Round 13

Written for the QLFC, Season 5, Semi-Final.

Position: Beater 1

Position Prompt: A fluffy story using the prompt 'Titanic (movie)'

Title: Never Let Go

Word Count: 960

Optional Prompts:

2. (word) fetch

15. (phrase) stabbed in the back

Go Wanderers!

It had escaped from the classroom and out onto the Black Lake. Their professor would have their heads if he found out. The simple solution? Go out and fetch the little shit themselves.

"This is insane," Albus grunted, pushing the boat out onto the lake.

"Shut up and push!" James hissed back, his trousers rolled up past his knees.

Both boys hopped into the boat, each taking an oar and beginning to row, arguing as they went.

"This is your fault…" James muttered.

"My fault?!" Albus snorted, "You were the one messing about in there with -"

"If you had just left us alone -"

"I needed to make sure Wren was okay; she hasn't been right lately." Albus snapped, and James quietened.

They rowed in silence for a brief moment. Albus peered back, the hinkypunk (or Will o' the Whisp, as it was more commonly known) was hovering by the sharp rocks on the left side of the castle - where it was shallow and muddy and too dangerous to row in. They'd have to get out.

"...what's up with her, then?" James asked, quietly.

"She's...since that whole thing with her friends in Ravenclaw, she's been...lonely, I think." Albus chewed on his lower lip. "I shouldn't've said that…"

"She seemed...yeah, I dunno, after them stabbing her in the back like that I thought…" James trailed off.

"You thought snogging her would make her feel better? Like some Muggle film?"

"I wasn't -" He snapped. "It...wasn't that… Not 'snogging', like...it's different…" More silence, before James said, "Like when you're with Scorpius, or something…"

Albus felt his ears burn, but he kept rowing.

Suddenly, the boat rocked, a loud SNAP was heard beneath them and the boat began to flood with water. Both of them swore and pulled out their wands to fix it, only to have a fireball shoot straight at them from the direction in which the Hinkypunk had fled. James lost his balance, grabbed Albus and the brothers toppled into the black lake in a spectacular fashion.

"You idiot!" Albus splashed James. "You fucking twat!" His teeth were chattering.

With a deafening crack, a split formed down the middle of their small boat and the boys were thrown off. Albus swam to climb on top of what was left but James beat him to it and saw fit to take over the entire thing, despite the fact both could easily have fit on it.

James took his brother's cold hands, looked him in the eyes and sobbed, "I'll never let go, Jack." He kissed his hand. "I'll never let go."

"More like long live the king, you asshole! Let me on!" he shouted, attempting to hoist himself onto the creaking, capsized boat, only to imbalance it and have James topple back into the water.

"This was stupid!" James cried. "So stupid! Why did you let me do this?!"

"I let you do this?!" Albus laughed incredulously. "Like anyone could talk you out of doing something once you've set your mind to it!" He splashed him.

"You'd let your brother be a stupid prick?! Careful of the boat! It's damaged enough."

"Like you need help with that!"

James gasped dramatically, holding a shaking hand over his mouth, "How dare you!"

They splashed back and forth some more, until thankfully the hinkypunk reappeared in Albus's line of vision.

"James shush... Shhh," Albus hissed, perhaps resentful of being ignored, the apparition seemed to bounce more the moment it was acknowledged. But James was ahead of the curve. Without even Albus's knowledge his brother had sunk below the surface of the lake, allowing the inky water to swallow him whole with hardly a ripple. As Albus whispered in the direction he'd expected his brother to be, James sprang forth beneath the humming being with both hands aloft and clapped them shut.

Immediately the eerie blue light which had spread across the lake reflecting from the Whisp was swallowed and they were left in the moonlight. They forgot the cold in their moment of triumph, and instead grinned at each other like fools.

"This time," Albus said. "Don't bloody open your hands to look at it. I'm not playing fetch the fire balls with that thing again." Then with a wave of his wand, their damaged boat flipped back over, and they clambered in. They were hopeful that they would make it to shore, even as the wood practically sobbed under their combined weight.

James scoffed after a while, "Fetch the fire balls? Really?"

"I'm so cold my brain is all frozen, okay?!" Albus' voice echoed across the lake.

"Maybe thinking of Scorp will warm it up then," James cooed, "But let's be real, I'm the comedic genius in the family."

"Or the joke of the family..."

James gasped, "How dare you, Albutt Snivillus Grape! How dare you stab me in the back like this, you shall pay for your-!"

"Careful!" Too late. James had stood up, the boat toppled over again and both fell into the shallows of the lake. "The hinkypunk-!"

"I have it, I have it!" James coughed and spluttered, hauling himself out of the water.

"You. Two."

Albus and James flinched, turned around slowly and faced Headmistress McGonagall. At their side was none other than Lily, looking very guilty indeed. The brothers exchanged a look; speaking of being stabbed in the back.