The list

Chapter 15: Epilogue

When Harry and Hermione finally finished kissing, Hermione realized with a deafening blow that as simple as this had all seemed a few minutes ago, it was anything but. Pursing her lips, she leaned away from Harry and against her headboard.
"Well, we're definitely going to have to figure out how this is going to affect our public relationship."

Harry's elbow slipped and he fell flat on his face. Pushing himself up, Harry groaned, "Why must you always be so sensible?"

Hermione shrugged. "The fact of the matter is that this—"

"—is going to change everything?" Harry interrupted with a sigh.

Hermione blinked. "You must be kidding me."

"What, isn't that what you were going to say?"

"No, of course not!" Hermione said with a laugh. "I mean, of course things are going to change. I knew that the second I wrote my name. But we've been friends since first year, and even with our relationship moving from platonic to, well, this," Hermione made a small gesture with her hand, "nothing will change the fact that while you're...er...my boyfriend," Hermione lost a bit of her composure at this point as she felt her cheeks grow hot, still not use to the idea of Harry as her boyfriend, "you...well...you'll always be my best friend first. I mean, that's the great thing, isn't it?"

"That we'll always be friends?"

Hermione smiled. "No, that we'll always put our friendship first."

There was a moment of comfortable silence before Harry finally asked, "Well, what were you trying to say, then?"

"Oh!" Hermione exclaimed. "Right. Well, it's just...you know how much I hate being wrong, don't you?" Hermione asked Harry in a rush, now on her knees.

"Er, yeah," Harry said with a bit of a laugh. Hermione "hating being wrong" was a bit of an understatement in his opinion.

"Well all of these people have been telling us time and again that we should date or that we were too stubborn to admit our true feelings or see what was right in front of us. And while I'm glad that I was wrong, the fact remains that...I can't be wrong!" Hermione cried, flinging her hands anxiously. "If my mum were to find out, or worse, Ginny... Oh Merlin, I don't think I could stand it. They would torture me about it every chance they get. And I'll have to give Ginny those fifty galleons, and while I can pay it, it's the fact that I would be paying her that bothers me. I just can't, Harry!" By this time Hermione looked slightly hysterical. Harry reached out a tentative hand to comfort her, but Hermione's sudden arm movements, no doubt attributed to her stress, prevented him from getting anywhere near her.

"I...I don't really understand what you're trying to say," Harry said slowly once Hermione had calmed down to a point where she could listen. "Does this mean you don't want to— "

"Of course not!" Hermione interrupted with a gasp. "No, don't be thick. I just mean that, well, maybe...maybe we should keep this out of the public eye? At least until Easter has past, so at the very least I can win the bet with Ginny."

"You mean keep our relationship a secret?"

"Yes, exactly!"

"I don't know, Hermione..." Harry looked uneasy. "Neither one of us are accomplished liars...well, actually, I'm rather good at it..."

"Excuse me, but I do remember tricking Umbridge into going into the forest instead of torturing you," Hermione said, looking rather offended. Under her breath she muttered, "Ungrateful git."

"But that and this are a bit different, don't you think?" Harry asked. "I mean, remember when you went into Borgin and Burkes and you tried to convince Borgin that you were a friend of Malfoy's? And he threw you out?"