A mainly fluffy chapter for you all, but with an important reveal which will be explored later! Enjoy!
xXx
Fresh off the high of the combined effects of Remus and her friendship taking another step forward, and finally having some alone time with Sirius, Bess began the second week in February in a haze of happiness.
On Monday, she attended her classes, studied in the library, ate in the Great Hall, duelled with Sirius and James, and tried as hard as she could to not have another vision. However...
At breakfast on Tuesday, she noticed a few girls staring at her. By dinner, they'd been joined by a few more.
At breaktime on Wednesday, she was accosted in the girls' bathrooms by Georgina Breyfridge, who wanted to know what she was wearing on Saturday. Bess replied with, "Clothes?" and left.
On Thursday, boys joined in the open staring, and whispers started up whenever she walked in to a room. She knew they were aimed at her, as people were openly gawking at her by dinnertime. It almost put her off her steak pie and mash. Almost.
On Friday, as she sat in the library, she finally broke and asked why she was being stared at.
"Okay, what is actually going on? I feel like I'm in an episode of Black Mirror or something," Bess whispered as she dipped her quill in her inkpot and glared at a couple of girls who were sitting at the next table, staring at her and giggling.
"What's that?" Lily asked, frowning at her parchment and crossing out a word.
"Uh-" Bess replied, before tapping her head when Lily looked up. Lily did the same and nodded knowingly.
"But seriously, I don't... what's going on?" Bess asked again.
Lily rolled her eyes and looked down at her parchment again, saying, "They're all just interested to see what you and Sirius have planned for tomorrow, after the fireworks he set off when you got together..."
"And tomorrow is..." Bess asked slowly, raising her eyebrows and tapping her quill on the library table in front of her. Remus returned to their table with another book and rolled his eyes as he vanished the ink before it could stain.
"Very funny..." Lily said with a little laugh, before going back to her homework.
Bess laughed nonchalantly, but inside she was incredibly worried.
What am I missing? She asked herself as she wracked her brain.
She knew she had another apparition lesson tomorrow morning. She also knew that when she'd asked Sirius over lunch just twenty minutes previously what he had planned for them on the Hogsmeade trip which would happen immediately after the lesson, he'd winked and said, "Good things come to those who wait..." with a knowing smile on his face. Bess, who just wanted to make sure that they'd be stopping by Scrivenshaft's, had forced a smile.
She also knew that it wasn't their three month-iversary, which fallen on the previous Sunday. She'd been reminded of it because James had produced a bouquet of flowers, a crown, and a large card with 'congratulations' written in garish colours, which had shouted, "Congratulations, you made it! You're officially one half of the longest relationship Sirius has ever been in!" and had then sprayed glitter all over her when she opened it. She and Sirius had both stared at each other with wide eyes before dissolving into laughter as they realised they'd both forgotten.
So if that's not it... She pursed her lips, frowned in thought and pretended to read her Transfiguration textbook for five minutes until they were interrupted by James, Sirius and Peter, who came to steal Remus for, "Something top secret."
She was halfway to her double History of Magic class when a second year approached her and asked, "Do you think you'll use ducks again?"
"Sorry?"
"For Sirius' Valentine's Day present? Did you arrange for ducks again? Because that was really funny."
Bess' eyes widened and she almost slapped herself on the forehead before realising that the girl was watching her reactions carefully. At the last second, she managed to change it to a quick forehead rub before tucking a few curls behind her ear. "Uh- no. No ducks."
"Oh. Well... what did you get him then? Because for my boyfriend, I got a flying experience over Easter break. But I won't give it to him until Monday. It's not like I can go to Hogsmeade tomorrow..."
"You have a boyfriend? You're two!" Bess said, before grimacing at her words.
The girl rolled her eyes. "Twelve. Actually. But yes."
"And you got him a flying thing?" Bess asked slowly.
"Yup. Can't wait to see what you do! I'm sure it's going to be so romantic! Last year, Sirius' girlfriend at the time got him a dozen roses which all complimented him on his eyes. I heard that his girlfriend the year before got him a singing hairbrush."
Bess couldn't think of which one sounded worse.
Once the girl had left, Bess ran to the first bathroom she could find, stared in the mirror, and screamed. What am I going to do? I'm stuck in a bloody castle. It's not like I can- ooh.
She tilted her head to the side and smiled mischievously before grabbing her bag and running out of the bathroom, heading first to her dorm room to get changed, pick up her purse, and write a quick note to the girls which read, "Just getting Sirius' present ready, be back tonight," before she ran to the Third Floor.
She'd noticed the one-eyed witch there in the past week, since she'd remembered about the passageway to Honeydukes. She just had to remember the password now. She knew it started with Diss, but wasn't sure about the rest of it.
It took about half an hour for her to remember that it was Dissendium, and by then it was almost time for the last lesson of the day, so she chucked her bag down and jumped onto the slide, landing with a thump just as the bell rang. She thought it would be the perfect cover, especially if the boys were checking the map - they wouldn't find her for a little bit.
She cast lumos, and began to walk quickly along the passageway. As it began to climb and get smaller, Bess' nervousness grew. What she was about to attempt was absolutely bonkers.
As she reached the small trap door, she stopped, said, "Nox," and fell in to darkness.
She took a few deep breaths in, before reaching up and slowly opening the hatch. It took her a few minutes to find the right time to duck into the cellar, and another five to make it out in to the shop, but when she did, she managed to act as though she had been in there for a few minutes, and bought a large bag of sweets, before popping them inside her backpack. A sign on the till said that the shop would close at 5.30pm, so she knew she didn't have oodles of time left.
Stepping out on to the almost completely deserted street, she donned her jacket over her hoodie to starve off some of the cold, and hurried over to The Three Broomsticks as fast as she could.
Wrenching the door open, she stepped inside, and this time, instead of removing her sunglasses, she put them on, and pulled her hood up over her head as she realised with a start that in the corner of the small pub sat Rubeus Hagrid, having a drink and a chat with another wizard. Gulping, she headed over to the bar and tried to grab Rosmerta's attention.
After a long chat with the kind witch, she handed over quite a few galleons, and headed back out of the front door, grumbling slightly to herself - one galleon had been a payoff so that the older witch wouldn't tell the teachers that she'd been in Hogsmeade.
Rounding the corner, she ducked into an alleyway and took a deep breath before turning on the spot and disapparating with a loud pop.
She'd been taking apparition classes since the first week of term and had now completed five lessons of the course of twelve. During her third lesson, Bess had splinched herself - half of her hair had been left behind in her hoop, but the rest of her had arrived safely.
After growing her hair back to its original length with a flick of his wand, Sirius had laughed at her, flawlessly apparated in front of her, kissed her tenderly, and then disapparated, appearing back in his own hoop. She'd rolled her eyes, and mouthed, 'show off,' but it had been the talk of the school for a week as it was, "So romantic!"
During her fourth lesson, she'd managed to apparate twice, and during her fifth lesson, she'd appeared in the correct hoop every time she'd tried.
Maybe it was her reckless side coming out since she'd been with Sirius for so long... or her want to give him as good of a Valentine's day as possible... whatever it was, it spurred her on, and she managed to arrive in one piece at her destination.
As she walked down the long hedge lined path, she felt nausea rising in her stomach. She thought she'd made a massive mistake. However, just as she was turning around to head back to school, she heard her name shouted and smiled as she ran up to the cottage and hugged Euphemia, who was in the front garden.
"What on earth are you doing here? Is everything alright?" The older witch asked, her face twisted with worry.
Bess nodded her head quickly and smiled. "I need a favour..."
An hour later, Bess' bag a lot heavier than it had been before, Fleamont side-along apparated her back to Hogsmeade.
"If you weren't overage, and if you were my daughter, I'd have words about you leaving school..." he said with a smile, before hugging her tightly. As he pulled back, he added, "but as it stands, I enjoy the sentiment. Let us know what he thinks."
Bess nodded enthusiastically and said a quick, "Thank you," before Fleamont walked ahead of her in to Honeydukes and began to ask the owners for help with selecting some nice chocolates for his wife, while Bess snuck out the back, down the stairs, and into the cellar.
She was just about to grab hold of the hatch, when she heard a muffled, "oof," and, eyes wide, ran over to the other side of the cellar to hide behind some large boxes. Just as she did, the hatch opened slightly.
"Fuck's sake, Peter. Every time. I know you love watching Prongs walk, but can you at least put your wand away? One day you're going to blast my bloody arse off," Sirius whispered angrily, before she heard someone shushing him, and he fell silent.
No one moved or said anything for a long minute, and Bess' legs began to ache - she'd crouched down in the small spot rather awkwardly, and now couldn't move for fear of them hearing her. As she focused on the rising pain, she couldn't help but notice that her arms were also beginning to ache- she was holding her leather jacket over her head to try and make herself look like a sack in the dimmly lit cellar.
She could just make out the trap door and the stairs from her vantage point.
She saw James climb out of the hatch and up the stairs as his friends emerged from the tunnel. He peeked into the shop, and immediately tip toed back down as quickly as he could.
"Well?" Remus asked. "Have they closed yet?"
"No! And my bloody Dad's up there, and I think Flume saw me!" he hissed. Bess heard some frantic movements, before she made eye contact with a rather scared looking Remus, who had climbed over the boxes she was hiding behind.
She shook her head quickly, and put her finger to her lips. He simply nodded and raised an eyebrow.
"Fucking hell Moony, do you want to get caught? Duck down, you idiot!" James hissed, and Remus, who had nowhere else to go, grimaced.
Bess mouthed, "I don't know where I can go," and Remus looked around quickly, before he pushed at her legs and she shuffled slightly, readjusting her knees to face out towards the boxes, rather than sideways along the wall. Remus finally crouched down.
Because of the awkward space, they were pressed together on one side, their thighs and arms touching. When Bess turned to look up through her jacket at him, she saw that he was blushing, and she grinned and poked his cheek.
He slapped her hand away, which made a clap reverberate around the small room.
"Who was that?" Sirius hissed. "Peter, I swear to Merlin. If you're already tucking in to some of Honeyduke's finest, I'll fucking-"
"It was me. Calm down," Remus replied in a whisper, readjusting slightly and going even more red as his hand brushed Bess' thigh.
A tense minute passed before they heard the door to the cellar open, and the soft thump thump thump of someone walking down the stairs. "Sorry, I thought I heard something..." Mr. Flume, the owner of Honeydukes said loudly.
Bess looked at Remus, and they both tried to crouch down further without making a sound. However, as they were both tall, it was harder than they'd thought, and Remus nudged a box which made a scratching noise against the floor.
"What was that? Who's there?" the man asked, and Bess grimaced at Remus, who stilled and went deathly pale as they waited for the other wizard to come closer to their hiding spot.
After a moment, Bess heard a scuttling noise, and looked around in horror as a rat stopped in the middle of the room before sitting on its back legs and cocking its head to the side, staring up at the man.
She dropped her jacket and clapped her hands across her mouth to stop herself from screaming, and Remus put a comforting hand on her arm, before leaning in to whisper, "It's okay, trust me."
Luckily, the owner of the shop had a similar reaction to Bess and he slowly backed away before running to get his wife.
When they heard the door shut behind him, the boys moved. Peter transformed back in to himself and turned towards where Bess assumed James and Sirius were hiding.
When she gasped in mock-surprise, Remus placed a finger to his lips, a worried look on his face, and Bess nodded slowly, pretending to be surprised, as Sirius and James stood, grinning.
"Good thinking, Wormtail!" James said brightly.
"Absolutely brilliant! Commendable!" Sirius cried with a laugh.
Bess raised her hands and turned to Remus with a terrified look, mouthing, 'They can't know I'm here!'
He pursed his lips and jumped up a second later. "Right. James, give me the cloak. You three get back down in the hatch."
"What? Why?"
"Because. If anyone catches me, they'll tell Dumbledore, and I can just say I needed chocolate and plead my case."
"He does look particularly pathetic today..." Sirius said unsympathetically.
James hummed and replied, "But the full moon was last week. You really think it could work?"
Remus glared and said, "Stop it. Give me the cloak."
A moment later, Bess heard a scuffle and the trap door was opened.
A shimmery fabric was thrown over the boxes Bess was still hiding behind, and she smiled as Remus wrapped it around both of them. The moment that the trap door closed, the door at the top of the stairs opened.
"It was right there, Stella. No, right in the middle of the room."
Bess heard an exaggerated sigh before Mrs Flume searched the cellar and, finding no trace of a rat, gave up after ten minutes. "Well if there was one here, it didn't eat anything, left no mess, and... ah yes, there wasn't one! Now can we please just go up for dinner?" she called up the stairs as she climbed them.
"I swear to Merl-" the wizard began, but he was cut off as the door shut behind his wife.
"How'd you know I knew about the cloak? And why didn't James use it before?" Bess asked Remus quietly.
"Padfoot and Prongs told me, and because 'what's life without a little risk?'" he whispered back with a worried smile. "Anyway... What you saw... Please don't say anything about Peter?"
"Why?"
"Uh... he's got exactly registered..."
"Of course he isn't... But it's such a complicated process. How on earth did he manage it?" She asked in an exaggerated whisper. "He's only a sixth year!"
"Uh... I don't..." he said as he looked around, not meeting her gaze.
"Sirius and James as well?" Bess asked, as she pretended to piece the information together.
"Look, please don't say anything? Please? Sirius will tell you when the time's right..." Remus said, anxiously, before trailing off as his face contorted with worry. "Please, Bess, this is big. Please-"
"I won't say anything. It's okay... I'm just sorry I found out like this..." she whispered, suddenly feeling sick. It was one thing lying to Sirius about things only she knew...
And this wasn't her and James trying to save his life. This felt different. It felt like more of a betrayal. She knew about Remus being a werewolf already, and Sirius still hadn't told her about him being an animagus, which meant that he still wanted to keep that part of himself a secret. She didn't know how he'd react when, no, if, he ever decided to tell her and found out that she already knew.
"Why're you here anyway?" He asked quickly, trying to move the conversation on.
Bess grimaced. "I forgot everyone was celebrating Valentine's Day tomorrow. I mean it's not like it's actually tomorrow is it? It's Monday... so technically I haven't messed up yet..." she sighed, as she rubbed her face. "You?"
He chuckled nervously as he began to relax and said, "Sirius said exactly the same thing. But then James started saying you'd be expecting something big... That's why they came to get me at lunch. I think he was just going to get you lunch or something until you were so cool and collected in library, and then he kept saying, 'but Prongs, she's so calm. Why is she so calm? She's only calm when she's got a plan!'" As he said the last, he turned towards her awkwardly, imitated Sirius' voice, and grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her. She laughed awkwardly and he dropped his hands.
"Do- do you think he'll be angry when he finds out that I know?"
"I don't- l don't know," Remus replied, frowning at the terrified look on Bess' face. "It'll be okay..."
"Yeah. Yeah, you're right. I guess-" she cut off as they heard the trap door open and the boys climbed out again.
"Moony? Moony? Did you get caught?" James asked in a tense whisper, and Remus put a finger to his lips again, and nodded to Bess. She pretended to lock her lips and throw away the key and he smiled at her before standing, taking the cloak with him.
He made it to the middle of the cellar before he took off the cloak and grinned at the others as he took a deep bow.
She heard James clap him on the back and watched as the boys all climbed the stairs, before they disappeared into the dark shop.
She waited five minutes more before she snuck over to the trap door and slipped into the tunnel.
In the end, Bess had returned to the castle, stashed her things, and run down to the Great Hall by 6.30pm. As she'd joined the girls, they'd eagerly asked what her plan was, and she'd replied only with a wink and a tap of her nose, before she grabbed some dinner.
The boys had returned from their escapade an hour after Bess, and she'd shared a look with Remus before returning to her book.
xXx
The next morning, Bess felt slightly better, but still tense.
"You knew about me for ages but you kept my secret. Why's this any different?" Remus asked her quietly while they stood in the queue for their apparition lesson.
"It's different. I... I'm not in a relationship with you. If Sirius finds out-"
"Finds out what, love?" Sirius asked as he slipped his arms around her from behind.
She looked to the side and smiled slightly as he kissed her, before he pulled away and looked down.
"Valentine's Day surprise," Remus said quickly, and Bess nodded.
"Really? And why does Moony know, but I don't?" Sirius asked as he pulled her hair away from her shoulder and pressed an open mouthed kiss to her neck.
Bess made a noncommittal noise and smiled as Remus scrunched his face up in disgust and turned towards the other students in front of them as Sirius continued his kisses.
"So, love, what've you got planned?" He asked, whispering into her ear and sending a shiver down her spine.
She was saved from answering by the instructor, who announced that it was dry enough to have their lesson outside, and led the class out onto the green.
After their lesson, Bess joined her friends on the walk down to Hogsmeade - luckily her dorm mates and the Marauders had decided that morning that they'd all have an early lunch together before splitting off into groups.
The walk down to the village helped to steel Bess' nerves, and by the time they arrived, she felt more relaxed than she had all week.
In fact, when the nine students arrived outside The Three Broomsticks, Bess had to try hard to keep her excitement to a minimum so as to not arouse any suspicions.
They were among the first to get there, so no one noticed what Bess had arranged until Rosmerta came over to their rather large table and asked what they wanted to drink.
"Nine butterbeers, and a bottle of mead please, Ros," Sirius said eagerly - it was the first time he'd been in the pub since his birthday and so the first time he'd been able to order a proper drink from the students' haunt.
Rosmerta frowned, and tapped her quill against her pad of parchment. "Sorry, a what and a what?"
Sirius frowned. "Nine butterbeers... and a bottle of mead..."
"Did you not...?" Rosmerta started, and trailed off with a dramatic sigh. "Bess?"
Bess grinned as Rosmerta tried not to laugh, and said, "Sorry about him, can't take him anywhere. What he meant to say was, we'll have nine bottles of 'Sirius Black Rocks' and one bottle of 'isn't his smile captivating?', please."
"Perfect. Menus are by the bar if you want anything else."
"What?" Sirius asked with a breathy laugh, as everyone turned to Bess with confused expressions.
"I got Ros to rename the popular drinks in honour of you today. Thought it would appeal to your arrogant side, and that you'd find it funny... for example," she said, grinning and gesturing over to a group of Slytherins across the way who were talking to another server.
"For Merlin's sake. I'm not saying it."
"Sorry, rules is rules," the waiter replied nervously.
"Fine. Siriusblackrocks."
"Sorry, come again?"
"Sirius. Black. Rocks."
"They're going to do it all day. I put some money behind the bar to pay for any loss in earnings, but I think it'll be quite popular..." she trailed off as she watched a group of girls squealing as they each ordered in turn. "Especially since I know the Hog's Head is closed today... Too much?" she asked, turning back to Sirius, who had a slackened jaw.
He snapped his mouth shut and kissed her. "No. Perfect. Merlin. Absolutely bloody perfect!" he beamed.
"Way to show us all up, Bess!" James said with a laugh, before running a hand through his hair.
"Why? Got a date, Potter?" Skye asked as a tray filled with drinks was placed in the middle of their table.
"Well... no..." he said with a faint blush, and Bess noticed that Lily was also turning a little red, "but maybe next year I will, and... this is pretty cool..."
Sirius whispered in Bess' ear, "Beats my present to you, sorry love."
Bess leant in to kiss him quickly before she said, "You don't know that yet. And in any case, this isn't the only present..." Sirius raised an eyebrow as Bess pulled out her bag. "Wait... do you want this now, or later?"
"Now. Definitely now," James answered for his friend, and Sirius reached across to punch him lightly on the arm as he laughed.
"Okay... I know you have a very sweet tooth so... drinks... this chocolate..." she said, handing him a large bar, "these sweets..." she handed him a large bag of sweets. "Then..." Bess reached in and pulled out Sirius' favourite cake - a chocolate sponge covered in Euphemia's famous homemade salted caramel fudge icing.
"Sirius only likes Euphemia's icing..." Peter piped up jealously, as James' mouth dropped open.
"That's what this is," Bess said quietly, trying not to get annoyed by the boy.
"But they always get stale if they're flown in..." Peter groaned as he now stared longingly at the cake.
"Shut up Wormtail. I'm sure it's perfect, love," Sirius said, looking between the two and sending his friend a look which said, 'come on man, be nice.'
Bess smiled as she set the cake down on the table. "No, no, Peter's right. Which is why this was baked fresh last night."
"But Mum only bakes on special occasions!" James said, reaching over to scoop up some of the icing, popping it in to his mouth and moaning. Bess didn't miss Lily's gulp as the redhead stared at him as he licked his finger. "Is this why Dad was in Hogsmeade yesterday?"
"He was?" Bess asked innocently.
"How'd you manage it, love?" Sirius asked in a whisper as James jumped up to ask Rosmerta for a knife and some plates.
"Let's just say, you really don't need a license to apparate..."
His eyes widened and he grinned, before he placed a hand on her jaw and leant in to kiss her. "Yesterday afternoon? That's where you were? We thought you were with Dumbledore!"
"No, that's next week..." Bess said, trailing off. She was a bit apprehensive about her next meeting with the older wizard.
She'd received a letter at the start of January asking her for a chat, but he'd then been called away on some 'urgent business', and hadn't returned until the previous week.
"It'll be okay, love," Sirius said as he leant in to kiss her on the forehead.
"Okay, okay, okay... This... Kicks ass, Bess. Mulligan just had to ask for 'that hair though,' to get a Firewhiskey! So... Black, you're up. What'd you get Bess?!"
"Merlin. Uh- I'll start with an apology, since this isn't as good," he muttered and when Bess rolled her eyes, he continued, "we went back to that Muggle store in London-" he made a humming noise and Bess grinned, knowing he meant HMV, "to get you it, I saw it at Christmas and thought you'd like it."
He pulled out a large bag, and handed it over.
Bess smiled slightly and opened it, moved over the tissue paper, and pulled out... a cassette player and a pair of headphones.
"That's a portable deck! But it won't work in Hogwarts, will it?" Lily said, as she stared at the long black contraption.
"Yeah... I was thinking I'd charm it to work anywhere. Might take me a while, but I'm sure I can do it. After all, James and I are the best in our year..." He said rather arrogantly.
Bess could hear his wink, and definitely heard the groans and protestations, though she knew that she and Remus agreed with that statement.
"Isn't that against the law?" Mary asked.
"Depends... I'm sure there's a loophole somewhere..." he said, before turning back to Bess. "Is it alright?"
Bess didn't look up, and didn't answer, not because she didn't want to, but because she was too busy crying. Stupid hot tears spilled from her eyes and she felt ridiculous, but she couldn't stop them.
In front of her was an escape. Now, instead of going to long walks in silence, hearing every twig snap, every branch move, she could drown out everything if she wanted and just imagine stories and worlds again. She could think through plans... or just listen to music and be on her own for once.
She wiped her tears away and sniffled slightly as she pressed down each button in turn, watching the cassette-less cogs turn, and put the jack into the headphone slot.
"This, Sirius Black, is the best present I have ever received, and I also know exactly how much it cost, because I've been debating buying one at Easter, so I'm just going to say now that when we break up, I'm not giving it back."
"Really? You like- wait. What do you mean when we break up?" He asked, his smile dropping into a frown as he turned in his seat to face Bess properly.
"One day you'll wake up and realise I'm too uncool for you. But for now, I'm just gonna enjoy the cassette player and kisses," Bess replied seriously.
"That will never happen, Coulson," he replied, leaning in.
"We'll see, Black," Bess whispered seductively, before she captured his lips in a slow, passionate kiss, as her hands came to rest at his side and the back of his head. He reached a hand into her curls as the other began to gently caress her thigh.
After a while, Bess heard James say in a disgusted tone, "They must need to come up for air at some point, right?"
"Unfortunately not. Bess told me if you're doing it right, you can still breathe and kiss..." Lily replied in an equally disgusted tone.
Bess couldn't help the giggle that bubbled up in her throat, and she bit Sirius' lip as she withdrew, releasing it and staring up at him through her eyelashes.
"Merlin, I wish..." he said, before trailing off.
Bess, who understood exactly what he meant, stared at his lips, and replied, "You know both our dorms are completely empty at the moment..." her eyes flickered up to his, "right?"
A grin slowly came over his face, and he reached into his pocket, withdrawing a handful of coins, which he chucked on the table. "Lunch is on me. See you all in a bit."
xXx
Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter - CharlotteGryffindor, idreamtosmilealways, Ghost Claw 001, themugglepadme24, Avalon Rivers, and Guest!
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