"When're you leaving?" Bess asked, leaning against the doorframe which led to Sirius and her ensuite.
Sirius stepped out of the shower and shook his head, spraying water everywhere. He pulled a towel off the rail and tied it around his waist.
"In the morning," he replied, picking up his toothbrush. "Early hours."
"James knows?" she asked, thinking of their friend who'd be turning eighteen in the morning.
Sirius nodded. "He knew the minute I got the letter."
Bess didn't say anything. She felt a pang of jealousy that James knew before her, but she couldn't hold it against Sirius. James was his brother. They were together when Sirius got the letter. It made sense.
"Can you tell me where you're going, or how long you'll be gone?" she asked.
When Jasper had given him the letter, Sirius had read it quickly, and then destroyed it. So really, Bess knew that he would say no before she even asked, but she needed to hear him say it anyway to ease her mind.
He shook his head and began brushing his teeth, looking at her in the mirror above the sink.
Bess nodded and leant her head against the doorframe. She looked at the floor for a little bit, using the gentle brushing noises to help calm her, and then when they stopped, she looked up and met his gaze in the mirror. She tried to summon a smile, but she couldn't manage more than a slight twitch of a half smile.
Sirius spat into the sink and then rinsed his mouth. "I thought you said you'd be okay if I went?" he asked, wiping his mouth on a hand towel.
"Pup, I said I was okay with it a month ago. And... I was. And... and I am... I stand by that. The Order comes first. Your work in this war comes first. As does mine. I know that. I... I want that. But I still reserve the right to sulk and demand extra cuddles and kisses from you before you leave," she said, pouting as she tried to keep the smile off her face.
Sirius smiled back, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I know. I was hoping you wouldn't ask me to stay... because I wouldn't. I couldn't. There was no chance I was turning this down. I can't just sit here, knowing that I'm needed out there..."
Bess smiled sadly. "That's the Sirius I know and love."
Sirius let out a huff of a breath through his nose, and leant forwards, gripping the sides of the sink, still looking at her through the mirror. "You're worried."
Bess nodded. "I was thinking about it earlier... everything I've done, everything I've changed... We don't really know what's going to happen now. There's always a chance this'll be the last time I ever see you," she said quietly. She wriggled his nose and looked down.
Sirius nodded. "I thought so. Not like you've said that before or anything," he teased, sending her a wink.
"Yeah, yeah... but I keep reminding myself of the two things that can ease my anxiety. First," she raised her left hand, showing him the back of it, reminding him of their magical marriage. "I'll know if anything sinister happens to you, won't I?" She dropped her hand. "Second, you're Sirius Black. If future-you made it through twelve years in Azkaban, being on the run for two years, and basically imprisoned in your parents' house for one, then you're not allowed to die on a boring surveillance mission," she said the last with a dramatic eye roll. "It's go out in a blaze of glory or reach a very old age for you, mister."
"Is that right?" Sirius asked, his grin now reaching his eyes. He turned around and leant against the sink, folding his arms.
"Yes," Bess said. "And third-"
"And third?" he asked at the same time, still smiling.
Bess frowned. This wasn't how this was meant to go. She knew what was meant to happen when she said two points and then added a third... that worried her again.
"What?" he asked, frowning when she didn't answer. "What's wrong?"
"You're meant to call me out on saying 'two things' and then adding an extra point!" Bess whined. "You're meant to tell me that I'm illegally adding another point or something."
Sirius scoffed, but nodded nonetheless. "Sorry, love, yes... okay..." He coughed and dramatically rolled his eyes. He raised his voice slightly and said, "Love! Learn to count, please."
Bess rolled her eyes and threw her hands up in the air. "You're not even taking this seriously." She turned and walked over to the bed and threw herself down on the covers face first.
There was silence for a moment, broken only by rustles of fabric as Sirius pulled on underwear and his pyjama trousers, and then he asked quietly from the doorway, "You're mad?"
Bess shook her head and let out a sob. She turned over, revealing the tears streaming down her face. "I want you to go but I also don't, if that makes sense?" she asked, wiping her cheeks roughly. "I'm so proud of you, but this past month has been the best and I'm scared you won't come back to me. And I thought you were confident about it all but you didn't call me out and now I'm worried you really do think you won't come back." She began to sob again, gasping in breaths.
Sirius crawled onto the bed and laid down next to her, weaving his arms around her, pulling her to his bare chest. He rocked them both slowly, kissing her forehead, until she got her breathing under control.
"Sorry," she whispered, running her hand over his chest.
"No, love, don't worry," he whispered. "I do think I'm coming back. I just... yeah. The last month has been incredible. It hasn't even felt like we're locked inside for most of it. And I'm worried about everything too, but I know I'm coming back. And I don't want to leave you, but I'm just better than you at not crying."
Bess snorted.
Her eyes widened and she looked up to see if Sirius noticed the little bit of snot on his chest. He was still staring at the ceiling, so she took a chance and moved to wipe-
"That's disgusting and I just showered so I should be more grossed out, but you're cute, so," he said, a hint of a smile in his voice. He reached over her and picked up his wand from where he'd placed it on the bed before his shower. He waved it and disappeared the snot.
"Sorry," she whispered, feeling the blush creep onto her cheeks. "That's so embarrassing. If you do get murdered, please don't think about this in your final moments. I'd be mortified if you did."
Sirius barked out a laugh and pulled her even closer, burying her face in his chest.
"Love, I think that time you ate and drank too much and threw up on me was worse," he said, laughing.
Bess groaned and shook her head, wiping her face against his chest. "I told you, you'd be punished if you brought that up again," she mumbled, scrunching her nose and wiping it across his chest now.
"Oh Merlin! No!" he half-shouted. "Are you nuzzling me? Ugh. It's so wet! Why is your nose wet? Is it from my shower or snot? Bess! Tell me! Snot or water?!"
Bess giggled and continued, wiping her nose on him, denying him the truth that it was just water. Sirius laughed and loosened his hold on her, pulling his hands around her to gently push her away.
Bess lifted her head, straddled his hips, looked him dead in the eye, and licked her hand. She wiped her nose on her now wet palm, and then dive bombed his chest.
Sirius protested, but continued to laugh as she nuzzled his chest and neck. After a second, she laughed and fell forwards, burying her head in his neck. She kissed his shoulder slowly, as liked to do to her, and then she rested her elbows and forearms on the bed next to his head and pushed herself up.
They stared at each other for a long moment as their laughs slowed, until their smiles dropped.
"Your third point?" he asked, running his hands up and down her back, under her t-shirt.
"You said you'll come back, and I believe you," she whispered.
Sirius sighed. "If anything happens, I love you."
"I love you too," she replied. And then she leant down to kiss him slowly.
Because as much as they both knew that this was a relatively straight forward mission, Jasper had come back three weeks late, and injured. So who knew what would happen to Sirius.
"I need to finish the story," she whispered into his chest a couple of minutes later. "I wanted to explain about what we need to find and why, but all in one go... Basically, I skipped a chapter or two, which means that-"
"It's okay, love," Sirius whispered, "we have time."
"No," she replied immediately, "we don't. We don't just have to find the cup-"
"That cup won't be in the Lestrange vault until the summer," he said, shuddering at the memory of watching her vision over and over again. "So we can't do anything until then anyway, even if there were more things."
"There's something else, okay? I just can't really remember what date the other thing will be at the place... or what book it's hidden in," she said, frowning. She knew it would be August, and knew it would be in a book about plants or something, but she couldn't remember the exact name anymore, and that was a massive problem. If they went in too early they'd be massacred. If they went too late, Lucius may have moved it. "I'll be able to explain more soon, I promise. I guess I want to talk to Dumbledore... I think I'll feel a lot less panicked if he just gives me back my notebook. If I have it, I think-"
Sirius moved his head to an awkward angle to look at her. Bess frowned and placed her hands at the sides of his head, pushing up slightly to look at him.
"What?" she asked.
"Dumbledore doesn't have your notebook..."
Bess' eyes widened. "What? Then who's got it?"
Sirius pursed his lips, and then his gaze turned stony, as if he didn't want to say what he was about to. "Margot," he replied.
Bess frowned. "Wait, why does Margot have access to the flat?" she asked.
Sirius looked at her with an odd expression on his face. "Love," he said, slowly, "when you... well, when you left, Margot went through your bag and took it. I don't know if she's cracked the password yet or not, but-"
"What d'you mean my bag? What bag?" she asked in a panicked and quick voice. When Sirius placed a calming hand on her arm, she took a deep breath and shook her head. "I'm sorry," she said slowly, taking in another deep, calming breath. "Okay," she said slower this time, taking her time over each word. "When I left the flat, I left my notebook in my bedside table drawer. I didn't put it in my bag, I left it in the drawer."
"What?" Sirius asked, sitting up immediately, holding onto Bess so that she stayed sat on his lap. "Repeat that."
"I left my notebook in the flat in my bedside table."
"That bloody-!" Sirius half-shouted, standing up now. Bess fell back onto the bed and watched while he pulled on a t-shirt.
"I'm so confused, what's going on?" she asked, standing up as well, her heart racing once more.
"Love, this whole time we've thought that Delbert or someone else had your notebook. Delbert's still being questioned by the Auror Department, and he hasn't mentioned it. His memory's basically gone from most of this year but- fuck!" he shouted the last, pulling open the door to their bedroom. "That meant that we thought Margot would have the notebook now, since they're working together. But if she doesn't..."
Bess followed him along the corridor. When they reached Jasper's door, Sirius knocked harshly on the dark wood. He waited until there was a faint reply, and then pushed inside.
"To what do I owe this unusual pleasure?" Jasper asked. He was lying on his bed, topless, the full extent of his injuries thrown into a stark light - he was bruised down most of his chest, and he had healing paste over most of one arm, his cheek, and around his left eye. Bess tried not to look, but noted that his workout routine was definitely working for him.
"Bess' notebook," Sirius said, pulling Bess into the room. He shut the door behind him. "It's in my flat."
"What?" Jasper asked. He groaned when he sat up. "I thought you looked there just in case?"
Bess reiterated what she'd said to Sirius, and then Jasper swore, and fell back against his pillows, letting out a groan of pain. "I'll go," he said to Sirius. "Your mission's too important."
"Go where?" Bess asked. She was annoyed now. They're not making any sense! she thought.
"To see Dumbledore," Sirius said, looking at her with a serious expression on his face. She tried to stop herself from letting on that she found him incredibly attractive right now.
"Why? I mean, shouldn't I go?" Bess asked.
"Well I'm not going on my own," Jasper replied with a dark laugh which turned into a cough and then another groan of pain.
"Bess," Sirius said quickly. "Dumbledore's had some of us searching for Delbert and your notebook for months. Once we realised they were working together, Dumbledore's had eyes on Margot."
"If I'd known she didn't have it I could've avoided this," Jasper said, indicating his arm. "She's changed allegiances now to Voldemort's side. Picked herself up a nasty case of the Death Eaters. Well, no... As much as Voldemort says he'll help werewolves, he won't ever let them into his inner circle..."
"Wait, wait, wait," Bess said, holding up a hand. "What does this mean exactly? For the one person who's still trying to catch up with everything?" she asked, pointing at herself.
"Bess," Jasper replied urgently, "Dumbledore's been working under the assumption that the enemy know that we know everything. He's been waiting for you to have another vision or come to him with new information about another weapon that Voldemort's building or something. But that's because he's thought that the notebook was compromised! So if they don't have it... If they're not expecting us to know about these weapons or whatever they are..."
"That's why he won't see me?" Bess asked.
Jasper nodded. "He thinks it's best if he removes himself from being near you while we figure out what Voldemort's plan is. That way Voldemort won't come after you directly. But if he has no idea of what you know..."
"Fucking idiot! He did this to Harry too. Completely ignored him and kept key information away from him. Idiot!" Bess said, slapping her forehead.
"He's abroad at the moment," Jasper said to Sirius. "I'll try and set up a meeting, but I'm not sure if he's returning soon or not. If you see him first, tell him he's needed?" Sirius nodded. "Okay, now leave me alone," Jasper said, closing his eyes. "I'm really tired."
Bess smirked and followed Sirius out of the room. "You need to sleep too, Pup," she said as they walked down the corridor, trying to keep her worry out of her mind. Sirius didn't need this.
Her squeal echoed throughout the hall and up the stairs when Sirius picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, marching towards their bedroom door.
xXx
Sirius left at around three o'clock in the morning. He didn't spare Bess or their friends a glance back when he reached the gate and disappeared into the night, and for that she was grateful - they'd said their goodbyes and it would have been harder for her if she'd seen any worry in his eyes.
It put a damper on the birthday celebrations, and the day dragged out slowly.
James refused his cake with a small smile, and said that he wanted to celebrate when Sirius returned.
Then, halfway through the day, Lily and he donned the invisibility cloak and went to visit his parents. Lily returned late in the evening with a large helping of Fleamont's lasagna, and apologies from James - he wanted to stay with his parents for one night. No one questioned it. They all knew that the only person really confined to the house was Bess. The others were choosing to hide out with her.
Lily and Bess immediately made plans to spend the night together, talking, eating and trying to cheer each other up.
"It must get easier, right?" Lily asked as the title credits of Sound of Music began.
Bess smiled. "It's only the beginning. Once we've been on our own missions and we're used to it all, yeah, I reckon it'll get easier."
That night they didn't retire to their rooms, and Bess fell asleep with the delightful smell of oranges, a wonderfully calming side effect of snuggling with Lily who was still wearing her perfume.
xXx
It didn't take long for Dumbledore's reply to Jasper's summons.
At around six in the morning the next day, a silver phoenix flew through the front door and up the stairs. Bess, who was now awake but still cuddled up on one of the sofas with a sleepy Lily, watched it soar up the stairs. She barely moved. She didn't need to follow it. She knew it was for Jasper.
Ten minutes later Jasper walked down the stairs and stopped in front of her. "Could you be ready in five?" he asked, taking in her fluffy form.
Bess shrugged and threw off the cover, removing herself from Lily's arms and revealing her jeans and long sleeved t-shirt. She popped to the loo where she freshened up and pulled her hair into a ponytail. She swiped on some eyeliner to make herself feel more human, and a few sprays of her perfume. She was out within five minutes, and met Jasper in the hall.
By the door, they slipped on their shoes and Bess donned the leather jacket she'd stolen back from Lily. She waved at her redheaded friend who blew her a kiss and watched on with a fearful expression.
Jasper placed a piece of parchment on the back of the door and waved his wand, enlarging the writing and sticking it to the wood to explain to the Remus where they'd gone (in case Lily went back to sleep) and when they'd be back.
And then they left.
They apparated to the gates of Hogwarts and walked quickly across the grounds in silence.
When they arrived at Dumbledore's office and pushed open the heavy wooden door revealing the multitude of portraits which lined the Headmasters' office walls, it was gone seven in the morning. And Bess was glad that somehow, they'd managed to avoid seeing any students.
"Why are you here at such an hour in the middle of half term," came a deep voice from the wall. Bess turned to see Phineas Nigellus Black staring down at her, his shrewd dark eyes narrowed as they focussed on her face.
Bess rolled her eyes - she'd forgotten that James' birthday would fall during the Easter holidays. The halls are quiet because everyone's either asleep or back home with their parents, she thought.
"Well?" Phineas asked, narrowing his eyes even more.
"We're here to see Professor Dumbledore," Jasper said in a firm but respectful voice.
Phineas shook his head slightly. "He's not here. You should leave."
"He's come back to speak to us," Bess said, her annoyance with Sirius' ancestor clear in her voice.
"Summoning Headmasters is absolutely ridiculous," Phineas replied, with the same annoyed tone. "You should be ashamed."
Bess pursed her lips and looked away. The door clicked shut behind her and she turned to watch as Jasper nodded to each of the portraits in turn, offering small smiles and waves to those Headmasters and Headmistresses who seemed to know him the best.
"Prefect and Head Boy," Jasper explained, looking at her with a smile on his face, "and before that I was a bit of a troublemaker, so they know me..."
"You say troublemaker, I say Auror in waiting," said a voice high above them. Bess looked up to see an older witch with long red hair and a kind face smiling down at them. "Always stuck up for the unprotected, and nothing changed."
"Pretty sure that's the nepotism talking," Jasper replied, grinning back. "Bess, may I officially introduce my ancestor, Artura Ermine? Headmistress from seventeen-"
"Add another syllable, young man, and you might find yourself immortalised in your own portrait before too long," Artura warned.
Bess' eyes widened and she turned between the two, looking for similarities.
"My father's side," Jasper continued, noting Bess' wide eyes. "She implemented Muggle Studies into the curriculum as a proper option. Took it to NEWT level myself, no way I was going to be allowed to drop that one... Not after the talking to Dottie received when she dropped it before OWLs..." he trailed off with a shudder.
There was a snort, and Bess narrowed her eyes to Phineas, who had suddenly found the corner of his frame incredibly interesting.
"What?" she asked him.
Phineas' eyes flicked to hers. He remained silent. Bess tilted her chin and held his gaze until Dumbledore opened the door to his office and walked in, the door swinging shut behind him as he strode to his desk.
"Good morning," he said, removing a heavy travellers cloak from around his shoulders as he walked to his desk. He set the cloak down on the table and asked, "I am assuming Phineas should not be privy to our chat?"
Bess felt the side of her mouth twitch up, and took too much pleasure in her next words. "That depends, Sir," she said, raising an eyebrow at Phineas.
"On what?" Phineas asked, sitting forwards in his chair.
"On if you're allowed to tell anyone anything that you'll overhear here..." she replied.
"I choose who and what I tell," Phineas replied.
"What if I invoked the Black right to secrets?" she asked. "Sirius told me that if a Black asks you to keep what you'd heard a secret, you are obligated to do so."
It was Phineas' turn to raise an eyebrow. "A Black, yes. But my disgraced grand-"
"Yeah, yeah, we get it, Sirius is awful," Bess cut over him, "he's been blasted off the tapestry and everything, I know. But," she said, smiling now, "I also know that when he is one of two of the last surviving Black heirs, and he inherited his Uncle Alphard's estate, he fractioned into his own lineage. And, I also know that as the oldest Black heir, even if Walburga wanted to disinherit him, she couldn't. Not until Regulus turns seventeen. Which means... that you have to keep any secret Sirius asks you to, doesn't it?"
Phineas pursed his lips, but nodded nonetheless.
"And that extends to his direct family members, whoever they are?" she asked.
Again, Phineas nodded, his face slowly turning more and more red with anger at her addressing him in this way.
"Good," Bess said, turning back to Dumbledore. "We should be fine then."
There was a high-pitched peal of laughter and Bess turned back to Phineas.
"You do know there needs to be a familial member present to invoke such privilege," he laughed. "And as Sirius isn't here, you can't-" he stopped laughing for a moment. "Unless," he said, his face falling still. He leant forwards, peering out at her from his frame. "What has he done?" he whispered.
Bess pursed her lips, but said in a firm voice, (just as Sirius had taught her), "Phineas Nigellus Black, you are not to tell anyone apart from the people present anything which is said or done within this room while I am in it, and must not reveal any information about me without permission. If you do so, you will have broken your most sacred vow to protect and conceal the secrets and knowledge of The Most Noble and Ancient House of Black. I, Elizabeth Coulson-Black, hereby invoke these rules."
Phineas' eyes widened comically, and he sat back in his chair, all colour draining from his already pale face. He stared at her for long moments.
"I will not let a Mudblood command me in such a manner," Phineas said finally.
"Oi!" Jasper cried, as the portraits around them began to cry out in disgust at Phineas' words.
"Phin-" Dumbledore began to warn.
But he was cut off by Bess, who stood her ground and replied, "And I won't let a blood purist twat like you bring about the end of the Black family just because you can't see past your bigotry enough to understand that you may think that I have mud for blood, but your great-great-grandson does not. And even if it were true and I wasn't 'worthy to be a Black', at least I wouldn't have had to share a last name with an inbred idiot who put his racist ideology in front of the students of Hogwarts and was laughed out so horrifically that he's never recovered and has resorted to issuing insults from a gold gilded frame, just like his soon to be deceased great-granddaughter, and don't get me started on her husband-cousin. But alas. Here we are."
There was silence in the room when she stopped, and Bess' heart raced. She hadn't meant to keep going, but she had, and now she'd been horrid to someone who could, if he wanted to, go back and tell everyone in the Black family about her plans.
Phineas turned red. "Albus!" he cried. "You cannot let her speak to me like that."
"Ah, as young Bess said, alas," Dumbledore said, looking up from his papers, his half-moon spectacles balancing on the tip of his nose. The twinkle in his eye told Bess that he was no longer ignoring her presence. "I overheard no ill-words, Phineas. I was reading a rather urgent horoscope," he continued. "Did I miss something important?"
"Albus!" Phineas cried again. "This is not a laughing matter. You cannot allow her to speak to me like this."
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, looking between the portrait and Bess. "My deepest apologies, Phineas. I admit that I am ignorant of your meaning," he said, peering thoughtfully down at the page again. "Ah, Uranus is in the fifth house... Ah well," he sighed, pushing his glasses up his nose again. "Where were we?"
Bess bit her lip to stop herself from smiling.
"How dare you?" Phineas cried, and soon enough, he was silenced.
"You let her marry a Black?" Artura asked loudly. "What a waste! She'd have made one hell of a Serpen, Jasper."
Jasper and Bess turned to the red haired woman and said at the same time, "We're just friends."
"Another world, another lifetime," Artura replied, sitting back in her armchair with a thoughtful look on her face. "Another age."
Bess and Jasper looked at each other for a moment and then shrugged, turning their attentions back to Dumbledore.
She explained about the notebook as quickly as she could, and then watched as Dumbledore's face betrayed his shock, intrigue, and far she say it, greed.
"What should we do?" Jasper asked, looking at the older, long-haired wizard.
Dumbledore looked up thoughtfully and ran a hand through his beard. "Sirius looked for the notebook but could not locate it. Bess, if you would be willing, I believe you must return to the flat and collect your belongings."
Bess blanched. She'd thought about it, of course, but in her dreams and thoughts whenever she'd gone back it had been with Sirius or James to help her. Never on her own. Unless...
"You-you would come with me?" she asked in a small voice. "You can go in too, so..."
Dumbledore confirmed her suspicions with a simple shake of his head. Bess gulped and nodded. She knew he had come back from his trip early to speak to her, and that he was needed elsewhere. But the thought of going back to the place of so much trauma... and alone... scared her more than she cared to admit.
"You can't let her go on her own..." Jasper said slowly. "Surely you-"
He was silenced by Dumbledore's raised hand. "Jasper, I understand your worry. However, you do not know the location of Sirius' home. In the time it would take you to return to your new residence, explain the situation to Mr. Potter, and for him to give you the address is just time we cannot afford to spare." He turned to Bess. "You will floo from my grate, retrieve the notebook, and return here. Understood?"
Bess nodded and took in a deep breath. "What... What if someone's..." she gulped. "What if someone's there?"
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Pettigrew is currently in his bedroom atop the Gryffindor tower, is he not?" he asked, looking up to a rather grey and ancient looking portrait. The wizard sat on the same chair that Dumbledore had in his office now, but his medieval outfit dated him.
The man disappeared for a minute and returned, sitting back down heavily. "He is," he replied in a deep and gravelly voice.
Dumbledore nodded. "Delbert Barracus remains in Auror custody. You shall not pass anyone of note on your journey."
Bess gulped again. It was beginning to sound as though she didn't really have a choice in the matter. Though, when she thought about it, she really didn't. She needed to do this.
Casting her fears aside, she walked across the now-silent room, and removed her wand from her pocket. She took a steadying breath and then scooped a handful of the glittery powder, throwing it into the unlit fireplace. Emerald flames burst upwards, engulfing the space in a green glow.
"I must leave," Dumbledore said, replacing his thick cloak around his shoulders. "But I shall return at nightfall."
Bess nodded, looked over her shoulder at Jasper, and then stepped into the flames. She said clearly, "49B Grosvenor Square, London", and then she felt the spinning start.
xXx
When she arrived at the flat, Bess walked straight to her bedroom, trying to forget the feeling of de ja vu which haunted her. The last time she'd walked these halls had been with James...
She reached a hand to the now fully healed scar on her side as she walked and took a shuddering breath. Her stomach twisted and turned.
She stopped in the doorway to Sirius and her bedroom and looked around the space. She felt a sense of longing for the previous summer. She truly had loved the flat, just not the imprisonment which had come with it. She missed the light streaming through the large windows. She missed sipping wine and reading books next to Sirius in bed... She missed the brightness and the fact that she could sit on the window ledge and stare down at the Muggles passing by, making up life stories...
She missed the lack of urgency.
She heard a creak deep within the flat and turned, her wand raising within an instant. She listened for long moments until she was sure that silence was the only thing greeting her.
Then she hurried inside, closing the door for good measure.
Part of her expected that when she opened the drawer the notebook would be missing.
But there it was.
Golden, small, definitely used. It sat as she'd left it - slightly escew.
She picked it up slowly, opened it.
She flicked through, reading her notes and observations with a curiosity she'd not had in a long time. She'd been through so much in the time since she'd last seen these words, that it almost felt as though someone else had written them.
She sighed and held it to her chest. She was glad that no one else could read it without the password - there was so much information in there, but so much more to add.
Opening the door, she walked out into the hallway and began casting cleaning charms as she went, making sure that the next time Sirius was here he would see it in all of its glory, and not have to face the bloodied footprints of his wife and best friend.
She knew she needed to get back, but Dumbledore's voice kept ringing out in her head - "I will return at nightfall."
"I've got time," she whispered to herself.
It took her the best part of half an hour, but by the time she'd finished, even outside the room which contained the ancient tree was clean enough. None of the marks were truly gone, but it made Bess feel a lot better to know that she'd tried to clean them as hard as she could.
Returning to the kitchen she quickly ran through the cupboards, noting that Sirius still had the little shopping list, that she'd written back in August, stuck to the front of the tall cupboards.
She sighed again, thinking about what it must have been like for him without her for all of that time.
Then she heard it. A soft whooshing noise coming from the living room.
Wand raised, she practically ran round to take a good look at the fireplace. She was confronted with emerald flames, and a figure spinning closer and closer.
Her eyes widened and she ran as fast and as quietly as she could to the front door.
"Guys?" Peter called from the living room. "Guys, you here?"
Bess swore under her breath and opened the door slowly, her attention trained on the neck of the hallway just in case Peter appeared there. She backed out into the hallway.
She knew that the wards of the Fidelius Charm only extended to the mat in front of the door, so she continued to step backwards, remaining on the brown coir. She braced her hand on the doorway and used her wand hand to slowly shut the door as quietly as she could.
She let out a breath she hadn't realised she was holding in, and turned around.
She held in her scream, but barely, just managing to clasp both of her hands over her mouth as she stared at the person in front of her.
They were around the same height, and so she didn't need to look up to see him. At the back of her mind she knew he couldn't see her, but the way his eyes remained trained on hers for a long moment made her think he could. It was only when he frowned and looked a little to the right that she confirmed that she was safe.
She lowered her hands.
Inside the flat was Peter. But outside of it was Regulus.
She wasn't quite sure of what to do next.
xXx
A/N:
Thank you all so much for reading, reviewing (can't get over the rush of happiness I get when someone tells me what they think, thank you to everyone reviewing!), following and favouriting! You guys rock!
My mental health has taken a bit of a nose dive *pretend I'm dancing away the mental pain* so I've been sitting on this for a while now since I thought it was too crap and stuff, but here... I think I've made it good? Let me know.
Reviewers. You are all lush. Thank you. Feeling the massive amount of love! Special thanks to: habiben, pendora59, Ghost Claw 001, vaishnavikodithyala, AvalonRivers, biowolf864 and Momochan77!