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You were eight years old the first time you realized that Theodore Nott had a certain power over you. Oh, it wasn’t anything drastic or even noticeable really, but it was there all the same and as you got older it would be this quiet hold he had on you that would both terrify you and pacify you simultaneously.
You were standing on the dock at the very edge of Malfoy lake; the vast body of water that curved around the northeast edge of your family’s estate. Theodore was gazing down into the softly rippling water wearing a funny little smile and when he turned towards you and advanced, you instinctively took a step back.
“Come on, let’s go for a swim.” Theodore’s voice was dulcet and carried the tiniest hint of mischief that you did not miss. When he smiled and nodded his head at you, you said “No,” and shook yours firmly back at him.
You have never dipped so much as a single toe into that water and you were not about to start now. It didn’t matter how long or how hard this nuisance of a boy in front of you begged, you would never…Or so you thought.
“You’re not afraid, are you?” The corners of his mouth curled into a tiny smile as he spoke and it instantly set something off inside of you that made your pulse thump faintly in your ears. You weren’t afraid and the sheer fact that he thought you were, was enough to annoy you both inside and out.
Although, perhaps that had been his plan all along.
“I’m not afraid.” You replied petulantly and when he looked at you like he didn’t quite believe you, your hands immediately went to the buttons on your shirt and began unfastening them because you were not about to be shown up by Theodore Nott.
He followed your lead and quickly stripped off the lightweight jumper and the well-worn jeans he wore. It became a competition as much everything between the two of you did and by the time it was all said and done, you were a pair of boys standing on the dock in your underpants glaring challengingly at the dark water.
“Bet I can swim out farther than you can.” He said with an air of smugness that surprised you and then he jumped into the water so suddenly that you were left standing there staring stupidly after him.
You remained glued to the spot for a long moment, watching the upset circle of water he had just disappeared beneath and although you weren’t really scared, you couldn’t help but wonder if he would reemerge. When he broke the surface of the water you exhaled the breath you hadn’t been aware you were holding and when he pushed sopping wet hair out of his eyes and peered up at you, he laughed and looked entirely too comfortable within the fathomless depths that surrounded him.
“You’re already losing.” He shouted as he turned around and started swimming away from you, and it was only another fleeting second before you held your breath and jumped into Malfoy Lake for the first and last time in your life.
The moment your body was submerged you instantly regretted it, and you yelped in shocked surprise beneath the surface of the water and frantically paddled to reach the top before your lungs filled with water. The lake was freezing despite the warmth of the summer day and your teeth chattered against one another instinctively as you reached up to shove hair out of your eyes and locate Theodore. You spotted him a good distance away, swimming out farther and farther and although every part of you knew this was a terrible idea, you followed him out anyways.
It took a few minutes of clumsy dog paddling before you found your stride and really started swimming, although you doubted you could catch him by this point.
“You’re gonna lose!” He shouted over his shoulder and it sounded muffled on account of the water clogging your ears.
You have never been fond of swimming, and even less so of venturing into water where living organisms presided. Summer holidays in France saw you standing on the sandy beaches of Nice just out of the ocean’s reach and you had never once considered swimming in this lake, even though you’d known it your entire life. Of course you could not explain your distaste for these things, nor did you ever try. You were annoyed with Theodore for forcing your hand and even at eight years old, you knew that he had counted on your reaction to get you into the water. If you had learned anything at all about Theodore Nott in the last couple of years, it was that he didn’t put up with your shit and knew precisely how to push your buttons like no one else could.
The longer you swam the easier it became and eventually the numbing cold of the water was forgotten in favor of the chase. You kept your eyes on him as you moved through the water, determined to catch him, if not beat him at his own stupid game. What you hadn’t counted on is how agile he would be in the water and if you were perhaps a bit older and less petulant, you would marvel at his abilities and appreciate how his lithe form manipulated the icy waters to his own advantage. You were about half way to the utmost center of the lake when Theodore’s head disappeared beneath the water a short distance ahead of you and you instantly panicked because you were not sure if he was just messing around with you or if it were perhaps something else. He may have been a nuisance, but he was still your guest and you were expected to look after him while he was at the Manor. It took you only a few long strokes to reach the spot where he had disappeared and the panic started to rise up into your throat as you treaded water, turning around in circles as you desperately combed the surface of the water for any sign of him.
“Theodore!” Your shout was lost in the ripples of dark and your teeth were chattering behind lips that were just a little bit too blue. You were suddenly hyper-aware of your surroundings and exactly how vulnerable you were. What if your wild imagination about the things that lived at the bottom of Malfoy Lake were true? How were you to explain to your father that you had ‘lost’ Mr. Nott’s son during a seemingly innocent swim? Your pulse was pounding so loudly in your ears that it blocked out everything else and you silently vowed to murder Theodore if he was in fact, playing a cruel trick on you.
It was at this precise moment that you felt it; a gentle brush of something solid against one of your feet and the sensation caught you so off guard that you yelped and spun around in the water. Of course you were still alone and you were now fairly certain that Theodore was not playing a trick because even someone with a natural ability in the water could not hold his breath this long. Admittedly, it was your fear of your father’s wrath that had you sucking in a deep breath and slipping below the surface, and when you opened your eyes under water you saw nothing but darkness. Your arms moved through the water gently, allowing your body to sink further into the icy depths of the lake. You had never felt as alone as you felt at that moment and it took every ounce of your eight-year-old self-control to remain under the water until your chest was hitching uncomfortably, begging for oxygen.
When you broke the surface of the water you were gasping for air and shivering for reasons that went beyond simply being cold. You blinked frantically and swiped at the water-logged hair obscuring your vision and when you turned around in slow circles you realized that you had no idea which direction the Manor was. No matter how many times you twisted or blinked all you saw was water, stretched out around you like a shroud of blurring darkness. If you were not so focused on treading water you probably would have started crying and in the end you just started swimming blindly and telling yourself that you had to reach the end of the lake at some point.
The sun blazed overhead with a heat that you did not feel, every inch of you was frozen and you wanted nothing more than to be out of this water and back within the safety of Malfoy Manor. Again you felt something against your foot and you ignored it and swam faster, steadily dismissing the screaming protest of your undeveloped muscles. Every stroke you cut through the water seemed to get you nowhere and you still could see nothing at all but water. Now you really did want to cry and when something that felt like a claw closed around your ankle you screamed and kicked but were ultimately no match for the hidden monster. It took only seconds for you to be pulled beneath the surface of the water and you were still screaming when your head disappeared. Lake water flooded your open mouth like a receptacle and you choked and sputtered, which only gained you even more water in your lungs. You could literally feel the fight going out of you and as your flailing limbs slowed down you couldn’t help but find irony in the fact that you were drowning in the very lake that terrified you. Your vision dimmed like a flickering candle in the wind and then everything was black and you were still cold.
When you opened your eyes you were instantly blinded by the brightness of the afternoon sun and you quickly squeezed them closed again. “Wake up Draco.” Theodore’s voice was muffled in your ears and as you lie there you wondered if you were dead and this was the fate’s cruel trick, having you locked up in the afterlife for all eternity with Theodore Nott, your indirect murderer.
“Are we dead?” You said without opening your eyes and you only had a moment to contemplate the lack of rawness in your throat before he was laughing softly beside you.
When you peek an eye open he is there beside you, dripping with lake water and laughing like he is overcome with relief. “No, we are not dead. Although I was worried about you for a minute there.”
“What happened?” You say as you sit up, ignoring his comments and wincing slightly at the dull thud at the back of your head.
“You tried to drown yourself you stupid prat.” You couldn’t help but smile at the bluntness of his words and when you reached up to rub the small knot on the back of your head your eyes met his and he peered just as bluntly back at you.
“Hit your head on a dock pole and sunk like a brick. Of course I had to come save you, you owe me now.” You frowned at his explanation that sounded nothing like the vision you clearly remember and when you glanced up at him again, his expression had softened slightly.
“You pulled me out of the water?” You say with a raised brow and when he fixes you with a withering stare that far exceeds his eight years, you are inclined to believe him.
“Well I couldn’t exactly let you drown could I? My father would have my hide for breakfast.” Theodore’s nose wrinkled when he spoke of his father and you couldn’t stop yourself from grinning because you liked this version much better than the one you dreamt up while unconscious.
“Well, thank you.” You add a bit quieter and you catch him so off guard that his mouth snaps closed and he merely smiles back at you.
Nothing is said between you for a long time and you sit side by side on the edge of the dock watching the sunset. Your loathing of the lake and all that it represents has reached new levels and when you snort and mutter “Never again” more to yourself than anything, Theodore bites his lip and instantly feels guilty for tricking you into the water.
“Never again.” He repeats just as quietly, and it is at this exact moment in time that Theodore vows to never make you do anything that you don’t want to ever again—A decision that will affect you both in years to come.