Within the Wings of a Storm

Her Face Says Freedom, With a Little Fear

Pretty essential plot chapter...our OC's future is taking shape...

Chapter title from "Gypsy" by Fleetwood Mac
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Rhiannon had not seen Severus since his brief appearance the morning after his summons. He had spent that night elsewhere, and when the time came the next day for Minerva to take her to Sirius, Rhiannon still had no idea of Snape's whereabouts or where they stood after the whirlwind night of her birthday. Had Severus renounced his promises to her already? Did her father's threats scare him away, or make him put up those impenetrable walls again? Loving Sirius was so easy, so straightforward compared to this, even across the distance.

Because it can be, Rhiannon thought. Sirius had zero obligations other than her and Harry, both of which were also on Snape's exhaustive list of responsibilities and in a much more frequent and tangible way. As involved and devoted as she knew Sirius would love to be, the fact remained that being hopelessly in love was all he had to do at the moment. So of course he was better at it than Snape, who had the work of an army facing him daily. Still, Rhiannon felt a quick check-in to know where things stood was not too much to ask for. She resolved not to let another day go by without one.

"Olwen," Rhiannon began as the elf placed her lunch — a delightful smelling chicken curry— on the table. Now that Snape had granted her the one-time permission to deviate from the Hogwarts menu, the elf took it as carte blanche to indulge Rhiannon's tastes with more culinary creativity.

"I need you to locate Professor Snape for me today, please. If you cannot find him, please ask Professor Dumbledore to do so. It is imperative that I speak with him."

"Of course, Miss."

Rhiannon busied herself the remainder of the afternoon with her Defense Against the Dark Arts text, a sense of urgency now plaguing her since she'd learned her father now knew of her existence. There were hundreds of protective spells she still needed to learn, but they would involve Severus becoming much more violent with her than he had been in their previous lessons. She tried to imagine what it would be like to actually face her father in battle. Would she be able to destroy him? Would he be able to destroy her? Or would some unspoken bond somehow spare them? Rhiannon knew herself well enough to know that when the time came, she would be overcome with fascination, perhaps even excitement, to meet the man responsible for half of her DNA. She would need to be well-prepared mentally and physically to overcome those emotions. Something greater than herself would have to be evoked in order to protect her.

The Patronus Charm.

Rhiannon had read about it at Ilvermorny but never studied the actual practice. She had heard Harry discuss it at length with Sirius and Remus while at Grimmauld Place. It seemed simple enough, though she knew many young students struggled with it. It was said to be one of the most difficult defensive spells, able to be produced by only the most skilled witches and wizards. Rhiannon had confidence in her ability, but not in the memory that was necessary according to the text.

"Your purest, happiest memory of joy," she read aloud. She drew a blank. Memories to Rhiannon were often very ethereal— more generalizations— waves of feeling and instinct about a situation. She had always struggled with actual details, much preferring to drink in the present moment rather than remember the past.

She knew it wouldn't be anything with her mother. Epona was fun, exciting, brilliant— but as a mother gave off an undercurrent of instability and uncertainty that kept any moment from being entirely pure and happy, in a child's eyes. Of course none of Rhiannon's memories of boyfriends back home were of any consequence. Her memories with Sirius were amazing, but seemed to lack the depth required to produce a Patronus. Anything involving Snape was too complicated and intimidating— and she wasn't sure any of their interactions could be classified as happy.