A Doc, a Looney, and a Box

Author's Note: What was originally supposed to be a two-parter turned into a four-parter. Awesome! I guess it is because I have been planning this particular storyline for a long while now and am just now getting around to it. Anyway, without further ado, here we go. Part Four.

Chapter Eight: The Chieftain, Part Four

"Tom…Riddle…" Luna took an automatic step back, feeling herself grow cold as she looked at the human face of the man who had killed so many people in the world she used to know. He turned slightly, looking at her quizzically.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked. Then he reached out his hand toward her. "Please. I know that you see the wrongness of this world, just as I do. I want to help you."

Luna stood still. Then, cautiously, she reached out and took his hand. It was warm, and she was surprised to find that she felt comforted as his fingers closed around hers and squeezed them gently.

"My name is Luna Lovegood," she said. "The real Luna Lovegood. Or, I guess I should say, the first."

"It's good to meet you," he said, with a curt nod. "Please, all of you. Come with me."

"Tom Riddle?" mouthed Amy to Rory as they walked in behind them. She, too was pale, remembering all the terrible things that Luna had shown them earlier. Was this a trick? Amy certainly seemed to think so. She kept her eyes on Riddle, and they were gleaming with suspicion as they followed him into the heart of the Ministry and all the way up the lift until they arrived at the floor that housed his office.

He led them into that office, taking a seat behind a wide desk. "The Ministry is weak," he said simply. "As it has always been. We have tried to control what goes on at Hogwarts, to control the power that Dumbledore exerts over the magical world. But so far, we have been helpless.

"It seemed like such a good plan. Engage the magical races. Unify them, make us all one. But something was lost, you see," he said. He stopped suddenly, sighed. "Very few rise to power now, who weren't appointed to. I had to fight to become the Minister of Magic. I have never been a favorite of my old headmaster."

"For good reason!" blurted out Amy, before realizing that it probably wasn't the sort of thing she ought to have said. She snapped her mouth shut and Riddle only glanced at her before sighing, unfolding his hands and laying them flat.

"And what about the Chieftain?" said Luna. "How is she involved in all of this?"

Riddle laughed, sounding defeated. "Who knows?" he said. "Some people don't even believe she really exists. She moves in and out of our world, like a shadow. She's written about in all of our histories, and only a handful of people have ever seen her face."

"So…you've never met her?" said Luna.

Riddle stopped, staring down at his desk. "I never said that," he finally conceded. "I have seen her. Once, when I was a boy. She saved my life."

Albus Dumbledore stood in his office, staring at the wall. His eyes were shining with a strange, unearthly passion. He knew that something had changed, in the world. Something had changed, yet again, and this time he hadn't been the one to change it.

He sat still, his attention focused on a small golden coin in the palm of his hand. Then, taking a deep breath, he ran his thumb along the edge so that a new date appeared on its surface. He had barely had time to turn his attention back to the wall when the air around him began to shimmer and a woman stepped out of nowhere, her capes billowing around her for a moment as if caught in a breeze.

"Yes, Albus?" she said, her bright eyes shimmering as she stared at him.

"They have finally come. The Time Travelers," said Dumbledore, trembling a little as he ducked his head down in obeisance.

He heard a faint gasp. He looked up. She was staring at him as if perplexed, her brows furrowed. "The…Time Travelers?" she repeated.

Dumbledore nodded. "I attempted to dispose of them, my lady, but they were able to escape. I believe that they made their way toward the Ministry of Magic. I thought it best to summon you before pursuing further action."

"Quite right," she said. She stepped forward, leaning down and placing her hands flat on the surface of his desk. "This is going to be difficult, Albus," she said. "But we can do it. For the Greater Good," she said.

Dumbledore ducked his head down again. "For the Greater Good," he repeated, although there was a tremulous tone in his voice, a moment of uncertainty that was beginning to betray him. The Time Witch reached forward, placing her hand on the side of his face.

"Albus," she said. "It will work. You have to trust me," she said.

"Of course I do," said Dumbledore. "You're the only one I trust."

She smiled, more beautiful in that moment than anything that he had ever seen. "Good," she said. "This is what we're going to do."

She leaned forward and whispered something in Dumbledore's ear. After a moment he leaned back, his eyes wide as he stared up at her. "You can't mean…" he began.

But the Time Witch only nodded, her hair spilling over her shoulder in an ebony cloud around her face. "I mean exactly what I say," she said with a vicious smile on her lips.

Back in the Ministry, Riddle, Luna, and the Doctor were busy making their own plans. "we need to stop Dumbledore, once and for all," said Riddle.

"What we need is to get time back into it's proper place," said the Doctor, and Luna nodded mutely beside him.

"Time? Proper place?" said Riddle, seeming surprised.

"You couldn't possibly see this – but this isn't how things are supposed to be. There's a not rightness about this world you live in because it's an illusion – a construction put into place by a single Time Traveler who has done a lot of harm, even though she believes that she has done a lot of good," said the Doctor.

"Hermione," said Luna, squeezing her eyes shut. It was difficult for her to believe that anything so horrible could have been masterminded by one of her oldest and most dear friends, but all the evidence was pointing now to that being the case.

Hermione had to be the Time Witch, she thought. Or at least, the Time Witch had been born out of the woman that used to be her friend, even if she wasn't the same person anymore.

And the Time Witch was The Chieftain.

Which meant that even somewhere in the distant future, The Chieftain was committing the same terrible acts throughout witch and wizardkind, all in the name of the Greater Good.

Everything that Luna had ever thought true was suddenly being turned around. Dumbledore evil, Tom Riddle a force of good, and all her friends – even herself – willing to forget the lies and illusion. This wasn't the world she knew, she thought. These weren't the people that she loved.

And all of a sudden the fleeting thought came to her that if she couldn't get them back to the people they were meant to be she didn't want anything to do with this world. She would leave it be, she thought, and go away with the Doctor forever. She would never have to face this lie, ever again.

Maybe she could finally be happy.

But the Doctor seemed to guess that these were her thoughts, and as she turned toward him he caught her eye and, holding it for a moment, gave her a long, low shake of the head. Luna took a deep breath.

And that was it, she thought. She had to do something.

She had to fight.

"Doctor," she said. "How are we going to do this, then?" she said.

"We're going to do what we should have done a while ago," said the Doctor. "We're going to find Hermione. Come on," he said, striding straight out of Riddle's office. Amy and Rory followed close at hand, but Luna waited for a long moment before turning to Riddle.

"Whatever happens," she said, "I will remember that you were good, and that you could have been good." And, surprising everybody, she leaned across the desk and threw her arms around his shoulders.

"And in this other world," he said. "Was I a man called Voldemort?" he asked.

Luna's eyes widened.

"She showed me, and she stopped me," he said. "And that man is not me. Go, Luna, and if the man that exists now never exists in your world, then that is as it should have been."

Luna nodded, and turning around she ran from the room before anything else could stop her. They fled to the TARDIS, locking themselves up inside it as the Doctor ran to the console and began pressing buttons and darting from side to side looking as if he wasn't quite certain what he was doing, which was probably the case.

Amy scooped up Puff before she could get in the way, depositing her in a side room before returning. "What are we doing? Where are we going, exactly?" she asked.

"I'll know when I know," said the Doctor vaguely.

Luna, Amy, and Rory all suddenly looked concerned as the TARDIS began to wheeze and they felt he familiar jolt that meant that they had taken off somewhere into time and space.

Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of Number Four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank-you-very-much. They weren't he sort of people who didn't like things that fit neatly where they ought to – and this was why, when a strange blue box appeared suddenly outside their door late one October evening, they regarded it with more than a little suspicion and a lot of alarm.

"What is the meaning of this?" said Petunia, staring through the window as a man in a tweed jacket stepped out of the box, followed by two young women and another man. Her eyes widened. She didn't know how four people could possibly have fit into such a small area. "We've reported in," she said. "What does the Ministry want with us?"

Vernon's mustaches twitched violently. "Probably paperwork to fill out or something," he said. "Don't worry, dearest. I'll take care of it," he said.

He went to the front door and yanked it open. The man in the tweed coat was standing there, hand hovering in mid-air where it had been poised to knock.

"Hello!" he said. "I'm the Doctor."

"What do you want?" asked Vernon. "Er…I mean, how I can I help you?" he corrected. "You're with the Ministry of Magic, I presume?" he added.

"Er…something like that," said the Doctor. "May I come in?" he asked, and without waiting for an answer he strode into the little house. His friends quickly followed, Luna looking around with mild surprise at the Dursleys and their young son, who was sitting in a high chair eating a bowl full of cereal.

"So…you're muggles," said Luna, somewhat surprised at the Dursley's easy acceptance of magic. This, too, was another thing that should not be. She had heard many things about the Dursleys, and never before would she have expected them to let a group of travelers into their living room.

"Of course. We pay our taxes to the Ministry, we fill out the Census. What do you want?" said Petunia, trying and failing in her effort to not sound spiteful and nasty.

"We wanted to ask you some questions," said Luna. "About your sister and nephew. The Potters."

"Oh," said Petunia. "Them. I don't know why you're asking me about them. Haven't seen them since before the boy was born. I'm too good for her, now that she's got a spot in the Ministry. Muggles don't have much to do with witches and wizards, do they?" she said with an injured sniff.

"Never mind that," said the Doctor. "I was wondering if you knew anything about a woman who calls herself The Chieftain."

At once Vernon Dursley seemed to perk up. "Oh, her," he said. "Of course we've seen her. We're blessed, aren't we, dearest?" he said to Petunia. "Not many muggles get a chance to speak to Herself directly."

"You've spoken with her?" said the Doctor. He moved toward Petunia suddenly.

"Y-yes!" she said.

"We need to find her," said the Doctor. "Immediately."

"I…well…oh, bother!" she said. "Vernon, get the coin!" she said.

He looked over at his wife, and realizing that it was in his best interests to do what she said (never mind the four strangers), he disappeared up the stairs for several moments, finally returning with something clutched in his hand. The Doctor put his hand out and Vernon dropped it into his palm. The Doctor leaned down, looking at it.

It looked almost like a normal coin, except that it wasn't. Luna reached over and picked the coin out of the Doctor's grasp, mouth dropping open in surprise. She had seen a coin like this before, and it was most definitely one of Hermione's creations.

"I know this," she said. "It's…hers," she added.

"Thank you," said the Doctor. "We'll be going now," he said.

"Well, I never!" said Petunia. All four travelers left the house, letting the door slam shut behind them. Luna stared down at the coin.

"Well," she managed after a moment. "Shall we give it a go?"

"I think so," said the Doctor. "No…wait. Not yet. I know where we ought to go."

They got back in the TARDIS, and once again they were off. All of Luna's attention was now turned on the coin that she held in her hand. She wasn't certain quite yet what to make of it. The TARDIS roared to a stop and everybody stepped out. It was, once again, like déjà vu. Luna stood outside of the garden of Harry's house.

"Doctor," she started, but stopped when he shook his head. He pointed at the door just in time for Harry to throw it open and come rushing out.

"Luna!" he gasped. His eyes were open wide and he was gasping. "I remember!" he said simply. "I remember everything."

"You…what?" she said.

"The boy who lived, the chosen one…everything!" he said. "I thought that I had gone mad! But now…you…and not you…" He closed his eyes now, shaking his head slightly. "I can see it, so clearly in my head. The world that should have been. And I don't…why?" he said.

"Because you've traveled through time," said a voice. Everybody standing in the small garden suddenly stopped and turned. A beautiful woman was standing there, watching them quizzically.

"I would think you'd appreciate the world that I've made," she said.

Luna suddenly glanced down at her hand, realizing that she had been clutching the coin tightly for some time now. She must have activated it, she thought, without even realizing it. Absently, she dropped the coin down on the ground. It was too late to turn back now, she thought. Too late to do anything but wait and see what was going to happen.

"Time shouldn't be tampered with," said the Doctor. "It's not some playtoy…"

"Did I ever say it was?" said the Time Witch. She waved her hand around. "Look. It's so much better," she said.

"I liked it just the way it was," said Luna sternly.

"Oh?" The Time Witch turned around, fixing her gaze on her. The smile on her face faltered for a moment as their eyes met and she was forced to turn away before too long. "My only mistake was in thinking that you wouldn't get involved, Doctor," she said. "Luna should have been caught in the Time Loop, back in St. Mungo's. She would have been safe there."

"She would have been erased from existence!" said the Doctor.

"And she'd never have known," said the Time Witch. "As for Harry…well, I thought that he'd be able to adjust better. And he was doing so well, until the lot of you arrived," she added with a little snarl.

"But…I remember," said Harry. "And now I don't know what's real!" he shouted.

The Time Witch laughed. "Ignore these heathens, Harry, and embrace the world that I have created for you. For all of us! A world where your parents live…where all the war and strife you've ever known never happened," she said.

Harry's eyes widened, and he seemed to be remembering a great many things that he had forgotten. All of a sudden he took a deep breath. "I…I don't…" he stammered.

"Harry," said Luna. She moved toward him, folding her arms around his waist. "Remember who you are," she said. "It's the things you've been through that made you who you were. Who you are," she corrected. She reached up, brushing a hand through his hair.

"But…so many people…died…" Harry stammered.

"Harry." Luna put a hand on each side of his face. "That's life. My mother died too, Harry. Do you remember?" she said

Harry started shaking, but in the middle of it all he slowly began to nod his head.

"You're one of my best friends," said Luna. "And if I can't have Hermione back, just yet, I'm bloody well not going to lose you," she said.

All of a sudden Harry fell back into the grass. The Time Witch gasped, darting forward, but the Doctor grabbed her and held her back as Luna leaned over Harry. She placed her hand on his forehead, holding it there for a long second. Then, when she pulled it away, a familiar scar was marking his skin there. His eyes opened, flashing a bright and brilliant green.

"You're right," he said. "Luna…I choose the real world over this one. I choose you…over her!" he shouted. He pointed at the Time Witch and she shouted angrily, stumbling back.

"They're remembering the world, as it was…and it's making the world as it should be," said Amy in astonishment, as all around them things began to move and shift and change. The Time Witch fell down to her knees.

"All I've done…everything…"

"You were mistaken," said the Doctor. "You can't be blamed for thinking that it was best…"

"No…no! I will find a way!" she said, and as reality tried to force its change on her she disappeared, moving to who knew where else in time and space.

And then it was just Luna and Harry sitting there, on the grass. "I remember Hermione, too," he said, adjusting his glasses as he sat up in the grass.

"Good," said Luna. "It was getting ever so tiring being the only one who knew how to hold on.

Harry ducked his head down. "We have to get her back," he said. "Somehow."

"And we'll find a way. But for now…Harry?"

He glanced up at her, and Luna smiled. "It's been far too long since I had dinner with you and your family. Do you think perhaps you could invite me and my friends in, for a little while?"

Standing up and brushing the dirt and grass from his robes, Harry moved to the door where Ginny had just arrived and was staring out curiously. Two young boys darted out the door, staring up at the Doctor as he pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver and gave it a small wave.

"Does he still have magical powers?" hissed Amy to Rory as they were ushered inside. And Luna was handed a small girl, with bright red hair – her namesake, as it so happened to be.

And although it was not the end, Luna thought to herself that if there were going to be more moments like this in her life then she might just get a chance to live happily ever after, after all.