Harry paused a moment, then nodded, taking his bravery to a new level as he reached up with his free hand and carefully touched the side of Draco's face, fingertips skimming over his cheek. "I see someone who has been burnt by people he trusted, and I think he'll work doubly hard to make sure that never happens again. I see someone who's known great cruelty, and now will go out of his way to be kind and fair."

Draco didn't move under his touch, he just remained looking up at him from within his arms, and Harry's heart stuttered. He was starting to admit that he'd perhaps wanted to touch Draco for an awfully long time, and now he finally was, it was indescribable.

"I think you're seeing what you want to see," Draco said almost inaudibly, his eyes no longer red but widening in trepidation. "But...it's sort of nice that you want to see it at all."

Harry pursed his lips before giving him a little smile. "It is what I see in you," he said. "Maybe someday I'll convince you to see it too, but I'm not going to push."

Draco's eyes dropped. "I'm not worth the effort Potter," he said quietly.

Harry moved his fingers to tip Draco's chin up to look at him again. "Harry," he prompted gently.

"Harry?" said Draco faintly, like it was an entirely foreign concept.

He nodded. "And how about letting me be the judge of what I think is worth the effort?"

"Why?" Draco said after a time. He was still enveloped in Harry's embrace, and hadn't shaken away the fingers resting tentatively against his jaw. "Why would you think I'm worth it, after everything I've done, and the way I look now?"

Harry's hand slid down to caress the back of his neck. "I know the things you've done, I haven't forgotten," he said truthfully. They were not going to just sweep seven years of animosity under the rug with one heart-to-heart after all. "And I think, maybe, I'd like to talk about that more. I think there's a lot that we have to say to each other, and it might not all be pleasant, in fact some of it might be awful. But I'm not afraid."

Draco's eyes filled with tears again. "I am," he admitted.

"Then I'll help you," Harry assured him, letting another small smile creep onto his lips. "And as for how you look..." He actually managed a fully-fledged grin at that. "I'm really surprised you haven't noticed, but it's been hard for me to keep my eyes off you since we came back after Christmas."

Draco's eyes got impossibly wider at that. "What?" he said dumbly. Harry responded by squeezing the hand that was wrapped around his back, feeling the pump flesh that cushioned his once bony hip.

"I've been thinking that you looked like you would give lovely hugs," he said, wriggling a little to prove his point. "Turns out I was right." Draco looked down at them, as if only just noticing that they were snuggled up together, and had been for quite some time.

"Oh," he said.

"I love the way you look now," Harry carried on, daring to rest their foreheads together. "You look soft and warm and comfortable and not any of the things that made you so hard and angry before. You look like someone I want to be around, someone I'd be proud of."

Draco whimpered, and it was all Harry needed to wrap both arms around him again, pulling them flush together. "I'm so sorry Harry," Draco whined, their temples rubbing against one another. "I'm sorry for everything."

"It's okay," Harry promised, rubbing his back and rocking them slightly. He was feeling overwhelmed and slightly choked himself. "We'll figure it out, together. If that's what you want?"

Draco's answering nod was all the push Harry needed to draw back and, without pause for thought, press his lips to Draco's.