"What is this place?"

Harry and Draco had finally managed to find their way out of the dim forest just before sunrise. They'd run into Anubis chasing his tail on the way out (Harry had been worried about him, but Draco had assured him many times that Anubis could take care of himself. His hide was practically impenetrable) and he was now following along diligently. Harry had been told to look for a manor at the top of a hill. It certainly stood out, except it looked far creepier than Harry would have liked. It stood tall (albeit somewhat tilted) and black against the sunrise, which didn't increase the mood of the grounds.

As they walked towards it, they had to pass through a creaky old gate that was rusted iron. It was clear that the forest had once extended here but the majority of it had been cut down and the remaining trees appeared to be very dead. They were gnarled and old and gray, as though they'd been through a fire. So did the building, for that matter. Dead vines curled their way around the lawns and even the rosebushes were devoid of life.

"Are you sure we can trust this guy? I mean – look at this place. Everything's dead," Draco said in a hushed tone as though the Doctor were listening in. Harry had explained to Draco on the way about his experience in the forest, mostly to reassure Draco that he wasn't the only one visited by weird ghosts of the past, although Draco still refused to divulge everything he'd seen. In fact, all Harry had caught of the show was a dead body on the ground, which he didn't care to examine, and someone who, from behind, looked exactly like himself. Except taller.

"He seemed nice enough. Crazy, but okay," Harry said, although he was beginning to feel leery, too, about visiting the Doctor. As they approached the steps, he spotted someone on the steps. They appeared to be spreading ash on them, before dumping the rest into the flowerbeds. Harry exchanged a look with Draco, who had faltered in his footsteps.

As they neared, Harry realized that this wasn't the doctor, because it was very obviously a woman. Of course, Harry rationalized, the Doctor could have been a woman in another disguise. But he didn't care to think about that .He cleared his throat and the woman spun around, her rather dated dress twirling about her. Whoever she was, she was incredibly beautiful. In fact, Harry wondered if even Fleur could match her beauty. The woman curtsied. Draco raised an eyebrow.

"You must be the visitors Doctor Kane told me about," she said a melodic voice, smiling at them. With their surroundings, Harry couldn't help but find her eerie.

"Why were you spreading ash on the steps?" Draco asked somewhat bluntly.

"Oh," the woman laughed. "The atmosphere scares away the villagers. They think this part of the land is haunted. My name is May," she curtsied again. "And you are…?"

"I'm Harry and this is Draco," Harry said and followed the woman as she opened the door and stood out of the way to allow them to pass. Draco hesitated and Harry grabbed his forearm (he couldn't very well grab his hand – either of them) and pulled him behind him. Harry smiled awkwardly at the woman as she stared at them before laughing slightly. "Are you the doctor's daughter?"

"Something like that," boomed a voice from inside the Manor, and Draco jumped at Harry's side. The man Harry had met earlier descended a large staircase with flourish. He'd changed, obviously, into a bright purple cape and a tailored black suit. He gave a sweeping bow and ended up tripping over his own cape. May giggled. "May, would you stop that and cook these gentlemen some breakfast?"

"Yes, Sir," May replied and hurried off to a side room.

Inside the Manor was the complete opposite of the grounds. It was so bright and cheerful that Harry had to blink a few times to get used to the atrocious use of color. The room they were currently standing in was a lime green with pink tile. Despite it's harsh colors, the Manor suddenly seemed very warm and welcoming.

"Now. Welcome to my home," the Doctor said, coming forward and shaking Harry's hand. He made to shake Draco's but realized quickly that he couldn't and chuckled, to which Draco gave a sour look. "You both are more than welcome to stay as long as you like. Merlin knows I haven't had visitors in nearly four decades. Over breakfast you shall tell me about your travels and how you got to my island and I will tell you all about myself, if you so wish."

"He seems incredibly cheerful for a man who's lived alone for forty years," Draco whispered to Harry, glancing about at the tapestries and artwork that hung from the walls.

"Ah, but you see, I'm not alone," the Doctor winked at Draco, and Draco stepped back a bit and hid somewhat behind Harry. Harry wasn't sure if he felt this was endearing or annoying. Particularly since it appeared that Draco intended to use him as a human shield, should anything go wrong, and not expect Harry to protect him any other way. "I live with May, whom I can't get rid of no matter how hard I try. And occasionally I visit the cannibals, they are wonderful cooks – so long as you're not on the menu. And I have the Aunts."

"The Aunts?"

"Come," the Doctor gestured for them to follow and he walked through a set of double doors to the left of the room. Through them was another brightly colored room, this time purple, but they quickly passed through it and into a hallway. Along the hall were an endless amounts of motionless portraits – not because they couldn't move, but because they all appeared to be in deep sleep. Harry bumped into a table and one of the portraits awoke, scolding him and lecturing him on how rude it was to wake someone when they were sleeping.

The Doctor had laughed and told him not to fret. Apparently these portraits weren't at all friendly and liked to lecture everyone one on everything. Through this hall and that, Harry found the place to be quite a maze. Eventually they came to a small, sky blue study. At the very end of the room was a floor to ceiling window that displayed the gloomy grounds and the dark forest they had only an hour ago come out of. On the other side of the room was a fireplace and above it, two portraits of elderly, plump woman.

Despite the early hour, the woman were chatting away and appeared to be drinking some sort of chardonnay. Upon realizing they were no longer alone, they stopped and peered at the visitors.

"My word, Scarlet! The Doctor has visitors!" the left woman cried, her cheeks a rosy red and she practically bounced in her portrait.

"I do say you're right, Violet," the right woman said, and Harry couldn't help but laugh at their names, for you see, Violet wasn't violet at all, but instead she was dressed in all reds, and the one named Scarlet was dressed in purple.

"These, my boys, are the Aunts."

"Are you related?" Harry asked, looking over at the Doctor.

"Oh no. In fact, I picked the pair of them up at an auction once when I lived in the civilized world," the Doctor chuckled. "As I'm sure you've deduced, they are twins and the right is Scarlet and the left is Violet. I call them the Aunts because they act very much as too nosy aunts would."

"We are not nosy!" both women cried at the same time.

"Shall I show you to your rooms or would you like to have something to eat first? I'm sure May has breakfast prepared already," the Doctor said.

"Food would be fantastic," Draco said excitedly.

"First I think we should get you fixed up properly. I will not have a bloody hand like that at the table," the Doctor said, and directed Draco to a chair. Draco looked extremely nervous about being under this strange man's care, but Harry had no problem with letting the other boy. There was something familiar about the Doctor. It was the same feeling of familiarity he'd felt earlier.

The Doctor took out a wand and twirled it between his fingers, nearly sending it sailing across the room. For a Doctor, he was extremely clumsy. He took the bandages of Draco's hand and conjured a bucket to put them into. Afterwards, he twisted Draco's hand this way and that, examining the damage the arrow had done.

"Ah, the work of cannibals. Usually they don't try to skewer their meals," the Doctor said, before a gold glow came to the end of his wand and he began to mend Draco's hand.

"It was revenge," Harry said, taking a seat nearby. "He stole Anubis from them for me," at this he smiled, and Draco looked away.

"Ah, you mean that great dog that playing about in my yard?" the Doctor said as he finished with Draco's hand and directed his attention to his shoulder. "I've seen him before. A few years ago when I went on a hunting expedition. He was much littler then. They called him the God of All Dogs. They worshipped him, I believe. I think they thought he would protect them from disease and such."

"Then how come he was chained to a pole?" Draco asked.

"Probably because he didn't protect them very well," the Doctor said with a grin. "And he was a runaway, as I come to recall. There, all better. Any other damages in need of repair?" Both boys shook their heads. "Fantastic. Time for breakfast then."

As they walked back through the brightly lit halls, Harry watched as Draco continually stretched his arm and wiggled his fingers. He hadn't been able to move them at all throughout these past few days, and he seemed to be relishing this moment. Harry couldn't help a faint smile.

Quite suddenly, what smelled like pancakes, maple syrup and sausages hit both boys like a brick wall. It was an absolutely glorious smell, and Harry picked up pace. Besides that bird he'd had when they had made camp for the first time, this would be his first meal in nearly five days. Both boys were absolutely famished. The dining hall was well decorated, with hardwood floors that gleamed and large windows and even the ceiling was made of glass.

Of course, the boys weren't paying attention to the lavishly designed hall, but what was on the table in the middle of the hall. Indeed there were pancakes and sausages and syrup, kippers and toast and bacon and every other breakfast food Harry could imagine.

"After you," the Doctor said and bowed again with flourish. Harry and Draco both quickly sat down at the table, and even Draco abandoned all manners and dug straight into the food. Even Harry was amazed at how much Draco ate. It seemed completely unlike him, but Harry was equally as starved and packed away even more than Draco had.

"Thank you," Draco said afterward, and Harry leaned back in his chair.

"That's the third time you've said Thank You since we've come to this island," Harry said, a slight smirk on his own features. "It must be a personal best for you."

"Stuff it, Potter," Draco snapped, biting into another piece of toast.

"Once you're finished, May will show you to your rooms, won't you, May?" the Doctor said. He was currently sitting at the end of the table, eating what appeared to be some sort of candy. May nodded before clearing away the plates and disappearing into what Harry could only assume was the kitchen.

"She's lovely," Harry said, and was a bit surprised when Draco kicked him under the table.

"Yes, she is, but I can't take credit for any of it. No genetic makeup could ever produce a girl like that," the Doctor said, looking off in the direction May had gone. "She's a botched experiment, actually."

"She doesn't look botched," Harry said, curious. Again Draco kicked him, this time glaring at him as though Harry had said the most horrible thing in the world and again, Harry was surprised.

"Well, no, she's very nearly perfect," the Doctor said. "As you seen earlier, I have a hobby of playing with illusions. That's all she was meant to be, but then I couldn't get rid of her. And then she became real – at least, in the tangible sense. I don't believe she has any real thoughts. She simply does what I tell her, too. I've tried to get rid of her many times, usually through magic. Once I left her in that forest in hopes that would get rid of her, but she found her way home…"

"That seems a bit inhumane," Draco commented.

"Inhumane?" Harry blanched. This coming from a Death Eater?

"It is impossible for it to be inhumane. She's not human," the Doctor chuckled. "But I understand your concern. This was before I had any idea what to do with her. She'd simply follow me around like a lost puppy and you can understand, for a man like myself who prefers to be alone most of the time, she got a bit… annoying. And unlike you gentlemen, she can't hold a decent conversation."

May arrived and smiled at the Doctor.

"I can show you to your rooms now," she said, curtsying again.

"How many times have I told you not to do that? You only need to curtsy once," the Doctor admonished and May blushed.

"Thank you," Harry said and excused himself from the table. Draco quickly followed, obviously not wanting to be left alone in the room with the Doctor. Either that or he didn't want to leave Harry alone with May, Harry wasn't sure, but he couldn't help but feel slightly smug at the idea of Draco being jealous. But who could blame him, really?

After walking through a maze of interesting hallways that twisted and turned and Harry was sure that they were even walking sideways at one point and defying gravity, they eventually stopped in one of the hallways.

"Would you and your boyfriend like to share a room?" May asked.

"I'm not his –" Draco began to protest.

"That'll be fine," Harry said, eyeing Draco out of the corner of his eye. She opened one of the doors, curtsied, and walked away back down the hall to do who knew what.

"What if I don't want to share a room?" Draco asked, folding his arms over his chest and drumming his fingers against his arms. Harry had a sneaking suspicion Draco hadn't stopped moving his fingers since his hand had been repaired. Harry looked at him and shrugged.

"Fine, go catch her then," Harry said and walked into the room, beginning to close the door behind him, and sly look on his face that he quickly masked when Draco kept the door from closing. He glared at Harry.

"I hate you," Draco said, his eyes narrowed in Harry's direction.

"I know," Harry said cheerfully, before moving to sit on the bed. "I'm exhausted."

"You're exhausted?" Draco asked incredulously. "I walked at least a mile with a dead body –"

"You were carrying a dead body?" Harry asked. "First – how? You're arms were all wrecked. Second – who was it?"

"It wasn't anybody," Draco answered stubbornly, poking through an antique looking wardrobe. He picked out pajamas and grinned when he saw that they were silk. Harry had to hide behind his hand to keep from laughing. Draco tossed a pair at Harry, and they both changed quickly. Harry managed to crawl into the large, king-sized bed before Draco, and he promptly stole most of the covers, which was a hard task since there were a lot of them. He placed his glasses on the nightstand.

After Draco crawled in, staying close to the edge of the bed, Harry prodded him in the back.

"What?"

"I told you about Cedric. I think you should tell me what you saw," Harry said, curious as to what Draco had been so distraught about in the forest. He wasn't trying to be particularly cruel in any way to Draco, but he felt he should know because he couldn't protect Draco from it if he hadn't any idea what it was. He was then surprised at himself for even thinking that he wanted to protect Draco. "Never mind," he said quickly. "You don't have to tell me. I understand."

Draco could take care of himself.

Harry rolled over onto his side and closed his eyes. Draco shifted and Harry could feel the other boy's eyes boring into the back of his head.

"You never told me how much you look like your dad," Draco said softly, and Harry rolled over quickly.

"What?" he asked, his eyes widening.

"That's what I saw. At first I saw you, and you were dead. And it was horrible, and then I saw your dad. He was just – there. I don't know why," Draco said softly, not looking at Harry, and instead looking at his hand, which rested on the pillow next to him.

"What did he say?" Harry asked, equally as quiet. He bit the inside of his lip. Draco hadn't seemed that distraught over the body. Maybe he was, but it seemed that whoever had been standing over him when Harry got there had done the real damage. It was hard to think that something that had some semblance to his father could hurt anyone like that. He swallowed thickly. "You were saying something about your father when I got there…"

"He – It. It said I wasn't going to amount to anything. That I'd murdered you and that I was just like my father," the blonde boy answered softly. "It was right, though. We're going to go back to the war and I'm going to have to go back to being a Death Eater and – and I am just like my father and I don't want to be but I haven't got a choice…"

"You always have a choice," Harry said, reaching forward and brushing Draco's hair out of his eyes. He seemed as though he'd been trying to hide behind it. "You don't have to follow them if you don't want to."

"I have to protect my mother. That's why I'm a Death Eater. They'll kill her otherwise."

"I told you I don't like to see you hurt, and I meant it. The Order can protect you and your mother. I can protect you and your mother."

Draco suddenly smiled and gave a soft laugh.

"Mother wouldn't approve."

"Sleep," Harry commanded, and soon enough, they were both fast asleep.

- - -

Author Notes: Aw, aren't they cute? I'm sorry if it seems terribly out of character, but I can't contain the fluffiness. I adore the Doctor, and I can't wait until everyone finds out everything about him and the island – which is coming soon! Maybe even in the next day or so, because I think I may have three or four chapters left to go and we're done! The next one contains some major action between the two boys, so um. Yeah. Look out for that because I can't write smut for the life of me, so it'll be pretty bad. If you want, you'll be able to just skip over it. It might take a while to get the next chapter out, so be glad you've gotten four in such a short span. I hope you've enjoyed it thus far and remember to review! You all have been fantastic! Also, I've enabled Anonymous reviews - just don't spam me plz! XD