One shot. If you don't know Tex he started Hogwarts the same year as Harry and is a sort of teen age Randolf Scott or Roy Rodgers.

Hermione Granger sat at a table at a small Chinese restaurant in London. She was steaming hotter than the food. She was still beautiful but looked far too dangerous for any boy to approach.

Sitting across the table was her long time buddy Tex Shultz. He was a handsome lad with the added attraction of looking calm to the point of serene. But he didn't look exactly happy.

"Where ARE they Tex? They were supposed to be here an hour ago. We're going to have to leave soon."

A group of students from the muggle university came in seriously discussing their latest class. "So the professor was telling us about something Copernicus said, that the most common result is the most likely to occur. So we should be in the middle range of the solar system rather far inside or far outside and the solar system should be..."

Behind them came Harry Potter and Ron Weasley waving to Hermione and Tex as they made their way to the table. "Tex! Monie! Hey guys. We stopped at the burger place down the block."

Tex's only response was to raise an eyebrow. Hermione's was more emphatic. "BURGER PLACE? YOU SAID YOU'D MEET US HERE!" Everybody turned to stare. She got a hold of herself. "How can you just blow us off like that? When you say you'll meet us someplace you should show up."

Ron shrugged off the whole thing. "Hey, we were coming here, we just changed our minds. No big deal."

She could have started fires with her eyes. "No big deal? We've been waiting here an hour because you said you'd meet us. I have to go in a few minutes. Don't you two have any consideration at all? I know Tex wouldn't leave me waiting. When he says he'll be some where; he's there, on time." They glared at the yank who's silence was an even greater indictment than the girl's speech.

"... but if that's the case," one of the students was going on, "there's something else to consider. A sufficiently advanced civilization will develop computer simulations to the point were even the simulated people in them think they're real. Let's say each civilization builds one million such simulations. Then taking the average isn't it more likely that we're simulations and not real people?"

Tex was listening to the discussion with three quarters of an ear but to his chums with only half of an ear. It was an old story. The value of one's word was important to her, almost as important as it was to him. But to Ron and Harry it was nothing. Either they did something or they didn't and what ever they said to anybody had no bearing.

"Monie, if we get here or don't get here it doesn't matter. It's just time."

"Just TIME? What does that mean, just Time? What else IS there except for Time? We're only a few days from the start of our last year in Hog..." She looked about remembering they were surrounded by muggles. "... in school. Every minute is priceless..."

"You mean like in Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? The Earth is one giant computer and the mice are the operators and programmers?"

"And besides the time, there's the question of your word. How can anybody trust you if your word means nothing to you? Tex's word is sacred. His smallest promise is law to him."

"No, not like that. I'm sure the controllers are human, or at least in human form. It's more like Heinlein's Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag. A few, a very few of us are real people in here to input data and get the answers"

"Why, I've never seen Tex break a promise. He..."

"Well what about the rest of us? Those of us who aren't the operators, I mean? What happens when they turn off the computer?"

"What happens? What do you think happens? What happens to an image on television when you turn it off? We vanish. We cease to exist, like we were never there."

"Look Hermione," Harry interjected. "If you like Tex's company so much, maybe you should spend all your time with him. Maybe Ron and I shouldn't even bother coming around."

"Maybe you shouldn't. You certainly don't care enough."

Tex was starting to get tired of this. It happened so often. Harry and Ron stormed out. The students were still talking.

He paid the check and picked up a fortune cookie. Cracking it open he pulled out the slip of paper and read it. The tired, pained look now took on a definite air of sadness.

"Well, Tex, I guess that's that. I'd better be going.

He looked up like he had an idea. "Hermione, do me a favor."

"Sure. What?"

"Kiss me."

"What?"

"I want you to kiss me. Not a peck like you've given me in the past. I'd like a real kiss. Just this once. I'll never ask again. I promise."

She really didn't feel that way about him, but he was a very good friend and she supposed she could do it this one time. After all he had promised. And as she'd told Harry, Tex's word was law.

"Well, okay. I'll kiss you just this once." She leaned over and put her lips to his. It was actually longer than even the kisses she gave her boyfriend but she knew he would never ask for another. "There now, happy?"

He sighed. "Delighted."

"Okay then. I've really got to go now. See you at King's Cross?"

He looked dreamily at her. "Only the end of the world could stop me."

She chuckled. "Fine then. See you." She left.

The smile on his face faded back to the sadness of before. He took the fortune back out of his pocket and read it again.

System shut down in five minutes.
Save your work.

WHA????????? LOL I just finished Hitchhiker's. . . Glad I could relate to it