Transtemporal Travel Ⅴ

Nothing can be seen through the settling dust cloud of blue dust, but the ground visibly shakes as something impossibly heavy thuds against the floor causing the cavern to tremble. Brushing the dust off, Rowan slowly lowers her sleeves to peer through the settling dust. She shivers at seeing the shadow of an enormous figure rear its head back.

Rowan wasn't the only one to unconsciously take a step back from outside of the rune circle. Salazar Slytherin very did the same at seeing the enormous shadowy existence rise higher and higher until it halted just below the hanging crystals within the cavern. With a mere puff of breath from its mouth, the blue and white dust immediately clears causing Rowan to snap her eyes shut to keep the dust-out, while trying not to inhale the pellets of sand that hurtle at her roughly scratching her uncovered skin.

Blinking the dust out of her eyes, Rowan peering through watery eyes sees glittering, pale, white scales. There is an enormous bright blue gemstone in the middle of the serpent's forehead that glitters and bathes the entire area in a gentle blue light. There are great large horns on the side of its head that curve slightly back revealing its identity as that of a Great Horned Serpent also known as the snake from the legend Quetzalcoatl.

The rare albino Great Horned Serpent slowly lowers its head to match Rowan's eye level as its blue snake-slit eyes easily reflect the entire form of Rowan in them. (The Great Horned Serpent unlike a basilisk wasn't venomous and tended to keep to itself. It primarily lived in bodies of water such as the great lakes area of North America to the marshy jungles of South America. Even the natives of those lands including non-wizards revered the shy, majestic creatures.)

"Wizarding child," the Great Horned Serpent gently hissed, "it has been some time snake speaker."

Rowan openly gawks unable to believe the sight before her. How was this even possible?! Nadira's mother, the Great Mother Snake had died nearly two years ago!

The Great Mother Snake's tongue flickers in the air as if amused, before turning her head away. Her large sapphire-colored serpent eyes become affixed to the clearly surprised figure of Salazar Slytherin. "Wizard, I know ye," she cold hissed, "ye are the most miserable of snake speakers. So avaricious that thine belly is never full!"

"Serpent," Salazar Slytherin somberly hissed, before stiffly bowing his head to the Great Horned Serpent. He could not understand the seemingly impossible feat before him, but the power held and emitted by the impossible existence before told him otherwise. And for the first time in a long time, he felt very real fear in his heart like that of an ant whose existence could be wiped out at any second.

"This child is mine," the Great Mother Snake hissed, "Do not dare to covet that which is mine, avaricious snake speaker!"

Rowan figuratively gives up in trying to rationalize the situation. The entire situation was already impossible in the first place. Instead, she leans in closer to touch the cool, warm scales of the Great Horned Serpent to reassure herself of just that which she was seeing.

"I understand," Salazar Slytherin rigidly replied, but despite his annoyance at being interrupted, there was still a speck of pride surging within him. His bloodline was far from weak in the future and even had stronger familiars than even he had ever dared to possess. It was the promise that his bloodline would continue to exist for thousands of years to come and in doing so, his name would forever be revered and remembered for generations to come!

"Hold still," the Great Mother Snake hissed before the overhead hanging blue crystals began to glow again. The red sand in the chamber abruptly began to transform and shift into blue sand. The transformed glittering sand began to flow backward from the floor upward to the ceiling.

It was one of the strangest, but most breathtaking sights Rowan had ever seen. It was like witnessing streams of glittering stars floating upward and returning to the heavens. The glittering sand particles streamed faster and faster into the air forming a protective spiraling blue cloud around them.

The spiraling blue cloud begins to spin faster and faster, but not once does Rowan turn to glance over at Salazar Slytherin. Neither she did speak another word to him much less whisper goodbye. There was no need, she had nothing further to say to him.

When Rowan opened her eyes again, they were floating through what seemed like a dark tunnel with flashing lights rushing past them. If she had to describe it was like the described sci-fi description of a wormhole. Glittering stars raced past her as she and the Great Mother Snake moved forward to what seemed like a distant light of an opening impossibly far up ahead.

"How is this possible?" Rowan bluntly blurted out. "I thought-, I thought you were already gone, Great Mother Snake," she gestured dramatically to her neck in a slicing motion.

"Wizarding child, I told you once before that time is a fickle thing," Great Mother Snake patiently explained. "Time is like a great river with fierce and weak undercurrents. The river itself does not always flow at the same pace nor does the river flow in a straight line full of twisting curves including connecting loops. Time like a free-flowing river is not in a fixed state and as such time can bend and interconnect as needed."

"I have not yet appropriately thanked you, Great Mother Snake," Rowan gratefully said, "I fear the worst would have occurred if not for your swift arrival."

"There is no need for your appreciation, wizarding child," the Great Mother Snake warmly replied. "It is my duty to guard those in my care." The serpent's sapphire eyes narrow rather irritably. "That vile snake speaker is an arrogant one and Life and Death would not permit him to damage the fabric of that is to come more than he has already wrought."

"Still, you have my utmost sincere gratitude," Rowan firmly declared.

"As you wish," the Great Mother Snake softly said with a warm gleam in her sapphire-colored eyes. The serpent raises her head and stares intently into the distance, before turning back to Rowan. "Listen carefully wizarding child, war comes with unknown foes, but do not be dismayed, there also exist hidden allies. Trust in them."

The Great Mother Snake uncoils from around Rowan causing Rowan to slightly panic. "Wait, do you wish for me to convey anything to Nadira?"

"My snakelet is strong and healthy and that is more than enough for me," The Great Mother Snake said. "I thank you for having protected my snakelet until she safely hatched."

Shoving Rowan forcefully forward, the Great Mother Snake shouts, "Now go, snake speaker, this will be the last time we meet. Take care and watch thine back!"

Rowan is unable to thank the Great Mother Snake hurtling faster and faster through the glittering vortex. Yet she continues to gaze back with gratitude at the serpent, who had saved her. The light surrounding the Great Mother Snake seems to fade away until the figure of the large serpent vanishes. And in that moment, Rowan knew that the Great Mother Snake was gone for good. It truly was the last goodbye.

A sick, nauseating feeling of sorrow begins to grow in Rowan's stomach when abruptly she arrives at the end of the vortex. She passes through a great portal of light. It's so bright that everything that she closes her eyes unable to stand the blinding light. Even though her eyelids, she can see the light, and everything seems to become an impossibly brightly filled blur before everything mercifully falls into a cooling darkness.