Short Stories and Oneshots

Time Enough to Fall

Author: ANGSWIN

Platform: Fanfiction.net

Type: Harry Potter x Doctor Who/Torchwood

Unspeakable Hermione Granger and Captain Jack Harkness keep meeting both in and out of their current timelines after she literally falls for him while trying out her new invention.

~

"Cardiff? You want me to transfer to Cardiff?" Hermione faintly echoed the Minister's words.

"Yes, I am afraid so," Kingsley nodded sympathetically. "I know that it's not the most exciting place...but the work should be. The Torchwood team there is in desperate need of an experienced and powerful Unspeakable to help manage the Rift...and what comes out of it. Not only did the Torchwood Director specifically request you, but you're also the only one qualified enough to work with an entire team of Muggle Unspeakables. Plus, you were the one who developed the spells to keep the magical and temporal fields from destroying their delicate instruments in the first place. Therefore, it has to be you. You're the perfect person for the job."

Hermione swallowed nervously and almost stammered out her next word. "B...but the Torchwood Director is..."

"Jack Harkness, yes!" confirmed Kingsley with a grin. "That man is quite the character. He probably could have charmed old Snake Face himself. I know that you have successfully worked with him before, though."

Hermione actually blushed this time. "Yeah...you could say that we have a history," she murmured. And a future, she added silently to herself. She realized that the Minister probably thought that she was dismayed at the proposition...when nothing could have been further from the truth. She was actually ecstatic!

~~

It had all started years earlier when she had been a new recruit in the Department of Mysteries. Due to her previous experiences with the time turner, she had been drafted straight into the Time Department. She didn't complain, though. She loved the research and had quickly succeeded with incorporating miniscule amounts of the remaining time sand (from the time turners that were destroyed during the Battle of the DoM) into a potion that, when used with a specific incantation, modified a standard apparating spell into a way to travel safely through time.

Short range tests proved that the process worked perfectly...and also that the same combination would send the traveler right back to the exact time of departure. It was a huge achievement, but Hermione wanted to push it even further. Therefore, she made the arrangements...and jumped back to WWII.

~

The sight of the barrage balloons in the sky confirmed that she had reached her targeted time. Her landing, however, didn't go as planned – especially since she seemed to have apparated straight on top of a solid mass that exhaled a loud "Umph!" as they connected. Hermione soon felt strong arms steady her, however, and a clearly amused American-accented voice addressed her.

"Well, I certainly have had girls fall for me before, but never has one fallen on me!" She looked up in surprise and found herself staring into a pair of bright blue eyes set into an impossibly handsome face. She blushed slightly as she realized that his arms were still around her, even though there was no danger now. She might have felt a bit weak in the knees, but she was certain that it was due to the attractive man's proximity and not from her unusual arrival method. "Captain Jack Harkness," he introduced himself smoothly, "and who are you?"

"Hermione Granger," she answered automatically before she realized what she had done. "Oh, bugger!"

"Didn't mean to give me your real name, did'ya, Darlin'?" the man drawled in amused understanding. "Don't worry about it. It's a standard rookie mistake, but you'll get the hang of it. I'm kind of insulted that they sent a newbie to deal with me, though...even one as lovely as you." He shook his head and appraised her again. "Hermione Granger...hmmm...the name does sound familiar, though. Are you from the Boeshane Peninsula and/or the 51st century, by chance?"