Too Close For Comfort, Doctor
by
xXx MissHaunted-MoonLight xXx

Summary:Harry catches Ron writing an apology for Hermione. The contents within shake Harry into a new reality with his own love-life. As he resolves to himself not to become involved with what his heart wants, the largest burden he has ever faced is dropped onto his young shoulders. When all other opportunities seem scarce, Harry, Ron and Hermione are faced with the only possibility remaining-a visit to The Underworld. But a strange appearance of two rather unusual people just before departure means more mystery, suspense, drama and danger than the trio had expected. Who is this mysterious Doctor and how is he connected with the ongoing battle between Good and Evil?

Starring:The Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) and Rose Tyler

Pairings:Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione, and the Doctor/Rose

Disclaimer:The title of this story and Ron's song lyrics come from/and are based on McFly's Too Close for Comfort, so I can't claim them as mine, unfortunately. All HP characters, scenes, names, and anything else you remotely recognise do not belong to me, but the amazing and ever-talented J.K Rowling. Any Doctor Who related works are also not of my creation, so please don't sue me! Thank Russell T Davies and the BBC for those. The whole 'Death' concept, however can, I think, be called my own as it counts as AU. I think...

And that's the technicalities out of the way. So without further ado, I present to you ...
'Too Close For Comfort, Doctor'.

Hope you enjoy the ride, peeps!

Chapter 1

The Power of Words

There was something rather unsettling about the atmosphere in the library, that night. The night when it all began.

Ancient whispers fluttered about on a sightless breeze, while the flickering darkness, interrupted every now and again by a passing floating candle, cast eerie shadows upon the hundreds of rows of shelves. Wandering by them in nothing short of a mindless daze, Harry Potter silently marvelled at how that darkness was clouding his perception in such a way that the paths between those shelves seemed to go on forever. And that in itself was more than a little unnerving.

Lucky for him, it didn't take him long to find what he had been looking for.

Ron Weasley was sitting at a small table near the main entrance, tucked away in a corner of the library within plain sight of the half-open doorway. Harry could spot his vivid, red hair a mile off, and with a vague glance over his shoulder to determine he was quite alone, he plastered a look of mild curiosity onto his face and made his way over to his best friend. Ron looked up, noticed Harry walking towards him, and quickly hunched over the piece of parchment to shield it from Harry's suspicious gaze.

"Hi," he said calmly, stopping just behind Ron, a small smile gracing his worn features. "What are you doing in the library?" He paused, smirking, then clapped a hand to his mouth in mock-horror. "Oh no! All this dating stuff's gone to your head hasn't it? You've become Hermione!"

Ron scowled at him, cheeks colouring ever-so-slightly as he attempted to surreptitiously disguise the words scrawled across the page he'd been working on.

"No of course I haven't!" he shot back defensively, avoiding Harry's gaze. "No, I was just searching for that 'R.A.B'. I mean we're only here for a few days, so if we want to know if that Horcrux thing was destroyed before tearing off after You Know Who's other ones, we've got to get searching, haven't we?' Ron replied, a little too fast. He stared at Harry for a few seconds before adding bluntly, "and what are you doing here?"

Raising an eyebrow but deciding not to comment, Harry sighed, smile dropping.

"Looking for you. That meeting with McGonagall tonight has been moved to eleven o'clock."

There was a small, uncomfortable pause, during which Ron merely nodded his understanding, eyes still down-cast and expression guiltily passive. Deciding his curiosity more than outweighed his silent wish to not get involved in anything that could distract him from his mission, Harry's eyes drifted to the half-concealed parchment, and the words escaped his lips before he could bite them back. "What are you writing?"

Within seconds, Ron's ears were glowing.

"Erm, nothing important," he hastily replied, hurrying to shove the parchment into his bag, and out of sight. But Harry was too quick for him. Ron blushed astonishingly as Harry read the beginning of the apology he had been working on, silently fuming to himself that he should have put it away when he'd had the chance.

I never meant the things I said to make you cry, I'm sorry, and nothing I say can change your mind, can it?
I really don't know why I said what I did.
It was stupid, and I really need you to forgive me. I love you, and I can't live without you. What can I say to make you believe me?

An awkward pause followed, during which Harry dropped his bag onto the floor, took the chair across from Ron and re-read the parchment three times. Having finally admitted to himself that the words were the real deal, he glanced up at Ron, whose ears were now shining brighter than the setting sun.

"Well," he said at last, attempting to keep his voice light and airy but failing abysmally as the atmosphere seemed to crackle its silent disapproval. "I was wondering what you'd said to make Hermione so upset." He paused to watch his friend's reaction before saying, "that's partly why I wanted to talk to you. Neither of you showed up for dinner tonight, so I thought it must have been something like this."

Harry was trying his best not to smile. The truth was he was so used to this sort of thing by now that it was so difficult for him to pretend to be worried. Admittedly, this was the first time Harry had caught Ron trying to write her an apology; so obviously, whatever he'd done, it must have been big, but they always made up again. Harry just needed to push things along a bit …

Oblivious to Harry's silent plotting, Ron shuffled uncomfortably in his chair, trying to come up with the best possible answer he could give by way of a response.

"Well, I don't really know what happened, myself," Ron muttered quietly, knowing full well that Harry would probably have sat in the chair opposite him all night until he answered. It would be a lot less hassle for the both of them if he got it over with there and then. "One minute we were getting along fine, and the next she'd stood up and run out of the room, crying."

"Well what did you say to her?" Harry asked. After six years of bickering and arguments, Harry knew how to handle Ron/Hermione fall-out scenarios. Ron was the easier target, and all Harry had to do was talk Ron into understanding what he had done wrong, and then he would be able to sort things out for himself from there.

As if in answer, Ron glanced anxiously around the library, and when he had checked each corner of the room twice and made certain no-one was eavesdropping, he looked down at the table and spoke to his hands.

"Well, I…er…you won't…er… laugh or anything, will you?" he stammered nervously.

"Wouldn't dream of it, mate," Harry replied, his facial muscles screaming in protest as he fought to keep them straight. Ron looked around again, fidgeting, and then turned back to Harry. A long silence followed, but Harry knew it was up to Ron to speak first, and that he would do so when he was ready. All Harry needed was a little patience ...

"Erm, I…er…I kind of asked Hermione to tell me…." and he trailed off into nothing.

"Sorry, didn't catch that," Harry said, no longer restraining a smile. It had vanished along with Ron's voice. Ron looked seriously worried about something, and Harry felt it a bad mark of friendship to find Ron's uneasiness funny. Instead he stared at Ron with a look of great concern on his face.

"I asked Hermione what she thought about me. So she told me, all really nice stuff, you know. Then she asked me what I thought of her, and I kind of lost my mind then. I went ranting on about all of her bad traits, and about her being a know-it-all, and then…God, why the hell did I say it?"

Harry was dumbstruck. Ron was actually shaking with grief, and Harry saw tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

"What did you say?" Harry asked, wondering if he really wanted to know.

"I…er…oh, Harry, I accused her of fancying you!" he wailed.

Harry sighed and studied him. He didn't trust himself to speak yet. For a moment, he wanted to hit Ron for being such an ungrateful, jealous, ignorantly blind prat. But then the moment passed, and he was watching a grief-stricken friend shaking with remorse.

"What the hell made you say that? When has either of us ever given the impression that we like each other?" Harry asked, trying to keep his voice even.

"I don't know why I said it. I just saw her watching you again. She's always talking about you, and watching you, and asking me about you. It just made me think that she liked you better." The tears were becoming more noticeable. Harry was thinking fast. Drastic action and a loud shouting match were required. So naturally, Harry needed to get the two of them together.

"You moron, Ron! Me and Hermione are friends, you self-obsessed dolt! You seriously need to pull yourself together mate, or this relationship isn't going to go anywhere."

"I know," Ron murmured, absently wiping his eyes on his sleeve before turning to stare at the wall, eyes unfocused and mind elsewhere. "I know."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, and more out of boredom than actual interest, Harry read through the 'apology' again.

"Oh no," he whispered, one line finally hitting home as he stared at the words on the page. He shot Ron a side-ward glance, frowning. "She's broken it off, hasn't she?" he murmured, letting the parchment flutter back down onto the table as he ran a hand through his unruly locks. Ron looked up, eyes watering, and nodded.

"Oh, Ron!" Harry stood up and went to sit next to him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "What are you going to do?" he asked quietly.

"Well, I thought maybe if I wrote her an apology-"

"Don't you think she'd prefer it if you actually apologised to her face?" Harry suggested, pointedly, eyeing the parchment with distaste.

"How am I supposed to do that when she runs from the room as soon as I turn up?" Ron countered, expression one of complete and utter self-loathing. Harry paused, thinking, then straightened up, his smile from a few minutes prior slowly inching its way back onto his face. Straightening up in his chair, he nodded to himself, eyes widening ever so slightly as he considered Ron thoughtfully.

"Leave that to me," he said finally. "We have to fix this before eleven o'clock, so I'm going to help you out. Finish writing up this…apology…and then meet me in the Room of Requirement at nine-thirty, Okay? Okay," he finished for Ron, not wasting time.

Without waiting for a reply, Harry all but jumped to his feet, squeezed Ron's shoulder once in encouragement, and swiftly left the library. Looking back as he reached the colossal wooden doors, he saw Ron gazing at the parchment in front of him, a lost, uncertain look on his face. Harry sighed, shook his head once, and set off in the direction of the Room of Requirement.

It was time to give Ronald Weasley a kicking he would never forget.

"Harry?"

Ron cautiously entered the Room of Requirement a little while later, eyes deliberately focused upon anything but the person in question, and he couldn't contain a small gasp of surprise as he took notice of the Room's latest make-over. Every inch of the shabby black wallpaper was hidden by ceiling-high cabinets full of glass and crystal plates and goblets. Harry himself was sitting in a spindly-looking chair at the far end of the hall, apparently waiting for Ron to arrive.

"About time, I thought you'd chickened out," he said brightly by way of a greeting, standing up and walking over to Ron.

"Well it took me long enough to write this pile of garbage," Ron retorted. They stood in silence for a few seconds, Ron staring around at the large cabinets.

"What the Hell are these all for?" he asked, curiously.

Harry shrugged nonchalantly, a ghost of a smile on his face as he considered the many delicate-looking cabinets surrounding them.

"Well, I wanted a room that would reflect what I was thinking about, and I was thinking about your disagreement. And quite often with arguments, people like to throw things. I suppose that's why it's like this," he invented quickly. In truth, he wanted the plates for Hermione when she arrived, just in case she really did need to take her anger out on something, but Ron didn't know that Hermione was coming, yet. Shrugging again, he forced his smile to widen in reassurance.

Ron stared at him, suspiciously, but said nothing.

A few silent moments passed, during which time each stared directly and unblinkingly at the other. And unfortunately for Ron, it was Harry who caved first.

"Well, let's see it then!" he blurted out, a hand outstretched.

Half-heartedly, Ron handed the parchment over to him, before resolutely turning his back on both Harry and the room, deciding it was safer to contemplate the door handle, instead. Shaking his head in mild annoyance, Harry sat down again and turned his attention to studying the faded parchment, eyes narrowed slightly as he attempted to decipher Ron's untidy scrawl.

How can you stand there and push me out? I need you.
Please, what I said was stupid, foolish, tactless, and I just wasn't thinking. I didn't mean to say what I did, and I wish to God that I hadn't.
Is there something you're keeping from me? Is there some other reason why you took it the way you did?

Glancing up, Harry shot Ron a pointed glance, fingers absently drumming over the corners of the parchment.

"Hmm, do you think that's really suitable for what you're apologising for? To me, it sounds more like you're accusing her even more now than what you've already said to her face."

Ron shifted uncomfortably again, then took a quill from his pocket and scratched out the offending words. With a small nod of acceptance, Harry took it back and continued reading.

Remember when we walked hand-in-hand along the beach? You told me you loved me, and we watched the sunset together, marking our names in the sand.
And now you're telling me you've changed your mind?
What do you want me to say? You don't know how much it hurts for me to let you go. This war is tearing me apart, and my only comfort is that you are with me, but if you push me out now, I don't think I will be able to make it through.

It went on, but Harry didn't like what he was seeing after that.

"Well, it's a start," he said finally, handing it back to Ron before climbing to his feet, once again. "I'd leave out that last paragraph of intense accusations if I were you, though. Incidentally, when did you...er...you know?"

Ron blushed and studied his laces. "While you were in Scarborough hunting for contacts of Mundungus Fletcher, Hermione and I went for a walk along the beach."

Harry blinked, an eyebrow raised.

"Right," he said, restraining a grin. "Well, now we just have to get you two together, don't we?" He clapped his hands together briskly, and turned to stare at the door in anticipation.

Ron merely nodded, still apparently finding immense interest in his shoes. Before he could stop himself, he blurted out, "Harry, I need to fix this. I love her, and I can't imagine my life without her there with me. How can I get through this war without her by my side?"

Harry hesitated, considering his face before smiling warmly.

"Well you'll just have to make sure you get it right this time, won't you? Don't worry, everyone can see how much she loves you. You're meant for each other. Call it fate, call it destiny, call it a kick in the teeth, but no matter what, you two are stuck for life." Ron smiled at Harry and opened his mouth to speak. But, at that moment, there was a knock on the door, and Hermione edged slowly into the room, causing Ron to go into a state of shock. He closed his mouth quickly, and looked from Hermione to Harry, and back.

"There you are Harry, I thought you said meet you in the corridor, I didn't know you'd be in…" but she broke off as she saw Ron. Tears began to slide gently down her cheeks, and she turned to leave the room, but before she could so much as grasp the handle, Harry moved into clearer view.

"Erm, I need to send a message to Lupin, so I'll meet you two outside McGonagall's office at eleven o'clock. Have fun!"

And on that note, Harry left his two best friends glaring at each other, hoping that they would sort everything out. They had enough to be dealing with now, without mass arguments every few seconds.

As Harry made his solitary way back to the library for yet another hour of searching for non-existent names with increasingly annoying initials, yells and shouts erupted from the Room of Requirement behind him. Harry turned into the fourth corridor and Ron's last paragraph began to echo around his head. For some reason, it seemed to bring home the truth of Harry's own love life, but Harry couldn't for the life of him think how it connected with Ron's. There must have been more to the argument, unless Ron was just over-reacting.

You've just been lying to me, haven't you? Has everything you told me been a lie? Did you truly love me when we were together? I just don't know you anymore, we're not the same.
Was I too close for comfort? All I know is you're pushing me out, and I need to be with you. You're keeping things from me, and I need to know what.
Please, let me in. I need you with me, and I don't know how I'm going to live without you.

This was practically what Ginny had said to him when they'd last met, during Bill and Fleur's wedding. Harry had been sure she would have understood why he had ended it, but she hadn't. She had blamed him for lying and messing around. She had blustered on about how much she needed him. It had taken three cups of coffee and a shouting match reminiscent of Ron and Hermione before she had said that she trusted him again.

Harry didn't know what to do anymore. He had hoped that she could have really thought about Harry's intentions, but she was being so stubborn about the whole thing. Harry knew what was upsetting her so much, and he also knew that she was secretly jealous of Ron and Hermione. She wanted to prove to him that she wasn't a child, and that she was in as much danger away from Harry as she was with him. She had wanted desperately to abandon school like her brother, but both Harry and Mrs Weasley had stamped that out. It was Harry's intervention that had hurt her the most.

Harry was lost. He was deliberately pushing Ginny away, needing to protect her, but a part of him was on Ginny's side. The only people who were being affected by Harry's nobility were himself and Ginny. Admitting that to himself was hard enough, but how could he tell Ginny? She was furious with him now. That argument had cooled her temper a bit, but they hadn't spoken since, and Harry was sure the long separation had been playing constantly on her mind. It had been playing on his, non-stop.

Harry entered the library, silently thanking McGonagall for the unlimited access to its many resources and free movement around Hogwarts. It had been a great relief when she had allowed them to stay in the Room of Requirement. Because of this agreement of secret sleeping arrangements, no-one but the Headmistress knew Harry, Ron and Hermione were in the castle, and Harry was quite happy to keep it that way. Arriving at three in the morning had been a real asset, as they had sorted out the Hidden Room before anyone in the castle was even awake, and had also managed to schedule an incredibly brief meeting with McGonagall.

However, a glimpse of Ginny Weasley in the Charms corridor just after they had arrived had tested his resolution to no end. It had taken a great deal of self-restraint to prevent himself from running down the corridor and refusing to let Ginny enter her lesson until he'd had his say. Again.

Ron had noticed, and tried to comfort Harry, but nothing he had said had made Harry feel any better. That had been when he had started talking quietly with Hermione. Of course, Harry being so absorbed with his own misery had departed from the room quickly and headed for the library, running into McGonagall on the way. That must have been when the trouble had started between his two best friends.

Harry really hoped they sorted this out rapidly, because he was beginning to think he would be unable to keep his cool with them for much longer. He was already at breaking point, and the last thing he needed on top of everything else was the responsibility of repairing a friendship between the two people he needed the most, right now.

How could Ron have been so stupid? Hermione was like a sister to Harry! Had they ever really made it look like they had feelings any stronger than platonic? If Ron wanted to keep Hermione, he needed to sort out his jealousy issues. It had cost him dearly in his fourth year, and if Ron and Hermione fell out like Ron and Harry had, there wouldn't be any hope of ending this war soon. Harry didn't like relying on other people, but he knew deep down that he couldn't finish Voldemort without them.

Maybe if there was a chance of another, different friend, he wouldn't be as stressed now, but it wasn't just him that felt Ginny should be kept well out of it. Even Ron had been adamant that Ginny should return to Hogwarts. All the same, Harry was really missing her company. They had spent their whole previous Summer together, and been with each other at the end of last year. He had become accustomed to being around her, her scent lingering in his nostrils. He was missing the strangest things about her too, silly things; the way the sun sent waves of light across her head and illuminated the many shades of red when she moved, the way the room seemed to brighten whenever she entered it, her sulkiness whenever she was teased by her brothers ...

Harry dragged his eyes along a low shelf, looking at records of all students to ever attend Hogwarts. They had only been there for a few hours, and they'd already searched at least thirteen tomes. He wasn't really looking though, as he thought about the many different ways he could talk with Ginny.

'I think I'm obsessing now,' kept running through his overworked brain, but he just couldn't tear his mind away from her.

He had been feeling strangely broken since his departure from The Burrow, and had been extremely subdued around Ron and Hermione. They had stopped trying to talk him round. Both had admitted defeat, and knew that the only way to see Harry happy again was for Ginny to forgive him. Harry had to recognise his feelings before that, and with fears about Voldemort increasing by the day, he hadn't had the chance to seek a conversation with her.

Harry was determined to see it through. He was also determined to make sure everyone he cared for survived the war, too. Only when Voldemort was finished would he be able to reconcile with Ginny, but a part of him wasn't sure he could last that long. How long would Ginny be prepared to wait?

'Ten-fifty, I'd better go.'

Harry left the library with an aching head, but no new ideas, and headed for McGonagall's room. His mind was, unsurprisingly, back on Ginevra Weasley, and he was hardly aware of where his feet were taking him. Consequently, he entered the entrance to the Headmistress' corridor and had to look twice at the scene in front of him before he could make any sense of it.

Ron and Hermione had apparently resolved their issues, and a full scale 'make up' session was currently underway. Harry smiled and tapped Ron on the shoulder, who jumped and looked wildly round, cheeks burning brighter than his flaming hair. He moved on down the corridor with Harry, Hermione walking a few paces behind them.

"Hey, thanks for earlier. What you said, it really helped. Is there anyway I can repay you?" he asked, grinning broadly.

"Just promise me something," Harry said, stepping up to the large stone gargoyle and muttering the password. The three of them stepped onto the spiralling staircase and arrived outside the handsome oak door.

"You name it," Ron replied.

Harry considered him for a moment, Hermione watching the pair of them suspiciously from behind, before speaking.

"Make sure you both make it through this war. You need to promise me, that you'll both be happy and safe at the end, no matter what happens around you."

Ron stared at him before glancing back at Hermione. Without warning, he leaned in close and planted a small, chaste kiss onto her cheek.

"Deal," he said, smiling, and giving Harry a fleeting glimpse of a beautiful red head with the same smile her brother was wearing ...

Sighing, he shook away his fantasies and contemplated the brass door knocker in front of them. This meeting was more important than Ginny at the moment, and he couldn't afford to get side-tracked. There would be plenty of time for that later, and he might even be able to meet her before his return to Godric's Hollow tomorrow ... Hopefully.

"Don't worry, Harry, she'll come around," whispered Hermione, squeezing his hand gently, apparently knowing exactly what was on his mind. Harry sighed again, but nodded.

"I hope so ..." He shrugged half-heartedly and glanced around them. "I dunno. It's just so weird being back here. After everything that's happened, I don't think I could cope if she never forgave me. I need her to know how I feel, but every time I try and explain it to her, she just shrugs it off."

Tears were threatening, but Harry pushed them back and stared at Hermione. She shared half a glance with Ron, and gave Harry a look that said quite plainly, 'only you can sort this out, Harry'. He hated it, when she was right.

Nodding once, he forced a smile, glanced quickly back at his best friends - mentally noting how lucky he was to have Ron and Hermione by his side - and whispered, "ready?"

They gave him an encouraging smile, and mentally braced themselves as he knocked twice on the door of the Head's office. Harry took a deep breath and entered, vaguely registering the fact that the last time he had walked through this door, a very different person had been awaiting his arrival.

Thanks for reading. Please review!

Blessed Be,
xXx MissHaunted-MoonLight xXx