A/N…Nah, you've waited long enough for this chapter. Draco finds out in this chapter and it's long! *gasp* I know, I didn't think I had it in me either. 3,000 words! As always, R&R.

Briar POV

I rush through the hallways to get to the entrance of Dumbledore's office and quickly mumble my password he gave me. Bursting through the door, I can feel my magic quickly coursing through my veins like molten lava. Every movement I make feels like a crackle of energy running through me. My eyes keep flashing as my Animagus fights to gain control, but I'm not trying to escape my emotions for once; I'm trying to face them.

Then why is my Animagus still trying to take over?

"Your powers are trying to utilize your anger." I look up and see Dumbledore walking cautiously towards me as he continues his thoughts. "Do you remember when I told you your Animagus takes over when your emotions become too much for you to handle?" I nod and think back to all the times my Animagus has helped me process through complex thoughts with surprising ease. As a witch, it is easy to get caught up in negative emotions. Dumbledore, when we first started our session, informed me that my Animagus is like a switch. When I become overwhelmed by negative emotions, my Animagus fights for control so I can process my thoughts without my emotions clouding my judgement. However, I want to deal with this anger and disgust I feel after Parkinson's scene in the Great Hall as punishment for sinking to her level.

"I remember, but my Animagus is trying to take control when I don't want it to. It feels like I'm crawling in my skin and my doe is trying to come out to help me process, but I already understand what I'm feeling; anger and disgust at myself, at life, and most of all, at Parkinson." I look up to see Dumbledore looking at me with a look of understanding.

"Yes, I heard of the confrontation in the Great Hall through Severus. Ms. Griffin, there is something I kept to myself with my explanation at the beginning of the year that I would like to apologize for. I did not think you were ready as you had just become an Animagus, but now that your powers are getting stronger, I need to tell you. I know why your powers are different and what you are, or rather, I know of your true origins." I stare at Dumbledore in shock and forget about my power struggle between Animagus and human form for a moment. Once he realizes he has my attention, he starts to walk towards his desk to sit down. Once he takes a seat, Felix flies in and sets himself on the perch next to him. Felix stares at me with his beady eyes in curiosity, most likely sensing my Animagus trying to take control.

"Your father was an Obscurial which means he passed the gene down to you. Now, I know what you're fearing now, but let me put your mind at ease by explaining everything before you talk." He looks to me for confirmation that I agree with his conditions before continuing. "Your mother was part Veela, but with your father being an Obscurial…You truly are a rare child. As you know, by being an Obscurial, there is a chance of becoming an Obscurus like your father." I open my mouth to try and cut him off before he gives me a stern look to stay quiet. Closing my mouth, I continue to listen while I feel my fear start to rise with my heart rate. "However, with your Veela blood and being an Animagus, there is no chance of you turning to that dark magic by repressing your magic."

As I let this sink in, I can feel my powers still crackling under my skin, but now there are more emotions to add to that anger and disgust. Sadness over my parent's death, confusion over how Parkinson knew, clarity about why my magic was so powerful and the pages my mother left me…

Where are the other pages though…?

"Why is there no chance of be turning dark if I have Obscurial blood running through my veins? What does my Animagus and Veela blood have to do with it? Why did my parents never tell me and why am I chosen to help defeat Voldemort with Harry Potter?"

"My child, that kind of bond between Veela and an Obscurial is rare. As you know, Veela normally marry another Veela, but when your mother and father fell in love and created you; that mix of power and blood made someone extraordinary. I have never in all my years seen a pair like your parents so I apologize if I can't answer all of your questions, but your mother's letter will clear it up enough I think." He pulls a letter from his desk and stands to bring it over to me. He reaches his hand out and hands me the letter with a soft look on his face. I look down at the letter in confusion.

"When did she…? How?" I glance back at Dumbledore and see his face harden again before turning to go back to his desk.

"I have never opened that letter, but I look forward to whatever you're willing to share at our session on Monday. Now, go, deal with your Animagus and try to relax while classes are out for the weekend. Classes will be wrapping up soon for the break in a few weeks and I don't want to see your marks slip, Ms. Griffin." He smiles at me and gestures his hand to the door.

As I make my way to the Room of Requirement, I feel like I'm about to pass out. The room is tilting slightly from side to side as I feel the rush of emotions hitting me all at once. The door barely closes before I look down at the letter in my hand.

My Darling Briar.

Taking a deep breath, I tear at the top of the envelope to make sure I don't rip into my mother's writing. I know I'll be keeping this in my side table in my room until the day I graduate.

Sweetheart,

If you're reading this, your father and I got in too deep with our task. Over the past year, we have been trying to find more answers about your powers so we could rest easily knowing you would never be in danger. The Dark Lord doesn't know how powerful you are and neither did your father and I until we spoke with Severus. Yes, Severus Snape is an ally as well as Dumbledore. As I'm sure Dumbledore has informed you, your father is an Obscurial and I am a Veela. We are a rare match and that led to you getting magic that is not easily explained even with the new information we recently found.

The Dark Lord is going to kill us. As we speak, I'm sure he is slowly figuring out we're not on his side, but we are at Malfoy Manor to try and get some answers from Death Eaters. I'm sorry, my love, but we became Death Eaters to keep you safe. This letter will be the first and last you get from us so I want to tell you about your magic as I don't have much time before the meeting that will surely end my life.

In my will, I will be sending you parts of pages that I found in my search for answers. Those pages were the only ones I could find which is why we went to search for more answers. I found your book on Animagi and when you decide to become an Animagus, you will unleash your full potential as an Obscurial child. However, with my Veela blood in your system, you will become a more powerful witch than Harry Potter himself even if he is able to retrieve the Elder Wand. Here are the following things you should know:

-Your eyes will flash rainbow when your Animagus wants to be unleashed. You can deny it if you focus on things that make you human like friendships, love, and emotions. You will not unleash an Obscurus by denying your powers due to the mix of my blood in your veins with your father's. We did not find an answer of why, but you can gain control. Your wandless magic will evolve as you get older so continue your research. Your emotions make you more powerful. Do not run from them.

-You don't have to hide from connections. Voldemort does not know you exist and most likely won't until you get closer to his inner circle of Death Eaters. You know your task of befriending Harry Potter and helping him defeat the Dark Lord once and for all.

-The powers running through your veins are more powerful than you can imagine, but like all magic; you are not immune to becoming a dark witch. Remember to be the woman we raised you to be and trust Dumbledore. We made a deal with him before going undercover at the Manor. Listen to your heart and what you want from life. Your powers are tethered to nature due to our lineage. Your great grandmother was a powerful witch who got her powers from nature itself. The animals, trees, and every aspect of nature; she fed off of it somehow. It was never explained to me, but you are the closest to her power that I have heard of in centuries.

-Since you're reading this letter, your father and I are dead.

Darling, we so wish we could've been there to watch the milestones of your life, but Dumbledore and Severus will take care of you. Trust them. I must go now, my love, but be careful, love unconditionally, and be the witch we know you can be. You are meant for great things. Remember how much your father and I loved you and Cedric. I'm so very sorry I kept you from him, but it was a precaution as we found out if you needed to keep yourself hidden or not. Don't be afraid to live anymore.

Always with you,

Your mother

I love you. Always.

I drop the letter to the ground and feel myself shift into my Animagus with a shrill scream of despair. The grief of losing my parents, knowing they died at Malfoy Manor at the hands of Voldemort, and all the confusion about my powers are still strong even in my Animagus form. I drag my hooves towards the weeping willow, but only make it two steps before my legs give out and I fall to the snow-covered ground. My eyes stare straight ahead as my thoughts are scattered.

Voldemort killed my parents.

My powers are going to get stronger, but I'm in control of them. I'm part Obscurial, but can't conjure an Obscurus because I'm an Animagus.

They died at Malfoy Manor.

I need to deal with these emotions as a human and hone my powers so I can kill Voldemort.

Get up! Shift!

I feel my body shutter and I fall to my side in my human form and let out another scream of pain. I curl into a ball and close my eyes as I relish in the fact I was able to shift at will even when dealing with emotional turmoil. I take a deep breath and feel the tears run down my face as my sobs start to slow into quiet hiccups. I slowly find the strength to get my arm under me and force myself to start sitting up. Once I'm in a seated position, I wrap my arms around me and realize there has been a shift in the room. Snow is falling to comfort me. I reach my hand out and sniffle as a wet, imperfect snowflake falls onto the tip of my finger that holds my rose gold ring my parents got me before I started Hogwarts. I turn my hand slightly and the tiny diamond winks at me from its place on my right pointer finger. It's then that I notice movement to the right of me. I sniffle once more and turn my head to look towards the door and notice Draco Malfoy standing there with a bewildered face. I stare at him emotionlessly as I feel myself come to terms with everything that happened in the past few hours. I let out a quiet sigh and wait for him to speak. I gesture with my hand as if to say go ahead before looking down at my ring again.

His shock quickly turns into a softer look when he notices the tear tracks on my face.

"All this time…" He takes a step towards me cautiously like I would run away. I let out a tiny, humorless chuckle and look at him with no emotion.

"You can walk faster. I won't run like a doe or anything." I slightly glare at him thinking he's going to start yelling at me now that he knows I heard all of his deepest secrets over the past two weeks. He stops walking and goes to sit on the floor to mirror my position. I look at him confused and turn to face him as I hug my arms around my knees that have come to squeeze against my chest in a protective manner. He stares at me for a moment before letting out a small smile and shakes his head slightly.

"Your eyes. I should have made the connection based on that. No one has eyes as green as yours."

Kindness? He's not angry?

I tilt my head in confusion at his reaction and raise my eyebrows. He sees my confusion and the smile drops.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm very angry at you for letting me pour out all of my deepest secrets over the past few weeks, some involving you as you know, but your face tells me you're dealing with something. I'll scream at you later when we discuss why the hell you lied to me for months." Still shocked, I look at him with my mouth slightly ajar. "Don't act so surprised that I have a heart, Griffin." He smirks and it snaps me out of my numbness.

"I'm very shocked since it's in a Malfoy's genetics to be an evil prat. Ask your parents as I'm sure they helped kill my parents!" They died in Malfoy Manor. Did he know this entire time? His smirk quickly turned to one of shock. I stand and feel my anger returning as I realize he has no idea what I'm talking about. I start pacing and notice the snow has stopped. I start trying to figure out what I need to do next as he stands and walks towards me.

"What the bloody hell are you talking about, Griffin? Your parents were killed?"

"YES! They were killed in YOUR Manor and you're telling me you don't know anything about that?!" I stop pacing and stand to look at him with electricity coursing through my veins again. Wind starts to pick up a little bit in the room as I feel my magic starting to gain strength. I haven't felt this powerful of a surge since the news of my parents dying.

"NO! I was traveling with Blaise the entire summer!" He wasn't there. I can't get answers. I won't ever know what happened to them.

The wind picks up more as I find it harder to breathe and the room starts to tilt again. This time I can feel my body start to shake. I back up until my back hits a tree trunk.

"I can't breathe," I whisper as Draco gets closer and closer to me. "I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't!" I gasp as I slide down the trunk and continue to shake. The wind whips my hair behind me and tousles Draco's hair as he rushes to me. I keep mumbling to myself that I can't breathe and feel the tears start to run down my face again. I hear a high-pitched ringing noise and everything in the room disappears. Everything sounds like it's underwater. Draco kneels in front of me and all I see are those blue eyes that have haunted my dreams for the past few months. His hands frame my face as he kneels in between my legs as I struggle to breathe. I notice his mouth is moving, but I can't hear what he's saying. I zone in on his lips and suddenly, the sounds start to come back to me.

"…deep breath. Hey, there you go. Focus on me and just breathe. In and out. Breathe." My breathing starts to slow at the same time as my tears. I take one more deep breath and can feel the shaking starting to stop as the wind finally dies down. Draco gives me a tiny smile and wipes his thumb on my cheek to catch a tear that had escaped from my right eye. I stare at him with my mouth slightly parted and my eyes slip down to look at his lips for another reason now. He sees where I'm looking and I see his tongue poke out slightly to wet his bottom lip.

He knows he's enticing me. Typical Malfoy.

With that thought, I remember my letter that I dropped on the ground and find my eyes drifting to the side to stare at it with an empty stare. He catches my glance and goes to pick up the note. After standing there and reading the letter for a few minutes, he looks at me. Blue meets green, but somewhere in that blue; I see understanding and that ever-present anger. I know I had a lot of explaining to do and Draco had a lot of questions, I'm sure. I let out a sigh and lean my head back onto the trunk behind me and close my eyes for a moment to prepare myself.