Briar swallowed hard as she pushed against the doors into the library. She felt her palms get a little sweaty for no reason, so she rubbed them against the sides of her robes while she scanned the occupied tables.

Her eyes caught on a shaggy mop of brown hair at a table on the other side of the library, and she pushed forward with a small smile. She felt confused by the fluttering in her stomach that started when she neared him. Why was she nervous? She had tutors dozens of times before, and she doubted such a sweet boy would judge her for not being great at Herbology. He certainly wouldn't make fun of her for it like Malfoy would.

When Briar stepped up to the table Neville was at, he looked up at her with wide eyes. He opened and closed his mouth before he finally murmured, "Uh, hi, Briar. Did you find me okay?"

A wide smile threatened to break out on her face, but she restrained it into a small one. She greeted, "Hi. Thanks for agreeing to tutor me. I can really use the help."

Briar set her bag on the table and settled into the chair beside Neville. He just smiled shyly at her and sighed, "I don't mind. What do you need help with?"

"Everything. None of it makes any sense to me, and I'm awful both on the written exams and in the greenhouse. I'm just not sure what I'm doing wrong," Briar complained as she watched Neville's face to see his reactions. She wondered if he would look down on her for doing so poorly at the subject he excelled at.

Instead, he just had a faint smile as he listened to her. After she finished this lament, he offered, "Professor Sprout said we could use the greenhouse whenever we need to for tutoring. We could go there now, and I could see if I notice anything straight away in how you interact with them...uh, only if you want, of course."

Briar smiled and nodded. "That sounds great, Neville. Thank you."

His cheeks tinted to a pink at Briar's words, but he bent over to grab his bag before Briar could get a good look at them. She wasn't sure what made the shy boy blush, but she suddenly began worrying that she was making him uncomfortable. Her heart sunk at the thought that he could feel frightened of her simply because she was a Slytherin.

The two of them moved towards the greenhouses without another word, but Briar had started to feel increasingly disheartened at the way he wouldn't meet her eyes.

Briar blinked rapidly to hold in any emotions threatening to show themselves.

Stuff, bottle, repress.

That was what she knew to do when she felt her emotions flare up and try to get the best of her. Acknowledging her need to do this now, she furrowed her eyebrows and wondered why she was having such an emotional reaction to her classmate's inaccurate perception of her. It didn't matter what Neville thought of her. She didn't need anyone else's approval because she knew who she really was.

The silent walk had given Briar the space to think, but she still was unable to understand why this had made her so upset. Neville started to say something to her since they reached the greenhouse, but she was far away and caught up in her own thoughts. If a boy as sweet as Neville Longbottom was afraid of her, maybe she really was doing something wrong.

Neville was staring at her with a rapidly opening and closing mouth since he was unsure what to say. He could tell that Briar was distressed about something, but he couldn't tell what. When she looked at him with her features cold and neutral, he murmured, "Um, are you okay?"

Briar just stiffly nodded and stepped towards one of the plants, not wanting to endure that uncomfortable conversation longer than she had to. She began to reach towards the plant, but it shivered and drooped in response. Briar's shoulders slumped. She sighed, "That always happens to me."

"Magical plants can sense what we're feeling, and if those emotions are powerful enough, some plants can reflect those emotions," Neville explained as he reached a hand out towards the plant. It perked back up immediately when he got close. He didn't look at her as he whispered, "I'm sorry you're so sad."

Briar spluttered, "What? What are you talking about?"

He pointed towards the plant and gently pointed out, "When a plant droops like that, it's reflecting a deep sadness."

"Well, the plant must be confused because I'm fine."

Neville just stiffly nodded as he began to water the plant. Briar was standing awkwardly behind him when she noticed some red scratches and bruises on his now exposed forearm. She immediately stepped forward to examine them more closely. She whispered, "What happened?"

He stayed completely silent and grew still as she looked down at the red outlines. She looked up at his awkward expression and noticed for the first time that he had the outline of a bruise fading on his cheek. She exhaled suddenly at the sight of it. She lifted up her hand and almost touched it when she realized what she was doing. Neville seemed to let out a breath when she pulled away, and his cheeks were flaming as he avoided her eyes.

Pieces began to come together in Briar's mind, and she began to feel sick. She questioned, "Did someone hurt you, Neville?"

He didn't answer her question and just sprang into action, watering and caring for all the nearby plants.

Her breath caught in her throat before she demanded, "Was it Malfoy?"

Neville's body stiffened slightly at that name, but he didn't try to deny it. He began to scurry around the greenhouse to act as if he just didn't hear her, but Briar knew he had heard.

Briar's eyes flashed to the exit as she growled, "I'm going to kill him."

Neville's head snapped up as Briar stormed towards the door. He protested, "Wait, no, Briar! I'm okay, really. It wasn't-"

It was too late. Briar knew from his refusal to even acknowledge her questions that her suspicions were correct. She stormed across the school grounds with a scowl.

Briar passed Daphne and Millicent at one point and demanded, "Where is that useless, blonde git?"

Both girls just widened their eyes and shrugged. After she stormed past them, they made worried eye contact, knowing that Malfoy was in some serious trouble if Briar's rage was any indication.

Briar finally found Malfoy in an otherwise empty corridor with Goyle. She stormed down the hallway, the rage mounting at the sight of him. He turned towards her pounding footsteps and mocked, "What's got your knickers in a twist-"

He didn't get to complete his thought because Briar had reached him at that point and had slammed him up against the wall.

Malfoy stared at her and screeched, "What is your problem?"

Briar fished her wand from her pocket and held it under his chin. She gripped him by the collar of his robes with her other hand, and he remained fixed in his place by the vehement glare she was casting at him. She growled in his face, "If you so much as lay another finger on Longbottom, I will personally break every last bone in your body until you wish you were never born."

Goyle tried to step forward to get Briar off Malfoy, but she just snapped, "Goyle, if you move even another inch closer to me, you'll be next."

He gulped and shuffled a few steps away from her.

Malfoy was whimpering with the wand at his throat, and Briar couldn't care less. She was seeing red, and she was after blood. From behind her, Goyle shakily piped up, "Why do you even care about Longbottom so much, Davies? It's not like you're even friends."

Hearing Goyle's comment gave Malfoy a moment of foolishness. He laughed, "Yeah, he's just a loser. He-"

Without warning, Briar punched Malfoy square in the nose. Malfoy groaned and grabbed his face instantly.

Briar was angrily huffing at him from a few steps away as Professor McGonagall entered the corridor. Professor McGonagall placed a hand on her cheek and murmured, "Oh, oh! What is the meaning of this?"

Malfoy's nose was crooked and bleeding. He had lifted his hand to hold his broken nose, but blood was pooling in his hands.

Professor McGonagall tutted, "Oh, this is unacceptable! Look at that blood! Miss Davies, you have detention for the rest of the month. Go to my office immediately while I usher Mister Malfoy to the hospital wing." She turned back to Malfoy to promise him, "Madame Pomfrey will be able to heal this easily."

Briar was already cooling down and calmly made her way to Professor McGonagall's office, ignoring the whispers of her classmates who had seen Malfoy with a broken nose and who were now noticing the new wounds on Briar's knuckles.

She raised her eyebrows at any Slytherins who dared to look at her. She knew she should feel bad for hurting Malfoy, but she just couldn't.

It felt so good.

———