Too Close For Comfort, Doctor
by
xXx MissHaunted-MoonLight xXx

This is my take on the Time War! I found a lot of the relative info in the 'Doctor Who' section on Wikipedia. It's a very helpful site, actually. 'Sigh', Just something else I can't claim as my own…these things are building up…

Ahh well. Enjoy, peeps! And thanks for commenting! :)

Chapter 8

The Time War

"Gin … where are the two others you were with before we left?"

Ginny paused for a second, a sly grin inching its way onto her face as she spared Rose a glance.

"You mean Ron and Hermione?" she asked, innocently enough. But when Rose nodded, her innocent façade evaporated, and her all-knowing, cat-like smile widened even further. "They…ah…went for an early breakfast," she replied, mischievously. Resuming their meander through the empty hallways, noticing Rose's reddening cheeks, she shrugged indifferently and shook her head in mild mock-disgust. "And knowing my brother as well as I do, I'll bet they're on seconds, by now."

"So, they're an item, then?" Rose deduced, smiling.

"Yep, and it's only taken them seven years to get together. Harry was all for locking them in a broom cupboard until they plucked up the courage to ask each other. It was driving him mad!"

Her smile slipped slightly, and feeling the heat rise in her cheeks, she returned her attention to the way ahead, avoiding Rose's curious gaze. Sighing, she shrugged again, only this time, her slumped shoulders refused to stiffen again afterwards. "But then, saying that, he wasn't much better, either," she murmured. "It took us just short of six years, too."

Rose's smile vanished.

"You broke up because of this war, right?" she affirmed, voice sympathetic.

Ginny nodded, glumly. "Or so he says, anyway."

Rose frowned.

"You don't think that was the real reason?"

"Dunno," the girl sighed, shrugging with a feigned disinterest that didn't fool Rose at all. "I suppose it's as good a reason as any, but it just … it doesn't feel right. I know he probably believes that us breaking up means I'm safe, but even my mum thinks that's ridiculous. Nobody is safe, these days. And You-Know-Who already knows that I know Harry, so I'm no safer than … say, the mad old cat lady he had for a neighbour when he lived with the Dursley's."

There was a low but steady rumble of voices from within the many classrooms they passed as they walked. Rose was faintly amazed by the fact that students were sitting feet from them, no worries to plague their young and eager minds aside from fears about homework and social status. When the bell rang for the end of lesson, each would worry about their own families for a time, but while they were enclosed within their classrooms, surrounded by friends, nothing could bother them. Nothing could harm them. They were immune to the torment and struggle, if only for an hour or so. She sighed, envying their blissful ignorance. And one glance at Ginny told her the young red-head envied it, too.

"How'd he do it?" Rose asked curiously, hoping to fend away the sour mood that was lingering over the young girl's shoulders like a lingering smog. She plastered a doe-eyed expression to her face which seemed to be contagious as she added, "was it romantic?" Her face lit up with excitement. "One of these 'confess undying love and walk off into the sunset' things, or what?"

"Oh, it was so sweet!" Ginny smiled, encroached by the memory. "I'd liked him from the start, but he never seemed to notice. I sent him a valentine's poem in my second year; it was delivered by a dwarf. He must have been so embarrassed afterwards. It literally dragged him to the floor and sat on his legs while it sang. I couldn't look at him for a week afterwards," she laughed. Rose smiled at how happy she seemed. Such a stark contrast to the seconds prior. She seemed younger, fresher, all of a sudden. Rose beamed, secretly pleased with herself. Really, a friendly conversation could work wonders, these days.

"I've been sending out hints since the beginning, but he's been oblivious. Then I started talking to 'Mione about it, and she told me I should just be myself around him, that he'd notice if I started dating, perhaps. Well I started in my fourth year, and by a stroke of luck, I was going out with one of his dorm-mates during my fifth. I think he must have been jealous then, he never showed it, apart from this one confrontation. I was kissing Dean, and Harry and Ron found me. Ron was all for ripping Dean's head from his shoulders, but Harry seemed pretty ok with everything…until I saw his eyes. They were full of anger and jealousy and hurt. So I started trying to attract his attention a little more by being more open around him. Dean turned out to be a bit of a control-freak, in the end. Always trying to do everything for me and help all of the time. I got tired of it.

"Well, anyway, I digress. Harry was in a detention during Gryffindor's final Quidditch match. He must have been gutted, seeing as he was Captain, but it was a pretty big detention, if I'm honest. Malfoy deserved it, of course, but it was a little scary to think of Harry doing something like that. I mean it wasn't intentional, or anything; it just sort of happened… but, he came back after the match and I just sort of ran at him. I didn't plan anything, I was just going to tell him that we'd won, but then he kissed me…in front of everyone!"

"No. Way!"

"Oh yes! The entire House was just stood there, watching. Ron looked…well, I don't know what was running through his head then. I mean his sister and his best mate, that's a pretty big collision. 'Mione looked so happy; she was grinning wider than a Cheshire cat when I talked to her afterwards. Dean seemed pretty upset, but we'd finished by then, so it wasn't really any of his business."

"What was it like?" Rose asked eagerly.

"It was amazing," Ginny sighed, dreamily. "He's a good kisser, actually. Better, even. Brilliant. Probably the best kiss I've ever had…" and she blinked as she saw Rose's face. "What?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just sweet, that's all. Honestly!" she added when Ginny stared suspiciously at her. "So were you together for long, then?"

Ginny's smile faltered as she spoke.

"No, Dumbledore died a few weeks later, and Harry broke it off at his funeral. He had his reasons. You Know Who's been after him since his birth, knocking down the people he loves one-by-one. It's awful, and I haven't helped matters. I refused to accept him when we met again. It just hurt that after so long, we'd managed to get together, and then he ended it to finish his 'quest'," she said, bitterly. "At one point I even went as far as thinking he cared more for his fame than for his love-life, but that was just me in denial, trying to blame my circumstances on anyone else but me."

Rose nodded in understanding and they fell silent, thinking. She watched the Doctor walk into step beside Harry, and wondered vaguely what they were talking about. If she was honest, she was glad that the Doctor had an inquisitive streak within him, now. It made her feel a little better about her own nosiness, knowing she wasn't the only one. This new incarnation still had many surprises up his sleeve, it appeared.

Ron and Hermione emerged unexpectedly from a classroom ahead and walked up to them, smiling widely. Hermione's flyaway hair was more pronounced than usual, and both were breathless and looked rather flushed.

"Have fun?" Ginny asked innocently. Rose smirked.

"Don't know what you're talking 'bout, Gin," Ron replied, airily.

"Right," she replied sarcastically. "Are you two coming to this meeting?"

"Yes, is it now?" Ron asked. Ginny nodded. "So what's it for?"

Ginny looked at Rose and gave her a nod that said 'that question's yours'. Rose looked up at Ron and smiled.

"I think it's just a 'hello' kind of meeting, really. The Doctor and the Head need to talk about what's going on, I suppose. I mean, we don't know why we're here, and you don't know why we're here, so we need to work things out together. Catch my drift?"

Ron nodded as they turned into another corridor. Harry and the Doctor had stopped next to a rather bizarre-looking statue. It was an extremely ugly looking thing, completely inhuman.

"What's that supposed to be?" Rose called. They turned at her shout, watching the three females and Ron approach the end of the corridor.

"Well, if you're referring to its physical appearance, then it's a gargoyle. If you're more interested in what it is, then it's an entrance to the Head's office," Harry replied, smiling at her lack of understanding. "Tabby," he said simply, facing the statue once more, apparently giving a secret password, if what happened next was anything to go by.

Rose and the Doctor stared in astonishment as the stone gargoyle sprung instantly to life and hopped aside, allowing them to continue up a large and winding, moving staircase. They stepped on, one after the other, and watched in shock as they spiralled ever higher, too stunned to move a muscle except to crane their necks to follow where they were heading. The stairs stopped abruptly a few moments later, facing a large wooden door complete with rich brass knocker which wouldn't have looked out of place in a Victorian Mansion.

Rose gaped, awestruck, tongue testing what was to be spoken next as if unsure of how stupid it would make her sound. But then deciding she couldn't think of any other question she could ask at that particular moment, she thought to Hell with it and voiced it regardless of how the others would respond.

"So… the Headmistress lives inside a wall?"

Harry and Ron both snorted with laughter and Hermione turned to her, smiling, fondness apparently growing for the poor, mixed up lady standing beside her.

"It's not quite as simple as that, but I suppose you could say it's inside a wall, yes. A hidden room, Rose."

"Oh," Rose said, and she fell silent. The Doctor looked at her and smiled cheekily. "And I thought you disapproved of people laughing at someone else's expense!" she asked in mock-annoyance.

"Who's laughing?" he replied, shrugging and smiling broadly. "It was a pretty intelligent question, to say it came from you. I'm very proud!"

"Ha ha, very funny! You're not too old for a slap, you know," she retorted, but the smirk on her face diminished the threat, a little.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow at her as she stared determinedly back. He grinned.

"Why? How old are you?" Hermione blurted suddenly, slightly breathlessly. Ron glared at her, and she at least had the decency to blush accordingly. Harry snorted but cleverly covered it up with a cough a millisecond later.

"Oh, you'd be surprised," Rose said, never shifting her gaze from the Doctors' face. "He's

looking pretty good for his age, actually. That handsome facade is hiding a lot of years' worth of wisdom."

Hermione and Ginny both blushed and laughed, as the Doctor stared at her in shock. A devious look fell over her graceful features. "Oops, did I say that out loud?" she grinned at him impishly. "Oh, I said Handsome, didn't I? So Sorry, Doctor. I meant to say young, there."

"Sure you did, Rose," Harry added, quietly. Ginny elbowed him in the ribs and he fell silent, smiling.

The Doctor stared at her for a moment, then shook his head quickly. Harry moved forwards and made to knock on the door, a wide smile giving his worn-looking features a more youthful air. For the first time since they had met him, he looked seventeen.

For a second.

Then the sharp rap on the door straightened everyone's faces, all smiles and graces evaporating from existence as the seriousness of the situation settled around their shoulders, once again.

"Come in!" came the crisp response from somewhere inside.

Harry glanced back quickly at them all, and opened the door.

"Ah, back to the old routine, then, Potter? I was beginning to wonder if you were coming at all." She was smiling, though, and her voice was welcoming, rather than accusatory.

"Sorry, Headmistress, but the Doctor had something he needed to do first," Harry replied.

McGonagall stood and moved out from behind her desk to greet them. She smiled warmly as Ron entered last and closed the door.

"Right. Drinks, I think. Would it be too early to offer you something with a little kick?"

"I've been waiting a long time for a cup of tea, actually," the Doctor said, grinning. Harry nodded and the door flew wide, emitting two small house elves carrying identical trays of tea and biscuits in their arms. Hermione sniffed slightly but held her tongue, much to Harry's surprise. He shared a knowing look with Ron, unnoticed by the S.P.E.W founder, one clearly saying, 'I can see the cogs whirring.' Ron nodded, grinning despite himself, before returning his full attention to his former Transfiguration teacher.

"Help yourselves," McGonagall announced, arms wide. She then walked over to her cabinet, withdrew several small bottles, and placed them onto her desk. "And these are for those of you who are feeling a little more… adventurous." Her eyes fell on Ron and Hermione, and they both smiled back, a strange mad glint within their eyes.

Harry withdrew his wand once more and six chairs appeared in front of them. Each took a seat and composed themselves for what was set to be a rather long-winded and interesting discussion.

McGonagall watched them all from behind her desk, helping herself to a glass of Sherry as she arranged herself into a more comfortable position. Her eyes fell immediately onto the Doctor, and questions burst simultaneously, fighting over the chance to fly from her lips first. She drained her glass, licked her lips, and set it onto her desk once more.

"So, Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts. Pleasure to meet you, and where do we start?" she asked the room in general.

"Um… what's Quidditch?"

The room's stunned occupants turned to Rose in surprise, and she blushed.

"Who said anything about Quidditch?" McGonagall asked, wide-eyed.

"Oh, Ginny mentioned it on the way down here," Rose replied, hurriedly.

Ron opened his mouth to answer, face shining with excitement, but Harry stepped on his foot before he could share with her what would no doubt have turned out to be the game's long and not-so-interesting history.

"I doubt we've got time to listen to your in depth commentary, Ron," he said, smiling. Ron scowled but said nothing. "In short, it's a wizard sport. Seven players, four balls, six goal hoops, and it's played on broomsticks. Sort of a cross between football and basketball, only played up in the sky just to make it that li'l bit more interesting."

"Oh," was all she could come up with in response to that, and she fell silent. Smiles flashed her way, and she had a sudden urge to turn to the Doctor and share with his rather manic grin. How she loved that grin…

"Ok, so that's Quidditch covered. Now would you mind me asking why you are here?"

'Nice, to the point, I like that,' the Doctor thought to himself before answering the Headmistress directly.

"We don't know," he replied, slowly. "We were just…drawn in, I suppose. Something hooked onto our time-ship and we ended up here. Is there anyone meddling around with time? Building things related to the subject?"

"As far as I can tell, no. The Order is doing no such thing, but I can't honestly vouch for either the Ministry or the Dark Side. The Ministry has been hiding a lot of secrets from us, despite the fact that we're supposed to be working together to bring down You Know Who."

"Voldemort?" the Doctor asked quickly. She shuddered slightly, and nodded.

"Yes. From what we have learned, the Dark Side isn't working on any such projects either, but we can't be sure of everything we discover these days. He, unfortunately, has a rather unearthly gift, and people will keep their silence, no matter how big the secret is."

"Well someone's working on an undercover project, and time and space have been altered, drastically. Whatever they're doing has gone horribly wrong. I've a theory… we were pulled in because we have a time ship, and the wound must be around this castle. It doesn't mean it was caused here," he said quickly as he saw her face. "Only that whoever made it arranged for it to be here. This wound in time has registered the problem, and is trying to repair itself by grabbing everything it can related to time-travel in order to close the wound. And luckily, it managed to find my ship, probably the best ever created, if I do say so myself. Well, the TARDIS is one Hell of a power source."

"So you're time travellers?"

The Doctor nodded.

"Yes, but not your everyday time travellers. I'm not human. Rose is. She's from London around this time, actually. It must be a different time-line, though, because her world wasn't affected."

"So you're… alien?" McGonagall asked. The Doctor nodded again, and sighed.

"A Time Lord… version ten of myself… I've regenerated nine times, now."

"I see. And do your people – these … Time Lords - know anything about this?"

McGonagall seemed to realise immediately that she had stumbled upon a sore subject. The colour drained from the Doctor's cheeks as he stared her dead in the eye, those swirling orbs ripe with raw emotion.

"No, I'm presuming they won't know a thing about any of it ... considering I'm the last of the Time Lords."

Rose reached across and squeezed his hand encouragingly. She had noticed that he seemed a little more open, and more prepared to discuss his past, than his previous incarnation had been. He didn't snap at people for mentioning his upbringing, anyway. She was grateful for this, and it gave her hope that she could help to break through a few of those annoying barriers that he had built between himself and the rest of existence. Talking was always the best way to do that.

"And Time Lords were?"

The Doctor sighed heavily and drained his own cup. Rose looked up at McGonagall.

"Could he not just… skip that question?" she asked quietly. McGonagall studied him briefly before nodding.

"Of course, you said 'last' so I'm presuming it's not really a topic you feel like discussing with a room full of strangers. Quite understandable, of course."

The Doctor replaced his cup onto the small table that had recently appeared in front of the group and looked at her.

"No, it's ok. It's probably about time I told someone, anyway. I can't tell it all, mind."

"Doctor -"

"I thought you of all people would have been jumping at the idea of me reliving my history. You were all too keen to here about it before, so what's changed?" he asked Rose, frowning slightly.

"I've seen what you've had to put up with," Rose replied, gently. "If it was my business, you would have told me about it."

"Yeah, I suppose. Still, it's been long enough now." He paused and stared around at them.

"Time Lords were a race of… well… humanoids, I suppose… who were able to travel in and manipulate time through use of technology, to a degree more advanced than any other civilisation. We were probably the oldest and most technologically advanced of all races. They had one major policy of non-interference with the universe… a policy I was always breaking, personally.

"Not including myself because I was a little more hands-on than they were, they liked to consider themselves 'perpetual observers of all existence'. Funny, I never considered myself to be anything like that, but I'm the one who's done it…I must have seen everything during my time." He smiled slightly at the irony, but his expression changed to one of pain as he paused.

"What happened?" Harry asked quietly. His expression was grave, and told of a deep understanding, and empathy towards the Doctor. He knew exactly what it felt like to lose those he held close.

"There was a Time War, probably the most infamous battle ever fought, one huge encounter between the Time Lords and the Daleks. We were losing. Badly. A few hundred of us against ten million ships. And they're virtually unstoppable. Well, we tried everything we could, everything my people knew from previous battles, previous wars. But there were too many of them.

"I still don't understand how they found us, but they invaded Gallifrey, my home planet. By the time my people had realised what was happening, they were too close to be stopped. The few Time Lords who had access to a time machine were set to be evacuated immediately, but things went wrong. Everything just stopped. The Transduction Barrier that was designed to keep all hostile attackers from approaching the planet, sort of like a giant force-field, that was the only thing that continued to work. No transport would work, no weapons, nothing. The Eye of Harmony, the thing that powered everything… it just… died…"

The Doctor sighed and reached for a bottle containing a blood red liquid. Ignoring the glass in front of him, he downed half of the bottle in one swallow. He shuddered, and stood, moving across to the window, taking the bottle with him. Six pairs of eyes followed, listening intently.

"Well they attacked, midnight. Ship after ship, Dalek after Dalek. We fought back with everything we possessed, but they just couldn't be stopped. Barely two hours had passed before they hit the planet's atmosphere, but they couldn't penetrate, thanks to the Barrier. The few of us who had managed to keep our heads, gathered in a small shelter below Headquarters, and simply sat there, waiting.

"And then it happened." There were tears welling in his eyes now, and his voice shook, but he kept talking. "There was this scream, a girl. She stumbled in alone, distraught, broken… dying. She couldn't have been older than seven. I don't know why she did it, but she threw herself at me. I didn't really know her. I'd seen her before, and we'd talked a little about her mother and her brothers, you know, friendly talks, but there wasn't really any link between us. And yet she ran at me like I was her father, clinging to me, fading.

"She couldn't even speak, she was so scared. But she choked on one word. 'Time'. I didn't know what she meant to begin with. Then something clicked, and I ran at the survivors who were trying to gather the few remaining on the outside. A few of the Dalek weapons had managed to breach the Barrier, but they couldn't all break through. She was still clinging to me… she just refused to let go… I could feel her hearts, both of them, hammering against my chest as I held her… she was terrified."

"Doctor -"

"I caught their attention eventually. And a part of me still wishes I hadn't seen them, still wishes they hadn't heard me. The look of despair, of a lack of hope or any sort of conviction, the look of defeat on every face. There couldn't have been a hundred of us down there, and they all had that same look…"

"Doctor -" Rose tried again, but he cut her off once more.

"I sort of forgot what it was that I was supposed to be asking when I saw them, but it came back almost at once. I stood there… watching them… unable to get the words out… and then I did… I said it."

Tears were falling now as he stared resolutely out of the window, his watery eyes lingering on the small blue speck on the edge of the large lake. No-one seemed to be breathing. Ginny was crying silently, and Hermione was staring at his back in shock, her hand over her mouth. Harry, Ron and McGonagall were listening raptly, too stunned to move.

Rose was in tears, love and sympathy for him burning deep within her, her heart breaking as she watched him crumble before their eyes. She had wanted to help him break through those barriers, not destroy them all at once. That was suicide.

"They all agreed that there was no other option. There had been one other occasion when Gallifrey had been attacked, and that was by a race called the Sontarans. I was in my fourth incarnation at the time, and the Barrier had been sabotaged from within… I'd had no choice then, either…

"I just stood there, waiting for them to decide who would do it, still holding her. They turned and suggested I should be the one to do it, mainly due to the fact that I'd managed to disarm the Barrier once before. So I agreed. It didn't take long, an hour or so, maybe.

"The TARDIS had an emergency power store, one of my most recent mechanical changes, so I used the key to call it into the Shelter. I drained a part of the power and set up a load of wards around the Shelter, hoping to give my people a chance of survival, but there wasn't enough power to create an effective ward.

"A group of us set about creating time loops and paradoxes and pre-emptive strikes as a way of destroying the Daleks once and for all. The girl had been right… we would use Time to bring about the end…"

A soft sob echoed around the room as he paused, remembering.

"I travelled out afterwards," he said. His voice was a little stronger, now, but he couldn't hide the tears. "Mine was the only working time machine because of the emergency power supply I'd created, and we met the Daleks half way. I still held her. She was sobbing into my shoulder by this time, but still refused to let go of me. She was helpful though. Followed my instructions perfectly when I managed to disentangle myself from her and set her down. Her mother had shown her how to pilot a TARDIS before, so she knew what she was doing.

"Ten million ships chased a tiny blue police box towards this beautiful, fiery planet. They all crashed. Every single one. Apparently, the Emperor's ship wasn't completely destroyed, but he's gone now, too… thanks to Rose. The time loops and paradoxes brought about their destruction in the end. They would have survived impact unless we'd been prepared. But they could never have survived the things we made them relive. I can't tell you about those, partly because I don't really know myself. My people arranged most of that while I was disarming the Barrier. We took the TARDIS back to the Shelter as quickly as we could, hoping to save at least a few of my people before impact. But we were too late… everything burnt."

The Doctor paused for a moment, remembering.

"The girl collapsed. She'd been staring at her home through the TARDIS Screen… and she just fell. We were caught in the blast about a minute later. I never got the chance to thank her. She couldn't regenerate, she was too young… a part of me was hoping that perhaps one of my people had managed to survive through regeneration, but the explosion had destroyed their entire lives. No-one could have survived such an inferno.

"I regenerated, almost immediately for some reason, still in the TARDIS. She was damaged, but not irreparable. It took about two days to repair her afterwards. By the time I was alright again, my planet was gone. It was nothing more than smouldering rock. The girl… she… well, she just disappeared. I don't know how or where, just presumed she'd 'moved on'. And that's exactly what I did. Never stopping… always moving… straight to Earth, tracking the Nestene Consciousness…"

He looked up and stared at Rose, eyes sparkling with tears.

"And then I met Rose… the light of my life, who's faced so much with me, been so much. And it's been the same since… well, until I died about a week ago… she saved the entire universe just for me, not knowing what she was doing… I doubt she can even remember what it was that she did, what I did… I can't thank you enough, though, Rose. I couldn't even begin to explain how much you've done for me."

Rose flashed him a watery smile, tears cascading down her cheeks. She stood and walked over to him, pulling him into a huge hug.

"I am so, so sorry, Doctor. I had no idea," she spoke, quietly, fighting the desire to sob uncontrollably into his chest.

"Well of course you didn't. I didn't tell you, how could you have known? I should have, really. I'm willing to bet that none of you understood half of that, but it's helped me just to talk about it. At least I'm not the only one who knows, now."

"See?" she half sobbed, half laughed. "Talking does help. Promise me you won't ever keep something so awful to yourself ever again! God knows how you've survived with that in your head. It's been years!"

The pair of them looked up and smiled weakly. Five faces, tear-streaked and shocked, stared back resolutely.

"Well, as you now know, I've seen my fair share of wars," the Doctor said, quietly. "And not once have I walked away from one, no matter how impossible a happy ending seemed. I won't walk away from this one."

McGonagall nodded numbly at him, staring in shock and sorrow. Hermione was crying silently into Ron's shoulder, and gentle tears leaked from Ginny's eyes. Harry hadn't been able to. He understood too well to be emotionally affected. He'd been through the same thing, and relived it so many times that he couldn't cry anymore. He'd seen too much.

"Well, Doctor," he said finally. "That's one Hell of an emotional rollercoaster. You've earned my trust just through the fact that you could relive it. I'm sorry about your loss," he added, softly.

"Quite," McGonagall sniffed. "Erm… right, so… we know… we know who you are, now, so… is there… is there anything else we need to discuss?"

The Doctor shook his head and glanced at Ron and Hermione. They stared back, respect blazing within their weeping eyes.

"We're going to find out what's going on here. Somehow our being brought here is linked with this War, and we're going to find out how. You have our assistance. "

"Right… well… I think we'll leave things there, for now," she said, trying to inject a little happiness into her voice, but failing. "Erm… we can always resume this if anything… anything else happens. There's an Order meeting this evening, seven o'clock. I would be honoured if you'd join us. Both of you," she added, glancing at Rose who nodded. "It would be a privilege to work along side you. And we thank you immensely for your assistance with… with this War."

Everyone stood to leave, the atmosphere one of sadness and an unsettled gloom. The bell to signal the end of classes echoed through the castle.

The Doctor held Rose's hand and they left together in silence, following their four companions.

Ginny turned to him outside in the corridor and grabbed his other hand. He stopped and stared down at her. Harry walked back and placed a hand on her shoulder as Ron and Hermione turned too, watching silently.

"Look, if there's anything we could do…" Ron and Hermione walked up then and stood behind Ginny and Harry, nodding in agreement, "…if you ever needed someone to talk to, or something, about anything, we're here."

"Thanks, Gin, that means a lot," the Doctor replied, smiling softly. "And Harry?" he called as the four teens turned and began to walk once more down the corridor. Harry stopped and glanced back. "I've had my talk, so I think it's probably about time for yours."

Harry considered him, briefly, and nodded.

"Yes, I guess it's only fair," he said. "I suppose you should eat first, though."

"Only if you come with us," the Doctor said as Rose squeezed his hand in encouragement. She smiled at him, glad he'd understood what she had been asking.

"But -"

"No 'buts'. You're coming," he ordered firmly. Harry nodded in defeat and led the way towards the Great Hall.

Harry, Ron and Hermione had been too busy with thoughts on everything they had heard that morning, that they had been unmistakably careless about their timing. They unknowingly walked through the hallways, heads buzzing, completely unaware of the stares they were receiving.

But Hogwarts and its many students were not so distracted. Thousands of eyes followed them through the corridors, whispers flickering around them like twittering birds.

The Trio had been seen.

Cheers again! Much love to y'all readers! Reviews are yummy …

Blessed Be,

xXx MissHaunted-MoonLight xXx