The Resurrection Stone

Hermione woke slowly. She had no idea of the time or where she was. Only that she was seated slightly upright, leaning against a warm, comfortable body. A body? Again? She sat bolt upright as the evening's memories came flooding back to her. A touch of vertigo hit her. She needed to stop waking up this way. The embers in the grate shed little light in the room, but a quick inspection by feel of her mystery companion's face revealed that it was indeed Regulus this time.

He chuckled. "Feeling all right?"

Strangely, despite what was probably the oddest twelve hours of her life, she did feel all right. Largely due to the man she was currently snuggled against. Had she really kissed him? That wasn't a dream, was it? She was amazed at her own forwardness. The normal Hermione would not recklessly snog a total stranger. The norm...Oh. He was kissing her now. This was no dream. The normal Hermione needed to rethink her priorities. This was good.

They were interrupted by a loud laugh from the direction of the kitchen. She remembered now. They had all been re-telling the events of the last year to Remus when exhaustion finally caught her. Sirius had laughed at her when he shook her awake and insisted she go lie down.

"Shall we check on the others?" she managed to get out before yawning.

"I suppose."

She gingerly rose from the couch, trying not to shiver at the light contact of his hand down her back. In fact, she was so distracted by his hand in hers that even after he raised the lights in the room she still knocked over Andromeda's potted plant. A quick Reparo and Scourgify rectified the mess, but she was a bit embarrassed. She covered herself by launching into bookworm mode.

"Whew, I guess they call the aspidistra the cast-iron plant for a reason! They're quite useful in potions, and they can practically grow in the dark. In their native..." She blushed, realizing she must sound like a complete swot. He merely watcher her benignly and waited for her to finish her dissertation on the aspidistra. "In their native China, they are considered lucky to have around since they are so hardy."

"They also make a nice addition to the Pepper-up Potion. Just a pinch of shredded root and it doesn't burn so much going down."

Her eyebrows almost reached her hairline.

"What? You are not the only one to have earned an outstanding OWL in Potions." He smiled at her haughtily before breaking into an honest grin. "I admit I didn't know about it being considered good luck. I only managed exceeds expectations in Herbology," and it was her turn to fake a haughty smile. "I spent a little too much time on the Quidditch pitch I suppose." She was outright laughing now. "Enough, you." He shooed her along, chastising her with a quick pinch.

-o-O-o-

The kitchen was alive with chatter and laughter. Remus was sitting up straight in his chair, bouncing his son on his knee and talking animatedly with Sirius. He flushed when he caught Hermione's eye.

"I can't apologize enough, Hermione."

"It's fine, Remus; I'm just so happy to see you again." She walked around the table to give him a hug or at least the best hug possible considering he was sitting with a toddler on his lap and she was standing.

"Remus, I would like you to meet my brother." Sirius spoke with a hint of pride in his voice. Regulus edged over to him, still wary after finding him in Hermione's bed. Remus was cautious as well from what Harry and Sirius had told him about Regulus' relationship with his former student.

Regulus held out a hand to shake and relaxed a bit when he saw the honest look in the older man's eyes. He vaguely remembered him as a prefect from school, though he generally made a point to avoid Gryffindors, especially those close to his brother.

Unaware of any tension, Hermione began her assessment of the situation. "What I don't understand is how Teddy brought you back. From what we have been able to guess so far, he needs to have an old possession of the deceased in hand. If anything, the bed was Tonks'. There must have been something of yours there, like a blanket or..."

"Or a tattered old cloak?"

All eyes turned to Regulus.

"He was cold. I found a cloak in that stack of boxes and wrapped him in it."

"Well, I guess that theory is right then. At least it's the best we've got so far."

"Let's give him something of Dora's then." Remus' voice was low and serious.

"It didn't work when I gave him my father's invisibility cloak." Harry's melancholy was back. He was thrilled to see his friends again, but being so close to meeting his parents and only to be denied left him more than hurt.

"That wasn't a fair trial, Harry; he was scared. All the other times he was relaxed or happy. Everyone was staring at him and making him nervous." Harry did not look encouraged by her explanation. He opened his mouth to comment to that effect when Teddy let out a piercing scream.

Everyone nearly jumped out of their skin in surprise. Remus held him close, but he continued to sob madly.

"The Stone!" Sirius jumped to his feet. "He must be trying to pass it!" Then he cringed at the thought of what that would entail.

Hermione felt completely helpless as the little boy cried out in anguish. She saw Regulus reach for his wand beside her, and before she could register what he was doing, he spoke calmly.

"Imperio."

Instantly, Teddy's screaming stopped. His face became calm and slightly drowsy.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Remus was furious. Had he been in possession of a wand, he would have cursed him.

"Regulus!" Sirius moved to physically stop his brother, but it dawned on Hermione what was happening, and she threw herself between them. Unable to defend himself, he sidestepped to dodge Sirius, but kept his eyes trained on Teddy.

"Haven't you ever been under the Imperius curse?" she asked. Everyone save Regulus looked at her dumbfounded, and then Harry got it.

"It's the best feeling in the world."

Sirius turned and looked at his godson like he had sprouted another head. He then looked to Remus, who nodded.

"But if anything goes wrong with this, Regulus..." Remus spoke through gritted teeth.

Regulus was not listening to any of this. He was concentrating fully on the curse, urging Teddy to relax and think happy thoughts. All eyes were on the boy except Hermione's. She watched Regulus in awe as he focused on his task, a small muscle in his cheek occasionally twitching.

They all got the shock of their lives when a loud crack, like that of Apparition, sounded a few feet from the boy. Nymphadora Tonks Lupin appeared out of thin air. And promptly fell on her arse.

The surprise was enough for Regulus to drop the curse. Teddy started to tear up again, but was not in a full out panic as before. Remus almost dropped him as he leapt up to see to his wife. Hermione rescued Teddy and held him close, getting a bit teary eyed herself at the reunion.

While the others gathered around the newly resurrected Tonks, Regulus began to examine Teddy. Hermione watched him with interest. He really cared about the boy. The very idea tugged at her heart a little. More than a little. She had moved on from casual fancy to full blown infatuation. At every turn, Regulus showed what kind of man he was. And she liked that man.

A tug on her shirt brought her attention back to her charge. Teddy was in a much better mood and grabbing at her again. This time he hooked her bra strap and let it go with a snap. Regulus smiled and tucked a bushy tendril that had fallen in her eyes behind her ear while the little imp made another grab at her chest. He was definitely going to have to get one of those one day.

"Ahem." Tonks interrupted the little moment. Hermione immediately handed her son over to her. Tonks burst into a fresh round of tears, causing Hermione to do the same. Regulus was again at a loss, now with two crying girls.

Harry saved him by edging toward Teddy and pulling the seat of his diaper back. An action he soon regretted.

"Oh, that's ghastly."

"Do you think it's out?" Hermione sniffled.

"If it is, I don't want to touch it. Remus, Tonks, you're his parents. You get the Stone."

"The Stone?"

Remus nodded to the others, who got the hint and retreated back to the sitting room to let the family bond over dirty diapers, alone. He put his arm around his wife, leading her to the kitchen sink.

"Have you ever heard of the Deathly Hallows?"