"Hello, Hermione," said Mrs. Weasley, much more stiffly than usual.

"Hello," said Hermione, her smile faltering at the cold expression on Mrs. Weasley's face.

Harry looked between them, then said, "Mrs. Weasley, you didn't believe that rubbish Rita Skeeter wrote in Witch Weekly, did you? Because Hermione's not my girlfriend."

"Oh!" said Mrs. Weasley. "No—of course I didn't!"

But she became considerably warmer toward Hermione after that.

It was moments before Harry was due to enter the maze for the third task of the Triwizard Tournament. The other three champions had already made their way down to the entrance but Harry was lagging behind, finding himself in a rather secluded area, an impressive feat considering how many visitors had arrived to watch the third task. The reason for his delay was currently clutching his hand, her fingers tightly locked between his own and unwilling to let go.

"Hermione, I'm going to be late," he said with a smile.

"We can make them wait until they specifically call for you, can't we?" Hermione said, smiling back.

"I suppose," Harry answered. He briefly considered how it would look to other people if they were discovered in this moment. Especially after he had spent the better part of the year telling everyone that Hermione was not his girlfriend. But as he looked into her eyes, that concern vanished. Really, it did not matter to him in the slightest what other people thought. He simply did not want to see her get hurt because of her hanging around him all the bloody time. The whole Rita Skeeter fiasco had put her through a lot. And obviously, he did not want Hermione to stop hanging around him. So if all he had to do to prevent the insults and terrible treatment was to repeat that they were nothing more than friends, he could do that for as long as it took.

"Thanks for clearing up the situation to Ron's mum," Hermione said, her eyes suddenly shifting away from him.

Harry looked at her curiously. "Of course. You're my friend and the way she was treating you wasn't right."

"…You're a great friend, Harry," Hermione said as she let go of his hand. The look of disappointment scarcely had time to flash across Harry's face before he found her arms wrapped around his neck and her face right up against his. She leaned forward until their noses touched and he held his breath, feeling slightly dizzy from how close she was.

"Good luck," Hermione whispered, and she did something she had never done before, and kissed him on his lips.

Harry felt electrified, and before he knew what he was doing, his hands were clutching Hermione's face and he was kissing her back. Their lips sloppily attempted to cover the untouched corners of their mouths, greedily pressing everywhere they could reach. Harry felt her fingers run through his hair and his kisses grew fiercer. He was leaving behind a mess of spit all over her mouth but Hermione did not seem to mind, considering that she seemed just as determined to leave embarrassing marks of her own on his face.

"Will Mr. Harry Potter PLEASE come down to the field so that we may start the third task?" boomed the amplified voice of Ludo Bagman, all the way from the maze entrance.

Harry and Hermione finally broke apart, both breathing rather heavily as they grinned at each other.

"Guess I really have to go now," Harry said.

"That's too bad," she said, biting her lower lip.

He wiped his mouth, suddenly feeling very awkward.

Hermione noticed. "We'll get better at it," she said confidently.

Harry's eyes widened.

"Hermione, I—"

"HARRY POTTER PLEASE COME DOWN TO THE FIELD SO THAT WE MAY START THE THIRD TASK!" Bagman's panicked voice once again reached their ears, louder than before.

"Go, Harry!" Hermione said as she playfully pushed him. He turned and started to run. Seconds later, he stopped and turned back around to look at her.

"Hermione?" he called back.

"Yes?"

"You're a great friend too."

The door banged open. Hermione came tearing into the room, her cheeks flushed and her hair flying. There was an envelope in her hand.

"Did you—did you get—?"

She spotted the badge in Harry's hand and let out a shriek.

"I knew it!" she said excitedly, brandishing her letter. "Me too, Harry, me too!"

Before Harry could make it clear that it was Ron who had received the prefect badge, Hermione had pounced on him, arms around his neck and was planting kisses all over his face before sticking her tongue in his mouth. They had definitely gotten better at it.

Harry let her continue for a full minute before he broke away from her guiltily. The glinting badges had long since fallen from their hands on to the floor. "It's not my badge," he said.

Hermione looked at him with shock, smile slowly fading. "What?"

"Ron's prefect. Not me."

Hermione blinked with astonishment. "I-I…" she seemed at a loss for words and whirled around to see Ron, looking very uncomfortable, and Fred and George, who had evil grins on their faces.

"Well done, Ron," she got out. Her face was scarlet and she rushed out the room without looking back, forgetting to take her badge with her.

Ron looked at Harry in bewilderment. "What was that about?"

Harry shrugged, staring at the prefect badges from the House of courage that suddenly seemed to be taunting him. "We're just friends."

Harry saw Malfoy lean close to Nott and whisper something; both of them sniggered, but Slughorn showed no dismay; on the contrary, he beamed and looked from Hermione to Harry, who was sitting next to her.

"Oho! 'One of my best friends is Muggle-born, and she's the best in our year!' I'm assuming this is the very friend of whom you spoke, Harry?"

"Yes, sir," said Harry.

"Well, well, take twenty well-earned points for Gryffindor, Miss Granger," said Slughorn genially.

Malfoy looked rather as he had done the time Hermione had punched him in the face. Hermione turned to Harry with a radiant expression and whispered, "Did you really tell him I'm the best in the year? Oh, Harry!"

"What—" Ron began.

"Oh, hush," Hermione said, the smile not leaving her face.

She stood up from her seat and traveled the short distance to Harry, excitedly climbing on top of his lap. She cupped his head in her hands and pressed her lips to his. Her legs made their way around his waist and they continued to kiss, making sounds that echoed throughout the dungeon as nobody spoke. They did not stop until they heard an awkward clearing of the throat from Slughorn.

They both stared sheepishly at the old professor who had an eyebrow raised in amusement. "We should really get back to the lesson, my dears," he said. "Although that display begs the question, what exactly is your relationship status?"

"We're just friends," Harry and Hermione said at the same time. They saw from the corners of their eyes the unimpressed looks of their classmates, who seemed to have gotten rather used to their impromptu public snogging sessions over the past year.

"Of course," Slughorn said with a knowing look.

Harry and Hermione stared uncomfortably at each other from opposite ends of the tent. Their hunt for Horcruxes had hit a snag and Ron's angry departure (muttering under his breath about his pants being too tight and how Harry and Hermione needed to stop insisting they were just friends) had left behind a palpable awkwardness. Two weeks had passed since then and their growing despair at the situation had finally reached unbearable levels.

More than anything, Harry wanted to return to the point in their relationship where Hermione had not been hesitant to touch him. After growing accustomed to her friendly pecks and warm embraces throughout the years, to be suddenly deprived completely of her touch was tearing at his heart and he could feel himself slipping further into the darkness.

Hermione was biting her lower lip, something she had been doing even more frequently as of late. She had so much she wanted to say but the words never seemed to make it past her lips. She could feel the tears coming again. Get a hold of yourself, Granger! she told herself.

They gazed at each other with pained looks and opened their mouths.

"I think we need to talk," they said at the same time.

Sad smiles appeared on their faces. "I guess we're still in sync," Hermione said. She slowly walked until she stopped at the middle of the tent floor. She held out her hand.

Harry swallowed nervously and walked forward as well until the distance between them was reduced to an arm's length. "I've been thinking," he said, taking her outstretched hand into his.

"Me too."

"We're alone right now so there's no one else to hear or influence what I'm about to say." Harry turned his head downward, suddenly unable to look at Hermione's face.

Despite Hermione's earlier self-chastisement, tears filled her eyes.

"Maybe I'm making a mistake," Harry said quietly, still unwilling to meet her gaze. "I don't know when it happened but I don't like where we're at right now."

"I don't either," Hermione said. Sensing where the conversation was headed, her heart began to beat faster.

"I can only hope that what I'm saying doesn't ruin what we have and you feel the same," Harry started slowly. "We've been saying to everyone all this time that we're just friends but…"

Harry finally raised his head to look at her and Hermione saw that he too, had tears forming in his eyes.

Harry continued, "…the truth is, we're not just friends, are we?" His grip on her hand grew stronger.

Hermione jerked her hand back, pulling Harry towards her. Their bodies crashed into each other and she let go of his hand, moving her arms around him and hugging him tight. Now, everything felt all right again. All her doubts disappeared as she was positive she knew what he was going to say. "Yes, Harry," she whispered into his ear. "I think we've both been feeling the same way for a long time. So can you please say it so we can get back to how we were?"

"We're not going back to how we were," Harry's voice tickled her ear. "We're going beyond how we were."

Hermione laughed softly and pressed her tear-streaked face into his neck. She pulled back and looked directly into Harry's piercing green eyes with longing, desperate to hear the words that would make her feelings undeniable reality. "Tell me. Please, Harry," she begged. "I've been waiting for so long."

"All right, Hermione," he said. She could not recall ever seeing him so serious. His face contorted with hints of the pain he had been harboring throughout the years from feelings left unsaid. But in his expression she also saw the subtle hope that he could finally find solace with this confession.

Hermione's heart was ready to burst.

"We're not just friends," Harry said to her solemnly. "We're...best friends."

"Exactly," Hermione said as the tears began to fall harder than before. She leaned in and kissed his lips then hugged him once more, holding on with all her strength for fear that she would float away from the sheer joy she was feeling.

Ron looked around Harry's new house, clearly impressed. It had taken two years after Voldemort's defeat for Harry to move out away from the ghosts of 12 Grimmauld Place and into a place that was truly his own. Except—

"You have a roommate, right?" Ron said. "Do I know him?"

Hermione suddenly burst through from the bedroom door, her nose in a book, wearing only her knickers and an oversized shirt which, upon Ron's closer inspection, was very obviously Harry's. "Harry, have you seen my—"

She put her book down and looked at their guest with surprise. "Oh, hello Ron. Did you just arrive?" She turned red as she realized her state of dress and retreated back into the bedroom with a slam of the door, emerging seconds later wearing loose pajama pants (also Harry's).

Ron stared dumbfounded at Harry. "You're living with Hermione?"

Harry shrugged. "Yeah. It just made sense the way our situations were shaping up."

Ron glanced at his two friends and crossed his arms. "What's going on between you two, anyway?" he asked. "Are you like…together?"

Harry started coughing.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "We're just friends, Ron. Like we've always been."

"So you're not shagging?" Ron said incredulously.

Harry and Hermione stayed silent as they exchanged hesitant looks.

"Well…" Harry started.

"It's just as friends," Hermione cut in.

"Just as friends?" Ron repeated. "Hermione, I'm your friend!"

Hermione blinked. "Of course, Ron."

Ron turned to Harry. "I'm your friend too!"

Harry stared at him quizzically.

"It's weird!" Ron got out. "What you two are doing."

Harry nodded in realization. "You want a threesome?"

"I—what—No!" Ron spluttered, face turning red as his hair as Hermione gave Harry a light push ("Naughty boy!").

"I'm not stupid, you know," Ron said after he had recovered. "It's obvious what's happening here." He had always seen it coming.

Harry took Hermione's hand in his and smiled at her. "I love her like a sister. It's always been that way. I thought you knew."

Hermione beamed at Harry, nodding in agreement.

"It's so easy to tell you two never had siblings," Ron said with disgust. Harry's statement sunk in completely as Ron's eyes darted from Harry to Hermione in horror. They were still holding hands. "Wait, what did you just say?!"

Harry was down on one knee. He held up a shining silver ring with the initials H.J.P. engraved on the inside. Hermione had her hand to her mouth in shock.

"Hermione Jean Granger," he said. "Will you accept this part of me? Will you marry me?"

Hermione's heart stopped in terror. Panic started to settle in. What was he doing? If she accepted and something went wrong- She could not even consider the minutest probability of losing Harry. They had been through so much but this was— She screamed internally and wanted to Disapparate right there to avoid being forced to confront her feelings.

"…as friends?" Harry finished.

Hermione immediately relaxed and her breathing came back. She started to laugh from the relief she was feeling. And then the tears came.

Harry grinned. "I got you, didn't I?"

Hermione wiped away the corner of her eyes, shaking from the mirth that was flowing uncontrollably through her whole body.

Harry got up from the floor, motioning to the ring. "So? Will you?"

He looked at her with those irresistible green eyes and she extended her hand, palm facing downward. She did not need to voice her answer when it was so obvious, but she did anyway. Just to hear herself say it. "Yes, yes, yes! A thousand times. Always. Yes!"

Harry slid the ring on Hermione's finger and it felt like a piece of her soul that she did not even know was missing had returned to her. She grabbed his face and brought her own closer. She kissed his lips. Then his cheeks. Then his nose. Her fingers grasped the legs of his glasses and she removed them, giving her an unobstructed view of his eyes before he closed them and she kissed him there too. The newly acquired silver around her finger gleamed, a symbol of nothing more but their everlasting friendship.

Their wedding was packed. Dean Thomas, the acting minister, read again the script that he had been provided by the soon-to-be newlyweds. They had made him swear, before accepting the role, to abide by it and he had agreed. But now that he was reading it closer, he was baffled.

Harry and Hermione both glared at him as if they knew what he was thinking.

Dean shrugged and read the words from the script, still confused. "I now pronounce you...friend and...friend."

There were a couple of groans from the crowd but uproarious applause and cheering quickly overtook them. Harry removed the veil covering Hermione's face with one hand and grabbed her waist with the other. And amidst hoots and hollers from the crowd, feeling the happiest he had ever been, he kissed her.

Harry rushed to the hospital room. He had come as quickly as he could after he had received the owl. He checked the number posted next to the door to make sure it matched the one in the letter he received. He spotted Ginny.

"Is she okay?" he asked, terribly worried.

Ginny smiled. "It went fine. She's just waiting for you."

He moved toward the door but was stopped by a nurse. "Are you the husband, sir?"

Harry frowned. "No, I'm just a friend."

The nurse shook her head. "Sorry, but I can only allow family to enter."

"He's the father of the child," Ginny interjected, with a roll of her eyes. "Don't pay attention to what he's saying."

The nurse looked confused. "Then why did he—"

Ginny shook her head. "Don't ask. They're just idiots."

Harry entered the room and saw Hermione sitting on the bed, looking exhausted but full of joy. She was holding a small bundle of blankets and looking down with a smile. She spotted him and impossible as it seemed, her smile grew bigger.

"Look!"

Harry cautiously moved closer. His heart began to beat faster and he peered over Hermione's shoulder as she held the sleeping newborn.

"She has your eyes," Hermione said, raising one hand to stroke his cheek. "Wait until you see them." She moved the baby closer to him and Harry took his child into his arms for the first time as the tears came.

"Have you decided on a name?" the attending nurse said, walking into the room.

Harry and Hermione turned to each other with knowing looks. Their past singular conversation regarding the baby's name had not even lasted three minutes as they had been in full agreement.

"Ruth," they said at the same time.

Outside, they heard Ginny let out a frustrated scream. "You idiots!"

"You're delusional, you are," Ron said to Harry as he sipped a beer. "You both are."

They were in a crowded restaurant, waiting for Hermione in one of their weekly meetings.

"I don't know why you can't just say you're in love with her," Ron said.

Harry looked shocked as he turned his head in a panic to make sure the other chattering guests had not heard that terrifying statement. He relaxed after it became clear that luckily, nobody had been paying attention. "Ron, please! There are people here!"

Ron snorted, apparently not disturbed at the pandemonium he had almost caused.

"Besides," Harry said. "I don't know if I actually feel that way about her. And there's no way she feels that way about me." He shrugged. "There's no need to put that on her. I care about her too much to do that."

"Mate…" Ron said dryly. "You have three children with her."

"All the more reason not to say anything like that!"

"Oh yeah, and you're MARRIED TO HER!" Ron said, pointing to the silver ring around Harry's finger which he knew were engraved with the initials H.J.G.

"As friends," Harry corrected. "You were at the wedding!"

"Harry, there's no such thing as friendship-marriages!"

Harry looked as if he had been slapped. "Of course there are! You heard our vows!"

Ron gave up. It was not the first time they had had this conversation.

Harry stood up. "Bathroom," he muttered, still darting his eyes suspiciously at the other guests.

Less than a minute after Harry had left, Hermione arrived and sat down at their booth. "Hi, Ron."

"Hi, Hermione."

Ron looked at Hermione's face, pink from the outside cold. His eyes traveled down to her hands, where he noticed she was, as always when it got to the colder months, only wearing one glove. The uncovered hand bore the same ring that Harry had given her years ago.

"Hermione, we've been through this so many times but why can't you just admit your feelings about Harry?"

Hermione's pink face turned scarlet as she too, swiveled her head around in panic to make sure no one had heard. "Ron, please!" she hissed. "Not in public!"

Ron rolled his eyes. "I swear, if either of you say one more time that—"

"We're just friends," Hermione said hastily.

"Of course," Harry's voice interrupted. Hermione's eyes lit up in delight as she spotted her best friend.

"Hi you," Harry said to her as he sat down and pecked her on the lips.

"Hi, you," Hermione repeated breathlessly.

Ron threw up his hands in exasperation. "Whatever," he said. "If this works for you two, I'm not going to say anything more. I am officially sick of it and we never have to talk about this again."

Harry raised an eyebrow at Hermione. "He was talking to you about this too just now?"

Hermione nodded. "I know, right?"

Harry took her hand into his and kissed it. "Although, to tell the truth, I have been feeling a little something more about you recently."

Ron's ears perked up. Was he about to be the first witness to an actually historic moment?

"I…didn't want to say anything in case it got awkward," Hermione admitted. "But I think I've been feeling it too."

Ron's eyes widened. It was happening. IT. WAS. HAPPENING.

"You're right, Ron," Harry said as the pair turned towards him. "Clearly, we're not just friends."

Hermione nodded in agreement.

Ron's previous annoyance disappeared and he started to smile in spite of himself. Who would have thought? After everybody having to hear the same spiel from them for years, he, Ron Weasley, was about to be the first to hear them finally admit it to each other.

Harry looked to Hermione. Their eyes were only seeing each other and Ron suddenly felt like a filthy intruder.

"We're—" Harry started.

"—best friends," Hermione said at the same time as Harry.

Ron's smile instantly vanished and he could only stare in disbelief.

"Forever," Harry and Hermione finished together. They both laughed in relief at having reached the same word and kissed.

Ron stared at his nearly full beer bottle and drank until it was empty.

Hermione rested her head on Harry's shoulder. Harry gently caressed her hair and kissed the top of her head. He took her hand in his as their rings clinked against each other. As they sat glued to one another, their thoughts turned to the future, unaware of what it held for them but knowing without a doubt that they would always be together. Until the end. They had no way of knowing that even centuries later, millions of people would still be reading about them. A coalition of researchers and historians would come together to write a comprehensive classic about their lives and accomplishments, appropriately titled The Lives and Accomplishments of Hermione Granger and Harry Potter (Ron Weasley Was There Too). They did not know that readers would notice a clear pattern of how they could do everything that they did because they had each other, how they seemed to just complete one another. They did not know that their relationship would serve as an inspiration to people all over the world who would toast their glasses and whisper in hushed voices, echoing the words of magical historians: "To Hermione Granger and Harry Potter, the best of friends!"