Jack appreciated the hot water. He let it run over him and wash off more than just the dirt he'd picked up in the forest. It washed away the past year. He realized that he'd hidden himself from the world, and he needed to reconnect. Did it have to do with how fantastic this place was? Maybe, but he suspected it was something more. The therapist he left in London said that it would take at least a year to get over Liz. She was a big part of life and the painful, sad end hit him, and Sam hard. They would have to get on with life at some point. And he thought that after dinner with Pansy, he could imagine moving forward one day.
He turned the water off, marveling at the snake-shaped handles. He grabbed the towel off the hook and dried himself off, then wrapped the towel around his waist and stepped out of the stall.
"Well hello," Pansy said from the sink as she brushed her teeth.
Jack froze. She was wearing a green and black robe that showed a long length of very smooth legs. Her short black hair was wet, tousled and beautiful. She was clean, fresh, no makeup and beautiful. He wished he had more than just the one towel to cover himself.
"Fancy meeting you here," she said laughing. She could tell how uncomfortable he was, and she appreciated his attention. "How do you like our showers, are they as good as the ones back home?"
"Better," Jack said, regaining his composure. "Nothing like a good hot shower."
"Unless one needs a cold shower," Pansy said, cocking one eyebrow and gesturing toward his towel.
Jack made it to the bench where his clothes were and kept his back to her. "I wasn't expecting you to be in here," he said gathering his clothes.
"I have to say I'm flattered," Pansy said. "Go on and change. I promise I won't look."
Jack turned to look at her, and he saw that she was on the other side of the sinks. She was a lady, he thought and she would probably not look, right?
He was so wrong.
"How long have you taught here?" Jack asked. He was fully dressed and brushing his teeth.
"It seems like forever," Pansy said. "I bounced around after I left Hogwarts as a student. It was in ruins and took a few years to be properly rebuilt. Once it was, Neville showed up at my door and asked me to come teach. It was a lot better than living alone in a subterranean flat in Brompton. Before the war, I lived on an estate. My family lost everything and now this is the best I can do."
"The war? Where, in Afghanistan?" Jack asked.
"Here," Pansy said. "There were two groups of wizards that fought each other. My family chose the wrong side and I tried not to choose. I guess that is the reason Neville chose me, I was always stuck in the middle. Did me a favor, really."
"Why didn't I hear about it?" Jack asked. He used to own a media company and sold out when Liz, his wife, died. If there was one thing he knew about it was war coverage by the media.
"It was about seventeen years ago. Any Muggles that saw anything would have had their memories altered." Pansy said as she put her hairbrush into a small bag sitting on the side of the sink. It fit in without a problem even though the bag was much smaller than the brush. Pansy, noticed Jack staring and said, " It's a charm, Jack. The bag can hold anything I want. I could put you in there." She laughed as she slipped the bag into her pocket. "Actually, it will be my job to wipe your memory after this weekend. We can't have Muggles talking about Hogwarts and our world."
"Sam too?" Jack asked. She seemed excited about all of this, and the thought of her forgetting about it made him sad.
"Yes," Pansy said. "I'm sorry, that's the way it has to be." She watched Jack put his toothbrush back into his incredibly normal kit. He was just this typical Muggle, a handsome, single father that she would never see again. "Do you want a drink?" she asked.
"Yes please," Jack said.
"Come on then," Pansy said with a smile.
They walked out of the bathroom, away from Jack's room. They came to a doorway and Pansy said, "Wait here for one minute."
Jack nodded and Pansy went in alone. In an instant, she was opening the door for Jack to go in.
Pansy's room was many times the size of Jack's. There was a sitting area with a pair of loveseats flanking a large fireplace and on the opposite side, a huge four poster bed furnished in emerald colored, silk sheets. Pansy was wearing a matching emerald robe, and Jack wasn't sure what she was wearing under it, if anything.
"One of the perks of being the Charms professor," she said, as she had him sit on a loveseat. "I can make my room anything I want."
"It's cool," Jack said. "I like your taste. My place is furnished from IKEA."
Pansy cocked an eyebrow, the references were lost on her, Jack decided.
"I want to give you something that I bet you've never had before," Pansy said flirtatiously as she walked over to her desk. She pulled out a bottle and two crystal glasses. "Firewhiskey," she said triumphantly. "One of the greatest contributions of the wizarding world."
She poured a glass for each of them and then held hers aloft for a toast. "To forgetting," she said.
"I don't want to forget this," Jack said as he took a drink. It was good. It burned like the finest Scotch mixed with a magical spice. It warmed him up more than it burned. He was standing so close to Pansy that he could smell the scent of her perfume and her still damp hair. On impulse, he kissed her, and she returned it in spades.