Chapter 23

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He stared down at himself, his eyes wide. "No. No, this is wrong. I must've miscalculated the spell, his diagrams weren't right—"

Koschei began to laugh, a harsh, grating noise. "Oh, this is too perfect! Of course it's you!" He leaned forward, his eyes burning madly. "You like to pretend you're better than us, Doctor, but look at what you are. Your bones, your flesh—it's all theirs."

Snape jerked his wand at Koschei, and a thick gag slapped itself around his mouth.

Hermione had stepped forward to inspect the diagram, and she hissed out a surprised breath. On one side was a small bowl of viscous blood, but on the other—on the other, a long lock of curly black hair lay. She raised her eyes to stare at Snape. "This isn't from who I think it is, is it?"

His eyes widened, and he spun to stare at Rodolphus. "What did you do?"

The Doctor was staring at his glowing hands, shaking. "The spell was wrong. The spell was wrong." Rose moved forward to touch his shoulder and he flinched away from her.

Sarah Jane Smith sighed and tucked her wand in her pocket, suddenly looking years older. "It wasn't wrong, John."

Rose spun to glare at her. "You knew?"

"I'm the one who arranged for him to join his family, Miss Tyler." She moved her gaze to the Doctor's face, her face soft with compassion. "His real family."

The Doctor's mouth worked for a moment before he got the words out. "What do you—"

"Enough." Snape's low growl broke through the Doctor's nervous voice, and he glared around at them. "This isn't a story for stray ears, and I'm sure Auror Hopkins would appreciate hearing about tonight's happenings." He spun to face Sarah Jane. "I'd suggest finding a secure location before you continue, Ms. Smith."

She nodded at him. "Good point, Severus. Mr. Mott, if you would join me in my office?"

Rose made a small sound of distress, and the Doctor looked dazedly at her before blinking and straightening his shoulders. "Rose comes along."

"Mr. Mott, the fewer people who know about this, the safer you are."

He took her hand in his own—still glowing brightly—and lifted his chin. "Where I go, she goes."

Snape rolled his eyes. "If the boy insists on being a fool, you might as well indulge him. We have more important things to worry about."

Sarah Jane's lips twitched, and she jerked her head at Rose and the Doctor. "Mr. Mott, Miss Tyler. You might want to stand still for a moment." They did, and she waved her wand over them. A thick haze sprang up around them like a heat wave, and Hermione and Martha blinked and looked aside. "No one should notice you now. Come along, then."

The walk up to her office was quick and tense, and Rose's hand stayed wrapped firmly in the Doctor's the whole time. The door clicked shut behind them, and Sarah Jane released the perception ward before speaking. She sighed and ran a hand through her thick hair. "Tea, anyone?"

The Doctor still looked ill, and Rose bit her lip. "No, thanks."

Sarah Jane peered at him. "John?"

He blinked and stared at her. "No."

"Right." She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and leaned against her desk, crossing her arms. She gestured at the small couch in the corner. "Sit, please." As they did—the Doctor stiffly, Rose with her eyes still on him—she stared at the floor. "This is an old story, and one that not many people know about. I assume you've noticed how many recent Hogwarts graduates have been applying to join the Aurors?" They nodded and she echoed them, nodding thoughtfully to herself. "There were about five times as many signing up by the end of Voldemort's first war. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement was accepting as many as they could, because most Aurors tended to have a short lifespan in those days. They needed the numbers, though, and I was one of the rookies. Then Voldemort vanished, his power structure with him, and the Department was suddenly left with a surplus of eager recruits, most of which didn't fit their standards." She ran a hand over her face. "We were so desperate to fight the good fight, but the war was over. The only thing the Head of the M.L.E. could think to do was to send us off to Azkaban to guard the Death Eaters that the senior Aurors had been steadily picking up."

She grimaced. "When the Lestranges were brought in, Mags bought us a keg of butterbeer to celebrate. We were so sure it was over. We had no idea what they had planned." She paused. "It's true that Barty Crouch, Jr. was one of the first prisoners to ever escape from Azkaban itself. He wasn't the first to break out, though. One of the guards, Phillip Galmotte, was an undercover Death Eater. He'd been converted right before Voldemort's fall, and after his disappearance Galmotte decided to stay incognito. Bellatrix recognized his leanings and convinced him to go along with the scheme—he was a pure blood, after all, and he believed in blood strength above all else. What better way to honor Lord Voldemort than to give him an heir from a house that was fanatically pure?"

She looked up and caught the Doctor's eye. "There's a very old, very dark spell some of the oldest families have used to ensure conception. Coming from the family that she did, Bellatrix was quite familiar with it—and because Lord Voldemort had trusted them so, he'd left them with a vial of blood to be used for resurrection spells. The spells didn't work, though, and so Bellatrix decided to carry on Lord Voldemort's line. I think she meant to present an heir to him when he returned. Two years after they were first incarcerated, Galmotte had finally collected all the ingredients. He set a fire in the maximum security wing and left the supplies for the conception spell outside the fire escape route. By the time we sorted the confusion the Lestranges had already cast the spell, and Bellatrix's glamour was in place."

Sarah Jane stood and began to pace. "Wilf—your dad—had always kept a sharp eye on Galmotte, and he didn't believe that the fire was just an accident. So when Galmotte arranged for a team of Death Eaters to break into Azkaban to retrieve Bellatrix two weeks before she was due, he was already wary. We stopped their assault, at a very dear cost. Four of my colleagues were killed in the battle, along with Galmotte. Bellatrix's glamour was broken, though, and the pregnancy was revealed. The Healers found out about the father when they cast a diagnostic spell, and Warden Jones ordered them to induce labor. After you came out, he told me to leave you at the most remote orphanage I could find. But Wilf had already seen you, and his heart went out to you. You were such a tiny little thing. He convinced me to give you to him, and I've never regretted it." She paused. "He's so proud of you, John."

There was a long silence after she finished. The Doctor cleared his throat. "That explains my nightmares, at least."

Sarah Jane winced. "It wasn't until her talisman was broken that we knew about you. If we had…"

"The Dementors wouldn't have been my roommates?" She winced again, and his voice softened. "How many people know about this?"

"Outside of the people in that hallway? Only your father and I, now. Wilf told his wife when he brought you home, but no one else knew. I created a paper trail after he adopted you, saying that I left the infant at an orphanage in Wales and that he passed away three years later." She smiled, a little morbidly. "He was such a sickly child."

Rose frowned. "Wait, then how did the Death Eaters know to look for him?"

"A good question." The Doctor and Rose jerked their heads around to stare at Snape, and Sarah Jane nodded politely at him.

"Tea, Severus?"

"Black, if you will. Thank you."

She shot a small fireball under her cherry-red kettle and pulled out a small tin of tea. "Did you deal with Lestrange and Mr. Rosier?"

"Would that I could, Ms. Smith. There's an intricate trap set in both of their minds regarding this information, and by the time I'd figured out what it was, Auror Hopkins had arrived." He accepted the steaming mug with a nod and sat down on the chair she offered. "The Department of Magical Law Enforcement is far more nervous about collateral damage than the Department of Mysteries is, I've found. Pity. As for your question, Miss Tyler—I believe I know which spell Bella must have used to conceive. If she'd used the one I'm thinking of, there would've been a slight magical tether that would have told her if you had died. If she were alive, Mr. Mott, there is little doubt that she would have already found you."

Rose bit her lip. "Professor Snape, when we were listenin' in on them earlier, Rodolphus said somethin' about the 'hour of the rite drawing near'. D'you have any idea what he was talking about?"

"Nothing good, I would wager." He took a sip of tea and stared levelly at the Doctor. "There is some small mercy in Bella's arrogance. She kept her plan hidden well, Mr. Mott, and so you have a degree of anonymity." His lips quirked up. "I can only imagine what she must've went through when Lucius' call for an heir was so thoroughly denied. It's no wonder she was always groveling." He paused. "I know you delight in running riot over the rules, Mr. Mott, but these people are murderers and madmen. If you value your life, I'd suggest staying where we can look after you." He looked at Rose and raised an eyebrow. "Which would preclude your midnight excursions with Miss Tyler."

The Doctor nodded woodenly. "Right, yeah. Of course. I understand."

Sarah Jane's eyebrows drew together. "John…"

He looked up, his expression still worryingly blank. "Can I go now?"

Snape rubbed his forehead. "It would be better for you to wait for an escort, Mr. Mott."

The Doctor looked at Sarah Jane. "Can't you just cast the perception spell again?"

She frowned. "I suppose. Without me there to maintain it, it won't last all that long."

"We'll be fine." He took Rose's hand in his and stood, nodding jerkily at Snape and Sarah Jane. "You've been very… informative. Thanks."

Rose forced a small smile at the professors, her attention focused on the Doctor. "Yeah, thanks. Good night."

They left Sarah Jane's office, the Doctor's long legs eating up the distance. Rose hurried next to him, silently thanking the universe for remembering to transfigure her shoes. "Doctor, are you ever plannin' on slowing down?"

"What? Oh." He stopped and rubbed a hand through his hair, rumpling the formerly-neat style. "Sorry."

"It's okay." She bit her lip. "But are you? Okay, I mean?"

Something in him seemed to collapse at that, and Rose looked around and pulled them into an empty classroom. He leaned back against a desk and ran his hands over his face, his voice muffled. "All I wanted was to give you the perfect night. That's all. And then this."

She reached up and cupped his cheek. "Oi, remember who dragged who out of the Great Hall? If you're goin' to blame somebody, blame me."

"No, Rose." He began to pace, pulling painfully at his hair. "I couldn't just be happy with what I have, could I? No, I had to poke and prod until this happened."

"Stop it. Doctor, this isn't your fault."

He laughed harshly. "No? Remind me again, whose spell was it that Koschei used again?"

"The spell he stole from you and gave to the Death Eaters, you mean? 'Cause I don't see how that's your fault."

He snorted. "Of course you don't."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "An' what's that supposed to mean?"

His jaw tightened. "You should go, Rose."

"Oh, no you don't. What happened to 'where I go, she goes'?"

He closed his eyes, his nostrils flaring. "Get away from me, Rose. Just leave."

"If you're goin' to try to push me away just because of who you came from, I swear by Donna's frilly knickers I'll slap you so hard you'll feel it until the day you die."

The Doctor's eyes bugged out. "Rose! Ew!"

She smirked. "Got you listenin', didn't it?"

"Merlin, I'll never be able to unhear that."

"Doctor." His grimace faded, and he stared down at her. "I don't care where you come from. That spell didn't tell me anything that mattered. I already know who you are, and nothin's goin' to change that."

"Rose, my parents—"

"Were a wonderful old couple named Wilf and Lillian. It don't matter who it was that carried you. They raised you." She looked down and blushed. "An' I happen to be rather fond of the you they raised." He let out a deep breath, staring intently down at her, and she bit her lip. "Doctor—"

His lips met hers in a rush, and she made a soft squeak of surprise into his mouth. He wrapped his arms around her, the soft wool of his dress robes brushing against the bare skin of her shoulders. She smiled into his kiss and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. It could wait.

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