Harry can’t remember the first time he ever saw the man. He seemed to be around a lot. In the store his aunt dragged him to. Walking down the road in view of the park Harry was at. Feeding ducks in a small pond. He wasn’t always there but was enough that Harry took notice of him. He wondered if the man lived nearby perhaps even further down Privet Drive where Harry wasn’t allowed. He wondered about the man a lot if he was being honest. The longer Harry looked the stranger the man got.
While his long coat matched well with his pinstriped suit, looking alike to outfits of his uncle’s colleagues, his shoes stood out. Bright red and a much more casual style than the rest of his look. He also did rather odd things on occasion. Harry once saw him absent mindedly bite into a pear only to spit it back out with a twisted face of disgust before scrubbing his tongue over his coat lapel. Another time he saw the man enter a small police box only to seemingly not come out. He even once overheard the man talking to the ducks at the pond as if they were people, calling one Alonzo.
Besides all that the man never really had an effect on Harry’s life. Up until he met him that was. It started with Harry in a scene he was quite familiar with. Running away from Dudley and his gang in a game of ‘Harry hunting’ only to turn the corner and run head first into the familiar stranger.
“Wow there, you alright?” Harry looked up from the ground to see the strange man bending over. A hand held out to the boy. “In a bit of a hurry there are ya?”
Before Harry could do more that stutter out a few syllables Dudley rounded the corner and grabbed onto the shoulder of Harry, formally Dudley’s, shirt and start to drag him back with a chuckle. “Hey, hey, hey, watch it!” Before he knew what happened he found himself released of his cousin’s grip and instead in the gentle hands of the stranger. “There’s no need for any of that.” Harry was stood on his feet and dusted off by the man.
“We were just playing.” Dudley scoffed. A piss poor excuse that makes most unknown adults leave it at that.
“Oh just playing were ya?” Despite the man’s smile it was easy to see he was unimpressed. “Sorry if I don’t know many games that leads one of my friends to run away terrified.”
Dudley’s face became so red Harry could practically see steam shooting from his ears. “That freak isn’t my friend!”
“But you were playing together weren’t ya?” The man seemed more smug now as he pulled Harry into his side. “Only friends play together.”
If he looked red before, it was nothing compared to now. At this point his whole head could have been mistaking for a tomato about to explode in a microwave. “He’s not my friend!” He bellowed, turning to storm away in a huff with his gang.
Harry shook with the man’s laughter as he watched, gobsmacked as they left. “Well ain’t he a character?” Looking up at the man as he started leading Harry down the path. “I use to know a guy like him. Well, I say knew but I never really spoke to him. He just sort of yelled at everyone around him. I always wondered what he was like as a kid but guess I know now. Certainly not pleasant.”
“T-thank you.” Harry sputtered out before the man could continue his ramblings. They had reached the pond at this point, the man sitting them down before pulling out some duck food from somewhere Harry couldn’t see.
“Oh it’s alright. Couldn’t just leave you with company like that could I?” He smiled down at Harry, then pointed at some of the ducks that had wondered over. “These guys on the other hand are a hell of a time. You should see it when Rose starts chasing Micky.” His goofy smile seemed to pull a laugh from the small boy. The two then spent the rest of the evening by the pond. Harry listening to the man’s stories of duck drama before realising how late it had gotten.
“I urr..” Despite his voice being barely a whimper the man heard it, stopping in his story to give the boy his full attention. “I have to go home. It’s almost night.”
He looked around, as if only just noticing the time. “Oh yeah guess it is. Alright I won’t hold you any longer.” He smiled down at the boy as he stood. Harry followed but couldn’t make himself leave.
“Could I… could I talk to you again?” His shy question softened the man’s smile. He knelt down before the boy to catch his eye.
“You can talk to me whenever you want.” Harry lit up at the news, not noticing the momentary glint of sadness in the man’s eye at how much joy his words brought the child.
“I’m Harry.”
“I’m the Doctor.”
While the man wasn’t always around he was often enough to be a constant in Harry’s life. He would listen to the Doctor’s stories for hours as they fed the ducks, walked around the park or swung on the swings. He never seemed to run out of stories and never seemed to bore of Harry’s company, despite it taking months before the boy could talk freely to his new friend. As time went on they meant less and less especially after Harry started at Hogwarts. They were still closer than anything however. Despite Harry meeting new friends, going on new adventures, when the end of year came and it was time to go home he always had one thing to look forward to. His old friend waiting for him at kings cross with a new story to tell about those crazy ducks.
If Harry was honest with himself he had his suspicions. Of course he would, he’s Harry Potter and as he grew he learnt what that name meant. He learnt to he wary. You can’t blame him for thinking a little too much about his seemingly never aging friend with his crazy stories. His friend that always seems to be at the park whenever he needs him. It’s because of this Harry can’t bring himself to be all that surprised when he sees his old friend in the forest as he takes his walk down death row. All that him being there does is cements it for Harry.
“Are you a wizard?” Before the Doctor even answers Harry somehow knew the answer.
“No.” He answers anyway.
“Then what are you?” This one Harry doesn’t know the answer to.
“A time lord.” Something Harry doesn’t know yet somehow it explains a lot.
Two simple words answers so much while asking so much more. In that moment however there is only one thing he wanted to know. “Why? Why me?”
The Doctor smiled. A smile he rarely let Harry see. One with a tinge of sadness and dash of longing. One that told Harry more than the Doctor’s stories ever could.
“An older you, met a younger me,” he smiled up at the sky, as if seeing the stars beyond the treetops. “And we went on so many adventures together. You stayed by my side threw so much and for just awhile.” Harry felt tears fill his eyes as his friend looked back at him. “I didn’t feel lonely anymore.”
He walked over to his young friend, taking his hand as he fought his own tears. “So when I learnt of a young boy, all alone for far too long. Well, I couldn’t let that be.”
The two lost their battle with the tears as Harry threw himself at his friend. For a moment Harry could fool himself into believing that everything was fine. That nothing could hurt him within the arms of the Doctor. The moment was fleeting however and as it past the Doctor shushed him. Rocking the two back and forth as they mourned the fate Harry was to face.
“This isn’t the end.” Doctor rasped out as he stroked the boys hair. “You still have to meet me one day. And even though I wouldn’t know who you are, we will go on some amazing adventures together.” He pulled back to wipe the boys tears while cupping his face. “I promise you.”
He never would have guessed that walking to his kinda-death would be the easier part of walking away in that moment. Yet it took all of Harry’s strength to pull himself away from his friend. He knows he’ll seem him again but the thought that that Doctor won’t be his. That that Doctor won’t know the names of the ducks or just how high to push Harry on the swings or where and when to wait at kings cross. That thought was so much more terrifying to Harry. That thought made him want to grab onto his friend tight and never let go.
But he couldn’t. He knew he couldn’t. “I’ll hold you to that promise.” And the two smiled and parted ways.
It would be 3 years before he saw him again and boy what had changed in 3 years. Harry lived in London, Hermione and Ron were married, Teddy’s growing like a weed and oh yeah aliens are a thing.
Honestly at this point Harry wouldn’t be surprised by much. Yet as he was walking home he almost completely lost his feet from under him as he saw that all to familiar trench coat. He didn’t even try and contain himself as he darted off full sprint at his old new friend.
“Doctor!” He barely stopped before barrelling into the familiar stranger and the not so familiar blonde woman beside him causing the two of them to practically jump out of their skins.
“Oh hello.” The Doctor chuckled, never one to be put off for long. “Sorry but do I know you.”
Harry couldn’t get the dumb smile off his face as he drunk in the sight of his dear friend. When he processed the words he couldn’t stop the chuckle as he automatically knew what to say.
“An older you met a younger me.
And you promised me an adventure.”