Strangers in A Strange Land

By: M14Mouse

Summary: Jacob see her standing…just as lost and alone as him. He doesn't know her quite well. He didn't know if he wanted to hug her or dragging her to the kitchen to bake something. His grandy said that baking made everything better. He decides the latter.

Disclaimer: Don't own them. This story is unbetaed.

Jacob watched Nagini from a distance. Even with surrounded by people, she seemed like the loneliest person in the world. Her face was pale. Her eyes darted from face to face.

Her arms were folded across her chest as if they would protect her.

He only knew a little bit from Newt and Tina about the kid. He was kind of confused by it. Curse…turning into a snake? He chalked it up as a magic thing. Something he doesn't understand.

But being alone in a place that made no sense…

Even with Newt and Tina, he felt like he was way over his head. It made him feel like the war again. A lot of confusion. Trying to figure out your enemies and your friends. Unknown people trying to hurt you or doing something to you that you don't want too. Chasing you for no reason because you are different.

He knew about that.

He knew about that a lot.

Slowly, he walked over to her and gentle touched her shoulder. She nearly jumped at his touch.

"Hey, how about we go for a walk to give them a chance to talk?" He said.

She glanced over at the group talking among themselves. She nodded her head.
He watched her as they walked away from the group. Her eyes were staring at her feet as they walk along the pathways outside of the school.

"Have you look around this place?" He asked.

She shook her head no.

"I don't like the stares."

"I don't blame you. The kids keep giving me the bugged eyed look. It like that they haven't seen a non-magic folk before," He said.

"They are isolated from the world."

"Don't know if it is a good or bad thing yet."

She nodded.

"But I know the perfect place away from those eyes," He said with a smile. He offered his hand. She stared at his hand then at him. Slowly, she took his hand.

His smile became bigger as he leaded her to his favorite part of the castle.

The kitchens.

It didn't take them long to make to the kitchens since the kids were still in class and none of the stairways has changed. Honestly, he wanted to find out who thought that was a brilliant idea. He got lost so many times since those darn things kept changing on him. Lucky for him. Newt and Tina found him before he got into trouble.

He knocked the painting three times and he stepped back for a moment. Suddenly, the painting opened up to them. He smiled as he watched the house elves moved from place to place. Making something or another. He stumbled across this place by accident and fell in love.

He loved the smells and the elves' creativity. He watched them do amazing things in the kitchen. According to Newt, elves had their own magic but he only saw them use it from time to time.

Most of all, he loved the conversations.

The elves didn't talk much when he first came down here. In fact, they were quiet as if they were afraid of him. As soon as he asked what they were making…

"A ginger cake for dinner, sir," The elf said.

"Really? Fresh or store brought ginger?" He asked.

"Fresh, of course."

He nodded.

"Fresh banana or vanilla sauce?"

"The students often prefer the sauce, sir. But…sir, I really like the bananas on top."

"That is a good choice. I like to do bananas but you can't have them sit out all day in the bakery. So, I do the vanilla sauce most of the time."

The elf's eyes widen slightly.

"You run a bakery, sir?"

"Sure do. I can cook but I like to bake. There is something relaxing about having dough between your fingers."

The elf smiled brightly.

"Very much, sir. I am one of the bakers among my kin here."

He smiled back.

"From your ginger cake…I can tell. A good one at that."

The elf beamed at him.

"Now, tell me…what is your favorite thing to bake…" He asked.

He kind of smiled at the memory. Allie was one hell of a baker. It was great to talk shop with another baker. He has picked up some wonderful tips from the guy.

"Mr. Jacob, sir! What brings you down here today?" Allie said as he greeted him by the door.

"Hey, Allie. I brought Ms. Nagini down to make some chocolate mint bark. She said that she never had it. I thought…man, I should change that."

Nagini gave him a confused look. He smiled softly.

"It is easy to make and kind of fun."

She still had this confused look on her face when she nodded her head

"We need some dark and white chocolate. Oh, peppermint extract. And melting pots and a baking pan. Thank you so much, Allie," He said.

He watched as the elf snapped his fingers and pots and pans appears out of thin air.

Really neat trick. He could totally use that in the kitchen.

He watched as Allie set the pots and pans on the table. Soon enough, the chocolate and the peppermint extract appeared next to it.

"Thanks!" He said with a grin.

He turned his attention back to Nagini.

"Oh…I never asked if you made chocolate bark before…."

"No…No…I never…at least, I don't remember if I did. My mother…our curse…"

He placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I don't remember my folks either. Only pieces here and there. My grandma raised me."

She looked at him in surprised.

"I didn't know…I am sorry."

"Me too. Sorry about your ma as well. It is unfair. You know. She didn't ask to be cursed and neither did you. Is there any way to break it?"

"No…no way to break that I know…"

"Maybe, after this crazy war, we can look. I don't know. Maybe, we can find a cure."

"You would do that for me? Even if it is hopeless…?"

"Hey now. We never know until we try," He said.

It broke his heart to see her hopeless face. Damn…poor kid.

She shook her head.

"What about you?" She asked.

"What about me?" He said in confusion.

"What about your bakery…."

He sighed. If he closed his eyes, he could still smell the fresh baked bread in the ovens. He was surprised that she knew about his bakery. It was nice of her to ask about it.
Everyone else has forgotten about it.

"My bakery…hopefully, it will be still there when I get back. Right now, we have more important things to deal with. If my bakery isn't there when I get back, I just start another one. Bigger and better than ever."

"Mr. Jacob…to start over…"

"I have done it before, Nagini. Heck, I started over a lot of times…after the war…after Newt…now. Look at me. I am in a magic castle and surrounded by wizards and witches. Queenie…isn't here. Newt is busy. I am a fish out of water but I am amazed and terrified. And…I…look at me, rambling on. Now…first thing, we do is melt the chocolate…" He said as he reached for the chocolate.

Nagini grabbed his arm gently. He looked up at her sad eyes.

"Credence. He was my only constant in years. I had handlers before but they never last long or treated me with any type of respect. Credence was different. He was my rock and now…"

"You are adrift."

She nodded her head.

He reached and patted her hand on his arm.

"We will figure it out. Change isn't so bad with friends around."

"You think of me as friend?"

"Of course."

She smiled, and he couldn't help but smile back. It was good to see her smile.

"Thank you, Mr. Jacob."

"First off…no Mister. My friends call me Jacob."

Her smile grew.

"Thank you, Jacob."

"You are quite welcome. Now, let me teach you on how to make this wonderful treat. Trust me…I am totally going to spoil your dinner."

She giggled softly and he grinned.

"First off…we put the dark chocolate into the bowl and…"

End

A/N: First, off I want to thank everyone for reviewing my Jacob centic fics. I am glad that some people share my love of him. Second thing, I always felt so bad for Nagini. It didn't help that we know her fate in the books. Still...I wanted give her a friend. Third thing, I have a rough idea of Jacob/Nagini being BAMF fic. Need to work out a few things before I start writing it. Anyway, read and review if you wish.