Flow

One doesn't have to believe in science, doesn't have to believe in regions, doesn't even have to believe in BBC or CNN, but one has to believe in fate. Otherwise, for those wonderful encounters in life, not only would there be a loss of explanation, but also would cause a loss of adaptability at the moment. Wouldn't it be a shame to simply ignore God's careful arrangement?

Severus Snape never thinks about things like that. He actively reads various books and newspapers every day, and he is concerned about major events in the world and the incidents in his professional fields, but he never bothers to think about metaphysical questions. This led to a certain day in his life, after seeing a strange phenomenon without any psychological preparation, he suddenly felt very uncomfortable with this abnormal world.

He saw a Hogwarts student flowing on River Thames.

Water pollution… He mused in his mind.

The pollutant was Ginny Weasley. She fell from the top of the bus and into the river. With the swimming skills she learned from Luffy when she was a child, she tried to hold on to her life in a very ungraceful way. When she passed a big oak tree that had its branches crossing above the river, she met a gigantic branch that was destined to go through life and death with her together! The thick tree branch broke off in good timing and fell into the water, right in front of Ginny. She grabbed the life-saving branch and moved her body up little by little as if rowing a canoe on a wide river.

There was no one on either side of the river, and she's probably some distance from the city. The dark clouds in the sky gradually gathered and started to produce rain. Typical temperate marine climate.

As Ginny drifted to the third bend and the river started going down, Professor Snape was holding an umbrella with one hand and carrying a lamp with the other, and walking on the riverside near his home. Suddenly he felt a chill behind him, when he looked back, he frowned, making his brows twisting together.

No, it couldn't be her…

As the distance between them shortened, he realized he made a mistake. It was the Gryffindor one.

Not that surprising if it's a Gryffindor. He told himself so.

Ginny was flowing on the misty river, wondering if Luffy and Black had arrived in London safely, and also wondering where she's heading towards. Not the Atlantic Ocean… right?

Before entering the Atlantic, she saw a figure on the riverside, which looked a bit familiar. The figure also looked back at her. The river was flowing slowly, Ginny and the branch also drifted forward with the flowing water, passing by the figure slowly in the direction from west to east.

Two people, one on the shore, the other in the water, had their eyes meeting each other. Their eyes moved with the water flow, and both were speechless.

Realized that she was about to drift past, Ginny felt obligated to break this awkward silence and said:

"Evening, Professor."

"... Evening... "

"Sir, is London in this direction?"

"... Yes... "

"Thank you, Professor."

"... You're welcome... "

The professor calmly watched a person and a piece of wood drifting into the distance on the slim river. He looked at the umbrella in his hand, looked at the person, looked back at the umbrella, and looked at the piece of wood.

Finally, he passed the umbrella to her with his wand.

"Thank you so much, sir!"

Ginny took the umbrella gratefully, used it as a paddle, and rowed hard, quickly disappeared out of the professor's sight.

It's for keeping out the rain... thought the professor. But not that surprising if it's a Gryffindor.

Holding the lamp, he walked to the house not far away.

Ginny rowed and rowed, believing that London was in a very short distance. All the hard work and frustration would have become a thing of the past. Everything in her sight became poetry, she could not help but chant: Row, row, row my boat, gently down the stream~ Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream~~~

The sky rumbled- and rained heavily. Probably because of the bad chanting.

Urgh! Bad luck. Ginny held up the umbrella and suddenly had a grateful thought-

Professor Snape could finally get his hair washed.