"What was that? Did you do it?!" Ron yelled, reeling away as if struck by a fierce blow. He whipped his spectral hand at her ... and Hermione felt the contact not only on her cheek ... but on something of an emotional level, as though Ron were slapping her very soul. The impact sent her toppling over the altar and flat onto her back. She looked up, dazed, as Ron rounded the altar and knelt over her, bracing her with his ghostly knees. Hermione tasted blood in her mouth ... or was it something else, for Ron hadn't physically struck her? She couldn't be sure. Either way, she smirked darkly at her joke of a husband.