Hermione sat in the garden of the burrow and stared at the word permanently etched into her skin and felt like breaking. She found basic scar erasing spells, but none of them worked on her horrid mark. She lacked the energy and will to study hard enough to remove the scar. She had tried so hard to feel better about herself, so hard to feel useful, but this one word made her fall apart.
Mudblood.
It had never bothered her before. In fact, Bellatrix Lestrange could have said it to her a thousand times and she would have been fine. It was just the fact that she let Bellatrix carve it into her skin that bothered her. In that moment, she had never felt more hopeless. In that moment when she was being tortured, all she prayed for was that they would kill her and stop the pain. And of course, one other thing…Ron.
She thought they would kill her. She practically knew it. The one thing Hermione Granger wanted more than death in that one moment was Ronald Weasley. But without defense in that dark cellar, him and Harry could have been dead already. Yes, it was dangerous and fatal for Ron and Harry to come save her, but she wanted to see his face one last time.
Tears flooded Hermione's eyes as she remembered that day. She always wore long sleeved tops or several bracelets to try and cover the word on her arm. It usually made her feel better, but not today. Today, she wanted to fall to pieces, and she almost succeeded until a pale, warm hand was placed upon her forearm. When she looked up, she saw the smiling face of a freckled red head.
"Hey, Hermione." Ron smiled at her, pretending not to notice the "tattoo".
"Oh, Ron. You scared me. Err, how are you?" she looked nervous as she tried to pull her arm away.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that question? You look ill, Hermione. Are you alright? Should I get mum? Do you need anything?" Ron asked, frantically. Hermione just laughed.
"No, I'm fine…well physically, anyway. It's just…nevermind." She whispered. Ron had let go of her arm which once again revealed that frustrating word. Mudblood. She was supposed to be the strong and intelligent one, but this writing had been slowly ruining her.
"Don't let that get you. She's a bloody death eater that got what she deserved in the end. You're so much better than that, Hermione." Ron mumbled the last part. She couldn't help but smile. Ron wasn't one for emotional speeches or sharing feelings, so those few sentences meant a lot to her.
"Thanks, Ron. But it's still not exactly a pleasant thing to have written on you." She frowned.
"Hermione, do you trust me?" Ron questioned, his voice was barely audible.
"Of course, but why do you ask?" Hermione looked puzzled.
"It's just that I've been studying a spell recently and- err, just hand me your arm." He murmured. Hermione slowly stretched out her arm to Ron, who looked shaky and nervous.
He took a few deep breaths, as if he was terrified to make a mistake. With deep concentration and an intricate wand movement he said "Erasiolas". Hermione winced in pain.
Slowly, each letter that spelled out "Mudblood" began to fade to Hermione's natural skin color. Her jaw dropped in shock.
"I'm sorry if that hurt. I'm not that good at advanced healing, you know, and uh, it took so long to learn, I mean I probably messed something up and-" He was cut off by the stunned girl beside him.
"Ron! You…how did you… Merlin!" Hermione felt like she was on top of the world. She couldn't even speak properly.
"Err…" Ron trailed off, awkwardly.
"Thank you!" Hermione whispered, tears of joy filling her eyes. Ron had worked so hard to master one of the most difficult scar healing spells just to make her happy. She had no words to express herself, so instead she just kissed his cheek and hugged him.
Ron grinned, knowing that the hours of hard studying had paid off for this one moment.