The Grateful Not So Dead

For Disclaimer etc., please see Chapter 1

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No Music More Enchanting

Chapter 5 – The Grateful Not So Dead

The day before lectures started was spent with working out the easiest and least time-consuming strategy of getting to and from the university. Taking the U-Bahn was out of the question...neither witch was used to any length of commutes nor the crowds commuting involved during rush hours. Finding a sufficiently deserted area nearby to Apparate into proved impossible. Eventually, Luna made out a large oak tree with a wide canopy at the far back of the university grounds.

"I guess it'll have to do for now." Hermione sighed. They would have to find another place once the tree lost its leaves, but at least it was an adequate solution for now.

The following morning, Hermione and Luna Apparated from the Blutenburg garden to the grass patch underneath the oak tree. A tall man, wearing a long black coat, his shoulder-length black hair waving in the light breeze, hurried towards the building just as the girls arrived. "I wonder if he's a wizard, too," Luna whispered. "It looks as if he came from right here, and the car park is on the other side, so he can't have come by car!"

"Oh, I don't know, Luna... There is a gate over there, maybe he walked through that." Hermione pointed to the gate, but her friend shook her head as if certain he had Apparated. He reminded her of someone, but she could not quite place him.

"I'm sure we'll find out soon enough if there are other wizards or witches here," Hermione said, and they started walking to the building, then concentrated on finding the Department of Organic Chemistry and Multicomponent Reactions, which was the first lecture of the day and in fact the only one for the two witches on Tuesdays. Hermione was thankful it was a rather relaxing timetable with just one main subject. She'd be able to concentrate on it and have time for other pursuits.

Having found the classroom with mere seconds to spare before the lecture was due to start, Hermione and Luna sat down at the last desk available in the first row.

Luna wrinkled her nose. "It looks like we'll have to pay attention in this one, so close to the front," she whispered.

Hermione nodded, but didn't speak as she heard the door opening and closing and loud, hurried footsteps towards the front of the classroom. She looked up and paled, then turned to Luna, whose face had also turned very white. The tall man they'd seen rushing from the grounds into the building was to be the professor of Chemistry.

Severus Snape, in his choice of Muggle attire as imposing as in robes and cloak, had arrived and turned to face the class, which had become silent at his dramatic entrance.

His voice, as low, as quiet, as captivating as Hermione remembered it, effortlessly commanded every student's attention. "I am Professor Snape, here to teach you the intricacies of organic chemistry and multicomponent reactions, and if your command of English is insufficient, I suggest you remedy this at your earliest convenience, for not everything I teach will be found in your course books, even though the works chosen are by far superior to their German counterparts. Alternatively, you are free to leave this class now.

"Since this is a university class, there will be no homework given per se. However, I may take the liberty of issuing exams as I see fit, in addition to the end of semester ones, so you better ensure to make use of your time by studying the subject in detail."

If I'd had any doubt as to your identity, they're laid to rest about now... Hermione thought tartly. It really was Snape. Alive, well, and as sarcastic and sharp as she'd remembered him from her first six years at Hogwarts.

At the end of the lecture, students hurried from the room except Hermione and Luna, who both appeared to be glued to their seats.

Snape waited until the last student had left the room, took his wand out and cast a locking and silencing charm on the door before leisurely walking from his desk to the table in front of the two witches.

"Oh, my apologies," he drawled and canceled the spell that had rooted them to their seats. "I had to ensure you wouldn't run off."

"Professor Snape! You are alive!" Hermione exclaimed and turned away instantly, embarrassed at her outburst.

"What an astute observation, Miss Granger. Now, if you've quite overcome your shock, unpleasant as it might have been, I'd like to ask you to refrain from informing your dunderhead friends of this fact." He looked from one witch to the other. "Can I trust you with this or would you rather I Obliviate you both after each class?"

"Would you like a wand oath, sir?" Luna asked. She appeared to have recovered from the shock of seeing their former Potions professor alive already.

"Why, yes, that is exactly what I'd like, Miss Lovegood." Snape took his wand out again and waited for the witches to do the same.

After the oath had been taken, Hermione could not help herself. "Kingsley knows, doesn't he?" she asked angrily, wondering what other information the Minister might have kept from her and Luna. She was more angry with herself for completely missing Kingsley's manipulation of her into choosing Chemistry as her subject of choice.

Snape regarded her for a while and only spoke when Hermione visibly squirmed. "He does, yes. In fact, he is the reason I am here. The same goes for you two. However, maybe his... contacts were incorrect with the intelligence they discovered, and you'll have two years to spend as you wish after all."

Luna looked at him curiously. "My dad told me of the rumors that the Ark of the Covenant is hidden here in Germany and that a group of Dark Muggles is after it. Does it have to do with that, Professor Snape?"

"Oh, please, that is just too far-fetched to be true!" Hermione snorted and earned herself a glare.

"Not quite, Miss Granger." Then Snape turned to Luna. "I am in no position to answer your question until I know more about the situation myself. I would, however, ask you to study wandless magic. If the situation... escalates, you may well find yourselves without wands in a possibly precarious situation."

Snape returned to his desk, retrieved two books from a briefcase and handed one each to Hermione and Luna. "You'd do well to perfect this skill."

Effectively Utilizing Magic Without Wands, Hermione read. She shrugged inwardly. It would be a handy skill to have, no matter what the future held. No point worrying about what might never come to pass...

Luna's approach was less practical. "Sir, you d... you don't think there'll be another war, do you?"

"Not if I can avoid it, Miss Lovegood. I have had quite enough of war situations," he said dryly.

Luna's relief was obvious. "Oh, good! That does make me feel better!"

"All I ask of you for now is to keep your eyes open and be vigilant. Anything out of place you might see, any sudden activity at Blutenburg, inform either Lucius or myself. You may leave now."

"You know," Hermione said thoughtfully as they slowly walked back to the oak tree, "he seems to have lost some of his nastiness. Maybe that near-death experience did him good..."

"I wonder how he survived," Luna said. "It's a miracle, really. I don't recall anyone except Mr Weasley to survive Nagini's bite. And Mr Weasley was found immediately..."

"Well... he is a Potions master after all. Surely, if anyone knows how to counter a snake bite it would be him." Hermione had been absolutely certain Snape had died that day in the Shrieking Shack and simply figured that one of his Death Eater friends might have moved his body. But if she was honest with herself, she had wondered more than once how one of the most capable Potions masters, and one allegedly in the service of the megalomaniac who kept a human-eating pet snake at that, could have succumbed to a snake bite.

~|~|~|~

The next few weeks passed uneventfully. Hermione and Luna settled into a routine of attending lectures, studying Chemistry, studying and practicing wandless magic and exploring the sights of Munich and its surroundings. Snape's lectures turned out to be interesting, and he hadn't talked to either witch after that first encounter, lulling the witches into believing that no sinister plots were evolving. Life in general was good and without trouble, still somewhat of a novelty to both Hermione and Luna after the intensity of Voldemort's war and its aftermath to clear up the mess his reign had brought.

Neither witch was surprised any longer when Lucius Malfoy happened upon them on several occasions, be it in cafés, the wizarding quarter or Muggle shops. It was clear to Hermione that Lucius had become rather fond of Luna, but the blonde witch would hear none of it. "Don't be daft, Hermione," she laughed. "He could have any woman on this planet and probably beyond. I'm likely the last one he'd go for!"

"Why does he turn up wherever we go, Luna? And he talks to you a lot more than to me. Maybe it's because I'm Muggle-born, but I doubt it. He really does seem to have left his racist beliefs behind." Hermione no longer disliked the man. She would never be enchanted by him the way Luna obviously was, but a friendship seemed quite likely in spite of their vastly different backgrounds...or maybe because of it. Opposites attract, she thought, suppressing the urge to giggle.

"Never mind. If you're right, well, I'll be very happy then," Luna said with a sheepish grin. Then she changed the subject. "Hermione, it's your birthday tomorrow, isn't it? What do you want to do?"

Hermione shrugged. "Ron, Harry and Ginny are coming over tomorrow night. I thought maybe we could all go out for dinner."

"Oh! Don't you want to spend some time alone with Ron?" asked Luna.

"Not really," Hermione said quietly, her eyes finding some interesting spot on the floor. "I don't even miss him." She sighed. "I will have to talk to him. But not tomorrow. Not on my birthday, and not in front of others. I just want to have a good time tomorrow. And they can't stay long anyway. Both Ron and Harry are working on Saturday."

The day started nicely. A Ministry owl, tapping impatiently on the window, woke Hermione up minutes before her alarm went off. She let the bird in, relieved it off its burden and fed it some treats. The bird took off again, and Hermione opened the package, wondering who would send her a present this early in the day.

She looked at the unwrapped present, her eyes widening. The Nazis' Search for Occultum by Søren Siebenthal, an impressive looking tome, displaying a section of the periodic table on the cover, had been sent to her. Hermione opened the book, and out fell a piece of parchment.

Happy Birthday, Hermione

Kingsley Shacklebolt

"You better come clean with regard to your agenda very soon, Minister, or I might just forget who you are and hex you into oblivion," murmured Hermione, though without bite, as she walked towards the bathroom to get ready for the day.

Another owl arrived just as the witch sat down at the table to have a quick bite and some coffee, this one a regal looking great horned owl.

"I'll bet this one is from Lucius," Luna said conversationally.

"You're getting to know him well, Luna," Hermione snickered and let the bird in. The owl headed towards the table and landed on the backrest of a chair, holding its leg out. The witch untied the parchment and opened it.

The silver Malfoy crest adorned the top of the parchment, and the letter was written with Slytherin green ink, which involuntarily reminded her of her bedroom of the same color. She still hadn't managed to change it.

Hermione,

Happy Birthday! As I pondered a suitable present for you, I remembered I've not hosted a dinner in simply ages. Please allow me to arrange a dinner in honour of your birthday. Bring whoever you like as long as the delightful Miss Lovegood is part of it. Let's meet at the Zauberbesen at seven. Please send a reply with my owl...she will be waiting.

Lucius

Hermione was touched by Lucius' gesture, although she had no doubt he had an ulterior motive. She handed the letter to Luna, saying, "See? He does like you."

Luna read the letter. "Oh! Isn't he wonderful? How kind of him to throw a party for you!" Then she looked at Hermione. "I'm sure it'll be fine with Ginny, Harry and Ron, don't you?" she asked, the tiniest hint of worry in her voice.

Hermione shrugged. "It's my birthday. So they better be fine with it." She penned down a reply and tied the rolled-up parchment around the owl's stretched leg. Then she fed it an owl treat and said, "Please take this back to Lucius. I'm looking forward to tonight."

Hermione tried not to show her surprise when Snape called her at the end of class. He waited until everyone save Luna had left the classroom. "Happy Birthday, Miss Granger." His voice sounded wry. "Do close your mouth; looking like a carp out of water is not very becoming."

"Th... Thank you, sir," Hermione stuttered. She'd have been less surprised to receive birthday wishes from the Muggle Prime Minister.

"I take it you've accepted Lucius' invitation?"

"Yes, I have," she replied, surprised he knew about it. He must be closer to Lucius than I'd imagined...

"Ward your flat well and properly, Miss Granger, when you go out," he said, then turned abruptly and left.

Luna and Hermione stood in the classroom, speechless. Luna was the first to recover. "Do you think he's weird?"

"Strange for sure," Hermione muttered, and the two friends walked leisurely to the back of the grounds from where they Disapparated.

The lawn of the Blutenburg garden was busier than usual, Hermione observed, somewhat worriedly, but then recognized not only Ron, Harry and Ginny but also Draco, Pansy, Millicent Bulstrode, Parvati and Neville.

"Oh, Merlin, so many of you, what a wonderful surprise!" Hermione cried out as she hugged everyone in turns.

"Happy Birthday, love," Ron said affectionately as he hugged her tightly. "I thought you might like a few more people than just the three of us here for your birthday."

"Oh, it's wonderful, Ron!" Hermione wondered who'd had the idea; she could have bet safely it hadn't been Ron's. It didn't take long to find out.

"My father told me of his hopes to throw a party for you. I hope it's okay with you to have more friends around than excepted," Draco drawled after wishing her a happy birthday.

"That's fine, Draco," Hermione assured him. "It's nice to see everyone again. It seems as if it's been ages!"

The group of witches and wizards, led by Hermione and Luna, marched upstairs to share some tea and coffee and catch up with each other.

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A/N Zauberbesen = Magic broom

Grateful thanks to southernwitch69 and littlebeloved, without whom this story wouldn't be what it is. You witches rock!

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