Upside Down Mirror: Free Falling (Harry Potter Fanfic)

Pain of Death

Dying hurt.

The potion made Regulus' mind struggle in perceiving reality, yet there was one thing he knew regarding the situation he found himself in. He physically and mentally hurt, starting with drinking the potion which sapped him of his strength while plaguing his mind with memories of his greatest regrets in life before leaving him with an unquenchable thirst which led him to crawl weakly to the water's edge having forgotten completely about what lay in the putrid depths.

His mind did register the white hand reaching out of the water and the face with unseeing eyes that followed suit. It was a definite thing of nightmares that pulled him into the water which quickly surrounded him while he felt hands of all things grabbing onto him, digging into his flesh. His nostrils and mouth filled with water, some getting into his lungs as Regulus mentally prepared to die.

He'd planned on dying, knowing full well the Dark Lord would seek his life and the life of his loved ones if he didn't die there, so he chose how he would die even though he didn't want to die. More importantly, he chose to be himself when he died rather than pressed into the image of a perfect Pureblood heir that his parents wanted his older brother Sirius to be, only to end up with him, the small frail child instead.

Except, he didn't die.

Instead, he felt the hands let go of him as if those attempting to pull him down were retreating from something and his limbs used what was likely the last of his physical strength to pull himself up out of the water, clawing his way out. His mind registered the pain from coughing up the water as well as the putrid taste. His mind also registered how he flopped weakly onto his back while the fluid still in his lungs made breathing difficult. His eyes clamped shut, mentally taking in the embarrassing fact he'd managed to soil himself.

It was then that he felt something wet hit his face, which surprised him given the fact he was already wet, but then whatever this liquid was happened to be warm. His eyes opened to the sight of a girl casting Luminos and crying, her tears falling onto his face. Except, nobody else should be in the cave with him, let alone a child dressed in what looked like pajamas. He attempted to say something, yet nothing came out.

Instead, the girl said something. "Regulus, I'm scared."

The child didn't know him yet was asking him for help. She certainly shouldn't know his name either. Regulus didn't know which of those two things surprised him more, though he could tell she was terrified. "Who?"

"Key? What key?" There was a definite panic in her voice.

His eyes blinked in confusion as he was sure he'd asked her who she was. He tried again, the words coming out slower than he wanted. "No. Who."

"Monkey? Why are you talking about monkeys?" Her lips pushed together. "That potion's really bad."

"What?" He didn't know how she knew about the potion, but his question seemed to just confuse her even more.

"I don't know what to do." The girl lowered herself into a squat, wrapping her arms around her and letting the wand light go out, leaving only the green light coming from the basin to light everything.

Regulus let out a sigh before breaking out into a coughing fit, struggling to breathe. Closing his eyes, he finally said, "Me neither."

"Moy non plus what?"

His eyes blinked rapidly, confused regarding why it sounded like she was trying to speak French, but then realized he was the one speaking French to her. "Oh."

"Oh, what?"

It was time to try something different. "I am Regulus."

"I know you're Regulus because of the books." He wanted to ask her what she meant by books, but kept his mouth shut, knowing full well he'd simply slip into French which would only confuse her more. Thankfully, she picked up on what he said in French this time, but more importantly, her eyes widened as if something clicked. The fear in her eyes remained. The fact she kept glancing back in the direction he came from said enough. "Oh. I'm Lyra. Lyra Whitechapel. I'm scared. Really scared."

His lips pushed together, then his eyes closed, a sigh escaping. He croaked out a word. "Kreacher."

He heard the popping sound that House Elves made when they transported themselves. "Master Regulus! You're alive!" Kreacher proceeded to bury his face into Regulus' chest, making the young wizard turn his face away from the creature, his eyes clenching shut as the pain increased because of the House Elf's actions. Unfortunately, Kreacher picked up on the fact he'd brought upon pain and started to bang his head into the rock. "I'm sorry! I am so sorry! I also haven't destroyed the locket yet!"

"Stop! He wouldn't want you to hurt yourself!" Lyra called out. Regulus opened his eyes, looking at the girl who presumed quite a lot to speak for him, although he did need to admit she was right. The look on her face said she too was bothered with how Kreacher punished himself.

More importantly, her presence made Kreacher stop punishing himself and instead stare at the girl for what felt like forever, but then, Regulus was in so much pain, and in the back of his head his worst memories still lurked because of the potion. "Who are you?"

"Help her," Regulus ordered, knowing Kreacher couldn't disobey an order from him.

"Ladder," Lyra muttered from where she still squatted nearby, the wand still clutched to her side.

Kreacher glanced at him, then the girl, then back, shaking his head indicating he didn't want to.

Somehow, Regulus managed to reach up and grab onto the potato sack Kreacher wore to cover himself. "Please."

He knew his mother would have his hide, for Black's don't beg, particularly to a House Elf, but he so much wanted to save this girl, his true nature getting the better of him. Kreacher still shook his head. "Not without Master Regulus."

Lyra's eyes widened, her fear increasing. She shook her head in the same way Kreacher did. "Definitely not without you."

Kreacher glanced over at her, then turned back to Regulus, parroting Lyra's words. "Definitely not without you."

"Fine."

"Mistress?"

"No." His mother was certainly a bad idea, particularly given the fact he didn't know the girl's blood status.

"Then who?"

Who indeed, as there didn't seem any logical person to turn to help, so he simply said the first thing which came to mind. "Grandfather."

Kreacher nodded, reaching out and grabbing Regulus' arm tightly before motioning for the girl to come close enough that he could grab her as well. He then gave a warning. "This may hurt, Master Regulus."