FIC: Dust in the Sky ~ 10th Doctor/Harry ~ Part 3 / 6

[batsutousai]

Title: Dust in the Sky
Part: 3 of 6
Author: batsutousai
Beta: tsuki_no_suzu
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Harry Potter/Tenth Doctor (minor Rose/Tenth Doctor, Martha/Tenth Doctor and Jack/Tenth Doctor)
Warnings: Slash, minor Ginny!hate
Summary: Sequel to Hanging by a Thread. Harry has a life to live now with a wife and children, but he can still find time for the Doctor, no matter what he looks like.

Disclaim Her: Nope.

A/N: I had trouble deciding how to do some of this chapter. Namely, deciding if I would have Harry go with them to see Shakespeare. I mean, it's an awesome episode, and the only one in the series that references Harry Potter, so it made sense to include Harry. But then he'd also have to travel with them to New New York and 1930 Manhattan. Which I could do, but I wasn't sure I wanted to. (And with Harry having been missing for three months already, I can't see him trying to go off again on another trip that might take just as long, especially knowing the Doctor. XD)

-0-0-0-

-0-0-0-

Harry did, in fact, get reamed a new one by quite a few people, especially his wife who, it turned out, was pregnant with Lily. She'd found out a few days before the Battle at Canary Wharf and had planned to tell him that weekend during a dinner party at the Burrow. But then he'd disappeared for three months. She'd been quite cross with him.

The only reason Harry didn't get demoted or anything at work was that the Department of Mysteries stepped in. They announced that Harry was working part-time for them – had been for months – and his disappearance was on their orders. When Harry had gone down to thank Mary-Beth for covering his ass, she'd smiled and said, "Oh, you're not out of trouble yet, Potter," and handed him an impressive stack of papers to fill out on everything he did while with the Doctor – including what he knew of the events that transpired at Torchwood. They demanded every single detail about his time away, including how it felt to be saying good-bye to Rose. The only thing Harry managed to keep from them was his own relationship with the Doctor, though that was more because he was more stubborn than the spells on the paperwork.

For the next month or so, the Department of Mysteries and UNIT worked together to clean up the Thames, and Harry was often called from auror duty to help. When he'd demanded an explanation for why he, being a part-time agent, was always being called, Mary-Beth said, "Because you're the one that caused this mess. You get to clean it up."

To which Harry had replied, "Now I know why the Doctor never sticks around."

About the time they finished the Thames, another disaster occurred, and Harry was one of the aurors sent to check it out. When they got to the scene, they found the Royal Hope Hospital gone and a small crowd forming around it, in tears.

Harry looked around, hoping for a clue, and happened to see the TARDIS. "What is she doing here?" he whispered and ducked around a few people to walk over to the ship.

"Harry?" Ron, his partner on all auror missions, called, then started following him. When he caught up to Harry, he was gently touching an old blue box. "Mate, what's so special about a box?"

Harry glanced at Ron. "It's the Doctor's," he said and knocked on the door. "Doctor! Are you in there?"

"Harry, who in their right mind would spend any amount of time in a little blue box?" Ron asked with a small laugh.

"It's bigger on the inside," Harry replied and spelled the doors open. He poked his head in. "Doctor?"

The TARDIS remained silent.

Ron glanced around the door himself. "Looks like a set from one of those films 'Mione watches sometimes," he commented.

"Yeah, he likes those films too," Harry replied absently, closing and re-locking the door. "If he's not in the TARDIS, that means he's in the hospital..."

"Is that good?" Ron asked, looking a bit hopeful. Both Hermione and Harry seemed to hold the Doctor in high regard and that had worn off on him far more readily than Ginny's hatred of the man, though he still wasn't pleased with the Doctor for running off with his best friend for three months. (The statement by the Department of Mysteries that Harry had been on a mission for them during those three months had calmed his ire a bit, though he was now madly curious as to why a muggle would be involved in anything the Department of Mysteries was up to.)

Harry decided to wait until the hospital returned and he figured they wouldn't need six aurors there waiting for it, so he told the other five they could head back. Ron, of course, demanded that he stay, but the other two teams agreed to head back. So only Ron and Harry remained to watch the hospital return in a torrent of rain.

As Harry had expected, the Doctor went straight for the TARDIS when he got out of the building, and Harry was waiting for him, Ron at his side.

"Harry!" the Doctor called, bouncing forward. "And Ron," he added with a bit less fervour.

Harry stepped forward and jabbed the Doctor in the chest. "Talk fast, because I have a report to write up, and I'd like to do it before my shift is up, if you don't mind."

The Doctor grimaced. "Ooh... Does Ron have clearance?" he asked, eyeing the suspicious Ron.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Doctor, you tell me. You're the ranking officer."

"He works for the DoM?" Ron demanded.

"No, I work for the muggle equivalent of one of the departments in the Department of Mysteries," the Doctor replied, sighing. "Can I at least get another pair of trainers before you debrief me?"

Harry blinked. "Where are your shoes?"

"Well, one of them got filled with radiation, and I looked a bit mad with only one shoe on, so..."

Harry rolled his eyes. "You always look a bit mad. And no, you can't get new shoes. What happened to the hospital?"

The Doctor sighed again. "Judoon."

"Who?" Ron asked.

"Alien police," Harry answered, eyes never leaving the Doctor's. "Why did they take the hospital?"

"There was a Plasmavore hiding among the patients. They transported the hospital to the moon so it was on neutral territory," the Doctor explained.

"Plasmavore?" Ron repeated, looking completely lost. "The moon?"

"Ah. Figures. Do we have anything on Plasmavores on file?" Harry asked, thinking he could probably make a pretty good report from that. "And did they catch them? The Plasmavore."

"They did catch her. I had to help a bit–"

"Oh, I'm sure that went over well," Harry commented, knowing exactly what the Doctor thought about the Judoon and their methods.

The Doctor grinned a bit madly. "Went over marvellously, I'll have you know. And a Plasmavore is a species that looks human, but can change what their blood registers as by drinking another species' blood."

"So the Judoon would have registered her as human," Harry figured. "Then how did... Oh. You didn't," he said, looking the Doctor over. The Time Lord looked a bit more pale that usual, as if he'd lost a lot of blood.

The Doctor just shrugged. "Are you done?"

Harry sighed and shook his head. "Only you," he muttered. "Yes, I'm done. Go change your trainers, then. And take a nap!"

"Yes, Mum," the Doctor intoned, then ducked into the TARDIS before Harry could retaliate.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Git."

"Harry, I'm a bit lost," Ron said, looking pretty lost.

"Yeah. The Doctor does that to people," Harry replied, taking Ron's elbow and leading him out of sight of the people in front of the hospital. "Look, the Doctor works for an organization that tracks down aliens and finds out what they're doing on Earth. Gets them to leave."

Ron nodded. "And the DoM has something like that, too? You work for them?"

"Yes. And so does your wife," Harry agreed, grinning when Ron's jaw dropped. "Shocking, isn't it? Practical Hermione Weasley, working to hunt down alien life on planet Earth."

"You're pulling my leg."

Harry laughed. "Let's get back to the Ministry. Ginny'll kill me if I'm late again."

-0-

The next day, Harry was called down to the Department. He was half-afraid his report hadn't been accurate enough, but it turned out to be something completely different.

"You want me to go to a party?" Harry asked, disbelieving.

Mary-Beth nodded. "A scientist in unveiling his most recent discovery and it sounds a bit off. The Department Head wants us to send someone and you seem our best bet."

"But why me?" Harry demanded.

"Because you're one of our few operatives who has a visible presence in the muggle world," Mary-Beth replied, handing over a clip board. It had Harry's muggle profile on it – the one he'd used while working as an aid to the Prime Minister – and it was, in fact, quite visible. In fact, he was still the official person in charge of supplying magical assistants for the muggle Prime Minister's office. Even got a cheque every other month or so.

"Okay," Harry agreed. "But why would Harry Potter be interested in a science experiment?"

Mary-Beth leaned forward with a knowing smile. "Because some of the technology in his machine doesn't add up."

Harry blinked. "Alien? Or just too advanced?"

"You've got it," she agreed, leaning back in her chair. "Take your wife for a night out. Have your mother-in-law watch your kids. Supper on the town and a fancy little muggle party after. She might even think you're worth it again."

"Har, har," Harry replied, taking the information about the case she'd set down on the edge of her desk. "You'll have my report on your desk by morning."

-0-

"But why a muggle party?" Ginny demanded over supper at a lovely little Italian restaurant just down the road from where the event would be held. Ginny had a soft spot for a Italian food ever since Harry took them to Italy for their honeymoon, and Harry had hoped the restaurant would help keep her from complaining too much.

"Because the Department wants me to go," Harry said, sighing. He'd gotten permission from Mary-Beth after he got back from his three month trip to tell Ginny about his working for the Department of Mysteries, especially since most of the auror department already knew.

"Why couldn't they send someone else?" Ginny demanded.

"Because they needed me." Harry ran a hand through his hair. "Look, sweetheart, I was hoping this could be a nice little night out. I've been so busy with work lately–"

"Yes. And now you're taking me on a mission for your work," Ginny snapped, glaring at him and throwing down her fork. "Well, Harry Potter, if your work is more important to you than me, maybe it's time we parted." Then she stood and walked towards the doors.

"Ginny!" Harry called, then groaned. "Damnit."

Their server came over with a sympathetic look. "More wine, sir?"

Harry glanced at his watch and shook his head. "No thank you. Just the bill, I think."

"Very good, sir."

-0-

The party was rather posh, Harry considered as he walked in.

"We were under the impression you'd be bringing Mrs Potter," the man at the door said when Harry gave his name.

Harry smiled tightly. "She was unable to make it, I'm afraid."

"Of course," he replied and waved Harry through.

Harry sighed and took the stairs up to the welcoming hall. There, people milled around in small groups, talking about their businesses and occasionally taking something to eat off a one of the plates being taken around by some young hosts. Harry took a flute of wine with a quiet, "Thanks," then walked over to the machine which stood prominently in the centre of the room. After a quick check for anyone who might be looking at him, Harry pulled out his sonic screwdriver and checked the device over.

"It's not alien," a familiar voice commented from behind Harry.

Harry glanced up at the Doctor with a grin. "Oh, good to know you're on the case, then."

The Doctor grinned back. "What's brought you here? Other than possible alien tech?"

"Possible too-advanced tech," Harry replied. "How'd you get in, anyway? They wouldn't have you on the guest list."

"Oh... I'm a plus one," the Doctor admitted. "And you?"

"I'm legit, thank you." Harry glanced around at the crowd. "So then, where's your companion? In the loo?"

"Catching up with her family," the Doctor reported, pointing over at where a couple of young women were talking. "Should we go over and say hello?"

"Mmmm... Introducing me as your lover on the side?" Harry joked, letting himself be led over.

"Oh, I was thinking work partner, really," the Doctor replied, far too amused. "Hello, Martha."

"Oh, Doctor!" Martha smiled at him, then looked back at the other young woman she was talking with. "Tish, this is the Doctor. Doctor, this is Tish. My sister."

"Lovely to meet you," the Doctor responded.

"How'd he get in, then?" Tish asked her sister. "He's not on the guest list."

"He's my plus one," Martha reported, turning to the Doctor. She noticed Harry then, and blinked. "You were outside the hospital," she said.

"Ah. That's how he picked you up." Harry smiled. "Harry Potter. I work with the Doctor from time to time."

Martha blinked and looked at the Doctor, who was smiling just a little too smugly. "Harry Potter?" she asked of Harry.

The Doctor chuckled. "Harry, this is Martha Jones. Martha, yes, Harry Potter."

"But you said–"

"You've been telling tales again, haven't you?" Harry inquired of his friend.

The Doctor just grinned some more.

They were interrupted by the addition of Martha's mother and brother, so Harry turned to the Doctor and demanded, "What happened? She looks like she's seen a ghost."

"We went to see Shakespeare and saw some Carrionites, which I think must be the creatures that spawned your people. She kept referencing you," the Doctor murmured.

"And you told her magic doesn't exist, didn't you?"

The Doctor shrugged. "I hadn't planned on keeping her with me long."

Harry snorted, disbelieving.

"Oh. And we saw some Daleks in Manhattan," the Doctor added as a sort of afterthought.

"You what?" Harry hissed, grabbing his arm. "How?"

"Temporal shift. They escaped the Void at Canary Wharf."

"Are they dead?"

"All but one."

Harry groaned. "Bloody–"

The Doctor coughed. "I share your sentiments. But this isn't the time or the place."

Harry nodded. "Tell me more about the Carrionites later. I'll add them to the files."

"They're gone, now," the Doctor commented.

Harry shook his head. "Doctor, aliens that are 'gone' have a bad habit of popping back up around you." When the Doctor winced, Harry shrugged, unapologetic.

Martha rejoined them, her mother still demanding to know about the Doctor. "What are you two whispering about?"

"Oh, the Doctor was telling me about alien witches," Harry replied flippantly.

Martha coughed. "Was he now?"

Harry nodded. "Oh, yes. He likes his little stories. I'm collecting them, so I can tell my children when they're old enough to properly appreciate them." He grinned at the Doctor. "Guess who's pregnant?"

"Ginny?" the Doctor asked.

Harry nodded, very slowly. "Oh, yes. About a week before Canary Wharf."

The Doctor winced. "Sorry?"

Harry smiled at him. "Pity she didn't want to come to this party. She could have told you exactly what she thought of you."

"Ah..." The Doctor ran a hand through his hair a bit nervously. "She's going to kill me, isn't she?"

"Oh, she's certainly mentioned it once or twice," Harry agreed, far too pleased.

The Doctor was saved from further ribbing by Professor Lazarus stepping up next to his machine and announcing his intention to start. After a brief monologue, he stepped into his machine and his assistants started it up.

It didn't take long for something to go wrong and the Doctor jumped over to the controls and tried to shut it down while the crowd backed up. Once the machine was shut down, Martha jumped forward and opened the doors.

Out stepped a younger man who touched his face and chuckled, then said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I am Richard Lazarus. I am seventy-six years old. And I am reborn!"

"Oh, this is so not good," Harry muttered.

-0-

Harry left the Doctor and Martha to their little hunts while he did some survey of his own. The Doctor would fill him in on what he learned later – Harry would make certain of that – but while the Time Lord seemed to understand what had happened, Harry wasn't so sure he did, so he found a couple of Lazarus' assistants and spoke to them.

A lot of what he was told went over his head, but he got the gist of it: Using sound waves, Lazarus had caused himself to de-age in body, which would let him live even longer. The assistants all seemed pleased with the results and sounded hopeful for the future of humankind.

Harry glanced around for the Doctor or Martha when he finished talking to the assistants, but didn't see either of them, so he wandered around, joining various groups and adding to their conversations.

Martha's mother caught him after a bit. "You're familiar with that Doctor that my daughter is about with, aren't you?" she demanded.

Harry cocked an eyebrow at her. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced. I'm Colonel Harry Potter," he said, using the muggle equivalent of his auror rank. "You are?"

This seemed to throw the woman for a bit and she rather mutely replied, "Francine Jones. I'm Martha's mother."

Harry shook her hand with an easy smile. "A pleasure. And, yes, I know the Doctor. I work with him sometimes. He is, ah, slightly eccentric." He shrugged. "If it puts you at ease, I can assure you that he has no intention to harm your daughter, or even see harm befall her, if he can help it."

Francine blinked. "I... see... So he's with the military?"

"Freelance, really," Harry replied. "He doesn't like having anything to hold him down, so he's not officially military."

There was a bit of a disturbance behind them and they both looked to find Martha talking to her brother, the Doctor looking around desperately. Francine tried to talk to her daughter, but she and the Doctor took off towards the lifts.

"Excuse me," Harry said with a smile, then hurried off after them. He managed to jump into the lift just before the doors closed. "What have you found out?" he asked.

The Doctor grimaced while Martha looked startled. "He's basically re-written his DNA, but he's missed something and it's mutating. He's killing people to help steady his DNA."

"Mmm... Mad scientists are fun." Harry grinned. "Just don't blow anything up this time."

The Doctor grinned back. "You were the one who emptied the Thames."

"Yes. But I didn't blow anything up, thanks," Harry retorted, then grinned at the staring Martha. "And yes, Miss Jones, I am the Harry Potter," he added as the lift doors opened.

They all popped out of the lift and looked around for a moment before the Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver, commenting on Lazarus' fluctuating DNA.

Harry just pulled out his wand and cast a locator spell, then was off towards the roof.

"Oh my God," Martha said as she and the Doctor made to follow him. "He really is, isn't he?"

"Oh yes," the Doctor agreed, grinning again.

Up on the roof, Martha got her sister, Tish, away from Lazarus while the Doctor talked to him. When Lazarus transformed into a scorpion-like creature, they all ran for it, Harry shooting a spell at the door to keep it closed.

"Are you okay?" Martha asked Tish while they waited for the lift.

"I was going to snog him," the girl replied, looking shocked.

"Hmm... Human-scorpion?" Harry commented to the Doctor.

"Some form evolution rejected," the Doctor replied.

An alarm went off and the lights shut off. Tish explained, when asked, that it was an emergency lock-down that went into effect when someone was breaking into the building.

"I love modern buildings and their security systems," Harry muttered as they took to the stairs.

"He's inside!" Martha reported when they were about halfway down the stairs.

"Keep going," Harry ordered and shot a couple of hexes up the stairs behind them.

In the reception hall, the Doctor turned to the girls. "Tish, is there another way out?"

"There's an exit in the corner, but it'll be locked now."

The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver, but stopped when he saw Harry waving his own around. "Setting fifty-four," the Doctor ordered, putting his away and jumping up on the platform Lazarus' machine was on to tell the crowd to move it. They laughed, of course.

And then Lazarus appeared.

"Can't you use magic?" Martha hissed to Harry as the crowd ran their way, screaming.

"Too many muggles," Harry muttered, then let out a quiet sound of victory as the doors opened.

"Everyone downstairs!" Martha shouted as they jumped out of the way.

Once everyone was out of the reception hall and the Doctor was leading Lazarus away, the group made their way downstairs, where the doors there were also locked.

"There must be an over-ride switch!" Martha shouted.

Harry muttered some choice words under his breath and shot an alohomora at the doors, which popped open to free the frantic people. When Martha looked back at him, disbelieving, he shrugged. "Faster, and they're not paying attention."

Martha sighed, then looked back up the stairs. "I have to go back," she told her family. When they tried to make her stay, she looked helplessly at Harry, who shrugged and pulled out his mobile to call for an ambulance for those who'd been hurt. Once that was dealt with, he rang the emergency number for UNIT.

"Unified Intelligence Taskforce," the automated voice answered.

"This is Harry Potter," he said and gave his designation code. As soon as he got a proper person, he snapped, "I need people at Lazarus Laboratory for a clean-up. The test on his device went a bit wrong and we don't need anyone else getting a hold of it."

"And Lazarus?" the man asked as soon as he'd given his orders for a team to be dispatched.

"The Doctor is dealing with him."

"The Doctor?!"

"Yeah, he came to crash the party." Harry grinned.

"Understood. Keep the civilians out of the building. Troops are on their way."

Harry hung up his phone and sighed. Suddenly, he was really very glad that Ginny had decided to go home.

-0-

When the Doctor and Martha came out, Harry was busy with the UNIT troops and did little more than wave in recognition.

They all heard the crash, but when Harry turned to run after the Doctor, one of the men with him grabbed his arm. "Potter, you're not done here."

Harry grit his teeth. "With all due respect, sir, neither is Lazarus."

The man and Harry stared at one another for a long minute. Finally, he let Harry go and he ran down the street, hoping he wouldn't be too late.

-0-

Harry got to the bottom of the bell tower just in time for the Doctor to start really shaking the rafters. He grimaced and looked up at where he heard screaming. There, he saw Martha, hanging on to the edge of some broken wood. Lazarus, in scorpion form, writhed above her. "Wingardium Leviosa," Harry whispered, using his magic to help keep Martha from falling to her death.

Once Lazarus fell, the Doctor stopped playing and shouted, "Martha!"

"I've got her!" Harry called back.

The Doctor breathed out a sigh and hurried out of the organ seat while Harry made sure Martha was safely back with her sister, who was looking a bit shell-shocked.

The Doctor grabbed Harry in a hug as soon as he reached him. "What would I do without you?"

Harry grinned. "You'd manage." He tugged away and gave the Doctor a stern look. "I heard you blew up one of the labs."

The Doctor laughed a little and hurried over to check on Lazarus, partially to avoid whatever Harry had to say about his latest bit of destruction. The scientist had re-aged again and the Doctor closed his eyes. "Really dead this time," he murmured.

When Tish and Martha got back downstairs, there were hugs all around and Harry cheerfully admitted to Tish that he was the Harry Potter and, yes, she'd just seen a real magic spell.

Harry eventually said good-bye to the Doctor and the two Jones, promising to keep in touch, then apparated home to check on Ginny and work on his report for work.

Ginny met him at the door, in tears, and he pulled her into a hug. "What's wrong? Ginny, what is it?" he asked, manoeuvring them into the house.

"It was on the news," Ginny sobbed, clutching at Harry as if afraid he would disappear if she let go. "Th–that p-party went all wr-wrong. You cou-could have been k-killed!"

Harry blinked and heard the telly in the living room, which was, indeed, talking about the incident at Lazarus Laboratory. He sighed and kissed the top of Ginny's head. "But I'm fine, sweetheart. I lived through it." He smiled down at her and received a watery smile in response. "Live through anything, me."

Ginny laughed a little at that. "But what happened?" she asked, finally letting go.

Harry shrugged. "Mad scientist tried to make himself younger, ended up turning into a monster instead." He grinned at her. "Pity you missed the party, though."

"What? You wanted me dead?" Ginny snapped, back to her usual self.

Harry sighed. "No. And I wouldn't have let it touch you. No, the Doctor was there. You could have yelled at him."

"Where is he now, then?" Ginny demanded.

Harry shrugged. "Oh, who knows. Off travelling again."

"Why is he only around when something goes wrong?"

"Just lucky, I guess," Harry decided, then waved his wand to turn off the telly. "Come on, bed. It's been a long day."

-0-

Two weeks later found Harry back in Mary-Beth's office, but this time completely of his own will. "I want to transfer to the Valiant."

Mary-Beth took a moment to stare at him. "Why?"

"Because I need to be there," Harry replied. "It's the reason I joined the Department."

Mary-Beth sighed. "You know civilians aren't allowed up there. Once you transfer, you'll have to stay. No contact with your wife."

Harry took a deep breath and nodded. "I am aware of that."

"Even if she gives birth during your stay," Mary-Beth pressed.

Harry nodded. "I am aware of that," he repeated.

Mary-Beth stared at him for a long moment, then nodded. "Does Ginny know yet?"

Harry grimaced, recalling the fight they'd gotten into over his insistence that he transfer and Harry's new relocation to the couch. "Oh, she knows."

"I'll see that it is done. Expect a memo within the week."

Harry stood. "Thank you," he said, then turned and left her office.

-0-

Life on the Valiant was difficult, Harry found, and that was largely because he was the only wizard aboard. Oh, he suffered a bit from not knowing anyone, in the beginning, but he eventually made friends, of a sort, with the other UNIT members aboard. Some of them had family they'd chosen to leave on the surface for the required year-long tenure, and it was those few that Harry was first able to relate and talk to. Eventually, the others accepted him into their group and they all laughed at the various alien visits that had occurred over the past few years.

Harry wasn't certain when the event he'd been told to wait for would occur, but he figured it wouldn't been too long after the Valiant first hit the skies, or he would have given himself something a little more specific than, 'the day the Toclafane arrive'.

"Look, Potter," Jacob Ashe said, pointing to the telly, "it's your Prime Minister."

Harry grimaced. He was one of the few people he knew who didn't like Harold Saxon. Something about him just rose so many alarms in Harry's head and he'd avoided the man to the best of his ability.

"And this species has identified themselves," Saxon was saying. "They're called the Toclafane. And tomorrow morning, they will appear..."

Harry hissed and sat back while the other men around him laughed. "More aliens," one of them said, shaking his head. "Never stops, does it?"

"Potter?" Dirk Simons said, looking at Harry curiously.

Harry forced a smile. "Saxon always makes my skin crawl," he reminded them as he stood and they all laughed. "I'm gonna get some tea. Anyone else?"

"Coffee!" a couple of them shouted, while one or two agreed to a tea.

Harry took a count, then walked out of the room and leaned against the wall. "And so it starts," he muttered, then shoved off to get the promised drinks.

-0-

"Look, Ashe, it's your President," one of the UNIT guys said as President Winters arrived on the Valiant the morning the Toclafane were to appear.

"Oh, shut up."

They all laughed a bit.

"Who has duty this morning?" their commander demanded, looking into the room over-seeing the landing pad.

They all traded looks, then those with duty stepped forward, including Harry, who grimaced. He hadn't, actually, intended to be on duty when the Toclafane showed up, but duty rosters were created a month in advance, and Harry couldn't fake sick well enough to get out of it.

The commander nodded. "Right, you lot. No armed soldiers will be allowed in the flight deck when the aliens arrive, so you'll have to leave before then, but I want you in there until you're told to leave. Understood?"

"Sir!"

"Good. Now get moving!"

The group hurried back to their bunks to grab their required uniforms and guns. Harry didn't like the guns – he certainly had no intention to ever use his – but they were required, especially when there might be a bit of a fight.

On the flight deck, they all stood at attention and pretended to be part of the metal work. For the most part, the two parties from the US and the UK ignored them, but they were also a bit more interested in antagonising each other to care about the so-called neutral men standing at attention. (Harry knew for a fact that the men he worked with were patriotic to their counties of origin and fights had occasionally broken out because of that. Harry, himself, usually managed to avoid the fights, if only because he cared more for the magical government of Great Britain than the muggle one. And he hated the Prime Minister.)

When they were ordered out, the UNIT troops filed out of the room and took up stations in the hallway. Harry stood nearest to the door and had a moment where he swore someone was staring at him, but the other UNIT soldiers were looking straight ahead and the man walking into the door next to him – a member of Saxon's party – wasn't interested in the UNIT troops. He just shook it off and chalked it up to paranoia that something was going to go wrong.

Which it did.

When the shooting started inside the room, Harry was the first through the door and, consequently, the first to have a gun held to his head. He gently placed his own gun on the floor and motioned behind him to the other UNIT men. "Guns down, guys," he ordered, even as he looked around the room.

When he saw the Doctor, he froze and they both stared at each other for a long, silent minute. Then Harry's eyes moved on, checking to see where everyone else was. He saw Martha, kneeling next to a man who was laying out on the ground, dead. Saxon stood at the head of the room with the Toclafane around him, a strange little device in his hand which vaguely recalled the sonic screwdriver in Harry's inside pocket.

When Saxon turned his device on the Doctor and aged him, it took every ounce of willpower Harry possessed to stay where he was. He could have apparated them out of there, but that would likely have proved fatal for one of them, and the Doctor would never have been able to stomach leaving Martha alone on the Valiant. Not with Saxon, who he clearly had a history with.

And when Saxon released hordes of Toclafane to attack Earth, Harry felt sick. His wife and children and best friends were down there, helpless. All he could do was hope they managed to hide somewhere. Hoped that, like the Cybermen, the Toclafane weren't able to get into the Ministry.

Harry made a mental note to ring Hermione's cell phone as soon as he was able.

-0-

Harry wasn't actually supposed to have a mobile on the Valiant. Partially because they didn't want the troops on board getting distracted by calls from home more often than once a month – there was a phone on the flight deck they were allowed to use every month or so, but Harry never did, because his wife didn't use phones – but also in part because normal mobiles didn't work on the Valiant. They weren't always in an accessible airspace, and even with the Arch Angel Network, most mobile providers didn't include coverage in the sky.

But Harry's phone didn't have most mobile providers, and nor was his phone limited in any way by being in the sky – or even half-way across the galaxy, for that matter – because Harry's mobile was on the TARDIS Network, as he'd once told Hermione a bit jokingly.

"Hermione?" Harry whispered as his friend picked up. He was standing in the room over-looking the flight deck, alone for the moment. He'd placed a muggle repelling charm on the door, but he wasn't sure how well it would work against Saxon and the Toclafane, so he needed to be quick.

"Harry?" Hermione replied. Her own mobile was Department issued, as they'd eventually realised that their people would need mobiles if they were going to continue getting more and more involved with alien life. The mobiles hadn't worked inside the Ministry, however, until Hermione mentioned the problem to Harry and he borrowed her mobile and attacked it with his sonic screwdriver. Now, it worked as well as Harry's, but it was restricted by the planet's surface.

Harry smiled at hearing Hermione's voice. "Where are you?"

"Ministry. Where are you?"

"On the Valiant. Is the Ministry safe from them, then?"

"Yes. And we're getting reports that they haven't breached St Mungo's, but we're not sure if that's because they can't, or if it's because they simply haven't bothered trying."

Harry nodded. "How many people have you got down there?"

"Too many." Harry could hear the grimace in Hermione's voice. "They've already shut down the phone box lift and they're slowly closing off access through the Floo, telling people they'll have to either find another place to hide, or simply remain in their homes and hope for the best. It's a mad house."

Harry sighed. "I sort of expected that. Is our family safe?"

Hermione paused for a long moment and Harry felt like his heart was in his throat. "Mum managed to get here safely with Rose and Hugo, and Ron, Dad and I were all working here when it started. I haven't seen Ginny yet, but it's so crowded and everyone is so confused that she could just be lost in this mess."

Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Yeah. Hey, 'Mione?"

"Yes?"

"I'll call in every couple of weeks, okay? See how everyone's doing."

"Okay. Do you want me to call you when we find Ginny?"

Harry smiled. "No. Don't want to chance anyone getting suspicious of my phone. I'll call you in a couple of weeks."

"Stay safe, Harry."

"You too, 'Mione. Kiss Rose and Hugo for me."

"Right. And I'll kiss your boys when we find them."

Harry laughed. "You do that," he said and hung up. He stared down at his mobile for a long time after, numb. There was a very high chance that Ginny was already dead. And that meant so were Lily, Albus and James. And if they were dead, Merlin help Saxon and his Toclafane.

-0-

"There's nothing we can do," one of the men was saying as Harry walked into the telly room.

"There's always something," another replied.

Harry sat down among them. "What's going on?"

A few of them glanced at him, slightly suspicious. Eventually, one of them said, "Potter, what do you think of all this? These Toclafane?"

Harry set his jaw. "I want them gone," he said with feeling.

A couple of the men returned grim smiles. "Good. Then we're all on the same page," their commander said, leaning forward. "We're trying to think of something to do."

Harry considered that. "I think..." he started, then paused and shook his head. "The Doctor sent Martha back down to Earth. He's got to have something planned. Knowing him, it'll be big and it'll be impressive. And the more we try to help him, the more we'll be in the way."

The others stared at him for a long minute in surprise. Finally, the commander shook his head. "You read the files too, then? Didn't think you had high enough clearance."

Harry grinned and shook his head. "Nope. Travelled with the Doctor for a bit a few years ago."

"For real?" one of the men asked.

"That's not in your files," their commander said.

Harry shook his head, still grinning. "Wouldn't be. It was before I joined UNIT. Should say in there that I've collaborated with him on a few things since, though."

"Ah, yes," the commander said with a smirk. "The Thames incident."

"What incident?" one of the men from America demanded.

"That was you?" a British soldier whispered, awed.

Harry rubbed at the back of his head with a nervous smile. "Yeah, that was me. I drained the Thames," he added, for the benefit of those who wouldn't have known.

They all laughed at that, but their laughter was cut short by one of Saxon's personal guard stepping into the room, stone-faced. "Mr Saxon wants to see you on the flight deck. Now," he ordered. As they stood and reached for their guns, he smiled a bit nastily and said, "Oh, and no guns, please."

The group traded looks. There were twenty of them and only so many of Saxon and his men. They could easily take him down if the need arose, even without guns. There would be more casualties, but it could be done.

"No guns," the commander agreed, setting his back down next to his chair.

The others reluctantly agreed and set their own guns down before filing out of the room.

On the flight deck, Saxon was waiting for them. He'd set up a little tent to one side and Harry could see the aged Doctor peeking out at them from inside, grim but hopeful. Harry managed a brief smile and the Doctor returned it.

Once they'd all filed in, Saxon stepped down so he was on their level. "Now then, gentlemen, let me give you one chance to live through this. You can swear your allegiance to me, right here, right now, or you can deny me and I'll have you shot on the spot. Am I clear?" He smiled at them.

A couple of the men traded looks, but Harry glanced at the Doctor, who nodded just the slightest bit. So Harry stepped forward. "Harry Potter, sir. My gun belongs to you."

There was a moment of disbelief, then the commander also stepped forward, stating his own intention to serve Saxon. Slowly, the other men did the same. One of them refused and was killed by a Toclafane.

"Very good," Saxon decided and waved to one of his personal guard. "Take them down to the duty room and see them put on the shifts. Oh, and get rid of those red caps. They're horrible. Let's go black."

"Sir!" the guard said, then motioned for the men to follow him back out.

As they left the flight deck, the commander leaned over and whispered, "I hope you know what you're doing, Potter."

Harry swallowed. "So do I."

-0-

A/N: Wouldn't all fit in one post. Link to the second half below.

Third Part, second half

Harry & the Doctor Series:
Hanging By a Thread
Dust in the Sky Chapters:
One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six
The Future Doesn't Scare Me Chapters:
One | Two | ???
The Perfect Sky is Torn Chapters:
One | Two | Three
DISCONTINUED
Adrenaline Rush

.

Comments

[fox-in-time.livejournal.com]

oh my!
never expecxted that Doctor WHo rewrite with Harry Potter will be so much fun
*giggles*
so much fun...

so glad i decided to check your story out

[batsutousai]

LOL. I'm glad you did as well!! And I'm happy you're enjoying it. ^.~