Chapter 23 – The Calm After The Storm
Romana was a mixture of emotions from the moment the Doctor's TARDIS landed on at Hogwarts. She would be glad to have a friendlier Time Lord around for company, dealing with the Rani was really testing her patience. Then again the last time she had seen the Doctor they hadn't parted on the best of terms. There was also no telling how far removed from the Time War he was. The battles were still fresh in her memory, would he really was an emotional wreck of a Time Lady with a severe case of PTSD hanging around?
Immediately Romana spotted a dark skinned young woman in a red leather jacket exiting the TARDIS. Even at this distance the Time Lady knew she was human, probably his latest companion. She was quickly followed by a tall, skinny man dressed in a brown suit and long, tan coloured coat. Immediately her mind was filled with the sensation of another Time Lord. That was the sole good reason for having the Rani around, it made her mind feel less empty. She reached out to the Doctor but his mental presence seemed strangely closed off. Frowning slightly she slowly crossed the grass to meet the Time Lord.
The initial conversation didn't go to plan, mainly because the Doctor didn't seem to recognise her. Understandable, she had regenerated but surely he could pick up on her mental presence? Just when she thought the penny finally dropped for the Time Lord, he began spouting nonsense about meeting her in New York. Maybe using The Moment had affected his memory slightly, that was the only logical explanation Romana could come up with. Deciding to try and jog his memory Romana closed the gap, bringing up their shared adventure in Paris several centuries ago. That was one of Romana's most treasured memories, if that didn't work then nothing would.
When that didn't work she reached out both mentally and verbally. Still the Doctor refused to connect with her, instead he was angered by her presence. He began spouting off some self righteous speech about being a Time Lord, like he was more important than anyone else in the universe. The Doctor always had an arrogant streak, more prominent in some regenerations than others, like his Sixth for example. This was something else though, it was like the Doctor actually believed he was better than everyone else.
Her anger and frustration finally bubbled over and she pulled her arm back before slapping him across the face. The blow was harder than even Romana anticipated, forcing her to shake her hand to allow the pain to subside. She coldly reminded him of their last encounter inside the Presidential office, that time she had slapped him too but for much different reasons. The realisation of her identity was slowly dawning on the Doctor but even then all he could say was a small, faint, "What?"
"Really, that's all you have to say after all this time", Romana blew some air out of her cheeks, "and why can't I reach you mentally? Surely you're not closing yourself off to me Doctor".
The Time Lord though still look at her gormlessly, "But, what?" he stammered out.
"Doctor I know you scraped a pass at school but you're more intelligent than this", Romana rolled her eyes, "try and form a cohesive sentence".
She watched on as the Doctor stopped rubbing his cheek for a moment and visibly regained his composure, "Romana how can you be here?" he asked, "you should be dead".
"Charming as always Doctor", Romana snorted, "perhaps this is a conversation we can take somewhere more private". She glanced back to the teens, "Can you escort Miss Jones around the castle", the Time Lady briefly caught Martha's eyes, "that is your real name, correct?"
"Erm yeah", a flabbergasted Martha responded, "Doctor who is this? I don't think she's Hermione Granger".
"No she isn't", the Doctor replied which drew a snort of laughter from Romana. The woman wasn't completely incorrect in her assumption, "Romana's a friend, she's one of my people".
Romana could see another question on Martha's lips but she quickly stopped her, "Harry and Ron can fill you in on some of the basics", she stated. The Time Lady turned to the wizards and added, "Try and remember that you might be from different time periods". A knowing look passed across her face, "Bad things happen to wizards who mess with time".
With the wizards escorting Martha around the ground of the castle, Romana beckoned the Doctor to follow her. They began walking towards the Black Lake as an awkward silence hung in the air. Romana decided that she would have to be the one to break the ice, "I'm sorry for slapping you Doctor", she apologies, "I let my temper get the best of me". The Time Lady sighed heavily, "Been happening a lot lately if I'm honest".
"Must be pretty recent for you", the Doctor stated mutely, "the end of the War". Romana nodded numbly and a look of understanding across the Time Lord's face, "I was angry too in my first few years afterwards. Then again I did think I was all alone", he added with a heavy sigh, "how did you escape Romana?"
"I had help", Romana replied. Something was warning her not to tell the Doctor the full story. Some part of her escape must've been in his future. Near the edge of the black lake she sat down on a large stone and beckoned the Time Lord to do the same, "I can't tell you the whole story because it forms part of your personal future". The Doctor shifted uncomfortably but nodded in acceptance, "The Rani bundled me off the planet, moments before", she couldn't even say 'before Gallifrey burned', settling for , "well you know".
"The Rani?" the Doctor hissed, "she's out there too?" Romana nodded, feeling the simmering anger of the Time Lord, "where?"
"I don't know", Romana shrugged, "she was here not too long ago but she disappeared". She didn't dare tell the Doctor about the Rani's collection of dark wizards she acquired during the battle. Knowing the Doctor like she did, he would probably make it his personal mission to track her down, "I think she's even further along in her timeline than you", she continued, "maybe several centuries".
Romana knew about the rivalry between the Doctor and the Rani. Despite that the pair had still fought together during the Time War, sometimes standing shoulder to shoulder with each other, "How did she seem?" the Doctor asked.
"Strangely muted", Romana began, "like she wanted to be left alone", she added pointedly. The silence continued as they watched the Giant Squid splash around in the water, "When did things become so strained between us Doctor?" Romana asked when she could bare the silence no longer, "we used to be the best of friends". The Time Lord continued to stare blankly across the lake, "Are you angry with me?"
"Course not", the Doctor snorted, "I'm still in shock that you're here. I spent years believing I was the last Time Lord alive, now I discover a couple more survived". The realisation of that fact suddenly slammed into Romana like a ton of bricks. No wonder the Doctor felt so closed off, he wasn't expecting to encounter another Time Lord. As a result his ability to sense each other must've become muted. She watched curiously as he closed his eyes before feeling a familiar presence inside her mind, "I've almost forgotten what it's like, the sensation of another Time Lord inside my head".
Tentatively Romana reached out and grasped his hand. She had only been alone for a few days, the Doctor must've believed himself to be alone for a few years if not decades. To lighten the mood Romana decided to tease her friend, "You said you were nine hundred years old", she began, "when we first met you were seven hundred and sixty one and I know for a fact that more time has passed than that". She watched the Time Lord squirm uncomfortably, "Lying about your age again Doctor?" she teased.
"Yeah well", he began awkwardly, "if you could knock a couple of centuries off, wouldn't you?" Romana sighed at the vanity of the man, "You know as well as I do that the Time War warped the time vortex, we lost and gained so many years that it's hard to truly tell how old I am now". The Time Lady had to agree with that statement, the War made it hard to keep track of events. Some inexperienced Time Lords went mad trying to keep track of a linear time line. "So Hogwarts", she recognised the Doctor's poor attempt to change the subject, "how did you end up here?"
"Not through choice", she reached into her pocket and fished out the old pocket watch which used to house her identity, "recognise one of these".
The Doctor took the object and inspected it closely, "This is a Chameleon Arch", he declared, "never seen one until now. I just thought they were a myth, something teachers used as a threat", he cleared his throat and added in a pompous voice, "if you don't study hard we will drop you on an undeveloped planet with no memory of your own existence".
Romana laughed softly, "I can assure you Doctor that no teacher did that under my Presidency", she carefully took the watch back, "but the Chameleon Arch is real. The Rani used it to turn me human, well a human witch to be precise".
"Why would she do that?" the Doctor frowned.
"No idea", Romana shrugged, "cruel joke probably, I was forced to live as a human child for eighteen years. Eighteen years spent as Hermione Granger to be exact".
The Doctor's eyes widened, "No way", he beamed, "she was always my favourite character in the books". Romana frowned in confusion at the statement, leading the Doctor to explain about the book series that would be published over the course of the next decade. She wondered how the wizarding world would react if they knew their saviour's story was available to buy in the muggle world, "So you helped in the Battle of Hogwarts then?"
"Helped is maybe an exaggeration", Romana snorted, "I tried to stop the bloodshed but I couldn't seal Voldemort away in time".
"Sealed away?" the Doctor asked, "JK's books didn't explain that bit. Then again she also didn't say that Harry Potter's best friend was an alien". Romana smiled, she couldn't imagine anyone being crazy enough to write a story like that, "Could you show me?" he continued, "how you trapped Voldemort away?"
Romana nodded slowly, sharing memories telepathically was easier with another Time Lord. She closed her eyes and allowed her thoughts to flow towards the Doctor. She recalled everything she could, from setting up the gateway through the numerous deaths and all the way to the final sealing. She chose to exclude anything involving the Rani, she really wanted to avoid having a shouting match with the Doctor about the renegade Time Lady. It was slightly cowardly but that would be an awkward conversation for another time.
Once the memory share had finished, she allowed herself to relax, "Little different than the books", the Doctor shrugged, "but I think you did the best you could". Romana went to protest but the Time Lord stopped her, "Romana people were always going to die during this battle", he paused as a look of sad resignation passed over his face, "that's something I've had to accept over the centuries. Doesn't mean I like it but sometimes that's the way it's got to be".
The Doctor was right, Romana didn't like it and if she had her way then no one would have to suffer again. The experience of the last few minutes had been extremely draining, the lack of good quality sleep didn't help either. She didn't have the strength to argue with the Doctor about philosophy, for now she was just happy to be in his presence.
The Time Lords sat quietly by the lake for several more minutes, only much more peacefully than earlier. Romana was feeling much more relaxed than she had been for a long time, probably since the Time War had begun. Unfortunately the Doctor ruined the moment, "So what are you going to do now?"
That was a question she feared, what to do next? She didn't belong in the magical world, that had been made very clear during the battle. There was no home to return to, other than her TARDIS. Truthfully all she wanted to do was sleep for as long as possible, "I don't know", she partially lied.
There was a tense moment before the Doctor stated, "You could come with me, it'll be just like old times".
Romana tensed slightly, as much as she wanted to be in the Doctor's company the last thing she wanted right now was gallivanting around the universe. She didn't want to hurt his feelings though, "Can I think about that Doctor?" He shifted uncomfortably but nodded in agreement all the same, "We could just enjoy this moment", she added.
"I think that would be perfect", the Doctor smiled and gently placed his arm around her shoulder. Romana snuggled into his chest, although he wasn't as comfortable as previous regenerations owing to his skinniness. For this moment though she was willing to accept a mild amount of discomfort if it meant having a feeling of peace and calm.
A/N – So with the Doctor aware of two surviving Time Lords, the Whoniverse is now going to be AU. More than likely Romana won't be joining the Doctor as a full time companion, just going to throw that out there right now. She will have her own 'Doctor' style adventures and as well as dropping in on the Time Lord's adventures...although she might not meet him in chronological order.
Thank you to everyone who's reviewed the last few chapters. I have noted down any suggestions for future ideas, however, I'm pretty set for the next 20-30 chapters so nothing will be acted upon for the foreseeable future.