Headcanon: Draco Malfoy and Scars

Draco Malfoy has two large scars.  The smaller ones don’t count—-falls from his broom, trips on the gravel paths of the Manor gardens—-all inconsequential.  It’s the two largest that give him pause for thought.

The first one is the one across his chest.  It’s not awful, by any means—-not nearly as bad as Mad-Eye Moody or Bill Weasley, Snape had seen to that after the incident in the bathroom—-but it seems to draw anyone’s attention if he removes his shirt.  The first time Astoria saw it, she’d stared at him in shock, then demanded to know where it had come from.  He’d reluctantly explained that it had been in a duel with Potter.  There was a very faint scar on his cheek, as well, but he’d been adamant that Snape heal that first before his chest.  Astoria of course had been outraged, had asked if Potter had received some sort of punishment, but Draco honestly could not assuage her.  He didn’t know what had happened between Snape and Potter, and he hadn’t exactly cared.  As soon as he’d been healed, he’d returned his focus to the task of murdering Dumbledore.

The second scar is worse than the first, in looks at least.  It’s the product of an imperfect spell—-close to perfection, but he’d never intended to finish it.  He had eventually, after he’d experimented on himself.  The finished version caused minimal scarring, but scarring nonetheless.  This particular scar is an amorphous one, raised and pink and shiny like the burn scars he sometimes saw.  That was essentially how the spell worked, anyway.  It burned away the Dark Mark, and the magic contained therein.  He didn’t mind the scar.  It was a reminder of what had happened during the war.  The spell distorts the shape of the Mark, so you wouldn’t be able to tell that it was what it was, and you could say that it was a bad burn from a mishap with a cauldron.  But Draco knows what it was, as does anyone he’s performed the spell on.  He makes no effort to hide this scar.  Most people know about his involvement in the war, and his family’s history.  That’s part of the reason why he’s currently employed at St. Mungo’s as one of the Healers specialising in matters of the Dark Arts.  He knows what he’s dealing with, and he’s trying to make amends, in whatever way he can.  And that’s why he has no intention of ever making the spell completely perfect: the scar reminds the patient, and everyone else, of what happened, and what will hopefully never happen again.