When Bess had walked in to her dormitory earlier in the evening, the girls had rallied around her.

Mary had tearfully explained how she'd had been attacked the previous year, and how the girls remained on guard for any further threats or attacks as a result. They told her that they'd be there for her no matter what and make sure she was safe when they were with her - she was part of their sisterhood now.

Bess had felt comforted and strangely relieved - she'd been worried that everyone would treat her differently after the truth had come out, but the girls were trying their best to continue to be normal around her.

Now, hours later, Bess was staring at the ceiling of her four poster bed, trying to will herself to sleep. She couldn't stop the thoughts going round her head - what would her day be like tomorrow? Would she come across any foes in the halls or in her classes? Would anyone treat her differently? ... Would Sirius and the Marauders treat her differently?

She felt the panic rising in her chest, slowly stopping her lungs from working properly. Her mind felt numb and her skin felt hot and itchy. Putting her hands to her chest, she tried to focus on her breathing exercises to calm down. She also thought of where she was and made an effort to focus on her surroundings - the feeling of the bedsheets against her skin, the tick tock of the clock, the gentle snores...

But it didn't help much, as she found herself focussing on the things that aided her panic, like the tears running down the sides of her face and pooling on the pillow by her ears.

She even began to hear a light fluttering noise which she tried to ignore.

Whenever she had an anxiety attack she thought she could hear noises in her immediate surroundings.

When she'd been in her world, it had been scratches - she'd always think there were rats or mice nearby and would have to rationalise every sound.

Here, it was like the fluttering of a tiny bird.

As much as she tried to focus on other things, the noise didn't stop. If anything, it increased in its incessancy.

Putting her hands up to cover her ears, she sang under her breath the first song that came her mind - the Narwal Song.

A ridiculous song, but one which had helped her out on multiple occasions as the lyrics were simple.

Still, the fluttering increased, getting louder and louder with every second.

She wanted to scream but she couldn't - she wasn't confident enough with using Muffliato yet and didn't want to wake up her dormmates. Instead, she groaned and sat up in her bed.

Just find the noise. Find what's making the noise and you'll be okay, she thought to herself frantically.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the curtain around her bed slowly, careful not to make too much noise.

Suddenly, a little bird flew straight in, using the gap she'd made in her curtains. She had to clasp a hand to her mouth to try and stem her squeak.

Staring at the bird which was now circling her bed, she realised it wasn't alive at all - it was made of parchment.

Gasping for breath, she took a moment to compose herself before closing the curtain and turning to the origami bird which had now settled on her knee.

As she touched it, it spread its wings and unfolded itself into a flat sheet of parchment. There, in elegant, masculine writing, was a note:

Bess,

I've enchanted this so you just have to write your answer and then tap your wand to the parchment and it'll come back to me.

How are you?

- Sirius

Slowly, as she stared at the words, they sunk in to her addled brain. Still breathing heavily, she summoned a quill and ink and began to write her reply with a shaking hand.

I'm a bit panicky to tell you the truth.

The girls have been lovely, I'm just finding it difficult.

Difficult to sleep, think or breathe.

- B

She wasn't sure why she was telling him that. She knew she was oversharing. She hadn't even told Lily that she felt panicky sometimes.

She just felt like she needed him to know. No, that she needed someone to know. She needed to not be alone in that moment.

And, part of her thought he'd understand how she felt, but she wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because he'd said he was there if she needed to talk, but it may have been her knowledge of his life now, and in the future.

Sighing, she opened her curtain a sliver, tapped her wand to the parchment, and watched as the bird took flight and flattened itself to slide underneath the door.

Laying down on her side, she snuggled in to the bedsheets and stared at the bottom of the door. As she waited, she felt her breathing slow and her tears settle as her eyes began to droop.

Just as she was about to fall asleep, she heard a fluttering by her face. Opening her eyes, she touched the bird and tried to read the reply through her drowsiness.

What can I do?

- S

She smiled and, rather than replying, finally succumbed to sleep.

When she woke up, she found the note still clutched in her hand, and smiled again.

For the first time in months she'd had a dreamless sleep. The familiar pin prick feeling in the skin around her eyes which indicated that she'd been crying was the only reminder of her panic attack the night before.

She looked at the time - 6.04am - she had plenty of time to have a shower and prepare herself mentally for her classes.

As much as she wanted to, she didn't know how to go about skipping classes. It wasn't like she could just call up McGonagall and tell her that she felt too ill to go in to school today.

As she wondered what to do, the note in her hand fluttered slightly. She sat up and opened it, rereading Sirius' four words. What can I do?

She picked up her quill and scribbled a quick reply.

Thank you. Got some sleep thanks to your note.

Don't worry, you've done enough already.

See you at breakfast.

- B x

She didn't know why she wrote the 'x' and was about to erase it when the parchment flew out of her grasp and slipped under the door, as if it had been waiting all night for her reply and couldn't wait to get back to its master.

She put her hands to her face and groaned before she sat up, pulled back her covers, and padded off to the bathroom.

As she stared in the mirror after her shower, she took note of her scars again. She'd avoided looking at them as much as she could thus far.

She thought she'd be upset to see them, but for the first time, she wasn't.

The line down her arm had healed to a dark pinky-brown. It was still prominent, but it wasn't as bad as she remembered. The continuation of the scar on her stomach, which ran on to her hip, was similarly healed. The word carved into her arm was the worst, but suddenly she didn't feel as sick when she looked at it.

The burn marks on her back had faded as well, and were barely noticeable now. She wondered if they'd fade completely, given enough time.

Sighing, she changed quickly into her uniform, swiping on eyeliner, mascara and some blusher, before leaving the bathroom as she wrapped her still wet hair in a towel.

"Sorry," she muttered quietly to Lily, who was waiting outside.

"Don't worry about it. You okay?" Lily asked as she walked past, stopping in the bathroom doorway.

Bess couldn't find the words to reply, so just shrugged, pursed her lips, and sat down on her bed.

Just as she reached for her schoolbag, she noticed the bird sitting proudly on her pillow.

She took a second to steel herself for his reply before touching the bird to read.

Does that mean I was the last thing you thought about before you fell asleep?

- S x

Bess was so busy rolling her eyes that she didn't register that he'd added an 'x', and she almost missed the long post script which vanished from the note just a minute later:

P.S. I have a feeling McGonagall's going to cancel double Transfiguration this morning.

Just a hunch.

P.P.S. Don't share this one with anyone but Lily - don't wear anything shiny today.

"Lily..." she called to the redhead who was putting her books in her bag and waiting for the other girls to finish getting ready.

"Yeah?"

"How long did you say it's been since the boys got in trouble?"

xXx

"Alright?" Sirius asked with a grin on his face as he suddenly appeared next to Bess, who was headed towards the library.

Bess stopped in the middle of the hallway and frowned as she tried to work out where he'd come from.

She'd been looking out for any threats and walking quickly - Transfiguration had, indeed, been cancelled that morning, but she'd been asked to stay back and chat to Professor McGonagall about the previous day. The older witch had plied her with biscuits and tea and told Bess that she'd been keeping a watchful eye on her, just in case anyone tried anything.

Having McGonagall on her side had made Bess feel much happier and safer, but it was still a daunting and scary walk from the Deputy Headmistress' office to where Sirius had accosted her. She'd turned down McGonagall's offer to walk her to the library.

After a beat, she shook her head and asked "How on earth did you find one?"

"I have no idea what you mean. I was in no way involved in what happened today. But if I was, I'd have gone down to where Kettleburn keeps them. It wouldn't take a genius to work out his locking spells, and nifflers can be easily coaxed into bags filled with shiny objects.

"However, as I just said, it wasn't me and I have no idea what you're talking about. Neither do James or Remus. Peter definitely doesn't know anything because he was snoring all night..."

"Doesn't James have a quidditch match next week? What if you'd been caught? He could've got a detention!"

"Oh Bessy, Bessy, Bessy." Sirius said, shaking his head. "You don't seem to understand. I just told you. We had nothing to do with it."

He grinned at her cheekily before slinging an arm around her shoulders.

"So, what do you fancy doing with our spare double period? Feel like you could use a distraction."

"Shouldn't you be with James?"

"Nah, like you said, he's got a match coming up. He's using this... newly acquired time... to get some extra practice in."

"That's why McGonagall didn't even try and catch it!"

"Yeah... she's alright, that Minny. Happy to turn a blind eye when needed... but of course..."

"I know I know, you had nothing to do with it."

"Exactly!"

"What about Remus? You could go hassle him?"

"Come on!" He groaned.

Bess raised an eyebrow.

Taking in the look on her face, Sirius rolled his eyes. "He's in the library."

"Funny, that's where I was headed." She desperately needed to look up more advanced jinxes and duelling spells.

"Nope. Come on."

"What about Peter?"

"He's with Remus, obviously." He said, grabbing her elbow.

Bess groaned and let Sirius drag her in the opposite direction. "Where're you taking me?"

"Broom closet."

Bess stopped walking immediately and cocked her head to the side with an exasperated expression on her face.

"Fine! Fine! For a walk. Merlin! But one of these days..." He said, as he dropped her arm and sighed.

"One of these days what, Black?"

Sirius, if at all deterred by her use of his surname, didn't show it. He simply shrugged, winked, put his hands in his pockets, and walked ahead.

Bess found herself in the familiar position of having to run after him.

xXx

"-and then he asked her if she fancied a dance."

"Why?!" Bess cried, throwing her hands in the air. "Honestly, I don't understand how he's so popular, he's such an idiot!"

Sirius threw his head back and laughed, "it's because we're such idiots that we're popular!"

"So you have no game with the ladies as well?" Bess asked as she navigated a particularly large boulder as they approached the beach.

Sirius had declared the day a write off due to 'something happening to the charms classroom this time which will take a few hours to fix' and, after refusing to elaborate, insisted they both get changed and go for a walk by the lake.

Two hours later, Bess found her mind cleared and was laughing as Sirius regaled her with James' numerous failed attempts to get Lily to go out with him.

"Depends on the girl I guess... what do you think about me?" He asked as he held out a hand to help steady her.

"I think you're a pain in the arse really..." She replied cheekily as she took his hand and jumped across a small gap in the boulders.

This earned her a shove. Luckily, Sirius waited until her footing was more solid before pushing her.

"I think you're one of the first girls I've spent this much time just talking with."

"Why?"

"Dunno really. I guess it's like I said - you intrigue me."

"Oh yes! I forgot I intrigue you!" She said, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him slightly as she laughed.

Instead of letting her go when she pulled back, he grabbed one of her hands and put it in the crook of his elbow, before continuing to walk.

She took the opportunity to voice something which had been at the back of her mind since she talked to Lily in the antechamber the previous day. "Lily said we've known each other for months..."

"So?"

"Well, it's not really true, is it? We've known each other for three weeks plus three small conversations. And I'm being kind by calling me calling you a prick a conversation, and one of those three weeks we weren't talking!"

"True..." Sirius frowned, looking at the trees lining the lake.

"She said you looked for me?"

"Uh- Yeah. When I thought you went here. I was lucky Remus and James had met you too. Peter didn't believe you existed! Think he called you a cocky ghost!" He laughed at the memory. "But then I saw you again at the Three Broomsticks, so you couldn't have gone to a different school like Remus thought.

"Then I saw you during OWLs... you didn't help anything by running away from me during the Potions practical..."

"I did not run... I simply... okay yeah, I ran."

"Did anyone tell you I had to pay Michaels ten galleons to switch seats with me during the History of Magic exam? Ridiculous.

"And imagine my surprise when not only did you keep disappearing after exams, but you weren't on the train back home. But then you were there at Madam Malkins... But then not on the train back to school... I was beginning to believe you were a ghost until I noticed you sitting at our table."

"And then you accused me of lying to you..."

Sirius grimaced. "Yeah... Not my finest hour, but I was really confused. After an awful summer, the only thing I wanted to do was finally find the hot Hufflepuff-"

"Hot?" Bess asked, trying not to blush as she realised that the attraction between them was mutual. He's still sixteen! Get it together! she thought, mentally slapping herself.

Sirius rolled his eyes and continued. "Come off it. Anyway... then there you were, sitting at our table... I dunno really, it- I- I find it hard to trust sometimes, and I thought you'd lied to me. It just felt like something was really wrong."

"Truer words..." Bess replied to his last sentence with a grimace, thinking of what she'd been recovering from.

"Merlin! Sorry. Yeah, course it was. I really am a prick aren't I?" Sirius asked with a frown.

She smiled up at him and nudged him as they walked. "Nah, you have your moments but..." she pursed her lips and looked to the side, "can I be honest?"

Sirius laughed. "I think we're in an honesty bubble right now, so hell yeah!"

Bess stopped suddenly and stared at Sirius. "What... is an honesty bubble?"

"It's a... you don't... oh for Merlin's... Ugh. James' mum said all families have an honesty bubble where they tell each other everything."

"And you believed her? How old are you?" She asked, bringing her hand to her mouth to try and hide her laughter.

"Yeah... Well, my family didn't really write the book on functional families, so I just went along with it. Now I feel like an idiot. I'm going to kill James!"

"Even more of an idiot..." Bess clarified for him.

"Sometimes I don't like you..." He said with a smile before tugging her back in to his side and starting to walk again.

They lapsed in to silence for a minute or so until Bess broke it. "I was a bit... tipsy when we first met."

"Really?" He asked, looking down at her, grinning.

"Just a bit... Enough to not know when I was thinking something and saying it out loud..."

"That's brilliant! Wait... were you drunk when you called me out for wearing a t-shirt but not knowing the band?"

"Two things." Bess said as she held up two fingers, counting off each point. "First, you were surprisingly honest about that, you could have pretended you knew them. Second, you were being a poser," Bess said as Sirius chuckled. "And third-"

"Miss Coulson, am I going to have to teach you how counting works?" He asked, raising an eyebrow, a half smile playing on his face.

"What? No... Why?"

"Well, you said 'two things' and are now trying to illegally add a third point."

"Illegally? Oh please do excuse me, Master Black!" Bess said, rolling her eyes.

Sirius frowned deeply and stopped walking. Bess, who had continued, found herself pulled back. Unable to stop herself, she collided with his chest.

"What?" She asked, looking up into his eyes.

"I grew up being called Master Black..." he said slowly, moving his hands to her waist.

Bess cursed inwardly. Of course! Kreacher would have called him that or Master Sirius!

"Sorry, I didn't know," she lied.

"No, don't apologise. That all stopped this summer. It was just a shock to hear someone say it again." He said quietly, as he absent-mindedly ran his hands up and down her sides.

"Are... are you okay?"

"Yeah... Sorry. This is weird, but... just... Can you say it again?"

"Master Black?" She asked with a frown.

Sirius took a moment before his face burst into the goofy smile Bess had seen at the Quidditch try-outs.

"I thought I'd hate it..." He whispered, staring down at her. "Odd."

They stood there for a few moments before Bess cleared her throat and, grabbing his arm, pulled him along again.

"So uh- where were we going with all this?" She managed to choke out.

"I think you were saying you were a drunk-"

"Oi!" Bess interjected, whacking his arm lightly.

"But yeah, I think it was about us not actually knowing each other."

Bess sighed deeply, a frown playing on her face. "I guess I'd just like to know why we can talk like we've known each other for years..." Bess asked, not wanting to add that she felt like she'd known him for years because he was a character in her favourite book series. She wondered how on earth she'd approach that subject.

"I don't know. James, Remus... even Peter... I've always felt comfortable with them. James the most."

"I would have thought you were brothers..." Bess muttered, staring across the water as they walked through the sand.

Sirius didn't say anything for a bit, and she wanted to give him as much space as possible, so she didn't look at him.

Finally, after minutes, he whispered. "No. He's my best friend. Better than a brother."

"And so.. if you can talk to me like this, then you... think of me as a hot sister?"

Sirius' eyes widened and he began to splutter. "What? No! Hell no!"

Bess threw her head back and laughed as he continued to splutter.

"No! Merlin! No!"

Bess, who had fallen on to the sand laughing, took over a minute to recover. When she finally stopped laughing, she giggled up at Sirius, who was smiling down at her.

"If you don't think of me like a sister, then...?"

Sirius shrugged and, as smooth as silk, turned around and threw himself on to his back next to her. "I like you. I want to know you more. I-" he took a deep breath, "I felt- when you called me a bully I uh-"

"I'm sorry for that."

"No. You- you were right. That was- that was the hard thing about it. I- I never thought- I- argh." He took a deep breath. "Look. When you said that, I felt embarrassed and..." He trailed off.

Bess stared up at the sky as she asked, "is it killing you to be this honest?"

"Remus said I had to be."

"Why?"

Sirius frowned at the sky. When he didn't answer, Bess rolled onto her side, propped herself up on her elbow with her palm cupping her chin, and looked down at him.

"You don't have to answer anything you don't want to." She said quietly.

His eyes flickered to hers and he whispered "it's always like this."

"What do you mean?"

"Whenever we talk. It's like you don't care who I am. It's so easy."

"Is that bad?"

"No. No it's... different. I-"

"Oi! Lovebirds!" Bess and Sirius looked up sharply to see James, sat astride a broomstick, hovering near them. He had a spare broom tucked under his arm. "Sorry, I need Sirius. Bludgers aren't gonna hit themselves!"

"Sorry mate but-" Sirius began. Bess wasn't sure what he was going to say, but part of her thought he might want to stay with her a little more.

"Sirius. Go. I'll be here later. James might not be if he tries to play beater and chaser." She said with a smile.

"We still need to talk about what happened last week."

"I know. Later. But right now, James needs you."

"How will you get back? Is it safe? I should walk you." He said quickly as he sat up.

Bess rolled her eyes and mirrored his movement. "The castle is literally over there." She said, pointing over to the steps leading up to the castle, "and I might not have mad spell skills yet, but I think I'll be okay. If something happens, you can say I told you so, but the blame will lie with me. Now go." She said, pushing him towards James. She wanted him to spend as much time with James as possible, just in case she didn't manage to change things.

"Thanks love." Sirius said, before cupping Bess' right cheek in his hand and kissing her left.

As she tried not to blush, he jumped up, took the spare broom from James, and set off across the lake. She watched the boys flying and laughing together until they became little blips in the distance.

The walk back to the castle was quiet. She didn't bump into anyone, and arrived at the Entrance Hall as the girls, all dressed in weekend clothes as well, were heading down for lunch. Joining them, she realised just how at ease she suddenly felt.

But, she wondered, is this the calm before the storm?

As she sat down at the Gryffindor table she got her answer - she looked across the hall and saw three boys sitting at the last table, all wearing Slytherin robes, and glaring at her.

She gulped audibly, and ate less lunch than normal.

xXx

Hope you liked the chapter, I felt like we needed a bit of a breather after the heaviness of the last ones! And sorry it was late - I was posting once per day, but then got a cold and needed all my brain power to parent!

As always, thank you so much to everyone who's reviewed, favourited, followed, and read the chapter!

Shout out to my reviewers: Pewz, CharlotteGryffindor, Guest and Sherlocked Again! You're the best!