September 19, 2002 – 15:45 – Tutshill

Moments like these made Hermione wonder how she got so lucky.

How she'd managed to piece together two completely separate timelines, and come out not only unscathed but with so much love and laughter.

Harry had Lily and James, Teddy had Remus and Tonks, and in turn she had all of them in her life.

It took a little while for Harry to come to understand this sudden newfound friendship between her and his parents, and after several conversations of her explaining, in detail, about her mission and their past, he'd finally come to accept that while yes, she was still his friend, as she would always be, she was also theirs.

Neville was wise beyond his years, and didn't question any of it after he'd been told. He vaguely mentioned something about finding an old photograph of her, and how it all made much more sense now.

Of course, the boys had to be sworn to secrecy—Remus going as far as so bind them to it. Hermione's true involvement in Voldemort's demise would never be known. She would never be in the history books—never the brightest witch of her age, and truth be told, it was a relief to be normal for once.

Although, she would never really be just that, would she?

"You okay, Little bird?" Sirius questioned from behind, and Hermione pulled her eyes away from peering out the little kitchen window, watching their friends gather in the backyard, waiting to celebrate her birthday.

"Yeah, sorry." She smiled at him, the corners of her eyes crinkling before she glanced back down into the sink basin and quickly turned off the faucet so the pitcher she was filling didn't overflow. "Just got distracted."

She heard him walk up behind her, and when his hands found her waist, smoothing over her hips to curl around her swollen belly, a flare of warmth that she'd come to associate with his love burned brightly within her.

"Do you need to rest?" He peppered soft kisses along her neck as his fingers stroked her skin through the thin cotton blouse that clung tightly over her swollen abdomen. "The baby okay?"

Hermione hummed, her eyes drifting closed as she leaned back into her husband, letting her head rest against his shoulder. She felt his fingers rub across the tight muscles of her achy belly. It was nearly the end now, two more months and the little boy that sat safely in her belly would be ushered into this new world they'd created together.

"I'm fine…he's fine." She let her hands rest over his, holding his arms around her for a moment longer. "I was just thinking, that's all."

"You do tend to do that a lot," he teased, nuzzling his nose against the small patch of skin behind her ear. "As much as I want to spend the rest of the evening in here with you…we've got guests outside wanting to wish you happy birthday and rub hello's on your belly," he whispered into her ear, his breath tickling the baby fine curls around her ear.

"I know." Hermione slowly turned in his arms, her tummy bumping against the flat of his stomach and she leaned back on the counter, letting her hands drop to curl around the lip of the sink as she smiled up to him. "You didn't have to do this, you know? Invite them all over. I would have been fine with it being just us this year."

Sirius' hands moved to cup her stomach as he slowly knelt before her, pressing a line of kisses across the circumference of her stomach. "Why would we do that? I know how much you like having everyone together—besides, it was truly selfish on my part, because I wanted to see you wiggle into these denim trousers again," he said before dragging his nails across her back pocket.

Hermione let out a loud laugh, her hand moving to wrap around the low bun that rested on the back of his head, and she tugged on it until he was forced to lift his lips from her stomach and look up at her. "You're positively juvenile, you know that? Is it too late to change my mind?" she teased.

"Afraid so," he said with a cheeky smile, fingers curling into her back pockets as he rose up from the ground, tugging her close. "You should have thought about it at least two years ago…never mind that night at Moony's in January."

"You think he'll ever forgive you for shagging me on his couch?" Hermione wound her arms around his neck, fingers brushing the wisps of black and gray that had fallen loose from his bun and she smoothed them back across his head.

"Not a chance…but telling him he's godfather will help…some," Sirius reasoned, his shoulders lifting in the smallest shrug before he leaned down to press a chaste kiss on her lips, his nose brushing against hers gently before he let his forehead press against hers. "Happy Birthday, Little bird."

She closed her eyes, letting that wave of warmth take her over once more, letting her mind return to thoughts of how happy her life had turned out. She had her friends, her parents, and the love of her life. And soon, she'd welcome her son into this world.

Getting here hadn't been easy; there had been many bumps along the way.

But she couldn't help but think that despite the pain, and the heart break, and the lives sacrificed, that maybe she'd done exactly what Kingsley had asked of her nearly five years ago on that cold winter night.

That maybe, just maybe, she'd made everything right the first time.

Author's Note:

I began working on writing this story in January 2018. Twenty-two months of my life has been dedicated to telling this tale that I simply couldn't get out of my head. Endless thanks needs to be given to Islndgurl777. She has literally been by my side on this whole epic adventure, spending countless hours reading, editing and making my words make sense. I could never say thank you enough for your support & dedication.

When I began writing, I had literally never written fanfic (or any fiction) before. I never thought, in a million—billion years, that I would be working on this same story over a year and a half later. So thank you all for the reviews, kudos, likes, favorites, and recommendations in all the facebook groups. Without all of you, I don't think I would have had the courage to finish this story.

and most importantly, thank you for staying with me on this crazy journey.

Until next time. xx