Disclaimer: I own neither Harry Potter nor Doctor Who.
When Luna wandered into the Great Hall on the first day of class, people were neon. Robes had changed colors from their more subdued chromatic scheme of black and house-color to eye-watering bright shades of green, orange, yellow, and blue respectively. As she passed under the mantel of the double doors her robes changed too, flashing orange to match the rest of her house. She spared a moment to admire her new uniform before sliding into an open seat at the Gryffindor table.
"Well done," she said to the person on her right. Fred Weasley grinned innocently.
"We have no idea what you're talking about."
"You're not implying that we had anything to do with this, are you?" George asked with mock indignation, chugging his coffee.
"I'm not implying it, I'm stating it," Luna corrected, reaching for a piece of toast. "It's okay, I won't tell."
"It's a welcome present for Umbridge," Fred said.
"She looked like she could do with some cheering up," George agreed.
"So we decided-"
"-a little color-"
"-could brighten her day." The two grinned in tandem, cheeky smiles that reminded Luna of her father's.
Her father who was, at that time, sitting at the head table, looking around the hall with a wry smile of appreciation. A mug of tea sat at his elbow. McGonagall, sitting further down, was also surveying the hall with well-hidden amusement, as were most of the teachers. Except Umbridge - the toad-like woman was frowning primly at the brightly colored mass that was the student body and eating her porridge with jerky little movements.
"How long will it last?" Luna asked idly, watching two Hufflepuff second years walk in and pause in shock. George looked sheepish.
"We… don't actually know. We had some trouble with the timing aspect of it…"
"Anyways," Fred waved off, pouring himself another cup of coffee. "If at first you don't succeed, prank everyone again for good measure."
As it turned out, it only lasted twenty-four hours, so the first day of school was one of brightly colored robes and then everything went back to normal, or at least what passed for normal at Hogwarts.
That particular day Luna had Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, and Potions. By the end of the day she was certain that her father would adore CoMC, Professor Snape hated everyone but was infinitely complex and therefore one of the most interesting people she'd ever met, and Flitwick was just as excitable and squeaky as she remembered. The class content itself was also somewhat interesting. It was nice to be learning new things in class.
The next day passed similarly, with double Transfiguration in the morning and Herbology and Defense in the afternoon. Herbology was fun. The plants were easy enough to work with, Neville made a wonderful partner - he seemed to know even more than she did about the plants in the greenhouse – and Professor Sprout was endlessly cheery.
Defense was a blow-off class, which was unsurprising but too bad. Umbridge couldn't teach and had no wish to, practicals were banned until OWLs time rolled around in the spring and the book they were reading out of was outdated and boring as heck. Luna flipped through it in the first five minutes of class and spent the rest of the time going back and forth disproving the author's theory on defensive magic and finishing her potion's homework. Except for Harry's row with Umbridge about Voldemort being back and earning a week of detention, nothing happened.
Wednesday started with History of Magic, which was taught by a ghost and the lecture was straight from the textbook. Luna put her time to more valuable use trouncing Ron at hangman and doing her Charms homework.
After that was Divination. Trelawney didn't like her, and Luna didn't really have to guess to work out why (showing off to a half-mad elder seer probably hadn't been a good idea, but everyone had enjoyed the spectacle). Luna felt sorry for the woman. She had a gift, but she pushed it too hard. Teaching Divination was pointless anyways: if you didn't have the skills, there was nothing you could do. Also, the homework assignment of a year-long dream diary was... well.
Astronomy was late that night. After the sun had set and the stars came out the class gathered up in the highest tower. Telescopes sat at the back wall and windows made up the classroom walls, allowing the stars to twinkle through. Sitting in a corner of the classroom was an unassuming blue box that very few people seemed to actually take notice of. Up at the front stood the Doctor, brainy specs perched on his nose and grinning at everyone as they walked in. Once the entire class was gathered he rubbed his hands together and looked over them.
"Right. Hello, I'm your new Professor, John Smith. Call me Doctor, please. Professor Smith sounds so… stuffy. Ooh, yes, you there with the hand."
"What are you a doctor of, Prof- Doctor?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, this and that," he waved off. "Now. You're all here to learn about the stars." He pulled out his sonic screwdriver, buzzing it at the roof so that it slowly disappeared, leaving them open to the sky. "Someone tell me - what do you see? Don't worry, there isn't a right or wrong answer."
Tentative hands rose around the room.
"Yes, you, Mr-?"
"Thomas, Dean Thomas. I see Venus."
"Mmm, yes, Venus is particularly bright. I'm sure the centaurs are excited. Who else? You there, Mr-?"
"Terry Boot. It's outer space."
"Well, yes. You, with the hand, Miss…"
"Granger. I see the expected constellations for the late summer sky."
"Yes, yes. But, besides the figures you've been taught to pick out… what do you see?"
"The moon," called someone. The Doctor appreciated the cheeky response.
"Yes, true."
"I see the future."
"Ooh, that's good. Deep. Who was that?"
A Ravenclaw ducked her head. "Padma Patil, Professor."
"Doctor," the Doctor corrected. "Yes. What else do you see? Hmm? Anyone?"
"The past?" Harry called out. The Doctor nodded.
"Technically, yes, due to the magnitude of empty space and the speed light is able to reach. Next?"
Hermione raised a hand tentatively. "Yes, Miss Granger?"
"Alien contact," she offered. The Doctor nodded again while the class looked confused.
"Undoubtedly, of course. What else? What else do you see in the stars? What else could be up there?"
"Space travel," Dean Thomas called out.
"Divination," Lavender Brown said.
"Threats?" another student called out.
"Questions?" Ron tried. The Doctor gave him an encouraging nod.
"Possibilities," Harry muttered dryly.
"Good. Good job. Everyone who answered take five points." He looked over them. "Astronomy is an ancient practice. Beings all over the universe look up into space and imagine. It's all up there over your heads. The stars you see here from your planet you can see from hundreds of other planets. Full of mysteries and possibilities.
"It's good to know what stars are which, of course, but that's only a tiny part of it. Drawing pictures in the sky is an important part of any history, but there's much more to know."
"Hold on," Paravati Patil interrupted. "Are you saying you believe in extra-terrestrials and stuff like that?"
The Doctor found that amusing. "Aliens, yes."
"So… are we going to be studying them? Aliens?" she queried.
"That would be xenobiology," the Doctor corrected. "We may get into it next term, but for now we'll stick with stars. I expect you all know the basics, so we'll start with a bit of a quiz to see what you know. No, don't be like that. Five points for each correct answer and I'll start easy. See that bright one there? Who knows it's name? Miss Granger?"
"That's Venus, Doctor. It's a planet."
"Yes it is. Good. Very good. Okay, how about that one…"
Luna hung back after class, letting everyone wander out before walking up to the front of the class. The Doctor looked up at her and grinned.
"Well?"
"It was a good start."
"They're not a bad bunch," the Doctor agreed appreciatively. "Just need to open their minds a bit. Those Slytherins… now that's a tough class."
"Mmm."
"So. How have classes been?"
"Very easy."
"You seem to be fitting in better this time."
"I can control myself this time."
"True, true…"
"What is it?"
He looked thoughtful. "I've been thinking about Janice."
Oh. "And?"
"I don't think it's me."
"Me neither. I spent this afternoon in the library. Apparently this 'Janice' has never existed before now."
"You think she wants us," the Doctor said. Luna shrugged.
"I think she wants me here."
The Doctor was pensive behind steepled hands. "Just… be careful, Luna."
"I will, Dad. Don't worry."
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