Within the Wings of a Storm

I Think I Have Met My Match

Well, they did it. They're together. Now what???

Chapter title from "Sara" by Fleetwood Mac
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Rhiannon's eyes finally closed, exhausted. She breathed deeply the smell that was woven into the black fibers of Severus's jacket, the smell of thousands of potions blended with his powerful musk. She would be content to lay there with that smell for the rest of her life. She couldn't believe he was almost fully clothed still after what they had just experienced, but she knew it just gave her more to explore next time, and the time after, and the time after that...

Her insides throbbed like she was a virgin again. Between his whole hand and his massive member, he had truly ravaged her. But she didn't care. All that would heal, and in the meantime was just a reminder of the earth shattering pleasure he'd given her.

"Are you in pain?" his silky voice asked her.

Rhiannon gave him a startled look. "Did you just use legilimency on me?"

Snape looked at her sheepishly. "I didn't mean to. I think it's the bond. It makes it easier." He reached for his wand and gently feathered it along her pelvis, murmuring a healing spell. "Improved?"

"Much. Thank you." She settled her head back onto his clothed chest but felt him tense.

"You need to drink a contraceptive potion," he reminded her, jumping up. He pulled the rest of his clothes on and went to fetch one from his personal stores.

"I can brew one this week that you can take regularly, if you prefer, to interrupt your cycle. So we aren't scrambling after each time. It may have side effects though, so this may be a better alternative."

"What side effects?"

"Mainly loss of libido."

"Umm, hell no, she laughed. "This one is fine."

Rhiannon could have sworn Snape actually smiled, a little. She drank the potion and watched him move about the room, smoothing his clothes and hair back into place. He had a more casual air about him, as if the tension he always held had been released somehow. Rhiannon too felt different; previously she'd had this driving obsession with having him— a desperation. Now she felt a strange security between them. Even though she still consciously had some confusion about her feelings, and his, there was this undercurrent of calm and confidence that she could default to now, if she dared to trust it. She clearly still had a lot to learn about sexual magic, although with her upbringing in New Orleans she had considered herself somewhat of an expert.

"Severus?" She asked, curling her knees up to her chest.

"Yes, Rhiannon?" He made a point to emphasize his use of her first name, driving home his insistence that she be fully his before he dropped his guards down. She knew him well enough to know many would still be in place, but she would celebrate each one as a victory.

"How did you know about...the bonding? And how did you know that's what it was?"

He sighed. "Those of us who study the Dark Arts with a fervor tend to fixate a bit on sexual magic, even the parts that aren't dark. Especially those of us who, let's say, were rather deprived of healthy experiences of it at a young age."

"So what happened between us— it wasn't dark?"

"No. It happens between witches and wizards of all allegiances, if the parties are predestined, willing participants, and able to focus on the proper contact to weave the spell. Many are simply too hurried, too shallow, or too self-absorbed to ever accomplish it. Or simply unaware of the possibility and execution of the connection. Others are more in-tune with the soul, not just the body."