AN: Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up. At the moment I'm starting to gear up for my end-of-Year-12 exams. I have the Trial exams over the next few weeks, and the final ones a few months later, so I probably won't be doing too much writing till the end of October. I'll try to write a bit though =)

7 – Angels in the Ministry

'What is that?' said Colin. 'What's bad about a statue?'

'It's not a statue,' said the Doctor. 'It's a Weeping Angel.'

'It looks like a statue.'

'That's because Weeping Angels have the perfect defence system. When you look at them, they're quantum locked. They're stone. They can't move. But as soon as you look a away, or blink, they move. And they're fast. Faster than you can imagine.'

'What do they do?'

'They kill you. Only psychopaths in the universe to kill you nicely. No mess, no fuss, they just zap you into the past and let you live to death. They feed of the extra time energy you leave behind.'

'How do you stop them?' Colin was starting to sound scared.

'With great difficulty. I haven't encountered them particularly often, and unfortunately there isn't a nearby crack in the fabric of space and time to throw it into this time.'

'What?'

'Don't worry.'

Just then, an official-looking man came bustling across the square towards Gringotts. He noticed that there were three people staring fixedly at the fountain, and turned. He saw the angel statue and gave an annoyed sigh.

'Careful,' said the Doctor. 'That's a Weeping Angel. It's very dangerous.'

The man didn't appear to hear. He got out his wand and waved it at the angel, saying, 'Petrificus Totalus.' He turned to face the Doctor, Hermione and Colin. 'Good morning,' he said. 'I apologise for any inconvenience that angel may have caused you. We try and keep them under control, but they've been cropping up in public places more often lately. It's such a bother. Don't worry. I've taken care of it.'

Hermione and Colin relaxed, but the Doctor continued to stare at the Weeping Angel, unblinking.

'Sir?' said the man. 'You can stop watching it now.'

'What did you do to it?' said the Doctor, continuing to stare at it.

'I petrified it,' said the man. 'It can't move. You can go on with your shopping, sir.'

'I…but that's a Weeping Angel. They're really dangerous.'

'Not if you know how to deal with them. Don't worry, it's not a danger anymore. People from the Ministry will be here shortly to clear it away.'

The Doctor finally dragged his eyes away from the statue. 'Clear it away? To where? Is the petrification permanent?'

'It's all under control, sir,' said the man. 'Just forget about it and continue with your shopping.'

'And what is this Ministry everyone keeps talking about?' said the Doctor.

The man frowned at that, and Hermione couldn't blame him. Who didn't know about the Ministry of Magic?

'Right,' said Hermione. 'Time to go, Doctor.' She grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the man, who was looking at them suspiciously. Colin smiled at him, snapped a picture of the Angel, and followed them into a small alley between two shops.

'Wait,' said the Doctor. 'I need to figure out what they're going to do with that Angel. Do you know how long it will stay petrified for?'

Hermione shrugged. 'A few hours, I suppose. I've only used that spell a couple of times, and never on a statue, so it's hard to be sure.'

The Doctor tried to go back out into the square, but Hermione pulled him back. 'Doctor, you can't ask questions like that.'

'Like what?'

'Like "What's the Ministry?". Everyone knows the Ministry of Magic. It'd be like asking what the government is. You can't let anyone figure out you're a muggle.'

'What happens if they do?'

'Colin and I would get expelled, at the least. I don't know what they'd do with you. Probably just wipe your memory.'

'OK, fine. But we need to figure out where that Angel's going.'

'Don't worry about it. The Ministry will take care of it.'

The Doctor shook his head. 'Weeping Angels are really dangerous. I need to check you humans aren't doing something stupid with them. In twelve hundred years I've come to realise that humanity has a capacity for self-destruction that borders on genius.'

Hermione looked affronted at that, but before she could voice her displeasure, Colin spoke. 'That Angel didn't seem so dangerous to me. The man petrified it. Every Third Year knows that spell. It's not exactly difficult.'

'Come on,' said the Doctor. 'Aren't either of you just a bit curious about what they're doing with dangerous aliens in the Ministry?'

'Well,' said Colin, grinning, 'if you put it like that, I'm in.'

'We can't,' said Hermione. 'It's against the rules. What if we get caught?'

'You don't have to come,' said the Doctor. 'Let's go, Colin.' The two of them walked off. Half a minute later, Hermione came running after them. The Doctor grinned at her. 'Nice to have you along.'

'You'll get arrested or something if I don't help you,' she said. 'But if we get caught, it's your fault for ruining my education.'