Little Miss Marauder

Chapter 12 - I Can't Leave Him

Chapter 12 - I Can't Leave Him

James swam through the lake, ignoring the shouts from around him, he just needed to reach Cassadee. As he looked up at the boats, trying to see how close he was to her, He felt something wrap around his waist, pulling him away. James started shouting, scratching at the arm. "NO. Let me go! I need to help her." He scratched and kicked, hoping to escape the grip. As he struggled in the water, more and more of it splashed into his mouth. Spluttering and struggling for breathe, James barely heard the two splashes that followed. Through his blurred vision he saw the boats moving closer to the castle, further from him.

Sirius was laughing at James' overprotective nature, that was until he heard the splash. He looked over and saw his new friend swimming away from their boat, towards the one his sister was in. He watched in shock, his mind not fully understanding what was going on. Not until he heard the screaming. As Sirius' mind cleared he heard James' screams. His panicked shouts for Cassadee. He watched more and more water go into the mouth of his friend. Without thinking Sirius jumped in and began to swim towards his friend. He couldn't let this happen. He already felt so close to James, and seeing him struggle made Sirius realise that he couldn't let his friend die.

Cassadee heard shouting coming from a boat other than her own and recognised the voice. Looking up she saw James jump from his own boat into the lake. Did he not remember all of the creatures she told him about after she had read 'Hogwarts: A History'? Did he not know how dangerous this was for him? Without her realising what was happening, she had already snapped out of her sobbing state and stripped off her cloak to jump into the water. She felt a tug on her wrist and turned to see Lily looking up at her from her seat on the boat. "What are you doing? You can't get in as much trouble as that boy will! You could get detention before we even get there!" Lily was concerned for her friend and didn't want her to get in trouble, thinking of the potential consequences that Cassadee could face.

"Lily. I have to go in. He's my brother. I can't let him drown!" and without another thought, Cassadee jumped into the lake and began to swim back towards where James was flailing. Lily sat gobsmacked in the boat, staring at the spot where Cassadee was, mere seconds before. Lily sat and watched her friend swim away, she turned back to Severus and he was just staring at the water, a harsh glare remained on his face. "Sev, what is wrong with you? What could she have done? I've never seen you like this before." Lily had only known the girl for a few hours and spoken to her for less than one, but she could not see Cassadee ever doing something that would hurt Severus as much as he was right now. She was also extremely curious as to why the girl had called herself a monster, agreeing with the awful words Severus had said about her during the heated arguement. What could some one have done to feel about themselves in that way?

Sirius was swimming as fast as he could to reach the struggling James in the water. He couldn't let anything happen to the boy. All he wanted to do was to help his sister and now he was close to drowning in the lake. Sirius had heard stories of the kind of creatures that dwelled in the lake from the other Blacks. He couldn't let this happen to the boy that had been so nice to him, despite his name. He used all of the strength an 11 year old could have as he pushed through the freezing water, ignoring the shouts and laughs from around him.

James felt himself being dragged under the water but he knew he had to fight. He kicked his legs and flailed against the grip on him. Running out of air james tried to reach for his wand in his cloak pocket. He couldn't get hurt now. He had to look after Cassadee. So much had happened to her and he had to be there to help her through her transition. As he fished through his pocket, James felt himself growing weaker, each movement felt harder and was more difficult to do. His vision began to get even hazier than the water was already making it. Just before everything went black he felt something grip his forearms and pull him upwards. The other grip around his waist began to slacken as he rose closer and closer to the surface, but by then his air had run out and his vision went black.

Cassadee saw Sirius tearing through the water towards James with almost the same urgency that she had. But by this point James was fully submerged in the lake. The only way she was able to tell where James was, was the air bubbles that were constantly exploding over the surface. She dived under once she got close and tried to see, but the lake was dark and the bubbles also obstructed her view. She desperately bobbed her head back above water and gasped more air. She needed to get to him. After all the times he had saved her, she really needed to save him.

Sirius had gripped James' arms and was pulling him up towards the surface, against the grip that was around his waist. James' struggles became weaker and weaker until they stopped all together. He stopped moving just as Sirius got his head above the water. It lulled against his own shoulder and his eyes would not open. "James? James! JAMES!" Frantic shouts echoed through Sirius' ears. He could hear the words but was too focused on getting James to a boat, any boat so he did not bother to look at the mess of a girl that was sobbing. A large hand reached down and encircled both of the boys, pulling them out of the water and into a boat.

Cassadee felt a grip around her waist and a force pull her away from the water. Away from her unconscious brother. "No! NO! You have to let me near him! I CAN'T LEAVE HIM!" By this point she was hysterical and thrashing against the hold on her. For an 11 year old, she had an unproportional amount of strength. She had managed to break free from the hold on her and began swimming through the lake again. But before she was able to get far, the grip had returned to her waist, more forceful this time, and it dragged her out of the water.

The first thing James heard when he regained consciousness was the screams of his sister. He let out a chuckle and sat up, despite the pain in his chest. 

A/N: I'm so sorry it's taken this long! I was so full with exams and everything but hopefully i'll have the next written and up within a week!