A Different Kind of Magic

Chapter 3

The doors to the wooden police box creaked open as I glanced back over my shoulder. Standing with one foot on the threshold of the door and one on the Hogsmeade street, I locked eyes with Anna in a Honeydukes window. She was gripping Austin's wrist, her eyes wide as saucers and her face wrought with concern and panic. I looked at her apologetically, but she shook her head violently, mouthing the words, "Penny, don't!" repeatedly. 

"FIVE MINUTES!" I called back at her, holding up my left hand with my fingers spread to indicate the number of minutes in which I intended to be back. 

I turned back to the box and pushed the door open completely. Stepping inside, my heart jumped into my throat and my stomach turned cold at the site. Inside the box, there was a wide, circular room with arched doorways extending from it in several directions. In the center there was a type of console, with numerous buttons and levers and screens flashing lights and messages and beeping. This was wrapped around a large sort of tube, extending from beneath the floor to high above, ending at a ceiling I couldn't quite see. There was a blindingly bright, pulsing green light in the tube, which seemed to hum with energy. I stumbled backward against the door, shaking my head.

"Five minutes," The Doctor repeated, his voice gentle yet forced. He had composed himself enough effectively pretend he was okay again, but I wasn't fooled. I was afraid, yet incredibly fascinated."People always say that."

It took several moments for me to find my voice, as it seemed trapped in my throat. 

"Do they?" I replied, slightly sarcastic. I slowly stepped down the ramp toward the center of the room where The Doctor leaned against the large, complex console. 

 The Doctor lifted his head but didn't look at me. "You followed me," he said matter-of-factly. 

"Of course I did." I responded simply.

"Why?" he implored.

"I-I-I don't know...but how could I not, you know? You show up in a magic box and ask about Lord Voldemort and scare the living shoot out of everyone even though you're not that scary and then you get all moody and hint at stuff then step back in your weird box and expect me not to follow?" I blurted everything out faster than I intended to. Although I couldn't see him, I could tell the Doctor was smiling. His shoulders relaxed so that I was no longer afraid his tweed blazer would tear. It was then that I heard him chuckle.

"Excuse me?" I asked, nearly laughing myself.

"Oh, it's just that you remind me of someone I once knew," he responded, shaking his head and turning back to look at me. 

"Really?" I said, smirking. "Who was she?"

"A very good friend. She and her husband were my best friends. They were both young things, brave and spunky. They ended up naming their daughter after herself. Actually, she was more than human, and she was taken away as an infant and raised to kill me. Totally married her," The Doctor said all this very quickly, so that it was difficult to understand him. 

He must have seen me smiling at him, for he stopped and apologized for rambling. 

"She was actually a lot like you, you know. Except more...ginger," he said with a sad smile, his eyes looking through my skin as if he were seeing this mystery girl instead of me. I wasn't exactly irritated with him, but I didn't want to be compared to an old friend. I didn't want to compete with a ghost.

"She sounds nice," I said. "Now, how about we change the subject. My name is Penelope Watson and I am 17 and a half years old and I just graduated from a magic school and I also happen to be the daughter of a Greek godess named Athena, but I do not have an explanation for your flipping box!" I snapped. Laughing, I ran my fingers through my hair and looked at him, smiling. He seemed taken aback, like he was slapped in the face or something.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Your box-how'd you get it to do that?" 

"Do what?"

"It's smaller-I mean it's-It's bigger on the outside. No, that's-I'm sorry. It's smaller on the outside. That's what it is. Smaller on the outside. How'd you get it to do that?"

"You know, most people just say it's bigger on the inside."

"Well, what's the difference?"

He laughed and a curious thought popped into my head.

"I'm going to be gone longer than 5 minutes, aren't I?" I asked skeptically.

"Not if you don't want to be." he responded, tucking his large hands into his pockets and looking at me like he was unsure whether I would run away or stay put.

"Do you want to come away with me?" he asked.

I grinned at him and he tilted his head a little, looking like a confused puppy. 

"Well," I said, taking a deep breath. "I think it's time to say goodbye."

The Doctor looked up at me with a look of surprise, as if I'd sparked an important memory. I ran up the metal ramp to the blue wooden doors, opened them, stuck my head out, and waved to Anna and Mikayla and Austin.

"Goodbye!" I called, waving furiously. In response to their terrified expressions, I yelled, "Don't worry, I'll be back in time for tea!" Then, I shut the doors and turned back to The Doctor.

"Doctor, I wi-" he interrupted me.

"Your mum," he said as if he were figuring out a puzzle, "Is Athena? As in, the Athena, the one who burst out of Zeus's skull in full body armor?"  

"Yes...?" I answered, nodding slowly and looking at him carefully.

The Doctor laughed.

"Well, she's lovely." he said.

"What, you've met her?" I asked, astounded.

"Well, you travel as much as I do, a pit stop on Mount Olympus isn't that far out of the question, is it?" he countered. I chuckled. 

"Doctor?" I asked.

"Hmm?"

"I will be back in time for tea, right?"

The Doctor laughed and pointed at me. "Now, that, Miss Penelope Watson, is the kicker. The deal maker. My box, it's called the TARDIS, which stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space, andit's a time machine. I could take you to the end of the Universe and back-and maybe just beyond the edge too, poke our heads out a bit, eh- and you could still be back in time for tea. Deal?" he asked.

"Deal." I said.

The Doctor pulled a lever back, and the box made that vwoorp-vwoorp noise again, the light in the central tube pulsing faster. He looked at me, grinning like a four-year-old on Christmas morning. Then, he said something awfully strange which made me laugh so hard I accidentally snorted and had to cover my face, blushing as red as Anna's hair.

"Geronimo!"