It's normal for people to pick the writer's brain, but I'm going to pick YOURS now! Unfortunately, I can't use legilimens because JK Rowling didn't give me the ability to perform magic when I was born (I know, small tear for all of my fellow muggles who wish magic was real). Find my question for all of you at the bottom of this chapter! Flashbacks will be BOLDED so you know when time jumps happen. If there are any character thoughts, they will still be italicized.

Draco POV

Striding into the Great Hall, I sit down between Parkinson and Blaise across from Crabbe and Goyle. With a huff, I start piling food onto my plate for breakfast. I notice they're all staring at me with concern so I stop gathering food and place my hands clasped in front of me on the table.

"Out with it," I say with a sneer. Blaise speaks up from my left.

"You alright, Mate? You look a little tired."

You try being punched and crucio-ed by your father and getting very few hours of sleep, Zambini.

"I'm fine, Zambini. Just had a late night is all, if you know what I mean." I smirk at him and receive one back as I continue to pile food onto my plate and pour myself a cup of pumpkin juice.

"With Griffin, I bet," Parkinson mumbled loud enough so only our group could hear.

"Yes, Parkinson. With Griffin. My meaningless shags are none of your business because you and I will never shag again after what happened yesterday so I suggest you keep your trap shut." She looks down at her plate and pouts as she moves her food around without eating it. I glance up with a smirk and look around the table as I start idle conversation with everyone else. Crabbe and Goyle catch me up on their terrors of the first years yesterday. I laugh at their very animated story about a first year Hufflepuff that was terrified of the dungeons.

"He ran so fast! Almost peed himself, didn't he, Goyle?" Goyle chuckled and continued to explain.

"He did, Crabbe. We had our hoods up and were walking towards him slowly while whispering. Poor little git almost peed himself when we pulled the hoods back and had no eyes. I've never seen a first year run so bloody fast!" Crabbe and Goyle chuckled as I wiped tears from my eyes from laughing so hard.

"Wait, no eyes?" Blaise questioned. Crabbe took a drink of pumpkin juice before letting out a sound of affirmation.

"Yeah! Professor Flitwick taught it to us in charms a few days ago. Something about relying on other senses? I don't know, but it came in handy alright!" We all laugh and once they settle down, I proposition them.

"So mates, I have a task for us." Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle lean forward with interest on what mischief we'd be causing next. After a few moments of silence, I lean in to up the suspense and whisper, "Umbridge."

All three of them look intrigued while I hear Parkinson scoff with boredom. I roll my eyes before looking to address her directly.

"You're not welcomed, Parkinson. You can leave. This is a talk for those capable of handling this task and clearly, that isn't you. As a matter of fact, I don't see any use for you anymore so you can go find others to whine to going forward." She looks at me with watery eyes and gathers her stuff quickly before running out of the Great Hall wiping her eyes. Looking back at the lads, I continue.

"Now that the weak have been weeded out, I can continue." All three of them chuckle as they have despised Parkinson's prissy attitude and drama for years. "Umbridge, as we all know, is torturing certain students. However, I have received intel that she is actually a favored recruitment for the Dark Lord so I say we start a patrol in catching students doing what they shouldn't be and bring them to her to get on her good side. What do you say?"

All three of them readily agree as it would put them on their Death Eater parent's good sides. After a few minutes, it's time to leave so we get up with intentions of heading towards the Slytherin Common Room to come up with a plan to get on Umbridge's good side. As we walk towards the entrance, I see Griffin walking with Nelson as they chat enthusiastically about something. Her eyes catch mine as she walks closer to me with my three mates closely following me. Her and Nelson are both carrying a few books in their arms. I look her up and down and see she's wearing a light blue, tight shirt that hugs her body and fitted black pants under her robes highlighting her curves. Her brown hair is framing her face in her usual loose waves and her green eyes sparkle mischievously at me knowing she caught me checking her out appreciatively.

Here goes nothing.

She moves to walk around me when I bump into her arm sending her books falling to the ground. I spin around to watch her and Grace pick up their books while the Great Hall seems to quiet down to watch the exchange.

"Watch where you're going, Malfoy!" Her friend Grace fires at me while Briar glares up at me from the ground. I scoff and kick Briar's last book closer to her. She quickly picks it up and they both stand to look at me.

"I make no apologies to two blood traitors. Watch where you're walking next time," I say with an air of superiority. Me and my mates brush past them and walk towards the entrance.

"Malfoy, did you see her face? She looked so confused! She obviously thought she was more than a shag, the daft witch," Crabbe says with humor. We all laugh together and we chat as we make our way to the common room. After spending a few hours planning, we all agree to get some training in for Quidditch so we separate to our separate rooms to get changed. Shutting my door, I lean against the frame and let out a huff of exertion.

This isn't going to be easy.

I change into my robes for practice and gather my gear. Taking a deep breath, I leave the room and make my way to the Quidditch field to meet the boys.

Keep up the act, Malfoy. Lives are depending on you.

Earlier that morning

The silence filled every corner of the room as Briar let the news sink in. I sit silently and look between her face and Snape's detached face as he watches her pace slowly. Having to tell her my father threatened her made me sick to my stomach, but I know she's strong enough to fight him with her magic if need be. It doesn't mean I have to be happy about putting her in danger just because there's a mole in my circle of friends.

Probably Parkinson.

Briar stops pacing and suddenly turns to Snape and begins to speak with determination in every word.

"Right then. Severus, you will go to Dumbledore and let him know I will be casting new protection spells around my room. Thank Merlin, I have my own private quarters. If either of you have any ancient ones that would be helpful, we can discuss it tomorrow during our meeting. We are not waiting until Monday, but I would like one day to relax after today," she says before pausing to glance at the clock. 12:55. "Well, yesterday and today."

I take a glance at Snape and see nothing, but determination on his face as well. Briar turns to me with her emerald eyes staring into my soul and I see why. Gone is the confused and sad girl who lost her parents. The woman standing in front of me that replaced her is glowing with fierceness and determination with such a magnitude that it takes my breath away for a moment from the raw emotion on her face.

"Draco, you will act like nothing has happened. Stay with the same crowd as always and act like your father got through to you with threatening me. Join Umbridge's band of misfits with some of your social circle so maybe you can try and figure out who the traitor is while getting close to her. Maybe even try to start rumors that you're getting around so your father thinks you're not involved with me and are back to your playboy ways. If you need to brag about shagging me and cause a scene while I play the desperate girl in love then we can talk about it." She turns to glance at Snape before turning her head back to me. "Any questions?"

I nod my head and ask with a look of aw on my face, "Yes. Who are you and what have you done with Briar Griffin?"

She smirks at me takes a few steps towards me so that she is standing a few feet in front of me.

"I'm angry, Malfoy. Reading my mother's letter made me realize I'm more powerful than I give myself credit for so I'm done letting everyone push me around. Especially your Death Eater father. If everyone thinks I'm a damsel in distress then maybe I'll act like one so no one thinks I'm capable of helping with the demise of Voldemort. However, I know what I'm capable of and I look forward to seeing the shock on their faces when I help Harry Potter kill that snake once and for all." I send her a smirk before grabbing her face and pulling her into a hungry kiss before pulling back. She looks at me with a look of hunger while licking her lips.

"I refuse to humiliate you by announcing to all of Hogwarts that you're just a shag, but I agree with the rest of the plan. Let's go kill a snake."

Ooooohhhhh Briar is done being a damsel. Say hello to my badass bitch in her full glory! I don't know about you guys, but writing this side of Briar was hella fun.

Question for my readers: Who do YOU think is the mole close to Draco?