AU!
IWSC SEASON 4, WWN, Issue 2: Writing School: Raising The Tension
School: Beauxbatons
YEAR: Exchange Student
WC: 898 (wordcounter)
Sirius leapt out of his chair when Kreacher popped in front of him, tears streaming down his terrified face. The house-elf held a locket in his hand, which he dropped the moment he saw Sirius.
"Kreacher? Wh—"
"Master Regulus—he's in trouble! Please, you have to help him!" Kreacher wailed, throwing himself at Sirius's feet.
Kreacher's arrival stunned Sirius. He hadn't heard from Regulus since his brother had shown up at his doorstep and asked for his help in escaping the Death Eaters. And now this?
"Wh-what?"
"Help him!" Kreacher clutched onto Sirius's legs. "He's dying! Please, Master Sirius! You're his only hope."
Kreacher hadn't called him Master Sirius since he'd left the family, so the situation must be dire for Kreacher to beg him for help. Sirius forced down the fear threatening to swallow him whole as images of a bloodied Regulus flashed through his mind.
"What happened?"
"Master Regulus was taken!" Kreacher wailed, wringing his hands.
The words turned Sirius's blood cold. He stood straighter and looked down at a still-crying Kreacher.
"Take me to him."
Nothing could have prepared Sirius for what awaited him in the cave Kreacher Apparated him to.
He stumbled the moment his feet touched solid ground, and his foot slipped into ice-cold water. Ripples spread towards the middle of the large lake just before a hand shot out to grab his ankle.
Sirius cursed and shot away just in time. He whipped out his wand, curses and hexes on his tongue. But which one would be most effective?
The moment the first wave of gaunt, skeletal beings rose from the water, their cloudy eyes locked in on his form, Sirius's heart almost stopped. He knew what those creatures were.
Inferi.
"Where's Reggie?" Sirius barked, pointing his wand at the slow-moving Inferi. They crawled out of the water, their deathly pale skeletal hands outstretched towards him, terrifying scowls on their faces.
It was like something straight out of one of those Muggle horror moo-vies Lily made the Marauders watch on her birthday.
"Kreacher can't see him!"
Sirius didn't have time for Kreacher's tears. His brother was in danger—maybe he was even… Sirius refused to think of the worst case scenario. He had to hold out hope for now.
"Keep looking while I distract these things!" Sirius cast hexes and curses, both Light and Dark, but nothing seemed to affect the Dark creatures.
What would Moony say? 'Dark hates the Light, Pads'—that's it!
"Lumos Solem!" Sirius roared, lifting his wand up high over his head.
The tip of his wand glowed brighter and brighter until a blazing yellow light illuminated the cave. The Inferi's inhuman screeches reverberated through the cavern as they stumbled around, squinting and trying to protect their beady little eyes.
"He's down there!"
In the water? Shit! Regulus doesn't know how to swim! Sirius had to get to him now, or else it would be too late. It could still be…
Sirius was attacked by an Inferius, who clawed at his side with its talon-like nails.
Agonising pain shot through his abdomen, and Sirius cried out before blasting the creature away. Pressing his hand to the wound, he grimaced at his blood-stained fingers.
"Bombarda Maxima!" Sirius blew the creatures nearest him to smithereens.
He was drenched by black, gooey blood right before a miasma of rotting flesh and burning eyeballs rose from the corpses.
Sirius forced down the urge to throw up and stormed towards the water, the Inferi's gnarled bones crunching and cracking under his feet. He pretended the sound was just Peter chewing loudly and focussed on getting to his little brother.
This was all his fault. If he hadn't refused to help Reggie… If he'd only listened to his brother… If he hadn't turned Reggie away when he'd asked him for help…
The what if's weren't going to help anyone now. All Sirius could do was hope that Reggie was alive.
Forgetting to cast a Warming and a Bubble-Head Charm in his panic, Sirius lunged into the freezing water and began swimming towards the deep end.
His eyes had to refocus in the darkness as his wand's light had fizzled out after he had jumped into the water. The muscles in his legs burned and ached, but Sirius continued to swim. His heart rate increased the deeper he went into the lake, but he ignored his burning lungs and throbbing wound and focussed on finding Regulus.
A dark figure lay on the lake bed, black hair floating about his head. Regulus!
Sirius swam over, scooped Regulus into his arms, and swam quickly towards the surface.
Regulus was too heavy. Sirius swam harder, not wanting his suspicions to be true.
His head spun and his eyesight blurred as he broke through the water, gasping for breath.
"Master Regulus!"
Sirius dragged Regulus towards higher ground, his arms and legs trembling before he fell onto his knees, blood trickling down his hip.
Kreacher came running and grabbed Regulus from him. "Master, wake up. Please!"
"He isn't b-b-breathing."
Kreacher wailed and began beating Regulus's chest with his fists. When Regulus inhaled sharply and shot upright, a weak smile flitted on Sirius's lips.
"S-seems like I s-saved your a-arse, R-R-Reg," he whispered, his eyesight blurring. "You owe me, b-b-brother."
"Sirius! Hang in there!" Regulus cried, but Sirius's head lolled back as he succumbed to the pain.
At least he had saved his brother.
Sentences to be judged:
"Master Regulus was taken!"
Sirius was attacked by an Inferius, who clawed at his side with its talon-like nails.
He was drenched by black, gooey blood right before a miasma of rotting flesh and burning eyeballs rose from the corpses.
