hurricane | brigh

[rhys alexander greyback]

when you're at the divide

and you're down to nothing

March 29, 2026
BRÍGH ENNIS O'DALAIGH

Rhys clenched his jaw. He hated the career fair. He’d had an awful experience as a seventh year himself, but the last few years, the bank had forced him to attend, but he’d been able to just show up, answer a few questions, and not have to return. But, with Jasper and Renfri retired, he had been pushed to take a more active role with possible Cursebreakers and handle their training. Vas had focused on the “bright side” of this—to which Rhys still disagreed, but he also showed up for the chance to possibly see his sister. Plus, James had been talking about this non-stop at Order meetings. And unfortunately, this was a dry event, though he wondered if Claire or anyone had something stronger hidden in their desks. At first, Rhys was scoping the room, hoping to see if any of his old friends had decided to chaperone. With the number of former Cursebreakers at Hogwarts, he wondered why he even needed to attend at all.

Still, he wasn’t alone. There were other Cursebreakers here and a couple of hand-picked trainees about to graduate into fully-fledged Cursebreakers. Their small table had a few books and actual maps and documents used in Egypt long ago in tombs that had been handled already. There were also samples of safe artifacts from Egypt but also China and South America. The shiny things would gather their attention and plant false ideas of quick riches into these kid’s heads. Rhys was half-covering his name badge (not that he cared), but his attention was caught by a girl who eagerly greeted him. At first, he was shocked at how much energy must be in a single person for him to already feel annoyed and at how she was asking him questions. Unfortunately, the other Cursebreakers were busy with other students, so he couldn’t escape this one. With a half-hearted but friendly grin, he uncrossed his arms and tried to pretend he wanted to be here.

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[BRÍGH ENNIS O'DALAIGH]

The career fair. An event that Addy had forced Brígh to come to, cemented by the fact that James had organised it. She was already completely set in the idea of becoming a curse breaker, not for the riches but for the adventure it surely afforded. Curse breakers were known for their worldly travels, their experience in multiple ancient cultures. In artefacts and history, though those things were secondary to her.

Addy had drifted off to talk to someone, and the rest of her friends were either out of sight or also engaged in conversation. James was animatedly describing his work to one of her fellow students, which made her giggle. James, like her, was full of energy and light. It was a wonder she'd once been so attracted to his brother, the complete opposite of him. Glancing around, Brígh spotted the table for curse breakers, and made a bee line for it. Neither Ilija nor Irina were there, but a scruffy looking man with piercing blue eyes was looking anywhere but at her approaching form. She beamed at him, even as he made every effort to ignore her.

Peering at his half hidden nametag, Brígh greeted the near stranger with her usual energy. "Hi Rhys! Another name that doesn't look like it's pronounced. Mine is Brígh like the cheese, but spelled with an accent over the i and a g-h at the end," said Brígh, thrusting forward her chest and pointing out the spelling. "Have you been curse breaking long?" she asked, figuring it was wisest to start off with a career based question and not if he wanted to indulge in the flask of firewhisky she'd managed to sneak in.

rhys alexander greyback

[rhys alexander greyback]

when you're at the divide

and you're down to nothing

March 29, 2026
BRÍGH ENNIS O'DALAIGH

Rhys clenched his jaw. He hated the career fair. He’d had an awful experience as a seventh year himself, but the last few years, the bank had forced him to attend, but The days before the full moon were never comfortable, and it took energy for him to even pretend to be sociable, let alone in his current state. Rhys just wanted to go home, drink his whiskey, and sleep. Sometimes Vas would come by with food and keep him company, but he typically didn’t let her the closer it got. His temper and mood would get the better of him, and even if she could put him in his place quite quickly, Rhys didn’t want to end up fighting. This girl was a bit of a firecracker, though he didn’t know any red-heads that were quiet. She gave a long-winded explanation about her name, and he simply nodded to acknowledge he understood. ”Um—coming up on eight years now.” Eight years—oh, how time flew by.

It meant that it had been just about nine years since he’d found family, and he’d slowly met more over time. But the construct of time, or so as Felix described it, was mostly in one’s mind. And it seemed his friend was right because now that Rhys actively thought about it—it did feel odd, or maybe he was just feeling old. ”I take it you have all the required courses?” There was nothing worse than talking to an excited student only to find out they hadn’t taken Potions past their OWLs. Rhys knew that disappointing feeling, and he hated being the cause of it for anyone else. But he hoped she didn’t have too many questions. There were so many people to ask at the school now that he thought about it. ”Have you spoken at all with Ren—Professors Selwyn and Yaxley?” It was odd to call them by such formal titles. They were just Renfri and Jasper to him. Plus, they weren’t the only ones there he knew.

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[BRÍGH ENNIS O'DALAIGH]

Somewhat unsurprisingly, Rhys’ reaction to her bubbly nature did not go over very well. Brígh glared at him, feeling put out that he wasn’t quite as excited about the fact that they had interesting names as she was. He had made every effort to ignore her, but when he finally acknowledged her presence, it was to give a gruff answer. Well, that simply wouldn’t do. If she was to make a career out of curse breaking, she was going to like the people she worked with. The culture of it all mattered so much more to her. Brígh took out her flask with an understated flourish, and took a quick sip. ”Firewhisky?” she offered sweetly, before replacing the flask.

”Eight years - so you started straight out of school then?” said Brígh after a moment, her gaze searching. ”What initially drew you to it? Was it the need for adventure? The chance at glory?” asked Brígh, tilting her head slightly as she did so. She waved off Rhys’ questions dismissively. ”Would I be here, talking to you about this if I hadn’t?” she said with a frown. ”My best friend basically keeps a personal diary of accolades and requirements to achieve, so she wasn’t about to let me not sign up for classes if it meant I couldn’t realise my dream.”

rhys alexander greyback

[rhys alexander greyback]

when you're at the divide

and you're down to nothing

March 29, 2026
BRÍGH ENNIS O'DALAIGH

Before Rhys could blink, there was a flask shoved in his face. Usually, he wouldn’t have been so shocked, but it wasn’t what he expected—considering this was a student event. But then Rhys remembered his classmates and his own troublemaking at that age. Still, he looked around to see who might be looking their way—nobody and he found himself tempted and impressed at the show of self-confidence. Instead of answering, Rhys grabbed the flask, taking a quick drink himself before returning it to its owner. It wasn’t charmed like Renfri’s, so there wasn’t a reason to keep it.

”Yes. It was my backup plan but turned out to be the better choice.” He spoke honestly, almost bored-like. There were only a handful of careers with these stringent academic requirements, so it had worked out in the end. ”I like the freedom—less people hovering and who care who I am.” Being an Auror would have meant Rhys met with more authority to clash against or be regulated to border patrol alongside Claire. Plus, in this world, few cared he was a Greyback and only that he could have their back on the job. The question about her schooling was met with dismissal as if to ask why he would ask such an obvious question.

Rhys crossed his arms and leaned against the table behind him. This Gryffindor was very much a Gryffindor. That confidence and lack of fear, it was perfect for this job—the usual target perhaps, but Rhys knew it was more than that. ”Well is your friend going to be a Cursebreaker?” It helped when friends joined, and he was forever grateful that he had Ilija and Renfri by his side all those years. ”So why join us and not sign up for Auror training? Some say that’s where all the glory is.” People always commented, and he’d overhead some seventh years earlier, Ravenclaws, that Law Enforcement is where they would make their mark. But, he hadn't see Bianca around—though he could hardly picture her having a nice sit down with a bunch of seventeen-year-olds. But, it was a standard question for him. Rhys wanted to know why someone would sign up for this, despite all its dangers.

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[BRÍGH ENNIS O'DALAIGH]

Rhys blinked, confused as Brígh thrust her flask in his face. He hesitated only a moment before taking a proffered swig. Grinning like the cheshire cat, Brígh stowed away the flask. At first, she had been unsure of whether or not this Rhys character was worth talking to. He seemed excessively grumpy for the sort of role that required a lot of teamwork. She shot off a reel of questions pertaining to how long he had been in the position and what had drawn him to it in the first place, almost like a reverse interview. She nodded at his succinct reply. "No one to tell you what to do when you're on the field," she added.

Addy naturally cropped up in conversation as she usually did - even though her and Brígh were going through a rough patch of sorts, the Slytherin was still her best friend. "No, she's going to do some rubbish with technology or something. Strange, I know. Who would choose to be a ministry drone?" asked Brígh. Her father had chosen that path, and it just meant he stuck his nose in everyones business. She hated that. "Like I said, no to ministry drone. I don't do very well with authority either," she admitted. "Glory is nothing if it's directed by someone else. I like the idea of freedom and the history of what curse breakers search for," she added after a moment.

rhys alexander greyback

[rhys alexander greyback]

when you're at the divide

and you're down to nothing

March 29, 2026
BRÍGH ENNIS O'DALAIGH

Brigh put the flask away as quick as she had taken it out. It didn’t shock him particularly. She was brazen and bold—not entirely bad traits for a Cursebreaker, depending on the situation. Likely bad for other careers depending on the risk. ”Exactly.” His words were true. Rhys as an Auror would probably not have turned out so well. Authority hovering over his every move or truly judging the fact that he was a werewolf and Fenrir’s son. It was unnecessary in hindsight, but at seventeen, he’d just been a lonely kid with something to prove. And chances were he might have gotten himself killed on that stupid quest.

Rhys couldn’t help but half-smile. Ministry drone was exactly what he might describe it as, but apparently, that was the life some people desired. Still, he wondered if her perception of the career might not still be skewed by the literal shiny things they were chasing. ”Have you spoken to your Professors?” Rhys asked once more. ”Selwyn and I worked together for a very long time.” Not to mention they’d been friends since they were eleven. But she was an example of forced retirement and a clear one because of the visible injury. ”It’s a dangerous business, and you’re not going to find mountains of gold every time.” It was the usual recruitment tactic, but Rhys thought it was pointless to waste kids’ time on stories that weren’t true.

Still, while she talked an incredible amount—too much. She had the right spirit. It wasn’t about energy or personality types per se but that drive and spirit. Rhys had it even if he was typically grumpy and a man of few words. ”What history have you studied.” Rhys wouldn’t have been surprised if she replied with ‘Egypt’. It was a place to start he supposed, but the world was much larger than the north-eastern part of a continent. ”Authority aside—there are still rules.” That was a given, though it was not an indeterminate set. ”For example, my trainees have to follow my rules.” Dahlia had learned just as well as the other trainees had and he did things a certain way.

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