Hey lovies! Yes, I know, I suck for it being this long before an update, but ya know, Rona making life difficult and complicated. Here's an extra-long chapter to make up for it, starting with a dream sequence from Briar! I want at least five reviews before I upload the next chapter so get to reviewing with questions, comments, and predictions! I've missed hearing from all of you!
Briar POV
Darkness. That's the first thing I notice when I look around. The second thing I notice is how cold the stone floor is on my scantily clad body. Donning only a button down from Draco, I let out a slight shiver as I sit up to take in my surroundings while rubbing my arms to coax some warmth into my arms again.
Bars. Grey. Dampness. It doesn't take much to realize I'm in a dungeon of some kind. Shuffling my legs to try and stand up, I wince when I feel soreness in my left leg, indicating it was healing. Glancing down, I see dried blood on my leg and a scar above my kneecap. Someone broke my leg to try and incapacitate me.
Laughter.
"Oh look, the little baby is waking up," I hear a sickeningly sweet voice taunt. Glancing to the right, I see a silhouette of three people. Two are obviously female and one male, but it's too dark to recognize anyone.
"Why am I here?" My voice is gravelly like I haven't had water in a few days and I start to wonder how long I've been in this dungeon.
"You know why you're here, Briar," the male snarls as he steps closer to my cell. My blood runs cold as I realize I know that voice.
Stepping into the light, I see his features and cruel smile as he stares down at me.
"How's your leg, Griffin?" I stare up in horror at the person who broke my leg.
Goyle.
"NO!" Gasping, I sit up in bed and quickly pull my leg out from under the sheets to examine it. I gently rub the area that's going to be broken soon and wince as I remember the soreness that had settled below my knee cap.
Glancing around the room that has become mine at The Order over the past few months, I see it's only 7:30 in the morning and my training with Snape won't be starting for another two hours. Focusing my eyes next to the alarm clock, I see the photograph of Draco getting down on one knee in front of me from Christmas. I smile and take a moment to let that happiness seep in at the fact that he's now my fiancée until the war is over and we can start planning the wedding. Narcissa and Molly already have more ideas than I can wrap my head around and their enthusiasm has my smile widening uncontrollably.
Shaking the rest of the sleep out of my mind, I focus on the premonition I just had and silently start to worry. I didn't recognize the place I was being held, but I also couldn't feel my wand. Maybe it's time to have Severus train me harder on my wandless magic and harnessing my natural power through my emotions just as a precaution.
Slipping out of bed, I quickly pull on black shorts and a green t-shirt before making my way downstairs. Turning the corner towards the dining room, I see Molly and Sirius talking in frantic whispers.
"She doesn't need more stress, Sirius," Molly whispers harshly with her back facing me. I watch as Sirius pulls at his hair in frustration and I find myself thinking about how Draco does the same when he's stressed.
"She deserves to know, Molly!" I roll my eyes at their attempt to protect me from something yet again.
"Haven't we learned that keeping me out of the loop is a bad idea?" My voice is agitated from the emotions of my premonition, but also people trying to decide what's best for me without my input.
Both of them whip around in surprise and stare at me with guilt all over their faces from being caught. I go over to the counter to grab a green apple from the basket and take a bite with a raised eyebrow as I wait for someone to start explaining. After Molly gives Sirius a stern look, he shakes his head and focuses his attention on me.
"It's about Bellatrix. Severus believes she's working with two accomplices to try and get to you." I nod my head tiredly.
"Yeah, I know," I say in defeat. Now that he mentioned her name, I realize the first voice I heard in my premonition was, indeed, Bellatrix. "I had a premonition a few minutes ago with Goyle in it and thought I recognized one of the female's voices."
"Wait, Goyle and Bellatrix are working together?" Sirius looks at me with concern etched on his face, but my attention is brought to Molly when she asks her question.
"One of the female's voices? Who was the other woman there?" I shrug my shoulders and go to take a bite of the apple in my hand. Chewing quickly, I swallow and answer her question.
"I don't know. It was too dark in the cell to see the faces except for Goyle when he stepped into the light," I say nonchalantly, but don't realize my mistake until I see the horror on Molly's face and anger on Sirius's face.
"CELL?!" Both of them scream in unity causing me to cringe. I open my mouth to answer when my necklace sends a white-hot pulse of heat where it's settled between my breasts. I gasp in pain at how hot it is and the apple falls out of my hand as I grasp the necklace in both hands to examine it. The eyes are bright blue to the point where it seems to be glowing, but the part that concerns me the most is that the heat hasn't stopped.
"I need to go," I breathe as I race to the fireplace and throw some floo powder down quickly. Stepping out of Severus's fireplace into his office, I start to pace when I realize he isn't there.
Dray?! Where are you?
I'm met with silence and that makes me panic even more. My Animagus starts to feel restless so I send my mind out to see if I can feel Draco and I'm immediately running into the hallway in a panic. Thankfully, there's no one in the hall because it's around breakfast time, but in my panic, I don't care if anyone sees me. I need to get to Draco.
Taking a corner quickly, I stumble into a student rushing in the opposite direction, but I barely pay attention to her as I quickly yell a "Sorry!" as my feet keep rushing down the corridor. Finally, I make it around the last turn and start charging toward the Prefect bathroom.
I can hear my feet slapping against the wet ground and can feel droplets of water splashing around my exposed legs. Making my way to the door, I can hear someone gasping and sobbing in pain as well as a deep voice reciting a reversal spell. Taking the last few steps, I skid to a halt and slip on some water, causing it to splash onto my clothing as I bend down to stop myself from falling. Flipping my now slightly damp hair out of the way, I see Snape on the ground over a sobbing and bloody Draco. I can feel my heart clench in pain before turning my head and seeing Harry standing in shock by one of the stalls. I can feel anger rising quickly inside of me.
"What the HELL did you do, Harry?!" His eyes snap to me in surprise as Snape's do as well. I charge to Harry and shove him against one of the stall doors and hold an elbow against his neck threateningly.
"Bry…" He trails off and I can feel my anger getting worse at his lack of response.
"I'm only going to ask one more time, Harry Potter. What the hell did you do to him," I question in a low growl. He starts shaking his head and I can feel and see him gulp in nervousness.
"I'm sorry, Briar, but he deserved it," he mumbles. I let out a snarl in anger and whip my wand out to press it to his neck.
"Briar," Snape's voice berates in a sharp tone. I turn my head to look at him as my wand presses into Harry's neck menacingly. "You need to leave," he snaps. Opening my mouth to tell him where to shove it, I'm cut off by a sob coming from Draco's mouth. Without even realizing it, I let out a whimper at hearing his pain and turn to run to his side.
Placing my wand back in its holster, I kneel down next to him and caress his cheek to wipe a stray tear off of his pain ridden face. His head turns to me and I see a slight grimace, that I'm sure was supposed to be an attempt at a smile, grace his face when his eyes lock with mine.
"What happened?!" I glance up at Severus and try to hold back my tears.
"Mr. Potter hit him with a curse. It seems the two of them were dueling," Snape says. I widen my eyes and turn to look at Draco. I'm sucked into his memory and watch the scene unfold.
Looking around, I find myself in the Great Hall watching Harry and Katie Bell talking before she walks away. Harry's eyes turn to me and I watch my view shift as I run out of the Great Hall in a rush. I can feel Draco's heart hammering in his chest and I can feel his body starting to shake in regret.
Bracing my hands on a sink, I can feel my heart break as Draco stares at himself in the mirror with teary eyes after ripping his vest off. I can feel his body getting warmer from his heightened emotional state. I hear Harry's voice behind him and I watch as his school persona replaces the heartbreak and guilt that was settled on his face before. I watch him become stone faced and angry.
"I know, what you did, Malfoy. You hexed her, didn't you?"
Turning, I can see Harry through Draco's eyes and can feel the anger and guilt radiating throughout his entire body. Before I can comprehend the look in Harry's eyes, I'm watching my arm throw a wordless hex at him that misses as I duck behind the nearest stall. The sink behind where I was standing moments ago breaks and water starts to spray everywhere.
Risking a step from behind the stall, I throw another hex at Harry, but he hides behind the stall. Glancing out again, I don't see him so I get down on my knees and start to look under the stall where I see his feet across the way.
After a few moments, I see Harry's head peak under the stall so I throw another hex at him before taking off in a sprint. Throwing hexes behind me, I can feel hexes missing my body until I see Harry standing in front of me again.
"Sectumsempra!" Flying backwards, I find myself on the ground in the worst pain in my life. It's worse than the Cruciatus Curse and I can feel my warm, blood seeping onto the water filled tiles as I battle to stay awake. Every sob that goes through my body has my body convulsing in pain and the part that breaks my heart the most is how he's thinking of moments with me to distract himself from the pain.
I watch my own face as he proposes to me. I watch myself laughing as he wakes me up with kisses in the morning. My smile lights up every corner of his mind with every kiss, moment, hug, and love making moment we've shared. He's remembering me like he'll never see me again because he thinks he's dying.
Pushing myself out of Draco's mind, I can see Snape has focused on healing him once more and the deep gash in his chest, stomach, and arm are all almost healed. I watch as his body relaxes as the pain disappears and I can feel his mind slip into a state of unconsciousness in relief. I take a deep breath and let it out in a stuttering breath at the fact that he's not in pain anymore before glancing at Snape.
"I saw," is all he says to me. "You need to go before you're spotted, Briar. I will watch out for him. It's almost time for him to complete his task and we can't risk the Dark Lord seeing you," he reasons. I nod my head knowing Draco's plan to confront Dumbledore on the Astronomy Tower was going to be soon, but I don't want to leave him until I know he's okay.
"Sev, I can't…" I trail off and stare at Draco's sleeping face. Thankfully there's no ounce of pain marring his handsome features anymore, but I can see he's playing the battle over and over in his mind and remembering the pain.
"You need to," he insists. "I will notify you of his progress, but you need to get out of here." His tone calls for no discussion, but I know for a fact I won't be listening to his advice. I nod my head and start to head to my old room to wait it out.
After dodging the busy hallways, I make it to the painting and see the doe hiding behind a tree and I smile in fondness as I remember the day I got it from Dumbledore. Shaking my head, I whisper "Aquamarine" and make my way into the room, but stop after closing the painting once I realize there's some things different in here.
For one, it smells like Draco's cologne. I take a deep breath and find my eyes watering as I remember his handsome face marred with pain not too long ago. Glancing around, I see a button up of his on the bed and I quickly walk over to pull it into my hands. Squeezing it to my chest, I press the soft fabric to my nose and inhale his scent before my eyes catch on the photograph of us from last Christmas on his nightstand. I smile as I remember clutching that photo in my hands before going to the Ministry of Magic thinking I was never going to see him again.
I lose track of time as I walk around the room and take everything in. From the closet filled with his clothes to the living room where I can see some letters strewn across the table from Molly. I smile fondly reading those as they are mostly just to keep him updated on my training over the past few months. It warms my heart to think she still wrote him letters after I woke up from the coma to keep him undated since I haven't been able to visit him in my dreams as much as I've wanted to. Training for thirteen hours a day will drain a person.
"Briar," Snape calls. I snap my head to the side from where I'm seated in the small living area with my couches and TV. "He's awake and asking for you. I figured I'd find you here," he mumbles in annoyance. I smile and quickly make my way to the Infirmary before I realize I'm still clutching his button up in my hands.
Making sure the coast is clear, I take a glance around and notice Draco is the only one in here tonight. Looking out the window, I can see the sun is setting as it streaks beautiful oranges, pinks, and yellows across the sky. Focusing my eyes on Draco, I can see the sun reflecting on his hair, making it look gold other than the light blonde, borderline silver like it normally looks.
Dray!
His head snaps to look at me and I see a small smile tug at his mouth before he looks around frantically.
You can't be here! Someone could see you!
Sending my mind out to the surrounding area, I can feel that we're the only two here. Madam Pomfrey stepped out for dinner so we have about thirty minutes before she's back.
"We're the only ones here for about thirty minutes," I explain as I quickly make my way over to him. I climb into bed with him with no hesitation and straddle him before wrapping my arms around his neck tightly. I can feel his arms wrap around me protectively as I bury my nose into his neck. His warmth grounds me and I feel like I can breathe again now that he's not bleeding on the floor.
"Stealing my clothes, huh?" His tone is teasing and I can tell he's trying to make me laugh to lighten the mood, but I'm not in the mood. His button down is now on my lap pressed between our bodies and I pull back to clutch it my chest again instead of my arms being around his shoulders. Looking down, I avoid his eyes as I feel the tears start to well up in my eyes.
"You can't do that," I whisper before I let out a sniffle. I can see Draco's playful smirk fall quickly from his face when I glance up quickly before looking back down at his shirt clutched to my chest. His hand cups my cheek and wipes away a rebellious tear that slid down my cheek.
"Hey, look at me," he says tenderly. I meet his eyes and can see my teary eyes reflecting in his baby blues. I sniffle in response. "I can't do what?" His eyes show clear concern and confusion and I have to keep my anger out of my voice.
"You can't scare me like that. You can't attack Harry or start fights. Not when we're so close to the war starting. I have enough worries and worrying about you dying on me…I can't…" I trail off as my throat closes up and another few tears leak out of my eyes without my permission.
"Oh, baby girl. Come here," he whispers. I lean forward to settle into the embrace he's offering and feel his lips press a soft kiss to my forehead before I curl into his chest. He holds me and rocks me slightly while I cry and it reminds me of the night his Aunt tortured me with the knowledge of what happened with my parents.
"You can't leave me," I whimper quietly, so quietly that I would be surprised if he heard me.
"I'm not going anywhere," he whispers into my hair and presses a kiss to my forehead before resting his lips there so I can feel him breathing me in and out. The feel of his breathe on my forehead grounds me enough for me to calm down and remind myself he's alive. After a few minutes of silence, I realize that the sun has crept past the horizon and it's completely dark outside now.
"When it is?" I can feel his body tense at my question. His arms curl around me tighter and I can feel his heartbeat pick up in his chest as he gulps in nervousness.
"Soon," he whispers and I can hear the slight tremble in his voice. Nodding my head, I pull myself closer to enjoy the comfort of his arms to fend off the feeling of sadness setting in at what tonight is.
Tonight's the night he has to kill Dumbledore and Snape will be Headmaster by morning.