Hermione Granger woke up disorientated and slightly groggy. In the moonlight shining through the curtains she could make out an unfamiliar bedroom, with the unfamiliar bed she was lying in. The house smelt unfamiliar too. It reminded her of a holiday home. A woody kind of smell. The smell of the sheets and the shirt she was wearing – who's shirt was this? – she knew, but she couldn't quite place it. It made her feel safe though, and the feeling of panic caused by waking up in unknown surroundings lessened a bit.

A loo. She needed a loo. And then she needed to find out where she was and – more importantly – how to get back to her own quarters at the castle. This was definitely not a room in the castle. There was a street outside with dark houses. The street looked eerie. And she was only wearing a men's shirt. And her knickers, she was pleased to notice. She made her way to the loo on wobbly legs and then down the stairs and to the front door. She was stumbling around in the dark when a low voice spoke from out of the shadows. 'What do you think you are doing?'

'Oh! Severus!' They could both hear the relief in het voice. She turned around so fast her knees gave out, but he was quick and before she'd even seen him coming he had an arm around her waist and a hand pressed to her forehead. 'You should be in bed. How are you feeling?'

'I... Severus, where are we? And why are we here?'

'We are at Spinners End. You had a nasty accident. I didn't think you wanted to stay in the hospital wing now that miss Parkinson is running the place.'

'So you took me home?'

'Well... yes. But if you prefer...'

'Thank you, Severus', she said, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him. And noticing that he was quite shirtless. Were those silk pyjama bottoms whispering against her legs? She quickly let go and staggered a bit again. 'What's wrong with my legs?'

'You shouldn't be standing on them, for one thing', he said, and lifted her up as if she weighed not much more than an elf. 'I'll take you back to bed, and then I'll tell you all about your idiotic heroic tactics.'

It really should feel more awkward, being carried up the stairs by a shirtless Severus Snape, but the unexplained grogginess and the relief of finding herself in a safe place with a man she would trust with her life made her place her head in the hollow of his neck, sigh, and nearly drift off to sleep.

She woke up when he placed her down on the bed. 'Now tell me what happened', she yawned.

'In short: you were walking down the corridor towards Minerva's office and saw Mr. Podwinkle and Mr. Should taking aim at each other. Instead of disarming them, you decided that it would be a good idea to jump between them. They fired their spells at the same time. Apparently, they had just learned how to stun. They both hit you.'

'Two stunners?'

'Two. So go to sleep. We'll talk in the morning.'

'What happened to the boys? They weren't expelled or anything, were they?'

'Sadly not. Minerva didn't think it necessary.'

'Does Minerva know I'm here?'

'No. I abducted you. Of course she knows you're here.'

'Did you tell her about...?'

'I think she already knew. It didn't take a lot of effort to persuade her to let me take you home.'

Hermione sighed again. 'Thank you so much Severus, I really could not stand having Pansy in charge of me.'

'I know.'

And with that, she drifted off to sleep again.