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Hermione thought she'd seen it all, being a muggleborn witch in the height of the second Voldy Wizarding War, but the moment she stepped inside the curious little blue police box, she knew she'd been wrong. Of course, she was no stranger to items being bigger on the inside; the bag wrapped around her body was proof of that. However, the knobs and buttons, switches and levers - all of them connected to a center hive of activity - had her staring in shock, much like Arthur did the first time Hermione showed him how to use a light switch.
She was frozen in shock the moment the blue box appeared. Joining the Department of Mysteries had taught her to expect the unexpected, but even her training hadn't prepared her for a 900-year old time traveling alien.
It took quite a few calming draughts for her logical brain to agree with what her eyes were seeing.
And for him to be so damn attractive, well, she certainly wasn't expecting that. Anything or anyone that old was supposed to look like Dumbledore, right? But when this man - because whatever else he was, he was definitely a man - stepped through the creaky doorway, coughing and wafting through the cloud of smoke that followed him out, Hermione's heart nearly stopped in her chest. Her eyes tracked his movement as magic coursed through her body. She could feel it trying to escape her extremities to wrap itself around him. Even though she was the Department Head of the Time Chamber and not the Love Chamber, she was smart enough to know what that meant.
Soul Mate
She was fucked. Truly fucked. She had Ron at home with a ring he thought she didn't know about, mustering up the courage to propose. And she was going to say yes. She loved him, or at least she thought she did, but now she wasn't so sure.
This man was calling to her magic in a way she had never felt before, and it completely unnerved her. The whole situation unnerved her. If there was one thing she'd learned in her many years of living in the Wizarding World though, it was to trust her magic.
And her magic wanted him.
"Oi," he coughed, stumbling toward Hermione. "I'm the Doctor." He reached out his right hand after wiping it hastily on his long, brown trench coat. His dirty, off-white Chucks snagged on the cobbled floor as he stumbled slightly before his eyes finally met Hermione's. "Oh…"
Almost immediately, he lifted his other hand to his chest, putting pressure first on the right side, then the left, as if to stop some internal pain. He murmured to himself, "That's never happened before."
Hermione stood still, staring at him, her body barely restraining her magic from rushing to him. It took all of her considerable strength to keep a leash on herself.
In the charged silence, the man, this so-called doctor, slowly lowered his right arm to reach into his pocket. He pulled out a long silver instrument with a bright blue top. Before he could raise his arm again, Hermione's war instincts kicked in, and her vine wood wand was pointed at his face, a number of spells ready on the tip of her tongue.
"Well…" he said, drawing the L out as he raised both hands in a surrender position. "This is awkward."
"Who are you and how did you end up in my Time Chamber?" And more importantly, where have you been my whole life?
"I told you, I'm The Doctor…"
"Doctor Who?" Hermione interrupted.
"Yes, exactly." He smirked slightly with a wink. "As for how I ended up in, what did you call this place? A Time Chamber? Well… Your guess is as good as mine. You know how it goes. A stop here, a stop there, a sharp turn on eruption day in Pompeii, and somehow you just end up… Somewhere."
"Eruption day! I'm sorry, what? How is any of what you said possible? Time travel doesn't work like that?" At this point, Hermione lowered her wand, and tried to understand what the handsome man was saying.
"Of course it's possible. I should know. I'm a Time Lord after all. It’s kind of my thing."
"Time Lord? Where have I heard of that before?" Immediately going into research mode, Hermione wandlessly accio'd a thick dusty tome and started thumbing through the pages, her eyes scanning for the term.
"I'm sorry, did you just… and it just… and now you're just…"
"Ah ha! I knew I had seen that term before." Hermione quickly read through the short passage before she looked at him in horror. "The Time Lords died. How can you be here?"
"Ahh, yep, bit of a history lesson in that book, yeah? Well, I'm the last one, the last Time Lord in existence."
"You must be so lonely," Hermione whispered as she clutched the tome to her chest. She hadn't realized she was crying until he wiped the tear from her cheek.
"Don't cry. It's not so bad. Besides, I get to meet some lovely people. Like today, I met you. Although, I still don't know your name."
"Oh, forgive me. My name is Hermione. Hermione Granger." She held out her hand, and the moment their skin touched, her thin control snapped. Every bit of her magic uncoiled and whipped around them, covering them, embracing them in a way she didn't know it could. This was something new, something she'd never felt before, and it was awe-inspiring. Her magic was alive in a way she couldn't explain. All she knew was that everything felt right for once in her life.
"I think I was supposed to meet you, Hermione Granger." He gazed at her with a look of utter adoration.
"I agree, Doctor."
"Well then, Hermione. Would you like to go on an adventure?"
She knew she should say no. She had a life. A career. Hell, she even had a Ron. For once, though, Hermione wanted to live for herself, even if it seemed selfish. No one would understand, but that didn’t matter.
After scribbling a quick note to her superior, and a short apology to Harry and Ron, Hermione placed her quill down, and with a quick wave of her wand, gathered her things to place in her trusted beaded bag. She'd deal with the consequences later, but for now she was going to explore this connection and what it might mean.
"I'm ready, Doctor. Let's go."
He grabbed her hand, pulling her toward the still slightly smoking police box. "Come on then, Hermione. Allons-y!"