Well, what have we here? An update? Can it be? Apologies for the delays guys, life is kicking my ass so hard right now :(

As always, not mine, never will be. No copyright infringement intended

Chapter Fourteen

Over the course of the next few days, Harry noticed a marked changed in Hermione's behaviour. She became less melancholy and started being more herself, so much so that she had gone off to the library, on her own, and Harry was having a quiet game of chess with Ron, the first time the pair had actually spoken properly in weeks.

Ron gave his knight the space he wanted the piece to move to, Harry grimacing as he took out one of his pawns again. "Your turn, mate," Ron said.

Harry examined the board and huffed quietly to himself. "I have no idea why I put myself through this, I don't think I've ever won a game of chess with you, ever." He moved his rook and tried to build some sort of protection around his king.

"Because one day you will beat me and we'll both be in shock," the red-head laughed. "Can I ask you something?"

Harry looked up at Ron's hesitant tone and frowned. "Sure."

Ron scratched his head awkwardly. "How are things going, with you and Hermione?"

"Erm…there's nothing really going on at all."

"You mean you haven't…well…?"

Harry shook his head. "No, we're hoping the law will get repealed before it comes to that. I really don't want to put her through that after what Malfoy did to her."

Ron shuddered. "Yeah, I got a good enough idea of what happened from talk about the school."

"Yeah, besides, there isn't anything romantic between us."

Hermione came back at that moment, smiling softly at Harry and giving a sort of half-smile to Ron. Harry smiled warmly back at her, nodding when she said she was going for a bath, and offered to run it for her. She shook her head and laughed, saying she was more than capable.

Ron looked at Harry and chuckled. "Yeah, mate, absolutely nothing there."

Harry frowned and asked what he meant, but the youngest Weasley boy waved him off and continued their game- once again beating Harry. When he left, Harry checked on Hermione. "It's almost time for dinner," he called through the bathroom door.

"I'll be out in a few minutes."

Harry put away the chess set and threw on his school robe. He laid out Hermione's, something falling out of her pocket. He went to return it and noticed the package was addressed to her, in Remus' handwriting.

Curiosity burned in him, but he put it back, knowing if Hermione thought he needed to know about it, she would tell him. He waited patiently for her to come out and smiled when she emerged in a blouse and skirt, handing her the robe.

Her hair lay in sleek curls down her back, having not been dried. Harry grabbed a hair tie, and pulled her hair into a quick, but lovely braid, keeping it out of her eyes. "Come on, I'm starving," he said, holding the door open for her.

-oo0oo-

Harry attended another Occlumency lesson with Snape, Hermione joining him to start learning wandless magic. He waited for Snape to set her up with the simple task of lighting a candle without her wand. Hermione smiled at Harry and turned to her task, leaving Snape to once again behave like a battering ram and try to break down Harry's mental defences.

Each time, as before, Harry would last for so long, then begin to weaken as he struggled to keep up with Snape's constant attacks. "Sir, I need a break."

He watched Snape's face twist into a sneer. "The Dark Lord isn't taking a break, Potter. How are you going to cope the next time he tries to break into your mind? What you need is an incentive."

Before Harry could react to that statement, Snape broke into his mind again, this time searching for the dreams Harry had tried desperately to hide. Snape found the one Harry had just the other day when Hermione had panicked.

Hermione's soft body was beneath him, her hair fanned out across his pillow, eyes glittering in the low light and her cheeks pinked with pleasure. Small hands ran along his biceps, across his shoulders, his erection pressing into her hip and Hermione smirked at him. Breasts pressed into his chest, her legs wrapped around his waist and heels digging into the small of his back, pleading in his ear to be inside her.

Harry managed to force him out after a bit. "That's private, you sick fuck!"

Snape laughed coldly. "Does your dear little wife know what you dream of?"

He snarled and withdrew his wand. "I will fucking end you," he hissed.

The potions master attacked again, and Harry slammed every defence he had down, trapping Snape in his landscape until the professor withdrew.

"You see? Incentive," Snape smirked.

Harry pointed his wand at Snape, eyes narrowed. "Let me make something perfectly clear, I only attend these lessons because Dumbledore believes I need them. You do not get to use my marriage to Hermione as incentive or anything else."

Snape crossed his arms over his chest and raised a brow. "Be careful where you point that, Potter. You wouldn't want to hurt anyone."

The idea to use Levicorpus on the man flashed through Harry's mind, but he would not behave as his father once did. Instead, Harry cast the Jelly-Legs Jinx and laughed as his professor jiggled about uncontrollably.

He heard Hermione laugh, hand covering her mouth as she studiously returned to her task. His heart melted at the sound, and he wished he could hear it more often. Snape recovered from his wobbly legs, eyes narrowed in fury.

Harry suspected that the professor had not found the jinx perhaps as amusing as Harry and Hermione had done. Waiting for a tirade on how just like his father was, Harry stood straight and tucked his wand away, turning away to go sit with Hermione.

He sat down next to his wife and smiled at her. She burst out laughing, grabbing her ribs and trying desperately to get air as she fell about. He had no idea what the cause of her humour was, but he was glad it was making her laugh.

She conjured a mirror and for him, and Harry caught sight of his bright green hair. "Snape!" He bellowed.

The man laughed and removed the hair colour, returning the messy locks to their original black. "You're not the only one capable of having a laugh, Potter. Miss Granger, I mean Mrs. Potter, have you managed to light the candle?"

Hermione shook her head dejectedly. "No, sir, I couldn't do it."

The professor tapped his chin in thought with a long finger. "When you wish to cast with your wand, what do you do?"

The witch frowned slightly. "I don't understand."

He sighed, pinched the bridge of his nose and sat down opposite the pair. "If you were to just wave your wand, and say the spell, would anything happen?"

Hermione blinked. "No."

"Right, so what do you do when you cast?"

"I see my spell through my wand, and I picture my end goal."

Snape nodded. "So why is casting wandlessly any different?"

Her brow furrowed in consternation. "I don't know."

Harry bit his lip before answering. "It isn't any different. Only, you don't see the spell through your wand, but through you. The wand is just a conduit, it's not the source. The magic lies inside you, so when you cast wandlessly, you need to follow the same practise, but remember you don't have a conduit."

Hermione gawped at him. "Harry, can you do wandless magic?"

He shrugged. "A little, not much."

She grimaced and rolled her shoulders. "Okay, so see the magic flowing through me, and out to the candle."

She tried several times and failed, not even getting a flicker. Harry settled behind her on the bench, and wrapped one arm around her waist, the other extending down her arm until their hands touched. "See your magic rising from you, see it flow through your body and down your arm."

He raised their hands until her fingers stretched out to the candle. "Okay," she breathed.

"See your magic reach out, touch the candle wick, and light it. Now, say the spell."

"Incendio," Hermione said, a small flame burst over the wick of the candle, catching and lighting it. She squealed in joy and turned, throwing her arms around Harry and kissing him quickly. Too stunned to react, Harry felt the pressure of lips on his own and failed to do anything other than give a startled squeak.

Hermione flushed pink in her enthusiasm. "Thank you, Harry, this is why you were such a good teacher in the DA."

He laughed and released her from his hold. "I think if you keep trying, you'll get stronger and be able to do bigger spells, like summoning," he murmured.

She smiled and kissed his cheek. "Yes, I believe with your help, I won't have any trouble at all."