Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: Hello! I am sorry for the late upload. I always try to update before Christmas. I consider it my present to my lovely readers. So, here is your present!

My heartiest thanks go to all the readers who reviewed, followed, and favourited.

I have a reply to Fiona's review.

Fiona: Ginny and Blaise did not do it anally. I apologize if my writing made you confused. English is my second language, so I sometimes make mistakes. I appreciate your review. Please keep it up and suggest to me what I can do next.

So, Enjoy the new chapter!

Chapter 17: Healing Scars

There was a knock at the door. Harry went for the door and opened it. He saw Blaise standing out there.

He was surprised to see him in front of his bedroom, "Zabini?"

"Hey Potter," He said. "Is Pansy there?

Harry raised his eyebrow. He could not grasp what was happening. He just simply nodded and turned back to look at Pansy who was sitting on the bed.

"Zabini wants to talk to you," He said despite knowing she must have heard them speaking anyway.

She nodded and went to the door. Harry went into the room and stood beside the window.

Pansy looked at Blaise, "Blaise!"

"Pansy! Hi!" He paused. "I need to talk to you…. in private"

"Okay," She said pensively.

"Is it a good time? Would you mind taking a walk with me?" He asked hesitantly. He was afraid she might say no.

She took a moment before answering, "I don't mind. Let me just grab my coat"

She went inside the room. She picked up her coat and looked at Harry. He was looking back at her with a curious face. "I am going out. I will see you at dinner?" She said.

"Yeah," He replied.

Then she left the room with Blaise.

…

They were walking by the lake. It was almost evening. Blaise cleared his throat. She took it as a sign and stood still facing him.

"Thank you for agreeing to listen to me," He said. "I really need to say these to you"

Pansy nodded but did not say anything.

"I apologize for breaking off our engagement and leaving you alone to fend off the Death Eaters yourself. I was so self-centered and selfish that I did not see anything beyond myself. But please believe me; I never thought my actions would harm you in any way"

He paused. "I used to have nightmares thinking of your situation. I hate myself for being such a horrible person to you"

He took a deep breath. Pansy was looking at him with an unreadable expression.

"Pansy, please do not ever doubt yourself because of my actions. You are perfect, one of the best people I know. You deserve all the happiness in the world. If I have to kill myself to make you happy, I will do it, I swear by Merlin"

She shook her head, "Please, do not say that. I never wished your death, Blaise"

"You should. I know you have every right to not trust me. But I honestly loved you and I still love you. This is the truth," He earnestly spoke.

"I do not want to step forward into a new phase with this bad blood between us. I cannot move on knowing you hate me. Do you think you can forgive me?" He whispered in a sad tone.

She looked a bit teary-eyed, "Blaise, I do not hate you. I wanted to but I could not" She paused, "I am actually glad you wanted to talk. I also want to start fresh. So, my answer is yes. I forgive you"

He was grinning at her with wide eyes, "So, are we friends again?"

She smiled, "I cannot say we can just go back the way we were. Hopefully, we will be there with the passage of time"

He nodded, "Thank you. Thank you so much, Pans"

Then he opened his arms, "Can I hug you?"

She grinned and nodded. They hugged each other. That hug melted their hearts, their griefs and their heartaches. They pulled away from each other. Blaise pulled out an envelope from the pocket of his robes and handed it to her.

"I wanted you to be the first person I invite to my wedding," He said to her.

She looked at the invitation card and nodded, "Thank you. I will be there"

He grinned at her. He was feeling free and alive at last. He swore to himself at that moment that he would do everything in his power to keep her happy till his heartbeat.

…

Everyone except Harry at the quarter 3 table looked shocked seeing Blaise and Pansy joining them for dinner together in the Great Hall. Draco looked at them with a questioning look. Their grinning faces gave him the answer. He smiled at them in return.

He did not notice Hermione looking at him. She always enjoyed watching his once in a blue moon smile.

The dinner went on in almost silence except for mild chitchat among the housemates.

…

A few weeks later.

All the sixth and seventh year students were busy with their weddings. Most of them were getting married in December and January. Very few had scheduled their wedding in February.

It was the week before Ginny and Blaise's wedding. The day was a Hogsmeade weekend. Ginny was spending her afternoon with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna and Neville. They chose to stay in the castle and spend time chatting with each other and eating sweets and chocolates.

"How do you feel, Miss Bride to be?" asked Neville looking at Ginny.

"I do not know, a bit nervous maybe," She answered.

Luna spoke, "Nothing to be nervous of. You and Blaise have a good connection so far. Consider the wedding just a formality"

"Okay, thanks for tips"

Neville smiled, "Nice advice, Luna. It will definitely come in handy for you, Gin"

Ginny scoffed, "Why are you only telling me these? Hermione's wedding is in a week after mine, Harry's on the day after New Year's and Ron's wedding is 2 days after his!"

Luna smirked, "Well, Hermione is getting married to Malfoy and Harry to Parkinson. Neither I nor Neville has enough expertise to advise them considering their 'oh so loving' partners"

Harry and Hermione laughed out loud. Others followed their suit.

"Then what about me?" Ron asked.

"Ron, the grandeur of your wedding has just stepped into another dimension. No advice can save your ass this time," Harry said.

The laughter rose higher at this. Ron made a face and then joined them.

"Laugh all you want. I will be enjoying my honeymoon in Paris" Ron smirked at them.

Neville looked at Harry, Hermione and Ginny, "Talking of honeymoon, where are you guys going?"

"Pansy and I are not going anywhere. We will just stay at Highgrove Cottage in Yorkshire where we are getting married," Harry said.

"We are going to Ireland. Malfoy's family has a beach cottage there," Hermione said.

"Sounds posh!" Neville said. "What about you, Ginny?"

"Blaise had a Welsh stepfather with whom he was very close. He left him his house in Wales. We decided to go there," Ginny replied.

"That's sweet," said Hermione.

Ginny nodded, "Interesting fact! Blaise and Parkinson were still betrothed then and his stepfather adored her. He actually left the house to both of them. They co-own the house now"

The others were surprised at this.

"They have so much history between them. Now that they have patched things up, how is this arrangement going to work?" Luna spoke.

Ron looked confused, "What do you mean?"

"They loved each other, I think they still do. So, I am asking what the future of your marriage is. Are you going to have children as soon as possible and then divorce so that he can get back with her?" Luna asked.

Ginny and Harry were dumbfounded at this. They had not considered anything like that to happen.

"No! That's not what Pansy plans to do. I don't know about Zabini but Pansy and I are totally on the same page on giving this marriage a try at least," Harry responded strongly. He did not like the thought of Pansy getting back with Blaise.

Neville, Ron and Hermione were awkwardly looking between Harry and Ginny. Leave it to Luna to blurt out unwanted issues for discussion.

Ginny was uncharacteristically silent. She did not strongly deny like Harry did. The reason was she was not confident with Blaise. They did not usually have a conversation about feelings and emotions like other pairs. Their relationship was based on their light-hearted witty banter and their connection was mainly sexual. They were not good with words. Whenever they got angry, sad, disappointed, frustrated, or happy, they dealt with the situation by having rough sex with each other.

Suddenly, these realizations were dawning on her. She understood that she was going to have the most uncertain marriage among them.

Luna-Theo and Neville-Hannah were doing quite well after getting married. Daphne and Ron seemed to genuinely like each other. Draco and Hermione had made a verbal deal and so they were clear about their marriage as well. Even, Pansy and Harry had a clear idea where their upcoming marriage was headed.

Seeing Ginny lost in her thoughts, Hermione tried to change the topic.

"Harry, how long will you stay at Andromeda's then?" She asked.

"Till New Year's eve. Then we will move to Yorkshire on the day before the wedding with Andromeda and Teddy" Harry replied. "Pansy may spend a night or two with Greengrass after Christmas"

"Then you also spend some time with me at the Burrow, please. It will be a bit like old times minus Hermione and Ginny," Ron said.

Harry nodded, "Alright, we can do that"

….

Draco entered their bedroom in the evening and saw Hermione was already in there. She smiled at him, "How was Hogsmeade?"

He shrugged, "As usual. Why didn't you go?"

"Neville wanted to have a quiet time with us and so we just spent the time chatting in the quidditch field," She replied.

"It's for you," he came to her side of the bed and put a small packet on her bedside table. She opened the packet with curiosity written all over her face. She found a box of Bertie Bott's every flavor beans. She smiled and looked at him.

"Thank you! This is my favourite sweet," She said.

"I know," He shrugged.

"How?" She was amazed at his reply.

"What is there to be surprised? I am quite observant, Granger," He said. "It was not that hard. This is the only sweet I have seen you eating and also quite frequently"

Her smile widened, "I cannot believe Draco Malfoy knows my favourite sweet"

"That is why you are very lucky, Granger" He smirked.

She rolled her eyes but could not suppress her laughter.

….

A few days later.

After dinner, Blaise and Ginny were back in their room. They had changed into their sleepwear and got into their bed. Ginny's mind was still clouded with Luna's question. Her mind kept going back to that conversation no matter how hard she tried to divert her mind.

She saw Blaise's body turn closer to hers. He smiled and started kissing her neck. She softly moaned and put her hands on his hair. His hands wandered around her breasts. She was yearning for more. Nevertheless, Ginny's mind had too much on its plate. She spoke, "Blaise"

"Yes?" He replied while kissing her neck.

"I was thinking something," She slowly said.

He looked up at her with a raised eyebrow, "You are thinking while I am doing this?"

She smiled and nodded, "It feels rather urgent"

He became serious at her reply, "Fine, get on with it"

She took a deep breath. She was feeling so nervous about the conversation already. "I want to talk about the future of our marriage. What are you thinking?"

Blaise was confused with her question, "What is there to think? It is pretty much decided for us. We will live in Zabini Mansion and we will have kids"

She shook her head, "I meant us. Us as a couple"

The blank look on his face was gone. He understood what she meant. He stayed silent for a few seconds before replying, "I told you, you are my family now and I meant it. I am willing to work on us if you agree. I would love a happy life with you. However, despite our effort, if it does not work out, you can break the bond after we have children."

"I want the same. I want to give it my best try," Ginny replied.

He smiled at her.

"I have a question," she said. "Are you still in love with Parkinson?

Blaise stiffed at the question, "Yes, I am."

She looked hurt. She had guessed his answer already but her naïve heart still hoped that she was wrong.

He took her hand, "Look, I know I was the one who broke up and I hurt her a lot. But I did not do that because I did not love her. I did that unintentionally. I was confused with the war, with myself and so I just pushed her away."

"So, where does she stand now?" she asked.

"Pardon?" Blaise did not understand.

"I meant where does she stand on your priority list? Will I be always second to her?" She said with a hint of spite.

"Ginny, you are of course my priority now. Family is over everything for me. Pansy has been through a lot for me and she finally decided to forgive me. Therefore, I also cannot let her down. If she ever needs anything, I will do as much as I can," He reasoned with her.

Ginny took a deep breath, "So, I was right. I will always be second to her"

He shook his head, "When have I said that? You have to understand my situation, Ginny. You cannot just ask me not to do according to my conscious"

"I am not asking any of that, Blaise. I just wanted a better understanding of us. I got it now"

"Look, please…." He started to talk but she cut him off. "I am tired. I need to sleep, please"

Then she lay on the bed with her back to him indicating she was done talking.

Blaise looked at her and sighed.

….

Draco slowly opened his eyes. He did not understand at the moment where he was. Slowly he realized he was in bed and something had woken him from his deep sleep. He looked at the clock on the wall. It was past midnight. He closed his eyes to sleep and then he heard it.

"No, please!"

"I do not know where it is, please!"

Hermione was saying she did not know and kept screaming in her sleep. Her whole body was trembling.

Draco instantly knew she was having a nightmare and it was about Bellatrix torturing her in Malfoy Manor. He put his hands on her shoulder and tried to steady her body, "Granger! It is just a dream. Wake up"

She still kept trembling and screaming. Draco then shook her body, "Hermione, wake up! Hermione!"

She suddenly opened her eyes and stopped screaming. She was slightly shivering. She looked at him with a blank look.

He cupped her face, "It's alright. You are safe now"

Her cheeks were wet with tears. She was crying while screaming. She took some deep breaths to stop her shivering but she still looked pretty shook. Her face was hardly showing any emotion.

He pulled her closer to him and hugged her. His hand caressed her hair in a calming way. She readily wrapped her hands around him and rested her head on his chest. His body warmth worked like magic. She stopped shivering and her breathing got back to normal.

They stayed like that for about 3-4 minutes. Then Hermione pulled away. She looked at him, "I am sorry for waking you up like this"

He shook his head, "Don't apologize. It is nothing. Are you feeling better now?

She nodded, "Yes. I always drink dreamless sleeping potion before bed but I forgot tonight"

"Granger, you cannot stay dependent on this potion," He looked worried. "You could at least stop drinking every night, maybe drink just 3-4 times a week. That would be a good start of reducing the rate"

She sighed, "I know I should do that"

Then she looked at her arm. The mudblood scar was there. Every morning she used a concealing charm on her arm that wore off after she slept at night.

"It is hard for me to relive those moments. I can hardly look at my scar," She slowly said.

Draco put his hand over her scar, "This scar proves how strong and invincible you are. It shows that you went through all that and came out a winner"

"It gives me doubt on my ability. This scar makes me feel hideous and dirty," She whispered.

He touched his face, "You proved us wrong, you showed us that blood does not matter. We are all equal. There should be no space for doubt about your ability."

He looked into her eyes, "This scar does not make you hideous. Nothing can do that. Hermione, scar or no scar, you are always beautiful to me"

She felt her heart melt a bit. She cupped his face and kissed him.

Draco was still a few seconds. He was surprised at this sudden kiss. He recovered quickly and kissed her back.

She stopped kissing and looked at him. His intense eyes were on her as well. She closed the gap between them and he kissed her again. Her hands were in his hair and his hands were wandering on her back. The kiss was neither slow nor urgent. The pace was just perfect for them.

They eventually pulled away. She gave him a sheepish smile, "Thank you for helping me. I feel better now"

"It's the least I can do," Draco replied. His face was not showing it but he was feeling very awkward at that moment.

She scratched her head and said, "We should probably get back to sleep"

He nodded, "Yes. Do you want the potion now? I can get you some if you want"

"No," She shook her head. "I think I will be okay"

Then they got back into the bed. Their backs were turned to each other. Sleep was a distant thought to both of them after what happened.

A/N: So, they kissed at last! I always feel that Draco and Hermione need an adequate amount of time before the first kiss. That is why I was saving it for chapter 17.

Please, let me know what you thought of it. Please, REVIEW!