Scars That Heal (Dramione Fanfiction) [COMPLETE]

46 - Ticking Hands

They were so happy together, just being friends in the sunshine, and for a while Hermione forgot about all the worries she had had before. There was time. And she wouldn't have given up that afternoon for anything.

***

The next day, Hermione woke up with Ginny poking her head through the curtains of her four-poster telling her to get up and get ready for Hogsmeade. When Hermione groaned and asked for more sleep, Ginny and Luna pulled her duvet off the bed and threatened to pour water over her head until Hermione sat up, rubbing her eyes blearily and told them she was sufficiently awake.

They got dressed and went down for breakfast together. The boys weren't awake yet, so they started without them. By the time they were all ready and had eaten the Great Hall was nearly empty.

"Why are you guys so slow to get up?" Ginny asked Dean in exasperation.

"I don't know," he shrugged, "I thought it was meant to be girls who take forever to get ready."

"Well, just be grateful Hermione's too sleepy to argue against your misogyny," Luna commented.

"You should be pleased I didn't bother to do my makeup today, or I'd still be upstairs," Ginny grinned.

Hogsmeade was filled with students when they arrived. As it was one of the last Hogsmeade weekends before the end of term, everyone wanted to spend some time out shopping with friends before the holidays. They all wanted to go to different shops, so the group split off into its natural pairings; Dean and Seamus went to Zonkos, Ginny and Luna went into Honeydukes and Hermione and Draco were stood by the fountain wondering where to go.

"I honestly have no idea," Draco said, looking around. "I don't really want anything in particular. Shall we just have a look in the windows, and see if we want to have a look around?"

"Sounds perfect," Hermione agreed.

They went to Flourish and Blotts, and ended up spending ages looking at new books Hermione had seen. She missed reading Muggle fiction, but had really started enjoying a few wizarding authors recently. There were some books she wanted to buy, so Draco waited beside the queue as she paid for her new stack of novels.

They went into Honeydukes just as Luna and Ginny were leaving. According to them there was a huge new stock of delicious sweets, so Draco went to look at the freshly organised shelves. He bought a few bags of various fudges and chocolates, and also bought himself and Hermione and ice-cream each. The ice-creams ended up melting everywhere as the weather was so warm, and they both had puddles of cream all over their shoes by the time they had finished them.

"There was something I saw an advert for in the Daily Prophet that I want to see if I can find," Draco mentioned. "I think they have it in a shop on the far side of town, but I don't know. Is it OK if we go there? It might be a bit of a walk."

"I don't mind," Hermione said. "We've got plenty of time."

When they reached the last lane of Hogsmeade before it became open road, it was clear that the only two shops there were specialists. One stocked rare and highly expensive potion ingredients, and the other was a kind of magical pharmacy. Draco went to look in the windows of both, and Hermione asked him what he was looking for.

"The advert was for... It was for a kind of ointment that can remove magical scarring," he said, quickly, "I wanted some for my chest, and I thought you might also like it for your arm-- I don't know, because you might not want to remove it - I mean, I don't know why you wouldn't, but you might prefer not to dabble in magical healing - and I wasn't sure whether buying it for you without discussing it would seem presumptuous, or --"

Hermione cut him off by kissing him. He stopped talking, and lowered his arms filled with bags as he held her waist. Hermione finally let go of him and smiled widely.

"You are so thoughtful. And I love you so much."

Draco grinned at her, blushing a little, and found an advert for the ointment in the window of the pharmacy. It seemed they were in luck. They went in, and asked the man behind the till about buying it. He explained that it wasn't guaranteed to work for all kinds of scarring, so they shouldn't be disappointed if it didn't work fully.

"It's been tested on most kinds of scars, but there haven't been that many people willing to take part in the clinical trials, understandably," he told them. He asked them how many tubs they wanted, and Draco paid for both of them.

They got outside the shop, and both grinned widely at the other. Hermione would no longer be branded with the word 'Mudblood' on her arm. Draco would no longer have reminders of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's cruelty on his body. They would finally be free of the scars that had haunted them.

***

That night, when everyone was asleep, Hermione slipped out of bed and took the tub of cream from her nightstand. Carefully, she read the label and the instructions on the packaging.

'Vulnera Sanata - the eraser for magical scarring. Use sparsely, rubbing the cream into the affected area twice a day, at morning and night. On nights of full moons, use only in the morning. WARNING: This product cannot be guaranteed to work on all types of magically-induced scar tissue.'

Taking a small amount on her fingers, Hermione rubbed the pale blue cream into the words on her forearm. It was cold, but warmed as it came in contact with her skin. Then, there was nothing.

Hermione wondered if it would actually work. It might not - she may forever be marked as the 'Mudblood'. But she was okay with that. She was surprised that she wasn't more unhappy with the idea that she may have that scar forever. It would always be there physically, but the mental pain that had come with it was gone now. Her scars were finally healing.