Jack kept walking. He didn't want to wait in the bar any longer. Pansy and Sam had been gone too long and he was worried. He walked across the street and behind a store that looked like it hadn't opened in years. The sun was starting to come up and he lingered in the shadows. He remembered what Pansy said earlier as she left them in the pub.

"I'm going to take Sam to Hogwarts. I want you to wait here until I get back. It shouldn't take too long. If you see anything strange, just keep your head down and no one with bother you, ok?" she said, kissing him.

At the time, it seemed like nothing. However, when the three men came through the fireplace, dressed in black, and walked out the door with sinister purpose, Jack was concerned. It was barely morning and they looked like they were hunting someone. He was afraid it was Pansy. He kept his head down as they went by, Now he was tired of dodging the barman, who had stopped asking him if he wanted anything and just glared in his direction.

Jack watched for more people to come out of the bar, the one with three broomsticks over the entrance. Pansy said this was a magical village, just outside Hogwarts, and she needed to get them both on the property to be safe. They'd agreed that she and Sam would go first and fast. The problem was the fast part.

Jack walked in the alley behind the buildings until they turned into homes. This was a quaint village, but these houses seemed so old. They had wooden shake siding that looked about a hundred years old, sagging rooflines and spindly chimneys puffing out smoke. There were no power lines, telephone wires and his mobile gave him no signal at all. Who would he have called anyway?

"Hey, what are you doing sneaking around back here?" a woman said, causing Jack to spin around to face her.

He looked up at the woman on the back stoop of her house. She was about his age, and in her robe. A ginger cat eyed him disapprovingly as it wound around her ankles. "I'm sorry," Jack said. "I'm not snooping, I'm just, you know, passing through."

"What's a muggle doing in my back alley?" she asked. "How did you get to Hogsmeade?"

"I came with Pansy Parkinson. She's trying to get my daughter to Hogwarts but I'm afraid that some men are after her, and there's not much I can do to help," Jack said. He hoped that honesty would get him sympathy, not some spell to freeze him in place. He realized how vulnerable he was when it came to anyone that held a wand.

"Have you seen my husband, Neville recently?" The woman asked. "I bet you have."

"Not long ago at St. Mungo's" Jack said. "That's where it started. "

"Of course that's where it started!" She exclaimed. "That's where it always starts, and I'm the one always cleaning it up. I'll go check on Pansy, you come wait inside by the fire. Nothing good is going to happen out here."

Jack followed her into the house. He was amazed at how much larger it was inside than out, like the dimensions outside didn't apply to the inside. The fire made everything so cozy and comfortable. He looked at the long table filled with little petit fours.

"Not a chance," the woman said. " I've been working on those for days, and no one is eating one until I'm done. There is coffee on the stove, but I've not made any breakfast yet. I've not made anything except these bloody cakes for days. Camille! Get down here!" The woman shouted."

A girl about four padded down the stairs wearing a dressing gown and twin boots. She stared at Jack, but wasn't particularly shy or impressed with him.

"Come with Mommy, dear," the woman said. "We are going to help Pansy, then come back and have breakfast."

"I'm sorry, I didn't get your name. I'm Jack," he said as the woman opened the door to the house and waved her wand over the little girl.

"That will keep you warm, dear," she said. "My name is Hannah, nice to meet you. Now wait here." And with that, she and the little girl were out the door.

"Mommy, what was that bad man doing to Pansy?" Camille asked Hannah as they walked back to the house.

"He wasn't always bad," Hannah said, as she gently squeezed the little girl's hand. "Ron used to be a friend of ours, and he was very famous. But now he's unhappy, Camille. It makes him do things he shouldn't. We don't know everyone's story, but something happened that made him sad and he hasn't been able to get past it. Mommy only stunned him. Pansy will be fine and Ron will wake up this afternoon. Let's go back and have something to eat."

"Can I have one of those…" Camille started.

"No!" Hannah cried out with a laugh. "No one touches my cakes!"

"What about Dad?" Sam asked Pansy as they walked across the bridge and into Hogwarts.

"I'm going to go back for him," Pansy said. "Just as soon as I get you settled."

"But everyone is gone for the holidays. Where should I wait?" Sam said.

"I know the safest place in the world," Pansy said with a smile as she took Sam's hand and led her through the doors.

"Well, that's sorted," Hannah said confidently as she and Camille came back inside. "Ready for breakfast?" she asked.

"What about Sam and Pansy?" Jack said.

"Mommy stopped Ron from hurting her," Camille said, jumping up and down, just like four year olds are prone to do.

"What?" Jack said, starting to panic.

"Everything is fine," Hannah said reassuringly. "You were right. There was a little trouble, but she was on top of it, for the most part. I did help a little. She and your daughter are safe at Hogwarts, I'm sure."

"You don't know?" Jack said. "I need to go find out." He started to open the door but the knob wouldn't budge. Not an inch. He thought it was welded in place, and then looked at Hannah, who was ignoring him and putting streaky bacon in a pan. "Hannah, I need to make sure they are ok."

"While I appreciate your bravery, there's nothing you can do. They are safe at Hogwarts, and you are safe here. That's enough for now."

"But, I need to," Jack started as Hannah interrupted him with a cup of coffee.

"You need to sit tight," she said firmly. "You are a big strong man, I can tell. However, around here, an old lady can put you in your place. Be smart, be safe. This is a nice little village, Jack, and for the most part it is very quiet. However, I imagine that you've upset what some people think the natural order of things should be. Ron Weasley, the one I stunned back there, he is part of the Minister's personal Inquisitional Squad. That tells me that Pansy, and probably my husband, have done something to make him angry. The Minister's mission is to keep the wizarding world safe from discovery by muggles, and that means keeping us separate at all costs. Fortunately, Neville and I do not feel the same way. We believe that people are people and muggle-borns and their families are welcome at Hogwarts in our society."

Jack sat at the table and took a sip of the coffee. It was good. "Hannah, can I ask you something?" Jack started.

"You want me to tell you about Pansy?" Hannah asked as she sat at the table. "Camille, go on up and get dressed." When the little girl clunked up the stairs in her boots, Hannah continued. "What did she tell you?'

"Well, that there was a war between rival factions of the wizards, and although she didn't do anything, everyone thought she was on the wrong side, and she was ostracized. Her family lost all their money, and she teaches at Hogwarts because that his her home now," Jack said.

Hannah smiled. "That is accurate and succinct," she said as she took another sip of her coffee. She pointed her wand lazily at the bacon and it turned over in the pan. "Most of Pansy's story is none of my business and I don't want to poison you with gossip that people spread. She is a lovely person, and although I know she would rather be somewhere else, she is a wonderful professor. You are right about her being ostracized, but I am not sure that it was only because of her position during the war. You see, Pansy was a bully when she was at school. In those days, students were separated by houses, and those houses went back generations. The families that followed Voldemort were from the same house, so to say that the Slytherins weren't on the wrong side, is misleading. Pansy's parents were Death Eaters, like many others and they were taken in for questioning and into custody after the war. Her father died in prison and her mother died soon after. They lost the family home after the war, and Pansy was left penniless and alone all by the age of twenty-two. She was engaged to a man that had money, and their families were linked by generations of being in Slytherin, but that ended badly. I convinced Neville to give her a chance, and it has paid off. Look at you, she's making muggle friends." She took another sip, "When we were teenagers, she would never have spoken to muggles. My guess is that perhaps you are more than friends, though?"

Jack blushed, "I do like her, and I think that no matter what happened back then, she is a good person. I think she deserves more, and I want to spend time with her."

"I will tell you this, Jack. Muggles and wizards don't usually make good couples. Our lives are so different. You have electricity, I have a pan that puts my bacon on a plate," she said, waving her wand and the bacon was placed on a platter. "I think you might have a chance that others don't. Pansy wants out. There are no good memories with other wizards, and if you could give her a fresh start, I imagine she would be very grateful. Of course, you won't tell her about this little talk will you?" she said as she tapped the tip of her wand on the table menacingly.

"It's only between us," Jack said.

"Winky, you remember Sam? She and her father were here a few months ago?" Pansy asked.

"Yes," Winky said simply.

Sam looked around the kitchens at Hogwarts. It was a bustle of activity. House-elves were working to clean tools, pots and machines for making all the food for the Hogwarts students. Dozens of house elves worked, either manually or using charms to stack things on high shelves.

"I need you to watch Sam for me," Pansy said. "I'm afraid that people will be coming for her, and she will be safe here."

Winky nodded and said, "She will be safe. What about the father?"

"I'm going to go get him," Pansy said.

"Why?" Winky asked.

"Because he is back at the Three Broomsticks and I need to bring him back here safely," Pansy said.

"Winky can bring him to Hogwarts," she said, looking up at the Professor like she was unable to understand the simplest of things.

Pansy smacked her forehead. "Of course you can! Why didn't I think about that? Winky, will you please go get Sam's father and bring him back here please?"

Winky nodded and was gone.