SuperMelt [Rhys]

[rhys alexander greyback]

even when the night changes

it will never change me and you

July 17, 2020
juniper minerva mcgonagall

Rhys stood up, still inspecting the rock. “Sometimes you find a fossil if you’re lucky…” He mumbled. It wasn’t a matter of available light, but you’d feel it. With his thumb, he pushed away more sand until the surface didn’t feel gritty anymore, but then he felt it. The ridges and curves. It was small, but it was there. “Here.” Rhys stepped closer to Juniper and gently grabbed her hand so he could place her thumb on the fossil outline. It wasn’t anything fancy or extraordinary, just a simple ammonite or at least part of one. Digging in the sand had been a good way to distract Rhys at such a young age.

Maybe he’d been set up for Cursebreaking all along. Digging through rocks and sand starting at a very young age. Rhys hadn’t been to the museum in years. Caerleon was an ordinary wizarding town, maybe with a bit more traffic because of the museum and all the ruins nearby. He looked up when Juniper said she wanted to visit the museum sometime. True, it was rare that Rhys shared details of his past, but it felt rarer to share a place. Juniper brought him to meet her family and other places important to her, but Rhys didn’t have a list of things like that.

His eyes lingered an extra moment. Sometimes he still marveled at how unexpectantly she’d fit so neatly into his life. “We can go whenever you want.” Maybe the next day? But then Rhys remembered they were supposed to be staying with her parents. It wasn’t as if Rhys didn’t have time before he went back to work. These were those calm moments where Rhys didn’t feel twitchy or anxious from standing in one place too long. Juniper probably could have asked him anything and gotten an answer. With Rhys’ schedule, they were rare, though. And the thing was, Rhys didn’t consciously know how to let her in. In his mind, nobody was interested to know who he was. The reality was that there were not many walls left for Juniper to get through. “I’ve never brought anyone out here before,” Rhys admitted. Though perhaps it was a preemptive answer to an unasked question. Like when Juniper had asked who else he’d brought up to the Astronomy tower.

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[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

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"How'd you find one so quickly?" she asked, not trying to hide her astonishment at all. Juniper almost couldn't believe that he'd actually found a fossil just by casually picking up a rock on the beach. But it definitely was one, and she could feel the rough outline as Rhys guided her thumb over it. For all of the stress she created for herself when he was off on training (and soon to be career), it was clear that he was good at what he did. The average person couldn't just reach down, shuffle through some rocks, and pull out a fossil because they felt like it. That realization alone had her wondering if she had been approaching this entirely the wrong way. The fear was imminent death or permanent injury. The reality was that he enjoyed what he was doing. It added in to her already large stack of guilt for the way she acted sometimes.

They had six weeks of unmitigated time to spend together, minus when she had work, but that was the most they'd had ever. Getting back to Caerleon to check out the museum would absolutely happen. "Absolutely. Reading about Merlin can't be that stuffy, can it?" Maybe it could. If there were artifacts and other visuals, she'd like the place even more. That was always sort of the problem with museums, right? Too much reading, not enough physical objects to look at. She was far from being solely a visual learner, but it definitely helped when it wasn't a requirement for school or work.

"Its better than my parents garden," she admitted with a laugh. She took hold of his arm again, finally not feeling like skin on skin contact would lead to a slip-in-slide of sweat like it had back in Hogsmeade. If anything, it felt nice with the ocean breeze. "I know growing up wasn't easy...so when you share these things with me, I really do appreciate it. But I also never want you to feel like you're obligated to tell me about your past either, because I don't think that's how our relationship should work." The last thing she wanted was a power imbalance, which knowing how she was, could easily happen if she was given the chance. That was sort of how it started off as well. Now that they were several years in though, they were a team. That was how it worked, right?

rhys alexander greyback ● 405 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[rhys alexander greyback]

even when the night changes

it will never change me and you

July 17, 2020
juniper minerva mcgonagall

Rhys grinned. Some coastlines were popular spots for fossil hunting for wizards and muggles alike. There was never a guarantee, and Rhys would never claim to have found something extraordinary large or rare by any means. He probably got lucky this time, or maybe magic played into it. Rhys tried not to think so logically about it as he focused on the wonder in Juniper’s expression instead. ”I prefer the Egyptian or Greek sections.” He responded. The Merlin section felt more like a shrine, but some connected areas were interesting as they explored King Arthur’s Court. From a glance, it looked like some large exhibit of random and old items. Like a collection of old portkeys. Upon further inspection (reading the notes attached to the displays), they were items collected by Cursebreakers and properly de-cursed.

The curses described ranged from mundane and inconvenient to gruesome. Rhys placed the fossil in Juniper’s hand. It was small enough that she could mostly wrap her fingers around it. It had looked so small in Rhys’ hand. She moved closer to him now that the threat of melting was gone, a clear sign this location was preferred over Hogsmeade in its current state. There was so much he wanted to tell her. But it was usually a matter of pushing himself to speak or finding the right words to explain it. This tripped up Rhys more than he cared to admit, as it seemed the only time words flowed easily from him was in anger or frustration.

He paused a moment before responding. ”I know…” Most people in his life knew better than to ask, though it never stopped all the questions. But Rhys only proved how stubborn he could be in those instances. ”But it's who I am.” He had accepted at a young age, before even receiving his Hogwarts letter, that this was who he was. It was why he’d kept his name and not used his mother’s last name all these years, although it might have been easier on him. Sometimes he bitterly regretted that decision, and other times he felt true ownership of it, but it was still a struggle. And it was as simple as that. This was who he was. Really it was the missing pieces he hid from the world that would only have helped people understand him better, but at the same time, Rhys never wanted their pity.

It was a nice night, plus much cooler and more comfortable. Rhys moved his arm to wrap around her shoulder. Looking up at the night sky, he thought of how often he used to just stare at the stars as if just looking for some answer. Maybe one day, he’d figure out how to say the right things at the right times to Juniper. Or at least find his own way. There was that feeling of so much he wanted to say but he didn’t know how. ”Will your parents notice we’re gone?” Rhys wondered. He wasn’t terribly eager to return to that heat but wouldn’t argue. When he was in a good mood, he typically didn’t. Plus, that whole argument about his shoulder last year always lingered in his mind. The emotion in her voice and the look in her eyes never left him. It was another way to keep himself grounded, a reminder of who he had to get back to. And a reminder of her part in all this.

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[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

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Merlin, she definitely had the wrong impression on this museum. There was more to it than just the man himself? For years, she’d believed that it was funded by some ancestor as a way to self-indulge on the name, hoping to get artifacts donated. She blinked through the realization that this was a legitimate museum as Rhys explained that his favorite sections were on the Greeks and Egyptians. Now it literally all made sense to her. “…I think I’ve had the wrong impression about it all this time,” she admitted. “Always wondered how they managed to make a museum strictly based on Merlin and I just never looked further into it.” Really though, that would be such a thing too. The amount of oddities that magic folk indulged in, she could see a seedy place dedicated solely to Merlin operating as a tourist trap of sorts. Hand out pamphlets to unsuspecting witches and wizards visiting Diagon, just to get them to come out to Caerleon to pay for a boring trip through Merlin’s life.

Of course this was who he was. That was never going to change, and she didn’t want it to. Were there times where she wished she knew everything? Absolutely. It would probably explain a lot about him. But she also fully believed in not pushing that. She was never going to be upset about not hearing his traumatic childhood. What kind of Dementor would ask that of their partner? Juniper didn’t mind being the boggart for some of their old classmates, but she was never going to be that for Rhys. And anyways, things were perfectly fine the way they were. He could choose to open up about everything at his own pace. She wasn’t going anywhere for the foreseeable future.

“My dad could sleep through a dragon attack and my mum has to use sleeping draughts for her insomnia…so no,” she commented as Rhys put his arm around her shoulder. If they ever needed an excuse, the easiest one would be the heat. Her parents would absolutely not care if they went back to their own flat for the night. Not to mention that they’d spent the entire day together. After her sister ran off to do Merlin-knows-what, simply existing in the same space for the remainder of the day was good for them. Her dad had already pulled her aside and thanked her for that. “I’m honestly still surprised they were fine with how quickly I moved out. Probably figured it would take a couple of years before I drove you crazy and had to move back in with them,” Juniper added, poking him in the ribs teasingly. But that couldn’t happen when he was only home for brief periods every couple of weeks. Her only complaint so far about cursebreaking, aside from the injury argument. They went hand in hand together.

rhys alexander greyback ● 478 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[rhys alexander greyback]

even when the night changes

it will never change me and you

July 17, 2020
juniper minerva mcgonagall

Rhys wasn’t surprised. A lot of people didn’t know a lot about the museum. Though his impression was that many did, considering the foot traffic. It was certainly discussed among Cursebreakers. It was one place a retired Cursebreaker could work if they chose, among other possibilities. But Rhys wasn’t thinking that far ahead, or he tried not to. His career was barely starting. Why think about retiring this early? ”There is a section…or a shrine, rather, on Merlin.” That was always his impression of it, anyway. Or maybe Rhys had gotten a little tired of hearing about someone formerly of his Hogwarts House.

He thought of what else he held back. Because it was so ingrained to keep his cards close to his chest, Rhys forgot what it was like otherwise. Juniper knew quite a bit. Things Rhys had shared over the years, including an offhand comment he hadn’t intended but such was his comfort level with her. Which was an odd feeling since he’d always been so reserved most of the time. There were still missing pieces, but as he thought about it Rhys knew it would take some time to get to the rest. It wasn’t as simple as a place, location, or fact about himself. Digging into the depths of his trauma where the real horror existed felt like a punishment for both of them.

Rhys almost felt jealous, but he chuckled a bit. The idea of sleeping that soundly sounded amazing. For the most part, Rhys wasn’t a light sleeper, but it was easy to wake him or, for a bad dream, to settle in and wake him up. There really wasn’t magic to deal with that aside from potions, which Rhys took occasionally. ”I like your dad.” Rhys commented. Those nerves were still there for Rhys, but so far, Juniper’s family (her parents and brother) had welcomed him. Occasionally, he caught Ewan’s suspicious gaze, but maybe that was just a brother thing. Now that Rhys had discovered half-siblings, it made a little more sense. And since her father found out Rhys was a Cursebreaker trainee, that led to questions or discussion on spells and their effects. But that made sense since her parents worked for the Accidental Magical Reversal Squad at the Ministry. He wondered if it was safe to assume they didn’t mind him. Or that the Headmistress had not tried to convince them to have nothing to do with Rhys.

”I don’t think your sister set the bar very high…” Rhys muttered, flinching at her elbow. Considering how she was barely polite to Rhys, he didn’t always feel bad letting Juniper know some of his opinions. That was another fun fact and a heavily guarded secret. Rhys was surprisingly ticklish, especially near his ribs. He could still remember Juniper’s surprise at the realization after they’d moved in together. ”Well…nobody says you haven’t.” Rhys teased, a smirk on his face. And Rhys moved his arm toward him before she could argue too much. This way, Juniper was facing him now. ”It’s alright, though. I love you anyway.” He didn’t pick on her often, but she’s the one that said it first. Again, before she could argue his claim, Rhys kissed her, pulling back and looking slightly pleased with himself. ”Do you want to stay out here a bit longer?” Or they could head home or wherever, for that matter. Rhys was leaving it up to her.

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Merlin, a shrine to Merlin. So she wasn't that far off the mark with her assumptions. Ever since she learned of Famous Witches and Wizards card collectors, it seemed like there was an almost unbridled worship of Merlin and others like him. At least it was a regular museum outside of that. Kind of figured that they'd have to have a section dedicated to the man they named the place after too. Otherwise there would probably be a group of angry fans out there daily. "Of course there is," she said after a moment. She could hear the exhaustion in her voice. How did one explain to muggles what a Merlin fan was? There wasn't really an equivalent in the mundane world that she was aware of.

"We used to be able to float a feather above his face because of how strong his snores are," Juniper added, already starting to laugh as the memory came back. "When I was little, I thought he could cast levitation charms in his sleep. So obviously I tried to jump on him to see if I could float too." That resulted an extremely startled Liam McGonagall who was thrust back into the waking world, and a young Juniper that almost got flung across the room by an actual levitating spell. She was lucky no actual damage was done. And it ended in a great lesson about how magic actually worked. Practical lesson learned. "He likes you too." Mostly because Rhys could keep up with the drinks. That and talking cursed objects and whatnot. If cursebreakers didn't do their jobs, there was always a good chance an object could end up as the target of an accidental magic reversal squad.

If it hadn't been pitch black out, Rhys would have seen the eye roll she did at the mention of her sister. He wasn't wrong at all about her. The standards were wildly different, thankfully. There were times where she wondered why her parents weren't stricter because of her sister, especially about the moving out bit. And to live with a werewolf too? A couple decades earlier and that would have seemed heretical to some families. The McGonagalls had always been on the more progressive side of things though, so maybe that was too much of a reach. She scrunched her nose as Rhys pulled away from kissing her, "Yeah, now that I think about it, you definitely lost it a few years ago." As if cursebreaking wasn't the peak of crazy. She had to seem tame in comparison.

Rhys posed the option of staying by the beach longer, or going elsewhere. Juniper almost said back home, then remembered the sweltering heat that waited for them in Hogsmeade. At the same time, each new swell of ocean breeze reminded her that it was only going to get chillier here. "I guess we could go back and sweat to death," she groaned.

rhys alexander greyback ● 487 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[rhys alexander greyback]

even when the night changes

it will never change me and you

July 17, 2020
juniper minerva mcgonagall

Rhys snickered. The visual of a feather delicately floating above a man’s face as he snored was funny. Adding a child diving to float like a feather made it a little more ridiculous. He liked hearing Juniper tell these stories. It was dark out, but Rhys could imagine her grin or how animated she got, depending on the tale. In their early days of dating, he’d struggled a bit with it. Externally he could do the polite thing and listen and let her talk, but getting past that point of internal envy had taken time.

It never entirely left. Rhys would always long for things ordinary people had. But he supposed that his inclusion at Christmas and other things had greatly helped him. And Juniper’s father had many stories and memories he was happy to share while never repeating the same one. At times Rhys still felt a little awkward, but he’d even managed some conversations with Ewan but not with her older sister. Rhys was polite even if she hardly gave him the time of day. As far as losing his mind was concerned, he didn’t think so. But it was all a matter of perspective. Nell was sure he’d gotten hit in the head too hard and knocked something loose after informing her that he would be Juniper’s Potion’s partner from now on. ”We can stay a bit longer.” The reminder of the weather back home didn’t make Rhys eager to leave. This was one of his favorite places to visit, though it could belong to both of them now.

[ end rhys ]

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