To a Better End

Chapter 62

August 1st 1997

Hermione and Draco hid for the wedding and reception. They waited, hoping that Regulus would come to find them in the trees. Instead, they sat through it all, nervous. They held each other's hands while they listened to Shacklebolt's patronus. They resisted the urge to go in and fight. And when the dust settled, they were finally able to go on their search for the wizard.

They just rounded a clearing in the trees when they saw a wizard sitting on the ground, writing in a journal. He didn't look sickly, and his hair had grown so much that it was pulled back into a bun. When he finally heard their footsteps, he looked up and grinned.

"Hermione!" he called. He seemed to have taken to her original name after years of only knowing her as such.

"Reggie, you look... You look great," Hermione said with shock in her voice.

He stood there looking proud. "I feel great. I really do. Peter had it wrong when he chose to remain in his animagus for years. I've been in and out of it, ensuring both forms are getting cared for."

"That's... really smart actually."

"How long has it been for you?" Regulus said, assessing the pair. He seemed like he was trying to remember if the clothes they wore were the same.

"Only an hour since we saw you go into the shop," she answered.

Reggie put his hands in his jeans and rocked on his feet in surprise. It was now that Hermione noticed he was wearing muggle clothing. Jeans and a band shirt? It was not what she expected to see him in.

"Wow. I suppose it was about an hour for me as well, but the Hermione I just saw run off and the Hermione in front of me are two very different people."

Hermione rolled her eyes and gave a fake laugh. "Very funny. We're the same, Reggie."

"Are you?" He cocked a brow at her, dropping his humour

That caught her off guard. "I- enough about me. What have you been doing when you haven't been a kneazle?"

"Half-kneazle, and I have been working on getting stronger. If I'm going to help you fight this battle that's coming up, then I have to be good enough to take on a whole slew of Death Eaters."

Draco sighed heavily, reminding her slightly of a father irritated with their child. "Regulus, you can't show up to the fight."

"The hell I can't." He straightened his posture, still sitting with the journal in his lap, as though that would help convince them to change their minds.

Running a hand over his face, Draco took a step forward. "You need to listen to me. It will be hell if you show up to fight."

"I can go unseen. I can go into my animagus. Or!" Regulus suddenly shot up, so excited. Before either Hermione or Draco could interject, he waved his wand and was gone. "Impressive, no?"

Hermione looked over to find Draco just as shocked as she was. They heard his voice coming from the same spot, but there was not a single sign of disillusionment around him. It became apparent very quickly that Regulus had been hard at work.

"It was really quite simple," they heard his bodiless voice say. "I just had to study a bit of spell formulation and was able to make the perfect disillusionment charm. I think, and this is really just a little dream I have, that I can apply this to a cloak just like Harry has." He spoke quickly, filled with enthusiasm.

Draco's forehead creased with worry. "Okay, so you go in and what? Just start killing off death eaters?"

"I mean, that's the idea," he said as he reappeared.

It felt like a stand-off. The three of them standing there and just staring. If the situation wasn't so dire, it would have been comedic. But it felt strange. Regulus could die, and after everything that Hermione went through to save him, she just wasn't sure how to feel about that.

"I have one condition," Draco said, breaking the silence.

"Name it."

"We do the buddy system."

Reggie perked up. "Okay, I call Hermione."

"Nope," Draco deadpanned.

"What do you mean, 'nope.'" Reggie deepened his voice to mock Draco. Draco was not amused.

"That's my wife, my buddy. You get Theo."

"Theo?" he asked with a hint of excitement. He pretended to think about it for a minute. "Okay, you talked me into it."

Pointing to the journal he said, "Write to him and let him know I'll be getting him soon."

"You got it, boss," he responded with a salute.

Regulus pulled out the journal while Draco went through the bag and found the time turners he needed to get to the time he needed. He pulled Hermione in for a quick kiss and then pulled the chain around his neck. And then he was gone. It wouldn't be long until he returned with Theo.

Hermione exhaled heavily, letting her shoulders fall as she walked over to the tree Reggie was leaning against. She plopped herself down on the ground and patted the space next to her. He followed and sat hip to hip with her, leaning his head on her shoulder. She had almost forgotten that Crooks had become super affectionate with her.

Resting her head on top of his, she asked. "How has it been?"

"Good," he muttered.

She glanced down at his face to find him staring solemnly in the distance. "That's it? Good?"

"It's strange to see his face," he whispered.

"Whose?"

"James," he admitted. Hermione nodded and gave his leg a pat. "I know it's not him. The eyes give it away. It's still weird though."

They sat in silence a bit longer before Hermione grabbed his hand. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For protecting us."

Regulus sat up, removing his head from her shoulder and squeezed her hands, giving her a soft look. "I got to spend time with him."

"Who?"

"Sirius. I... It started out with me just hanging out with him as Crookshanks, but I didn't want to waste that time with him. He didn't know anything about how I made it here and how I didn't age. I told him I wasn't able to share that information. And he... Well, he apologised for leaving me behind when he ran away. I was able to say goodbye to him, and that wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for you."

Hermione felt tears well up. "It seems we owe each other a lot."

"Hermione, we're family. I would lay down my life for you."

She felt the need to correct him but wasn't able to get the words out because Draco and Theo were suddenly standing in front of them. Draco had a determined look on his face, ready to fight and ready to save. Regulus looked up at Theo, excited and almost anxious to get going. And Theo... Well, it was easy to forget that time was passing slower for Theo than for anyone else. He looked nearly the same. He was dressed in muggle attire and looked just as ready to fight as anyone else.

Theo looked around at the crew and then down at Reggie. He extended his hand with a smirk. "Ready?"

Regulus stood, smiling at the wizard. "Let's go kill that son of a bitch."