A/N: General Disclaimer still in effect. This piece, though, belongs to me. I wrote it during free write in my creative writing class. Cheers.

Water – General/Angst – K – Sirius Black

Drip...drip...drip, he could hear the steady splash of the water, but he didn't know where it was coming from. He was so thirsty, so very thirsty. He couldn't remember the last time that he'd had something to wet his sandpaper mouth. The dripping of the water was torture.

He imagined a time before being locked in this cell when he could play in the lake near the school. When he could swim in its icy waters at the start and end of the school year and, occasionally, in the middle of the year on a dare.

He imagined the running water of the shower he had been denied for so long. The warm spray cascading from the head mounted on the wall and pouring so very many single droplets on his now matted but formerly soft locks. He imagined those warm droplets landing on his shoulders and rolling down the planes of his torso, then limbs, before splashing onto the floor.

Drip...drip...drip, he could almost imagine the cold October rain as it fell from the dark sky. Icy and unrelenting in nature, but oh so divine after sweating and overheating at practice. He could feel the chill of the cold drops running down his spine as he watched the drops splash into the lake near his favorite thinking spot.

He could almost imagine, almost remember, the break of her water just before his godson was born. The terror he felt at being the only one there and unable to get ahold of his best friend. He didn't know how to help her - her, his best friend's wife, the girl who had become a little sister to him.

He could almost remember, if he strained hard enough, the screams of his infant godson as the Healer washed him up for the first time after birth.

But the thoughts never remained. All he had were the fleeting memories of the water he longed for and dreamed of. All he had was the hope that someday he would be free to experience life's pleasures again in the form of water, something he had so taken advantage of previously. All he had were the empty promises of those who had long forgotten he was there. All he had was the steady dripping from the unknown water source. Maddening and hope giving all at once.

Drip...drip...drip...