Happy Monday everyone! This chapter is pretty short, but the ending is really sweet so I hope you all enjoy it! <3

Thanks so much for 300 reads! I know it's just a number, but watching that number go up always puts a smile on my face. Thanks to everyone who made it this far! :)

*~*

Ron started absolutely howling with laughter beside him. He felt his stomach drop. He didn't know how to feel about this, and he definitely should not have said that.

"Ronald!" Hermione yelled, slapping Ron's shoulder. "It's not funny!"

"He- he-" he choked out between fits of laughter "-with a penis!" He yelled, sending himself into another uncontrollable fit of laughter. He could've sworn that he heard Harry briefly chuckle beside him.

Draco felt sick, and it wasn't from the firewhiskey. He had worked so hard to build himself back up this year. He worked so hard to come out of his shell, to make friends, and to repair his relationships with his enemies. Here he was, finally comfortable around people, finally comfortable to let all his walls come crumbling down, and Draco had gone and thrown that all away just four words.

He wanted to run upstairs and hide and cry and cry and cry until he could cry no more.

"No, mate, there's nothing wrong with that," he said as he finally took control over himself. "No, Draco, I'm sorry I laughed like that. None of us here really give a shit about stuff like that."

Ron reached out and placed his hand on Draco's shoulder. "I promise."

I already had one promise broken to me tonight, what's the harm in another? Draco though.

"I just, you had to say it in th'goddamn funniest-" he sent himself into another uncontrollable fit of laughter.

"Ron, I think it's time you ought to go to bed," Hermione said gently, trying to get him off the couch and away from Draco. Ron argued with her, but eventually gave in, miraculously standing up.

"Draco, he really thinks that there's nothing wrong with you being gay," she reassured him. "I swear, we all do. It really doesn't matter to us, and we will support you no matter what, okay? Besides, I'm glad you told us," she smiled, "maybe now they'll stop trying to get us together."

Draco managed to give a soft smile in return. "Yeah, I guess." He couldn't bring himself to fully believe them.

She sighed, giving him a light hug before helping Ron across the common room.

The party had died down, the other houses slowly retreating to their respectable common rooms as the Gryffindors made their way into their dormitories. All the people playing cards had left, and although there were still a few people milling around the common room with faint music still playing in the background, Harry and Draco were the only ones left in front of the fireplace.

Draco gave an awkward cough and moved away from Harry so that they were no longer pushed up against each other, now that they had more space.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Really, Draco, it's not a big deal."

Draco bit the inside of his cheek as a billion thoughts raced through his head all at once. Why were they being so supportive? They were making it into a bigger deal than it needed to be, really. Was one of them gay? No, he shook that thought out of his mind very quickly. "Well, you guys are kinda making it into one."

"Only because if we didn't, you'd go lock yourself in the library for the rest of the term thinking we all hated you." He said, slurring his words ever so slightly. Great, he was still a little drunk, too. Harry had a point, but Draco wasn't going to admit it. "Merlin, Draco, we're your friends."

"Are we, though?" He asked. "This is the first night we've socialized without fighting. Can you really call that friendship?"

His gaze fell as he stared at his feet, mumbling something under his breath, but something Draco assumed to be along the lines of "I want it to be."

Draco sighed. "I'm sorry, I should really be heading to bed-"

"Wait!" Harry interrupted him. "I've actually been meaning to talk to you all night."

Draco rolled his eyes. "You have been talking to me all night, Potter."

"I meant alone." He said, staring into Draco's eyes. Draco quickly looked away, not liking the feeling in his stomach. "I want to apologize."

Draco blinked blankly at him.

Harry sighed before continuing. "I thought about what you had said. And you are right, maybe all we need is time. But we've had time. It's been years of all of this stupid fighting. And for what? I'm sick of it. I've spent my time hating you, and you've spent your time hating me, and I think we've both had enough of it."

"I'm sorry that I hated you, but you have to look at it from my perspective. I don't really know how much you know about this, but I live with Muggles. I was raised without any knowledge of magic until I was eleven years old, and you were my first wizarding friend and all of a sudden you turned around and shit on it. That, and you bullied me. I know you stopped after first year, and I should have let go when you did, but I didn't. I was stubborn, arrogant, and selfish. And I am sorry."

"Then you show up this year and everything has changed. Suddenly you were everywhere, hanging out in the common room instead of the library, becoming friends with Hermione, and joining Quidditch. And I was angry about it. I don't know why, and it's not your fault, and I hated you for absolutely no reason at all and I am sorry. I am angry all the time and something has changed in the last year and I don't know why but I'm just so goddamn angry all the time and I can't control it!"

He paused, taking a deep breath after working himself up. Draco wanted to say something in return, but every time he went to say something, the words would slip out of his mind.

Harry continued. "But that's not an excuse. It's really no excuse for me treating you so harshly and being so hostile. I'm sorry I punched your nose. And then all of a sudden you were so caring and nurturing when you found out about Umbridge, and I was just so confused. And then you went and had a panic attack over it and all I could feel was guilt. You helped us with the DA and somewhere in those few days, I had realized how much you've changed. And I'm sorry that it took me so long to realize it, I should have been your friend right alongside Hermione from the beginning, but I was stuck in my old ways like the arrogant bastard and I am sorry."

"I really do enjoy my time with you. I've had a great time with you tonight, and I had a great time in Diagon Alley when it was the two of us just talking about Quidditch. I want to be good friends with you, I really do, but I've gone and made it so hard for myself to realize that and I've made it so hard for you to like me and I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all the emotional distress I've caused you along the way, and I just want it to be over. I know it just can't simply be over, and that's mostly on me, and I'm sorry. But I really want it to be."

Draco was stunned. He was only expecting Harry to apologize for breaking his nose, but no, he had gone all the way back to the beginning and apologized for every single thing that he had done to Draco, and he was genuine about it all.

And it hurt, because Draco knew that he had hurt Harry, too. He knew that he had been in the wrong, that he had a strong part in them not being able to be friends, but Harry was sitting here and taking all of the blame.

He didn't know why Harry was doing this. Draco had gone off on him in Hog's Head, sure, but Draco still had so much to apologize for on his end and he didn't know where it was all coming from. Maybe it was because they had spent all night together, or that he was drunk and rambling and just not thinking about what he was saying.

"I- I don't know what to say-"

"Then don't" Harry cut him off. "You don't have to say anything, it's fine."

"But It's really not, I'm sor-"

" Don't apologize," Harry said as he moved closer, cupping his hand against the side of Draco's face, practically grabbing his jaw. There was a dark look in his eyes, his voice stern and almost a growl. Maybe Harry was a bit more drunk than Draco had thought. "Please," he pleaded, lowering his voice to barely a whisper, "just think about everything I've said, alright? You don't have to say anything right now, I, I just want you to think about it."

I just want you to think about me, is what Draco wished he would have said.

They went to bed, and Draco never stopped thinking about what he said. Not that night, not that week, not that month. Not ever.