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And They Didn\'t Live Happily Ever After	By : ElizabethStump Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 90306 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 84
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- 86
“And They Didn't Live Happily Ever After”

Chapter Eighty-Four
“The Maenad and the Satyr”

Disclaimer:
All around the copyright bush
The lawyer chased the author
'Til Betz claimed Rowling owns it all
Pop goes the lawyer

============

Almost everything was finally packed up. Severus had been living at Justina's hotel for almost five months by the time his house was finally ready for him to move into. All of the items he had temporarily stored in Justina's kitchen were packed away, as well as all the new clothes and personal items he had bought since arriving in Malu Palekaiko.

The only things that still needed to be packed were the photograph of Hermione and his still unfinished letter to her. It was his exasperation in being unable to scratch out a simple letter that led him to tromp about the jungle and find his new home. Since then, with working with the builder and the shop, he had been too busy to sit down and work on the letter again – or so he convinced himself. He had maybe two passable sentences he had scribbled down over the nearly three months since he'd first attempted to write his lover.

Picking up the photograph of Hermione, he wondered if she was still intent on joining him or if she had come to her senses. Severus still had no idea if she had viewed the memories he'd left for her, but given that Marf would make sure she would receive them, he was sure she had viewed them by now. Most Potions apprenticeships took between two and three years to complete, but he had finished his in two, even if one included the months of working at the Department of Standards & Regulations testing Potions ingredients which was required as part of his apprenticeship.

Hermione was a quick learner who already had a great deal of experience from her years in the same department, so that would shave some time off of her apprenticeship. She had been reading a lot of Potions journals as part of her job, and was familiar with many theories and concepts most apprentices aren't introduced to until their apprenticeships begin. He knew that the only thing stopping her from finishing her apprenticeship in as little as a year would be the mastering of five languages.

Severus wondered if Hermione had mastered Greek yet and was on to Latin as she had planned. It had taken him nearly six months to master his first language during his apprenticeship, and it was Arabic; he was already fluent in Spanish, since his mother spoke it at home and it was his second language growing up. At least the Latin was easy to learn, given he already was fluent in a Latin-based language. Unfortunately, Reginald Chuff did not allow Severus to count Spanish as one of the five languages he had to master since he was already fluent in it before he began his apprenticeship. It was one of the many reasons why Severus considered Chuff a right bastard.

At least Hermione wasn't apprenticing under Chuff, as he was the sort of unscrupulous lech who would secretly spike Hermione's experiment with a love potion in order to bed her, and probably make her feel like it was her fault for not recognizing the effects of a love potion afterwards. If Albert was taking Hermione to the monthly Potions master drinking binges, he would have the good sense to not let Hermione accept a drink from Chuff.

He calculated that the best of all possibilities would be that it would be at least another year and a half, possibly two until Hermione would be done with her apprenticeship.

Glancing at the unfinished letter, Severus wondered how he was supposed to put to parchment and ink how he had been feeling as if he was missing part of an appendage that had been splinched off and had not been reattached yet. Then there was the question of what to put in his letter of the long wait ahead for her to finish. If anything, he knew he should not tempt her to abandon her apprenticeship to finish with him, knowing how it would damage her reputation as a Potions mistress. When he had first asked her to join him, it was early enough in her apprenticeship that it would be easily forgiven and overlooked, but given how she was now fully into her apprenticeship with Dobmeir, switching masters was nigh on impossible at this point. He would just have to wait for her, and he would.

Severus Snape may have been in love with Hermione, but he was not prone to spout off flowery words of wooing and worship. All his attempts to craft a letter that plainly spoke his heart had been later reduced to piles of cinder upon reflection. No, writing Hermione a love letter could not convey his sentiments without him tripping over his own words. Instead of packing his draft of a letter to Hermione, he destroyed it, as anything else would not have been true to his nature. Hermione may have stripped Severus of his masks, but he still wore armor around his heart, which had grown thicker with her prolonged absence.

Finally checking out of Justina's hotel, Severus walked up the street to Mounga's house. Before Severus could step foot in his new house, he needed to make a proper offering to Pele.

Not only did the granting of sanctuary require a visit to the caldera to make an offering to Pele, but building a new home or new business required one as well, Severus making his trip the week before he opened his shop. Had Severus bought a house already built, the trip would not be necessary, but given how every so often a lava flow could destroy one house while leaving the one right next to it unscathed by the fiery temperament of the goddess, it was prudent to follow tradition. Even Draco and Ginny had made a trip after their week of seclusion to make an offering to Pele, seeking protection for their new home from her lava, even if it was already built. Hopefully Severus' offering would please her, and his house would remain undisturbed for many decades to come.

Fortunately, the migrating dragons that had temporarily nested atop the volcano had moved along, continuing their migratory flight path from Japan to Peru where they would mate on or near Easter Island and lay and hatch their eggs along the chain of volcanoes in the Andean mountain chain. If not, Severus would have had to wait before making the trek to the summit.

Climbing the side of the volcano, Severus carried a basket filled with ohelo berries, red hibiscus flowers, banana, red fish, and a bottle of palm sap wine fermented by the Potions master himself, as Justina suggested. He had worked on his Hawaiian with Mounga, who would give the prayer at the edge of the caldera. Mounga had needed to make the trip himself, since it had been about a year since he had last made a offering to Pele on behalf of his family.

It was warm, but Severus wore his denim pants, given how the last time he climbed down, after making an offering for the opening of his shop, he'd almost tripped and fell on some sharp a'a lava flows. At least the thick fabric would give him some protection. Even Mounga wore his heavy pants, telling Severus about some nasty lacerations he'd received on one trip when he was foolish enough to wear thin fabric pants.

“So you're having a house-warming party?” Mounga asked his friend, surprised by the fact as Severus didn't seem like the party type.

“I wasn't planning on one, but Ginny insisted I have one. I told her, since she was so enthusiastic about the idea, she could throw it for me, since I am not the party host type,” Severus replied, reinforcing his friend's perceptions.

“You're not a big crowds type of guy.” Mounga reached out and picked a couple ohelo berries to add to his own offering to Pele he was carrying.

“Put me in front of 300 students in an academic setting and I can command their attention. Stick me in front of more than ten adults in a social setting and I'd rather be home with a good book.”

“Not everyone is cut out to be a social butterfly,” Mounga noted. “As my dad used to say when it comes to friends, it's better to have one gold Galleon than 493 bronze Knuts. Only reason why I know so many people is because of my job and position on town council. Also, Rainbow drags me out of the house. Otherwise, you'd probably find me with my nose in a good book, like you. I've become less outgoing in my old age.”

“At least Ginny is keeping the guest list to under twenty, though Draco says she's cooking for fifty, a habit she no doubt picked up from her mother,” Severus said, a bit of bitterness in his voice when referencing Molly.

Mounga gave a heavy sigh, and it wasn't because of the size of his basket he was carrying. “She's got a lot of hostility regarding her mother. I hope one day Ginny and her mom will patch things up. It's not good to hold on to anger; it will eat you alive and consume you just as lava will cut a path through the forest. Both burn and leave nothing but barren ashes in their wakes, and it takes a long time for anything to grow afterwards. You don't have to forget, but at some point, you should forgive.”

“Given the feeling of betrayal and manipulation, I think you can understand that it would take a while for that to simmer down before being trod upon,” Severus remarked continuing the analogy between lava and Ginny's anger.

Severus still couldn't get what this big deal about forgiveness was about. The little stuff he could understand, but some things were just too egregious to forgive for him.

“Any word from England?”

“Nothing. Which could be good or bad. For the fact that Hermione has not shown up seeking sanctuary herself tells me that her part in it had not been found out. Yet.”

Severus wondered if he and Draco were to be exonerated, whether Moody would still seek to persecute Hermione, should her part in their escape ever be discovered. It would be typical of Moody to want to prosecute her for helping them even though they were not guilty of anything anymore.

“So, mentioning you in front of a bunch of students... Draco and your proposal for a proper school, ages ten and up, is moving forward,” the larger wizard updated Severus. “There is the question of how to pay for it, but we have something in the works that might address that.”

“Really? Because for tutoring alone, I have several families I'm working with, employing their children doing mindless chores or collecting ingredients in order to pay for lessons. If these families are struggling to pay for tutoring lessons for one subject, how can we be sure they can pay for a proper schooling, given you mentioned that state and federal give little toward wizarding education versus Muggle?”

“There is a company that is interested in setting up a regional office here, but that's in the works. It's all very nebulous right now. It could wind up employing some people, especially those who need the money to help pay for school, but we'll also start up a charity fund to help pay for those who can't afford to pay for it. Plus, taxes alone from the business could help cover the costs of the school, so there would be little in terms of costs for the parents other than school supplies, if we're lucky. There will be partial and full scholarships, as you've mentioned your Ministry did with Hogwarts for books and supplies, since you did say tuition was free at Hogwarts. Worst case scenario is that tuition won't be entirely free, but we can get some federal funds to help cover books that children borrow for the year. Draco and Ginny have already offered to chip in and cover in case the charity fund doesn't have enough for those in need.”

Severus was pleased that Draco had not taken his father, Lucius', attitude regarding money and access to a decent education. Lucius had made very disparaging remarks about the Weasleys and their finances over the years. And then, as if suddenly remembering that Severus was in the room, the elder Malfoy would give a halfhearted amendment to his comment that the Potions master was an exception to the rule given the near abject poverty he had grown up in. It was condescending at best, and a backhanded slight to remind Severus that Lucius perceived himself superior to him in many ways when it came right down to it. Draco and Ginny's offer was no doubt spurred by Ginny's large dose of empathy towards money issues for children growing up.

Nodding, Severus said, “Well, given that many of the witches will have free time if they aren't schooling their children daily, this possible business opportunity for employment will certainly help offset the costs of schooling.”

Severus did not inquire to the nature of the business that might come to the island, as it was still uncertain and details would come later. Mounga would tell him.

As they reached the top, a witch and wizard that Severus recognized, but didn't know the names of, were just finishing their offering to Pele. Everyone exchanged the habitual Aloha greeting before the couple excused themselves and began their trek back down the side of the volcano.

Severus grabbed a few pieces of lava rock and arranged them in an aesthetically pleasing manner. He wasn't allowed to use his wand, as recommended by Mounga. The reason why was the same as why Severus and Mounga could not Apparate to the top of the volcano, and had to make the long trek by foot. The effort was part of the way of making an effort to show gratitude and honor the goddess. Only the old, the very young, and infirm could Apparate to the top of the volcano, children Apparating with their parents if they were too large to carry safely and too small to walk the whole way. Pregnant witches were allowed a Portkey dispensation, since they couldn't Apparate.

Mounga also created his own impromptu altar. Both wizards placed their offerings upon the rocks.

Standing near the edge, Mounga held out his arms in supplication and began to sing his prayer on behalf of Severus. A normally quiet man with a soft voice and economical with his words, a large and sonorous voice came booming forth, filled with feeling and reverence. It was a clear and deep bass sound that seemed to echo off the sides of the caldera.

Severus had heard Mounga sing on occasion at the bar on Friday nights, egged on by his wife to belt out a tune now and again, but this was nothing like the voice he used in the small bar. There was a lot of power behind the voice, a sound that matched the wizard's size.

Once Mounga was done, Severus threw a few ohelo berries into the caldera.

Mounga began a prayer for his own home and family. The cadence and pace was faster, and the tone seemed not as somber. He too threw in a few ohelo berries once his prayer was done.

As the two trekked back down the side of the volcano, heading back towards the village, neither spoke. Severus collected some ohelo berries for himself in his basket, since he had already made his offering of them to Pele first.

Coming around an outside bend in the trail atop a particularly steep cliff, they came upon an old woman walking down the same trail. They had not seen her during their trek up and figured that she had come along from one of the spurs off the trail along the way, coming from a more secluded part of the island.

The old witch ambled along at a slow pace, using a cane made of ohia wood to assist in her walking.

“Aloha,” Mounga called out in greeting to avoid startling her, since this part of the trail was particularly narrow and the drop-off was rather steep. They had wands to stop anyone from falling too far, but avoiding a slide down a steep hillside of sharp lava was preferable.

The old woman with long white hair waved at the two wizards. She looked to be particularly old and tired.

Remembering the custom to offer strangers along the trail rest and respite, the pair stopped. Severus conjured a stool and offered her a few of the ohelo berries he had already picked, while Mounga created a bit of shade with a charm and offered water, which she refused while munching on some berries.

She didn't stay for long and rose from her stool. She thanked the two for their kindness and asked if she could walk with them a bit down the trail. At one point, Severus and Mounga waited for her, offering to help her, which she refused saying she was almost where she needed to go.

Coming around another blind outside curve in the trail, a sizable rock avalanche suddenly let loose down the side of the volcano directly in front of the three, the sound a roar of rock gnashing against rock.

Severus threw out an arm to protect the old witch who was directly behind him, but when he turned, she was suddenly gone.

“Madam? Madam?!?” Severus called out.

Neither of the two wizards heard her Apparate away, as neither heard the telltale vacuum pop. And given that she was right behind Severus not a moment before, he would have felt the rush and eddies of air with her disappearance.

Mounga gazed blankly ahead once the dust settled. He noticed how wide the avalanche was that covered the trail.

“Severus?”

The Potions master was confused as to where the witch went, but turned his attention back to his friend when he heard his name called.

“Where did she go?” Severus asked, perplexed. “I know she didn't Apparate.”

“How much do you think that old woman slowed us down, Severus?” Mounga asked, still looking at the amount of trail covered in several feet of lava rock, with a few sizable boulders.

“I don't know. Maybe a minute or two at most?” he said absentmindedly, looking along the trail, which was otherwise barren of any plant life this high up on the volcano.

Mounga's chest heaved with the rush of adrenaline as he was still trying to catch his breath. “And if we hadn't come across that old woman, do you think we would have been caught up in that avalanche?”

“I don't know, possibly...” Severus looked along the trail ahead, now seeing the amount of rock that had come down suddenly. Realization dawning on his that he and Mounga were almost caught in the rock slide.

“Do you think we could have Apparated away in time?” the larger wizard asked.

“It was rather sudden,” Severus replied.

The two just looked at each other, wondering if the old woman was indeed Pele who had appeared and slowed them down long enough for them to avoid getting caught in the avalanche of rock and boulders. In Hawaii, there were the odd tales of an old woman or beautiful young woman, both with flowing hair, one white-haired, the other dark. Those that had offered her rest and help had been saved from a terrible fate or accident, in gratitude for their kindness.

Severus tried to remember the face of the old witch, but could not clearly recall any defining features of her face, as in the shape of her nose or eyes, but as if recalling a face from a long forgotten dream, undefined and slipping away from his mind.

Using their wands, they cleared away the rock from the trail, before continuing their trek back home.

Back at Mounga's house, Rainbow greeted the pair and asked how the trip was, to which Mounga gave his wife a reassuring smile and replied it was just fine. Severus had grabbed Hermione's handbag, filled with his possessions, which he had left at Mounga's house.

As the two walked toward Severus' new home, the Potions master asked, “Why didn't you tell her?”

“Because then I'll have everyone in town asking about what Pele looked like, asking you and me to rehash details ad nauseum. I don't want to do that. Do you?”

Severus looked at Mounga, noting the slightly shaken look on the large wizard's face.

“Where's the funeral?” Draco said, as he suddenly popped up, having come down from his house with Ginny to join Severus at entering his new home. He had noted the rather graven faces of his friends.

“We had a rather close call on the trail back home,” Severus admitted.

“You're both all right?” Ginny asked with great concern, noting the slightly shaken appearance of Severus.

“Yeah.” Mounga put on a brave face, trying to reassure the young couple they were fine.

Once the four of them reached the front gate, they stopped. The front yard was still overgrown, but the path had been restored up to the newly-built house that had incorporated the design of modern Balinese architecture with some American craftsman design elements. Severus didn't know what the architecture styles were called; he had flipped through several books the builder had, indicating what he found appealing and functional for his needs. His home had a tropical feel to the overall look, but still had a simple homeyness to it.

“Severus?” Draco said, offering up a pineapple.

Severus took the fruit and impaled it onto the fence post, right next to the front gate, indicating he was receiving guests and that they were welcome. Well, as welcome as Severus would make them feel, depending on who it was.

The four walked up the path to the house.

“That front porch looks like it will fit a hammock nicely,” Mounga noticed.

Severus imagined Hermione in a hammock reading a book back when he was in England as he pondered inviting her to join him. Now that vision seemed that much clearer, envisioning the light coming from the west slanting across the front porch in the early evenings, given the south-facing orientation of the house.

Placing his wand to the door, Severus unlocked it and entered his home.

Severus had been to the house many times during its construction, but now that it was complete and it was all his, it seemed as strange and foreign as the first moment he arrived in Malu Palekaiko, the scents of the ocean and jungle unfamiliar and peculiar. He’d had a home once, during his youth, but it was the brick hovel that he'd grown up in and was as unwelcoming as it was familiar. It had been taken away from him by the Death Eater Decree. This new home was his, and he would fill it with pleasant memories this time.

Sensing the portentous moment, Ginny walked over to her friend and gently touched his arm. “Welcome home, Severus. Ho'omaika'i 'ana.” She embraced him, remembering what it was like the moment she first stepped into her new home with Draco, feeling a sense of finally belonging, another long sought-after dream finally realized.

He hugged her back, and also received hugs and claps on the back in congratulations from Draco and Mounga. Only these three understood how much this home had meant to Severus. Hermione understood too, but she was not there, and her presence was missed. Even though Mounga had only seen Hermione once when Severus was Polyjuiced into her form, he knew that Severus had designed this house in hopes that she would someday join him.

This was not a house built for a bachelor, but for a family. Severus may not have consciously designed the home as such, but that's what it was built for.

Mounga offered to help unpack, but Severus declined his offer, knowing where everything was going to go. It didn't take long for Severus to pull everything out of Hermione's old handbag. The armoire was the trickiest part to pull free, as a drawer pull had caught on the button loop of the bag, but that was easy enough to fix. The rest involved putting away clothes or kitchen items.

Severus had purchased a large bed and had a custom frame made for it. It was already delivered and set up in the master bedroom. It was in a dark-stained teak carved with heavy posts, supporting a canopy and draped in mosquito netting. Neither Ginny nor Draco made mention that it looked very similar to the bed Severus had back at his old flat that Hermione was most probably sleeping in now. Though this one looked much larger – it could easily sleep two and then some – and the bed curtains were white instead of black, essentially it was nearly identical.

There were a few other pieces of furniture Severus had bought ahead of time, such as a bedside table, a comfortable chair for reading in his new library, a kitchen table and chairs, and some necessary linens, but the rest of the house was unfurnished. Severus would move his books from his shop later that week.

Mounga went to help Ginny and Draco bring food, more chairs, a spare table and other items to help host Severus' house-warming party. By the time Severus finished putting nearly everything in its place, the party was set up and ready to go. There were a couple other things Severus needed to put away, but he would do that once company had left at the end of the night.

Ginny had set up the food in a buffet-style service with plates, flatware, and napkins, and cooked some of Severus' favorites that he'd taught her over the years. There was gazpacho, paella, and other dishes she had learned from various cookbooks, in addition to heaping mounds of fresh fruit. There was a fresh fruit punch Ginny had made by mixing guava, pumpkin, and orange juice with slices of strawberries floating in it, in addition to other more sophisticated libations.

Severus did offer to reimburse Ginny and Draco for the cost of the party, to which they insisted it was their housewarming gift to him.

With the pineapple now displayed by the front gate, the guests began arriving.

Rainbow and the children came, presenting Severus an umeke, a bowl carved from koa wood. Severus placed it in a place of honor in his entryway, considering it was a gift symbolizing that all who enter are welcomed as family. For the time being, he transfigured one of his kitchen chairs into a console table in which to display it, since it was a gift given with considerable thought. The Finaus had brought a Hawaiian umeke for the Malfoys as a wedding gift, so he was familiar with the symbolism behind the present.

Kaimi made Severus another lei in congratulations of his new home, a gift which he accepted graciously and wore. Iakona and Akela congratulated Severus on his new home, the latter very subdued in her manners. Akela was no doubt feeling very shameful over her behavior, given the last time Severus and Akela talked, she had called him an asshole.

Halulu and Greg showed up shortly afterwards, looking very relaxed and blissful from a long overdue two-week vacation. The newly-returned couple presented Severus with a fine vintage of Italian Chianti brought back from their trip, and a bouquet of coral-colored roses as a symbol of congratulations.

Gary and Iolana arrived right behind them with an orange tree, a common tree given to symbolize sweetness and generosity in Western culture, and happiness and prosperity in Chinese culture. The tree's orange fruit also symbolized gold, a harbinger of wealth and good luck, often given around Chinese New Year. It seemed nearly every house on the island had some Chinese residents at one time over the decades, as at least one orange tree was planted in most yards or sat in a large pot on their front porch.

Arnold and Ranjit were the last to come, bringing Severus Potions equipment for his personal lab at home for their gifts.

Everyone who was invited was finally there. Ginny even brought over her music box, setting it to play something non-obtrusive to the conversations going on about the house.

Ginny declared the buffet open and people went to fill their plates, eager to try some of Ginny's cooking.

Gary looked about the table and said, “You have salsa, but where's the chips?”

“What salsa?” Ginny asked.

“That salsa,” Gary indicated, pointing to the bowl of gazpacho that people were not serving up in the bowls Ginny had brought over. Instead, they were using the ladle to pour the gazpacho over the paella, thinking it was a condiment.

It was culinary sacrilege.

Reminding himself that there were no current Spanish expatriates in Malu Palekaiko, Severus calmly said while trying not to grit his teeth, “That's not salsa, that's gazpacho. It's a chilled Spanish summer soup.”

Digging into the paella, with the soup dumped on top of the rice and seafood mixture, Gary said, “Well, it makes a great salsa.”

Severus could feel the corner of his mouth twitch, but decided he would merely use this as a chance to expand the culinary knowledge of this gastronomically diverse community.

Draco muttered under his breath, “Bloody peasants.” It amazed Severus how much he sounded exactly like his father at that moment.

Fortunately, Draco and Ginny had brought over enough chairs for all the adults to have some place to sit. The Finau children sat on the front porch while they ate, their feet dangling over the edge, given that Severus had not installed a railing, the front porch feeling more like an open veranda.

Once everyone was done with their food, Severus gave everyone a tour of the house at once, spending the most amount of time in the Potions lab, talking with great pride about how he had designed his lab. It had a lovely view of the town below and ocean beyond with the shutters opened. The ventilation he planned was based on the predominant winds that came from the east-northeast. There were the benches built at an optimal height for him, and shelving that would soon be filled with jars, boxes, pots, canisters and containers holding a variety of ingredients.

Mounga and Iakona seemed most impressed with the library, wondering if Severus had enough books to fill up the shelving already or was it made in estimation of more books he would add to it over the years. Ginny and Draco liked the outdoor shower he had installed, based on the fact Draco and Ginny had one at their house. They had remarked about how nice it was to have one right off the bedroom, which reduced the amount of humidity introduced to the inside of the house, cutting down on mold they had to fight in the bathroom, in addition to the enhanced romantic atmosphere.

Twilight settled in and Ginny had set some tiki torches about the outside of the house for those that decided to talk outside.

Severus had decided he needed a moment to himself, having been far more social than he was used to, even with his business and Friday nights at the bar. He sat on a felled log in the backyard that had been cut down to make room for the second story tier he had built above the living room that held the master bedroom and Potions lab. The north walls were level with the ground, given the slope of the land.

Gazing up at the sky, Severus noticed that the house's roofline blocked all light pollution from the town below, what little there was. He made a mental note to build a deck for a telescope for a bit of star-gazing.

Enjoying a bit of solitude from the noise of the party, he almost didn't hear Akela approach.

“Uncle Severus?”

She was climbing up the slope of the hill towards where he was sitting.

“Yes?” he asked, his voice a bit curt. Severus was still upset with her, given he had not received an apology from her regarding her behavior.

Even in the light of the gibbous waxing moon that was already rising in the sky, he could tell that she had been crying.

“I want to apologize,” she choked out, trying to hold herself together until she could finish what she was saying, which only seemed to make her cry more.

Given how petulant she had behaved, it surprised Severus how remorseful she was, which pleased him.

Since she seemed genuinely sorry, Severus accepted her apology. “Very well, I accept your apology,” he said a bit stiffly. “I hope you understand now why I was upset with you.”

Before Akela could apologize any further or grovel at Severus feet, admitting her most grievous sin of behaving so poorly towards him, she threw herself onto the log next to him and buried her head into his shoulder while wailing pitifully.

Severus recognized this particular type of crying, having been exposed to it so often.

Akela opened her mouth and began sobbing her woeful tale, confirming his suspicions.

“I told Ulrich I wanted to wait and he dumped me,” Akela confessed, pausing every few words to try and speak the words before dissolving into tears each time. “You were right, you were so right.”

Severus put an arm around the girl and patted her consolingly, hoping she wouldn't mistake it as anything other than friendly support. Too often witches who had come to him as a gigolo in such a condition had thrown themselves at him as a form of comfort, often mistaking sympathy for interest, hoping to shore up their flagging confidence with validation that another wizard found them desirable after being dumped.

Reminding her, “As I said, a boy who does not value your mind and personality without your physical charms is not worthy of you.”

Akela burst into tears once more. “He called me a frigid prude.”

Remembering how Hermione had been so equally sexually dismissed by her own husband, Severus' anger toward Ulrich became more intense. Granted, this young witch was deserving of some of this misery, given how poorly she had behaved towards Severus, but she was naive and a bit foolish, as young people sometimes were wont to do. If he wanted to rub salt in the wound and be cruel, he could have brought up the fact that she owed him a new sterling silver cauldron. But this latest parallel between Weasley and Ulrich made him loathe the young wizard, who had treated Akela with casual cruelty and callousness, that much more.

Severus just hoped that Rainbow was still giving Akela that libido-suppressing potion, as he did not want this young witch throwing herself at him, much like when Hermione suddenly performed fellatio on his fingers after suddenly confessing how her husband called her an ice queen.

“There, there,” he said, making sure to choose his words carefully.

Before he could figure out what else to say while not giving the distraught witch any wrong impressions, Akela burst into hysterical tears once more, her breath periodically hitching. “And... and... and what's worse... (hic) is he's now dating my best friend... (hic) Kiki!”

'So much for best friends,' Severus thought dryly.

Severus conjured a handkerchief, something he was well practiced at doing, and handed it to the young girl so she would stop using his shirt as a snot rag, especially since he was in short sleeves.

Akela just clutched to Severus' arm, leaning heavily against him, like a little girl would fully throw herself up against her father in the midst of a crying fit. Severus was glad she wasn't clutching on to him in a more affectionate manner at least.

Rainbow came looking for Akela and saw her crying up against Severus. Spying Akela's mother spotting them, he gave Rainbow a look that she should come get her daughter.

The older witch, either oblivious to the look on Severus' face or deciding this was payback from when they had crossed horns before, decided she could leave her emotionally fragile daughter in the arms of an older wizard who once was a surrogate father figure to so many young witches before. Obviously, Akela must have been over her crush of Severus for Rainbow to just acknowledge to Severus that she was happy to leave the two alone to talk.

“First loves rarely end happily,” Severus reminded her.

Lily had crushed his heart when she took up with Potter, but it was just that, a crush. A very deep and all-consuming crush, that felt like love, but it was not. Even his own marriage to Gabrielle was one that had turned into love, but it was an amicable sort of love built upon the convenience of them thrust together. No, his first true and real love was Hermione. There was nothing convenient or easy about their love affair, but despite the difficulties they had, they had fallen completely and hopelessly for one another. He just hoped that Hermione would not meet an untimely death like Lily and Gabrielle. It seemed that the witches he had become attached to did not live long.

“Who was your first love?” Akela asked innocently enough.

“The last person I ever expected to fall in love with. As I was with her as well.”

He didn't know why he admitted as much to this young girl. Perhaps to give her hope that love sometimes can be found in the most unexpected places at the most unexpected times, but perhaps to remind himself why he loved Hermione.

Sitting up straighter, Severus gently grabbed Akela by the shoulder, encouraging her to pull herself together and find her dignity. “Dry your eyes. Ulrich is not worth the tears you shed for him. I understand the sense of betrayal you must feel, but you are strong enough to move past this and be a little wiser for it. A harsh lesson in the ways of men, but better you learn them when you are young versus when you are older and possibly married to a man who will not treasure you accordingly and be a 'big, fat jerk' to you.” He used the phrase to remind Akela of what a terrible husband Weasley had been to his “dear friend” he once referenced a while back.

Akela wiped away her tears, feeling a little better now. “I really am sorry for screaming at you. My mom has me on that potion you wrote for her and looking back, now that I don't feel all crazy and hormonal, that really was unfair of me,” she admitted. “And I'm sorry I called you a big fat prude.”

“You called me a big fat prude? When was this?” Severus lied convincingly, pretending he hadn't listened in on her and Draco.

Akela just gave him a glare. “C'mon, I know you were right around the corner. I have Iakona as a brother, you don't think I know when someone is trying to eavesdrop on me?” She made some disparaging snort at Severus' stealth skills. “You know, it's a good thing you were never a spy, you would have been terrible at it.”

The young witch hopped off the log and walked back towards the party as Severus sat there, his mouth agape that he'd had his spying skills so easily dismissed by this teenager who knew nothing about what he had done or accomplished. Most of all, Severus wasn't about to set the record straight with her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The written part of the test wasn't so hard. In fact, Hermione found it the easiest part of Albert's test to see if she truly had mastered Greek well enough that he could accredit her the language towards completion of her apprenticeship. Hermione's pronunciation was still a little off, but Albert attributed that to the particular dialect she had picked up from the Greek restaurants she frequented. The final test was when Albert handed her a Potions text with an anti-translation spell; she had to brew and complete something from the book. It was a way of testing how far her brewing skills had advanced, and her ability to decipher the ingredients listed, given that some of the ingredients were listed using Greek euphemisms as a way to further trip up those who might be using a dictionary instead of knowing the language itself.

Hermione had used all the correct ingredients, understanding that a few of the ingredients were puns. Had she used ingredients based on the literal translation, Albert would have halted the test, given the fact he didn't want to blow up his lab at home.

In the end, Hermione had a cauldron of Dionysus' Fever, a potion that caused a certain mad frenzy of dancing and blissful drunken-like euphoria, that Albert was very pleased with. It had the right color, consistency, and smell. As the final test, Hermione had to take the potion herself so that she could feel the effects of it, in order to better understand the potion itself. Albert made sure to relieve Hermione of her wand and handed her a specially charmed garment to change into. It was made of young deer skin and would prevent her from disrobing, given the fact the potion got its name based on the periodically naked dancing that the maenads sometimes participated in during their worship rites of the ancient Greek god.

Albert had placed a protective charm barrier about the two acres of wild woodland he had behind his house. The barrier would keep Hermione close for observation while the potion ran its course over the next couple hours.

There was a general antidote that Hermione had prepared ahead of time, should she get too carried away from the effects of a potion and hurt herself. Albert would administer it in much the same way that Hermione used to administer the antidote to Severus during their testing days together, most notably with a binding spell.

Standing on the edge of the twilight-cloaked forest, dressed in the simple fawn-skin shift, Hermione tipped the vial back and felt the strange tendrils of magic from the Dionysus' Fever potion pulse through her veins, as if they were vines snaking around the bones in her body, pulling her like a puppet held by invisible strings. Her mind drifted into a state of careless bliss, as her body began to move to the song of some distant drum and flute that seemed to draw her into the woods. Her body felt numb, similar to when she was drunk, her muscles unaware of any fatigue as if filled with boundless energy that she could not contain.

The trees around Hermione began to sway and move, dancing with her like a corps de ballet and she was the prima ballerina in this delirious production. Their branches reached down to her and she reached up to touch their tips as if dancing a reel, moving between trunks that were her partners where only fingertips touched.

Albert watched Hermione begin dancing to some unheard tune as she moved off into the woods, with him keeping an eye on her from a distance. There were other potions he could have had Hermione brew and sample as final proof of her skill at this juncture, but he felt that since she had been pushing herself so hard lately, she needed something a bit frivolous. Even at the last booze-up in April, it seemed more like she was drinking and doing the skill-based bets more out of obligation to strive towards an end than for a chance to relax and cut loose for a bit. He hoped the Dionysus Fever would do her a bit of good and give Hermione a chance to relax for once instead of working herself into a near state of exhaustion if she didn't take a break. He had seen other apprentices push themselves this hard only to nearly break down during their apprenticeship. Hermione had a great deal of mental discipline and he admired her for it, but even Albert knew that she needed to relax once in a while.

The golden light dripping down from the branches swirled and dissipated like fairy dust in the darkening night sky, causing Hermione to raise her hands up and run her fingers through the floating illuminated particles, laughing at the obscene beauty of it all.

From around a tree, she saw a pair of eyes staring at her. It was a game. Running around the tree, the eyes were just beyond her ability to find who they belonged to in the silvery light of the waxing gibbous moon, yet the eyes were chasing her and she was equally running away from them. She could not even tell if she was the prey or the predator. Perhaps both, since there was this duality inside of her seeking to tear everything apart, yet finding harmony with herself and peace with the world. Had Hermione been in her right mind, she would have called it madness, but under the thrall of the potion, it was perfectly logical.

The eyes finally revealed themselves to be a pair of black eyes surrounded by a familiar head of long black hair and a mischievous grin that seemed to recall some memory from long ago, as if from a recent dream. Strangely enough, Severus was wearing a beard. He looked good with a beard, filling out his face and making him look even more masculine. Emerging from behind the tree, Severus was looking more muscular than she remembered him from before.

Of course, now it all made perfect sense. Severus was a satyr. Satyrs represented the carefree life, lovers of women and wine, and ready for every physical pleasure. Hermione had never felt so carefree as when she was with Severus, and he had pleased many women, plus he was quite the wine connoisseur. He obviously was a minor Greek deity.

Severus and Hermione chased each other about the trees, the witch laughing gaily at their game. Severus' very erect phallus bobbed and enticed her, arousing Hermione further. She certainly didn't remember Severus being that large, but she longed to be filled by him, and violently.

“Make love to me like the Greek god that you are,” Hermione begged him, yearning to be ravished by her lover.

Severus produced a flute and began to play it seductively, which made Hermione dance without accord. Her body writhed, enticing Severus to play on with even more sensuality; Hermione's movements and his music fed upon each other until Severus pounced on Hermione knocking her back onto the ground as he began to take her, yanking her shift up in order to mount her.

From between the trees, Albert saw the darkened silhouette of Hermione fall onto the ground as the next segment of the potions hallucination began, which usually included vivid sexual dreams. She had fallen gently and he was sure she had not hit her head, given the soft ground. There was some garbled mumbling she shouted out, but he had not been able to discern what she had said. Presently she was grabbing at her shift, and would have already rid herself of any and all clothing if it had not been charmed to remain in place to retain some of her modesty while under the influence of the potion. And now the cries of ecstasy and thrashing commenced.

Severus the Satyr mounted Hermione without foreplay or preamble, thrusting into her quickly. She felt like she was nearly going to be split in two, filled by Severus' now larger than normal erection. Hermione shrieked, more out of pleasure than out of pain, rejoined with Severus after such a long separation. The endurance Severus displayed seemed to go on forever with Hermione orgasming time and time again as they rolled about the forest floor, sometimes with her on top riding him and sometimes with Severus entering her from behind, braying and howling like a wild animal. Severus didn't talk at all, but it was almost as if she could read his thoughts, or was it merely a projection of her thoughts upon what Severus would say. She could not tell, as the whole vision seemed to flood and overwhelm her senses.

Albert could tell that Hermione had brewed a particularly strong batch as Hermione was taken into quite a deep trance with this elixir. He had brewed it a few times before, once during his own apprenticeship, and it lasted almost two hours. It was nearly two and a half hours before the effects of Hermione's potion finally wore off and she groggily stumbled out of the caliginous woods.

“Was that all a hallucination?” she asked, still uncertain what was real and what was not.

It seemed so real, and she could almost feel the ghost sensation of Severus inside of her, like waking up from a dream of falling down and still remembering the sensation of one's body hitting the ground.

“Yes, but don't worry, your shift kept you covered and I could not understand anything you said,” Albert assured her. “You mostly danced and thrashed about on the ground.”

Hermione could not help but blush, given the very sexually graphic vision she just had and what she was doing in that hallucination. Albert had the good sense not to mention that he probably figured out what her visions entailed.

“How do you feel?” he asked, hoping the Dionysus' Fever took a bit of edge off the tension that emanated from her.

Still feeling a touch disoriented, Hermione put her hands to her head to try and accurately gauge how she felt. “Actually, pretty relaxed. And a bit tired.”

“Well, your brew seemed to last two and a half hours, a bit stronger than anticipated, but desirable nonetheless.” Albert smiled and patted his apprentice on the back. “Congratulations, you mastered and passed your first language. Now you can move onto Latin.”

Hermione felt a sense of relief, now that she was one step closer to being with Severus once again.

Albert gave Hermione a list of Latin books he recommended at the end of the day before she Floo'ed back home. Once back at her flat, even though she felt quite worn out, Hermione felt too excited to go to sleep or eat, as Marf had a hot dinner ready and waiting for her.

Instead, Hermione headed out the door to Flourish and Blotts to buy the list of Latin books Albert recommended. Fortunately, Hermione had been to the bank recently and had the money to buy all of the books listed on the parchment.

As she meandered the foreign language section, Hermione heard a voice that was familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it by sound alone.

“Hello, Hermione.”

Spinning around, she could not find the source of the voice until the lone figure emerged at the end of the aisle.

“Alan?”

It was that wizard she'd carelessly flirted with briefly at the Three Broomsticks that one night after watching a play, and who harassed her the night of her anniversary dinner at the Grand Royal Supper Club that Viktor rescued her from.

“You remembered my name. I'm impressed.” Alan smirked as he sauntered down the aisle looking like a cat assessing its prey.

Hermione glanced behind her making sure that the aisle behind her was not blocked, should she need to make a quick escape. Alan was charming, which is why she initially flirted with him, but just talking with him set off some alarm bells in her head. There was something slightly unsettling about him that she could not name.

Hoping that he would get the hint, Hermione decided to merely nod and go back to looking at the basic Latin grammar book she had been eyeing when Alan made his presence known. She pulled the book off the shelf and flipped through the first few pages. Her eyes weren't really reading anything, as her attention was on the wizard approaching her on her left. She wondered if she could reach for her wand with her right hand without being noticed, should it become necessary.

Stopping a few feet away from her, he leaned up against the bookshelf in a very self-assured manner. “No husband around tonight?” Alan asked with amusement. “Oh, that's right. I read about your divorce. And I don't see any international Quidditch stars to come and bother us.”

Was this a subtle threat that she was unprotected, or merely some failed attempt at seduction?

“How observant,” she drolly remarked as she kept her eyes focused on the page in front of her while casually moving her elbow in such a way as to free her cloak so that it would be easier to whip out her wand.

“Latin grammar? My, such light reading.”

At this rate, Hermione was never going to get all the books on her list should this arse keep bothering her all night long.

Snapping the book shut with a crack, she turned to face Alan with a somewhat bored look on her face. “Is there something I can help you with?”

Alan ran a finger lazily along the edge of the bookshelf in front of where Hermione was standing. “My throat is parched. Care to join me for a drink?”

Glaring at him, she drawled irritably, “Not really, I have more interesting things to do.”

“Reading about Latin is more fun than having a social drink?” Alan's finger was now playing with the edge of the book in Hermione's hands.

“Studying Latin, actually. And yes, that is more appealing to me.” Hermione was getting aggravated the longer this continued on. She wondered what it would take to give this wizard the hint she isn't interested any more. For a brief second nearly a year ago, she was, but wasn't any more.

“It's not like you have an apprenticeship you're working on,” he threw out dismissively.

Hermione's eyes flashed wider momentarily, wondering if he was making a blind stab in the dark to dismiss her remark, or if he somehow knew about her apprenticeship and was being insulting.

Alan's eyes narrowed. “You do have an apprenticeship.” For a moment, he took a half step back in disbelief. “But...” Alan stopped whatever he was about to say and schooled his features once more.

“And I have a lot of Latin to catch up on. Good night.” Hermione turned and marched away, discreetly placing her hand on her wand under her cloak as she turned her back on Alan.

She didn't bother looking back as she went up to the front to pay. There were several other books Hermione needed to buy from Albert's list that he'd given her, but she could always come back another time. And if Alan was waiting for her again, she could always order and have them delivered via owl.

As she pushed the door open to leave, Alan called out halfway across the store, “You looked lovely in that slinky blue dress at the Ministry ball.”

Hermione's pace nearly faltered and she almost stopped with Alan's remark. He had recognized her somehow. Most probably because Ron didn't wear his mask half the night and she was with him a good portion of the time. Hanging out with Viktor and Lady Battenberg, given that Viktor and Ron were photographed together that night and listed as good friends of one another, might have also given it away since she did dance with Viktor that night and he was pretty recognizable, even with a mask on.

It was then that Hermione remembered that Viktor and Anne's wedding was going to be in about a month's time. They had picked June for a wedding date and Hermione was invited. No doubt Ron and Lavender would be there as well. Hermione realized she might have to go shopping again for yet another dress. The plum outfit she wore to Lavender and Ron's wedding would not be appropriate for the evening event, and her red and black dresses would not be appropriate either, since those were definitely inappropriate colors to wear to a wedding. Her blue dress was also just a bit too revealing to be decorous. Another trip to Madam Mandel's would be in order.

Back in her flat, Hermione threw the Latin book on the bed and went to her wardrobe instead. Opening it up, she looked through her dresses. Not one could she wear to the wedding next month.

It irked Hermione that it seemed like she was getting all these nice dresses, but could wear them for one night and nothing else. There was that black dress she wore for Severus on her birthday a second time, but they never went out in public that day.

Pulling the black dress out, she held it up to her body, remembering how Severus looked at her in the dress after a memorable day at the spa. There was that same hunger in his eyes she recalled from her hallucination earlier in the day. The satyr version of Severus took her without holding back.

Hermione hung the dress back up and went to the kitchen to eat the hot dinner Marf was no doubt keeping warm for her. Eating the lamb stew that filled her, not realizing just how hungry she really was until she sat down, Hermione's eyes kept glancing over at the bowl of lemons.

The lemons from Dumbledore's gravesite were completely dried out, as she had done nothing with them for months.

“That's it,” Hermione huffed at no one in particular.

Putting down her fork, Hermione got up and stomped over to the bowl of lemons. “What is it with you,” she snapped at the inanimate pile of fruit.

Summoning her best knife, a cutting board, grater, shredder, and other various implements, Hermione began dissecting them. She spent the rest of her Sunday night boiling, baking, simmering, stewing, frying, broiling and grilling the lemons she had. At the end of the night, all she had was a pile of pulpy mush, and she was no closer to figuring out what it was behind those damnable lemons.

The conundrum of those lemons was as frustrating and perplexing as how she could prove Severus and Draco's innocence. She was no closer to creating a solid argument for taking in front of the Wizengamot.

============

A/N: Thank you to my betas, Hope and JuneW.

Fan art of Hermione and Severus as “The Maenad and the Satyr” by akatnaedeaster, commissioned by me: http://akatnamedeaster.livejournal.com/
Soft R-rated for side nudity (no bits showing), NSFW. View it on my Tumblr page here: http://atdlhea-betz.tumblr.com/post/149207832555/chapter-eighty-four-the-maenad-and-the-satyr

Ho'omaika'i 'ana: Congratulations in Hawaiian.

“The Hawaiian umeke, or calabash bowl, is a symbol of welcome and aloha. Early Hawaiians were very communal and generous when it came to their possessions and food. Families often shared a meal of cooked vegetables, fish, or steamed taro out of a communal bowl or umeke.

“Throughout generations up to modern Hawaii, the umeke symbolizes sharing and aloha to all who enter a home. Umeke are often given as housewarming gifts, wedding gifts, or birthday gifts. This classic Hawaiian bowl is placed in a place of honor in a living room or entry room to signify that all who enter are welcomed as family.”
https://www.martinandmacarthur.com/blog/item/262-hawaiian-umeke-symbol-of-aloha

Regarding the Dionysus rites: "During these rites, the maenads would dress in fawn skins and carry a thyrsus, a long stick wrapped in ivy or vine leaves and tipped with a pinecone; they would weave ivy-wreaths around their heads or wear a bull helmet in honor of their god, and often handle or wear snakes."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maenads

In the classic Greek interpretation, satyrs did not have faun-like legs, horns or goat-like tail, which was a modification of the satyr myth by Romans. In the classical Greek interpretation, satyrs were strongly built, with full beards and long elf-like ears. I ditched the ears for Severus.
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And They Didn\'t Live Happily Ever After