The careless behaviour of students gave Dawlish a headache. "Do not let me catch you lurking about anywhere you've not been given strict permission by the Ministry of Magic," he told three students that were lallygagging around the Forbidden Forest. "Get back to your common room. I'll be on duty all night, so if you're pissing about your time elsewhere, I will find out." It was his duty to protect the students, regardless of what they thought of him or what their affiliations were. Dawlish did not like every student he encountered, though many of them probably did not care much for him in return.
As he walked on, he heard them scoffing. Dawlish smirked and could not care less about their personal interests. There were places they could be during the day, but once the sun went down, he took ultimate control over safety and whereabouts. Dawlish did not doubt that something would happen at Hogwarts that year. Even Dumbledore was not so foolish to think the castle was impenetrable. Aurors were no guarantee, but having a decent number of highly skilled, highly efficient trained wizards would certainly make it safer for the students.
Dawlish planned to make his evening rounds a second time after double checking the lake. He knew Hestia would likely have been extra careful, but there were things anyone--including Dawlish--could easily oversee.
Coming around from the other side, Dawlish saw Hestia standing by herself--and she looked cold. Her element of surprise would be Dawlish, though he did not plan to scare her at any cost. He did, however, plan for her to potentially jump on him and knock him down, which would probably be good practice for her. "Good evening," he said as he came up from behind her.