"English"

'thoughts'

'thoughts of Sesshomaru's beast'

A few days passed in relative harmony. Hermione worked on her plants and potions, still had some of her lessons and translated for Lord Sesshomaru.

Today she would translate for Sirius and Lord Flamel, while they would participate in the training. She had dressed to train as well and had braided her hair back. Lord Sesshomaru would not attend since he had a meeting with his advisors and retainers.

"Good afternoon, Sirius, Lord Flamel. I hope you had a good night's sleep?", she asked them.

"Yes, it was quite good. We will attend the training today?", Lord Flamel replied.

"Yes, Lord Akio will supervise us and let us attend a training session."

Hermione looked around and studied the environment. She looked over the two men, seeing that they were appropriately dressed for the training. Both had bound their hair back and were wearing loosely fitted clothes that would allow them to move well.

"Should we go then? Nishi can lead the way, I am still a bit lost in this palace", she said embarrassed, since she had found her way in a magical castle, that changed routes sometimes.

"Yes! I want some action, I am so bored! Kitten, how can you stand it?", Sirius asked.

He was brimming with energy. With the help of Nishi they went to the training founds and there they met General Akio and some Soldiers and guards.

Hermione greeted Lord Akio and listened to his explanations.

"I think it would be good if the two lords would try and follow the training while you translate anything you deem necessary", he told her.

"Can't I join in the training as well?", she asked him with a frown.

He looked at her a bit surprised.

"I apologize, I did not expect you to want to join. Human females usually don't participate in fighting. But I should have known you were not like others and your attire should have been enough to understand. Please join if you would like to", he apologized.

Hermione nodded to him with a slight smile. That was something she did like. Demon women seemed to be able to participate in fighting. She had heard from Kagome and Sango that women were often looked down upon if choosing to fight and men would not respect them. There were of course exceptions like Miroku, but humans usually did not look well on female fighters.

The training began and Hermione, Sirius and Lord Flamel joined as well. They followed the movements the others did, Hermione more fluidly than the other two. She was used to training after the war and her being a cougar animagus made her more flexible than she would normally be. She twirled and moved with the soldiers, while Sirius and Lord Flamel lacked a slight bit behind.

Hermione started to pant slightly and sweat after a while. She kept up with the training but sat down panting when they finished. Lord Akio came to them and looked at them sitting on the floor.

"I am very impressed with you all. I did not think you would last to the end", he complimented them.

Hermione smiled panting still and translated for the other two. They did not reply, as they were too exhausted.

"Would you like to see Lord Black and I duel with magic, after we caught our breath?", she asked the general.

To Sirius she said: "Up for a magic duel to show them what we are made of?"

Hermione was grinning, if still panting and waited for a reply.

"I would love to see that. I am sure you both will make good figures and do witches and wizards proud all around the globe", Lord Flamel commented.

Sirius did not hesitate and agreed to the duel.

"Just let me catch my breath, then you got yourself a duel. I look forward to seeing how your skills developed from your fifth year. You must have gotten better, right? You were a witch to behold already with fifteen, how good are you now?"

"You will have to see for yourself", she said teasingly and got to her feet.

"Ready old man?", she continued to wind him up.

"Oh, just you wait, Kitten. I will show you old man!", he said and jumped up.

Hermione ran laughing to the center of the duelling ground and took position. She unsheathed her wand and waited for him. They bowed to each other and then pointed their wands at each other. A grin spread over her face and she made a slashing motion without any sound. Seeing the surprise in Sirius eyes, she just grinned. He seemed to get more serious now, that he knew how good she probably had gotten, if she could do wordless magic.

HxS

Sesshomaru walked to the training grounds after he had finished the meeting and his work for the moment and since he knew Hermione to be there.

Getting closer he could hear strange sounds he was not accustomed to. He could see guards assembled but not training. They seemed as if they were watching something. Silently he walked closer and stood next to Lord Akio and Lord Flamel.

Before he could take in the situation, he asked Lord Akio: "What is going on here?"

The general let not show his surprise about his Lord's appearance, turned to him and bowed.

"Greetings, Lord Sesshomaru. Lady Hermione and Lord Black are duelling and showing of their magic skills. It is very impressing", he reported.

Hearing that Sesshomaru concentrated on the duel and could see his little witch fighting against Lord Black. Her movements were fluid, and she was holding her ground well against the older man. He suspected even that she was holding back as to not hurt the feelings of the Lord too much.

'We like what she is wearing. We want her to wear this more in our chambers. Not sure if we like it in public. It is skin tight and does not leave much to the imagination.' 'We are not in the position to forbid her to wear it. We will ignore the others and enjoy the sight.'

Sesshomaru continued to look at his little witch, not letting her out of his sight. He was very impressed with her skills. He would love to spar with her but was not sure he and his skills would be a good sparring partner for her.

'She is our mate, we match.'

Sesshomaru rolled his eyes at his inner beast. Sometimes he wondered how it could be so impatient, rash and irrational.

'She will be our mate, but that does not mean sparring with her would be fair. We are faster and stronger, we fight with swords or claws. She fights with magic. We match fighting others, but not against each other.' 'See, we match. And we can teach her sword fighting.'

Sesshomaru let out a sigh and shook his head mentally, then concentrated on the duel again. He grinned as he saw Hermione disarm Lord Black and finishing the duel. She was panting and sweaty, her scent more intense. He wanted to wrap her in his arms, pulling her against him and kissing her.

Both came over to them, Hermione beaming and Lord Black with a slight frown. Moments later the frown left his face and was replaced by pride.

"Kitten, that was amazing! You were great already all those years ago, but now! Wow! Flamel, what do you think? Is she one of the strongest witches you have ever seen, or is she?"

Hermione blushing slightly and beaming translated for him, and he nodded accepting. She was his mate, of course she was very powerful. He took of his outer wear and draped it around his little witch.

As she looked questioningly up to him, he explained: "So you will not get cold. After training one should not stay in wet clothes for to long in the cool air."

It was an excuse, but a rather good one, since it was true. She did not have to know his true motives. Which were to hide her wonderful body from the view of the other men and to wrap her in his colours and scent.

With his actions he earned a few raised eyebrows form the three lords standing around them. His little witch seemed not to notice, and he ignored them. She smiled at him and thanked him.

He acknowledged her thanks with a serious nod and a: "Hn."

He listened to them chat for a bit, before he reminded them of the time.

"This Sesshomaru apologises for the interruption, but we should go in. You should wash and change so we then can continue our discussions of business over dinner."

They all agreed, and he sent Nishi to show the two guests the way back to their room, while he accompanied Hermione to hers.

"Did you enjoy your training and duel?", he asked her, giving her a slight smile.

"Yes, it was very interesting. Lord Akio even complimented me and you saw me win against Sirius. How has your day been?"

Sesshomaru sighed and replied: "Longwinded and boring to be truthful."

They had nagged him again to find a suitable Lady of the West, even if he already had found her. He just could not reveal it yet. Then there was talk about his mother coming to a visit and he had to arrange for the stay of his brother and Hermione's other friends from the village. This winter would surely not be boring. He had to win his mates heart, or he risked losing her after winter was over. She still was planning to return to the village, or even worse, her time. He could not let her leave him.

They arrived at her door and looked down at her. He reached for her and stroked her cheek, while pushing a strand of her curly hair behind her ear. He still wished to play with her bouncy curls at some point.

Taking her hand he kissed the back of it and said: "I will see you at dinner, my little witch."

Then he left for his rooms.

AN: You are such amazing people! There are over 300 reviews! I am sorry for letting you wait so long! I will not abandon this story, it will just take me a while and probably a few brakes to finish it. Thank you for reading the story, liking it and/or reviewing it, it means a lot to me. Know that I read all your reviews, even if I don't respond to them. If you have questions or ideas, let me know. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thank you all so much for your support, it motivates me to write more. I hope you continue liking the story.

This chapter is not betaed yet.