Mia loved life on the TARDIS. It was strange and wonderful, and somehow had a routine. Whenever she woke up, without fail, Amy would be cooking breakfast, sometimes with Scorpius drinking a mug of coffee at the table.

Mia's parents normally arrived after them, sometimes in argument over which alien was the most worthy opponent (this ran for a few mornings straight, ending in them finally agreeing on Dalek) or why fezzes were ridiculous.

Rose and Rory were heavy sleepers, and they turned up when the others had finished eating, and were chatting lazily.

On a day like any other, they ate French toast for breakfast. Rose disappeared to the library to do work. River went to her study to do something to do with archaeology. Scorpius helped Amy with the washing up, and Mia, her father and grandfather were left sitting at the table.

"Am I going to school tomorrow?" Mia asked. "If I was on earth – in Rose's time. It would be September the first tomorrow."

"Do you want to go to school tomorrow?" he asked her.

"I love it here," she said, glancing fondly around the kitchen. "But what's the point of my being a witch if I don't train?"

He nodded. "Anything you want to do before you go?"

"Could I … fly the TARDIS?" Mia asked rather hesitantly. "I read the manual."

"As long as you don't land us in trouble," Rory said, while the Doctor nodded enthusiastically, reminding Mia once again of a child. "I'm tired of dying."

Mia laughed, before she slid out of her seat and went down to the console. She stared at it, hesitant, and then stepped forward.

"All right, old girl?" she murmured. She'd known, from watching, that the TARDIS was always called old girl, and indeed talked to. She knew that the TARDIS had a consciousness.

She pressed the necessary buttons, and pulled the lever, hoping it took her to the right place.

As soon as it had landed, River appeared, muttering about stabilisers and bad influences. Mia pushed open the doors, and sighed in relief.

"Where are we?" Rose asked. The others had obviously arrived.

"Paris," Mia smiled. "18th century."

"Be careful," said the Doctor. "Don't go anywhere near the palace. There's a younger version of me here."

"When?" Mia asked him. "What were you doing?"

"Tenth regeneration. I was with Rose at the time. Saving Renette from having her head sliced open by robots." He smiled at the memory.

"There was another Rose here?" Rose asked.

The Doctor nodded. "Rose Tyler. She's stuck on a parallel world now. Has to make do with the human version of me."

"Could we have a picnic?" Mia queried.

"Of course."

They ended up going to a restaurant instead, but they had just as much fun.

"How can they understand us?" Rose asked, as the waiter disappeared.

"TARDIS translation matrix," Amy told her. "Can translate almost every language in the universe."

"Except Gallifreyan," Rory said. "I never knew why, though."

"Stop everyone knowing our language," said the Doctor. "Makes secret conversations much more fun, eh?" he said the last part in Gallifreyan, which Mia barely noticed; it sounded to her so much like English.

Amy, Rory, Rose and Scorpius looked annoyed. Mia just managed to stop herself from laughing.

"Yes, it does," she agreed, still in Gallifreyan.

Mia spent most of the rest of the day lurking in the library, reading some of the books and sitting, staring into space (quite literally).

She had been there for quite some time when a shout reached her ears.

"MIA!" it was Amy calling.

"WHAT?" she yelled back, walking towards the door the better to hear.

"PHONE!"

"WHO IS IT?" she asked, starting to walk along the corridor towards the console room.

"KELLY!"

She walked more quickly, reaching the console room. Her parents and grandmother were standing near the phone. She ignored them, taking the phone from Amy and pressing it to her ear.

"Kelly?"

"Hello sis," said Kelly.

"I thought you'd never ring!" Mia exclaimed, laughing a little in happiness, and sitting on the little chair closest to her (the phone cord stretched just about enough).

"I always keep my promises. I thought you knew that."

"I do. I got your text, so I knew that you would."

"What text?"

"You mustn't have sent it yet," said Mia wisely. "Timelines are confusing. Anyway, where are you?"

"Torchwood."

"What's Torchwood."

"She's at Torchwood?" River frowned, walking over. "Sweetie, could I have the phone?"

"Mum wants a word, ok?" Mia said.

"Sure," said Kelly. Mia handed the phone to her mother.

"Put Jack on, please," River said.

There was a pause.

"Hello," River said. "… yes, it has been, hasn't it? Fix your vortex manipulator? …" she laughed. "I was married a while before I met you, Jack … yes, he's here. Eleven, you were right." She held the phone out to the Doctor. He took it.

"Jack," he said. "How's Torchwood doing? … that's good … radiation. Not the best way to go, but I like my new regeneration …"

"He's very childish and he's got ridiculous fashion sense!" River called to the phone.

"No I haven't! Don't listen to her … Mia, I believe you want to talk to your 'sister'." He handed back the phone.

"That sounded like fun," Kelly laughed. "How about your end?"

"Yup," Mia said, with a smile. "How are you?"

"All right. I'm trying to persuade Jack into giving me a job. Otherwise I might look for more cleaning work, or go to Bannerman Road."

"What's so great about Bannerman Road?" Mia asked.

"It's where Sarah-Jane Smith lives," both Kelly and the Doctor said at the same time. "She used to travel with your dad."

"I'll ask him about it later," said Mia. "Are you sure you're all right? And Conor and Josh?"

"We're all perfectly fine," Kelly said. "And happier now we know you're all right."

"I'd better go, then," Mia said. "Call me on that phone you gave me, all right?"

"Of course."

"Looking forward to Hogwarts?" Rose asked.

"Very," Mia replied.

They considered it to be night, as they had been awake for many hours, and Rose and Mia were sitting at the kitchen table, eating strawberries dipped in chocolate and talking.

"I was so excited," Rose said, smiling fondly at the memory. "I changed into my robes before I left the house."

"You were keen."

"Yes, I was," Rose agreed. "What house do you think you'll be in?"

"I don't know anything about them," Mia reminded her.

"Let's see … Gryffindor is the brave at heart … Ravenclaw is wit and learning… Hufflepuff is kind and good and unafraid of toil… Slytherin is cunning."

Mia pondered. "Ravenclaw, maybe. I've heard 'a brain like yours' quite a few times."

"You are intelligent," Rose nodded.

"I think I'll go to bed," Mia said, after a few moments. "Night."

"Night."

Mia sat down on her bed, where Blaze was already asleep. What house would she be in? Would she make friends? How would people react if she died and regenerated? She'd have a different face; nobody would recognise her.

Sighing, she climbed into her bed. The light went out itself. The sound of the TARDIS lulled her to sleep.

"I'll miss you," Amy said, hugging her.

"And you," Mia smiled.

They broke apart. Mia turned to her parents.

"And I'm not being abandoned again, all right? You're coming to get me every holiday, or there'll be trouble."

Her mother laughed, hugging her tightly. "There's no promising that we'll end up a few years out, but anyway."

"I'm going to miss you," she said, now hugging her father.

"Will you Ponds ever stop with the hugging and missing?"

Amy laughed.

"I thought my name was Song," Mia frowned.

"Same thing, sweetie," River said.

"I think I'd better go," Mia murmured.

"Goodbye."

"Bye."

She slid out the door, and found herself outside Kings' Cross train station. A trolley with her trunk and the basket containing Blaze was already waiting for her. She made her way inside, and towards platform 9, running through in her mind all the advice Rose and Scorpius had given her.

She located the ticket barrier quite easily, and shot glances around her to make sure nobody was looking, before walking towards it purposefully, closing her eyes as she stepped through it.

She looked around. A long scarlet steam train, the Hogwarts Express, was billowing smoke. Mia pushed her trolley towards one of the doors, and tried to load her trunk onto it.

"Hello Mia Song," said a voice.

"Hi Katherine," Mia replied, without turning around.

"Need help?"

"No thanks," Mia said, as she succeeded in pushing the trunk onto the train. She placed Blaze's basket on top of it. "I'm fine."

"And strong," Katherine said.

"I suppose," Mia shrugged. "I think I'll go and find a compartment. You can go and find your friends."

"You'll be all right?" Katherine asked.

"I'll be great," Mia smiled.

"Catch you later, then," Katherine smiled back, walking away.

Mia climbed onto the train, and dragged her luggage along in search of an empty compartment. She found one fairly quickly, and left her things in it.

Stroking Blaze's head with a finger through the basket, she sat down.

The train lurched into motion, causing the kitten to hiss indignantly. With the merest hint of a smile, Mia opened the catch of the basket, and Blaze leapt lightly from it, curling up on the seat opposite.

"Excuse me?"

Mia looked around. A boy of her own age, with brown hair and blue eyes that sparkled with excitement at finally going to Hogwarts (Mia guessed he'd come from a wizard family) stood in the compartment doorway. He looked nervous, nonetheless. "Could I sit here?"

"Sure," Mia smiled.

He smiled too, and entered the compartment, sliding the door shut (which Mia had neglected to do), stowing his trunk in the luggage rack, placing the cage containing the beautiful barn owl on the seat (a safe distance from Blaze, who was eyeing it) and sitting down.

"I'm Leo Avery," he said.

"Mia Song," she smiled.

"Excited?" Leo grinned over at her.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You just seem a little subdued."

"I'm fine," she said. "I just think I'll miss my family."

"They'll write, won't they?" he asked her.

"I don't think so."

"Song, Mia!"

Mia, now trembling in anticipation and nerves, walked up to the stool, and sat down. The hat was placed on her head. A muttering in her ear began at once.

"You're a difficult girl to place … Mia Song … oh you've got brain power … no doubt about that … a lot of brain power … but you have a very courageous soul … there's the kindness … yes … but there's still that need to be the best …"

I've known two languages all my life, Mia thought, I can absorb the entire contents of a book into my mind if I read it through a few times.

"Oh you're clever, yes … I can see that," the hat muttered. "But you have qualities each of the House founders would have valued. Where would you like to go?"

Ravenclaw.

"Defiant, are we? That's quite a good quality to have … but I daresay it will lead you to trouble. No, no … you're a GRYFFINDOR!"

Bewildered, but pleased all the same, Mia rose to her feet and made her way to the applauding Gryffindor table.

"Nice one," Leo smiled.

Mia almost laughed. "You were aptly named."

"Wha—? Oh. Leo the lion. Yeah." He did laugh. "My mother was a Gryffindor."

"And your father?"

"Ravenclaw."

She did not reply to this, but pretended to be interested in the last student being sorted (Hufflepuff). Professor Bell, a young woman ("The youngest headmistress Hogwarts has ever had," Leo whispered) stood up, welcomed them, and offered them food.

It came as a shock to see that food had appeared. Leo was in stitches over her face (she poked him with a chicken bone in retaliation). They ate, and talked to their new classmates, who all seemed rather friendly.

Once they'd finished eating, it was upstairs to the common room (a cosy, circular room with a roaring fire, many armchairs and two couches) and to bed.

Mia was awake long after her classmates had all fallen asleep. She slid out of bed and stood by the window, gazing out at the stars, knowing that her parents were out there, somewhere.

It comforted her.

Not too sure how I feel about this chapter. I absolutely love Leo though (maybe not his surname). Thoughts? Criticism? Hate? Anything?