Chapter 43: Epilogue

It was a lovely spring day full of hustle and bustle inside Ambilly's Apiary. The room was alive with bird song and the energetic buzz of excited children. A bright black and gold striped sign advertised a special showing of a hippogriff later that afternoon. The students of Draconis Day School for Magical Youth swarmed around the turnstiles, pushing through, eager to explore and get into all kinds of mischief. A half dozen adults tried to corral them, though to little avail as the children dashed off in different directions excitedly.

Hermione first noticed them with her omnioculars from up above on a large platform, her well-worn magical bird guide in hand with several torn scraps of parchment poking out from various pages. She tugged on her husband's shoulder and Regulus turned to see where she was pointing.

Raising his omnioculars to his eyes, he peered down and a private smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Shall we go say hello?" he suggested, already heading towards the stairs.

"Wait!" Hermione hissed in a soft voice.

"Wait for what?"

"It isn't safe! If she's down there-"

"Oh, come on. If the universe was going to implode, it would have already done so. Clearly the universe is doing just fine with two Hermiones in the same place. It's probably all the better for it, I'd wager," he said, kissing the back of her hand and nodding his head to the stairs.

She followed, feeling uneasy with every step closer. Hermione watched from a distance as a group of nine-year-olds crowded in front of a spot on the path where a bird with a bright orange beak was swearing up a storm. From the corner of her eye Hermione spotted Fred and George in front sniggering as one of the chaperones marched up to them and began to scold them both. Cho Chang was giggling and pointing at one of the glittering blue birds in a large flowery bush with orange blossoms.

Their class roamed ahead as the next came forward, led by a man with untidy black hair. "Come on now, stop messing around or I'll feed you to the hippogriff, Mr. Boot. And don't think I don't see you back there Finnigan!"

Hermione watched as a young Harry and Ron wandered towards the swearing toucan, laughing like mad when it started cursing. Anthony Goldstein, Justin Finch-Fletchley, and Seamus Finnigan came up behind them to get a better look, laughing hysterically when James flapped his arms to try and scare away the bird.

Regulus tugged her arm and pointed to a corner behind a hedge where three students were standing and pointing to the different birds in wonder.

"What's that one there?" Dean Thomas asked, leaning over the railing to point at an orange bird.

"A Flaming House Finch. They're known to decorate their nests with magical flowers in the spring," an enthusiastic voice chimed from beside him. A head of bushy brown hair leaned forward to scribble something in her notebook.

"Hermione, look, over there! That's a hummingbird, right?"

The young girl peered up and gasped. "A Ruby-speckled Hummingbird! Good eye, Draco. They're extremely fast. It's almost impossible to spot them in the wild."

The blond boy leaned against the post, smiling smugly.

"You'll make a good seeker with those sharp eyes of yours, Draco," Regulus praised, drawing the boy's attention.

The other two turned around as well, surprised to see another adult there.

Draco crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Oh, hey Uncle Reggie. And no thanks. I'd rather be a chaser like my father." Regulus shrugged, smiling at Draco who raised a suspicious eyebrow at him. "Why are you here? Did mum ask you to chaperone?"

"No, just happened to be here with your aunt."

Draco's silver eyes lit up and he glanced behind Regulus. "Aunt Hermione is here too?"

The bushy-haired girl turned in surprise. "Aunt Hermione?"

"Yeah, you know, I'm sure I've mentioned it before."

"The one who shares my name? The…" she paused, looking around excitedly, bobbing on her tiptoes. "The one who vanquished He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"

Draco nodded as Regulus turned his head, but Hermione was nowhere to be seen. "I guess she wandered off. I better go find her. Stay out of trouble, Draco," Regulus said with a wink that made Draco's cheeks burn scarlet.

He quickly checked to see that the brunette beside him hadn't seen before glaring at his uncle and turning back with Dean as James called them over to rejoin the rest of their class.

The younger Hermione kept glancing around, hoping to get a look at the famous witch she shared a name with. Her shoulders fell, dejected, and she turned back to follow James and the rest of the group to the next area.

Regulus sighed and turned back to face the tree beside him. "You can show yourself now. They're out of sight."

Hermione undid the disillusionment charm and revealed herself, biting her lip in shame. "I just wasn't ready," Hermione murmured.

"I know," Regulus said quietly. "But you can't hide from her forever. She's clearly very eager to meet you. I mean, you can't blame her, especially when another version of herself is the savior of the magical world," he teased, leaning against the post.

"She's too young to know. It's better if it remains a secret."

"You should tell her. One day."

"I will," she promised. "When the time is right." Hermione watched as a younger group of kids wandered through, accompanied by a blonde witch Hermione and Regulus knew well. "Narcissa!" Hermione and Regulus greeted her warmly as she gave a surprised, but warm smile to them.

"Lauren, can you take them for a moment?" she asked the other chaperone who nodded and led the children over to the viewpoint Draco and his friends had just vacated.

"Caelum is getting so big," Hermione commented, glancing at the five-year-old with wavy golden hair who kept glancing back anxiously at his mother.

Narcissa gave an encouraging wave and he turned back to look at the Flaming House Finches.

"He is. And he looks just like his father," Regulus commented with a smile.

"Yes, he does, doesn't he?" Narcissa smiled joyfully.

"Are he and Draco getting along?"

"As well as brothers do," she shrugged.

"Draco wants to be a chaser like his father," Regulus told her with a kind smile.

Narcissa's face became a stony mask for a moment, pinching her eyes shut before blinking rapidly and nodding. "Of course he does. He loves his father a great deal. Evan dotes on him. He's been a good father to him all his life."

At that moment a cry broke out and the class looked up to see one of the young boys stuck in a tree. Regulus pulled his wand from his pocket and ran to join the hubbub and help the boy down.

Narcissa took a nervous step forward, but Hermione put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, he'll be fine. Regulus can manage alone." And a second later the boy was safely back on the ground as the other chaperone scolded him. "You know…" Hermione began cautiously, keeping her voice quiet so as not to be overheard. "It's okay to miss Lucius."

Narcissa raised an eye at her. After all these years, she could tell Narcissa still felt guilty for missing her husband. "I do miss him," Narcissa admitted, surprising even herself. "I can't help but wonder what things would have been like if he were still here. And it makes me feel wretched because I love Evan. I do. But…"

"You can't help but wonder what might have been?" Hermione offered, giving her friend a kind smile.

"Yes. Does that make me a terrible person?"

Hermione shook her head. "No. It's only natural to wonder. And Lucius will always be a part of Draco."

Narcissa pursed her lips tightly and nodded. "I wish he had lived long enough for Draco to remember him. Evan is the only father Draco has ever known. I don't mean to sound ungrateful. But sometimes I wonder if it was wrong to change his name. It feels like I tried to erase Lucius completely from his son's life. But that's not what I wanted at all. I just wanted the best for him."

Hermione smiled. "There's nothing wrong with it. He can always change his name when he's older. But I think he's quite happy as a Rosier."

Narcissa looked a bit relieved to hear this. She glanced nervously at Hermione for a moment, remembering that Evan and Hermione were together for a time. Hermione had never revealed that she was always more in love with Regulus than she ever had been with Evan or Rab. Evan and Narcissa had gotten together a couple of months after they had ended their courtship too, finding comfort in one another in their grief. They had married a year later. It had created some awkwardness around them all at first, but they eventually moved on and tensions settled. "Evan is a good father to Draco," Narcissa commented. "I was worried when we had Caelum that he would be neglectful towards Draco, but he's been a wonderful father and husband." Narcissa's cheeks reddened a bit and she glanced at Hermione to make sure she hadn't said anything to offend her.

"Don't worry. I'm glad you're both happy. Really. You both have such a wonderful relationship and such wonderful boys."

Narcissa leaned in and pressed a hand to her stomach. "I think the next one's going to be a girl," she whispered.

Hermione's eyes widened. "Really? Another baby? Oh, that's amazing! That's wonderful! Have you told Evan yet?"

Narcissa nodded and stepped closer, keeping her voice low. "He knows. He's been helping me tend to the new tree next to Caelum's."

Hermione beamed at her. "Can you keep a secret?" Hermione whispered conspiratorially.

Narcissa nodded and Hermione put her hands on her stomach too.

"No!" Narcissa said, clapping a hand to her mouth to muffle her voice.

"Yes," Hermione said, grinning.

"Have you told Regulus yet?"

Hermione shook her head, glancing at Regulus as he helped the little boy mend a tear in his jacket.

"Oh, he's going to be so excited! And he'll be a wonderful father," Narcissa assured her.

Hermione smiled too, glancing back at him. "He will."

"Is this your first?" Narcissa asked, a peculiar note cropping up as she studied Hermione's response.

"Yes?" Hermione said questioningly at the bizarre way in which she asked.

Narcissa raised a penciled eyebrow. "Hm. Interesting. You know, Draco has recently become friends with a new addition to the school. A clever little girl with bushy brown hair who reminds me an awful lot of you. She even shares the same first name. Hermione Granger."

Hermione froze. Her own name sounded so foreign to her now after all these years of being Hermione Krum and now Hermione Black.

Narcissa smirked knowingly at Hermione's pale expression. "So if this little girl who is the spitting image of you is not your child and shares the same name as you, I can't help but wonder…"

Hermione clamped her mouth shut, giving Narcissa a look that begged her not to say another word.

Narcissa's smile widened.

Regulus began to walk back over to them and Narcissa put a finger to her lips to show that she wouldn't say anything. "We'll talk later?" Narcissa said with a wave and a smirk.

They parted ways as Narcissa returned to keep an eye on the children, and Hermione led Regulus up to one of the deserted platforms and took his hand in hers. She couldn't wait any longer. She had brought him here to tell him. Gathering her courage, she looked into his eyes and smiled up at him. Warmth spread through her fingertips as he smiled back at her. "There's something I want to tell you," Hermione said, glancing down nervously at her fingers and taking a steadying breath.

"What is it?" he asked, a worried crease forming between his brows.

Her heart pounded against her ribs and she felt butterflies in her stomach as she looked into his brilliant silver eyes. "I'm pregnant," she said, a small smile tugging at her lips.

Regulus's face went through several different expressions in quick succession. At first he was stunned, then terrified, then elated, then ecstatic as he hugged her and spun her around. He set her down gently, unable to keep the smile from his face. "Really?" he asked excitedly, getting a bit choked up as at the wave of emotion rising up within him that he hadn't expected.

"Really."

He took a step back in disbelief, running his hands through his hair.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked nervously as he got a distant, far off look in his eyes, swallowing hard.

He bobbed his head, shaking himself out of his brief stupor as he grinned down at her. Her shoulders sank in relief at his smile.

"You're not afraid or anything?"

"Completely terrified, actually," he said in the same upbeat tone, his voice still a little choked up. "But so happy too," he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead and beaming at her. "We're going to have a baby."

"We are. You're going to be a father."

He could hardly contain the joy on his face. "I'm going to be a father." Tears pricked at his eyes and he wiped them on the back of his sleeve as Hermione smiled at him.

Taking his cheeks in her hands, she gently lowered his face to kiss him, sweet and slow. When they parted he rested his forehead on hers, brushing her cheek with the pad of his thumb as the other hovered over her stomach. Placing her hand over his, she guided it the rest of the way to the ever so slight bump. The warmth from his hand made her smile grow.

They had come so far to get to this moment. Falling through time and space had seemed like a curse, but now she stood with the man she loved more than anyone else as they entered into a new chapter in their lives. She had fought hard to become who she was now. When the darkness had threatened to drown her, she had forged her own light. The scars of her past were nothing more than reminders of the battles she had survived. Her nightmares did not plague her the way they once had when her wounds were raw. She had love and hope and the stubborn willfulness to accomplish what she set out to do. The future she had helped create was already brighter. Smiling to herself, she wondered if perhaps fate in all its mystery had given her the greatest gift of all.

A/N - Thank you all for reading through to the very end. It has been a pleasure to read all the wonderful reviews. They encourage me to keep writing and that means the world to me. I hope you have enjoyed this piece as much as I have enjoyed writing it. I was always one of those people that was shocked to see others write novel-length fanfiction pieces, but sure enough, I had a story I wanted to share so low and behold!

If you have enjoyed reading this piece I would appreciate a positive review and favorite on the story. It let's me know that you've enjoyed reading this work.

Thank you all again for your time and dedication. You, as readers, breath life into the story. And for that I am incredibly grateful.

- Queen of the Northern Lights