Ron charged out the door and apparated. He tried to think of Hogwarts with all his might. Finally, the familiar swooshing sensation took place in his stomach, and he felt his feet leave the ground.
Suddenly, it felt as if he hit a brick wall. His head was ringing and he heard Hermione's voice say, "You dolt! You can't apparte within Hogwarts! Haven't you even read Hogwarts, A History?" Then he truly felt stupid. Of course he should've known that. He should have actually read the book instead of just skimming through, looking for Hermione's handwriting, or her highlighting, those not-so-subtle clues that would lead him to her whereabouts. He opened his eyes, and discovered he was in the middle of nowhere. So he closed his eyes and apparated to the Shrieking Shack.
He arrived with a loud pop and quickly looked for the passage. He remembered in his third year being dragged along it by the dog that ended up being Sirius Black, who ended up being Harry's godfather. He found it, and climbed into it. After what seemed like a lifetime, he found himself beneath the Whomping Willow. He touched the knot at his side, and was able to climb out safely. He thought of Hermione's shining face when she finally saw him. He did it, he was on Hogwarts grounds. Now all he had to do was get into the Chamber undetected.
Soon enough he found himself in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. He spoke the Parseltongue he had heard Harry use hundreds of times, and slid easily down the slimy passage. He saw the rocks, and remembered when Gilderoy Lockhart lost his memory. Eventually he found his way to the Chamber, where the dead body of the Basilisk still lay. He poked around a bit, recognizing everything here from Harry's accounts of what had happened when he had rescued Ginny. To his dismay, Hermione was not here. Maybe she had given up on him. Five years was an awfully long time to wait down here. Maybe she had realized that he would not come, that he would not read the book, and had gone off to live and unfulfilling life with Victor Krum or someone. Ron foolishly tried to apparate again, and then eventually worked his way back to the Shrieking Shack, from where he successfully apparated. He found himself back at home, thinking of the girl he had let get away, when he had had so many chances.
That night, he held the book in his arms, stroking the spine wistfully. If only I had more clues. More recent clues, his mind corrected. Almost as if by magic, the book fell open to the last page, where Hermione's unread inscription lay. The pages seemed to whisper to them as they fell away from that life-changing inscription, "You should've kept reading". He ran his fingers over Hermione's words, feeling her within this page and ink, before he read them. Then he realized what a complete idiot he had been and once again apparated from his house.
He found himself standing right in front of Flourish and Blotts, the magical bookstore. Of course Hermione would have chosen to live on top of a bookstore. It was so obvious. He opened the door to the bookstore, and saw the shopkeeper standing behind the counter. He gave Ron a grin and said, "I knew you'd come". He slowly led Ron upstairs to where the apartments were, and Ron could feel his heart pounding wildly in his chest. He almost knocked the old man over several times in his eagerness to see Hermione after all these years. Finally, the shopkeeper led him to the door that was hers. Apt. 7, Ms. Hermione Granger, the door read in gold script. Good, she's still single, he thought. The old shopkeeper knocked quietly on the door three times. The shopkeeper left, with a wink to Ron that seemed to say good luck. The door creaked open.
"Oh Ron, I knew you'd come! How come it took you so long?"
"I went to the Chamber of Secrets first, which was a bloody waste of my time."
"Ron! You should've kept reading!" Then he leant down and pulled her into a passionate kiss. She pulled him inside her apartment and shut the door. For once in his life, Ron was really glad that he had read something.