The Doctor, The New Girl, and The Youngest Malfoy
Doctor Who will be releasing a special short story this week to help tide fans over while we wait for the upcoming season. I’ve been given an advanced copy of the story with permission to give you a sneak peek. So without further ado, here it is (SPOILERS AHEAD!):
While Clara finished up the semester with her students, the Doctor opted to go on some new adventures in the meantime. Deciding to stop in Los Angeles—because what better place for an adventure?—the Doctor wandered the streets in search of just the right sort of fun and ran into the ever adorkable Jessica Day, who was just getting over her breakup with Nick. I have spent a good long time with an Impossible Girl. It would be nice to spend some time with someone who is possible. This sad girl here is definitely possible, The Doctor thought to himself. Determined to cheer her up, the Doctor offered to take her anywhere/anywhen she wanted to go.
Being Jessica Day, she thought about this offer for only a moment before saying “Hogwarts!” Because wouldn’t you, if you had the chance?
“Splendiforous!” shouted The Doctor, leg up to break into a run. He paused. “No, I don’t think I like that one.” He was still in search of a replacement for “Fantastic!” and “Geronimo!” He had tried “Wonderflonious!” and “Superb!” and even the rather tame “Excellent!” but none seemed quite right. Perhaps I should find something more distinguished, to go with my new distinguished look. “I’ll figure it out later! Come on then!”
Together Jessica and The Doctor ran to the TARDIS, quickly getting “It’s bigger on the inside!” out of the way as The Doctor pushed some levers and pressed some buttons. He had to warn Jess that the TARDIS, for all its extraordinariness, did not often venture into the wizarding world, so they might be in for a bumpy ride. (Also, he did not quite remember how to fly the TARDIS, so there was that.)
The ride was as turbulent as expected as the TARDIS met some magical resistance while attempting to land on the school’s grounds. Jess had to hang on to one of the consoles to keep from falling over. “Maybe there should be seatbelts in this thing!” Jess suggested.
“Where should we land?” The Doctor asked. This was her trip, after all.
Jess picked Gryffindor common room, because she had always dreamed of being in Gryffindor. The Doctor punched in those coordinates and let the TARDIS do its work. They shook and bumped and spun and finally landed.
The Doctor read the screen. “Ah. Well, not quite Gryffindor Tower, I think—”
But Jess couldn’t wait. “I didn’t really think this was real, but let’s go!” She ran straight out the door and 
came to an abrupt stop. “This isn’t…this is…this is the Slytherin Dungeon.” She recognized the long, low room from the book’s description. (She had read the books a dozen times each.) But it was Hogwarts! She ran out into the room and looked around, twirling in every direction so she could take it all in.
The common room appeared to be empty, but the sound of the TARDIS seemed to have drawn students out of bed.
Exchanging a glance, Jess and The Doctor hurried to hide. They crouched down out of sight.
“But what about the TARDIS?” Jess asked.
“Oh, not to worry about that,” The Doctor assured her. Before her eyes, the TARDIS vanished. Just in time, as a herd of Slytherin students entered the room, all dressed in their school robes and green and silver colors.
“What was that?” asked one student.
“I don’t see anything,” said another.
“Never mind,” said an authoritative voice. “We’re running out of time. If you want to be the most important people to ever come out of this school, we have to finish this today.”
“Yes, Alphius,” all the Slytherins said in unison. They seemed to snap to attention, faces going blank and robotic.
“Well that’s odd,” The Doctor whispered, cocking his head and taking out his sonic screwdriver.
“I thought electronics don’t work in Hogwarts,” Jess asked.
“Well, this isn’t any normal bit of electronics. This is Time Lord electronics and the Time Lord electronics are made to withstand even magical interference,” he replied, but he was only half paying attention as he took some readings on the screwdriver. “Definitely alien readings here, but what kind of aliens and what are they up to?”
“What are they doing?” Jess asked.
“Brewing a potion,” a young voice whispered behind them. The Doctor and Jess turned around in surprise, find a slim boy with a face of sharp angles and points. He had piercing green eyes and the palest blonde hair Jess had ever seen. “Something is wrong with them,” the boy said. “Ever since Alphius showed up. I’m the only one who remembers that he wasn’t here when we started the school year though. He can get them to do anything he wants. Sometimes they seem like themselves, but then, with a word from him…they’re like that.” he motioned to the zombie-like Slytherins. “They’ve been stealing and gathering ingredients for days now, even going into the Forbidden Forrest and getting hurt, but I don’t know what potion they’re trying to make.”
“I bet we could fix this with a song, if I had a guitar I could sing something…” Jess suggested. The Doctor and the boy stared at her. “Or not…”
“What’s your name?” The Doctor asked.
“Scorpius Malfoy.”
“And why, Scorpius, are you not under Alphius’s control?”
“I don’t know. I think maybe because I don’t really belong here. In Slytherin, I mean. The Sorting Hat wasn’t going to put me here, it even considered putting me in Gryffindor…but, my family has always been in Slytherin, so I asked to be here and it listened. Now I don’t know. I think my father would have been okay if I wasn’t in this house. He told me that I should be better than he was.” He shrugged. “I don’t think I have the drive for greatness that the other Slytherins have.”
“You have something better,” Jess told him. “You have the ability to be great but not the greed. Maybe that’s why Alphius can’t control you. He did say that’s what the potion would provide. Maybe that’s how he’s controlling them.”
The Doctor nodded. “I think I know what is happening here and the only way to stop him, is to expose him. He is an Ego. They are a species that seizes control by stroking the ego. Hence the name. Not very creative, really. This is not Alphius’s true appearance, they’re actually rather short. Egos can create a psychic link that allows them to appear to a person however they want.”
“How do we stop him then?”
“We have to challenge the Ego. Make him expose himself,” The Doctor explained. He stood up. “Alphius! Release these children. They are under my protection now.”
Alphius sneered. “And why should I care who you are?”
“Because I am The Doctor and the darkest of monsters have learned to fear me,” The Doctor said. When that did not seem to change Alphius’s mind, he said, “Well, then, I challenge you to a duel!”
Alphius, who was a tall, athletic looking teen with perfectly tanned skin and bright blue eyes, turned, eyes flashing. “Oh, do you?”
“Well, not me. I’m no wizard, so I can’t really challenge you that way, even if I have done a lot of things that might look like magic and have my trusty sonic that works essentially like a magic wand, but—”
“I challenge you!” Scorpius said, standing up beside The Doctor.
“Yeah!” added Jess. “I mean I’ll…stand here and cheer Scorpius on.”
“Get them!” Alphius ordered the Slytherins.
The Doctor looked to his new companions. “Perhaps this wasn’t my most thought out plan…Run!”
Can the Doctor convince Alphius to duel with Scorpius? Can Scorpius defeat Alphius and expose him before the potion is completed? Find out when the network releases the full story this Saturday.
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