Bess woke up hours later, her whole body aching as she shook slightly from tremors still wracking her body.
She was still in Dumbledore's office, though when she woke up this time, she was being tended to by Madam Pomfrey, and she was lying on a rather comfortable sofa which reminded her of the ones in the Gryffindor common room.
"Drink this," the matron said, as she shoved a rather large pain potion at Bess.
She sat up and pinched her nose before downing the potion in only two incredibly large gulps. She always thought pain potions were funny things, as they tended to inflict a burning in her throat every time she'd drink one, so it felt like the physical embodiment of the old adage, 'no pain no gain'.
"I don't want to know what you were doing, trying to push past a memory charm like that, but I have to say, Bess, if you try again... I don't know what will happen."
Bess nodded and muttered, "Thank you," before lying back against the cushions. She watched as Madam Pomfrey spoke to Professor Dumbledore for a moment, before looking at the time and rushing off.
When Bess looked over at the large clock, she realised it was already five o'clock in the morning, and Remus would be changing back in to his original form within three hours. The boys would either be on their way back to the castle at the moment, or already tucked up in bed.
"How long have I been out?" Bess asked quietly, as Dumbledore passed her a goblet of water.
"Several hours. I had a feeling that you wouldn't appreciate waking up in the Hospital Wing, so I called Madam Pomfrey here. Unfortunately, it has taken most of the night to revive you."
"Why? I don't... I don't understand what happened," Bess said, rubbing a hand to her forehead. Her vision was still slightly blurry and her head felt hazy.
"I think it would be best if you were to explain to me what you think happened first?"
"I... I woke up in... a memory I think? But... but it was in the future... that sounds ridiculous I know. But it was almost like a... a reverse Pensieve?"
"You know what a Pensieve is?"
"Yes Professor. In the books you, uh- you show Harry memories of the First Wizarding War and the aftermath, amongst other things."
"Do I really?" Dumbledore said to himself as he walked back around his desk, sitting elegantly in his large wooden chair. "Did you see anything while you were in this... other place?"
"Yes. Voldemort will give the diary to Lucius Malfoy, and he'll keep it at Malfoy Manor," she said, before taking another sip of her goblet.
Her throat wasn't as painful as it had been, but the burn was still there, and she was still shaking as if she were cold. The ache in the rest of her body had subsided now, and she just felt a little stiff.
"When?"
"He'll hide it on the twentieth of August nineteen seventy-eight."
"You're certain?" Dumbledore asked quietly, putting his hands together in front of him.
"Yes. I saw the date when he checked his watch."
Dumbledore's eyes widened just enough for Bess to notice it, before his face settled back in to a calm demeanour. "You were close enough to read his watch?"
"Yes. Like I said, it was like I was there, but everything was blurry. I could only focus on a few things at a time," Bess said quickly, sitting forwards in her chair.
"How did you know where you were when you awoke?"
Bess gulped. "I... recognised one of the rooms."
"From where?"
"I just did..." she said, trailing off. Bess didn't want to explain what would happen to Hermione in that room in twenty years' time, if she didn't manage to stop things. "We need to get it before New Years' Eve that year though."
"Why?"
"Because he's going to create another one, and if we don't get to that one in time, someone else will take it."
"Who will take it?"
Bess pursed her lips and shrugged. "I'm sorry, I don't know yet."
Dumbledore frowned deeply and looked down at the papers in front of him.
After a few moments of silence, Bess asked what was on her mind. "Professor, how did you know I would be able to see something if I pushed through the pain?"
Dumbledore's frown deepened, until at last he looked up at Bess. "I believe this is a matter for anothe-"
"Professor, please. I need to know. I'm over seventeen and I'm a member of the Order of the Phoenix."
Dumbledore, who must have remembered that Bess, of course, was not a member of the order yet, turned a blind eye to this fact, and simply said, "I believe that you are a seer."
Bess frowned. "No I'm not. I'm- I'm not- I was taken-"
"Bess. I know you believe you were taken from your own world and brought here, but that kind of magic is... I don't even know if it's possible. I believe that the pain you feel when you try to see something is the pain you felt that night that you were attacked, maybe even ten fold."
"Honestly, Professor, I'm not from here. I- I was- Christ, it sounds crazy, but I really was taken from my world and put in to these books..."
"So you are saying that the night that Daphne Elizabeth Coulson was murdered, she managed to pull another consciousness from an alternate reality, where we are all merely background characters in a book series?"
"I- I guess?"
"Bess," Dumbledore said with a sigh, "I have spent the last month gathering as much information as I could on you, and I finally believe we have made a breakthrough. You see, I have tracked down everyone who knew of your existence, and asked them about you. At first I dismissed any notions of you being gifted, but as the third and fourth report was given...
"Bess, you were an incredibly gifted seer. One of the strongest in centuries... Lucas was teaching you how to hone your powers. I believe that you are still able to harness that power, though it will come at great cost to you."
"Wait... so I... actually saw in to the future?"
"In a way, yes, I believe that is exactly what occurred. However, after witnessing that display, I would implore you to never do it again. I did not realise that the memory charm covered your abilities as well. They are intertwined, and if you try to use your power too many times, I worry that you would never recover from the mental and physical toll."
Although Bess didn't want Dumbledore to think she was Daphne, and therefore had her powers, she didn't know how to reiterate her rather... delicate... circumstances, and therefore simply nodded and sat back in her chair, thinking.
Dumbledore had said something which was playing on her mind - "she managed to pull another consciousness from an alternate reality". Bess pondered this for five minutes before the Professor stood, saying that he thought she should try and get some sleep before her classes began at eight thirty.
Bess, who had been hoping for a reprieve from her classes that day, groaned and stood up, swaying slightly on the spot. She leant down and gripped the chair in front of her for a moment to steady herself, before her feeling came back in to her legs and she trudged off towards the door.
"Bess?" Dumbledore asked.
Bess, who had reached the door and had her hand on the handle, turned back and said, "Yes, Professor?"
"If anyone asks, I think it would be best if you simply said that I tried to explain some of the more... intricate... details of the night you were attacked, and you had a flashback."
"Oh, uh- thank you sir, I wouldn't have thought about that..."
"Alas, I do not think you will be thanking me in a moment. Please," Dumbledore said, before gesturing towards the door. Bess took that as he cue to leave, and she stepped on to the first step of the stone staircase.
As it moved down, the gargoyle moved out of the way, and revealed a rather pissed off Sirius behind it, his jaw was clenched and his nostrils flaring as he leant against the wall, staring at the space where the gargoyle had just been. He looked as tired as Bess felt.
Bess gulped and walked down the remaining steps, coming to a stop in front of the taller boy.
"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?" He whisper shouted at her.
"Sirius, please," Bess whined, swaying slightly on the spot and reaching up a hand to her forehead.
"No. You heard what James said about what would happen if you kept trying to push past that bloody memory charm. I reminded you last night. Lily reminded you weeks ago when you were downing pain potions. There's no way you went in to that room not knowing what would happen if you tried to push your memory," Sirius said in a quieter, but furious tone, "so I'll ask you again. What. Were. You. Thinking?"
"Dumbledore asked-"
"No. I honestly don't care about him right now. I want to know why you thought it was the smart thing to do to try and kill yourself so you could get, what? A memory? What was it? What was so important?"
"How do you even-?"
"How do you think? Poppy told us. James was... hurt... last night, and needed a potion. Imagine my surprise when there was no one in the Hospital Wing, and when she returned, Poppy casually mentioned that she was with an injured pupil in Dumbledore's office. It didn't take a curse breaker to work out who it was. Now, what happened?"
"Sirius, I can't-"
"Yes you can. If you love me, and if you really value this relationship, you can and you will," he snapped, glaring at her.
Bess groaned in frustration and looked up at the ceiling for a moment. "That's not fair! I told you there would be things I couldn't discuss!"
"Yeah, and muggins over here thought they'd be about what you told us about your Muggle life, not about you having a fucking death wish!"
"Sirius..."
"Bess," he spat out, and Bess winced slightly.
She bit her lip and looked down. "You don't understand."
"No, you're right. I don't... because if you really cared about me and you, why would you do this to yourself? You know what will happen if you push too much. I will lose you."
Bess was angry - he'd used her feelings against her, and she didn't care how upset he was. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks as she snapped back, "Where were you last night then hey? Somewhere bad enough for James to be injured! You don't see me complaining about that! I trust you."
"And I trust you too, but I'm not the one trying to kill themselves for a fucking memory! Poppy was here all night trying to wake you up!"
Bess clenched her jaw for a moment and made a mental note to never share any information that she didn't want the boys to know with Madam Pomfrey, before replying, "No, you don't understand. If I don't try and remember-"
"What? What will happen, Bess? You'll go one month without being in pain? Without being a martyr? You'll live a happy life with me? Or are you saying your life right now is so bad you need to be reminded of what it was like before? It's it not good enough? Am I not?" He said, and Bess realised that his anger was coming from a place of hurt.
Bess' eyebrows pulled together as she whined and moved forwards to place her hands on Sirius' top, grabbing on to the fabric and staring up at him with wide eyes. "No! Sirius, that's not what this is. You have to know that. That's-"
Sirius' upset and anger didn't dissipate at all, as he hissed, "What Bess? Tell me! What will happen if you don't try and remember?"
"Sirius, I can't-"
"Tell me!" He whisper shouted again.
With tears streaming down her face, she whisper-yelled back, "I can't!"
There was silence in the hall for a moment and Bess closed her eyes. She thought this was the end, this was how they would break up, and was just thinking about how precious their time together had been, when she felt his arms move around her, pulling her firmly to his chest as he whispered, "Why?"
"It's not- I can't tell you what I'm trying to remember, but I promise you, Dumbledore and I have had a chat and this won't happen again."
"Bess, why? Why did you do it?" Sirius asked quietly, the fight leaving him completely.
"I- I remember important things sometimes, about life here, like... remember I told you about the girls' dorm stairs turning in to a slide?" She asked, mumbling in to his chest. She felt him nod and continued. "But other times I have to push, like last night."
"Last night? Why? Why did you have to?" He whimpered, and she could feel his tears on her shoulder as he adjusted her in his arms and buried his face in her neck.
"I'm so sorry, but I can't talk about it, because it's about the war," she whispered.
"Bess, you're hurting yourself, and I hate it. I can't stand it. I- I- I'm sorry."
Before she could answer, Dumbledore's voice rang out from behind Bess. "Miss Coulson? Mr. Black?"
The couple quickly wiped away their tears and stood up straight. Sirius looked suddenly incredibly embarrassed that he'd been caught crying.
"Professor," Sirius grunted.
"Professor," Bess replied with a sniff.
"I couldn't help but overhear your... conversation... and I just wanted to say that it was not my intention to put Bess in harm's way. Unfortunately, I reminded Miss Coulson of something, and she had a... physical flashback."
"What? You reminded... a flashback to what?" Sirius asked, placing a protective hand on Bess' back as she frowned at the older wizard.
"From her... adverse reaction... a physical flashback to what happened the night she was attacked. Bess? What did it feel like?"
"I don't... I- it felt like I was... on fire."
"The cruciatus curse," Sirius whispered, pulling her more securely to his side.
Dumbledore nodded. "I must apologise. I thought it would help to tell you more about your case, but I do not think that it has."
"Why are you... why are you explaining this, Professor?" Bess asked, trying to understand why he was trying to cover for her.
Dumbledore simply shook his head, and said, "I will let you recover, Bess. Please take care of her, Mr. Black."
They were silent for a minute as they watched Dumbledore walk out of sight. When he was gone, Sirius pulled Bess back around, and wrapped both his arms around her.
"Bess, I'm sorry. I- I shouldn't have-"
Bess, who completely emphasised with Sirius' reaction - if he'd put himself in harm's way for seemingly no reason she too would have shouted at him - simply cuddled in closer and shook her head, saying, "No, please. You're right. I pushed. I didn't have to, but I did. Dumbledore asked me to try and focus on something, and I did. When he said to keep going, I did, and it triggered something. I- it makes sense that it had such a bad physical reaction. But I couldn't see who was doing it to me."
"I'm sorry."
Bess tried not to grimace. She was lying to him, and she hated that he felt awful for being mad, when if he knew the whole truth of it... "No. Please don't be. You have every right to be upset and angry with my actions. Please don't feel bad. I get it, I do. I put myself in this position."
"I just- I just-"
Bess stepped back slightly and cupped his face in her hands. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt or worry you."
Sirius shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. I just can't lose you to something preventable like this. I just-"
"Trust me, the feeling's mutual."
You have no idea what I would do to keep you safe, she thought as she pulled him down in to a kiss, which he responded to desperately.
Before she knew what she was doing, she had been swept away in the feeling of Sirius' lips on hers, and heard a slight thump as she pushed him back, in to the wall.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, trying to get as close to him as possible.
The pain and ache in her throat and limbs faded to the background as she kissed him hungrily, long deep kisses merging in to short ones.
She smiled as she nipped at his bottom lip and he groaned in response, and pushed herself even closer to him.
She felt his arms move, adjusting her slightly, pulling her on to her tip toes, one of his hands sliding in to the back pocket of her jeans as his arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her even closer.
Finally, after what felt like hours, Sirius pulled away and stared down at her with wide eyes.
"Whoa. What was that, love?" He asked, panting slightly.
"Sorry..." she whispered, staring at his lips.
"Trust me, no complaints here. I just- I really am sorry."
Bess looked up, brown eyes meeting grey, and she shook her head. "Stop. Sirius... you were right to be angry, I really do believe that. And I'm kind of glad you were. Not because I like fighting, because I don't, but because... it's hard to explain, but... it's nice to see you... how did you put it the first time? Oh yeah...
"It's fine... boys get... emotional sometimes."
Sirius broke out in to a wide smile and shook his head. "I don't think I said it exactly like that..."
"I think you did..."
"Merlin. Do you remember that night? I don't think I've ever outsmarted Filch like that..."
"I don't think I've ever been so stupidly angry with someone..."
Sirius barked out a laugh, before putting on a high pitched voice, "Excuse me, can you tell me how to get to Professor McGonagall's office?"
Bess tried not to smile and whacked him on the arm.
When he stopped laughing, Sirius looked down at her and whispered, "I wanted to kiss you that night. Did you know?"
Bess stared at him and shook her head.
He stared in to the distance, a wide smile still on his face, and said, "I think it was the first time I'd seen you blush, I made you that mad. And Merlin... you get this gorgeous deep blush..."
Bess grinned up at him and pressed a kiss to his chin. "Sounds like you wouldn't mind it if I got angry sometimes..."
"Promises, promises..." he whispered with a smile before kissing her again.
By the time they pulled themselves apart, finished talking about their row, and made it to the common room, it was already seven-thirty in the morning, and they had a full day of classes ahead of them.
xXx
After they'd parted ways in the common room, Bess had gone for a rather long and hot shower which alleviated the last of her muscle aches, and spent a while standing in front of the mirror, looking at her appearance again.
Her skin had lost some of its tan, so her light brown skin now showed up her scars even more - they were healing nicely, but her larger scars were a dark brown colour, which stood out.
Luckily, it was winter, so she could cover up and not worry about anyone seeing them, but... she thought, there was one person she wanted to spend more alone time with who might find her scars off-putting.
She'd thought before about taking their relationship to the next level, but her scars had always stopped her. Not that Sirius was complaining, he'd not mentioned anything to her, and seemed incredibly happy as they were, but Bess was beginning to wonder...
Sol had started it - she'd casually dropped in to the conversation that Sirius had most definitely gone beyond kissing with a few girls. Bess, who had been worried she was more experienced than him, had been pleasantly surprised, but didn't tell anyone that.
And now, thinking back to their kiss outside of Dumbledore's office, Bess knew it was only a matter of time before she, for lack of a better phrase, jumped him...
She was so wrapped in her thoughts of him that she barely registered the warning bell ring, and had to high tail it out of the bathroom, get dressed, and run to her double Transfiguration class in record time.
She ran in just before the door shut and walked quickly to take her seat next to Lily, looking around for Professor McGonagall, who was luckily, nowhere to be seen. She was the last student to arrive, so she could feel everyone looking at her - she was usually one of the first.
"If Sirius hadn't got to you first..."
Bess turned to see Lily glaring. She groaned and put a hand to her forehead as she sat down heavily. She just whispered, "Please don't," before she finished tying her tie and pulled out some parchment, ink, and a quill.
As she looked around the class again, she saw that somehow, Sirius and James looked like they'd had tons of sleep that night, whereas Peter looked how she felt. Sirius sent her a small smile and she blew him a kiss.
She, luckily, had make up to cover the bags under her eyes, and had, at least, been unconscious for most of the night, not running around the forest and village with a werewolf.
However, she was just waiting for the slip up - whenever she was this tired (or drunk), she could be... outspoken. She just couldn't regulate what was said in her head and what was said out loud. It had been the reason she'd called Sirius a prick all those months ago, and it would probably land her in a detention now.
She was just wondering where McGonagall was when she saw a cat jump from the table at the front of the room and... transform in to the very witch.
Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. She couldn't stop the, "Holy fucking shit," that escaped her mouth.
She could hear the whole class descend in to laughter and giggles as McGonagall said sternly, "Miss Coulson. We do not use language like that in this classroom."
Bess, who couldn't help herself, she was so in shock and awe, gestured towards the Professor and said, "Mate... you were just a fucking cat..."
"Miss Coulson... I will have to take five points from Gryffindor for vulgar language."
"I mean, you read about it in books, and you know it's a thing, but christ, that was swish," Bess said, before finally shutting up.
She could tell Professor McGonagall was trying not to smile. Instead, she shook her head and said, "Today's lesson is going to be covering Human Transfiguration, so I thought we'd start off with a demonstration," before trying to shush the class, who were still laughing.
Bess looked to Lily, wondering if she was angry with her for losing house points, but found her friend bright red, and struggling for breath.
When she caught her eye, Lily wheezed, "Ma-a-ate. You were just a fu-fucking CAT!" before doubling over, holding her stomach as she laughed.
Bess hung her head and tried not to smile.
Once McGonagall had finally got the class under control, she asked, "You should all know this, so I'm expecting to see a lot of hands. Can anyone tell me what an Animagus is?"
She heard Sirius call out from the back, "a witch or wizard who's awesome enough to transform in to an animal at will!"
While McGonagall smiled, and took that to mean that he thought she was awesome, Bess knew that he meant his row of three boys - a dog, a stag, and a -ew- rat. She looked over her shoulder to see Sirius and James laughing and elbowing each other, while Peter had his head on the table now, not even trying to hide the fact that he was asleep.
"Correct, Mr. Black. Now can anyone tell me why it's so difficult to become an Animagus?" McGonagall said.
Someone from Ravenclaw began to answer.
Bess wasn't listening - she was still staring at Peter, jealous of his sleep, and wishing she could be that brazen.
After a moment she saw a movement on the edge of her vision and looked slightly to the left to see Sirius waving at her, trying to get her attention. She frowned and he pointed between her and Peter before narrowing his eyes playfully.
She smiled tiredly and put her hands together next to her cheek, and mouthed "I'm so tired."
He pouted and mouthed, "double free last?"
She shook her head and mouthed back, "no, History-"
"I'm sorry Miss Coulson, are we interrupting your chat?" She heard Professor McGonagall say, and turned to see the witch looking down at her.
Bess gulped and grimaced and shook her head. "Sorry Professor."
McGonagall pursed her lips before moving on and asking, "And how does one become an Animagus?"
Bess couldn't help the smile that took over her face as she heard Sirius begin to explain the process. She turned to see Lily with a similarly proud smile on her face when James interjected and added in processes, the two boys showing off slightly.
"Well done boys, take ten points each. Now, what happens to an Animagus who does not register with the Ministry for Magic?"
"Nothing," Bess said quietly, but unfortunately for her, McGonagall heard.
"What was that, Miss Coulson?"
Bess grimaced. She was having a terrible run so far, and it was only ten minutes in to a double lesson! "Uh- I said..." she trailed off, not knowing what to say.
McGonagall raised her eyebrows.
Bess sighed and pursed her lips before continuing. "Well, I... they say it's a one way ticket to Azkaban if you don't register, so..."
"That's not what you said though, is it?"
"I just... if they don't catch you, how will they know? And if they do catch you, and you're like 'oh I'm so sorry officer, I was just on my way to sign the register, this is my first transformation,' how will they know the difference?"
"You've put a lot of thought into this, have you?" McGonagall asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No Professor, I just... you know what? I'm sure there are law abiding people out there who register themselves every day," Bess said, smiling happily and nodding.
McGonagall narrowed her eyes slightly, and said, "Miss Coulson, I do believe that Mr. Black is rubbing off on you."
Bess smirked and put her chin on her hand, and thought, I wish.
The spluttering, gasps and laughter from around the room told her that she'd said that last out loud, and she groaned, sinking lower in to her chair. She heard Lily trying desperately to convert her laugh in to a cough.
"Detention, Miss Coulson."
Bess sighed and thought, this is going to be a long day.
xXx
Thank you to my lovely reviewers, Ghost Claw 001, Guest - (all will be revealed! But not yet since I have almost two years of Bess' life to kill first haha!), Angelicsailor, CharlotteGryffindor, idreamtosmilealways, and HorseGirl16!
And thank you so much to everyone reading, favouriting and following! I still can't quite believe that people want to read this, it's been in my head for so long! Hope you enjoy the chapter!