Later that day, Draco felt no qualms about sitting at the Gryffindor table for dinner. Harry gave him a radiant smile as he dropped into the seat next to him. Supper ensued in the same way.

"My God, Weasley, do you ever stop eating?" Draco said in disgust. The boy in question paused mid-stuff, fingers to his lips, and smiled around his mouthful of assorted food.

"That's what I keep saying. Ronald!" Hermione gave him a disapproving look, but it was laced with tenderness, and a sort of adoration which made Draco's stomach tighten. Harry smiled at his two friends.

Harry stayed after all his friends had left, and Draco could tell that he wanted to say something to him, so he waited with him. He was delicately picking at a slice of chocolate cake when Harry cleared his throat.

"Um... Draco?"

Draco looked up at him.

"Yes?"

The brunette seemed very uncomfortable.

"You've been... Sleeping in Slytherin, I suppose?"

Draco's stomach did a flip. He had a feeling this was going to come up sooner or later...

"I have." He looked back down at his cake. He heard the other boy swallow.

"And I... Can't imagine it's a very welcoming atmosphere?"

"Not really..."

"And you're... Probably having the nightmares again..."

Draco looked up sharply at Harry. He had never told anyone that.

Harry looked apologetically back at him.

"I know. You yawn all the time in class, you have shadows under your eyes... I know the signs."

Draco rubbed his eyes self-consciously.

"It's nothing I can't deal with. I've had them all my life."

"Not when you're with me."

Draco studied Harry cautiously. There were shadows under his green eyes as well. Maybe he wasn't the only one with insomnia.

"Do you have nightmares?" He asked quietly. Harry smiled weakly, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Yes."

"About what?" Draco felt confusion knitting his faint eyebrows together.

"Maybe I'll tell you sometime." Draco nodded, understanding how difficult it was to talk about.

Harry pushed his glasses up before continuing.

"So...?"

"So...?"

Harry sighed, then seemed to brace himself.

"WouldyouliketospendthenightinGryffindor?" It all came out in a rush, and Draco realized that he wasn't the only one in foreign territory. He indulged in a quiet chuckle.

"Sorry, what was that?"

Harry glared at him.

"Don't be a git." He pinched the blond's arm.

"Ow! Alright, alright!"

They both laughed.

"So that's a yes?" Draco sobered as realization hit, regarding what he was about to agree to. Suddenly, he was fucking terrified.

"I… I guess, since nobody wants me in Slytherin anymore…"

Harry smiled and offered Draco his hand and stood. Draco accepted it and stood with him.

"What about our first kiss?"

Harry smiled fondly.

"Ah... It was really painful. Neither one of us knew what we were doing. I grabbed you by the shirt and slammed our lips together. My front teeth hurt for weeks. But... It was... Nice. In a sort of competitive way. You walked away with probably seven... No... Eight hickeys, and a bleeding lip." Draco chuckled.

"I didn't know you could get rough."

Harry snorted.

"There's a lot you don't know about me."

Draco's fingers stilled in Harry's, and he turned his gaze from the fire of the Gryffindor commonroom to the fire in the Gryffindor's eyes. Something tightened in Draco's stomach.

"I hope I bloodied and bruised you enough in return?"

"Oh, definitely. I had hand-shaped bruises all over me for weeks."

Draco forced a laugh.

"Sounds like me." He turned his gaze back to the fire. A much safer option. Harry hummed in assent. Draco's fingers resumed twining in and out of Harry's fingers. It was companionable silence.

"Draco, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"Do you... Do you trust me?"

Draco turned again to look at Harry.

"Please answer honestly. I need to know."

Draco contemplated this. Did he? It was not in his breeding to trust anyone that wasn't family. However, he couldn't think of any reason to not trust Harry. He hadn't done anything that would give Draco cause not to. Nothing that he could remember, however.

Did he trust Harry?

"I... I want to."

Harry gave an understanding nod.

But...

"I'm... Afraid." Draco found it profoundly easier to be honest with Harry. His whisper earned him a soft smile from the brunette. He lifted his hand to Draco's cheek and stroked his thumb across his cheekbone.

"I know."

Draco swallowed. He wasn't use to feeling so vulnerable. Nobody had ever been so intimate with him. But he wasn't sure he didn't like it.

Then, an idea crossed Draco's mind that would put him more at ease.

"Could I... Try something?"

Harry dropped his hand.

"Of course."

"Would you mind if..."

Draco fished a small vial out of his satchel, and looked down at it speculatively.

"What is it?"

"Veritaserum."

"Oh."

Draco's hand tightened on the small vial, and he was about to give up on the idea and shove it back into his satchel when Harry's hand firmly wrapped around it.

"If... If that's what you need."

Draco looked up at Harry apologetically. He didn't look away as the veritaserum was slipped out of his grip by warm fingers. Harry carefully uncapped it and up-ended it into his mouth. Draco watched with fascination.

It really was veritaserum. Harry hadn't even checked to make sure it wasn't poison. He trusted Draco, completely. And putting himself in a position where he had to answer truthfully...

Draco watched as Harry's adam's apple bobbed. He coughed once and handed the empty vial back to Draco.

"Okay. Ask away."

Draco shifted, pulling his right leg up onto the couch so he could face the brunette, who mimicked his actions.

"Did I trust you before I lost my memory?"

"Yes."

"Totally and completely?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever hurt me?"

Harry winced.

"Yes."

Draco looked down at their hands.

"Have I ever hurt you?"

"Yes."

"Do you love me?"

Draco looked up at the confusion on Harry's face.

"You know I do."

"Just wanted to make sure." He studied Harry's face, a slight smile playing at his lips. "And I wanted to hear you say it." Harry smiled.

"I love you, Draco Malfoy." The blond flushed at Harry's sincerity and looked down at their hands. He knew he wasn't lying, and he still couldn't believe it.

"Why?" He asked quietly, still not looking at Harry. The Gryffindor paused to word his phrase correctly.

"Because… You're a good person at your core. And once I got to know how you respond to different things, you're not so unpredictable. You're stronger than you know, kinder than you want to admit, and you've turned out to be one of the bravest people I know. You keep me grounded, you give me something to look forward to. You're the light at the end of my tunnel."

Draco did look up at Harry now.

"Do I make your nightmares go away?" Harry nodded. "And have you been having them again since I… Lost my memory?" A frown formed between Harry's brows, and he looked down and nodded.

Draco suddenly felt guilty for letting Harry sleep alone. If his nightmares were anything like his, he didn't wish that on anybody. Not even his former nemesis.

"How long have we been dating?"

"Coming up on half a year." Draco nodded. "Wait, does that mean we're still dating?"

The blonde considered this.

"Well, we never officially broke up." He saw hope light up in Harry's eyes. "So I guess we are."

Harry lifted Draco's hand to his lips and kissed it.

"I'm sorry about… The other day."

"Forget about it. I was just freaking out."

"No, it wasn't right of me to push you like that. I know it's your decision to come around when you want. Or not at all."

"Are you scared?" Draco asked quietly.

"Yes. I'm bloody terrified you might still change your mind… And I'll lose you for good. I don't want things to go back to the way they were." Harry shifted closer to the Slytherin and pulled his feet up onto the couch.

"Neither do I." Draco confessed. He looked up at Harry, and realized how close they were. He could see Harry's scar through his fringe, the pores on his face, the emerald of his eyes. It was when he was noticing the color of the other boy's eyes that they flicked down to Draco's lips.

He noticed dimly that no revulsion rose in him at the close proximity of this other boy. Harry's slightly parted lips silently asked permission to close the space between their mouths, and Draco found he didn't pull away.

Harry slowly leaned in and kissed Draco full on the burning lips, gently, carefully. He felt a shock go down his spine and into his extremities. Harry's slight stubble against Draco's chin wasn't distracting. The flavor of the Gryffindor's lips was earthy somehow, and so much softer than he had expected. His mind went silent and he was fully aware of all five of his senses.

He was acutely aware of Harry leaning into him, of his nose on Draco's cheek, of his glasses pressing against him, of his brunette hair tickling his forehead, of his warm breath on his face. He wanted to reach out somehow, to reciprocate, to touch him. He had never had such an intimate kiss.

Unfortunately, just then, Ron and Hermione came down the hall into the commonroom, laughing about something, and stumbled across the two just in time to see them pull apart hastily.

"Oh… Sorry, we were just leaving." Hermione said, and tugged Ron toward the stairs. Ron gave Harry two thumbs-up just before they were out of sight again.

Draco groaned and doubled over to hide his burning face. Harry chuckled and rubbed Draco's back.

"Don't worry about them. They're harmless. Besides, we've already gone through the coming-out horrors. You just forgot about it."

The blond was so overwhelmed with emotions he didn't understand that he began to cry.

"Draco?" Harry asked in alarm.

"I'm sorry, I'm just…" Draco sat up and dug the heels of his hands into his eyes. "This is just a lot to take in." He sniffed and wouldn't look at Harry.

"Don't apologize, this is a lot to take in. Take your time."

"There's so much I don't understand, and it's not fucking fair!"

Harry gathered the blond head into his arms and held him against his chest. Draco let him, relaxing (surprisingly) in the brunette's arms. A few deep breaths later, he sat up and wiped his cheeks.

"Do you want to go to bed?" Draco nodded.

"Where?"

"Um… Where would you like to sleep? My bed is kinda small, but we can fit if we… Er…"

"Am I allowed up in the dorms?"

"Of course. Everyone knows we're together. Nobody's gonna tell Harry Potter that he can't have sleepovers with his git of a boyfriend." He grinned, and Draco elbowed him. The mood lightened, much to Harry's relief. "Where do you want to sleep?"

"I guess… Your bed is as good as any. Can we close the curtains though? Your dorms do have curtains around the beds, right?"

"Yes, we do. And yes we can."

"Okay." Harry stood and offered him his hand. He led Draco up from the couch, to the stairs, and up them to his dorm.

Ron wasn't in his bed, and everyone else was asleep. Draco guessed which bed was Harry's right away. His bedside table was cluttered with books and opened letters, quills, candles, and all manner of items. Despite the butterflies in his stomach, Draco found Harry's untidiness amusing and a bit… Endearing.

Harry sat on his bed and began to disrobe silently. Draco watched, frozen, as the brunette pulled his jumper over his head and began unbuttoning his shirt. When he realized he was staring, he blushed and turned to follow suit. He shed his jumper and loosened his tie. Harry slipped his shoes and socks off, and Draco did the same, studiously ignoring the Gryffindor.

When his fingers found the top button of his shirt, he froze. Surely Harry had seen his scars before, but that didn't make him feel any less vulnerable as he wondered what Harry would think of him when he saw.

The brunette in question finished stripping down to his boxers before Draco, and scooted up to his back.

"You don't have take it off if you don't want to." He whispered in the blonde's ear. Draco took a steadying breath and forced his fingers to work. After a few seconds fumbling with the tiny buttons, Harry reached around him and began to undo them with sure hands. Draco let him, and pinched the bridge of his nose. He closed his eyes and focused on calming his racing heart. How could this boy claim to love him when his shame was so publicly displayed on his skin?

Harry reached the last button and let his fingertips trail back up Draco's torso to pull his shirt off his shoulders and cast it on the floor. The Gryffindor planted gentle kisses on his bared shoulders and neck in an attempt to calm him.

"I don't know why I'm so nervous. You've seen, haven't you?"

"Yes. I've counted each one, and I've kissed each one, and I love you still."

Draco's eyes watered again and hot tears spilled onto his lap. He felt Harry lean back and begin to trace his scars with his fingers.

"Your father had to right to do this to you. But look at you now. You are so much more than your past." The Gryffindor wrapped his arms around Draco's torso and his fingers unerringly found the scars on his chest and stomach. "And I had no right to do this to you." Harry rested his forehead on the nape of Draco's neck. "I'm… So sorry, Draco. I'll never be able to undo what I did." The blonde felt Harry's hot tears drip down his spine, and his heart leapt into his throat.

He stood, faced Harry, and looked down at the scars Harry's sectumsempra had left. He shakingly undid his trousers and dropped them to observe the scars on his legs. He was riddled. Harry looked at what he had done, tears slipping from his eyes.

"I've done far worse to you than you've done to me." He crawled into Harry's bed and let down the ruby and gold curtains around it. Harry watched him sadly, and wiped his eyes. "If I'm more than my past, you are more than your past."

Then, Draco swallowed and leaned in and pressed his lips to Harry's. He tasted the other boy's tears, and felt him return the kiss with force. This time, when his mind went silent, he felt Harry's knees against his, felt him lean up onto them so he was higher than Draco. Their bare chests barely brushed but Draco was hyper-aware of it. He was also very aware of his blossoming erection.

Harry eased him onto his back and kissed his neck. As he made his way to Draco's chest, he kissed each scar and whispered "I'm sorry" between each kiss, until he was down to his navel. He kissed just under his navel and looked up at his face to assess his reaction.

Draco felt him glance up and couldn't help but look down uneasily at Harry. The sight of him with his face so near his groin and his back arching his ass into the air was disarming to say the least, and his head spun.

"You don't want this." Harry noted quietly.

"I just… I'm not sure how much more I can handle. I've already had an emotional breakdown today."

"I completely understand." Harry sat up, pulling Draco's knees up and kissing them. "Let's go to sleep. You look like you could use it."

Draco's head flopped back onto the pillow gratefully. Harry climbed up to lay beside him, and for the first time Draco could remember, he slept peacefully throughout the night.