Dumbledore was pacing around in his study when Hermione entered. She noted the strained look on the Headmaster's usually serene face before speaking. " I do hope this is important sir, " she said brusquely, not happy at being called out of Transfiguration, "McGonagall is handing out our final grades and I really want to see if I got the extra credit I worked for."

"Ms. Granger there are more important things going on right now than your grades," the Headmaster murmured, still pacing energetically, his silver blue robes swinging to match his rhythmic turns. Suddenly he whirled to face the perch where Fawkes sat, clicking his beak occasionally. "Please go get Severus, Fawkes, if he shows up any later the trail will be cold!" As the phoenix spread his golden red plumage and took off to do his master's bidding, Hermione mulled over the situation. She had not seen the Headmaster so agitated in quite some time. "What's going on sir, and what is this trail you are referring to?" she questioned, but her query was only met with a few muddled mutterings.

Has he lost it?, she wondered inwardly, before being ashamed of herself for such a thought. Dumbledore may not stick to conventional methods but he had always come through and been reliant for her, Harry, and Ron. He will surely explain soon, she thought, and settled in to wait, leaning against the stone wall next to a portrait on the wall. "Dear, we really should do something with your hair," clucked the middle aged woman depicted in the painting. Hermione narrowed her eyes and pretended she hadn't heard.

The portrait continued to prattle on about witches hair products, all of which Hermione politely overheard, until the door slammed open to admit a certain dark professor with a face containing the emotional depth of a stone. Ah, and the room lights up with this cheerful presence, Hermione though darkly, immediately pissed off that she had to be in the same room with him. Dumbledore, however, seemed pleased. "Ah, thank you for coming so quickly Severus, I have urgent matters to discuss with you and Ms. Granger here." Snape's obsidian eyes turned slowly on her, still standing in the corner, then traveled back to the Headmaster. Dumbledore swept to his desk, flicking his wand at a long flat piece of fogged glass, about as big as Hermione's hand. The glass moved to float gently in front of the desk, and Hermione and Snape approached.

"Here is the situation," Dumbledore began, his eyes glittering intensely behind his half moon spectacles. " According to spies from the Order of the Phoenix, a small group of Dark Wizards has left Voldemort's side and seem to be making their way south, towards London. They are moving on foot and by broomstick instead of apparating, which we find suspicious. I need a small fast team to track them, spy on them, and have the necessary skills to defend themselves if needed. The emphasis of the mission at hand is information. We need to know Voldemort's plans, and with some luck you will be able to follow them far enough to discover any possible hideouts and the nature of the troops being recruited." He flicked his wand again and moving images filled the foggy glass, as clearly as if Hermione was standing right before the group of masked Death Eaters present in the glass. The group contained about 5 people, with 2 house elves traveling along. The image flickered and died as the viewpoint changed away from the group.

"They seem to be searching for something," Dumbledore commented, turning to meet their eyes, "but we have no idea what. I want the two of your to work together to find out. You both are talented magicians, and no one else is available for a mission with these skill requirements. Can I count on you to help?"

"I have classes," Snape said curtly, seeming about as interested in the idea as Hermione. It was obvious to both of them that this was a boring baby sitter job, and neither wanted to leave the castle. "I have exams, sir." Hermione stated calmly. The Headmaster narrowed his eyes. "You will both do this," he said sternly. "Severus someone else will cover your classes Ms. Granger you do not even need to study your teachers have assured me you have already earned enough credit to pass this year." Hermione opened her mouth but Dumbledore cut her off before she even had a chance to speak. "And no, you do not need to study for next year either!" One of the portraits made a choking sound that sounded suspiciously like a laugh, earning him a death glare from Hermione. "Fine. When do we leave?" She asked, resigned. Dumbledore smiled. "Tomorrow."

After she and Snape left the office, he addressed her shortly. "We will meet at 6 am tomorrow in front of Hagrid's hut. Kindly avoid packing anything superfluous." He then swept away, not even waiting for her affirmative. Great communication skills, Hermione thought angrily. He was treating her like a child he had to drag along as a burden. She was 17 years old, legally of age in the wizarding world. But Snape did not know that, very few people did. Her use of the time turner in her third year had added an extra year to her age even though she was still a sixth year at school. No wonder Dumbledore had picked her to do this mission. Between her and her friends she was more advanced both in magic and in age. Harry and Ron won't be happy with me, she thought, as she made her way back to Gryffindor tower. We had agreed to do anything of this sort together.

There was no use going back to Transfiguration, the lesson had already ended, so Hermione made her way back to her dormitory. She needed to pack a few things before going to dinner and dealing with the boys and her noisy roommates. She put her long brown curls up into a ponytail and then set about clearing her bed of books, which was no easy feat. Piles of books sat on her bed, containing subjects that ranged from Advanced Potions to The Role of Runes throughout the Ages. After she had sorted all the books into neat piles, she selected a few that she had nicked from the restricted section dealing with dark magic.

Necromancy, Remedies against the Dark Arts, and Understanding Dark Magic were among the titles she selected to take with her. She picked her favorite black backpack from amongst her belongings and set about performing an undetectable extension charm, which took her about an hour to figure out. But after a few tries she got the desired result: The backpack now had the volume capacity of a large house. She slid in the books, then settled on a few plain black leggings, two pairs of jeans, a few warm sweaters and some tank tops to wear underneath. She then tossed in her sleeping bag, a spare pair of boots, and toiletries. She winced at the thought of spending the next few weeks in close proximity to the most rigid and dank man of the entire castle. There would be little conversation and he probably would ignore her entirely. In that case….

She collected several muggle fiction books to read, as well as several on philosophy and mathematics. Don't want to get bored if we spend days waiting for something, she mused, and with that train of thought packed money and her ipod. Then she collected some last minute items she thought she might need. Binoculars, tampons, a photo of her parents, cookies, tea, several caps and hats, and a spare coat. After adding these miscellaneous items, she set the backpack on her bed, and, still in her school uniform, went to dinner to meet the boys and her other friends to tell them about the impending mission.

Harry, Ron and Ginny were already sitting at the Gryffindor table when Hermione showed up. "Hey were did you disappear to during Transfiguration?" Ron exclaimed loudly and Hermione sighed inwardly. Ron had never been good at being discrete about the things he didn't know about. "I was called in by the Headmaster," she whispered as she slid into the seat between Harry and Ron, directly across from Ginny. She quickly explained all about her mission to her friends, very quietly so no one would overhear.

"Why would there be a group of Death Eaters wandering around the English countryside?" Harry muttered, a thoughtful look on his pale face. Hermione again noted how tired her friend looked, these 'missions' he had been going on with Dumbledore seemed to do nothing to make him sleep better. Ron had told her how often Harry woke up from nightmares and how little he slept these days. "I don't know Harry," she answered, "Dumbledore mentioned they seemed to be searching for something, but we haven't got a clue what. I think the only reason he picked me for this mission was that my grades are good enough to miss a lot of school looking into it." Ron then asked the question she had been asking herself as well. "But why are you paired with the greasy git? You two have never been the best of friends and doesn't he have classes to teach?" Harry nodded and added, "It doesn't make sense – besides, Snape could be working for Voldemort and you could be in danger by being near all of them…" He trailed off, obviously convinced that this was the case but knowing Hermione's opinion on the matter well enough not to say any more. Hermione knew her friends all thought Snape was working for You know who, but she, as ever, remained convinced that if Dumbledore trusted him, she could trust him.

After Harry and Ron had agreed to take notes for her in her classes, she contacted her other teachers to tell them she would be gone for a while. She received replies that all indicated Dumbledore had already informed them of the situation. She slid into bed, hoping that the mission wouldn't take long and she would be back soon.