The 'Without' Competition: fear

Word Count: 1,212

Regulus's aversion to water had been instilled in him at a young age. One of his earliest memories was of his mother, white-faced and shaking, pulling him away from the edge of a pond at the park near their house.

"You must always be cautious of the water, Regulus," she had explained as calmly as she was able. "Never go near water without me. Promise me." Regulus, who had been about four years old at the time, remembered making that promise without understanding his mother's reaction. The pond had looked so pretty, the sunlight reflecting off the surface of the dark blue water, but the look on his mother's face had been enough to scare him into staying away.

As Regulus had grown, so had his phobia. He came to dread the sight of water, his mother's warning whispering through his mind whenever he found himself close to anything deeper than a puddle in the street. When he was eight years old, he'd overheard his parents talking about something a seer had told them before his birth. Apparently, he was fated to die by drowning. The nightmares had begun shortly after. Images of himself underwater, being pulled down by some unseen force, had him gasping for breath as he awoke in his own bed, perfectly safe and dry. He tried over and over to tell himself that it was silly, that if he just avoided deep water he would be fine, but it never worked. The nightmare returned night after night and his phobia only worsened.

His first year at Hogwarts had proven challenging. Crossing the lake to get to the castle had been the most frightening thing Regulus had ever experienced. As the boat he was in softly cut through the black water, horror took over his mind and body. Heart pounding hard and fast in his chest, Regulus found breathing more and more difficult. He tightly gripped the side of the boat and closed his eyes, trying desperately to pretend that he wasn't on the water, but he could only think about the images from his nightmares and his foretold death. It was getting so very hard to breathe, if only this could be over, if only he didn't feel like he was drowning already...

The next thing that Regulus remembered was waking up in the hospital wing. He had worked himself into such a frenzy that he had passed out and tumbled out of the boat, falling into the very thing that had terrified him so badly. Hagrid had pulled him out within seconds and no damage had been done, but still he was shaken.

New images filled his nightmares that night. He could see the boat above him, the shore not far off, but still something pulled him down, down, away from the safety of dry land. As everything faded to black in his nightmare, Regulus awoke, once again gasping for breath. Even though he hadn't been conscious when he'd fallen into the water, the experience had been enough to scare him even more. What if no one else had been there? What if Hagrid hadn't been quick enough to get him out of the water? He would have died. Sleep evaded him the rest of the night as this thought plagued him.

The rest of Regulus's time at Hogwarts was spent in the shadow of the monstrous lake. He stayed well away from the it and made up excuses about why he couldn't join his friends when they went near it. This was made difficult at the end of each year as the weather turned warm and students flocked to the lake to find some relief in its waters from the growing heat, but still his friends believed every lie he told them.

Sirius alone knew the truth of Regulus's phobia and surprisingly kept the information to himself. However, this didn't stop him from taking great pleasure in torturing Regulus. Many times Sirius made remarks and faked concern whenever they passed each other in the corridors or the Great Hall.

"Mind that glass of water, Reg. It might be dangerous."

"I'd stay inside today if I were you, little brother. It's supposed to rain and I wouldn't want you to hyperventilate at the sight of a puddle."

Sirius's lack of sympathy for his unease hurt more than Regulus cared to admit. He wasn't even sure that Sirius knew the truth about the situation. Their parents shared very little information with Sirius and none at all after he'd been disowned. Regulus just wanted someone who understood, someone who might help him move past this feeling of panic whenever he thought about drowning in the lake. None of his friends knew; they would only laugh at him and he didn't want that.

These memories came flooding back to Regulus in the cold dark cave. He had known when he'd discovered the Dark Lord's secret that he had to stop the man or die trying. When he saw the water surrounding the large rock in the Dark Lord's hiding spot for his horcrux, Regulus knew that he was going to die. Panic welled up inside him. His nightmares were becoming real, the prophecy about his death was going to come true. There was no turning back now; he had to do this for the good of the entire world, both wizards and Muggles.

With shaking hands, he drank the potion. If he had been afraid before, it was nothing to what he felt as the potion coursed through his body. He cried and screamed as terrible images filled his head, most of them involving water. The same terror that had filled him in that boat at the age of eleven now haunted him again, but it felt much more real than it had then. He couldn't breathe, couldn't see anything but the water waiting to swallow him up. He could feel that unseen force pulling him down, farther and farther. His body felt as though it were on fire. He just wanted it to end, but there seemed to be no end to it.

Finally, once the last of the potion was drained away, Regulus was overwhelmed by an intense thirst. He could hear Kreacher begging him to stay away from the water, but Regulus felt drawn to it. This thing that he had dreaded his whole life now became the thing that he knew would save him. Once his thirst was sated, he could leave this accursed place and be far from the water. Just one drink and he could be done with it.

Quick as a flash, Regulus felt his lungs fill with water as he was pulled down below the surface. He felt hands tugging on his robes, clinging tightly to him as he was dragged into the depths. He struggled and tried to scream but only choked on water. This was it; he was really going to die.

As his vision faded and his strength ebbed away, Regulus's panic increased. The last thought he had was that his lifelong enemy had finally got the better of him.