"When I stand before thee at the day's end, thou will know that I had my wounds and also my healing."

- Rabindranath Tagore

Chapter One

The ride back to Neville's home was a quiet one under the stars of a clear night. As the broom touched down on the balcony outside his small apartment, he gently kissed the cheek of the brunette in his arms, rousing her from where she had been resting against him.

Lyra stirred a bit, lifting her head and gave a mumbled noise to let him know that she was awake before he smiled and helped her down off the broom.

He knew she would be tired. The past month had been hell for her and it was mostly his making. She had spent two weeks at St. Mungo's under their care to heal from the incident in the graveyard of Little Hangleton and only been released earlier that morning.

His first act when she got free of the hospital? He took her straight to the Ministry of Magic's courts to face her father and a spell to test their blood connection.

The spell had in fact proved that Lyra was the biological daughter of Rudolphus Lestrange, making it clear that she was not the child of Voldemort as the Dark Wizards following Blaise Zabini had believed.

It had to be done though. To assure that they would not come for her again, he had to make her face her father. At least now he knew for a fact that she was safe from the Dark Wizards for now.

"We're here." He whispered to her and led her into the apartment, waving his wand to flick on the lights.

She was silent by the door as he took off his back pack and put the broom in the cupboard. When he turned back to see her far off expression, he worried his lip and moved back to stand before her.

"Lyra? What's is it?" He asked her and she moved her brown eyes up to meet his.

"Nothing…I'm just thinking…" She told him and he moved a hand to touch her cheek.

"About what? You look so sad."

She forced a smile. "I'm okay, Neville. I was just thinking about how it feels like home here."

He smiled back at that and dipped his head to kiss her on the forehead. "It could be home, you know…if you wanted it to be." She shook her head slowly. "You've helped me a lot already, Neville. I mean, it was sort of forced on you to take me in." She told him and he sighed lightly, pulling back to look into her eyes.

"That's true…I didn't want you here at first, but I like having you around. When you were gone, when they took you away and you had to stay at the hospital, this place was empty. It felt like a shell, like all the life was gone. I hated every time I came home and you weren't here." He ran his fingers back into her hair, holding her eyes. "You're welcome to stay as long as you want…"

"I think I'd like that…" She smiled and leaned up to kiss him softly on the lips. It was a sweet kiss, light and just a simply brush of lips and for a moment, Neville thought that was all it might be, but when he moved to pull away, Lyra's arms were moving to rest on his shoulders so he did not pull away and she kissed him deeper.

His eyes widened just a bit and then slowly shut again as he moved his hands slowly to her sides, a little unsure of himself.

It wasn't that he was so unsure what to do exactly, but Lyra made him nervous. He did not want to do something that might be a little too much for her at the moment. Hannah had taught him a lot when he had been with her, as had a couple other girlfriends that had not lasted long, but Lyra was different.

He had never felt anything for the others like what he felt for her.

When she parted her lips in the kiss, he pushed things a little and let his tongue slip into her mouth for a taste. She made a shocked sound in her throat, but then calmed a little as he rubbed her side lightly.

The tension in her was slowly melting by degrees and he let out an approving sound when her hands moved from his shoulders to his chest and he stepped back with her against the wall in the entry way. His hands ran along her sides and down to her hips, pulling her tight into his body before he pulled from her lips and started to kiss along her throat.

Lyra could feel her head spinning, her eyes opening a moment when he moved away from her mouth, but when she realized where his mouth was going, panic rose in her and she gently pushed at him.

"Neville, no." She gasped lightly and he raised his eyes to look at her with concern.

"What…what is it?" He asked and saw the embarrassment in her face.

"My scar. It's horrible…I don't want you to kiss me there…" She whispered to him softly, worried it might put him off.

Sighing softly, he met her eyes again and moved a hand up to her cheek, stroking it with his thumb. "Does it hurt for me to kiss it…?"

She swallowed nervously and shook her head and he smiled, tipping her head gently as he lowered his lips again to run his tongue along the scar as she whimpered.

"I don't think it's horrible at all, Lyra. It makes you stronger…more beautiful. You survived this…not many could have." He whispered and nuzzled his lips against the thin line that ran from under her left ear across just past the center of her neck. He had his own scars, hers did not bother him in the least.

When she started to relax again with his attention, he made another move forward and moved his hands back to her hips and under her rear, lifting her up a bit until she had to wrap her legs around him for support and he put his weight against her hips, pinning her to the wall.

She laughed lightly when she felt him pressing against her through her jeans and his slacks and she lifted her head a little for him to explore more of her neck while she gripped his shoulders.

"I want you." He whispered to her and she smiled to that, answering him with a heated kiss that all but curled his toes and before she could tell him no, yes, or give him any other sign either way, he was walking toward the bed room with her.

She found herself being tossed on the bed and Neville followed her down, pointing his wand behind him he uttered a quick incantation and the dangerous plants in his room were vanished into thin air. She let out a soft laugh, but it was silenced when he was suddenly on her mouth again like she was his air. Her body turned to wet clay under him and she gave soft sound before running her hands up from his sides and under his shirt.

The button-down was easily undone and her fingers went up to explore the skin of his stomach and chest, smiling a bit to herself when he sucked in a ticklish hiss of air and let his lips run down to her shoulder. She paused as she felt the sudden smoothness of lines on his chest and she pulled back slowly to look at his exposed skin, a frown coming to her face at what she saw.

She knew Neville had his wounds from the Battle of Hogwarts, but the scars on his chest told several stories of several battles. She traced her fingers along them slowly, wondering where each came from. One particular set carried three slash marks from over his left shoulder down across one nipple and to his abdomen where the muscles were lean, but toned. He was no body builder, but he wasn't exactly the scrawny boy she remembered seeing taking off his shirt for a swim in the lake.

These scars had definitely not been there back then.

He let her explore the scars silently, watching her mind working a she took her fingers and ran across the scar that had her attention at the moment before he finally spoke. "A wendigo…It clawed me up quite a bit…"

Her eyes widened a little at that. He survived a fight with a creature like that? He chuckled at the look on her face and reached for her hand, pressing it lightly back to his scars. "Don't ever be ashamed of your scars around me. I wouldn't trade my scars for anything and I love yours…" He told her softly.

She smiled and kissed him softly once more while he brushed his fingers into her hair. Why did he have to always say just the right thing to melt her like chocolate in a warm pot? She brushed his shirt off his shoulders and tilted her head up to catch his lips again in a eager kiss and he met her with it, his hands going to her own shirt to lift it up and over her head. Sucking in another hiss of air when he saw her laying there in just her jeans and bra.

It did not take long for the rest of their clothing to end up in a scattered mess about the dark bedroom and Lyra felt her tension rising. The nervousness rising in the pit of her stomach from uncertainty and she knew Neville was feeling the exact same.

He did not let the moment hang in the air though. His hands reached for her and though he wanted to take it slow, make it perfect, he could not deny his lust and her own need. In one smooth, firm motion, he was inside of her and he couldn't help the shudder of utter pleasure that raced through him.

She was perfect. In every way she was perfect to him and when they finally collapsed together two hours later on the bed, he held her close against his warm, sweat slicked chest and stroked her hair until she was asleep in his arms.

He wasn't far behind her, bending to kiss her softly. "Night, beautiful…" He whispered to her and knew deep down he never wanted to let her go or lose her again.