Luckily, the rest of the train ride ran smoothly - the boys retreated back to their compartment, and Bess' dorm mates returned, surprisingly undeterred by her outburst.
"When you have to watch Lily and James going at it for six years, it's refreshing to see someone else shouting at them for a change!" Jo said as she hugged an embarrassed Bess.
Soon enough, they'd fallen in to their previous format - Bess soothing Solstice, who'd had another fight with her boyfriend while waiting for Bess to chat to the boys and Lily, and Lily and the other girls playing games, eating, chatting and laughing.
As the train came to a stop at Kings Cross Station, Bess could hardly believe her eyes.
The platform was filled to the brim with parents from the Wizarding and Muggle worlds alike - all grinning, waving and shouting to their children. Well... most were.
As Bess looked out the window, she spotted a witch whose beauty was only matched by the sneer on her face, which seemed to be prematurely aging her. As much as Bess wanted to look away, she couldn't - the woman was captivating for some reason, and seemed oddly familiar to Bess, with her dark hair, dark eyes, pale skin and aristocratic features.
She was dressed in immaculate robes of black satin with a dark emerald green cloak, and a matching handbag and gloves.
Bess watched as the woman drew herself up even straighter, if that were possible as her posture seemed immaculate, and narrowed her eyes as she placed a handkerchief across the lower half of her face.
Bess frowned and wondered what she was doing, as she didn't look like she had a cough or cold, until Bess realised that she was holding her nose, as if there were a terrible smell around her.
Bess stared at her for a long time, watching as she glared at students and their parents, and grew more and more impatient.
Bess was so wrapped up in the woman that she barely registered Mary saying, "C'mon Bess!" before she felt a hand on her back, and was pushed to standing.
"What're you looking at, love?" Sirius asked as he rubbed circles in to her back with his thumb and guided her out of the compartment and on to the platform.
"I don't-" Bess began, before shaking her head as she lost sight of the woman in the crowd. "Sorry. Nothing really," she continued, reaching round to put an arm around his middle as they began to push through the throng of students. She noticed that their trunks were floating behind them, bobbing along in their wake.
"Sure?" He asked, looking down at her quickly before moving his hand to hold hers in his and resuming his efforts to manoeuvre round the small groups, pulling her along behind him.
"Yeah, sorry, just got-"
Bess cut off as Sirius stopped suddenly and she slammed in to his back. The hand that had been holding hers let go, and she frowned in confusion.
She looked down and saw that he had placed both hands in his pockets. He looked completely at ease from the back, but Bess could tell he had his hand on his wand, and from the look she got of the side of his face, he was clenching his jaw and probably had a glare in place of his smile.
Bess looked around him, trying to work out who or what he was looking at until she realised that he could only be looking at one person - the woman she'd been staring at.
"Sirius, who is that-?" Bess began to ask, before she realised Sirius had begun to move again.
His hands remained in his pockets, but Bess realised he wanted her to move with him when his foot shot out behind him and quickly nudged the outside of her right leg, gently pushing her to the left. Dropping his foot, he began to edge towards the left as well, slowly moving around the crowd, creating a barrier between himself and the woman using students and their families, never taking his eyes off her.
Bess ducked her head slightly and stayed in his shadow, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible so as to avoid the woman as well. However, at one point she felt compelled to look up, and saw, as a chill went down her spine, that the woman was watching Sirius' movements with utter distain on her face.
Bess almost shivered at the hatred radiating from the woman, until she schooled her features to show only indifference and looked away suddenly, searching the crowd for someone else. She could only have been watching Sirius for a moment or two, but it felt to Bess as though hours had passed.
By the time Sirius navigated the rest of the platform, Bess was feeling more nauseous than she had on the train.
She'd known that Sirius' mother was horrid, but it was one thing reading about her, and another thing entirely to see her in the flesh.
Bess swallowed thickly, completely forgetting who she was meant to be meeting. They came to a stop near a large fireplace, and she looked over her shoulder to see the woman embracing Regulus, a smile now on her face.
Bess looked away as Sirius pulled her in to his arms and held on to her tightly, turning them both so that his back was to his mother, shielding Bess from view as he buried his face in her curls and took deep breaths.
After what felt like an age, he pulled away, his jaw still clenched, a glare on his face, as he cupped her jaw in his hands and leant down slightly, capturing her lips with his.
This kiss was full of an intensity that made Bess shiver and move even closer to him. There was a need there, and Bess could tell that he was trying to use the kiss to calm himself down and not fly off the handle.
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he moved his hands, bringing one to rest in her back pocket, pulling her closer still, as the other buried itself in her curls.
"Ahem," Bess heard a coughing behind her, and pulled away to see James standing there, a little red faced.
He was next to an older couple who were smiling slightly, as if trying to laugh away the awkwardness. Bess felt herself grow a little red as she lowered her arms from Sirius' shoulders.
The man had short hair, which, like James', stuck up in all directions, however his was grey and white, not black like James'. He wore glasses which were perched halfway down his nose, and he had sparkling blue eyes which shone out of his face, giving a youthful edge to his features, which were otherwise quite old.
The woman, Euphemia, was shorter, and Bess remembered her well from the first time they'd met. She had hazel eyes, a kind face, and long grey hair pulled in to an immaculate ponytail. She, too, seemed quite old, but again, had a youthful grace to her.
Bess tried not to think about the contrast between James' parents and Sirius' mother.
"Sorry," Sirius said, an edge to his voice as he allowed Bess to turn in his arms, bringing his hands around to grip her waist tightly. "Almost bumped in to Walburga," he said, gesturing over his shoulder quickly.
That seemed to be the only explanation needed, as the next moment, Euphemia nodded and leant forwards, smiling at Bess and asking, "have you side-along apparated before?"
When Bess shook her head, Euphemia pursed her lips and frowned. It seemed to Bess that they were trying to figure out the quickest way to leave.
"I'm happy to just go for it though. We'll be starting lessons after Christmas anyway, so it'll be good to know what it's like!" Bess said quickly, smiling down at the kind faced witch.
Euphemia's frown was instantly replaced with a grin as she placed a hand on Bess' forearm and said, "Hold on tight, it'll be over in a moment," before Bess felt her grip tighten even more as she turned on the spot.
Everything went black. Bess tried to gasp, but she couldn't even breathe, let alone move any part of her body enough to be able to fill her lungs with air. Her body felt like it was being compressed, her chest tightened impossibly, her eyes and ears felt like she was underwater, and then just as suddenly as the feeling had come along, it left, and Bess found herself standing in a side street.
She took a deep breath in and looked around, trying to calm the shaking in her legs by familiarising herself with her surroundings as she took deep calming breaths.
"They'll be along in a minute, " Euphemia said, before putting a hand on Bess' arm again and steadying the younger girl. "Flea's just taking the trunks home first. It's hard enough doing a double side-along at our age, let alone with three trunks in tow!"
Bess smiled and nodded, sending a look of thanks before looking around again. She summised that they were in an older town, by the looks of the buildings which all had thatched roofs and black beams running along the outside.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Euphemia, who added, "And I wouldn't mention Sirius' mother just yet-", before she was cut off by a loud pop.
"Aw did we miss it? Told you we should've just come straight here, Dad!" She heard James say loudly.
Turning to him with a frown, Bess raised an eyebrow when she realised he was staring at her intently.
"Miss what?" She asked.
"You throwing up! Side-along's hard on newbies!" He said, with too much of a gleeful voice for Bess' liking.
"Maybe... But I'm used to panic attacks, which last a lot longer and feel just as unpleasant..." Bess said, before trailing off as she caught the pitying looks on the foursome's faces. "It's just... you get used to it... Anyway!" She cried, turning to face the older witch and wizard. "You must be Mr and Mrs Potter? It's so lovely to properly meet you again," she said, smiling at Euphemia, before looking at Fleamont, "and to meet you, Mr. Potter. Thank you so much for letting me stay with you for Christmas, it means more to me than I can say."
Euphemia beamed and stepped forwards, pulling Bess in to a warm, tight hug, as Fleamont laughed and clapped Bess on the back as he said, "Of course! James has a knack for adding to our brood. Happy to have you!"
In that moment she knew exactly where James had come from. He had his mother's eyes and smile, but his father's nose, face shape and, by the looks of things, eyesight. His height evidentially came from the some other relative, as both of his parents were shorter than him - Fleamont only standing an inch taller than Bess' five foot ten, and Euphemia being around five foot three.
But the similarities ran deeper than just the physical - James had his dad's mannerisms - the same laugh, his ability to put you instantly at ease by clapping you on the back like an old friend... And he had his mother's warmth and twinkle in her eye, and Bess could tell that she was just scraping the surface with these observations.
She could tell he'd grown up in a household full of love, and it made her so incredibly happy that she almost cried. Well, she did cry. But she held most of it back, and only allowed a few tears to fall.
"Oh no, dear, are you okay?" Euphemia asked quickly, pulling back to look at Bess' face.
"Yeah, sorry, I just thought about how lovely you both are and how unfortunate it is that you ended up having James as your son..." she said, choking out a laugh.
If she'd been worried they wouldn't see the funny side, she would have been instantly relieved - both of them roared with laughter and she felt Euphemia pull her in for another hug as Fleamont said loudly, "I like this one!" As he pointed to her and looked at the two boys.
"Yeah, she's alright. Shame she's got rubbish taste in guys though!" James said loudly, clapping Sirius on the back.
Sirius, who was already looking at Bess with a smile on his face, grinned and winked at her at his friend's words. Bess smiled back, feeling relieved that he looked infinitely more relaxed and happier than he had on the platform.
She had the feeling that Fleamont didn't really need to take the trunks home first, but had been giving Sirius some time.
"Right," Fleamont said with a chuckle as he clapped his hands together. "Time to eat!"
With that, he led the group down the side street before, when they reached the main road which was more of a cobbled street large enough for maybe one or two cars to drive down at once, he turned sharply and opened a non descript door which Bess would have otherwise missed.
As they walked in, Bess looked up to see the sign hanging above the entrance, which read, "The Wizard's Loch".
"Best pub in Britain!" Fleamont cried as he greeted the hostess warmly and turned to send Bess a wink.
"Oh you really are too kind! Back again, boys? How was school?" The hostess asked as she showed them to a table towards the back of the pub.
When they reached the table, Bess felt Sirius push her gently towards one of the seats as he pulled it out for her. She smiled at him and he grinned back, before sitting next to her and putting his hand on her thigh, squeezing it slightly.
"Do you come here a lot?" She asked, as Euphemia handed her a large menu.
Sirius and James, she noticed, weren't even looking at the list of dishes, and were instead leaning towards Fleamont and beginning to tell him what mischief they'd been up to that term. Rather than being concerned at their behaviour, Fleamont appeared proud, hanging on their every word.
"At least once every two weeks in the summer, and the night before the boys go back to school after the holidays. We thought we'd treat you all since it's your first time with us! Much easier than one of us having to be in the kitchen and missing all the gossip!" Euphemia replied as she placed her menu on the table, having decided what she would be getting.
Bess smiled and nodded before looking down at the list of dishes. She felt slightly overwhelmed with the choices, having not needed to choose one single dish for months.
Evidently, the other four picked their food and ordered incredibly quickly whenever they came to the pub, as before Bess knew it, the hostess was back, and Fleamont was ordering a platter of sharing starters, two bottles of red wine, "even though James shouldn't have any," and his main dish.
Bess quickly scanned the menu as she heard Euphemia order, before Bess asked the waitress to come back to her once James and Sirius had ordered.
What felt like a moment later, she decided to just panic order and deal with the consequences later, so she pointed to something random and the waitress nodded and took her menu.
"What'd you get?" James asked.
Bess grimaced and shrugged. "No idea. Find out soon though... Just hope it's not bad..."
"You ordered... What d'you mean you don't know?" James asked incredulously. He didn't seem to be able to fathom the idea.
Bess shrugged again. "Dunno, I just pointed... I think it has about a sixty percent success rate. Normally I've got enough time to figure out three things I could want and then I just choose from one of those when they come round, but I didn't have enough time..."
"You know there's some really random stuff on here, right?" James asked, as Sirius barked out a laugh and leant in to kiss Bess on the cheek.
She was now, officially worried about what she'd just ordered.
Just then, the waitress came back with their glasses, a pitcher of water, and the wine. Bess pursed her lips and, when Sirius passed her a glass, took a large gulp of her wine.
"Erin, what did young Bess here just order?" Fleamont asked with a laugh.
The waitress chuckled and rolled her eyes before pulling out her pad and saying, "The prawn curry."
One look at the boys' faces made Bess think she'd made a massive mistake.
"What...?" She asked apprehensively.
"It won't blow your face off, but made this one go bright red... and he spluttered... It was a whole thing," the waitress replied, nodding to James and sending Bess a look.
Bess laughed and nodded. "Sounds perfect!"
"You'll regret that..." James said loudly as the waitress left.
Fifty minutes later, after the delicious starters were cleared away, Bess' meal arrived and she took a large bite, watched by everyone. A second later, she frowned and looked up at the waitress as she chewed and swallowed, eyes wide.
For a moment she didn't say anything, until a smile came across her face and she mouthed, "this?" as she cocked her head to the side and pointed at the meal.
The waitress bit her lip and nodded, trying not to laugh. Bess pulled her lips in to a small line and nodded, before shaking her head and taking another large mouthful.
"How are you not gasping?!" James asked incredulously.
Bess swallowed her mouthful before responding, "Because I grew up with spice, James, and this is... medium. It's not like it's a Nandos hot or anything..."
"What's Nandos?"
Bess looked up, and opened and shut her mouth, "Uh- Muggle chicken place..." she added, trying not to let them cotton on to the fact that that this certain chain didn't even exist in the UK until 1992.
"Real world or fake world?" James asked quietly, leaning in so only the five of them would be able to hear what he was saying.
"Well... that one's about your perspective, isn't it?" Bess asked, smiling slightly. She found his questions about her past refreshing. He wasn't as scared to bring it up as Lily, Remus and Peter were, and seemed to take Dumbledore's explanation that it was all made up in her head, in his stride.
She could tell from the looks on their faces, that James had explained to his parents that Bess had memories of an entirely Muggle life. He'd asked her permission to warn them before the came to visit, but she hadn't seen him anywhere near the owlery in the last two weeks of term so she wondered when he'd had the opportunity to speak to them.
"Perspective?" Sirius asked, as he stretched an arm across the back of Bess' chair and leant back slightly as he looked at her.
Bess turned to look at him and said, "Well, someone once told me, and I'm paraphrasing here, 'of course it is happened inside your head, but why should that mean it's not real?'"
"Huh... That's interesting... Who said that?" He asked, reaching for his wine.
"You wouldn't know him well, but we're best buds. Long beard... white hair... twinkling blue eyes..." Bess said, before grinning and sipping her drink as Sirius glared at her playfully.
"I'll have you know, Albus and I go way back..."
"Is that right? Well have you had tea and cake with him?" Bess asked, raising an eyebrow and shaking her head at him, a close lipped smile on her face.
"No..."
"Has he given you sherbet lemons?"
"No..."
"And sugar quills?"
"No..."
"And the password to his office... in case of emergencies?"
"He did not!" Sirius said, sitting up straight and staring at her as if she were an alien.
Bess nodded quickly and said, "Definitely did," before shaking her head and adding, "and no, I'm not telling."
Sirius grinned and leant in to place a small kiss on her lips before rubbing his nose against hers and pulling back slightly.
"Can I rescind my offer to stay with us?" James asked loudly, and Bess and Sirius laughed at the look on his face - pure disgust.
Fleamont and Euphemia, Bess noticed, were grinning at each other, and leant in to share a kiss which made James jokingly gag, before Euphemia said, "If I wasn't happy to have you before, now, I'm ecstatic. I don't think we've ever seen Sirius like this."
Bess smiled as Sirius rolled his eyes and began to eat again. She took a second to look at him as he ate, slightly surprised that he was able to joke and smile as much as he had done at dinner, considering he'd almost bumped in to his mother. But then she remembered that this was his family now, and he would probably feel as safe and protected as Bess did in that moment. Moreso, as she'd only just met the Potters, whereas he'd known them for years.
When they'd finished their mains and the boys had finished their desserts - Bess had thought it better to be safe than sorry, even though she'd been eyeing up the brownie - Fleamont removed a sack from his pocket and headed to the front to pay.
"Dad thinks it's uncouth to pay in front of guests," James said, rolling his eyes.
"Oh, I can-" Bess began, reaching in to her pocket, but Euphemia shot her down with a stern look.
"Don't you dare. We have enough gold to last several lifetimes and who would we be if we didn't share it with our friends and family?" She asked, before giving Bess' arm a squeeze.
"Thank you," Bess said quietly, as she added generosity to the list of things James got from his both of his parents.
"Don't mention it," Euphemia said with a smile before drawing back and turning to ask James something.
"Which is funny, because if this was dinner with my parents," Sirius said quietly to Bess, a cold and angry tone to his voice as he frowned at the table, his arm once again slung across the back of Bess' chair as he absentmindedly rubbed circles into the back of her neck, "I'd hear about it for weeks afterwards if you didn't even offer to pay, even though if you did they'd also shoot you down."
"Uh, maybe, but what self respecting blood purist would have a Muggleborn over for dinner?" Bess asked, raising an eyebrow and cocking her head to the side, trying to lighten his mood.
It worked. Sirius looked at her, a small smile on his face. "You're taking all this surprisingly well. I thought when you saw-"
Bess raised a hand and said quietly, "Honestly, my parents were almost disowned for getting together because she was black and he was white, and I'm mixed race. I know a thing or two about racism. Even if I didn't, you've seen my scars - I know a lot about blood purists too. I don't need to meet them," she added, to try and ease the frown on his face.
Before Sirius could answer, Fleamont returned and they all donned their cloaks, coats, or jackets, and walked out into the freezing cold night.
As they came to a stop at the middle of the side street again, Bess pulled her jacket around her, and stamped her feet, watching the mist rising from her mouth as she breathed out. She opened her mouth wider, letting out a large sigh of air and smiled as she watched the steam swirl upwards.
"Ready?" Euphemia asked, taking Bess' forearm. Bess nodded, and just registered Sirius looking at her as the world faded away and she found herself compressed once more. A little more used to the sensation this time, she counted to five before the world slammed back in to focus and her feet landed on the ground.
This time, she definitely felt sick. She'd only finished eating a few minutes previously and could feel her stomach begin to churn as her mouth filled with saliva.
Without saying a word, Euphemia pointed at a bush and Bess ran over to it, just managing to get behind it before she threw up.
She just about registered a pop as she retched again, and a moment later she heard James' laughter echoing into the night. She could see him through the leaves of the bush she was hiding behind, so she pulled out her wand and smiled as she heard a yell and a thump as her non-verbal jelly legs jinx hit him.
A two and a half hour dinner and drinks had made Bess confident that James' parents would see the funny side, and was pleased to hear them joining Sirius in laughing before Fleamont reversed the spell.
Finally, she stood, vanished her pile of sick, and cast a few spells to clean herself up. She stumbled round the bush and grinned cheekily at James who was glaring at her - he wouldn't turn 17 until March, so wasn't able to retaliate.
"I cleaned up..." Bess said as she walked up to Sirius.
He laughed and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her on the forehead before saying, "Sorry, love, but I'll have to help Prongs get you back for that one later..."
Bess grinned and said, "I'd expect nothing less. Just... go easy on me?"
"Can't promise anything, love, sorry."
Bess sighed and nodded, before Sirius moved, sliding an arm around her waist and beginning to walk down a dark path lined with tall hedges.
"We're just up here, not far at all. Euphemia insisted we put up anti-Apparition wards last year, so can't get any closer, I'm afraid," Fleamont called from the front of the line.
Soon enough, they came to the end of the long drive, and Bess' mouth dropped open. In front of her stood a gorgeous cottage with the most beautiful garden around it, and a small stone wall circling the perimeter.
Fleamont opened the squat wooden gate and walked up to the large red front door, pulling out his wand and casting a few non-verbal spells before turning the large brass handle and pushing it open.
"Welcome home, boys!" Euphemia said proudly, as she followed Fleamont over the threshold. "And please, make yourself at home, Bess. Now boys, please try not to break anything before-"
"Sorry Mum!" Came James' voice as Euphemia was cut off by a loud crash. "Honestly though, a vase next to the door? Ridiculous."
"He does that every time he comes home. I think she puts it there on purpose..." Sirius whispered in Bess' ear before he walked inside, leaving Bess to herself for a moment.
She took a deep breath in and smiled slightly. She knew they'd only just met, but she already felt like she was part of a family.
xXx
A/N: hope you like it!
Thank you to themugglepadme24, idreamtosmilealways, CharlotteGryffindor, and Ghost Claw 001 for your reviews!
And thank you to everyone who's reading, favouriting and following! Love you all!
