It was summer break now, and Briar was just trying to hide in her room as much as possible. With such a large home, it was easy to avoid her father, but her bedroom had always felt like her safe haven since her father rarely ever came into it.

Briar woke up late one morning that summer and tiredly rubbed at her tired eyes. She dragged her sluggish frame from her bed and stumbled over to the window. When she dragged back the thick, burgundy curtains, she grumbled at the bright light that flooded her previously dark bedroom. She jerked the curtains back into place and stumbled over to her bed once more. She crawled into it and tugged her blankets back around her shoulders and sat up in bed, staring at her door and trying to decide if she thought her father would be at work at that point.

After her stomach let out a long growl, she decided venturing from her room was a risk she needed to take. She swung her heavy, mahogany door open and flinched when she nearly ran over their house-elf, Folsy.

Folsy held up her hands and gently pushed Briar back into her bedroom by her legs. Briar obliged and stumbled back into her bedroom. Folsy closed the door and hissed, "Miss Briar must not leave her room. Folsy does not want Miss Briar to be in danger."

Briar crouched down to Folsy's level and questioned, "What do you mean, Folsy? Why would I be in danger if I left my room?"

Folsy stared at Briar with large eyes. Her voice became nearly inaudible as she murmured, "Miss Briar, Master Davies has guests."

The color drained from Briar's face. She breathed, "Death eaters?"

Folsy nodded and stammered, "And-and..." Folsy couldn't bring herself to say what was coming next.

Briar covered her mouth with her hand and exhaled, "No. You must be joking."

"Folsy does not joke about such serious things, Miss Briar. It is vital that Miss Briar stays in her room, but Folsy must go back now. They might need Folsy," The small elf rambled as worry overcame her features.

Briar whispered, "Please, just stay here. We can pretend that I needed your help. I can make it look like I badly injured myself and needed your help."

Folsy shook her head and whispered, "Folsy cannot lie to Master. Folsy is sorry, but Miss Briar must stay safe."

Without giving Briar a chance to protest, Folsy slipped out of the room and moved back down the few flights of stairs to the meeting room where the death eaters were meeting with the Dark Lord. Briar sat down on the floor and felt her anxiety rising with each moment that passed. She and Folsy were both in danger as long as their house was inhabited by so many evil individuals.

Briar knew that she needed to respect Folsy's wishes. If she tried to help Folsy, it would likely just put both of them into greater danger. With slumped shoulders, she slipped into her private bathroom with her wand. While she breathed heavily, she put up protective spells to make her presence undetectable by magic. She locked the bathroom door and sat down on the black tiled floors with her sketchbook and considerable anxiety.

To pass the tense moments of that day, Briar sketched a detailed depiction of Folsy. She planned to give it to her after the death eaters all left, but she was silently terrified that she wouldn't have the chance.

When Briar heard her bedroom door open later and Folsy's soft voice shakily calling her name , she shot out of the bathroom instantly. As soon as she saw Folsy's tear-stained cheeks, Briar dropped in front of her. Briar questioned, "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Folsy is okay, but Folsy is scared for Miss Briar. Everyone left, but they were talking about Miss Briar in their meeting, and Folsy is afraid for Miss Briar," Folsy blubbered as she stared up at Briar with huge eyes.

Briar almost silently whispered, "I would never be one of them, Folsy."

"Folsy knows that Miss Briar doesn't want to, but Folsy isn't sure Miss Briar has a choice," Folsy whimpered.

The door handle to her bedroom began to turn, so Folsy snapped her fingers and apparated from the room. Briar shot up to a standing position and wrangled her expression into a neutral one.

Briar's father stepped into the room and looked around. He wondered, "What are you doing in here?"

"I was about to take a bath. Do you need something, father?"

He slowly smiled and commented, "Not yet, Briar... I just learned of some interesting information from my friends. I heard that you learned the blood status of your soulmate. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"And what is it?" He questioned, his tone becoming sharper as he stared at Briar.

She lifted her chin and tried to look proud as she reported, "Pureblood."

Her father smirked and nodded. "Excellent. We couldn't have you marrying a mudblood, could we?"

Briar blinked but replied, "Well, I don't plan to marry this person anyway. Soulmates aren't real and aren't necessary."

Her father crossed his arms and coldly corrected, "No. Soulmates are real, but there are more important things than soulmates. You should marry for power instead. If Draco Malfoy isn't your soulmate, Lucius and I have already decided that the two of you will marry."

Briar felt like she would throw up at these comments, but she held it in. A sudden realization hit her, and she inquired, "Were you and mother not soulmates?"

He barked out a laugh, "No, we weren't soulmates. Mine was a girl whom no man could ever marry. She was hideous. And, your mother...had a Gryffindor."

He had spat out the end of his confession like it was a sour taste in his mouth, but Briar was reeling. Her mother's soulmate was a Gryffindor? Her mother had been a Slytherin at Hogwarts, so Briar figured that had to have been quite the scandal.

"A Gryffindor?" Briar repeated hollowly. Her room had started to feel even darker and colder. She felt incredibly unsafe to be alone with her father with this knowledge, a shiver running up her spine with a realization.

He wasn't even supposed to be her father.

"Yes, but her parents wouldn't allow her to be with such a disgrace. He was already a disgrace within his own family. They wouldn't allow her to lower herself to his level... Their parents were close with mine, and they arranged for us to get married. Unfortunately, I couldn't fix her, and she continued to make her foolish decisions until the end," He sneered as his eyes slowly scanned Briar's dark bedroom that was only illuminated by the light from the open bathroom door on the far side of the room.

Briar held her hands slightly behind her back as she slowly clenched them into fists, her nails digging into her palms to keep her from allowing her anger to take over.

Her father cruelly laughed as he continued, "That Gryffindor boy was always trying to protect her, he said, and look where that ended up."

She felt like she was going to be sick. The palms of her hands hurt as she tried to contain her rage that was bubbling below the surface like a potion for Snape's class, and she started to imagine how good it would feel to hit her father.

He was the monster that her peers believed her to be, and it was all his fault.

Briar took a shaky breath that he luckily didn't seem to notice as she just stood still in front of him and tried to maintain a calm demeanor in front of him.

He ran his hands down the front of his suit and clucked, "Open up a window or something. It's dreary in here. I've best be off. I have much work to do for the Dark Lord. He promises to make us very powerful if we help him when the time comes. I trust that you will make the right decision at that moment."

Briar stiffly nodded and watched as her father left the room. Once he closed the door behind him, she counted to ten, locked her bedroom door, and then slipped into the bathroom to let out the tears she had been holding in. She couldn't draw in enough air as her gut wrenching sobs stole all of her oxygen. She stared at herself in the mirror and finally regained control of her emotions once she saw her face. When she saw her blotchy face and numerous tears, only three words passed through her mind.

I am weak.

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