Part Four

No Rest for the Wicked

Albus Potter had a hell of a day, first he had been eaten by a giant worm, and then he had run into several psychopathic Angel statues who had wanted to eat him, lied to him and tried to con him into destroying the world; and when that hadn't worked out, had wanted to kill him. Then, to cap off his clearly wonderful day, Albus had met a madman who claimed to be an alien, in a blue box who was now claiming he was from a parallel world. Then to top that all off, the madman in the blue box expected him to understand the string of garbled sentences spoke at a million miles an hour about a really bizarre and improbable set of chances ending in a question that he couldn't answer for the life of him.

The TARDIS was quiet as Albus tried to puzzle through everything he had learned and been told only to realise that while he might love technology, science really wasn't his thing; at all. Computers was his thing, magic was kinda his thing even if he wasn't very good at it. But this? Science and parallels and cross dimension hopping? This was not his thing. All Albus wanted to do was curl up in a ball and hide from the world for a very, very long time.

"What?" Albus asked feeling very, very confused.

The Doctor had paused for breath expecting the clearly brilliant human to understand the very long and convoluted logical progression of wibbly-wobbly stuff that had occurred in the Worm's stomach. Naturally said humans natural confusion was a big let-down for the excitable time lord. The Doctor pouted.

"I said, that when the Worm ate you-" the Doctor started again.

Albus lunged forward and slapped his hand over the ridiculously talkative alien's mouth. "I got that bit, something the Worm sticking its head through a crack in the Universe and when it ate me something about its enzymes acting up with my magic and sending me through the space and time portal which was actually the same or different crack in the universe and a vague something about the progression of events where you restarted the Universe and my landing in the house is all linked, even if I'm three years out of place in the progression of events. What I want to know is can I get back home?"

The Doctor gaped behind the restricting hand. Albus really was completely brilliant. Albus released the Doctor cautiously.

"No. It's impossible. The Universe has been restarted and the cracks are all closed. Even if I took you back in time, they wouldn't be there." The Doctor replied soberly, knowing that Albus wasn't likely to be pleased with that pronouncement.

The Doctor had been correct in his assessment. Albus stared in horror at the time travelling alien and felt all his hopes crumble and wilt beneath the plain onslaught of truth and grave pronouncement. He was alone in the Universe, the last and only of his race. Not only that but he had actually be warped beyond human and wizard and was something new. According to the TARDIS, his blood had been saturated in Vortex and how that would change him was beyond the Doctor's guessing. All the Doctor could say for certain was that it wasn't likely to kill him, something about humans looking into the 'schism' should have killed him immediately except for his magicks buffering effect and so had created a completely new and unheard of species. The Doctor was excited, Albus just wanted to go home.

"I'm stuck then." Albus sighed.

The Doctor nodded sympathetically. "I'm sorry, so, so sorry. But yes."

Albus stared into the ancient aliens eyes and found a wealth of understanding, empathy, and sympathy as well as guilt and self-blame. Albus looked away, unable to absolve the Doctor in his role as the messenger; intellectually Albus knew it wasn't the Doctor's fault. Potter Luck strikes again.

"I'm sorry too, Doctor." Albus sighed heavily once more.

Albus sat on the bed the Doctor had assigned him, as a man without a home the Doctor had offered this in a strange kind of compensation. Albus was still yet to absolve the Doctor of his news, and Albus found himself haunted by his father's steady words and advice: "Albus, should bad news ever come knocking at your door, remember that it is never the messengers fault.".

The advice had come after Harry had been pulled aside at work one afternoon to be told that Uncle George had suffered a disastrous explosion at work and Harry had hexed the man six-ways to Sunday in his anger and fear. George and Harry had become strangely close after the war years, according to Ginny, with George seeking Harry's advice in managing his grief and anger over his Uncle Fred's death. And now here he sat in the small sandbox sized room sulking because the Doctor had been the unfortunate messenger in bad news.

Albus sighed heavily and stood, three days had passed and he was still yet to leave the room, instead in a bout of self-pity, Albus had slept and stared at the slowly enclosing walls. The Doctor never mentioned his behaviour; instead the time lord had brought him food and water at regular initials, even though Albus never ate anything. Sighing once more, Albus exited the room, his footsteps hesitant as he crept along the passageway, green eyes and thin body halting at the sight of the Doctor slowly spinning around the console, his expression of pure guilt and sadness as he communed silently with the TARDIS. Albus wondered just what had happened for the alien to become so sad.

"I'm sorry." Albus spoke finally, unable to take the torture silence the time lord was wallowing in, drowning beneath the weight of his experiences.

The Doctor spun around, his expression startled. "Sorry?" He asked.

Albus nodded quietly, padding over to the Doctor and standing in front of him. "My Dad always said that you should never shoot the messenger of bad news, it's not their fault. It was childish and immature of me. Forgive me, if you can?"

The Doctor's grin was blinding and he enveloped Albus in a warm hug and Albus melted into it. His father's hugs had been like this as a child, warm and affectionate; Harry too, had never judged Albus' choices, never remanded his actions, simply expecting him to learn from them. Harry may not have liked Albus' decision to leave England and his family for America and his computer work, but Harry had understood his need and desire for making his own mark on the world and had this supported him. And in the Doctor's hug could Albus feel the ghost of his father reaching out and absolving him of his pain and anger, his fear and betrayal, his sadness and loneliness. Because the Doctor understood, he knew what it was like and in a single blinding moment, Albus found peace for the first time in three days. Albus wept.

The Doctor understood Albus, understood his pain, after all he had been through it too and so when Albus cried, clinging to his jacket with desperate hands, the Doctor just held him and stroked his back. It had been so long since he had held another person like this, hugs he received regularly; but this hug, this was like a father holding his son something he hadn't done since Jenny as she lay dying. The Doctor felt his own tears fall and smiled sadly, maybe he needed Albus as much as the young wizard needed him and maybe he could help Albus as Martha and Donna had helped him all those years ago. Albus pulled away, drying his eyes on the palms of his hands and trying to ignore his runny nose as he avoided the Doctors eyes.

"Feeling better?" The Doctor asked his voice gentle.

Albus nodded, flushing with embarrassment and ducked his head.

"Albus," the Doctor said grabbing the young man's chin and tilting his head back. "Don't be embarrassed."

Albus stared at the Doctor and noted the time lord's own eyes were damp and felt marginally better. "Thanks." He muttered.

The Doctor smiled. "Right then!" He said and clapped his hands and stood from where they had sunk to their knees. "You need clothes!"

Albus flushed. Clothes and a shower; after three days wearing the same boxers he had arrived in he probably stank.

"The wardrobe is down the hall, third exit on the right." The Doctor said cheerfully and Albus smiled, nothing kept the bubbly time lord down for long, it was comforting.

Albus stared in awe around the TARDIS' wardrobe, spinning on his heels. A tall spiralling staircase climbed up three floors and rows and rails upon rows and rails of clothing lined the walls. Sorted by period, Albus was drawn immediately to the nineteenth century section and smiled in delight as he found the traditional robes from home there. He picked out a white shirt that would probably suite a pirate, and a long black robe with wide sleeves worked with silver runes that, Albus stared, spelled out 'laughter', 'pride', and 'family' along the cuffs and down the neck line. The runes were the Potter family motto, and Albus found himself grinning brightly. He also picked out a pair of pirate boots that looked like they might fit him easily enough and then bounded up to the twenty-first century section and grabbed a pair of black jeans; breeches were all very well and good, but he hardly enjoyed wearing them, and a black waistcoat. Thirty minutes later found Albus dressed in his dashing new clothes and standing triumphantly in front of the Doctor with his arms spread as he spun around showing off his outfit.

"Very Harry Potter-ish," The Doctor commended cheerfully.

"Nah, Dad hates wearing formal robes, he prefers a good suit." Albus said unthinkingly.

The Doctor blinked in surprise and then laughed, realising something. "So, you're telling me, that in a parallel Universe Harry Potter is real?"

Albus grinned and nodded. "Yep," He agreed. "Try it from my point of view, I know nothing of science and aliens and here I am in an impossible machine with one."

The Doctor grinned in delight, "very true!"

Albus grinned back at the Doctor and then bounced up to the console, a wicked smirk on his face. "So, now I'm decent, well mostly decent, and dressed all neatly, where to now? I mean, this is a time machine! I bet it can go anywhen and, logically as time travel is supposed to be harder to achieve, this must also be a space ship and so can go anywhere too!"

The Doctor grinned. "Very poetic, I could talk about anywhere and anywhen all day long, I love humans!"

Albus rolled his eyes.

"But yes, you're right. TARDIS stands for Time and Relative Dimensions in Space." The Doctor agreed, a bit more serious. "So, where would you like to go?"

Albus thought about it, where/when would he like to go? Completely stumped, Albus suddenly grinned.

"Surprise me!" Albus said and the Doctor grinned manically. A thump on the TARDIS' console and the machine was set to a random destination.

"Hold on tight, Albus Potter!" The Doctor yelled excitedly. "Geronimo!"

Albus laughed.