Return From The Veil
Prologue – How?

A/N: Greetings and welcome to my brand new story. Post DH but prior to the epilogue, slight AU but nothing too bad. The story pretty much explains itself so ENJOY R&R PLZ!

It was sunny spring day or at least that's what the windows were set to in the Ministry. Witches and wizards of all kinds bustled about, carrying on their day to day business with Hermione Granger among them. But on this day, it wasn't the usual business at all and while Hermione tried to remain professional and calm in the Ministry lift, on her way to the Auror Department, on the inside she bursting with giddiness and her heel kept bouncing in her excitement to find her friends and tell them about her discovery. The other witches and wizards either didn't notice or just though she was impatient to leave the lift; regardless they did not comment, after all it wasn't like they could ask an Unspeakable of all people if something was wrong. Finally the lift clattered open and Hermione practically raced out it and weaved through the cubicles to get to Ron's. She found her boyfriend there doing paperwork and eating a sandwich when she grabbed his upper arm, "Come with me." She didn't wait for him to respond and began dragging him to the Head Auror's office where Harry sat going over some files. She pulled Ron inside and shut the door behind them.

Harry looked up, "Hermione?"

"I did it," Hermione blurted out happily. "I solved them. I knew there was more to it and I was right. You two have to come to my office right now. You won't believe me until you see it."

"Hermione we're kind of busy…" Harry trailed off at his best friend's pleading look.

"Please Harry," Hermione whined. "You have to see it. You'll come right Ron?"

Ron knew how hard Hermione had been working on this project for the last six years since the war, "Yeah I'll come."

"See, Harry now you have to," Hermione turned back the black-haired man.

"Okay, okay," Harry got to his feet. "I am pretty curious. I mean do they fit together or something?"

"You'll see," Hermione promised as she led them from the office back to the elevators. She took them through the complex labyrinth of the halls to her office and with a grin pushed the door. "TA DA!"

Harry and Ron didn't really know what they were expecting but what they saw definitely wasn't it. They slowly walked into the room, dumbfounded and awed. They hadn't been this level of impressed with Hermione's intelligence since their school days and even then she had never done something like this. Both of them only had one word for her, "How?"