Under the Northern Star

She didn't meet him again for several days. She was starting to think he had left, but then she spotted him from her window one Friday evening. He had draped a huge black scarf around his neck, and he was walking quite briskly. She watched him disappear to the snowy street and returned to the table. She was restless, and staying in the same place didn't feel satisfying any more. Yet how could she go back? She had insisted on returning to work one day after Ron had died, and she had persisted despite the gentle nudges of her friends and colleagues. Finally, when she had burst to hysterical tears in the middle of an important meeting, her boss had insisted that she take a leave of absence.

There was a knock on the door, and she went to open it. It was one of the hotel employees.

'A letter for you, madam.'

'Thanks.' Hermione gave the man a few coins and sat on the bed. It was a thick envelope with her mother's handwriting. Inside were two letters, one from her parents and one from Ginny. Her parents' letter was full of the usual news about Mum's gardening and the neighbours, and after skimming through it, she opened Ginny's letter. There was a newspaper clipping inside with a picture of a band smirking at the camera. Ginny had scrawled something in the margin.

"Guess who we met the other day? Theodore Nott! He's in Wild Warlocks now, and he was thrilled about it. He invited us to come and see them perform at the Leaky Cauldron. We went, and they're really good!"

The band looked like any Muggle rock band: everyone was dressed in black leather and bore a grim expression. A tall man with strawberry blond hair and piercing blue eyes was holding the mic at the front, and Theodore stood on the side with a silver guitar.

"Meet Constantin, Joel, Theodore, and Mick -members of Wild Warlocks and four of the hottest wizards in Britain! This up-and-coming band will begin a nationwide tour in February, and tickets are already selling like hot cakes. Watch out, Weird Sisters!"

Hermione felt her mouth stretch into a reluctant smile. There was something very over-the-top in the picture, but at least Theodore looked happy. He had always been something of a loner at school.

She proceeded to read Ginny's letter.

Dear Hermione,
It was so good to hear from you! We're all quite worried about you, but Dad says we must trust that you know what you're doing. It sounds like a strange place, what with so much darkness and snow. Aren't there any wizards or witches around, or do you socialise with Muggles only? How is the food over there? I hope you're eating a bit better now.
We're all fine. Well, Mum is behaving slightly oddly, and I don't really know how to say this...she's actually pestering Dad to have one more child. She says she has lost too many. Poor Mum.
Harry is working hard, and I try to keep him from overdoing it. He isn't really talking.
I guess this is it. I'm sorry to send such a short letter, but there isn't that much to tell. We're taking things one day at a time.
Everybody sends their love.
Ginny
PS. Well, maybe I wasn't completely honest in saying that there is no news. But I didn't know how you'd take it...see, we're going to have a baby next summer. Harry is thrilled, and he intends to name it Ron if it's a boy. Mum started crying at that.

Hermione let the letter drop on the floor.
A baby.

Inhaling deep, she hurried over to the bathroom and leaned over the sink. That had been their plan. She had been promoted as high as she could at that point of her career, so she and Ron had decided to have children as soon as they'd be married, so that when new career opportunities would open up, the kids would be older.
And now Harry and Ginny would have a baby.

'It's unfair,' she whispered. She had been robbed of a husband and all the children they would have had. Harry and Ginny still had each other, and now they would have a baby, too.

'You selfish prat!' The reflection in the mirror seemed to speak. 'Look at how much Harry has lost, look at the circumstances in which he lived! Will you not allow him this happiness?'

'Of course I do,' Hermione said miserably, feeling so ashamed she couldn't look at herself. It was easy to get wrapped up in her own pain and forget that she wasn't the only one who had lost; the mute pain in Harry's eyes had been the main reason why she had stopped visiting him and Ginny before coming here.

She sat on the bed and put the letters in her bag. She would gather her strength and write the happiest congratulatory letter ever, and she would send a gift, too. Just not right now.

Her hand brushed some folders she had brought with her from work. One of them was a study where the inhabitants of a certain county had been asked questions about their opinions on house-elves. Many of the questions had been philosophical and called for answers outside the simple "Yes" or "No" scope. The results were promising and showed that a large percentage of the respondents didn't approve of mistreatment, and a good percentage of the females in particular were ready to take some kind of action to improve the situation.

She finished reading the report much later. The room was nearly dark, and the only light came from the TV that she had set on mute. The clock on the table by the bed showed 19:12, twelve past seven, which meant that she had missed dinner. Her stomach was gurgling, but the mozzarella sandwiches on the windowsill didn't tempt her; she had a sudden craving for something warm. Maybe another potato. She brushed her hair a few times in front of the mirror and put on some lip balm. Her face was still very pale, but her eyes had kindled ever so slightly.

She descended the stairs slowly, taking in the view: children running around, adults coming in and stomping their snowy feet, teenagers sporting trendy ski wear and eyeing each other. A middle-aged woman in a glittering dress passed her, and she craned her neck to see where she was going.

'Are you looking for something, madam?' The man at Reception smiled affably.

'Not really,' she said and pulled her jacket tighter around her as a cold breeze blew in from the open door. 'I missed dinner, though, but I suppose the gift shop is the only place to get food at this time?'

'Oh no, madam, you can get a hot meal at the Bar.' The man pointed to a narrow hallway where the fancily-dressed woman had disappeared. 'It's over there.'

'Thank you.' Hermione returned the smile and started hesitantly towards the hallway. The man hadn't mentioned a dress code, but she felt uncomfortably scruffy in her attire. Her forest green jacket was velvet, but it was actually a part of a sports outfit, and her trousers, although dark blue, were jeans.

The Bar was a long room with tables set by the windows around a dance floor in the middle. A band was playing evergreens on a stage at the front, and two waiters in white shirts were zooming from one table to another. Most of the tables were still empty, but there was a queue to a small counter at the back of the room where a barman was mixing drinks.

Hermione let her eyes glide over the tables, searching for a secluded spot where she could eat undisturbed. Most tables were for four, but there seemed to be a couple of tables for two in a nook by the door. They were nearly hidden from view by the same large plants as in the cafeteria. It was perfect. She smiled apologetically at the people at the next table and reached to pull out a chair.

'Why, Miss Granger. We meet again.'

Severus Snape was already sitting at the table.