camera is and is hiding to the side of an outcrop or something.

Thanks for reading.