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"Let go of me." He snapped, struggling in his enemies grasp. Black grunted and squeezed his arm further behind his back.
"Grab his legs." Potter barked, restraining his other arm. Quickly, Peter grabbed his legs and they half carried, half dragged him into the bathroom behind them.
"Guys, don't you think you're going a bit too far?" Remus asked worriedly, but still followed his friends into the bathroom and closed the door behind him.
"We're just doing... community service." Black heaved while pulling out his wand and pointing it at Severus feet, performing a leg locker curse.
"Yeah, everyone will profit ... from this." Potter said, breathing heavily. He and Black were putting Severus hands together behind his back. Black pointed his wand again and a rope shot out of it winding itself around his wrists. Severus frantically tried to pull his hands out of it, but all he accomplished was the ropes tightening and rubbing painfully against his wrists.
"Let go of me now or I swear to Merlin you'll regret." He spat, tensing when they filled the sink with water. The marauders just laughed.
"Yeah right." scoffed Black, watching the sink fill. "Afraid of a little water?" Peter snickered.
"Yeah, are you afraid of shampoo?" The rat said awkwardly. Severus gritted his teeth and tried to get out of their grasp once more.
"You should be grateful, Snivellus." Potter gripped his greasy hair and tugged on it until Severus had to follow the motion with his head to escape the pain. "We're taking care of this mess you call hair."
And then he was pushed into the sink. His nose was pressed uncomfortably against the bottom of it. The water soaked through his hair, surrounded his entire head and muffled the voices above him. And suddenly he was five again and a hand almost as big as his head was pushing him underwater, scrubbing his head in painfully harsh motions and he couldn't breathe. Then Severus did the worst thing he could think of: he panicked. He trashed wildly against their hold, someone kicked him and he gasped. Water was flowing into his mouth and he swallowed while struggling not to let more in. Someone, presumably Black, was scrubbing his hair with shampoo that dropped into the water and burned his eyes -when had he opened them? The water was everywhere. In his eyes, in his mouth, in his ears, in his noes. He tried to push his head up for air, but it was held down by Potters firm hand.
Then there were hands on his hips and someone pulled him down, down, down into the water. It took him a moment to realize what was really happening. He wasn't being pulled into the water. Someone was dragging him out of it. He slumped back onto a frail chest, rips were digging into his shoulder blades and the arms -now firmly planted around his belly- were the only things keeping him up. Severus tried to breath in large gulps of air, but instead he leaned over and hacked up water. The person behind him said something, he more felt then heard it. Then his restraints vanished and he could move his legs again. He was slowly lowered to the ground and let go. Severus fell forward on to his hands and knees.
There was no water in his lungs anymore so why couldn't he breathe? Everything in the room was blurry and no matter how fast he breathed, it felt like no oxygen arrived in his body. Tears streamed down his face to his mortification. There were voices again and he tried to concentrate on that, on the person who was speaking, on how they breathed, because he seemed to have forgotten how to.
"What's wrong with him?" It was Potter kneeling in front of him, worry etched on his face. "He's hyperventilating. Remus make him stop!" Hands gripped him again and he was pulled back against a chest. Severus squirmed with all his might. No, not again, not again, not again. Had he said that out loud? He swore he felt his lips moving.
"Severus," the voice was loud, reaching him over the rushing of blood in his ears. "Severus, calm down. Breathe." The voice was also next to his ear. It belonged to the frail chest and arms holding him. Remus. Why is he telling me to breath? I am breathing! "Breath with me. In through the mouth and out through the nose. In and out, in and out..." Severus repeated the mantra in his head, following the instructions and slowly calming down.
When he was finally able to access the situation again, he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole. He freed himself of Remus lax grip and stood up, keeping his head down. Severus was remotely aware that he was shaking and that there were tears leaking from his eyes. A long and awkward silence filled the room. Trying to escape it, he took a step towards the door only to have his knee give out on him. He stumbled forward. A hand caught him and kept him up. Peter.
"Don't touch me." He growled, glaring at him. Peter let go.
"But..." Came out of his mouth, but Severus didn't let him finish.
"I don't need your help. I'm fine." He said, even though he was not. He never was.
The Slytherin then walked away, his first steps shaky, but getting stronger and stronger the farther he went. Through the door and an endless row of corridors. When he got to the Slytherin common room -hair wet and sticky with shampoo that smelled like apples- he got strange looks, snickers and comments, he couldn't repeat even if he wanted to. Severus didn't care. All he wanted to do was curl up on his bed, sleep and maybe never wake up again.
"I guess he really is afraid of water." Sirius said, washing his hands.
"How can someone be afraid of water?" Peter asked, cleaning up the mess on the floor.
"Dunno." James was fiddling with Severus wand. "Maybe he almost drowned and he remembered it, resulting in a... What was it again?" Remus looked away from the door.
"A panic attack." He slowly picked himself of the ground. "And I think you're wrong. I think someone tried to drown him." An awkward silence filled the room and Remus tried to swallow down the guilt he knew everyone felt to some extent.
"Why would someone want to drown him?" Peter asked, finally getting fed up with being the only one who cleaned. He stood up, crossing his arms over his chest. Sirius snorted.
"Who wouldn't want to drown him?" Remus shot him a glare.
"That's not funny."
"Of course it's not." James agreed innocently, flicking Severus wand at the puddle and vanishing it.
"I'm serious."
"No, I'm Sirius." At that they just laughed their tension away. Severus would be fine after all. Tomorrow he would get back at them like always and then they could forget this awkward experience.