Scars That Heal (Dramione Fanfiction) [COMPLETE]

About 'Scars That Heal' + Acknowledgements

This has been a massive journey for me. If you are bored by long rambles then you might want to skip this. I will go over some of the things regarding the making of the story and where certain ideas came from, but it will mainly be me gushing about having finished. But do check out the acknowledgements towards the end, because they are important to me and to the work as a whole. Without them, this wouldn't be the story it is and I wouldn't be the author I am.

HOW IT STARTED: I started this fanfiction randomly, after tossing an idea around in my head for probably about a month. It had struck me how much I enjoyed reading fanfiction, but also how often I didn't like it. I am not criticising particular works or writers, but I will say that the following classic tropes annoy me in Dramione fanfictions: Ron is always an abusive cheater, Draco is always super smarmy, Hermione is always incredibly voluptuous and either  prudish or boy-mad, and nobody is ever affected by the war. This meant that a lot of the time I wasn't getting to read fanfics I could wholly support, and it was becoming increasingly few and far between that I found a fic I could enjoy until the end. I realised that if I felt this way, then dozens of other Dramione shippers probably felt similarly, or at least wanted a different take on the pairing as I did.

THE TITLE popped out of nowhere; the idea that Draco self-harmed and that Hermione had nightmares regarding the war was one of my main initial plotpoints, so I wanted the idea of healing and scars to be a prominent feature. But the title is just one of those things that just always seemed to be around. I can't remember the moment I came up with it, or the particular thought process that got me to 'Scars That Heal', but I personally really like it.

THE COVER was made by me on Microsoft Paint, because I am a professional... The fanart of Draco and Hermione's hands with their scars was one I had seen a long time ago and really liked, so I thought I would use that as it worked well with my title and themes. I just edited on the title and my handle, and it was done! It took a few tries to crop it correctly, mainly so I could fit on my title dead-centre, as I am a perfectionist when it comes to these things.

STARTING WRITING: I was very weirded out by the idea of publishing things live on here. I am a writer by trade, but I never usually share anything I write unless I am certain it's good, and definitely not while it is a work in progress. I was encouraged, however, by seeing how many poorly-written fanfictions were still incredibly popular, despite how obviously terrible they were. That may sound cruel, but it honestly gave me the courage in knowing that at least mine wouldn't be the worst on this website!! I wrote the first chapter in one sitting with minimal editing, and published it. It got a few views, and that made me happy. I also very quickly got a lovely comment from somebody, encouraging me to continue it. Seeing as one of my main fears was that nobody would mind if I didn't bother updating, it really put my mind at rest, but more on that later. As a result, I wrote and uploaded the second chapter the next day. Honestly, looking back at them, those chapters weren't very good. I don't like their quality, but I think I've improved as a result of writing this because it's forced me to write regularly.

VARIOUS IDEAS: The idea that both Draco and Hermione would suffer from PTSD symptoms and find each other through coping came early, and was my initial starting point. Soon after that, the idea that Hermione would attempt suicide came, and I debated it for a while before deciding it would work. The illness and death of Hermione's father was one I came up with while writing earlier chapters, and again debated before I decided on it. The subplot with Astoria was similar, and I thought it would be another interesting one to continue. I also considered having Hermione' and Draco's mothers meet at Lucius' trial, but scrapped it as it seemed pointless. Maybe in the sequel they can meet? I also canned the idea of having Draco as Head Boy. This is one of the main features in most Dramione fanfics, and I don't like it, really. Draco's changed, but not that much. He's still not good enough to represent the school! The Support Sessions were an idea I had quite liked, then considered the logistics of and nearly decided not to include it. They were chunky chapters that didn't serve a huge amount of purpose, but as Hermione's suicide attempt loomed I decided they were a good plotpoint as it gave her both a reason to live and another overwhelming responsiblity to push her towards death.