Chapter 10 - A New Day, A New Man, A New Heartache

All canon characters belong to JKR.

Thanks to June for her suggestions and help.

Chapter 10 – A New Day, A New Man, A New Heartache

Hermione woke up the next day feeling out of sorts. She attributed it to having a few too many glasses of wine at the party, although she knew she could not have had that much, since she would never Apparate with Viktoria under the influence. She shrugged it off, and she went on with her daily routine.

That day, she planned to go into town to pick up another royalty check, as well as meet with a Muggle publishing firm. Her book had made it to the hands of Muggle readers, and the Muggle publishing firm was interested in publishing it as a fictional account of a brave and very powerful wizard. There was also talk about a film, and she hadn't even sat down with the executives to work out the Muggle publishing deal. Due to the International Confederation of Wizards' Statute of Secrecy, she would have to rewrite parts of the book and oversee the movie script, so that Muggles would not learn about the real wizarding world.

She was happy that she was able to do something with the journals she found belonging to Professor Snape. She had never truly thought him to be a traitor, even after he killed Professor Dumbledore. Both men were very intelligent and loyal to the cause of ridding the world of Voldemort.

She got Viktoria ready and decided to drop her off at Mrs. Weasley's. Molly had scolded her only a few days ago about not bringing the little girl by enough. Hermione knew that Viktoria would enjoy some time at the Burrow.

After dropping Viktoria off, she made her way to Mercury's Wings. She decided that, since she would be in London, she would pay Reginald a surprise visit. She had missed seeing him at her party, and wanted to invite him to lunch. Hermione remembered how just last week he had presented her with the loveliest poem, holding promises of love and a future together.

Wilfred was his usual happy self. Every since he became the publisher of the most successful book in the wizarding world, he was deluged with truly interesting manuscripts. Gone were the days when Mercury's Wings was known as the trashy romance novel king.

"Hermione, lovely to see you as always," he said as he greeted her warmly.

"Hello, Wilfred. I see you are busy." She smiled as she looked at the desk full of potential novels.

"Isn't it wonderful?" he said, smiling. He reached into his desk and took out an envelope, which he promptly handed her. While he knew she would be publishing a version of her book in the Muggle world, he also knew that their contract gave her full rights to her work. A few months ago that would have bothered him, yet it was her masterpiece that allowed him to make his firm one of the most respected now, and for that he was truly grateful.

"Wilfred, I was wondering if I might ask you for a favor," Hermione asked.

"But of course, my dear. Ask away," he said.

"I'm going to be in London this afternoon, and I wanted to pay Reginald a surprise visit. Do you think you could give me his address?" She hoped he would not say no and give her some lecture on other writer's privacy.

"That's not a problem. I don't have it, but on your way out just ask my assistant for it." He scribbled a small note on a piece of yellow parchment and handed it to her. "Just hand this to Felicia, and she'll get it for you."

She thanked him and walked out of the office with the note clenched in her hand. She happily handed it to Felicia, who wrote out the address on the same note and handed it back to her as she waved goodbye.

After looking at her watch, Hermione knew she needed to get going. She would meet the new publisher first, then drop in on Reginald. She knew he would be so surprised.

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The publisher meeting went without a hitch. She anticipated them trying to do to her what Wilfred tried in the beginning, but they were incredibly cooperative, especially when she agreed that a movie might be a good idea. As she walked down the street heading towards Reginald's house, she remembered how excited the Muggle executives had been. She also knew that Harry would most probably not appreciate the fact that they planned to make a movie in which Severus was the powerful wizard hero, and Harry was his apprentice. She wondered what Professor Snape would think of this newfound fame and interest in him. During her years at Hogwarts, she had always known him to be an intensely private man. She had often felt a tinge of guilt for making his life so public. She hoped that wherever he was now, he was not too upset with her for publishing his journals.

She stopped in front of a very pretty town home. She again looked at the address on the note and then up at the door, and saw they were the same. Reginald had always told her he barely made enough with his writing to just scrape by, yet this looked like a very nice home. If this was what he called scraping by, then she would have to see what he considered being poor.

As Hermione walked up the steps, she noticed a little girl looking through the drapes. Hermione smiled and waved, then knocked on the door. After a few moments, it opened to reveal a tall woman with her hair pulled back in a bun. She wore a dark grey pleated skirt and a white blouse with short sleeves.

"Hello. May I help you?" the woman asked, smiling.

"Hello. I came to see if Reginald Warren was in," Hermione said.

"Well, he's not in at the moment. But why don't you come inside." The woman moved aside and motioned for her to come in. "I was getting ready to have some tea. Would you like to join me?"

Hermione walked past her and looked at the splendor of the home.

"No, thank you. I've just come from a meeting. I had some there," said Hermione. She followed the woman into the parlor, still taking in some of the detail in the home.

The woman poured herself some tea and sat on a Louis XVI style chair. "Are you a writer friend of Reginald's?" she asked.

Hermione looked at the woman oddly. While she had never been an advocate of anyone being in servitude to another, be it elves or people, Hermione was taken aback by the familiarity in which the woman just used her employer's name.

"Yes, I'm also a writer. But, I would like to think us more than just friends." Hermione began to unbutton the coat that she had transfigured from her robes, and sat down on the settee next to the table the tea was on. She noticed immediately that the woman set down her teacup and began to fuss with her skirt.

"How long have you known Reginald, may I ask?" The woman didn't look at Hermione, and her voice was a bit shaky.

"Not long," Hermione was beginning to feel a bit shaky herself. Something was not right. "We met only a couple of months ago."

The woman nodded. She took a napkin from the table and stood, then walked to the buffet. Just then, the little girl Hermione had waved to from the outside steps came into the room.

"Mummy, can Dolly and I have tea with you and the nice lady?" asked the little girl.

Hermione felt as though a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head. She stood quickly and looked at the woman, who was now looking down at her daughter.

"Not right this moment, Angela dear. Why don't you and Dolly go to your room until I call for you, all right." The girl was disappointed, but nodded and left quietly. The woman turned to Hermione, with an almost apologetic look on her face. "I'm so sorry. He really is a good man."

Hermione covered her mouth with her hand, as the realization had hit her.

"You see, this isn't the first time..."

Before the woman could even finish her words, Hermione ran out the door and down the steps. She stood at the bottom of the steps looking up at the Warren home, then ran as fast as she could up the street and towards the nearest alley so that she could Apparate.

After running for what seemed like several miles, she finally turned a corner and found herself alone next to a dumpster. She threw up what she had eaten that morning, and quite possibly the night before. Suddenly, all those times he had told her his Floo was being renovated made sense. He never owled her during the evenings, never called on her on Sundays, and only ever rarely on Saturdays. He had never met her friends due to "business" that prevented him. He was married and had at least one child.

She stilled herself as she wiped her mouth clean. No, she would not cry. She would not allow it. He didn't deserve for her to shed tears for him.

"Stupid, Hermione. How could you have let someone do this to you?" She then scolded herself. How could she have known otherwise? She wondered if anyone at Mercury's Wings even knew he was married. Then again, it wasn't as if they had any kind of open relationship, now that she thought about it. No, thinking back on it all now, she remembered that most of their meetings had occurred either after being seen together at Mercury's Wings, or at her home. He had made a fool of her, but she had made it so easy for him after all.

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She Apparated to the Burrow and collected Viktoria. After promising to come by more often, they went home. She put Viktoria down for a nap, and went to her room. She sat on the leather chair next to her computer desk, and drew her knees up to her chest. When she first moved into the old house, she had thought of getting rid of the old chair. It had been there when she and Viktoria moved in. But for some reason, it gave her a sense of comfort. It was always warm, and smelled of sandalwood. She knew it must have been the professor's favorite chair.

In the years to come, the chair would bring her much comfort, as she would sometimes imagine the former potions professor sitting by the fire, planning the next school year's lessons. She Summoned a blanket that was on her bed, and settled herself into her own nap. She would not give Reginald Warren another thought. Her life would now be dedicated to her daughter. She would never allow herself the hope of love again.

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Well that's it for Reg. I've got one more chapter to go. I'll be posting it in Saturday morning. All this bit of angst will have been worth it when you get the final chapter, I promise.