Rigel Black Oneshots

Those Dear Seen Unclear

"Hello, Professor," The Construct said, somewhat cheekily, "Welcome to my mind."
 
"Dom!"
 
"Just kidding!"

"You-" Snape grabbed her, searching her eyes for something. Whatever he found must have been painful to look at, however, because he left her with a slight jolt.
 
"You shared memories with this, this vile - "
 
"Watch what you say, Professor." Dom growled.
 
"Don't-" Harry felt her vocal chords failing her. Instead, she put a palm up at Dom.
 
"Harriet. Potter." Snape's voice suggested that her name caused him physical pain, and Harry flinched.
 
Snape's face immediately softened, though his voice remained stern, "What could have possibly possessed you to- Ah, well, what could have possibly been going through your mind when you decided to-" Snape paused in frustration, then looked at Dom accusingly.
 
Dom let loose a hearty chuckle, "It's good to see you at a loss of words, for once."
 
She sent him a warning look.
 
Snape looked positively murderous.  He looked at her for a quiet minute, then said, "Was this your filter against the resonance?"
 
Harry nodded slowly. Something about showing Dom to Snape made her throat burn with shame. Dom was changing for the better, sure, but Snape didn't know that. She knew how this must look to him.
 
"I'm sorry." She said quietly, and for once she had come dangerously close to meaning it, "I know how this must look to you, and you're right. Dom has been really cooperative and even helpful," she gave Dom a sideward glance, "But I shouldn't have taken the risk in the first place, no, I should have, but I should have also told you. It just… seemed like a good way to get locked up." She looked up at him, still weighed with that strange sadness, "I'm really..."
 
Why was she feeling so vulnerable all of a sudden? Something about Dom and Snape and this closed place with confusing heat. And Pettigrew. Wait what ?
 
No, Harry thought weakly, Just because I allowed myself to break down once at the Guild doesn't mean it gets to become a habit. Snape isn't allowed to have this much hold over me-
 
She was past this.
 
The air in her mindscape seemed to become even more like when- it was just her imagination! She chided herself. Just stupid imagination.
 
"Rigel," Snape didn't seem to even bother correcting himself, but his concerned tone just made it worse.
 
"I'm going.." Harry said, and her voice came out so feeble she felt like crying in disappointment. She was supposed to be strong. That's how the ruse had survived so long. But there's no ruse anymore, "somewhere."
 
She felt a hand on her shoulder, but she was beyond caring at that point. She wanted to get out of there. She tried to envision going back to full control over her body, but her mindscape just seemed to get damp, more hot, and more underground… She was in a pyramid. Right. A closed shape. But a pyramid nonetheless. The jewel couldn't muddle with her head here. She looked again at Dom, and flinched.
 
Snape's hand lifted her chin towards him, then after inspecting her face, he said, "This is your mindscape, Harry." He took good care to use her real name, "You are actually in a Potions lab. In the Guild. We were going to brew."
 
That thought grounded her so fast she let loose a laugh. She felt a little tired now. She wanted to sleep.

***

 
Harriet slumped right into a comfortable bed which magically materialized right in front of her, complete with cushions and bed sheets as well. Dom hid a smile at the tea-colored aesthetic and Snape's quickly morphing expression as he pulled back the hand that had reached out for her as she fell.
 
Another thought later her magic, upon his order, begrudgingly and worriedly looked over her, and after confirming that she was just exhausted, went to do its own thing.
 
Dom sighed in satisfaction. The girl was insane, really. She hadn't let herself properly deal with her trauma at all. He had to admit at the slightest hurt when she'd looked at him and flinched, but he couldn't really blame her. Honestly, he'd been surprised she let him fashion her mindscape after Ancient Egypt after everything that had happened. He mentally -and wasn't that ironic?- shook his head. He had a visitor to focus on.
 
To his surprise, he found Severus Snape not in front of him, but next to Harriet, something akin to worry and helpless anger in his face. When he looked back up at Dom, he had to admit he could have intimidated even the Rod of Zuriel. But not him. Not yet.
 
"You will tell me everything that happened in your first encounter. Now." Snape's voice was hard.
 
Dom inclined his head, "I'd rather you see it, really,"
 
They materialized in front of the door to her space room. Dom believed that Harriet would have defined this as in her best interest. She would have to explain it all first hand to her idol otherwise. So Dom thought of the password, and gave Severus Snape a smirk as he shut the door behind him after entering. A few minutes later he emerged with all the respective memories of her… capture.
 
He offered Snape the first one, and they were consumed in it as one.