Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters. Everything belongs to JK Rowling, and I'm merely allowed to play around with them. No copyright infringement is intended.

Quite a lot of people guessed correctly on what was going to happen in this chapter, although I think it was pretty easy. :) I'm really sorry, but I don't know when the next update will be, so... Yeah, sorry, and see you whenever I have the time to update. Enjoy!

Chapter 34

-o-O-o-

"The nineteenth of April." Hermione said, the next day. She had been correcting a stack of third year's essays on the Orion constellation when the date had popped up in her mind.

Regulus looked up from his own stack to gaze at her, slightly puzzled. "What?" he asked, unsure of what she meant.

"Our wedding." she explained, turning around to face him. "It will take place on the nineteenth of April."

He arched an eyebrow delicately. "Don't I get a say in that?" he asked playfully.

She grinned. "Nope."

He shrugged, turning back to his stack of essays. They corrected like that for a couple more minutes before Regulus stood up, stretching. "Oh, well." he said. "I'm going to take a shower. Care to join me?"

She smiled but shook her head. "I need to finish these; I want to give them back tomorrow."

He wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Are you sure? You look a little tense… That could be fixed."

She giggled a bit. "Let me just finish them, then I'm all yours."

He winked at her and headed towards the bathroom door. "I like the sound of that." he said, before disappearing.

She shook her head, but had not even the time to put her quill down when a knock on the door was heard. She looked up, wondering who could be there, knowing where her quarters were and who to find. Maybe a student?

The knock was heard again and she stood up, put her camouflage charms back on and walked to the front door. She opened it to find Lily staring back at her.

"Mrs. Potter?" she asked, her voice quivering slightly in fear. "What seems to be the matter?"

Lily looked furious. "Don't you pull that stunt at me, Hermione! I know perfectly well who you are, why you're here and everything!"

Hermione frowned. She couldn't. "I'm afraid there's been a mistake, Mrs. Potter, but feel free to come in."

"Don't mind if I do." Lily growled, barging past Hermione and into the study.

Hermione tried to deny her identity again. "Mrs. Potter, I'm afraid I really don't understand the purpose of your-"

But, just then, Regulus barged in the room, wearing only a towel and his hair sticking to his face. "Hermione, babe, we forgot to buy shamp-" He stopped abruptly, noticing that Lily was there. "Fuck." was the only thing he managed to say.

Lily stared at him, then back at Hermione, back and forth again, gaping like a goldfish out of the water. After a while of Lily staring, Regulus dripping and Hermione waiting, the former declared: "I need to sit down."

Hermione helped the pregnant woman onto the living room sofa and asked: "How did you find out?"

Lily breathed in deeply and revealed: "I came up with it." Then, she looked at the other woman and her fiancé and said: "It might make me more comfortable if you took your camouflage off and Black dressed up."

She nodded and turned to Regulus. "There's some shampoo in the second drawer under the sink." she said, smiling apologetically. He nodded and left the two girls to talk.

Hermione turned back to Lily and the latter continued: "I couldn't believe that you were dead." she said. "I knew you'd said you were, but I though you too clever to simply waltz into a trap with Regulus and die."

The other nodded. "Just like you, in some ways."

The redhead smiled. "At first I thought you were grief stricken because Regulus had died and you'd failed, but when I saw both of you in disguise yester day… Something clicked." She looked up at her friend, her eyes full of tears. "I couldn't believe it at first, but then…"

Hermione stroked Lily's cheek soothingly. "Then what?" she whispered.

"Then I realised that you'd just ditched us. I know life was hard for you, what with Mary dying, Remus heartbroken, James and I having a happy life and Sirius pressuring you to have yours… But I didn't think that you'd ditch us willingly until then." she confessed.

Hermione sat down next to the crying Lily and pulled her into her arms. "I never ditched you." she said.

"Really?" the redhead asked sarcastically. "You know, for a while I even thought that you were so good with Regulus that he'd turned you into a Death Eater. Maybe I wasn't wrong."

Hermione held her friend at arms' length, offended. "How could you believe such a thing?" she asked. "I would never do that, just like I wouldn't ditch you!"

"Oh, yeah?" Lily asked. "What did you do, then? You certainly didn't plan to come back, or let us know about your secret identity."

Hermione shook her head. "The thing is, Lily." She sighed. "Regulus and I had a relationship. Then we broke up, and I was determined to get over him. I planned on having a life with Sirius, joining the Order and stuff like that, to make me forget."

"So you used him." Lily said. "Sirius, I mean."

She sighed again. "Yes, I did." she admitted. "The point is, I acquired quite a bit of… information, in my time with the Order. I didn't want anyone to know. The consequences would have been disastrous. Then I got that message from Regulus."

Lily inhaled slowly. "The one where he tells you he loves you." It wasn't a question.

Hermione nodded. "Yes." she said. "That one. In any case, I saved him, admitted my feelings for him, and we went back to Hogwarts. Dumbledore agreed that we should have secret identities, at least for the time being, so I could avoid divulging any information, and he would avoid getting caught by Lord Voldemort."

Lily cringed at the sound of the name. "Who knows?" she asked.

"About me and Regulus?" The redhead nodded. "You. Me. Regulus. Dumbledore… Snape."

"Snape?" Lily shrieked in disbelief. "He's a slimy git who can't be trusted! Why?"

The other witch sighed. "He's Regulus' best friend, and I believe he can, in fact, be trusted."

The pregnant woman gave a very unladylike snort. "So he can tell his best friend, but you can't? That's not the Hermione I know."

"You would have told." The brunette declared. "You would have told James, Remus, Sirius and Peter, at the very least."

"So?" Lily asked. "What wrong with them?"

Hermione sighed. "I don't trust Peter." she admitted bluntly.

Lily shook her head. "So you trust an arsehole like Snape, but not my husband's best friend."

"Yes." Hermione said bluntly. "He's James' best friend, which makes him automatically invulnerable and invincible."

Lily stared at her. "I can tell James, Remus and Sirius, then?"

Hermione thought about it for a couple of instants before she shook her head. Lily was about to argue but she cut her. "I'd rather do it myself… They need to understand."

Lily nodded. "So that's it, then?" she asked. "You're not going to be my daughter's Godmother?"

Hermione laughed slightly. "I doubt it's going to be a girl, Lily."

The other witch frowned. "You're just like James. Always trying to ruin my dreams."

Hermione's eyebrows shot up. "Would it be so bad to have a son?"

Lily shook her head. "No, but it would prove James right… And I'd owe him ten Sickles."

Hermione laughed.

"How about you?" Lily asked. "You're trying to live a happy life now, so any baby coming?"

Hermione shook her head. "Nope… I'm not sure we're ready yet… At least, I'm not. We are getting married, though." she admitted.

"Ooooh!" Lily gushed. "That's wonderful news!"

Hermione smiled. "You can be Maid of Honour, if you want."

They talked about the wedding for a few more minutes before Lily declared: "You could tell them tomorrow."

The brunette cringed. "Isn't that a little early?"

The other shook her head. "I can't keep a secret more than a few hours, anyway. It's going to be hard enough to do it for a night."

Hermione sighed. "I can't Obliviate you, either?"

Lily shook her head, grinning. "Nope. You're stuck with tomorrow."

Something popped up in Hermione's head. "Wait a second!" she cried out. "Tomorrow is Sirius' birthday!"

Lily though about it. "Oh, yeah." she said, before shrugging. "You'll just have to crash the party at our place."

"I can't tell him." she said.

Lily looked up. "Why?" she asked.

Hermione shook her head. "Imagine how he'd take my betrayal… And now imagine how I'd feel… I can't do it."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Fine, come in disguise, then." She looked at her watch. "Christ!" she called out, standing up and running to the door. "I'm late! Sorry 'Mione, but, I have to go!" She wrenched the door open and stepped through. "Tomorrow, nine PM sharp!"

Then the door slammed.

Regulus stepped out of the bathroom then, his hair damp and wearing a pair of faded blue jeans. "So?" he asked. "How did it go?"

She sighed and walked to her desk, returning to her grading. "Let's just say I'm going to have a lot more explaining to do tomorrow a about nine PM."

Regulus looked puzzled. "If you're gonna miss class, why are you still grading?"

She thought about it and asked: "You really want this shower sex, don't you?"

He grinned. "If you're up to it." he taunted.

She put her quill down and declared: "I'm always up for a challenge."

-o-O-o-

Sirius was in Godric's Hollow's cemetery.

He was just standing there, his hands shoved down deep in his cloak pockets as some, although rather few, tears poured down his cheeks. He shouldn't cry on his birthday, and he knew it, but he just couldn't help it.

It moved him, that huge piece of marble, elevated like a grandiose tombstone, with his ex-fiancée's name written at the very top:

For all of those who died to make the world a better place:

Hermione Jean Granger

17th September 1960- 24th December 1979

Beloved friend and lover

'Words can't say what love can do.' Bon Jovi, I'll be there for you

Her favourite band. He smiled slightly. He'd taken her to a Bon Jovi concert for their anniversary. That was when he'd mistakenly thought that the singer was a wizard…

He had to admit, he liked this band too. He'd even planned on singing 'I'll be there for you' at their wedding… But she'd just chosen another path. It was her good path.

Now he just needed to find his. His right path.

Sniffling slightly, he wiped his eyes and nose on his sleeve and walked out of the cemetery. At first, he'd been devastated by her death, but the more he thought about it, the more her realised it was all for the better.

He'd loved her, that was true, but she'd chosen to die, and although it was unfair to him, Lily, Remus, James and all those who'd loved her, she'd died happy. She hadn't loved him anyway. He realised that now. It had always been Regulus.

He felt slightly bitter at her for using him, but, as he waked back to the Potters', he knew he'd have done the same. He needed to move on, now, go back to his life and work, and be Sirius again. Who knew, maybe he'd even ask Stella on a date.

The idea made him smile. What wouldn't he give to see Hershel's face if he ever stole his fiancée… Like Regulus stole his.

Funny as that could sound, Sirius didn't hate his brother for taking Hermione away from him. After all, all both of them had ever wanted was to make her happy… Neither had particularly succeeded in the first place, but both had done a pretty good job in the end. Sirius, by letting her go, albeit reluctantly and without his knowing, and Regulus, for being there for the rest of her life.

And so it was without remorse or regret that he walked inside James' new house. Unsurprisingly, confetti rained on his head as he passed the doorstep, and cheers of "Happy birthday, you mangy mutt!" echoed around the room.

He laughed and followed his friends to the dining room, where a huge cake, probably full of cream and other fat stuff, awaited him. "Lily," he scolded. "You shouldn't have."

She shrugged. "Well I did." she said. "We've got one person missing, though, so don't blow all twenty candles now."

He looked around and noticed Peter was missing. Just as the doorbell rang, he declared: "I'll get it." and ran to the entrance. He opened the door and was met with familiar, too familiar, chocolate brown eyes.

"Happy birthday, Sirius."

-o-O-o-

I like evil cliff hangers… Please review! At least for Bon Jovi 's quote's sake!