Alright! Just to clarify some questions I've received about my OC. Briar is about 5'2" and she has brown, wavy hair. She is slim, but not super skinny since Draco pointed out she had curves hidden under her robes in the previous chapter. Standing next to Draco without heels, she would reach his chest and she loves reading as stated in the previous chapters. Better understanding now? Cool. Onward, kids!

Draco POV

Monday morning, I walk from the Great Hall with Crabbe, Blaise, and Goyle to meet in Umbridge's office for our initiation into her army of spies. I haven't seen Briar since Saturday when I knocked her books out of her hands as well as Nelson's and I have to admit…I miss her even though it has only been two days. Keeping up the charade she came up with has been hard when all I want to do is ask her about what she has been avoiding; the things I admitted in the Room of Requirement when I thought her Animagus was fake. Ever since uncovering her identity that day, she has been avoiding that conversation.

Letting out a huff, I see Blaise look at me questioningly in the corner of my eye, but my eyes focus in on the person of my concerns walking towards me from Snape's office. I wipe my face of all emotion and just study her walking down the hallway. She's wearing an emerald green sweater under her robes and black pants that are loose until they tighten around her ankles. I vaguely remember Parkinson sneering about something of the same style and naming them "joggers." It's a muggle fashion, but seeing them on Griffin makes me interested in what other muggle styles she can pull off. Continuing down, I see black leather high heeled boots that make her seem taller and her legs look fantastic. If she were standing next to me, I'd say she would just reach under my chin with the top of her head. Glancing up to look at her face again, I see her eyes twinkling mischievously at me as I lick my lips. Her eyes get darker and she smirks at me and is she swinging her hips more while she walks? Looking away from me, she walks past my group with a smirk as I have to hold in a groan. Tuning back into the conversation, I realize my group is talking about how Potter saved Weasley's father because of a dream.

Saint Potter is the center of gossip yet again. Surprise surprise.

Blaise nudges me from my left side and I look at him curiously waiting for my answer to a question I didn't even hear.

"Sorry, boys. I was just thinking about how Filch almost fell off that ladder the other day putting up yet another change from Umbridge. How long do you think until he has to continue down the hallway?" They all chuckle and my slip up is forgotten for now. They start betting on how long it will take Filch to fall off the ladder before we turn the corner and realize we're at Umbridge's office.

Walking in, the first thing I notice is how pinkit is and how many eyes are watching my every move.

This woman takes the term cat lady to a whole new level.

"Ahhh, Mr. Malfoy, Zambini, Crabbe, and Goyle. So glad you could join us," she says gesturing to about five other Slytherins that wanted to join her. "Stand by the wall and we shall begin."

Striding over to where the others are standing, we all turn so our backs are facing the stone wall and stand tall. I stand with my head held high in pride and wait for her to begin speaking. She pours a cup of tea and picks it up on a small, dainty plate that has intricate designs on it. Taking a sip of the tea, she places it back on the plate and settles both onto her desk carefully. Taking a glance at the tea, I see a picture of the Minister of Magic surveying all of us from the left side of her desk.

"Now, as you all know, things at Hogwarts are far worse than I have imagined. There are whispers going around about illicit activities and I need a select few that will bring me back any information that will help me uncover the truth about what students are doing outside of my classroom. You," she says glancing at all of us before continuing, "have come forward and shown interest in the greater good for this school so you have chosen to aid me going forward. By joining me, you will be exempt from punishment unlike those less fortunate students that have joined me for detention."

I clench my fists at my sides before reminding myself to relax. Briar still won't tell me what she did to piss off Umbridge to land herself in detention when I first started following her to the Room of Requirement, but my anger hasn't lessened.

"Joining me is in your best interest, but I do have a few words of caution. I have the Minister's blessing so I would advise all of you to abide by my rules and regulations I have already passed. Failure to do so will weaken my trust in you and those unworthy of my trust will be seen as an enemy fit for punishment. Trust me when I say, you do not want me as an enemy because to have me as an enemy means you have the Minister of Magic himself as an enemy. Have I made myself quite plan?" She stares us down and after seeing all of us nod, she lets out that shrill laugh. Reaching into her desk, she pulls out a tiny silver "I" pendant and walks to the student at the far end of the line to my right. As she makes her way from student to student, she speaks to us about the pins.

"Going forward, you will be known as the Inquisitorial Squad. These pendants will stay on you at all times during the school day to remind those around you to uphold the rules of Hogwarts. As many of you know, Dumbledore stopped me from banishing certain teachers from Hogwarts, but I will have order." She stands in front of me and pins the adornment to my robe while I look down at her with fake pride. "Your jobs are to report back to me about anything that seems out of the ordinary or if any students are misusing magic."

She has finished placing the pins on our robes and stands on the other side of her desk. "You are all dismissed. I look forward to working with you and regaining order."

Two Weeks Later

I peak around the corner and see Looney Lovegood skipping down the hall towards the Room of Requirement. Of course, no one has any idea that I know what room that is and they're all suggesting we run towards it to catch the door open before she gets through it. I roll my eyes, but agree anyway even though I know the room will protect itself. As we run, I see the door start to shrink and change into a different door. As Filch shoves the door open, we all stumble into the tiny broom closet and find ourselves laying on top of each other. I shove Goyle away from me when I see how close he is and start to move backwards to get away from the pile of idiots under me. Brushing my robes off, I stand there huffing at how close we were at exposing Saint Potter. They all start making plans for Filch to sit in front of the door and wait for Luna to come out, but I know there's other ways out of the room.

I roll my eyes and tell them I'm going back to the Slytherin common room. It has been two weeks and we haven't gotten any closer to catching Potter and his illicit activities. Another thing that hasn't happened in two weeks is seeing Briar because she has been invisible with the exception of a few sightings in the Great Hall. It has gotten to the point where I'm starting to get worried she isn't sleeping because her eyes always seem to have permanent dark circles under them. We also haven't talked about what Umbridge did and, not to mention the fact she didn't tell me her Animagus was real in the very room that just out thought the Inquisitorial Squad for two weeks. I'm not mad she knows about my childhood and the horrors I've faced because I think it allows her to understand why I am the way I am, but I'm upset that she seems to be hiding something and I can't figure it out.

Rubbing my hand across my forehead, I can feel a headache coming on from the stress of the past two weeks. Briar isn't the only one having a hard time sleeping. Ever since I've started to worry about her, I haven't been able to escape the nightmares of the Dark Lord or my father getting to her when I'm not with her. She may be able to hold her own, but the Dark Lord is too powerful for someone who doesn't even know her full abilities yet.

Continuing down the hall, I see Griffin walking quickly while looking lost in her head. She hasn't even noticed I've sped up to walk towards her until I'm a few steps away from her. When I reach her, she opens her mouth to say something as her eyes open wide in surprise, but I grab her arm and pull her into an empty classroom. Shutting the door, I pull her towards me by the arm still in my grasp and push her against the now closed door. Trapping her with my body, I lean forward and kiss her hungrily. Letting out a groan, I release her arm and grab at her shirt greedily, bunching it in my hands as I pull her body flush against mine. Her lips respond eagerly and soon I feel one hand slide into my hair and the other settle at the base of my neck. She lets out a groan when my hands wrap around her body and settle very low on the small of her back. After snogging the life out of her, I lean back and let out a shuttering breath as I rest my forehead against hers. Waiting a few seconds, I stay silent and try to catch my breath as her hand plays with my hair in a way that has my tense shoulders relaxing and my headache receding until it's only a soft throb in the back of my head. I feel her breath blow tiny bursts of air across my lips making me want to close the space between our lips again, but I just enjoy the safety of the quiet classroom before her soft voice breaks the silence.

"Missed me, huh, Malfoy?" I hear her let out a tiny chuckle, but I stay focused on why I dragged her in here. Keeping my forehead pressed against hers, I keep my eyes closed.

"Where have you been, Briar?" She hesitates before replying with a sassy comment.

"Where have I been all your life? Right down the table from you normally." I let out a groan and pull back to look into her eyes. They stare back at me with apprehension and I have a feeling she knows where this conversation is going. This close, I can see just how dark the circles are under her eyes. They look like bruises and her eyes are bloodshot in the corners so she must have been taking potions to keep her eyes clear so she doesn't stumble around all day in a fog.

Snape probably made it for her since she was leaving his office that day two weeks ago.

"I have barely seen you the past two weeks and I can see how tired you look. What have you been doing and why haven't you asked for help?" She looks ashamed and looks down as I see her shoulders slump with sheer exhaustion. I bring my hands up to her face and cup her cheeks so I can tilt her face up to look at me. I hadn't realized how much I've missed those eyes and getting to touch her face until now.

"I am getting help. I've been training with Snape and Dumbledore and I'm progressing! I really am, but it takes a lot out of me. Snape has been training me in occlumency and Dumbledore has been showing me memories of my parents from their Hogwarts days. Snape has been giving me Pepper Up Potion to keep me awake because of the…dreams." She looks down and my hands move to her shoulders.

I pull her to me and wrap my arms around her. I feel her shoulder lose more of their tension as if a weight is being lifted from her shoulders just from a simple hug although, the feeling is mutual as I feel the weight of the past two weeks leave my body as I feel her slim body melt into mine. I rest my cheek on the top of her head and realize I was right about her height in those shoes.

"What dreams?"

"Ced…I think? I keep having these dreams about wandering through the hallways at Hogwarts, but someone is always watching me. I had one the other night that confused me though because I don't think it was Cedric. I asked Snape for help, but he just got silent when I described the dream to him. I just wish I could figure it out so I could sleep," she whispers. I pull out of our hug and grab her hand to walk with her side by side to the desk at the front of the room. I sit in the chair behind the desk and motion for her to sit on the desk which she does hesitantly before continuing her story.

"I keep seeing this room with globes, but that's not the confusing part. The confusing part is who is there. I keep seeing your father, Draco and he…I don't know," she says looking me in the eyes with confusion present in her eyes.

"Why would my father be anywhere near you?" I respond immediately. She looks at me in confusion. I can feel the anger building up in me.

"Draco, maybe…" She reaches her hand forward to try and grab onto my hand when I stand out of the chair and walk forward until my hips are cradled by her legs. My hands grab her face and make her look at me knowing she needs to understand how serious my next words are.

"My father will never lay a hand on you. If he is ever in the same room as you, you can guarantee I will be right between the two of you. He can do whatever he wants to me, but he'd only get to you over my dead body." She looks at me in shock and opens her mouth to respond before the classroom door bursts open and Potter is standing there looking at us in confusion.