Chapter Eight

A/N: Thanks to my great reviewers, and stephenmc.

One week after the incident in the Room of Requirement, the confusion Merida had experienced had not yet diminished.

The moment she had seen Draco stood beside Professor Umbridge, the young woman had been overwhelmed by pain, fear and a feeling of betrayal. He had become a part of the Inquisitorial Squad, sworn enemies of Dumbledore's Army, a fact that separated the pair of them further than even their Houses did, and had devoted his spare time to discovering the secrets of the society. Secrets that she had willingly told him of. 'Oh, I feel so stupid!' Merida cried in her mind, a single tear slipping down her face. 'To think that I could have entrusted a secret so important to a pure blooded Slytherin. It was the biggest mistake I could have made, and I've doomed us all now. I've just handed the entire DA over to Umbridge, and I didn't even put up a fight.'

The young woman hit her head lightly against the doorframe of her Hogwarts bedroom after this thought passed through her mind, and continued to do so for at least half a minute, the force of the blows increasing with every six or so times her forehead collided with the wood. Unfortunately, the blows were soon loud enough to be heard, causing the door to open and a furious brunette to enter from behind it.

"Merida, what on earth are you doing?! It sounds like there's a trapped Boggart in here, looking for a means to escape! Why are you behaving like this? You know better." Professor McGonagall began the rant that was directed at her daughter the moment she walked in the door, the hands resting on her hips clearly signifying that she was not in a mood to be trifled with. For once in her life, Merida remained meek and silent, not arguing back to the woman, as she was so sorely tempted to do. "Well? Anything to say?"

"I'm sorry, Mum." she answered, to the woman's surprise. She had been expecting an argument, but it seemed that her daughter did not have the strength or wish to do so. "I've just been a little bit confused recently, about a lot of stuff. I don't really know who my friends are anymore."

Immediately, Minerva's features softened, the anger replaced quickly with mere concern. She moved to the edge of her daughter's bed and perched down on the edge of it, patting the cover of the blanket to signal for the young woman to sit down beside her, a signal she heeded after a moment.

Once she had sat down, Minerva immediately wrapped an arm around her young daughter, pulling the girl to rest against her side in an attempt to comfort her.

"What's the matter, Meri?" the woman asked, the tone of her voice completely different from the way it had been just a short minute ago, and the volume also much lower. 'Thank goodness for that.' Merida thought, smiling a little for just a moment. 'We would have had Dumbledore banging on the door telling us to be quiet.'

"Nothing, really." she replied, as she lowered her head, suddenly defensive once again. Minerva sighed and shut the door. She was a little exasperated at her daughter's reaction, knowing that it would take a great deal of effort to make the girl open up to her again. However, unlike the countless times before, when she had just exited the room and left Merida alone, the woman decided that, this time, she would stay and listen to what the redhead had to say.

"Meri…" she began, evidently shocking the girl, as she started and gasped at the sound. She had obviously thought that her mother had left again. "Meri, I want you to tell me what's wrong with you."

"Mum, I've told you. It's nothing." Merida responded quickly, perhaps a little too quickly, a harsh tone in her voice. Still, Minerva continued, undeterred.

"Meri, please." she began, unable to keep a note of annoyance from her tone, as she was unable to keep the note of begging from it. "I am getting really worried about you. You never tell me anything anymore. Please, just let me know what the matter is with you. Please."

Despite her objections, her mind screaming that she was making a mistake, the redhead lifted her eyes from her lap, meeting her mother's tear filled gaze with her own. Feelings of guilt plagued her conscience, knowing that she was the one who had caused her mother's usual calm composure to fail.

"I kissed someone." she revealed, shocking the elder Gryffindor so much that her tears ceased in a moment. "I became friends with a boy, a Slytherin boy, when I was running away from… actually, that bit doesn't matter. But we had an argument, and we were fighting, and… we kissed."

To little surprise, especially for the younger, another lengthy silence followed. Minerva's expression did not change at all during this time, her mouth remained slightly agape and her features fixed in a state of perpetual confusion.

"Who was this boy?" the woman asked, after at least half a dozen minutes had passed. Merida hardly gave any indication that she had heard her question until she had glanced once around the room, an action which neither she nor her mother saw the point in, and which the latter viewed as a tactic of procrastination. "The one that has got you all confused."

"I really don't think you want to know." the adolescent responded, wincing a little as she did so, as she knew the reaction the professor would give before she had made the suggestion.

"Well, I do." she replied simply, in the sharp commanding tone she regularly used with misbehaving students. "So, tell me."

Merida drew in a deep breath. She could feel tears surface in her eyes as the details of the confession, the betrayal and the kiss came flooding back into her mind. Finally, she spoke.

"Draco Malfoy."

To say that Minerva was shocked by this result would be an utter understatement, but that was the least of her concerns at current. She would question her daughter about the matter in the morning, but for now, she pulled the girl to her chest and allowed her to cry the night away.

A/N: Slightly depressing, but I felt we needed a bit more Minnie. Please review!