Chapter Twelve

Hermione had never been so angry with Melok in her life. Another month, at least! It was almost through the second week of April now, which meant that Filius and Caelum had been without their Father for four months. At this rate, they'd have lost almost half a year with him. Melok would never get that time back with his sons. Never. She'd been about to pour herself a large Scotch when a Patronus - Minerva's - bounded into the room.

Hermione, if you would, could you come to Hogwarts? As soon as possible. My quarters. I find myself in need of advice. I think I'm in trouble.

Her voice was shaky, Hermione thought with a frown. In all the years, in all the versions Hermione had known Minerva, she couldn't think of a single time she'd heard the other Witch's voice shake quite like that. Something was seriously wrong. Without hesitating, the Scotch was put away, Jeanette was told to mind the boys, and Hermione quickly let Sirius know she was stepping out for a bit and why. "I'll tell you more as soon as I know what the hell is going on," she remarked.

"Alright," he replied. "Whatever she needs. Be sure she knows we have her back."

A quick Floo address uttered, and a moment later she found herself in Minerva's familiar quarters. Honestly, the last time she'd been here had been the night they'd shagged, which was a bit disconcerting to think about. Of course, that was probably not what Minerva wanted to talk about, so Hermione put the topic out of her mind and deliberately moved toward her friend with that mindset - to be a friend. She was not here as a lover. "What's happened?" she asked gently, disturbed to see Minerva's eyes were red rimmed, clearly having been crying. "Min, what's going on?"

"I'm bloody pregnant is what's going on!" the Scottish Witch groaned. "About eight weeks, I think."

Hermione was dumbfounded. The Minerva who'd married Dougal had children, of course, but not the one who'd gone into teaching. At least, not to her knowledge. She supposed the Professor she'd known in her original timeline might have had a child, but given it up for adoption, or changed their name and hidden their existence from the world. "Who…" she asked, still reeling over the very concept. "Who's the father? I hadn't known you were seeing anyone."

Minerva looked at her fiercely. "You cannot tell anyone."

Well, it didn't take a genius to work out half the puzzle. Minerva had been seeing a married man. No wonder she'd kept it to herself. Hermione nodded her agreement. "Who, Minerva?"

"Orion," she breathed. "It started not too long after you and Sirius got married. Of course, we've loved each other since Hogwarts. Just… he was a Black. He would never have been allowed to marry me."

The math ran in her mind automatically. With the fact that Eileen should be pregnant by now, she couldn't help but think about the fact that James, Sirius, and the rest would be born before too long. That said, Orion and Walburga were having such difficulty getting pregnant, she knew. In fact, she'd heard Orion remarking just the other day about how Walburga wouldn't let him near her since the last miscarriage. So, if that was true and if Orion had been having an affair with Minerva, and Minerva was pregnant with his child now…

Sweet Merlin.

How had they not known? She felt certain that if Sirius had ever learned that Minerva was his mother, he'd have mentioned it at some point, although considering in Beta Minerva stayed with Dougal, it now made sense by implication that Sirius was never born there. She was never there to get involved with Orion and conceive him. It still begged to question why in seven hells Alpha Minerva had never, over all the years she'd been in contact with her son, seen fit to tell him the truth of his birth. The only logical explanation that came to mind was that Orion or Walburga had made her swear an Unbreakable Vow not to; that would have been one of the few things that could have transcended even both of their deaths. Hermione let out a sigh, and with one more glance at Minerva's reddened eyes, she stood up and moved over to the Floo, reaching for the powder. "I'm getting Sirius over here. He needs to be told."

"Hermione, I told you in confidence!" Minerva exclaimed. "I haven't even decided if I'm going to keep this baby! It would probably be better all around if I didn't, to be perfectly honest. Merlin knows I'm not in a position to raise a child and Gods help me if Walburga finds out what Orion and I have been up to."

"Grimmauld Place," Hermione called into the activated Floo. "Honestly Minerva, it's not like Walburga could hate you much more than she already does. You've been sworn rivals since your first year at Hogwarts. I know I promised you confidence, but this is more complicated than you comprehend right now."

"Yes, love?" Sirius answered through the flames.

"I need you to pop over to Minerva's quarters here at Hogwarts for a little bit," she requested. "We have an issue. Make sure you're not seen coming."

He said nothing as he withdrew, and then a moment later the flames roared to life again and her husband stepped into the room looking concerned. "Are you both alright?" he asked.

Minerva scoffed. "Far bloody from it, although forgive me Sirius, I don't know why your wife feels like you need to be involved in my personal problems."

"Orion and Minerva have been having an affair," Hermione said softly. "Darling, she's pregnant. About two months along at this point."

Sirius nodded, seeming to understand this was a serious situation, but Hermione knew he hadn't quite gotten the full weight of what was unfolding just yet. "Well of course that's a complicated matter, but I assure you, Minerva, I won't allow Orion to…"

"I'm not sure I even want to keep this baby," Minerva admitted.

"If that's your choice, I'll respect that," he said, clearly attempting to be a gentleman about it. "It's your body. It's your life."

"Dammit Sirius!" Hermione all but shouted. "Do the bloody math!"

Minerva and Sirius both startled at her outburst, neither used to her behaving in such a way. "Math?" he asked, reacting first. "What math?"

"If she's eight weeks along now, when is she due?" Hermione asked, lowering her voice.

He paused and did the calculations, and then responded. "First week of Novem…" he stopped talking, eyes leaving hers and shifting back over to Minerva's. Sirius' eyes widened in shock. "No. No fucking way," he rasped out. "They couldn't have…"

"I was speaking with Orion the other day," Hermione confessed. "Walburga is so torn up about the miscarriages that she's not letting him touch her. I really don't think there's a chance she could also be pregnant at this point. I wasn't thinking about it in terms of timeline until just now as I was talking to Minerva but…"

His hands covered his mouth and nose, head shaking back and forth in disbelief. He spared one more glance at Minerva. "Why didn't they tell me? Why didn't she tell me, dammit? I… I can't be here right now, Hermione. Do what you have to do. Tell her what you must. Yes, I know what the fuck I'm saying. It's been six bloody years, it's about time we told Minerva, don't you think?"

Without waiting for an answer, he Floo'd back out, and Hermione summoned a tea service. She personally wanted something a good deal stronger, but Minerva couldn't have that and she didn't think it was fair to imbibe while her best friend couldn't, especially in light of the conversation at hand.

"What in the bloody hell just happened?" Minerva asked weakly.

"I'm fairly certain you cannot count on his support to do away with the pregnancy," Hermione said, sitting up straight. "Sirius is rather fond of life, you see. Particularly, he's rather fond of his life, and he's due to be born on November the seventh of this year. We just expected Walburga to be his mother. You've thrown us for a loop, darling. Your future self never told him the truth. Honestly, it does make sense in retrospect. He sorts to Gryffindor, to Walburga's horror."

Minerva's eyes widened. "Fu-future self? Are you telling me that you're a time traveler?"

"Me and Sirius both," Hermione confessed. "The real Sirius Black the second died in nineteen fifty-four, just like the tapestry indicated, same as Hesper Black. That part of the story was true. We arrived shortly after and Sirius assumed his identity, and I took on the role of the new wife. Sirius, interestingly, is by rights, Sirius Black the third. We just knocked off a digit and added a few years to his age. He's a bit younger than he looks. We came back fifty two years. Not on purpose, mind you, and how we ended up here was so convoluted I'd not believe it if I hadn't lived through it. Still, all said and done, I've known a version of you who was my beloved Professor, and I've known a version of you who was a comrade in arms for six months as we fought a war together, and now, for the last six years, I've known you as a very dear friend. I believe that the most likely explanation for you not telling my husband that he was your son when you had the opportunity to was likely because Walburga bullied you into an Unbreakable Vow. I'll not allow that to happen this time."

"You mean to say you're changing the timeline?" the other Witch asked, sitting forward curiously.

"Have changed, will change, and in no way regret changing," the brunette admitted. "Minerva, in my original timeline, there was a Dark Wizard who made Grindelwald look like a child with broken toys, when given the opportunity. I'll not give Voldemort the opportunity to rise to any kind of real power again. He'll not corrupt my nieces and nephews, nor will I be burying more kin than I already have for his petty little war. Influence is everything."

"What do you mean, influence is everything, Hermione?"

She pulled up her sleeve that covered the one scar she truly hated, that Minerva had spotted the night they'd been together. Mudblood. "This was carved into my skin by a cursed knife, Minerva. I was nineteen years old, held under the Cruciatus Curse for minutes at a time, beaten bloody, and then cut on. I won't tell you my torturer's name because right now she is a beautiful, sweet, nine year old little girl. I look in her eyes and I see nothing of the monster I saw that night, and if all goes well, she'll never become the woman that gave me this scar. Who knows; maybe the fierce loyalty she felt for Voldemort will translate into a general sense of loyalty, and she'll end up in Hufflepuff this go around, instead of Slytherin."

"One of your nieces?" Minerva asked softly.

Hermione nodded. She knew Minerva would probably deduce it was Bellatrix at some point, but by then she hoped that the other Witch would have other things on her mind than to prioritize judging a nine year old for crimes she may or may not ever commit, especially considering the fact that the Bellatrix of the current age was hardly akin to threatening, unless it involved a box of sweets.

"I can't raise this baby, Hermione," came a soft admittance. "Even knowing what I know now. I have to assume that if Walburga and Orion raised this child… raised my son, in your original timeline, then we must have come to some sort of accord. Merlin knows it'll be a shite show once Walburga gets involved, but not even Orion can deny he needs an heir."

"They do manage to have a son of their own, two years from now," Hermione admitted. "I'm not going to tell them that, though, nor do I imagine Sirius will. If you decide you do want to raise the baby on your own, they'll be fine. We can and will support you through that, if that's your choice. What makes you think you can't?"

"I'm a teacher!" Minerva exclaimed. "When would I have time for a child of my own, if I'm dedicating my whole life to the care of other people's children? I'd fear that either he'd grow to resent me for the attention I couldn't give him, or I… I'd grow to resent him for taking what precious little free time I currently have. If I had a husband, maybe things would be different, roads not taken and such, but…"

"Dougal," the other witch said with a nod, not thinking.

"Excuse me?" Minerva gasped. "How the hell do you know that name, Hermione Black?"

She smacked her own forehead. "I did mention knowing two other versions of you, right?"

Minerva nodded, visibly gulping. "Yes."

"The one I fought a war with for six months?" Hermione said gently, topping off her friend's tea. "Well, she met Dougal McGregor that summer after Hogwarts, and she stayed with him. They married, had children, and had a good life together. She didn't rejoin the magical world at large until I showed up in two thousand and five asking for her help. Interestingly, her youngest son eventually married my mother, who'd been widowed by the war. That was a strange twist, I'll tell you."

"How'd you even know where to find her?"

"Alpha Minerva… that's what I call the first version of you that I knew, told me about Dougal and where his farm was," Hermione admitted. "She told me about a lot of things. We were pretty close."

"It must be frustrating for you to have to rebuild a relationship with me over and over," Minerva said, looking curiously at her friend.

"Not at all," Hermione admitted. "Almost the opposite. It's fascinating to see what aspects of who you are remain constants, and what changes. Here, now, I think I'll enjoy seeing what things you grow into most of all. The other versions of you that I knew were a woman in her seventies, give or take, not one in her twenties or thirties. How will you evolve, and what of the things I change will impact your evolution? How much am I influencing the character of the woman I knew just by the alterations I make to the timeline? That doesn't even consider the impact my relationship with you makes! I can't even imagine how different you'd be from who I remember if you do decide to raise Sirius, because Merlin knows motherhood changes someone."

"Gods, now I'm dead certain I don't want to raise the child," Minerva groaned. "I like who I am, Hermione. I don't want to change."

"I think it's less that you don't want to change and more that you don't like change," the other Witch quipped. "That said, Minerva, you have time yet to decide. I do think, at the least, you should talk to Orion privately before bringing Walburga into the loop. I must impress upon you the vital importance of you not sharing with any others what I told you today…"

"That I'm about to give birth to a time traveler, who, by the way, is the grandfather of the father of my child?" Minerva sniped. "Thanks, I was already planning on keeping that insanity to myself. And yes, I've been practicing my Occlumancy plenty, you nosy bint. My state of mind is just fine."

"Very well. Point of interest, your son will never be a time traveler," Hermione remarked, pausing her soft read that Minerva had clearly sensed. "Nor will my younger counterpart. If all goes to plan, this timeline will be drastically different than the one Sirius and I knew. There won't be three generations of war. Azkaban Prison won't be largely populated by Death Eaters, and innocent men won't spend years locked away because of corrupt politicians ruled by fear of a Dark Lord that managed to put a stopper in death itself. No. Voldemort will never become more than a footnote in history when I'm finished with him."

"I remind you, I still haven't decided to have the baby," the Scottish woman remarked in a small voice.

Hermione smirked. "Minerva, I say this with love: you didn't abort that boy when you were going through this without any real support to speak of, in a timeline when keeping him meant handing him off to Orion and Walburga and swearing a vow that would bar you from ever telling your child where he came from. Forgive me for doubting that you have it in you to abort your child when you have the opportunity to raise him with every support in this world. Also, Merlin save Gryffindor House."

Minerva, clearly considering Sirius Black's personality in conjunction with the idea of his attending Hogwarts with the knowledge that his mother was Head of Gryffindor, laughed.

Sirius looked up as his wife Floo'd into the kitchen, where he was nursing a glass of Firewhiskey and trying to wrap his head around the biggest mind fuck he'd ever come across. Considering everything he'd crossed paths with in Beta, that was really saying something. Minerva bloody McGonagall was his mother. His actual, factual, mother. Shite.

"How are you holding up, love?" Hermione asked.

"I'm mind blown, Hermione," he admitted, taking a sip of his drink. "How the hell did we not see this coming?"

"There was no way we could have known," she said, sitting down beside him. "I mean, looking back now I suppose there are clues. That you weren't born in Beta and Minerva was never around to have an affair with your father clearly lines up, but nobody could have been expected to put those two things together. There were a dozen reasons you might not have been born in Beta, and five dozen possible repercussions to Minerva not being active in the Wizarding community. Honestly, I'm more perplexed about how things went down in Alpha. I mean, I think it's most likely that Alpha Minerva was made to swear an Unbreakable Vow against telling you the truth, but Merlin knows she's stubborn. I would have thought she'd have found a way around that."

He sighed. "If I know her half as well as I think I do, then she wouldn't have bothered trying while I was a student, and it wasn't long after that when I ended up in Azkaban and she wouldn't have been trying during those twelve years either. After that, she'd have only had a small window to try before I got myself tossed into Beta, and our interactions were minimal and mostly at Grimmauld."

Hermione offered a wry grin. "You know, looking back, another clue for us might have been how much Walburga's portrait bloody hated Minerva. Alpha Minerva was quite adept at avoiding her, if you recall."

"Which now makes perfect sense," he agreed. "Gods, everything makes perfect sense. How great I am at Transfiguration, that I sorted to Gryffindor, most of my damn personality, the part of my looks that don't match my father… it's all so clear now. How the fuck did I not suspect earlier? For Merlin's sake, it's not like she didn't mother me enough, in a way that was different from the rest of the students. That should have been my biggest clue!"

"It's never anyone's first guess that their mother is secretly not their actual mother," Hermione reasoned. "Sometimes it's the father who isn't really their father, but it's a true rarity that the mother turns out to be someone else."

"Yeah, I guess," he shrugged. "How's she handling things? I take it you told her everything?"

"In the briefest form," his wife shrugged. "She seems to be taking things well enough. As usual, her curious nature overrules all."

He chuckled. "Yeah, that's Minerva alright."

"You as well, Sirius," Hermione teased. "Apple and tree, as it were."

Sirius snorted. "Merlin, I wish James and Remus were here. They'd be getting such a kick out of this. Oh, and Severus. Severus would be giving me so much shite right now!"

"I assume you mean Alpha James and Remus, and Beta Severus," Hermione said, looking amused. "That would be a motley crew, now wouldn't it?"

"It's wishful thinking is what it is," he said pointedly. "However, I'm in the middle of trying not to lose my shite, so allow a guy a dream, will you?"

Suddenly, the Floo lit up again. "Sirius is my son?" Minerva all but screeched as she stepped through and stomped toward them.

Hermione quickly erected privacy wards, as Minerva did not seem to be caring about who overheard them.

"I thought you said she was taking things well," her husband remarked calmly.

The Scottish Witch looked furious. "It sank in!"

Sirius glared. "Which part, Minerva? You being pregnant because you've been carrying on with Orion? That you're pregnant with me, once and future Lord of House Black?"

"Oh Merlin," Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

Her husband wasn't deterred, and kept right on going. "That Hermione and I are time travelers? That you're in way over your bloody head? That actions have bloody consequences? That you have terrible taste in men? I mean honestly, what were you thinking, Minerva? Orion Black?"

"I was thinking I bloody love him, Sirius!" she snapped. "I was thinking that if not for the fact that you waited too long to have a change of heart regarding who a Black can and cannot marry, I'd have married Orion and we wouldn't even be having this discussion."

"Ah, correction," he said, poking her, "the Sirius Black you refer to who would not let you and Orion marry died years ago. I, time traveler, replaced him. You know, the one who is your bloody son!"

She paused. "So Arcturus, Regulus, and Lycoris aren't actually your children?" she asked. "And Orion isn't actually your grandson?"

"In the biological sense, no," he said, crossing his arms defensively. "Not that any of them are aware of that. That said, I love them all as if they were. Of course, given Orion will be my father, that makes my feelings for him a bit complicated, and I'm always going to loathe Walburga…"

Minerva frowned. "But she raised you. She was your mother, for all intents and purposes."

"She did a shite job of it, Minerva!" he snapped. "She was a bully and abusive and generally horrid. It got worse once I went to Hogwarts and sorted to Gryffindor. I was, I quote, a stain on her house. Honestly, with as well as you two get on, can you imagine her raising your child with anything resembling love? Imagine how I feel right now, huh? I grew up, seven years with you as my Professor and Head of House, never knowing you were my bloody mother, all the while being stuck spending summers under Walburga's tender mercies, all the while…"

Minerva scoffed. "You cannot hold me accountable for another reality's version of myself. That isn't fair!"

Sirius looked pleased with himself. "Ah, but I can hold you accountable for this reality! Which is why you are going to do right by this version of me. There is no way this version of me is going to grow up feeling like he's a chronic disappointment, getting the hell beat out of him by Walburga, all because he's too much like his damn mother and never understanding anything about it!"

"Fine!" Minerva shouted.

"Fine!" he shouted right back.

"Merlin!" Hermione sighed. "It's a damn wonder nobody suspected you two were mother and son when you act like this. Gods, Sirius, you certainly got her temper."

Minerva and Sirius both blushed, and he had to admit to himself that in the hour since this revelation, that was not the only commonality he had been able to spot, looking back. He might favor the Blacks in his looks, but in his temperament, he was very much his mother's son. That reality was even more clear to him now that he'd known a younger Minerva to compare to his own younger self.

"We've got to get you caught up on everything," Sirius said softly. "We've got a team, you know. It's not as if me and Hermione have been working on radically altering the future of the Wizarding world on our own."

The Scottish woman's eyes widened in understanding. "Melok?"

"Was the first we went to," Hermione confirmed.

"Who else knows?" Minerva inquired.

"Aberforth and Cedrella," Sirius confided. "Cedrella was tasked with drawing you into our circle. We always knew one day we wanted to bring you into the circle of trust. We didn't think it would be because of this, granted, but we knew one day we'd get there with you."

"Why me?" she asked.

"We were both close to you in Alpha and in Beta," Hermione said softly. "I told you a long time ago that you were not the first I'd met who was my harmonic equal. That was only half true. I met you, Minerva, in another reality. I was never intimate with your counterpart, but we did acknowledge our harmonic."

Sirius was keen not to be talking about how his wife had shagged his mother. Merlin. "There's also Doctors Watson and Magnus. Pretty sure you've met Magnus."

Minerva directed her attention to Sirius. "Yes, I've met Helen in passing a couple of times. She's a magical creatures expert, correct?"

"She is," Hermione confirmed. "So is James Watson. They work together. That's the team to date. Myself, Sirius, Melok, Aberforth, Cedrella, Helen, and James. Now you. I suspect we'll be adding another to our number before long."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

She smirked. "Keating. Aberforth thinks he's onto us. Ravenclaws are patient though. I believe he'll wait until I confide in him. He won't push, so I'll wait for the right moment, but I don't want to wait too long and try his patience and trust. He's a good man, though, and with a mind like his, he'll be a good ally to have."

"If he's a Ravenclaw, Watson will enjoy having him around," Sirius mused.

"Is this Watson fellow a former Ravenclaw?" Minerva asked. "The name doesn't ring a bell."

"He's not a Wizard," Hermione explained. "Even if he were, I doubt his name would have rung a bell. He was born in the eighteen-forties."

"How is a Muggle that old and still living?" Minerva wanted to know.

Hermione sighed. "As I said, we have a lot to catch you up on."

Sirius flicked his wand and summoned a tea service. He fully intended to keep right on drinking Firewhiskey, but Minerva couldn't have alcohol if she was with child, and it was good manners to offer a drink. Besides, that was his future self she was carrying, however strange that was to consider, and if it was the last thing he did, he was going to make sure that Minerva McGonagall spent the next seven months or whatever taking very good care of herself.

"So," he said, taking a seat. "Let's start with Alpha. First time I met you, I was eleven years old, and let's be real, I exasperated the shite out of you. I was the first honest to Merlin Black to sort to Gryffindor in history as far as anyone knew, and I was proud of it. So very proud. I think your singular goal that first year was to teach me some humility, and admittedly, you got pretty creative. There was this one time you had me cleaning out litter pans, and you were less than amused when I asked why you didn't just use the loo when in human form. That just earned me a stinging hex, of course, and the adoration of James Potter for having the nerve to even suggest such a thing to our Head of House. We really did like getting a rise out of you."

"In short, nothing much has changed," Hermione ribbed.

"Clearly," Minerva said, looking amused.

Sirius just grinned. "Oh, I think she was fond of me, in the end. I always thought so, anyhow, and now that I have context - now that I know I was her son - the way she treated me does make a bit more sense. After all, she never would have let James, Remus, or Peter get away with some of the shite she let me get away with. Like the time I hit her class notes with a Babbling Hex. She looked right at me, like she knew full well I'd done it, but she didn't say a word. She just hit my test notes a week later with the same hex. Payback. Merlin love the Witch."

Cedrella rolled her eyes as Poppy huffed for the fifth time since they had apparated together to Spinner Lane and began the walk down to the end of the cul-de-sac. "Remind me," Poppy said, "why was it that Hermione insisted you escort me to visit Eileen? If that bastard of a husband of hers decides to cause trouble, I'm quite certain I can handle him. He's just a Muggle."

"Try to be a bit more forward thinking, my dear," she said. "This isn't about your ability to ruin Tobias Snape's day. It's about helping Eileen see that she has friends in the Wizarding world. You. Aunt Hermione. Myself. I imagine next time you decide to come, Aunt Hermione will send someone else along, if she doesn't return herself. Eileen has spent a long time rather isolated. I imagine the only Witches and Wizards she ever thinks about are ones she'd want to run away from. The idea here is to make her start thinking of those she could run to for help."

Poppy let out a sigh. "Blast it all. That kind of thinking, one would think Hermione has been spending time with Albus."

Cedrella snorted in amusement. "Don't let her catch you saying that. Your Uncle is one of her least favorite people in our world."

The Healer startled at her comment. I hadn't realized you were aware of our relation."

The Weasley Matriarch smirked. "I'm a Slytherin and a woman. You'll find that very little gets past me. Besides, I'm also good friends with your father."

"I hadn't realized that either, but Father tends to be fairly reserved in admitting friendship with anyone," Poppy remarked, "so I'm not terribly surprised to learn of a friendship with him that I was unaware of. I often run across people who claim to be friendly with him that I hadn't realized he even knew."

"He owns a pub, Poppy," Cedrella pointed out. "He meets quite a lot of people. In fairness, though, I met him through my aunt, via mutual concerns."

"The Resistance?" the Healer inquired softly. "Merlin knows the Blacks are at the head of that. I sometimes forget that you were born a Black, though."

Cedrella snorted in amusement. "A Black, a Slytherin, and until Aunt Hermione came into the picture, a disowned member of the family at that. Her coming radically changed things."

Poppy nodded. "I think I'm beginning to understand that. Obviously Sirius is Head of the Blacks in name, but all evidence suggests that Hermione is the true acting Head of the family. She's the one behind all the political movement, all the ideas, and all the radical changes in philosophy."

"It's nothing my Uncle doesn't completely agree with," Cedrella said, "however yes, Aunt Hermione is the brains of the operation. Uncle Sirius is clever, but he's no Mage."

"Who all even knows she's a Mage at this point?" Poppy asked. "I mean, I know for specific reasons, but I also know I was asked to keep that fact a secret. You clearly know. My father knows. Presumably your Uncle knows his wife is a Mage."

"Melok knows, as he's who has been overseeing her training," Cedrella said thoughtfully. "Minerva knows. The why of that is complicated. My cousins Arcturus and Lycoris know. Would have been hard to keep it from them in the long haul as they live in the same house. There are also a few in the Resistance who know, as they're undergoing training with Hermione and it would have been difficult for them to accept Hermione's tutelage if not informed as to why her knowledge was superior. Angus Steward knows. He's who trained Aunt Hermione for her Herbology Mastery. So does Leonard Bagshot. She got History of Magic and Ancient Runes Masteries under him. There's a few others who know but nobody I think you know who'd matter to you. The list is growing, but the secret has remained contained."

"Why does it even need to remain a secret?" Poppy wanted to know.

"That's complicated," Cedrella replied, thinking that there was no feasible way to explain it to the Healer without explaining her aunt's time traveling. Aunt Hermione needed to come up with a cover story of some sort better than because I said so at some point. "It's her privacy to request, however, so we must respect that."

"Oh I agree on that point," the Healer mused. "It's just curious. Speaking of curious, any idea why your aunt was so insistent we check up on Eileen? I mean, I know it's been a few months since I've seen her, but we do write often enough. I've been trying to respect her space."

Cedrella did know, but she couldn't tell Poppy that. "I think Aunt Hermine just thought a wellness check would be prudent," she said vaguely.

By this point, they'd arrived at the front stoop of the house that would, in Aunt Hermione's time, become referred to by Floo address as Spinner's End. Now, however, it was merely Twenty one Spinner Lane, at the very center of the end of the cul-de-sac. Poppy raised her hand to knock, and a moment later, Eileen answered. "Poppy," she greeted with a reserved smile. "How lovely to see you. Who's your friend?"

"Cedrella Weasley," Cedrella introduced herself. "You've met Hermione Black, of course. She's my aunt."

Eileen frowned. "But you look about the same age as Hermione."

"And yet Hermione still manages to be twice as mature," Poppy ribbed. "Cedrella's uncle remarried. Hermione is his second wife, and a younger wife at that. She's actually a number of years younger than her step children, but that hasn't stopped them from looking at her like a mother from what I hear."

"Quite true," Cedrella agreed. "My cousins call her Mum."

Eileen invited the women inside, and it didn't take Poppy more than a few moments to notice what Cedrella had noticed - granted, she'd been looking for it - the moment the other woman had opened the door. "Goodness Eileen, are you pregnant?"

The disowned Prince nodded slowly. "Four months gone, I believe, but I haven't been to see a Muggle doctor and Toby would have my hide if I wandered back to the Wizarding world to see a Healer."

"No wandering required," Poppy muttered, pulling out her wand. "What that husband of yours doesn't know won't hurt him or you."

Eileen smiled a little. "Thank you, cousin."

"You should have told me," the Healer chastised as she began casting spells. "I'd have come sooner if I'd known, Eileen."

"Which is exactly why I didn't," the other woman admitted. "Imagine if you started coming by all the time, Poppy. Tobias would have a fit!"

"Transfiguration may not be my strongest suit," Cedrella admitted, "but I'm pretty sure I remember the basics about turning a person into an armchair. What was that, sixth year, first term?"

Poppy snorted in amusement. "Beats me. I didn't attend Hogwarts, but that sounds about right from what I've seen of Albus' syllabus."

"My child will need a father," Eileen said pointedly.

"There's more to being a father than giving the genetics required for conception, Eileen," Cedrella pointed out. "Merlin knows my cousins could tell you that they found more of a mother in a woman younger than them - their father's second wife - than in the woman who gave birth to them and was there for their entire childhoods."

"Perhaps," Eileen allowed, "but what sort of man would take up with a woman who'd been used up by a Muggle, and consent to raise her Wizarding child? I can already feel my child's magical core forming. He or she will be so strong."

"He," Poppy said with a smile. "You're to have a son, Eileen. So far, the pregnancy is healthy. You need to be eating better, though. I can leave you nutrition potions if you don't think you'll be able to get a better diet."

"What about Muggle vitamins instead?" Eileen asked. "If Tobias catches me with potions…"

Poppy nodded. "Prenatal vitamins will work as well. Not as effective as the potion, but better than nothing and more ideal if it prevents you from putting yourself at risk of angering Tobias."

The three women visited for another hour before Poppy and Cedrella saw themselves out, each offering congratulations to Eileen before they left. They walked halfway to the apparition point in silence before Poppy spoke up. "Hermione suspected she was pregnant, didn't she?"

Cedrella raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

"Oh, just that Hermione always seems to know things she ought not to know," the Healer shrugged. "I already knew she has a special interest in the Princes. She mentioned at one point having had a Kinship bond with one at some point in her past, though I can't imagine which one. My grandparents on that side, as well as my mother and Aunt Lena were all dead before Hermione was even born. If it was Aunt Anette then I can't imagine she'd have the relationship she has with the Flitwicks. Her loyalties would be too split. If it was Uncle Octavian, I imagine she would have said, not to mention she and Sirius would have a far easier go of things with Octavian and Regina on the Wizengamot issues. That leaves basically nobody. There aren't many Princes out there."

Cedrella sighed. Poppy was entirely too smart for her own good. "A Prince bastard, perhaps," she mused non committedly.

Technically speaking, Severus Snape was the son of a disowned Prince. That more or less did make him a bastard, as Eileen's marriage to Tobias was never acknowledged. So, technically, she was suggesting a truth.

"Possible," Poppy admitted. "My grandfather, from what I hear, wasn't exactly known for being faithful. He might have produced a bastard, who might have produced children of his or her own. Even if they didn't carry the name, they still would have been Princes by blood, and potentially Hermione's peers. I just wish she was more inclined to bloody share."

"I wouldn't count on it," Cedrella said apologetically.

The Healer laughed. "With that woman, I never do."

*grin* PLEASE REVIEW!