"Pr-Professor Dumbledore? What're you doing here?"
Bess was nervous. She hadn't seen Dumbledore in a private setting like this since her Sorting Ceremony, and she could tell that this wasn't a social visit, however nonchalant he seemed.
Dumbledore smiled and walked in to the room. Bess noticed that his hands were clasped behind his back. So like Albus, she thought as she tracked his movements as he strode around the room.
Looking over to her, he said, "I wanted to find out how you're settling in to life at Hogwarts. Though by the sounds of your greeting, I would assume you've made friends?"
He came to stop in front of one of the cabinets of silver cups which Sirius had cleaned with a flick of his wand. He put a finger on one of them and raised an eyebrow.
Bess grimaced. He could, of course, tell that she'd not cleaned them herself. "Yes, sir."
"Have you informed Mr Black of your background?" He asked, moving to the next cabinet.
Bess frowned and looked around. "My-"
He turned to her and asked, with a completely straight face, "that you believe that you are not only a Muggle, but also from another world?"
Bess felt her heart skip a beat. She gulped as she shook her head quickly. "I- er- no."
"Why not?" He asked, raising an eyebrow and staring down at her.
Bess took in a deep breath and said, "uh- not really what I wanted to lead with..."
"And yet you told me during our first conversation," Dumbledore said, looking over his glasses at her.
She didn't know what to say. It sounded absolutely ridiculous when he said it.
"Yes, well I was obviously just a little crazy... probably the pain potions!" She let out a small laugh and scratched her neck.
"Were you? Or was I simply not listening?"
Bess' eyes snapped up to Dumbledore's. "Sir?"
"Professor Selket came to see me earlier this week. He was... interested... as to how you knew such a lot of information about Dementors. It was... curious." He said, looking around the room.
Bess felt the blood rush from her face and she gasped again. "Sir?"
"Well, even I did not know what animagus forms could lessen the effects of Dementors." As he said this, he looked up at her, blue eyes meeting brown.
Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck.
"Oh," she replied, managing to rein in the swearing.
"He also mentioned a diary." Dumbledore added quietly.
Bess frowned. "Sir?"
"You saved your diary before you protected yourself during an attack last week."
"He was there all along?" Bess asked quietly.
"Professor Selket was... frozen... for a part of the attack. Luckily, he was able to break through and help you." Dumbledore explained.
Bess nodded. She knew how hard it would have been for Selket to intervene, it would have been a triggering experience for him, especially seeing that it was her who was being attacked.
Dumbledore continued, "I have since had time to think about what you said the first time we spoke, and I would like to ask you something."
Bess took a deep breath, focused on not meeting Dumbledore's gaze, and said, "go ahead."
He paused and sat down on a chair in the corner of the room, as Bess stood up, wringing her hands.
Finally, after an age, he asked, "what do you remember from this... other world?"
This is it, she thought to herself.
"I- I remember... that Tom Riddle is Voldemort... for starters."
Dumbledore's gaze wavered for just a moment before he nodded. "Anything else?"
Bess sent him an apologetic look and said, "I- I can't- I don't trust you."
"Why not?"
She whispered, "because I know what you do to win this war."
His eyes widened. "And?"
"And I don't want my friends to die this time." She said, finally saying out loud what she'd known for months.
"So you would rather do this on your own and sacrifice countless lives in the process?" He asked, a hard tone to his voice.
Bess sighed. "No. But I'd... I'd like assurances that you'll do what you can to protect them."
"Who?" He asked, clasping his hands together.
"Uh- I don't want to give specifics at the moment."
Dumbledore frowned. "Interesting... and in return?"
"I can help you end the war." Bess stated, clearly and without hesitation.
Dumbledore stood suddenly and walked forwards to stand in front of her. "How?"
"I'd rather not explain anything tonight. Not here, anyway. I need time to prepare what I'm going to say. It will... change everything."
Dumbledore appraised her for a moment. "I will need proof that you have information, and that you are on our side."
"What proof?"
"I will need you to swear allegiance to the-"
"Order of the Phoenix? Done. As long as they can assist me."
"You-" Dumbledore paused.
"I know... things... about the past and the future. I have large gaps in my knowledge, but I know enough." Bess said, trying to keep her chin up and stay strong.
"I would like you to prove this to me. Please tell me something about myself that no one else knows." He said.
Bess nodded and tried to think about Dumbledore and what she knew of him.
"You made a blood pact with Gellert Grindelwald. That's why you couldn't fight him for years." Bess said quickly.
"That is common knowledge in the right circles."
"He's what you see when you look in the Mirror of Erised. You loved him, and you believed in the Greater Good. Until you realised he was wrong that is."
Dumbledore's eyes widened a fraction, before he controlled his features once more.
"Miss Coulson... I believe this information could have been collected if you'd spoken to the... right people."
"You have the Elder Wand. Gellert stole it from Gregorovich. When Voldemort finds out, he will kill you for it. Or, he already knows, and that's why you're the only wizard he fears." She said quickly.
She felt like she was clutching at straws of information, as she didn't know much about Dumbledore because Harry didn't know much about him either.
Dumbledore paused for a moment, before asking, "what do you know of Tom?"
"I know about his family, what he did to get his special award... and I know how to kill him." Bess added the last in a stronger voice and stood up straighter.
If Dumbledore was at all surprised by this, he didn't show it. "The killing curse would work, surely?"
Bess shook her head. "No... he's... he's made himself immortal."
"How so?"
Bess pursed her lips. She took a deep breath and said, "look, I will tell you. Just not now. I want to defeat him. And I could use your help, but I need some time to get the details together."
Dumbledore nodded slowly. "Why are you doing this?"
"Because I can't lose anyone else."
Dumbledore nodded again. "I am inclined to believe you this time, Miss Coulson, though I will need to verify everything you tell me. What are your terms? Other than protecting your friends?"
"My terms? I-I'll tell you willingly. I- I guess... I don't want to be sidelined. Don't lie to me... I know a very specific timeline so we can't deviate too much from that... and... we need to destroy them before 1979."
"Two years?" Dumbledore asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Yes."
"You said them?"
Bess didn't reply. She was staring at the wizard's nose, making sure that she wasn't looking in to his eyes. "I need... I need time."
"Tomorrow then. Your detention will be cancelled. Please report to my office at seven o'clock." He said, as he walked to the door.
"Professor?" Bess called after him.
He turned around and raised an eyebrow.
"Why do you believe me now?"
"Because, Miss Coulson, you know things I have never shared with anyone, not even my closest friend, or greatest enemy. And, rather than use them against me, you are offering to help end this war. When we met in St. Mungo's, you were a child whose memories were altered. Now, you are an adult with something to fight for."
With that, he turned on his heels and walked out of the door.
Bess sat in silence for the remaining half an hour of her detention, going over the conversation in her head and planning her chat with Dumbledore the next day.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Filch, who gave her back her wand with a grumble and silently walked her to the seventh floor corridor.
As they arrived at the corridor, Remus came in to view, standing by the portrait hole. He looked exhausted, with large bags under his eyes. Filch glared at him before turning and walking back down the stairs.
Bess sent Remus a questioning look, and he smiled at her.
"Sirius asked if one of us could wait outside to make sure you got back okay. Doesn't even trust Filch... The party's been... well publicised, so I think he's worried."
Bess rolled her eyes dramatically. The sick feeling that had settled in her stomach when Dumbledore had arrived eased somewhat from seeing her friend.
Remus laughed and turned to the portrait of the Fat Lady, saying, "bumbling bridges."
The portrait hole swung open to reveal a roaring party. The noise was almost deafening.
"Jesus Christ!" Bess exclaimed.
"Hence why I volunteered to come and get you," Remus replied with a grimace, "you do get used to it..."
"Can we just go back and pretend I'm still polishing?" Bess asked, laughing, her hands over her ears as she adjusted to the sound level.
"Unfortunately not!" Remus shouted, before pointing over at Sirius, who was on the other side of the room, standing on top of a table swigging from a bottle and waving his arms as if conducting an orchestra.
"I need to change!" She shouted back, gesturing to the entrance to the dormitories. When he nodded and signalled that he'd see her later, she pushed through the crowd which, she realised, was full of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws fifth, sixth and seventh years as well as the usual Gryffindor crowd.
When she finally made it back to her dorm, she sat on her bed for a moment and took a deep breath.
Tomorrow morning, she'd have to talk to Dumbledore about everything. He'd perhaps partially understood that she was trying to help, but she wondered if he would ever trust her. Or if she'd ever trust him.
Just as she was contemplating rolling on to her bed and falling asleep rather than going downstairs, the door banged open and her dorm mates practically fell in to the room.
They were all in various states of tipsiness, and Bess plastered a smile on her face, trying to feign excitement for the evening.
In truth, when they sat around her, she did feel relief and happiness - she needed the distraction from her thoughts, and she needed company.
"Well? What're you wearing?" Skye practically shouted at Bess.
Bess jumped up with a grin and walked to her trunk. "I've got some Muggle clothes..." she said, looking at the girls' outfits which ranged from Muggle dresses to dress robes.
"You have to look goooooood," Jo added, elongating the last word, winking, and swirling her drink around in her glass.
As Jo tried to take a sip, Skye grabbed the cup and drained it, and the girls roared with laughter.
Bess had noticed that all of the guests at the party had dressed up in going out clothes, so she pulled out her more disco appropriate outfit and ran to the toilet to change. As she dodged past her, Lily handed Bess a rather large glass of firewhiskey and pumpkin juice.
Closing the door to the bathroom, she felt panic rising in her chest and head. She felt worried, as if she knew she shouldn't be at a party, especially not now.
But, taking a deep breath, she thought about the fact that Sirius would be there. And what was that quote from the books again? she asked herself, something about war and... a wedding?
Bess frowned. She couldn't remember. It was on the tip of her tongue, but she just couldn't get it.
As she stood in the bathroom, leaning against the door, she wondered if she should feign illness and refuse to go downstairs, but after a moment she shook her head. This was Sirius' night, and a chance for her to let loose and create happy memories.
And she'd need those in the months and years to come.
Taking in a deep breath, she moved to stand in front of the mirror, laid out her make up in front of her, and began to get changed.
Ten minutes later, Bess could hear the girls cat calling outside the bathroom door, waiting for her to come out. She drained the rest of her goblet and took one last look in the mirror.
She was dressed in a long sleeved gold sequin playsuit which showed off just a little cleavage and a lot of leg. Her straightened hair was up in a high ponytail, and she'd swiped on some eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, blusher, bronzer, and red lipstick.
She was debating going shoeless when she heard a tap at the door, and Lily called, "if you don't come out in one minute, I'll come in there -hic-"
Bess tried not to laugh, and opened the door slowly, making sure Lily wasn't leaning against it. Stepping out of the bathroom, she gave a little twirl and put her hands on her hips.
If she'd been at all apprehensive about her look, the girls' reactions steadied her resolve.
They chucked her a pair of black slightly heeled ankle boots and, after she put them on, practically pushed her down the stairs, gushing about her look.
When they burst through the door to the common room, the group split in two - Skye, Solstice and Jo went to see Skye's quidditch teammates, while Mary, Lily and Bess headed for the drinks table by the dance floor.
Bess tried not to think about what happened last time she was at this particular station.
"Evans! You're back! And might I say, you look even more ravishing than you did twenty minutes ago," James said, walking up behind Lily and grinning down at her.
Lily rolled her eyes, but didn't tell him to get lost, which both Bess and James took as a good sign.
"Lily would like to thank you for your astute observation, and invite you to compliment her on a biweekly basis," Bess said with a grin, emulating the speech patterns the boys had used on the marauders' map to insult Snape.
James' eyes widened a touch before he shook his head and smiled at Lily. "That can be arranged!" He said loudly, before asking "drinks, ladies?"
While James fixed the three ladies some drinks, and Lily confirmed they'd be made "with alcohol!", Bess looked around at the party. She couldn't believe any part of Sirius would have sacrificed this to spend time with her instead.
"Love, I thought you were beautiful an hour ago..." Sirius whispered in her ear, putting an arm around her waist and pulling her back to his chest. In his other hand he was holding a cup of mead, and she could tell it wasn't his first, or even second drink of the past hour.
Bess giggled, already feeling the effects of the alcohol, and noticed that Remus and Peter had also joined the little group. Remus was grinning at both of his friends knowingly - Sirius with Bess, and James with Lily - while Peter was trying to watch James making the drinks.
"Now Sirius, honey," Bess said loudly, inwardly grimacing as she drunkenly used a pet name for the first time, "I'm standing near Lily, but we're just friends. No need to snog James, 'kay?" She asked, turning her head to the side to place a kiss on his cheek while teaching up a hand pat his other cheek condescendingly.
"Oh-ho!" Remus cried as the group laughed.
Sirius playfully bit the air in front of her face, before leaning in to kiss her cheek when she laughed.
"No need to worry about that, love, I'm not taking my eyes off you this evening," he whispered in to her ear, causing her to shudder.
"You're not even going to pee?" Bess asked, cocking her head to the side and frowning playfully.
He looked away from her as if thinking.
Before he could say anything, she said "and you've already broken your promise. This is why people have issues..." she trailed off, nodding enthusiastically while smiling with her eyes at him and biting her lip.
Sirius' eyes flickered to her lips before he grinned and said "I fucking love-"
But he was cut off by James, who cried "here!" and Bess turned to take a drink from him, instantly forgetting that Sirius had been about to say something.
"Tell me a Muggle joke!" James shouted at Lily.
The redhead raised an eyebrow and swayed. "You can't just put me on the spot! Anyway, Bess probably knows more than I do!"
Bess took the challenge. "Hey James? Why did the chicken cross the road?"
He shrugged.
"So he could get to the idiot's house!"
Remus smirked, but no one laughed. James stared at her and frowned, before looking at Sirius and then back at her. "Look, I know you're great and all, and you're Sirius' hoops, but that just wasn't funny, Bess."
Bess frowned and swayed slightly. "Okay... try again... knock knock."
"Who's there?" James asked, rolling his eyes.
"The chicken."
Bess grinned as the boys laughed, and Sirius pulled her back in to him and kissed her on the cheek as he chuckled.
Lily, who took a second to get the joke, snorted and spluttered her drink all over James' white t-shirt. "Oh my god I'm so sorry!" she cried, trying to pat the stain out of his top.
"How long do you think it'll take her to remember she's a witch and can just magic that out?" Remus asked loudly, standing next to Bess and Sirius, who were trying not to laugh.
After a while, the boys traipsed off to, in James and Sirius' case, get James a change of t-shirt as no one trusted themselves to cast complicated spells whilst drunk, and in Remus' case, go to bed. Peter, after realising everyone else had gone, stared at the girls before running off after the boys.
Bess danced and chatted to her friends for over an hour before Sirius found her again and dragged her off to a dark corner of the room for a cuddle.
Both now quite drunk, they were leaning up against the wall, Sirius' hands on her waist, Bess' hands on his shoulders, as he whispered sweet nothings to her.
Bess was very much enjoying not thinking about anything but Sirius. Not horcruxes, not Voldemort, not war, just being there in his arms. She had even forgotten about having to meet Dumbledore in the morning.
"I love your laugh." He whispered in her ear and she giggled, her brain fuzzy from the alcohol. "I love your eyes. I love your brain. I love your sense of humour." He said, breaking to kiss her on the cheek with every new sentence.
"My brain?" She asked, laughing.
"It makes you, you," he whispered, kissing her neck sloppily.
"I love all those things about you too!" She said, pulling his face up and planting a kiss on the corner of his mouth.
They stared into each other's eyes for a few moments, before Sirius spoke again, the smile dropping from his face, being replaced by an apprehensive look.
"I need to tell you something." He said.
Bess nodded and cuddled in to him, putting her face in the crook of his neck as he wrapped his arms around her.
"I- uh- I-"
"Bess!"
Bess turned to face Skye and heard Sirius say "oh for fucks sake."
Bess laughed and sent him an apologetic look as she was pulled away.
The party ended soon after, and Bess stumbled up to her bed, not even bothering to change.
xXx
Bess awoke the next morning to a dull throbbing in her head, a nauseous feeling in her belly, and a numb, furry feeling in her mouth.
She grimaced and groaned as she pushed herself up, gasping when she saw the time.
She showered, dressed, brushed her teeth, and grabbed her diary, before running downstairs.
"Morning..." called James from his seat by the fire. He didn't look like he'd gone to bed, but was surprisingly chipper, as were Sirius and Remus. She didn't stop to worry about Peter.
"Detention!" She shouted in reply.
She registered their laughs as she exited the portrait hole, but didn't have time to stop and chat.
As she ran through the hallways she thought of what she'd say, but knew she wasn't prepared enough. The previous night had become a blur of music, dancing and Sirius.
Finally, she came to the stone gargoyle. She felt incredibly stupid, and incredibly unprepared for the meeting.
She wondered what on earth she was going to do or say.
"Miss Coulson?"
Bess turned to see Professor McGonagall standing down the hall in her dressing gown, a confused look on her face.
Fifteen minutes later, Bess returned to the common room.
Sirius, who was still sitting in his armchair, beckoned her over and pulled her in to his arms. She nodded at the other two boys before she buried her face in Sirius' neck.
"Oh, love. I wondered how long it would take you to work out they don't do early morning detentions here..." Sirius said, and she could hear the smirk in his voice. "You know, it's criminal how good you smell after getting so drunk..." He whispered so only she could hear, before dropping a kiss to the top of her head.
Bess snuggled closer. She heard him sigh as his arms tightened around her and he pressed another kiss to the top of her head.
"Have you lot slept?" Bess mumbled, already falling asleep.
She felt the rumble in Sirius' chest as he replied. "Nah. Remus did, but he's a lightweight."
"I might go upstairs..." she replied with a large yawn.
Before she could even try to get up, she felt him nuzzle the top of her head and whisper, "sleep, love. I've got you."
Bess began to fall asleep to the rhythmic sound of Sirius' breathing and the idle chitter chatter of the three boys.
"All I'm saying is, it's not fair. I've been after Lily for years and your girl drops from the sky and-"
xXx
A/N: I've ended it there because the next one will be mega! Well... I'm hoping it will be... Though it also might be a few days wait this time, we'll see!
(But this chapter also marks 100,000 words, which is absolutely ridiculous!)
Thank you to my lovely, wonderful reviewers, Lavendor Queen, CharlotteGryffindor, Guest - (I hope this clears up some bits! Dumbledore kind of believes her, but is still wary. Bess and his proper chat will be happening next, when he'll decide if he truly trusts her... wonder how he'll get her to 'prove' it all...), Yukira-Kuchiki, Ghost Claw 001, and collegestudent34 - (does SI mean someone from our world put in to the books? I thought it meant the author put in to the books so didn't label the story as that - if I was in here, I'm sure I wouldn't be half as confident as Bess is! She has a life of her own in my head and looks nothing like me! The main similarity is our joint love of sticky toffee pudding and books!) And thank you to everyone who's reading, following and favouriting!
Also, I put in in the last chapter that Sirius wanted to wait until he told her about something he did last year, but drunk Sirius is impulsive and I feel like he'd just want to tell her how he feels about her and open up - that way if she rejects him he can blame it on the alcohol! So what he's trying to tell her here is not what he wants to tell her before they finally get together! (I'm just stringing these two along... crossed fingers they get it together by like,... Christmas? haha!)