It was a beautiful winter day and Luna Lovegood was out for a morning walk. She wondered why she hadn't seen Harry, Ron or Hermione in the last two days. She noticed that the teachers were walking around looking nervous. She wondered if the two were connected. She had had an encounter with professor Snape yesterday and he had asked her if she had seen them. She told them that she hadn't. He had walked away after mumbling under his breath.
She stopped walking as she heard a strange mechanical chugging sound. She walked through a group of bushes and found a clearing. She noticed that a strange blue box was appearing and disappearing before her. It wasn't the strangest thing that she had ever seen but it was nevertheless up there. Not because of the event but because of it's placement far outside the castle walls.
She waited for it to either disappear or remain completely there. Eventually, it stopped disappearing and chugging. She waited to see if anything was going to happen. Suddenly, a man in a brown coat with a pompadour poked his head out of the door. He opened it fully and walked out hands in his pockets.
"Hello there," he said.
"Hello," Luna said.
"You wouldn't happen to know where I am?"
"You're at Hogwarts in the winter of 1995."
"Ah, ah, what's Hogwarts?"
Luna looked at the man in his long coat and trainers. She figured him for a Muggle because he didn't know about Hogwarts but there was still something non Mugglish about him considering he had appeared in a blue box. She decided to take a chance on him as his smile made her trust him.
"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Luna said.
"Oh, well, meant to go to Liverpool for a show but I guess I was a bit off. By maybe a few decades. Anyway, how are you?" the man asked.
"I'm fine, I'm off to see some friends."
"Ooh, nice. Mind if I join you?"
"Sure."
Luna set off, skipping along. The man watched her go, shrugged and then followed her, skipping beside her.
"By the way, what's your name?" the man asked.
"Luna Lovegood, yours?" Luna stated.
"The Doctor."
He waited for a question on his name but he never got one.
"That's a nice name," she said dreamily.
"Thank you. Yours is very nice as well. Good alliteration. Kind of like a fairy tail."
"Hm. You are a bit odd."
"I get that a lot."
"As do I."
"Don't understand it though."
"Neither do I."
They skipped their way to a dark part of the forest. The Doctor looked around until he saw something strange coming out of undergrowth. Several winged skeletal horses were picking their way through the trees.
"Oh, you see them too?" Luna said.
"Yes, what are they?" the Doctor asked.
"Thestrals."
"I've never seen those before. They're a bit frightening."
One of them came to Luna and began to nuzzle her along the arm. She reached into her bag and gave him a piece of raw meat.
"Yes, but they aren't that bad if you get to know them, they're kind of sweet despite the appearance," Luna said stroking it along its skeletal back.
"Good," the Doctor said finding himself warming to the little blonde girl. "But you asked me if I could see them. What did you mean by that?"
"Well, they're only able to be seen by people who have seen death."
She was kind enough to not pry. The Doctor stroked them and she told him more about threstrals. Eventually, a strange man in a long burgundy robe came walking through the woods towards them. He had a long white beard and half moon spectacles. He hid his hand in his robes.
"Good morning, Ms. Lovegood," Dumbledore said. "Have you found any more evidence of the grunsharks?"
"Possibly, I did find a rather strange footprint in the woods a few days ago," Luna replied.
"Interesting, please let me know if there are any developments. Alas, I do come to you with more pressing matters."
"How can I help you, professor?"
"I... oh excuse me, good day."
"Hello, don't mind me just hanging about with the thestrals," the Doctor said.
"Pleased to meet you, I am professor Dumbledore. Ms. Lovegood, I was wondering if you had seen Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley. Professor McGonagall sent them to find two other students in the shrieking shack and they haven't returned in the last two days," Dumbledore said.
"No, I haven't seen them either but I can go look for them," Luna said.
The Doctor kept one ear open but then pulled something out of his pocket. It was a small device with a screen on it. He tapped it a few times and began to point it in various directions.
"Um, hi, excuse me, I was wondering what direction is the shrieking shack in?" the Doctor asked.
"That way," Luna said.
"I see, have you seen anything else that might be unexplained, strange metal men or scarecrows or dustbins that yell about exterminating or angel statues?"
"There have been sightings of an angel statue around the grounds."
"I see."
The Doctor pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and waved it to them.
"My name is John Smith professional paranormal investigator. More than willing to check out these strange disappearances," the Doctor said.
"Yes, but that doesn't say anything, that's just a piece of paper," Dumbledore said.
"Yes," Luna agreed.
"Ah, I guess appearances can be deceiving," the Doctor said.
"Yes, they can," Dumbledore said.
The Doctor felt a presence in his head. As if someone was trying to read his mind. He tried to fight it but found himself overpowered. He shook his head and eventually it stopped.
"What was that?" the Doctor said.
"I do appreciate your offer to help, Doctor, I just needed to make sure that you were on the level as they say."
"You could have asked."
"I never ask when my students' safety is in question."
"Gotcha. Well then, mind if I go take a look?"
"By all means."
The Doctor set off and then walked back to the professor and student still standing together.
"This shrieking shack which way would it be?" he asked them.
"Ms. Lovegood," Dumbledore said.
"I'll show you," she said.
The two started off together walking this time instead of skipping. Dumbledore watched them leave with a small amount of trepidation. He had seen that the Doctor could be a bit troublesome but he was nevertheless an upstanding gentleman. Ms. Lovegood would do well to take care of him.
"So, that professor Dumbledore what does he teach?" the Doctor asked her.
"He's the headmaster," Luna said.
"Of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?"
"Yes, how'd you know?"
"The little mind meld your headmaster did with me works both ways. Did he really put a three headed dog in your school and not lock the door the hall?"
"What's a mind meld?"
"Not a lot of tv watching I guess in the magical world. You're a witch."
"Yes."
"Care to show me a bit of magic?"
"Not really."
They passed through the village of Hogsmeade with the Doctor a little disappointed. Luna decided to pass the time telling him about what the quibbler said about the current weather. He listened with a fair amount of interest but glancing down at the device in his hand. The readings were intensifying which was making his concerns rise as well.
"So, who are these three people we're going to look for?" the Doctor asked her.
"Oh, they're my friends, Harry, Hermione and Ron. They're all very nice. It's been a bit lonely since I last saw them," Luna said.
"What about your other friends?"
"No one else really talks to me. It gets a bit lonely but it's fine."
The Doctor looked at her a bit sadly. But she seemed to be unperturbed so they kept walking.
"That's the shrieking shack?" the Doctor said.
"Yes," Luna said.
The Doctor looked at the gate and then pulled out his screwdriver. He pointed it at the gate and it began to glow and make noise. Nothing happened though.
"That's strange," the Doctor said.
"Were you trying to unlock it?" Luna asked.
"Yeah, but something seems to be wrong."
"It's magically locked."
She took out her wand and pointed it at the lock.
"Alohomora," she said and the lock came undone.
"Ah, so that's magic," the Doctor said.
They made their way through the gate and towards the house. The Doctor stepped aside and let Luna unlock this door as well. They made their way over the threshold slowly. Luna with her wand out, the Doctor with his screwdriver.
"Okay, let's stay together, you walk with your back to me looking around and me looking the other way. If you see an angel statue do not look away from it. Don't even blink," the Doctor instructed her.
"Okay," Luna said.
The Doctor noted the seriousness of her tone and was happy. They made their way through the rooms. Eventually making their way upstairs.
"Doctor, in this room," Luna said.
She pointed and the Doctor looked in. It was a bathroom and in the middle of the room with no reason to be there, an angel statue stood head bowed and eyes covered.
"Ah, there you are," the Doctor said.
"What should we do, Doctor?" Luna asked.
"Luna, I saw a mirror in that bedroom could you go and get it for me?"
"Yes, accio mirror!"
The Doctor glanced back and then forward quickly. The angel had moved, its hands reaching out for the Doctor's neck, mouth open, fangs bared.
"Thank you for that," the Doctor said. "But I've gotten a bit better."
The full length mirror that they had seen in the bedroom floated into the room. The Doctor set it up in front of the weeping angel.
"There you go," the Doctor said.
"What's that, Doctor?" Luna asked.
"This is called a Weeping Angel. It's a creature that is just about as old as the universe. It has a wonderfully sinister defense in that when you look at it, it's a stone. But then you look away and it's anything but. It'll kill you kind though, one touch and you disappear to a different time and they just live off the residual energy. I'm assuming that's why your friends are gone. They each got touched hence why I have this."
He waved the device he was holding in his hand in front of her.
"I made it after the first time I encountered these creatures. It can sense potential energy and follow its trail," the Doctor said.
"So you mean?" Luna asked hesitantly.
"I think your friends are lost in space and time. But don't worry, I have the solution."
"What is it?"
"First off, let's go talk to that headmaster of yours."
"But what are we going to do the angel? Isn't it a bit dangerous to be left here?"
"It'll be fine, just as long as that mirror stays there."
Luna pointed her wand at the mirror and said an incantation. The Doctor tried shoving it over, putting his whole weight into it but it didn't budge an inch.
"That wand of yours does come in handy," the Doctor cooed. "Alright, let's head back to your headmaster."
It took them about fifteen minutes to make their way to the castle where they were stopped by Filch but one flash of the Doctor's paper made him think that the Doctor was professor Dumbledore. Luna lead him to professor McGonagall.
"Ms. Lovegood who in the name of the devil is this man?" she said.
"My name is the Doctor, I've been told that you have five students missing and I know what happened to them," he said.
"That doesn't answer my first question."
"I'm a Time Lord from the planet of Gallifrey. I'm a time traveler and I help people. I would like to help you bring your kids home."
Professor McGonagall looked at the man in the suit. He didn't inspire much confidence. The Doctor stood there and then let his body relax and let out a sigh.
"Look, I have a whole speech I do but I would really like to skip it if I could," the Doctor said. "All you need to know is that your kids are out there and this has the feel of a time that's fluid but shouldn't be."
"What are you talking about?" McGonagall asked.
"There are moments in time, moments in time that should never be touched, should never be meddled with and they have. I need to fix this before it gets worse."
"I believe that we should talk to professor Dumbledore."
Soon they were standing in Dumbledore's office and the Doctor had explained everything again.
"I know who he is and I saw what happened in his mind," Dumbledore said. "I trust him."
"Thank you," the Doctor said.
He turned to leave and made it as far as the door when he came back.
"I just realized, I have no idea what they look like," the Doctor said.
"We realized," McGonagall said.
"Ms. Lovegood?" Dumbledore said.
Luna who had been paying attention diligently stood a bit straighter.
"Would you accompany the Doctor in finding our five missing students?" Professor Dumbledore said.
"I wouldn't mind that at all, Professor," Luna said.
"So, let's say we get going then? Meet you at the TARDIS," the Doctor said and ran out the door.
Luna said her goodbyes to her professors and ran after him. She ran to her dormitory, gathered a few things and ran back out. Her peers thought she was simply on another little Luna trip and didn't say anything to her. Luna ran all the way back to the TARDIS and the doors opened for her. She ran up the gangplank and to the console.
The Doctor was running around and pulling levers and pressing buttons. He looked around the center of the console.
"That took a lot less time than I thought it would," the Doctor said. "Don't you have friends to say goodbye to?"
"The only ones I would say goodbye to have disappeared because of the angels," Luna said breathlessly.
"I see."
The Doctor frowned.
"Anyway, welcome to the TARDIS you might notice..." he started to say.
"You used an enlargement charm on the inside of it," Luna said.
"No, I no, it's just bigger on the inside. Anyway, I've located one of your friends not too far away. Just about a decade into the future. Let's go pick them up, shall we?" the Doctor pulled another lever. "Welcome aboard."
