Author's Note: Got a new keyboard, so I'm back at writing the tale. Hope you enjoy this little update.

Admissions: HP chars belong to J. K. Rowling, Leiko to me, and Ravindra to my soul-sister Rave.

Section 20: The Flame and the Darkness

The world was shrouded in night, and yet the darkness seemed to pulsate with life and vitality. Dark eyes watched in silence. Something moved; the darkness itself seemed to move. It took on a physical form, but no specific features could be seen. The eyes saw only a beast of darkness, a creature made from the very night. It evoked fear, this unnatural form did. Still, the eyes were there, watching.

Another flicker; more movement in the dark. Fire. Eyes watched as living flame drew near, yet the darkness was not illuminated. A beast of fire came to stand before the eyes. The two beasts pulsated with a strange power. They were now side by side, the darkness and the flame, and they were advancing. The creatures drew near, one engulfing the world in fire, and the other plunging it into eternal night. They eyes gazes in wonder, and then the beasts engulfed them as well.

Severus Snape woke with a cry. He realized he was in his own bed in his dungeon chambers. He was safe, for the moment. The dream left him panicked, his heart racing. A cold sweat clung to his body. What had he been dreaming of, anyway? The images had faded from memory, leaving on a feeling of...

What was the feeling exactly? Not fear, Snape knew fear. Apprehension, maybe? No. It wasn't that, exactly. And then Snape realized what the emotion was. Foreboding. He felt that something was going to happen, something terrible, but he didn't know what. The nightmare came back to him. It was so different from the imagery that normal haunted his dreams, so it had to be a message. Snape took a few deep breaths, made a mental note about the dream, and closed his eyes. Within minutes he was once again asleep.

"Wake up, Snape. I want to have a word with you."

The wizard groaned and rolled over. Or tried to, anyway. He found that Leiko was sitting on his back, her lips brushing against his neck. How had she gotten in there? Snape was sure he'd activated all his wards the night before. No one could have gotten into his personal chambers without his knowledge. And yet Leiko had.

"How did you get in here?"

"Now, now, Severus. A girl has to have some secrets. Besides, you don't mind."

Annoyance flashed through Snape's mind, only to be replaced by the realization that he really didn't mind. He'd come to enjoy the gryffin's company, and could not bring himself to be angry with her for breaking into his bedroom. In fact, he found that he was rather pleased to see her.

"Wake up, wizard. Rave told me what part you played in the rescue. Can't say I blame you for your inaction, but you could have at least shown some concern."

Snape's eyes flew open, anger rising. That woman! She was acting as though he'd not tried to save her from being kidnapped in the first place. He'd been worried sick about what Voldemort would do to her, and now she was daring to claim he didn't care. Snape pushed up, unseating his gryphonic lover and causing her to tumbled sideways onto the bed. He moved quickly and pinned her down, the anger still smoldering in his dark eyes.

"You dare accuse me of not trying to help?!"

The startled look in Leiko's green eyes was replaced by another. Snape knew that look, but he was in no mood to go along with her this time.

"Do you think me so unfeeling? I did what I could without revealing myself to the Dark Lord. What did you expect? Was I supposed to go charging in and challenge him to a duel in front of all his Death Eaters?!"

Leiko laughed. She actually laughed at his anger and annoyance.

"No, dark one. You did what I expected of you. Why so touchy suddenly? Have a bad dream?"

That coy look in her eyes was not gone, but Snape realized that Leiko had not meant to truly anger him. He made himself take several breaths to calm down before looking her in the eye again.

"My dreams are of no concern to you."

"Really, now? You must be having some odd ones then. Come one, Snape. Share your thoughts, and I'll share my fantasies."

The look in Leiko's eyes had intensified and Snape knew there was no way he'd get out of telling her about the strange dream. He didn't want to talk about that, not to her or anyone else. Snape could only think of one way to change the subject successfully. He tightened his grip on her wrists and bit her on the neck.