Chapter 84

Harry poured the concoction of potions carefully over the map. He'd spent a good day mixing up a collection of potions that now sat in various vessels waiting to be used.

Hermione's mysterious street conundrum was his and LPI's primary focus for now. The 3W Institute was currently on the back burner, the computer he and Judith had liberated from Flydale North had some pretty impressive encryption on it, nothing alien influenced as far as he could tell, just lots of traps to prevent decrypting it with brute force. It would take time for his salvaged (from alien wreck) computer concoction to push and weed its way through. He just had to remember to keep it fed and watered. That was the problem with organic computers.

He had decided to go back to the start with these paper streets, supposedly phantom settlements, like Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley and basically every wizarding settlement ever. Muggles just thought they were mistakes in the printing or some other form of mistakes.

It had surprised him that no one in the wizarding world had thought to do a survey post-World War II in the 1950s, it seemed odd they'd wait until 1963 rolled around to do another survey.

Ioan had suggested that maybe wizards avoided London during the post-war years because of all the reconstruction that had been going on.

During Ioan's time writing and researching the 'alien delusion' of the wizarding world he'd gathered a lot of material he hadn't used along with notes from smaller wizarding libraries. Harry'd asked him to go look into it, into these locations that weren't wizarding settlements, yet occupied almost the same style of locations. A hidden street where only...some people lived. The latter of which he'd not discovered what.

Judith meanwhile was doing research at ground level, without any of their larger energy scanners, just walking the streets making contact with whomever she dealt with, whoever was her contacts she consulted for these things.

One thing he hadn't looked at since Hermione had shown it to him was her map, from whoever had done her original survey. He wanted his own approach, fresh eyes and a fresh perspective, just in case the people from the Ministry had missed anything.

Stepping back he swirled his wand over the potion, the base layer was settling well into the map below; reaching for the next he poured it carefully down his wand. Harry smiled as soon as it hit the first; mixing, changing, transforming from two potions to a heavy fog.

Carefully removing his wand and putting down the flask that contained the potion he looked to the grubby potions book he'd picked up in the 1970s and had only used a few of its potions or incantations since.

Carefully holding his wand in the fog, which immediately felt like it was stinging him; like static electricity on his hand he intoned the incantation.

Slowly moving his wand around as the book instructed he finished the incantation slipping the wand out and wiping it down with a nearby cloth.

Smiling Harry watched as the fog crackled, like little lightning strikes down onto the map below. The remaining potion flowed away past the 'centralising elements' and into channels he'd built around the box the map was sitting in.

The very wet map didn't look any different from when he began. It had been an ordnance survey map of central London, which he'd painstakingly overlaid with a wizarding map he'd purchased while he was in Diagon Alley purchasing cauldrons, potion ingredients and various other potion making consumables. Anything to do with cartography and magic was expensive and complicated. It also made him again appreciate the Marauder's Map's complexity.

The next few potions would be a process of isolation, narrowing down what is and isn't on the map and whether there are things which exist in reality, the reality that the map was tied to. He'd spent a day chipping off minute bits of London for the 'centralising elements' of the map, physical bits of reality that tied the map and turned it from being a paper map to being a 'convergence item'. So said his book.

He was relatively sure that was how his father, Remus, Sirius and Pettigrew created a map that worked anywhere, not even in the castle itself. There had to be something tangible tying the map into reality.

"How's it going?" Asked Judith who was standing in the doorway.

Harry finished drying off his wand. "Need to wait for the map to dry and then I can add the rest and we should have a map of what isn't in London. The stuff that isn't boring normal streets and aren't wizarding streets."

"It looks complicated," Judith observed. "I can smell why Ioan's been keeping his distance investigating."

"And yourself?" Harry asked curiously gesturing that they both go into the other part of the shed where the kettle and tea making things resided. He didn't need to wait for the map to naturally dry, it was seeped in potion fluids, but he did need to wait at least 30 minutes for the active potions to evaporate. "You've been wandering for a few days."

Judith exhaled.

"That bad?" Harry asked.

"Those in the know, know to be wary of certain locations", she gave him a look. "The places where you'll lose time, have a foggy memory of places. Places where there's a 'really weird pub where people disappear into green flames'."

Harry nodded. "I know, if you do a search for 'King's Cross disappearing' there's hundreds of conspiracy theorists."

"And not just for it being the furthest the Yeti web penetrated during the London Event," Judith commented idly.

Harry looked at her surprised. "I wonder if it was Platform Nine and Three Quarters helping that. Except that would've been the tube station wasn't it?"

Judith nodded. "My contacts only said 'beware the raven, for it is judge, jury and executioner'."

Harry tapped his fingers on the bench where the kettle had just finished boiling. "Interesting," he looked at her. "Do you think the wizards who had their memory wiped were spared the raven?"

Judith shrugged. "But my contacts cautioned that no one should chase the raven."

"No," Harry pondered. "Not with an ominous warning like that. But answers are something we do need, in case any wizards do go hunting for the raven."

-/ - \\-

The following day Harry was carefully readying the fifth and final potion when the phone rang. Placing a glass stopper on the flask the potion was sitting in he took the call.

"Hello. Kate? Everything alright?" He asked.

"UNIT may have an infiltration situation."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Another one?"

"More local this time Harry. Wales, Mount Snowdon," Kate explained.

"I didn't think UNIT kept a base in Wales, the rift kept you away," Harry asked, then wondered. "Why haven't you sent your own people in?"

"The situation with Wales is still tricky, the 456 incident has meant UNIT UK has needed to limit its involvement in operations in Wales. Our association with British engagements makes this tricky," Kate explained diplomatically. "This is only an issue for the moment, relations improve as governments mature. We're working together on other things," she added after a brief pause.

"I see," Harry pondered. "I also have something on the boil at the moment I can't easily drop," he mused looking back to his potions. "But," Harry paused. "I'll get my associate to look into it Kate."

"Thank you Harry," she said. "I'll send you the information that I know," then the call ended.

Harry set the phone down, thinking on what she'd said, that could wait an hour or two while he dealt with his map creating work.

Returning to his fifth and final potion he unstoppered the flask gazing from the potion to the map. It wouldn't even move, not like the Maruader's Map, and it wouldn't point him to anywhere special, unlike his locating map he'd created for UNIT during his time in the 1970s.

Instead it provided very specific information through the process of subtraction.

Several of the phantom locations had already bled away, and with this final potion he'd finally have an answer to where the raven lay.

There was a knock the door to his makeshift potions lab just as he was floating a large glass lid over to the box and gently sat it down on top of the box containing the vapours of the potion.

"I'll come out and chat Ioan," Harry called.

Ioan looked like he was ready to burst. "Have you found something?" Harry asked.

"Some things. Judith briefed you?" Ioan asked, putting the kettle on as Harry nodded. "There are a lot of stories of places 'not Diagon'."

"Any that weren't wizards ending up in the tube?" Harry interjected, that was what Ioan had said a day or so ago when he'd called, so many stories that met the parameters of what they were looking for, but in reality were just wizards who'd ended up in the tube. Some during the 'London event' or another alien incursion in London.

"I couldn't find anything about the location itself, but one witch did, she did her own survey, searching for the 'those places hidden in London beyond the wizarding and hidden from Muggle's eyes and ideas'." Ioan said putting an expanding bag on the table and pulling out a heavy tome. "She unfortunately wasn't a good sketcher," Ioan opened the book to a bookmarked page.

Harry sighed, he thought everyone from before the digital age was a good drawer. This looked like an owl had grabbed a quill and tried to write a sonnet. "It's not impressive,' Harry wrinkled his nose. It was a woman in a dress.

"Her name is supposedly Lady Me." Ioan explained. "And she presides over a refuge."

"Interesting," Harry pondered musing on it. "Nothing about ravens?"

Ioan shook his head. "Maybe the ravens are new."

"Ravens are all the rage, I read a UNIT bulletin; they're playing around with ravens as unobtrusive monitoring equipment," Harry pondered mostly to himself.

"What?" Ioan looked at him as if he were mad.

"Ask Kate Stewart, it's not my hair brained idea," Harry defended shaking his head and then looked at the clock. "My map should have digested by now," he said going back into the neighbouring room

Below the glass was what remained of the map he'd started with. Grabbing a roll of clear film, another copy of the map he'd begun with he laid it out over the glass.

Pointing to what remained showing through from below Harry said, "There, that's where this raven and that Lady Me supposedly resides."

"Resided. That was over a hundred and eighty years ago. Even witches don't live that long Harry." Ioan corrected.

"Time Lords do, Jack was immortal, why not?" Harry pondered, thinking to Cardiff again.

-/ - \\-

According to the energy scanners there was an entrance here. According to the map there was an entrance here.

According to the charms and spells he and Ioan had cast, well, at best it was inconclusive.

It was also very hard to actually focus on the location.

"This is confounding," Ioan exclaimed.

Based on Judith's information Harry had decided to go in light. Aside from their wands they had no weapons. Judith didn't seem to care being without a gun, but Harry knew she was deadly even barehanded.

"We could just walk away and tell Hermione that we couldn't find anything." Judith offered in a casual tone.

Harry laughed. "Hermione wouldn't believe me, and I wouldn't believe me. And those potion ingredients were very expensive."

"Accountant," Judith made the word an insult.

"We just need to walk forward, stop trying to work out how it exists," Harry decided.

"Like a really intense notice me not." Ioan pondered.

"Or Imperius Curse, it's making suggestions, albeit intense" Harry said as they walked forward together.

"Unpleasant." Judith finished as they stepped through some sort of threshold into something not unlike Diagon Alley.

"Weird," was Ioan's summation of the street they now found themselves on.

"Very Victorian chique. I wonder who influenced who?" Judith looked around.

"Or maybe this was just built and remained unchanged, Diagon Alley always feels determined to remain unchanged but this-" Anything more Harry was going to said was stopped as the brickwork lit up, fixing them where they were standing.

"Don't suppose you can apparate us away?" Judith asked as two being approached them.

"Doubtful." Harry said shifting his weight from foot to foot. "We're in the middle of one of the unstable areas of London, apparition anywhere near here is difficult."

"One day we should plot a map." Ioan pondered.

"Put it on the to do list, no doubt the Ministry would want us to fix it," Harry said as two beings got close.

"Three at once." Said the first.

Harry stared at him hard. It was like...like a polyjuice or some sort of masquerading charm. His visage seemed to be rolling all over the place, alien and back to human. Sort of like a hologram but not.

The taller one sniffed the air around them. "Occultists." He wrinkled his nose. "She's something else." Then he fixed Harry with a look. "Time traveller."

"Name, species and case for asylum." The other being who had barely spoken thus far asked. The question sounded like a standard format sort of thing.

"A refugee camp for aliens?" Judith pondered aloud.

"You didn't know?" Asked the questioning one.

"We're looking for Lady Me, we are the League of Paranormal Investigations," Harry explained calmly. "We do not wish to incur the wrath of the raven, but a chat would be nice."

This seemed to surprise Pinky and Perky before them.

"Harry Potter, I wondered when I would have a visit from the League of Paranormal Investigations." A woman, a young woman walked calmly around the corner of one of the streets flanked by two police that every sense in Harry's body screamed at him weren't regular police officers.

"Lady Me I presume," Harry theatrically bowed. "My associates-"

"Ioan and Judith, yes," She made a waving gesture and whatever was holding them dissipated. "This way, you can enlighten, what the League of Paranormal Investigations requires of us."

-/

"Why does every sense within me scream that your guards aren't what they appear to be?" Harry asked as they walked and looked to Judith and Ioan. Ioan nodded vigorously.

"They look like Judoon, like those that invaded the Royal Hope Hospital a few years ago." Judith commented calmly.

Lady Me turned to look at them. "You're much better than some who've wandered in here over the years."

"And my feeling?" Harry asked.

"You must have good defences. The lurkworms; the light is a telepathic field. It normalises everything you see, places it within the compass of your expectations," she paused as they turned down another street. "Unless you're used to fighting such things," she paused to look at Judith. "Or seeing other things. Then you experience a confrontation of the senses."

"Fascinating." Harry mused.

"I'm going to leave with a headache aren't I?" Ioan asked with a moan.

"There's painkillers in the Defender." Harry said distractedly as Lady Me opened a door to a residence and continued into a parlour.

The police, the Judoon, whatever, remained outside.

-/

"What can I, Mayor do for the League of Paranormal Investigations?" Lady, nay Mayor Me asked once they were seated.

"You know who I am, what the League is?" Harry asked.

Mayor Me nodded. "And your association with the Doctor."

Harry leaned further into his chair.

"'Interesting' is what Harry's probably processing at the moment." Judith provided in the intervening silence in which Harry formulated his next question.

Harry wanted to ask several things, like what the street was, for asylum for aliens he guessed.

"Does the Doctor know about this street?" He finally asked, having decided what the street was might not be important, if it was for asylum.

Lady Mayor Me seemed surprised. "You're not what I expected. You didn't ask what I expected," she smiled at him.

"We've helped aliens in the past, those who've not found their way here," Judith countered.

"We're not always the fire first, investigate the remains later," Ioan continued.

"Not like the wizards who came investigating?" Harry queried. "The 'occultists'."

Ioan looked to Harry. "You think even with Hermione's lot they came in here and tried to..."

"They did, we modified their memories, made them forget they were every here and sent them on their way. Your occultist friends are not required here," she explained with some finality.

"No." Harry mused. "But something will need to be said, explained so no one else comes looking. Hermione's tenacious."

-/

Later, though not much, after some discussion of what to tell Hermione and about the entrances to the street Harry and Lady Me stood near one of the exits.

Ioan and Judith had gone back to the Defender to grab some pain killers. Headaches; from the disconnect between what Ioan could see and feel had gotten the better of him. Though this had not affected Judith.

"You're not a traveller with the Doctor." Lady Me observed. "Not on the same path."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "I've known the Doctor for a long time, and others almost as long," he added, thinking of the Master's recent return.

"The Doctor's never abandoned you like the others." Lady Me continued.

Harry watched her and wondered if she meant the people who travelled with the Doctor or the people who encountered him. The only time he really felt the Doctor had abandoned him, abandoned everyone, was that nightmarish world. That world ruled by the Master and the Toclafane. That vision of that timeline, the potential it held had, he knew irrevocably changed his interaction with that incarnation of the Doctor.

"I know what it's like," he answered truthfully.

She looked at him. "Yes, I think you do."

"Can I send people here, should they require more help than we can assist with?" Harry asked.

"People?" Lady Me asked.

"The people of the street, like them." Harry gestured around. "It would be nice to have another option. I find the League's purview increasing. It can't always be people like a group of Drahvins or Vardans lost that we can help without too much trouble."

Lady Me laughed. "I heard of your Drahvin trouble, took a long time for your associate to negotiate Harry."

"The Vardans were much easier comparatively, the wizard who had held them I should have killed, but he still has secrets the authorities are interrogating out of him," Harry revealed.

"You should go, your associates will be waiting." Lady Me said looking towards the exit.

"Lady Me." Harry bowed

"Mayor Me, Harry Potter," she said with a nod.

Harry shook his head with a smile. "Lady Me makes you sound more like person. Mayor, like Doctor is a title that suggests very scary things."

"Do I scare you Harry Potter?" She asked curiously.

"As Lady Me, no. As Mayor in charge of these ravens," Harry paused and looked at her. "Yes." He gave her a little nod and bow and exited the street.

-/ - \\-

"It's 'alien related'," Hermione looked at Harry. "That's all you're going to say Harry?"

"'LPI has investigated the question of missing streets, referring to the Archaeology Response Team's survey of sites in the central London area'," Harry started, quoting from an official document, it had letterhead and everything. "'LPI has investigated thoroughly utilising magical, technological and personal investigatory techniques. We classify these areas as hazardous to wizards, no further investigation by wizards is required, any further investigation is not required.'" Harry finished handing Hermione the stapled couple of page report. "I have another which is bound up, all official."

Hermione gave him a curious look. "Hazardous? You've never warned like this before Harry."

"You officially asked for LPI's involvement. This wasn't something we could shoot at or remove or otherwise deal with," he paused. "I mean it, hazardous as in death. Those that went looking, they had their memories modified in no worse a way than wizards would have done so," he paused again. "You will find I have classified these streets as an LPI issue, any further investigation by anyone within the Ministry will bring you into contention with LPI." Harry finished. He'd not wanted to bring up the agreements he had with the Ministry. But he also didn't want any wizards wandering into the street that Lady Me presided over. The 'Quantum Shade' was an...effective deterrent and he was quite certain that if you were marked by it no amount of apparating or hiding behind a Fidelius charm would save you. Harsh but fair justice? Harry wasn't sure. The street was at least an option if they ever encountered someone who couldn't escape on their own like the Vardans had, albeit with a little bit of assistance.

Hermione bristled slightly at his language. "Maybe I shouldn't have told you anything Harry."

Harry shook his head. "I'm glad you did Hermione, but..." he trailed off. "Unlike other alien sites, this is active and there is potential for misunderstanding. I do not want to be the reason further misunderstanding happens if it can be avoided. They kindly turned the wizards around this time, wiped their memories so they wouldn't come back."

"Just like wizards do with muggles." Hermione said in realisation. "Fine Harry, I'll note it down in my reports and no more will be explored around that. I've got more things to investigate anyway."

"Good." Harry clapped his hands together rising to go into the kitchen. "I wanted to say, while you're here, well ask, if you wanted to join us for Christmas?"

"Christmas?" Hermione repeated. "You're planning ahead Harry," he eyes narrowed on him. "I thought you said nothing nasty was going to happen."

Harry nodded. "It won't," he said after Hermione gave him a look. "I thought," he exhaled. "I thought I'd finally have Teddy round for Christmas, just thought you'd like to as well. Now that I know there's nothing that'd interrupt."

Hermione smiled at him. "Thank you, but...I wanted my parents to meet Ross, he's got time off over Christmas so..."

Harry nodded. "It's alright, I was going to ask Draco as well, and I know how much you'd love to pass the Yorkshire Puddings to him on Christmas day." Harry laughed as Hermione glared at him.

-/

A/N:

I borrowed a tiny amount of dialogue from Face the Raven, mostly about the lurkworms.

As far as timeline goes this takes place in (late) 2010, which means it's before Face the Raven, it's actually before the Twelfth Doctor ever appears on Earth (in the "present" day).

But I wanted Harry to meet 'Lady Me' (Ashildr), after all she's been on Earth a long time and would know of Harry.

The first part of next chapter takes place concurrently Harry's conversation with Kate, or thereabouts and will cover some of The Sarah-Jane Adventures story The Death of the Doctor.

Thanks for reading.