"Alright," the Doctor said, "since we're making up for lost time- and I am truly sorry about that -let's head to Hogwarts. Tom's Hogwarts, that is." He yanked theatrically at a lever.

"Hm..." Luna hummed in thought. "How will we find him there?"

"Oh, I borrowed the Marauder's Map from A. S. Potter in the distant future," the Doctor replied offhandedly.

"What?"

"What?" The Doctor grinned. "My point is, we'll find him. And I'm simply amazed at how brilliant you are."

"About what?" Luna asked.

"You had Voldemort resting beside you like a tamed viper. You know, he doesn't devote himself to other people easily. He's a bit of a lone wolf, as they say."

The TARDIS landed.

"Here we are!" the Doctor exclaimed, beginning to unfold a gigantic sheet of paper. "And Tom is...drat. The thing doesn't work in a time-neutral zone. We'll have to step out first."

He opened the door for Luna, and she stepped out, only to be collided-with by another child. The two of them fell to the ground in a tangle.

"Terribly sorry," the young boy was already saying. "Very sorry."

Luna sat up from her spot on the floor and looked at the boy. He was brown haired and disheveled and scarred in some parts of his face. He looked tired, but there was a certain boyish hope and wonder in his eyes. Underneath the alarm, of course.

"Hm..." She smiled, hoping to ease his worry over the mistake. "I'm alright. Are you? What's your name?"

"I'm Remus Lupin," the boy said while helping Luna to her feet. "I've got to go. My friends-" And he took off without finishing.

The Doctor had smacked himself in the forehead. "I am a bad driver," he said, as though this had just dawned on him. "Back in the TARDIS, quick."

"We have time, don't we?" Luna pointed out.

"You can't just dodder about through wizarding history making friends with random people," the Doctor protested.

"I could, though, couldn't I?" Luna said with her dreamy smile. "You said I'm part impossible."

"That! Was in a different context!" the Doctor said, dragging Luna into the TARDIS and closing the door. "Let's be off, before we're hexed."

"Remus seemed lonely," Luna mused.

"He has friends," the Doctor said. "Good friends. Brilliant friends. But...Yes. He will be lonely. He will be very lonely...in the future. It doesn't last long though." The Doctor seemed suddenly as old as he was. "If you fix Voldemort, Lovegood, you will help Remus, as well. You'll save his friends and his life. Already you've done so much."

"I want to see Tom," Luna assured the Doctor. "Of course I do. But there are other things in time and space. I'm only saying we have time in a bottle here. In a box."

The Doctor smiled wearily. "That we do. Now, to Tom."

...

Luna and Tom spent the whole day in the Astronomy Tower with the TARDIS while the Doctor roamed the school.

"You're a Ravenclaw, are you?" Tom said.

"Yes," Luna answered.

"I thought so. Are you a pureblood?"

"Yes." It was true; impossible though Clara Oswald Lovegood had been, she was a witch, most definitely. "Not that that matters much," Luna added.

"You shouldn't sit there," Tom said. "You might fall."

Luna sat perched on a balcony overlooking the whole of the castle and the sunlight on the lake. She smiled slightly, a quirky smile. "If I fall, you'll just tell Mr. the Doctor, and he'll catch me."

"He might not have time," Tom said.

"He always has time, Tom," Luna reminded him.

Tom seemed to think about this for a moment, as he went quiet. Then: "Are you still eleven?"

"Yes," Luna answered. "A few months into my first year, and the last time I saw you was the day before you left for King's Cross. How about you?"

"It's February, for me," he said. "And I saw you last on Christmas Day, and before that a week before Halloween. You aren't coming very often."

Luna slid down from the balcony railing at last and padded over to Tom. "Do the other Slytherins tease you for being a half-blood?" she asked.

Tom did not expect this question. He blinked, then looked irritated, then cleared his countenance. "At first they tried. They've since learned not to."

Luna angled her head, her wide eyes searching Tom's dark ones. "You haven't been hurting people, have you?"

"You'd know what I've been doing, if you visited more."

"That isn't really an answer."

Tom glanced down at Luna's feet. "Why don't you wear shoes, Luna?"

It was now Luna's turn to receive a question she was unprepared for. She smiled dazedly. "Creatures called nargles have stolen them from under my bed."

The dark eyes narrowed. "You're lying," Tom observed.

"I might not be," Luna disagreed. "Nargles may be unseasonal, but it's possible." Then her eyes went all distant. "All the same, my shoes seem to have disappeared. They'll turn up eventually." She sat down on the floor.

"Why'd you lie?" Tom asked.

"Because I like to think the best of people," Luna answered while flicking her wand idly in front of her to create colorful sparks. "Better that than assume the worst and be wrong."

"So your shoes have been stolen by some Ravenclaw girls?" Tom concluded, rather pragmatically. He sat down on the floor, as well. "You know, if you took me to your time, I could make it so they never bother you again."

Luna looked at him askance. "If I took you to my time," she said, "you could make a great many things happen, I'm sure."

Tom grinned cheekily. "How can you expect me to improve the future if I'm never allowed to see it?" he asked. "Think how much could be learned."

"That's what your time at Hogwarts is for, isn't it?" Luna asked. "Learning? Haven't you got homework?"

"I've finished it," Tom said dismissively. Then, his eyes widened a bit. "If you're only a few months into your year, that means I know more magic than you do right now."

Luna thought this over, then nodded, only a little perturbed. "That's true."

Tom smirked. "Slughorn says I'm advanced. Loads of other teachers, too. They say I'm a magical prodigy."

"That's nice," Luna replied.

"Are you proud?"

"Yes," Luna said, angling her head again because she found herself curious about Tom's forthcoming behavior. All that she knew about Voldemort indicated that, by all rights, he should be pushing her away right now instead of drawing her closer. Then again, it was probable that he saw her as a possession at most, a tool at least. She was his bridge to the future. It only made sense that he become close to her. But what was this need for approval? Was he ensuring that her opinion of him was at the right level that she could be used?

This was a good theory, although trying to fit it in with Sixteen-Year-Old-Tom's actions would require more thought.

"There are things you could learn from me," Tom added.

"I'm sure," said Luna.

Tom stood, taking out his wand and starting to pace. "It's fantastic," he said. "I've always been able to do things, but my wand makes it so powerful."

Luna nodded along as though his words were some odd sort of song whose beat she found interesting.

"How about you?" Tom asked. "I know you've got magic, but are you any good?"

"Nearly top marks, if that's what you're asking," Luna answered in a borderline-singsong voice.

"But are you any good, though?" Tom persisted. "Top marks are easy. Could you duel me, though?"

Luna started stretching out her body gracefully. "I don't think so, Tom."

"You could try."

"I won't, though."

Tom grinned again. "Sure you will."

"Why's that?" Luna asked, freezing mid-stretch to fix a curious look on the boy across the room.

"Because..." He pointed his wand at the TARDIS door. "Alohamora," he said, and the door swung open. Before Luna could do much more then look stunned by the turn of events, Tom Riddle had sprinted through the doorway, into the TARDIS.