With The First Ray Of Light

March 12th, 2000

“Hermione, there you are,” Hodgins said, as she walked into the training room. "I wasn't sure you'd gotten the message about the change in schedule.

"I did," she said as she took off her robes and hung them by the wall.

"Been practicing the spells I taught you?" Hodgins asked, walking to the centre of the room. Instead of replying, she twirled her wand and suddenly a large block of concrete materialised in front of her.

"Is it solid?"

She smiled at his question, stepped to the side, and said, "Give it your best shot."

"Confident, are we?" he asked, then aimed his wand at the block and shot a quick series of spells at it. One caused a small explosion and sent some debris flying, but other than that, the block held. "Impressive," he finally said with a smile. "You're every bit as good as Kingsley said you were."

"So, are you going to teach me that spell now?" she asked. She'd been trying to get him to teach her the spell Kingsley had used on the Death Eaters outside the British Museum for almost a week now.

"No," he said, and his eyes twinkled with mischief. "It's our last training session together for now," he told her. "I thought I'd teach you something more...interesting."

"Such as?"

"Can you cast a Defendo Protective Shield?"

"Yes," she said.

"Go ahead," he said, and she muttered the words to the charm. "Now, you know this is one of the most powerful Shield Charms there are." She nodded. "Try not to fall," he said then with a smirk, and in a flash of movement he shot a spell that went right through her shield and hit her feet, forcing them together and making her fall hard on her arse. She was surprised to find he had cast a Cushioning Charm under her.

"How did you do that?" she asked as she lifted the spell keeping her feet together and got up.

"I knew you'd like it. And wait until I tell you the best part," he said, then leaned closer and lowered his voice to a whisper. "That's the Shield Charm Kingsley always uses."

Her eyes widened in understanding, and his smile broadened. "Thought it was about time you showed him some humility. Now come here, I'll show you how to cast it."

It took her only a few minutes to learn the spell, but almost an hour to make it powerful enough to break through the Protective Shield. Then Hodgins taught her a few more jinxes and a rather dark curse, and they spent the rest of the morning practicing them. It was no wonder he and Kingsley were such good friends, they were alike in so many aspects.

She was exhausted from hours of duelling, and it was obvious he was just as tired, so around lunchtime they decided to call it a day. She could tell he was happy he wouldn't be training with her any more for the time being, he'd told her more than once that she put up too good a fight for his liking. He preferred to leave that to real battles, not training exercises.

She slowly made her way to the changing rooms, trying to ignore her sore muscles as she took off her training clothes and stepped under the warm spray of the shower.

She tilted her head to the side, letting the water hit her neck and shoulders, closing her eyes as she tried to relax. It wasn't until she felt an arm snake around her waist that she realised she wasn't alone, and as her eyes flew open she reached for her wand.

Before she could reach it, she was spun around and pushed back against the tiled wall, her arms pinned over her head. "Mmmm," Kingsley growled into her ear as he leaned closer. "Hot, wet and naked, just the way I like you."

She was relieved to see it was him and not someone attacking her, but even as she tried to calm her heart down, she wanted nothing more than to yell at him for scaring her so badly. In fact, she opened her mouth to do just that, but then he pushed himself against her and crushed his lips to hers in a searing kiss, and her mind went to that quiet, peaceful place where all that matters is him, and what he does to her.

She hadn't seen him in weeks, and her body had missed him more than she had realised. They hadn't spent much time together since that first night almost two months ago; in fact, a few days after he had returned for the Order meeting he'd had to leave again. But still she had longed for his touch, using training as her only distraction and way of getting rid of that pent up energy, exhausting Hodgins with endless hours of duelling. It was no wonder he was glad to be leaving on a new mission tomorrow.

"How did you know I was here," she managed to ask when his lips moved to her neck.

"Hodgins told me when I arrived."

There was something in the way he said it that didn't feel right for some reason. With a small frown, she pushed him back enough so she could look at him. "Why would he tell you where I was?"

"He probably knew I'd want to see you," he said with a smirk. "And he was right," he added as he pushed his hips against her, showing her just how much he'd wanted to find her.

"Kingsley…" she said, pushing him back again when he leaned forward to kiss her.

"He's my best friend," he said, as if he were stating something obvious. "It took him all of a day to figure out what was going on."

Her eyes widened at his words, and she felt her cheeks burn. Hodgins had known all this time? She'd thought she had been doing a good job in hiding whatever it was that was going on between her and Kingsley, and he had known all along?

That explained a lot, actually, the looks he'd given her whenever she had casually asked when the Aurors would be back from their missions, or how he would ask about her training with Kingsley, his lips always twitching into a faint smile as she spoke about his friend. Next time she saw him she would- Oh, damn, how was she supposed to think with Kingsley’s tongue teasing her neck, her jaw, her ear.

This time she didn’t push him away. Why would she, when he felt so wonderful against her? Instead, she moved one of her legs around him and when he let go of her hands, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down for another kiss.

She surrendered herself to the feeling, letting him take control of the kiss, letting him spread her legs and pull her up, then press her against the wall, making her wrap her legs around him. Then he was inside her, and her body arched as she moaned into the kiss.

How could he feel so damn wonderful inside her, around her? How could he make everything else vanish as he took her? How could it be so good to just stop thinking and give in to him?

The water was still falling warmly on them, and she leaned forward to lick the drops sliding down his firm chest, then tease the flesh with her teeth, biting hard enough to make him hiss and buck his hips against hers, driving himself deeper into her.

His rhythm became more frantic, and one of his hands slid between them, rubbing her clit, bringing her closer to the edge. Her lips searched for his again, and she kissed him with all the passion she could muster as she felt every muscle in her body tense.

Then she closed her eyes and just gave in. She had decided she didn’t need to define what they had, didn’t need to put a label on it. She would just go with it, at least for now. She had a right to do something she wanted, something that made her feel good, and since that first night she couldn’t think of anything better than Kingsley. So as her orgasm washed over her, she clung on to him and just felt.