As Hermione stepped out of the Ministry fireplace, she blinked several times, allowing her eyes to focus in the dim light of the main entrance. Unlike all her previous visits, the reception desk was completely deserted. The torches were barely lit and the atrium was empty except for a few wandering guests from the Valentine's gala. Distantly, the celebratory sounds echoed from the ballroom–the clinking of glasses, the raucous laughter of imbibed party goers, and the shrill vibration of orchestra strings. At the far end of the opposite corridor, she spied a young couple snogging behind a statue and short and squat drunk wizard grumbling to himself as he sipped from a flask.