#as much as it does any closeness; wilf is both very dear to us and yet also kind of an everyman

[slippingbetweenthestars]

something something Ten was unwilling to regenerate when surrounded by people he loved (the classic Good Death) but willingly accepted death against every emotional instinct when practically alone after re-experiencing the destruction of his people and his oldest friend (pretty much a horrible Lonely Bad Death by all measures)

[deathly-shipper]

Yes absolutely I want to hear about your Hogwarts au

why, my dear sirs, madams and variations thereupon, thank you for your interest!

(fair warning, this is going to be a long ass post because I have FEELINGS about this ship and this au okay??)

- Donna is muggleborn, but you'd be dead wrong if you think she's going to let anyone make fun of her because of that.

-When she was six her mother told her they weren't going on holiday that year, so off she went to the nearest bus stop and got on the Knight Bus. As if anyone involved in that mad acid trip of a bus would bat an eye to a child climbing on the bus alone, so they merely asked where she wanted to go and little Donna just went "Strathclyde!". Her family found her hours later with the help of the muggle police.

- Her first big show of accidental magic was when she was seven. The other kids at school were making fun of her hair, she got so mad that she turned all the other kids ginger too. Trust her to make others see the other side of things.

- So! Fast forwarding to when she's eleven, one ordinary morning Donna and her family are having breakfast, as you do, and someone knocks at the door. Lo and behold it's Professor McGonagall (seriously considered Snape, just because it would be so entertaining to see him explain the magic world to Donna's family, imagine Sylvia Noble talking to Snape.)

-She explains everything to the family; yes Donna is a witch, she has a place in Hogwarts, no Mrs Noble, tuition is free, etc etc.

- Sylvia is obviously the sceptic "magic isn't real!", Wilf may or may have not done a little dance of happiness, Geoffrey is a little too stunned to speak and Eileen (Donna's Nan) is the only sensible mind in this, bless her.

- The first thing that comes to Donna's mind when she is told she can go to Hogwarts is "So I won't have to go to school with Nerys anymore?" After being told that no, you won't have to, she's just a little bundle of joy, I mean, who wouldn't be when discovering you can do magic?

- Moving on, everything is explained, magic is real and a trip to Diagon Alley is scheduled for the next week!

- Now Ten! Ten is from a pureblood family, but currently the only members of said family are him and his older brother, Braxiatel. Their parents died in the first war against Voldemort.

- Ten spent the majority of his life inside the family's property, so he turned to books for his escape. He particularly likes astronomy, history and magical creatures.

- He hasn't got any friends, the only children his age he ever met are the other pureblood kids, and let's be honest, they aren't much like him, poor lad.

- He meets Donna in Diagon Alley when shopping for books, and when I say meet I mean he almost fell on top of her. She gives him hell for it of course, but they manage to get a conversation going about Hogwarts.

- They go their separate ways and both spend the rest of the summer holidays thinking about that weird kid they met on Diagon Alley.

- September the First arrives and they meet again at King's Cross. Donna's whole family has come to drop her off, of course, and Ten and Brax meet them at the platform.

- Brax explains to them how to get to platform nine and three quarters and goes first to demonstrate. Donna is scared, what if it doesn't work for her? Ten senses it and ask Mr Noble if he can take his trolley for him, so he can push Donna's with her. "Together?" "Together."

- They say goodbye to their families and get on the train, and, like Harry and Ron, manage to get a compartment all to themselves. Conversation goes on about all sorts of topics, the magic world, the muggle world, Hogwarts, the houses, what do they do for fun, you know, a bit of everything.

- They arrive at the station and have to get to school by the little boats, Ten does not like the idea. Donna holds his hand to reassure him. She likes this weird boy who talks about stars and creatures so fantastical she almost doesn't believe him.

- Sorting then. They're both nervous, it is all very intimidating after all, even if the idea of a talking hat is kind of funny to Donna.

-She goes first, sits there for about four minutes. After careful deliberations the hat places her on Hufflepuff. Yes, she could have been a Gryffindor, she is very brave, BUT, she's hard working and kind and compassionate, and I feel like her bravery stems more from her wish to help others you know? and more importantly, she's loyal. so, so much, and that's what seals the deal for me.

- Ten. Now Ten, like Donna, could've been a Gryffindor, but the hat decided on Ravenclaw. STILL, that's not where he went. No, my precious boi Ten argued with the hat. He looked at Donna and saw his only friend, the fiery girl who yelled at him when they met and later held his hand when he was afraid. "I want to go with her" he said to the hat, and so he went.

- Yes, they are both in Hufflepuff. No, I don't take criticism on this. This is my au and I make the rules, Hufflepuff is a great house and anybody who thinks otherwise can get the fuck out.

- Hogwarts is not ready for this duo.

- Regarding classes; Donna loves Charms, she's best in class, Flitwick loves her. Ten likes History of Magic, but Bins is terribly boring so he and Donna study on their own. They always pair up in Potions, not the best in class, but have yet to explode a cauldron. Transfiguration is Ten's area, his family is particularly gifted in this subject. Herbology is more Donna's scene, she used to help her nan with her garden so she likes working in the greenhouses. DADA is anyone's game really, with changing professors like that. Now, they both really like flying and they are good at it. Donna joins the house team as chaser in her third year.

- Ten is the second coming of Newt Scamander. He always drags Donna down to Hagrid's hut to see what creature he has most recently acquired. Has been given detention for wandering in the Forbidden Forest. He's also probably friends with the centaurs.

- A couple years pass, the friendship grows and life is good.

- Third year, Donna "I'm good with numbers" Noble tottaly takes Arithmancy and aces it, Ten too of course. They also take Care for Magical Creatures, to Ten's absolute delight, and Divination. But they take one class with Trelawney and decide to take Ancient Runes instead.

- On their fourth year Harry Potter comes to Hogwarts.

- Donna is one second away from screaming bloody murder at Dumbledore's blatant favouritism.

- Fifth year has all that business with the Chamber of Secrets, Ten and Donna are among the few that don't think Harry is the heir.

- But then Donna gets attacked too. Ten is inconsolable, he spends every moment he can with her in hospital wing. Fortunately she is saved by the mandragora potion with the others.

- Now, in sixth year things start getting Interesting. There's this boy who is interested in Donna and she kind of is too, but she's nervous because she hasn't had her first kiss yet. She tells Ten this. He also hasn't kissed anyone yet and he has one of his Ideas. He suggests to Donna that they can be each other's first kiss. That nearly earns him a slap, but he manages to convince her before she takes action. He says that they're best friends and what are best friends for if not helping each other? So she agrees and he goes all out to make it special for her. He takes her to the Astronomy Tower one night when the stars are out and they sit looking at the sky and hold hands. They see a falling star and he tells her to close her eyes and make a wish, he kisses her then. And that my friends, is when the Pinning starts.

- Sirius Black whom???? All they can think about is that kiss.

- Not that they let that ruin their friendship.

- Also, they love Hagrid teaching, he absolutely let them fly on Buckbeak. And Buckbeak is a strong boi, he took the both of them (cue Ten holding onto to Donna's waist and she going "Hands!" but secretly liking it)

- Seventh year, this is a good one folks. This year we continue with the Pinning, yes, but we also have the Triwizard Tournament!

- They tottaly go to the Quidditch World Cup, but manage to leave before the madness start.

- Meanwhile Harry Potter is dreaming about a slightly older version of Ten and freaking the fuck out.

- Back to Hogwarts and the Tournament. Donna speaks French so she makes friends with some of the Beauxbatons girls. Also, tottaly talks well of Hagrid to Madame Maxime.

- They both put their names on the goblet.

- "And the Hogwarts Champion is Donna Noble!"

- Yep, you read that right, my girl Donna is Hogwarts Champion instead of Cedric.

- The goblet inevitably spews out Harry's name and chaos ensues. BUT, we have something different this time, we have the brilliant Donna Noble. She asks if it really is binding if Harry didn't write his own name, and not his full name at that. And it is also against the rules for a fourth school to compete, and as someone had charm the goblet into allowing a fourth school competitor it is not really valid. The teachers are convinced and Harry doesn't participate. He is eternally grateful to Donna.

- The Weasleys are the first to know about the first task, and Ron tells Harry who in turn tells Donna. He takes her to see the dragons with the invisibility cloak.

- Donna asks Magical Creature Enthusiast Ten for help and they study the dragons they have seen.

- On the actual day Donna gets the Hungarian Horntail, but she uses a spell for it to understand her instead of tricking it. She manages to tell it one of it's eggs is false and convince the dragon to give it to her. Full points for spellwork and pacific solutions.

- Magical Creature Enthusiast Ten also immediately recognises the merpeople sound from the egg, so Donna is the first to figure out her clue.

- What she doesn't know is what it is that she has to recover, but she has a plan as to how. She uses gillyweed and practices the BubbleHead spell just in case.

- But first, Yule Ball. Our continued Pinning is going on full force, but Ten realizes that if he wants to go to the Ball with Donna he has to ask NOW.

- And so he does, with more blood on his face than anywhere else. Donna is a confused but secretly hopeful. "You want to go as friends?" "No Donna, I want you to be my date." "Oh" "If you don't want to that's fine-" "I would love to" cue more blushing.

- Donna is a vision on her Ball dress, Ten is so in love.

- So they dance and laugh and generally have fun. Then Ten takes her to the Astronomy Tower again, and they kiss under the starry sky.

- Back to the tasks then.

- Of course it is Ten waiting to be rescued at the bottom of the lake.

- Donna is the first to get there, but, like Harry, she helps the others too. Still first place though, my girl is efficient like that.

- Ten and Donna cuddle for warmth after getting out of the lake, of course.

- Third Task, the maze. Donna ends up saving Fleur and having to fight Krum. She almost doesn't make it to the cup.

- Moody had to change plans and kidnap Harry since he wouldn't be competing in the Tournament. So Harry is in the graveyard, Voldemort returns, yada yada.

- But they didn't account for Donna getting there too. She arrives during the fight and saves Harry.

- So Donna is Triwizard Champion!

- and Voldemort is back, which is a bummer.

- Ten and Donna graduate and start travelling the world with a blue suitcase that is bigger on the inside and that's all I have for now, thank you for reading!

[that-writer-girl5]

Adventures in the Slow Path {Part Seven//Recognition}

“What is wrong with my wife?  What did you do to her?”

“Rose, I’m bringing her to the hospital wing.  Phone Marie, please.”

“Got it,” she said. She said to Shaun thoughtfully, “Donna will be fine, just go with the Doctor.  He will look after her.”

In her haste, she didn’t realize she called him “The Doctor”.  She normally just called him John when she was talking about him to anyone but her family.

She was worried and a bit confused about what had just happened, but she would get an explanation later.  Right now, she had to go phone Marie.

The Doctor ran with Donna in his arms.  He went straight to the hospital wing, in hopes that Marie, who was the only scientist with a medical doctorate in that branch of Torchwood, would already be there. Thankfully, she was.

“What’s going on, Doctor?  What happened?”

“I don’t know.  I’m not quite sure.  She was fine one minute and the next, she mumbled something and fainted.”

“Did anyone catch what she said?  It could indicate what she was feeling health-wise before she fainted.”

“No,” the Doctor lied.  He knew it wasn’t indicative to her condition and didn’t figure it was worth mentioning, at least not to anyone but Rose.  “Marie, look after her, please.  This is Shaun, Donna’s husband.  If there are any developments, ring my mobile.  I have to go talk to Rose for a second and bring her up here.”

“Okay.  I’ll take care of her.”

The Doctor looked at Shaun, “She will be fine.  She is in great hands.”

“Yeah. She better be.”

A few minutes later, the Doctor was outside of Rose’s office again.  He threw the door open, calling out her name.  She ran out of her office.

“How is she?”

“I think she will be fine, but Rose, did you hear her mumbling?”

“I heard her mumbling, but I didn’t make out what she said.”

“She was saying some of the same things she said when she became part-Time Lord.  The Time Lord brain that would have eventually killed her.  She saw me and oh my God.  I did that to her.  She saw me and fainted.  But how?” He said, facing Rose.  “How is that possible?  She is a completely different person.  Different world, different memories, different everything, but it seems she has some sort of connection to the memories, or lack thereof, I suppose, to our world’s counterpart of herself.

“That day that he left us on Bad Wolf Bay, we both knew that he’d have to take her memories of him and their time together to save her life.  It was the only way.  We both knew that she couldn’t handle having a Time Lord brain in a human body.  She’d die and then once he took her memories, if they got triggered, what just happened, would happen.”

“But Doctor, like you said, it’s impossible.  Different worlds.  That rift was sealed off after that day.  No more passing through.  Just because she mumbled some stuff, doesn’t mean it’s her or that she’s doomed to live the life of the other her.  Honestly though, I don’t think Marie can fix this one.  Only you can.  If the problem is what you think it is, it can only be you.”

“You’re right.  But first, I have to pay her gramps a visit.  He needs to know and so does her mum.”

“You can bring them in the public entrance.  I am going to phone Dad and tell him what’s going on.  Everything will be fine, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Wilf Mott was outside of his house tinkering with his favorite telescope.  The night before, he noticed that the lens was loose and he wanted to fix it.  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw an impressive looking man wearing a suit and trainers approaching.  Not knowing why he was being paid a visit, a look of confusion crossed his face.

“Hello, sir. I’m Doctor John Smith.  Are you Wilfred Mott, grandfather of Donna Temple-Noble?”

“I am, sir.  Is there something I can help you with?  If you’re looking for Donna, she’s at work.”  He looked at his watch, “Well, it’s lunch time now, isn’t it?  She had a very important lunch planned with the boss.  Called this morning to tell me.  Do you want to speak to her mother?”

“No, sir.  I am here to talk to both of you actually.  Donna is at the hospital,” the Doctor noticed Wilf’s panicked face.  “We think she will be fine.  If you would like to call Mrs. Noble, I’d be happy to take you to her.”

“Wait a second here.  Since when do doctors make house calls when the patient isn’t at home?  I think my daughter and I will drive ourselves.  Thank you very much.  You lead the way, Doctor.  Sylvia, get out here,” he added with a shout.

Mrs. Sylvia Noble walked out of the house and the Doctor got in his car.  “What is it now, Dad?  I’m doing the dishes.”

“It’s Donna, darling.  She in the hospital and this doctor, Doctor Smith said he will lead us to her.  Offered to drive, but I don’t know if I trust him, so I said we’d drive ourselves.  We can follow ‘em and if things don’t feel up-to-snuff, we’ll turn right back ‘round.”

“Oh, Donna!  Okay.  Let me grab my keys and coat.  Phone Shaun and see if he has any information.”

Wilf made his way inside and dialed Shaun’s mobile, but it went straight to voicemail.  From past experience, he knew that Shaun didn’t get reception at work.

Sylvia came outside, shutting the door and locking it behind her.  She hurriedly made her way to the car and got in, Wilf right behind her.

“I called Shaun’s mobile, but it went straight to voicemail.  Donna is probably at that on-site hospital they have there so he won’t have reception.”

Sylvia nodded, but followed the Doctor’s car in silence.

The Doctor realized he probably sounded rather like a creeper and untrustworthy with how cryptic he was.  No wonder Wilf didn’t want to go with him.  

A few minutes later, the three of them made it to Canary Wharf.  The way that the hospital was set up, it didn’t look like a typical Torchwood facility, so employees could go there and their families could visit and they would be none-the-wiser.  However, the Doctor suspected that if this world’s Donna and Wilf were anything like the ones he knew, Wilf was fully aware of where and to what caliber Donna worked.

The Doctor silently led Wilf and Sylvia to the hospital wing’s back entrance.  He quickly texted Rose to ask her to meet them there.  Once they got inside, the Doctor went straight to the room he had left her in.  Wilf and Sylvia went inside the room and straight to Shaun.

“How is she?” The Doctor asked Marie, as Rose walked up behind him.

“She is showing signs of dehydration, so I have administered an IV, but other than that, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong.  Her blood sugar was very low so it was probably a combination of that and the dehydration that caused the fainting.  We will keep her overnight, but she should be ready to go home tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Marie.  I’d like to take over if that’s okay.  Thank you for looking after her while I got her family here.”

“Sure, no problem.  If you need anything, let me know.”

“Of course.”

The Doctor waited for Marie to be out of earshot when he turned to Rose and hugged her.  She gave him a reassuring smile and squeeze.

“How’re Wilf and her mum?”

“They are worried obviously and they probably thought I was a creeper the way I approached Wilf.  I almost expected him to recognize me the way she seemed to.  All we can do now is wait for her to wake up.  That’s where you come in.  I can’t risk the chance of her having the same reaction if she sees me again, so I need you to see how she is. I need to keep my distance until we know what this is.”

The Doctor sat outside of her room, close enough where he could hear if something happened, but far enough away to where Donna couldn’t see him if she woke up.

About thirty minutes later, he heard Donna’s voice coming from her room.

“Where am I?  Gramps?  Mum?  Rose? What happened to me?”

“You’re fine, Sweetheart.  You had a little tumble is all.  The doc’ll fix ya right up.”

“I fell?  I had lunch with Rose and Doctor Smith.  Did we go?”

“No,” Shaun answered this time.  “Doctor Smith walked in and you fainted.”

“Oh, I remember now.  He walked in and I saw him and fainted.  What’d I do that for?”

“Doctor Harper says you were dehydrated and had low blood sugar.  You needed to eat, but I guess lunch time wasn’t soon enough.  I told you to eat your breakfast, dear.”

Donna’s mother hadn’t changed a bit, the Doctor realized.  He imagined Donna rolling her eyes.

“Rose, where is that fiancé of yours?  I hope I didn’t scare him off.  Probably thinks I fainted on account of him.  Great timing that was,” she chuckled, then coughed.

Shaun rubbed her back to comfort her.

“He’s not scared off.  He’s just checking into some things.  He will be your doctor from now on.”

“Oh, brilliant.  You guys.  Do you mind if I talk to Rose alone please?  I have to ask her some questions.  Girl questions,” she whispered.

“Sure, we’ll go get a cuppa tea,” Wilf responded, as he began guiding his daughter and grandson-in-law out of the door.

As they walked out, Sylvia was complaining about how she had the right anatomy for the questions Donna wanted to ask, but how Donna chose Rose to talk to over her own mother.  Sylvia and Shaun continued on to the cafeteria, but Wilf lingered around in the hallway, near the Doctor.  

As Rose walked to the door to shut it, the Doctor heard Donna say that her mother drove her crazy, to which Rose responded, “I know how you feel.”

“Hey, Doc?”  The Doctor was torn from his concentration to hear Wilf’s voice.

He sat up straight, “Yes, sir?”

“My Donna will be fine, won’t she?  I couldn’t deal,” he said as tears welled up in his eyes.

“She will be fine.  I will see to it.”

“Right, then.  Sorry we didn’t go with you.  Don’t know who you can trust these days, ya know?  I know what she does for a living.  Dangerous stuff sometimes.  I didn’t know if you was one of them aliens or something tryin’a trick me.”

“I completely understand, Mr. Mott.”

“Oh, just Wilf.  Nice to meet you, Doc.”

“Very, very, very nice to meet you too, Wilf.”

“I better go catch up with ‘em.  Don’t want ‘em thinkin’ I ran off.”

“Catch you later, Wilf.  And hey, don’t worry.  She will be fine.”

“I know.”

Rose sat on the side of Donna’s hospital bed.

“How ya feeling?”

“I’m better.  Thanks.  Rose, there is something I have to tell you.  Don’t freak out okay?  But, I don’t think I fainted entirely because of dehydration or low blood sugar.  I drink plenty of water and despite what my mum thinks, I had a three course breakfast this morning.  

“A few years ago, I had this incident where I fell and hit my head.  I had a concussion and I ended up in the hospital.  Now, the only one that knows is my Gramps, ‘cause Mum was in Ireland visiting some cousins for a few weeks and by the time she got back, I was better.  I asked Gramps not to say anything, because Mum worries too much.

“Anyway, so this was about two years at about this time of year, I believe.  I’ll have to ask Gramps the exact date, but I think it was within the last couple days.  During my concussed state, I began having vivid visions and it was like a dream, but very real.  There was a blue box, a man, and a blonde girl.  I was there, but it was like an outer-body experience.  I was very clever. After I woke up, I forgot the details of it all, except for the blue box.  

To be honest, you always reminded me of the blonde girl.  I’m not sure why, but I’m pretty sure I sound like a nutter now, don’t I?”

“No, not at all.  Is there a reason you decided to tell me this though?”

“Yes, sorry.  Should have led with that.  When I saw Doctor Smith, it all came back.  The blue box, my cleverness, the blonde girl, the man.  For a split second, it all came back like the day it happened, but then I passed out and now I’ve forgotten the specifics again.”

“Okay.  Will you be okay here for a second while I tell John what’s going on?  Trust me, he’s heard all sorts.  He will want to know these details to make sure you don’t faint again.”

“Sure.”

“Alright.  I’ll be back in a bit then.”

Disclaimer: I don’t own Doctor Who.