Chapter Text
A strange creature flies out of a blue box after it appears on the corner, an envelope clutched in deadly talons. It releases a low cry that sounds like a question as it glides across the Gallifreyan sky.
"Whoooo...?"
The feathered animal draws stares from the people below as it navigates the alien planet as if it has always lived there.
Suddenly, the creature drops from the sky. It lands outside of the window of a single story building. It taps its powerful beak against the glass and asks, "Whoooo...?"
"Did you hear something, Koschei?" asked a little blond boy to his friend.
Koschei's lip curled. "I told you to call me The Master," he quipped, shaking dark curls from his face. "We're starting the Timelord Academy soon. I don't want people calling me 'Koschei.'"
"Well, then use my proper name," the first boy sneered back. "I can't have people calling me Thete."
"Alright, Doctor."
"Master."
The boys grinned excitedly at each other. Their twin hearts beat as if racing one another at the thought of starting their new school.
"What was your question?" the Master asked.
There was another tapping sound.
"That!" cried the Doctor. "Did you hear that?"
The Master frowned and turned toward the noise, seeing a strange creature outside the window. It tapped again.
"I've never seen a bird like that before," he said, voice full of wonder. "I think he wants in. Thete- Doctor- open the window."
The Doctor approached the window without fear or hesitation and pressed a button. Both boys were generally very curious about everything and found that fear and curiousity did not work well together. The glass hissed and slid upward, letting in the breeze and the animal. He perched himself in the center of the Doctor's sleeping pad and asked, "Whoooo...?"
The Doctor exchanged a look with the Master, astonished that the animal could speak. "The Doctor," he answered.
"Whoooo...?"
"Doctor."
"Whoooo...?"
The boy was beginning to get frustrated. He looked at his friend. "You try."
Clearing his throat, the other boy answered, "The Master."
"Whoooo...?"
"This is ridiculous," the Master concluded. "I'm bored."
"Maybe 'Who' is simply his name?" the Doctor offered.
The creature hopped across the sleeping pad and offered its claw. "Whoooo...?"
The Master pointed to the envelope. "Maybe it doesn't know who that goes to," he supplied.
Frowning, the Doctor reached forward and removed the thin parcel from the creature's leg. It looked like parchment and there was some sort of seal on one side. On the opposite side was writing.
The Doctor
Last Bedroom at the End of the Hall
Single Level Complex 6
North Rossillon Lane
Capitol City, Gallifrey
The Doctor exchanged another look with his friend as they studied the envelope. Eagerly, the Doctor broke the seal and opened the flap. Inside was more parchment, neatly folded. There was more writing and some of it was badly smudged as if it had gotten wet.
Dear Mr. Doctor,
We are pleased to inform you...
"What's Hogwarts?" the Master demanded as he skimmed over the letter. "I've never heard of that school. What is witchcraft and wizardry? It sounds fishy."
The Doctor shrugged. "Never heard of it," he replied. He looked at the wide-eyed creature still gazing at them. It's white face and black eyes looked eerie. "Who, can you take us to where you came from?"
"Whoo!" came the reply. The great bird flapped his wings, his head nodding furiously. "Whoo! Whoo!" He flew back out of the open window and perched on the tree outside, waiting. "Whoo!"
The boys rushed outside. As soon as Who saw them emerge, he began to fly again, stopping every now and then to let them catch up. People stared, curious at the creature and the boys chasing after it. Who flew around a tall building and disappeared. Breathless, the boys sprinted around the corner for fear of losing him. They stumbled to a stop.
"Whoooo..."
Who was perched atop a blue box with white lettering and windows. The two friends stared curiously at it.
"What is po-lice?" the Master asked.
"Whatever calls the box, I suppose," the Doctor answered.
"Whoo!"
Who took flight again and flew through the open door of the box. The boys ran after him.
"A TARDIS!" exclaimed the Doctor. Inside the door of the small box was a large room too big to logically be inside. It could probably fit about ten of the blue boxes within its walls and there were doors leading off to other rooms and corridors. In the center of the main room, though, was a strange version of a Gallifreyan control station. It looked rather advanced, but also like someone had carelessly assembled it. "The camoflage adaptor must be faulty. I wonder where it got that funny blue business. Maybe Who came from there?"
Suddenly, Who was at the consol. He hopped from this button to that lever, pecking and clawing as he went. The door closed.
"Who, stop! We need a proper timelord!" The Doctor ran to chase the creature away, but he had already done enough. The machine began to make a whooshing noise.
"That doesn't sound good," the Master whispered.
When the noise stopped, the boys rushed to the consol to try to figure out where they had gone.
"Earth?" the Master said, squinting at a monitor. He made a face. "What a silly name for a planet!"
"I like it," the Doctor decided.
"You like everything."
"Do not!"
The Master rolled his eyes. "Do you think this is some sort of elaborate acceptance exam from the Timelord Academy?"
"I hope not... I haven't studied." The Doctor gulped. "It appears to be the planet's tenth century. I can't imagine they're very advanced. Must be why they still send messages by animals."
"Whoo!"
The boys glanced at their feathered companion and then to one another. The Master cleared his throat. "Well, I suppose there's only one way to find out. Come on, let's go outside!"
As soon as the door opened, Who took flight and disappeared. Panicked, the boys ran after him, but he was gone.
"Now what?" the Master cried.
"We look for him. I don't see much other choice. Unless you can fly a TARDIS."
The Master made a face, sticking his tongue out at his friend who, in turn, made a face right back.
They had landed on the edge of what appeared to be a town. The people milling around them (humanoids, like their own Gallifreyans) didn't seem to mind them at all. They were all dressed strangely (at least to the Doctor and the Master), though there seemed to be an extreme style difference between the people carrying buckets and holding things to sell versus the people with buckets floating along beside them and people whose wares twisted and glimmered on their own.
"Have you ever seen anything like it?" the Doctor said softly to his friend.
"You know I haven't," the Master replied sarcastically. "This is literally the first time either of us has been off world." He glanced around with a critical eye. "They don't seem to be very advanced. I wonder how some of them seem to have higher levels of technology than the others."
"Perhaps they are two different races who prefer to live different lives, yet still manage to live peacably among one another," the Doctor offered.
"I say, there, boy!" called out a voice. The two looked at each other before glancing around. "Yes, you there, the funny dresed one! Up here, boy!"
They looked up to find four figures floating on strange looking sticks, slowly coming to land before them. The speaker, a haughty looking fellow dressed in a flowing green gown, landed first and approached. The man looked at the two like he was amused with them.
"Is that the new style of robe they're coming out with in the city?" he asked them, his head tilting to the side. "It's rather odd, don't you think?"
The Doctor exchanged a glance with the Master, who shrugged slightly. He turned back toward the man. "We wear these all the time. Very comfortable," he said, gesturing to his trousers. "Easy to get around in."
The other three that accompanied the man were two women, one in blue and one in yellow, and another man with the greatest of beards just a shade or two brighter than the red clothing he wore. The Green Man glanced over their shoulders at the TARDIS and back.
"That's a strange bit of magic you've got there. Clever. Let me ask you something- would you attend a school that was called Ravenpuff?" He arched a carefully manicured black eyebrow.
"What's a ravenpuff?" asked the Doctor.
"There you have it, we aren't calling it that!" he declared, turning to address his party.
"Well, you can't base it on one boy's opinion," said the Blue Woman with a huff. She crossed her arms over her chest and scowled. "It's a perfectly good name for a school. And he didn't even say he didn't like it!"
"It's absurd!" boomed the Red Man with a laugh. "And vain, I might add. It would be like Salazar and I proposing that we name it Slytherdor!"
"I actually quite like that," commented the Green Man.
The Red Man laughed again. "Yes, I do, too."
"You did propose it!" said the Yellow Woman. "Last night in the tavern!"
The Green Man made a face. "Well, at least we didn't pursue it," he countered. "Though it would be a better name for a school than Ravenpuff!"
The two women looked ready to do harm to the man and the Doctor became alarmed. He gingerly stepped forward, ignoring the frightened shake of his friend's head.
"Excuse me," he began, causing all heads to swivel toward him. "We actually are looking for a school. Called Hogwarts?"
"You mean the plant, hogwort?" asked the Yellow Woman, brightening up at the mere mention of flora.
"N- no, it's a school, I guess. I also have a list of things to get before I go there. Where can I find..." He consulted his parchment. "A wand?"
The Green Man made a face of disgust as he backed up to rejoin his group. "Must be a mudblood," he muttered.
"Salazar!" hissed the Yellow Woman.
"I'll not sully myself any further," he was saying, but the Red Man stepped forward, his deep voice drowning out his companions' bickering.
"As far as I know, there is no school by that name," he told the boys. "But, if it's a wand you need, there is a man making a name for himself in the square down the lane. Olive- something or other. You'll find him. Good journey to you! Learn your magic well."
The Green Man sulked as they walked away and the Yellow Woman said, "What about hogwort? That could work as a name."
"You only like it because it's a plant, Helga," said the Blue Woman.
"Oh, hush. We could change the spelling, make it something else. What did he call it? Hog warts? Like warts on a hog?"
"That's disgusting!"
"But it's catchy," Yellow pointed out.
"But he says it's already taken," sad the Red Man. "You don't think it's that school they were talking about building on the main continent, do you?"
Their voices faded from earshot and the bewildered boys headed down the lane toward the square. It was more bustling than the lane had been with a much larger assortment of vendors. They were quickly overwhelmed.
"How are we even supposed to know who this Olive person is?" the Master said, frustration masking his fear.
"Maybe we should go back to the TARDIS," the Doctor suggested uncertainly.
"WHOOOO!"
A shadow fell over them as Who flew low over their heads to catch their attention before gliding over and perching on the awning of a small, almost hidden stall. The two boys quickly hurried over, both relieved to have some guidance back on this little journey. A young man sat inside the stall on a log looking with one eye down a thin piece of wood in his hand. He held a small knife in his other and he pressed it to the wood, carefuly carving off a few shavings.
The Doctor cleared his throat. "Excuse me, are you Olive?" he asked.
"It's Olli-" He sighed in frustration as he cut off a piece of wood he hadn't meant to. He turned toward the boys. "It's Ollivander! Albanus Ollivander! Curses, how am I going to make a name for myself if no one can remember it!"
The boys looked at one another before the Master addressed the man. "Perhaps if you had a sign?"
The man scoffed. "A sign! A s- A sign?" He stood and exited the stall, turning to face it from the outside with a look of confusion. "A sign... Huh." He withdrew another stick from his pocket, this one much more polished and fine than the one he had been carving, and began absently waving it about.
The Doctor was nudged aside as a board flew out from behind him followed by tools. The board affixed itself to the top of the stall and the man seemed to direct the tools with his stick. The Doctor and the Master also exited the stall to see what he was up to. The tools carved out the words: Ollivander's Fine Wands
"Yes, that will do nicely, I think," the man muttered to himself. He turned back to the boys, almost as if they had appeared out of thin air before recognition registered on his face. "Brilliant idea, lads! Now, what can I do for you? I would like to repay the favor."
"Well, I need a wand," the Doctor replied.
"Ah..." The man bit his lip and clasped his hands together. "Is there anything I can help you with immediately? I'm afraid I am... Well, I'm sold out at the moment. It will take several days to build up an inventory to browse."
"I don't need to browse, I just need one."
The Master cleared his throat.
"Er, two, I guess." He didn't know why- the letter had been addressed to him, not the Master.
"I can't just make two and expect them to work right!" the man protested. "The wand chooses the wizard! Or at least that's the family motto. I'll make you a selection of wands to choose from, but you have to give me time!"
"Whooo!" cried Who.
The man glanced up at Who. "Is that your owl?"
"We call him Who," the Doctor replied.
The man turned back with the queerest of looks, but the boys paid no attention. If there was one thing they had, it was time. Who took off from his perch and headed back down the lane.
"We will give you your time," the Doctor assured the man. He and the Master promptly turned around and followed Who back down the lane and to the TARDIS at the edge of town. "A week should be enough time, right?"
Who was already at the controls, clawing and pecking his way around the consol. The two friends grinned at each other, no longer afraid as the whooshing noise began again.