When they had landed and exited the TARDIS, Harry could see immediately that they were no longer on earth. He wasn't sure which was the biggest giveaway: the trees, which were tall with a silver bark and blue leaves, the sky which was closer to purple than blue, or the fact that there was a moon right next to the sun, shining only a little bit less brightly.
Harry slowly walked a bit further, eyes wide in delight. He could only imagine what his aunt and uncle would say about something so obviously not normal. They were standing on something that vaguely resembled grass, except it was yellow and looked softer, somehow, than the grass on Earth. The little flowers that peeked out had a color that Harry had never even seen before – not quite purple and not quite red. It was beautiful. Alien, but beautiful.
"Far away enough for you? Welcome to the planet of Slinkor. Not inhabited yet, but in about... oh, five hunders years from now, give or take a few decades, a colonisation ship will land here. Well, crash here, more like, they were actually aiming for a planet about five-ish light-years from here, but their instruments malfunctioned mid-warp drive, and rather than repair them, they settled here. Their settlement eventually evolved into a retreat for artists."
Harry let the Doctor's voice wash over him. Everywhere he looked, he noticed something new. They walked around a bit aimlessly, until behind a pink bush he could see something moving. He tugged on the Doctor's hand and pointed. "What's that?"
The Doctor peered at the indicated spot, but he could not make out anything except leaves, as the foliage was too thick. "Local wildlife?" he suggested. He wondered for a moment how Harry had spotted it, what with his needing glasses already, but dismissed it as unimportant. Instead, he crouched down facing the bush, extending a hand and talking in a low voice.
"Come on out, we're not going to hurt you. We know you're there, we'd just like to see you for a moment. Nothing's going to happen." His words – or perhaps the soothing tone of voice – soon had an effect, as the creature peered around the bush at them, and then seemed to decide they were not a threat.
It was an odd-looking thing. It had the general build of a horse, but its size was closer to that of a big dog, not even reaching the height of a shetland pony. Its face looked a little more squashed than a horse's, with huge yellow eyes. Its purplish-brown fur looked very soft, a fact they could verify once it came close enough to pet it.
"It's a Torvian Neirka," the Doctor told Harry, delight evident on his face. "I had no idea they even lived here at this time. They're usually found on Torvan II, hence the name. This knowledge might just upset a whole lot of academics half a galaxy away." He looked thoughtful. "Hmm, maybe I should go tell them."
Soon, neirka and boy were playing a complicated game involving chases, although it wasn't always clear who was chasing whom. The Doctor leaned against a silver-barked tree, watching the spectacle. Harry was obviously enjoying himself, laughing and looking relaxed. He'd have to take the boy to more places like this, although the next one might need to have children. Harry needed to play with other children, humanoid or otherwise. Play was play, regardless of whether the others had more than two eyes or less than ten fingers – and it would hopefully teach Harry not to judge sentience by appearance. Everyone was worthy of respect.
After a while, two more neirka joined the game. They were slightly larger than the first one, possibly its parents, and a few minutes later they started herding the smaller animal away from Harry.
The boy seemed to notice as well, as he came over to where the Doctor was standing, breathing heavily and smiling widely. He waved at the animal one last time when it looked back, and then the neirka disappeared in the underbrush and they were alone again.
"That was FUN!" Harry laughed.
"Looked like it. Come on, lets go see what's around the next corner."
They explored the planet a bit more, eating some berries as they found them. The Doctor talked a lot, explaining future history to the boy, and naming the different plants they could see. He knew Harry probably wouldn't retain all that knowledge, since he didn't have a Time Lord brain, but whatever he did remember was all for the better.
With the sun nearing the horizon, it was time to head back to the TARDIS. The Doctor parked in the Vortex, allowing the TARDIS to recharge, and fixed dinner for them. He noticed Harry's wide eyes when he put a full plate of mashed potatoes and carrots in front of him, with a bit of fish. He'd decided that Earth food would be best for now.
"Something the matter, Harry?"
"Is... is this all for me?"
The Doctor felt his eyebrows rise. "Yes, it is. I have made more than enough. You're a growing boy, you need all the vitamins you can get. Eat up, if it's not enough you can get more."
Harry took his fork, hesitantly eating a bite, as if he could not quite believe he got such a large portion. When the Doctor nodded encouragingly, he sped up a bit, and before long he'd finished the whole plate, and quickly worked his way through a second helping.
After dessert, which Harry again didn't seem to expect, the Doctor showed him the library, where they spent some time reading together. At first Harry was reading, with the Doctor helping him where necessary, and then the Doctor read him a story. By the time he was finished, the small boy was leaning against him, half asleep after the day's events. The Doctor smiled down at him.
"Come on, up you get. Time for bed." When he stood up, Harry wrapped himself around him like a little monkey, arms around his neck and legs not quite reaching all the way around his waist. The Doctor laughed and adjusted his grip so that he could carry him more easily.