Chapter Seven: The First Piece
"C'mon, Delaney. We heard you have a pretty nasty slap...let's see if you can punch too."
The girl squirmed, trying to break free from the grip of the two boys who were taunting her. It seemed that Emily Zabini needed Goyle and his cronies to do her dirty work.
Rhiannon had been sitting in the courtyard, alone, reading a section of her Transfiguration textbook when they set on her, apparently as vengeance for her strike at their collective princess. Rhiannon had not managed to get in any punches or any sort of defense; they had been just a touch too quick.
With a low growl, she blasted Goyle himself toward a tree, using the momentary confusion to wrestle free and try to run.
Until she heard the mewing of a kitten.
"How did you get her?" asked the girl, her voice dangerously low.
"Shouldn't let your mongrel wander about," muttered the third boy, showing Rhiannon her precious kitten.
Nostrils flaring, Rhiannon truly saw red. She approached with deliberate slowness, fists tightly clenched at her side.
"Give. Her. Back. Right. Now."
"Not until you apologize, Delaney. That...and maybe spit-shine our shoes for us."
With a cry, Rhiannon dived for the boy which held her kitten, her fury causing him to release her without any more protest. A well-placed kick to each of them made certain none of her attackers could follow.
Rhiannon sighed, bundling the kitten close against her as she angrily strode back toward her dorm. It was mercifully free of anyone, and she merely held the little kitten and tried not to cry.
It had been this way, more or less, since she arrived at Hogwarts. A lot of the time, the fights were unknown to anyone except their participants. But more often than not, rumors would be spread that the new Delaney girl had a short fuse, so if you were looking for a fight...
"I'm sorry, Avery," said Rhiannon with a sigh and she gently stroked the kitten, "you shouldn't have been mixed up in all that."
With a little kiss to the forehead, Avery was left in her mistress' dorm room and allowed to pass the rest of the day in peace. Rhiannon, however, was not so lucky.
"Miss Delaney...I should like to see you in my office once class has ended," said Professor Snape just before Potions with the Gryffindors began. He ignored the girl's sigh, and began to lecture briefly about the benefits of essence of belladonna when dosed correctly.
"You did it again, didn't you," said Cassie with a disapproving look as she and Rhiannon went to work on their potion, "you got into another fight."
"They were going to hurt Avery," murmured Rhiannon and she began crushing her snake fangs, "I couldn't let them do that."
"No...I guess not," said Cassie with a little smile as they went on, "now—for those darn quills."
"Wait!" shouted Rhiannon, and half the class stopped to look at her. Blushing a fierce scarlet, Rhiannon ignored their gazes, including that of their Professor.
"You need to take the cauldron off the fire first," she said quietly, "didn't you see that in the recipe?"
Cassie went back to her Potions text, double-checking herself.
"Wow...thanks, Rin," said Cassie with a smile, "I almost made a huge mistake."
"No worries," she replied, and lifted the cauldron off the fire as her friend added the porcupine quills.
Later, in Professor Snape's office, Rhiannon lowered her head, as if she truly knew she had done wrong this time.
"I do not think I need to explain why I asked you to remain after class, Miss Delaney, as the scratches on your knuckles make it rather obvious," said Snape as he seated himself at his desk. He spoke with a great deal more patience than he felt at the moment, painting the girl in a new light as she stood there before him.
"Do you care to explain to me why you deliberately chose not to heed my warnings about engaging in fisticuffs with your fellow students?" he asked, waiting patiently for her answer.
"I'm sorry, sir," began Rhiannon calmly, lifting her face to meet her Head of House's eyes. Her ebony mirrors were as glossy as her mother's had been, though Mika's always reminded him of the sea in their color. "I know that you said not to fight again. And I wouldn't have, sir, except that they had Avery, my kitten, and-"
"Your pet?" asked Snape with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, sir. My godmother sent her a month or so ago. She'd wandered off, and they got hold of her."
"And this, I assume, is revenge for your swing at Miss Zabini?"
"I can only guess so, sir," replied Rhiannon.
"Very well. Names, Miss Delaney, if you please."
Rhiannon gave them.
"Despite these mitigating circumstances," said Snape, intertwining his fingers and looking sternly at the girl, "you still disregarded an order. I shall, however, take those mitigating circumstances into account and assign you only a week of detention. With me. Here. Each night directly after dinner. Am I clear?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. You begin this evening, Miss Delaney. And it would be advisable for you to bring gloves."
That evening, after dinner and making sure Avery was under Cassie's watchful eye, Rhiannon made her way down the hall to Professor Snape's office. It was only the two of them, and while the girl seemed to detect a different sort of Potions Master waiting for her, she didn't think it would last.
"Come over here, Miss Delaney," he said, gesturing to a pot with a lot of what appeared to be small animal organs.
"Identify the organs which you see here," he commanded, watching the girl as she examined them with her thinly gloved hand. She had opted for a pair of surgeon's gloves instead of her dragon-hide...an admirable sense of foresight.
"They're some of the inner bits of rats," said Rhiannon after a moment, "most of them appear to be kidneys, but I think they're too bloody. Rat spleens?"
"Very good, Miss Delaney," said Snape with a brief nod of approval, "do you know what they are used for?"
"No sir."
"They are used for a basic Shrinking Solution. I do not expect you to know this yet, since you are only a First-Year and you will not learn this for a little time. Your detention this evening is to separate and clean these rat spleens for tomorrow's class. You are to be certain all the preservatives are washed off and excess blood drained away. Am I understood?"
"Yes, sir."
In a couple of hours, Rhiannon had completed the detention and was sent away brusquely. She was also left to wonder why Snape had allowed to do such—well-interesting work. She very much enjoyed listening to the Potions Master as he explained what it was the organ did, how it functioned, and then why it was something that was needed in the potion.
Curled up in bed later, with Avery sitting by her head, Rhiannon dreamed...
It was dark, and cold, and the only light that could be seen was from a long way off. A figure stood there, moonlit arms reaching out to Rhiannon, her dark hair fluttering in an unseen wind.
She knew who the Lady was.
"Mama! Mama!" she cried, arms outstretched.
And yet she never seemed to reach, and suddenly there was a splattering of red over her vision. A smirking man stood in front of the girl, a knife stained red with her mother's blood.
"You cannot escape me, child," said the man softly, "I will find you, and I will kill you."
With a startled cry, Rhiannon came awake, dripping cold sweat and disturbing Avery, who sleepily moved from the pillow near the girl's head to the other side of the bed.
"Sorry, Avery," she murmured sleepily, and tried to sleep again. Her mind, however, refused to shut down, and she reached out to stroke her sleeping kitten without rousing her again. After a futile hour, she carefully got up from bed. Slipping into her dressing gown and slippers, Rhiannon made her way to the Common Room, where the fire was merely embers and the dim light cast eerie shadows.
A sudden sound made the girl's senses fall alert again. It was sweet, gentle and melodious, coming from down the hall.
Rhiannon checked the clock. It was four in the morning. Curling up on the couch, Rhiannon fell asleep to the sound of the beautiful music.
A gentle shaking woke her the next morning. With an annoyed look, Rhiannon opened her eyes to see Cassie Malfoy, dressed and ready.
"Hurry up, Rin," she chided, "you don't have a whole lot of time."
With just enough time to make herself presentable, Rhiannon dashed back to her dorm and then into the Great Hall with her fellow Slytherins.
Herbology was high on the list of classes Rhiannon enjoyed going to. Twice a week, the First-Years would gather with Professor Neville Longbottom in the greenhouse, where he would lecture about the different plants. From fungi which were capable of producing hysterics to the rather safe geraniums, Professor Longbottom taught the students about each and every one. Rhiannon blossomed under his tutelage, and even he had to admit was a quick study.
"You remind me of a Professor of mine," he said to her one day, "she substituted in Herbology once. You aren't, by chance, Professor Delaney's daughter are you? Professor Mika Delaney?"
"Yes, sir."
"I thought as much—you have her manner about you, Miss Delaney. I learned a lot from her when she taught here."
As she left Herbology with the Hufflepuffs, Rhiannon mused over what her Professor had said, until a pair of arms looped around her neck, choking her.
"Hi, Rin!" called Penny Lockwood cheerfully, quickly disengaging herself from her friend at the sound of her choking. "Sorry...I was just so glad to see you. How are classes going? Are you making any friends with those Slytherins? I think you should have been Sorted into Ravenclaw, don't you; you seem the bookish type..."
Being unable to get a word in, Rhiannon smiled and nodded until Penny was forced to take a breath.
"Classes are going well, Penny," she said, "I have one friend in my own House, and no; I like Slytherin, thank you."
"But why?" asked Penny with wide, incredulous eyes, "how could you like being in that House? You seem so...nice. And Slytherins are all pretty much nasty and unpleasant."
"Well...that might be because people don't give them a chance," said Rhiannon as they meandered back toward the castle, "I have this afternoon free—want to study?"
"No...but I'll goof off with you if you like."
"We need to study, Penny."
"Delaney's right, Pen—we're going to make something ourselves, but only if we study."
Rhiannon turned, smiling at Tristan McAlastair, who had emerged from the castle on his own way to Herbology.
"Fine," said Penny, "let's grab a quiet place in the Great Hall."
September dragged on into October, and then into November and December. It was a couple weeks before Christmas. Rhiannon sat on her bed, nose stuck in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi.
"Delaney—are you staying here?" asked one of the girl Prefects, sticking her head in the door.
"Huh?" asked the girl, looking up.
"Here? Are you staying or going home?" asked the Prefect again.
"Oh...yes," said Rhiannon, recalled the owl she had received a week or so again from Circe and Remus, asking her to come back for the long Christmas holiday. Citing a need to study; really, her grades weren't good enough, she had said that it was a kind offer, but she planned to remain at Hogwarts with Avery.
A few mornings later, Rhiannon traveled up to the Owlery, sending off Christmas greetings to her new-found family. While part of her did not want to disappoint them, she felt an intruder in their lives...someone who didn't quite fit. The Owlery was mostly empty, and she passed many students leaving for the holiday.
When she returned to her dorm, the space was cleared and empty. Everyone else had gone home. With a sigh, Rhiannon looked about, the look of sadness turning to wonder when she spotted a box on her bed. There was also a note attached to the unwrapped box.
Your mother left this in my possession prior to her death. It is only right that this should pass to you. Guard it well, for it possessed great meaning for her.
The letter was in neat script, the note unsigned. The girl perused the note, quizzically examining it, thrown off at first by its thickness.
"It's a card...like a postcard," she said, turning it over.
The other side was blank. More confused than ever, Rhiannon opened the wooden box.
Within was a treasure indeed. Lying in a perfect bed of blue velvet was a golden torque...a necklace. It was fashioned beautifully out of fine gold, intertwined in rope-like tendrils which thinned out into beautiful Celtic knotwork. In the center of the torque was a simple white gem. Entwined in the layers of gold were smaller back specks of stone, and also in the center of the knotwork which had been fashioned into triple-knots.
Rhiannon carefully slipped the torque onto her neck. It fit beautifully. She touched it, pondering over the mystery person who had given her this beautiful gift.
A/N: Thank you all for your kind patience, your reviews, and reading this labor of love! I promise another chapter soon, as soon as I can. Please continue to read my work, and review, review, review!