Mistaken Identity, chapter 8
Jul. 5th, 2014 11:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shivverTitle: Mistaken Identity, chapter 8
Fandom(s): Doctor Who
Characters: Tenth Doctor, Donna Noble
Pairing(s): None
Rating: G
Genre: Sci-fi, fantasy, adventure
Word Count: 1098
Summary: Doctor Who/Harry Potter crossover: The Tenth Doctor and Donna fly through a crack in the walls of the universe and land in a world where humans can perform magic. Getting mixed up in the cold war between the Death Eaters, the Ministry of Magic, and the Order of the Phoenix, all sides want the Doctor dead!
Lupin paced the length of the infirmary room, back and forth, while keeping an eye on the unconscious man in the third bed. With school not in session, there were no nurses in the castle, and for that, he was glad. He wouldn’t want Madame Pomfrey, or anyone else, for that matter, to be around when the Death Eater woke up.
To be fair, though, as he thought about the situation, it didn’t add up. Barty Crouch, Jr. had been given the Dementor’s Kiss, which ripped out his soul and left his body empty, worse than dead. Normally, it didn’t take long for the body to then wither and die. Severus Snape and Minerva McGonagall had been present when the deed was done, and while Lupin didn’t consider Snape to be the most trustworthy wizard in the world, McGonagall’s testimony was unassailable. As far as he knew, there was no way to reverse a Dementor’s Kiss.
So how does a man drained of his soul by a dementor reappear as a living, whole human being? Crouch didn’t have a twin (that Lupin knew of, anyway). It had been two hours since he had been brought here, so a Polyjuice Potion would have worn off by now. The man claimed that he wasn’t Barty Crouch, dressed like a Muggle, and carried Muggle artifacts. Could it be possible for two unrelated men to look so much alike?
“No change, huh?” Tonks peeked in at the infirmary door.
“Same. I tried to wake him, maybe fifteen minutes ago, but he’s still unconscious. He’s not sleeping.”
Tonks tried to skirt the door and bumped her shoulder rather painfully into it. “Ow! I still think we should rennervate him. I’d no idea a dementor could knock a person out like this.”
“Well, the more bad memories someone has, the more a dementor will affect him. Granted, I’ve not much experience with dementor victims, but I was there when Harry encountered his first. He fainted, but only for a couple of minutes. He got better at resisting it as he became more used to them.” Lupin turned to look at Crouch. “He was in Azkaban for over a year. You’d think he… well, no one gets used to it, but the way he reacted…”
“They fall, they cry, they despair. He… I thought he was going to rip himself apart. I’ve never heard of that before.”
A step outside the door portended the arrival of the headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore. An old wizard, much of his face was hidden behind a long white beard, but his eyes were serious and concerned. His plain silk robes swished as he walked. “Tonks, Lupin. Thank you for standing guard. Not very stimulating work, is it?”
“Sometimes I can use a little boring,” Tonks smirked.
The headmaster smiled. “No change, I see.” The statement didn’t require a response. Stroking his long white beard absentmindedly, he stood at the foot of the bed and gazed at the unconscious man. After a few minutes, he stated in a decided tone, “No.”
“No what?” asked Tonks.
“No, I don’t see how this could possibly be Bartemius Crouch, Jr. He certainly looks like him. Spitting image, I’d say. But the real Barty Crouch would not have allowed himself to be captured so easily. You said he saw you, Lupin?"
Lupin nodded. "Yes. He seemed nervous... No, not nervous. Alert. But I would have thought he'd do anything to escape once he saw me."
"Exactly. Oh, and you've checked his arm, yes?"
Tonks spoke as she moved to man's side. "Yeah. No Dark Mark. Checked both arms, even." She pushed up the sleeve over the man's left arm, exposing the smooth skin of his inner forearm. There was no trace of a tattoo.
The headmaster shook his head. “This cannot be him. Minerva and Severus witnessed the Kiss, and I inspected the body myself afterward. Barty was quite gone. There’s no way to restore the soul once it’s been removed.”
“Some new Dark Magic, maybe?” Tonks proffered.
"There is always that possibility. But it wasn’t Voldemort’s doing.” The other two wizards began to fidget at the mention of the name. “Severus said that he was as surprised to discover this man walking about as we were, and was just as suspicious.”
“If he’s telling the truth,” Lupin interjected.
“We’ve already discussed this, Remus. I trust Severus.” Dumbledore’s word was final.
“You don’t have to trust anyone.” Tonks looked Dumbledore in the eye. “You could read his mind." She jerked her head towards the man in the bed.
Dumbledore returned her stare with a serious expression. “That is an unwarranted intrusion, Tonks.”
“Barty Crouch, Jr. is powerful and dangerous. It’ll put us all in danger, if he wakes up without bonds. We just need to know his name. How is Legilimency any worse than using Veritaserum? We do that all the time.”
“A well-constructed argument. Very well.”
Dumbledore turned and fixed his eyes on the man in the bed. “Hmm,” he murmured after a few moments.
“What?” Lupin stepped to Dumbledore’s side.
“No, wait.” After a few more moments, Dumbledore shook his head. “No. I can’t do it.”
“But you said…”
“That’s not what I meant, Tonks. I tried. I can’t read his mind.”
Lupin darted around the bed to get a closer look at the man. “Try again? No use in me trying. Never been much of a legilimens,” he shrugged.
“I tried twice already.”
“How is that possible? Maybe he’s wearing something that blocks it?” Tonks pulled back the covers and started checking the man for jewelry or other objects. “Lupin said his pockets were empty except for that wand thing.”
“Wand thing?” Dumbledore was curious.
“This.” She pulled the odd metal cylinder out of her pocket and held it out to Dumbledore without looking at him. “It’s not a wand. Couldn’t cast a thing with it.”
Dumbledore took it from her and examined it. “Looks like some Muggle device.” He pressed the single button on its side, but nothing happened. “Whatever it is, it wouldn’t work here. Still, delightful! Well, we shall return it to him when he wakes up, I expect.” He placed it on a table next to one of the other beds, far out of the reach of mysterious man. “I don’t know of any object that can block an accomplished legilimens, but that does not mean there can’t be one. Short of stripping him to his skivvies, there’s not much we can do now. I suggest we wait until he wakes up and ask him ourselves.”
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Fandom(s): Doctor Who
Characters: Tenth Doctor, Donna Noble
Pairing(s): None
Rating: G
Genre: Sci-fi, fantasy, adventure
Word Count: 1098
Summary: Doctor Who/Harry Potter crossover: The Tenth Doctor and Donna fly through a crack in the walls of the universe and land in a world where humans can perform magic. Getting mixed up in the cold war between the Death Eaters, the Ministry of Magic, and the Order of the Phoenix, all sides want the Doctor dead!
Lupin paced the length of the infirmary room, back and forth, while keeping an eye on the unconscious man in the third bed. With school not in session, there were no nurses in the castle, and for that, he was glad. He wouldn’t want Madame Pomfrey, or anyone else, for that matter, to be around when the Death Eater woke up.
To be fair, though, as he thought about the situation, it didn’t add up. Barty Crouch, Jr. had been given the Dementor’s Kiss, which ripped out his soul and left his body empty, worse than dead. Normally, it didn’t take long for the body to then wither and die. Severus Snape and Minerva McGonagall had been present when the deed was done, and while Lupin didn’t consider Snape to be the most trustworthy wizard in the world, McGonagall’s testimony was unassailable. As far as he knew, there was no way to reverse a Dementor’s Kiss.
So how does a man drained of his soul by a dementor reappear as a living, whole human being? Crouch didn’t have a twin (that Lupin knew of, anyway). It had been two hours since he had been brought here, so a Polyjuice Potion would have worn off by now. The man claimed that he wasn’t Barty Crouch, dressed like a Muggle, and carried Muggle artifacts. Could it be possible for two unrelated men to look so much alike?
“No change, huh?” Tonks peeked in at the infirmary door.
“Same. I tried to wake him, maybe fifteen minutes ago, but he’s still unconscious. He’s not sleeping.”
Tonks tried to skirt the door and bumped her shoulder rather painfully into it. “Ow! I still think we should rennervate him. I’d no idea a dementor could knock a person out like this.”
“Well, the more bad memories someone has, the more a dementor will affect him. Granted, I’ve not much experience with dementor victims, but I was there when Harry encountered his first. He fainted, but only for a couple of minutes. He got better at resisting it as he became more used to them.” Lupin turned to look at Crouch. “He was in Azkaban for over a year. You’d think he… well, no one gets used to it, but the way he reacted…”
“They fall, they cry, they despair. He… I thought he was going to rip himself apart. I’ve never heard of that before.”
A step outside the door portended the arrival of the headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore. An old wizard, much of his face was hidden behind a long white beard, but his eyes were serious and concerned. His plain silk robes swished as he walked. “Tonks, Lupin. Thank you for standing guard. Not very stimulating work, is it?”
“Sometimes I can use a little boring,” Tonks smirked.
The headmaster smiled. “No change, I see.” The statement didn’t require a response. Stroking his long white beard absentmindedly, he stood at the foot of the bed and gazed at the unconscious man. After a few minutes, he stated in a decided tone, “No.”
“No what?” asked Tonks.
“No, I don’t see how this could possibly be Bartemius Crouch, Jr. He certainly looks like him. Spitting image, I’d say. But the real Barty Crouch would not have allowed himself to be captured so easily. You said he saw you, Lupin?"
Lupin nodded. "Yes. He seemed nervous... No, not nervous. Alert. But I would have thought he'd do anything to escape once he saw me."
"Exactly. Oh, and you've checked his arm, yes?"
Tonks spoke as she moved to man's side. "Yeah. No Dark Mark. Checked both arms, even." She pushed up the sleeve over the man's left arm, exposing the smooth skin of his inner forearm. There was no trace of a tattoo.
The headmaster shook his head. “This cannot be him. Minerva and Severus witnessed the Kiss, and I inspected the body myself afterward. Barty was quite gone. There’s no way to restore the soul once it’s been removed.”
“Some new Dark Magic, maybe?” Tonks proffered.
"There is always that possibility. But it wasn’t Voldemort’s doing.” The other two wizards began to fidget at the mention of the name. “Severus said that he was as surprised to discover this man walking about as we were, and was just as suspicious.”
“If he’s telling the truth,” Lupin interjected.
“We’ve already discussed this, Remus. I trust Severus.” Dumbledore’s word was final.
“You don’t have to trust anyone.” Tonks looked Dumbledore in the eye. “You could read his mind." She jerked her head towards the man in the bed.
Dumbledore returned her stare with a serious expression. “That is an unwarranted intrusion, Tonks.”
“Barty Crouch, Jr. is powerful and dangerous. It’ll put us all in danger, if he wakes up without bonds. We just need to know his name. How is Legilimency any worse than using Veritaserum? We do that all the time.”
“A well-constructed argument. Very well.”
Dumbledore turned and fixed his eyes on the man in the bed. “Hmm,” he murmured after a few moments.
“What?” Lupin stepped to Dumbledore’s side.
“No, wait.” After a few more moments, Dumbledore shook his head. “No. I can’t do it.”
“But you said…”
“That’s not what I meant, Tonks. I tried. I can’t read his mind.”
Lupin darted around the bed to get a closer look at the man. “Try again? No use in me trying. Never been much of a legilimens,” he shrugged.
“I tried twice already.”
“How is that possible? Maybe he’s wearing something that blocks it?” Tonks pulled back the covers and started checking the man for jewelry or other objects. “Lupin said his pockets were empty except for that wand thing.”
“Wand thing?” Dumbledore was curious.
“This.” She pulled the odd metal cylinder out of her pocket and held it out to Dumbledore without looking at him. “It’s not a wand. Couldn’t cast a thing with it.”
Dumbledore took it from her and examined it. “Looks like some Muggle device.” He pressed the single button on its side, but nothing happened. “Whatever it is, it wouldn’t work here. Still, delightful! Well, we shall return it to him when he wakes up, I expect.” He placed it on a table next to one of the other beds, far out of the reach of mysterious man. “I don’t know of any object that can block an accomplished legilimens, but that does not mean there can’t be one. Short of stripping him to his skivvies, there’s not much we can do now. I suggest we wait until he wakes up and ask him ourselves.”
