Chapter 79

"Dear Mr Potter, I write to thank you for yours and your associate's recent assistance here in London. It was most appreciated, more than you knew perhaps.

Especially your associate's specialised skills, we could have made great use of both of you had your situation been altered.

I have uncovered information that I believe you will find useful, I have certain contacts that I rarely have cause to use. After yours and your associate's assistance I believe this information will be somewhat adequate payment for the insights you provided.

Those my associates suggest you investigate are Ablemarch, Costerdane, and Frines. You and your own intelligence associates may find this information useful. I know we have. But as your associate made us aware things between our" He paused reading; as there was the smallest mark where the writer had obviously paused. "situations do not always tally.

Regards,

Mycr-"

"Don't say anything more," Harry cut in and fixed Harry Pearce with a look.

"I'm sorry Potter?" Pearce asked looking up from the page he was reading from.

Harry leaned back in the chair. "Something about that name, the familiarity he has with me." Harry shook head. "Something..." he paused. "The date is also from the future."

Pearce looked over to him. "I had noticed."

"It also doesn't correspond. That date is a Wednesday, not a Tuesday," Harry said looking at the letter.

Pearce looked to him surprised and dropped the letter onto the desk. "It is? Why the devil would you check that?"

Harry blew air out from his cheeks. "Suspicious mostly Pearce. I ran it though a variety of energy scanners LPI uses and that I've been developing to probe things that we've come into contact with."

"Do I need to probe Potter?" Pearce asked.

"Other dimensions being one of them," Harry continued, that alternate universe still something of interest, but there had been others. Shakespeare's Globe those years ago he still had the energy readings from that and when they were recalibrating the rift manipulator in Cardiff he'd ended up with a lot of extra information. It all added up to useful data.

"This is from another dimension?" Pearce looked at the paper. "Is it safe Potter?"

"I think so," Harry said with some uncertainty. The ink on the envelope didn't match anything that was currently being produced. He had put into practice his long since unused skills at ink analysis learnt in the height of crisis with UNIT in the 1970s. But then he'd also used his significant available technology to enhance and speed things up.

Harry extracted the envelope from his pocket and passed it to Pearce. "This is what it came in."

Pearce took it, studying it. "This stamp's not in circulation."

Harry beamed at the older intelligence agent. "No. It's never been in circulation. I checked the Royal Mail and the Postal Museum's databases and had a word on my way here with someone in the RM about it."

"Someone cleared I hope Potter?" Pearce asked.

"Of course Pearce. I do know how this works," Harry said as he gave the man a look.

Pearce sighed. "I suppose you checked other things with your 'scanners'?"

Harry nodded. "These things weren't created here. On this Earth."

"This Earth," Pearce repeated. "This is a job then for Porton Down, or" he paused, probably for dread. "UNIT."

Harry relaxed into the chair. "The last report I read, a top secret one from various parts of our government concerning Jack Harkness and the 456," he paused briefly. "The term 'Three Families' was red flagged by GCHQ in connection with intelligence gathered by MI6."

Pearce seemed to try and decide not to be surprised at his snooping. "You think these people Ablemarch, Costerdane, and Frines have something to do with that? Why?"

"This guy, I've obviously met, maybe in the future, I don't know. Time travel's a possibility," Harry admitted. "I think it's worth investigating just in case there are other skeletons sitting in Jack's closet."

"We do not want repeat of the 456 incident," Pearce intoned.

"No, and we should grab at whatever leg up that comes across out desks, or posted to it." Harry took the letter and the envelope and tucked it into a pocket, removing a copy from another and handed it to Pearce. "Just in case you want to investigate the letter further."

"A pity he's only signed it with his first name, beyond the H is a scribble." Pearce said looking at the remains of the signature. "Was there anything else Potter?"

"I had a visit from the Doctor a while ago, he said to be wary of Christmas," Harry explained calmly. "Nothing specific."

"I see," Pearce replied calmly.

"Whatever it is it can't be worse than what the 456 revealed," Harry said in a dark tone shaking his head.

"Harkness and the government carry many dark secrets Potter," Pearce continued in an equally dark tone.

"Hopefully this big investigation will shed some light on those dark secrets. Jack, I suspect holds many," Harry mused.

-/ - \\-

Daphne's parents were off again, visiting family in Europe with Astoria's new flame, Harry had encouraged Daphne to go with them. Better to be with her family off in Europe somewhere than here with him, worrying and brooding on what danger might befall everyone, albeit for a short time, so said the Doctor.

Daphne had suggested that he join them, mostly in humour. He still found large family gatherings somewhat...off.

With the Dursleys 'large family' usually described the girth of the Dursley family waists and was not something he looked forward to.

With the Weasleys, at Hogwarts Ron and his family had almost made him feel like he belonged with them.

Since then they'd drifted almost entirely.

Now, now he was somewhat unsure how he fit in with everyone. Gatherings larger than Daphne's immediate family he just wasn't sure...

Of course Daphne had refused him and his offer that she should go with her family. Insisting if danger were to befall them all she would prefer to be here, with him.

They were having something of break from tradition, a Christmas breakfast...thing. Just in case aliens invaded or whatever disaster was going to befall the Earth, it probably wouldn't happen at breakfast.

That was also supported by UK waste reports or something along those lines, some government department had analysed organic waste distribution, natural gas and electricity usage over the past few years and determined when alien invasions had happened and how that affected the UK's energy use and waste handling.

Supposedly it had been commissioned because of the increased wastage impacted several departments' budgets.

Sometimes Harry wondered at the government's ideas.

Maybe, now that the government had been booted out (again) and Aubrey Fairchild once more installed as PM they might have a run of a few years where a PM didn't try to kill 10 percent of the population or die mysteriously.

Whatever was to come for now he had a freshly made loaf in the oven, eggs ready to cook, bacon from one of his neighbour's farms, fruit from another's and something light, alcoholic and sparkling that Daphne had brought along and assured him it was fine to put in the fridge.

They could have a relaxing late breakfast meal without the worry of anything, hopefully.

Then they could worry about the afternoon and whatever Christmas brought with it.

"You are pondering the universe again Harry," said a woman's voice from the door to the kitchen.

Harry turned around from the sink where he was looking out the window. "It's a nice day, and I wasn't too much. The universe will keep going without my thinking on it."

Daphne laughed. "You would have to be very egotistical Harry to think otherwise."

Harry laughed as he wrapped her in an intimate embrace, enjoying the morning with the woman he loved and stopped worrying for some blissful moments about what dark and deadly danger from whatever corner of the universe it might crawl from for a short few moments of time.

-/

Harry wondered, as he and Daphne were outside, he was stood in front of an easel, Daphne was reading in a lounge chair, occasionally looking out across the fields, he wondered if the Doctor had been warning him for nothing and said so to Daphne.

Then he sighed. "I don't think painting is for me," he gave the easel a final look of annoyance.

Daphne chuckled. "I did think it interesting Harry that you would 'try your hand' at a creative pursuit such as this."

"Then why not discourage me?" Harry asked putting down the paintbrush. "It looks like a computer did it," he went over and sat beside her.

"One should not discourage creative endeavour," she said simply as she made to pour him a small glass of firewhiskey, but as she began to do so it looked like her whole body began to convulse and her head started to shake back and forth.

"Harry...?" Daphne cried out as he caught the firewhiskey bottle and placed it back on the table.

It looked like some sort of Polyjuice transformation or Metamorphmagus change but...Harry lost his train of thought at whatever was happening began to move him, making him shudder and drop his glass.

Harry shook his head and bit his lip hard, tasting the blood in his mouth he grabbed at Daphne.

"Focus Daphne, focus on me, focus on the world," he ground out, himself pushing his mental defences up, focusing on himself, his life, his...being.

"Harry?" Daphne slurred and looked at him.

"Focus on anything, on yourself, pull your mental defences up." Harry breathed in a ragged breath. "Focus, think on your self, on your magic, on your...you." He said looking into her eyes.

"I...I..." She faltered but her head had stopped shaking and as they held each other they both stopped shaking and convulsing.

-/

Harry wasn't sure how long they had sat, not saying anything just holding one another.

"Harry?" Daphne asked eventually.

Harry made an affirmative noise as he swallowed another blood and saliva mouthful.

"What in Merlin's name was that?" Daphne looked to him.

"I'm not sure, it felt...different from anything wholly magical," he paused. "Different from the Imperius Curse..." He trailed off.

Daphne was nodding. "But I know the similarity you think of, it felt as though there was something, something forcing its way in."

"Like a great wave over us." Harry murmured and stood, stumbling slightly as he did so and grabbed out for something to steady himself, unfortunately it was his easel, which unbalanced and sent the canvas and paints tumbling.

"Probably an improvement," he said as he breathed in deeply of the cool afternoon air and held out a hand to Daphne. "It's better to stand."

Daphne gave him a curious look and stood leaning against him for several moments. "Was this the event the Doctor warned you of?"

"Unless there's something else to come I hope so," Harry said as they looked out at the horizon, taking in the sun and clouds.

They both returned inside to the noise of the phone ringing from his study.

"Yes?" Harry snatched up the phone. "It's Judith," Harry said answering Daphne's curious expression. "No, I can though, are you safe?" Harry asked as he made his way into his office and slotted the phone into its cradle putting it on speaker in the process.

"Safe enough, away from...everything." Judith trailed off. "Harry, they're all the Master."

Several chills cascaded down his back as he pulled up camera feeds from the UN, UNIT central London and some CCTV cameras around the UK.

"Harry?" Daphne inquired from the doorway.

"Come in, this looks..." Harry trailed off, he suddenly felt very cold as though a nightmare wee made real.

"Is that...?" Daphne asked.

"All over Great Britain." Harry answered. "Judith, what about Ioan?"

"I called him first," she said. "I got the Master."

Harry exhaled. "Can you get here?" He asked.

"Of course," said Judith. "You don't want someone out in the field?" She inquired.

"The Doctor made it sound like this was something we can wait out. It'd be safer if we waited it out together, maybe work out why..." Harry trailed off. "Why us three aren't him..."

-/ - \\-

Judith was slicing a piece off the remains of the loaf while Daphne and Draco sat each with a cup of tea.

"You've got a theory Harry?" Draco asked, who'd turned up shortly after Judith.

Harry nodded as he stood away from the screen he'd set up in the lounge room. "I'll explain once everyone is online."

"Everyone?" Judith asked as Harry walked back over to his seat where a laptop sat.

Harry tapped a few keys and the screen flicked on; divided up into sections were three screens displaying in total four people. And one robot. One robot dog.

"Harry!" They all exclaimed.

"I hope everyone can see everyone, I've linked us up through a secure network." Harry explained both to the people on the screens and to those in his living room.

"Ian and Barbara Chesterton, Tegan Jovanka, Sarah Jane Smith and-" Harry paused long enough for Sarah to give him a look. "K9," he finished with a suitable amount of dread.

"Finally decided to call Harry, only took a disaster," Tegan commented with a smile.

"I sent a letter, meeting's been on the to do list Tegan!" Harry exclaimed with a smile.

"Of course," Tegan gave him a look.

"You and Sarah met during the whole Game of Rassilon business on Gallifrey," Harry offered trying to distract.

"You know far too much about these things Harry," Sarah commented.

"Of course I do," Harry said with a smile. "But only on some things," he paused. "Ian and Barbara, also travelled with the Doctor," Harry said by way of explanation.

"A jolly good long time ago," Ian chuckled.

"Still we see his affect on the world. Good and bad," Barbara added.

"I wanted us all connected because I have a theory." Harry said. "First, Sarah, does your Mr Smith have any ideas about what happened?"

"A genetic template wave emanating from a location unknown passed across the surface of the Earth," said a voice.

"Ah, good, Mr Smith hello," Harry said.

"Mr Smith?" Judith enquired around a mouthful of bread and cheese.

"I'm guessing the genetic template was the Master's?" Asked Tegan.

Harry nodded. "I assume so."

"Are we safe Harry, does this man who looks like the Prime Minister know that we haven't changed?" Barbara asked.

Harry shook his head. "I don't think so, I think he's everywhere, but not omnipresent."

"Why do you think we weren't changed?" Draco asked. "I thought it might have been that we're wizards," He paused looking around. "An idea I discounted upon seeing Judith and hearing of Harry contacting you."

Harry nodded. "I thought like Draco that it was our status as wizards that allowed us to fight off the change."

"That your genetics as wizards are far enough from whatever this 'genetic template' to shove it off?" Sarah asked.

Harry nodded. "But that's obviously not right," Harry looked pointedly at the screens.

"Well Harry, don't go all Doctoring on us," Tegan demanded with a smirk.

"If only I still wore glasses Tegan I could put them on just for you," Harry countered making Tegan laugh. Then he gave the group both in person and on the screens a wide look. "I think we weren't altered because of our experience with temporal fields."

"Time travel you mean?" Sarah asked.

Harry nodded. "Experience with time travel, passage through the vortex or close proximity to temporal manipulating equipment it..." Harry trailed off. "You know about biodata don't you Sarah?"

"After that guff with the Remote and the Doctor," she nodded. "It's like DNA, but not, it's like something else. That's what the Doctor said at the time."

Harry nodded. "We're changed by our experiences with time travel, passage through the vortex, travelling with the Doctor or time travel by other means, it changes us, makes us sit, just slightly outside normal events."

"I'm sorry Harry, what do you mean, we've not been a part of this since you visited us in the 1970s." Barbara said in a confused tone.

Tegan and Sarah looked at him. "I'll explain later," he said meeting their looks. "Barbara, Ian, travelling in time, with the Doctor or whatever it makes you time travellers, that makes you ever so slightly different, it changes your perceptions of things, on the world. You're less susceptible to certain things. Manipulations like this and other things."

"Because our DNA, this biodata is more complicated, because of travelling through time?" Barbara asked slowly.

Harry nodded. "Yes," he nodded, "That's about the size of it."

"And how do we undo what's happened?" Tegan asked.

"We don't," Harry said. "I wouldn't know how. Does K9 have any clue?"

"Insufficient data Harry Potter, genetic wave of unknown origin," said a voice from a dog shaped robot that had thus far been silent.

"You said we don't with some confidence Harry. I presume you have more to say than this?" Ian reasoned.

Harry nodded. "I met the Doctor a few months ago," Harry paused as everyone on screen seemed to exclaim. "He warned me something dark and dangerous would happen, so I didn't over react," Harry paused. "If the Master has somehow changed everyone we can't combat each of them."

"Because in some way they're innocent people, manipulated and changed by the Master," Tegan reasoned.

"Exactly, even if we could get out onto the streets, there's no way of scanning for the source without being detected," Harry said.

"And there's no one else Harry, just us?" Sarah asked.

"Torchwood in Cardiff, they've also bunkered down, communication's a bit patchy, it seems this wave's irritated the rift there," Harry explained, which was why he hadn't included Gwen and the rest of Torchwood in their conference call, though he'd tried. "I'll send them a summary of what we've discussed."

"So now we just sit and wait, for what?" Tegan asked.

"I assume for the Doctor to do something," Harry answered.

"Or perhaps for it to get worse, before it gets better," Judith mused.

"What a wonderful thought Judith thank you," Draco drawled.

"Stay inside don't engage the Masters. And wait," Harry said and shook his head. "I'm not sure there's anything else to be done."

"Harry," Draco asked in the silence that remained after the communication. "Does your theory hold water for other forms of time travel?"

"What'd you mean?" Harry asked.

"Time turners," Draco explained. "Granger hasn't been in contact?"

Then the phone started to ring. "Speaking of," Harry said as he walked over to the phone. "Hermione. Draco was just reminding me of you."

"Thank you Harry Potter," she said in an irritated manner. "You forget me so easily?" She hissed.

"Can you make it here?" He asked neutrally.

"You know what's happened Harry? I was just sitting outside with my parents and then-" Said the irritated tones of Ms Hermione Granger.

"Yes. And then this happened. I don't want to explain further, not on an unsecured line," he said calmly. "You're not on the satphone?"

"No, disapparated as the reality reformed for me," there was a noise. "I'll come." Then the line went dead.

Several minutes later there was a knock on the door, Daphne rose to allow a hagged looking Hermione into the house.

-/ - \\-

Hermione sat back on the couch nursing a small brandy.

"You forgot about me?" She teased.

"I..." Harry began. "Draco reminded me."

"Draco," Hermione repeated.

Said man was in the other room playing cards or something with Judith. Daphne had left him to bring Hermione up to date while she raided the cupboards and fridge for an impromptu meal for their house guests.

"It was rough fighting and feeling through the genetic wave. I only quickly came up with a theory as I contacted friends and associates who'd travelled with the Doctor or been exposed to a temporal field." Harry explained. "Your jaunt through time slipped my mind," he paused. "Ours too."

"It's not your fault Harry," Hermione shook her head. "I thought we could get away, spend some time away from Britain, which seems to bear the brunt of Christmas invasions of late."

Harry chuckled. "Yes. It has, this though...is like my nightmares intensified."

Hermione looked at him carefully. "Yet you trust the Doctor, what he's said."

Harry nodded. "Waiting will cost us little and we need to think of those who have been...changed." He exhaled a lungful of air. "I've set up my equipment to monitor and Sarah and her computer and the robot mutt will keep an eye out."

Hermione looked at him. "And if it doesn't?"

Harry shrugged. "Find a time machine and undo what's just happened."

Hermione laughed and snapped her fingers. "Just like that Harry?"

Harry shook his head. "No. But anything's possible under the right conditions."

-/

Harry looked up as Draco walked into the kitchen. "Sleep well?"

"Well enough Potter," he said.

"Coffee, tea." Harry gestured.

Draco appraised the food that Harry was preparing in the kitchen.

"You're giving me a look Draco," Harry paused in preparing the mushrooms he had beside him.

Draco shook his head. "The world's population has been replaced by nightmares, and you are preparing breakfast Potter."

Harry laughed. "This is a task left to house elves I assume?"

"Of course Harry," Draco mocked pouring himself a cup of tea.

"You wouldn't get your hands dirty in the domestic side of things would you Malfoy?" Said the voice of Hermione as she came into the kitchen.

"Certainly not Granger," he paused to sip his tea. "However, I am capable of doing so, were the situation dire enough to do so."

"Can I do anything to help Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Try not to bite the head off my friend Hermione," Harry asked in an exasperated tone looking between her and Draco. "Thank Merlin Ron's never travelled through time."

Draco snorted. "That is something we can all be thankful for Harry."

-/

It started just after Sarah had called, well she'd videoed to be more precise to tell him that Mr Smith had registered another genetic wave, which apparently had restored everyone.

Hermione had quickly rushed up to the road to apparate away, but Draco and Judith had remained. Harry was just about to call Ioan when the rumbling had begun.

It felt a bit like when Davros had stolen away the Earth.

But there was an accompanying feeling.

"Harry...?" Daphne started but trailed off beside him.

"Let's go outside," Harry said as he felt something approaching. Something that he couldn't put his finger on.

"What is it?" Judith asked.

"A feeling," Harry said as they went outside.

"Like something dark and ancient," Draco began.

"Something old, and filled with nightmares," Daphne continued.

Harry looked up as something began to materialise above them, not above them personally, above the Earth, something was wheezing, screaming its way into existence, materialising and warping perception as it did so.

'Big things, things of the past, things dead and gone...' That was what the Doctor had said. Harry recalled. Maybe he had been talking in metaphors, referencing the Master's reappearance.

No.

A chill passed down his spine as he felt...something, it was like...

"It's like stings against the mind," Judith said looking up. "Danger in an image, a planet."

"Harry what is this?" Daphne asked in a worried tone.

"Potter?" Draco asked in a worried tone.

Harry looked up at the pot marked planet above him. He knew what the planet was, what its name was, he'd been told stories about it. He'd read about it in the hidden books in the TARDIS library, he sometimes had nightmares about it and occasionally he had dreams.

"Gallifrey," he whispered and then looked around at his friends and his love. "Don't be scared, don't be afraid."

"It makes me want to run away and hide," said Judith. "I dislike that feeling."

"Then let me tell you, revelation and information, to battle that feeling." Harry said as he walked further away from his house to stand beneath Gallifrey.

"The Time Lords of Gallifrey once led a life of peace and ordered calm, protected from all threats, from lesser civilisations by their great powers, protected by the Transduction Barriers and the Sky Trenches. They stood in observation, watching over the universe." Harry intoned looking up to the planet above and back to his friends. "So powerful were the bodies of the Time Lords they died but, reborn 12 times, wars fought against the Great Vampires, the great Cloister Wars, again when Lord Greyjan rose and the great Enemy was fought, Gallifrey endured," Harry paused in his quotation. "They sat at the end of days, they watched all other ways," he paused looking up. "Gallifrey returns, and all history is weeping," Harry paused again.

"Now here they stand they stand the High Council, they of the Lords and Ladies of Gallifrey, stood wait over the universe and all her inhabitants. The great observers of the universe." He gestured with his hands up at the planet, which looked to be in a decaying orbit, or more likely a slow collision with Earth. He hoped the 'tales of Gallifrey of old' would afford some protection, knowledge was power and all that. "Gallifrey fell, not once but many times. The Nine Gallifreys burned in the unnamed War. It was reborn. Gallifrey fell, and it was reborn. How many times? Even the thirteen times blessed Time Lords do not know, like Shada they have forgotten, Harry continued. "Now the universe stands without Gallifrey once more, without the time watchers, time has passed and time is without its Lords," he finished as he looked around at his friends and up at the planet which was now flickering and dissolving, dematerialising away.

"What was that?" Judith asked, awed.

"Forbidden and forgotten knowledge, tales of Gallifrey," Harry replied.

Draco looked at him. "Tales with power Potter."

"Some I suffered to learn as you well know Draco," Harry said.

"You learnt that then?" Draco asked and nodded. "Of course," he said a moment later.

"And now?" Daphne asked.

"Hopefully nothing," Harry said giving the sky one last look. "I need a drink."

-/ - \\-

A/N:

Minor edit done June 2021.

I rewrote this chapter several times, after re-watching The End of Time to work out the timing of how things happen. I'd forgotten a single line that affected the pacing in it where (one of) the Masters said that they worked through the night on the diamond analysis machine.

Which meant I had to re-pace a few scenes, this is why there's a few more 'domestic' scenes in this chapter.

The letter that Harry has and Pearce reads is something from the future, in many ways. It's something that'll be explained at an undetermined point (as I've not written it, although it's in my story plan).

More closer in story terms it's concerned with Ablemarch, Costerdane, and Frines who relate to Miracle Day. Which is something I decided a few chapters back to negate.

To explain; while I do try to stick to Doctor Who universe continuity there's a few things I've been slowly changing and warping because of or in relation to Harry's involvement. Small things like Ross Jenkins surviving and Torchwood continuing. Miracle Day is another in the line.

From a narrative level it would've been hard to write around. It would've been exceptionally hard to have Harry and LPI in it and then just come out the other side with not much more of than a shrug. Sorry to anyone who was looking forward to a PhiCorp vs LPI adventure.

I did try, I have some notes in my story plan where I tried to plot out how the chapters might go down and I just couldn't make it work. Due to Miracle Day's scale and how LPI and the other groups that're present in the Visited-universe it would've been too hard to force Harry and co into that story.

Next chapter (Chapter 80) will be something of a departure, it'll also feature another crossover / cross into another show.