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Chapter 3

The Doctor was at a crossroads. He was still reeling from the loss of Rose to the alternate dimension (at least he was able to say goodbye to her) and he had just dealt with the Runaway Bride but he needed time to think. He actually needed to talk to someone. Just to explain what he was feeling. He felt worse than he did when he had lost Katarina and Adric and they had died. With Rose it was different. She wasn't dead but she was still gone. He couldn't ever see her again and that was worse than death. Knowing that she was alive but he couldn't pop to her time and say hello, watch her from a street corner and check to see that she was going on with her life. He stood beside the TARDIS console and stared in to space. Trying to get his thoughts under control.

The TARDIS had noticed that her man was struggling to deal with things. And she resolved to help. After all her man had been there for her when she needed help. She had been in a coma during the alternate universe situation and her man had brought her round. Brought her home. She resolved deep within her circuits to take her man to somewhere where he can get some respite from his feelings of guilt. She knew exactly where to go and set herself in motion.

The Doctor jumped when the console began its customary sounds as if it was travelling. He ran round the console and flipped switches, banged buttons and took his handy hammer out and hit the console a few times.( The TARDIS quite liked the thumps from the hammer. They were friends him and her after all) and when the TARDIS came to a halt the Doctor wondered where he was now. He walked down the ramp and opened the door.

And found himself in a sitting room with a blazing fire, candles everywhere, parchment lying round the place, moving pictures on the mantelpiece and a clock in the corner. The clock didn't seem to have numbers. It had things on it like Travelling, Work, Holiday, Place where u don't want to know and Mortal Peril.

He looked around his surroundings and heard the sounds of a child up the stairs.

"MUMMMMMMMMMMMM I don't want to go to bed yet?"

"James Harold Potter, you know it its well past your bedtime and your father is going to be home soon and you know he likes you all tucked up for when he gets here so he can pop in and regale you with is stories."

"Can I not stay up and hear them downstairs?"

"Not tonight. Your father is expecting someone."

The Doctor stood in the living room and frowned. How did this child's father be expecting him?

He turned round to hear a whirring of the clock.

The longest hand had moved from work to travelling to home. The writing on the hand said one name.

Harry Potter.

"Hello Doctor."

The Doctor turned to see his friend. He had bulked up and had more muscles but even the Doctor could see the young boy he had talked to that day beside the lake at the place he had spent a year as DADA teacher.

"Harry my boy." The older man held his hand out and was engulfed in a hug as if to say "Welcome old Friend"

Harry took his coat off and pointed his wand at the drinks cabinet. Two glasses and a dusty bottle came out; the dusty bottle poured itself into the two glasses and set itself down on the table

"Old Shobogun whiskey. Very rare and damn nice"

"How you get a bottle of this?"

"I have my means Doctor"

Harry gestured to the leather sofa and beckoned the Doctor to sit down.

"So how are you?"

The Doctor sipped on his drink and didn't say anything.

Harry took a gulp from his glass and motioned with his wand to refill the two glasses.

"Would you rather she had died?" Harry asked

The Doctor neared choked on his drink "How did you know?"

"You remember that phone you gave me years ago. Think it was seven or so. Well I received a text message the other day. All it said was that you would be coming, your loved one had been transported to another place and you needed help."

"Who sent you the text?"

"Only name that was there was TARDIS, I don't know what it means."

The Doctor looked at Harry in surprise

"The TARDIS texted you!"

"Yeah"

The two men sat and drank their whiskey

"She made her choice Doctor. She could've stayed with you and maybe ended up in the void" The Doctor looked like he was about to speak and Harry held up his hand "Let me finish"

"That's what makes us people. I remember some time ago a very wise man said to me that the choices we make define us. And there is nothing in this world can stop a force like that. Rose made her choice and her choice almost got her killed. Same as Pete made a choice and rescued her. At least she is alive Doctor. And able to live her life. We both know that people can sometimes die and not have that chance. She can."

"How did you become so good at giving wisdom?"

"I'm the man who won. The stuff of legend remember."

The Doctor chuckled to himself. The TARDIS knew exactly what he needed, a bit of advice from someone who had had much worse and lived to tell the tale. A man who had been though hell and came out the other side and was still the same man as he was before. A man like Harry Potter.

The two males sat there for hours chatting and passing on stories. They acted like what exactly they were. Two Old Friends.

After what seemed like a lifetime, The Doctor stood up and set his glass down. He wobbled on his feet. "Ah, you can't beat a good whiskey can u?"

"I don't normally drink. I thought I'd make an exception this time."

"Its time I got back to fighting the evil out there. But I must say thank you."

Harry set his glass down and wobbled to his feet

"You're welcome"

The two men shook hands and hugged and the Doctor turned and opened the door to the TARDIS.

"You be well Harry Potter. I have no doubt I'll see you soon."

"You be well too Doctor and keep fighting."

The Doctor smiled at his young friend and entered the TARDIS. Seconds later the blue box disappeared with white lights and a wheezing groaning sound.

Harry walked to the bottle of Old Shobogun and refilled his glass.

He turned to where the TARDIS had been and raised his glass.

"I'll see you soon Old Friend."

He knocked back the contents of his glass.

He heard a voice from upstairs.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER! You get your arse up here now."

Harry smiled as he extinguished the candles with his wand. And entered into the world he was most comfortable.

As friend, Lover, Husband and Father.

As he mounted the first stair he looked into his living room and saw a new hand on his clock. It said one name.

The Doctor

And it was pointing at one word

Travelling.

Harry smiled as he went to his wife.