Sorry for all the late updates recently, my real life schedule's been pretty hectic. This is the big one guys, so without further ado, thanks once again for all the terrific feedback and enjoy!

Dobby's Polka-Dotted Sock

Chapter Five

Rory took hold of his wife's hand, briefly giving it a squeeze before letting go and walking down to the door. Pulling it open he poked his head out to a familiar sight.

"This is it," he called back to them before stepping out fully. The TARDIS had landed on his family's front lawn, a little ways from the house, and so he shielded his eyes as he raised his head to take in the entire towering structure.

"It's not much of a Burrow, then, is it?" The Doctor's voice questioned from behind, and he turned to see his friend leaning out of the doors and looking around. He was shoved unceremoniously out of the way as Amy pushed past to get her own look at their destination.

"Woah," she breathed, looking up just as he had. "How's it standing up? Is it magic, too?"

He blinked, glancing back once again at the haphazardly stacked floors, only now realizing how much even he, a Squib, had taken for granted. "Er, yeah. There's enchantments on the building to hold it up."

Of course the curious Scottish woman did not dwell too long on that as her eyes darted this way and that to take everything in. "Is that a henhouse? You've got chickens, Rory!"

"Yeah, we keep a couple," he agreed, unable to help the smile spreading on his face at the sight of her excited exploration.

"And quite the garden," River remarked, joining the two of them. "If that is supposed to be a garden."

"Oh, well, mum knows where everything is in it, even if we don't," he laughed a little, "At least when the Gnomes haven't overrun it."

"Wait, you have real Gnomes?" Amy asked. "Like, real, living Gnomes?" He nodded and she gave an incredulous laugh of her own. "What else?"

"Curious relatives, that's for certain," their daughter answered for him, nodding to the front door. Rory turned to look at what she had pointed out and saw his mother and Ginny standing in the open doorway, observing their little group with no small amount of confusion.

"Oh, um, just wait here a minute," he instructed, half-jogging up the dirt path to the second mother-daughter pair. "Hey mum, Ginny," he greeted, trying to keep as casual as possible. "Here for Sunday dinner."

"Rory, dear," his mother stepped forward and pulled him into one of her crushing hugs. "How nice. It's been ages since you've been able to stop by; you know, I think that hospital is working you too hard."

"I take whatever shifts they need filled, mum," he reminded with just a hint of exasperation. They always had to go through this routine each time he visited.

"Speaking of 'they'," Ginny interrupted, redirecting the conversation as his mother released him, "who are your friends?"

"Oh. Uh, well," he stammered, suddenly unsure how he wanted to approach this. Telling his fiery yet largely unflappable wife he had a whole entire family was one thing, but introducing his wife to his mother? That was another thing entirely. He looked back over his shoulder to see Amy and River standing close together, talking quietly and obviously watching.

"Molly dear, Ginny, who is it?" His father's voice asked, and he looked back to see the older man making his way down the front hall. He smiled back in greeting as Ginny spoke.

"Just Rory, dad, but he brought a couple ladies," she waggled her eyes at that, but his mother's eyes widened with a dawning realization that only seemed to grow as Arthur raised a hand and waved to the redhead waiting on the lawn.

"Rory, why is—" he started, but the Weasley matriarch cut him off.

"Oh my—is that her? Arthur, is it her?"

"Amy and I talked," the nurse stated plainly, deciding to just put everyone on the same page. "And I told her about everything. About magic, about you all—and she wanted to meet you. So here we are." His mother was now on her toes peering over his shoulder to get a good look.

"She certainly is pretty isn't she? Set some more places at the table, Ginny."

"Sure mum," the youngest of the Weasley clan agreed, grinning at him before hurrying back to the kitchen, likely telling all the others who had finally come to dinner. He began bracing himself for the onslaught of questions and no doubt embarrassing stories about to be revealed.

"I wish you'd Floo'd ahead or something, dear, I would've made more food," his mother was saying now.

"I'm sure there's plenty. And, er, I'm not part of the Floo Network, mum."

"And the house—it's such a mess, how embarrassing," she continued to fret and he simply shook his head. "Not that we don't want you to come for dinner, but first impressions are important, Rory."

"Did the Doctor bring you?" His father got his own question out at last, nodding at the blue police box sitting at the edge of the lawn.

"The who?" His mother demanded in bafflement.

"Yeah," he answered, glancing back and frowning slightly. Amy and River were still talking to each other and looking around his old home, but the Doctor had not joined them. In fact, the doors of the TARDIS were now closed, and unless the alien had wandered around the house to investigate he was still inside. "Listen, I'm going to bring them to the house now—and I'm sure it looks fine, mum." That said, Rory returned to his wife and daughter.

"So?" Amy inquired as soon as he was within hearing range.

"We're just in time for dinner," he replied simply, knowing this would reassure her. "Ginny's setting some extra plates—she's my sister—but, er, where's—"

"The Doctor?" River finished for him with a knowing look. "In the TARDIS."

"Doctor?" He called uncertainly, and after a moment, the door opened and his friend's head stuck out.

"Yes? Something you need, Rory?"

"What are you doing?" He decided to make it as blunt as possible. Still, the Time Lord's brows furrowed.

"Well, I thought it'd be best if I waited- let you Ponds and Weasleys have your dinner-thing…or not," the other male trailed off at the end as all three Ponds shook their heads.

"As you so eloquently pointed out earlier, Sweetie, we're married," River stated.

"So get out here, you're meeting them, too," Amy added, marching forward and yanking him over the threshold by the arm.

"Oh, I am?" He seemed rather alarmed at the prospect, tugging on his collar with his free hand as Amy dragged him forward. "I hadn't really thought- not sure that's a great idea- don't really do family dinners."

"You had Christmas dinner with us last year," Rory pointed out.

"Well, yes," he conceded, giving a nervous laugh, "But you're Ponds. It's different."

"If Rory's Mr. Pond, then that just makes them more Ponds," Amy reasoned, releasing his arm finally. "Look, Doctor, if you don't want to, you don't have to. But I'm just as scared as you are, yeah? So if I'm doing it, it can't be that bad."

"You already know my dad," Rory added as well, "So that's one down, sort of."

"It'll be more exciting than sitting in the TARDIS for a few hours, dear," River said, and at last the Doctor sighed, nodding his head.

"Yes, yes, you're all right. Ok then, family dinner. Can't be so bad. Lead on, Mr. Pond," he swept his arm towards the house and Rory took up the lead, once more heading up the path to where his parents both waited.

"Right, well, you already know dad," he started, looking from one group to the other. "This is my mum. Mum, this is Amy, River Song, and the Doctor."

"Pleased to meet you, Mrs.—er—Weasley," Amy greeted, holding her hand out. His mother, of course, merely opened her arms and enveloped the younger redhead in a hug.

"Oh, it's Molly at least, my dear. I'm so happy to finally meet you—Arthur and Rory have told us so much about you."

"Arthur…?" His wife repeated as she stepped back before her eyes landed on his father. "Oh- right. And to think I've been calling you Brian this whole time," she half-joked, and the older male chuckled along with her.

"You can keep calling me Brian, if you like. Amy, we're so happy to have you in our home," his father smiled and hugged her as well. He then turned to the Doctor and offered his hand, which the Time Lord shook. "Good to see you again, Doctor."

"And you, Brian."

"Are these two friends of yours?" His mother asked him, indicating the alien and his daughter. Rory and Amy exchanged a look.

"Er…in a way," he hedged, not sure this was a conversation for their front stoop.

"Well come in, come in, the more the merrier!" They all followed her inside and he heard her remark, "I don't remember that blue box being outside- did you bring that home from work, Arthur?"

"No dear, it's—"

"I'll just have Bill move it after dinner, it's a bit unsightly, don't you think?"

"I'd really rather you didn't, ma'am," the Doctor piped up from the back, but it was likely she didn't even hear him as she'd entered the kitchen. Rory felt Amy's hand slip into his as they went in as well.

His siblings and their significant others, in some cases, were all sitting around a long table, and everyone looked up as they came in. A grin came to Bill's face almost instantly and his older brother leaned to the side to whisper something in his incredibly beautiful wife's ear. Percy was studying each new arrival with interest and nodded at him in silent greeting. George gave a little wave, Ron swallowed down a mouthful of food before beginning to talk quietly with an obviously curious Hermione Granger, while Ginny and Harry Potter himself listened in.

Arthur, or Brian depending on perspective, cleared his throat. "Everyone, Rory has brought a very important guest to dinner." Amy shifted a bit on her feet under the scrutiny, as it was clear she was the indicated very important guest, and Rory stepped forward.

"Um, well, I'd like you all to meet my wife, Amy," he introduced, and instantly the noise level exploded. Bill and Fleur were the first to approach, and his older brother greeted the Scottish woman warmly.

"Glad to meet you at last, Amy. I'm Bill, the eldest of this motley crew you see here. This is my wife, Fleur."

"Roree was ze best man at our wedding. I am 'appy to meet ze source of 'is own 'appiness."

"Thank you," the redhead among redheads responded, and it did not escape his notice just how well Amy fit in here.

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Percy," his younger brother introduced as Bill and Fleur moved on to River and the Doctor.

"Just 'the Doctor', mate?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Doctor- zat eez a Muggle term, eez eet not?"

"Well hello there, I'm George. Good to see Rory's decided to stop being all mysterious," his second-youngest brother welcomed. "How about we offer this lovely lady and her friends a seat instead of making them stand around all day? Budge up, Ron."

"There's plenty of room," the youngest Weasley male rolled his eyes, but scooted down, and Rory soon found himself smushed between Ron and Amy, with George on the other side of his wife. River slid into a seat neatly next to the one-eared man, and began making up two plates of food, one presumably for her husband who was still chatting with his ponytailed brother, though they had wandered past and now stood before the highchair occupied by young Victoire.

"She's starting to eat more solid foods every day," the proud father was telling the Time Lord as his friend crouched down to get eye level with the baby.

"Well that's good; she thinks the baby food tastes rubbish."

"What?" Fleur asked, perplexed.

Rory leaned back in his chair as Ron reached a hand across to shake Amy's. "I'm Ron, good to meet you. This is Hermione."

"Thanks, good to meet you both," his wife replied with a little laugh, clearly overwhelmed.

Hermione smiled, though she seemed to share somewhat in Amy's sentiment. "I didn't even know Charlie- sorry, Rory -was married."

"Well, yeah, I am," he replied, sighing before continuing, "And I don't actually live in Romania, either." The way everyone else in the family talked, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter were going to be new additions sometime in the near future, so they might as well get the whole story.

"Wait- you don't?" Harry asked, looking shocked.

"Nope. I'm just a nurse at a hospital," he revealed, starting in on his food so that he missed the baffled looks being sent between the so-called Golden Trio.

"But, the dragons—" Hermione protested.

"Just a cover story," he dismissed. He felt a hand rest on his shoulder and turned to see the Doctor standing behind him, his other hand placed on Amy's.

"Sounds like an exciting one. I have to admit, Rory, I've always wanted to get a good look at a dragon. What do you two say?"

"Of course you want to see dragons," Amy rolled her eyes. "I'll bet you're all excited we can travel to all the dangerous magical places, too."

Rory chuckled a bit, but his laughter slowly died down as he looked up and saw the table's only raven-haired occupant studying the Time Lord.

"But, you- I remember—it had to be you! I mean, you look exactly the same, but I swear you—"

"Best not to worry about it, Harry," the alien interrupted, flashing a smile before sitting down next to River at last. "My, this does look delicious!"

"Oh, thank you," his mother said from down the table, turning away to pick up her conversation with his father.

"I can't help but be curious," Percy spoke up across the table, "But what exactly do you mean by 'travelling to dangerous places'?"

"Er…" Rory looked at his wife, then at the Doctor and his daughter. "That's what we do in our free time. We travel."

"And how is that dangerous?" Ginny asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, we never intend it to be that way, it just sort of…happens." He trailed off at the end as he realized the whole table had gone completely quiet.

"Dangerous?" His mother repeated the word and he couldn't hide his wince.

"Only a little," he offered somewhat lamely, knowing how futile it was. As he predicted, Molly Weasley began to panic.

"Well what sort of danger? How can being a Muggle Healer be dangerous? Why do you come into danger?"

Rory was at a loss to explain in satisfactory terms, still unsure of just what he was going to tell his family and how, but he was not the one who spoke. "I'm afraid that's my fault, ma'am." The Doctor's gaze was downcast and almost ashamed. "That blue box on your lawn, it's mine; I use it as transport, and sometimes Amy and Rory come with me. And then something dangerous always happens." He was wringing his hands together in his lap and still had not looked anyone in the eye.

"Well, yeah," Rory agreed, and then added, "Except the bit about it being his fault."

The Doctor's head snapped up and he opened his mouth as though to protest, but River laid a hand on his shoulder. "Don't argue, Sweetie; if they don't blame you, they don't blame you."

"I'm not sure I agree," his mother stated, her cheeks beginning to redden, and several of his siblings cringed in preparation for the verbal assault about to befall the Time Lord. But the eldest Weasley woman was interrupted by her own spouse.

"I do," his father spoke calmly, and she turned to him agape.

"Arthur!"

"I've seen what the Doctor does- what Amy and Rory do, Molly. And yes, it isn't always the safest environment, but he does not intentionally lead people into danger. Because of him, my eyes have been opened to the unbelievable things our son can do, and not what he can't. And that is an incredible gift."

"But- but—"

"If you have to be angry at anyone, Molly, it's me," Amy suddenly said, and both he and the Doctor turned to her, stunned. "If I wasn't married to Rory, he wouldn't be travelling through time and space in a box."

"But it was my choice in the end," he broke in firmly, wanting to make this clear at last. "I like the travelling. I like the adventures. It's just a part of who I am- who we are, as a family." Amy took hold of his hand under the table, a tiny, genuine smile flitted across the Doctor's features, and River nodded.

His mother looked torn. "I- I understand. But oh, why must you all worry me so?" She turned away from the table and wiped furiously at her eyes, and the rest of them returned to their meals, though there was a heavy feeling of discomfort among them.

Hermione quietly, almost timidly, broke the silence. "I'm sorry- but Amy, before, you said 'travelling through time and space'."

"Er, yeah, I did," his wife replied, nonplussed.

"Well that's impossible," the younger woman elaborated, and Rory's eyebrows rose. "I mean, you can't travel through time and space at the same moment. It's one or the other."

"Is it really?" The Doctor asked, and he was grinning as though at a private joke, one that the Ponds shared in as well. "Then tell me—Hermione, was it?" She nodded and he continued. "What are you doing right now?"

"I'm eating," she responded, clearly uncertain as to where this was going.

"Exactly. Your arm travels back and forth from the plate to your mouth as the seconds and minutes tick by. Simply by eating, by living, by breathing, by being, you are travelling through time and space! To be alive, Hermione, that is itself a combination of movement and the passage of time." He was gesturing wildly now and Rory was frankly surprised that the alien hadn't jumped up from the chair in his excitement. River was nodding along; he supposed the professor in her—the future professor, rather—approved.

Ginny scoffed. "Well that's great, but why do you need a box to do that?"

"You don't. The box is for travel between much greater distances, across the entire universe," his eyes lit up like they did whenever he talked about such things, the big picture that they were a very small part of.

"Oh now that's ridiculous," Percy pushed his glasses up his nose. "There's nothing across the universe to travel to."

"You just haven't discovered it yet," the Time Lord dismissed.

"Of course not, mate, there's no way to get there," Ron said, a smile on his face as he shook his head. The Doctor merely gave one of his long-suffering sighs that indicated the person was endearing, really, but they just weren't using their brain. Rory used to elicit such a response quite often, and so was able to recognize it almost instantly.

"Not for humans in the twenty-first century, no."

"Are you saying you're not human?" Harry asked. When his friend nodded, George actually laughed.

"Oh very nice one, Doctor whomever, but a weird name doesn't make you an alien. You're going to have to try a little harder than that to fool us."

"He's really not trying to fool you," Amy attempted to intercede, and when the man next to her continued to look skeptical, she added, "He's the most alien thing I've ever met, and trust me, that's saying something."

"I'm choosing to take that as a compliment, Pond," the Doctor remarked, but both he and she were grinning.

"Appearance eez not everything, George," the blonde quarter-Veela remarked, and his brother actually seemed to contemplate that logic.

"But aliens?" Bill continued the debate. "Fleur, there's never been aliens on Earth. And the Muggles have barely got past Mars."

"Oh don't say never, Bill," the Doctor scolded. "Wouldn't Muggles say there's no wizards on Earth? And yet here we are in a house that defies physics, the dishes starting to wash themselves, and a sweater being self-knitted with a great big 'A' on it—I'm guessing that's for Christmas, Amy—and you're telling me I can't be an alien who travels through time and space?"

No one spoke for some time until the eldest Weasley stated, "I met dinosaurs on a spaceship."

And just like that everyone was talking over each other, questions flying back and forth, with no one giving answers because they were too busy yelling across the table.

"Alright, that's quite enough," his mother announced. "Enough, I said!" The hubbub quieted down to a dull murmur. Rory took that as his cue to actually be heard.

"So you see, that's just one of the reasons why we travel."

"Anywhere and anywhen," Amy added for him. "And yeah, it can get dangerous, but we've seen the most amazing people and places and things."

"Like what?" Ginny asked, always eager to hear exciting tales.

"Well…" he exchanged a glance with his wife before simply deciding to take the plunge. "Like River." His daughter's eyes widened, but a hint of a smile curved her lips upward. The rest of his biological family looked somewhat confused and even in some cases disappointed. It wouldn't stay that way for long, he was sure. "It's really complicated and honestly you wouldn't get half of it anyway, but…she's our daughter."

"What?" He wasn't sure who or how many of them said it, but the shouting began anew, and this time his mother did nothing to stop it. Instead, she contributed to it.

"Merlin's beard—daughter! My grandchild! Arthur, we have another granddaughter—oh, let me look at you, dear—" River was being swarmed by more than just the Weasley matriarch, and though she was tense she was handling it very well. He noted also that the Doctor had scooted his chair ever so slightly closer to her, so that the archeologist was not alone in the throng. Rather brave of him, as the oldest female redhead was now wrapping the curly-haired woman in one of her infamous hugs.

"So, is she your daughter from the future, then?" George half-joked, and he didn't even know how to answer the question.

"How about that; you've got a full-grown daughter before mine is even able to talk!" Bill exclaimed, seeming dazed yet also amused by the situation. He had to grin back at his older brother at the strangeness of it all.

Hermione was frowning a bit as she addressed River. "But if you're older than them, why are you travelling with them? Wouldn't you want to be with your parents at the right age?"

They were innocent inquiries, yet he still felt saddened somewhat. Sometimes he still wanted that- most times, really. But at the same time, he couldn't imagine giving this up.

"It's the best arrangement, all things considered," his daughter was saying, expertly dodging that problem. She smirked as she quipped, "And since my husband insists on sticking around with these baby-faces, there's not much I can do."

He chuckled good-naturedly along with Amy, but the Doctor paled and almost looked fearful as Molly's eyes darted back and forth the short distance between the two Time Lords.

"Goodness me, I never thought—a grandson in-law—when was the wedding? How long have you been married?"

"A day," River supplied promptly, just as the Doctor replied,

"Oh, about a century."

"Really?" River turned to him, seeming both shocked and delighted at the prospect. When her husband nodded, she remarked, "Well, you've got loads more experience than I do, honey."

The Doctor shot back in his seat, letting out something between a squawk and a squeak as he gestured toward the red-haired mother, and grandmother, who stood before them. Of course, while she seemed a little thrown by the differences in their answers, she did not take offense to her newest granddaughter's insinuations, instead seeming to choose to put the male of the pair under scrutiny.

"Well, he is charming, that's for certain," she evaluated, "though a bit jumpy. Put the arms down, dear, that's better," as she spoke, taking hold of the Time Lord's fidgety limbs and settling them back on his lap, River looked on, quaking with the effort of containing her giggles.

George leaned forward in his seat to get a good look at him. "So you're telling me we've got an alien for a nephew?"

"Yep," he nodded.

"Only in this family," Percy commented dryly. He glanced down to the head of the table to see his father looking extremely surprised, and yet as Rory watched, the older man nodded to himself, seeming to simply accept the new development.

"Is your married name River Doctor, then?" Ginny was asking, she and Fleur appearing to have joined his mother in assessing their niece's choice in spouse.

"Oh, he's Doctor Song, if anything."

"So that's why Rory's got a problem with it."

"Oh come on, River, you can't both be doctors named Song," Amy was reasoning, "How confusing would that be?"

"Thank you, Pond—"

"He could be Doctor Pond, we haven't got any of those. Or Doctor Weasley- there's just something whimsical about you Raggedy Man."

"I beg your pardon—"

"The point is," Rory finally cut in, knowing his wife was merely trying to wind their friend up. And it was working. "That's most of the reason why we travel. It's something we all love- the whole family."

"Well, that's what matters in the end," Arthur Weasley smiled, and everyone quieted and retook their seats. "Amy, River, Doctor—thank you for joining us today, this family."

"Thank you," all three murmured back. People began talking amongst each other then, and Rory turned to his wife before someone else could draw him into conversation.

"I'd like you to see something after dinner. The Doctor and River, too," he said softly into her ear.

"Sure," she nodded, giving him one more smile before turning to speak with George, who had just tapped her on the shoulder. Rory found himself in a conversation-almost interview with Ron and his two best friends, while River was laughing at something Ginny had said and the Doctor appeared to be trying to describe just what was meant by 'all of time and space' to practical Percy and also producing a set of toy blocks from one of his deeper-than-they-should-be pockets for Victoire. His parents looked on with fond smiles.

And somehow it didn't feel strange or uncomfortable. It felt right.

That isn't the end, but there you have it. The Weasleys and the Ponds have collided. I really hope this chapter lived up to expectations; it's been forever since I've written for Harry Potter characters, and there were like five billion of them. At any rate, thank you so much for your patience and for reading, and please leave a review!