Author's Note:
AHHHHH I'm so sorry, my loves. It has been an absolutely hectic few months and I lost inspiration for a little while, but I was feeling inspired. Now, I don't know how long until the next upload, but I DO know that your reviews motivate me so help a girl out and send some love and some predictions at the end of this chapter! I'm sorry it's short, but TRUST me; with how long the next one is, you'll be happy I separated it. Next chapter has a LOT of explaining so buckle in.
Briar POV
The gentle sway from side to side comforts me into a sound sleep as I take in a large inhale of Draco's scent. Smoke, rain water, and…wait. Smoke?
Trying to force my eyes open, I look up and can make out a blurry image of who's carrying me and their dark hair is nothing like Draco's. Startled, I try to move my arms, legs, and any other part of my body, but I find myself paralyzed from the neck down. Groaning softly, the person carrying me glances down and smirks. Shaking my head slightly, I'm able to finally make out who's carrying me just as they start speaking.
"Hello, Griffin. Lovely of you to join us and right on time for the show," Goyle growls out. The smell of smoke grows stronger as I hear a loud screeching noise before Goyle unceremoniously drops me. With a gasp, I squeeze my eyes shut to brace myself for impact, but find myself on a small cot in a cell room. Looking around, I quickly come to the conclusion I'm in the cell room from my dreams.
"How did I get here? Where's Draco?" My voice is weak and slightly groggy from whatever spell he cast on me to paralyze me. As my focus clears some more, I start to survey the area around me and have to choke down the gasp that makes its way up my throat. Dark, damp, and slightly foggy would be the words to describe the dungeon I'm in. Cement support beams are scattered around the room as well as other cell rooms. The one that gains my attention immediately is the one across the way from me that has a foot resting near the bars of the door.
"You mean your fiancé?" My head snaps to Goyle in shock. "Oh yes, I know all about that and I plan on working on that problem very soon. Draco, I would imagine, is somewhere with Pansy right now," he sneers with a grin. The bile starts to raise in the back of my throat as I think of Pansy being near Draco. My thoughts are broken as I hear the slamming of the door as it's closed. Goyle locks me in with a loud click and blows a kiss in my direction.
"If you hurt him…" I start to threaten when he starts laughing.
"What are you going to do? You're not going to be able to move for the next few hours, Griffin, so I suggest you get comfortable." His amusement at the situation causes the first signs of tears to well up in my eyes, but I use all of my strength to try and push them back. He doesn't deserve to see my weakness.
"Enough taunting the girl, Goyle. Your time to play will come. Go check on Malfoy and make sure Parkinson isn't being inappropriate. The Dark Lord needs Malfoy unharmed and preferably without the scent of skank on him," a female voice sounds from somewhere in the darkness. Looking around frantically to try and put the voice to the person, I'm unable to see anyone as Goyle turns and walks away.
"Who are you?" My voice is hoarse with the effort of keeping my tears at bay and I quickly clear my throat. The person in the darkness laughs and my entire body freezes as realization rushes over me.
"What's the matter, Briar? You don't recognize your best friend?" My eyes finally adjust to the darkness and in front of my cell I see the person I used to call my best friend. The person I thought was dead.
"Grace?!"
Draco POV
Pacing in my bedroom, I tug at my hair and try to calm my breathing. Briar should have been back from getting tea already, but instead, the room stays silent with the exception of my socked feet pacing back and forth on the rug covered floor of my bedroom. Just as my resolve to stay in the room crumbles and I make the first steps toward my bedroom door, I'm stopped by the door opening.
"Thank Merlin! I was just about to come find…you…" My sentence trails off as I take in the sight of the last person I would expect to see in my room. Parkinson.
"Awwww Drackie, you were about to come find me? How romantic! I knew you would get tired of Griffin eventually!" Her voice pierces through my ears and I push down the urge to throw a silencing hex at her.
"What the hell are you doing in my house, Parkinson? Where is Briar?" She smirks and walks farther into my room. Her hand brushes lightly against the top of my dresser where some of Briar's jewelry has joined my dresser of knick knacks. Next to a few necklaces my mother got her for Christmas, Parkinson's hand stops short when it gets to the framed photo of Briar and me on the couch from the Christmas before she was hexed into her coma. Her face falls into a frown and when she speaks, her voice is barely above a whisper.
"Was I ever a choice?" Her words make me stop short and my mouth opens and closes in shock. Her sorrow filled eyes look at me imploringly and I find my voice again as I start to understand how my actions in the past have truly hurt her.
"I'm sorry, Pansy, but no. It has always been Briar and it always will beBriar," I say above a whisper. She sends me a small smile and nods her head before glancing at the photo one more time. Her eyes fill with tears and one spills over her eyelid and down her cheek. Quickly wiping it away, I watch as she takes a deep breath to compose herself before facing me again. Her eyes red and puffy, stare at me with uncertainty.
"Can I ask why?" I tilt my head at her tentative voice and realize I maybe never really saw the real Pansy until now. Swallowing quickly, I open my mouth and speak from my heart.
"She snuck up on me. I wasn't really sure why I was so caught up on her in the beginning, but as I got to know her; I realized she saw me. Not the façade I put up at school that all the girls swooned at, but the me that was broken and sad. She pushed me to be myself and helped me realize I was capable of being happy if I just stopped following everyone else's plans and listened to what my heart was telling me to do," I say as the tops of my lips twist into a small smile.
"What was it telling you to do? How did you know it was the right decision?" My gut clenches slightly as she looks at me like she's trying to figure something bigger than this conversation out, but I answer anyway.
"It was telling me I wanted to be better. For me, for my mother, for her; us. I wanted to be the man she saw when she looked at me. To be honest, I had no clue it was the right decision to push my father's ideals away and follow my heart, but I knew that as long as I had Briar; I would be happy. I knew that as long as I kept following my gut as doing what felt right, I would be on the right path." My voice grows stronger with each word I utter and by the end, I'm standing there with such confidence because I know listening my heart, to Briar, to what I wanted to do was the right decision. I wouldn't be the same man I am today. I would've still been that cocky, sad, and broken little kid I was before I met Briar.
Snapping myself out of my thoughts, I see Pansy nod her head and her eyes harden.
"Okay," she says as if she's making a decision. Her wand raises and before I can comprehend anything, my vision goes black and I find myself falling into the dark abyss of unconsciousness.