I've been gone for a long, long time, and I firstly would like to apologize for this. I've made all of you wait for far too long for this conclusion. I've had a rough few months, but I am proud to say that I will be graduating high school in just a few days. With my new found free time after finishing classes, I wrote this last chapter to my very first HP fanfiction, and I'm extremely proud of it! I hope all of you will like it as much as I do. Please enjoy, and there may be some sort of "final chapter" or "10 years later" or something in the future, but I'm not sure what it would be yet. Everything familiar goes to the lovely J.K. Rowling.

"Now what?" Hermione asked Regulus while the two were again sitting in Regulus' room a few days after they'd escaped the cave.

Regulus shrugged. He'd just woken up a few hours before after being completely knocked out from the energy he'd used to produce such a powerful spell. Hermione and Kreacher had been taking care of him since. However, now that their mission was complete, Hermione would have to find a way home and spinning her time-turner all the way back would be far too complicated and too risky, considering the fact that she could very well end up in the wrong time and get herself into more trouble.

This was all without the fact that she might not want to leave: At least, not without Regulus. It had been difficult for her to understand her feelings thus far, but after having survived the cave thanks to him, she knew now that she would never be completely happy without him. Hermione might even love him.

For now, however, there was no way she could tell him her feelings. Not when they were still terrified of Voldemort finding out that they'd taken his horcrux.

"Well, however we do it, you should…you should come with me." Hermione looked over for Regulus' reaction, but he didn't even flinch. Actually, it appeared he'd fallen asleep.

Hermione sighed and looked back down at the floor. It seemed as though the only thing harder than getting home would be telling Regulus her feelings anyway, so she decided she'd just stop trying for the time being.

"Kreacher, would you get me a glass of water?"

"Of course, Ms. Granger. Anything for a guest of Master," Kreacher answered with a low bow before waddling off and out of the room.

"Hermione," came a whisper from the bed. Regulus had woken up again. Hermione got up and went over to him, sitting in a chair beside him.

"Yes?" she asked, sweeping some hair off of his forehead.

Regulus sighed and opened his eyes. Hermione never got sick of looking into those eyes. "I've been thinking of ways to get you home, and I think I know of one. However, I have a feeling you're not going to like it much."

Hermione raised her eyebrows, but said nothing.

"You see, house elves must obey any order from the family they serve, which obviously includes myself. Now, if I'm correct, this should include if I were to tell him to take you back to the time in which you came from. House elves have incredible, misunderstood magic, which may be one of the reasons they were first oppressed as nothing more than servants. Wizards were afraid elves would overtake them in the area of magic, which had always been how wizards kept their power over others. Now, it should work, as I said, but we'll need to try it or-"

"Wait," said Hermione. "W-wait, are you saying you're just going to send me back there, alone? As in, you aren't going to come with me?"

Regulus said nothing for a long while before looking away and slowly shaking his head.

"So you're just going to stay here and wait for Voldemort to come and find you? He'll kill you, Regulus! I just cannot live with that. Please!" Hermione cried. She knew this conversation had to come, but she hadn't imagined the pain she would feel along with it. She'd first used the time-turner to save Sirius. Why couldn't things work out the same way with his brother?

Regulus sighed. He'd known this would happen, and it was hard for him, too.

"Please," Hermione pleaded yet again, this time wrapping her arms around Regulus and snuggling her face into his chest.

"Hermione, please," Regulus said. "You're making this so much harder than it has to be. For both of us."

When he'd first seen this mysterious girl on his doorstep, Regulus had never thought he would care so much for her. He'd assumed she was out to get him or his family. After his father had been killed and his brother had run away, he'd felt alone in his home. Never had he thought Hermione would become a source of solace and much-needed escape.

Just then, Kreacher returned with the water Hermione had requested, and seeing that Regulus was once again awake, rushed to his side and handed the glass to the girl.

"Is there anything I can do for you, sir?" Kreacher asked with a bow. Hermione sat up and set the glass untouched on the bedside table, then wiped her tears from her cheeks.

Regulus sighed, hardly able to keep his own emotions to himself. "There is something, Kreacher, that we must speak about with you immediately."

"Well, Master, what is it? I live to serve the noble house of Black," he added with another bow.

Regulus proceeded to explain their plan to Kreacher, and the house elf listened silently.

"Can you do it, Kreacher?" asked Regulus when he had finished.

"I suppose so, sir," said the elf, "but of course, I've never tried. However, I will do my best to complete your wishes," he said with a third and even lower bow.

Hermione, watching the conversation unfold, could do nothing but sit in silence and try not to scream. She just wanted to elf to stop agreeing and bowing and making Regulus' wretched idea become a reality. She did not want this to work.

Unfortunately, it seemed as though it would. After Regulus had gotten dressed, with some help from Kreacher and Hermione, as he was still quite weak, the three gathered some things together and stood together in the middle of the room.

"Regulus, you're still so tired. Are you sure this must be done now, right at this moment?" Hermione asked, searching desperately for a way out. But Regulus just looked at her sadly and turned back to talk to Kreacher.

"Kreacher," he began, "on the count of three, I demand you to return Hermione and I to the time from which she came."

For a moment, Hermione started. Was he going to stay with her after all? But when she caught Regulus' eyes, she knew he would not. He was only going to make sure it worked, and would leave her there after he knew she would be okay. She wanted to be pleased, but couldn't, considering this would be the last sweet thing he would ever do for her.

They each grabbed one of Kreacher's little hands. "One, two, THREE!" Regulus exclaimed, and the three were swept up into a dark spinning cloud of blackness. Hermione's stomach turned over and over, and she felt as if she were spinning for years when in fact it was only a few seconds before they all crashed to the floor of Hermione's bedroom.

For a while she just stared up at her white ceiling. It was familiar, yet distant, as if from another life, and it was. But the other life it was from was her's, and she'd never been sure she would see it again.

Emotion rushed to Hermione, and she felt Regulus' arms wrap around her from behind. She turned and kissed him hard on the mouth, never wanting this moment to end.

But it did. Regulus pulled away and looked into Hermione's eyes, one hand on each of her cheeks. He, too, was absolutely distraught, but, being a Black, he was far too good at concealing his feelings.

"Don't leave me," Hermione whispered with tears welling up into her eyes yet again.

"I have to, Hermione. Please don't make this any harder than it has to be, for both of us."

Regulus pulled her into him again and held on tightly. "Don't worry, love. I'll be around. I promise. You saved me, and I owe you my life. You may not see me, but I'll see you. I'll do all I can to keep you safe. Just, promise me in return, that you'll keep yourself safe, too. Stick with Harry Potter, and what's his name? Ron? They'll make you happier than I ever will."

Hermione said nothing, but continued to cry into his shirt. Her mind was spinning, and nothing made sense. After a few more minutes or this, Regulus pulled away from her, then picked her up and set her onto her bed.

"Regulus, I love you," Hermione mumbled. Regulus leaned down and kissed her on her forehead.

"I love you, too. Now go bravely, my dear, and never look back."

With that, he walked back over to Kreacher, who had been waiting silently in a corner, took his hand, and demanded to be returned home. There was a flash, a powerful wind, and Hermione was alone.

"Remember everything I told you to say, Kreacher. If anyone ever asks what happened, you must not tell them. This is my final request of you, do you understand? You must tell them nothing of Hermione, and you must make them believe I died in that cave."

Kreacher nodded, and Regulus left through his bedroom window a few moments later with nothing but his wand. He knew that if he took anything, someone might suspect him to have run away, and he needed to disappear forever.

"Hermione!" yelled . She and her husband had just returned home from a shopping trip, and she was excited to tell her daughter about the new book she'd picked up, but when she got up to Hermione's room, the girl was asleep, and, unknowing of the fact that she'd returned home just minutes before, backed away and began thinking about what to make for dinner.

As time went by, Hermione learned to keep her emotions, and secrets, inside. Everything with Harry and the battle against Voldemort unfolded rapidly enough that her mind was kept occupied. The only time she ever lost it again was when Kreacher began to tell the story or the cave on that night in 12 Grimmauld Place, but thankfully no one ever asked her why.

Well, that's it! Have a great summer everyone, and thank you so much to all who've been reading from the beginning and for the incredible patience you've shown me if you're still reading this now!