Chapter 7 – Introduction to Elemental Magic 101

Harry sat curled up in the armchair in the living room, making his way through one of the books Severus had thrust at him. The man hadn't left his study since he'd stormed off and Harry certainly wasn't going to attempt to reconcile with him, not for another day at least. Instead he'd decided to sit and read the material Severus had given him so that when the man finally did reappear, he would have one less thing to reproach him with.

It was heavy going though. Most of the book made little or no sense and Harry had found it necessary to read many passages several times in order to understand them at all. It was slow and difficult but he was determined to do it, if only to prove a point to the stubborn, volatile man in the next room. He didn't mean to keep messing up, it just seemed to happen somehow. Life would be so much easier if they could just get on.

They had their moments; occasionally they could be civil to each other and sometimes they even had conversations, but for the most part they just ignored each other. Either that or they verbally tore chunks out of one another. It was still rather odd to Harry to have to share a bed with someone who barely had the time of day for him...not that he had much experience of sharing a bed either way.

Sighing, he took a sip of his tea, still trying to get used to the odd brand Severus used and the strange aftertaste it left. "Might as well be written in Latin," he grumbled, turning a page, frowning at the odd-looking diagrams and illustrations he was then confronted with. "What the...? Merlin's beard, who wrote this crap?"

"That would be Professor Vincetti," came Severus' voice from behind him, making him start, "one of the leading authorities on Elemental Magic."

"Oh," Harry replied quietly as Severus moved round to sit in the armchair. He looked marginally calmer than he had earlier, though one could never really tell. He never quite knew how to deal with the man after one of their arguments, he was too difficult to read. "Well this Vincetti might have tried writing in plain English instead of this pretentious, pseudo-intellectual nonsense, which is so clearly above us mere mortals," Harry said with an eye roll.

"It's really quite simple Potter, if you have the intellectual capacity to understand it of course," he replied with a sneer. Harry bit his tongue, determined not to be needled and rise to the bait. Snape might want to act like a child, but he wasn't going to. "Where are you up to?"

"Chapter three," Harry replied levelly, keeping his temper firmly in check. "And none of it makes any bloody sense," he added as an afterthought. "But I am trying," he insisted.

Severus merely raised an eyebrow, then held out his hand for Harry to pass him the book. He perused the chapters Harry had read and looked back across to Harry. "This material is fairly advanced," Severus admitted, "perhaps you should start with something a little lighter."

"You might have told me that earlier," Harry replied. "Before you stormed off like a two-year old," he mentally added. "What should I be reading then?"

"Whatever you feel adequately penetrates that thick skull of yours," was the curt reply.

Harry glowered at the man, frustrated that he was being so difficult when he was actually trying to learn the things he'd been given. "Fine," he said, trying to maintain a level of civility, "I'm going to read it in bed," he said, picking up the book he had previously been reading, just to make a point, and heading for the bedroom. "Maybe tomorrow you'll be slightly more bearable." Luckily he was already out of sight before he could see the withering glare Severus sent him.

"He's just impossible," Harry railed to Hermione the next morning as they sat in the Gryffindor common room during a free lesson. "I'm trying to be civil, I really am, but he's just not meeting me halfway! This just isn't working," he said dejectedly.

"Oh Harry I sympathise with you, I do, but I think you need to take a step back and try seeing it from Professor Snape's perspective."

He frowned at her and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well this can't be easy for him either," she began gently. "I mean think about it, think about what he has to deal with. He has to maintain order and respect as a teacher whilst all anyone wants to do is talk and joke about your marriage, not to mention the fact that he has to deal with a whole houseful of Slytherins who are baying for his blood because he's been revealed as a traitor. Look at how they've been treating Malfoy; imagine what they must be feeling towards Snape, a high-up member of the Death Eaters, who was supposedly loyal who's not only betrayed them but has set up home with the poster boy for the Light! The situation's hardly ideal."

Harry dropped his head into his hands and mumbled, "Merlin Hermione, why do you always have to point out what an idiot I am?"

"Someone has to," she said affectionately. "Look you're both struggling with this, wouldn't it be easier if you worked together?"

"Of course it would be easier, it's just doing it that's the problem. We just seem to clash over everything. Just when I think we're getting on alright, something happens and we're arguing again!" He ran a hand through his hair and moved over to the window, looking out onto the grounds and the late September mist that was rolling off the lake, shrouding everything in its path. "I know I'm not making things any easier for him, but he's not making things easy for me either. I just want to get through this year with as little hassle as possible. Not that that seems at all likely."

Hermione smiled and moved to stand next to him at the window, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Just give it time, you've barely been married a month, you'll find a way to make it work."

"Put him down Hermione, he's a married man," came Ron's voice as he stepped through the portrait hole, closely followed by Draco.

"Hilarious Ron," said Hermione, rolling her eyes as she and Harry moved away from the window to join them, Harry and Draco curtly acknowledging one another. "Where have you two been anyway?" she asked as they settled on the sofa.

"Studying believe it or not," Ron replied with a grin.

"I don't," Hermione replied wryly, to which Ron stuck his tongue out and stretched his long legs out further, folding his arms behind his head, almost elbowing Draco in the process and earning an annoyed glare from the blond.

"What are you doing up here anyway?" Ron asked Harry. "I thought this place was out of bounds to you now."

"It is," Harry replied, "but I didn't feel like going 'home' just yet."

"Another argument?" Harry nodded. "Well Slytherins aren't the easiest people to live with," Ron said with a smirk in Draco's direction.

"Whilst Gryffindors are a pure joy," Draco returned with a raised eyebrow, kicking Ron's leg out of the way so he could stretch out himself.

"Malfoy you know Snape," Harry said and Draco's shock in being directly addressed by someone other than Ron was soon covered by the old familiar haughty arrogance. "What's the best way to deal with him? I can't go on living like this."

"Love's young dream not all it's cracked up to be?" Draco asked mockingly and Ron couldn't help but smile at the fact that Draco was seemingly taking his advice and ceasing his attempts to make himself invisible.

"Don't be a git, just answer the question," he said, nudging the blond beside him, receiving a frown in return. Draco sighed and said,

"Just give him space, let him get on with things on his own and just let him disappear for a few hours here and there without saying anything. Agree with him once in a while, even when you don't because when he's got a point to make he'll make it regardless of how you feel about the subject. It also doesn't hurt to play to his vanity once in a while, trust me, even someone like Severus enjoys it and it'll earn you points. Other than that...you're just going to have to figure it out as you go along," he finished with a wicked grin.

"And doesn't that just sound like fun?" Harry mumbled, grabbing his bag and books and making his exit before any other Gryffindors made an appearance.

"You know, that was almost helpful," Ron told Draco, to which the blond merely gave a sickly 'sweet' smile and stretched out further on the sofa.

Severus wasn't surprised that Harry made himself scarce the next day; the boy had been avoiding him since their little difference of opinion and was apparently planning to go on doing so. He hadn't meant to snap at the idiot boy the way he had, but he'd just had enough that day and Potter's self-pitying attitude had pushed him that step too far. He had been trying to keep his temper in control and to tolerate the boy with equanimity, but Potter had the talent of getting to him honed to a perfect art.

It didn't help that he had his own difficulties to deal with when facing snide comments and sly remarks about his and Harry's 'marriage'. Countless students had tried to make little digs over the last couple of weeks and his Slytherins had been unbearable. He was aware that they were baying for blood as it was after the revelation that he was no loyal servant to Voldemort, but marrying Harry seemed to be the cherry on the cake.

He was just about to commence that night's marking when the door opened and Harry walked in, his tie loosened and his shirt sleeves rolled up.

"Evening," Severus said, as the boy chucked his bag down in the corner and slumped down in one of the armchairs. "Where have you been?"

"In the library," Harry said almost defensively, as if daring Severus to doubt the statement's veracity. "I had work to do and I thought you'd prefer it if I was out from under your feet for a few hours."

Severus sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, telling himself to count to ten and not hit the boy over the head with the nearest blunt object. "Potter, I apologise," he bit out the word, "for being short with you yesterday. I had had a difficult day and was operating on a very short fuse. This is your home and I want you to think of it as such, if only to maintain our charade to the public. You don't need to disappear every time we...differ slightly."

Harry raised an eyebrow at his choice of words but decided not to say anything for fear of ruining the tentative peace that was forming. Instead he settled for simply nodding and fishing out the book on Elemental Magic whilst Severus returned to marking the essays the incompetent 2nd year Hufflepuffs had reluctantly handed in.

After a few minutes, a movement caught his eye and he looked up to see Harry flicking his hand around in a most odd manner and mumbling something under his breath. After regarding him for a moment longer, Severus asked, "Potter, if it's not too ridiculous a question, what on earth are you doing?"

"Hm?" said Harry, glancing up at the man. "Oh, I'm just trying to get this hand movement right, it's the one for conjuring and controlling a flame, it's more complicated than I realised. I didn't know Elemental Magic didn't require wands."

"Mm," said Severus with a nod. "Ordinary magic uses the wand as a receptacle for magical energy, a tool through which to channel it. Elemental Magic needs a more direct connection to your own magic in order to form a union between the two. It's all about being connected to the world around you and harnessing its power."

"So much more complicated than ordinary magic," Harry mumbled, continuing to rifle through the book's impossible pages.

"Actually it isn't, you just don't notice it with ordinary magic because of the wand, it's the 'middle man' so to speak."

"The more I learn the stupider I feel."

"Yes, well, I think it's safer if I reserve comment on that," replied Severus, to which Harry simply sent an 'I am not amused' glare. "When we begin your training it'll hopefully become much clearer."

"I wouldn't hold your breath."

"Don't worry I won't," came the sardonic reply. "Might never breathe again."

"Count to ten, count to ten," Harry muttered, loud enough for Severus to hear. "A little credit once in a while wouldn't kill you you know," he told the man.

"Credit? For what?"

"For knuckling down and getting on with this stuff," Harry replied, aware that he was verging on a whine, but not really caring.

"You hardly have a choice," Severus reminded him.

"No but it wouldn't kill you to give a little encouragement once in a while."

Snape slowly clapped his hands together and gave a deadpanned, "Bravo."

"You're a very difficult man," Harry groused, returning his attention to the book, missing the mild look of amusement Severus sent his way. "So when do you want to begin our actual training?"

"Tomorrow. You and I are both free after lunch so we will meet in the Room of Requirement and begin then."

"Oh joy of joys. Well in light of that wonderful news, I'm going to have a long, long soak in the bath," he said, packing his things up and moving to the bedroom door.

"You might want to consider taking up permanent residence in that bathroom, or perhaps proposing marriage to the bathtub," Severus said, smirking at his own witticism.

"Well there has to be some compensation for being married to you."

Harry picked at his lunch the next day, his appetite greatly diminished by the fact that his training session was looming over his head. Thankfully people had more or less stopped pestering him with stupid questions about his marriage, but he could still feel the looks that people sent his way, as if at any moment they expected Snape to stride over to him and shag him on the lunch table. Now there was a mental image Harry could have done without before his training.

He shook the thought from his head and pushed his plate aside, his stomach resisting any attempt to fill it. He wasn't entirely sure why he was nervous, but he couldn't push away the sense of foreboding that had settled on him. Any previous training he'd undertaken with Snape had never really ended well and the memory of his previous Occlumency lessons wasn't exactly helping to ease his anxiety and nervous anticipation.

After glancing at his watch for the 100th time and seeing that the dreaded hour had arrived, he steeled himself and bid goodbye to his friends, then made his reluctant way up to the Room of Requirement. He wasn't surprised to see that Snape was already there waiting for him, looking more menacing and intimidating than ever. He had to remind himself that this was in fact his husband and that he wasn't allowed to do any damage to him, which was only of slight comfort.

"Oh good you're here; not as late as I thought you'd be," said Severus as he shrugged off his outer robes, leaving him in tailored black trousers and a crisp, white shirt, the sleeves of which he then proceeded to roll up. Harry was tempted to point out that Severus had in fact not given him a time to be there and so he could be neither late nor early, but decided that for his own well-being he would refrain from commenting and instead removed his own robe and school jumper and prepared himself for whatever Severus had in store for him.

"Right, come and stand in front of me and we'll begin," Severus ordered and Harry complied, deciding then and there to just do whatever he was told, hoping that it worked in his favour. "Now, hold your wand hand out, palm up and focus, concentrate. Create the image of a flame in your mind; visualise its ignition, its kindling, its burning. Feel the heat from it, watch its slow burn..." Harry let Severus' voice wash over him and he closed his eyes, letting Severus' words sink in and following the instructions they gave him. He saw the flame in his mind's eye and tried to focus on every single detail of it, still vaguely aware that Severus was continuing to instruct him.

He continued until the flame was a bright, vivid picture in his mind, then he heard Severus say gently, "Now, perform the hand gesture and say the incantation." He did as he was told and opened his eyes to see a small, slightly weak flame dancing an inch above his palm. He could feel its heat but it was causing him no pain, in fact it actually felt rather comforting. He smiled slightly and glanced up at Severus, eager to see the man's reaction. He was regarding Harry with a somewhat guarded expression, but Harry could've sworn there was an approving look there somewhere.

"It's a little weak," Harry said, slightly disappointed that the flame wasn't more magnificent.

"For a first attempt it's brilliant," Severus replied quietly and Harry's jaw almost dropped to the floor in shock. There was no way in this world, or indeed any other, that Severus Snape could have just given him a compliment. Severus seemed to return to his senses and he extinguished the flame in Harry's hand and said, "Do it again, this time don't take as long visualising it, cut to the incantation sooner."

Harry nodded, then did as instructed, imagining a bolder, brighter flame, this time with his eyes open. He spoke the incantation more loudly and with more confidence, and with a flourish of his hand, he watched as once again a flame materialised in his hand. "It's brighter this time," Harry noticed, pleased, and Severus merely nodded, his eyes fixed on the guttering flame. Harry watched as it danced and skipped above his skin and he had the strange feeling that somehow the flame belonged to him, that it was merely an extension of himself and that he had complete control over it.

"Very good," Severus murmured, surprising Harry yet again. "Do you think you could increase it at all?" he asked softly, his sharp eyes meeting Harry's. Harry bit his lip and replied,

"I'll try."

He focused once again on the flame in his hand and concentrated hard on its centre. He imagined fuel being added to it, feeding it; he imagined the heart of it increasing, spreading from the middle out to the edges. As he continued to concentrate, the flame in his hand grew slightly bigger. It wasn't an enormous difference, but it was noticeable nevertheless. "Interesting," Severus said, then gently extinguished it once again. They continued in the same vein for another hour and Harry would have carried on longer, had Severus not insisted on stopping.

He was pulling his jumper back on when suddenly he felt weak and faint, as if the life had been drained from him. His knees buckled and he sank to the floor, dizziness enveloping him.

"Potter!" he heard Severus shout and then the man was kneeling at his side, slipping a hand gently beneath his head, tilting it until their eyes met. "Potter can you hear me?" Harry nodded and replied fuzzily,

"M'k, just had a sudden dizzy spell s'all, felt a bit faint."

"Can you sit up?" Harry nodded again and tentatively pushed himself up, aided by gentle hands on his back, one of which then moved round to rest on his forehead, then his cheek. He leant into the touch, feeling as though it was grounding him somehow, connecting him to a world that was swimming in and out of his vision.

"Come on, let's get you back to the dungeons," Severus said, then he was being gently helped to his feet, strong hands guiding and steadying him as he rocked slightly. "Should've known it wouldn't all have been plain sailing."

"Feeling any better?" Severus asked as he handed Harry another cup of strong tea laced with a replenishing potion.

"A little," Harry replied, snuggling deeper into the blankets Severus had wrapped round him, whilst the man took a seat next to him on the sofa. "My head doesn't feel so fuzzy and I feel like I'm getting some of my strength back. I'm sorry I've made you miss your afternoon lessons."

"Oh yes I'm devastated," Severus replied, wrapping his long fingers round his own tea.

"What happened?" Harry asked as he took a sip of his drink, feeling its warmth travel through him, starting its restoration process.

"You experienced a drain of your magical energy. Because Elemental Magic is channelled directly through you, it drains your resources more quickly than ordinary magic. You just did too much too soon, we must be careful not to let it happen again. No practising when I am not present, understand?" Harry nodded, surprised that for once the man wasn't pushing him to do more work. "We'll have to take this slowly but so far it's looking...promising."

Harry couldn't suppress a small smile at that and said, "Does that mean you're pleased with me?"

Severus shot him a patented Snape look and replied, "The day I'm pleased with you, we will know Armageddon is upon us." Harry stuck his tongue out at the man, thinking that he might have just caught a glint of amusement in those black eyes. "I was, however, rather pleased with your progress. I didn't expect you to achieve so much in your first session. That doesn't mean that you should push yourself though," he warned sternly.

"Yes, yes, you've given the lecture. I promise I won't do anything without you there," said Harry, rolling his eyes.

"That's quite a promise," Severus replied with a smirk. Harry gave an amused little snort and curled up more in the blankets, feeling his strength returning as the potion took effect. "Why not go to bed?" Severus asked as Harry's eyes began to close slightly as he snuggled into the arm of the sofa.

"No I'll never sleep later if I go now, I'll just do a bit of reading for the work I'm missing this afternoon."

"Suit yourself," Severus replied, turning his attention to his own work. He'd decided to look more closely into Elemental Magic. He had a fairly solid understanding of it, but he needed to know more, for Harry's sake if nothing else. He wanted the boy to master it, but not at the expense of his health. He'd been berating himself ever since he had brought Harry back to the dungeons; he shouldn't have let the training session last for as long as it had, but he'd wanted to see how much the boy was capable of.

He was aware that Harry's breathing had become deeper and more even and he glanced over to see the boy had indeed fallen asleep, despite his refusal to go to bed. "Useless boy," Severus muttered, not meaning it in the slightest. He had been beyond impressed with what the boy had managed to achieve in such a short space of time and he was rather looking forward to their next session to see just what the boy was capable of. Somehow, Harry never stopped surprising him.

AN: So here's your first chapter to include Elemental Magic, and before I get a review telling me that Elemental Magic isn't an original concept, I'm aware of that. I've done a LOT of research into Elemental Magic, mostly because it's a major part of something completely separate that I've been working on for over a year now, so I'm pretty well versed in it. It's something that I find fascinating and something that I can totally see Dumbledore wanting Harry to pursue, but as for its part in this fic...well you'll just have to wait and see ; )

Thank you as always for the amazing reviews I've been receiving; I'm so grateful for the encouragement and support that I've received so far and I'm so glad that so many of you are enjoying this. It really does make it all worthwhile to read what you all think, so please let me know what you thought of this chapter

Lastly of course a massive thank you to my beta Adaptive, who is finally happy that I included Hermione!