Briar sat down at the Slytherin table. It was her sixth year now, and it felt odd somehow to be back. Everyone was sending side glances her way. Everyone knew about Gideon Davies now, yet few really knew anything about Briar. People always seemed to think that they knew more than they did. They always wanted to feel involved. She guessed their lives were too uneventful, so they just leeched off the few details they had heard about her.

She ignored the numerous glances being casted her way and instead found Neville's eyes at the Gryffindor table. He was already looking at her with a shy smile. She mirrored his expression and lifted her hand in the subtlest of waves.

Just after this exchange, Pansy leaned across the table to loudly whisper, "Can you believe we're learning our soulmate's house today?"

"What?" Briar demanded as she stared at Pansy with her head jutted forward and her mouth agape.

Daphne nodded, her blonde hair swaying slightly as she murmured, "Yes. The seventh years said that today is their house and next year is their name."

Briar spluttered, unsure what to say in response and suddenly felt like a deer caught in headlights. She was afraid of what her letter would say, and her heart squeezed at the thought that it might say Slytherin or Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw.

She didn't know what she'd do if her hint did say one of those houses.

Her palms grew sweaty, and everything else started to fade away as a panic started to settle in her bones. This wasn't a new experience, and it began to occur mostly when she thought about Gideon lately. She had worked through these feelings as much as she could over the summer, and the frequency of such episodes had decreased, but her new fears that day sent her into a similar state of helplessness and worry.

Briar didn't even react when her letter dropped into her plate. She lifted her hand up to her chest and just tried to find something to anchor herself again. Sirius didn't want her to keep avoiding her feelings, but it was so painful and embarrassing to be feeling all of this in front of her housemates. She just couldn't take another second of this pain.

She was about to occlude when she felt a soft, warm hand fall on her shoulder.

It was just what she needed: something to anchor onto.

She looked over and took a deep breath when she saw Neville standing at her side worriedly. A couple of the other Slytherins at the table looked at him quizzically, confused as to why the boy had approached their table. No one else had noticed Briar's slight reactions, but Neville could tell from his seat that she needed someone to see her, to help her.

As to not embarrass her further, Neville rambled, "I need help. Snape asked me to come to his class early today to sort through the ingredients before class, but I don't think I can get it all done in time."

Daphne furrowed her eyebrows and questioned, "What? Why would he-"

Briar slowly stood from her seat and grabbed her bag and her letter and trailed after Neville carefully. Once the two of them left the Great Hall, he pulled her off to the side of the corridor and wondered, "Are you okay?"

She gave him a half-hearted smile before she leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his torso. He took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around her too. With one of his soft hands, he gently stroked her hair, and Briar focused on this.

She began practicing her grounding methods.

Briar opened her eyes and scanned what she could see. The Gryffindor crest on Neville's robes. His comforting brown eyes with flecks of green and gold around his pupils. Neville's brown hair that was cropped a bit shorter than it was last year. Her own long, black hair that was resting on her shoulders. And lastly, she focused on her robe-clad arms that were wrapped around Neville.

The air felt a little clearer as Neville stayed quiet and let her do what she needed to collect herself.

Briar thought of the next step in her process. Touch. Her boot-covered feet were touching the cold stone floors below her feet, but a feeling of cold seemed to sift through the material to touch her warm feet inside her shoes. Next, she noticed that the soft fabric of her shirt was resting comfortably on her shoulders. Her own fingers were interlocked behind Neville's back, and she focused on how her hands felt holding onto one another. Lastly, she focused her attention on the feeling of Neville's gently breathing torso as she remained planted in his grasp.

She normally felt that she had to go through all five senses to find her calm after one of these episodes, but she felt steady again just after two this time, so she stopped and looked up at Neville. She breathed, "Thank you."

He slightly puckered his bottom lip as he murmured, "How are you feeling now?"

"Better," She replied with a long exhale and a small smile.

Neville gave her a small smile before he stuttered, "Um, well, I didn't open my letter yet, and I saw you didn't open yours. Would ever want to...open them together?"

The letter felt heavy in Briar's hand in that moment, but she nodded and brought it between them with shaking hands.

They let go of one another as they both carefully tore open their letters at the same time. Neville pulled his from the envelope first, and Briar noticed the grin that began to eat up his face. She pulled hers out with twitching fingers and carefully unfolded the sheet.

Gryffindor.

Briar's stiff shoulders dropped with the large breath she released. Her fears were for nothing. Her soulmate was a Gryffindor after all.

As a small smile stretched across Briar's face, Neville whispered, "I got Slytherin."

She turned the page around in her hands to show him. "Gryffindor."

They slowly met one another's eyes in that moment as matching smiles fell on their faces. Briar slowly interlocked her fingers with his, chuckling when Neville's face turned a bright shade of red. She tugged him along the corridors until they made it to the astronomy tower. Neville didn't even question her, allowing himself to be dragged along by her.

Once they reached the top, Briar sat her bag on the floor and tucked her letter inside. She turned back to Neville and teased, "I figured this would be a good place for some privacy."

Neville bit his cheek and had a full body flush. He admitted, "I'd really like to kiss you again."

"Exactly my thoughts, Longbottom," Briar breathed as she closed the space between them and lifted onto her toes. Neville dipped his face down to meet hers as their lips gently brushed against one another's. Briar then gripped onto the front of his robes and pressed her lips against his in a deeper kiss as Neville's hands gently found their resting place on her hips.

Butterflies rippled through Briar's stomach as chills ran along her spine, causing her to slightly shiver and shift further into Neville's embrace. His newfound confidence in their kiss sent Briar into a state of pure bliss.

The shy boy was confident with her, and the cold girl began to thaw a little further each moment she spent with him.

———