Twelve - Friendly Fire
If someone had been standing outside Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at precisely 3.30 in the afternoon on the eighth of November 1978, they would have witnessed a spectacular sight. They would have witnessed this sight while lying on their back, most likely, as they would have been knocked off their feet at the force of the massive explosion and resulting force field emanating from the Great Hall, but this vantage point would have provided them with an entirely unique perspective. They would have seen a great burst of bright white light, shattering the enchanted ceiling and piercing through to spike into the sky above as a shining beam. They would have then seen, a moment later, thousands of other beams of light shining out of the school's many windows, warping around the brickwork and towers and turrets, so that all of Hogwarts was gloriously alight, before joining the original beam and parting the sky. Because that's what was happening, you know; A mass amalgamation of soniced spells, a huge mass of psychic energy and a powerful distortion of the laws of physics, combined with a weakened skin of the universe. It was an awful lot to happen all at once, and Space couldn't quite handle it – the skin of the universe cracked into a jagged line which slowly warped into a funnel. If someone had been outside Hogwarts to see this sight, they probably would have scrambled to their feet and ran away screaming. If they had, they would have missed the howling of three Daleks as they were wrenched into the air and sucked into the void on the other side of the tunnel. They would have also missed the wisps of what looked like dark smoke, but were actually the non-corporeal forms of Death Eaters coming to, panicking, and immediately disapparating. But at least that person would have been conscious, which is more than can be said for Amy Pond at that same moment of time.
The last thing Amy remembered was the feeling of power, raw and unbridled, surging through her. It flowed from her heart and mind down her arm, expelled itself through Lily's wand, and then – then, the invisible roof was very visibly cracked, and plaster and tiles began to shower down, and everything went black.
Now, she could hear a voice. Soft, familiar, comforting, murmuring in her ear and dragging her out of the fog that was currently cradling and crowding her. She couldn't make out what the voice was saying, but she wanted to know, she wanted to keep hearing it. So she fought against the drowsiness and focused on the voice – not the pain she was beginning to feel, seeping from her nerves to cover every inch of her skin – just the voice, until she could finally recognise what it was saying. One word, just one word, over and over.
"Amy. Amy, Amy, Amy."
Amy. That was her name. The voice was calling her. She could feel it now – a soft exhale of breath with each sounding of her name, brushing over her cheek and tickling the hair by her ear. The sensation was at odds with the pain she could feel everywhere else, so she continued to focus on just the voice and the breath and the promise they held that it would be worth it to battle back to consciousness.
She opened first one eye and then the other, and swirling grey clouds filled her vision. She blinked, squinted, and let out a shaky breath.
"Amy, Amy, Amy…" the voice was still murmuring, whispering, pleading with her. The voice… The Doctor's voice.
The Time Lord was cradling her in his arms, bowed over her with his cheek resting against hers and his face buried in her hair. He was repeating her name, like a mantra, and she could taste something salty and warm pooling in her mouth. She swallowed, and gasped out, "Doctor."
He stopped talking and lifted his head, both of his hands coming to cup her face. "Amy?"
"Doctor… What happened?" She groaned, trying to sit up.
He gently held her down, fussing, "No, no, don't move. You're hurt."
"No way," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. That gave her a headache, however, so she scrunched them shut. "Why am I hurt? What happened?"
"Well, my plan worked," he said, all blustering confidence.
"Good for you," she grumbled, reopening her eyes.
She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and the skin came away smeared with blood. Deciding to ignore that – adding it to the list of things she'd deal with later - she tried to sit up again, and this time he didn't stop her. Instead, he helped her, splaying his palm across her back and easing her into sitting position. Once she was upright he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and she settled into the hug, fitting into his embrace as comfortably as she always did.
"Are you okay?" He asked, pulling back to observe her.
"I'm fine," she said, stubbornly ignoring her aching body. "Are you? Is everyone else? Lily and James -" And then it all came rushing back, in one horrible wave that made her go limp again. The daleks, the death eaters, Lily lying injured in the TARDIS, James getting hit and oh, god, James.
Her gaze travelled over the Doctor's shoulder and across the hall, and for the first time she saw the destruction that the fight had caused. The place was in ruins, crumbled plaster, tiles and brick lying in heavy piles across the stone floor, tables upturned and splintered, black-robed bodies lying unmoving amongst the rubble. The staff of Hogwarts were moving slowly through the debris, rounding up the Death Eaters and placing them under binding charms. Voldemort, she was sorry to note, was nowhere in sight. Nor was the witch who had cursed James.
Anger boiled in the pit of Amy's stomach, and she held onto the Doctor's arm as she slowly hauled herself to her feet. He curled his fingers over hers and squeezed reassuringly.
James himself was surrounded by the Marauders and Dumbledore. They were all kneeling around him, and Remus and Sirius were leaning on each other as though they didn't have the strength to stay upright alone.
The Doctor's voice was low when he said, "There's nothing we can do."
Amy couldn't bear to look at the scene anymore. She turned back to the Doctor, swallowed the lump in her throat and asked, "Has anyone checked on Lily?"
"I sent Minerva in to check on her," the Doctor answered. "She's safe and stable in the TARDIS med bay."
"So she'll be okay?" Amy asked. The Doctor nodded, and she let out a sigh of relief. "What did I do with the… wandy thing?"
His smile was small but sincere. "You brought the house down, literally."
"How?" Amy was awed and still feeling extremely disoriented, and her voice sounded groggy to her own ears.
"Magic," he said, wiggling his fingers at her, and she couldn't help but laugh. "It was a bit explosive, but that's just because you haven't been trained… And that's what we wanted, anyway. You were brilliant! The spell was even bigger than I'd anticipated."
"I did this?" she asked, gesturing at the mess they were standing in.
"Well, you had some help," the Doctor replied, "From the students of Hogwarts… and myself."
She scoffed at the way he straightened his bowtie proudly. "What exactly did you do?"
"I'll tell you soon… But for now I think we have some loose ends to tie up." His eyes had drifted to the doorway, and Amy turned to see River making her way over to them.
"What's this about tying people up?" She asked, some of the twinkle returned to her eye.
Amy was amazed by the other woman's composure. She looked utterly put together, with her halo of blonde curls and tight trousers, her blaster still sitting securely in its holster. As she came to stand with them, Amy noticed that the corners of her lips were turned up in a flirtatious smile and it looked as though she'd barely raised a sweat throughout their entire ordeal.
Her words made the Doctor flap his hands around a bit, the tips of his ears going pink. "River," he said, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.
"Sorry, sweetie," she said, not sounding even the slightest bit apologetic. And then, slightly more seriously, "Thanks for the warning about opening the portal."
He rubbed the back of his neck, smiling bashfully. "Ah, yes. Forget to mention that detail, did I?"
Amy was sure her expression mirrored River's exactly – it was one of disbelief and exasperation.
"Yes, it must have slipped your mind," River said, tone velvety.
The Doctor coughed. "Well, I knew that you'd be alright, of course. Re-programmed your vortex manipulator to counteract the pull."
"And aren't you lucky you did," she purred.
The Doctor shifted his weight closer to Amy, and looked incredibly relieved when Fawkes the phoenix flew into the hall and provided a distraction. The bird looked even more bedraggled and ancient than he had when Amy had last seen him in the Headmaster's office, and was flying towards Dumbledore at such a slow pace she wondered how he was even staying airborne. He landed on the ground at the wizard's feet, and cawed sadly.
"Oh, he's about to regenerate," the Doctor said, interpreting the bird's vocalisation.
Amy blinked, startled by the prospect. "What, now? Here? He's just going to burst into flames?"
"It's not as gloomy as all that, Amy. This is quite a privilege, you know, not very many people can say they've witnessed a phoenix regenerating," the Doctor replied, leading the way over to where the bird sat.
Amy hesitated, because James was lying there and she didn't know if she wanted to, if she could, see him like that again. The image of him lying there was burnt into her memory and she was certain it was going to haunt her for the rest of her days. She felt River's gaze on her, and met the other woman's eye.
"It's okay, Amy," she said softly.
"It's not though, is it?" Amy responded. "I mean, all this… none of it's okay."
"It will be, though," River insisted.
"Do you know that for sure? Is this one of your spoilers?"
River just smiled, knowing and proud, and shook her head slightly. "I know because I know the Doctor, and when he saw that bird he got another mad idea."
"Another mad idea? What do you -" Amy began to ask, but River was already taking off after the Doctor. "River!"
Her curiosity and hope overrode her fear, and Amy followed them. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw James, pale and still, and when Remus reached for her hand she simply clutched him tight.
"Ah, Fawkes," Dumbledore was saying, smiling fondly down at the bird, "perfect timing."
Amy raised an eyebrow at that. "Perfect timing? He missed the entire fight," she muttered. The Doctor shushed her, and Amy saw that he had the same expectant glint in his eyes as the Headmaster. "What, what am I missing?"
The old bird hobbled over to James, and bent his head over the small singed section of his shirt above the side of his ribcage, the only outward sign there was of injury. Amy watched in astonishment as a single tear dropped from Fawkes' eye and landed on James' injury. The bird continued to cry, dripping three more tears onto James, and then it shuffled backwards.
"What's going on?" Amy breathed.
The Doctor was positively beaming now. "Do you remember what I told you about phoenix when we first visited Dumbledore's office?" She shook her head, and he explained, "Another thing that makes them such amazing, rare specimens is the fact that their tears have healing properties."
"But I thought that he…" Amy dropped her voice to the quietest whisper, "I thought that James had died."
The Doctor leant over so that he could whisper in her ear, "The shot grazed him instead of directly penetrating, so there's a chance… There's a slight chance he can be revived." He straightened up again, and whispered something under his breath, so quietly that Amy almost missed it, "And this time the crack was preoccupied. It hasn't got to him just yet."
She wanted to press him about what that statement meant, but decided that now wasn't the time. She'd just have to add it to her ever growing list of things to figure out later.
"Do you - Do you mean he might…" Remus choked out, but he couldn't finish the question.
Fawkes' tears seeped into James' skin, dissolving into the wound. There was a moment where no one moved, no one breathed, as they all waited to see if it had worked. Fawkes cooed, and then two incredible things happened at once.
With a final quiet caw, Fawkes the phoenix burst into a spectacular ball of flames. Amy jumped backwards, away from the fire, and watched in horror as the bird crumbled into a pile of ashes.
And, just as the bird disappeared in a blaze of glory, James opened his eyes and took a deep breath in.
[[…]]
It had been a long, long time since the Doctor had witnessed another being's regeneration. Not since his days on Gallifrey had he seen the spectacular, explosive process of molecular rearrangement, so extreme it was almost like a rebirth. He watched Fawkes alight with wonder, remembering the ten times that he'd undergone the process of regeneration and feeling a pang of sympathy for the momentary pain he knew the bird was feeling. Beside him Amy stepped back, a reflexive reaction to the shock, and he thought back to his last regeneration – it had been one of the most drawn out and painful of all his regenerations, weakening him until he had no choice but to give in and let the process consume him. But it had all been worth it, he thought, as it led to him crashing into Amelia Pond's garden. And look at all the wonder that had brought him.
He could see Amy out of the corner of his eye, tense with anticipation, and he gave her a reassuring smile. He was certain this would work. This had to work, because this time he'd beaten the crack and he had a chance to save James. He'd promised these kids that he'd keep them safe, keep them alive, and the Doctor kept his promises.
James shuddered back into life as Fawkes crumbled into ashes, and the Doctor clapped his hands together in excitement, because everything was working out and James was okay.
"Prongs!" Sirius hollered, launching himself forward and landing on top of James. "Prongs, you're alive!"
"Ow!" James exclaimed, pushing him back as he sat up. "Ow, Padfoot, get off me!"
Sirius fell back onto his knees, but kept his hand on James' shoulder. "Bloody hell mate, are you really that desperate for attention that you're willing to get cursed?"
James' laugh turned into a hacking cough, and Remus patted him gently on the back. "Take it easy mate."
"James, that was incredible!" Peter gushed, thoroughly impressed.
"Yeah, well. You didn't think I was going to leave you three alone, did you? You wouldn't survive a week without me," James said.
"Apparently you can't even survive one battle," Sirius teased.
"It's heaps more impressive to come back to life," James replied, with his natural humour. "Unlike you guys, who just managed to survive. How boring is that."
"Just try not to get shot next time," Remus sighed with fond exasperation.
The Doctor was glad to see the boys joking together. Their friendship was obvious, and he knew more than anyone that if you didn't have a sense of humour about these sorts of things they'd weigh you down very quickly.
James surveyed the room and breathed, "What happened?"
"The Great Hall has taken a bit of damage," Dumbledore replied. "But, thankfully, the Daleks have disappeared. Less fortunately, so to has Voldemort."
"I would think that's a very pleasant thing," Remus said.
"Ah, but his disapparition means we can't arrest him," Dumbledore explained. "Unfortunately he and some of his followers took advantage of the ensuing panic when the ceiling and protective charms collapsed, and promptly disappeared."
"But they're gone, yeah?" James asked. "There's no more immediate danger?"
"Well, there's still the open portal between universes above our heads," the Doctor told him. "But that's not a problem at the moment. Everything is under control."
James' eyes travelled over the Time Lord to Amy, and his face split into a huge grin. "Lily!"
"Uh, no," she said, awkwardly brushing her hair behind her ear, "Amy."
"Oh." James deflated slightly. "Well, I've just been knocked out, so you can't blame me for getting confused."
Amy laughed, "It's okay… We are identical."
"Where is Lily?" He asked, peering around the group. His voice rose an octave when he recognised her absence. "Is she okay? Is she hurt?"
"She's fine," Amy rushed to console him, kneeling down so they were at eye level. "She's in the TARDIS, safe. I made sure of it."
"I want to see her," James declared, immediately struggling to his feet. When he nearly toppled over, Amy and Sirius both draped one of his arms over their shoulders to help keep him steady.
At their feet, a mewling cry came from the pile of ashes left over from Fawkes' regeneration, and a bald baby phoenix emerged.
"Fawkes!" Dumbledore said gleefully, bending down to scoop the bird into his hand. "You did a marvellous job."
The Doctor gently stroked the phoenix's back, smiling gratefully. "You saved the day."
The bird cawed happily, and the group set off to retrieve Lily from the TARDIS.
a.n. gosh i'm a horrible updater, sorry guys. it took me ages to figure out a resolution and then life kept happening and urgh i've had so much stuff to sort out over the last few months. but anyway, i'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter to you and i'm sorry that it's so short. but i thought it'd be better to give you guys a resolution to the most pressing problem as soon as i could. and next chapter all the loose ends will be really tied up, and i think that'll be the end of it. please review! i need to know if you guys like what i'm doing and it's just lovely to hear what people think. also, let me know if any of you picked my solution before you read it? or if the solution even makes sense? thanks for reading, you're all amazing.