"Hurry up!" I ran through the corridor, following the voice. I was already five minutes late for potions class and Snape was going to kill me. Seconds later I caught up with Jace. "You could wait, you know. Just this once." He grinned at me and raised an eyebrow. "Oh yes, I could. But why should I? I mean you could be on time just for once."
I knew he was not being serious. He got in trouble more often then me, not for being late (he was some kind of a perfect student), but for sneaking of into the forest, fighting monsters on his own. I didn't blame him for that. I knew about his family, he told me about one year ago. I still had nightmares about it. Demons attacked his family the summer before his second year, killed his family and left him in a room full of blood. Sometimes I just wanted to cuddle him and tell him everything was going to be okay, until the sadness in his eyes vanished. "Hey, Luna?" His pretty face appeared in front of my eyes. "You're doing it again!" "Huh?" I shook my head in confusion. "I'm sorry." He blinked sympathetically. "You're kind of cute when you do that." I closed my eyes and shook my head slightly. "Thanks ... I guess." He laughed and hugged me, but then he hesitated. "Do you hear that?" "Jace!" I take his hand and pulled him along. "We're already late for Potions, you know that, right?" He put a finger on his lips. "Just ... listen!" The corridor was empty except for us. The silence was taking over. For a moment i heard nothing but the wind, but then ... "What is that?", I whispered and I felt my eyes widen. It was a weird noise, none I ever head before. Loud and silent, kind of fluctuating. Then it stopped. Jace froze for a second, then he looked at me. We started running at the same time. Forgotten was Snape and the Potions Class, Down the moving staircases, through the Entry Hall and out of the front doors. The grass looked deep green and smooth and covered everything we could see, In the distance smooth waves curled the surface of the lake and blurred the reflection of the clouds. Everything about the image seemed calm and normal and just like every other day. Except one thing.
A few yards from us a blue police box stood on the ground. The ground around the box smoked slightly and a burned smell hung in the air. "What ... IS ... that?" Jace's voice was quiet and barely audible and his eyes were fixed on the box. I looked at him until he returned my gaze. I gave him my brightest smile. "Go on then. Let's find out!"
Slowly we approached. Nothing moved except the swirling smoke around our feet. Jace and I exchanged looks but before we could open the door it was pushed open from the inside. A man walked out, and he was one of the strangest men I ever saw. He wore a suit and a red bowtie and his hair was all messed up as if he'd just stepped out of a hurricane. "Phew!" He turned around twice and clapped his hands. "Well, what have we got here?" He took a strange little device out of his inner pocket and scanned the surroundings He skipped us twice, then his gaze hovered over us. For a second, he seemed to hesitate, then he put the device back into his pocket. "And who are you then?", he asked, grinning broadly. "Human, definitely, even though I'm not entirely sure about the right one. What planet are your ancestors from?" Jace took one step towards him. "I'm sorry Sir, but who exactly are you?" The man just stared at him confused for a second, then he blinked. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm the Doctor, hello! How are you? Amy! Rory! Come, introduce yourselves!" The door was opened again and a man and a woman stepped out. The woman had bright red hair and was extraordinary beautiful. Her hair bounced with every step and the brightest smile appeared on her face as she saw us. "Oh no. No way!" The man seemed almost pale next to her but he looked very kind. It was obvious he loved the woman, the way he looked at her and moved around her. Amy's gaze glided over the school and her eyes widened. "That's impossible! I mean, this is-" Rory elbowed her in the ribs and she stopped immediately. "I'm sorry. My name is Amy Pond, this is Rory. I'm pleased to meet you, Lu- I mean, who are you two?" Jace frowned. "You're the Doctor? Doctor Who? And why do you seem to know this place? I'm sure I've never seen you here." I smiled apologetically at the three newcomers. "I'm Luna Lovegood, this is Jace Wayland." "Luna! Jace!" The Doctor's voice was incredible enthusiastic. "So pleased. Oh, and it's just the Doctor. I've never been here, not really at least. But why have you brought us here." He started walking around the blue Phone Box and striking the walls. "Oh you pretty thing, what do you want to show me?" Jace elbowed me. "Seems like you two will get along well", he wispered into my ear. I couldn't help but smile. Then I asked: "Doctor ... what exactly is this thing?" "Oh this?" He turned around excitedly. "It's a TARDIS, Time And Relative Dimension in Space! It's some kind of Time Machine." Jace's eyes widened. "Ooh, so it's some kind of gigantic Time Turner? That's amazing though, you can transport so many people at once." "Oh just wait until you see the inside", Amy said with a smile and winked. "Want to take a look?" "Amy!", the Doctor protested. "You can't just go around showing my TARDIS to strangers! At least you could ask for my permission or-" But she cut him off by opening the Police Boxes door and waving us inside.
The inside was bigger then the outside but that didn't really bother us. I mean Harry had told us that at the Quidditch World Cup he had slept in a tent that was bigger on the inside, so I kind of expected a time machine having that feature, too.
The inside of the TARDIS was beautiful though. Bright colours and flawless design. Jace and I just stood there open-mouthed and tried to take in what we saw. "Pretty amazing, huh?", Amy asked and looked at us expectantly, as if she waited for us to run away. "It's beautiful!", Jace said in awe, and the Doctor's head appeared in the door. "I rather like you, Jace", he laughed, before he disappeared again. Jace looked confused. "Why, exactly?" "You see, the TARDIS is a lot like a wife for him", Amy explained. "Compliment her and you compliment him." I frowned. "But she's a wooden-" "I know", Amy interrupted, "don't ask."
"Aaah, yes, I found it!" The Doctor burst in, nearly knocking Rory to the ground, and slammed the door shut. "Just small traces, but it's definitely there. Something huge, something alien. Sounds exciting, love it! So, let's go then." He pressed a few buttons and threw some levers. The whole thing began to rattle and Jace and I had to hold on to the railing to prevent us from falling down. "Umm, Doctor", I shouted through the noise, "just in case you didn't notice ... we're still aboard!" He turned around and narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, well, yes, I noticed. Kind of. But you're gonna love it! Time travelling is amazing." Amy nodded enthusiastically but Jace didn't look convinced. The noise had stopped. The strange man took one step towards us and suddenly began to smile. "Trust me. I'm The Doctor."
