Chapter 4 - Death and Birth

Yet I should kill thee with much cherishing.

Good night, good night! parting is such

sweet sorrow,

That I shall say good night till it be morrow.

Romeo and Juliet (Act II, Scene II), Shakespeare

All Hallow's Eve was a celebratory time for Regulus Black and his wife. The time after he had discovered his wife was pregnant was happy for the whole family. Regulus seemed to revert back to his old self, but Hermione couldn't shake the feeling of time running put, she knew that Regulus Black had died in 1979 and the year was coming to a close. She cried herself to sleep every night knowing that she couldn't change the future, couldn't make Regulus survive. When he wondered why she seemed so sad, she explained it was the hormones which was partly true, but they all sensed that Hermione was deeply devastated of something.

On All Hallow's Eve she was determined to forget the past and the future, if only for just one night. She had decided to do something that would change everything between her and her husband.

They were getting ready for bed when she said,

"Reg, you know I love you and that I understand why you do things?"

Regulus nodded.

"I haven't been entirely truthful to you when I told you who I am," she continued carefully. He didn't seem surprised.

"Figures. Wouldn't have been too Slytherin of you. I knew you would tell me when you were ready," was all he said. She breathed heavily summoning her courage.

"My name is Hermione, not Herminia. My full name was Hermione Jean Granger, Chastain was my mother's maiden name and I am a Muggle-born witch and I was sorted into Gryffindor when I attended Hogwarts."

"And when was it that you attended Hogwarts?"

Hermione could not read his feelings. His face was an emotionless mask, something he had not directed towards her before.

"From 1991 to 1997, I was unable to complete my last year," she answered quietly.

"And why is that?"

"The Dark Lord took over the Ministry, I was on the run given my heritage."

He nodded.

"And the time turner?"

"A gift from Dumbledore, before..." Hermione shut her mouth before she could reveal more.

"Before what, Madam Black?" he asked crossing over to her. She was sitting on the edge of it and he came to sit next to her.

"You must never tell anyone. You should not know," she whispered hastily. He nodded soberly. "Before he was killed by Severus in the Astronomy Tower by his order."

"Dumbledore ordered Severus to kill him?" Regulus repeated incredulously.

"Yes, he was sick, going to die anyway," Hermione explained. Regulus nodded absently and got up walking to the window. They sat in silence a long while before he turned around and kneeled in front of Hermione holding her hands.

"Love, look at me," he said when she wouldn't meet his eyes. "Look at me," he repeated and lifted her chin.

"Where am I in your time?" he asked searching her face. She didn't answer so he got up. "That is why you are sad. I am not there. And you cannot change the circumstances, no matter how much you want to," he said in a resigned voice.

"What of the Dark Lord?" he asked.

"Killed in 1981 by Harry James Potter, returns in 1995 and dies again by the hands of Harry James Potter on May 2nd, 1998," she told him and he looked hopeful.

They made love that night and Regulus whispered his love for her and he said just before they fell asleep rubbing her stomach tenderly,

"When Cepheus is born and he is old enough, tell him that I love him and that I did what I did for you and him. Tell him, I am sorry that I couldn't know him, but it was the only thing I could do to help you be safe."

Regulus fell asleep after that, but Hermione stayed awake for a long time tears falling down her face. In the morning, he was gone with a letter on the night table with three words:

Cepheus Orion Black

It wasn't until a week after that she broke. She refused to believe that he was gone until Kreacher had come to say that she had a visitor in the sitting room. She carefully made her way down as regally as possible. She was just beginning to show, but her stomach was hidden by her robes. She would never wear that colour after that. It had been Regulus' favourite, sky blue.

"You are my little sparrow and you make my heart fly," as he had given them to her on her birthday some days after the news of the child she was carrying.

The visitor was Severus Snape in his black robes that Hermione recognised from her future and her past. He had a serious face.

"Good afternoon, Madame Black," he greeted her.

"Monsieur Snape," she acknowledged standing in the middle of the room when he stood near the fireplace.

"I have come to inform you that your husband and my dear friend Regulus is dead," he told her. Hermione nodded as if what he had reported was the change of the weather, only if you looked closer, you could see that her eyes had gone blank and when she took a stepped towards the settee, she fell and was only just caught by Severus Snape and carefully set to rest on the very same settee she had attempted to reach. He straitened himself and then called for Kreacher. He appeared with a crack and looked at Severus expectantly.

"Get your Mistress and Master, the Madame is ill," he said. Kreacher nodded and disappeared. Soon the sitting room housed Orion and Walburga Black. Mrs. Black immediately went to the settee and felt her daughter-in-law's forehead and found it encouraging since the young woman was not sporting a fever.

"Kreacher, get a basin of cold water and clean rag for me," the Mistress of the house said in an imperious tone that the house elf immediately obeyed.

"What happened?" Orion asked. Severus looked pained.

"I came to inform you of Regulus' death. She didn't take the news too well," he said. Orion stumbled into an armchair and Walburga let out a wail that woke Hermione. The two women clutched each other and sobbed. The sight was heavy and full of heart wrenching pain. And they didn't even have a body to bury.

Orion fell ill. He was 50, not old on wizarding standards, but it was guessed that loosing both of his sons was hard on the man. He came very close to Hermione as she carried the heir of his line. He set his affairs and wrote a will that ensured the well-being of his wife, daughter-in-law and grandson. He knew that he wouldn't survive the winter and true enough Christmas became a sad event with the loss of two men of the house.

Walburga was very careful to make sure that Hermione's pregnancy went as easily as possible. Severus Snape became her sole friend and he visited often. And on April Fool's Day 1980, Cepheus Orion Black was born healthy making his mother and grandmother happy and helping them momentarily forget. But Hermione cried and Cepheus was baptised with her tears.