A/N: Hello all and thank you once again for your lovely reviews. For the avoidance of doubt I refer to letters in this chapter that we have not read as they are not necessary to the progress of the plot so please don't panic that you've missed a chapter.

Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons

Hermione stretched languidly, the smell of cinnamon and wood smoke filling her senses before she opened her eyes. She smiled at the sight of the elegant arrangement of holly over the small fireplace in her bedroom, the dungeon rooms brightened by the festive cheer.

Despite the fact that there were none but her and the school elves in the castle, she still rose at her usual time but indulged in the luxury of wrapping a warm robe around herself instead of dressing as she padded into the small living room.

She had always wondered about the teacher's accommodations in the school when she had been a student but she had been happy to find them cosy and warm rather than the great cavernous rooms that made up the rest of the school. When she had been first told she would be taking Severus' old rooms in the dungeons she had been worried that she would find them cold and damp but instead they were dry and airy, the windows small and only on one side but they let in enough light to be comfortable. Of course, all evidence of their former resident had long since been erased, either moved to the rooms he had taken as Headmaster or by the elves when they had made room for the new resident. Some of the furniture however remained the same and Hermione hoped that it brought her a little kinship with the man she was coming to call a friend.

She smiled at the sight of breakfast already laid out on the small table beside the fire, the money she had left there in payment for the elves taken in its place. She had made it a rule when she had taken the position of Potions Mistress that any meals she took outside of those in the Great Hall would be paid for by her own purse and it had been accepted, the elves who did not wish for money giving it to those who did.

She brushed aside several sprigs of holly that had decorated the tray and began to select a plate from the food on the table before her. She waved her hand, the muggle radio that sat on the mantle springing into life with a familiar Christmas tune. The music was jolly but it saddened her as it reminded her of her childhood and Christmas mornings spent with her parents. She glanced over at the small decorated tree in the corner of the room, enchanted lights twinkling in the branches but there were no gifts beneath it, nothing sent from Australia for her to open.

She shook off her upset, determined to spend the day curled up with a good book, with perhaps a walk around the grounds if the weather remained fair enough. She smiled brightly as another familiar song came on the radio, a popular tune from her youth that had her singing along with it in between bites of her breakfast.

So loud was her own voice that it was only by chance that she spotted the owl outside her window. She picked up several scraps from her plate and carried them over with her, opening the latch before she opened it on the bird.

"Merry Christmas to you my lovely one," she said, placing the scraps on the mantle and smiling as they were happily pecked at, "And what have you brought me today of all days?"

She took up the parcel it had set on the ledge, smiling at the familiar handwriting on the bindings.

"Severus," she said, a finger tracing the elegant hand before she looked up at the owl once more, "Thank you for this. Go and rest in our owlery before you go home. There is food, water and lots of warmth there for you."

The bird inclined its head before it took wing, heading off for a long sleep in the great tower that housed the school birds. Once it had gone, Hermione closed the window and carried her package to the sofa beside the fire, excitement humming through her veins at the gift.

She opened the strings and moved aside the brown paper packaging, revealing an elegantly wrapped bundle and a thick envelope beneath. Despite the temptation, she put aside the present and instead slid a finger beneath the seal, pulling the neatly folded papers from the envelope and settling back to read.

Dear Hermione,

You will find enclosed the answer to every question you posed to me in your most recent letter. You truly do have the most enquiring mind and, I'll admit, you even challenged me on occasion but I hope the answers provided are of use to you.

Given the timing of our recent letters though, I realised that this one would arrive on Christmas day and that it would seem somewhat outside of the spirit of the season to send you a work related missive alone. I therefore took the liberty of purchasing a little something for you to celebrate the day. I thought, as you had mentioned you had not yet perfected a task you gave yourself, I would assist until you had become more polished in your efforts. I only hope they fit.

My thanks again for the books from the hidden library that you enclosed with your long, LONG list of enquiries. They are titles I have not yet encountered so they will be amusing to read.

I wish you a very Happy Christmas and I hope that it is peaceful at the castle for you. If you grow lonely, I do believe that Rosmerta opens for a few hours in the evening on Christmas day so you may find some company there.

I hope I will hear from you again before New Year.

Sincerely yours,

Severus.

Hermione smiled at the tone of the letter, somehow easily imagining his voice as she read though it had never uttered such kind words to her. She laid the letter down on the table before she took up the parcel, her fingers desperate to rip the paper but instead she opened it delicately. She unknotted the ribbons before she parted the sheets of paper that hid his gift from her view.

She frowned prettily as a swathe of a deep indigo material was revealed, the garment heavy as she drew it from its wrappings. What began as a frown turned into a bright smile as she realised that she held a new set of teaching robes in her hands, a small note pinned to the folds.

Charmed to repel even the most noxious of substances your students can concoct. I hope they serve you well until your own charms become strong enough. I hope I made the correct guess when it came to size. Severus.

The joyful laugh that bubbled from her was happier than anything she could recall for a very long time as she stood and shucked off her dressing gown. She swept the robes around her, marvelling that they fit her perfectly as she ran her hands over the fine weave.

She sat back down, drawing the warm robes about herself as she turned her mind to the man who had sent them, wondering what he was doing at the same moment and if he was opening the gift she had thought to send him.