Bess' hands hit the floor first, scraping along the rough cobblestones. Her knees came next, and she tried to keep her cry of pain as muted as possible as they banged into the ground.
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
All around her, spells bounced, flew through the air, and crashed into walls, people, and buildings.
She scrambled up, pushing herself onto her knees, and reached into her bag for her wand. Just in time, she cast a protego which stopped a flash of red in its tracks.
She turned, watching for a moment through Moody's legs. He was standing in front of her, facing the attackers. Bess didn't hesitate again. This time, she began casting shield spells to try and stop any of the smaller incantations heading Moody's way. She didn't know if she was even helping much, but she tried her best, shooting spell after spell.
There was a flash of gold and then everything seemed to slow for just a moment as Bess watched the spell hit the large shop window behind her. On instinct, she pushed forwards and tackled Moody, shouting for him to get down, echoing what he'd done for her just a minute or two before.
As they crashed to the ground, Moody turned, as quick as lightning, and cast a spell. Bess looked up to see that the hundreds, no, thousands of pieces of glass from the now busted windows around them were floating in the air, though there was a particularly large shard sticking out of Moody's eyebrow. It didn't look like it was a deep wound at all, but was still there.
Within a second, he had waved his wand and the glass was thrown backwards and settled all around them, littering the pavement and shop floors. Bess reached up and pulled the shard from his face, turning back to their attackers without pausing to see his reaction.
Even her training with Jasper hadn't truly prepared her for this. It was as fast paced as she'd expected, but she hadn't had experience duelling more than one person since before Easter, and Moody and she were outnumbered two to one.
Moody pushed up first, casting spells faster than Bess had ever seen, his wand a blur. Bess took the chance to send some more shield spells out before she joined him in the middle of the alley, standing back to back with the Auror, facing towards a lone Death Eater.
She didn't quite think it was fair, Moody fighting three wizards when she only had one to contend with, but she wasn't going to complain.
Having paused for a moment to get her bearings, Bess was hit with a spell, and screamed out in pain as she felt fire engulfing her entire body. It felt like the beginnings of a vision - her body spasmed and she fell to her knees, clutching at her head, then her arms, legs, and chest as the pain radiated from everywhere.
She heard laugher and forced her eyes open as she screamed, looking up to see the Death Eater's shoulders moving, as if he was laughing manically at her pain. That's when she realised she wasn't about to have a vision - this was what the Cruciatus curse felt like.
It was almost too much, especially having felt a similar pain last night. But, she reminded herself, you managed to run to the dorms last night with this pain. Move. Do something! Move! The voice in her head began to shout and scream at her to move, and so she did. The instant the Death Eater released the spell, Bess stood.
Panicking, she sent a barrage of the first spells that came to mind - Expelliarmus, Petrificus Totalus, and Stupefy, along with Protego to try and protect herself. Over and over again she thought the spells, sending out flashes of light and protective shields, until a succession of her spells pummelled into the robed wizard and he fell backwards, his limbs gluing themselves to his sides as his wand flew up in an arc, falling at Bess' feet, and his eyes rolled into the back of his head.
"Oh god, oh god, oh god," Bess stammered, suddenly reminded of the fact that one stunner was bad enough, let alone the amount that she'd sent his way. She just hoped not all of the spells had hit him, but she couldn't say for sure what had and what hadn't.
Shaking from the aftershock of the Cruciatus curse, and from the adrenaline coursing through her body, she turned around and began casting protective spells to try and protect Moody again.
He didn't need any assistance, it seemed, but he was still three versus one, and Bess didn't like those odds.
A spell hit him in the arm, slashing through his jacket and shirt, blood spraying onto Bess' face as she managed to duck out of the way of the curse at the last second.
She sent another Expelliarmus towards the shortest wizard. No, witch. Unable to control the curse properly due to the fear and panic flowing through her, Bess' spell hit the Death Eater in the chest and the woman was thrown backwards into the brick wall behind her, her wand flying through the air to land at Bess and Moody's feet.
Bess winced as she heard a sickening crunch and watched as the witch slid down the wall, no longer moving.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no," Bess moaned, before another spell soared past her ear and she ducked down again and went back to casting protective spells, trying not to think about the fact that two people were now lying unconscious or worse because of her.
It was almost a relief when, less than two minutes later, the other two Death Eaters were also lying on the ground, defeated by Moody.
"You all right?" Moody growled, pulling Bess up from the floor by her upper arm, his grip tight and unyielding as he pulled her in front of him. "Talk to me! Are you all right?"
"Yes... yes I'm fine. I think I'm fine. Just... just a bit hurt," she answered quickly, looking at the carnage around them.
"Good," he replied, letting her go and waving his wand over the four Death Eaters on the ground, unmasking them and binding them together in the alley. "Stay alert. Back-up should've been here straight away. Where are they?"
Bess didn't get the impression that Moody would have trusted just anyone to trail behind them, and wondered if Jasper was somewhere out there.
They paused for a moment, and Bess tuned in to the sounds and screams around them. "What is that?" she asked, walking towards the end of the lane, which led towards the Royal Opera House. Hearing louder shouts, she broke into a run, and heard Moody behind her.
Before she could reach the corner, she was shoved roughly into the wall, her back hitting the brick, Moody's forearm coming to rest across her collarbone holding her still.
He shook his head at her once and put a finger to his lips. Slowly, still holding her to the wall as if he knew she'd move if he didn't, he peeked around the corner, pulling back almost immediately.
"Well, I know where back-up is. Remind me to apologise to them later. Here," he said, removing his arm from her and pulling a cloak out from his leather jacket pocket. "Put this on."
"An invisibility cloak? No, I'm fine," she said, shaking her head.
"You need to blend in and run."
"I can apparate," she whispered angrily. "I'm not a child."
"Listen here, girl, around that corner are more Death Eaters than you've seen in your life. The Ministry will be tracking everyone who apparates in and out of this area from the moment they get the owl telling them something's happening here, which by the sounds of things will be about now. So take the cloak and run. Don't stop until you get here," he growled, thrusting a piece of parchment into her hand.
Bess looked down at the parchment and read: Russell Square Gardens.
"Russ-"
"Don't say it out loud!" Moody growled, sounding angrier than Bess had ever seen him before.
"I don't know where this is," she said, trying to keep her breathing under control.
"Bloody- right, have you at least memorised it?" he asked, and when Bess nodded, he set the note on fire. He leant in and whispered, "There's a station opposite it. Same name."
"Okay, I can do that," she replied, nodding.
She knew how to get around the city, she'd grown up around it and worked for years in retail in the city, and she'd spent the past summer walking around the city, getting to know the seventies version of it. She could get to this place.
Moody nodded and pursed his lips as they heard another loud scream, cutting above the rest of the noise coming out of the street.
"Now go." He thrust the cloak into her hand again and this time, didn't give her a chance to answer before he joined the fight around the corner.
Bess took in a few deep breaths before she sprang into action and ran back down the side street, breaking through onto the main road, and sprinting until she came to Covent Garden station. She tried to ignore the looks, but she knew everyone was staring at her.
She ducked behind a larger commuter and slipped on the cloak, disappearing from sight.
She knew Moody shouldn't have left her on her own, but she knew why he had - he wanted to fight, and give her a chance. She shuddered as she thought of the number of Death Eaters who were currently wreaking havoc, mayhem, and probably murder, in the middle of Covent Garden.
She tried not to think of it anymore as she moved into a small alcove and stared at the train line board, trying to figure out where Russell Square Station was. She almost slapped herself when she realised she was just two tube stops away, just twenty minutes walk.
Nodding to herself, she followed the crowd, which was now more of a panicked mob, and ran down into the station. She shoved and pushed and moved around people until she managed to run through the barrier, following after a mum who was wrangling a buggy, and dashed down the long escalator, trying not to slip out from under the cloak.
She could hear the commotion now, as people began to shout and scream to be let into the station, and hoped she'd be able to get onto a train before they shut down the train lines around the area.
She ran around the corner and pulled off the cloak, stuffing it into her bag as she jumped onto the train, the doors closing the second she slipped through them. Wand still in hand, she knew she looked a right state, but couldn't bring herself to look at her reflection in the large now-black windows which lined the train.
Instead, she grabbed on to the pole to steady herself as they sped down the underground rail, and stared at the floor, breathing heavily.
"'Scuse me," a woman's voice broke through Bess' thoughts, and she looked up to see a well dressed older woman, who was staring at her, concern and worry on her face. "Are you okay?"
Bess didn't know what to do or say, so she just nodded quickly and tried to return to her breathing exercises.
"You don't look okay. Can you tell me what happened?" the woman asked, now yelling over the noise of the train, as Bess had stepped backwards.
"I'm fine!" Bess yelled back, nodding again and trying to sink further into the side of the train, which was coming to a stop. "Leave me alone!" she cried, pulling away when the woman tried to place a hand on her arm.
The doors slid open and Bess turned, pushing through the crowd again, running down the train and jumping on to the next carriage along, breathing heavily and clutching her wand as she sat on one of the empty window seats, just inside the door.
One more stop.
She counted the seconds it took to get to the next stop - Russell Square - and tried to ignore the stares. When the doors opened again, she broke into a run and sprinted up the stairs, through the station, pulling on the cloak as she dashed through the crowd.
When she got to the gates, she found them all shut, with police officers asking everyone to stay where they were. She cast an opening spell on the gate to the side, and managed to get through the barrier just as the first person behind her noticed there was an opening.
"This way!" she heard a man shout, and before she knew what was happening, she was pushed into the wall.
Still invisible, people barrelled into her on their way out, falling into her as they tried to get around the invisible blockage.
Finally, after another gut punch, and with the heat from the cloak too much, she pulled it off and joined the crowd, running out of the station.
Across the road, almost immediately outside the station was the Square, and Bess gave herself a beat to feel relief, before she ran across the road, slipping on the cloak again.
Passing through the gate, Bess sighed as she realised she was somewhat safe here.
But there was no one else there. No wizards or witches, at least, so she walked through the gardens, searching for anyone she knew. After thirty minutes she stopped, having looped the park twice.
Tired, hungry, thirsty, and beginning to feel the sharp sting of the grazes on her palms and knees, the aftershocks of her vision and the Cruciatus Curse searing through her, reminding her of the pain she'd gone through, she moved to sit under a tree.
She chose one which was just out of the way, but which still had a good vision of the main park entrance. She slid down it, the cloak still around her, and curled up into a ball.
The heat of the cloak surrounded her again, but this time, it wasn't as stifling, more of a deep and heavy comfort which was weighing her down.
She kept watch, catching snippets of conversations, unmoving even when police and Muggles rushed past, closing public places, even the park, for a few hours.
Finally, when they reopened the park (with Bess still inside it) at around eight o'clock, Bess watched as people trickled in to walk through the green space towards their homes or businesses, eager to find out what had happened when they watched the news later.
Still, no one she recognised came.
At around nine, she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore, she was so tired, so she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
xXx
She woke up to loud voices.
"Not here!" someone called from the far side of the park.
Another called, "I really think we need to just give up now! She's-"
Sirius' voice cut over the top, and Bess looked over to see him glaring daggers at the woman, shouting in reply, "Margot, shut up! I told you! She's here somewhere!"
"Why?" Margot asked with a sneer. "Because you're so sure she'd listen to what Moody had to say? She's a seventeen year old girl! She probably went to the shops or something."
"How dare you!" Lily cried, coming to stand near Sirius, who was going red with the effort of not replying.
"How dare you? You weren't there earlier. You're all happy to play fight while we're out there actually doing things," Margot replied, narrowing her eyes at Lily.
"I didn't see you there earlier either, Margot," called another wizard from across the park. "As I remember it, you're more of a desk person?"
Bess groaned and walked over to James, who was torn between staring at his girlfriend and best friend who were having an argument with another Order member, and his search. He chose the search, and began to poke around another tree.
"I really hate Margot," Bess said as she slipped off the cloak, her voice still deep and full of sleep.
"Same," he replied, sighing and looking over at the three, who were now back to angrily looking for Bess.
"How long've you been looking?" she asked, feeling rather bad about their worry.
"Not long. Just about ten minutes. Do me a favour and search over there?" James asked, pointing towards the tree Bess had just come over from.
"James?" she asked, doing a double take.
"Please. Just look?" he asked, an exasperated tone to his voice. "Pads is going spare, we're all worried, and we could just use the extra hand, okay?"
"Remind me not to nominate you for any perception awards..." she said, rolling her eyes as she stuffed the cloak into her bag.
"Elizabeth. You're getting on my last nerve. Look now, be sarccy later," James said, raising an eyebrow at her.
Bess wanted to laugh, but she didn't. She could tell that everyone was panicking, and the fact that James didn't really register that it was her he was looking for indicted just how long of a day it'd been.
James sucked in a breath and nodded slowly, a look of realisation sliding onto his face. "Shit. Hi 'Lisbeth. Sorry, long day." He hung his head and began to laugh softly. "I really am an idiot, aren't I?"
"Just a bit, but don't worry, I won't tell Lily," she replied with a smile, which slid off her face when she asked, "did we lose anyone?"
"Yeah... yeah... an Auror... Haven't met him before, but everyone's pretty panicked. Think he was high up. So stands to reason that we lost you too... Moody's cordoned off the area and put up wards to keep people out while we search. He's outside the park guarding the entrance."
"Smart. What happened?"
"They'll explain later. We're meant to find you and then get to the Headquarters. Emergency meeting," James replied, turning to walk back towards the middle of the park, where Margot was standing on her own, a face of thunder as she randomly poked bushes with her wand.
"That's why Lily's here?" she asked, looking over to the redhead who was walking past a tree ahead of them, her wand aloft to light her way.
"Yeah, Remus is with Dumbledore. Margot refused to let him come with us," he spat, and Bess tried to hold in her anger.
"So Dumbledore just let him stay behind?" she asked incredulously, trying to stop herself from storming back to Headquarters now.
James smiled slightly at Bess' outrage and nudged her with his elbow. "He's ok, he's helping to heal some Order members who'd rather not go to St. Mungo's right now. He said he'd be fine until we get back."
"Oi! Liability! You alright?" one of the two wizards who'd shouted before called out, and Bess turned around to see Fabian walking towards her, rolling his eyes.
She felt a pair of arms wrap around her and smelt Sirius' cologne as he spun her around in his arms, holding her tightly. "Merlin, love, remind me not to play hide and seek with you, okay?"
Bess let out a breath of a laugh and buried her face into his neck, feeling safe for the first time in ages.
"I'm okay, pup, I'm okay," she whispered, rubbing his back and calming him down a little.
"Don't do that to me again, okay?" he mumbled, his head buried in Bess' curls.
"I'll try not to."
He nodded and pulled away, stepping back to look her up and down, his hands still holding onto her arms.
"Are you hurt? Is this your blood?" he asked, his jaw clenching.
"It's okay, I'm okay. It's not all mine, some's Moody's, and it's all healable. It's okay, pup, I'm okay, really," Bess whispered, unsure if she was trying to convince Sirius that she was okay, or herself.
Sirius didn't look like he believed her, but he nodded nevertheless and pulled her closer to him again, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and tucking her into his side as he placed a long kiss to her forehead.
"Put your hands up if you want to say fuck it and just apparate to the front door?" Fabian asked, and Bess turned to see that Gideon had joined the small group.
Bess waved in the direction of everyone, and asked, "Why're you all-?"
"We're not Aurors," Gideon replied simply. "Just out for a walk in the park, aren't we, Fabe?"
"That's also why Moody's outside..." James whispered. "We're not here."
"Oh," she replied. "Well, we can't apparate. The Ministry'll be looking at everyone going in and out of the area, won't they? And if Moody's here...?" she asked, frowning.
"Sure, maybe, but it's past midnight..." Fabian said, trailing off as he looked at his brother.
"We should," Gideon said shortly. "Not worth the risk this time, and she's right, Moody'll kill us."
"Okay," Fabian continued, "spoil sport says we should, so we'll stick to the plan. Black, you sure you know the way?"
Sirius nodded and Bess felt his arms tighten around her. "Did it over Easter with James, we'll be there in no time." He turned to James and said, "Bess is coming with me, Lily can sit in the sidecar, you can fly next to us?"
James nodded and sent Sirius a grateful smile. Lily didn't say anything, though Bess could tell that she was just trying not to admit to James that the idea of sitting in a sidecar appealed a lot more than sitting on a broom, especially since the nights' air. It should have been warm with the summer heat, but it was bitterly cold, and would be unforgiving on a broom.
"Sure you can fly okay?" Gideon asked James, and Bess snorted.
Eyes on her, Bess ducked her head and said quickly, "He's Gryffindor Quidditch Captain. Flying runs in his blood."
Gideon smiled and nodded. "Good. Margot, Fabes and I will follow. Bess, put on the cloak."
"What? Why?!" she asked, not wanting to go under the material again right now, let alone flying through the air at speed.
"Because, if Moody sees you leave this park, he'll have our hides. Now put it on," Margot responded, earning a growl from Sirius and, to Bess' delight, a rather nasty look from Lily.
Bess didn't move, and just raised a defiant eyebrow at Margot.
Gideon sighed. "Please put it on Bess, Moody'll want confirmation you're invisible before you leave and he'll be flying with you, so stands to reason he'd notice if you took it off, right?" he asked with a tired sigh.
"Okay," Bess whispered, swinging the cloak around her shoulders and holding Sirius' hand through the fabric.
"Come on, love, this way," Sirius whispered, his voice shaking ever so slightly as he led her towards the exit.
"Oh my god!" Bess squealed after a moment as the word 'sidecar' sank in, earning shushes and odd looks. "Is it time to meet your motorbike?"
Sirius grinned and nodded, his smile widening as he felt Bess bounce up and down.
"You know it's just an inanimate object, right?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at where she thought Bess was.
Sirius opened his mouth to say something but Bess got there first, saying, "Excuse me, Lily Evans, but this is no ordinary motorbike. This is Sirius Black's motorbike, okay? This motorbike is special."
"Why, because it can fly?" Lily asked indignantly.
"No," Bess said, shaking her head and rolling her eyes as she thought of Hagrid sitting astride the bike, taking baby Harry to Little Whinging, and then teenager Harry away from the hellhole sixteen years later.
"Well, are you going to tell us why?" James asked eagerly.
"Nope," Bess replied, snuggling into Sirius' side as they walked along.
"It's got something to do with Harry, doesn't it?" Lily asked, chasing after Bess. "Doesn't it?"
"Shut up back there!" Margot called, silencing Lily as they reached the gate.
A/N: What d'you think?
Thanks as always to everyone reading, following, favouriting and reviewing, with a special shout out to my reviewers: Ghost Claw 001, CharlotteGryffindor, and themugglepadme24 - (fluff and home life are coming soon, I promise!)