"Aye, wench, another ale," called a brute from the other end of the bar.
Rowena rolled her stormy-dark eyes and made her way over to the end of the bar. She filled the mug and fought the urge to spit in the man's drink.
"Here you are m'lord," Rowena said in her best imitation of a subservient woman.
The brutish man patted the witch on her backside and she went for her wand, which was snuggled against her side, under her cloak. Then she remembered that hexing this man would get her fired and, unfortunately, she needed this job. Her father's debt had fell onto her when he died.
She was wiping down tables when a familiar voice called her back over to the bar. She walked around the bar to find a short, stocky redhead woman wearing a travelling cloak. She lifted her head and Rowena recognized her as her old friend Helga Hufflepuff.
"Helga!" Rowena yelled as she ran to the opposite side of the bar.
The two hugged (Rowena had to bend because she was about two heads taller than her friend) and Rowena called to her boss that she was taking a break and the old wizard waved her on.
"We're going to have plenty time to catch up, so I'm going to get down to the petitioning," she said. The two sat at a table.
"My grandfather died last month," Helga began as a preamble.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Rowena said. She sympathized with her friend, with her father's recent death and all.
"I'm not, he was a wretched old bastard. Stingier than a hippogriff with a piece of meat," Helga said. Rowena laughed at the simile. Helga always did have the funniest way of saying things.
"Which is why I was surprised when he left me a huge parcel of land, near here in fact. Do you know those ruins, right down the path from here?"
"Yeah, it was an old baron's castle," Rowena said with assurance as she was very keen on history. And most other subjects.
"Well he was Baron Hufflepuff my great-great, so on and so forth, grandfather. I thought the old codger left it to me as his final joke but in his will he said that he knew how I wanted to start a school for young wizards and he figured I could use the land as basis for the school."
"Well good luck cleaning that mess up. It's like a canker wart on Hogsmeade Village," Rowena said with a laugh.
Helga's eyes glazed over, "Wart… Hogsmeade. Hmm."
"What?" Rowena asked.
"Oh nothing, but I am here to ask you a question. To make a proposion rather."
"And…" Rowena egged her on.
"I know you know more about potions and herbs than the average witch and it would be lovely if-,"
"Yes! I would love to teach at the school. This place is horrid," Rowena said. She undid her apron and left it on the table, "Frederik, I resign," Rowena called over her shoulder as she hustled Helga out of the The Hog's Head.
Helga was surprised at her friend's willingness to join her cause. The two walked the path toward the ruins of the old castle arm in arm.