Vial of Black Ink - Way of the Central Tower
Her hand slid over the stone as she walked, keeping in constant contact so she wasn't as likely to go toppling over at a moment's notice. The path was pitch dark and with the stone steps she didn't want to chance breaking a bone in her body. Especially right now.
Hermione held her breath for a moment when she heard a shifting beyond the wall to her left. Had they heard her? A shuffling sounded not long after, growing more distant by the second and she had to stop herself from sighing out loud. They hadn't.
She checked that the enchantment at her feet was still in place, to keep her footsteps silent before she resumed her path upward. It was dizzying, moving at the edges of the tower, the slim width of the wall was much larger inside though. At first she had feared she wouldn't fit through the opening, but she had, and now that she was in all she needed to do was make sure no one noticed her. If she was caught... she didn't even want to think of the possibilities if she was found.
With a rough shake of her head she continued onward until her knee bumped into the rock in front of her, holding back a curse she went still, but no sounds other than the scraping of a chair came from beyond the wall. Hermione leaned forward, running her other hand over the stone in front of her until she found the small little hole and slipped her wand inside, casting a silence charm and then an unlocking spell right after it. She removed her wand then, pushing the door open with the heel of her hand.
Hermione peeked around the corner, checking that McGonagall wasn't in the room. So she had to be outside of the room still, standing guard at the door. Her attention shifted to the chair not too far from her then, the occupant was currently preoccupied with glaring at the door, though. She took a step forward before maneuvering herself behind the chair and used a severing charm to cut the bindings that kept him strapped to the chair.
This action finally seemed to catch his attention as Barty turned his head quickly, eyes widening upon seeing her there. When he opened his mouth to speak Hermione hurriedly pressed a finger to his lips, the universal sign to be quiet.
At the nod of his head she was about to draw her hand back when his fingers clasped around her wrist, his lips pressing to the back of her hand, lingering there for a few seconds before he let her go. She could feel a burn in her cheeks, but at the sound of McGonagall shifting outside the door she took his hand and moved back to the opening in the wall, urging him through with a series of frantic hand motions.
If someone caught them...
Barty pressed a kiss to her lips, driving the thought from her and for an instant all she could think of were his lips on hers. Soft yet firm against her own. The way they had felt on her neck just a few nights ago...
He pulled away, stepping into the darkness and she was quick to follow him, shutting the door behind her. She placed her wand back into the hole, locking the door before lifting the silence charm on the room. Hermione turned back to him then, placing the charm on his own shoes before squeezing past him so she could lead him down the steps.
They were nearly at the bottom when she stopped and turned to face the wall, tapping the section with her wand so it slipped open into a dark room, disconnected from the rest of the castle. This was the only entry point for it and the perfect hiding spot for the time being. She tugged on Barty's hand to guide him inside, sliding the wall closed and placing a few charms so it would become even less noticeable than it already was if someone happened to find the hidden path she had used.
The moment it was closed she could hear a murmured spell and see shadows dancing along the wall in front of her. The stone looked seamless and with the confidence that it looked the same on the other side she turned to face Barty, who had lit a candle in the room and was now looking around the area.
She clasped her hands together, smiling at him, hoping he was happy with her choice. Another second passed before his eyes fell on her.
"I'm not hiding here!"
Hermione nearly jumped from the force in his voice. "Why not?" the words came out quieter than she wanted them to.
"Well," he began, giving another critical look around the room. "If we have to hide, I want to be somewhere familiar. I want to know where the exits are, and I want to be allowed to smoke."
"You can smoke here," it was the first thing she could think of to say. The only positive thing she could find in his words, something that could be the way he wanted it. At the look he gave her she just started speaking quickly, hoping to find something that would lift his spirits once more, "The room is separate from the rest of Hogwarts, but we're still in the school. Also, the exit is just down the stairs in the hall, but the door beyond that one is currently being guarded. If it wasn't we could have gotten out that way. We just need to wait for them to leave, for an opportunity to get out unseen and then we can leave this room. That works for you, doesn't it?" she asked. All she wanted was for him to be happy - with her, forever - and that couldn't have happened if he had remained a prisoner up there in that tower, waiting for the Minister to show up and tell the staff what to do with him.
Barty didn't say anything for a second, but then smiled at her. It nearly melted her heart to see him like that, with that expression, because of her. "Of course, my obedient slave."
Prompt used: "I'm not hiding there!" / "Why not?" / "Well, if we have to hide, I want to be somewhere familiar. I want to know where the exits are, and I want to be allowed to smoke."