Nyctophobia - Sirius Black

Chapter 7

"Technically it was only half of the Marauders, just Potter and Black."

"Cool." They said in unison.

"It is kind of nice that someone finally stood up to them." Christina said. "The older kids talk about them in the common room, and apparently they were really horrible."

"Especially to Slytherins." Jasper said, pulling a strand of gold hair in front of his face. "This is not my normal color. I'm still waiting for my mother so send me some dye so I can fix it." Ruby frowned.

"When did that happen?"

"Last night. Why?"

"I don't think I've seen anyone from Slytherin all day, now that I think about it."

"They're all probably hiding out in the common room. I wish I could, but hey, at least it's not red."

"Yeah, red would be kind of obvious." Ruby agreed.

"You should still learn how to dance. I wish I knew how." Christina pouted.

"I could teach you." Stanley said, his cheeks turning pink. Christina blushed as well, but agreed, standing up from the grass and brushing herself off. Ruby and Jasper watched as Stanley guided Christina through the steps. She seemed to catch on quickly, and the two were quickly twirling across the grass.

"Come on. You two can dance too." Christina said, trying to pull them to their feet. They stood rather reluctantly when Christina pouted, Jasper putting his hand on her waist, and Ruby putting her hand on his shoulder. He took her other hand, and the two began moving slowly.and Jasper put his hand on her waist.

"Maybe I don't hate dancing. Maybe its just that Amaryllis hates me."

"Maybe." Ruby smiled, moving her foot just in time to avoid stepping on his. It was hard for him to twirl her since he was a full foot shorter than her.

"So why do you hate dancing?"

"I'm not good with people and touching."

"I get that. Are you pureblood?"

"Halfblood, actually. Why do you ask?"

He just shrugged. "A lot of pureblood parents beat their children. Mine don't, but Amaryllis said it happens to her and her brother a lot." Ruby just nodded. "Is that why you don't like touching people?"

"Maybe." She said vaguely. "You kind of remind me of Sev." She said, although she couldn't figure out why. Maybe it was because he was so innocent and naive, yet at the same time so serious.

"This is so much fun." Christina giggled, stepping back from Stanley. Ruby and Jasper stepped apart, and sat down, Ruby putting her bare feet back in the water. "See, Ruby. It's not that bad." Ruby smiled slightly, taking off her robes and putting them with her shoes so it wouldn't get wet. Christina and Stanley took off their shoes, socks and robes before wading into the water, but Jasper wouldn't, insisting he'd rather sit on the grass.

Christina suddenly slipped, crashing into the water with a huge splash. The water was only two feet deep, Stanley having rolled up his pants so they wouldn't get wet, but it seemed there was ledge, and when Christina fell into the water, it was much deeper than it had been before. Christina came up for air, gasping and thrashing around in a panic before going up again.

"Do you know how to swim?" Ruby asked the boys. Jasper shook his head, and Stanley said he could dog paddle, but that was it. Ruby could tell that he wasn't strong enough to carry the other girl. "Go up to the castle and get help."

Not knowing what else to do, Ruby jumped in despite not knowing how to swim. Maybe she'd be able to touch the bottom or something.

She instinctively held her breath, and looked around for Christina. She could barely make her out a few feet away in the dark water. Ruby could feel the ledge with her hand, and hesitantly kicked off towards the drowning girl, fully aware neither might survive this.

She latched on to Christina, who wrapped herself tightly around her like a monkey. The added weight pulled the two down, Ruby kicking furiously, although it didn't seem to do much. She clawed towards the surface, but still they sunk, their lungs burning painfully.

She knew no one would make it back in time to save them. They sunk farther down, Christina now clawing as well. Ruby suddenly felt the muddy bottom under her bare feet, and kicked off with as much force as she could. They moved up towards the surface, still clawing at the water trying to get higher.

They broke through, gasping for breath, before sinking down again. Ruby could feel panic rising, becoming more desperate to pull them up a few inches.

She could feel her magic coursing through her blood, and pushed them up so they could breath, if only for a few seconds. Their lungs burned, but Ruby's magic had seemed to have given out, the two sinking back down below the surface.

The edges of her vision blackened as she tried to get up again. They sunk further, and Ruby tried to get nearer to the ledge.

She coughed, letting out some air, her mouth filling with water. She didn't know how long it had been, but she hoped help would be here soon.

She knew they had sunk down pretty far, but she couldn't help but feel relief when she touched the side of the ledge. She clawed up it, unable to tell if she was moving towards the surface or not.

After what felt like hours, her hand grasped the ledge. She tried to pull them up, but only succeeded in getting a small breath of air before they sunk down again. She had used up too much of her strength and couldn't pull them up anymore.

Would she really die so close to safety?

She tried to pull them up again anyway, but neither got any air. She couldn't see anything, it was too dark, whether from unconsciousness or the water, she couldn't tell. She couldn't breath, no oxygen left in her lungs. Her mouth filled with water as she tried to breath, instinctively knowing that she would die either way.

It was so dark. She couldn't see anything. Not the light above the surface, or even the hand that was right in front of her face, holding her to the ledge. So dark.

She remembered the boy who had almost drowned in the brown river that ran through Cokeworth. He had been pulled out choking and coughing. He had died that night, but she remembered him saying that his whole life had flashed before his eyes, and there had been a small light, so far away, that reached for him.

Ruby couldn't see any light, and her life didn't flash before her eyes. Everything was black. Maybe she was already head.

Ruby had seen a few kids die from accidents in the factory, and all had been panicked in their last moments, begging for someone, a mother, or sibling who had knelt at their side, telling them over and over that they were loved. The person would calm in their last moment, whispering back hoarsely that they loved them too.

It would be different for her. There was no one telling her that she had really mattered and made a difference, but similar to them, she felt a strange calm wash over her.

Her fingers were numb, although the water wasn't cold. Her fingers slipped off the ledge, and she and Christina sunk down slowly.

A/N Thank you so much for reading. Sorry for the cliffhanger. Please let me know if I made any mistakes, or if anything didn't make sense, so I can fix it. Also, it's not the end.