Hermione sat alone in the living room of her large home. A book lay open on her lap, but her eyes simply looked at it without taking in any of the information on the page.

The door behind her opened softly and Hermione heard footsteps approaching her chair. A hand was placed gently on her shoulder and she immediately stiffened.

“Hermione,� said the gentle voice of her husband, “come to bed. It’s almost midnight.�

“Not yet,� she replied, picking up the book. “I’ve got to finish this. I think it could help us make her better.�

She heard Ron let out a soft sigh. “It’s too late, Hermione. She’s already gone. You were there; you saw that there was nothing else they could have done. You held her hand as she slipped a…away…�

His voice caught on the last word and when she turned to look at him she saw that his face was stained with tears. Her own eyes remained dry. She couldn’t cry for what she didn’t believe she had lost.

“We can perform magic,� Hermione said to Ron. “There has to be a way to help her.�

“She was so ill, Hermione. No magic could have helped her.�

At this point he knelt down and looked into her eyes.

“Please, we’ve lost our baby, I can’t bear to lose you too. You have to accept that she’s gone.�

“I can’t give up,� she said. “Just because you don’t care, doesn’t mean that I don’t.�

He jumped away from her as if she had hit him. “How can you say I don’t care? I love you and I loved her so much. She was our baby! I feel like I have been ripped apart inside and I would do anything to change what happened, but there was nothing that could be done. We spoke to three different Healers after she fell ill, and they couldn’t do anything. You have to accept that she is gone. You can’t keep talking about her as if she is alive.�

Hermione was silent. After a few moments, Ron spoke again, his voice pleading with her. “Please, Hermione, come back to me.�

Again, she said nothing. Then, at last, she picked up the book, which had fallen to the floor.

“I can’t. Not yet,� she said, her voice barely a whisper. “It’s too soon.�

Ron’s shoulders slumped and he turned away. Hermione forced her eyes to focus on her book and, after a few moments, she heard the door close.

She returned to her book, trying to read what was written on the pages, but all she could think of was the terrible memories of her darling Sophie’s death. Her mind was drifting away. She was lost in deep thought, the excruciating memories ripping her apart, bit by bit. Hermione felt as though a thousand Dementors were all around her, relishing in her despair. But she did not want to fight it anymore; she was drowning in her own sorrow.

Sophie had been the perfect child, Hermione mused. She remembered the happiness she had felt when she had first seen her daughter’s face and the grief when she had held her dear Sophie’s hand for the last time, helpless, as she had watched her leave the land of the living. Those golden brown eyes had once shone with nothing but innocence and love. But now they were empty and blank, with no life in them. She remembered the times that they had spent together; the small things that had brought a smile to her tiny face. Now, there were no smiles, no excited shrieks, nothing at all but a huge void, emptiness…..nothingness….

Hermione flipped the pages of the book in her hand absent-mindedly, without even bothering to glance at the contents of the pages. She wanted to do something; anything which would take her away from these haunting memories. She no longer had a daughter to care for, to love and to nurture. Her precious Sophie had been snatched away from her, and she felt that her life was no longer worth living. Each and every thing that she noticed reminded her of Sophie. The vase which had been broken and fixed crookedly by Ron, the cradle on the side of her bed, the rattle and the toys scattered on the floor, all of them brought back painful memories.

A flash of green appeared in the fireplace and a heavily pregnant Ginny walked across the room towards Hermione, Hermione took no notice of this until Ginny shook her shoulders and jolted her back to reality.

“Hermione?� Ginny’s voice seemed miles away. The only thing Hermione could see was her belly, sticking out in front of her. How she hated it. She remembered the envious looks Ginny had given her throughout her own pregnancy, longing to share the same experience, but forced by her Quidditch career to wait.

“Hermione?� Ginny said again, this time with a sense of urgency in her voice. Hermione attempted to lift herself out of her daze and focus on her sister-in-law’s face.

“Ginny, what are you doing here?�

“I came to check if you were all right. Where’s Ron?�

“Bed.� Her answer was short. She didn’t want Ginny to be there. All she wanted was to be left alone, especially as she knew that any moment Ginny was going to launch into a sympathetic speech.

“Oh.� Ginny seemed to sense her reluctance to talk. “Well…�

“Ginny, why are you here? It’s late.�

Ginny seemed taken aback by her harsh tone, but Hermione found that she didn’t care.

“Um, I couldn’t sleep, and Ron said you hadn’t been sleeping much, so I thought you could use some company. I’ve hardly seen you recently. I know you must be feeling terrible but I want to help. You need to talk to someone.�

“You don’t know anything about what I need or how I feel. If you did you wouldn’t have come here.� Hermione’s eyes strayed unconsciously towards Ginny’s belly again. Ginny seemed to notice what she was looking at because she suddenly gasped. “Oh, Hermione, I’m so sorry. I didn’t think about how hard it must be for you to see me like this. I just wanted to see you. I wanted to help.�

“Then perhaps you should go. I’m about to go to bed myself. Use lavender if you can’t sleep – that used to help me I was…� She trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

Ginny stood up. “I’m sorry, I should have called before I came. I just thought you might want to talk. You can call me at any time, Hermione,� she said sadly. “I’ll always be available to talk.� With that, she waddled back to the fireplace and was gone.

Hermione slammed her book in frustration. Why was this happening? Why were there some people who were so happy whereas her own life was falling apart? Hadn’t she been through enough? Hermione needed answers.

With that thought, an image flashed into her mind. She saw a circular room, surrounded by doors, and she knew where she needed to go to find out what she so desperately wanted to know. If there was one place that would help her, it was there.

She didn’t pause to think any longer. Instead, she stood up and turned on the spot, concentrating on the one place where she knew she would discover some answers to the questions that were haunting her day and night.

After a moment, her surroundings reformed as the grand atrium of the Ministry of Magic. This was where she had started work as soon she left Hogwarts, and indeed where she still worked, even though she was currently on extended leave. Her specific department was the one she was heading to now: the Department of Mysteries. Employees of the department were given twenty-four hour access which meant she would have no problems getting in so late at night.

As the lift descended to the bowels of the Ministry, Hermione could think of only one thing: she needed to visit the veil, only then could she find her answers.

The lift came to a shuddering halt at the last floor. The deserted corridor and the eerie silence were all too familiar to her. The silence was reverberating from the walls as though it could be felt and seen. She wasn’t scared in the least, as she had nothing to be scared of; no one to live for anymore. Even death would be a welcome end, she thought, as it would help her to be united with Sophie again. Hermione entered the main hallway which was deserted as she had expected it to be. She continued down the hallway and went through another door, which took her to the main circular room. The rooms suddenly seemed unfamiliar to her, though she had been to them several times before. Her mind was incapable of coherent thought and she just decided to walk through the nearest door. She hesitated for a fraction of a second, but then tried opening the door. It opened easily. Hermione was amazed to find a room which she had never seen before in her entire career as an Unspeakable, which spanned almost four years.

The room was filled with shelves and shelves filled with some sort of files, or that’s what she thought they were. The four walls were completely covered and the door behind her had suddenly disappeared. Hermione thought that the occurrence was strange, as none of the other rooms were like this, covered with records of some sort. She simply stared at the surroundings. Carefully observing the shelves, she noticed that they each had a tag at the right corner which had a year printed on it. The files were also labelled and neatly stacked in rows. She saw the last row of files and suddenly noticed something different; something which she felt was not meant to be there: a file with Sophie’s name. Just seeing her daughter’s name brought tears to Hermione’s eyes. However, she was curious to know what was in the file. She pulled out the file quite cautiously as she did not know if the room was charmed like the Hall of Prophecy, wherein nobody other than those whom the prophecy was made about, could access the prophecy in question.

Fortunately, nothing untoward happened when Hermione picked up the file. However, when she opened it, she felt a sudden tingle in the back of her neck and a thin strand of light emerged from the file and went straight into her head. Suddenly, she could feel her memories being rearranged so that she was viewing every experience she had ever had with Sophie: there was the birth, so painful, yet so rewarding, bringing her home from the hospital, feeding her, playing with her, laughing. Then the memories changed and even though Hermione knew what was coming, she couldn’t break the connection, because now she was seeing when things started to go wrong. She saw Sophie lying in her cot, not breathing, saw her being rushed in St Mungo’s, sat again by her bedside as she slipped away.

Tears were streaming down Hermione’s face, but she couldn’t stop the memories from being replayed over and over again. She was completely mesmerised by what she saw.

It seemed as though only a moment had passed, when she was rudely interrupted by the calls of Croaker, a senior Unspeakable. She paid no attention to his incoherent words; she was just lost in her world with Sophie, and that was all that mattered to her.

“Mrs Weasley!� The voice was loud and insistent, breaking into Hermione’s train of thought.

Suddenly, the file she was holding was snatched from her and slammed shut. Immediately, she broke out of her trance and focused on what was happening around her. Hermione realised it was Croaker who had taken the file from her and she felt a surge of resentment towards him.

“Why did you do that?� she asked angrily.

“Mrs Weasley,� he said, trying to sound gentle, “these files are dangerous. People have been driven mad by them. They can’t stop themselves from looking at the people they loved and, unless someone is able to break the connection, they end up unable to ever look away.�

Hermione could feel her anger subsiding a little now as the connection wore off completely. “I’m sorry,� she said at last. “I just got carried away.�

“I know, but that’s the problem. You shouldn’t even be here,� he added. “You’re supposed to be on compassionate leave.�

“What is this room, anyway?� she asked, trying to avoid his question.

“This is the Hall of Records,� he said grandly. “Every birth, death and marriage is recorded here, in these files. People who know the person they relate to can view the files and see their memories of that person.�

“Why have I never seen it before?�

“Access is strictly limited to those who work with the records. Otherwise, we’d end up with everyone trying to get in here to view the records of their loved ones.�

He gave her a pointed look at this point and she realised that she had just proved his point.

“Anyway,� Croaker continued, “you never answered my question. Why are you here?�

“I just thought I could find…� She trailed off, realising that she didn’t really know what it was she was looking for.

He gave her a sympathetic look. “I understand. People often find themselves drawn to this department after they lose someone they love. They think it can provide them with answers.�

She looked at him, her anger suddenly flaring.

“You have no idea!� she half shouted. “You can’t just give me a sympathetic speech and expect everything to be OK.�

He stepped towards her, his arms outstretched, but she stepped back away from him.

“Leave me alone!� she said.

“Hermione?� This voice was a new one, quieter and somehow familiar. The presence of it calmed her a little. Looking around, she saw a figure standing in the corner.

“Harry?� she asked, feeling incredibly confused. “What are you doing here?�

“I’ve been working the night-shift. We hoped there was going to be a big arrest, so they wanted me in case they managed to get them. Someone came up to tell me that you were here, so I thought I’d come and check you were OK.�

“Why does everyone keep thinking they need to check up on me? Ron, you, Ginny – none of you seem to think I can look after myself. I’m allowed to be here – I work here – so why won’t people leave me alone?�

“People are worried about you, Hermione. You’ve hardly spoken to anyone since, well, you know. I’ve called Ron,� he added. “He’s on his way.�

She wanted to scream. All she wanted was to be alone, to be able to watch her daughter as she had been doing only a few moments ago. She needed to find the answers she had come for. She didn’t want to see Ron, she didn’t want to see anyone.

Suddenly, she felt a urgent need to get out of theHall of Records, away from the people who were stifling her. She began to run, making her way back to the place where the door had been. As she approached, it materialised, and she found herself back in the circular room. Aware that Harry was likely to be following her, she went through the first door she saw.

She found herself in the room with the veil. Her heart plummeted at the sight of it. This was it. This was where death was stored; this was where she would find her answers. The door she had just come through opened again and, without thinking, she ran forwards to the veil. Suddenly, she knew there was only one way to truly understand. She had to go through. She heard more footsteps behind her, heard the voice of her husband calling her name, and then she had reached the veil and, without a second thought, she had gone through it to the other side.

***

When Ron had found Harry in his bedroom, he had immediately panicked. The news that Hermione had somehow ended up in the Department of Mysteries had given him even more reason to worry. He had barely given himself enough time to throw on some clothes before he had Apparated, arriving in the Ministry of Magic.

He sprinted down to the Department, barging into the circular room just in time to see Hermione running through another door in the wall. Harry was shortly behind her and Ron followed the pair of them. He saw Hermione staring at the veil and desperately called her name. He couldn’t lose her; he wouldn’t let her go, but then she started running and even though he shouted for her to stop, she plunged through the veil.

“Hermione!� His voice splintered in the air, all the agony and grief he felt was expelled in that one word. He began to run forwards, intent on following her, but he tripped and fell to the floor, sobbing. He was aware of Harry beside him, shouting her name.

“Not again,� he was shouting. “It can’t happen again. She has to come back. She’s still alive – she has to be!�

Ron was incapable of words. He looked at the veil, desperate to see some sign of his beautiful wife, but there was no evidence she had ever been there. Other people entered the room, trying to draw him away from the scene, but he would not leave. Harry stayed beside him and they watched the veil, waiting for something that would prove that she was not dead. And as he watched, Ron whispered her name over and over again in the hope that it would somehow bring her back to him.

***

Hermione found herself lying down in a place which strangely reminded her of the Hogwarts’ library. It was filled with books, all neatly arranged and stacked by subject. She was astonished as she had expected to see an after world filled with souls, one of whom would be her precious Sophie. As she looked around, she felt more and more captivated by the scene. Hermione was curious and her child-like inquisitiveness returned.

So many questions were swirling in her mind, but there was no one to answer them anymore. Suddenly, she saw Lupin appear from behind one of the bookshelves. At last, there’s someone to answer, she thought. She looked at Lupin, and he seemed all flesh and blood, unlike what she had imagined. She had thought that he would be more like Nearly Headless Nick, all pearly white and floating in mid-air.

She was afraid as well as curious, but her inquisitiveness got the better of her and she said, “Where am I?�

Lupin smiled and replied, “Where do you think you are?�

“This reminds me of the Hogwarts’ library,� said Hermione in an awed voice.

“So, that’s where you are,� said Lupin, calmly

Hermione’s mind was filled with heaps of questions, but the first one of which she wanted to ask was that whether she was dead. She was pretty sure that she was, but she wanted a final confirmation from Lupin.

“Am I dead?� she asked.

“That’s up to you.�

“What do you mean?� asked a bemused and irritated Hermione.

“Well, you are in a phase between life and death. Since you ran into the veil without having actually been dead, I guess you do have a choice to return to the world of the living, or choose to remain with the dead.�

To Hermione, consumed with thoughts of her daughter, there seemed no choice.

“I want to stay here,� she said with certainty.

He looked at her for a moment, and then he said in his quiet, serious voice, “Are you sure?�

“Of course I’m sure!� she replied incredulously. “How could I not choose to be with my daughter? If you could choose to be with your son, would you even hesitate?�

“I might do, if it meant leaving my wife. Think of the people you’ll be leaving behind, Hermione.�

She paused. Until now, she hadn’t even thought about Ron, but suddenly she longed to see him. She felt a gut-wrenching pain as she remembered his shouts when she had been running towards the veil. How would he cope with this?

With this thought, her surroundings suddenly began to shift and she found herself back in the Department of Mysteries. She saw Ron, tears streaming down his face, clutching Harry’s shoulder, as if unable to support himself. Harry’s own face showed evidence of tears and he looked suddenly older. She tried to call out to them but they could neither see nor hear her. She saw employees from the department studying the veil and shaking their heads. They began to walk away and she saw Ron run at them, gripping their robes, gesturing frantically towards the veil. Though she could not hear anything, his actions were obvious: he was begging them to keep trying, not to give up. She saw one of them pat him gently on the shoulder, giving him a sympathetic look. They were telling him it was too late.

Hermione felt her own eyes become moist and as tears obscured her vision, her surroundings shifted once again, returning to her to the Hogwarts’ library where Lupin was waiting.

“What did you see?� he asked, seemingly unbothered by her disappearance and then reappearance.

“Ron,� she said weakly, “and Harry. They were crying. They think I’m dead.�

“Is that not what you wanted – to be dead, to be with Sophie?�

“Yes…no…I don’t know,� she said, collapsing into a chair, which seemed to appear from nowhere. “I don’t know what I want,� she said at last. “Why does any of this have to happen? Why did Sophie have to die? Why do I have die to be with her? Why did you have to die for that matter?�

“My, my, that’s a lot of questions,� Lupin said with a glimmer of a smile. “You haven’t changed, Hermione,� he continued sadly, “except for the fact that once you would have known the answer to most of your questions before you even asked them. But I suppose this time it’s up to me to try and know the answers.�

He sighed and sat on another chair which had appeared beside Hermione’s.

“There isn’t really an answer to why people have to die. All I can tell you is what some people think. I suppose it’s an accepted fact that everyone will die at some point; it’s part of the natural order of life. Even someone like Voldemort, who strove to become immortal, couldn’t hold off death forever.

Some people live full lives and are allowed to die peacefully, but there are others, like your Sophie, who seem to get taken away too soon. However, in some ways they are not taken too soon. They are just taken when it is their time. Tonks and I, for example. We chose to fight in the battle that night, and I often wonder if it was a mistake. We lost our son in the same way that he lost us, and it is one of my biggest regrets. However, I sometimes think about what would have happened if we hadn’t fought. Would we have lost the war? Would we still have died because that was our time to go?"

“So what you’re saying is that it was Sophie’s time to die?�

“Yes, sort of. Sophie was very ill wasn’t she?�

“Yes.�

“And if she had lived, she would have had to endure a great deal of pain and suffering.�

“Yes, but just because someone is ill doesn’t mean they should be allowed to die,� retorted Hermione.

“I know, but you didn’t let Sophie die, you did everything you could to save her, but she wasn’t able to hold on.�

Hermione could feel her tears returning. “I can’t just accept that it was OK for her to die because she was ill. How do I even know that she is happy where she is?�

Lupin smiled. “I know. She’s been well-looked after ever since she arrived.�

Hermione looked at him curiously. “By whom?�

“By us,� said Lupin. “Tonks and I. Lily and James wanted to have her, after everything you’ve done for Harry, but Tonks and I insisted – we knew you after all.�

“So, she’s going to think you’re her parents?�

“No. She’ll always know who you are. People in the afterlife don’t lose their memories in the same way as living people. Even though she was only a baby when she died, she’ll always remember the time she spent with you and Ron, and she’ll always know that you are her parents, not us. We’re just looking after her for you.�

Hermione’s tears were flowing freely down her face. “Thank you so much,� she said. “You have no idea what it means to know she is being taken care of by people I trust.�

“I think I do,� replied Lupin. “I saw how you’ve been with Teddy, how much everyone has cared for and loved him. I hated leaving him, but I know he is growing up feeling wanted and loved.�

The pair sat in silence for while, each lost in their own thoughts. At last, Hermione looked up at Lupin’ calm face.

“I’ve got to decide, haven’t I?� she whispered.

“I’m sorry, Hermione. You can only stay here for so long before it becomes too late for you to choose. You don’t have much time.�

Deep down, Hermione knew what she had to do, but it didn’t make the decision any easier. She was close to seeing Sophie again, but the sight of Ron looking so broken, pulled her back to him.

“Are you sure she’s happy?� she asked.

Lupin nodded. “It was her time to die, Hermione. She is no longer suffering, and we will make sure she’s loved and cared for until you’re ready to see her again.�

He looked thoughtful for a moment. “Hermione, have you ever heard the saying: `A great man’s greatest good luck is to die at the right time`?�

“It’s a Muggle quote, isn’t it?�

“Yes, I read it somewhere, years ago.�

“So, are you saying that this applies to Sophie?�

“Not necessarily, but I do think it’s a way you could help yourself come to terms with her death. You just need to remember that Sophie was so very ill and even if she could have been saved, she would have lived a hard life. Maybe, for her, it was the best time for her to go, rather than in a few years, after she had had to endure so much more.�

“I suppose you could be right,� Hermione said. “I just don’t know how to function without her.�

“You’ll learn - you just need to let people help you. You’ve shut everyone off since Sophie died; you haven’t allowed yourself to heal.�

Hermione contemplated this for a moment and then took a deep breath.

“I think I’m ready. I want to go back.�

Almost as soon as she said the words, her surroundings began to shift and she caught one last glimpse of Lupin’s smiling face before she felt a strange sensation, as if she was falling down a hole. And, suddenly, a light appeared and she was thrown into it. It seemed almost as if she passed through the light and when she reached the other side, she found herself landing hard on the floor on the Department of Mysteries.

“Hermione!� Ron’s cry was filled with so much hope, so much joy that she knew in that instant that she had made the right choice.

“Ron,� she cried, shakily standing up and falling into his arms. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,� she sobbed.

“It’s OK,� he soothed, stroking her hair. “You’re back, that’s all that matters.�

“I never meant to leave,� she said. “I just didn’t know what to do. I was so confused, but I understand now. I want to make things right, I want to fix things between us. I’m so sorry,� she repeated.

“You don’t have to be. I love you, Hermione, and it doesn’t matter what you do as long as you always come back to me.�

Then he kissed her, and she felt a warmth spreading through her body as they shared a closeness that they hadn’t experienced since Sophie’s death. And she knew that everything would finally be OK.

***

It had been a long labour and Hermione was exhausted, but when they handed her the small bundle, she felt suddenly awake. She had been so scared throughout her pregnancy that she would suddenly be told something was wrong and that this baby wouldn’t survive either. However, after the birth, the Healer assured Hermione and Ron that their new daughter was completely healthy. It wasn’t until she was actually allowed to hold her though, that Hermione truly believed it.

The baby looked so much like her sister had done, though she was bigger and had a little tuft of hair, while Sophie had been bald when she was born. Looking down at her new baby Hermione felt sadness mingled in with her joy as she remembered the one she had lost. Not a day went by when she didn’t think of Sophie at least once, but the pain was getting easier and when, nine months ago, Hermione had decided she was ready to have another baby, she had realised that it was finally time to move on.

Ron had left her to have some time alone with their daughter while he went outside to tell their family the good news. He had been her rock over throughout the healing process and even though there had been times when he too had cried, he had always been there for her, just as he had promised.

As she cuddled her new baby, Hermione looked out of the window and into the night sky, as she had done so many times over last two years. She knew that somewhere, Sophie was watching them and it comforted her to know that one day, they would be together.

“Look, Sophie,� she whispered. “This is your sister – Rose.�