"Now, I expect the two of you to be on your best behaviour this week," said Regulus's mum. She gave a very stern glare to Sirius, before sweeping out the door.

"Not even a goodbye," muttered Sirius irately, kicking his feet and stirring up dust. "What a great mum she is."

"Aw, Sirius, cheer up!" said Regulus. "We've got a whole week free!"

"We're stuck with Aunt Lysandra!" Sirius lamented. "It's not freedom, it's just another prison!"

Regulus rolled his eyes. Their parents had to go on a work vacation (as they called it) for the week, and had found the first place to leave him and Sirius. Regulus hadn't seen his aunt Lysandra in years, but from what he remembered, she was pretty nasty to Sirius- then again, though, who in their dysfunctional family wasn't? "Where is Aunt Lysandra, anyway?"

Sirius shrugged, walking into the dusty living room. "I dunno… hey, check this out."

"What?" asked Regulus, walking in. He blinked. Strange, he mused, everything's covered in white sheets and dust. "That's weird. D'you think something happened?"

Sirius shook his head. "Aunt Lysandra would never let her place get so dusty. It doesn't make sense."

"HEY! AUNT LYSANDRA!" Regulus shouted. No response sounded. He was about to try again, when a crash sounded.

"Did you hear that?" asked Sirius, startled. He moved towards the sound. "Come on, it came from the kitchen."

Regulus followed him hesitantly. The kitchen was just as dusty as the living room had been. Regulus wasn't sure where the crash had come from, until he felt a sharp pain is his foot. "Ouch!"

He backed up quickly, and Sirius bent down, picking something up. He held it up for Regulus to see: "It's a piece of a broken plate."

Regulus sat down on the dusty floor and yanked off his tennis shoe; his sock was all bloody. "That's weird. It shouldn't have cut through my shoe."

"We should wrap that up," said Sirius. "Wait here, I'll go find some bandages."

He walked off before Regulus could protest. He sat there awkwardly, staring at the shards of broken plate still on the ground and already covered in dust.

Then things got really weird.

The shards started floating. Regulus shoved on his tennis shoe and scrambled to his feet, backing towards the door. The shards shot forward, and Regulus started running.

He didn't stop to look back; he ran until he collided with Sirius, knocking them both over. Sirius gave him an incredulous look, almost irate. "I told you to stay put!"

"The- the shards!" Regulus stammered, looking behind him and panting. "They were- they were floating! They attacked me!"

"Regulus, that's impossible," said Sirius dismissively. "Unless someone is pulling a really cruel prank (and why would Lysandra do that? You were always her favourite), broken plates can't attack people."

Regulus just frowned.

"I couldn't find any bandages, so I ripped off part of a sheet," said Sirius, pulling off Regulus tennis shoe again. Regulus winced as he wrapped the wound, but said nothing, still staring in the direction of the kitchen.

Something weird was going on here, and it was more than just a cruel prank.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful. Sirius had slowly relaxed, since Aunt Lysandra still hadn't shown up. Regulus was still tense. Despite the lack of flying china, he felt a strange foreboding.

The only thing Sirius was worried about by now was food. There was no food in Aunt Lysandra's cabinets, and the nearest town was miles away. They'd so far made due with the plentiful amount of snacks they'd packed before coming, but they'd run out soon.

"I'm thinking of trying to fly into town," said Sirius the next morning. "It's pretty far, but what choice have we got?"

"Doesn't Aunt Lysandra have a garden?" Regulus asked in a small voice.

"I checked," said Sirius heavily. "It's all wilted. I never thought I'd say this, but I wish Lysandra was here. At least then we wouldn't have to fend for ourselves."

"Have you looked for her?" asked Regulus. "I haven't. Maybe she is here."

Sirius looked doubtful. "I've been in most of the rooms in the house, except the drawing room and Lysandra's bedroom."

"So why don't we check there?" suggested Regulus.

"It's been a whole day," Sirius pointed out. "She'd've come out by now."

But he sounded doubtful himself.

"Alright, we can check to drawing room," he said. "Come on; it's upstairs."

They cautiously made their way upstairs. It was even darker up there, and Sirius pulled something out of his pocket. Soon, the hallway was illuminated.

"Muggle torch," Sirius explained. "I figured it might come in handy sometime."

Regulus nodded, and followed him down the hall. They stopped at a large, ornate door. Sirius paused, then knocked hesitantly. Nothing.

"See?" he said. Regulus rolled his eyes before striding forward and pushing the door open and walking in. Sirius shone his light around the room, before letting out a sharp gasp and focusing in on something.

Well, Regulus was right. Aunt Lysandra was in the drawing room.

Regulus took a step towards her. Sirius held him back.

"Is she asleep?" Regulus asked. Sirius walked forward, glaring at Regulus for him to stay back. He peered at her closely, shaking his head.

"I think…" he said, eyes wide. "I think she's dead."

Regulus gaped. "What?"

Sirius gently touched Aunt Lysandra on the shoulder. For a moment, nothing happened. Sirius moved to walk back towards Regulus, but Aunt Lysandra grabbed him by the wrist.

Wait. How do dead people grab anyone?

Sirius yelped and yanked his arm away, but Aunt Lysandra's grip proved to be quite strong. Sirius let out a long string of curses. "Reg, run! I think she's an Inferi!"

Regulus's eyes widened, but he didn't run. Instead, he grabbed Sirius's other hand and pulled hard. Finally, Sirius was free from Aunt Lysandra's grip; he pulled out his wand, and yelled a spell: "Bombardo!"

They didn't wait to see the effects. Sirius pulled Regulus out the door and slammed it tight, breathing heavily. Regulus slid down onto the floor, adrenaline wearing off.

"Sirius," he said quietly after a moment, "we have to get out of here."

Sirius nodded grimly in agreement. "I think I believe you about the plates now."

"Yeah," said Regulus. "I finally believe me too."

It didn't take them very long to gather all their things. Regulus supposed that fear could do that to you. Soon they were ready to leave- where they'd go, neither was sure. Just far, far away from Aunt Lysandra's seemingly haunted house.

But it was too easy. Sirius spent a few moments trying to open the door before shaking his head. "It's locked."

"Bust it down," Regulus suggested.

Sirius shrugged, and pulled out his wand again, muttering a blasting curse. They were both blown backwards, landing hard. The door was unscathed.

"Something's keeping us in here," Sirius said, narrowing his eyes.

"Should we try the window?" asked Regulus.

"I'll try," said Sirius. "Just in case it explodes again or something."

He walked over to the window on the farthest side of the room, and sent another blasting curse at it. Again, Sirius was thrown backwards, but he stood, undaunted, and pocketed his wand.

"I'm gonna try this the muggle way!" he told Regulus, before running forward and punching the window. The glass broke, and Sirius swore and pulled his hand away, shaking it. Regulus made his way over, just in time to see the break in the window seal itself over.

"Well," said Sirius, still holding his now-bleeding hand. "If anything, that only made things worse."

Regulus ripped off a piece of the nearest sheet and handed it over to Sirius, who wrapped it around his hand. "The floo?"

"Worth a shot," said Sirius. "I have some floo powder in my trunk."

"Why?"

"For emergencies," Sirius shrugged. They walked over to the fireplace, and Sirius grabbed a match and lit it. To my shock, the whole match caught fire, and Sirius threw it into the fireplace.

"You alright?" Regulus asked worriedly.

"Fine," said Sirius, staring at the flames. He threw a pinch of floo powder into the fire, and it flashed green- but not for long. Soon it was red again, taunting them.

"This isn't gonna work," Regulus muttered, shaking his head "We're stuck; we can't get out."

"Maybe," said Sirius, getting a look that meant he was plotting something. "But who's to say someone else can't get in?"

"Why would anyone want to get in!?"

"If someone could open the door from the outside, we could get out!" Sirius exclaimed. Regulus nodded; that did make some sense. "I'll call James."

"In case you didn't notice," Regulus said, "the floo is messed up. I'm not letting you stick your head in the fire and get yourself killed."

"No, no," said Sirius, rummaging through his trunk. He pulled out a mirror, grinning broadly. "It's a two-way mirror! James has the other one."

"That's brilliant!" Regulus gawped. "Gee, Sirius, I didn't know you or James were smart enough to think of something like that."

Sirius gave him a glare, before focusing his attention on the mirror: "James Potter."

After a moment, the mirror flared to life and James Potter's face appeared, looking like he'd just gotten out of bed. "Mate, it's not even eight yet. What d'you want?"

"James, we need help," Sirius said. His tone must've caught James's attention, as the boy narrowed his eyes and seemed to sit up.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"We trapped," said Sirius. "Mother and Father dropped us off at our Aunt's, but she's dead and we can't get out. We've blasted the door, the window, and tried the floo."

"Your parents left you with a dead person?"

"They didn't know."

"Well, shouldn't they have made sure she was alive before leaving you there?"

"Have you met my parents?"

"Did you try unlocking the door?"

Sirius and Regulus exchanged glances.

"Well, no," Regulus said. "We didn't think to after the blasting curse failed."

James rolled his eyes. "That's a good place to start."

"I'll go try," Regulus said, walking back over to the door. He pulled out his wanted and pointed it at the doorknob. "Alohomora."

He reached out and tried to open the door again, only to quickly pull away. "Ow! It's hot!"

Sirius jogged over with the mirror, and touched the doorknob as well, before groaning. "He's right; it's practically on fire."

"I'm gonna go wake my dad," said James. "Where are you guys, anyway?"

"The thing is," Sirius said, frowning deeply. "We're not sure."

After Sirius had made an educated guess that they were approximately fifteen miles into the woods from some town called something Regulus couldn't remember, the boys had cleared one of the couches and were now sitting on it waiting.

"We're sitting ducks," muttered Sirius, leaning back. "Whatever's in here could easily get us."

"How's your hand?" Regulus asked. Sirius flexed it.

"Fine," he said. In the light of the large Sirius's flashlight, Regulus could see a dark bruise forming on his brother's wrist.

"I guess Aunt Lysandra did that," he said. Sirius nodded, covering his wrist with his good hand. "Do you think they'll get here in time?"

"Of course!" Sirius said fervently. "Don't worry, Reg. It'll be okay."

There were several loud crashes, coming from the kitchen; Regulus scooted closer to Sirius, who put his arm around his shoulders.

"We're safe here," he said. "I think everything stays in its respective room." He looked around the room uneasily. "And I don't think there's anything harmful in here."

Regulus shivered, trying to ignore the strange creaking and crashes coming from about the house. And then, as if on cue, something appeared in the doorway across the room. Regulus's eyes widened, and he tugged on his brother's sleeve. "S-sirius…"

"What's the matter?" Sirius asked, following his frightened gaze. He froze, before standing up suddenly. "We blew her up!"

"Apparently not!" Regulus spluttered, as Aunt Lysandra (still obviously dead) walked slowly into the room. He stood as well, clutching his wand in his pocket.

"Back… away… slowly…" Sirius said, holding out an arm in front of Regulus as they both walked backwards. Aunt Lysandra hadn't seen them yet- if she could, that was.

Then Aunt Lysandra lunged.

Sirius grabbed Regulus by the arm and pulled him forward, running straight into the kitchen. Shards of china and glass flew at them almost immediately.

"Keep running!" Sirius roared.

Ignoring the shards as best he could, Regulus stumbled along behind Sirius. Finally, they were out of the kitchen; both of them dropped onto their knees, panting. Looking back, Regulus didn't see Aunt Lysandra anywhere.

"Are you okay?" Sirius asked worriedly. Regulus nodded mutely, concentrating on breathing. "I guess we're both a bit cut up, huh?"

"A bit?" Regulus replied sarcastically.

"I hope James gets here soon," Sirius muttered, staring at the kitchen doorway. "I don't think we can take much more of this."

The nice thing about the little hallway they were hiding in was that nothing dared to pass through the kitchen. The shards attacked anything that moved, it seemed.

Sirius had patched both of them up as best he could, using the limited knowledge he had of healing spells. Both of their robes were in tatters and covered in blood, but they were relatively alright physically.

Mentally? Regulus was scared out of his wits. He couldn't say how Sirius felt; the older boy looked more determined and grim than anything else, alternating from pacing in front of the kitchen doorway and sitting cross-legged on the floor beside Regulus.

"All our stuff is back there," Regulus whispered. "Your mirror… how's James supposed to contact us?"

Sirius seemed to be thinking of that too. "Maybe I'll sprint over there real quick."

"Sirius! You'll be skewered!" Regulus exclaimed.

"We ended up alright last time," Sirius shrugged.

Regulus crossed his arms. "And if Aunt Lysandra is still over there?"

Sirius sighed, and sat down again. He seemed to be thinking hard. After a moment, his eyes lit up and he pulled out his wand. "Accio two-way mirror!"

Within a few moments, Sirius's mirror came flying towards them- only to be stopped by an invisible barrier and land in the doorway. Sirius rolled his eyes and walked over the retrieve it.

"Careful!" Regulus warned.

"Don't worry," Sirius said, before reaching his hand over and grabbing the mirror, yanking his arm back quickly as the shards leapt up.

Sirius held up his arm, inspecting it, before smiling. "See? No problem. And it seems those shards can't get in here either."

Regulus sighed in relief.

They sat there in silence for the longest time; Regulus wished they had something to talk about, but at least they seemed to be safe at the moment.

Sirius abruptly stood, and Regulus tilted his head in confusion.

"I'm going to see what's down this hall," he said, before glaring at Regulus. "Stay put."

"Sirius-"

"Don't worry," said Sirius. "I'll be fine."

He started to walk away, before pausing and looking back. "And, Reg?"

"Yeah?"

"If I'm not back in thirty minutes, call James."

"Alright," Regulus said. "But you'll be back, right?"

Sirius hesitated. "Of course, Reg."

And then he disappeared into the darkness. Regulus wrapped his arms around his knees. He wished Sirius wouldn't have left; now he was all alone. What was he to do if Aunt Lysandra came back? Or something equally horrible happened?

What if Sirius didn't come back?

No, Regulus thought, don't think like that; of course Sirius will be back.

He hoped there was nothing nasty down that hallway. Wasn't it a bad idea to split up? Maybe Regulus should go after him.

"It's not even been a minute," Regulus muttered, staring down the hallway. Eventually, he got bored of watching and started doodling in the dust with his finger, periodically glancing back up to make sure that nothing was lurking in the darkness.

After about fifteen minutes, Regulus was really getting worried. Where was Sirius? He should've been back already… Regulus stood shakily, clutching his wand tightly, brandishing it in front of him. He took a step forward, before stepping back again.

"Sirius told me to stay put," he recited to himself. "He'll be back soon."

But as fifteen minutes turned to twenty and twenty to twenty-five, Regulus started pacing impatiently in front of the kitchen doorway.

Where was Sirius? It had almost been thirty minutes… maybe he should go ahead and call James.

Mind made up, Regulus picked up the mirror and said clearly: "James Potter."

James's face appeared on the screen. "Sirius, what's- Regulus?"

"Yeah," said Regulus. "Sirius went off alone… he told me to call you if he wasn't back in thirty minutes."

James cursed. "Idiot! You don't split up!"

"Should I go after him?" Regulus asked.

"That's not going to help," said James, looking worried. "Maybe he lost track of time."

"Yeah," said Regulus. "Maybe."

"Dad and I are looking," said James. "Hopefully we'll find you guys soon. Don't worry."

Don't worry. Sirius had said that too. But Regulus was certainly right to worry. "Please hurry, James."

"We will," said James, and the mirror went black.

Sirius still wasn't back.

It had been close to an hour now. Regulus was tempted to go after him, but he doubted that would be of any use. Sirius hadn't returned, and now Regulus was starting to think he wouldn't.

He really was all alone now. Regulus pulled his knees up to his chest and buried his face in his arms, sniffling. He was scared; scared and alone and quite possibly now an only child. He'd thought this week would be a nice one, parent-free… instead, it had consisted of never-ending fear.

He didn't want to call James; he didn't want to tell him that Sirius wasn't back yet. He didn't want to admit it… to say it aloud would mean there wasn't any hope.

Surely, despite everything, there was still hope.

He wasn't being useful at all just sitting here, though. It seemed he had two choices: stay here or go after Sirius. He thought about it for a moment: a Slytherin would stay, and a Gryffindor would go after Sirius.

Obviously, Regulus chose the latter.

He stood, took a shaky breath, and started down the hallway; Sirius's mirror was in his pocket, and his wand was in his hand. As it got darker, he lit it.

The hall looked like any other in the dilapidated house: dark and dusty. Most of the doors were closed and locked. There was no clue as to where Sirius was.

Up ahead, Regulus could see a dim light. Curious, he walked towards it, brandishing his wand threateningly. To his amazement, it was coming from an open room. He looked into it, careful not to move past the doorway lest something attack him.

As his eyes became adjusted to the light, he let out a sharp glass. He'd found Sirius. His brother was trapped in some sort of web, looking close to unconsciousness.

"Sirius!" Regulus exclaimed. Sirius stared at him, eyes wide, before he started shaking his head wildly, yelling something. Regulus got the gist, though: don't come in.

"I'm going to try to cut you free," Regulus said, before muttering cutting curses and sending them at the web. After a few curses, the web fell away, and Sirius ran out of the room as quickly as he could. Regulus shut the door quickly, before rushing over to Sirius, who was on his knees, panting.

"Sirius, are you okay?" Regulus asked.

"Yeah," Sirius managed, voice raspy. "I think so."

Regulus wrapped his arms around his brother, feeling his eyes tearing up. "I thought I'd lost you! I thought you were dead!"

Sirius patted him on the back. "I'm okay, Reggie. I'm okay."

They stayed there for what seemed like forever, before Sirius shakily stood. Regulus followed, steadying his brother. "Sirius, what happened?"

"I walked in there," said Sirius. "And suddenly I was caught in a web, like a spider's."

He shuddered.

"It was suffocating me," he said, and Regulus winced. "You got there just in time. I don't know how much longer I could last. I thought for sure…"

He didn't finish his sentence, but Regulus knew what he meant. He'd been very close to losing Sirius for real- too close.

"Next time," Regulus said, "let's not split up."

Sirius nodded in agreement, still staring at the closed door.

They'd quickly returned to their safe spot after the scare. After his near-death experience, Sirius had little interest in exploring again, so they stayed put.

"Sirius," Regulus said after a while. "When do you think James will find us?"

"I don't know," Sirius admitted. "Soon, I hope."

"What do you think is keeping us here?"

Sirius didn't reply for a long time.

"I don't know."

Then they were silent again. Regulus stared blankly at the kitchen. When James and Mr. Potter arrived, wouldn't they open the front door? Maybe Sirius and Regulus could run out really fast. The only problem was… the front door was on one side of the kitchen and they were on the other. They'd have to run back through- and hopefully not get killed by flying china.

"Maybe we could blow the roof off?" Regulus suggested.

"The stairs are over there," said Sirius, gesturing to the kitchen. "And we'd be crushed if we tried here."

"Well, aren't you just the optimist," muttered Regulus.

Sirius shrugged. "I'm being realistic."

"We're gonna have to go back over there, anyway," Regulus pointed out.

Sirius was silent.

"What's wrong with you?" Regulus asked, exasperated. "Earlier you'd've been all for that plan!"

"Maybe I realised that we could both die!" Sirius snapped. Regulus reeled back, shocked. "This isn't some sort of prank, Reg! Something has us trapped, and it's trying to kill us both!"

Regulus stared at him.

They were both quiet for a moment, but Regulus broke the silence: "Do you really think we're going to die?"

"I'm going to try my best to stop that from happening," said Sirius heavily. "Hopefully James will get here on time."

Regulus nodded slowly.

The silence came back, more deafening than ever. Both of them just sat there. After a few minutes, the silence was pierced by a low hissing sound. Regulus's head snapped up. "Sirius… do you hear that?"

Sirius's eyes widened. "That sounds like…"

"Snakes!" they both exclaimed at the same time, shooting to their feet. Snakes were slithering slowly into the hallway, from where, Regulus didn't know.

"Run!" Sirius exclaimed, pushing Regulus away from the snakes. Regulus took off, periodically looking back to make sure Sirius was behind him,; his brother was shooting spells at the snake, but it only seemed to serve to anger them. Regulus started to circle back to help Sirius, but he yelled: "Keep running and don't look back!"

Regulus hardly wanted to take this advice, but he did anyway. He ran as fast as he could, comforted by Sirius's footsteps behind him.

But, suddenly, there was a loud thud and a yelp from Sirius; Regulus turned to see him on the floor, looking like he was in pain. Without thinking, he doubled back and ran in front of Sirius to try to protect him for the snakes. But just as one snake lunge out to bite him, it hit a force-field, and bounced back, hissing angrily.

Oh. There must've been force-fields throughout the house, sectioning it off for different horrors. Thankful for the safety, Regulus bent down by Sirius.

"What happened?" he asked. "Did you trip?"

Sirius shook his head mutely, pulling up his pant leg to reveal what looked scarily like a snake bite. Regulus sucked in a sharp breath. "I hope those weren't poisonous."

"Me too," muttered Sirius. "I really thought we were safe there…"

Regulus looked around uneasily, before looking back at Sirius. "I don't think we're safe anywhere."

Nothing had attacked them in this section so far, so Regulus had started to doodle a map in the dust. Section one had the drawing room to the living room, labelled with: "Aunt Lysandra". Section two was the kitchen: "Flying China". Three was the hallway they'd been in: "Snakes". Four was the hallway they were in now: "Unknown".

All of the house was awful, but Sirius seemed to really hate this section. He was pale and shaky here (though Regulus wasn't quite sure that wasn't from something else), and he kept glancing around at the cobwebs in the corners.

Regulus was really worried. Sirius was starting to get almost feverish, and he suspected it was due to the snake bite. But there was nothing he could do to help him, and that tore him up.

Regulus pulled Sirius's mirror out of his pocket. He glanced at Sirius, who was shivering and drawing gasping breaths, before turning his attention back to the mirror. "James Potter."

The mirror once again came to life. James was looking more worried than ever. "Regulus? Are you alright?"

"Are you close?" he asked. "Please say you are."

"We think we found the house," James said reassuringly. "We're flying as fast as we can."

Regulus nodded. "Good. That's good."

"Did you… did Sirius ever come back?" James asked, looking hopeful and worried at the same time.

"I found him," said Regulus.

"Can I talk to him?"

Regulus glanced over at Sirius, who seemed to be concentrating on breathing more than anything. He was hardly in a position to talk to anyone.

Regulus shook his head, and James's face fell. "How come?"

"He got bit by some sort of snake earlier," said Regulus, biting his lips. "I think it might've been poisonous."

James frowned deeply. "Where are you guys in the house?"

"Towards the back," said Regulus. "Please hurry, James."

"We'll try to find a way," said James fervently. "Hang in there, and tell Sirius the same."

Regulus nodded mutely, and the mirror went blank.

"Reg," Sirius said, and Regulus rushed over to him quickly.

"Do you need something?" Regulus asked. "I'm sorry I can't do much…"

"Regulus, you have to get out of here," said Sirius urgently. "There's no way you can carry me to the front door, and there's no way I can walk. You're going to have to leave me here."

"No way!"

"Regulus," said Sirius, looking very grim. "You haven't got a choice."

"I am not leaving you," said Regulus, determinedly hoisting his brother up and trying to help him stand. He certainly couldn't carry him, but maybe with Regulus's help Sirius could walk.

"Are you sure you're a Slytherin?" Sirius asked, looking bemused.

Regulus just shrugged.

So the two started forward again. The snakes had gone, thankfully, and they didn't encounter any trouble on the way back towards the kitchen. It was easy. Too easy.

"D'you think you can run?" Regulus asked. "Just this stretch?"

Sirius nodded determinedly. "I can try."

They rushed forward, blindly running through the kitchen. Just when Regulus was starting to think they'd make it, one of them tripped, sending both sprawling to the floor. Regulus hopped to his feet, and made to help Sirius do the same. His brother had stubbornly forced himself to his knees, but he couldn't seem to get any further.

"Come on, Sirius," Regulus insisted. It was eerily still in the kitchen now. The shards had stopped flying, and the only sound was their own ragged breathing. "Just a little bit further."

Sirius looked up at him, and, for the first time since arriving here, Regulus could see pure terror in his eyes. That disappeared after a moment to be replaced by determination as Sirius shakily stood, leaning heavily on Regulus. Both of them walked to the door, completely unsteady but unwavering all the same.

The shards didn't attack them again.

As soon as they were out, Sirius fell onto his knees again, and Regulus was very close behind. "We're gonna be okay, Sirius. James is almost here."

Sirius managed a nod in reply, not bothering to look up.

Then something grabbed Regulus by the arms and pulled him upwards. He let out a scream, but it was cut off as his mouth was covered. Sirius's head snapped up, and, though it had seemed impossible, he went even paler.

It's one of those webs! Regulus realised in horror, writhing to escape even as the web grew tighter around his body.

Sirius stood wobbly, pulling out his wand to try and cut Regulus loose. But it seemed he didn't have the energy, as he collapsed back on the floor, eyes shut as if in pain. Now Regulus understood why Sirius had been so shaken up by the web before- the feeling that he was slowly suffocating was terrifying, and the sight of Sirius on the floor, gasping for breath and wincing in pain, only added to the fright.

This was it. They were both going to die in here- one of poison, the other of suffocation. There was no way James would get here in time. Darkness was slowly creeping into the edges of Regulus's vision; Sirius had pretty much stopped moving at all. He was either unconscious or… well, Regulus didn't want to think of the other possibility. He struggled harder, fruitlessly fighting his bonds.

There was a loud bang, like a door being opened, followed by shouts that Regulus couldn't make out. His chest hurt from lack of air, and he was near to unconsciousness himself. He tried for a feeble cry for help, but it was muffled.

Suddenly, he fell, and the bonds disappeared; he was gasping for breath on the floor. Someone picked him up, and he was startled by the sudden break from inertia. Brightness flooded his vision, temporarily blinding him.

When he adjusted, he saw a man who looked rather like James Potter. This must've been his father, then. They were safe now. With that in mind, Regulus finally let darkness take over.

A/N: Well, what do you think? This was my very first attempt at a horror story. The ending is up to you guys- unless you want me to write an ending for it. XP This took me quite some time, but it was fun to write from Reg's POV. Hope you enjoyed!

I don't own Harry Potter.

And I promise I'm not abandoning any other stories! My original story takes priority, but I'm still working on Fanfiction. :D