AN: I think I have a pretty good idea of where I'm going with this, so the only thing left is to write it. I'll try to keep this moving as fast as I can, but knowing me I can't make any promises.
Enjoy Chapter Two!
"This had better be quick. Remus will be here soon and things would not turn out so well if he saw me talking with Barty Crouch Junior," Sirius said sternly, leading the stranger into the shadowed kitchen.
"Didn't we just go over this? Look, I'm not this Barty bloke or whoever you're talking about," the stranger said, slightly exasperated.
"But no one else knows that. Hell, I don't think that I'm fully convinced myself. But either way you had better start explaining things." With a flick of his wand Sirius set the stove to warm up the half empty tea pot that Sirius had left there and motioned for the stranger to sit down.
"Where do you want me to start?" the man asked cheekily.
"Well, if you're not Barty Crouch, who exactly are you? And how did you find this place? Unless Dumbledore's told you the location of this place there should be no way that you could have made it here."
"Oh! Right, introductions. I'm called the Doctor," the Barty look-a-like began, but anything else that he might have said was cut off by a scoff from Sirius.
"'The Doctor'? What, like the Muggle version of a Healer? What kind of name is that?"
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "You should know that what someone is called does not necessarily have to be their name, Padfoot," he retorted.
Sirius's eyes widened. "How did you-"
"I know a great deal more than I let on. Far too much. But that happens to be beside the point."
Sirius frowned a bit. "Fine then. You're some knowledgeable guy who just happens to look exactly like one of Voldemort's most loyal followers. But why are you here? Did Dumbledore send you?"
"In all honesty I have never met the great Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, though I daresay that I would like to. Maybe once I've got all this sorted out-"
"So basically, you're saying that our Secret Keeper didn't disclose the location of our headquarters to you," Sirius summarized.
"In a stretch of the imagination, he has, but either way I think you'll find that your wards and enchantments do not quite work on one of my kind. I think the tea's done," the Doctor added after looking over to the steaming kettle.
Sirius flicked his wand sourly and let the tea pour itself into two cups, which set themselves down by the gentlemen.
"Right; on top of all the other crazy things you've got going for you, you're not even human!" Sirius's voice had begun to take on a rather exasperated tone. "And I don't know of any creatures that resemble humans so precisely. What exactly are you?"
"Time Lord," the Doctor answered simply. "And, as it turns out, we're not too incredibly different from wizards."
"Oh yeah? How so?"
The Doctor pursed his lips for a moment, as though unsure of how to explain. Finally, he took in a breath and asked, "What do you know of the origin of magic?"
Sirius frowned. "Not too much. The exact point where wizards separated from Muggles is unknown; it probably happened too long ago to have been recorded in history. Why do you ask?"
"Well then, I think it's time you got a bit of a history lesson." The Doctor paused, took a sip of his tea, and began speaking once more.
"The origin of magic in this world does transpire long before history could accurately record it, you were right about that. Back before true civilization began several small family groups discovered something rather odd to their eyes. Standing alone in fields or concealed in forests stood rather large stone arcs, which held up what was described as something similar to the surface of a flowing stream, though the ripples were colored instead of clear like water."
"Wait a minute, how do you know all of this?" Sirius interjected.
"I'll get to that later," the Doctor assured, before taking another sip of tea. "Anyway, these arcs were not new to this world; they had been there for a while, but only recently had been found."
"And what were these… arcs?"
"Breaches in time." Sirius's expression changed from uncertain curiosity to plain befuddlement. "You see, this world had been the center point of cracks in the fabric of time nearly since it formed. Abnormal quantities of temporal power would constantly leak out of any hole possible, and once released that power would latch onto certain genetic structures.
"How that power would be used, though, depends on the genetics. Many creatures developed strange qualities and evolved into entirely new, magical species. Some humans also received a dose of time, as it were, but they found ways to harness that power and use it in a much more controlled fashion."
"So, basically, you're saying," Sirius began reluctantly, "that whenever I cast a spell, I'm tapping into the power of time? Even when that spell has nothing to do with time at all?"
"Precisely." Sirius still looked stricken for a moment, but then shrugged slightly and took a sip of his tea. "It's a funny thing, time. Wherever you go it never quite works the same."
"And how do you fit into all of this?" Sirius inquired sharply, wanting to get straight to the point.
"My kind evolved in a way similar to wizards; we were exposed to raw time energy and adapted it into our biology. But while your adaptations were more diverse, my species had a more time-oriented approach." The Doctor paused, his mouth half open as if to go on, but then quickly changed the subject. "But the Time Lords aren't what matter in this case; it's you lot. Something doesn't feel quite right here-"
"Oh, like the fact that Voldemort's back, tried to kill my godson and is now setting out to conquer the entire world, magic and Muggle? I didn't need the likes of you to tell me that," Sirius interjected hotly.
"No, no, it's not that!" The Doctor shook his head. "I know of all of your troubles here and now, but I'm talking about something different; something that likely happened as the world of witchcraft and wizardry was just getting itself together."
"And what does that have to do with me?"
The Doctor's reply was cut off by footsteps emanating from the hall, and then a third figure entered the room that they were discussing inside of.
"I think I'd like to know that as well, along with everything else that's happened since I left," Remus said, his wand raised and pointed at the Doctor.