Disclaimer: JKR owns all HP characters and settings etc. They are not my dollies, I simply stole them and played with them for a short while. Only the plot belongs to me.
Rated: M for language and some sexual situations.
Warnings: There will be slash/ malexmale/ yaoi/ whatever you want to call it. Basically, if you are a homophobe, I don't advise reading this story. Also, for some, there may be unbearable amounts of fluffy relationship stuff that may induce vomiting and/or blindness. Have a nice day.

Post-DH but NOT epilogue compliant. There may be some spoilers.

Later that night, Harry sat anxiously on his bed, flinching at the slightest sound as he listened to the other students bid each other goodnight and retire to their respective rooms. He had decided that it would be better to apologise to Draco sooner rather than later, as unpleasant as the experience was going to be. He itched to consult the Marauder's Map to find his location in a vague attempt to estimate the time of the boy's arrival, but it was often inaccurate these days as the layout of the castle had now changed since its restoration and, sadly, the Map could not update itself to accommodate alterations in the ancient stone building. Harry sat and fidgeted on the bed, running his hand agitatedly through his messy black hair, making it stick up even more than usual and giving him the appearance of a startled bird. He sighed and lay back against the pillows, staring up at the scarlet canopy in an attempt to calm his fraying nerves, feeling his eyes grow heavy as the minutes passed uneventfully. Just as his hazy mind began to wander and wonder why exactly this apology absolutely had to go well, he heard the click of the door as the knob was turned and sat up hastily, ready to face a possibly grumpy blond.

Draco turned the doorknob slowly, returning to his room after a long night of trying to run from his own thoughts. He hated the way his traitorous mind seemed to be turning against him and he hated even more, the fact that Harry Potter had been the one to plant the seeds of doubt there. He dragged his feet, something he'd never previously allowed himself to do, resigned to another sleepless night of broken nightmares and trying to keep himself awake, now that he'd run out of 'Dreamless Sleep' potion. He'd have to start brewing another cauldronful soon; but he could never seem to work up the motivation during the day. It was only at night he regretted not starting, but his new wand didn't seem to be as co-operative with magic as his old one had been and he couldn't risk brewing the potion while he was still struggling with it.

He pushed the door open reluctantly and stepped inside, unwilling to resign himself to another night just yet. He closed the door and looked up, stopping short when he saw Harry sitting waiting for him.

"Malfoy, I-"

"Not now, Potter. I'm exhausted and I'd quite like to get some sleep. Whatever bullshit you have to say to me, it can wait until the morning." Draco walked over to his bed and began pulling his sleepwear out from underneath his pillow.

"I'm sorry, Malfoy."

Draco stopped and turned slowly to face Harry. "What?"

Harry inwardly cringed; this wasn't going to be pretty. "Look, I'm sorry alright. What I… What I said was wrong. Apparently you have changed."

"Apparently?"

Harry resisted the urge to bang his head off one of the posts of his bed. "Well… Yeah. Look, I know about the stuff you did last year to help the others in the castle, but I guess I need more proof. What happened to make you change?"

Draco sighed. This was going to be a long and painful night. He didn't want to have to prove himself to the 'Chosen One' but he knew that it was going to have to come out someday, and naturally Harry would be the one who needed persuading that he had indeed 'seen the light'. Now that he thought about it, Harry was more likely than anyone else to understand his new take on life and everything involved in it. He too had been used his whole life, hadn't he? Draco felt a pang of something he could now identify as guilt; he had tried to use Harry, not just recently, but seven years ago on their very first train ride to Hogwarts. Draco himself had tried to befriend Harry in the hopes of being friends with, and thus, associated with, the Great Harry Potter. He hated looking back at his past self. Some habits were ingrained so deeply into his personality that he couldn't help but repeat them, but he was always reminded of what a precocious, arrogant little brat he had been.

He sighed again and sat down on the bed; determinedly not looking at Harry.

"Do you… Do you remember in Sixth Year when he," Draco refrained from using any of the terms for Lord Voldemort's name. He knew that using 'the Dark Lord' as his father had done, would instantly put Harry on edge; it was a term only used by Death Eaters and supporters of Voldemort, and he point blank refused to use any of the ridiculous substitutes such 'You-Know-Who' or 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named' and using the actual name was out of the question for Draco just now, "Made me repair that Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Hidden Things as punishment for my father's failure to retrieve the prophecy?"

Harry nodded. He remembered all too well the incidents of that year, and the repercussions.

Draco cleared his throat. "I didn't take too kindly to being used as a tool of persuasion and punishment by him. Knowing that I would be tortured and killed for making a simple mistake didn't particularly agree with me. In my arrogance," Draco still had trouble admitting his flaws out loud, even to himself made him feel slightly sick, but he continued, "I thought I may be rewarded for succeeding, and my parents clearly thought so too." He paused for breath; this was difficult, but he would finish. Malfoys never quit. "However, we were not. When our Manor was converted into a Headquarters of sorts, we expected to be treated with at least a little dignity. As you saw, Potter," Draco looked up at the first time at Harry, regretfully, "We were not. We were treated little above house-elves, and being seen as disposable when we had done everything in our power to help his cause for so many years," Draco met Harry's eyes for the first time, silently conveying an apology for his actions, "Made me wish never to be seen as I saw them. But I realised I probably was. It made me think about my past actions, how similar I was to him. I vowed that if I survived the war, the Malfoy name would not be one that people associated with blackmail and fear, obligatory politeness and a courtesy sneer farewell. Truthfully, Potter, you were right. During the time I was trapped in my own home I began to realise that my old friends would gladly torture my family and I, for a share of the power he had. I had not treated them well, and they would not treat me well. The only true friends I really had were my parents."

Harry sat facing Draco as he absorbed all the information he had just received. Although very little of it was new; it was interesting to see things from Draco's perspective, and to learn that their viewpoints, values and opinions were extremely similar. The blond now seemed to be awaiting a response from Harry, and if he had not known the boy, Harry would have thought he was nervous from the way he twisted the Malfoy family-crested ring on his finger.

He stood, and walked the few paces to Draco's bed, standing in front of him as he extended his right hand for the blond to shake. Draco took it in his own and Harry was surprised at how warm his hands were as they shook hands like they could have done all those years ago on the Hogwarts Express.

They changed into their sleep wear in silence, like normal, but none of the awkward tension hung in the air between them and as they climbed into bed, Harry was struck by a thought. "Malfoy?"

"Yes?"

"D'you think this is what McGonagall meant at the start-of-term feast?"

"About 'silly rivalries' and 'a simple refusal of friendship and a difference in opinions'?"

"Yeah…"

Draco smirked. "Yes, Harry. I think this is what she meant us to do."

Harry smiled a little as another thought occurred to him. "Draco?"

"What?" Came the exasperated reply. "Harry, if being your acquaintance means I have to stay up all night talking to you like pre-teen girls, I think might be changing my mind."

Harry grinned in the dark. "No, what I mean is… Well… the others are convinced you're okay now… If you wanted to eat breakfast with us in the morning… I mean… I wouldn't mind…" He finished lamely, glad that the blanket of darkness hid his burning face.

"I'll consider it Harry. Now please, can we go to sleep?"

Harry turned over in response and closed his hangings. Draco did the same and both drifted off into a more relaxed sleep than either had had in weeks, neither aware that for the first time; they'd called each other by their given names.

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