Neville lived with his wife Hannah in the small inn upstairs the Leaky Cauldron. The two of them were lying on the sofa of a small room, Hannah nestled the lap of her husband, a big man with a round face of features quiet. She was reading a poetry book and he was reading a novel of his favourite writer, titled The Casual Vacancy. He kept the book afloat while waving his wand and with his free hand he stroked the golden hair of his wife. From time to time one of them read aloud an excerpt to the other, or surprised the other with a tender kiss. There is almost ten years since their marriage and now their lives would change completely, they both knew it and were waiting this change with their hearts filled by good expectations.

Suddenly, the sound of someone arriving by Apparition caught their attention. Hannah then stood up and walked slowly to the balcony to see who had come so late at night, Neville followed behind her dragging his slippers and fastening a tattered red robe that had a golden lion embroidered in the front. When they turn on the lights outside, Neville immediately recognized Draco:

“What are you doing here, Draco?” Neville spoke looking annoyed.

Although neither Draco nor Flora were wielding their wands, they did not have a very friendly reception. Hannah, though, signalled her husband a kindly look as if spoke to him to lower his guard, because she felt there was nothing to fear.

“I need your help, Longbottom.” Said Draco, firmly.

Hannah gazing at Flora, said to Neville: “Let them come in, dear. They look tired.”

Neville waved them to come up to his apartment. Draco put his arm behind Flora's back, supporting her when they entered the nearly empty pub and saw Neville at the foot of the stairs, waiting for them as seemed bored. Flora tried to keep her head down when passing by people who were eating soup while talking lively at the table in a corner.
They came upstairs quickly and came into Longbotton's apartment. Without many words, Neville pointed a couple of red armchairs. Flora soon sat up, still felt nauseous because of the apparition, but Draco hesitated, then looked at his cousin and imitated her gesture..
Hannah and Neville’s house was very different from the Malfoys’s as it was decorated with bright and cheerful colors and was full of little souvenirs-like things. There were also many strange plants and curious objects around. Flora felt at easy in there. She smiled and thanked Hannah for the tea she had offered them. Draco started the introduction:

“This is my cousin, Flora.”

“Cousin? Whose daughter is she?” Neville broke in suspiciously.

Draco knew that lying was not an option, he needed Longbottom's help and knew that being honest it could facilitate the task..

“Lord Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange’s.” said Draco, firmly looking into Neville’s eye.

A stunned silence took over the house. The noise of the wind and the humming of insects were the only sounds that could be heard. Flora reached for Hannah’ hands, and asked for forgiveness. She was not sure why she did it, but she sensed those two were some of the persons that suffered horrible things in her parents’ hands. It seemed to relieve the tension between them.

Draco told them how they found out about their cousin, as well as his father’s and the other Death Eater’s intentions. Dumbfounded, both Neville and Hannah listened to Draco when Flora broke:

“Mr. Longbottom, I have spent all my life as a Muggle in Brazil. In that country I have a job and a modest house, besides being married and having three beautiful children. So you see, I'm no longer a child. I came to England with the intention of learning more about our people, That’s because up to some days ago I didn’t even know such a people existed, so that my husband and I believed we were the only wizarding people on Earth. No wonder! We’ve never attended special schools as the ones you have here, and the magic books to which we had access were only pseudo-magic ones written by Muggles that could do tricks.”

Neville gave her a disapproving look. Flora continued:

“But don’t get me wrong, I’ve loved and have had fun with these tricks and with all that the Muggle world has offered me. I’ve lived very well in it. Then, although everything I’ve experienced here is very exciting to me, I want to go home. Nevertheless, I don’t want to forget any of the things I learnt over here because they’re not pretended. Actually, they’re all very real and I want to take part of them back with me. For instance, I want to tell my kids about everything I’ve seen and heard over here; just as I want them to attend school in your country, if this is what they wish, of course. (I don’t really know if they want to develop this facet, since sometimes my daughter, for instance, is embarrassed for being different from the other children. Studying at Hogwarts and living as wizarding people would reinforce this difference). But now I fear that if I go back to Brazil at once as I wish, I will put my family at risk. Sorry for my being so straightforward, Draco, but your father and his friends are crazy. They are in a blind pursuit of someone to play the leader and guide them. However, I'm not this one. I'm not who they think I am, and I won't ever be!”

“How do I know you’re speaking the truth?” Asked Neville, looking Flora throughly.

“Honey, she’s speaking the truth. Look at her” Spoke Hannah.

Flora rummaged in her things for her cell phone. As she had her family’s pictures in it, she wanted to show them to Neville. She believed that if he saw them, he would not be suspicious anymore. Unfortunately, though, she had forgotten it in her aunt's house. Then, she remembered her husband had not replied her messages yet, which was very odd, and made her fear for them. Worried, she mentioned that to Draco.

“Okay, then, what do you hope us to do?” Neville spoke, still not sure whether or not to believe all that absurd story and, even more, receiving the daughter of those who had caused so much harm both to him and his wife. Also he could not believe in Draco, however he had demonstrated he was a good person in recent years, contrary to the expectations of all who had known him in his school days.

"I would be grateful if you could hide my cousin for a while, until I can make sure all is well for her to come back home."

“ Let’s see what we can do. I won’t be able to hide you for long, because soon my holiday ends, and I will have to go back to work and to my classes. I’m a Hogwart’s teacher.” Neville explained looking at Flora.

“Thank you very much,” Flora said, bowing her head.

Draco also thanked Neville and took the opportunity to say goodbye. He instructed them to get in touch with him if they needed to.

“Draco, please. Contact my husband. You’d better use e-mail or phone, so he won't be surprised to receive an owl, beyond it should be faster and since wizarding people don’t habitually make use of the internet; so your mother told me, then no one should be able to intercept your message. I need to know if they are fine, and please tell my husband not to worry about me. Here you are his email address.”

Then she conjured up a piece of paper and a pen and quickly wrote her husband’s email address and his phone number.

“Okay, I'll do it.”

Draco thought about telling her he had not even thought to send an owl, but decided to say nothing, as they were in a hurry. Seeing Hannah and Neville’s surprise, he explained:

“She learns very fast, it's scary. Well, I gotta go.”

Draco went to the apartment balcony and Disappeared into the darkness. Hannah went to the balcony, tied her long blonde hair in a knot, rolled up the sleeves of her robe and made a number of protection spells as "the night is too dark." While watching Mrs. Longbottom, Flora realized that she was in the very beginning of a pregnancy. Flora was sad at the thought of being possibly putting another family and another innocent life in danger. All Flora wanted was to go home, and nothing of this to happen. She missed her family; her young children’s smiles, their plays ... Tears ran down her face. She just sat in the couch sunk in despair.

Hannah went back inside and tried to calm her down, saying she was among friends.

“You are tired. The inn is full for the holidays, but I have a room for you up here in my house, we just need to make some arrangements. Are you hungry? I can pick up something for you to eat at the bar and I also made pumpkin pudding today.”

Flora accepted the pudding as she needed some sugar to feel less miserable. The two women went to a small room close to the main bedroom. It was crammed full of objects, books and papers that gave it the appearance of a place where unused things were kept. With agile movements of her wand Hannah drove the scattered objects to various chests that floated in the air. Then, she finished off by fixing golden name tags in them with information of the chest owner and of what was inside them. She looked like a conductor with a baton. Flora was thrilled:

“I need to train these spells at home, my children’s room needs a good tiding up... You're so good at that!”

“I learned from Madam Pince, the school librarian. I don’t often tidy things up this way, but it helps a lot sometimes. I spend a lot of time out taking care of business, and Neville spends his time in the school. Yet, every summer we come back here, for it’s here that we keep our dreams ... Apparently a lot of mess has piled up along many summers ...”

And while saying that, she finished driving the last objects to the chests, and finally a small single bed came up on the floor and below the floating chests:

“Thank you, Mrs. Longbottom. Pardon me for my making you tidy everything up unexpectedly.”

“Call me Hannah. Don’t worry, but we're moving; so, I would have to do this any time, actually. Do you need anything else? Would you like to go to bed straight away? Neville should go to bed soon, I usually go later, and if you want, I can stay here with you ...”

“I don’t need anything, thank you, just a little company, if it'll not bother you. To be honest, I'm a little scared with this story. Until last week I was just an ordinary woman with something special that I shared just with my family and some few friends. Now all this fuss...”

Flora started to cry again.

Hannah hugged trying to comfort her.
“Hannah, do just you and your husband live here?” Flora asked that as she was worried about involving anyone else in this story.

“My father also does. He is overseeing the Leaky Cauldron for me because I need a rest now.” Hannah said that gently stroking her own belly. “My daughter is going to be born in four months from now. We are considering moving to Hogsmeade, a wizarding community next to the school. Over there, she’ll be able to grow close to her father. He spends much time in the school, and it’s too far from here, 7 hours away up north. I’ll help my father remotely from there as I’ve done since the start of Neville’s holidays.”

“Are you the owner of the Leaky Cauldron? It’s a fantastic place!

Hannah smiled and nodded.

Flora calmed down a bit and thanked Hannah again for what her husband and her were doing. Hannah asked Flora if her guest would like to go to bed. As she replied that she did not want to do it yet, and Hannah did not feel tired, she sat up on bed to talk to Flora, who was also sitting. The two women went on talking. Flora, then, asked Hannah how it was like to be a witch since childhood, and later on go to a wizarding school.

Hannah detailed to Flora how her life had been up to then. Flora got thrilled and also told Hannah about her life. Then it was Hannah’s turn to get thrilled.

Time flew, and just when the dawn came and the two of them went to bed. In the morning Neville was friendlier. Flora had a hint that his wife should have calmed him down.

Encouraged and taught by Hannah, Flora used magic to prepare breakfast. While they were eating, there came over the table a flash that took a wolf form and spoke with Draco’s voice:

“Flora, you were right. My dad's gone crazy. I don’t know how, but he is counting on the help of dementors and other Death Eaters to look for you. Your family is in danger, I’m going to Brazil to protect them; there are dementors there. Look for Harry Potter. Beware of mail. Nothing else is safe.”

The cookie that she was eating got stuck in her throat. Her body went limp and she began to slip from her chair. It had been too much for her. Flora fainted and was helped by the Longbottoms.