Chapter 5 Temple of Heaven

Hermione met up with the Potters at the Liberty Tree Tavern for lunch. Designed to resemble a Colonial American tavern, it was a nice alternative to the various cantinas around them. “Auntie Hermie, you missed Space Mountain. It rocked!” greeted James.

“Yeah, it’s almost as much fun as Quidditch,” added Evan, which earned him a pointed look from Ginny. “Sorry, Mum. Mum says we can’t talk about Quidditch around strangers,” explained Evan in a conspiratorial whisper. Hermione placed her order of a garden salad and iced tea with the waitress, who was dressed in Revolutionary garb.

“Did you find something for your Mum, Hermione?” Ginny queried. Snape had driven crystal shopping clear out of Hermione’s head. She mumbled an excuse about having to try later as Ginny’s question reminded her of the errand.

“Was Prince Charming hanging around the castle?” Harry continued to tease.

“No, but I did run into Professor Snape,” Hermione responded, recovering her composure and her bravado.

“Really, Hermione, enough already. You’re not going to wind me up about Snape. It was funny yesterday, but if you think I’m going to believe Snape is at Disney World, you’re getting daft in your old age.”

“Alright, whatever you want to believe, but I’m meeting him for drinks this evening,” Hermione quipped back, while mentally deciding it would be a whole lot easier if Harry and Ginny thought she was making it all up.

“Well, I’m not sure why you’re trying to take the Mickey out of me, but if you need some time on your own, you just need to say so,” Harry continued in a good natured tone.

“Yes, Hermione, if you have your own plans for this evening, don’t feel like you have to tag along with us. We’re heading back to the hotel after lunch to swim and relax. Then we’ll come back here later for the night parade and fireworks. Just be careful, whatever you do,” Ginny cautioned.

“Oh, don’t worry. You two know I would never let my guard down around Snape,” Hermione continued to tease, which caused Harry to roll his eyes at her and Ginny to giggle at the two of them.

After returning to the hotel, Hermione decided that a swim, followed by a short nap sounded perfect. When she joined the Potters at the pool, Hermione was again impressed by the level of luxury and attention to detail at the lodge. The pool area was a tropical paradise, complete with a long and winding water slide, to the children’s endless delight. After cooling off and romping a bit with the younger Potters, she returned to the room by herself and drifted off to sleep, completely relaxed in her luxurious guest bed.

When she woke a little later, Hermione could hear that the Potters had returned. However, Molly was not in their room and must have been playing with her brothers. Suddenly, Hermione remembered what her evening plans entailed. This whole thing was so surreal. Yet her encounter with Snape had left her so curious; she would not miss this for anything. If she was totally honest with herself, life had become a bit boring lately. She missed the excitement of working with the Order of the Phoenix; not the fear, death, or pain that were also part of war, but the excitement that came from doing something with great risk and reward. Plus, her opinion of Professor Snape (how was she going to manage to call him Severus?) had never matched Harry and Ron’s. Sure, he could be brutally unpleasant, and much of the time his expectations were nearly impossible. Yet she admired his brilliance along with the way he had challenged her.

While showering, Hermione puzzled over what she would wear to meet Snape at the Temple of Heaven. Such an exotic name added to her intrigue for the evening. In the end, she settled on a linen sundress with a batik print. The dress had put her in mind of the tropics when she had been shopping for the trip to Florida. She added a pair of Italian leather sandals. Heels were out of the question for getting around Disney. After she had fixed her typically unruly hair into a casual twist, she inspected her appearance in the mirror. Only those closest to her would recognize the confident young woman in the mirror as the same awkward child she had been when she’d entered Hogwarts. She tucked her wand into the specially sewn pocket she had added to the side seam of her dress. It was then that she noticed that the bedside clock read 6:15 p.m. So she grabbed a lightweight silk shawl to guard against the evening chill and, with a deliberately vague explanation to Harry and Ginny, ran out the door.

Hermione had decided that since she would be alone, she could chance travelling by Apparation. After studying a tourist map of Epcot, she chose a quiet, out of the way corner and closed her eyes to concentrate. When she opened them, she found herself in a small alcove behind a ladies’ washroom. After a quick peek in the washroom mirror, to make sure her hair had survived the trip, she headed out, walking briskly toward the Epcot World Showcase.