Chapter 7 – Mystery
Late that night, the trio were discussing the day's events, with Professor Smith being the main topic as usual. They were seated in their favourite armchairs around the fire, with Harry soothing his right hand in a bowl of Murtlap Essence after enduring another of Umbridge's horrific detentions.
"I'll bet Malfoy wasn't happy," Ron was saying. "Smith didn't even flinch at Umbridge. He even sounded as if he wanted to be inspected! Weirdo."
"I don't know about you, but I thought he was horrible. Speaking over the top of me, when I was trying to tell the class how gravity was actually created." Hermione sniffed crossly.
Ron rolled his eyes. "Alright, Hermione. Please tell me that, if gravity was created fifteen thousand years ago, what happened before then? Did people just float around?"
Hermione hesitated. "I'm sure there's an explanation somewhere in the Library," she said eventually. "I'll have to look into it later."
Ron stood up. "I give up, Hermione. Are you ever going to understand that books don't have all the answers? Or that books aren't always right? Remember Lockhart?" he said, shaking his head.
Hermione flushed. "Fine, Ronald, I'll show you that books are always, always right. And while we're on the topic, did you hear how old Professor Smith said he was? One thousand, three hundred and thirteen! No one can be that old, it's not possible."
"Maybe he has a Philosopher's Stone," Harry said thoughtfully.
Hermione snorted. "Sure. That would mean he was born in the – oh, I don't know – the seventh century or something, which means he couldn't have created a Philosopher's Stone, because Nicholas Flamel didn't make his until the thirteen hundreds! And all instances I could find in the Library said that Flamel was the only maker of one anyway!"
"Books again, Hermione," Ron said sternly. "I seem to remember that the book actually said that Flamel was the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone. What if Professor Smith managed to hide the fact that he created one?"
"But...but," Hermione sounded close to tears. "The Stone doesn't prevent ageing, if Professor Smith had created one, he'd be an extremely old man by now! He's a liar, and I'm going to make sure everyone knows it!"
And she stalked off to the girls' dormitories without another word.
"It's Rita Skeeter all over again, mate," Ron said, sighing.
"Great," Harry replied glumly.
Ron stood up. "Well, I may as well go to bed. Night, Harry."
"Night, Ron," yawned Harry. As Ron disappeared up the stairs, he closed his eyes and slowly dozed off.
Thud!
Harry's eyes shot open. What had woken him? He swore that moments before, a wheezing, groaning sound had interrupted his dream, but already the memory was hazy. Glancing around the Common Room, he could find no object that was the cause of his interrupted sleep. Hesitating for a split second, he got up and made to open the portrait hole.
"Ssh, old girl, you might have woken half the castle!" a voice whispered.
Harry froze, hand outstretched, ready to push the portrait of the Fat Lady. Someone was just outside!
"Let's see if you managed to land in the right place for once," the voice grumbled. "Lumos! ...Not bad, old girl, this looks like the seventh floor corridor, you only overshot by six floors!" said the voice, impressed.
Harry slowly pushed the portrait open enough to peek out, and managed to catch a glimpse of wand light before it went out.
"Oh, you don't like dealing with a completely new field of energy, do you?" the voice said, frustrated.
Harry frowned as the soft clink of metal was heard; apparently the owner of the voice was tapping something against his hand. But wouldn't that be his wand? If so, why did it sound like metal? Harry was confused.
Eventually, the tapping ceased.
"Fat lot of good you are," the voice said crossly. "I'll need work on your ability to cope with unknown particles. As for you, old girl," the voice said softly. "I'll come and get you in the morning. I'll just pop inside and make you invisible."
Suddenly, the corridor was illuminated by a soft green light as the wand tip sparked and started glowing. Harry gasped softly as he realised who the owner of the voice was. It was Professor Smith. He was standing next to the blue box from classroom six, and he held a strange, copper coloured device in his hand.
'That's not a wand', thought Harry. 'It's got a green bulb on the end and it's a lot bigger!'
Harry continued to stare in shock as Professor Smith frowned at the device in his hand, and entered the blue box, closing the door behind him. Breathing heavily, Harry slowly closed the portrait hole and turned around.
"Ah!" he cried in surprise. Hermione was standing in front of him, frowning. "What are you doing here?" he asked her.
"I woke up and remembered that I hadn't put out the hats for the elves. Doesn't really matter anyway, they've already cleaned the room. But what were you doing?"
"I was, uh, looking through the portrait hole."
"Well, obviously," huffed Hermione. "But what at?"
"Come and see," replied Harry, gesturing at the hole.
Hermione pushed the portrait open slightly and looked out at the pitch black corridor.
"What am I meant to be seeing?"
Harry stared out as well. "Bother, he's gone. Hang on." He extracted his wand from his back pocket. "Lumos," he said, and the corridor was lit again.
"Harry," Hermione said softly. "There's nothing here. You were probably sleep walking."
"I wasn't sleep walking, Hermione!" Harry said, climbing through the portrait hole and inspecting the corridor. "Professor Smith's blue box was right – ow!"
Harry hit the floor and stared up at the empty space in front of him. "I hit something, but nothing's there!"
"Must be invisible," Hermione said curiously, looking closely at the spot where Harry and fallen.
"It won't be for long!" Harry said confidently. Clearing his throat, he raised his wand. "Specialis Revelio," he said. Instantly, a blue box shimmered into the visible spectrum.
"It is Professor Smith's box!" Hermione cried. "How on Earth did it get here?"
"Dunno," admitted Harry. "When I – hey!"
The air around the box sparked a few times, and the box disappeared again. Harry and Hermione exchanged glances.
"Nothing can resist Scarpin's Revelaspell," Hermione said quietly, looking hungrily at the space where the box had been. "Professor Smith must know very advanced magic to charm the box to be able disappear again."
Putting her arms out in front of her, she walked cautiously to the spot where she thought to box would be.
"Ah, got it!" she said as her hand hit an invisible surface. "But – oh!"
"What?"
"The box – it's vibrating!"
"Rubbish," scoffed Harry, but he moved forward anyway.
"Here," said Hermione, placing his hand where hers had been. To Harry's surprise, the box was vibrating, just as Hermione had said.
"Must be connected to a power supply somehow," Harry muttered thoughtfully.
"How? Hogwarts isn't connected to the power grid."
"Hmm. Maybe we should try the spell again, to see if there was anything we missed."
"Good idea."
"Specialis Revelio," said Harry, and the box once again shimmered into existence.
Hermione narrowed her eyes, determined to take in every detail of the box before it turned invisible again.
"There!" she cried triumphantly. "There was a keyhole, which means -"
"That we can use alohomora to get inside!" finished Harry. "Good idea!" He quickly locked his eyes on the keyhole, and a second later the box sparked a few times and became invisible again.
Harry raised his wand and pointed at the spot where the keyhole had been a few seconds ago. "Alohomora," he said confidently
Click!
Harry turned to Hermione, grinning in triumph. "Wanna go in-"
Dong! A dull ringing sound interrupted Harry.
"What was that?" he asked, eyes scanning the corridor for signs of life.
"Dunno," Hermione replied, looking curiously at the space where the box was. "It seemed to come from the box..."
Feeling his way forward, Harry put his ear against the box and listened. "Nothing, just a faint humming sound and the vibration we felt earlier – what the?"
A bright light streamed from the invisible keyhole, forming into...
"Professor Smith?" gasped Harry and Hermione in surprise.
"This is Emergency Programme Eight," the image of Professor Smith said. "A foreign object or force has been detected in the locking mechanism. The locking mechanism has now melted. Locking mechanism regeneration will occur in twelve hours."
The stream of light stopped abruptly, and the image disappeared.
"What the bloody hell was that?" asked a familiar voice.
Harry and Hermione whirled around to find a bewildered Ron standing in front of the Fat Lady's portrait, pointing a figure at the space previously occupied by the projected image of Professor Smith.
"I dunno," Harry said. "Some sort of projection I guess. Anyway, what are you doing up?"
Ron looked slightly embarrassed. "Well, if you must know, I had a really bad nightmare about those spiders in the Forbidden Forest. When I woke up, you weren't in your bed, so I came looking. You won't laugh will you, Harry, Hermione?" he pleaded.
"No, of course not, Ron," Hermione said sympathetically, glaring at Harry, who was trying to stifle his amusement.
"So," said Ron, walking forwards. "What are we all out here for?"
"Professor Smith's box is right-"
Crash!
"There," Hermione finished lamely, as Ron stood up, rubbing his head.
"Professor Smith's box? What's it doing here? How is it invisible?" Ron asked.
"We think Professor Smith brought it here," explained Harry, "but we're not sure how it's invisible, only that it's -"
"Impossible," muttered Hermione.
Harry frowned. "No, only that it resists -"
"No no," Hermione interrupted again. "That projection, it was a hologram!"
"A what?" asked Ron, confused.
"A hologram, basically, it's a three dimensional projected image. It doesn't have to be displayed on a two dimensional surface in order for it to be viewed."
"O-kay, so why is that impossible?"
"Because as far as I know, neither wizards nor muggles have invented them yet."
Silence.
"That is a problem," Harry admitted.
Ron shook his head. "Not it's not. Hermione, you're wrong again, wizards have invented a holo-whatsis, they're called patronuses. You know, the way you send messages with them."
Hermione massaged her temples. "Hmm, yes, now you mention it, that does seem like the logical solution. Must be tired."
Harry wasn't convinced. "Hang on," he said. "Even if it was a patronus, Professor Smith would have needed to cast it himself. And I don't think he's in there, he would've come out by now, we've been making too much noise."
"Too right you have," grumbled the Fat Lady. "I've been trying to sleep!"
Harry ignored her. "And if he's not in there, that means he's found a way of artificially producing a patronus!"
"Now that's a problem," Ron said seriously.
Hermione mulled it over. "Well," she said finally. "I really want to know what's going on here, but we also need the sleep, but I get the feeling that if we go to bed, the box won't be here when we come down for breakfast."
Harry and Ron looked at each other. "Invisibility cloak," they said simultaneously. Harry quickly rushed into the Common Room to get it.
Four hours later...
The trio were huddled in the corner to the left of the Fat Lady, under the protection of the invisibility cloak. Ron was snoring on Hermione's shoulder, and Harry had found a rather comfortable niche in the brickwork to rest his head upon.
Ron emitted a particularly loud grunt, and leaned further on Hermione, unintentionally pushing her onto Harry, who fell over, waking them all up in the process.
"Urgh, Ronald, get off!" Hermione said in disgust, pushing the red head away. "Look, you've drooled all over my shoulder!"
"Yeah, well, it was comf – I was asleep," Ron corrected hurriedly, wiping his mouth.
"Sssh!" Harry whispered. "Someone's coming."
Sure enough, footsteps could be heard coming down the corridor. The trio quickly adjusted the invisibility cloak, making sure it covered every inch in them. Harry had just pulled his foot under the cloak when Professor Smith appeared in their field of vision. He didn't look happy.
"Who's gone and fiddled with your locking mechanism, old girl?" he muttered, taking his wand out of his pocket. A green light emitted from its tip, and a whirring sound began.
'Just as I thought,' Harry said to himself. 'That isn't a wand at all!'
Suddenly, Professor Smith's box shimmered into existence, causing the trio to gasp softly in surprise. A beam of light shot out from the light on top of the box, and quickly formed into a holographic representation of the corridor. Professor Smith moved so that his back was facing the trio, blocking their view of the hologram.
"What's he doing?" Ron whispered.
"I can't tell," Hermione replied. "If only he'd move."
Nothing happened for several minutes, but eventually the beam of light stopped.
"You know," said Professor Smith, loud enough for Harry, Ron and Hermione to hear him clearly. "It's ever so handy having a camera in the light on top of the box. It records," he moved swiftly over to where the trio sat under the cloak, "everything." He pulled the cloak off them with a flourish.
"Hello Mr Potter, Miss Granger, and Mr Weasley. You've been out late tonight."
All three gulped.
"Err, you see, Professor," Hermione began, "we were just..."
Professor Smith raised an eyebrow. "Having a little camping trip out here? Not likely. No, I think you were doing something with my box."
"We tried to get in, sir," Harry admitted.
"Yes, I thought so," said Professor Smith, twiddling his unusual wand in his hand before putting it back in his pocket.
"Professor, what is that?" Ron blurted.
"My wand," Professor Smith replied shortly, before spinning on the spot and walking over to his box. "You know, I was quite prepared to let you off for being out late at night," he turned and faced them again, "but since you tried to get in here," he patted the box. "Detention."
Hermione was scandalised. "Sir, you can't give us detention simply for trying to get into your box! That barely warrants a warning!"
"I was under the impression that I dictated whether or not you received detentions, Miss Granger." Professor Smith replied coolly.
"Yes, but-"
Professor Smith moved forward and put a finger on her lips. "No buts. Just accept and move on. It's worked so far for me, and believe me, it's had to."
Hermione finally lost her self control, and demanded, "Who are you, Professor, really? You look thirty, but you say you're over one thousand years old. You've got an old blue box that can project holograms, and you give us detentions for being curious. Who are you?"
Professor Smith smiled sadly. "This face, I know, looks no older than a thirty year old. But see these eyes? They're old eyes, older than you could imagine. Now, Harry, Ron and Hermione," he said (all three registered the use of their first names), "forget me. I'm just your eccentric science teacher with a weird blue box who," he looked pointedly at Hermione, "judging by your reaction in class, teaches lies. That's all you know."
"Now," Professor Smith declared. "You three better get off to bed before everyone realises you've gone. Remember your detentions, you'll hear from me again soon."
"Yes, Professor," the trio replied sullenly, walking over to the Fat Lady's portrait.
"Mimbulus mimbletonia," Ron shouted, and the Fat Lady woke up. After giving them a lengthy scolding, she finally swung open, allowing them entry to the Common Room.
The Doctor watched as the portrait closed. Cursing himself for deciding to leave the TARDIS out in the open, he took out his sonic screwdriver and activated it, causing the TARDIS to silently dematerialise. Pocketing the handy device, he whistled quietly as he walked back down the corridor, knowing that he'd find the TARDIS parked in its usual spot in classroom six.
'Revival from amber sleep...completed. Commander, all crew are now ready for duty.'
"Excellent," hissed the Commander.
'Sonar scans of the surrounding area indicate the ship has crashed in a large body of liquid. Volume analysis indicates the amount of liquid is suitable for the skarasen to be released.'
"Excellent," the Commander repeated. "Release it."
Author note: And so the mystery begins to develop! Who or what is the skarasen? What will it do now that it's released?
If anyone's wondering why the Doctor didn't check on the TARDIS as soon as Harry and Hermione accidentally activated Emergency Programme Eight, it's because it was one of those rare occasions where he was asleep, and the signal from the sonic screwdriver wasn't loud enough to wake him.
Replies to reviews:
Ralph Waldo Picklechips: Oh, I have no doubt that the Doctor will have more than 12 regenerations, but the point is, in-universe, the Doctor doesn't know that (as far as we know!). And it's definitely Matt Smith, and the Doctor definitely sounds like Matt to me; I can't detect a whiff of David at all. Like I said a few chapters ago, I suppose it's all subjective.
wmwhitewolf: Thanks!
SuOmAlAiNeN92: This story is set pre-series 7, so he's still technically travelling with the Ponds. The reason he says he's in his 1300s is because I refuse to go along with his current age as given in the programme. (He was over 900 in his sixth body, for crying out loud!).
Yes, so do I, I'm really looking forward to him. My dad actually said he looked like an older David Tennant!
Thanks! The main enemy will be the same, don't worry!
Insanityisgood25: SPEW stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. I wouln't be too hard on yourself, I think the full title's only mentioned once or twice in all seven books! I will say that I enjoyed writing the Doctor/Umbridge conflict. Umbridge's fate is very satisfying!
Henny14: 12 regenerations, 13 bodies, actually! ;) And like I said above, I have no doubt that we'll stop at the 13th Doctor. But the idea that, now the Time Lords are gone, the Doctor has unlimited/extra regenerations is only fanon. I won't endorse that theory until it is explicitly stated in the actual tv series.
Thanks! Updates are always four days apart, barring unforeseen events.
XDcat: Thanks! And you think my story's almost as detailed as the HP books? Quintuple thanks!