Wizarding Delight

For Disclaimer etc., please see Chapter 1

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No Music More Enchanting

Chapter 4 – Wizarding Delight

Luna opened the door to reveal an old, slightly scruffy looking man. "Hello," she said.

"You are Miss Granger and Miss Lovegood, the witches from England, are you not?" the stranger enquired with a heavy German accent, staring at them with piercing blue eyes.

Both witches nodded, and he continued, "I am Herr Schultz, the caretaker of Schloss Blutenburg. You must learn where the shops are located, and you must learn your way around the wizarding district. Here are some maps where I have marked the important places."

Hermione took the maps from him. "Thank you, Herr Schultz. We appreciate your help."

He looked at her disdainfully. "And be sure to know that aside from your flat, this building is none of your business. You do not sneak around. Is that clear?"

"We wouldn't dream of that, sir," Luna assured him.

Herr Schultz looked at Luna and then regarded her with what could pass for an approving smile. "Good, young lady. You must not get into trouble!" He frowned as he turned to Hermione. "Not you either!"

Hermione only just succeeded to refrain from rolling her eyes and gladly left any niceties to Luna.

"What a creep," she said when Herr Schultz had left, after informing them of a mailbox at the front gate they were to use if they needed to contact him. By the sound of it, he did not approve of owls delivering mail.

"Do you think he's a Nazi?" Luna asked conversationally. "He didn't seem to like your brown hair as much as he liked mine."

"I couldn't care less," Hermione said, this time giving in to the urge to roll her eyes. "I just hope other Germans are nicer!"

Her hopes proved to be reality as the two witches began to explore the surrounding areas over the next few days. Shop-keepers, waiters in cafés, even strangers on the road became instantly friendly when they heard English spoken and were eager to practice their linguistic skills acquired at school or during travels.

By the end of the first week, Luna had a favorite café, which served varieties of yogi tea, and Hermione found herself partial to the local bakeries, which offered an incredible abundance of bread types.

The shopping area for magical folk was rather different from Diagon Alley. Located half-way between the old part of the city and its most trendy district, Schwabing, the entrance was a prominent gate of wrought iron with gold accents set in a long, tall wall. Across the gate was written in bold letters,

Eingang nur für Hexen und Zauberer

Entrance only for witches and wizards

"They say this openly here?" Hermione asked incredulously.

Luna smiled. "Yes, why not. It's not as if Muggles believe real witches or wizards exist. The few who know leave us alone so they can occasionally benefit from our powers I guess."

"Interesting..." Hermione murmured and opened the gate. The girls slipped through and found themselves facing a fairy wonderland. At a short distance, little houses in all conceivable shapes, ranging from the traditional German Fachwerk, crooked timber-framed stone buildings, to domes, to miniature castles and even tiny versions of the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower. The narrow cobblestone street was alive with magical folk, who hurried from one shop to another, occasionally stopping at one of the moving stalls to inspect the seller's wares or to chat with friends they came across.

"No, no, you can't just walk in here, ladies," a lady occupying a small booth cried out in German. "You wait until it's your turn!" Then she turned back to the tall, blond man who'd obviously been arguing with her until Hermione and Luna appeared.

"You have no wand, and your aura does not emit magic. How do you expect me to believe you are a wizard?" the lady asked in English, obviously annoyed.

The two young witches gasped in unison when the blond began to speak. There was no mistaking his identity.

"Which part of my wand was stolen do you have trouble understanding? And if you are occupying a post such as this, then you will certainly know what exactly I've been taking that my magic is not obvious. I doubt I am the only one in this particular country, don't you agree?" he drawled, and the witch turned pale at his words.

"Mr Malfoy, what are you doing here?" Luna asked, not hiding her surprise to see her friend's father.

"Ah, Miss Lovegood, my dame in shining armor!" Malfoy bowed dramatically, took her hand and lifted it to his lips. "And Miss Granger! How splendid to see two beautiful ladies in my moment of deep distress! This person here," he pointed at the witch in the booth with more disdain than one should be allowed to muster, "does not believe I am a wizard. It breaks my heart."

Hermione let out an involuntary snort at the situation in front of her. Mr Malfoy talking about deep distress was highly comical.

Luna laughed and turned to the witch. "He is definitely a wizard. We both went to Hogwarts with his son."

"Then I need proof that you are indeed witches," the lady replied. "Show me your wand and lift something off the ground here." She pointed to the side where all sorts of Muggle rubbish lay.

Hermione and Luna took their wands out and cast Wingardium Leviosa, lifting an old Coke can and an old cuddly toy simultaneously, then handed their wands for the witch to inspect.

She was now satisfied. "I'll take your word that you know this man to be a wizard. Schlaumayer's Wands is located in what looks like the Statue of Liberty, you can't miss it," she said, pointing in the general direction as she turned to Lucius.

The wizard ignored the witch and bowed to Hermione and Luna. "Thank you, ladies, for saving me from disaster. I'm in your debt. It is highly inconvenient to be without a wand, I must say. Now I must dash. I will see you again; Draco told me you were going to stay in Munich for a while. If you've not been to the Hofbräuhaus, I highly recommend a visit there. Especially on Sunday afternoons. But I must say good-bye. No doubt we'll meet again." With that, he rushed off towards the Statue of Liberty.

"I do wonder what Mr Malfoy is doing here in Munich of all places," Luna said thoughtfully.

Hermione had no answer. "At least we know he's changed sides! Otherwise, I'd be seriously worried..." Then she was distracted by a house that looked like a very big, red apple right next door to a much smaller prune-shaped one.

"This is cute," Luna said, her face showing delight. "Oh, and look, the Eiffel Tower houses a café. Do you think they'll have yogi tea?" She eagerly walked towards the tower, and Hermione had no choice but to follow her. She had come to like the habit of sipping tea or coffee and watching people as much as Luna. It had a soothing quality to it.

She realized with a pang that Ron would probably not enjoy sitting in a coffee house just to watch the goings-on. Oh, well. He isn't here... In honest moments, she admitted to herself that she had not missed him for one moment. She missed the intensive friendship with Harry and Ron and their daily banter, even though Luna was more than an apt substitute for that. But she did not miss her boyfriend. Nor did she feel particularly guilty upon that realization. Maybe I'm just not ready for a more or less lifelong commitment... she thought and sat down opposite Luna, almost immediately distracted by the variety of teas and coffees on offer.

After their coffee break and idle observations how similar and yet different German wizards and witches were, Hermione and Luna explored the wizarding quarter. A bookstore, Wissen Macht Glücklich, located inside the red apple building, inevitably drew Hermione's attention. To her relief, they had a considerable section of English books, and to her delight, many books were very different from the typical fare on offer at Flourish and Blotts.

German wizards and witches seemed to have an acute interest in alchemy as well as esoteric studies, and Luna soon lost herself in a book, The Ark of the Covenant From a Magical Perspective.

Hermione skimmed through the pages of Alchemy of the Nazis: The Legacy of Aldebaran and was soon equally absorbed in a different world. She'd paid no notice to time until someone right above her cleared his throat.

"Excuse me, young lady, but we're about to close. You are welcome, of course, to come back tomorrow. We open at ten in the morning," said a young sales clerk, who moved on to the next aisle to inform other customers of the same.

The young witch looked at her watch. Blast, it's nearly eight. We've spent hours here... The book was far too interesting to put down, so she got up to find Luna and then made her way to the counter to pay for her purchase.

~|~|~|~

The following Sunday, Luna suggested a visit to the Hofbräuhaus, one of the most famous landmarks of Munich from the days when beer was considered a staple in the local diet a few hundred years ago.

Hermione grinned. "You're not hoping to meet Mr Malfoy there, are you?"

Luna squirmed slightly. "Well... He is an interesting person, don't you think? I'm most interested what led him to change sides. Draco doesn't know." She looked her usual serene self again.

"Okay, fine, let's go then."

The Hofbräuhaus was nothing like a pub or even a restaurant Hermione had ever seen. First of all, it was huge, big enough to seat 3,000 guests, even though it had at least three separate public areas, and in the summer months, the courtyard offered additional seating. Inside, each table was longer than the House tables at Hogwarts, and instead of chairs, there were benches on either side. Neither locals nor tourists seemed to mind, though; they simply sat down wherever there was space, and after the first beer, the latest, lively discussions on all subjects imaginable were taking place between all present.

The courtyard held smaller tables with chairs. On this warm, sunny day, it was busier than inside, but the two witches found a table all to themselves and sat down opposite each other.

Hermione gasped at the choice of beers available. "How do I choose from those? They're totally different from English ones!" she hissed at Luna.

Luna laughed. "Oh, you could just move your finger up and down and stop somewhere and order that. That's what I'll do I think. I don't recall ever trying anything but a sip of lager my dad once brought home from a Muggle shop." She wrinkled her nose. "I hope this one here is better. Maybe we should start with a Radler...I'm not opposed to lemonade, and it might make the beer less bitter."

"Good choice, and you must try the Weisswurst! It's considered a delicacy well beyond Munich!" a voice drawled, and Lucius Malfoy pulled a chair and sat down at the end of the table. "I'm so glad you followed my advice to come here on a Sunday. You see, during the week it does get rather busy with all the tourists."

"How nice to see you again, Mr Malfoy," Luna said and smiled at him. "How are you and how is Draco?"

"Not bad, thank you. Draco is well, planning his binding ceremony with Pansy and traveling the world," Lucius replied and turned to Hermione. "Tell me, have you started university yet?"

"No, we're starting day after tomorrow," said Hermione and decided now was as good a time as any to question the former Death Eater. "Mr Malfoy, what exactly are you doing here?" She was not as sure of his switching sides as Luna appeared to be.

Lucius threw his head back and laughed. "Trust a Gryffindor to be blunt!" He looked around, then cast Muffliato before speaking in a much quieter manner, addressing both witches. "I am here on Ministry business. Elon Croaker asked me to keep an eye on the two of you amongst other things."

"Croaker?" Hermione asked. "He's an Unspeakable."

"Well deduced, Miss Granger. You see, in the Department of Mysteries, we tend to know what's going on in various countries. And occasionally, we need to explore further in order to ensure... let's say... something amounting to world peace."

"You work for the Department of Mysteries?" Luna's eyes were wide.

Lucius' expression took on an air of smugness. "Why, Miss Lovegood, did you think they only employ pretty, young witches?" he drawled.

"N... no. I'm just surprised, given your past," Luna admitted. "What made you change sides anyway?"

Lucius took a deep breath. "I've had doubts with regard to the Dark Lord's philosophies ever since I learned about the real reasons for the rise and fall of the Third Reich a few years ago." He cancelled the spell and called a waitress. "I cannot resist their Weisswurst. Would you like some as well?" The wizard looked questioningly from Luna to Hermione.

Hermione shrugged. She wasn't particularly hungry, but had a feeling their first Hofbräuhaus visit might last longer than anticipated. "Why not. I've never tried them."

"Oh, yes, I'd love to try one." Luna was full of enthusiasm.

Lucius ordered and then cast another Muffliato before continuing. "Thinking back to my years at school, I remember quite a few Muggle-borns who could have given any pureblood a run for their money where magical skills are concerned. I realized eventually that the philosophy sprouting the superiority of purebloods has some serious flaws." He stilled again, staring at the table.

Hermione had never seen him so obviously uncomfortable and wondered how much courage it took the man to talk about his decision to turn away from the Dark. Lucius Malfoy had suddenly earned himself some respect in her eyes.

Luna gently laid her hand on his to still his fidgeting hand. "It's okay, Mr Malfoy. The important thing is that you did turn away from the darkness that was Voldemort. I won't judge you."

Seeing Mr Malfoy giving a grateful rather than smug or superior smile was also a novelty for Hermione. He looked much better without his typical air of arrogance.

"Thank you," he said quietly, looking at Luna now, and continued, "I think what finally made me see the light was the realization that Muggles can also alter matter just as we do by way of magic. We are born with it whereas a Muggle would need to grow spiritually and gain knowledge to the point where he is capable of eliminating gravity, levitating himself or Apparating and so on." He stopped when their food arrived.

"Oh, they are so delicious. I'm not generally keen on the rich food that comprises German cuisine, but these Weisswursts are something different. Bon appétit!" Lucius said and delicately cut a piece of sausage.

Both Hermione and Luna agreed that the white sausages, served with a potato salad, made a highly satisfying dinner.

Lucius ordered another Radler for the witches and a beer for himself, and the talk switched to more mundane matters until Luna mentioned the books they'd bought at Wissen Macht Glücklich a few days previously, remarking how different the books on offer were compared to English book shops.

Lucius ensured the Muffliato was still in place before he spoke. "Are you aware that such books have been banned by the German Muggle government? Do not let yourself be caught reading them, ladies." He finished his beer and stood up. "I'm sorry I have to leave you, but I am meeting a friend. It's been a pleasure, ladies, and I hope to see you again."

Once again, he canceled the spell and called the waitress. After paying the bill for all three, he turned back to Hermione and Luna and said, "If you don't mind, I'll pay you a visit at Blutenburg. And, oh, do be careful around old Herr Schultz!"

The two witches looked at him. "You know where we live?" asked Luna.

"The nature of my work... But I must go now. Good bye!" With that he turned and hurried out of the restaurant.

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A/N Schlaumayer = wannabe know-it-all

Wissen Macht Glücklich = Knowledge makes happy

Schloss Blutenburg does exist in Munich, as a google search will tell you.

Ever grateful thanks to southernwitch69 and littlebeloved for the beta and alpha reads. It is due to their abilities that this story is more readable.