A/N: Sorry it's a bit late! Real life invaded for a bit. *Shakes fist*

Chapter 24

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Donna sat down next to Rose the following morning, dark circles under her eyes and a lingering smile on her lips. "Oi, I heard something happened last night."

Rose choked on her tea and grabbed her napkin, wiping up the mess. "Where'd you hear that?"

"Oh, just some of the younger students said they saw Hermione running out with Professor Smith and Martha." The older girl's eyes narrowed. "Now you've definitely got me curious, though. What happened?"

Rose bit her lip. "Nothin'."

"Has anyone ever told you you're a rubbish liar?" She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Nah, they were probably too distracted by the Bambi eyes."

"You ever plannin' on letting me answer, there?"

Donna snorted. "Why bother? Really, though, what happened?"

"It was nothing, just Koschei causing trouble again." She smirked and nodded her head at his empty seat at the Slytherin table. "Good news is, they actually caught him this time."

"Well, it's about damn time! That miserable brat's been causing trouble since he got here."

Rose opened her mouth to respond when the doors to the Great Hall slammed open. A tall man in well-tailored robes strode down the center aisle, and Rose glanced back at the doors to see Harry Potter slink in with a reddened face, taking a seat next to Ginny at the far end of the Gryffindor table.

"Minerva, what's this I've heard about an arrest last night?" The man's voice carried throughout the room, and Professor McGonagall tightened her jaw.

"I really have no way of knowing that, Mr. Coleridge."

He put his hands down on the high table, leaning forward towards her. "Really, Minerva, you must keep me informed of these things."

"I was a bit more preoccupied with the safety of my students. Now if you're going to insist on continuing this conversation, we will have to retire to my office."

He snorted. "Oh, really, Minerva. Surely you have nothing to hide."

Her eyes narrowed. "Now, Phineas."

They retreated out a side door, leaving the student body murmuring behind them. Donna turned to Rose. "Arrest?"

"Not now, Donna." Rose caught the Doctor's eye and bit her lip. If Phineas Coleridge was as inept a leader as Ginny said, he was in terrible danger.

"Oh, no you don't. Not about something important enough to bring the head of Magical Law Enforcement to Hogwarts, and definitely not about something that involves my family."

"Donna." Rose put all of her focus on the older girl, staring her down. "This is something you've got to talk to the Doctor about, not me." Donna opened her mouth, and Rose winced. "Please, Donna. Just trust me on this."

She laughed uncomfortably. "Blimey, what did you two do?" Rose stayed silent, and she paled. "What did you do?"

"We… found out some things." Rose stared at her breakfast—so appetizing five minutes ago—and pushed it away in disgust. She wasn't hungry anymore.

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The summons came as she was muddling her way through the next week's reading for Potions, and Rose set her text down with an odd mixture of relief and trepidation bubbling in her stomach. She'd known she would be summoned from the moment Coleridge had shown up. Everyone who had been in that small corridor would be. But she couldn't let him know the truth, and she couldn't let the others tell him. The Doctor's secret wasn't his to know.

She followed Hermione in silence, her hands rhythmically clenching and relaxing. Hermione glanced over her shoulder and cleared her throat. "For what it's worth, I'm not going to tell him. About the spell's results, I mean. Nothing good could come of it."

Rose closed her eyes in relief, slumping against the wall of the revolving staircase. "Thank you."

She nodded. "It's not his fault, who his parents were." A moment later, she grimaced. "But how did that even happen? Don't answer that."

Rose shook her head. "Whatever you were thinking, I can guarantee it wasn't that."

Hermione sighed. "Well, that's a relief, at least." She shuddered. "Now I don't have to think about it ever again."

They entered McGonagall's study and found her sitting regally at her desk, Phineas Coleridge in one of the chairs in front of her like a recalcitrant child. He was pouting like one, too. Martha was sitting by one of the windows, her legs crossed and her foot jigging in the air. Auror Hopkins was standing next to Harry, her wand held loosely in her hand. Sarah Jane Smith leaned against the wall and the Doctor was sitting on the same small couch as before, now shifted to face the rest of the room. Rose joined him there without speaking as Hermione took a seat across from Coleridge.

He grimaced. "Is this everyone? Goodness, Minerva, it's quite the array."

Her lips tightened. "It may be, Mr. Coleridge, but it's not everyone. Not quite yet." She looked at the fireplace. "We're still expecting the last."

The fire roared high and green, and a dark figure stepped out. Coleridge choked, and Harry's jaw dropped. "Snape?"

Snape winced and turned to shoot an annoyed glare at McGonagall. "You didn't tell me he would be here."

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Severus, really."

Harry had paled until he was almost paper-white. "But… you're dead! I saw you die!"

Snape sneered at him. "Obviously not. Now, were we here to discuss something important, or were you going to waste my time on trivialities?"

Coleridge stood dramatically, puffing his chest out. "I would hardly consider coming back from the dead to be a triviality, sir!"

"Then it's a good thing I was never dead."

Harry still looked winded, and Hermione touched his shoulder gently. "It's a lot to take in, I know."

He spun to face her, and she bit her lip. "You knew?"

"Not the whole time, no." He shrugged her hand off, and she reached out to him again. "Harry, please."

Snape rolled his eyes and stood next to Sarah Jane. "Miss Granger understood it wasn't her place to tell." His eyes narrowed, and his voice was acidic. "Of course, it's not exactly news to me that you have no understanding of privacy."

"Enough." McGonagall rose to her feet, glaring at the room. "We didn't meet here to discuss perceived injuries. We are here to discuss the Death Eater that was arrested within the school walls."

Coleridge frowned and sat, crossing his leg. "Yes, how did that happen? For some mad reason, I had thought that security measures for this school were actually within your purview."

Hermione straightened, her jaw locked tight. "He had infiltrated a decorative firm that was hired for Lucius Malfoy's Valentine's ball. Auror Hopkins did a security check after they entered the castle, and he came up clean. His glamour was top-knotch—it wasn't until he removed it to speak to Mr. Rosier that we recognized who he was."

"Ah, and here we come to it. What was a Hogwarts student doing speaking to a fugitive Death Eater?"

Auror Hopkins cleared her throat. "We believe he was looking to exchange information with them, sir."

Coleridge raised an eyebrow. "Really? What kind of information could a schoolboy possibly provide?"

The Doctor paled, his hand tightening like a vise around Rose's, and Hopkins gave him a cursory glance. "We don't know, sir. They've been mind-locked."

He pursed his lips. "Well, then get the Department of Mysteries up here, then."

Snape pulled out a small silver badge, marked with the insignia of an Unspeakable. "Who do you think it was that ascertained that they were mind-locked?"

Coleridge sniffed. "And none of you managed to hear what information Mr. Lestrange was looking for?"

There was a long pause, and Rose tightened her grip on the Doctor's hand. Martha had been biting her fingernails, and now she was determinedly looking out the window. Hermione stood next to Harry, her face cast in shadows from the fireplace. Snape and Sarah Jane were standing stiffly next to each other, and Celeste Hopkins had taken to idly twirling her wand. Rose cleared her throat. "We interrupted them before they got what they wanted. Sir."

His eyes narrowed. "Is that so?" He stood and began to pace before spinning to a stop in front of the fireplace. "Well, I suppose there's nothing to it. Harry, my boy, I must insist that you stay here under Auror Hopkins and work with her to discover this information that Lestrange was so desperate to get his hands on. Minerva, I trust you will cooperate fully with the investigation?"

Her eyes were like ice. "Mr. Potter is always welcome here, Mr. Coleridge."

"Good. Thank you." He pulled out a pocket watch. "Well, I must be off—meetings to be had, paperwork to be sorted. I'm sure you understand. Always a pleasure, Minerva."

She smiled, though her eyes were cold. "Likewise, I'm sure." Coleridge swept out of the room, and the Doctor finally loosened his grip on Rose.

Harry ran a hand through his hair, disheveling it even more, and Snape snorted. He glanced nervously at him before turning to Celeste. "Right, so. Um… witness statements?"

She raised a dark eyebrow. "Already been taken care of, Mr. Potter." She glanced at Hermione and bit back a smirk. "I'd recommend that you talk to his house elf next."

Harry groaned, and McGonagall stood, pressing her fingers to her temples. "If you have no need of us, Mr. Potter, then this meeting is adjourned." Harry nodded, at a loss for the moment, and the group got up to leave.

Snape and Sarah Jane were behind the Doctor and Rose, and he cleared his throat when they reached the bottom of the stairs. "I believe somewhere to talk in private would be useful—if I might impose on your hospitality, Ms. Smith?"

She nodded and led them back to her office, warding the door after they entered. Snape began to pace, and the Doctor tightened his grip on Rose's hand again. Snape looked up, his dark eyes sharp. "We were fortunate to have the witnesses we did, Mr. Mott. I hardly think Miss Jones is going to betray you, and Miss Granger has quite a bit of experience in evading the wishes of authority. What was revealed in that corridor must not be shared elsewhere. I've set enchantments on Lestrange and Rosier binding their tongues, and if you attempt to share the information, I will do the same to you. Coleridge can never know, both for the safety of the Wizarding World, and for your own." He ran a hand through his hair. "I've been researching what rite Lestrange could have referenced since last night, and only one makes sense: Qualis pater falis filius."

The Doctor's eyebrows drew together. "Like father, like son? But that's just an old idiom."

"Perhaps to Muggles, yes, but the origins are much darker. Wizarding society used to be deeply patriarchal, Mr. Mott—" Sarah Jane snorted in amusement—"and the obsession with the family line springs from that time. In the olden days, if the heir proved unworthy, a rite of transference was performed." He glanced at the Doctor and tightened his jaw. "In essence, the heir's self—mind, soul, whatever you want to call it—would be overwritten by the father's. This is very old magic, Mr. Mott, and it's been banned for so long that few remember that it exists. There are still books that reference it, though, in the old, old collections—collections such as the Black family library. For years, that collection was sealed away from the Death Eaters by the Fidelius charm." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Then Potter and his friends decided that breaking into the Ministry was the logical course of action, and it was no longer secure."

Snape stopped, his profile lit by the afternoon sun. "I will protect you as best I can, Mr. Mott. But your safety depends on your silence." He shot Rose a glance. "That goes for you as well, Miss Tyler."

She lifted her chin. "I'll never tell."

"You might not have a choice, if we can't guard this school more closely."

Rose bit her lip. "D'you think that's likely?"

Sarah Jane cleared her throat, giving Rose an empathetic look. "It's not exactly a secret, how close you and John are."

"Then take it out." The Doctor froze beside her, but Rose forced herself to ignore him. "Make me forget, if it's that dangerous to know."

He spun to face her, his face ashen. "Rose, no!"

She tightened her grip on his hand, facing him with a stubborn gleam in her eyes. "If it'll keep you safe, it'll be worth it."

Snape snorted. "There's no need for the Gryffindor histrionics, Miss Tyler. Removal or alteration of memories is rarely, if ever, worth the bother. As much as it pains me to say this, it would be for the best if you keep your memories of last night. At least then you'll know what you are protecting. Now if you would excuse us, Ms. Smith and I have some strategizing to do. Until later, Mr. Mott. Miss Tyler."

The Doctor and Rose left Sarah Jane's office, and he grabbed her shoulder and moved them into an alcove. "Erase your memory? Have you gone mad, Rose?"

She scowled. "Look, if it kept you safe, it'd be worth it."

"Stop that!"

She blinked. "Stop what?"

He ran a hand through his hair, tugging at it angrily. "Stop putting yourself in danger like that! Do you have any idea what could happen if you were involved in a botched memory spell?"

"I think Professor Snape knows that he's doing, Doctor."

"That's not the point! The point is, you keep throwing yourself in harm's way. How long will it be until you get hurt?"

She tapped him gently on the shins with her foot. "Newsflash, Doctor—it happened already, I got over it. 'M not made of glass, Doctor. I can take a few knocks."

"But you shouldn't!" She stared at him, stunned by his outburst, and he lowered his voice and pressed his forehead against hers. "You shouldn't, Rose. Not for me."

He was silent for a long moment, just breathing, and she reached up and cupped his cheek. "Hey. I care about you, Doctor. I… I love you. And no matter what you think will happen, it's worth it if it'll keep you safe."

He stared down at her, eyes wide and disbelieving. Then he snorted, his eyes crinkling with amusement. Rose backed away, stung, and he reached out and pulled her back to him. "Oh, no no no. Don't be angry, Rose." His lips curled up against her hair. "We're quite the pair, aren't we?"

She pushed herself away from his chest, glaring up at him. "What d'you mean?"

"I mean, I'd go toss myself to the Death Eaters right now if it would keep you safe." She paled, and he brushed her hair back behind her ear. "I love you, too, you little idiot."

She cleared her throat, blinking rapidly. "Gee, thanks."

He winced. "Yeah, that didn't come out right. Sorry." His eyes softened. "You're brilliant, Rose. Absolutely brilliant." He wrapped his arms around her again, and this time she let him. His voice was muffled when he spoke against her hair. "Now please stop dashing away to confront Death Eaters."

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