Imbolc, February 2nd 2009

They had been very happy in Austria, skating, talking, dining and making love, they'd even extended their stay for two days, but now dreary and foggy London and work had them back. During their holiday the lovers had also talked about how the seasons and quarter days were usually celebrated in Corban's family. While the elves had done any real cleaning his mother had insisted on every family member sort their things. Yaxley Sr. had done his tax returns, Mrs Yaxley had done repairs around the house and the children were told to sort their playthings, put some aside for donations or storage and try last years sommer clothes whether they still fit. Which they usually didn't. Afterwards they had bathed, shared a meal consisting of any sort of dumplings and then had toured the ground around the cottage, looking for the first signs of spring.

"Mind you, beginning of February and Scotland. If we were very lucky we found an early crocus. Usually we got wet and cold. In the evening we had chicken soup with mazze dumplings before we brought a jug of ale into the shed as an offer. And of course we made dollies and crosses out of rushes."

Later on Corban had exchanged the bath with Apparating to Norway or Finland. Thorfinn had insisted that drinking beer and watching an icehockey match was his family's tradition for imbolc, followed by visiting a sauna and more beer later. Nowadays Yaxley visited a hammam with his friends, as their parole did not yet allow them to leave England, followed by a meal at Corban's house consisting of the favourite kind of dumplings of all three of them.

They had talked about Hermione meeting Antonin but she waved away any misgivings. The Russian had written to her from Azkaban, had apologized for hurting her so grieviously. After reading his recent trial transcripts – most of the Death Eaters involved in the battle at the Department of Mysteries had been freed from Azkaban only weeks before and had been in a questionable state of mind – she had accepted the apology. Corban had affirmed Dolohov's claim of never wishing any harm on children and teens and given her a brief overview of the convict's story of life: losing his mother and younger brother at the age of seven, being brought over to England by a father who soon had succumbed to alcohol, without any friends at Hogwarts until his later years and thus being a prime candidate for Riddle's tales of acceptance and greatness. Much as Corban Dolohov had soon found out what he had signed up for.

Hermione vetoed visiting the hammam with the men, instead she would be going to a spa with Luna, but readily acquiesced to having dinner with them. The evening might not have been as boisterous as the years before but after an initial bout of insecurity the quartet got along swimmingly. Dolohov and Hermione were soon involved in a passionate discussion of wards against satellites and Thorfinn Rowle's enthusiasm about his job at a sanctuary for magical animals was endearing and reminded her of her friend Luna. Corban was glad that the woman he had lost his heart to got along with his two closest friends.

Later at night, the sweat cooling on their heated bodies, Hermione remembered an offhand comment of Thorfinn's about Imbolc and the spark of new life.

"Corban, does the magic on quarterdays override contraception spells and potions? Thorfinn talked about the spark of new life."

"Felt a spark, love? I was aiming for you seeing stars."

She swatted his naked chest.

"Please, Corban, answer me."

"Can't have you dashing off to the library, can I? I have never heard of that effect occuring on Imbolc. Beltane, Midsumer and even the odd Samhain, yes, but not Imbolc. As I understand it the day is not about creating a new spark of life but rather of acknowleding it happening in nature. Would it be so bad if we were pregnant?"

Even if they had shared their deepest thoughts they had not talked about their future per se. This Imbolc Corban had asked his elves to clean the mistresses chambers and to put any robes left from his mother up in the attic. He was quite sure that Hermione had noticed that, contrary to her first visit the room was open now.

"Not in principal, no. But I like to plan and I would like a few more nights like this. What about you?"

"I haven't thought a lot about having children except in an abstract sense. But at Weissensee I could see us there, in summer sitting in the shade while a young one plays in the meadow. Or you holding our daughter's hands teaching her to skate while I take a picture."

Hermione blushed, "I saw us there, too." She snuggled closer, reaching up to draw her lover into a heated kiss, "Let's make most of our yet childless time, love."

The End

Epilogue

After Midsumer Hermione moved in with Corban. The mistresses chambers were not needed as neither had she a lot of clothes nor did she like sleeping anywhere else than in Corban's bed. Yaxley's elves humored the new mistress in accepting pay and more days off.

They wed the day before Yule one year after their first meeting. Kingsley Shacklebolt officiated the small affair and the reception was held at Harry Morgan's. The Yaxleys had promised a bigger celebration at the cottage for Midsumer. By that time Hermione could not sample all the delicacies offered because of severe morning sickness. Corban Henry Yaxley was born on Yule 2011, his brother Alastair a year and a half later, their sisters Fiona and Flora, fraternal twins, followed after a three year break.

So far the only hardship the extended Yaxley family had to endure were overenthusiastic uncles: Uncle Tony, who fostered Corban Jr's affinity for warding with teaching him a simple but effective wandless ward the enterprising youngster used for warding his greens if he did not want to eat them. This led to a time where plates with mouldering vegetables and salads could be found at the cottage nobody, not even the elves, were able to clean. The family had to resort to casting modyfied Bubblehead charms over the plates until Uncle Tony would be back from Russia.

Uncle Harry had quite different ideas on from when – eleven months old in Fiona's case – and how high a training broom could be flown. Hermione's remedy of casting buffer charms all over the house and gardens made moving around arduous as walking through this charms felt like wading in hip-high water. Harry's promotion to Head Auror proved to be a blessing as he had less time to visit and cause mayhem.

Uncle Thorfinn's ideas of what consisted an ideal pet for his godchildren over the years led to an astonishing menagerie at the cottage: a three-legged half-kneazle Corban was sure had some demonic creature in his ancestry, a thorougly mundane Corgi who was deaf and a rooster who, according to Luna, identified as a phoenix. Hermione vetoed the blind hippogryph, citing their cottage's proximity to Muggle footpaths.