The Guardian

Disclaimer: oh if I owned the sexy boys of the Potterverse, but alas… I do not:..(
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A/N Okay like I said in the last chapter my computer is a bit dodgy right now. I hope it keeps living for a bit longer.
Yeah so my computer crashed, and I have taken over my sweet old nana’s computer.
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Chapter 15


“Okay, okay.” Snape filled the three shot glasses again, making sure Rhiannon’s was fuller than either his or Sirius’s. “Who ever loses this time has to…” The normally stoic wizard glared, his obsidian eyes glassy. Sirius wasn’t much better, he kept listing to one side and humming some idiotic tune about a woman named Janet. Rhiannon defiantly faired the best out of the three. She sat comfortably, one arm thrown over the back of her chair and the opposite foot tucked under her, smirking at the two men. The sun had started it’s decent, lengthening the shadows in the kitchen but no one seemed to notice. Plates from a haphazardly made lunch were strewn between empty bottles and sewing supplies from stitching Rhiannon’s arm when magic didn’t work to heal it. Snape glared at Rhiannon’s bottle and wondered again if there was really any liquor in it.
“Okay, loser has to do doubles of whatever Rhiannon is drinking.” He slurred just a bit.
Sirius shook his head, “What if Rhi losses?”
“Then she has to do three shots.” Snape rolled his eyes, Rhiannon just smirked.
“That doesn’t seem fair…”
“So what, just flip your card.” They each flipped the top card on the stack of playing cards in front of them.
“Ace of clubs!!!” Snape grinned happily.
“Damn, Queen of Diamonds.” Sirius shook his head.
“Oh Queen of hearts.” Rhiannon waved her card at them.
“You could be the queen of my heart anytime.” Sirius grinned at her drunkenly.
Rhiannon raised a brow, “Back off lover boy, or I’ll make you my bitch.”
"Oh promises promises." he sang happily, his dark hair covering his eyes.
"A tie..." Snape glared at the cards, "Okay, Rhiannon does doubles of Sirius's and Mutt, you do doubles of hers." He conjured two more shot glasses and filled them. Rhiannon smiled and picked up her first glass of fire whisky. With a quick salute at the men she downed it, grimacing at the burn. She slammed the glass down.
"Now you Siri." She handed him a glass full of amber liquid. It smelled awful Sirius noted, like burnt wood and rubbing alcohol. He didn’t have a good feeling about anything that smelled like that.
"What the hell is this?" He demanded still sniffing cautiously at it.
"Mezcal." Rhiannon grinned "Come on drink up."
He looked at her, gave a sexy little wink and tipped the glass back, pouring the contents down his throat. He immediately started coughing and gagging. Tears poured down his cheeks as he struggled to tame the burning feeling spreading through his stomach. He felt like his insides were on fire and fought hard against the need to throw up.
"What the hell is that stuff." He hissed pointing at the bottle when he could speak again. Rhiannon was giggling openly now and Snape looked a bit worried.
"Its called Mezcal. It's a popular drink where I moved to; at least it was around my friends. Takes some getting used to I suppose." She tossed back his other shot, ignoring the glare he leveled on her.
"If she's drinking that stuff as easily as she looks like she is," He paused sorting out his own sentence before continuing "We're never going to out drink her." He looked miserable at the thought. He’d never been out drank by a woman.
Rhiannon sighed, filled her glass again and looked at the two men. "I'm sitting here with the bastard bat of the dungeons, and his worst enemy, pissed in the middle of the afternoon. If I can’t confess now when can I?" She stared at her full glass as if it held all the answers in the world.
"Confess what Rhi?" Sirius asked.
"I killed someone."
Snape and Sirius grew silent. They didn’t know what to say to her now. Of all the things she could have said this wasn’t what they were expecting. They looked at each other and thought the same thing, can a guardian kill someone?
“You killed someone?” Sirius asked feeling himself sober quickly.
“I might as well have. It’s my fault the wizard is dead.” She emptied her glass and filled it again. “Lucius remembered the easiest way to summon me is to kill someone. So I might as well have killed him.”
“Lucius is the one that cut open your arm.” Snape glared at her. “How did he know you were there, you’re supposed to be protected when you’re guarding a soul.”
“Don’t you think I know that? I don’t know what happened. Fucking Bellatrix could hear me talking to the man as he died. She’s not supposed to hear me, but she could.” Rhiannon glared back, “Then Lucius waltzed in and started throwing around curses. Got lucky with this one.” She rubbed at her arm.
Snape hung his head, “I thought we’d have a little longer but I guess not.”
“What are you going to do?” Sirius asked. “You can’t keep walking into a trap.”
Rhiannon looked at him a long moment. His eyes glinted silver with anger and his lips were set in a firm frown that she wanted nothing more than to kiss away. Scowling in response to her won errant thought she answered.
“I don’t know right now, I’ll have to think about it.” She sat down her drink.
“The Order is meeting Saturday night. Perhaps you should bring it up then.” Snape suggested.
“Yeah sure I guess.” Rhiannon flipped the card on top of her stack. “Ace of spades… how fitting.” She tossed the card onto the table. “I believe I’ve had enough for one day.” She stood up, a big mistake as all the alcohol hit her at one. The room spun madly and the floor seemed to rise up and fall away quickly. She let out a panicked giggle and grasped for her chair.
“Whoa there.” Sirius grasped drunkenly for her only to move the chair and send both of them tumbling to the floor in a mess of arms and legs. Rhiannon landed hard on her back, opening her eyes only to find Sirius’s shinning gray ones staring back at her. She had the sudden thought of a dog before he dipped his head to capture her lips.
He nibbled at her bottom lip until she gasped then slipped his tongue in to taste her. Her mouth was sweet, the smoky flavor of the Mezcal clung to her. She had just started kissing him back when a strange sound pulled them apart. They both jerked up, Sirius pulling his wand unsure of what the were hearing, a low rumble filled the room. It took them a moment to realize the sound was Snape laughing.
“Holy shit,” She scoffed, “He laughs.”
“You two are menaces.” He was still laughing.
“Wow, I’ve never heard anything like it.” Sirius started laughing too, making Rhiannon giggle herself. She was amazed, here she was dead drunk, on the floor of the kitchen in the middle of the afternoon, laughing with Severus Snape and the infamous Sirius Black. Could things get any stranger?

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It was Saturday morning as the trio were getting ready to go to the Burrow for lunch and the order meeting when all hell broke loose. They were sitting together drinking coffee and discussing something they’d read in the Daily Prophet when Snape growled obviously in pain.
“The Dark Lord. I have to go.” He stood up quickly and crossed to the floo.
“Be careful.” Rhiannon called watching him.
They heard him call out for Spinner’s End in the other room.
“I wonder how he does it.” Sirius still stared at the door.
“Years of practice.” Rhiannon gathered up the dishes from breakfast, “Come on I’ll wash you dry.” She threw a dish cloth at him.
They washed the dishes in companionable silence, both remembering the kiss they’d shared the other day, but neither wanting to talk about it. Sirius watched her every move out of the corner of his eye. She moved quickly with an economy of motion, no flourishes or wasted energy when she worked. It was something different , the women he’d known when he was younger had all seemed to be in constant motion. Twirling their hair, batting their eyelashes, any number of little movements designed to keep a man’s attention set on them. But Rhiannon did none of those things. He’d noticed she rubbed absently at her wrist, and sometimes her thigh but never when she knew someone was watching her. He let his attention settle on her face, a small grin made her lips tilt ever so slightly, their deep red color drawing him in. Her lashes were long and dark, her skin the color of cream with the lightest of freckles on her nose.
“Are you going to just stand there and stare?” She turned to face him.
“No.” Sirius dropped the dish towel and backed her into the counter. He cradled her face in one hand and rubbed her hip with the other.
Rhiannon sighed at the feel of Sirius’s hands on her. They were so big and warm, his long tattooed fingers dug into her hip softly, while he traced her jaw with the other hand. He paused, a breath away from her lips, giving her the chance to pull away. She couldn’t have if she’d wanted to as trapped in his gaze as she was. His gray eyes darkened in an instant, and slid almost closed. The kiss wasn’t demanding, he gave her plenty of time to move away. He closed his mouth over hers, nibbled until she opened her lips to his tongue.
Rhiannon sighed into him, she could feel something like electricity tingle thru her body.
Sirius felt the same thing, a buzz that raced from where her mouth was pressed passionately against his all the way to his toes. It was a new sensation, one he rather enjoyed. It felt like all the places that had been left cold inside of him since Azkaban were suddenly being warmed. He didn’t think about Remus, he couldn’t with his mind full of how soft Rhiannon’s mouth was or the way she pushed herself closer to him and the sweet little whimper she made when his tongue brushed the side of hers. He felt her fingers tangle in his hair, her foot rubbing the back of his leg. Then there was a tug that didn’t feel quiet right. It came from right under his heart and made him think of how it felt when the Dementors almost got his soul that night Harry’s third year.
When Rhiannon pushed him away he was pleased and surprised to see her eyes were dark with arousal, they had turned completely blue, the color of a robins egg. She was rubbing her own heart when she spoke, “I have to go. There’s a soul.” She held out her hand and caught the set of white robes as they flew through the kitchen. She tugged the robes over her shoulders making her body disappear. Sirius thought of James’s old invisibility cloak and grinned. “We’re going to finish this when you get back.”
“Okay sure.” She gave him a cheeky grin and disappeared.
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“Where is she?” A cold voice hissed from the shadows of the Malfoy study.
“She’ll be here my lord.” Lucius gripped his silver tipped cane, silently cursing the infuriating guardian for taking so long. He knew she would show, but hoped it would be before the dark lord lost patience and crucioed him.
“…bad moon arising…” the witch tied to the chair in the corner cried softly.
“Quiet.” Voldemort hissed at her then “crucio”
“She’s here.” Lucius called over the witch’s screams.
“Good, she wasn’t screaming enough this time.” Voldemort moved to the middle of the room and looked around. His pale snake like features glowed eerily in the pale light. “Where is she?”
“She can only be seen by the dying. But give her a minute she show herself. Won’t you little Guardian?” There was no response but Lucius didn’t expect one.
“She would dare to stay silent when I wish to have her attention?”
“As long as our toy lives she will stay silent, it’s how she always is.”
Voldemort hissed and crossed the room. He liked to feel the last breath his toys took, it was so… life affirming especially for someone who had spent almost eleven years as nothing more than a ghost, a mere shadow of himself. The witch’s sobs ended quickly with a load crack when Voldemort snapped her neck. Such an entertaining muggle form of murder, he smiled satisfied with himself.
“Now I wish to see you Guardian. Show yourself now.”

Rhiannon grimaced when Voldemort snapped the young witch’s neck. The sound echoed in her mind. She patted the vial that now held her soul and resigned herself to having to face the Dark Lord.
“I don’t really care what you wish.” She pushed the hood of her robes back revealing herself.
Voldemort’s eyes flashed with anger. “You should be more respectful of your new master.”
“I don’t have a master you sick bastard.” she braced her feet knowing one of the men before her would start throwing curses soon.
“Respect! You will respect me or I will make you pay.”
“Respect has to be earned and I doubt you could do that.”
“Silence you idiot child.” Lucius took a step towards her.
“Bite me you arrogant old man.” She snapped.
Voldemort laughed, a chilling hiss-like sound that made Rhiannon’s skin crawl. She fought not to shudder. “You have a spine.”
“Yes I do, unlike some in this room.”
Voldemort moved closer to her, she could smell a bitter root like potion on his breath as he reached up to caress her cheek as Sirius had less than an hour before. “I’ll take pleasure in seeing just how far that spine of yours can bend before it snaps.” he grasped her chin and smirked.
Rhiannon’s head snapped back suddenly. She was looking, upside down into a pair of obsidian eyes she knew very well. “Play along.” Snape’s voice echoed in her mind.
She struggled against his hold and winced when he gave her braid a slight tug.
“What the fuck are you doing? Let me go.” She felt another gentle tug as Snape pointed his wand at her, muttered a spell and cut off her tightly woven braid just above where he held it.
“You’re sure this will work to control her Lucius?” Voldemort took Rhiannon’s braid from Snape’s hand and lifted it to the slits that served as his nose.
“Yes my lord. It worked when I was trying to find you before.”
“Good. You may go, for now.” He dismissed Rhiannon with a wave of his hand.
She turned and glared at Snape then disappeared.
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Rhiannon walked out of her room running a hand through her now shoulder length hair and laughed. What the hell did Lucius think he was going to do with her braid? No charms would work now, the elders had seen fit to take care of that by forcing her to bind herself. She tugged up her sleeve and grinned at the partially formed image on her wrist as she wandered the halls.
“What the hell happened to your hair?” Sirius blocked the door to the library just as she was about to push it open. She flipped her shorter locks flirtatiously and batted her eyelashes in an exaggerated impression of a schoolgirl.
“You like it?”
He reached up and played with the ends, “Yeah but what happened.”
“Another trap. I met Voldemort.” She gently pushed him out of the way and dropped down onto the couch.
“What!” He demanded.
“I met Voldemort. And Snape cut off my braid to use as a charm.”
“What? I’ll kill the bastard.” Sirius’s eyes flashed silver with anger.
“Don’t worry, it wont work and Snape knows it.”
“how do you know it wont work?” Sirius glared at her.
“Because I cant be controlled by anyone but the one I’m bound to now and its not Lucius Malfoy or Voldemort.” She stared into the empty fireplace as Sirius paced in front of her. “I’ve never seen anything like him. So distorted by his own anger and evil.”
“Who’s that?” Sirius asked although he had a pretty good idea of who she was talking about he just needed a minute to calm down. If Rhiannon wasn’t mad or upset about Snape cutting off her hair to use in a charm to control her, should he be? He must be missing something he decided for them to be so sure that it wouldn’t work.
“Voldemort.” Her answer pulled him out of his thoughts, “But it makes sense, ugly inside, ugly outside. I wonder how Lucius keeps himself looking so… normal.”
She was watching him pace now, his long strides hypnotizing her. She liked how he looked so carelessly perfect in a pair of worn jeans and a black button-down left half unbuttoned. His thick black hair was tied back so she could see the smaller tattoos along his neck just under his ear making her want to kiss each one. She shook her head, now would not be a good time to start something like that. He’d probably just assume she was trying to distract him from breaking Snape’s rather large nose. She grinned this time, things had been too calm around the house since those two became friends.
There was a flash of green flames in the fireplace and Snape appeared.
“Sorry about that Rhiannon.” He sighed, “Had I know that was coming I would have warned you. What are you glaring at mutt?”
“When should we expect Lucius to start summoning Rhiannon?” He snapped
“Never, the charm wont work, but I didn’t tell them that. Besides it wont be Lucius now, it will be the Dark Lord. You really pissed him off, saying the things you did.” He smirked, something like pride flashed temporarily in his eyes.
“He’s disgusting.” She shrugged.
Sirius was becoming frustrated at them. They should be worried, not acting like nothing was wrong. He now understood why Remus had always looked so annoyed when he and James just smiled as they were being punished for their pranks in school. It was damn infuriating to be worried over something when no one else was.
“The Weasley’s are expecting us in a few minutes boys. Are you ready to go to the burrow?” Rhiannon stood up shoving a hand through her hair again. She liked how light it felt now and wondered why she herself hadn’t cut it before.
“Yeah I guess.” Sirius grumbled as Snape nodded his agreement. Rhiannon went first, throwing a hand full of floo powder in the fireplace and calling out for the burrow.