Alrighty! Here is chapter 2 for your reading pleasure! Leaving off with a bit of a cliff hanger! I have to hand my laptop over to children rn so they can watch netflix for my own sanity! Will write chapter 3 later tonight! Enjoy!
Hermione was on pin and needles for the rest of the week, excited and nervous for her cover up appointment. She had asked around for advice.
Short sleeves.
Aquaphor.
Stress ball.
Orange antibacterial soap.
Comfortable pants because she would be sitting for awhile.
Hermione made the proper purchases and researched coverup tattoos at the muggle library.
Due to her past… she wasn't particularly concerned with the pain. She had dealt with much worse.
The only person who knew what she was doing was Ginny, because Hermione didn't want to hear anyone tell her that her scar defined her, or that it was a part of her, or nothing like that; she just wanted it covered up with a beautiful work of art so she would have something pretty to look at, and maybe, help her move on.
Finally, the day came, and Hermione donned a black short sleeve, some comfortable yoga pants, and read a book until noon when she jumped on the bus to the tattoo shop.
Draco was also on pins and needles.
On the surface, he showed nothing, internally, he was freaking out. But he refused to let it mess with his work. He had worked too hard to earn a reputation as an amazing tattoo artist to let "girl troubles" ruin his inkings.
He took a calming drought around noon on Saturday, not enough to knock him out, just enough to take the edge off.
It was ten tile one when the door jingled.
Draco was cleaning his work space and smiled to himself. Just like Hermione to be early.
There was some muttering from the other side of the veil and Hermione walked through a few minutes later after talking with Alisha.
Draco smiled and greeted her pleasantly. He directed her to the chair with a waving motion of his hands.
Hermione returned his smile and sat in the chair like instructed.
Draco pulled out his sketch pad and flipped to her page.
The drawing had color this time. It was a blue conch shell surrounded by lavender colored cockle shells. Purple flowers sprouted from the top of the shell and water danced around the shell.
Hermione gasped in delight and clapped her hands. "It's beautiful." She said.
Draco smiled widely, "I'm thrilled that you approve. Now, are you aware of the mild pain a tattoo can cause?"
"Yes, and I've been through worse."
"Okay, and we're going to send you home with an aftercare sheet. We recommend-"
"I already know about the Aquaphor and the antibacterial soap. I made my purchases already and am ready to fight off infection!" Hermione said with a smile.
"That's a good girl," Draco replied, smirking. "So, if you approve of this final design, let me go get the transfer I made and I'll be right back."
Hermione nodded and Draco disappeared behind the veil, leaving Hermione to her thoughts. Something about that smirk… something about that smirk made him seem familiar. She couldn't put her finger on it though.
He was back a few minutes later with a transfer.
"All righty, let's see your arm." He said with a smile.
Hermione held out her arm and Draco laid it on the arm rest. He disinfected her arm with an alcohol swab, dried it, then laid down the transfer.
"Now, my goal for this first session is to complete the outline of your full tattoo. No coloring this time. I just want to get the outline done. It will look silly at first, but you'll only have to live with it for a few weeks til our next session then we'll get it colored in! If you're feeling okay, we might do base colors today, then do the rest next time. Completely up to you and how much time we have. Okay?"
Hermione nodded, not looking at him but at the outline on her arm. It was gorgeous, even against her ugly scar. She was thrilled and swore that she would be a good canvas for him.
Draco carefully brought out his charmed tattoo gun.
He had charmed it to transfer the countercurse. It wouldn't take away her scar, but would get rid of any afterpain she ever had from it and keep the ink from splotching. Eventually, if he did it right, which he knew he did it right, it would cause the scar to fade, not that she would ever notice as it was to be covered up.
The gun hummed as Draco turned it on.
"Draconian," Hermione whispered.
Draco looked up.
"Thank you, again." She said, tears escaping from her eyes.
"Hey, hey," Draco said softly, "No crying in my shop." He wiped her tears from her cheeks and smiled at her.
Hermione smiled back, her mind suddenly filled with a few naughty images of this beautiful specimen of a muggle. She had been single for a while since her and Ron fizzled out. Nothing stopping her from riding this tattooed god like a horse. She would maybe play it safe, see if he flirted with her; it was worth a shot.
Draco stared intently at her arm before starting.
Hermione winced and squeezed the stress ball that she had brought.
It wasn't a bad pain, more like a few pricks here and there, but it still stung a bit.
Hermione bit back the winces and just watched him draw with the gun.
It was fascinating to watch him trace the lines in the black ink. It danced across her skin, and after about an hour of silence he stopped and pulled the gun away from her skin.
"Let's take a short break." Draco suggested, smiling at her.
Hermione brought her forearm close to her face to inspect his work. It was gorgeous, even in just the line art. He had finished the conch shell, but the conch shell covered almost the entire scar.
"Thank you Draconian. It's beautiful." Hermione said, looking up at him.
Draco smiled back at her, "Wonderful. Glad you think so. Would you like a smoke with me?"
Hermione shrugged, "I only smoke when I'm drinking, but I could use a fag."
Draco led her through the backdoor to the alley where he pulled a pack from his pocket.
He handed Hermione a fag and then put one against his own lips. He lit hers with in a swift move and then lit his own.
Hermione took a drag and gave a small cough. "Sorry, it's been a while."
Draco chuckled as he took a drag and flicked the ashes.
"So, Draconian. Tell me a bit about yourself. You seem fascinating." Hermione said, curious to put her finger on where she knew him from.
"Welp, where to start… uh… I am the product of a trust fund baby from the get go, went to an exclusive private boarding school, and after I graduated, I just, left. I had expectations placed on me that I didn't want anymore, so I left everything behind, got an apprenticeship, and opened my own parlor."
"And the cult?"
Draco laughed, "Yeah, I was sixteen and fell in with a bad crowd. I got out while I still could, about a year in. There was a lot of arguing, I fell in with them for the wrong reasons, came to realize that it was stupid, so I just got out. Plus the leader thankfully died, and all my former members of the cult went their separate ways. It was kinda hidden by the government, but they broke it up and sent some of the members to prison. I left everything behind after my own trial, changed my identity, and changed my appearance. In case you couldn't tell, my hair isn't a natural color."
Hermione laughed, "Yeah, I figured your hair wasn't naturally the color of a blueberry."
Draco laughed loudly and took a drag of his cigarette, breathing out the smoke slowly, then looked down at her. She was short compared to him. He smirked.
There it was again. That smirk, that reminded Hermione of someone. She just couldn't remember.
"Hey, I'm sorry you went through so much," Hermione said, placing her free hand on his bicep.
Draco smiled at her, "Thank you, I appreciate that Hermione."
They finished their cigarettes and went back inside where Hermione sat in the chair again and Draco fired the gun back up.
Conversation flowed between them, Draco stopped talking on occasion to focus on his art, and Hermione respected the silence.
He finished the outline about an hour and a half later.
"Well, how does it look and how do you feel?" Draco asked.
Hermione looked at it closely. Even without color, it was gorgeous. And it looked like her scar was fading? She wasn't sure. But it looked less prominent.
"It looks amazing Draconian!" She gushed, "I love it. Can we add some color today? Do we have time?"
Draco nodded, "I can do the blue base today, fill in the conch. How does that sound?"
"It sounds good. And I feel fine! I've been through worse."
Draco chuckled and went to mix the blue ink. When finished he returned with the pan and began to color in the base color of the conch shell.
About an hour later, the conch was colored in, still needed shading, but that would take another color and session.
He wrapped her arm in the seran wrap and smiled at her. "Well, you're all done for the day! Let's give it two weeks to get some healing, and then we'll either finish it or almost finish it. Sound good?"
Hermione smiled and threw her arms around him, careful to not upset her forearm, "Thank you, I can't say how much I appreciate this."
Draco chuckled and returned her hug, burying his head in her hair, "You're welcome."
Hermione released him and followed him out to Alisha who set her up for two weeks later, same time.
Draco turned to go back beyond the veil to clean up his area when Hermione stopped him.
"Hey, I know you're not charging me, but please, let me take you out for a drink to say thanks."
Draco smiled, he wanted to say yes, but he wasn't sure where she would take him. He couldn't risk the wizarding world.
"Only if I can pick the bar." He replied.
"Agreed."
"When?"
"When you're off." Hermione smiled.
"Let me clean up my space and then we can go. My favorite bar is just down the street."
"Okay."
"Okay."
Review, comment, favorite, and follow along! Chapter 3 coming up soon!