InsaneJournal

"I'm not drinking it, at least for hydration," The Doctor smiled and shook his head, about to continue to correct the colourful woman in front of him, when he saw her pull out a wand and shoot water at the ground.

Mud? What mud? The Doctor hit his knees directly in the path of the stream of water, so it ended up hitting him square in the chest, and angled his head to look at the tip of her wand, as if he were looking for a hole that the water came through. He weaved his head and caught some in his mouth, smacking his lips and tilting his head to the side. "Filtered. Interesting..." While he was down there, he also noticed that the water bounced off this woman as if she were wearing an invisible rain slicker.

The sonic screwdriver came out, and the Doctor ran it up the woman's leg, about an inch off of the denim of her jeans, paused at her hip and smiled a little, then went down her arm to the tip of her wand. "Magic. Actual magic. Like Harry Potter!" he said, jumping to his feet in one smooth movement, beaming.

"Oh, you're brilliant, you are," he grinned happily, shoving his screw driver in his pocket and bouncing softly on the balls of his feet. "I'm the Doctor."

The Doctor listened to her, highly amused that he had a living, breathing Potterite in front of him, and then he realised who she was, before she'd even introduced herself. Which caused him to bounce some more. Tonks had always been his favourite character, and here she was, in the flesh.

"You're Tonks. Nymphadora Tonks!" Like the woman didn't know her own name. He couldn't help himself. The Doctor threw his arms around her and picked her up in a huge hug before setting her back down and skipping around in an excited little dance, wearing a shit-eating grin.

"Sorry, no...um..." Eh, the hell with it. "I've read all the books. The whole story about Harry and the lot of you," he grinned. "Is that Teddy?" he asked, pointing at Tonks' stomach excitedly. "And you're not--" he stopped himself and frowned. "Wait a tick. What's the last thing that happened to you?"

The Doctor blinked a couple of times and put his hands up in a surrendering position, trying to figure out what this mad woman was talking about. "Barty...Barty..." he muttered, trying to remember. "Oh! Crouch! Well there's the one that got transfigured into a bone and buried and then the young psychotic one that got his soul sucked out...That must be who she's talking about..." It was like Tonks wasn't even there any more, honestly. The Doctor was just hanging out with his hands in the air, muttering to himself. Normal day, really.

"I'm not Barty Crouch. Either one of them," he promised, and then gestured to his pocket. "I'm just going to get my identification," he promised, slowly slipping his hand into his pocket, not making any sudden movements, and pulled out a billfold with a piece of highly useful and slightly psychic paper jammed in.

Now normally, it would have some cock-and-bull nonsense about being head of the Misuse of Magic office or some bullocks, but given that he'd already mentioned the books, and they were in crazy-land, the Doctor went with the (relative) truth. When he passed it over, the paper read The Doctor. President of the Nymphadora Tonks Fan Club.

"I've been called that a time or two," the Doctor admitted, and he really didn't look all that upset about it, as it were.

He took back his billfold as she laughed and shook his head. "It's psychic paper. It'll tell you anything I want it to. But, as it were, that was the relative truth," he shrugged. And really, he couldn't have been that bad of a guy if he'd just admitted all of that, right? A creeper wouldn't have.

"Actually, I have a couple of theories about that," the Doctor admitted, looking back up at the rain again, not bothered in the least that he still had a wand pointed at his chest. "There's that saying on Earth that everyone has a twin, right? Perhaps it works through-out the universe as well? Or," he said, without really missing a beat. "Apparently there's a television show about me, and the bloke that plays me looks a lot like me. Perhaps in the movie versions of your books, the same guy plays Barty Crouch Jr?" He grinned then. "Or it's just a really barmey coincidence."

"As far as I'm concerned you've got one," the Doctor smiled. He'd always liked Tonks the best. She endeared herself to him in a way that his companions usually did. A little nuts, very bold, and just a hint of clumsy. A perfect combination, in his mind.

The Doctor nodded. "They're making movies of all the books. You're played by someone that looks different though," he admitted with a little shrug. Then he grinned. "You're prettier," he assured her.

Experiment forgotten completely, as the Doctor had the attention span of a fruit fly, he offered his arm to Tonks and looked up. "Let's get out of this mad rain," he suggested, leading her toward the TARDIS.

The Doctor looked Tonks over and shrugged. "Like I said, you're prettier," he admitted. "They got the hair right though," he teased, reaching out to tug on one of the strands lightly. He was still in shock. A real, live Tonks, hanging on his arm. Brilliant!

"I have a couple of theories," he admitted, though really, he was trying to adjust his own theories to fit what he knew about Tonks and her creation history. He decided that the kindest thing to do would be to tell her the same thing he'd told Edward. "I think that, if there are fictionalized accounts of our lives, it just means that we've inspired someone," he shrugged, his voice light. "And there isn't anything wrong with that."

They'd reached the TARDIS at this point, and the Doctor smiled, unlocking the door and holding it open for Tonks to go in first. He loved this part, even though the inevitable It's bigger on the inside comment tended to get annoying after a few hundred years. "Welcome to the TARDIS," he offered, ushering her inside.

Following her inside, the Doctor shut the door behind them, and stood smiling, his hands shoved in his pockets, rocking back and forth between his feet, clearly pleased by her reaction to his wonderful ship.

"It's a space ship," he smiled, moving to the console and running his fingers along the controls lightly, as one would stroke a much-loved cat, or pet a friend's head. The TARDIS responded, the blue cylinder in the center of the console lighting up slightly, the internal components sliding upward before they shuddered to a stop again. "TARDIS stands for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space," he explained.

"I can go anywhere in the universe in her. And anywhere in time," he grinned, but then he made a face. "Well, I could," he amended. "She's not working right now, given that we're stuck here." Clearly, he didn't like that much at all, from the look on his face. When the TARDIS wasn't feeling well, the Doctor was not a happy camper.

When Tonks went on a mental vacation, the Doctor gave her a look that Rose generally described as making her feel like she'd just dribbled on her shirt. It wasn't his fault that he had a head for that kind of stuff, and little patience for those that didn't. But well, he was used to being the smartest person in the room. It had been a long 900-something years, after all.

Her gasp had him smiling sadly. "She's sick," he said with a shake of his head. "The last time this happened...well. I really hope it's Jareth and not like the last time," he sighed. That had not been a fun experience. "She's trying to help though," he smiled, petting the TARDIS again. The way he talked about the ship, it was like she was alive. And well, she was.

"I'm doing what I can," he nodded, clearly frustrated by the lack of progress. Granted, he probably wouldn't leave for good if he did get it fixed, this place was far too entertaining, but not having an escape route was bothering him quite a bit. More than he wanted to admit, actually. Her pain did not go unnoticed, and the Doctor smiled softly. "I can take you anywhere," he clarified. "If you wanted to leave. It wouldn't be a requirement or anything. This place, after all, seems to be as good a home as any."

When Tonks stroked the ship, the light flickered a little in the console. Not nearly as brightly as it had when the Doctor had petted her, but still it was there. He grinned. "She likes you," he said with an emphatic nod.

The Doctor winced when Tonks said that she'd go home. Her showing up out of the blue knocked up with some other bloke's baby would put a bit of a damper on things. Would Lupin end up travelling with the Trio on their quest? Would he and Tonks end up among the dead at the end, fighting for their family and friends, when they weren't preoccupied with finding each other? And what about future generations? Would Teddy and Victore end up together? Well, no, because Teddy wouldn't exist.

"Well uh..." He dodged. "It's not an option yet so..." The Doctor finished off that oh-so-brilliantly formed sentence with an emphatic nod. Smooth, Doctor. Real smooth.

The Doctor grinned. "And she doesn't like just anyone either. My friend Jack, she went to the end of the universe trying to shake him off, once upon a time."

This, right there, was why the Doctor needed a companion. He needed someone to smack him around the gourd when he was being a moron. Like now.

"No, no it's fine," he said, waving her off as best as he could, not meeting her eye. "It's just...you being here might change things. Might not. Never know," he shrugged, talking a little more erratically than usual. "You can never be sure. And given that you might be able to go back someday...I...I can't tell you."

The Doctor was more concerned about her going back pregnant with a baby that was - as near as he could figure - an alien's, at least to the folks in Harry Potter land. Because who knew how weirdly that could screw things up, particularly with...well, it was just all bad. But not really a worry currently.

"I don't know," he admitted, shaking his head and sitting down on the jump seat, which was more of a jump couch, patting the cushion next to him. "I'm sorry you got told though, that was messed up," he said with a shake of his head. People could be so careless. Now when the Doctor did it, that was an entirely different story. He was a Time Lord. He was allowed to screw things up completely...Or something.

But still the Doctor considered her very brave, and told her so. "Most people would avoid the future, if they knew what it held," he pointed out, kicking his feet up on the edge of the control panel. "You're to be admired."

The Doctor shuddered. "Please don't," he said automatically, and then realised how rude that sounded. Yet again, rude and not ginger. "Rose tried to do that once. To change history. When you change established events, at least in the rea--where I'm from," he amended, having to remind himself that Tonks' world was very real to her, even if it wasn't to him. "That's when Reapers show up, and everything goes to pot."

"They feed on time distortion," he explained. "And there's no stopping them. I've been down the gullet of one of those things, Tonks. I don't want that to happen to your world." The Doctor sighed and shook his head. "I'd love nothing more than to tell you that you can change things, and everything will come out rosy. I would love that. And maybe the rules are different where you're from. But would you risk that? Everyone you know and love...Every place that was ever important to you...All destroyed."

The Doctor felt bad telling her that. Telling her that she was better off dying. That everyone would be a lot happier, not because she was dead, but because of what her death ensured. "Reapers or no Reapers, I think that's all we can do, no matter the situation," he said with a half smile, looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

He only just dodged her flailing hand and laughed a little, shaking his head. "A bit bizarre, yeah," he agreed. "Though really, hardly the worst I've ever seen. Of all the places to get stuck, this isn't a completely horrible one. Trust me," he chuckled. "This is paradise, comparatively."

Leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his hands hanging free between them, the Doctor let out a breath of air that puffed out his cheeks, and then smiled. "So is there anyone else from your world here?" he asked, tilting his head to grin at her.

"I might have heard a rumor," the Doctor grinned, winking at her. Tonks' clumsy nature was legendary, and probably one of the reasons why he liked her so much. He wasn't clumsy, per say, but his accidents tended to go in a quite comical direction most of the time. "What was that place like?" he asked, interested.

The Doctor's face lit up at the thought of other characters from the books being on this planet as well, particularly Hermione, who he'd always felt a sort of kinship with. "Where are they all pulled from in canon?" he asked, and then blinked. "I mean, in your history..." Mostly he just wondered if Snape had gotten his head bitten off by Nagini yet.

"I've got two friends here," he nodded. "Jack Harkness - watch out for him, he'll be into your knickers before you know what hit you," he laughed. "And Rose Tyler. She's human, but still very lovely," he shrugged. "Well, so's Jack, if we're being technical. Human. Not lovely. He's a right pain in the ass." But it was clear from his tone that he held them both in great affection, regardless of how he complained.

"Yeah, me neither," the Doctor snorted, without any humor to it. "If I could just get her working again, it wouldn't be so bad being here. It'd be brilliant, really. But being stuck, it's terrible."

The Doctor smacked himself in the face. "Sorry...No. It's what people in my world call the uh..." He screwed up his face, trying to figure out how to explain it. "The uh...rules, laws, happenings, that kind of thing, of a fictional world. Because where I'm from, you lot are fiction, though I have a couple of theories on that so don't worry about it. Basically it's like...the fairy tales that you grew up with? You know how the worlds and characters weren't real, and they could do things you couldn't? You're one of those impossible characters. Sort of." Yeah, that started off better than it finished.

"Really good," the Doctor agreed, standing up and stretching. "Which reminds me, I need to find Rose before she starts remodeling," he said, looking down the long hall that seemed to have no end at one point in the TARDIS with a worried glance.

The Doctor laughed. "Well good. I like being liked. And it goes without saying, Tonks, that I like you," he said with a little nod. That was an understatement. She was wonderful. Not to mention the fact that she seemed to take everything so well. Most people would have been having a fit by now. But no, not Tonks. She was a rock.

Going to the door, the Doctor looked serious. "It's highly complicated," he said with an emphatic nod. Then he hooked his finger in the handle of the door and pulled it open. "The Hordes of Genghis Khan couldn't get in - and they've tried, but getting out...easy," he grinned.

Then he pleasantly sent her on her way, waving. "Come see me again!" he called as he watched her disappear into the rain, and then shut the door. "Tonks. Tonks! Hey Rose!!" he hollered, setting off at a dead run.