A/N: I can't believe this is finally over! I'm really going to miss this story! I cannot say thank you enough for all of your support along the way - I cherish all of your lovely reviews. I'll be taking a break from this pairing for a while, but I will write it again, I'm sure. Next up I'll be working on a post-war Adrian x Hermione story, so I hope that you will join me for that one. Definitely a lighter story than this one, haha. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions! Oh, I have so many headcanons for their children, so if you want to know more, drop me an ask on tumblr and I will go on and on about them, I'm sure!

Please let me know what you thought of chapter thirty-six and the story over all!

1992

Theodore Nott, first year, was minding his own business in Charms class, watching one of the Hufflepuffs flounder with a levitating charm, when Professor McGonagall popped her head in. It was unusual that she would be intruding on Professor Flitwick, but it was even more unusual when she asked for him.

"Theodore Nott, please come with me," Professor McGonagall said with a tight smile on her severe face.

Immediately whispers broke out in the class, wondering just what the quiet little Slytherin would have done to get the attention of the Deputy Headmistress. Even Blaise, who he was sharing his table with, leaned over to ask. "What did you do?" he asked, sounding annoyed that he'd been left out.

Theo ran through all the things that he'd done, and aside from stealing one of Draco's chocolates, he couldn't think of anything he'd have done to get in trouble. His heart began pounding in his chest as he stood, collected his things in his bag, and walked towards Professor McGonagall.

When they left the classroom, the older witch did absolutely nothing to soothe his fears. Had something happened to his mother? Had someone blamed him for something he didn't do? Even though Lord Voldemort was long gone, Theo found that he still got some flack because his father had been one of the man's supporters. He had barely been born, though, so he didn't understand why his peers held it against them.

He quickly realized that they were not walking in the direction of the Headmaster's office, but rather in the direction of the staff dormitories. Theo found his curiosity was peaked, wondering just what Professor McGonagall could be playing at. Eventually, he realized that they had arrived at their door. Theo briefly thought about refusing to follow in after her, but quickly dismissed it, knowing that he wanted to know what she was up to more.

Inside, the sitting area was set for tea, and there were already three people waiting for them. Theo was stunned to see that one of them was Hermione Granger, a muggleborn and a Gryffindor. His classmates could be rather cruel to her, likening her teeth to a beaver, which was infinitely worse than when they likened him to a rabbit.

Granger was sitting primly on one side, having already helped herself to a tea cup. Her back was ramrod straight, and he could tell that she was not as comfortable as her serene expression would lead you to believe.

McGonagall instructed him to sit next to Granger on the settee, before taking her own seat in a chair. Theo settled in, before pouring himself his own cup of tea, if only to keep himself occupied so that he didn't blurt out all the questions that he had about the odd situation he found himself in.

"Hermione, Theodore, we have some exciting news," McGonagall said with a grin on her face. "Your first term marks have been recognized by the Ministry of Magic as exceptional, and you've been selected to participate in a gifted program."

Instantly, Granger began preening at being recognized for what she was - exceptional. No matter how much Draco tried to disparage her or her smarts, he wasn't fooling anyone that Hermione Granger wasn't easily the smartest student in their class. Theo remained wary though. Of course, his marks were good, but he didn't know if they were that good.

"We have informed your parents of this great distinction, but unfortunately, you will have to keep it a secret from your classmates," McGonagall added. "You know how the Board of Governors can be when one of their children is at school."

Theo knew that she was talking about Lucius Malfoy, who always demanded the best for Draco, even if he wasn't always deserving of it. Theo wanted nothing more than to rub it in Draco's face that he'd been selected for something over his more pompous friend, but he also didn't want it to be taken away from him. He'd keep it a secret.

"I wanted to introduce you to the people from the Ministry who will be instructing you in these additional lessons," Professor McGonagall continued, before waving to the other two people in the room, sat on the settee opposite them.

They were a rather odd looking pair, Theo thought uncharitably. The witch had frizzy blonde hair that was nearly the same shade as Draco's. She wore huge, plastic glasses that were probably two decades out of fashion, if he was being charitable. The wizard was somewhat unremarkable. His hair was a deep, dark brown, but most of his face was obscured by a large moustache. It was practically all that Theo could focus on.

"I'm Rosemary," the witch said, a bit breathlessly, looking at him and Granger like she'd been waiting her whole life to meet them.

"And I'm John," the wizard introduced himself. "We are very excited to meet such impressive students."

"I hope that you will grow to look forward to our lessons," Rosemary said, setting down her tea cup in front of her. "It will be very intensive, but if you stick with it for your remaining school years, I think you will both find it to be very rewarding."

Theo wasn't sure what to say to that, but Rosemary seemed to be waiting for some kind of response. "I hope to prove that the Ministry made the right choice in selecting me," he settled on finally. "I'll try my hardest."

"I'm sure that you will be perfect, Mister Nott," she answered with a funny little grin on her face. "After all, we wouldn't have picked you if we thought we were making a mistake." There was something about Rosemary that felt oddly familiar to him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Did his mother know her, he wondered?

Granger was practically bursting from her spot next to him. "I won't disappoint you, I promise," she said, always needing to prove herself. "Thank you so much for the opportunity. When do lessons start?"

Theo hid his laugh, thinking that it was funny that she was looking for more work than the extra credit assignments she already took on. Salazar, he wondered how he was going to stand working alongside Hermione for such a long project.

"We will start in another month," John explained. "But for now, we will be sending over some reading material for you to do before we meet next. Professor McGongall will distribute it to you."

Their empty teacups signaled the end of the initial meeting, and Theo was already trying to come up with some lie to tell Blaise about what McGonagall had wanted him for. Maybe he'd lie about having detention or something.

Rosemary and John wished them well in their studies and reminded them to complete their assigned reading. Professor McGonagall then walked both him and Granger to the Great Hall for lunch. Before she let them go in, though, she stopped them, with an odd sort of worried look on her face.

"I just want you to know...that if you don't want to be in the program, you can always turn it down," she said, looking each of them directly in the eye for a moment. "The Ministry can find someone else. It will be a sacrifice, I'm sure."

Granger looked appalled at the idea of turning down such a prestigious offer. "If it's a sacrifice, I am sure that it will be well worth it, Professor," she said, earnestly. "I would never dream of turning it down."

Even though he was not as enthusiastic as Hermione was, Theo also knew it would be foolish to turn down such an offer. He might act like he didn't care about it, but he would be lying if he said that he wasn't honored that the Ministry had selected him. He would put up with Rosemary and John's poor fashion sense if it meant he got something more.

"Same, Professor," he said. "I think that I will be organized enough to handle the extra responsibility."

"Well, if you can't be persuaded otherwise..." Professor McGonagall trailed off, looking at them sadly. "You may go rejoin your classmates. Enjoy the rest of your day."

"See you later, Nott," Granger said, giving him a tiny smile.

It was the first time that she'd directly interacted with him, and it made Theo feel a little bit warm inside. Granger seemed interested in being friendly with him, and not just being treated like the faceless Slytherin he often felt like. He was glad that she didn't simply lump him in with Draco and his terrible sidekicks, Crabbe and Goyle.

"You too, Granger," he returned to her, before entering the Great Hall after her.

Theo walked over to the Slytherin table where Blaise was waiting for him. As soon as he sat down, his friend was full of questions.

"Did you just walk in with Hermione Granger?" he asked, sounding perplexed.

"What?" Theo responded, playing dumb. "I don't know what you are talking about. "You'll never believe what I just got detention for."

They still wore their glamours when they returned to their home in France from their trip to Hogwarts. It wasn't the first time they had been back to the UK since they left nearly a decade prior, but it was the first time they had been back to Hogwarts. It was different than Hermione remembered to say the least.

"Back so soon?" the voice of their teenage son came from the kitchen. He walked into the parlor, looking at them with an eyebrow raised. He took a bite out of the pear he was holding.

"Arthur," Hermione said, surprised in her voice. She had hoped that he wouldn't see them this way. "I thought you were taking Pippa and Collete to the beach today."

"Look outside," he quipped, amused. "It's pouring rain. Pips and her little friend are in her room. It must have been different weather in Scotland."

She shared a look with Theo, unsure of what to say. They had planned on Arthur being gone for the day, knowing how little he cared for this side of them. "We didn't really get outside much," she answered. "Too busy."

"Too busy ruining the lives of two children?" Arthur asked.

She sighed, dropping the glamour and setting her oversized glasses on the table. They had never planned on telling any of their children about who they really were, but Arthur had been a bit too old to forget his life in England. As he grew older, he began to have a lot of questions about their families and why they had to leave. For a time, they stuck to their stories about Theo's family being on the continent and Hermione's living in Hong Kong.

It took Bellatrix Lestrange breaking out of Azkaban and coming after them when Arthur was twelve for the pair to agree that Arthur deserved to know the truth. Even though they knew how cruel it could be, they swore him to secrecy using an Unbreakable Vow, and then they explained everything.

He wouldn't speak to them for a week, but he came around eventually. They didn't talk about it much after that.

But when the younger versions of Hermione and Theo approached their first year at Hogwarts, they knew that they had to begin preparing them for their eventual future. They would have to go back into the past if Voldemort was to be stopped. An unfortunate cycle that would have to be repeated, but they saw no other way around it.

Arthur had gotten both of his parents smarts and he quickly deduced what they were up to when arrangements were being made with the Ministry. He made no secret of how much he disapproved of their actions.

"Don't be like that, Arthur," Hermione nearly begged. She didn't like it any more than him, knowing the life that she was setting herself up for. "They both seemed quite excited to have been chosen."

"And what are you going to do when they inevitably figure out what you really want them to do?" he asked. "You will have to tell them eventually."

"We know them well enough to convince them," Theo said, calculating. He didn't agonize over it as much, knowing that there wasn't any other option, so he didn't see the point in dwelling on it. "They are ourselves after all."

Before they could talk much more Pippa and her friend Colette were tromping down the stairs so that Colette could return home, effectively ending the conversation. Pippa was too young to understand, but they knew they would have to tell her the truth eventually. Hermione was keen to hold it off as long as possible.

Once Colette had left, Pippa flounced into the room. A beauty at age eleven, Hermione was certain that she took after her paternal grandmother. She had shiny brown hair and big, blue eyes. The only bits of Hermione in her looks was her face, it seemed. She was doing well in her first year at Beauxbatons, and was making friends easier than either of her parents ever had.

"There was a fire call from Sirius today," she said, her voice airy and dreamy. "He wants to arrange a two week visit once Harry is done for the year at Hogwarts."

"Oh?" Hermione asked, thinking that would be very nice. It was always a bit bittersweet to see her friend so much younger than she was, but it was so nice to see him flourishing. He was so different from the Harry she knew — confident and charming, probably more like James this time — but still had enough of the old Harry for her heart to pang with nostalgia. "That would be lovely."

"I agree," said Pippa. "I can show him all the fun places around town."

Hermione watched as her husband grew progressively more concerned. "And you seem especially excited for his visit," he said, looking at his daughter, suspicious.

Arthur snorted, an amused look on his handsome face. At age sixteen he was all Theo, save for the hint of curl in his hair that he'd gotten from his mother. While he was away at school that year he'd grown into his gangliness and he was now more man than boy. "Isn't it obvious?" he asked with a smirk that would have undoubtedly put him in Slytherin. "She fancies Harry Potter."

That caught Hermione by surprise. She certainly was not expecting that.

"Ar-thur," Pippa complained, her cheeks turning a bright pink in embarrassment. "Stop telling fibs!"

Theo turned to look at her, disbelief on his face. "Did you know about this?" he asked her, almost accusatory, as if she had been keeping some great secret from him.

Hermione rolled her eyes at her husband. "Of course not," she said. "And Pippa, you know there is nothing wrong if you do like Harry. He is a sweet boy, but you are a little too young to date. Arthur can take you to the beach with Harry."

Her son looked ready to complain, but the stern look she gave him nipped his arguments in the bud. "Can't wait until I'm no longer required to babysit annoying little pipsqueaks," he muttered.

"Why don't we all go get cleaned up," Hermione said, pressing her hands together, hoping to avoid any hurt feelings. "No one wants to cook with the weather so bad. We can order dinner in."

That at least got the whole Nott family on board and each member retreated to their respective room. Once Hermione and Theo were alone together, they eagerly striped out of their uncomfortable disguises and into their normal clothes. Hermione was glad to have her jeans and jumpers back, and Theo had gravitated to a more relaxed style as well.

"Aren't you worried about this...thing with Pippa and Harry?" he asked, obviously still uncomfortable with the idea of them together.

"Of course I find it a bit strange," Hermione explained. "But I know Harry and he is a good person. Besides, he is eleven, I promise you he isn't thinking about girls like that yet."

He gave a heavy sigh. "I suppose it's a small blessing that it's him and not...me," he said with a frown. "If I have it my way, though, they will never meet."

Hermione smiled, sure that they avoided that fate. She laid out on the bed to enjoy watching Theo change. "Was it odd seeing yourself like that?" she asked.

"Yes," he agreed. "Theo is the same as me, and yet different. He's more...outgoing than I expected. And yourself?"

"I fear I'm exactly the same as I was," she mused. "Only now I can see how it's not doing me any favors."

It was strange to see how overzealous she was. It was clear Hermione felt that she needed to prove herself to the world, but it wasn't exactly a likable trait.

"Do you think they will...end up liking each other?" Hermione asked, biting her lip. "Or have we set them up to settle for an unhappy outcome?"

"I'm not sure," Theo answered. "It's not as though we were madly in love with each other at the beginning. But we had the respect for one another and the will to do what was right. Love blossomed from that. I bet it would do the same again."

"I hope you are right," Hermione answered. "Because I find myself more in love with you everyday, and I know I wouldn't have found this happiness if you hadn't agreed to go back with me."

"Going back with you was the best choice I ever made," he answered, grabbing her hand and interlocking his fingers with hers. "I am sure younger Theo will see it that way, too."

"Hopefully they can be even stronger than us," Hermione said with a smile. "They will have been working together for years."

"We will have to wait and see," he agreed.

It was a strange circumstance to find themselves in. For so many years they had been free to do what they wished, but now they were forced to restart the cycle, knowing what kind of life was in store for their two young pupils. Hermione could only hope that they found the rewards worth the sacrifices they would have to make, as she had.