Series:
Harry Potter.
Subplot Title:
The Meta Crisis.
Summary:
After the events of the Doctor Who episode "Journey's End", where this universe's Donna Noble chose to die instead of have her mind erased... and didn't give the Doctor a choice in the matter.
As this Universe's Rose, stayed as the Bad Wolf, and didn't give up the power. The 10th Doctor left the Meta Crisis with Jack Harkness. Ditching them in the year 2022.
Jack and the Meta Crisis, are almost immediately caught in a potions accident, getting de-aged. Giving them the opportunity to go to Hogwarts... but quickly realize, there is something wrong with the timeline, as too many changes have occurred as opposed to what was supposed to have happen.
CHAPTER:
"Soooooooo," The 10th Doctor Duplicate, grinned at his reflection. "This is new..." and he did love new things.
He was a Meta Crisis, a clone, with a slither of his original's Soul. Although he was spliced together, with human genes as well. Giving him one Heart, and one lifetime.
The Doctor had trusted Jack to look after him. Given, the taint of mankind, made him a bit more genocidal then the Doctor.
The Meta Crisis was prone to permanently removing threats, had no issue with guns, and was compelled to save all innocents... even those that shouldn't be saved.
The Doctor... feared him, and so left him with Jack. Who was recovering from losing the last members of his Torchwood team.
Jack understood, there were differences between the Meta Crisis, and the Doctor... but at the same time, he understood those differences were more like a different regeneration (despite wearing the same face). The Meta Crisis, as far as Jack was concerned, was still the Doctor where it counted.
Looking at his reflection, in the full length mirror, the Meta Crisis couldn't stop grinning. As he saw the child looking back at him, through the mirror. His clothes were hanging off him in clumps, and he was soaking wet in potion.
Jack groaned staring at his own youthful body. "How did this even happen. I mean, I'm a fixed point Doctor. I shouldn't be capable of change."
"You still age though," The Doctor explained. "You're capable of changing, up to a point. It's the same reason you can get drunk. Even how you can get pregnant."
Jack was apart of a human subspecies from the future, that were mono-gendered. They were all technically male, but could become impregnated. They also excreted a powerful pheromone, which most lifeforms in the galaxy found appealing. They even had some control of that pheromone, as a defense mechanism.
"Just think of this as aging backwards," the Doctor grinned studying himself. "I think we're about 10... 10 years, 9 months, 22 days, asaaaaand (sniff sniff)... 9 hours... approximately."
Jack groaned.
"Oi! It's not an exact science!" The Doctor felt the need to defend his guess, not realizing that wasn't what Jack was moaning about.
They could hear crying, with the occasional scream, coming from the next room. As the young apprentice, who did this to them, was being punished. The wizarding world seemed to have more traditional values, and by "traditional" Jack meant old as fuck.
The apprentice was about 19, and currently over his master's knee, getting his bare ass assaulted, by a switch. The old woman sounded like she had some hidden strength.
Jack wished he could say he felt sympathy, for the boy, but given that it was his fault, they were currently prepubescent, he had to admit... he got a bit of satisfaction out of it.
The boy had accidently spilled the potion on them, as they were exploring the shop. He had been to eager, to show his master what he'd done, and wasn't paying attention. Something always goes wrong when you don't pay attention in a potions lab.
Jack sighed. This wasn't how his trip, into the Wizarding market, was supposed to go. The Doctor, the original Doctor, found Jack some years after the Boekind's entire Torchwood team died, and left the Meta Crisis with him. Believing the two of them couldn't get in too much trouble, in this time period. Given all of history was in flux.
The Doctor appeared to have come here, moments after Donna died... less then an Hour from the Meta Crisis creation, and just left him with Jack. With orders to keep the Meta Crisis from committing anymore Genocides.
That adventure, against the Daleks, might have been years for Jack, but it was seconds for the Doctor... both Doctors. With the original prancing off, to continue the fight against the Daleks.
"So what do we do?" Jack asked. "Think this will wear off in a few hours?"
The Meta Crisis frowned, as he sniffed the potion, still soaking his clothes. Sniffing out all the ingredients used, "Interesting... seems to be permanent."
"P-permanent!" Jack yelped, "You mean I have to be a bloody CHILD for the rest of eternity!"
The Doctor smiled, "Oh don't worry, We'll still age properly... at least I will... One moment,"
The Doctor started probing Jack with his fingers, turning his head from side to side, and looking into his mouth. Then he stepped back, and scanned Jack with his Sonic Screwdriver. A parting gift, from the original Doctor.
Looking over the readings, he informed... without pausing for breath. "You'll grow up like you're supposed to as well, but your body will return to aging at a snail's pace, when you hit the age you originally died at."
Jack sighed, "I guess that's better then being a kid for a few hundred years."
The Doctor smiled, "This is just fascinating!" looking back to the mirror. "It's been so long since I was a child."
"Doctor!"
"Right right," The Doctor took another sniff of his clothes, "I think this was the Trotvarious Youth Elixir. The ingredients smell right but," he did another scan on his own clothes. "Yes, yes I see. The magical energy wasn't distributed through the potion correctly."
"Doctor," Jack groaned. "Please make sense."
"The Trotvarious Youth Elixir, doesn't directly age you backwards. I doubt that really would have made much of a difference, with how old we are. Instead it's designed to revert the body back to a specific age. Which depends on the Stirring pattern used. I'm afraid the kid mocked it up a bit. So we're prepubescent, instead of 20 somethings. Still an impressive attempt."
"Impressive!?"
"The fact we aren't dead is very impressive."
The door chimed, and the old woman temporarily paused, in beating her apprentice, as a group of men stepped inside. They completely ignored the "Closed" sign.
They were well dressed, in fancy robes, and carrying Satchels, with presumably important documents inside.
The old woman quickly thanked them for coming, before bringing them to the newly de-aged boys.
"Good evening sirs," one of the men said taking a seat. "Unfortunate business this, but we'll have it squared away. Now please remain calm, and trust in the Ministry. Laws have been passed, for when cases like this happen.
"It was decided that, people in your situation, should legally be treated as children in all aspects. As a result of your emotional range being regressed with you. Mrs Wrognut, since this is her shop where the accident took place, will be paying for your schooling, as well as supplying a monthly deposit in your accounts, until your of age, as compensation. You'll have to pay for your own apprenticeship, if you choose to Apprentice again."
The old woman groaned. Before glaring at her, still crying, apprentice. Whom remained naked from the waist down, in front of everyone. Though he was too busy, rubbing his hide, to cover himself.
Jack was dismayed, his own body didn't respond to the young man's nakedness. He was too young to get horny. This accident was indeed a horrific tragedy, regardless what the Doctor thought.
The old woman was more concerned with her lost gold. "Those ingredients you wasted, already cost me over 300 galleons!" Considering the average wizard made a hundred galleons a year... that was quite a lot.
"Now, I have to pay for 7 years worth of schooling, on top of that!?" She shrieked at her apprentice.
The young man just whimpered.
The Ministry man calmed her down with, "Accidents happen, when taking on apprentices. You're insurance should cover it, if you have all the required permits. We can help you file a claim with the Goblins. All that should happen, is your rates go up a bit.
"This was a fairly impressive brew, even if it regressed them a bit too young. Still impressive for someone his age. I would suggest keeping the boy on, and just watching him more closely. He shows promise as a potioneer, and we could always use more of those."
The old woman sighed, "I hadn't actually intended to get rid of the boy. But I will be taking out the bill on his hide."
"As is your prerogative," acknowledged the Ministry man. While the apprentice cried harder. No doubt panicking at the idea of more to come. His little rear was already a deep red.
The Doctor got everyone's attention. As no one seemed to be talking to them. Rather they were telling them what would happen... as if they really were children. Regardless, the Doctor needed to make something clear.
"School might actually be a bit of trouble for Jack," Informed the Doctor. "He's a squib." that was too important for them to ignore.
The Ministry man looked thoughtful, "Then we'll need to add a magic blesser, to the shop owner's bill for him."
"A Magic Blesser!?" The old woman gasped. "Those draughts cost even more then the de-aged potion to make."
"Be thankful your a potioneer, and can brew it yourself, or you'd have to spend even more on purchasing the potion," he told her. "It's your responsibility to make sure the boys are cared for, until they are of age."
The old woman groaned, rubbing her temple in irritation.
The Ministry man continued, "Well, to a certain extent. As it is, gentlemen, do you have an individual you would like to appoint as your guardian?" giving them their first, and possibly last, choice for a long time.
The Doctor thought on it for only a moment, "Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart."
The man paled, "The former head of UNIT... you... you have ties to him?"
"We work for UNIT," Said the Doctor, "It's one of the few places that hire Squibs," nodding at Jack. "And they pay wizards rather well to," speaking of himself.
The Ministry man groaned. This had just become an incident with the UN if UNIT was involved, "I'll get in contact with them immediately. Can I have your names please?"
"Doctor John Smith, and this is my friend Captain Jack Harkness."
Jack was letting the Doctor do all the talking. It was amazing how easily he blended lies with the truth. John Smith was just one of the Doctor's aliases, one UNIT would recognize.
The Doctor really did work for UNIT on occasion, but not so often anymore. He was a champion of the universe, it's protector and guardian. He couldn't imagine the number of people who were going to laugh their butts off when they saw him reduced to a child.
"Boy," The old woman growled at her apprentice. "Get me a dose of Magic Blesser." Not wanting to make this worse on herself. All wizards had heard of UNIT. They handled most wizarding / muggle relations among other things. They had helped fight against the Dark Lord, and gotten a fierce reputation.
"Y-yes ma'am," The apprentice fled the room.
The old woman looked at Jack, "The potion won't quite give you real magic. It will allow you to manipulate it, in it's raw form, but no real spell casting. Hogwarts has special classes, for Squib students that's families can afford to treat their children. But as I'm sure you know most families don't have that level of coin."
"Yes Ma'am," Jack nodded
The apprentice returned with the dose and handed it to Jack.
Jack looked at the Doctor as if asking 'sure this will work' and at the Doctor's nod he downed the potion. He felt sudden waves of pain coursing through his body, as his awareness began to expand. He could suddenly feel in a way he could never have imagined, and could not explain. The universe itself seemed to change around him, as he felt it in a whole new way.
His heart, Stomach, and even his brain felt bizarre. As he became aware of a secondary circulatory system attached to them. He could feel this system pumping energy instead of blood... the sensation took a moment to get used to.
He stumbled back as it gave him a bit of a head rush. Sighing he looked at the now empty vile, "I've had worse," he shrugged and handed it back to the apprentice.
The Ministry man nodded, "The school will teach you how to make and use runes, and you can use most actual spells through them."
"Got it," Jack nodded.
Inspired By:
• "De-Aged" by "Bibliomaniac".
• "Albus Potter And The Year of The Badger" by "Bartimus Crotchety".
• "Albus Potter and the Black Badger Society" by "Bartimus Crotchety".
Rewrite of my fic:
• "Time Tots and Boekind and Tenza, at Hogwarts, Oh My".
• "American Warts".