A Gift

She blinks in the darkness, her eyes adjusting to the sudden lack of light. She starts to open her mouth, only to feel his fingers pressing softly against them to keep her quiet. He leads her throuhe dhe dark, the soft sound of leaves rustling giving her a hint as to where they are. When they finally come to some light, she realizes they are walking through a cave in a forrest. She loosens her grip on his arm, the light filtering through the trees giving her enough to see by. She notices the way his eyes scan their surroundings as he leads her down a narrow path in the forrest. She feels the smooth wood of her wand in her hand, not realizing she had pulled it from her cloak as they walked out of the cave.
When she finally sees the trees thin and grass ahead of them, she nearly drops her wand in shock. \"We\'re at Hogwarts!\' She whispers softly.
\"Of course.\" His voice purrs in her ear as he leans closer to her. \"It is the safest place for you now.\"
\"Oh.\" She follows him down another path leading towards the castle.
When they finally step inside, she stops and smiles at the figure of the older man eyeing her carefully. \"You are sure you were not followed?\"
\"Yes, Headmaster.\" He loosens his hold on her arm, taking a small step away from her.
\"Good.\" Dumbledore waves to a figure standing near the staircase. \"Tonks will follow you back to the city and spend the rest of the evening with you so you can carry on this charade.\"
Severus narrows his eyes at the woman walking towards him in the shape of Sabine. \"I do not believe that is necessary, Headmaster.\"
\'Sabine\' rolls her eyes. \"Severus, get the stick out of your ass. I won\'t bite or argue with you, I promise.\"
Hermione gently lays a hand on his arm, not noticing the raised eyebrow being directed towards her from the Headmaster\'s direction. \"Professor, perhaps they are right. It would look odd for you to not spend time out like you had told Malfoy you had promised.\"
Severus, eyes her closely for a moment before sighing deeply. \"Very well. But I will put the same silencing charm on Tonks as I did on you.\" He glares at Tonks, who smiles back warmly from Sabine\'s face. \"uldnuldn\'t want her incessant chatter to ruin all the hard work you have put in.\"
Nymphadora eyes them both suspiciously. \"Should I even ask what you two have been up to?\" She walks over and takes Severus offered arm.
Severus quickly silences her, his eyes going hard. \"That will be enough for one evening. And I suggest you behave accordingly or I will leave you at mr. Malfoy\'s party.\"
Hermione watches silently as they disappear into the night. A soft hand squeezing her shoulder startles her and she looks up into the concerned face of the Headmaster. \"Is everything alright, Hermione?\"
\"Yes, everthing is quite alright. I am just a bit tired.\" She glances back at the darkness surrounding the castle.
Dumbledore ofers her an arm and she takes it. \"Then it seems I should take you to the gryfindor tower and your rooms so you can get some much needed rest.\"
She frowns, her eyes traveling over the familiar pictures along the walls. \"I haven\'t heard from Ron or Harry these past few weeks. are they alright?\"
\"Quite, My Dear.\" He chuckles softly, leading her up the stairs to the tower. \"You will be seeing them soon enough. They should be here in a few days.\"
\"And Voldemort?\" She asks softly.
The older man stares down at her as if reading her mind. \"He\'s been quiet. Almost too quiet. Anything more I cannot tell you at this time.\" He stops in front of the fat lady. \"You will find your things are in the head girl\'s room. Illiya saw fit to have them brought over and your rooms prepared.\" He smiles and nods to her. \"Good night, Hermione.\"
She smiles back. \"Goodnight, Headmaster.\"
She waits until he is out of sight before passing through the picture hole. She tries not to think of the quiet of the commonroom as she walks through and to the stairs leading to her rooms. When she finally reaches them, she closes her eyes for a moment and breathes deeply to steady her pounding heart. She opens the door and quickly flops across the bed. She stares up at the ceiling, feeling as though a part of her has changed somehow. She is no longer the girl who had walked these halls only a few months ago. Her last thoughts as she drifts off to sleep is of Severus and how she will explain her change of heart concerning him to her friends.