Scars by cosmopolitan411

Rating: PG13
Genres: Romance, Action & Adventure
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 7
Published: 04/09/2009
Last Updated: 04/09/2009
Status: Completed

Bloody and battered, scarred and just searching for a beacon of hope at the end of the war.




1. one-shot
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**Disclaimer***:* *The characters and canon situations in the following story belong
solely to JK Rowling. I am not making any money from the publishing or writing of this
story.*

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**Scars**

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**Summary***:* *Bloody and wounded, scarred and just searching for a beacon of hope at
the end of the war.*

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*All the soldiers say*** *"It'll be alright,* ** *We
may make it through the war*** *If we make it through the
night."*** *All the people, they say:*** *"What a lovely
day, yeah, we won the war.*** *May have lost a million men, but we've got a
million more."*** *All the people, they say*

*“***People Say*” by
Portugal. The Man*

He groaned. “I don't know what the fuck you were thinking,” he angrily muttered as he dipped
the make shift cloth that had once been his shirt into the water, soaking it and rinsing it before
using it to wiped her forehead. “I mean, honestly, Hermione, what the hell?”

She smiled weakly, her breath coming out in short gasps. “Don't be such a selfish prat,
Harry… you shouldn't be here, I *can* take care of myself.”

He rolled his eyes, huffing as he drew back the cloth, moving back to repeat the action he'd
been doing continually for the past three hours. “Don't be ridiculous, Hermione, I only got you
to stop bleeding an hour ago… you haven't even started properly clotting yet. How can you just
expect me to leave after you jumped in front of that spell for me?”

She frowned. “Don't be a bloody martyr, Harry—”

“Oh, I'm not; you've taken on that role far too well for me to even attempt it,” he
snapped, squeezing the cloth before moving to a long cut across her midsection, wincing at the
sight as he softly dabbed it. “You're *not* supposed to get hurt.”

“Who says?” she challenged with a glare, wincing a bit when Harry poked too roughly in his fit
of aggravation. “*Careful*,” she whispered the plead with a low hiss.

He grimaced, regretfully. “You shouldn't have jumped in front of the curse, I hope you
finally realize that.”

“Stop being so ungrateful.”

“No,” he adamantly shook his head. “God damn it, Hermione! Of all people… I thought you were
smarter than this.”

“I *am* the smart one, you prat! —It's why I'm the one who understands why it has
to be this way and you, you imbecile, don't,” she retorted through gritted teeth as she held
back a groan at the sting that felt like it was frying at whatever was left of the mutilated
looking flesh surrounding the deep gash that slashed across her stomach.

“I hope you realize that this is probably going to scar,” he informed her with a low growl, one
that grew stronger when she simply rolled her eyes in reply. “Stop it!” he ordered, clenching a
fist in a desperate attempt to contain his aggravation. “Stop acting so blasé about this, Hermione,
you could have died, for fuck's sake!”

Hermione sighed, sending him a tired look as her eyes fluttered a bit, her body begging for rest
that she willed herself to avoid after the way that she had banged her head on a rock after she
fell from the curse.

“Don't you dare fall asleep!” Harry intoned.

“I *know*, stop being a prat. I saved your damn life and here you are lecturing me, you
ungrateful berk!”

He rolled his eyes. “And what good would it have done if you had died, huh? Tell me, Hermione,
how the hell is your life worth less than mine, because last I checked you were the brains of this
whole operation, I'm just the damn face… the lame one of the group.”

“Don't say that,” she whispered, pulling a hand up despite the fact that it felt as if it
weighed a ton in her exhausted state. Slowly, but surely she brought it to his face, caressing him
softly and smiling when his body seemed to give in as he leaned into her palm. “I couldn't let
you just take the curse, Harry. You didn't see it coming, at least I was able to place some
sort of a defense against it, it would have been worse without it… you would have died, no ifs
about it.”

He softly moved his face, his mouth hot against her palm as he brought a hand up and used it to
softly push her palm towards his awaiting mouth. He placed a soft, open mouth kiss against it, one
that had her gasping for air in her fit of shock.

He pulled away slowly, but kept her hand in his, entwining their finger. “You really never did
get it.”

“Get what?” she asked, her voice hoarse and weak.

“How much I need you.”

She smiled up at him, mustering up the widest one she could manage, despite how weak it
ultimately ended up being. “Same here, but, Harry, out of the two of us… I couldn't let you
die, for both my own selfish reasons and the fact that they *need* you… *all* of
them.”

He scoffed. “For what, Hermione? I'm just a face.”

“Don't say that. You're hope, you have no idea how much strength that can bring.”

He shook his head. “Come on, Hermione, let's be honest, I'm just a kid. I'm an
average kid who they stupidly deified… I'm an excuse to make people think that there's no
chance at a loss because I'm invincible. I'm not, though… I'm *not* that
person.”

“No, *God* no,” Hermione refuted, her smile somehow finding the strength to widen, even if
just a smidge. “Harry,” she squeezed his hand lightly. “You… if it weren't for you I don't
know how *I* could have held onto hope. You've given me so much strength, can't you
see that? If… if you didn't make it to the end of this, there'd be no chance for our side,
Harry, we need you.”

“And what about what I need?”

She rolled her eyes, silently scolding him for her petulance with just a mere glance his
way;--one that immediately had him cowering in shame. “Don't be selfish now, Harry. Sacrifices
always have to be made, it's a war, and you know that.”

He adamantly shook his head. “I can't do it without you, none of it…”

“You're so much stronger than you think you are.”

He groaned in aggravation as he pulled away from her and returned to the cloth that he had let
himself forget about, quickly soaking and rinsing it before returning to caring for her scars. “You
know the healing charms, not me. Fucking hell,” he angrily muttered. “It should have been me, not
you… *never* you.”

“Careful.”

He closed his eyes and released a drawn out breath as he tried to regain control over his
warring emotions. “Sorry,” he whispered. “I just… I just need you, Hermione.”

“I'm sure you can find someone else to do the research; there are smarter people than me,
believe it or not.”

“That's not it, Hermione.”

“Then I don't see what the problem is. Most people would be thanking me, kissing the ground
I walk on in their fit of undying devotion, but you—you berate me, you bastard!”

“Because what you did was stupid,” he grumbled.

She managed a small laugh at his words and Harry couldn't help, but allow the small smile
tugging on his lips to turn into a full-fledged grin upon hearing the breathy sound.

“Really though, Hermione,” he said, seriously, as he dropped the cloth and grasped her face in
both his hands. “I need you.”

“I'm going to let you in on a little not-so-secret-secret,” she impishly whispered. “I need
you, too.”

He groaned, throwing his head back. “You *still* don't get it.”

“Then how about you tell me?” she goaded.

“I love you, you fucking bint!” he finally snapped, a scowl marring the otherwise sweet
declaration.

“I love you, too, you darn prat,” she returned with a puckish smile.

“*No*, you don't get it!”

“Harry, I'm tired—I don't even know where I'm finding the strength to speak, much
less stay awake—so why not make this all a bit easier for me?”

“I'm in love with you, you dolt.”

Hermione gasped in shock, trying to grasp at some sort of a reply when suddenly two lips
descended upon hers. She laid there stiffly as she tried to process what was going on, where that
had suddenly come from as the shocking prospect that she may have fallen asleep, despite her
possible concussion.

When Harry pulled away his eyes were wide with apology and, at that moment, Hermione realized
just how much of a reality it actually was. She bit her lip as she tried to configure some sort of
a reply.

“I'm-”

She shook her head, an action she immediately regretted when she felt her brain practically
swimming in her head a tidal wave of nausea hitting her. She swallowed thickly. “Promise me
something, will you?”

He nodded, a tinge of trepidation notably crossing his face. “Anything.”

“Do that again when I'm strong enough to respond,” she smiled flirtatiously, biting her lip
as a blush formed on her cheeks.

Harry grinned. “It'd be my pleasure… but to be able to do that, we can't have you taking
anymore stupid risks like this.”

“It wasn't a stupid risk,” Hermione bitterly retorted.

“Just promise me that you wont do it again.”

“Can you promise me that you wont jump in front of a hex for me?” when she received no reply,
she continued. “Then I can't either. I need you just as much as you need me, Harry… you
can't expect me to make a promise like that. All I can tell you is that, at the end of all
this, I'll be there for you. *Promise*.”

He nodded begrudgingly as his eyes looked down at the wound across her stomach, his finger idly
tracing the flesh around it. “This should have been me though… if anything the scar would have
looked sexy on me,” he grinned towards her.

Hermione laughed softly as she moved her hand and laid it over his. “You're gaining a sense
of humor, I like that… it's been ages since I've heard you laugh or even crack a joke.”

He moved his other hand to caress her face, rubbing small circles into her cheeks. “Maybe I just
haven't had much inspiration to try till now.”

“I'm glad… you make me happy, too, Harry.”

**Fin.**

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**author's note:** *I was having a tremendous amount of difficulty writing the
ne**x**t chapter of In Retrospect (the new one is almost finished, but given how much
I've struggled with it, it will probably need tons of revision) when the idea of this just
popped into my head. It's a small piece, just a short snippet from my version of the war, but
hopefully it was decent enough.*

**Also, many thanks to my beta Searcy!**

*Please review.*

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