A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! Honestly, I was so blown away by the response to last chapter! I am so glad you all relished Bellatrix's demise. There will be a little epilogue after this chapter. You can follow me over on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions. Huge thank you to Alassea Black for beta reading this chapter!
Please let me know what you thought of chapter forty-nine and be on the lookout for chapter fifty soon!
Auror backup arrived at the grounds not long after Voldemort fell and helped round up any remaining Death Eaters. Hermione was pleased to see Rabastan and Lucius arrested and carted off to the Ministry of Magic to answer for their crimes. Sirius had demanded that Regulus and even Severus be left free seeing as they had fought on the winning side in the end.
Hermione knew that it would be hours or even days before everything was sorted out. At a minimum, there would be plenty of obliviation work for the aurors seeing as all the muggles in the village would have seen the fighting.
Once Voldemort had fallen, Hermione had immediately rushed to Regulus's side, clasping his hand tightly in her own and refusing it let it go. They had so many things to talk about now, but Hermione was content to bask in the realization that they were both alive and together for the moment.
"Hey, we're heading over to the Ministry," Sirius said with a grin, his face smudged with dirt, and an open cut bleeding on his forehead. "That's where all the families are being reunited. You should come with. You could give a statement. I know Moody will be wanting to talk to you once he's done processing everyone."
Moody had gone back with the first round of prisoners, eager to begin the paperwork, while James and Remus had taken Peter to St. Mungo's, seeing as he'd been quite injured in the fighting. He'd had his hand sheared off, taking a curse to protect a witch called Mary McDonald. The rest of the Order members were returning to the Ministry as well.
Nodding eagerly, Hermione let Regulus side-along her to the atrium of the Ministry of Magic. There were fewer people there than usual, seeing as it was a weekend, but it was still bustling with activity, shouts and cries both elated and sad. Death Eater families and Order families were all being held in one place and tensions were quickly rising.
Hermione found that she couldn't care one lick though. All she could think about was that she and Regulus were alive and Voldemort was dead, actually dead once and for all. She'd completely changed the course of history and celebration was the only thing on her mind at the moment. Pulling back, she looked up at the carefree smile on Regulus's face and eagerly wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing his lips to his in a kiss. He melted into her, automatically deepening the kiss. She felt as if she were in a cocoon of happiness and love.
That was until a screech broke through the din of noise in the atrium. "Regulus Arcturus Black! Get your hands off of her! She is a mudblood!" Walburga cried dramatically, clutching onto the outstretched arm of her husband.
"Mother," Regulus said sternly. "I don't care if Hermione is a muggleborn or not. I love her and I am going to be with her," he said, looking down at Hermione with love reflected in his grey eyes. Hermione felt her breath catch in her throat at his declaration of love. If there was any indication that he was being with her because he wanted her, this was it.
"Just think of what kind of damage this will do to our family reputation, Regulus! No, I cannot abide this disrespect from my only son," she said with a sniffle, and Hermione thought that Walburga might actually be crying.
"Mother, you had no idea that Hermione wasn't a pureblood for nearly a year. You would have had be marry her immediately if we would have agreed to it," Regulus said with a sigh. "If anything, that should show you that purebloods and muggleborns really aren't different at all. Besides, I've decided not to care what other people think of me."
"He's right," a shaking voice said. Narcissa appeared clutching the arm of both Cassiopeia and Cygnus, obviously there to deal with her husband's arrest. All the activities of the day had certainly taken a toll on the pregnant witch who was meant to be on bedrest. "I told Bellatrix that I knew the content of Hermione's character and that was enough for me. Even though she is...a muggleborn, I see no reason why I would not remain her friend."
"Narcissa," Hermione said quietly, feeling incredibly guilty. If anything happened to the baby that Narcissa was carrying, she knew that she would never be able to forgive herself. "I'm sorry that I lied to you. To all of you," she said, addressing the assembled Black family members.
Walburga turned to look at Cassiopeia for some kind of backup. The older witch simply shrugged her shoulders. "Hermione is still my heir. You won't convince me to put her out on the street when she's done nothing wrong."
Regulus's mother looked at all of her family, completely overwhelmed with the knowledge that they were all turning their backs on the family ideals that they had been raised with. She began sobbing in ernest. "But what about our family line? My grandchildren will be half-bloods! Centuries of fine pureblood breeding down the drain all because of her?"
"Oh, come off it," Regulus said with a roll of his eyes. "Besides, your other son, you know, Sirius? He's already handled the whole pureblood grandchild thing for you," he said pointing his finger to where his brother was wrapped up in a very explicit embrace with Marlene McKinnon, large hand pressed against her pregnant belly.
Sufficiently distracted, Walburga's face turned an incredible shade of red. Marching over to her disowned child, Hermione laughed as she could practically see the steam coming out of her ears. "Sirius Orion Black! Did you get that witch pregnant out of wedlock?"
The group remaining found it difficult to hide their laughter. Cygnus was then guiding Narcissa away. "Come princess, we should go handle things with that husband of yours," he said quietly. Hermione felt a lump in her throat and she wondered if they already knew about Bellatrix or Hermione's roll in her death. Narcissa just nodded slowly, before promising Hermione that they would have tea in the near future.
Cassiopeia looked at the remaining teens and the way that they were still wrapped around one another, eager and full of love. "Well, if anyone should be wondering, I will be returning to Anna Rowle's for the evening," she said, with a sharp look at the pair of them. "But I will be back promptly at nine a.m. for breakfast and I expect the two of you be there to have a frank discussion about the future with me."
Regulus flushed brightly at the implication, but Hermione was far too excited at the prospect of having unhindered alone time with him to do anything but grin. She apparated them back to her bedroom with glee, and pressed a kiss to Regulus's lips, enjoying the dumbfounded look on his face. "I love you, too," she said eagerly, feeling her heart flutter in her chest with the realization that all her worries were for naught. Seeing the relief on Regulus's face had her giggling with joy. They had gone too long imaging that the other didn't want them in the same way, that finally being able to be together in the way that they wanted had them both drunk with ecstasy.
Hermione eagerly wrapped her arms around his neck when he bent to capture her lips in a kiss. Slanting her lips against his, she took the kiss deeper, pulling him back against the bed. Greedy fingers easily found the buttons of his robes, wanting to get him out of his formal clothes. Regulus quickly got the message and began divesting her of her own robes, only breaking the kiss when they needed to lift clothing over heads.
Once they were finally down to just undergarments, Regulus seemed to be awestruck to look at her body, hidden away yet by lace and cotton. The love in his gaze had her blushing brightly. To distract herself, Hermione reached for her wand that had dropped on the floor, before quickly casting a contraceptive charm.
That had Regulus shaking, resting his head back against her headboard. "I-I've never done this before," he said with a slight tremor in his voice.
"Me either," Hermione said brightly with a conspiratorial grin. "In my time, they teach it to all fifth year students at Hogwarts," she explained with a blush. "I'm...I'm excited to learn with you, though," she admitted, pressing some hair behind her ear. She took a moment to drink in the sight of his body. Regulus was lean and pale, muscles straining beneath the skin from how tightly he was holding his body. His chest was bare, save for a few sparse hairs between his pectorals, which Hermione found a bit cute. He had a similar patch of hair leading down from his belly button and into his shorts. "If you'll have me that is."
"Oh, Hermione, I want you so badly," he revealed, before pulling to body up to lay against the length of his. With his fingers delved into her curly hair, Hermione would have been content to kiss him for the rest of her life. Knowing that he would need a bit of encouragement this time, Hermione eagerly reached around her back to lose herself of her bra, revealing her naked breasts to him.
They way that he stared at her made her feel like a goddess and for once, Hermione wanted to be worshipped. Her toes curled when he tentatively cupped her bare breast, lips coming up to kiss the other, laving her hard nipple with his tongue again and again until she was writhing against his body. Perching herself on top of him, Hermione shuddered with pleasure, feeling the way that his hard length seemed to fit perfectly against her.
She rocked against him helplessly, looking for some kind of friction that would ease the throbbing in her center, and it seemed Regulus appreciated it from how he was moaning into her. Before long, he lay back against the pillows, his hands dropping from her breasts to the edge of her knickers. "Please, Hermione," he groaned, "I'm afraid I might embarrass myself, if I let you keep doing that."
Pressing a kiss to his forehead, Hermione leaned forward so that he could push her knickers down her long legs, only to have her reciprocate the action, leaving not a stitch of clothing between them. This time when she straddled his lips, she groaned at the feel of him settling between her legs, her wetness allowing him to slid against her easily. Taking hold of the situation, she grabbed his cock in her hand, only to position him at her entrance.
They both sighed in pleasure when she began to ease down, taking him inside her an inch at a time, allowing them both to get used to the new sensations. When he was fully seated, Hermione took a moment to let her body adjust to the intrusion. It didn't hurt, but it took a few moments for her to feel comfortable again. Judging by his clenched eyelids, Regulus appreciated the time to gather himself.
Then, she began to rock against him, awkwardly learning the rhythm that would work for both of them together. Regulus grabbed hold of her hips, helping her to get the motion down that had them both seeing stars. She dropped to capture his lips in a desperate kiss. The constant push and pull motion of him leaving and entering her body had her moaning in time with their thrusts. She could feel the pleasure building up in her body, as though her center were a spring being primed to explode.
Dropping her head to his neck, she tried to focus on chasing that feeling, only to feel his hand slip between their bodies to find that little button at the top of her sex. His thumb circled it once, twice, and then her whole world was exploding in ecstacy. Regulus was not too far behind her, groaning her name as he thrust into her erratically for a few more moments.
Hermione lazily dropped to her side, breathing heavily, her leg still over Regulus's hip, feeling as if her whole body was full of love. Staring into his grey eyes, Hermione wondered how she'd ended up quite so lucky as to have the love of this man. As their heart rates dropped, Regulus played with her hair gently, long fingers working to untangle some wayward knots.
"Please don't leave me," Regulus begged, though he had a smile on his face. "I don't know how I'd cope if you went back to the future. Probably end up pining after you, ending up being a creepy old man waiting for teenage Hermione to reappear in my life."
Hermione giggled, surging forward once more to kiss him. "Oh, I don't think you could get me to leave if you wanted to, Regulus. You're stuck with me now," she teased back.
Regulus twined their fingers together, looking completely enamored of how they fit together. "Good, because I'd planned on being stuck with you forever," he said, before pressing his lips to the back of her hand.
She felt her heart swell until it ached, content to fade into oblivion with him.
