Draco woke on his back, with a mess of tangled brown hair resting on his chest, and a pair of legs entangled with his. He smiled weakly at the situation in general before leaning his head up and planting a kiss on the head on his chest.

The warm mass on his body groaned sleepily and stretched, spreading its tanned limbs over him. Draco chuckled as the limbs went limp on him once again, pinning him down.

"Morning, Scarhead."

"Mmmmorning." Harry gave a sort of laugh that turned into a yawn, and he snuggled closer to Draco's chest. The sheets were nowhere to be seen, but for the time being, Draco didn't mind.

Harry turned his face up to look at Draco blearily, and Draco smiled.

"Morning." Harry said a little more coherently. He kissed the blond once and reached over him to their bedside table. He came away with his glasses, which he clumsily pushed onto his face.

Draco sat up awkwardly, his mind still reeling from the situation.

I've just spent the night with Harry bloody Potter. What would father say? He chuckled to himself.

"What?" Harry asked as he sat next to Draco against the headboard.

"Just thinking what my father's reaction would be to this situation."

"Oh, bloody hell..." Harry pulled his knees up and covered his face in his hands in horror.

"Yeah, I know." Draco chuckled again.

"Your father scares the shit out of me sometimes. So does your mum."

"Does she really?"

"Hah!" Harry raised his head to look at Draco. "You should've been there the day she found out. She sent two howlers."

"She what?" An amused smile lit up the blond's face.

"Yeah. It was terrifying."

They both laughed.

"Guess we should be getting up, then." He suggested.

"Yeah." Draco rubbed his eyes and bent over the side of the bed to fetch his trousers. This woke up Finnigan on their other side.

"Hey hey, didn't take you long, did it?" He said blearily, an amused expression mingling with his mild coherency. Draco flushed and displayed a very rude gesture with his hand just outside the curtain. Seamus chuckled and yawned.

"God, he's just got to be so fucking crass about everything... Gryffindors..." Draco muttered as his cheeks flamed.

"Hey, he's just playing around." Harry tried to still Draco's hands as he furiously forced his trousers onto himself.

"Yeah, well, he doesn't have to be such a dick about everything."

"Draco." Harry's strong hands seized the blond's wrists, but he wasn't going down easily. Harry ended up pinning him to the bed and straddling him. The brunette chuckled at his resistance.

"Get off of me, Potter!"

Harry was immediately sobered. Draco realized why soon after, and stopped struggling. Green eyes gazed sadly down into clear eyes.

"I'm... I'm sorry... Harry."

"No, it's fine. You just forgot." Harry sat up, releasing his wrists. Draco propped himself up on his elbows.

"Harry." The brunette met Draco's imploring eyes. He honestly didn't know what to say, but somehow the words found their way out of his lips. "Kiss me."

He watched a smile blossom on Harry's face before he leaned forward and complied.

Draco almost forgot about Seamus completely before...

"Come off it, you two, you can't go at it all day." He was standing now, mockingly pulling a shirt on. Harry groaned and pulled back.

"Watch this." He said to Draco, a wicked gleam in his eyes that the Slytherin had never seen before.

Harry sat up, leaned through the curtain, seized Seamus by the front of his shirt, and pulled him onto his own bed. Before the boy could even gather his wits enough to protest, Harry was straddling him, still holding onto the front of his shirt.

"Want in on some of the action?" Harry whispered with his face as close to Seamus's as he dared.

Draco had never seen anyone so terrified before.

"Bloody hell!" Finnigan scooted back and off the bed to escape Harry, and fell onto the floor. Draco and Harry erupted in laughter.

"Christ!" Ron awoke with a start as Seamus continued scooting back onto his bed. "What's going on?"

Their laughter rang through the entire dorm room. Ron realized what had happened and joined in the laughter. Everyone else woke up and crowded to see what had happened.

Harry gleefully retold the story with exaggerated detail to all the grinning faces, and as Draco watched him, he felt the stirrings of an emotion in him that he couldn't place. It would have scared him had the room not been filled with laughter and a very pale, very stricken Seamus Finnigan.

After that, Draco became increasingly more comfortable with Gryffindors in general. His relationship with Harry also became much more physical. They would laugh and push each other around, just like a couple of mates, but there was an underlying atmosphere of trust and lust and... Draco didn't know what. If he had to put a name to it, he'd say he was almost... Possessive of Harry.

He often found himself watching Harry idly, and only looking away when he glanced over. It was a very new phenomenon for Draco to be so obsessed with someone. He wanted to know Harry inside and out, better than anyone else knew him. After all, Harry knew him better than anyone else did. He also had started to feel the stirrings of trust in him. He wanted to trust Harry, because he was so new at being gay. He didn't know any of the ropes, he didn't know how to interact with Gryffindors, and he wanted to trust Harry to help him and not to mock him when he cocked things up. Simply wanting to trust him was a small victory for Draco.

However, Draco still struggled with being between worlds. He still felt the need to be with Slytherins, but he knew how they would receive him if he did. Whenever Harry caught Draco glancing towards the Slytherin table or watching people from his house walking down the halls, he would take the boy's hand tight in his.

A few nights later, after the Gryffindor eighth-year boys had grown accustomed to Draco spending the night once again, Draco was waiting for Harry in the Gryffindor commonroom. Harry had been with Ron and Hermione for a few hours, and that was fine with Draco, he just needed to be alone with his thoughts.

Harry hadn't made any more moves on Draco. He figured he was waiting for him to make the next move. He was contemplating just how to do that, because he had come to terms with the fact that yes, he did want to pursue a relationship with Harry Potter. What a strange twist of fate.

When Harry eventually showed up with Ron and Hermione, Draco was leaning over the fireplace. Harry bid good night to his friends and went to his other half.

"Hey." Draco said. Harry placed a chaste kiss on Draco's lips.

"Hey. Is something wrong?" Draco chuckled at how easily he seemed to read his moods.

"What's wrong is that I'm a bloody chicken."

"How so?" Harry sat on the couch and patted the seat next to him invitingly. Draco accepted his offer and sat beside him. He took a deep breath and leaned on his elbows over his lap.

"I'm… Trying to catch up to reality, and I feel like it's running so far ahead of me that I don't even know what I want." Harry was silent as he waited for Draco to continue. The blonde turned his blue-grey eyes to look at the brunette. "Could we go somewhere… More private?"

"Sure. Let me just go get something from my room and I'll be right down. I know exactly where we can go."

Draco sat with his elbows on his knees, gazing into the fire as he waited for Harry to return. When he finally did, he had some kind of robe in his hand.

"This is going to explain so much for you." He donned the cloak and was suddenly completely invisible. Draco's jaw dropped.

"Bastard!" Was the first word that came out of his mouth. He heard Harry's chuckle behind him, and whipped around to look for the source of the sound.

Suddenly, Harry's face came into view not an inch from Draco's, and he kissed him as he draped the cloak around both of them.

"Come with me."

Harry led them to the Room of Requirement, and through the door into a room with only a bed and a window and a fireplace.

Draco walked into the room, and Harry pulled the cloak off and closed the door behind them. Draco swallowed.

"So, what's on your mind?" Harry went to the bed, sat, and began to take his shoes off. Draco went to the window and looked out into the night.

"I… Can't really grasp this situation, even though I have all the proof right before my eyes. It's frustrating. You say you love me, and I think you mean it, but then I think, how could you mean it? Me being who I am, and you being… Well, the Boy Who Lived."

"You don't think you're worthy of my love." Draco didn't turn to look, he just gritted his teeth.

"I couldn't list my transgressions if you let me speak forever." Draco said quietly, more to himself. He looked down at his wrist where his Dark Mark used to be. He scowled at it.

"You think I'm a better person than I am. Do you think I judge you for the things you've done?"

"Everyone else does."

"Fuck everyone else! Hey…" Harry went to Draco's side and looked up into his eyes. "My life hasn't been a walk in the park either, and I've had to make some really difficult decisions. I've lost almost everyone, but I will fight to keep what's left." He took Draco's face in his hands and they locked eyes. "I will fight to keep you." He said softly.

"But why?" Draco asked, uncomprehending. Harry sighed, dropped his hands, and began undoing the buttons of his shirt.

"I'm going to show you something I normally keep hidden. Something I've never shown anyone but you. And since you don't remember, I'm going to show you again." He shed his shirt, took a deep breath, and turned to face his back toward Draco. Harry lifted his wand to aim at his back and whispered, "Finite incantatem."

Draco watched as scars just like his appeared on Harry's skin. Childhood abuse. Draco lifted his hand to feel the raised marks.

"Your father punished you when you were bad. My uncle punished me for fun. I have a few bones that never set right because my aunt and uncle wouldn't take me to the hospital after he beat me. They raised me in a cupboard under the stairs, and resented my existence. They wouldn't feed me for days at a time. I didn't believe the rumors about me until I first encountered magic."

Harry turned to look at the blonde.

"I died to kill the part of Voldemort that lived inside me from when I was a baby. I had him in my head constantly. My nightmares used to be… So much worse." Harry took Draco's hands and led him away from the window, toward the bed. "Everyone in the wizarding world expected me to be this hero, everyone had something to say, I was held to a certain standard from the time I was eleven. I learned a little more about the huge responsibility I had every year. I never asked to be the Chosen One. Frankly, it's been more trouble than it has been good. So many people have died so that I could fulfill my purpose. People who should still be here."

Draco heard his own internal monologue echoed in the Gryffindor's words. They sat on the side of the bed, the light of the fireplace illuminating the room.

"Do you see now? Draco, I love you because you are just like me." Draco shook his head, unable to come up with anything to say. "Yeah, you chose the wrong side, but how could you not? Your life and the lives of your parents were at stake. You chose the path that you thought would protect those you loved for the longest time. Even though it was hell. Even though Voldemort saddled you with a great responsibility that you didn't deserve. Remember the Astronomy Tower? I was there. You couldn't do it, and it's not because you aren't brave. It's not because you're weak." Draco was crying when he looked up at Harry. "It's because you are good, right down to your bones."

The dam broke. Draco felt it, and fought the sobs rising in his throat, but when they finally forced their way out of his mouth, they just sounded strangled. Harry held him tightly. Draco wept openly for as long as he needed to, and Harry let him.

He felt shame for showing such vulnerability in front of anyone else, but because it was Harry, Draco could let it all out. All the years he had kept it in, all of it came pouring out, and it felt amazing.

"I'm so sorry for everything I've done to you, everything hateful I've ever said. I've suffered no less than I deserved." Draco said between sobs.

"Shhh, beloved." Harry kissed the top of Draco's head. "You're forgiven even before you ask."

"You're just… So good at this, and I… I have no idea what I'm doing."

"You're doing exactly what you need to do. Let everything out. I couldn't love you less." Harry rocked him gently and held him tightly. "I am so proud of you, Draco."

When Draco's sobs finally dwindled into the occasional sniff, he sat up to look at Harry. He knew his eyes were red and puffy, and his hair was fucked up, but Harry gave him the biggest smile.

As he looked into the Gryffindor's familiar green eyes, lit up by the moonlight and the firelight and by his smile, he felt something fall into place in his gut. Like a missing puzzle piece finding its spot. Everything suddenly made perfect sense.

"I love you." He confessed suddenly, because he was so sure. It felt right in his mouth, it sounded right in his ears, he didn't regret it as soon as he had said it. So he said it again. "I love you, Harry."

Harry's eyes welled up now, and he kissed his snotty, teary-eyed Slytherin.