prompt for July 9th - Harry Potter/Doctor Who
gehayi offered this idea for crossover_hp's ficathon in the spring, but nobody picked it up. I have no idea how much more of this I'm likely to write, but the idea was the loudest re: the prompt, so.
Prompt for July 09:
Write what you wanted to do.
There's one place the Doctor won't take Remus, and that's to the recent past - no matter how often Remus asks, the Doctor's put his foot down.
"Absolutely not, young man. Even if your friends did believe you, you'd more likely create a temporal paradox or a parallel universe than solve any of your own problems. You seemed bright enough to grasp that."
Remus sighs. "I did grasp it, but that's hardly going to stop me from wishing I could do something about it. If it were that simple, I wouldn't have asked at all."
The Doctor doesn't answer, but there's a look in his eyes (far older than his face even in the best of moments) before he turns to the TARDIS' console that suggests he knows exactly what Remus is talking about. Remus feels it would be a bit rude to ask about it, at least at this juncture, so the silence stretches out to the point of becoming awkward.
"So," the Doctor finally says. "Given any thought to where you'd like to go?"
"I don't know. There are so many choices. Maybe I shouldn't anyway, there's a..." Remus hesitates, then thinks, he's talking to an alien with a time machine; if the Doctor can't handle this, no one can. "There's a full moon, in a few days. I wouldn't want to cause a paradox by devouring anyone, or something."
"Oh, is that all? That's easy enough to work around; we just need to get you away from the Terran lunar cycle. There are planets with no moons at all. There are planets with so many moons it'll make your head spin - but not, and here's the important bit, trigger your transformation."
For the first time in years, Remus finds he doesn't know what to say. People don't just help him like this; other than Dumbledore, the only ones who ever have are dead or in prison, now. He wouldn't have thought anyone but James or Sirius could leave him this kind of speechless.
"Of course, I'll know those destinations far better than you would," the Doctor continues, "so I could pick this time and you can have your historical destination or whatnot after that. If that would be all right with you?"
"Would it? I've been given more help and loyalty than I ever dared expect, but no one's been able to offer me a reprieve. You don't even have to ask."
The Doctor grins. "Fantastic! If you've got everything you need, we can head off in a few moments."
Remus knows the reprieve can't last; if nothing else, there will be loose ends to tie up here, for his friends' memories if no other reason. And he knows coming back is going to be bittersweet for more than one reason.
Still, he badly needs the chance to clear his head and recover from all life's bombarded him with, in the last few days. If the Doctor can give him that much, he'd be a fool not to take it.
Prompt for July 09:
Write what you wanted to do.
There's one place the Doctor won't take Remus, and that's to the recent past - no matter how often Remus asks, the Doctor's put his foot down.
"Absolutely not, young man. Even if your friends did believe you, you'd more likely create a temporal paradox or a parallel universe than solve any of your own problems. You seemed bright enough to grasp that."
Remus sighs. "I did grasp it, but that's hardly going to stop me from wishing I could do something about it. If it were that simple, I wouldn't have asked at all."
The Doctor doesn't answer, but there's a look in his eyes (far older than his face even in the best of moments) before he turns to the TARDIS' console that suggests he knows exactly what Remus is talking about. Remus feels it would be a bit rude to ask about it, at least at this juncture, so the silence stretches out to the point of becoming awkward.
"So," the Doctor finally says. "Given any thought to where you'd like to go?"
"I don't know. There are so many choices. Maybe I shouldn't anyway, there's a..." Remus hesitates, then thinks, he's talking to an alien with a time machine; if the Doctor can't handle this, no one can. "There's a full moon, in a few days. I wouldn't want to cause a paradox by devouring anyone, or something."
"Oh, is that all? That's easy enough to work around; we just need to get you away from the Terran lunar cycle. There are planets with no moons at all. There are planets with so many moons it'll make your head spin - but not, and here's the important bit, trigger your transformation."
For the first time in years, Remus finds he doesn't know what to say. People don't just help him like this; other than Dumbledore, the only ones who ever have are dead or in prison, now. He wouldn't have thought anyone but James or Sirius could leave him this kind of speechless.
"Of course, I'll know those destinations far better than you would," the Doctor continues, "so I could pick this time and you can have your historical destination or whatnot after that. If that would be all right with you?"
"Would it? I've been given more help and loyalty than I ever dared expect, but no one's been able to offer me a reprieve. You don't even have to ask."
The Doctor grins. "Fantastic! If you've got everything you need, we can head off in a few moments."
Remus knows the reprieve can't last; if nothing else, there will be loose ends to tie up here, for his friends' memories if no other reason. And he knows coming back is going to be bittersweet for more than one reason.
Still, he badly needs the chance to clear his head and recover from all life's bombarded him with, in the last few days. If the Doctor can give him that much, he'd be a fool not to take it.