Disclaimer : - The world of Harry Potter isn't mine – wish it was – but belongs to JK Rowling… anything from the books is hers not mine…. Anything else is probably mine. Not getting anything but fun from writing this etc etc etc….
The fic is Rate R ….. if you are not old enough to read it etc then please don't
Spanning the River of Blood
By Ridley-Roo
Chapter 16 – Meetings at Twilight
As Layla's body lay quietly on the settee in front of the ancient fireplace her mind returned to a long forgotten place…
Opening her eyes she found herself back once again in the meadow below the starlit sky. Looking around she slowly rose to her feet and tried to remember before. She remembered waking on this grass before, and staring at those stars above, but not much else. Fragments of memories ran around in her mind but stubbornly refused to stay still long enough to make sense. Glancing downhill she could see the stream she had approached last time, and decided that she might as well move in that direction again, after all there was no point simply standing there like an idiot. Slowly, still looking around for answers as to where she was, she started to move down the slope.
As she reached the stream she knelt and saw that she was wearing a simple robe which also seemed familiar but she couldn't place where from. Stretching out she dangled her bear feet into the clear water and closed her eyes. Where was she? Why was she here? Why could she not remember?
* * * *
Snape sat in his now empty classroom and tried to think straight. In the last few days his miserable world had been turned upside down and he wasn't happy about it. Damn Dumbledore, damn that woman and damn that bloody smell. For the umpteenth time he got up and prowled around in search of the smell that had been growing steadily stronger all afternoon. It wasn't a smell that belonged in his classroom, he was intimately aware of all the odours that had a right to be there, and this wasn't one of them. It had been growing stronger throughout the afternoon but try as he might he couldn't figure out where it was coming from.
Jake moved silently around the floor keeping just out of sight of the tall dark man stalking him. He was thoroughly enjoying himself and couldn't remember the last time he'd played cat and mouse like this. To long ago, he thought wistfully. He watched Snape moving around the classroom and not for the first time wondered what his mistress saw in this cantankerous freak. For a start his table manners were atrocious, he didn't even know his place in the pecking order. I mean, what was he doing trying to take that bacon back! This guy obviously needed putting in his place so he returned to his dancing, staying always just out of sight, circling behind his pray for another well-aimed squirt before once again disappearing into the shadows. Meanwhile, as Snape continued his search, the smell following him from one part of the room to another.
* * * *
Layla wasn't sure how long she had sat dangling her feet in the stream but some small part of her mind knew that she should be cold by now, instead she felt a gentle warmth flowing through her from the glistening water below. As the water flowed past she felt it bringing something to her and also taking something away, but her mind couldn't work out what and if it was a good or bad thing.
Slowly as she watched a mist started to drift downstream. Gradually it reached her and hovered over the stream before coalescing to giving vague impressions of faces half familiar. The apparitions flitted in the white haze bringing faded memories from her past forward through time.
Mesmerised she sat trying to make sense of it all as gradually something more substantial started to form. Gradually the shape of a humanoid creature formed, it was about four foot tall, slight of build and smiling. As it floated over the water it continued to gain substance before bowing gracefully.
'Welcome M'Lady.' The voice seemed to have bypassed the space between them and arrived directly in her mind.
'Thank you.' Layla stayed sitting on the bank and wondered what was going to happen next. A small part of her mind told her she should be afraid, but an older more primal part accepted this creature's presence and after a few moments of inner argument this was the part that won. Her inner thoughts didn't show on the outside however and she appeared to simply be sitting waiting for the creature to make some move. Time stretched out and eventually her curiosity got the better of her.
'Forgive my ignorance, but who, and what exactly are you?' Thankfully the creature didn't seem offended and the smile broadened into a grin showing perfect pointed teeth.
'My name is Oreas and I am spirit of the stream,' came the reply.
Layla waited to see if there would be anything further, but the spirit didn't seem to be about to offer any more information. She decided this was one of those situations where you only answers to direct questions. So the question became what should she ask? Well the obvious questions seemed the obvious place to start.
'Where is this place?'
'Everywhere and nowhere.'
Well that helped. She amended her previous assessment from answers to riddled answers.
'Why am I here?'
'Because you choose to be.' Again no help.
'Why does this place seem familiar? I mean I remember it… but if feels familiar beyond that. Why?'
'Because you have been here many times.'
She sat for a few moments considering this. While in many ways she seemed to be getting nowhere it was either continue the bizarre conversation or continue sitting on the bank doing nothing. What did it mean that she had been here before? But then, she though, I don't remember much right now do I. Perhaps that was the way forward in this.
'When I am not here. Where am I?'
The sprite seemed amused by this and seemed to be considering its answer more carefully than the previous ones.
'In the worlds,' it eventually replied.
'Which worlds?' perhaps this would lead somewhere.
'Which ever you choose to be.' Ok then maybe not. Time for another approach.
'Which world was I in before a came here this time?'
'The world of men.'
'And how do I get back there?'
'Simply choose to return.' The sprite turned and pointed back up the hill and as she looked an area near where she had woken up appeared to shimmer. She stood and turned to see it better and could now make out an image inside. It showed her a sleeping figure and she recognised it as herself asleep. As she gazed at herself the memories of what the sprite had called the world of men started to return. Her father running in the garden with her as a child, walking along the beach banks with her grandfather, friends, family, good times, bad times and her journey to Hogwarts.
She turned once again to the sprite and tried to decide what to do next. Should she stay and ask more questions? What should she ask if she did?
'How do I come back again?'
'You can not return to somewhere you have not left.' And with that the sprite dissolved in front of her. She stayed staring at where it had been and wondered what it all meant before walking back up the hill to herself.
* * * *
As the sun was setting Snape finally gave up trying to find the smell in his classroom and headed up into the castle to his new rooms, but that bloody smell seemed to be everywhere. He'd made his way from the dungeons and was striding through one of the cloisters before he noticed that staff and students alike were wrinkling their noses as he passed. Turning to make sure no one was watching he ducked into an empty classroom and soon discovered the stench at the bottom of his cloak and the sticky looking stains on his shoes. Flicking his wand in their direction he murmured a cleaning spell and raised his hemline up for inspection. But that bloody smell was still there. He performed the spell again with the same result. Now he was not only mad but confused as well and set out once again for his rooms. This time no one wrinkled their noses as one look at his face was enough to convince people that it was a very bad idea. Being elsewhere, however, was a very good idea.
Jake trailed him at a discrete distance grinning, already planning his next move when he sensed Layla waking and changed direction to head back to her chambers. After all it wouldn't do for her to be wondering about unmonitored, goodness knew what inappropriate behaviour she might get up to without him around to guide her.
Snape managed to reach his rooms without boiling over but lost it once he entered. Cats Piss! CATS PISS! That bloody moggie would pay for this. There was no doubt in his mind who was responsible. He looked around for something to vent his anger on and saw a delicately carved wooden chair belonging to the former occupant. Growling he strode over picked it up and aimed it at the wall. Gripping the top of the high back he swung again and again until there were only shattered shards of wood left as he stood trembling.
When his mind finally registered that there was nothing of the chair left to break he stared down at his still shaking hands and felt his strength draining. He gaped at the cuts left by the wood in his hands, slowly blood started to leak in front of his eyes. Shit. He moved over to the settee that had been brought up from the dungeons and flopped onto its rich green fabric. Closing his eyes he imagined that he was back in his dungeon rooms and that none of the last few days had happened. Gradually the remainder of his rage was suppressed and his features started to smooth themselves out. After a while he felt calm enough to think about the situation more rationally.
Shifting his weight into a more comfortable lying position he started to list the events of the last few days. Everything quite obviously stemmed from the breach of the wards on Friday. It all followed in a nice neat chronological order making sense using the basics of cause and effect. If Layla had not breached the wards, he would never have been sent with Lupin to get her, if she had not arrived then that bloody cat wouldn't be here, no kiss, no smell. Life would have continued in its normal way with only the odd student like Potter to annoy him.
Except for this house changing business. Snape decided it was time for a drink to aid the cognitive process and headed over to his drinks cabinet. Opening its doors he noted that the house elves had managed to move it without breaking any of the antique or its contents. His eyes moved over it lovingly. The cabinet itself was of unknown age but since it had belonged to Salazar Slytherin himself it's was at least a thousand years old. Its contents didn't have quite the pedigree but that was hardly surprising since they were of the liquid variety. With now steady hands he poured himself a large glass of Vodka and returned to the settee to consider this house moving business further.
This had obviously all been Dumbledore's idea. Minerva was as pissed about it as he was, the same could be said for all the staff and most of the students. It didn't make sense. The houses had proved on numerous occasions that they were perfectly capable of working together when needed. Ok then Slytherin might be a little bit of an exception but his kids were capable of it and Dumbledore should know this. In which case he probably did know it. So the reason must be something else, something he didn't want the staff or students to know about. But what? And would more Vodka help him figure it out? Probably not, he needed more information, and that was most likely to come from Dumbledore.
Opening his eyes he looked down at his hands. The blood had stopped flowing now and was caked in rivulets across his palms. Ok then, first he needed to get his hands sorted, then some answers. His decision made, he got up and went in search of a shower and some clean clothes.