The door of the police box opened. A tall, skinny man in a long trench coat and brown suit stepped out, looking around. Snow was falling softly on the rugged landscape. Everywhere he looked, he could see craggy hills covered by a thin layer of snow.
"Scotland again, and my, my, look at the snow," he muttered to himself absentmindedly. He'd always had a habit of talking to himself. There was nothing wrong with it, he thought, though others did find it a bit odd. Oh well. He was the Doctor. He didn't know why they found him strange, and he frankly didn't care.
He started walking onward. He didn't really have a destination; he just wanted to have a look around. He continued forward until he reached a patch of trees. He wasn't much of an outdoorsman, having the TARDIS to carry him everywhere he needed to go, but he enjoyed a good saunter once in a while. He hadn't had anyone to talk to in a while, so he needed some fresh air. He was beginning to even get a bit lonely. Lonely, heh, he thought. Last of the Time Lords, I should be lonely.
As he reached the top of the hill, he began to see a path forming a couple meters away. He followed it with his eyes and saw a lone girl walking across it. What in Rassilon's name is that girl doing out in the middle of nowhere in the winter? He thought. He decided to go investigate for himself.
He ran a little fartherdown the hill towards the unsuspecting girl, whose back was turned. When he was closer, he greeted her.
"Hello, there," he said. "I'm the Doctor, what's your name?"
"Erm, Hermione Granger. Pleased to meet you, sir." As he got a closer look at her, the Doctor noticed that she was about fifteen years old, with puffy, dirty blonde hair beneath her maroon and gold hat. She looked rather innocent, but there was also an air of wisdom and maturity that surrounded her.
"Same to you," he said with a smile. "Do you think you could tell me where we are?" said the Doctor, looking around at the rather barren, isolated surroundings.
"Well, we're on the Hogwarts grounds, of course," said Hermione. "Haven't you ever been here, sir?"
"Doctor, Doctor – call me Doctor. Never liked 'sir' much. Too official, isn't it? Anyway, no, I haven't heard of Hogwarts. Could you tell me?" the Doctor said.
"Well, it's the British school of wiz – wait a moment. Are you a… a Muggle?"
"No, not me, I'm, er… different. Not a Muggle. Would you mind walking with me, Miss Granger?"
Hermione seemed a bit uneasy. She had always known to trust reason, but this man had some allure of adventure that she couldn't resist. After all, I am a Gryffindor, she thought. She knew he wasn't a Muggle from the passive, unperplexed way he responded to her inquiry. Little did she know, he wasn't a wizard or a Muggle. She agreed and they began to walk together down the path.
"So, this… Hogwarts. What do you learn there?" the Doctor asked.
"Well, this year I'm taking Potions, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, History of Magic, Runes, Arithmatics, Herbology, and some other classes, it's really stimulating!" she said with a smile.
A teenage girl who doesn't hate learning? The Doctor thought. Her statement shocked him. Most fifteen year olds at this time weren't into that, so it seemed peculiar. She had something to her that almost reminded him of himself as a child. Not that he was much different at 907.
"Brilliant!" he exclaimed. "Ever take the sciences, Hermione? They're simply fascinating."
"Well, Potions are a lot like chemistry… I took science class at school back home, and they kind of remind me of Potions, yes," she said. "The way everything fits together – it's like the universe all makes sense! If only the Muggles knew that was how everything worked…" she said, wildly gesticulating. Her eyes were maddened now, as if she had been waiting her whole life for someone to talk to this about.
The Doctor was very pleased. "Yes! So much to learn, so many places to go, so many details to explore… it's all brilliant. So how do you get to this Hogwarts school?"
Hermione grew a little confused. "Well, it's at the end of this path. So what do you do for a living, Doctor?"
"Well, I mostly just travel, fix stuff. Nothing special, really," he said, shaking his head modestly. He never was one to show off too much. "Like to see the uni-er, world, you know?" The Doctor could see a lake a little way ahead. He realized how far they had walked and suddenly stopped in place, looking around. "Hmm… it's rather cold out today, Miss Granger. What do you say we go have some warm tea? Anywhere around here you think we could go?"
"Well, there's The Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. Where's your car? Probably not a good idea to leave it out in the snow, you know," she said.
"Oh, it'll be fine. Come on, let's run!" he said, thrusting his hands in his coat pockets and bending down to run in the snowy air. Hermione followed, laughing all the way.
-x-
"So, Hermione, anything odd happen around here lately?" the Doctor asked. He was used to finding trouble wherever he went, and this probing question was usual.
"No, not anything in particular, not that I can think of," she said. There wasn't much happening yet besides the earliest phase of the Triwizard Tournament, which was hardly odd, just not typical.
"Hmm, alright… well, can't find trouble everywhere you go," the Doctor said, a bit disappointed. He had been needing a good adventure.
Hermione laughed. "You talk about trouble like it's a good thing, Mr. Doctor," she said. "I mean, I like good fun as much as the next girl, but still… I think it's better to lie low. I've had my fair share of trouble lately."
The Doctor was intrigued now. "Really? Like what?"
"Well, You-Know-Who almost returned twice during my first and second years. And then last year, there was Professor Lupin, who - oh, you probably know."
"What about Professor Lupin, Hermione?" the Doctor said. The details of this town were just a little too strange for him to sit back and relax; he needed to find out what was going on here.
"Well… he was a werewolf," she whispered, looking around.
The Doctor couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "Werewolf again? Last time I was in Scotland…" he muttered to himself. Hermione looked at him strangely. "Oh. Right. Sorry. Just talking to myself. I guess it might be a habit, isn't it? Never mind. So a werewolf, eh?"
"Yes, it was wretched. And the Dementors and Sirius Black and Wormtail… a little too much danger for fourteen year olds, but nothing we Gryffindors couldn't handle," she said, with an air of pride.
"Gryffindor? What's that, your team?"
"No, it's my house. There's Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and… Slytherin," she said with a scowl at the end of her sentence. "I'm not on any teams. I never fancied sports much, though I do watch the Quidditch games."
"Ah, I see. Neither was I," he said. "Preferred doing my exercises up here," said the Doctor, tapping his head.
Hermione smiled. "So do I. My classes this year have been demanding, to say the least. But it will be worth it one day when I get all Os on my N.E.W.T.S!"
The Doctor began to realize that asking about every single thing Hermione said would probably just annoy her, so he decided to ignore that last comment about newts or boots or whatever.
They talked for a while longer, discussing mathematics and astronomy until their tea went cold. The Doctor was shocked to discover how knowledgeable she was; definitely more capable than average fifteen year olds. He began to see a bit of himself in her, the parts of him that were bold and daring when necessary, but really enjoyed knowledge as well.
When it came time for them to leave, they walked back to the field where the police box stood. The Doctor made a bold move: he asked her if she wanted to see it.
"Sure, I'd love to. Is it vintage? How'd it get here? Did you transfigure it or summon it or – "
"Just look inside," the Doctor said, opening the creaky door as he had for countless others. But this time it was different.
Hermione looked inside and saw the glowing yellow interior; the flashing lights surrounded by coral and metal and strange contraptions of all sorts. Her face glowed as she gasped in surprise. "It's – it's bigger on the inside," she said, trying to make sense of it all in her busy mind. "Which Charm did you use? Is that an Undetectable Extension Charm?"
"No, it's… it's special. So what do you think?"
"Merlin's Beard, I think it's brilliant. Do you live here?"
"Mostly, yeah," the Doctor said.
"What do you do in it? Is it like the Room of Requirement? I've never seen it before on the grounds, it's looks like a Muggle thing from the outside but inside – no, no, it couldn't be Muggle, must be..."
The Doctor smiled. Her calculating brain was nearly as sharp as his, doggedly trying to figure out the mystery of the TARDIS.
"Well… it travels in time," he said softly.
Hermione's eyebrows furrowed, trying to reconcile this with her theories. "But it's –"
"It's called a TARDIS. Time and relative dimensions in space," he said gently. "I'd better get going now, though, I'm not needed here. But before I go, want to take a look inside?"
"Sure!" Hermione said, probably a bit too eagerly. She stepped in and marveled at the wonder, observing all of the strange gadgets on the console.
"Where are the other five?" she said abruptly, after examining the console.
The Doctor was taken off guard. "Five?" he asked.
"Yes, the other five pilots," said Hermione. "The console is hexagonal, and there are entirely too many devices for one pilot to handle, so the only logical conclusion is that there must be more pilots to… to maneuver this thing," she said proudly.
The Doctor dropped his jaw, which suddenly turned into a smile. "You're right, you're absolutely right," he said, shocked at her intellect. Then his tone changed. "But it's just me in here. They're all gone."
Hermione looked a bit sad, but didn't ask any more questions than she needed to. She examined the coral on the walls, trying to determine their origin. It was certainly nothing she had seen in Herbology, that was for sure.
"Could I – could I come with you?" she said, quietly. "I mean, if it travels through time, I could be back a minute from now. Would you –?"
The Doctor thought for a moment. He hadn't had a companion in a while, and none Hermione's age in decades. Teenagers could be a problem, but then again, Hermione wasn't a regular teenager. She seem to be very bright and sensible for her age. But if anything happened to another one of his companions… the pain would be too great. What could he do? After mulling over his choices for a few more seconds, he finally realized that there really should not have been a doubt in his mind.
"Yes," he said. "Absolutely." Hermione grinned. He started pulling the cranks and starting the TARDIS. "Where do you want to go?"
"Where? I thought it just traveled in time."
"All of time and space. Anything that ever happened is yours to explore. Where first?"
"Hmm," Hermione said, trying to decide where. It was a horrible decision to make, though still wonderful; she felt like she was neglecting the rest of history when she tried to single out one part. Then the thought came to her. "How about London, 81 A.D.?" she asked. She had always remembered learning about Rome in Latin class at school. The time period was interesting, too, as the Celtic wizards were often discussed in History of Magic, but she had never been able to travel there with the little Time Turner that she was allowed to use.
"Well then, 81 A.D. London it is! Allons-y, Hermione Granger!" the Doctor said, and the TARDIS came alive with buzzes and whirs as he began to fly it into the past with his new friend, Hermione Granger.
