EPILOGUE: Secrets, Part 4 (Lie)

I sneak a quick glance at the sleeping form of my husband, and am suddenly tiptoeing away from him and out the bedroom door. Upon reaching the banister in the upstairs hallway, I whip out my mobile and begin to dial the numbers I've memorized, although I'd only gotten hold of the numbers once in my entire life.

This Muggle contraption proves to be very efficient, although it is unnecessary in my world. My husband doesn't know how to use them; he prefers the good old owls. I keep them in case of emergencies like these and because my mother isn't too fond of birds squawking in her house, particularly her kitchen. I keep in touch with her and Dad by using my mobile.

I check the numbers once more on the colored screen to see if I got them correctly.

Once, twice, a third time.

I press the call button.

Dialing, my Blackberry flashes. I put it to my ear.

Ring, ring, ring…

"Good evening. This is Nina Serenuéla from International Biosciences, how may I help you?" drawls an almost-bored nasally female voice. She sounds sleepy.

"Hello?" I clear my throat, because my first hello doesn't sound comprehensible. "Hello?" I repeat.

"How may I help you?" says the woman. Impatient.

I probably sound like a retard to her, but I cannot help myself. My legs are shaking and my heart is thundering in my chest. My teeth are chattering inside my mouth, although the night is not too cold.

"M-my name is Hermione Weasley," I manage to stammer out.

"What can we do for you?" she repeats, almost snaps.

In the back of my mind, I consider reporting such rude behavior to the head of this company. I couldn't care less right now, though.

"I applied for a DNA test; I probably sent it roughly four days ago," I whisper.

My husband's snores seem to grow louder, a sure indication that he is sleeping soundly. I choose to lower my voice, as precaution.

I hear the slight shuffling of papers. "Yes, we do have a record from you here," the woman affirms. "Would you like to know the provisional standings of the results now? What you will hear would not be final, but it most probably would be –"

"No, no," I counter quickly, cutting her off. "I would like to ask something of you. A favor."

"And what would that be, Mrs. Weasley?"

My heart hammers in my ribcage.

"Whatever the test results might indicate, please, please, please state that it's negative." I let the words rush out of me in one breath.

Silence is heard on the other end of the line as the woman assimilates my words.

"You are asking us to counterfeit the test results?" clarifies the woman, enunciating each word slowly.

I lick my lips nervously. "Yes."

I envision the expression the woman might have on her face as she takes in my absurd request: firm, strong, unwavering. "Mrs. Weasley, our company strives to maintain honesty, integrity –"

"You have to do this!" I choke out, letting the woman hear just how much I need her cooperation. "My family – my life –"

"We give black and white results, Mrs. Weasley; there is no partiality –"

"Please." I sob into the mobile. "What if it was your family?"

My question stuns her. She is unable to answer immediately.

She regains herself. "I-I would live with my mistake –"

"Yes, you would live with your mistake," I cut her off. "You would accept your mistake. But you wouldn't allow your family to get hurt because of it –"

"I don't know for what reason you're doing this, Mrs. Weasley. Do you not realize that you could be filed with a case for obstruction of justice once this gets out?"

"I don't care," I state simply.

"Mrs. Weasley." She sighs wearily. "Don't you want to know the truth?"

The truth. It is a painful, yet necessary thing. Some people thrive in it, and some people choose to shy away from it. Sometimes because it's easier to accept lies.

"Truth is subjective." My voice cracks. "What if I tell you that I can do magic and I'm a witch? What if I tell you that I've helped in killing the darkest wizard who ever lived? It's my truth. Yet you would adamantly state that I am lying."

"Mrs. Weasley, I –"

"Please," I implore, the urgency in my voice apparent. "My whole family is at stake of breaking apart because of this."

Besides, I don't want to end up any deeper… because I am already in too deeply.

The woman stays silent for so long that I check to see whether she is still there or not. She says she is; she's merely pondering my request.

"Alright," she says finally. "But this stays between you and me."

Relief bubbles in my throat. "Thank you."

I prepare to hang up, but she asks me a question.

"Don't you want to know the truth?" She repeats her prior question.

"I thought we've agreed on –"

"No," she assures me. "Just you. Just so you'll know whether Draco Malfoy is Rose Weasley's father or not."

They say secrets have a way of surfacing to the top, but I choose the easy way for them not to.

I lie.

I lie to my husband, I lie to my daughter. I lie to everyone.

I lie to myself.

Surprising, isn't it? Because I always prided myself on integrity, on honesty, on truthfulness…

Love does that to people. It changes them.

[A/N: So… that's it. :D

Anyway, does anyone want to make a guess on who Rose Weasley's real father is? I left a clue in one of the previous chapters if you must know! :D Chocolate Frogs to whoever guesses it right! :P

Also, I would like to say a HUGE thank you to one of my reviewers, Logic, for that review! It helped shape my new Dramione a lot, if you must know. I would've loved to send you a PM instead, but you're a guest reader, so… anyway, thanks again. :)

To the 100+ alerts, the 30+ favorites, and the 60+ reviews… thank you so much! :) wow, so this is what it feels like to finish a fic, haha :) I would love to hear your thoughts on this final epilogue. :) thanks for reading! –Nina]

Anyway, the first chapter of Demolition Lovers is up! It's AU, Voldemort won the war. (Draco still remains as an asshole here because I love his sarcasm :P) It'll be more of a tragedy than romance (I think). Hope you guys give this one a try… it would make me ecstatic if you did! (Besides, it's almost Christmas! :D)