Chapter 7

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The next afternoon Rose was nearly at the Fat Lady's portrait when it swung open and Donna strode out, grumbling to herself. "Honestly, that boy's head would fall off if it weren't attached to his neck."

"Donna? You okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine. There's nothing I like more than to be pulled out a conversation with David bloody Morgan, who I've fancied for four years, just because my idiot uncle can't be bothered to be careful about where he packed his books."

Rose blinked. "What happened?"

"He was talking to me! And then this bloody key heats up and it turns out John needs his copy of Memory Spells: the Practice and the Premise, which he mistakenly packed in my trunk." She was gesturing angrily, and Rose ducked away from the silver chain that was swinging from her hand.

"What is that?"

"What?" She calmed a little, and looked at her hand. "Oh, this!" She tucked it into her pocket quickly. "It's nothing." Rose raised a skeptical eyebrow, and Donna sighed. "Fine." She looked around the hallway and pulled her hand out of her pocket. Resting in her palm was a plain silver key, but as Rose watched a tiny script drifted over its surface.

She peered closer as they walked down the hallway. "That's amazin'!"

Donna's look of irritation faded a little, and she smiled proudly. "Yeah, it is rather good, isn't it? I showed the Doctor my DA coin a while back, and he wouldn't rest until he'd figured out a way to make somethin' like it for himself." She sighed. "I think he just wanted a way to communicate—it gets a bit lonely for 'im in Slytherin. Thankfully Koschei's stopped bothering him as much this year, the little wanker." She looked forlornly over her shoulder at Gryffindor tower. "I'm happy to help 'im out, but still. This is David Morgan we're talkin' about."

"He's one of the Gryffindor Beaters, yeah?"

She nodded dreamily. "And blimey, does it show. He could probably bench-press me with one arm."

Rose wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, I guess. I've never liked the really bulky type, myself." Donna snickered, and she bit her lip. "I was just thinkin'—if you wanted to go back and talk to David Morgan some more, I could take the book for you. I was gonna meet up with the Doctor later anyways." Donna opened her mouth and Rose hurriedly added, "To work on homework."

At that, Donna laughed outright. "Somehow, I'm gettin' the impression all this studiousness is a new thing."

"Well, it's my O.W.L. year an' I haven't been at Hogwarts for three years. If that doesn't merit workin' hard, what does?"

"Right. That's why you're so eager to run my errands for me." She shook her head, smiling, as Rose protested, and handed her the book. "Here you go. He'll be in the library, he said."

"'Kay." Donna turned and hurried back into Gryffindor Tower, and Rose bit her lip as she smiled down at the heavy, leather-bound book in her hands.

She found the Doctor in the alcove they'd been working in the day before and cleared her throat. He spoke without looking up. "Donna, is that you? Good. I've been working on this spell for ages, and I simply can't seem to get it to work—Oh." He blinked up at her. "You're not Donna."

"Nope. Hope ya don't mind."

"No, not at all!" He grinned. "Back for more history lessons?"

"Nah, I'm all caught up on that, thanks to you. Was thinkin' I'd work on some Defense homework, though. I like Professor Smith, but she's a bit hard."

The Doctor paused after he pulled out his books and looked into space. "I think my dad knows her. He's mentioned a Sarah Jane Smith before, and Professor McGonagall did hire her from the Aurors. Plus, she has been watching me in class."

"Right. 'Course she's watchin' you, not, y'know, monitoring the class."

"I'm serious! She keeps an eye on me. Maybe she can't help it—animal attraction, you know." He waggled his eyebrows ridiculously at her.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Yeah, maybe like a ferret."

His jaw dropped. "A ferret? Rose Tyler, I'm insulted. If anything, I'm a... a fox. That's it. Foxy, that's me."

Rose snickered and bit her lip. "If you say so. Essay first, d'you think?"

"Sounds good to me."

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Rose leaned back and sighed, rolling up her piece of parchment. "Y'know, some days I wish they'd learn the wonders of a good spiral-bound notebook around here."

The Doctor glanced up at her and grinned . "Professor McGonagall probably wouldn't have a problem with it, but the parent's council would pitch a fit."

"God, they would. It's so stupid." She sighed and pulled out her star charts. "Blimey, but I hate Astronomy. Turns out a flat in south London isn't the best place for star-gazing, so the year's barely started and I'm already well behind. There are just so many blasted constellations—I don't know how anyone keeps 'em straight. It's going to take forever to memorize them."

"Oh, no! Stars are fascinating. Wilf's been teaching me about them since I was a kid. Yeah, they're these enormous hunks of gas and fire, but that's not what makes them matter. There are so many stories written in the night sky, all just waiting to be read." He leaned back in his chair. "Can you even imagine how utterly huge the universe is, Rose? You look at the night sky, and the same stars that tell the story of an ancient archer or a forbidden love are made up of light that's travelled thousands or even millions of years just for us to see. It's incredible."

She wrinkled her nose. "'S a bit scary, when you think about it. All that space out there, all that time, an' you're just the one person on one planet, livin' one little life."

"But that's what makes it so incredible, don't you see? No matter how enormous the universe is, no matter how many other worlds there are out there, you're the only one that will ever see it through your eyes."

Rose chuckled a little breathlessly. "Blimey, is there anything you're not fascinated by?"

He paused and frowned thoughtfully. "Well, Donna tried to get me into EastEnders last summer. It didn't work." He paused, looking at her. "Actually, why don't we put the homework aside for a bit? There was a something I wanted to show you."

"All right."

He stuffed his books into his ever-present satchel before catching her hand and towing her out of the library, a wide grin on his face. She followed him through the long corridors and down twisting staircases, smiling the whole way. After the fourth time he paused to get his bearings, she spoke up. "So, what is it we're lookin' for?"

He waggled his eyebrows. "It's a surprise."

She smiled at him, widening her eyes. "Come on, you can tell me."

"Nope. And there's no need for you to flutter your eyelashes at me, I'm completely immune." She leaned into him, resting her chin on his shoulder and looking up at him through her eyelashes, and he made an odd squeaking noise. "Completely." He cleared his throat to bring his voice down from the alto range, his cheeks reddening. "Oh, look, here we are."

Rose looked around them and raised her eyebrows. They were standing outside the Hogwarts trophy room, the walls lined with plaques and photos.

The Doctor spoke carefully, watching her face. "Last night I was thinking about what you told me, about your dad." Her eyes snapped back to his face, and he smiled nervously down at her. "His name sounded familiar to me, but I couldn't think why. It came to me this morning, though." He tugged on her hand, leading her into a small corner. There was a small cabinet of trophies there, golden and silver Wizarding chess pieces about ten centimeters high, but above it was a wall of photos of different chess club champions, smiling and cheering into the camera.

A familiar face grinned out at her from a golden frame, his dark blue eyes sparkling. He waved at the camera, doing an improvised victory dance while his friends laughed. Rose raised a trembling hand, staring at him. She knew that face, though he was a bit younger than in most of the photos that were scattered through her mum's flat. "Oh, my god. That's… that's my dad."

The Doctor's voice was quiet, his eyes still on her face. "Peter Alan Tyler, Gryffindor champion of the Hogwarts Wizarding Chess club for four years running."

Rose gasped in a breath, tears streaking her makeup. She'd grown up with her Mum's pictures of her father, stories about him; but to see him like this, laughing and grinning… she turned to the Doctor and threw her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. His arms came up around her after a moment, and she felt him rest his chin on her hair. "Thank you."

She wouldn't swear to it, but she thought she felt him ghost his lips across her hair. "You're welcome, Rose Tyler."

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