"Blood traitor..." Although it wasn't said out loud, you and your family knew you were blood traitors from the moment your father took an interest in Muggle things. You couldn't blame him. There were things in the Muggle world that you find very interesting and fascinating.

For example, cellphones and computers. Hermione explained those electronic gadgets to you, but you couldn't comprehend how they work and how people's faces could fit in such tiny boxes. For you, Muggles are magical in their own way.

However, there were people around your world who were against Muggles, such as pure-blooded families like the Black family and the Malfoy family.

Of course, the Malfoy family has slowly changed their views and turned down their prejudice against Muggles and Muggle-borns after the war. Draco, however, was the first one in his family to accept Muggle-borns like Granger because of you.

So seeing the word 'blood traitor' in your forearm didn't bother you that much. But it was still painful to remember how the blade of Bellatrix Lestrange's dug and slid to your skin as she carved the insult to your arm. You freshly remember blood sprinkling down after she entirely wrote the word and how she was proud and satisfied with it.

You shakily took a deep breath and rolled your sleeves down before looking at your boyfriend sleeping by your side. The two of you decided to rest in his dorm room after you had finished writing your essays. You couldn't believe that one of your professors would still make their students write essays after winning a war.

'I think I'd prefer being hit by the Cruciatus Curse than writing a thousand words for an essay.' You sighed. Of course, it wasn't exactly a thousand words you wrote. It was more than that.

You turned your body to face Draco, who was still having his nap. It was a relief to see his colors back, but you were worried about him blaming himself every single day for what happened during the war. You made sure to reassure him every day and soothe him whenever he broke down into tears.

You rest your hand on his left arm, gently massaging it to comfort him. Draco's eyes clenched tight when he felt your actions, and he started shaking his head. "No... stop." He whimpered.

Moving closer, you pulled him to your embrace with his head leaning on your chest. "Shh, it's okay. I'm here." You whispered, placing a gentle kiss on top of his head.

Draco fluttered his eyes open before closing them again and wrapping his arms around your waist. "I'm sorry..." He sighed.

"Don't be. It's okay."

You were returning a favor. You wanted to be there with him at all times, similar to what he did to you years ago. Although you managed to move on from your father's death, the fear was still there. Fear that your family will be gone, including your friends and loved ones. Including Draco. But your father's words were engraved to your brain to keep you sane and determined to keep everyone you love safe.

"I know you two can handle pain. Pain can make you stronger, and I know that because my girls are the toughest girls in the world."

After all, you promised Draco that you two would protect each other no matter what.

"I love you." You heard him murmured.

"I love you too." You replied.

Draco pulled away and leaned up to kiss your lips. "I'm sorry." He said between the kiss.

"Stop saying that."

Draco shook his head as he leaned back and sat up. "No, it's just... you know, we mostly spent time together with you, comforting me every time I break down." He stated, rolling his sleeves up to show you the mark. "This stupid mark always disgusts me..."

You sat up and took his hand, gently tracing your fingers on his mark. "Then maybe think of this mark as a good thing."

Draco glared at you. "You're kidding."

You shook your head. "I'm not."

"Then you're mental. This mark is nothing but good."

"Uh-uh! Let me finish, Malfoy." You tutted and pulled him back before he could even stand up to walk away. "Think of this mark as a good thing because you survived. Turn this tattoo as a reminder that you survived from a war that we could have died."

Draco glanced down at his arm before staring at you with his eyes welling up in tears. You smiled and immediately wiped his tear rolling down on his cheek. "This isn't easy for all of us, Draco. And none of this was your fault. It was always Voldemort. He did this, and he caused this."

You placed a quick kiss on Draco's lips before leaning your forehead against his. "It was never your fault. You just made wrong decisions and didn't know what would happen. Don't blame yourself."

You looked down at Draco's wounded arm and lifted his left arm up, placing soft kisses on his forearm, making Draco gulp. "And promise me to stop harming yourself just to get rid of the mark, okay?" Draco slowly nodded, causing you to smile. "Good. Now, come on. I'm starving."

You got out of bed and dragged Draco out of his dorm room. The two of you made it to the Great Hall and were just in time for supper. Draco didn't hesitate to sit with you at the Gryffindor Table. Your fellow Gryffindors didn't mind because some of their Slytherin friends were sitting there too. Draco noticed that Peter Ambrose and Megan Stark were at the Gryffindor table as well.

Harry watched as you grabbed some food while Draco looked for something to eat. "Where have you two been?"

You shrugged as you ate. "Draco's dorm room. We fell asleep, well, Draco did."

Peter choked from his drink, Megan snickered, and Ron froze. Harry coughed a bit while Hermione and Ginny smirked. You and Draco looked at your friends confusingly. "What?"

"Are you sure nothing else happened?" Megan asked, smirking. "Not anything else?"

You gave her a stern look. "Of course, there's nothing else. You perverts are thinking of something else."

Peter chuckled. "Sorry. It's alright if you two did something else. I mean, you two are both young adults anyway."

Ginny nodded. "Yeah, it's normal to have sex." She nodded at Megan as she munched down a bread. "Megan, over here, did have sex too; she wouldn't stop talking about how Peter was good."

Draco paused himself from getting a green apple while Peter and Megan slowly looked away. "Too much information there, ginger," Draco replied.

"Ginny, good heavens, why must you be so talkative?" Megan groaned.

You facepalmed and sighed. "Guys, we're having dinner, and this is what we're discussing?"

Harry faked his gag. "Yeah, guys. Geez. We're eating."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Too mature for the Chosen One?" Megan teased as she took a bite on her garlic bread.

"Can we discuss this after dinner, perhaps?" Peter suggested with a slight cough.

Ron nodded as he munched down his fried chicken. "Yes, please. So I could continue to enjoy my bloody food."

"By the way, I've been seeing Daphne and Pansy together a lot these days." Hermione suspected as she glanced at the Slytherin table. "Seems like they're dating or something."

You cracked a smile and hummed in delight. "They are." You replied. "Took them a while to realize they like each other."

Hermione let out an "oh" as she looked at Pansy, laughing with Daphne. "I see. I also noticed that Pansy isn't bullying any of us anymore. Change of heart?"

Draco nodded. "I guess so. People can change." Draco looked down at you, who was drinking. "Sometimes, you just need someone to help you change for the better."

You looked up at him and saw him smiling. You smiled back. You glanced down at his apple and quickly took a bite. Draco gasped while you laughed. "Oi! Not my apple!"

°•○●○•°

"Hello, Stark." You turned around and saw Pansy and Daphne holding hands. "You look like shit."

You frowned while Daphne nudged her girlfriend's side. "Pansy." She scolded.

Pansy raised her hands defensively. "It wasn't an insult! I'm concerned, babe."

Daphne gave her a look. "Then rephrase it nicely."

Pansy looked back at you, taking a deep breath while you smirked at her, anticipating her rephrased question. "You look terrible... like shit."

"Pans..." Daphne sighed, shaking her head while you snickered. "That's no better either."

"Maybe diminish your sentence?" You suggested.

Pansy pushed her bottom lip out as she thought. "You look terrible. There."

"Much better, Parkinson." You replied.

"So, yeah, why do you look terrible?"

You looked around for anything to see your reflection, but there was none to your disappointment. You shrugged at her. "I don't know. Lack of sleep, I guess?"

"Is it about the war?" Daphne asked worriedly.

You shrugged once again. "Maybe? I'm not sure. I don't feel like... sleeping. That's all."

Pansy crossed her arms. "Night terrors?" She asked. "Stark, you have been dealing with dangerous creatures since the moment you got here in Hogwarts. Of course, you would be experiencing night terrors and insomnia."

You gave her a look. "It's not like it's my fault that those things keep on happening."

Pansu shook her head, raising her hands up again in surrender. "I swear, I meant it in a nice way. I need to work on my people skills."

Daphne placed her hand on your shoulder. "Just know that if you need anyone to talk to, we'll be here." She glanced at Pansy. "Not so much on Pansy, though. She still needs to work on her social skills."

Pansy pouted. "I'm really trying, love." She whined.

You smiled at them. "Thank you, girls. I really appreciate it."

°•○●○•°

"Oi, watch it!" Draco hissed when Ron mindlessly stepped on his foot.

Draco, Ron, and Harry were on their way to the Hufflepuff Common Room to meet with Peter. However, the three boys had to stop by a library because Harry had forgotten to return a book.

"Oh, sorry, Your Highness." Ron teased. "Did I step on your newly polished shoes?"

"As a matter of fact, yes, Weasley. You did."

"Oh, hush it, you two." Harry rolled his eyes. The three young men made their way to the library, and finally, Harry returned the book he borrowed. After leaving the library, Draco glanced at the hidden Room of Requirement. Harry spotted him, so he nudged him back to reality. "You were spacing out, Malfoy."

Draco looked down at him. "Do you think the Room of Requirement has been repaired by now?"

"Why are you so interested?" Ron asked.

"Just wondering." Draco looked back at the walls where the doors usually appear to enter the Room of Requirement. "I wonder if they ever found his body there."

Harry and Ron looked at each other until they realized who Draco was talking about. Ron placed a hand on Draco's shoulder. "Hey, it's not your fault, mate. It was his own fault why he died. He started the fire, not you."

"I shouldn't have brought him along." Draco sighed. "And I didn't know he was ready to kill just to finish the job."

Harry glanced back at the Room of Requirement and sighed. "Oh, God. We're going to need therapists after all of this is over." He didn't noticed Ron and Draco's sharring confused looks at each other. 'Therapists?' They both thought at the same time.

Soon, the boys reached the Hufflepuff Common Room seeing you, Hermione, and Megan had already arrived at the place. Ginny wasn't available at the moment as she needed to study for a recitation for tomorrow.

Draco walked towards you and placed a kiss on your forehead. "Hello, you." He greeted with a sweet smile.

"Hello to you too." You placed a quick kiss on his lips, earning a groan from Megan. "You guys make me sick."

You glared at your sister. "I don't recall myself complaining whenever I see you and Peter snogging."

"Eh, that's nothing."

Draco sat on the ground and looked at Peter, fixing something by the bookshelves. "What are you doing over there, Ambrose?"

"Just cleaning."

"Cleaning?" Draco questioned. "Didn't know you could clean."

Peter shot a playful glare at Draco. "Funny, I never even saw you cleaning, Malfoy."

Draco grinned. "I clean the sheets when (Y/n)'s too tired to move."

Hermione choked on her butterbeer while Harry rolled his eyes, and Ron snorted. You blushed furiously, and Megan gave you a harsh nudge.

You furrowed your eyebrows and crossed your arms, staring at Peter and Draco. "Okay, since when did you two start hanging out?"

"Fourth year." They both said in unison. Draco, sitting on the ground, stood up and sat on the couch and leaned his back on the armchair. You heard your friends having a conversation, but you were too focused on Draco holding out his wand and whispering something.

You moved closer to him and tapped his shoulder. "What are you doing?" You asked.

Draco sighed. "Trying out something. A charm. All of you could do it except for me."

"What charm is that?"

"Patronus charm."

You stared at him in surprise before smiling and holding his hand, adjusting the grip on his wand. "Think of the happiest memory you have."

Draco looked down and shook his head. "I can't. All I could think of are bad memories..."

You pressed your forehead against his. "Are you sure? Think hard."

Draco took a deep breath and closed his eyes, thinking of the happiest memory he had. You felt him nodded, so you pulled away. Draco opened his eyes and raised his wand. "Expecto Patronum."

Your friends stopped talking and watched as a blinding, dazzling, silver animal burst out of the end of his wand. Draco screwed up his eyes, trying to see what it was. It looked like a cat.

"It's a ragdoll cat!" You beamed.

Draco frowned. "Where's my fire-breathing dragon?"

"Be thankful it's not a penguin nor a ferret." Peter snickered.

"What's yours then, Ambrose?" Draco asked.

"A spider..."

Megan laughed, causing Harry to look at her confusingly. "Why are you laughing?"

"Peter is scared of spiders."

You grinned. "Just like Ron!"

All of you laughed, and you looked at Draco, who was laughing with everyone else. It was comforting to see him so happy and light. Then you looked at the ragdoll cat that's running around starting to fade away. Draco turned to you. "What's your Patronus, (Y/n)?"

Harry looked at you while you were looking away. "I..." Draco patiently waited for your answer. "I never conjured one."

Megan sat up straight and furrowed her eyebrows. "Wait, you never conjured one during your fifth year? We were all there practicing and--"

"I know." You sighed. "Harry saw it too, and he was there. I just... couldn't think of one. I mean, I tried so many times, but... maybe they're not strong enough to conjure a Patronus charm."

Draco and Hermione stared at you before glancing at each other, seemingly understanding what they both had on their minds. Draco wrapped his arm around your shoulders and kissed the side of your head.