The streets of London were deathly quiet as a lonely figure strode, hands in pockets and teeth slightly chattering. It was supposed to be the first week of autumn, only yesterday did the first leaves begin to fall and litter the ground crimson and mustard. However despite the month, the weather had transformed into arctic conditions leaving a fragile blanket of ice spread out across the country.
A young woman shivered in the early rays of the mornings first light, it was dawn and no doubt every person in London was safely tucked away in a comfortable warm bed. Thrusting her hands deeper into her coat pockets she picked up her pace, unaware of the watchful eye of a stranger that had been keeping an eye on her for the past one and a half weeks.
All the while the young women strode through bitterness, a tall lanky man with dark half length hair cursed and rambled about the woes of his life and how he had deserved to spend his holiday following a bookworm student who had no sense to stay indoors when the world was frozen outside.
"Why on earth Dumbledore believes I should devote my every second of this forsaken Christmas break, on an inconceivably boring creature such Mss Granger is far beyond me." A very frozen and highly bothered professor mumbled.
"The little girl may be on the Dark Lords top ' To die list' but I cannot imagine how I am expected to both feign my elisions to the Dark Lord while defending one of his most loathed enemies, this is completely and may add utterly ridiculous. And of course to top off this absurd escapade, this girl has me up at the most unreasonable hour, walking through the freezing cold. Oh Dumbledore will pay, mark my words he shall".
As Hermione reached her front door, fumbling for the house's keys that had made their way down to the bottom of her left coat pocket a loud hiss from behind startled her so, that she forgot her surroundings, whipped out her wand and almost jabbed an extremely peeved looking professor Snape in the stomach.
"Bloody cat!" Snape shouted. Before realising his current location and most certainly destroyed mission.
"Err, professor Snape, what on earth are you." Hermione suddenly decided speaking to her former professor at that moment was not too good of an idea fore he looked as if he were about to murder someone, actually perhaps he had come for her, well she knew that he didn't really like her, but murder her. Oh what was she thinking that bastard had murdered Dumbledore of course he'd be after her, after all she knew basically everything about Harry and the horuxses.
Shaking herself, she stood tall and faced her enemy with what she hoped looked like bravery because inside she felt like jelly.
Narrowing his eyes Snape observed the pathetic display of Gryffindor courage on display, did she honestly think he could not see that her legs were shaking and that her face read, 'I'm so terrified, please don't kill me'?
"Mss Granger", began Snape, his mind franticly struggling to invent a plausible excuse for his appearance at her doorstep, however failing miserably for once in his life to capture any suitable excuse.
"Mss Granger", he began again. "Is that any way to treat your former professor, I don't believe I ever did see you pull your wand at a teacher before?"
Hermione scowl grew. "You sir, are nothing but a cruel, heartless bastard whom should be locked away in Azkaban awaiting the domentors kiss!" she hissed venously, swaying only slightly from her buckling knees.
"Oh bravo, that I believe is the first outbreak I have ever heard from, what does Mininera call you, oh of course The star pupil', that is correct isn't it?" he smirked.
Suddenly Hermione eyes swirled upwards in what appeared to be the trade mark rolling of the eyes, however this time Snape noticed her eyes remained white, and only by his quick reflexes did he manage to catch her before she fell lifeless to the ground.