[ - ]
Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer Chapter or Story Microsoft Word Chapter or Story
- Text Size +
Drowning


They apparated onto the path outside the gates of Hogwarts, in a clearing of trees, from which they could see the castle far off over the grounds. James lost his balance, even with four legs instead of two, and toppled to the ground in the path, McGonagall only just managing to scoop Lucy Minchum off his back before he tipped. She stared down at the stag as she put the girl down to the path. “Expecto Patronum,” she announced and waved her wand and a tabby cat spurted out, frolicking about them, flicking it’s tail and looking up to the sky. Somewhere above them were Dementors.

McGonagall cleared her throat, “Mr. Potter, please resume your regular shape.”

James turned back, the antlers melting away and the fur shooting back into his skin, his nose returning to it’s normal shape and his eyes sliding back across his face to rest where they belonged. He stared up at Professor McGonagall with a very guilty expression indeed. “I can explain,” he started.

She shook her head, “Not now. Not here. You keep your mouth shut about it until I’ve asked you otherwise. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Professor,” he said, though he wasn’t positive that he did.

McGonagall turned to the gates and cast a very long, very complex sounding spell, which set the locks to turning and the gates to opening. “Carry Miss. Minchum, please, Mr. Potter, she needn’t be making this long trek after all she’s been through.”

“Yes m’am.” He turned to Lucy and crouched down, motioning for her to resume her place on his back and she ran over and jumped on, quite eager to be near to James, who was easily her most favorite person in all of the world by now, and she wrapped her arms about his neck tightly, pressing her cheek against him and hugged herself to him. Professor McGonagall waved her wand and a sort of blanket burst from it, putting off warm air and she bundled the pair of them up in it and James held it shut about his chest.

Without a word, McGonagall led them up the long sloping path to the castle.




Regulus was back in the hall outside the hospital wing, pacing, trying to get up the nerve to go in when Kreacher appeared. “Kreacher has done all that he could, Master!” he cried, clutching Regulus’s feet the moment he appeared. He pressed his great elf ears to the floor and his face against Regulus’s ankles, “Master must forgive Kreacher, Kreacher has done all that he could doooo to follow Master’s orders! But Mistress commanded Kreacher out of the room and the Dark Lord took the girl!”

“What?” Regulus looked quite panicked, “The Dark Lord took her? Where?” He worried profusely for Lucy Minchum suddenly and he knelt to pull Kreacher up, even as he lay weeping, and held his shoulders to make him look his master in the eyes. “Where has the Dark Lord taken Lucy Minchum, Kreacher? I command you to tell me.”

Kreacher snorted loudly as he tried to regain his composure. “It isn’t Lucy Minchum which the Dark Lord has taken from Number 12, Master, it’s the girl! The girl Master has sent with Kreacher and the Potter boy to rescue the little brat! Master Regulus’s friend! It is her that the Dark Lord is taking!”

Regulus froze, staring at Kreacher with searching eyes. The words Kreacher said were hard processing, his brain not quite following their meaning. “Maryrose?” Regulus’s voice shook. “He - he’s taken Maryrose?”

“Yesss,” wheezed Kreacher, “Yes! The Potter boy took the Minchum Brat into the street after hexing Mr. Lestrange, the terrible boy he is, and he’s run away and the Dark Lord is being thinking that Master’s friend Maryrose was the Minchum girl because of a disguise she wore and the real Minchum girl is escaped! But the Dark Lord knows all and the Dark Lord knew it was not the real Minchum brat he had and he searched the mind of Master’s friend and he’s taken - taken her away - and the Potter boy told Kreacher to save her, like you ordered for me to do to help them anyway they said by your order, and Master Regulus’s orders have not been followed because the Dark Lord is… is taking away… the girl… before Kreacher could… could save her!” he wailed.

Regulus’s mouth was very, very dry and he felt quite dizzy and ill. He stood so stunned that he didn’t even stop Kreacher at first when Kreacher started banging his head against the nearest suit of armor to punish himself. He stared blankly down the hallway. “Wait. Kreacher - no.” He grabbed Kreacher ‘round the waist suddenly, tugging him away from the armor as Kreacher grunted and groaned in pain and he put him down firmly, “I forbid you to punish yourself. Where has the Dark Lord taken Maryrose?”

“Kreacher isn’t knowing! Kreacher got kicked out of the room before the Dark Lord said!”

Regulus looked to the ceiling, his heart racing, then turned back to the elf. “Find out. I command you to do everything you bloody can to find out where the Dark Lord’s taken her and return to me the moment you know. Do not rest until you know, Kreacher. I command it.”

“Yes Master, yes! Kreacher will do as he is being told!” and with a crack the elf was gone.

Regulus stumbled into the wall and balled his fists, burying his eyes in his forearm as he tried to regain his breath, to steady the fiercely pumping blood that went through his veins.

Maryrose. Maryrose. Where are you, Maryrose, what’s he done to you? What’ve I done, sending you there? I should’ve gone. I should never have told Potter about the stupid little brat being there. Who gives a blast what they do to her? She doesn’t matter to me! She isn’t anything of mine, I don’t care about her! But Maryrose - Maryrose is everything. She’s the only one that gives a damn about me in all of the world! She’s the kindest, nicest person there ever was. How could he? He wouldn’t kill her, would he? --- Would he?

Regulus felt the breath leaving his lungs and suddenly it was very impossible to get any air at all into them. They felt quite deflating and even when he breathed as deeply as he could, there was just not enough oxygen. He ran into the hospital wing, right up to Madam Pomfrey’s desk. “I can’t breathe,” he begged her, “I can’t breathe, help me.” Tears were coming down from his eyes and he felt as though there were a tight band wrapped about his chest. “I can’t breathe!”

Madam Pomfrey leaped from her desk and came ‘round, waving her wand, “Anapneo!” she cried, waving her wand at Regulus as he clawed at his throat.

The spell made no difference - it wasn’t any object stuck in his throat that needed clearing, after all, it was fear and worry that had swelled in Regulus’s neck and he shook as he sobbed and grabbed at Madam Pomfrey’s cloaks, “Help me, help me,” he begged, “I’m drowning!” For that was exactly what it felt like to Regulus, like his horrible dreams when he fell through the water forever, into outer space and down, down. “Please!! Don’t let me drown!” he sobbed.

Madam Pomfrey hurried back to her store cupboard and opened the doors and started rustling about for an antianxiety potion and she returned a moment later with a round, purple vial and she bit off the cork and pulled Regulus into the ward to one of the beds and made him sit upon it…

At the end of the ward, Remus Lupin peered about the privacy curtain that blocked off Sirius Black’s bed, and Regulus could see his brother looking over his shoulder, both of them staring Regulus’s way as Madam Pomfrey handed the vial of potion to Regulus. “Drink this,” she commanded him.

He drank it quickly - it tasted of lavender - and he drank every drop, his hands shaking and his breath still wheezing dramatically as the room spun from dizziness. But as he lowered the vial from his lips, it slowed and he felt his lungs beginning to expand properly again and the feeling of drowning slowly left him, leaving him leaking great crocodile tears as his face folded up and he sobbed, silently heaving.

Sirius looked at Remus. “What in bloody hell’s happened?” he whispered.

“Dunno,” whispered Remus right back, worried.

Regulus started rocking himself violently, his mind racing about, his mind torturing him the image of that horrid dream he always had - of Maryrose’s corpse swimming in a black lake - he couldn’t make it go away. “Please, please, please,” he sobbed, “Please, please…”

Remus looked at Sirius.

Sirius stared at Regulus.

Pomfrey returned to Regulus with another couple vials and she handed the first to him - another dose of the antianxiety potion, and he drank it down. “Now we’ll give you sleeping draught in just a few minutes and --”

“NO!” Regulus cried, “No, I can’t sleep. I can’t. My elf will be back and I’ll need to go with him to rescue her! I have to rescue her!!”

“Rescue who, my dear?” Pomfrey looked quite confused.

“Maryrose!” cried Regulus.

Sirius’s eyes widened and so did Remus’s and Sirius rolled himself over to sit up. “What’s happened to Maryrose? What’ve you done to her?” he demanded.

“It’s not me that’s done it! It’s your bloody mate! James! He was supposed to protect her!” Regulus answered hotly, looking up at Sirius. “And it’s your fault! If you weren’t such a bloody idiot she wouldn’t have been involved at all! She wouldn’t have been involved!!” he sobbed the words.

“That’s rich. How do you figure that!” Sirius demanded.

Regulus pointed, “If you’d just met with me - your own brother- she wouldn’t have had to pretend to be you! She never would’ve known about the Minchum girl and James Potter never would’ve taken her away to save Lucy Minchum!” He choked out, “It should be you that the Dark Lord’s taken away, not Maryrose!!!”

“What in the fuck are you talking about?!” Sirius demanded.

“Boys!” Pomfrey shouted, “Both of you! I’ve never --”

“MARYROSE HAS BEEN TAKEN BY THE DARK LORD AND IT’S YOU AND JAMES’S FAULT!” Regulus pointed.

“You’re an absolute loon!” yelled Sirius.

“I’m not a loon!” Regulus yelled back.

And then, as though to punctuate the entire conversation, Minerva McGonagall entered the ward, followed by James Potter himself with Lucy Minchum upon his back.

“Poppy!” McGonagall called, “We need your assistance immediately!!”

Sirius stared on in shock as James came ‘round and gently deposited Lucy Minchum into one of the ward’s beds gently, and then staggered into one of his own directly beside it, his face pale and exhausted, his hair an absolute fright, and his wand still clutched in one fist in the way one does when one has been through quite a lot very recently and hasn’t quite acclimated to safety just yet.

“What happened?!” Remus asked.

James looked up, breathless. “A rescue mission,” he muttered, “And it went… just ducky.” He paused and looked about the ward. “Where’s Maryrose? Hasn’t - hasn’t Kreacher brought her back yet?”

“NO HE HASN’T! AND IT’S YOUR FAULT! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT HER!” screamed Regulus.

James looked ‘round at him, “What?”

“MARYROSE! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT HER!!!”

James paled. “She really isn’t back yet?” he looked at Remus.

“I don’t know anything ‘cept what that one’s said,” Rey said, pointing to Regulus.

“The Dark Lord’s taken her. Kreacher said!” Regulus growled. “She’s probably dead and it’s your fault for not protecting her!!!!”