Authors Note: I know this is a very short update , but I've been very sick and I just wanted to give everyone a little update before Christmas, I hope to have the next part to you much sooner, take care, Em x
oOo

He was once again astounded at her ability when he set to running her bath. A number of the runes that were carved into the bath, which he'd yet to figure out, (and had still been too proud to ask about) had turned out to be linked to her bathroom cabinet of all things.

The brush of your hand against certain runes, and with focussed intent and you could summon a headache potion, muscle soother, skin balm or pain relief. It was ingenious and he told her as much, from his position knelt on the floor by the bath, whilst she sat upon the closed toilet seat beside him.

"That's easy for you to say, when you only see the finished product, and not the months worth of errors that went into fine-tuning it."

Her smile was rueful when she met his eyes. "I tested all the runes separately before carving them into the bath. The first time I tried the runes in practice I nearly drowned myself."

He scoffed wryly at first, believing her to be making light of the situation but when he noticed her chagrined look he actually sputtered out in shock,

"You're serious?!"

She only nodded, looking rather chastised.

"When I first started, I didn't think to add the rune for intent, which meant every time I accidentally touched one of the runes, they activated. So the very first time I get in, I brushed my leg against the side of the bath, my skin made contact with the runes and I accidentally activated them all at once. So there I was in a jacuzzi bath, with 5 different kinds of bubbles erupting over the side and one of every potion in my lap. Then every time I tried to move, I brushed it again and it would reactivate, within seconds I ended up struggling at the bottom of the bath with the entire contents of my bathroom cabinet on top of me and my head under the water, before I realised I would have to apparate, wandlessly mind you, out of the bath, which I did… naked, and landed on the living room rug, but not without splinching my bloody arse."

Without ceremony or embarrassment, she leaned sideways and pulled down the waistband of her jeans on one side, to show the thin white scar on one arse cheek.

For a moment he just stared silently at the scar and her exposed arse cheek, then he lifted his eyes to meet hers, and rather without any control he found himself laughing at her uproariously.

Thankfully she just took it in good humour, though she did call him a bastard for laughing and threw a roll of toilet paperl at him, but as she was smiling while she did so, he didn't think it counted.

oOo

When her bath was run, he turned towards her and when she stood he was suddenly embarrassed, despite all they had admitted to each other earlier.

"Hermione, if you want me to go -"

"Why would I?" The genuine puzzlement was clear in both her tone and look.

Gaping for a moment, he tried to find the words. He didn't want to presume or pressure her, and he was still shocked that they were seemingly taking this step forward in their relationship, even though they had been dancing around each other for months, he couldn't believe that she of all people would feel the same way that he did.

Taking pity on him , her gaze softened and her hands dropped from where she'd been undoing the buttons on her shirt.

"Severus? I know what we talked about downstairs, but it's ok if you're not there yet. I'm not going anywhere, you don't have to do anything you're uncomfortable with."

Standing and reaching towards her, he leant forward into her smaller frame and pressed his forehead against hers and they both closed their eyes, enjoying the close contact. He chanced to place his hands on her hips. He didn't pull her towards him, just held her with a gentle pressure and she hummed in response, resting both of her hands against his chest in a way that made his heart thump against his chest. Her jeans were still a bit low slung from her earlier reveal of her scar, and it meant his hands rested on the bare skin just below her waist. His fingers gently tracing the softness there. It wasn't improper by any means, but it decidedly wasn't platonic either.

"It is not my comfort I am thinking of" came his reply, rumbling from his chest. When he opened his eyes, they were dark with the want of her, but as he took in the amber gaze in front of him, he found that her pupils were just as dilated as his likely were.

Her response, when it came, was low and honey-rich and it made other parts of him wake up and take notice.

"Believe me Severus , if I was uncomfortable I would let you know. I want you here, that is if you want to be here?"

Taking her words at face value, he dropped his hands a bit lower, and pulled her towards him so they were pressed together.

"I can assure you little witch, I want to be here. I would daresay there is no place I'd rather be right now…Though I must admit your head wound is making me want to err on the side of caution. As much as I would like to…explore… this further right now, I do believe that I would rather keep up my side of our bargain, and any further comfort can be discussed when you are decidedly not concussed? "

Snorting in amusement, she bounced up on to her tiptoes and nudged his nose with hers. It was a decidedly odd but endearing action that earned her a small smile.

"That's fair"

She grudgingly admitted. Though from the quick up down glance she gave him, while biting her lip, followed by a saucy wink when he raised his eyebrow at her brazen audacity of checking him out without even attempting to conceal it, he didn't know whether to clutch his pearls, or give in to her entirely. Either way he feared he'd vastly underestimated the woman in front of him and rather thought that were they to continue down this route that she was going to eat him alive.

And what a way to go, certain parts of him chimed in.

oOo

Her earlier words from months previous about childbirth robbing her of any modesty about her body came swiftly back to him when she began to strip in front of him with little fanfare. He was certain that pink would be staining his pale cheeks and while he briefly considered turning away to protect her modesty, her arched eyebrow issued a challenge that his inner slytherin wouldn't back down from and even as he felt the blush heating his skin, he didn't break eye contact as she stripped out of her jumper, then her shirt and then her jeans until she was just in her underwear.

Her underwear was nothing fancy, she was a nursing mother relaxing at home and neither of them had planned for this bathroom excursion to be happening today, but still it made his pulse race and he felt sweat beading on his skin that he wasn't entirely convinced was from the warmth of the room. The bra she wore was simple plain white cotton, and he knew from experience that it undid at the front so that she could nurse with ease.

She leaned forward to reach the clasp and with a swear almost lost her balance.

He was quick to grab her, his hands settling on her hips and holding her upright.

"OK , perhaps I may have a little soup induced vertigo."

"You don't say" he drawled, trying to mask his genuine concern with more familiar sarcasm.

She nudged his foot with hers. "I am fine , truly. Just a little dizzy because on top of taking a bloody bowl to the head, I'd just finished nursing, and pumping, and I haven't eaten or drank anything because I ended up wearing my lunch"

Gently, he brushed the hair from her face, a look of concern marring his features but she was quick to distract him. Grasping his hands in hers, she brought them from her face, to her chest, and smirked a little at the quick inhale he tried to hide when his hands made contact with her breasts for the first time.

"Would you mind helping me out?"