Previously on "River of Magic"
"What happened?!" Hermione shouted before hugging her parents, grateful they were all right.
Rory leaned against the mop, his eyes still full of anger. "That git Malfoy you told us about stormed in here with five of his Butt Eater friends," he said in a barely controlled voice.
Amy was just as furious since the Doctor had refused to open the doors to the TARDIS until they promised not to kill Draco. "Malfoy informed us his plans were to rape, torture, and kill us," she spat.
The tip of Hermione's wand glowed red from all of her anger that was seeping into to it. "Where is he?" she asked, her voice colder than the Void itself.
Rory jerked his thumb at the TARDIS. "I was about to finish off that piece of human refuse when your boyfriend showed up at the last moment to save his life," he sighed in disgust. A small part of him was happy the Doctor had arrived and kept him from killing the Malfoy boy in cold blood. The rest of him wanted to batter down the TARDIS doors and finish the job properly.
Hermione's wand started to lose its angry glow, but her eyes were still murderous. The look she gave the TARDIS would have made any blooded warrior's insides weak with fear. Rory saw the look in her eyes and started to chuckle and then laugh out right, his tensions and murderous intent draining away.
"What's so funny?" Amy asked sharply.
Rory pointed to Hermione. "I know that look all too well from all the times you've given it to me," he chuckled. "If they were already married, I'd be willing to wager the Doctor would find himself sleeping on the couch tonight," he joked.
Amy smiled despite herself and relaxed. "She is my daughter after all," she agreed. "I wouldn't be surprised if she finds a way of locking him out of his bedroom and making him sleep on the couch after all," she added.
Hermione holstered her wand and pistol. She stomped her foot and glared at Amy. "Honestly, Mother!" she scolded.
********DrW********
Chapter 19
The Granger family looked at each other for a moment and then they all started to chuckle as the joy of cheating death swept through them. Their laughter was cut short by the squealing of tires and the sound of emergency vehicle sirens as three black armored personnel carriers thundered onto their street. Once they were near the house, the sirens stopped and the flashing blue and red lights were turned off.
One of the vehicles rolled past the Granger home for another block while the third one stopped a block prior to the home. The black APC in the middle stopped in the street directly in front of the blasted and shattered door of the Granger home. In an instant, the back end of all three APCs opened and soldiers poured out with the fluidity created from hours and hours of practice. The soldiers were dressed in black combat uniforms with bright red berets. Hermione recognized the "wings coming out of a globe" symbol on the front of each beret as the one she had seen on both her father's and the Doctor's binoculars. Each soldier was armed with an assault rifle. They formed a perimeter surrounding and containing everyone in the area.
One of the soldiers rushed up to the Granger home and snapped to attention, his hand up in a salute. He was about to address Rory when he caught sight of the old blue box in the hallway. The soldier dropped his salute and frantically grabbed the lapel mic of his radio. "All units, this is Alpha Two. We have a confirmed Code One scenario. I repeat… we have a confirmed Code One scenario. Grandfather is on site!" he shouted. The soldier looked to his left and then his right as he watched his troops shift to where they could be behind cover in an instant if needed. Satisfied, he returned his attention back to Rory. "Proper Captain Granger, the area is secured," he said with another salute.
Rory returned the salute of his second in command. "Thank you, Lt. Simmons," he replied. "Now knock off the formalities, Tim, or I'll sick the Beta Team Leader on you," he warned.
Tim Simmons chuckled and relaxed his posture. He turned to Amy and bowed slightly. "Good afternoon, other Captain Granger," he joked to the leader of his sister team.
Amy smiled at him and then gave their friend a rather unmilitary like hug. "Thanks for showing up so soon," she told him.
Rory looked down at his watch and his eyes widen in surprise. "5 minutes?" he stated in shock. "How the bloody hell did you get across downtown London in only 5 minutes?" he inquired in disbelief.
Simmons looked at the ground a little sheepishly before answering. "Knowing two of our own were in trouble sort of motivated us to get here fast," he replied. He nodded towards the front of his APC and jerked his thumb towards the front bumper which had several different scrapes and swatches of paint transfer on it. "We... um... didn't exactly wait for civilians to clear the road for us," he admitted. "No casualties, but I think UNIT will be paying for a least a dozen new autos," he told them.
Hermione stepped outside of the home and looked at Simmons. "Hello, Uncle Tim," she said making a point of looking at his uniform. Simmons looked at her in shock and then down at his uniform. He had a panicked expression as he looked back up at his friends' daughter. "I guess it's safe to assume that like my parents, you aren't really a dentist," she stated blandly.
Amy smiled at Simmons and placed a friendly hand on his arm. "She found out when she arrived for Christmas dinner with the Doctor in tow," she explained. "Hermione is his new Companion," she said simply. She didn't mention the other part about her daughter also dating the one time UNIT science advisor.
Simmons' eyes grew even larger. As part of the command team for the field operatives, he had been informed of Amy and Rory's statuses as being prior Companions. It boggled his mind to think that their daughter had become one as well. He pivoted to face Hermione, a girl he had known since she was in nappies. Simmons came to attention again and saluted Hermione. "Ma'am, according to UNIT Emergency Directive One, command of UNIT troops fall to the Doctor if the TARDIS is sighted on Earth. If he is unavailable, command slides to his current Companion if they are present," he told her formally.
Hermione blinked a few times in shock before she hesitantly returned the salute. She was saved from having to say anything back by Rory's cell phone ringing. He pulled it out of his front pocket and read the caller ID, "The TARDIS". "I have to take this call," Rory told Simmons. He flipped open the phone and answered it. "Hello," he said simply.
"Hello, Rory. I just wanted to see if it was safe to come out of the TARDIS yet," the Doctor said through the phone. "I remember how angry Amy can get and I don't much fancy getting hexed by Hermione," he stated truthfully.
Rory looked first at his wife and then his daughter. "I don't think the Granger women will string up by your dangly bits if that is what you are asking," he chuckled. Hermione rolled her eyes and Amy stuck her tongue out at him.
"Good, I'll be out as soon as Jack and I finish securing Malfoy," the Doctor replied before hanging up on his end.
A few moments later, the doors to the TARDIS opened and the Doctor stepped out. He shut the doors behind him, leaving Jack to look after the twins and Malfoy on the inside. The Doctor's smile faltered when he saw the UNIT soldier standing in the doorway. He sighed and then made his way towards his girlfriend and her family.
From the looks the strangely dressed young man was getting from the Grangers, Simmons realized he was in the presence of the Doctor. He snapped to attention and saluted for a fourth time since arriving. He was stopped from saying anything by the Doctor waving his hand dismissively and saying, "Don't... just don't."
Simmons dropped his salute and muttered, "Damn." He smirked at the Doctor's raised eyebrow. "We have a rather sizeable pot going with the whole thing for whoever gets you to return one of our salutes," he explained. Holding out his hand, he said, "Lt. Timothy Simmons. I'm proper Captain Granger's second in command." the Doctor shook his hand as Amy punched Simmons in the shoulder. "Ouch!" he exclaimed, rubbing the sore spot with his hand once the Doctor let go.
"Tim refers to me as 'proper Captain Granger' and Amy as Captain Granger because I was promoted first," Rory explained, chuckling lightly.
"By five bloody minutes," Amy complained in a joking way. Her mirth fled when she saw the haunted look in her old friend's eyes. She had no idea the Doctor now knew who had come up with the names "Dave and Proper Dave" prior to his first meeting with River Song at the Great Library; the meeting that led to the death of Amy's daughter.
The Doctor looked down the street and saw the UNIT soldiers moving aside for a black SUV with tinted windows. "Now what?" he moaned.
"Uh-oh, look busy... it's the boss," Rory said to no one in particular. The SUV stopped next to the house and a tall, black woman with cocoa colored skin got out from the back seat. Like the others, she was dressed in the black combat uniforms of UNIT. Rory noticed that Doctor was now trying very hard to keep his smile hidden.
Brigadier Winifred Bambera walked up to the small group standing right outside the blasted front door. Her penetrating stare roved over her field operatives, Hermione, and the strangely dressed young man. She shifted her gaze back to Rory. "Report," she ordered.
Rory glanced back into the house where four bodies lay. "The terrorist group we told you about finally decided to attack us," he replied. "Amy and I were forced to terminate four out of the five terrorists, however their leader is still alive," he told his boss.
Bambera looked over at Amy in surprise. The Scottish woman's temper was legendary at UNIT. The fact that any of the Death Eaters who attacked the Granger home were still breathing was something of a miracle. "You let one live?!" she asked, not quite sure she heard Rory correctly.
"Not by choice," Amy replied, glaring at the Doctor. He in turn managed a weak smile back. The Doctor had faced Satan himself on a planet suspended on the event horizon of a black hole, but the thought of an angry Amy made him want to go run and hide in the TARDIS again.
Bambera noticed the byplay and chuckled. "No matter, I will gladly take the scum off your hands and drop him down a hole in one of our undisclosed holding locations," she offered.
"I'm sorry, Ma'am, but a non-magical facility won't hold Malfoy for very long. All he would have to do was apparate out of there and there would be nothing you could do to stop him," Hermione explained. Considering her parents seemed to trust this woman, she decided to ignore the Statute of Secrecy. Besides, she figured the true mission of UNIT was as secret as the Wizarding world was so it wouldn't really matter.
Bambera frowned for a moment. "Apparate? I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with that word," she told Hermione.
Rory decided to jump into the conversation. "Think of it as a magical trans-mat field," he suggested.
"Oh, I see," Bambera replied, nodding her head. "Is there a distance limit for this type of transportation?" she asked Hermione.
Hermione thought for a moment and did some arithmancy calculations in her head. "It really all depends on the power of the wizard or witch casting the spell," she stated. "However, the theoretical limit is 900 km and I doubt even Harry could pull that off," she said.
Bambera smiled at the group. "Well that won't be problem then," she said happily. "I was planning on using one of the holding cells on the lunar base," she said with a conspiratorial wink.
Hermione and Amy had matching malicious grins. Rory held up his hand and said, "All in favor of dropping Malfoy on the moon." Everyone but the Doctor raised their hand.
"As tempting as that is, I'm afraid I can't release him into UNIT custody just yet," the Doctor told the group. "I want a chance at interrogating the young man first," he said, not telling the whole truth.
Bambera gave the young man an intimidating glare. "Perhaps you should wait for the Doctor before making any decisions," she said coldly. Her frown relaxed into something similar to a smile. "I must say, this is a new experience. I've never met a male Companion before," she stated. To her amusement, the young man in the tweed suit coat looked gobsmacked. Bambera turned her head from side to side before asking, "Where's Ace by the way?"
The Doctor found his voice finally. "She's probably back at our temporary headquarters with her fiancé right about now," he replied.
This caused Bambera to blink rapidly in surprise. She had faced down Morgana with the teen pyromaniac and the Doctor just 6 months ago. The energetic young woman didn't seem like the person to settle down. "Fiancé? What does the Doctor think about that?" she wondered out loud.
The Doctor smirked before answering. "I'm thrilled actually," he replied. "I hope they tie the knot soon so that I'll be around to walk her down the aisle," he added.
Bambera's mouth opened in surprise as she finally caught on to who the young man really was. She, like all UNIT members, had been briefed on the Doctor's ability to regenerate. "Doctor? What happened?" she inquired. "It's only been 6 months since I last saw you," she added.
The Doctor grabbed Rory's wrist and looked closely at his wristwatch, paying careful attention to the date. "Oh… that's right, I forgot I was here already during that time," he stated. "I'm sorry, Brigadier, but it's been something like 200 years from my perspective," he explained.
Bambera looked over at Simmons and the Grangers. "You lot already knew, didn't you?" she asked, knowing the answer before she asked the question. The three officers looked anything but contrite. "Why do I put up with you three?" she asked rhetorically, shaking her head.
"Because we're charming and have a real talent when it comes to dealing with aliens," Simmons joked in reply.
Bambera glared at Simmons and softly muttered, "Your yearly evaluation is coming up, Lt. Simmons"
"And I'll be shutting up now," Simmons said hastily, causing everyone, including Bambera, to chuckle.
The Doctor stepped forward to stand in front of Bambera. "Now that we have who I am settled, I'll repeat what I said," he stated. "I have uses for the young idiot in my custody," he said, looking directly into her eyes.
Bambera looked back into the eyes of this much younger looking Doctor and saw the devious chessmaster she had known in his 7th life. She nodded, accepting his authority in the matter. "As you wish, Doctor," she told him formally. "But as soon as you're done with the terrorist, I will have my pound of flesh for him attacking two of my troops," she promised, steel in her voice.
The Doctor nodded once in acknowledgement. He clapped his hands, startling everyone. "Right, well I'll leave the cleanup to you, Brigadier," he announced. "The Grangers and I will be heading off," he told her.
"It's pretty much what UNIT was set for up for - cleaning up after a certain alien," Bambera teased. She turned to place a gentle hand on Hermione's shoulder. "Before you go, would you mind demonstrating how a magical person 'apparates'?" she requested. She had been briefed on the existence of the magical world, but apart from what she saw Morgana do, she had never witnessed magic in person.
Hermione smiled at the older woman and then stood on her toes to kiss her boyfriend on the cheek, causing him to smile. "I'll see you back at Sirius' place," she told him before turning slightly in place and disappearing in a brief flash of light.
Bambera's eyes shot over to the elder grangers. She wasn't sure what was more shocking: a human able to spontaneously teleport themselves or the open display of affection between Hermione and the Doctor. Rory noticed the shocked expression on his boss' face. "I guess we might have forgotten to mention that our daughter is dating the Doctor," he said sheepishly.
Before Bambera or Lt. Simmons could respond, the Doctor took Amy and Rory by the elbows and shepherded them towards the TARDIS. He snapped his fingers and the front doors opened right before he shoved Amy and Rory inside. "Until next time, Brigadier," he called out over his shoulder as he rushed inside before shutting the doors behind him.
Once inside, the Doctor pointed over towards the twins. "Amy... Rory, have you met the Weasley twins?" he inquired.
"Only in passing at platform 9 ¾," Rory replied.
The twins walked over and shook the Grangers' hands. "Hello, I'm Fred..." George said.
"And I'm George," Fred said, completing their customary introduction.
The Doctor looked up from the control console and made a switching motion with his hands. The twins sighed and switched places. "It's creepy how he can do that," Fred muttered. "I'm actually Fred," he sighed and reached out to shake their hands again.
Jack came sauntering back into the control room and beamed his famous smile at the twins. "Just so you two know, I plan on eventually being able to tell you two apart," he told them.
Taking the bait, George asked, "And how do you propose to do that, Jack?"
Jack smirked for just a moment before saying, "Close, personal inspections of course." He walked further into the room and then froze, looking straight at Rory. "Roronicus?!" he asked in disbelief.
"Jack?!" Rory replied.
The Doctor glanced over and blanched at the surprised stares Rory and Jack were giving each other. "Oh Vortex, please no," he prayed, covering his face with his hands. He wasn't sure he could deal with the sorid image that popped into his head.
Rory looked up at the Doctor and then his face grew red. "NO... no... it wasn't like that," he stated, knowing of Jack's usual behaviors. "We became friends when he stopped by the Museum in 1908 in the other Universe," he said quickly. "Friends... that's it," he insisted. "After we took care of a dinosaur that popped into the art wing, we went out for a pint and swapped stories about you," he told the Doctor.
Jack strode forward and grabbed Rory's hand in a Roman style greeting. "Things were pretty boring in that Universe, so I dropped by every five years or so to have a drink with the one guy who remembered the regular Universe," Jack added.
"How is it that you can remember the other Universe?" Rory inquired, perplexed. He thought the only ones who could remember where him, Amy, River, and the Doctor.
Jack's smile faded slightly. "Fixed point in time and space," was all he would say. "Since we are asking personal questions, are you still an auton?" he asked Rory.
Rory hesitated for a split second before answering. "Nope, human as they come," he replied, telling a half-truth.
Tired of being left out the conversation, Amy stuck out her hand. "Amy Granger," she said introducing herself.
Jack took her hand and kissed her knuckles. "Captain Jack Harkness," he purred.
"Jaaaaack!" Rory and the Doctor said in unison.
Jack smirked again and then whipped his head around to look at the Doctor. "Grangers? As in Hermione's parents?" he blurted out.
"Yes, Hermione is our daughter," Amy told Jack.
Jack blinked a few times. "Leave it to the Doctor that when he finally decides to start dating again, he choses the Last Centurion's daughter," he muttered. "Way to go, Doc," he praised his old friend.
Fred raised his hand as if in class, not wanting to be rude. "Um... Jack, what did you end up doing with Malfoy?" he asked.
Jack jerked his thumb back over his shoulder towards the hallway he had just left. "Since the Doctor doesn't have any jail cells on the TARDIS, I stashed Malfoy in a broom closet," he stated. "Considering the hateful looks he was getting from you guys and the Doctor when I led him away, the tough part will be getting him out again," he added.
George looked at Fred who nodded slightly, letting his brother take that obvious straight line. "Trust us, Jack. If there's anyone who can convince Draco Malfoy to come out of the closet, it's you," he said with a straight face.