Battle Scars {Draco Malfoy}

Chapter Twenty Two

Clara had to fight herself whether to accept the compliment Draco had given her or question whether he was just saying it to be polite. She bit the inside of her cheek trying to figure out how to respond to his statement, but the only thing she could find herself blurting out something stupid.

"Like what?"

Draco turned his head to look at her quickly, immediately she focused her attention on her shoes.

"What do you mean?" he questioned.

"N-nothing. Never mind." she said shaking her head. "It was a stupid question. Please just ignore that."

"Were you asking what more there is to you besides the scars?" He asked her, when she didn't respond Draco took the answer as yes. Suddenly, he felt like he was on the spot as situation was growing even more awkward by the second.

"You don't have to answer any of that." Clara said. "I'm sorry."

She felt incredibly stupid as it sounded like she was fishing for compliments which was far from her intentions, but she had only found herself curious, wondering what Draco actually thought about her. If she was being honest with herself, Clara knew she was still wary of Draco. She felt bad because she would never admit it to him out loud, but she did at some point expect the broken Draco before her to return to his former glory. If he did in fact return to the old Draco she had known and witnessed during her prior time at Hogwarts, she was sure she would become the subject of his ridicule. And she wasn't sure if her heart could handle such teasing that she knew Draco was capable of.

She also felt horrible for passing judgement on him, especially if he really was trying to change his ways to better himself. After all, would he go to such drastic lengths as to cut slices through his arm if he really wasn't that ashamed of his past actions? Would he put on an act to look so out of place and depressed just to gain some pity and then rub it in the faces of those that had showed some sort of mercy on him?

She shook her head trying to rid the negative thoughts that clouded her mind. If the Draco before her was in fact the old Draco she had known, she was sure that even he wouldn't be able to contain himself and miss at a chance to call Abby a mudblood. His interactions with Abby gave Clara hope that Draco really was on the road to recovery, that he was making positive changes to his life one step at a time. 

Going in to apologize once more, Clara was caught off guard as Draco stood himself in front of her causing her to halt in place.

"What are you doing?" she asked him softly looking around. They had come across one of the only empty roads of Hogsmeade which was seemingly convenient for the two of them as it was pretty obvious the two didn't hold much confidence or courage in themselves.

"I'm answering your question." Draco told her.

"N-no, y-you don't have to do that!" Clara said waving her hands frantically before her. "I mean it, it was just something stupid I blurted out. Like when I complimented your pants."

"So you really don't like my pants?" Draco questioned.

She went to apologize again, however, she looked up to see him smirking down at her.

"You were only teasing me about the pants thing, weren't you?" she said, her face growing pinker than her jumper.

"Well, sort of. I actually really do like these pants." he mused," but if you don't like them I won't wear them around you anymore."

"No, I...the pants..they're fine, I just.." she covered her face with her hands.

"I'm still teasing you about the pants, you know?" Draco said. 

"Can you just point me in the nearest direction of a rock that I can crawl under right now?"

Draco didn't think that Clara would become so easily flustered and embarrassed over a simple topic. He was willing to tell her what he saw besides the scars, but as her cheeks grew pinker , he couldn't resist the urge to tease her a bit in a playful manner. The satisfaction he felt from teasing her to the point where she was blushing was much different from the satisfaction that he felt when he had teased his former classmates harshly. The bashful smile was much more rewarding than frowns and tears of his peers.

Just in that moment alone he could point out a hundred different things that he could see besides her scars, from the blush on her cheeks to the small twinkle in her eyes, the way her hair curtained over her face in a shy manner. But it was even just the physical appearances that distracted Draco from even thinking about her scars, anytime Clara opened her mouth to speak, he found himself desperately intrigued to listen to what she had to say.

Her words always offered him so much comfort much like a child feeling comforted by a security blanket. 

Draco took full note that Clara was attempting to help him heal before she was fully healed herself.