"Longbottom, honestly I don't see how you keep this place functioning," Percy Weasley said as they entered Hogwarts. "Your constant blunders, keeping McGonagall's ridiculous house separation, in my day, in our day, being a Gryffindor meant something."

"I suppose the board has a different opinion, Minister," Neville said.

"When the board is run by people that idolize you for your efforts during the war, yes. If it were up to me…" Percy started.

"We'll have to wait until it is up to you, then won't we?" Neville interrupted. "Treacle," he said, and the stone gargoyle that protected the Headmaster's office turned to allow them to enter.

Pansy, Jack and Sam were already inside and Winky was slowly putting out a tea service with scones, clotted cream and jam. The minister walked up and took a scone without as much as a 'thank you' and petulantly bit into it as he looked around the headmaster's office. Sam noticed that there was friction between the two men, and it made her more worried about the whole thing. What were they going to do to her?

"I don't want an audience, Longbottom," Percy said as he looked at the little silver machines spitting out plumes of smoke. "The two of us should be enough to decide this."

"Professor, do you and Jack want to take a stroll around the castle and wait for us? We've decorated the Slytherin common room for the holidays, you might find it relaxing," Neville said.

"Sam, you'll be fine," Pansy said as she gave a look to Winky, who was still preparing tea.

Pansy and Jack left the headmaster's office and headed down to the Slytherin common room. The hallways were decorated for Christmas, and little evergreen trees were placed every few meters with tiny little Christmas cherubs circling them. Jack thought that they were so lifelike, and Pansy explained that they weren't real, they were little charmed figures that just looked like cherubs, so there was no harm. She thought that his naive concern for holiday decorations was charming and she took his hand. He looked at her, surprised that she was warming up to him again.

"This is the Slytherin common room, named for Salazar Slytherin, who was one of the original founders of Hogwarts. His motto was that he would help us on our way to greatness. I'm not sure that's always true," Pansy said.

"Are we under water?" Jack asked as he looked through the green windows.

"The common room extends under the lake," Pansy said. "It's very quiet here, especially now, since there are no students staying behind this year."

"Now I see why you like green,"Jack said. "This must have been very important to you when you were at school."

"Important?" Pansy asked, "This was everything when I was in school. My friends, my family, my social structure, my future…everything."

"How about now?" Jack asked as he sat down on one of the emerald leather Chesterfield couches.

"Now it seems foolish," Pansy said. "My family, all our families put so much into being Slytherin. Representing someone who died a thousand years ago. Slytherins might have been about being great, but in reality they were great at being cruel. Did I learn things? Yes. I learned how to say horrible things to people that didn't deserve it. I learned how to fall in love with boys that I convinced myself were worth it, but weren't. I learned to hold back my true feelings to keep from being ridiculed. Do you know that I was attached to idiot boys in Slytherin, but back then I had feelings for a boy in a different house? I didn't want to be under this lake, I wanted to be high in a tower. I wasn't allowed to choose, I had to be here."

"You wanted to be in another house?" Jack asked. "Which one?"

"Gryffindor. They were brave, and when they won Quidditch matches people cheered. They were nicer," Pansy said.

"Take me there," Jack said as he stood up and held out his hand.

It took a few minutes, but eventually they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Hello, who do we have here?" the portrait asked.

"Can we go in?" Pansy asked.

"Do you know the password?" she asked nonchalantly. She was examining a broken glass on her table.

"Please?" Jack asked.

"That'll do," the Fat Lady said as she swung open to admit them.

"Wow," Pansy said as they entered the common room. "I never imagined it like this."

"Wait, you've never been in here?" Jack asked. "You're a teacher!"

"Never had a reason to before," Pansy said. She was overwhelmed with the red and gold, the warmth of the room and how welcoming it seemed. She imagined Harry, Ron and Hermione here, enjoying each other's company, going through all they experienced, but together.

"Let's go to the top," Jack said, suddenly bursting with energy. He bolted up the closest staircase and Pansy heard him shout as the stairs turned into a slide, and he hit the ground back in the common room.

"Girl's side," she said with a smile. "Let's try the other staircase." She took his hand and they walked up the stairs to one of the rooms near the top.

"This is great," Jack said, swinging open one of the windows and looking down at the castle, the late and the woods beyond. "What a view. This is pretty great." After a moment he said, "Aren't the houses a random selection now?"

"Yes." Pansy replied as she looked out at the lake.

"Then can't you be whatever you want?" Jack asked. "Do one of those charms and change your outfit."

Pansy smiled and thought for a second before pulling off her long emerald coat, and throwing it on the closest four poster bed. She was wearing an emerald satin blouse and a form fitting black pencil skirt. She waved her wand and transformed them into a low cut, deep red, floor length gown. It was embroidered with golden yellow stitching that ran up each side as it clung tightly to her slender curves. "What do you think?"

Jack looked at her for a long moment. "Pansy, I think you are wonderful, smart, beautiful, and I would like to spend the rest of my life with you. Do you get that? I am crazy about you and being with you would make me the happiest man in the world. I can't offer you any of this," he said, gesturing to the tower room they were in, and the lake and forest beyond, "but I can offer you a life away from here, and I guarantee we'll be happy," Jack said.

Pansy kissed Jack and all her cares flew out the very same window that they stood in front of for the next several minutes.