A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! Oh my gosh, you guys, I am so embarrassed - I was meant to post this yesterday and I honestly just forgot! We will be back on our normal schedule for the next update, I promise! You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.

Please let me know what you thought of chapter twenty-six and be on the lookout for chapter twenty-seven soon!

1979

Theo knew that Hermione hated Antonin - and with good reason. She'd shared with him the effects of the curse he'd thrown at her when she was a fifth year early on in their marriage, when he'd asked about the thin scar that still remained on her torso. She'd whispered the story into his ear, and he'd pressed kisses along its length while his hands wrapped around her ribs, pressing her back against their bed.

And he knew that the feeling was mutual. Antonin never outright said that he didn't care for Hermione, but the way that his attitude and general demeanor soured whenever Hermione was around was obvious. Theo couldn't get the usually blunt Russian to explain his reasoning, though he was sure he wouldn't like the answer. He would obviously choose his wife over Antonin any day of the week if it came to that.

But, that didn't mean that Theo didn't appreciate the friendship he had with the other man. He knew that Antonin was a dangerous wizard, and more than a little bit sadistic. The utter joy he took in hurting other people (muggleborns in particular) was enough to make Theo's stomach turn. But in the times between, when they were away from other Death Eaters, it was almost like he was spending time with Blaise or Draco again.

Theo didn't make friends easily, a bit too much of an introvert and a bit too anxious to really put himself in opportunities to make friends. Antonin made him laugh harder than he had in years and fulfilled a need for friendship that Hermione just couldn't fill. He was sure it was similar to her friendship with Bellatrix, which he honestly found just as troubling as his friendship with Antonin was. They were both toxic people, but he could understand how it was hard to let them go, especially when they were meant to be playing these roles.

So, he kept spending time with the other wizard, frequenting their favorite bar in Knockturn Alley. He hadn't had a taste for vodka before, preferring the more ubiquitous firewhiskey, but the barkeep always kept a bottle for them now.

He found himself at their usual spot waiting for Antonin to arrive on a non descript Monday night. Theo had already had his first shot, and he longed for another, but drinking alone seemed too sad for him to drink the clear liquid in his glass.

Antonin was late, and that was unusual.

But, when he showed up, the reason was clear - he'd brought a guest. "Black, this is Theo Nott," Antonin said gruffly, pressing the younger man forward. "This is Regulus Black. A new baby Death Eater."

Theo wanted to cringe at the way that Antonin tossed around the word Death Eater, but he knew that it hadn't been criminalized by the Ministry of Magic yet, and even if it had, they were unlikely to be turned in by someone in Knockturn Alley. He looked Regulus Black up and down. He really was a baby - barely graduated from Hogwarts and yet the arrogant way he puffed his chest made him seem like he belonged the most out of the three of them.

"Yes, I believe we met before, at my parents' home," Regulus said with a smirk. "If I recall correctly, you have a wife who is far too pretty for you."

Theo flushed and fought not to react when Regulus put words to the constant insecurity he felt around Hermione. "Oh, yes, Regulus, I do seem to remember you now," he answered smoothly. "You were such a weedy little runt. I see that you haven't filled out much with age."

"Must we always spend our time talking about wives?" Antonin asked, before ordering a drink for Regulus.

"Don't you like witches, Dolohov?" Regulus asked derisively.

Antonin snorted. "Who doesn't like witches? They are good to look at and good to fuck, but a wife is dull," he explained, before pushing the glass of vodka up to Regulus's face. "Drink that, baby Death Eater. All in one go."

Regulus sniffed the alcohol suspiciously, before tipping it back to his lips and taking the shot. He began to sputter and cough at the burn in his throat, making Antonin laugh in utter delight. Theo joined in as well, unable to help himself. Regulus had come in acting like such a man, but he was reduced to a mess after one drink of vodka.

Regulus turned red at being laughed at, clearly embarrassed. Finally, he cleared his throat. "If you think witches are good to look at, surely you must have some opinions of his wife," he said with a sneer. "She wore such a revealing dress when she first met my parents. Clearly she likes showing off how she looks. I think my brother didn't stop salivating over her until he was a sixth year."

"Odd that you still consider him your brother," Theo said with a snort, knowing that Sirius Black had been famously disowned. He wanted to get the topic of conversation off Hermione if he could.

"Of course I can acknowledge that Theo's wife is attractive," Antonin said with a roll of his eyes. That gave Theo pause - it was literally the first time that Antonin had had anything good to say about Hermione. "But that doesn't mean that I don't find her dull, too. Don't you have something better to talk about? What is your first mission?"

Regulus smirked and leaned in conspiratorial, as if he had some great secret to tell them. "I don't know what it's purpose is, but the Dark Lord has asked to make use of my personal house elf, Kreacher."

Theo felt an odd sort of tingling in his brain, not unlike deja vu. Why did Regulus's mission seem oddly familiar to him? He couldn't quite place it, but he was certain that something was not right. Sitting up straighter, Theo took his second shot of vodka and decided to talk it over with Hermione later. Surely she would know what it was.

"It sounds like the Dark Lord has a mission for your house elf and not for you," Antonin said with a laugh. "Come back and tell us when you have to get your soft hands dirty."

Regulus was on the defensive once again, not enjoying being teased so much by the two older wizards. "I am sure that whatever need of me he has, it is very important," he argued.

"Better not to question what it is that the Dark Lord wants with your elf," Antonin said once again, smirking at Theo at how naive Regulus was. He clearly thought that he was something special, but Theo was certain he would soon learn just how expendable the Dark Lord found his followers.

Once he was taken down a peg or two, Regulus slumped into his seat. Even though he acted like he was gifting them with his presence, he quickly learned that the older wizards couldn't care less if he was there or not. He contented himself to listen to them talk with one another.

With both of their birthdays falling in September, Theo and Hermione elected to have a joint dinner in the middle of the month to celebrate every year. Hermione found that Theo was particularly melancholy this year though, owing to the fact that it was the year that they would both be born.

The eighth of September dawned bright and crisp and an owl heralded the news of the birth of Alfred's child - a son, he'd written - though no name was revealed yet. That would be announced at the christening in a month or two.

"We both know that it is you, Theo," Hermione assured him. After all, you are still called Theo now," she explained, knowing that discussing magical time travel made for some pretty intense debates between them. Neither one was entirely sure which model of time travel existed - whether they were in the same timeline or not - but Hermione knew that she would cling to the idea that it was the same. She needed to know that she was making measurable change.

"Perhaps," he agreed, but she knew that he wouldn't be able to relax until it was formally announced.

Their dinner had been a subdued affair, but still pleasant. For one night they could allow themselves to simply enjoy one another's company and push all the stress of their mission from their mind. They could act as though they were a normal couple. They had eaten their fill of decadent pastas and retired to their own home to indulge in a tiny chocolate cake.

Hermione gave Theo his present with a smile. The indulgent set of oil paints would be put to good use as Theo's primary hobby was still painting, even though he was still a bit embarrassed by it. Hermione was thoroughly impressed by the realism that he was able to capture and complimented him on it many times. He extracted a promise from her that she would sit for a nude at some point in the future, a mischievous grin on his face.

"I'll do it, but it will have to wait, a little while at least," Hermione said, ready to share her other piece of news with him. "I'm pregnant."

They had discussed her stopping the birth control potion that she'd been using at the end of the prior year. Hermione had felt oddly disappointed when she hadn't fallen pregnant immediately like she had the first time around, but knew that it would happen if it happened. She had nearly been unable to keep the secret to herself, but wanted to wait until she was absolutely sure to tell Theo.

"Truly?" he asked, looking shocked, but happy. "When?"

"Sometime next April, I think," Hermione answered, before pressing a hand to her yet flat stomach. She knew that she would show much earlier this time as her body had already experienced pregnancy once before. "How odd is it to think that this baby will be in the same year as...as us when it goes to Hogwarts? And Harry and Ron. And Draco and Blaise."

An odd look flittered across Theo's face when he thought about what she was saying. "I wonder if our child will be friends with any of them. Or perhaps they will be a Ravenclaw or a Hufflepuff and friends with Anthony Goldstein or...or Terry Boot," he said, scrunching his nose up.

"You are so sure it's another boy?" Hermione asked her husband. "Perhaps she will be friends with Mandy Brocklehurst or Susan Bones."

"I suppose there is only one way to find out - wait and see," he said, his excitement slowly fading. "Do you think that we aren't messing things up by doing this? That our child will be friends with us. What if, Merlin forbid, our child has a crush on one of us?"

Hermione's stomach turned at the thought. Obviously, they would have to tell their children something when the time came, but she needed to get them to that better future first. "Perhaps Beauxbatons would be a better fit for our children," she said, thinking that physical separation might be needed. She bit her lip, hoping that Theo was regretting their decision to have another child. "You are happy?"

"Happy? It's more than I ever dared hope for," he said seriously. "Hermione, you've given me a family. A real one."

He stared at her for a moment before standing from his spot at the table and walking to her, dropping to his knees in front of her. He gently cupped her face in his hands before pressing his lips to hers in a kiss, putting his unspoken emotion into the kiss. Hermione sighed into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck, feeling utterly pleased with him.

Theo stood from his spot on the floor only to offer her a hand. Hermione gladly took it and let him lead her up the stairs to their bedroom. He kissed her again, pressing her back against the closed door. His fingers caught the thin straps of her robes and pushed them down her shoulders. Hermione loosed the tie holding them together and let her dress fall to the floor in a heap, revealing the creamy lace lingerie that she'd selected that day.

She was certain that she could never get sick of the way that Theo looked at her, his desire for her burning in his eyes. The feel of him cupping her breasts, thumbs sliding over her nipples had her pressing her legs together tightly to ease the way that she ached for him. Pressed against him while they kissed, Hermione could feel his cock pressing against her and knew that he must be aching just as much as she was.

Her fingers ran through his hair when he kissed along the line of her jaw, down her neck to the delicate dip of her collar bones. "Mm, bed please," she whispered, knowing that she wouldn't be able to resist him for much longer. Kicking off her high heels, she slipped her hand in his to pull him towards their bed.

Divesting him of his own robes, Hermione settled back amongst the pillows, content to be seduced by him. He took his time working her up to a fever pitch before he finally entered her, his movements bringing them both over the edge of pleasure.

When it was over, Hermione relished the feel of his large hand pressed against her abdomen, cradling the life that they had created with one another. She felt at home with Theo spooned against her, his larger form keeping her warm. The feeling of his fingers carding through her hair quickly lulled her off to dreamland.

The following morning, Hermione woke to Theo staring at her face, his fingers tracing up the length of her slim arm. "Good morning," she whispered, having enjoyed their joint birthday celebration the evening before.

"Morning," he answered with a smile, before pressing a quick kiss to her lips. "I didn't even give you your birthday present last night. You must think I'm a cad."

Hermione frowned. "But you gave me that lovely necklace at the restaurant," she said, feeling confused. He'd gifted her a rather pretty, but simple, necklace the evening before. When she'd opened the tiny velvet box, she was pleased to find a single drop diamond on a silver chain that was understated but obviously expensive. A perfect combination of what she would like and what she would be expected to like.

"Come on, Hermione," Theo said with a roll of his eyes. "Your real present. I know that you wouldn't particularly want jewelry if you weren't in this situation. I know the jewelry is just for show."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Sometimes it's nice to get jewelry," she said. It was true. Just because she liked books and learning did not mean that she didn't like pretty baubles or dressing up or being spoiled by her husband. Frankly, Theo had done far better at presents than Harry or Ron had ever done, and they were supposed to be her best friends.

"Well, I suppose it doesn't matter...it's not as if your present can be unwrapped," he explained, his green eyes lighting up in delight. "I've arranged for a master to come and give you private lessons in arithmancy."

Hermione felt her heart speed up in a bit of nervousness. Dare she hope...

"But Theo, what if someone finds out? Certainly it would be highly unusual for me to continue my studies," she asked, even though she longed to continue her academic life. She could never be content to live solely as a socialite.

"He's been paid a hefty sum to keep things confidential. No one should be the wiser," he explained. "You do enjoy arithmancy, right? I seem to recall you thinking about pursuing additional learning in the subject while we were at school."

Hermione brightened when she realized that he had remembered. Arithmancy had always been a small class, but after OWLs there were hardly ten students in the course, and Theo had been one of them. He was always so quiet and disinterested, she didn't think that he would have even registered her love of arithmancy, or that it was greater than other subjects.

"Are you sure? I'm sure it's a lot of money," she said, biting her lower lip.

"Hermione, we've got more than enough money since all of our bets paid off, we can splurge a little bit on lessons," he assured her. "Besides, you're going to be twenty-five now. I'm sure that where you imagined yourself being at this age is very different from the life we have together."

"That's true," Hermione agreed. Maybe she would already be an undersecretary of a department at the Ministry at this point, had Voldemort not ruined all her plans. "But that's not to say that I don't like the life I have with you," she added, giving his hand a squeeze.

"Still, I want to give you a little piece of Hermione Granger back," he said with a frown. "I recognize the sacrifices that you've made, not just in what you've had to do, but in who you are as well."

Hermione knew then that she loved Theo more than anyone she'd ever loved before. What she felt for her husband was more than the adolescent crush she'd had on Viktor or even the intense pining she'd felt for Ron, who she was certain she was going to end up with before he'd walked out on her and Harry. She was sure that he understood her now better than anyone else. Her heart ached with the knowledge.

Merlin, she wanted to tell him, but she was too nervous for his response, the chance that the care that he gave to her did not mean love. So instead she settled for surging forward and kissing him soundly.