Chapter 4

"There's some sort of lunatic outside!" shouted Ron, dragging Rory through the front door of the Burrow. "Mum, Dad? Are you awake?"

Molly and Arthur Weasley, followed by Fred and George, barreled down the stairs, wearing a variety of pajamas and dressing gowns. "I looked in on Fleur," said Molly. "She's still asleep."

"Let sleeping Veela lie," said Ron.

Soon everyone was standing in a semi-circle around the square depression in the grass where the blue box had Disapparated. "I can't believe I missed it," said Ron, frowning.

Rory stared down at his bare feet and tried not to feel disappointed. For a brief moment, he had entertained the fantasy that perhaps he was special in a way that didn't label him a cosmic loser, but now that the Doctor was gone he felt angry at himself for indulging in such a thought that could only lead to resentment.

"This doesn't resemble any Muggle device I've ever seen," said Hermione, examining the sonic screwdriver. "It responded to magic as if it were a wand, but it obviously isn't one of Ollivander's. And there are no known charms that can turn a Muggle object into an Apparating vehicle. I think we are either dealing with extremely arcane magic, or that man is not from this planet."

No sooner had she said that then a loud wheezing noise began, and the hazy image of the blue box began to pulse back into existence in its previous place. Everyone took a few steps back, and more than one wand was held at the ready. The door opened, and the Doctor poked his head out. "Witches and wizards and Squib –oh my, there are more of you–," he said, noticing the four additional Weasleys. "I present to you, from the fuuuture…the Firebolt Mark 2!"

He leapt from the TARDIS, proudly brandishing a broomstick. "Capable of accelerating from nought to two hundred miles per hour in eight seconds!" cried the Doctor.

Harry stepped forward to take a closer look. "Maybe you shouldn't," cautioned Hermione.

The Doctor looked around at all the frightened expressions. "It's just a broomstick," he said gently. "Why are you all so frightened?"

Harry reached out and took the broom, and saw that it was, in fact, engraved with the words 'Firebolt Mark 2'. Without further hesitation, he mounted it and took off. The others all watched as he tore over the gently rolling hills, then up into the sky at an almost inconceivable speed. After several seconds, they caught the faint echoes of his laughter. The Doctor looked at the faces of his friends, and noticed Ginny wipe a tear from her eye. He immediately went over to her. "What is it?"

"I haven't heard him laugh like that in a long time," she said. "There isn't much time for fun, with Voldemort and his Death Eaters out to get him. And it's only been a few weeks since Sirius was killed."

The girl tore her gaze from Harry's distant form and focused on the Doctor. "If you really went to the future just now…do you know what's going to happen? Will Harry…die?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't know. I don't know anything about Voldemort. I just grabbed the best broomstick in the shop."

"What about the past? Can't you go back and kill Tom Riddle as a child, so he'll never grow up into that monster?"

Her tone was so cold and hateful that the Doctor was taken aback. "This Voldemort person, what has he done?"

"He's a very powerful dark wizard. He's killed many, many people, including Harry's parents. There's a war on, Doctor."

Harry landed at that moment, his hair even more disheveled than before. His cheeks were flushed. "It's for real."

Trembling slightly with exhilaration, he handed the broom to the Doctor, who waved him off. "Keep it."

Fred and George rushed forward to check it out.

"What if it's just an advance version of a broom that's in production? This doesn't prove time travel," said Ron.

"I expected skepticism," said the Doctor. "Rory, you're the resident historian, right? Go check that book you fell asleep reading last night. Page 223, I believe."

Rory ran as fast as he could, while still managing to keep his scant dignity, into the house and retrieved the book. He emerged back into the hazy summer morning with an amazed smile on his face. There, on page 223, was a black and white photograph of the TARDIS with the caption: "the Apparating cabinet, an object that caused a flurry of disturbances on Diagon Alley in the fall of 1890, has never been adequately explained." Although the image was slightly fuzzy, and the motion a bit jittery, the Doctor was clearly visible in the corner of the frame, his disguise as a passer-by belied by his impish wink at the lens.

"That wasn't there last night," he announced to the group.

"Are you not at all disturbed by the fact that he watched you fall asleep? Maybe it's a fake page he glued in there-" said Ron.

"Just stop it, already! I believe you," Hermione said to the Doctor, handing his sonic screwdriver back to him.

Arthur Weasley was peering with awe into the TARDIS. "May I, sir?"

"Absolutely! Everyone, c'mon!"

Some were more enthusiastic than others, but they all had a look around the TARDIS. Rory was the last to enter, and the Doctor waited for him by the door, wanting to have a private word. "Listen, there is a girl waiting inside, very eagerly, for you. She will ask you questions about remembering things, like I did earlier. Don't panic, okay? It's all right to be confused, but there's no need to be scared. We're your friends."

For some intangible reason, Rory felt that he could trust the Doctor. He nodded, and they stepped inside. Amy was busy introducing herself to everyone, but when she caught sight of Rory she waved, trying to look as calm and casual as possible, despite her racing heart. At the first convenient moment, when Rory was far enough apart from the others that their conversation wouldn't be overheard, she approached her husband slowly, searching his eyes for recognition. "Rory, do you know who I am?" she asked quietly.

"I think I've seen you…in dreams."

"I'm Amy."

"Amy," he repeated. "I'm sorry…I don't understand what's going on."

"It's all right," she said, fighting the impulse to hug him.

"Why do I want to hug you?" he asked.

She showed him her wedding band. "Do you remember this?"

He took her hand tentatively. As soon as their skin touched, he gasped. "Amy Pond. I'm…Mr Pond. You're my wife."

"That's right. And you are?"

"Rory…Williams. We've had so many adventures together, with the Doctor."

Amy smiled, and shed a few tears of relief. "We've come to take you home."

A look of confusion passed over his face. "I am home. I'm…also Rory Weasley. How can I be both?"

"How can he be both, Doctor?"

The Doctor scratched his head. "The human mind is remarkable, isn't it?" he said vaguely.

"Do you want to come home, Rory? I mean, to our home?" asked Amy.

"Yes. And also, no. These people are my family and friends, and I can't leave them, especially not knowing what's going to happen with Voldemort."

As he spoke that name, the witches and wizards turned to look. They saw Rory and Amy holding hands, and exchanged quizzical expressions. "All right, here goes. This is going to come as a surprise, everyone…" said Rory,"…but Amy is my wife."

Several jaws dropped in disbelief. "Have you gone completely mental?" yelled Ron.

"I'm a time-traveling alien," said the Doctor, with a disarming smile. "Amy and Rory are my companions. Recently, we encountered a sort of tear in space-time, and Rory fell through it. He ended up here, but not as a stranger. He became an integral part of your universe, of your family. All of his memories are real, his life here is real. But he also has an equally real life in a parallel universe, where he is married to Amy."

The silence that fell could only be described as deathly. Rory was the one to break it. "I love you all and I know you love me, even if I am a massive embarrassment…but I think we can admit that I've always been…different. It's not just that I'm a Squib, and that I've been a bit of an inveterate bachelor-"

"More like a monk," Ron interrupted. "I don't think I've ever seen you so much as glance at a girl. I mean, we've got a quarter-Veela succubus stalking the halls, and you don't even seem to notice. I always suspected that you and the family ghoul were-"

"Thank you, Ron," said Rory, face turning pink.

Amy was relieved that she wouldn't have to contend with a girlfriend, let alone a Mrs Rory Weasley, and she found herself awash in a perverse sort of pride. Though she would never want Rory to live out his days lonely and marginalized, she wasn't sure how she would take it if he'd found romantic love elsewhere.

Rory recovered and continued, "Anyway, I'm sure you all remember those weird dreams about ponds, rivers, and doctors I used to talk about incessantly. And I know you've all noticed the obsessive way I search night and day through history, myth and legend, looking desperately for something…for what? Doesn't my oddness make just a little more sense now? I mean, c'mon, I'm the only Weasley who's not ginger."

"But what does this mean?" asked Ginny.

The Doctor spoke up. "Rory belongs in both universes. I've got a time machine, you've got magic powers."

"Is it possible…I mean, if we wanted to…could we kill Voldemort?" asked Harry quietly from somewhere in the middle of the crowd.

The Doctor scrutinized Harry's troubled expression. "I make it a point to try and avoid killing anyone, and as far as I can tell, you lot don't strike me as murderers."

Everyone looked uncomfortable then, and the Doctor saw he was correct in his analysis. They were desperate, but still eager for an alternate solution that wasn't so damning. "I want to help," continued the Doctor, "but I need more information."

"Let's go to Dumbledore," said Harry, with much more confidence.