the_debt_of_time

Hermione allowed herself to smile as she read the letter. Hogwarts. Professor
McGonagall. Some things could be familiar. Some things could still be home for her.
Her attention was reclaimed by Tilly who had, in the few minutes that Hermione
had been distracted by her letter, fashioned a light blue nightdress for her and was now
proceeding to try and dress Hermione herself, just as Dorea had warned her she would do.
"Tilly," Hermione mumbled, trying to tug her dress away from the house-elf's
hands. "I can undress myself." She was caught off-guard when the feisty little house-elf
actually growled, freezing Hermione in shock, at which point Tilly took advantage of the
situation and proceeded to undress and then redress her.
"Young Miss is stubborn. Sleep now. Young Miss needs rest."
Hermione sat on the bed completely defeated, wondering if the basilisk had taken
her down as quickly as this little elf. Voldemort sure had not been able to. She shook her
head in amusement, trying to clear out the sudden image of a house-elf Dark Lord.
Frightening and definitively undefeatable.
"Thank you, Tilly." She crawled into the bed quickly, a bit afraid that Tilly would
drag her beneath the covers and tuck her in tight enough to trap her there.
The house-elf snapped her fingers, extinguishing all the lamps.
Hermione could only hope the Dreamless Sleep that she had taken the night before
was still in her system. The last thing she wanted to do to this gracious family—and the
overprotective house-elf—was to scare them with her screams.