AN: You don't have to have seen Doctor Who to read this. Maybe a little bit, but not so much. You definitely need to have seen Harry Potter though.
I do not own the characters.
Luna Lovegood hadn't always been a dreamy girl. No, quite the opposite. She was a serious little girl; quiet, shy, and reserved. She was content to sit in her room with a thick book, oblivious to the world around her. But that all changed when her mother died.
It was a strange death, actually. Nobody had been quite able to explain it. Her mother always had had late cravings during the night, and they had found her in the kitchen. So they knew it had happened in the dead of night. She had constantly been experimenting with potions and sells, so they had told others that it was this that had killed her.
But Luna was curious. Although she didn't look it, she loved adventure. Sometimes she would sneak into the sitting room at night and watch muggle programs, her favorites ranging from science fiction to the pure adventure movies. Inspired by these shows, Luna decided to go out to find clues. She had heard her father and Mrs. Weasley talking about other strange disappearances nearby the day her mother died. It had only been three days, and Luna needed to get out and search. It might take her mind off her mother if she concentrated on this.
Her father stayed out most of the time now. He worked at the Ministry, and Luna knew it was his only escape now. So after he left to work one morning Luna set out. Her large sunhat flopped over her big blue eyes, which were careful and observant. Luna didn't know what she was looking for, and hoped to get an idea of where to search. The stream by her house burbled happily, the fish swimming by gaily. Luna quickly hopped across, using the rocks hitched in the mud as a path. It seemed her heart knew where she was going, even though her mind didn't.
As she walked a little father through the grass, the little village of Ottery St. Catchpole came into view. The small white buildings seemed lifeless; not at all like Luna remembered from the times she had come here with her mum. When they last came there were tons of people-little kids playing, dogs barking, parents shopping-and now it was empty.
Luna wandered through the streets, a slow breeze ruffling the hem of her purple sundress. She smoothed the faded print quickly, an uneasy feeling washing over her. What was going on here?
Luna had always had a high intuition, especially for someone her age. She knew what was going on around her, and she could tell what others were feeling. And right now, she knew something bad was happening. Really, anyone could-all you had to do was look in one of the shop's windows. Three of the ten shops she had passed were completely empty, and the others only had a few customers inside them. You didn't need Luna's mind to realize the atmosphere here was completely off.
But Luna seemed to be the only one who wanted to fix it. She passed more empty buildings, and then a small blue police box. She ignored them, just going with where her feet led her. Finally, she reached the large clothing store at the end of the street. Luna remembered her mother taking her there one day, a long time ago. Luna had wandered off, trying to explore the huge store, and ended up following an employee into the employees-only basement. It was huge, filled, and practically thirty degrees. Luna had explored every nook and cranny of it before getting caught and dragged out by a burly employee.
But looking at the store now, she had a sudden urge to go in. She didn't know why-but Luna's never ending curiosity got the better of her. So she pushed on the glass door, and entered the store slowly. Blond waves flew into her face as the air took impact with her body, and she pushed them away quickly.
Now it was time for investigating.
The store was silent and dark, with no signs of life anywhere. Although this was normally a cold shop, today Luna shivered horridly as she entered. Why would a store be so cold? Luna removed her hat and set it on the counter, moving behind it and examining the shelves behind it. Nothing. This was odd for a store, which usually had something behind it, whether it was coupons or returned items. Luna shook her head and walked away, grabbing a sweater and pulling it on. It was really cold in here.
As she walked up the stairs, she heard a low rumble coming from…below her? What could make that sound? She inched her way back down, listening intently. Another rumble came. Whatever was making the noise seemed angry. Very angry. Luna knew how that could be, her father sometimes made noises like that when he got frustrated.
When her white sandal made contact with the floor, she raced towards the employee entrance to the basement. But there was a card slot, where the employees had to slide their cards. This annoyed Luna beyond belief. How could she investigate when she had no way of entering? She looked around hoping for a solution.
Think, think, think…
Then she saw something. A little silver tube, lying on the floor, as though carelessly dropped by someone. It looked almost like a pen, with a little blue light at the tip of it. But what was it? The little blond picked it up delicately, examining all parts of it. It didn't seem to have any extraordinary use to it…it just seemed ordinary.
Disappointed, Luna walked back over to the card slot. If only she could magically enter it…Luna smiled, thinking of magic. She couldn't wait to get her own wand. She thought of all the times she had used sticks in her backyard, pretending she could use her magic already. Her parents had taught her to control it, so she had no random bursts of it like other witches and wizards. The little silver tube slipped a little in her hand, and Luna smiled at it. She pointed it playfully at the card slot, pressing down on it a little and murmuring a fake spell under her breath.
The little blue top lit up, and Luna jumped with shock. Her blue eyes widened considerably, and when she thought it couldn't get any weirder…the door opened.
What had she just done? Had she used magic? Her blond hair fell over her face as she examined the tool. No, she couldn't have used magic. This thing had no magic in it, she could tell. But how…
Another rumble came from below, snapping Luna out of her thoughts. She needed to get down there before the door closed. So, tucking the little tube into her pocket, she slipped through the door and into the basement.
The first thing anyone would notice was it was colder than anywhere else in the shop. And that was a feat in itself, considering the rest of the shop was about thirty degrees. She shivered, wishing she had worn more than just her sundress. What could need the shop to be this cold? She pulled her sweater around her, her mind racing. What could be happening down here?
She heard a voice now. A man's voice. It was probably a worker…but what worker would be here without opening the shop?
Something in Luna's head told her not to move forward. But she couldn't go against her instincts. Some adventure was waiting for her down there, and she wasn't going to let it fly by her. Her heart racing, her mind steady, Luna inched towards the icy pit that was the basement floor. She could hear the man's voice again, yelling at something that roared back angrily. Luna jumped, but continued ahead.
When she finally reached the bottom, she continued walking. Her waves flew behind her, the gusts of wind getting stronger now, but she ignored them all. It was like the mystery was drawing her closer, and she wasn't going to resist this.
The basement was like a maze, but Luna could remember all of it. She could remember how she had explored everything, and the boxes and mannequins lined the path for her once again. She followed the roars and shouts, hearing little bangs every now and then, and with every outburst she quickened her pace, until finally the little towhead was running. She couldn't resist anymore. Forget what her father said about her being a true Ravenclaw like him, she had a lot of Gryffindor qualities right then.
As Luna turned another corner, a random thought popped into her head:
What if whatever's in here kills me?
She shook her head, as though trying to rid herself of the thought. She couldn't die here…right? She rounded another corner, and the thought was pushed out of her head quickly as she stopped dead in her tracks, hiding behind a stack of boxes. What she was looking at was far scarier.
It looked like a bird, but it was bigger than one. It was more like a dragon, with bird-like features. Whatever it was, it was terrifying. Its eyes were non-existent, hollowed into its skull. It's "feathers" were black, and larger than anything Luna had ever seen. It was bellowing, and below him was a man.
The man wore a large brown trench coat, and underneath he had on a grey suit. His brown hair stuck up slightly, and he was wearing rectangular black-framed glasses. He was yelling at the monster, while searching in his trench coat pockets for something. Luna felt the little tube in her pocket, and something clicked.
Maybe it was his.
She took a chance, and jumped out from where she was hiding. The man looked frightened by her appearance, but she didn't introduce herself.
"Here." She said, her voice shaking. She held out the little tube, and his face lit up.
"My sonic!" He yelped, grabbing it. He looked ecstatic. "Great, now I can solve this problem."
He walked over to the wall, ripping open an electric box. Inside was a jumble of wires and buttons, and he quickly beamed the...Sonic? At them. There was a spark, and a flash, and something in the room started to whir. The dragon-bird started to roar more, his large yellow teeth bore at them. The man jumped in front of Luna, yelling something indistinguishable at it.
Luna knew what he was doing. She felt a bit of heat come back into the room, and realized the thing needed the cold to survive. So she went out from behind the man, and back through one of the corridors she remembered. She knew there was a place where the heater was, and she knew how to heat up the room in a matter of minutes.
She quickly found her way, pushing a stray piece of hair behind her ear. She got to work, remembering how her mother taught her to work a heater long ago, telling her 'magic wasn't everything'. Now she knew why. Finally, after about a minute of work, she pressed the button that would heat it all up. And raced back to the man.
He was using the sonic on the cords again, ignoring the beast behind him. Luna knew it was no good, and only her way would work. She ran up to him, and he turned to look at her.
"How did you get down here?" He asked, his words tumbling out quickly. Luna shrugged, and gestured towards the stairs.
"I walked. I've been here before…" She trailed off, a question on the tip of her tongue. "Who are you? How did you get down here?"
The man looked taken aback, his brown eyes widening. He grinned at her finally, sonic-ing again. "I'm the Doctor. And you?"
"Luna Lovegood."
"Luna…" He murmured, untangling the wires a little.
"That won't help, you know."
"Then what will help?" The Doctor looked at her incredulously. How could he take advice from a child? But something in Luna's understanding eyes made him believe she knew.
"Well, I've already done it."
"Done what?"
"Turned the heat up. But you might want to get out; it can get a bit overwhelming." Right as she said that, the beast let out another roar. The Doctor glanced at it, and back at Luna.
"Fine. Come on, then!" They raced out, Luna surprisingly able to keep up with his long strides. She had always been fast, and was glad to know it was coming in handy. Sweat started to trickle down her face, and the whole downstairs shook with a roar. The beast was banging against the walls, trying to escape.
"It needs-cold." The Doctor gasped. They approached the door, and he used the sonic to open it quickly. They rushed out, and Luna grabbed her hat off the counter, stripping the sweater off. It wouldn't matter, but she couldn't steal it. It was wrong.
The pair banged the door open, and Luna collapsed onto the sidewalk. She was gasping for breath, feeling like she had just run about three miles. The Doctor looked the same, bending over, hands on his knees. He glanced over at her and walked over. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," Luna said, and realized she was. She had just gone on an adventure. But she still didn't know what had murdered her mother. Maybe…
"Doctor?"
"Yes?"
"Erm…" Luna didn't know how to word this correctly. "Well-what was that?"
"A fireater." He said slowly. "Thrives on cold, lives on humans. There are very few left. How one got to your time, I'll never know…" He trailed off, his eyes blank. Luna gazed up at him as though he were mad.
"My time?"
"Ignore that."
Silence. Luna took a deep breath, and then asked her other question. "I think…did that thing…eat my mother?"
The brown eyes locked with blue, and he sighed. "It may have."
"But how? It was gigantic!" Luna looked positively miffed. Something like that had probably torn so many families apart…like...you-know-who…
The Doctor sighed, ruffling his hair. "It can shrink, and it can escape from where it lives for short periods of time. It needs food, just like it needs the cold. If it doesn't have the humans, it dies."
Luna was silent for a moment. "Can you-can she come back?"
"I'm afraid not." His brown eyes looked sad now. "We can't always get what we love back."
Luna understood what he was saying. In the movies, the loved ones always returned somehow. Love always came through. But she knew, in real life, that didn't happen. And that was okay with her, she felt like now, there was closure.
But then she realized the doctor had lost someone too.
You could see it in his eyes. The sadness, the emptiness. She wished she could help him somehow, but she couldn't ask who he had lost. He looked like a puppy, sad and lonesome. SO she simply sat there, avoiding his eyes.
"Well, I better be going." He said suddenly, and Luna stood up.
"Where are you going?" She didn't want to lose this strange man already. He was so…interesting. Kind. Smart. He was someone she wanted to stay with for a while.
"Oh, here and there," He shrugged. "I'm a traveler. I like to go places."
"What places? Places with monsters like that?" The blonde asked, her blue eyes full of curiosity.
The Doctor paused, and then grinned. "Not all of them have monsters."
"Just most of them."
He laughed. "Exactly!"
Luna sat there, enjoying this moment. She liked him. He understood her, and she was comfortable with him. How could she already trust him? He could be a kidnapper for all she knew!
But something inside her trusted him. She knew she immediately trusted him. But why?
"Can I come with you?"
Why had she asked that? There was her stupid nine year old impulsiveness now. The words had just come out.
But she hoped he said yes.
He looked just as shocked as she felt. He opened his mouth, and then closed it, looking like a fish. "I-I don't think so, Luna." He said to her. Her heart felt like it crashed into a million pieces when he said this.
"Okay." She said solemnly, poking her finger through a little hole that had appeared in her dress.
"Well-I'm going to-to go now." The Doctor looked sad again, and gave her a pitiful look. "I'm sorry Luna."
She nodded her head, not letting him see the tears coming to her eyes. He gave her one last look, and then walked away, his trench coat billowing behind him. And Luna sat there, wondering about him. Where was he going? What did he mean by her time? Why did he act so…mysterious? But there was only one way to find out.
Luna got up slowly, and started to race silently after the Doctor. She made sure her footsteps were silent, and she quickly followed him. His trench coat was the only giveaway to where he was at that moment. She chased him, the same way she had come, until she was mere feet behind him. He was slowing down, approaching the space with the blue box.
And then he entered it.
Luna knew this was her last chance. She had about a minute to make a decision.
Well, if he got here, he could take her back, right? She had nothing else here; her father wouldn't notice she was gone. She grabbed the door and slid in quickly, her small frame easily sliding in. She wondered if he would notice, and realized the box would be small, with both of them in it. But it was worth it. For an adventure.
Luna gasped when she entered, realizing it wasn't small at all. It was huge, and the Doctor wouldn't notice she was there if she hid. She spotted him at a large circular counter around a pole-type thing that had a greenish tint to it. The box made a few loud screeching noises, and she realized they were taking off. The noises became silent.
She had to make her move now. She got up slowly, walking over to him.
"Hello Doctor."
The Doctor literally jumped in the air, and he glared at her.
"Luna! What are you doing here?"
She shrugged adamantly. "Just looking around."
"Luna, I'm warning you-"
"Fine, I snuck on. But what did you expect?" She nearly shouted at him. "You and I defeat a monster, and then…you leave me? I don't think that's how it should work Doctor. How can anyone do that?"
The Doctor stared at her, and his face crumpled. "You're right." He groaned. "You're right and I'm wrong. I shouldn't have-I-I couldn't have…" He trailed off, burying his head in his hands. Luna's defiance left her right then, and she walked over to him timidly.
"I'm sorry," She sat next to him. "I shouldn't have yelled-"
"No need to apologize, that's my job. You did nothing." His muffled voice came from his hand. "But you can't do this! You're father…"
"My father won't notice."
"He will."
"You don't know my father."
The Doctor looked up at her, his eyes pleading. "You act a lot older than you are. What are you, eleven?"
"Nine." Luna admitted softly. His eyes widened.
"Nine? Oh no, what have I gotten you into..."
They both stood there in silence. Luna was thinking to herself. He didn't seem to be having any thoughts of taking her home-well, no serious thoughts. She could live with that. Just one more adventure…was all she wanted. And she may get that, if she played her cards right.
"Doctor, I knew it was wrong! Honestly, I just…wanted an adventure. My mum just died-I wanted to-I wanted to know what happened."
"I understand."
"And I-you what?" Luna looked taken aback by this.
"I know what it feels like to lose someone. And you want them back so bad…" He buried his heads in his hands again.
Luna placed her hand on his shoulder. "Tell me about it?"
AN: Okay, this is my first Doctor Who-type fan fiction. I have some great ideas for how this will go. Let me make this clear: Most of these creatures will be made up. So don't get confused by random monsters in this story.
I might not update so often, because I want these chapters to be lengthy :/ this one was kind of short to me….so yeah. I'll update as much as I can though! I'm also writing another story, Journey to the Unknown, it's on my page. That one has 18 chapters.
Please please please review! Xoxo.