He had Tindy waiting by the door. Draco wasn't trusting any of the other house-elves with this. He was nervous. He'd fussed before the mirror even. Draco could not believe this was happening to him. One would think after the whole Sophie debacle he'd have sworn off women. Yet here he was making sure he was groomed and smelling all right. Nothing too strong. He didn't want her to suspect he had made himself look nicer on her account. He was going to have to tread carefully. Draco was the master at giving away his true feelings when he got emotional. That part of himself he had not gotten any better at hiding.

He looked down at the mess that was his arm. He'd considered seeing if she could remove it altogether, but it was a magic mark. Or it had been. Draco wasn't sure those came off. Beyond that, he needed it there to remind himself how stupid and blind he was once and how he could never be that way again.

Draco snatched himself a book from the boxes he'd un-shrunk but still not unpacked. He padded barefoot to the sitting room and flopped onto his cushy black leather couch with it. He started to read.

Ginny looked up at the massive manor, biting her lower lip. Harry had told her about this house. Had told her what happened inside its walls. It was green, which she found oddly appropriate. If she hadn't know what went on within, she'd have thought it rather beautiful, in a gothic, cold sort of way. She jumped in surprise when a warbling call sounded from her right. She turned, a hand pressed to her chest to slow her speeding heart.

A peacock.

They had freaking peacocks in their yard!

Her eyes wide, she walked up the path, her bag clutched it both hands. She'd studied her books, had all the materials together. If she was so prepared, why did she have this knot in her stomach? She reached up, hesitating only slightly before grabbing the snake door knocker and letting it fall back against the dark wood of the door.

Tindy opened the door and smiled. It was the redheaded witch who had come to heal her master.

"Healer Weasley, Tindy is most pleased to be meeting you. Master is upstairs in his rooms. Please be following Tindy there." With a polite little bow, Tindy held the door open until Ginny was inside. Then she led the witch to the giant marble staircase lined in black carpet.

Ginny was glad Draco hadn't met her at the door, because she would be mighty embarrassed if he saw how wide her eyes were. She'd never seen so much space in a single house. She was having flashbacks to the first time she'd set foot in Hogwarts, completely unfamiliar and entirely awe inspiring. She smiled lightly at the little house-elf, who had paused at the top of the stairs. She rushed forward to cover the space, blushing softly.

She felt like she'd been walking forever when Tindy bowed, motioning to a door on the right. "Thanks." She looked at the door with furrowed eyebrows before reaching up and knocking.

His hands tightened on the book slightly when Draco heard the knock.

"Come in," he called, shutting the book and placing it on the small table next to the couch.

He ground his teeth to keep his face impassive as she walked in. But this time he did study. He didn't want to get caught staring though. Draco did, however, tense up in a way that he could not undo. He was completely ridiculous. He wondered if he shagged someone else if he'd be less tense.

"Hello," he managed finally in a rather somber voice.

"Hi." She resisted the urge to look around the room with her eyes wide and her mouth open. If she didn't know better, this room was almost as big as the foyer she'd come in through. "Did you ever get lost?" At his look, she laughed lightly. "I'm pretty sure I would have gotten lost in a house this big, especially with how small I was."

"Are you ready?"

Draco nodded, suddenly nervous. He didn't know what he should have worn for this, so he was wearing just an old pair of jeans and a tank top with a button-up shirt over it. He shrugged out of the button-up and tossed it on the arm of the couch.

"So how do we do this?" he asked.

Ginny's hands tightened on the handle of her bag. Those were some very nice arms. "You'll probably want to be sitting down. Or lying down. I guess whatever's more comfortable. It takes some concentration on my part. Somewhere quiet." She looked around the room. "Where do you sleep?"

Draco raised an eyebrow. He had not planned on her seeing his bedroom just yet. The place was a wreck right now. His bed wasn't even made, and he still had unpacked boxes. Plus, he couldn't recall where her green knickers were at.

He pointed, "Through that door." Draco scrambled up and rushed that way. "Um... let me make sure no underpants are lying about, yeah?"

Draco rushed through the door and started pointing his wand. His bedroom wasn't THAT bad, but he didn't want her seeing his black silk sheets yet. He made sure the dirty clothes made it to the hamper, then clean ones were piled in his green comfy chair and on its ottoman. He directed the boxes more towards the wall and made the bed. He spotted her knickers on top of his chest of drawers and tucked them inside one of the drawers.

Then he stuck his head back out of the door, "This way."

Eyebrows raised, Ginny crossed the floor, ducking past him into the bedroom. It was dark. That would actually make it better. The darker, the easier it'd be for her to concentrate. She set her bag down on the bed before sitting next to it, plunging her arms inside and starting to pull all her materials out. "Alright, so we'll need it quiet, and dark. Er..." She laughed to herself. "And you'll need to be comfortable. This might take a little bit. It's my first time."

Draco made a face at her. Was she TRYING to tease him and be suggestive? He didn't think so, but his warped mind was taking her suggestions, questions, and innocent statements to a whole other place.

He nodded and walked around to the other side of the bed before he flopped onto it on his back. Draco crossed his legs at the ankles and propped himself up on his elbows. Her hair looked right soft and like it would be warm to the touch. Draco shook his head and scowled. This was going to be a long session.

She grabbed her wand from her pocket and flicked it at the shades, drawing them closed. She stood before grabbing her bag and pulling it off the bed, setting it on the ground beside her. She paused when she looked down at him. That was a rather fetching image. She laughed, shaking her head before kneeling next to the bed. "I'll need your arm."

"Right," Draco said, lying back and stretching his arm out towards her. He was damned nervous.

But not for the reason one might think. The lights were all dim and stuff, shades drawn, and Ginny Weasley was closer to his bed than he ever thought she'd be. When she touched his arm, Draco giggled like a little girl. Then he rolled his eyes at himself. So tense and high-strung that he was making girl noises. Great. He was now a third year girl with her first crush. Fan-fucking-tastic. All he could hear in his head just now was Blaise talking about how Draco wanted to shag her. He shifted a bit and licked his lips. They were feeling a bit dry suddenly.

"Ticklish?" She hadn't met anyone who was ticklish on their arm, and she had the absurd image of him getting his dark mark and giggling like a mad man when the wand touched his arm. She shook her head, focusing. "This is more than just a healing spell." She looked at him as he looked down at his arm. The scar tissue was thick, and she was slightly worried this wouldn't work at all. "The skin is a living part of your body, like an extension of yourself, and the scar is a mark."

Obviously. Embarrassed, she shook her head. She usually babbled, but most of the time she didn't do it out loud. "I need to calm your skin, so in essence, it absorbs the scar tissue." She was pretty sure she wasn't making any sense to him, but it made her feel better.

Draco just stared at her while she spoke. He couldn't tell anyone one word she had just said. She had freckles on her nose. Usually freckles on skin bothered him, but they went rather well with her brown eyes and red hair. Her skin wasn't pale like his usually was. It was more creamy, so the freckles worked with that too.

"You're confused, aren't you?"

I'll say. "I'm not the one who needs to know what you're doing. I'm not very smart about repairing things. My forte is usually fucking them up royally. You might just want to stick to... 'this may tickle' or 'this may sting a bit'. I'm not the healing sort. Being a mender is a bit foreign to me."

Ginny nodded. "That's actually pretty normal. I'd tell you I'm not much of a healer either, but I don't think you'd appreciate it." At his face, she threw back her head and laughed. He'd been pretty panicky during his check-up, and she should feel guilty messing with him, but it was hard no to. She did grow up with Fred and George, after all. Plus, messing with him distracted her from staring at his chest. Nice chest. Muscular, run your tongue over it-

She took a deep breath, centering herself. She set her wand on the bed next to her. She wouldn't need her wand for a bit. This required skin to skin contact. She set her fingers over the scar tissue, feeling it beneath the pads of her fingertips. She ran her fingers over the mark, getting used to it. "I'm going to start now."

Draco just nodded and closed his eyes. He was not going to make it though this without some sort of reaction that she would likely not appreciate. He had no idea she would put her hands on him. And it was all he could do to hold still. Not because it was her or her hands, well that was part of it, but no one ever touched his arm. Not voluntarily. Not there. Not even before he'd decided to play muggle surgeon on himself. Hell, unless it was to wash, he didn't really touch his left arm. And here she was with her hands on it like it was no big deal.

The one time Sophie had touched his scarred arm, she recoiled from it as if it had burned her. Then again, she'd turned out to be a pyromaniac nutter, so there you go.

Draco opened his eyes after he composed himself a bit and just watched her, hoping his stare wasn't disturbing. He also hoped it didn't give anything away, but if he hadn't been swayed by anything before, he'd would be now. For the simple fact that she was touching something abhorrent. She was trying to heal the worst of him. Maybe that part was broken and could never be as it was before, but damn, if she didn't have a look of concentration on her face.

Ginny was staring at a spot over the bed, not really looking at anything. She was feeling. She hadn't been lying when she said the skin was a part of him. She could actually feel the heat under the scars, almost felt where he'd slashed the skin. She let her eyes drift close, her fingers still exploring. "What'd you use? It feels like a... not a knife. Or a wand. A... bottle?" There were several cuts, most of them crisscrossed each other. That made it more difficult, harder to heal, but she was going to try.

She didn't really hear his answer. She had gone to that place. The place she went to when she healed. It was quiet there, calm. "Deleo." She almost didn't recognize her voice when she spoke. No matter how many times she heard herself, she would never get used to that voice. Harry called it her 'elf' voice. Something about a movie about a ring. She still didn't understand.

Air escaped from his mouth slowly and for a moment, he forgot to breathe. It was as if the air in the room had stilled with her voice and he was afraid to move any of it by breathing. Draco's eyes were wide as he listened and watched. She wasn't even in the room with him. He sensed her concentration was so great that she was elsewhere. He was in awe of that sort of dedication. He did not know if he had that within him about anything. Well, except perhaps sex. He'd been that devoted to sex before.

And maybe when she was using her sexy healer voice and he was already in his bed, he should not go thinking about sex in any way, shape, or form. Thank Salazar his jeans weren't too tight.

She could feel his skin tighten, but it didn't do what she wanted it to. She blinked, eyes narrowing. "Mitigo." She felt the magic there, but it was being blocked. She blinked, leaning back on her knees. She let her hands fall from his arm. "This isn't right."

"Hmmm?" Draco was completely distracted. He couldn't have told anyone what she just said.

"It's not working right. Something's blocking the spells."

"Perhaps the mark itself?"

Ginny shook her head. "I'm actually not doing anything with the mark. I'm trying to heal the skin the mark is in." She set her hands back on his arm. "Try and focus. Breathe." She closed her eyes again, focusing on his skin. It was warm, and other than the scars, it was soft.

"Lenis." She opened her eyes when she felt the jolt of magic. It had been small, but she'd felt it. This was working. She almost laughed. She ran her fingers over the scar tissue. It didn't feel different, but she'd felt something.

Maybe he was concentrating so hard on keeping her out that he really was. She was good enough to come here and to try to help. She was already closer than she ought to be by touching his dark mark. Draco closed his eyes and tried to relax. This was a bit dangerous though. Given his apparent wrong and unnatural affinity for her, he was bound to embarrass himself and end up hexed. Damn Blaise for putting the idea of her as anything save his medi-witch in his head anyway.

She closed her eyes again, tuning everything out. It was hard to do, actually, because his breathing was rather loud. And consistent. And it was pretty breathy for being breathing. She shook her head, focusing on the skin under her fingers. She ran her hands over it, squeezing slightly. The skin felt looser than it had after the first spell, which made sense, she supposed. The first spell had been to smooth. The second and third had been to erase.

Ginny was quiet for a while, feeling the heat in his arm, the tension in the muscles on his arm. And there were muscles. Well-defined muscles. She opened her eyes, sitting back on her heels again. "I think that's all we should do today."

Draco's eyes snapped open and he sucked in air sharply through his nose. Thank Salazar he'd made it through this without embarrassing himself. Though looking at her sitting on her heels next to his bed was an interesting and not at all helpful image. He rolled onto his side facing her and tucked his hands under his cheek.

"How often do we get to do this again," Oh for fuck's sake! Did his voice have to come out of his mouth all husky like that? He sounded all suggestive and flirtatious. Probably looked it too, all on his side like he was.

Suddenly, the reality of the situation hit her. She stood very quickly, grabbing her wand off his bed. "Um." Ginny looked down at him on the bed, laid out like that, and couldn't say she was exactly not enjoying the situation. "Maybe once a week. Maybe more. When I find a place to move into, we can do it there instead of your bedroom." On your bed. In your bedroom.

"Hopefully it won't take too long. I wouldn't want to waste your time. If it looks like I'm not getting enough done, I can suggest different healers."

"What? No," Draco said, scrambling off of the bed to stand before her. "I don't want anyone else. I want you." And he prayed to the gods she didn't notice the look he got on his face after he said that. He honestly had not been talking about that.

He didn't want another healer. He wanted her healing him, and not just because he liked her touching him, Salazar help him. Draco knew no one, seriously no one, else was going to lay their hands on that mark like it was just skin. Her technique might not be what she thought it should be, but to him, the bedside manner was what had him. In this case literally.

"Look, I can get a room at the Leaky or somewhere if you prefer. We can do it at your place. I'm not particular. I can have one of the rooms in this wing set up to your specifications if you like. We don't have to be in my bedroom if it bothers you."

His whole little spiel here he'd been moving slightly closer to her. He had not even noticed it. Now he was peering down at her. Draco smiled what he hoped was not a discomforting smile. He was really at a loss here.

"Yes, because us getting a room at the Leaky would be so much better." She sighed, putting a hand on her hip, one hand gesturing in the air. "Look, it's not your bedroom. It's not bothering me. Alright, it's bothering me, but not in the way- it's fine. I just... if I'm doing this and nothing is happening, it's not worth it for you. Or me, I suppose. I want to heal this," she motioned at his arm, "but if I can't, it doesn't make sense to keep trying if it's not working."

She shook her head, running a hand through her hair. "I get that you want it gone, but there are others who've been working a lot longer than I have. I can study the books and deadpan the spells, but if I don't have it, I don't have it. I studied these spells for hours. Usually it's not this hard, but I don't think anyone has tried to heal scar tissue over a dark mark and I'm not sure if I'm going about it the right way." She looked up at him, for the first time realizing that he was several inches taller than her. "I don't want to waste your time." She blinked. "Or money."

He moved just a tiny bit closer, eyes not leaving her face. "It's one day. Maybe it's the sort of thing that can't be rushed. Let's not put it away as a failed attempt just yet, yeah? All I seem to have these days is time and money. Let me be the judge of whether or it not it's being wasted, all right. And... I don't want it gone."

At her shocked look, he actually went on to explain in a pained whisper.

"History has a habit of repeating itself, yeah? Well, if it's there to be seen, then history might think twice. I don't want to forget my mistakes. They've shaped me. I wouldn't be standing right here without them. I'm not saying I don't have regrets, you know, but I don't think I regret who I am now. Not much anyway. Not as much as people likely think I should."

She blinked at him. "I was talking about you wanting the scar tissue gone." He actually looked a little embarrassed. "It's just a mark, Draco. You choose whether or not you let it define you." She smiled slightly. "We all have marks on us. You just wear yours on the outside."

He didn't know what do say to that at first. "You'd be surprised by how in the minority your philosophy of this is. Even in third world countries they know this skull and snake. It'll get you run out of some villages with spears and rocks some places. Maybe I should just leave it, so people know how I feel? No... I don't want my mother to see what I've done." On many levels. "And I'm told I wear a lot of things on the outside."

"Better than keeping it inside." She shifted, resisting the urge to take a step back. He was still standing rather closely in front of her and for the first time she could smell him. He smelled nice. Like boy. That male smell that just is. "I can try again. I'll study some more. Try and figure something out. I can't promise anything." This was starting to move past a thing she wanted to help him with and more towards something she wanted to beat. She didn't think she could, so she'd do everything possible to prove herself wrong. It's one of the reasons she was taking the risk and opening her own clinic in the first place.

"I should try again soon. Maybe sometime this week? Are you available on Saturday?"

It was like she was asking him out, but not. Draco smiled. "I am. Here again? Or places other?" And Saturday? Didn't she have boring sex she could be having with that what's his name?

Draco suddenly bristled. He was offended on her behalf. What sort of a bloke let sex be so boring that the girl felt she needed to try to get his attention? He certainly wasn't boring out of his pants. Draco swayed a bit close to her before leaning back, his brow furrowed. He was going to do something stupid if he was not careful here. He could feel it. She was seeing that other bloke and his boring sex, and Draco so didn't need to be casting his interest here. Also, she was his healer. She probably had rules about that sort of thing.

But she touched his arm like it didn't matter.

He could not seem to get past that. There was also that she seemed to like to wear green silk and black lace. She was speaking and he was staring at her mouth and not hearing a word. Her lips were very pink. They looked rather soft too.

"I'm sorry, distracted, thinking about... other things for a second. Sorry. What was that then?"

Ginny resisted the urge to huff at him. What good was making plans if he was thinking about other things. "I said here would be fine, unless you'd like to do it elsewhere. I'm fine being in your bedroom." She blinked. "I'm fine doing this in your bedroom. Healing. Your arm." Why was he staring at her? "Maybe sometime after dinner? I'm pretty sure I have plans that afternoon, but I'm free that night. If you'd rather do it during the day, we can reschedule."

His brow furrowed. Didn't dating people go out on Saturday nights or had that changed while he was away? Not that he minded her not seeing boring sex guy on Saturday night.

"No, Saturday night is more than fine if that's when suits you. I just thought you might have something... more interesting to do."

"Like what?" She was honestly confused. "I have a training session that afternoon but I'll have plenty of time that night." She took in a breath, taking a step back when she realized that if she breathed in deep enough, not only would his scent fill her lungs, but she'd probably actually touch him, he was so close. She looked up at him. "Shouldn't I be the one asking what fits better into your schedule? I think that's how this works."

"I thought..." Maybe she'd dropped the bastard. One could hope. "Nevermind. I don't know what you think I get up to, but the social calender of a former Death Eater isn't exactly full. Besides, I'm actually pretty boring... in some areas. I do a lot of staying at home and reading."

"What do you read?" She fought the urge not to roll her eyes at herself. "I just... nevermind. I should go." She moved around him and bent down, grabbing her bag off the floor.

While she was leaned around him, Draco bent down and smelled her hair before he could stop himself. She almost knocked into him before he could get out of her way.

"Were you just..."

"Yes? What?" Draco asked innocently. He wasn't sure this worked on him.

Ginny looked at him for a long moment, her bag clutched in her hands. He really had- no. She was imagining things. "So, Saturday? Maybe around eight?"

He almost said, it's a date. Best not to go there. "Saturday at eight. I'll be here. Allow me to walk you to the door then... so you don't get lost. I'd hate to come across you weeks later in the dungeons all weak from hunger."

"Dungeons. Right." She tried not to let her eyes widen. "Yeah. It might be good not to get lost. I didn't bring a change of clothes." She rolled her eyes at herself then, glad he couldn't see it.

"I think I might have something that would fit you," Draco said, smirk firmly in place. Her banter made him comfortable. Though he was thinking of things green and silk and hiding in a drawer. He was pretty sure those fit, being hers and all. "Maybe next time I can give you the two knut tour. Then you would be less likely to be lost... unless you wanted to be."

"I'll just stay close to you and not wander off and I should be fine." She smiled over at him. "I'll at least know how to get to your bedroom, which is all that matters, I guess." When she realized what she'd said, one of her feet missed a stair and she had to catch herself on the railing. She could feel her cheeks burning already. Oh, gods.

When she missed that step, Draco actually grabbed for her, despite his being slightly distracted by her comments about it only mattering that she knew where his bedroom was. It was when he already had a nice hold on her that he realized she had the railing and did not need his assistance. He didn't let go of her right away though. He should. Her cheeks were pink. Probably because he was holding on to her like he was.

"All right then?" He whispered, still not having removed himself quite yet.

Ginny nodded, letting go of the railing. She didn't trust herself to speak, she was so embarrassed. It was like she hadn't ever walked down stairs before. She froze there when she realized part of the reason she hadn't sprawled on her arse was because he had a strong hold on her arm. She looked over at him. "Thanks." She ignored how her voice squeaked a bit.

Draco just smiled and nodded his head slightly, not trusting speech just then. He would have loved to keep a hold on her arm the rest of the way down the stairs, but he got the feeling she would not appreciate it. She struck him as the sort who prided herself on being able to handle herself.

"You have soft skin," he said before he could stop himself. For fuck's sake, Malfoy! Why don't you just throw her down on the grand staircase and try to shag her right now!

"What?"

"Nothing. Talking to... myself. Sort of. Leftovers from those months I spent in Azkaban." Draco hurried down the rest of the stairs. Merlin, he was a real idiot. Blaise was right. Though he did still have nightmares about Azkaban. He shouldn't have joked about that.

Ginny watched him practically run down the stairs away from her. Gods, she was embarrassed. She clutched at her bag and made her way down the rest of the stairs. When she hit the landing, she let out a sigh of relief. She crossed the rest of the space and stood by the door. She smiled at him softly, still feeling like an arse. "So, Saturday?"

Draco nodded. "Saturday."

She moved past him through the door and he reached out and grabbed her wrist before he could stop himself or think the better of it.

"Hey... thank you." If anything, he was pleased with that. It didn't sound forced. He would never forget Mei for teaching him how to thank someone in a gracious and sincere tone.

She smiled, using everything in her power to ignore how warm his hand was. "Don't thank me yet. I haven't done anything." She pulled her wrist from his hand slowly before turning and making her way down the walkway.

Draco watched her walk for a bit.

"Yes, you have," he said quietly before shutting the door.


{SUMMARY} Draco and Ginny have their first scar healing session.