Chapter Twenty nine
"I'm so glad I got through to you." Neville said, "We have been worried sick. Luna is convinced it's all our fault and Aurelia has been back and forth trying to find out if you had been found and whether or not you're okay."
"I'm okay Nev," Hermione assured him, "Honestly, I don't really remember anything, so I'm just a bit shaken. It might be worth all of our whiles to find out if it had anything to do with your Casper the not-so-friendly ghost though, just to be on the safe side."
"One step ahead of you." Hermione heard Luna shouting in the background.
"Sorry, you're on speaker." Neville explained. "These muggle phones are great you know."
"I grew up with muggles remember?" Hermione said, laughing for the first time since she woke up.
"Oh yeah... right,"Neville said, feeling a bit silly. "Anyway, Luna is bringing in a *terrestrial manang to perform an exorcism – Luna's dad swears by his talents, so we are hopeful that if anyone can do it – he can. He is really in demand so he can't do it until the end of the month, but we will keep you informed."
"Okay," Hermione said, feeling a little sceptical about Luna's shamanistic solution, but anything was definitely worth a try.
"Anyway, I was also calling to remind you about your Venice trip this weekend and wondering if you were feeling up to it?" Neville said.
Hermione had completely forgotten about it and wasn't sure she wanted to go alone.
"Aurelia is going to a fashion show or something in Venice too, she has already set off there but she was hoping the two of you could meet up sometime over the weekend, you never know it might be just what the doctor ordered to perk you back up."
Hermione considered this for a moment before saying, "You know what Neville, I will go!" Tell Aurelia where I am staying, I would love to see her again, I didn't get the chance to thank her properly for the lovely dress, which I hope Tom got back to her safely?"
"That's great, Hermione, I'm sure it will do you good." Neville said, sounding genuinely happy for her," Aurelia didn't mention the dress so I'm sure everything was sorted out in your absence."
"Yay!" Hermione heard Luna squeal in the background.
Hermione put the phone down, feeling a little more cheerful than she had since All Saint's Day, "Maybe this is just what I need to help me take my mind off Draco," she thought with a pang of pain. "After all, it will be nice to catch up with Aurelia again, we had a good laugh." Hermione had made up her mind, she headed off to arrange things with Professor McGonagal immediately.
Professor McGonagal was just coming out of her transfiguration classroom as Hermione got there.
"I think that's a great idea." Minerva said, "You deserve it after what you've been through. I will keep an eye on your students for you this weekend, everything will be fine and with a little luck you'll arrive back fresh and ready to teach on Monday? No pressure but your students really do miss you, Professor Vector just doesn't have your way with them."
Hermione smiled. The weekend couldn't come fast enough for her, there was just one thing that brought a tinge of sadness to her otherwise happy plans.
"I should have been going with Draco," she thought, her mind straying back to her lost 'stranger'.
*Manang: a medicine man or woman, a witch doctor or wizard. There are both terrestrial and celestial Manang. The terrestrial Manang exorcises evil spirits, which are supposed to be the cause of illness among the Ibans.
(The Ibans are a branch of the Dayak peoples of Borneo. In Malaysia, most Ibans are located in Sarawak, a small portion in Sabah and some in west Malaysia. They were formerly known during the colonial period by the British as Sea Dayaks. Ibans were renowned for practising headhunting and tribal/territorial expansion and had a fearsome reputation as a strong and successful warring tribe in ancient times.)