The Time Witch: Chapter One
Disclaimer:Surprisingly, I don't own Doctor Who or Harry Potter. If I did, then there are a lot of people who wouldn't have died... (basically everyone cough cough)
"Emma, can you get the door for me love?" Rose Tyler called down the stairs of their South London apartment, arms full of a laundry basket she was carrying to the washing machine. They had just returned from a recent travel, and the doctor was out grabbing groceries whilst Rose and Emma tidied up.
"Sure, mum." Emma called back, walking quickly to the door, as she tucked her curly ginger (to the doctor's delight) hair behind her ears and fidgeted with the glasses on her nose. She opened the door, and was surprise to see an old lady with greying hair, strange robes and a pointy hat staring down at her, smiling.
"Hello, can I help?" the eleven year old asked nicely, and the older woman nodded, speaking in a Scottish accent.
"Yes, Emma, please can I come in and have a little chat with your mum and dad?"
"How do you know my name?" She asked curiously, hearts racing a little at the woman's strange knowledge and attire. She heard movement from indoors, and her mum spoke up from behind her.
"Hi, sorry, but how do you know my daughter's name?"
"That will all become clear soon enough, Please can I come in and explain, I promise I mean no harm."
"Sorry, but I'm not going to let you in, I have no idea who you are! You can't just let anyone in, not these days."
"Mrs Tyler, I assure you, I only want to speak to you about an educational opportunity that I have for your daughter. I'll find my identification, it must be here somewhere." She rooted around in her pockets, drawing out a small card.
Minerva McGonagall,
Order of Merlin, first class.
Headmistress of Hogwarts school
of witchcraft and wizardry.
"Everything alright here?" Emma's dad spoke, walking up behind the older woman with a questioning look on his face and hands full of tesco bags.
"Hello, sir, I'm sorry to intrude, but I have an educational opportunity for your daughter. If I could please explain and come in, it would make more sense." She showed the doctor the card, which he deemed not to be psychic paper, and seemed to understand, judging from the grin on his face.
Emma's dad looked to Rose, who shrugged and gestured for the woman to come in.
"Sorry, to be so suspicious." Her mum started, as Emma helped her dad unload shopping in the small kitchen. "Just we have to be a bit careful about who we trust at the moment. Come in, well go in the lounge."
"No, it's completely understandable my dear. Has something happened?"
"No, no, it's just not such a nice world out there, you can't just let strangers into your house."
Emma came back into the living room, dad close behind her, and they each sat on the sofa, opposite the older woman who perched on the armchair.
"Well, I'll begin with an introduction. My name is Minerva McGonagall, and I am a headmistress at Hogwarts school."
"Of witchcraft and wizardry, yeah I read it. But magic isn't real, is it?" Rose said, sending a look at the Doctor, causing the older woman to frown. "Doctor? It's not, is it?" she asked incredulously, and Emma frowned, wondering what was all of this about.
"I'm afraid it is, Mrs Smith and I, along with your daughter, am a witch. There are very few of us in the world, but magic has existed for centuries, and we live unknown to the muggle - non-wizarding - folk." She paused for a moment, but looked a little surprised not to see shocked disbelief on the adults faces.
After a moment, Rose spoke up, slowly. "Sorry, would you mind if I have a word with my husband quickly."
"Not at all, take all the time you need." She spoke, brushing something off of the robes on her knee. Emma was a bit annoyed to have to stay in the room with the strange woman, but she overheard words of their conversation, like 'you never told me about this' and 'you never asked' and 'so she's not going to join a cult, then?'. The older witch had a curiously blank look on her face, and Emma studied her intensely.
She did look a bit like a typical witch, she supposed, with the robes and the hat. Besides, magic was nothing compared to some of the things she had seen, on other planets and worlds she had been to. It wasn't surprising, Emma supposed, that other worlds existed alongside the human one.
Coming to a mental conclusion while her parents had their discussion, Emma decided that this was really quite cool.
"Do you have a magic wand, Miss?" she asked, and the woman smiled.
"I do, here." She reached into her robes once again, pulling out a wooded stick, about the length of the long rulers Emma used when she occasionally did school stuff with her dad.
"Cool! Can you show me something magic?" she asked, and the woman smiled again.
She waved the wand, muttering, wengardium leviosa, and Emma found herself floating, suddenly. She let out a small shriek of delight, and her mum and dad came quickly into the room, gasping at the sight of their levitating daughter.
"Mum, Dad this is so cool!" she cried, and Minerva slowly let her down, allowing Rose to quickly look over her daughter, making sure the thrilled girl was okay.
"Well, what is this school like?" her dad said, a curious look on his face. "What is the wizarding world like?"
"It's a mixed boarding school, a secondary school, in Scotland. Pupils study magic, and things related to magic, and gain qualifications which allow them to gain jobs in the wizarding world. The wizarding world works very similarly to this one, with a government and infrastructure, although there are fewer of us, with only a hundred thousand or so in the country. Hogwarts is the only wizarding school in the United Kingdom, although other communities exist around the world." She brought out a few books, along with an envelope. "These will tell you the basics about our world, along with information about the school and letters of acceptance or decline, for whatever you decide. An owl will coe to collect your acceptance letter, or any further queries, tomorrow morning at eight in the morning, so please leave your window open.
She paused for a moment, pondering. "I should say, though, that Emma may experience, possibly already, magical traits. These, if untrained, could become more extreme and dangerous, so going to Hogwarts to hone her skills would give her a good chance. Do you have any questions?"
"Err, I'll have a read, then see." The doctor said, looking a little shocked. "Thanks, for coming round."
"No, it's no problem. It's policy, for the muggle parents. I will await your reply, thank you, I should be going now."
"Okay, thanks again." Rose said, letting her out of the flat, before leaning against the door and letting out a large sigh.
"So I'm a witch?" Emma asked, a little tentatively, and her father nodded tiredly.
"Apparently. Sweetheart, we'll have a chat about this, but you only have to go if you want to, and we'll still be here no matter what."
Emma nodded, a bit confused, but excited. Her dad went and made a strong cup of tea for the two adults, and a hot chocolate for Emma, and they sat on the sofa together as he read the books aloud for them all to hear.
A few hours later, and they were finished, exhausted having listened and learned about a whole new world Emma was apparently a part of.
"I don't know, doctor, why is Emma magical? Did you really know this whole place existed?"
"I knew magical communities existed, just never came up in conversation, I'm sorry. I don't believe there's a reason why Emma is a witch, but I'd say it's pretty cool to have so many skills, right Em?"
Emma nodded happily. "I think it would be amazing to go there! And I can learn to make people float, and finally make some friends."
This made a doubtful rose - who believed very firmly against boarding schools, stop and think. They knew that Emma was a happy girl, but she didn't really have any friends, because she was unusually bright and mature for an eleven year old, and because being the only time lady in the universe made her quite shy.
"Well, shall we send an acceptance letter, or not? What do you think Emma, and you Rose?"
"I think you should do what you want to Emma love." Rose spoke, smiling at her daughter.
"I really think I want to go! Can I take the book and read it again?" the Doctor nodded, laughing, and the girl skipped off and went to her room to read, leaving her mum and dad on the sofa.
"What do you really think, Rose?"
"I don't know… I want her to be happy, but it's a long way away, and she's only little. And they might find out about her being part time lord. You don't know what they could do to her, if they did."
"We can keep the Tardis near the school, maybe even sneak in so we can see her, though. They're a good community, there was a war about ten years ago, a very bad one, but they have a new government and things are much better now. I was worried I'd have to try to help, at one point things were so bad, but things have changed."
"I feel like it's not right, sending your kid away."
"But we'd only be a Tardis journey away, and she can decide if she want to go."
"I guess." She snuggled into his side, sighing. Emma came back into the room, a grin on her face, rattling on about a game called quidditch, and Rose knew that her mind was made up, the Doctor's too. Emma was going to Hogwarts, whether they liked it or not.
It was the next morning when Emma came bounding into her mum and Dad's room, way too early but too excited to wait.
"Can we send the letter now? Oh, can we please?" she cried excitedly, and Rose groaned and buried her face in the pillow whilst the Doctor smirked.
"Come on, let's go write it whilst your Mum gets some more sleep. I'll make pancakes."
The two got up, and the Doctor slipped his Tardis-blue dressing gown over his flannel pyjamas, and followed his messy haired daughter into the kitchen. She plonked herself down at the table, getting out a pen and writing her acceptance on the letter whilst her dad made chocolate chip pancakes and bananas.
"So, you're going then?" he smirked, and she looked a little sheepish.
"Sorry, have I been too eager?" the grin on her face faded to worry, and Doctor quickly shook his head.
"No, no sweetheart. Don't you ever apologise for being happy. Your Mum and I are just a bit worried, it's going to be a big change."
"But it's okay for me to go?"
He nodded "Of course, and we'll only be a Tardis call away." He noticed the owl tapping at the window to get in, and let it in, giving it a piece of banana. "Is the letter ready?"
Emma nodded, and the doctor attached her letter with a smile on his face, allowing the owl to sly away. "There we go then, a witch in the family! You're going to be beautifully amazing." She got up, hugging her dad tearfully.
"I will miss you and mum so much. I hadn't thought about it until this morning, but I've never been away from you before."
"We'll always be with you though, Em. The Tardis could even hide on the school grounds, so you could see us whenever you like."
She burrowed her face a little more into his chest, and Rose walked in, looking lovingly at her family, before she smelt the cooking.
"Doctor, pancakes are burning." She said, laughing as he pulled away and rushed to salvage the cremated breakfast. A few moments later, and they were sat at the table with chocolate chip pancakes and banana, when the owl returned, dropping a thick envelope on the table before flying away.
"Can I open it?" Emma asked hopefully, and her mum laughed and nodded. The girl tore into the envelope, muttering the readings about welcomes and term dates.
"School starts next week, on the first of September. I have to get the train from platform 9 and three quarters, what?"
"You run between through a concrete pillar, it's surprising how many platforms there are in some train stations…" the Doctor started, but rose shut him up with a look as she gestured to her excitedly reading daughter.
"Oh! Equipment list! From Diagon alley, please get robes, a cauldron, and wand…" she rattled through the list, until she reached the bottom. "And a pet! Oh can I get a pet?"
"What kind of pet?" rose asked
"Owl, cat or toad…" she thought for a moment. "I'd like a cat, please." The Doctor was about to exclaim his disagreements with them, but a firm kick from Rose shut him up.
"Where do you get this stuff, Em?" he said, instead.
"Erm, it says Diagon Alley, and we go with our parents. If we're muggles, so me, an escort will collect us and we have to go to the leaky cauldron in London to meet them."
"Okay, so when shall we go?" Rose asked, and Emma looked hopeful. "Today?" after a very vigorous nod, she grinned. "Okay sweetie, go and get ready then."
The young girl dashed off, muttering to herself about cat names and colours, and rose and the doctor exchanged loving looks.
"You know, when I got pregnant, I never realised she would be this special. She's perfect, so, so, perfect, and I love this life with you."
"Oh Rose, so do I. Time lords are lonely, but I never feel like it anymore. And of course she's perfect, she takes after you."
She shook her head fondly at him, and the two cleared away the breakfast things.
A few hours later, and the three of them stood outside the dingy pub in London. They exchanged a nervous look, and Rose grabbed Emma's hand, before the Doctor entered the dusty, dimly lit building first.
Inside, there were several levitating objects, and a bustling vibe that carried such life it was overwhelming to the three of them. The Doctor headed to the bar, Rose and Emma following closely behind them, and started talking to the lady behind it.
"Hi there, my names John, I was wondering what we should do, our daughter's going to Hogwarts this year, and we're muggle born."
The barman smiled knowingly, and gestured to a young woman with curly brown hair sat at the bar, who looked over at them.
"Hello, are you Emma?" she asked, and Emma nodded. "Well Emma, my name is Hermione, and I'm the deputy head at Hogwarts. Don't worry, I was muggle born too, I'll help show you where to buy everything. You must be Mr and Mrs Tyler."
"Oh, Rose and John, please." Rose said warmly.
She shook Rose and the Doctor's hand, and a sudden thought occurred to the Doctor.
"We don't have any money, to buy things."
"Oh, sorry I forgot to say, the ministry for magic - our government - loans each muggle child seventy galleons for school equipment to last their seven years at school. That's about-"
"Three hundred and fifty pounds. Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt, I was just reading about it." Emma interjected, and blushed. Hermione didn't seem to mind, and her eyes sparkled.
"It's not a bad thing, you're learning fast. I remember when I first found out, I read everything I could find. Do you like reading?" Emma nodded, curly red hair bouncing and the Doctor chuckled.
"Well, Hogwarts has an amazing library, with all sorts of books."
The two witches chatted for a while when Hermione was leading them to a street called Diagon alley, where she said they would be doing their shopping, and this was the main town in the wizarding world.
"We can go to Madame Malkin's robes first, they'll get you your uniform and alter it whilst we do the rest of our shopping."
Had they been regular muggles, Rose supposed they would have found Diagon Alley more surprising, with its people wearing strange robes and peculiar shop windows with cauldrons and broomsticks. However, when you've just got back from travelling across an alien world… well, it wasn't too overwhelming.
Emma was fitted for her robes, and they had just gone to buy stationary, books and a cauldron, when Hermione told them - to Emma's delight -that the next thing on the list was a wand.
"Ollivander's is the best place for wands, the shop was destroyed in the war, and Ollivander was captured, but we've rebuilt it so we can go there. It's where I got my wand, oh, about twenty years ago now."
"Are there different types, of wand?" Emma asked as they walked down the narrow streets, Rose and the Doctor hand in hand at the sight of their happy daughter.
"Oh, yes. The wand chooses the wizard, and so wands come with different lengths, flexibilities, woods and magical cores to suit each person. The core can be unicorn hair, phoenix feather or dragon heartstring. The lengths can vary widely, averaging at about ten or eleven inches, and the flexibility tends to reflect how flexible your beliefs are. Mine is relatively bendy, and yours probably will be too, as we as muggle borns tend to be more pliable to change than the pure blood folk."
"Wow, I have so much to learn."
"Don't worry, there will be lots of people in your situation this year. We have a larger percentage of muggle borns than normal this year, because with the year you were born in being the war. There was too much fear for many wizarding people to have children."
"Does that mean there are none?"
"Oh, no, no. There are about half and half, but there are normally more wizarding children than muggle born. My best friend's godson, Teddy is joining your year, you should say hello when you see him."
"I will! I'm so excited!"
"That's good! Ah, here we are, Ollivander's."
They walked through the door, Emma's face lighting up at the interior with the stacks and stacks of wands, and musty, dim lighting. A grey haired old man, presumably Ollivander, walked in.
"Ah, Miss Granger! Oh how the time flies! How are you?"
"Good, thanks. And You?"
"Very well, very well. And who do we have here?"
"This is Emma Tyler, and her parents John and Rose. Emma is muggle born, starting Hogwarts this year."
"Wonderful, wonderful. Let me have a look for some wands." A small tape measure started flying around Emma's body, making measurements. The man climbed several ladders, picking out narrow red boxes.
"Here we are, try this one." He handed her a redwood wand, firm and around 13 inches. Emma gave it a little wave, and a nearby lamp smashed immediately.
"No, no, not this one then." Ollivander cast a spell, repairing the lamp, and took the wand, handing her another one. It was pale brown, a little shorted and less flexible, and she took it in her hand for a moment, before he took it from her again, without even letting her move it.
"Not to worry, not to worry, we'll get there."
This continued for about twenty minutes, until there were many empty boxes surrounding the shoppers, and Emma was close to tears. She was curious why the wand wouldn't work, was it because she was part time lady? Was it because she had two hearts?
"Is it supposed to be this hard?" she said, a little meekly, and Ollivander nodded his head soothingly.
"It varies, my dear, but not to worry, we'll get there. I wonder…" he went off again, in search of a box at the top of one of the shelves. "I've had a try at experimenting with magical wand cores, do you know about the cores in my wands?" Emma nodded. "Well, we've tried every typical wand I make, but let's try this one, it has a dual core of unicorn hair and phoenix feather." He handed the wand over, it was a beautiful dark brown, completely smooth, with a supple, flexible feel, and as soon as Emma touched it she felt a warm glow come over her body.
"That's it! That's the one!" Ollivander exclaimed, and Emma grinned at Hermione and her mum and dad, who all held large smiles as well. "How wonderful, this is the first dual core wand that has worked for someone, I wonder why?"
"Will it behave differently to other wands?" Hermione asked, but Ollivander shook his head.
"I don't believe so. They hold two types of core, but only half each so they hold the same amount as all other wands. I don't know though, they might behave a little differently, you'll have to see…"
They paid for the wand, thanked Ollivander, and left, heading to the ice cream parlour to get a treat after the marathon wand trying session.
Rose had chocolate, Hermione had strawberry, Emma had mint and the doctor had a curious rose flavour that made Rose laugh at his face. They sat down, around a circular table, and tucked in to their treats.
"So, John and Rose, what jobs do you have in the muggle world?" Hermione spoke, and Rose and the Doctor exchanged a nervous glance.
"Erm, well we don't really work at the moment, we've been spending a lot of time travelling, but I used to work in a shop." Rose said, trying to cover the fact that they were space-time travellers.
"And I'm trained as a doctor." The Doctor said, which wasn't a complete lie.
"Wow, you must all be very cultured, then. My parents were dentists."
"Were?" the Doctor asked, and Rose nudged him under the table.
"Oh, I had to wipe their memories, or me from them. It was in the last war when I was seventeen, and I had to protect them. They live in Australia now, but they don't remember me at all." Hermione's voice was soft, a little morose, and the Doctor grimaced slightly at his lack of sensitivity.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have pried. That's awful, I'm so sorry. I didn't realise the war was so terrible.
"No, it's okay, I have a family of my own now. The war was awful, we lost so many… but my parents probably would have been fine, it's just because I was part of the 'golden trio' if you like, so my best friend was the one Voldemort was after."
"Is that Harry potter?" Emma asked, and Hermione nodded
"My best friend, as well as Ron Weasley who's my husband now. Have you read about Harry?"
"Yes, it was in the books Professor McGonagall gave me."
"Ohh okay, yeah. Well, he works in the auror department now, and his wife Ginny and him have three children. Ron and I have two, Hugo and Rose."
"Good names." Rose said, and Hermione laughed.
"Definitely. They'll be at Hogwarts in a few years, you'll probably meet them Emma. Which house would you like to be in?"
"I don't know… Maybe Ravenclaw?"
"Sounds like a good guess, that means you value knowledge and creativity. I probably would have been Ravenclaw, but I chose Gryffindor."
The conversation continued, and soon they had finished their ice cream, and it was time to go. They thanked Hermione, and said goodbye, before finding the Tardis and travelling home.
"Well, Emma, do you feel readier now?" the doctor asked.
"Oh, it's great! Can we go forwards in time so I can go sooner?"
The Doctor laughed, and sat down on the sofa. "I suppose so…"
"Emma, we've got you a little present, for you to take." Rose said, "Shut your eyes and hold out your hands." Emma did, and soon she felt a small furry bundle be placed into her palms. She opened her eyes excitedly, and saw a beautiful black kitten, with bright green eyes.
"It was your mum's idea, you know how I feel about cats, but she is quite cute, I suppose."
"Oh, she's beautiful thank you!" Emma squealed, clutching the cat to her chest as she hugged her mum and dad in turn.
"We have some food and a cat box and stuff, I don't know if Hogwarts has stuff but tell us if they don't so we can send you more."
"I will, I think they do; the animals just tend to roam pretty freely. I'm going to go and pack, back in a minute." She bundled the kitten into her arms and dashed out, excitedly mumbling to herself. Rose sat down next to the doctor, him putting his arm around her warmly as she snuggled into him.
"This is all happening so fast…" she mumbled, and he rubbed her shoulder soothingly. "She's getting so grown up. Is it safe there, after this war, doctor?"
"II think so. I followed the war a little in one of my past regenerations, and it did end with the right people coming out better."
"But Hermione might never get her parents back… and she was seventeen, when she sent them away. How can a school change you so you can make your parents forget you?"
"Oh rose." The doctor gazed into her eyes, which held unshed tears. He kissed her on the head softly, pulling her closer. "Things have changed a lot since that, and that was the war's fault, not the school. I did a bit of background research, and this new headmistress is phenomenal."
"Okay, but if she ends up in danger, would we be able to get her out of there?"
"Of course, let's just let her settle with some kids her own age for a bit, then see how she gets on."
Rose nodded, and kissed the doctor softly. It was time, she decided, to let Emma go a little.