I loved the reviews- absolutely amazing as always! Thank you everyone for reading. Now, on to the story...

Chapter Five

A little boy nimbly climbed a tree, and grasped the kite in his hands. His Father ran over the hill, and towards him.

"Richard! There you are, don't you know-"

The little boy gasped as he saw something in the distance. "Dad, there's a village over there! I thought there wasn't another village besides ours for miles around?" He pointed his finger over to the village in the distance, half hidden behind trees.

The man stared off in the distance, eyes narrowing. "I didn't think there was. Come down from there Richard." The little boy dropped the kite to the ground, and started to climb down.

"Dad, can we go see?"

"I don't see why not. I'd like to see this village for myself."

He took the boy by the hand, and Richard carried the kite in his arm. The two of them wandered over the snow-covered field. The little boy was getting very excited, as he saw that there was smoke coming from some of the chimneys.

They turned on to a sleepy little street, looking around carefully. Most of the houses looked as though they were out of a story book, with thatched roofs and white picket fences. All of the roads were made of dirt, and they turned the corner on the street to see a lady carrying her groceries. She was dressed rather oddly. The man frowned, while the little boy tugged on his Father's hand.

"Let's go talk to the lady!"

The father shook his head, and they walked further into the village. There, they found more people, dressed oddly. It looked as though there were some shops on the main street, but they had the oddest of wares- why were those brooms displayed so prominently in the store window?

They bumped into a couple, both of them blonde, talking about a place called Hogwarts. What was Hogwarts?

Richard piped up. "Excuse me, but what village is this?"

The couple looked down at the little boy in surprise, and to the Father. The man smiled sheepishly. "We're from the next village over. I took my son out to fly his kite, and it sort of got away from us. I didn't know that there was another village so close by." He studied the couple, noting that they looked rather younger than most of the other villagers, and were dressed a bit more normally.

The girl and the boy exchanged a look. The girl spoke, kneeling in front of the boy. "What's your name?"

"Richard. Richard Winston."

The girl shook his head. "Delighted to meet you Richard. I'm Luna Lovegood, and this is my friend Draco Malfoy."

Richard pointed to his father. "This is my Dad, Bernard."

Luna glanced to the curious man, and looked back to the boy. "Richard, have you ever done something odd? Something you couldn't explain?"

Richard shook his head slowly, a bit confused. "No. Why?"

The girl straightened up, looking thoughtful. The boy murmured something to her, and Bernard had to lean in to hear what he'd said. Muggles. What were those?

The girl gave them a bright smile. "Well, Bernard, Richard, why don't you follow us? I think a friend of ours would like to meet you. He loves meeting new people!" She took the boy by the arm, and led them out of the crowded square, and up the wide street. It grew quieter as they walked away from all the hubub. Bernard frowned as he saw a destroyed storefront, like it'd collapsed in on itself.

"This little village is called Hogsmeade, and it has been here for almost a thousand years! There used to be a school here-" She pointed further up the road. "But it was destroyed a while back. Many of the villagers' ancestors built that school, and attended that school. The village was built here, and people have lived here ever since."

Richard looked a bit starry-eyed at the story, but Bernard thought it was a bit sketchy. A thousand years? Really?

The girl smiled at Bernard. "Would you happen to be from the village of Woodcroft?"

"Uh, yes, actually."

The girl smiled. "So...how far away is it? I've never been there myself."

"Um...not far, actually. About 15 Kilometers away?"

The boy seemed a bit surprised at this. He cleared his throat. "I'll go get Kit and Nev." He said quietly, and entered a shop. The girl smiled down at Richard."So, where's your mum? Is she here in the village too?"

Richard shook his head. "No, Mum's shopping with Auntie."

The girl nodded, and the boy came back out with another boy and a girl. Richard stared at the dark haired girl with wide eyes. She looked even more strange and exotic than he'd seen all day- and that was saying something. She looked down at Richard with a gentle smile.

"Why don't we sit and have some tea, hmm?" She held out her hand to Richard. "I'm Kit, and you must be Richard."

"You're pretty." Richard said with a smile.

All the teens laughed, and Richard took the girl's hand. Bernard hurried to follow them further up the road. There were less and less houses, and more and more trees up this way.

"You see, Richard, we haven't had visitors from other villages in quite some time. It's so nice to meet new people, even if it is a bit suprising. So, you chased after your kite, did you?"

The little boy nodded.

"Does anyone else know that you are here?"

Bernard frowned, wondering where they were going with this. "No. What's going on?"

Kit looked at him, and he sucked in a breath, seeing her alarming green eyes. She looked back down to his son. "Richard, do you believe in magic?"

The little boy nodded quickly. "Like Peter Pan, and King Arthur?"

"Something like that. Did you know that Merlin was a real person?" They stopped by the side of the road, and Bernard noticed that there was no one about.

"Really?" Richard's eyes were round.

"Yes. He was very real. Magic is real too." Kit took out a stick, and held it in front of the boy. "See, this is a wand."

The blonde boy, Draco, ran a hand over his face, looking nervous. "Kit, what are you doing-"

Kit smiled. "Why don't you try it out?"

Richard took the wand from Kit's hand, and waved it about. Bernard frowned. It was just a stick. Richard jabbed it into the air. Nothing happened. No sparkly lights, nothing.

Richard waved it about some more. "Hocus Pocus!...um Abra Cadabra!" The little boy cried, but nothing happened. The blonde boy jolted at Richard's words.

Kit sighed, and took the stick away from Richard. "Perhaps I can try." She said quietly. She flicked her wand, and with a murmured word, had a bouquet of flowers in her gasped, and Bernard raised a brow.

"You're a magician."

Kit looked up at him, with a small grin. "No. A wizard. I'm not like those people you see on the telly." She motioned to her friends. "In fact, all of us do magic. Every person in our village does magic." She put her wand away. "Which is why we are so surprised to see you."

"I can't do magic?" Richard asked softly, clearly dissapointed.

"I'm afraid not." Luna said with a small smile. "You're what we call muggles. People who cannot do magic. This village has been hidden away from those who cannot do magic for a very, very long time. Which is why we are so curious about how you got here in the first place."

"I lost my kite. I climbed up a tree to get it, and I saw your village." The boy said, frowning in thought.

"This is ridiculous. It was just a trick. Don't believe them, Richard." Bernard murmured, feeling a bit upset.

The blonde girl just smiled at them, and before their eyes, transformed into a small bird. Both Richard and Bernard gasped in surprise. Richard laughed delightedly as the bird hopped onto his shoulder, and preened his hair.

"Okay...what the hell is this?"

"Magic." The dark haired boy said.

Harry stared into the fire with a thoughtful frown. Muggles had gotten into their village today like it had been nothing. The wards must have been destroyed when Voldemort had attacked. And that muggle village was so close. This was going to be a problem. They had broken the Statute of secrecy today, something that they could get into very big trouble for. Draco was obviously not happy about what they'd done, and he was all for obliviating the muggles.

Luna, however, reasoned that the muggles would find out about them sooner or later, once their village expanded. After they had sent the muggles on their way, Harry and Draco had flown over to Woodcroft to see exactly how close it was. It was a small village, but larger than Hogsmeade. They had T.V and the like, and if those muggles talked, the news would spread quickly.

They were sleeping in a tent just outside the Forbidden forest while they were building their home. Hagrid and the creatures were helping them build it, stone by stone. The House elves were even getting a quarters built for them. It wasn't the best time of year to be staying on the grounds, as it was perpetually freezing, but according to the centaurs, they had no choice.

Was this what the centaurs had warned them about? Not the Ministry of Magic, but the muggles? Centaurs were always a bit vague with the details- they'd only said that they needed to be there to protect the forest from those who'd want to use it. They didn't say who, exactly, would want to do that.

Days passed, and there were no signs of the ICW coming to arrest them, nor curious muggles coming to investigate. Harry assumed that Richard and Bernard hadn't talked. Part of him was thankful for that, but another part of him wondered...what would happen if the muggles came?

The Americans were settling into Hogsmeade, and more were joining them. They had officially registered the land as a Magical Sanctuary, with details about what was in the forest. The papers reported that they had the largest number of unicorns and acromantula in the world, as well as threstrals Also, their numbers in the centaur clan was surprisingly high- only the clan in Greece outnumbered them. Their American friends helped them identify a number of the plant species within the forest, but they would need help. They put out an ad in some of the papers.

They were surprised to find an immediate response from some unlikely people. Charlie Weasley came back from Romania, wanting to help. A couple from South America wanted to help as well, and a wizard from China was keen on working in the forest. There was also a witch from Italy as well. Then, Severus Snape came to their front gates.

Kit stared at the man suspiciously. "Why are you here?"

"I've spent a number of years studying that forest, even before you lot came along. I believe I could be of some assistance." The man said stiffly.

"You're not going to report back to Dumbledore about what we're doing here, are you?"

"No."

"How do I know you're not lying?"

The man arched a brow, and Harry sighed. "What about the school?"

Severus frowned. "Hogwarts was my home for the majority of my life. This...new Hogwarts doesn't even compare."

Harry let him in the gates, and showed the man around. Thankfully, the snow had melted for the most part, and green was starting to sprout up again. Centaurs and Houseelves alike were patrolling the grounds. Severus noticed that the house elves no longer wore their tea towels, but a strange combination of fur, feathers, leaves, and sticks. Harry led him to the camp. "You know that's Hagrid's hut, of course. On the left is the Elve's quarters, and on the right is my house that I share with Draco, Luna and Neville."

The man nodded, looking at the houses. Like Hagrid's hut, they were made of stone, with a thatched roof. The elve's quarters were shorter, but longer than the other two, and had two entrances. He also noticed a couple of huts just outside the forest, but they were not mentioned.

. Harry motioned to the bonfire in the camp. "We use that as the floo, since there isn't a fireplace. The other people who are assisting us are staying in Hogsmeade. They do not stay here. You will not be able to stay here, sir."

"That's fine. I have no inclination to sleep outdoors. I have a home to go to."

Harry nodded. "Alright then. We'll make up a contract for you, and you'll discuss your pay with Draco."

"Pay?" Severus raised a brow.

"Of course you'll get paid." The boy said, looking a bit surprised.

"How many do you employ?"

"Well, we have 134 House elves. Oh wait, one of them just had a baby. 135, then. We pay 15 centaurs to guard- the others have either refused payment, or do not stray from their camp. We also have 20 witches and wizards working for us here. We also have a number of other witches and wizards elsewhere that are contracted with us."

He motioned to some elves that were coming from the forest, carrying baskets. "The elves are gatherers. The collect materials from the forest that we need. The witches and wizards that work for us work on a rotating schedule, studying what the elves gather. They'd don't actually go in the forest. If they choose to publish their findings, that's fine with us, but they publish them under our company, and we get a small percentage of the royalties."

Severus' brows rose.

"We also now own many of the shops in Hogsmeade, so they pay rent to us, and shop in our stores. We use the money to fund more building, and fund more research and things."

"Interesting. And what would you like for me to do?"

Harry smiled. "You're a Potions Master, aren't you? Make some brilliant potions with these materials!"

My 'Canon' Details: These places are mentioned several times throughout my first story, and this sequel.

In the U.S, There were seven secondary magical institutions a witch or wizard could go to, and four Universities. The secondary schools were in Salem, New York, Savannah, Chicago, Baton Rouge, Santa Fe, and Berkley. Their Universities were in Salem, Berkley, Santa Fe, and Providence. There are also labs in Salem, and San Francisco.

For muggle employers, diplomas and resumes were only slightly forged to represent muggle schools.

There are a number of schools abroad, obviously, but I will include more details next time!