Briar watched him with curiosity as he shuffled closer. He stumbled when he neared her but managed to steady himself before he fell. He slightly blushed and stuck out his hand with the dandelion in it. He murmured, "For you."
She felt something odd...
Briar couldn't sleep. She was tossing and turning, and the night was wearing on for her as her roommates snored quietly in their beds.
When her mind evaded sleep for yet another hour, she let out a huff and kicked away her covers. She shoved her feet into her shoes and tugged on a sweater and her robes over top.
At the late hour, her mind wasn't thinking properly. She just needed some fresh air. She needed to get out of here.
She trekked out of the common room, faintly smiling at a couple of first year Slytherin girls who had fallen asleep on the couches there.
Pansy, Daphne, and Millicent did that a few times in first year, but Briar never joined in. She didn't ever want to let her guard down, even around the girls she was supposed to be closest to. The thought made her grimace.
How much had she missed out on because she let her father's sick propaganda infiltrate her life?
Briar was pondering this and slightly shivering as she wandered about the castle. She had no idea where she was going until she ended up outside the fat lady portrait.
She looked up at the portrait and sighed, "I'm sorry I'm here so late."
The fat lady looked down at Briar with a look of disgust and irritation, but Briar uttered the password, so she opened the door with some loud grumbling.
Briar glanced behind her before she stepped into the opening. She had no idea what she was doing, but her mind was a bit hazy from her lack of sleep, and she just knew that she needed to be here.
Or more specifically, she needed Neville.
She halted in the opening to the common room when she saw Neville pacing in front of the fire in his matching striped pajama set. He looked as if he woke up in a panic. As if he knew she'd be coming.
It took a couple beats for him to notice Briar standing on the other side of the room, hair disheveled and eyes heavy with exhaustion, but once he did, his pacing stopped. He squeaked, "Briar, are you okay?"
She was about to respond, but Neville immediately crossed the room and took her into his arms. He held one arm across her body and used his other hand to hold the back of her head to his chest in a comforting gesture. She wrapped her arms around his torso in response and let out a long breath. She murmured, "I just couldn't sleep. I just wanted to go for a walk, and I found my way here somehow. I think I...I don't think I even realized it, but I just needed to be near you."
Neville pulled back and whispered, "You haven't gotten any sleep yet tonight?" He took in her sunken eyes, pale skin, and the way she was slumped over slightly from her exhaustion, and he sighed, "Come on. You need to get some sleep."
He took her hand and led her up to the boys' dorms. She started to protest, but she was far too tired, and the feeling of Neville's warm hand enclosed around hers was enough to make her eyelids start to grow heavy.
Something about him just made her feel...safe, and her mind began to slow in his presence, knowing that she could relax when she was with him. She didn't have to be on guard around her soulmate.
Briar trusted Neville when he led her into his room and gently helped her into his bed. Her eyes instantly became heavy as she settled into the bed, underneath his thick, warm quilts. She could tell that he was occupying this space not that long ago from how warm and cozy it all felt. It perfectly reminded Briar of him.
Neville stood beside the bed, folding up some strange map, but Briar realized what he was doing from the way he wouldn't meet her eyes or even look in her direction.
He wasn't going to get into the bed with her.
From her place underneath the covers, she reached a hand out to him and whispered, "Are you coming?"
Neville shyly smiled at her question, but he slid into the bed with her permission. He seemed awkward and unsure of himself again, laying beside her with his arm just brushing against hers. Briar couldn't tell if he was uncomfortable because he was trying to be respectful or if he didn't like the situation.
Since she had started to get to know Neville better, she figured it was the former.
Underneath the covers, she carefully found his hand laying beside hers. She intertwined their fingers slowly and enjoyed the way his soft hand felt in her own.
Even though she had held his hand before, something felt so new and exciting about this. Electricity danced along her arm, and every hair stood up on her body as she waited to see what Neville would do next.
In the near darkness of their bedroom, she saw him carefully lift his other hand and reach for her. She moved with him, sensing what he was aiming to do, and she curled up closer to him. Their fingers broke apart as he cautiously brought her into his side, and Briar exhaled happily when her head found its resting place on his chest.
To preserve the quiet in the room, Neville didn't hum or sing this time, but his fingers delicately stroked her forehead and cheeks as her breathing deepened. He counted her breaths and waited until he was certain that she was peacefully sleeping, and then he finally gave in to his own exhaustion as well, falling back into a deep sleep once more.
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