Vwoo…vwoo…vwoo… The Professor hastily flipped a switch on the control console of his TARDIS, running around to the other side to turn a knob, though the ship still set down with a much less gentle thunk than he'd have preferred. He looked to the center of the console, at the crack in the time rotor. It was growing bigger, though if he'd managed to actually set down in the correct time period this time, he could probably get the necessary materials to repair it. Provided he didn't have to deal with another Sontaran invasion like he had just solved.
The Professor opened the door of his TARDIS, looking around. "A forest," he sighed, looking back at the broken time rotor. "Well, I know you tried, but this is not London…I hope it isn't, anyway." He stepped away from the ship, looking its outward appearance over. It was an upright piano.
"Right…that chameleon circuit is on the list right after the time rotor." He strode off through the dark forest, looking around for any signs of where he was. He was at least certain that this was Earth, and that he was either far north or that it was winter. He ducked under a large spider web, a little worried. Spiders were just plain creepy.
A loud whooshing noise made the Professor duck. A group of owls swooped low overhead, all heading in the same direction; the way he had come. The Professor sighed loudly. "It had to be something, didn't it? I couldn't just get what I needed…" He turned around, smiling in spite of himself.
Following the owls, it turned out, did have a result. The Professor found himself looking up at a gigantic castle, towers and turrets striking up against the sky. Strangely enough, the owls were congregating there.
"Just my luck," muttered the Professor. "I wind up several hundred years before I wanted to." And with one final glance back at the TARDIS, he strode off toward the castle's gates.
The Great Hall of Hogwarts was packed. Not that this was especially unusual; it happened every evening around this time. Athena Walker sighed, looking around for a decent seat. She glanced at her class schedule, smiling a little. They had Astronomy with the Hufflepuffs this evening.
"Guess who," said a voice from behind her, a pair of hands covering her eyes.
"Hello, Billie," sighed Athena, turning to see a girl clad in the Hufflepuff uniform smiling at her. "Eating with the Slytherins again," she asked. The Hufflepuff nodded, smiling as she leaned over, reading Athena's schedule.
"Ooh, Astronomy tonight then," she said. The Slytherin nodded, picking a seat close to the door, Billie following and sitting next to her. Athena studied her schedule again.
"And potions tomorrow morning. Not a bad schedule this year."
The Professor stopped at the gates of the castle. They were locked. He looked up at the castle, smiling at it; it shimmered in the light, almost appearing to be ruins for a second or two at a time before restoring itself to its pristine state. He reached up, pulling the goggles he wore on top of his head down over his eyes, chuckling.
"A perception filter. Ingenious." He reached into the pocket of his coat, pointing a long, silver and bronze instrument at the lock. The device gave off a high pitched whizz, a blue-green light coming from the tip as the gates swung open. The Professor smiled to himself as he walked through the gates, humming.
Professor Minerva McGonagall sat at her desk, writing letters to the Ministry as she usually did on Wednesdays. She paused, thinking for a moment before scribbling her name at the bottom of the letter. She sighed, leaning back in her chair.
"Minerva," said the portrait of Albus Dumbledore that hung behind her. "There is a visitor standing outside your office. And I must say I never expected such a guest."
The Headmistress of Hogwarts stood and walked lightly across the room, opening her office door to look at the visitor. She had to admit, she'd never seen anyone dressed like her guest before either.
It was a girl, about fifteen or sixteen with short black hair and dark skin; though she was clad in very odd clothes, if it hadn't been for Albus telling her of this arrival she'd have simply assumed that this girl was one of her own students.
"Excuse me," said the girl, smiling. McGonagall stared when she heard the girl's accent; she sounded American, "I'm looking for something. Something important. Maybe you can help me."
"Perhaps," said the headmistress. "May I ask who you are and how you got here?" The girl smiled and nodded.
"My name's Rosie. And I came in through the keyhole," she said matter-of-factly, smiling. McGonagall was perplexed.
"Keyhole," the headmistress asked, hiding her confusion. "What keyhole are you referring to?"
Rosie pointed to the back of the statue that hid her office door. "The one over there of course."
"I don't see a keyhole over there, young lady." McGonagall's hand, in her pocket since before opening the door, grasped her wand in an iron grip, her instincts telling her to cast some sort of enchantment now. "I will ask you again; how did you get into this school"
"Well, like I said," she started. "I came through a keyhole." The witch tightened her grip on her still concealed wand.
"You do not understand the severity of the situation you are in, young lady." Rosie smiled sweetly; not something that put her more in McGonagall's favor at the moment. "Where did you come from and by what means did you circumvent the enchantments around this place?"
The girl shrugged. "I just sort of did," she said.
The Professor pushed the doors of the castle open, staring around; the entrance hall was enormous, bigger than it had appeared outside, though that was partly due to how the ceiling was built.
"Who are you, sir," said a man directly before the professor; he was balding and dressed in shabby, tattered clothes that looked as though they could use about as much of a wash as the man wearing them.
"I'm Lord Professor of Gallifrey," said the Professor, pulling a piece of psychic paper from his pocket and handing it to the man. Argus Filch raised an eyebrow, but handed it back.
"You're here to see the Headmistress then," the caretaker asked. The Professor nodded; that seemed like as good a starting place as any for finding out how this place worked. "Follow me then," the caretaker grunted, leading the way up several staircases and through hidden passages.
The caretaker stopped in front of a large stone gargoyle. He cleared his throat, apparently thinking before he spoke; "Sesame," he said. The gargoyle immediately sprung to life, jumping to the side to allow them in.
"There you are, sir," said Filch, turning his back. The Professor smiled, walking through the passage. There was an older woman, who he assumed to be the headmistress, pointing a stick at a young girl.
"Who," asked the headmistress; M. McGonagall, according to the nameplate on the door behind her as she shifted her attention to him. "Are you?"
The Professor smiled, reaching into his pocket for his psychic paper again. "I'm Lord Professor of Gallifrey," he said, showing her the paper. He glanced at the girl; she looked terrified and out of place. "And I see you've already met my lovely assistant. I'm sorry if she caused you any trouble."
The headmistress raised an eyebrow, but put the stick into her pocket. "No, not at all. Please, step into my office."
McGonagall sat in her chair, the newcomer taking the seat across from her. He was an odd looking man, even by wizarding standards. He wore an elegant looking suit with a bowtie and trainers, a hood protruding from his waistcoat. His hair was long and tied back into a ponytail with a pair of large metal goggles resting on his head.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit today," she asked. The Professor smiled.
"Oh, I'm just here to make sure everything's in working order with the castle," he said, his hands going into his pockets. "Would you care for a jelly baby," he asked, offering a small bag of sweets to her.
"No," the headmistress replied. The man took one for himself, and then offered one to Rosie, who took several, gaining a slightly dissatisfied look from the Professor, though he didn't say anything.
"Well, I believe that all of our enchantments are holding, my good sir," said the woman, sounding defensive; after all, this school was her pride.
The Professor nodded, secretly puzzled. "Good. Glad to hear that. I think perhaps we should be going then," he said, nodding to the girl as he stood up. They left the office with no incident.
[-a/n: Well, that's one chapter down. I'd like to clarify a few things. First off, the Professor is not the Doctor. I borrowed the name 'Professor' from the Chameleon Circuit song Gallifreyan History 101 and the Doctor's companion Ace who called him 'Professor' all the time. I intend to use as few actual canon characters as possible for this fic. Athena and Billie are from about ten years after the war with Voldemort, so that keeps them from clashing with main characters except for the teachers. The characters individual back stories will be told as the fic goes on, so no questions like 'How did the Professor escape the Time War' or anything.