Chapter 4 – Lovegood
It was close to dawn, the blackness of night was slowly giving way to the first light of day. Everyone in Shell Cottage was safely tucked up in bed, except for Romana. The Time Lady had given up the pretence of sleeping several hours ago and had retreated to the solitude of her TARDIS. Her ship was fairly new in comparison with others and hadn't seen too much action during the war. Nevertheless almost constant bombardment from Dalek fighters and sitting idle for over fifteen years had taken its toll on the systems. Running repairs were needed to ensure that it would be fully reliable when called upon.
The Time Lady had ripped open several panels underneath the main console with the aim of creating temporary pathways between vital systems. Three long cables snaked around the console, giving an air of control chaos to the ship. That had only taken Romana a few minutes, the rest of the time had been spent creating something to help in the fight against Voldemort. Technically she had come up with two things but her main project would have to wait until the TARDIS was back up to full power.
Since she could no longer use magic Romana had decided to create the next best thing, her own sonic screwdriver. The Doctor's had come in very useful over the years and her TARDIS came equipped with blueprints to make one for herself. The main problem was finding enough parts to make it operational. She was currently parked on a cliff face in the remotest part of the United Kingdom. Not only that, she was parked next to a house belonging to a wizarding couple. They were unlikely to have any circuit boards, insulated wire or resonating crystals in their cupboards.
After scavenging as much as she could from the TARDIS, Romana had set up a temporary workbench opposite the main door. The pieces of her screwdriver were slowly coming together, she had even found some miniature welding equipment in one of the many rooms on the ship. A look of concentration was etched on her face as the Time Lady carefully sealed the final few pieces together. She pulled a dark pair of goggles off her face so they hung around her neck and inspected the fruits of her labour. The screwdriver was constructed from several vertical strips of gold and silver plate. The top section was bulbous and least twice the width of the main body of the screwdriver. Romana flicked her wrist and this section popped open to reveal a clear coloured crystal, "Alright, here goes", she muttered to herself.
The brunette held the device at arms length, a backfiring sonic screwdriver could cause some serious damage. To her relief the screwdriver worked perfectly, emitting a gentle hum as the crystal inside glowed red. Romana was so delighted with her achievement that she failed to once the door open, "That makes a very beautiful noise", the familiar airy voice of Luna Lovegood called out.
"Luna", Romana shrieked, nearly dropping her screwdriver in the process, "could you knock next time". It was then that she realised that Luna was inside her TARDIS, how on Earth was she going to keep her cover now? "Luna, I can explain this", she continued.
Luna though either didn't hear or ignored her comment. Instead the blonde glided towards the Time Lady and scanned her with her pale blue eyes, "I don't believe we've been introduced", she began, "I've been waiting to meet the real you for a very long time".
Romana's mouth flapped open a couple of times. Luna saw things that other people didn't but how she had picked up on the Chameleon Arch was blowing the Time Lady's mind. The effects should've been untraceable to everything in the known universe. Obviously when the Time Lords wrote about the known universe, they hadn't taken Luna Lovergood into consideration, "But, how did you know?" Romana stammered in response.
"Easy", Luna smiled, "your magical signature didn't feel right", she continued with an almost dismissive tone like deciphering Time Lord engineering was the easiest thing in the world. "It was never full joined with your spirit, like it had been attached to you rather than a part of you".
For a few moments Romana was stunned, disbelieving that it had been that easy for Luna. She briefly wondered why the blonde hadn't said anything before but then she remembered that Hermione wasn't the most open minded of humans. If Luna had come to her and suggested that Hermione wasn't real, the witch would've laughed in her face. At least now someone else was in on her secret, that was a heavy weight off her shoulders. Straightening out her jacket she smiled warmly at the blonde, "Romanadvoratrelundar, Time Lady of Gallifrey but you can call me Romana for short", she introduced herself.
"Romama, I like it", Luna's voice lilted, "better than Fred, I already know one of them". Once again Romana was staggered by the perception of the witch and was very tempted to test out her new screwdriver to find out if there was anything unique about Luna. The blonde though spotted the gold and silver device in her hand, "That's an interesting wand", she commented.
"What this", the Time Lady held up the screwdriver, "it's not a wand Luna, it's a scientific instrument but I suppose it can do many things a wand can". She turned the device over in her hand, it didn't feel the same as holding a wand. Hermione's wand felt warm to the touch, like it was alive. The screwdriver was cold and clinical, a mere tool to use and not an extension of her body, "Unfortunately I can't use my old wand or any wand for that matter", Romana sighed, "hopefully this will allow me to be useful".
The Time Lady perched herself on the edge of the console but not before plugging the screwdriver into the desk to install the software. Without magic she would be limited to diagnostic and intellectual support. The sonic was a powerful tool but it wasn't an offensive weapon. There was something in the console though that could come in handy, assuming this regeneration retains some of the skills her predecessor did.
Fumbling under the lip of the console, Romana found a hidden switch which released a panel on the desk top. Inside was golden coloured weapon, similar in size to a handgun. Like her screwdriver the weapon was slightly bulbous at the end of the barrel. Just seeing it again brought back horrible memories for Romana. Being President of Gallfrey during the Time War wasn't just a ceremonial position, she was expected to defend her people. This weapon had killed hundreds of Daleks, usually in the most painful ways possible. The lucky ones were instantly incinerated, the rest were boiled from the inside. Romana could still hear the horrible screeching sound of a Dalek dying in horrific pain and it made her physically sick.
"The nargles have arrived again", Luna commented, "this is the worst infestation I've seen".
Romana snorted bitterly at the witch's words, "Oh Luna, you have absolutely no idea what I've done in the past". Reluctantly grabbed the weapon, playing with it nervously, "There's a tradition amongst my people", she continued, "when we graduate from the Academy, most of us pick a title that we will be known by. Usually this comes with some kind of promise or motto that becomes our moral code". Luna was listening intently as the Time Lady told her story, "I left Gallifrey before I could do that, didn't really bother me at the time. I mean I was only a hundred and forty, far too young to worry about the rest of my life".
"It does pay to keep your options open", Luna nodded, not even batting an eyelid at Romana's age declaration.
"Now though I really wish I had", Romana sighed, checking the magazine of the weapon, "maybe my last incarnation wouldn't have had such disregard for the suffering of other creatures. Admittedly Daleks are genocidal maniacs who would've killed us in a nanosecond but that's not the point". With a flick of a small catch on the side the weapon hummed into life, "She actually enjoyed it to begin with", Romana snorted, "revelled in the praise from her fellow Time Lords". A heavy sigh echoed off the TARDIS walls, "All that death took its toll though and I was out of control. Fortunately a good friend of mine talked some sense into me before it was too late".
"Sounds like a pretty smart person", Luna smiled, more interested in the round patterns on the TARDIS wall.
Romana chuckled, "Don't let him hear you say that, the ego on the man is unparalleled without having more praise heaped on him". Romana lost herself in her memories of the Doctor, by then in his nameless incarnation. Despite the man's protests, he was still the Doctor to her, "He pulled me out of that bloodthirsty frenzy, reminded me of what was important", she said softly.
"Now you're worried that you'll be overcome by the same feelings if you use that weapon again?" Luna filled in the blanks for herself.
"I can see why you were in Ravenclaw", Romana tossed the weapon in the air a couple of times, her war incarnation had been a deadshot and something was telling her that this body retained some of that skill. The hidden compartment also housed a brown leather holster that the Time Lady pulled out, "You can be my witness Luna, this will be the last time I use this Sonic Blaster". Romana strapped the holster to her waist and inserted the weapon, "I will only use the stun setting though, the Death Eater might want to kill us but I'm not sinking to that level again".
Luna smiled vacantly at the space around Romana, "The nargles are going. Shame, I was enjoying their company", the blonde shrugged. She picked up a small cube that was on Romana's workbench, "What does this do?" she asked.
"Be careful with that", the Time Lady snatched it out her hand, "that's a sensitive piece of Time Lord engineering. It's too unstable to be handled regularly and without the TARDIS at full power, one misfire could see you lost forever".
"Sounds dangerous", Luna said eagerly, "will you use that on He Who Must Not Be Named?"
"If I can", Romana placed it carefully back on the table, "we need to get something out of Gringotts first, something that's essential to his downfall". The Time Lady had dedicated some of her brain power to that problem as well. Harry was convinced there was a Horcrux inside the LeStrange vault. The problem was how to get it out the vault? The boys were seriously contemplating a raid, breaking into the bank and stealing it. The entering part would be easy with the TARDIS, the real problem was getting in to the vault. Griphook the Goblin was still at Shell Cottage so maybe he could be persuaded to help. Asking a favour from a Goblin though was bound to cost them something significant. Romana especially didn't like the way Griphook was eyeing up the Sword of Gryffindor which was still in Harry's possession.
"It's a shame you can't ask the Goblins to hand it over", Luna shrugged, "Daddy and I once asked them to investigate Stubby Boardman's vault. They were only too happy-".
"What did you say?" Romana snapped, her attention fully on Luna.
The blonde blinked a couple of times before answering the Time Lady, "Stubby Boardman or Sirius Black as you might know him".
"No not that", Romana shook her head vigorously, "you said ask the Goblins to hand it over". She slapped herself on the forehead, "Of course, it's a simple as that, why didn't I think of that before". Romana disconnected her screwdriver from the console, "Come along Luna, we've got to wake the boys and tell them the good news".
Luna watched as the Time Lady practically skipped past her, still uncertain what she had in mind, "And they call me crazy", she smiled and took off after Romana. Something had put the Time Lady in a good mood which could only be a good sign for the others.