Song Of The Guardians

Moving Forward

Hermione was carefully smoothing down her hair when there was a knock at her door. She had planned on meeting everyone in Caroline's quarters before breakfast. She glanced down at her watch and saw that it was still early. Perhaps Harry had decided to meet up with her so they could walk there together. She cast a quick glance at the mirror, and then went to answer the door.

"Severus!" she blurted out, startled to see the potions master in her doorway. For a moment she just stared at him, and then, remembering her manners she stood aside and gestured for him to come in. "Good morning," she said with a slight blush. "I was just getting ready for the morning."

"I did not intend to intrude," Severus said uncertainly.

"Not at all," she assured him with a smile. "I was just trying to determine what to do with my hair."

Severus eyed her hair for a moment. Usually she had it pinned up or pulled back in some way to keep it out of her way. But on this morning, she had a cascade of soft, smooth brown curls around her shoulders and back. "Leave it as it is," Severus suggested.

Hermione smiled and wound one of her curls around her finger self-consciously. "So, what bring you here so early?" she asked. "Did you want to walk to Caroline's quarters together?"

"That would be acceptable," Severus replied, "but that is not why I am here. I needed to bring you this." He held out a package wrapped in glossy red paper.

Hermione let out a soft gasp of surprise. She accepted the gift and carefully removed the paper and lifted the lid from the small box. "Oh my," she said quietly. Curled up inside the box was a kitten. It was orange with white on it's belly, face and feet. It was blinking up at her as it adjusted to the light in her quarters. Around it's neck was a dark red bow. Hermione lifted the kitten from the box and smiled when it snuggled against her chest.

Severus made a noise of disgust. "That hideous red ribbon was clearly Andy's idea," he grumbled. He reached into a pocket in his robes and pulled out a small black bag. He turned the bag over in his hand and then offered Hermione a dark green collar with silver stitching. "I charmed this to expand as she grows."

"You got me a kitten?" Hermione said, removing the ribbon and replacing it with the collar.

"I knew that your first cat died some time ago," Severus explained. "The Freemans have a cat that had kittens several weeks ago. I spoke with Mr. Potter, Caroline and Draco and we thought you might like one. I selected this one. The Freemans were calling her Cadence, but you can change that."

Hermione smiled at the name. "Do they all have musical names?" she asked.

Severus rolled his eyes. "Of course," he replied. "The mother is called Aria. The other kittens are Lyric, Minuet and Fortissimo. As you might imagine, Fortissimo made more noise than all the others combined."

Hermione giggled and set Cadence on the floor. The kitten walked over to Severus and sat down, looking up at him expectantly. Severus grumbled something that sounded like "impertinent beast", but he reached down and stroked the kittens head.

Hermione hurried into her bedroom and then returned carrying a wrapped gift. She held it out to Severus. He unwrapped it hesitantly, surprised that she had a gift for him. He opened the box to reveal a large leather bound book and large eagle quill. There was also a case of empty potion vials with silver rims.

"The book and quill are enchanted," Hermione explained, picking up Cadence and stroking her soft fur. "As you work on a potion, it will record your progress, even going back and making corrections as you alter your recipe. The vials are charmed to be unbreakable and have your initials embedded in the glass. The vial's contents will be listed on the silver rim."