AN~ Hello, sorry I'm late, AGAIN, but even with my plan, this chapter took a little longer to come to me. It made up for it though, I'm pretty proud of what I got down today. Thank you again to everyone who is reviewing, I love seeing them, as well as all of the notifications of adding the story to watch lists or favourite lists or even favouriting me! I hope I'm worth it ;) Once this is finished (won't be for a while I think) I'll have a break, but then I'll get writing, I already have more ideas for other stories. I have to keeping writing down the plots to remember them, but I can't get distracted from this by writing them. Hermione is badass in this btw, I wanted to bring in little of how she is in the last two movies. OMG I SAW THE FIRST MIDNIGHT SHOWING OF HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS; PART 2! The Harmony was pretty good, won't spoil anything just in case, but I think we can all agree that the only good part of the epilogue was the focus on Harry and Hermione's faces.

Enjoy!

Friction during Lessons

About a week later, Hermione and Harry found themselves at the Ministry on the first day of their course. They were starting in a large hall off the repaired Atrium, with many other students they knew, and some they didn't. Hermione felt nervous, like she did before an exam, but felt all the better when she felt Harry squeeze her hand beside her. She felt her heart do a somersault as she looked at him, his iridescent green eyes glinting in the low light. She smiled brightly back. Harry leaned close to her ear and whispered,

"No need to be nervous 'Mione. You'll ace everything, be sure of that. Just promise me one thing?"

"Sure, what?"

"No time turners." She blushed and agreed. It was then an aged wizard came into the room and stood on the platform at the front to address them all. He started a drone about responsibility and going out to live the rest of their lives. Hermione's mind drifted over the past, blissful week with Harry. In actual fact, they had done very little, aside from watch movies, go for walks and take Teddy to the park when he was home. Remus was at Hogwarts for the week, Tonks worked all day, with Teddy in the crèche and Sirius was doing overtime at the Quibbler, it was often just them for hours on end. With autumn rolling in, their favourite pastime had been to curl up on the window seat together and talk softly about, well, anything. Hermione loved that about the two of them, able to start a conversation about whether Sirius could ever have a real date, to whether Harry should dye his hair blue to match Teddy.

Hermione was brought out of her reverie when a young, tanned man in dark robes came into the room and stepped onto the dais as the old wizard shuffled off.

"Thank you Sir Jacob Hazel, our head of Wizardry Education Department in Britain. My name is Harvey Thomas and I am the director of the scheme you've all entered. I have your timetables here," With a wave of his hand, he summoned a stack of papers, and with another wave , they began to distribute themselves to the correct people.

Hermione grabbed hers and turned to Harry to compare them only to be faced with her worst nightmare. Ginny Weasley was pushing through the crowd towards them.

"Hey guys!" She said. She made no move to embrace Harry, and her smile towards Hermione seemed genuine, making her instantly suspicious.

"What are you doing here Ginny?" Harry asked curiously, as he snatched his timetable out of the air.

"Oh, I'm doing some of your physical auror classes with you, that's all. I just came to grab my timetable before my first practise session for Quidditch."

"Why do you need the auror classes?" Hermione asked, trying to keep her tone light and friendly.

"It's just a bit more exercise for Quidditch. They offered them to us, but they weren't compulsory. I don't think anyone from my team is doing them." She said, laughing as she glanced around.

Yeah, that's because they're not obsessed with the Boy-Who-Triumphed, Hermione thought poisonously.

"I'd better get going, I'll see you later!" And she ran off through the crowd. Hermione didn't get a chance to talk to Harry about it as the man at the front called for attention again. He seemed like he was in a rush.

"Right, time to get started. If you'll look to your timetables, room names will be next to your class. If you tap it with your wand, a small map will come up to direct you. Good luck, and I'll see you at the end of the week." He strode off, out of the anti-chamber and into the Ministry.

"Well, at least we've got the first day together." Harry said, as he leaned over to look at hers. She caught a trace of his shampoo, fresh as mint.

"Let's find B12 then." A small group of them moved off in the same direction, including Luna and Neville.

"Hey guys, looking forward to Healing?" Neville asked.

"It will be pretty useful, even if we don't end up doing it." Hermione said, as they wove through several corridors. The four were happily chatting when as they reached a flight of winding stairs without a banister, an unknown girl, looking very much like Fleur, came up to Harry, her eyes sparkling with flirtatious look.

"You must be Harry Potter. My name if Daphne du Fournier, I believe you met my cousin Fleur several years ago?" She fluttered her eyelashes at him. Harry stumbled, catching onto Hermione's robes as he went. She fell with him, but he turned his palms out at the last moment, using wandless magic to pause their fall, as they hung over empty space. She rested on his chest and clung to his robes.

"Are you alright 'Mione? I didn't mean to push you over." He asked quickly and concernedly. He hardly seemed to notice the ten foot drop below them. Hermione tried not to look down.

"Yes, I'm fine, but it'd be nice to stand on the stairs again." She said, trying to quieten the panic in her voice.

"Oh, right." He eased them back onto the staircase, with delighted clapping and whistles from the others. Daphne had slunk into the back, but Hermione was sure she would try to get Harry's attention again.

"Wonderful Mr. Potter, but maybe now we should get on with the lesson? Hmm?" A plump witch that reminded Hermione of Molly Weasley stood at the top by an open door, with a smile on her face.

The class filed up the stairs to meet her.

"Just go into the changing rooms, boys on the left, girls on the right, and then we'll get on."

"We're going to talk about how you did that later." Hermione said before they split.

"It'll be a short conversation, I've no idea how it happened." Harry muttered before going to change.

Hermione walked into her own changing room, feeling uncomfortable when she saw there were no private cubicles, just a long bench with a rack to hang bags. She saw Daphne smile triumphantly as she proudly pulled off her smart black robes to reveal her large bosom and narrow waist. The two other girls that were with here were equally confident, if not as well endowed as her. Hermione reluctantly pulled off her robes, wondering if she could leave on her small green vest, but the directions for the healing class were to only wear the healer robes as they were self-cleaning. With a sigh, she saw Luna had almost no shame and was almost dressed already, in her usual secure way. Hermione gently pulled off the vest, and tried to quickly pull on the white top. She didn't miss the snide looks from the other girls, pointing to her chest and stomach. No doubt, they were not just looking at her narrow frame, with petite curves, but the scars from the War. Hermione angrily pulled on the trousers and daps, pulling her hair back into a harsh ponytail. She was normally proud of the scars, proud to show how she had fought to protect those she loved, but those girls had just made her feel ashamed. She tried to clear her mind, as they all left to go back to the first room. All the boys were already there, but Hermione didn't look at Harry when she came in, turning automatically to the front. If she looked at him, he would know something was wrong, and was bound to cause some sort of embarrassing scene in that compassionate, overprotective way of his.

"Right class, my name is Healer Sana, and I will be leading this six week course. In total you will have twelve lessons with me, in which we will cover a variety of healing methods, but it will only be a brief overview of healing. If you decide that Healing is your calling, then there is a five year training period afterwards. Now, if you would pair up for me, we can get started." With a wave of her wand, several tables appeared in the room each with a life like torso on each. Hermione saw Harry immediately come over to her, ignoring Daphne and the others.

"Gather round here please students. Now, I would like to know how well you know your anatomy." She pointed to various places on the torso, quizzing them on different areas.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" Harry whispered.

"Nothing, it was just a bit embarrassing getting changed earlier, there weren't any cubicles." She whispered back. Healer Sana was getting closer to groin area, and people were more hesitant with their answers.

"Hermione you shouldn't worry about things like that. You are beautiful in every way." Harry murmured. A blush crept up her neck.

"Well, it was, nothing like that, just, you know, the, scars. They made me feel a bit self conscious is all. It's nothing to worry about."

"Mr Potter and Miss Granger, if you are not going to take this seriously, would you like to leave?" Healer Sana asked.

"Sorry Healer Sana." They said in unison. When she turned away, Harry whispered one last thing,

"Scars are nothing to be ashamed of, it's a show that you fought for those you loved, rather than cowering away to hide."

The rest of the class was fairly simple, each pair was given a table, complete with dummy which was magiked to have some sort of ailment. They had to quickly record all of its vital signs, as well as its symptoms, before using the textbook to find out what it was. Hermione used a useful spell, a variation of Point Me from their fourth year, to find the correct problem page. Harry then went off to get the correct potion from the front desk and while he administered it, Hermione cast the complicated healing spell. However they weren't the first to finish, it was surprisingly Luna and Neville who did. The two pairs compared their tasks while the other groups finished. They didn't have long to wait, before Healer Sana was clapping her hands and congratulating them.

"Excellent, brilliant first time, you all finished before your patients deteriorated. Now, for homework, I'd like you to write a small summary of what you've done and why, use the notes you made today to help you. The textbooks you should have bought by now should also help with keywords and such. I want it done by our next lesson." She dismissed them, and they all went to change before lunch.

An hour later, after lunch, Harry and Hermione headed to their physical auror class. Luna had magical animal session where Hermione was sure she would insist the existence of the Crumple Horned Snorkack. It was the first time they'd been alone since this morning on the staircase, as they made their way to the loft gym that served as their classroom.

"Harry, what happened earlier? I know you said you didn't know, but that was very powerful wandless magic, to levitate yourself without even realising. Has it happened before?" She asked in curiosity.

"I really don't know Hermione. I've done it before, but I don't know how. Like when I caught Teddy from falling out of his cot the other week, I slowed him down before he fell." He seemed baffled.

"I'll have a look in the library when we get home. We could always write to some of our professors and ask. I wonder if wandless magic develops on its own…" She petered off into thought, coming out of it when Harry laughed.

"Sometimes I think you've barely changed. Remember Nicholas Flamel?" They laughed as they pushed open the door, but Hermione's glee soon vanished when she saw a familiar red head disappear into yet more changing rooms to the side.

"Guess Ginny's with us today," Hermione pointed out.

"Yeah, guess she is." Harry replied nonchalantly. He went off into the men's changing room, and she followed Ginny. Like before, there were no cubicles, just the same bench. Ginny saw Hermione and waved her over.

"Hermione, I'd just like to say I'm really sorry about before, in Diagon Alley," She said in a sickly sweet voice. "You know, woman's problems." She said with a wink. She had just pulled on the sports top, and Hermione had to admit, she looked amazingly buxom, and she had noticed, scar free. She couldn't believe she was doing this to herself again today, but then she remembered Harry's words, so similar to her own thoughts. Soon, she too was dressed in the sports gear, and it felt tight against her slender figure. Even with Ginny around, Hermione felt pretty good as it hugged her lithe curves.

They stepped back into the large, carpeted hall, where two instructors now stood. The man and woman were both of Amazonian stature, with broad shoulders and towered above the class. They held Hermione's attention for very little time once she had spotted Harry. She had seen him topless the other night, but now, as the black shirt clung to his abdomen and chest, his veiled body seemed even more alluring. His gaze met her eyes and his shocked face soon turned to one of appreciation. His eyes slid down her body and back up slowly, giving a suggestive wink afterwards. It made her knees tremble. Then she looked beside her; Ginny was stood there. Could that look had been meant for her, not Hermione? She didn't have time to think on it, before the instructors called their attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen. This course will be highly physical; if you do not think you have the will or the stamina, please leave." The deep timbre of the man easily echoed around the cavernous room. When no one moved, the woman continued.

"My name Captain Serugue and my brother is Lieutenant Serugue. You will call us ma'am or sir."

"We shall be covering the physical auror training and your others classes shall cover the magical training."

"Let's begin." They cleared the mats, making them all stand to the side. Hermione was separated from Harry, but she could feel him close by.

"By the end of the next six weeks, you should have increased your general fitness as well as mastered offensive and defensive drills. At the end of the six weeks, we shall test you." The man paused. How were they to be tested? Hermione asked herself.

"Now we will show you some of the basic moves we shall cover over all the lessons and what we shall do today." Alternating, the captain and the lieutenant were the attacker and the defender, displaying several moves and techniques. The ones they would do today included pulling your arms out of a tight grip behind you, a right hook with its block, and round house kick with its block.

First they were set up in lines and did two drills. First the right hook and the round house kick. Several people found themselves falling over, including Ginny, but Hermione found her balance quickly, and was able to return to her regular starting position with ease each time. She enjoyed the flexing of her body, and she could see Harry did almost as well as her.

The next drill was the defensive moves. Blocking the punch was difficult without an actual fist, but Hermione got the general idea of grabbing the wrist, pushing it to the side and leaning away.

The kick block was more difficult as it could come at three different heights so needed three different blocks. Hermione found herself coated in sweat, and looked over to see Harry in a similar condition. Grinning and looking further down the line, it gave Hermione some satisfaction to see Ginny struggling. They then stopped the drills to practise the arm grip

Hermione again paired with Harry, quickly before Ginny made her way over, not missing the girl's pouting face before she paired with a tall blond boy. Lieutenant Serugue cast a protective spell around the hall so the students wouldn't feel any of the pain.

Harry took Hermione's arms first. His hands were loose on her wrists, their heat deliciously burning her skin. His chest was millimetres from her bare back. She could almost feel the possible friction if they moved any closer.

"Ready?" Her murmured close to her shoulder, which promptly broke out in goosebumps. Without responding, she ducked under one of his arms, grabbed his wrist and hand, before twisting his arm back and throwing him to the floor.

"I'd say I was ready." She said smugly, looking down on him as he rolled over.

"That was brilliant Miss Granger," Captain Serugue said as she passed. "Mr Potter, your turn I believe." She stood beside them to watch his attempt.

"Right." He mumbled. He stood and Hermione grabbed his wrists. He performed the same move, but not with the same deadly accuracy as Hermione had. She managed to land on her feet, in a semi-crouch.

"Very good."

By then it was the end of the lesson and the end of the day.

"I would like you all to consider taking extra exercise outside of class so you'll be able to perform some of the more difficult techniques later in the course. You are dismissed."

As they left the hall, Harry asked,

"Have a shower back home? I'm starving." They were pretty sweaty, but the thrill of the lesson was fresh in their minds and they didn't care.

"That was so good; I can't wait until next time!" Hermione said excitedly. A small part of her brain said it was because of how good Harry looked, but it was also the excitement of being good and enjoying something other than books.

"Yeah, you were a pro, your balance was amazing! You'll have to show me how you do that la-"

"Hey guys! That was so difficult, don't you think? I kept falling over, but my partner was pretty patient." Ginny had skipped over. Hermione tried not to grind her teeth. She just didn't buy her nice-girl act. It didn't fit with the fan-girl personality.

"Hermione was brilliant, weren't you? She'll be Shaolin monk soon enough!" Harry said, wrapping his arm around her waist. Hermione liked the feel of it there, his hand easily encircling her waist.

"Really? Did you read a how to or something? Only joking," She added when she saw Harry's face. "Right, I'm going to have shower, what about you two?" She already had her thumb under her top, revealing her pale flesh. Harry didn't even glance down.

"Nah, we're going head home to have something to eat first. See you Ginny." They headed away, leaving Ginny to go alone to the showers.

"Wait, let me a least do a freshening charm first." Hermione said, unwillingly extracting herself from Harry's embrace. She waved her wand over the two of them, leaving behind a sweet, clean scent.

"It will do until we get home." She said. With s smile, Harry took her slender hand in his. It felt just as good as it had in Diagon Alley. When they reached the apparition point, he pulled her close and wrapped his other arm around her. They apparated into Grimmald Place's back garden like that and proceeded to take a hot steamy shower after eating. In separate bathrooms.

AN ~ Well, I hoped you all enjoyed that. I didn't go into too much detail about the lessons, did I? I won't be doing it again unless people want to here more about codes and curse breaking, potions or charms (the other ones they're doing). I did some research on the fight scenes, if you copy Aikido Basics: Wrist Lock Twist: Aikido Sankyo Rear Wrist Grab Defense and copy it into youtube, you can see the video of how it's done (yes, I know defence is spelt wrong)

Love xGSGx