Ron emerged from the fireplace, brushing soot from his cloak, and looked around him. The atrium was completely deserted.

He hurried across the lifeless room, over to the lifts at the end. He jumped inside the first one that opened, and pressed the button labelled 'department of mysteries'.

As the lift descended into the bowels of the ministry, Ron was aware of how deathly quiet it was. He had half-expected there to be some people still working, even at such a late time as this.

The lift came to a sudden halt, and the doors opened with a bing.

The department of mysteries was dark, empty and eerily silent. A long corridor stretched out into the darkness, with various black doors at regular intervals on each side.

Luckily, Ron's vampiric nature meant that the lack of light was of little worry to him.

Percy hadn't unfortunately been able to specify which part of the department of mysteries Hermione's physical body was in, but Ron had the entire night to find her. He opened the door nearest to him, and tried the handle.

Locked.

Standing back, Ron cast an unlocking charm on the door. Hermione had showed the charm to him a little while back, and he had hoped that it would be useful.

It was. The door creaked open when he tried the handle again.

Stepping though, Ron found himself in a circular room, with seven identical doors (including the one he had just passed through) around the rim of the room.

Thinking quickly, Ron cast a charm on the door he had just used, so that a large 'X' became emblazoned on the door. He at least would know which door to pass back through to get to the main corridor.

Ron tried the door to the left of the one he had just charmed, and discovered it was unlocked. The room inside was difficult to see into, even with Ron's night vision. He could distantly see a veil about a hundred feet below, and could see a lot of stairs descending from it.

Ron didn't like the look of it, and -seeing no other exits from the room- quickly shut the door.

He moved onto the room to the right of the door with the 'X'.

The room through the door seemed to be a large hospital, with numerous beds against each wall.

Bingo.

Ron stepped through the door, and instantly the room went dark.

Pitch dark. So dark not even Ron's vision could work.

Ron stopped in his tracks. The light from the previous room was still behind him.

'Lumos!'

The end of Ron's wand lit up, emitting a light against the darkness. Nothing. All the beds seemed to have disappeared, replaced by an inky blackness.

Deciding that it would probably be best to leave the room before anything else happened, Ron turned.

At that exact moment, the ground beneath Ron's feet disappeared, and the redhead fell forward.

Somehow, he managed to grab a handhold on the bottom of the door frame.

Ron's long legs dangled into the dark nothing beneath him. The door frame didn't even appear to be attached to anything.

Ron's wand slipped from his fingers, and dropped into the nothingness.

Ten seconds went by. Then another ten. Then another. And another. And another.

There was a distant clink from below.

How far up was he? Certainly high up enough not to survive the fall.

Ron felt his arms begin to shake as he struggled to maintain his grip on the doorframe.

He guessed this was it. The end.

Ron closed his eyes.

Maybe he would become a ghost like Hermione…

His fingers slipped from the doorframe.

'RON!'

Ron's sprang open.

Hermione was holding his arms, her eyes wide and fearful as she clung to him. The two of them were descending slowly through the darkness. Hermione's form was glowing brightly.

Ron didn't know how long it took, but he felt his feet touch ground, and the two teenagers sunk to the floor, Hermione still holding Ron, as if afraid to let him go.

'What?' Ron gasped. 'H-Hermione? How?... You said you were tethered to the Hogwarts Library...'

'You needed me,' Hermione replied. 'So I came here.'

Ron threw his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. The bushy-haired witch spluttered incomprehensibly.

'Thank you, Hermione,' Ron said, softly, as he held her close. 'You saved me.'

'I-it was no problem,' Hermione stammered, as he let go. Her form seemed to have become more solid.

Ron hurriedly got to his feet, picked up his wand from the floor, and casted lumos again.

There was a door stood ajar a few feet away. Inside it, they could see the same procession of beds.

Hermione softly intertwined her fingers with Ron's, and the two of them walked through the door.

As they passed the various beds, they could see all of them were empty.

Except for one, stood at the very end of the room. Curtains were drawn around it, but they could see the outline of a figure.

Hermione looked at Ron, and nodded.

Ron pushed aside the curtain.

Hermione's physical body was lying on the bed, a drip connected to her right arm. She was breathing slowly in and out, as if in a deep sleep.

'Ron, you need to wake me up.'

'How… how do I do that?'

'You… you need to… k-kiss me.'

Ron felt his face turn red.

'Er… right.'

He put his hand on Hermione's shoulder, and began to lean forward.

'N-not this me!' Hermione stammered, blushing a furious shade of silver. 'You need to k-kiss my real form, not my ghost form!'

'O-oh,' Ron said, hurriedly leaning away from her. 'S-sorry.'

He leaned forward, but a sudden thought occurred to him.

'Wait, what will happen to your ghost form after you wake up?' He asked, turning to face Hermione's ghost form. 'Will your soul merge with your body again?'

Without warning, tears blossomed in Hermione's eyes and she began to cry.

'W-what?' Ron asked, worried. 'Hermione, what's wrong?'

'I… I don't think my memories of being a ghost will stay with me when I return to my body.'

'What?!' Ron exclaimed, horrified. 'I'll basically be killing you if I kiss your physical form, then!'

Hermione shook her head, sadly.

'I was only ever a memory, Ron; just… just a projection of my unconscious soul.'

'Not to me, you aren't!' Ron cried.

Hermione put a hand on Ron's cheek, smiling softly.

'I… I hope the real me will fall in love with you too, just like I did.'

Ron stepped forward and pressed his lips to Hermione's. Her lips were soft and tender, and she kissed him back with equal passion. He could feel the tears still trickling down her cheeks.

Hermione's form, and that of her physical body, began to glow brightly. Ron stumbled backwards. Hermione's ghost form seemed to be drawn irretrievably towards her form lying on the bed, and there was a blinding flash of light.

The light faded, and Ron dimly opened his eyes.

Hermione began to stir. Her head began to toss slightly, as if she was waking up from a deep sleep.

Her eyes fluttered open, and –gasping slightly- she made attempts to sit up.

'Ow,' she muttered, clutching her side. 'How long was I sleeping for? I feel like I'm been out for years…good grief, that basilisk must have knocked me out something rotten...'

Ron felt a gut-wrenching pang in the region of his stomach.

'I… oh,' Hermione said, as her eyes fell on Ron. 'I…'

Slowly, an enormous smile blossomed on Hermione's face.

'Ron!'

The redhead felt his heart beat faster. Was… was it really possible?

'H-hi…' Ron stammered. 'Do you… remember me, Hermione?'

Without warning, Hermione threw her arms around Ron's neck, and kissed him full on the mouth. Ron responded with such enthusiasm that he lifted her off her feet. Fireworks seemed to explode inside his brain.

Hermione pulled away slightly.

'I wouldn't have kissed you if I didn't remember you, Ron.'

'Good to know,' Ron grinned, still holding her in his arms. 'So… this is really you, then?'

'Yes, I am,' Hermione said, nodding. 'And you are the boy I fell in love with, in the aisles of the Hogwarts Library.'

The two of them laughed softly, before pressing their lips together again.

'OY!'

Ron and Hermione sprang apart. Several ministry officials had just barged into the room. Including-

'Ron!'

'Dad!'

Ron found himself wrapped in a hug from his father. Hermione stared at the thin, balding man, who could have easily passed for an ordinary human if it hadn't been for his large fangs and very pale skin.

'Good grief, Ron; are you alright? The unspeakables floo-called me as soon as the sensors in the department of mysteries went off, and –wait, is this Hermione? The person you mentioned in your letters?'

Ron blushed as Hermione had her hand shook by Mr Weasley.

'I'm so sorry that you and Ron were both caught up in the security traps, Hermione; normally the sensors are supposed to stop most people where they are. I'm presuming they didn't take into account that neither of you were human.'

'Wait… is that Hermione Granger?' One ministry official gasped. 'The girl who's been half-dead for years-'

'Sssshhhhh,' Mr Weasley said, firmly, at the ministry officials. 'Don't be rude about Miss Granger like that. Especially considering she has only just woken up.'

He then turned back to Hermione.

'I take it Ron was the one who helped you out with that, Hermione?'

Hermione nodded, blushing slightly.

'That's my boy,' Mr Weasley said, proudly patting Ron on the shoulder. 'I wouldn't have thought most people could help bring a soul back to their body, but Ron has always been special like that.'

Ron found himself blinking quickly; he felt very uncomfortable being praised so much.

'Now, while I help smooth things over with the unspeakables,' Mr Weasley continued. 'Ron, I think you should get Hermione to the canteen and get her some food. She hadn't eaten in several years, after all.'

'Arthur, really!' One unspeakable declared, angrily. 'You can't just let Miss Granger leave; we need to find out why she woke up! She's the only ever case of a human seeing a basilisk and not being killed or petrified! We can't just put it up to your son being Miss Granger's…'

'Boyfriend,' Hermione said, quietly. She intertwined her fingers with Ron's. 'And I really could use a decent meal. I'll be happy to discuss what happened to me later on, after I've recuperated.'

Ron found himself unable to stop smiling as Hermione led him away to the door at the far end of the room. They stepped through it, and found themselves in the main corridor of the department of mysteries.

'So… I'm your boyfriend?' Ron asked, as the lift clanged shut around them.

Hermione smiled up at him, her brown eyes twinkling.

'Yes. I mean, if that's okay with you?'

'More than okay, 'Mione,' Ron replied, pecking her on the cheek. 'More than okay.'

Hermione giggled, blushing again.

After what felt like barely seconds later, they were sat in the ministry cafeteria. Hermione seemed to have gotten tired after walking up there, so Ron had grabbed them both some soup and bread from the food hatch nearby.

'Ron, I can feed myself.'

'But how else am I going to show you my chivalrous side tonight?'

Hermione giggled.

'You literally brought me back to life half an hour ago.'

'Still.'

'It's hard to believe I was a ghost for three years,' Hermione said, staring at her hands. 'You'd think someone would have noticed that the ghost in the library had the same name as the half-dead girl in St Mungos…'

'You say that like the wizarding world makes any sense whatsoever.'

'True. I just wish we could have figured it all out sooner,'-Hermione interlaced her fingers with Ron's- 'I could have had years to… oh, no!'

Hermione's face now looked crestfallen.

'I haven't had any education for all that time! I'm going to be so behind in my studies! And it's O.W.L year!'

Ron promptly burst out laughing.

'It's not funny!' Hermione pouted. 'How am I going to graduate having missed three years of schooling?!'

'Mione, you're the smartest person I know,' Ron chuckled, smiling at her. 'For goodness sake, you were literally bonded to the library of all places.'

'But what if-'

'Hermione…'

'What?'

Ron put an arm round her shoulders, and kissed her on the cheek.

'You've been brought back to life. Live a little, 'kay…'