A/N: Summary: Sarah Wolfe is a normal person until one day she ended up in a situation that she thought she would never end up in again.

School and Theme: Ilvermorny: Redemption:

Special Rule: Ilvermorny: A Muggle

Mandatory Prompt: [Character] Original character

Additional Prompt(s): [First/last line] Once upon a time, the world ended.

Year: 3

Word count: 2088

Once upon a time, the world ended.

Everything crashed around me as I tried to breathe, but my lungs didn't work. 'Air, I need air,' was my last thought as water filled my lungs.

The cold splashed around me as I tried to get out of the water, but my body felt heavy. Screaming didn't help at all, for I could not speak.

'Please don't let me die,' I thought, flailing, my hands splashing in the cold water. My childhood flashed before my eyes as I tried to get out. My whole body went stiff as that was the only thing that I thought of.

The next thing I knew, my wet clothes dragged me down. I held my breath, but I knew that this would not last long.

'I'm sorry, everyone.' Water filled my lungs fast, and no other thoughts came to my head as warmth filled my body. "Hel..." I tried, but my eyes closed, and everything went black.

Air filled my lungs as I coughed. 'I'm alive.'

I heard voices, but they were muffled. I opened my eyes to figure out if I could see who they belonged to, but my vision was fuzzy.

"How could you?" an angry voice said.

"I couldn't just let her die!" another replied. The second voice sounded young. A teenager, maybe. I coughed again as I felt water come out of my mouth. "She is the same age as me, and I didn't want that on my conscience," the second voice said, sounding unsure of himself.

My vision cleared a little, and I saw a young man standing in front of me, wearing a black robe.

"It's easy, Reg. Just let her die." I did not see who the voice belonged to, but she sounded annoyed and angry.

I coughed up more water, which made the young man look at me, and now I finally saw his face. He had black hair and grey eyes. He was soaked, and at that moment, I knew that he must have jumped in after I sank into the water. I looked behind me to see the river that I fell into. I didn't remember how it had happened.

"Why would I do that? She's just a person. I know she's a Muggle, but I can't kill someone," the young man said, turning to the other person that I still couldn't see.

'Muggle?' I thought, confused, wiping my hand over my face and through my blonde hair. Then I tried to stand, but I found that I couldn't. "What..." I cut off when another cough came up.

"You are a Death Eater, Black, and you are going around saving stupid Muggles!" The other voice said.

I didn't say anything as the young man sighed and sat down, looking at me.

"Hello," he said, running his hand through his hair.

"Hello," I replied, unsure if I should speak. The man smiled a little at me. I returned the smile and let out a breath.

"I'm Regulus Black," he said, holding out his hand. I took it and let out a breath as he pulled me to my feet.

"Sarah," I said slowly, not meeting his eyes. When I did, he turned around to look at the woman he was with. She looked older than Regulus. She had black hair and the same grey eyes. 'Sister.' I thought, brushing myself off.

She rolled her eyes and walked a little closer to Regulus.

"Kill her," she said with a nasty smile that chilled me. It took me a while to realize what she had said.

"Kill…." I cut off when I saw her walk closer to me.

Regulus stepped in front of me.

"No. I will not kill her," he said slowly. "You can run back to my mother and tell her that I will not. I don't care."

He took my hand, and everything felt weird.

My head spun when I could see again. I looked over to see Regulus cross his arms and meet my eyes. "Sorry about that. Right, you said your name was Sarah?" he said very awkwardly.

A small smile formed on my lips with the thought that this was just a boy talking to a girl for the first time.

"Yeah, Sarah Wolfe." I held out my hand. He looked at me before he took it and shook it. I saw shame in his eyes as if he had just made a big mistake.

"What's wrong?" I asked him, my voice getting weaker.

He looked at me and sighed, but he didn't say anything as he looked around. We were in a small town, and that is when I realized that it was almost morning.

"It's nothing, just my cousin. She can be, well—" He cut off with a sigh as he let go of my hand. He then started to walk down the road. I followed him without thinking.

The sun started to rise as we both walked up to a park and sat down. He ran his hand over his face and looked at the sunrise.

"Why were you there?" I asked him after a while.

He hesitated before speaking. "My cousin and I were hanging out," he said, and for some reason, I could tell that he was lying. Maybe it was how his eyes moved or the fact that he was not looking at me. "Right um, where do you live?" he asked, standing up. I didn't stand. My body hurt.

"I," I started, but I didn't know what to say. I didn't know this man. However, he had saved my life. I sighed and used the bench to stand before I pointed to the old house beyond the fence of the park. He smiled, but he sighed and closed his eyes.

"Why don't you go home? I need to be alone for what happens now," he said, making me raise an eyebrow.

I slowly walked over to him.

"Why? You want to be alone?" I asked, knowing that I should leave him alone, but this person intrigued me. He didn't say anything before he sighed and turned around to face me.

"I'm not a good person. Not like my stupid brother," Regulus told me, looking down at his arm. I wondered why he looked there, but I didn't ask. "Please go."

"All right," I said before I walked away. However, I stopped and sighed. "You say you are not a good person, but you saved my life. If you don't see that as good, then you are wrong," I added before I walked away.

It was a few days later, and I couldn't help but think of that young man who had saved my life.

Why did he do it, and what was he doing there with his cousin? These stupid questions ran through my head as I stared out my bedroom window. It had been three days since I went home and sat by this window, waiting. Waiting for him to come over and say something. I wanted to know if he was ok really. He seemed upset before I left. My eyes closed for a second before they opened when a knock came on my door. Standing up and stretching, I walked over to the door and took a deep breath before opening it.

In the doorway stood him, Regulus.

"Hello," I said with a small smile on my face. He gave me a half-smile before he sighed and rocked on his feet.

"Can I come in? I have something I need to tell you," he asked, playing with his hands.

Looking at him, I nodded, but I didn't say anything. He smiled again before he walked into my home and whistled before I led him into the living room.

We both sat down by my fire, which I did not light. I was too focused on him. He took a deep breath before he closed his eyes for a long time. At that moment, I wondered if he still thought of himself as a bad person.

"I did something terrible to you," he started opening his gray eyes. I nodded, unsure what he meant by that. He didn't do anything to me. Hell, he saved my life. If this was what he meant, then that was not bad.

"I don't think saving me is terrible, Regulus," I said, but he pulled something out of his robes and waved it at my face. I didn't know what he did but one moment I was in my house and the next something flashed before my eyes.

"Tie her down, Reg. She will get it for looking at you with lovely eyes," someone said. Her voice chilled me as I tried to get away from whatever was heavy on my body. I tried to call out, but no sound came out.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? Just letting her drown. I don't mind girls looking at me, Bella. I need you to understand that I am not emotionally involved in this situation. I think you get it through," a young man's voice said.

I tried to break free, but nothing was working. I could not move at all. A small, crazed laugh filled the air as my eyes dropped. When they opened again, my vision was fuzzy, but I couldn't hear anyone anymore. Well, other than that laugh. I tried calling out as water crashed around me before I sank. Water filled my lungs.

'I'm dead.' That was my last thought before I felt arms around me, and everything went black.

I woke again but for only a short while. All I heard was arguing. "You saved her? Reg? How could you? She's a Muggle who looked at you with love eyes," the woman said.

I coughed, but it was quiet.

"So? That happens to my brother all the time! Also, it's nice for people to look at me nicely after everything!" the male said, voice getting louder. "I don't want to kill anyone. Let alone kill someone who just happens to wink at me."

It was getting hard to hear. The next thing I knew, I blacked out once again.

The room came back, and I blinked away tears but also confusion. Why would someone try to drown someone just because they winked at them? That is the worst motivator ever.

"So, you tried to drown me because I gave you a wink?" I said, confused.

Regulus didn't say anything as he closed his eyes and nodded.

"I…I didn't want to at first, but my cousin, you see, is a little, well um, you saw her," he said, slowly opening his eyes. I let out a breath and shook my head. "I understand if you hate me. She does now, by the way. That's why I'm a little late to explain things," he said, looking down to his arm again.

Again, I did not ask him.

"You tried to kill me!" I yelled, not caring if I made him wince. "I'm scared of the water, and you tried to kill me?" I added before I stormed out of the room, leaving him alone.

I slammed my door to my room with a huff and sat down on my bed. A chill went through my spine when I thought of the fact that I could have died in the water again. 'What do I do?' I thought, closing my eyes.

"I wanted answers, and this is where it leads to?" I said to no one putting my head in my hands.

"You survived this, dear, and you will come out strong. Remember that you will be stronger after it all," my mother's last words rang through my head. I smiled before I stood up and walked out of the room.

I found him in the same spot running his hand over his arm. He didn't look at me when I sat down across from him. I let out a breath before telling him, "You saved my life even though you tried to end it, but this proves that you are a good person. You just went down the wrong path. Maybe you can change it," I said, standing up.

He looked up from his arm and smiled a little. However, I saw pain in his eyes.

"Maybe you're right. I have a lot of thinking to do. Thank you," he said before he too stood up and walked over to the door. I followed him with a smile on my face knowing that I may have saved a life here as well.