For a terrifying moment, Luna thought that it was all over.
Then she remembered who she was and what she did when she was afraid or in pain: She put the thoughts away.
She wasn't brave- No, she would never call herself brave -but she had a great big mind with loads of hidey holes. She only had to find one...
...as her skin burned under the darkness and the potion and what sort of potion could that be? Obviously toxic, but was the source of this pain, this burning...Don't think about the burning!...Did it come from heat? Or venom of some kind? It wasn't as though she had taken a Potions class. Not that she thought she'd like Potions...not much, at least...it was fine as an idle passtime, sort of like baking a derrigible plum pie, but as an actual study it seemed much too stressful. Charms, now that was a class she expected to enjoy. Herbology as well; she had always loved gardening. What else was there? Defense Against the Dark Arts, of course...the one that was being taught by a vampire, as her father had informed her (in confidence). There was that rune study class...What was it called?
The sizzling pain stopped and the wind was knocked out of her as she dropped to the ground someplace. Immediately she felt as though gravity had split so that there was the ordinary force pulling her down and a slightly lesser force dragging her sideways. (That would've hurt quite a bit, the dragging, if the ground didn't seem to be mostly devoid of friction.) As she tumbled along, the scenery stunned her by offering forth the most random conglomeration of images.
Oh. She was in this part of her mind, which, she noted, might be worse than the dark, scary part, because this part would be hard to escape. Already errant thoughts were What is that? interrupting her logical I've always wanted to see that! side.
And maybe she didn't want her logical side. Maybe she didn't want to be free of this fantastical dreamland...Literally a dreamland! Maybe she wanted to just sleep in the comfortable chaos of her thoughts.
But...
The round face of the boy called "Neville" flashed into her mind and then before her eyes, just for a moment.
She still had a life to live. She believed this wholeheartedly, in a wordless surge of Certainty that was only wordless because the noise in her head was tearing away her words. Out! she managed. Out! Out! Out!
...
OUT.
The word gave the Doctor pause as he attempted to make his way through the twisting countryside of Luna Lovegood's mind. It shook at his surroundings, seeming to search for something to latch onto so that it could remain coherent.
OUT.
It was trying to evict him.
Well, Luna wasn't, but the Great Intelligence was, and it was using her for it.
It was working. The Doctor could feel himself being ripped away, like magic; being slowly sent off. He'd find himself actually inside his TARDIS in alternating moments. Her magic was strong. Very strong.
"Luna!" the Doctor shouted into the sky. "Luna, you have to listen to me! This is the Doctor speaking! Mr. The Doctor! You can hear me, and I know that because this is your mind! Focus on my voice!"
OUT.
"No, not me out; him out! You're sending me away, and without me, you're alone with him! Help me to save you, Lovegood. You've got to find him in your mind first; your personal mind, not this physical place. You can do that, and I know you can, because it's in your blood. You are part witch, but you're also part something else; something that can do the impossible."
The earthquake lessened.
"So how about it, Impossible Luna?" the Doctor said. "Are you the master of your mind?" He lifted the wand he'd received. "This isn't yours yet, but it will be. You're the only one here who can use it, Luna. Find your way to it. Concentrate."
"Mr. The Doctor?" a faint voice said.
"Yes?" the Doctor implored of the sky.
Then, Luna walked up, but not nine-year-old, black funeral dress Luna. This Luna wore a neon skirt, colorful leggings, a Quibbler t-shirt, and radish earrings. This Luna had to be at least fifteen.
"Mr. The Doctor," Older Luna began in her same dreamy voice, "I do think that this Great Intelligence may deserve a bit of a run." She took her wand from him.
Eleven gawked and smiled. Finally, something was going his way.