Bess stared, trying to keep her breathing as quiet as possible.
Slowly her hands dropped from her mouth. Her hold on her wand tightened, and the combat spells she knew ran through her startled mind.
She might be able to take Peter, she supposed, but not Regulus. If Sirius had been here, maybe. But he wasn't. And Regulus was just as gifted as his brother, but with more of an inclination towards dark magic. And that scared her. No. Terrified her.
Peter, on the other hand... she turned her head slightly and looked over her shoulder at the red door behind her. She paused to listen, hearing only her own breaths.
She was scared of that particular confrontation as well, but not as much. He just wanted to know where his friends were. He probably wouldn't hurt her...
Yes, she thought, realising that the safest thing to do would be return to the flat and make something up if Peter was still there and caught her.
She turned slowly, but before she could even face the door, Regulus tilted his head back slightly, raising his chin. His eyes narrowed. Bess stopped breathing, and looked back at the dark-haired youth.
"I know you're there," he said finally, his voice low and gravelly.
Bess' eyebrows raised slightly and her mouth fell open. The last time they'd spoken he'd sounded like a teenager still. Now he sounded like a man.
Regulus continued, "I'm not here for you, I'm here because my mother is under the mistaken belief that I am now her sole heir. I'd like confirmation before I raise a toast with my parents."
Bess' eyes widened. He couldn't know that it was her and not someone else, could he? She stayed silent, but she longed to ask him how he knew that she was there, and that Sirius was definitely safe and alive.
Regulus rolled his eyes and let out a long breath through his nose. "My brother wouldn't go down without making a show and dance of it. Case in point, he left school and the papers are awash with rumours about all of your whereabouts." He turned his nose up. "I believe my fellow students called it, 'refreshing' to not heard about death every single day. They believe that he's run away with you to keep you safe. While The Prophet spurts out lie upon lie, most believe that he is a romantic... that you're all heroes to believe in. Personally, I believe he enjoys the attention."
Again, Bess stayed stock still, staring into those grey eyes which were identical, and get world's apart from Sirius'.
He huffed out an annoyed breath and his glare deepened. "I can smell your perfume, Coulson," he said quietly. "I'm here to talk to my brother. You have my word I will not harm you, but I'd rather not continue this one sided conversation with a wall."
Despite herself, Bess nodded. She had a promise to keep. Daphne wanted her to save Regulus. Maybe that starts with words? she thought as she stared at him.
Regulus' eyes were so identical to Sirius' that she could tell he wasn't lying. He really wouldn't harm her in that moment. And in any case, she would just have to step backwards and disappear into the wards of the flat if he tried anything.
She waited for him to move back. When he didn't, she frowned and gently held out a hand, feeling the magic of the wards pass over her fingertips. She saw his eyes widen again as her hand became visible to him, and she motioned for him to move backwards. He held his ground.
Bess grimaced. She knew what had happened when she'd touched him the first last time, and she felt nauseous at the idea of her hand making contact with any part of him, but she knew that if she wanted to speak she had to get him to move back. He was just so close to the wards that if she stepped out as they were, they'd be touching noses. And that would be awful.
Her fingertips touched the lapel of his robes and his nostrils flared, but still he didn't move. Her palm came next, resting against the incredibly soft, incredibly expensive fabric. She pushed him gently.
Regulus looked up from her hand and nodded, taking a large step backwards.
Bess slowly revealed herself, feeling the ward flow over her as she left it completely. She hadn't realised how warm the flat and the doorway was until she felt herself shiver at the instant temperature drop.
She shivered again when Regulus looked her up and down, feeling uncomfortable under his gaze - he looked as though he didn't care for her one bit. Which she knew was the case, but still, she didn't like it.
"You look... unharmed..." he said, keeping his voice low so as to not travel across the large hallway or down the staircase. "I had heard rumours."
Bess pursed her lips and raised her chin. "I've had time to heal."
"From?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Rumours can be conflicting."
Bess slowly raised a hand to her side and lifted her top, revealing the healed claw marks. She watched as his eyes widened slightly and then returned to their normal size, his face relaxing back into a cold, detached look within a millisecond.
"Should I be glad the moon isn't full?" he asked.
Bess raised an eyebrow now as she lowered her top. "No. I'm not- it wouldn't matter if I was suffering from lycanthropy, but I'm not. It was just a claw. And- and why are you whispering?"
Regulus scoffed. "You do like to show off your injuries, don't you?" he asked dismissively.
"Would you believe me without evidence?"
Regulus inclined his head. "No," he conceded. "And keep your voice down. There are ears and eyes everywhere."
Bess gulped and looked at the wide spiralling staircase and thought of the doorways leading off it, all the way down to the ground floor.
"Do you really believe that Voldemort is the right person to follow?" she asked quietly, turning back to him. "Do you really believe that I'm scum?" she asked, noting that his nostrils flared when she mentioned Voldemort. "Because I don't understand why you'd be trying to keep me away from prying ears or eyes if you thought I was wrong."
"You are the child of a Squib and a Muggle. Like I said before, that is a small but saving grace in my eyes."
Bess pursed her lips and glared into those grey eyes. "I am a Muggle," she stated as calmly as she could.
"Muggle-born," he corrected. "And no, you are not. Magical blood runs through your veins from your direct family the generation above-"
She wanted to say, "No, Regulus, I am a Muggle," but she didn't. She knew Sirius would never forgive her for exposing her truth like that. So instead she whispered, "They weren't my real parents. I was taken in by them. I am a Muggle through and through."
Regulus looked down at his lapel and his nostrils flared again. "You touched me," he whispered.
"I needed you to move back," she said quietly, readying herself to jump backwards onto the ward protected front step. "I suppose you'll be needing new robes again?"
Regulus blinked and then his eyes were on hers again. "No," he said finally, his voice wavering slightly. If she hadn't known better, Bess might have thought that he was surprised. She thought he'd continue, but he didn't.
Bess cleared her throat and looked to the side for a moment. "Sirius is alive and well," she said quietly.
Regulus nodded. "Good."
Bess looked at him again, surprised at his word. "You're... Glad?" she asked.
Regulus I inclined his head again. "I am not surprised," he said quietly. "I-"
They both started when they heard a pop. Despite being near silent, echoed around up the stairs and interrupted their chat. It was followed immediately by a small click of a heel against the stone stairs.
Regulus turned his head, his body remaining towards Bess, but she saw his wand drop into his hand. Without a word flicked his wand and Bess was shoved back through the wards.
Her shoulder hit the doorframe and a sharp pain radiated down her arm. She caught herself and managed to stop the rest of her body from banging into the closed front door - she didn't want Peter to hear her and walk out. She raised a hand to her shoulder and let out a small groan. A quick assessment told her it was just a bruise and she tried to shake off the pain, letting out another small groan. Regulus didn't react to the noise she'd made, so she knew she was invisible and silent once more.
Then she heard a well spoken woman's voice and the click clack of heels came closer and closer. "Reggie, what are you doing here?" the woman asked. Bess frowned. The last person who referred to him as Reggie was Daphne.
"I could ask you the same thing," he replied dismissively, turning back towards the now hidden Bess. He twitched his head from side to side and she realised he was telling her to be quiet and not react.
"I asked you first," the woman said, and Bess clasped her hands to her mouth as the long black curls came into view at the top of the stairs behind Regulus.
Bellatrix Lestrange looked just as Bess had imagined. She knew that technically she'd seen her before in a vision, but she couldn't remember that since Dumbledore had taken it for his pensieve.
So, Bess could only compare her to the Bellatrix described in the book, or the movie version. It unsettled her to look at the pale face with those deep brown eyes. While Bellatrix's youthful face, red lips, strong cheekbones and hooded eyes were stunning to behold, the evil intensity of her gaze froze Bess to the spot.
But Regulus didn't seem fazed at all. But of course, why would he be afraid of his own cousin? Bess asked herself. Not when he's about to join her ranks.
Regulus didn't turn towards Bellatrix, or answer her question. Instead, he waited until she stopped beside him, and still didn't react to her presence. Bess watched as Bellatrix checked that he really was staring at the wall and then turned her gaze on the wall as well, standing next to her younger cousin.
Bess felt sick to her stomach as she stared back at Sirius' relations. She wondered how he'd feel if she told him she'd been inches away from a family reunion.
"That traitor Alphard used to keep a home here," Bellatrix said simply, her eyes scanning slowly over the wall and the invisible Bess. The pitch and speed of her soft and well spoken voice rose and fell inconsistently across each word, adding to Bess' unease. "You are not yet of age and so cannot apparate without being told off. Alphard's other residences are too far for you to travel to unnoticed, and so I checked here first. Well, I arrived at your home first and found my dearest aunt inconsolable at the fact that The Dark Lord would arrive for dinner and find my dearest younger cousin gone, having decided to run away just months before his ceremony, just like his traitorous brother."
"A misunderstanding," Regulus said calmly. "I stepped out for a moment. I will of course join you tonight for dinner. I am especially keen to hear what the Dark Lord has to say about the latest reports of issues with the werewolves near Birmingham. Or, I may ask where he found that rather lovely piece of jewellery that he wears around his neck."
Bellatrix didn't seem amused in the least. Her nostrils flared again and she turned to stare at Regulus. "Do I need to remind you of what a-" she grabbed Regulus' jaw and forced him to look at her. "Do I need to remind you of what a dinner like this means, Reggie?" she asked, dropping her hand from his face.
Regulus turned back towards the wall, his eyes blazing, his face a mask of calm.
Bellatrix continued, "You cannot ask trivial things like this. The Dark Lord," she said, her tongue caressing the title, "has expressed an interest in you," she hissed. "You should be grateful for that. After everything that boy you called 'brother' has done. This is your chance-"
"It would be my honour to serve The Dark Lord and restore my family name, Bella," Regulus replied, his voice terrifyingly flat. "The oldest Pureblood line in Europe cannot be tainted by the actions of one Muggle-loving heretic. Though you'd know all about having to redeem our family name, wouldn't you, Bella?"
Bellatrix's nostrils flared. "And what does that mean?"
"How is your dear husband Rodolphus these days? I hope marriage is still treating you well? Has it been five or six years? I forget. Oh, and how is little... what was her name? Nymphadora? She's around five now, isn't she? You know, even as a child I did find the timing a tad curious. Your marriage coinciding with Andromeda's preg-"
"Do not speak that name to me," she hissed, her eyes wide. Bess was scared that she'd take her anger out on Regulus, and watched in horror as Bellatrix's wand raised as quick as a flash, the tip aimed at Regulus' throat.
Finally, Regulus reacted. The side of his mouth twitched up and he looked down at Bellatrix - he was the same height as Bess, yes, but he stood half a foot above his cousin.
Slowly, Bellatrix lowered her wand.
"I wondered when you'd realise, Bella," Regulus said calmly. "I am the last believing male heir of the purest line in Europe. The Dark Lord wants me. So, I would be patient in your anger, lest your actions trigger his."
Bellatrix glared, but slowly backed down. "I will repeat my question. Why are you here?"
"I will repeat my answer. I find it interesting that the entrance to Alphard's flat was here throughout my childhood, and now that my brother has inherited it, it has disappeared."
"That just means that he's hiding like the coward that he is. He will surface before long and I promise, I will have my revenge for his insolence. But in the meantime, we must return to your home at once. Your mother is in no fit state to host and her actions could affect everything."
"Everything? My parents are completely on board with everything The Dark Lord requires of me." He raised his voice to ask, "oh, you mean that if she proves unreliable in front of The Dark Lord he might postpone the ceremony to receive my dark mark this summer?" His voice carried throughout the hall, echoing down the stairs.
"Shut your mouth," Bellatrix hissed, looking around.
"I thought you were proud of your mark, Bella."
"I am. However, I am keenly aware that those halfwits they currently employ as Aurors are unaware of the true members of The Dark Lord's inner circle. And don't act smart with me. You know what he has told us. To enact The Dark Lord's will, we must strive to go unnoticed in our everyday lives until we can finally take our place at his side. Or are you having second thoughts? Do your loyalties lie elsewhere?"
Regulus' jaw tensed. "Bella, do you really think that I did not prepare upon my arrival? The Muggles who live in the flats below are all away for the afternoon. Their homes are empty for now. I placed wards around and inside the building upon my arrival to alert me of a new presence. That ringing in your ears as you walked up the stairs, that was me. We are alone."
"What about the trace? You're still underage and The Dark Lord-"
Regulus scoffed. "Alphard's flat negated every risk that I took. I for one do not believe that the Ministry of Magic, in all of their ineptitude, would flag underage magic being used here, not with what Alphard kept in those secret rooms. His magic may have died but this flat lives as a beacon."
Bellatrix glared at the side of Regulus' face, but conceded. "In any case, we must leave. Now."
She held out her arm and Regulus looked at it in disdain. He raised his non-wand hand to his lapel and traced his fingers over the material. He placed his hand at the exact spot that-
That's where I touched him! Bess thought, staring on with wide, disbelieving eyes.
The side of Regulus' mouth twitched upwards for a second and he placed his hand atop of Bellatrix's. The witch turned on the spot and she and Regulus disappeared suddenly.
Bess' mouth dropped open as realisation hit. In the most covert, stupid and utterly defiant display, Regulus had done something out of the ordinary... He'd done something Sirius would do...
He'd essentially wiped Muggle germs onto Bellatrix Lestrange's hand.
Bess let out a huff of a laugh, and then the last few minutes hit her and she slid down the door, sitting on the floor at its base.
She sat there for seconds, minutes, hours, she didn't know how long.
She just stared at the opposite wall and thought over every word, every action. It felt as though she was missing something.
Something he'd said hadn't sat right with her. She was just beginning to piece together something when the door behind her swung open and Bess fell backwards, her back slamming into the floor of the entranceway.
She looked up and grinned at the sets of hazel, green and blue eyes which stared down at her. Her thoughts of Regulus and Bellatrix zoomed to the back of her mind.
"Why are you always where you shouldn't be?" Lily asked, her eyes blazing.
"Good question, Lils. Because I know for a fact the Bess I know wouldn't do something this stupid when Sirius is on a mission. Imagine what it would do to him if he came back and you'd been killed doing something utterly reckless!" James said angrily.
"Dumbledore-" Bess tried, her smile long gone.
"No! You don't get that excuse. I was at the house, you could have made a pitstop to pick me up, but you didn't," Lily said, her voice raising to James' level.
Bess' eyes widened and she scrambled to her feet.
"Which means that once again, even after you told us why we shouldn't completely trust Dumbledore, you went along with one of his hare-brained orders and didn't question it," James said.
"And you haven't even told us about how to end this bloody war yet! If you die, what are we meant to do? Huh? Huh?!" Lily cried.
Bess looked at both of her friends, their faces red, fire burning in their eyes. Then she looked at Euphemia and Fleamont, who looked just as taken aback as she was.
"What have you got to say for yourself?" James asked, folding his arms across his chest.
Bess couldn't help but think he looked incredibly strong in that moment - like a true leader. His jaw tensed and she imagined what he would look like with green eyes.
"Well?" he asked again, raising an eyebrow, his word cutting through her thoughts.
"Sorry dad, sorry mum," she said cheekily, trying to diffuse any tension. She knew they were terrified.
"Is this a joke to you?" Lily asked, stepping forwards.
Bess smiled and shook her head. "No," she said, wrapping her arms around her redheaded friend, the calming scent of oranges filling her senses. "I'm just so fucking happy to see you all."
She released Lily after a long hug and hugged Fleamont and Euphemia in turn, before she held out her arms to a still-glaring James.
"You're really that worried that Sirius will come back and I'll have died?" she asked, frowning, her arms dropping to her sides.
James shook his head, his eyes glistening, and moved forwards, wrapping his arms around her. "No," he whispered, "just... I was angry. After everything we've been through, I can't lose you..."
Bess nodded against his shoulder. "I feel exactly the same way about you."
"We should go," Euphemia said after a while.
James and Bess half broke their hug to look at the Potter matriarch. Bess noticed that hair was all white now, her face older, her worry lines more pronounced... and there was an immense tiredness in her eyes.
James' arm remained around Bess' shoulders and her arm looped around his waist as they raised their eyebrows at Euphemia, waiting for her to tell them where they should go.
"You shouldn't have come here on your own," he whispered before Euphemia could speak. "What if Pete had popped by?"
"Why d'you think I was on the doorstep?" Bess said, laughing at the irony.
"What?" James asked, his eyes wide. "Right. Out the front," he said, pulling Bess towards the open doorway, gesturing to his family.
"No," Bess said quickly, resisting. "Regulus was out there."
"What?"
"Yeah," Bess said quietly. "Look, Dumbledore's the secret keeper at the house, right?" she asked, thinking about Yorkshire. "So even if Peter's still here, we can use the fireplace, and-"
"No, it's me," Lily whispered.
"What?"
"I'm the secret keeper," Lily said, worriedly. "If he hears me say the address, he'll know where we're hiding. Oh god. I- I just... I know what he would do to Harry... but I don't... I don't know how I can fight someone I thought of as a friend..."
"Calm down," Euphemia said, placing a hand on Lily's forearm. "We'll apparate from the front step. I can strip back the anti-apparition wards as far as they'll go, and we'll step out. Fleamont, Lily and I will go first, James and Bess to follow."
"Wait, I want to go with James," Lily said, shaking her head.
"Honey, we don't know the way. You have to show us," Fleamont reminded her. Lily sighed and nodded.
Soon enough, the trio were apparating away with a pop.
When their turn came to step out, James held Bess' hand tightly in his and turned on the spot.
He didn't drop their hands until they reached the front door and were walking into the large house they'd come to call home.
"How are they doing?" Bess asked, placing a hand on James' arm.
"They'd be fine on their own, but..." James said. He sighed. "Ma's consumed by all this. She keeps coming up with theories. The news... It's okay if they stay with us, right?" he asked. "I know Lily and Remus' parents aren't here, and I know it's selfish to have them, I just-"
"James," Bess said, smiling up at him. "If they hadn't already adopted Sirius I'd have asked to be a Potter a long time ago. It sounds stupid, I know, but I need your mum's guidance. She doesn't just understand my situation, she..."
"She loves you," James whispered. Bess nodded. "They both do. And hey, you married their second son so I reckon that makes you their daughter-in-law... Is being an honorary Potter close enough?"
Bess grinned and nodded. "Sirius'll tease you for having them here, you know that right?"
"Oh please. He'll shut up the instant Dad starts roasting a lamb leg for Sunday dinner," he laughed. "And when he gets back-"
"You've been sitting around this ridiculous furniture for how long?" Euphemia's voice carried through the hallway and Bess smiled at a now excited James. They practically ran to the kitchen and were greeted by Euphemia waving her wand at the table and chairs, vanishing them one by one. Fleamont stood next to Lily in the kitchen, while Jasper watched from the back door.
Bess laughed at the startled expression on Jasper's face.
"Finally decided to come back then?" he asked her, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, heard you were tattling on me," she replied with a wink.
"Yeah, well, we've got to be back in half an hour. Didn't really want to explain to Dumbledore that he'd managed to lose you again. He'd just try and blame it on me or something," he replied absentmindedly, watching Euphemia as she placed her little handbag on the floor in front of her.
Euphemia waved her wand and a wooden leg began to squeeze itself out of the silver clutch, followed by a wooden corner, and soon enough, the large wooden dining table that used to stand in the Potter's' kitchen had flown out. Once it settled itself into the space, more legs began to appear out of the bag as chairs pulled themselves up and out.
"Wait, I thought you said I'd inherit this!" James whined, stepping forwards. "It's a family heirloom!"
"I said you'd get it when you got married, as your father did," Euphemia replied, reaching down to jiggle a stuck table leg. "But your brother got married first, so he gets this and the clock."
"The clock as well? What? What do I get?" James cried indignantly.
"A vault full of galleons, but if you're not careful that might go too," Fleamont said seriously, and James backed down immediately.
Bess smiled when Lily let out a laugh, and then grinned when she realised that the kitchen now looked almost identical to her vision of her friends and Harry in the kitchen in 1981. It's happening, she thought. It's actually happening.
Euphemia turned to Bess and winked. "It's not much in way of a wedding present since we can't just pop down to the shops at the moment, and Sirius isn't here... but it's a little piece of our home in yours."
"It's perfect, thank you," Bess said, stepping forwards to hug Euphemia again.
"James caught us up on the highlights," Euphemia whispered. "We've come to stay for as long as you'll have us. I think I might be able to help with preparations and Flea's brought all of his potions instruments and ingredients. He'll make you anything you need."
Bess relaxed her shoulders as Euphemia spoke, and tightened her arms around the mother figure. "Thank you," she whispered.
"Bess, we need to go back to Hogwarts," Jasper said quietly. "I'm sorry."
Bess nodded.
Euphemia's hold tightened on her and she whispered, "Come straight back. Even if he asks you to stay, you come straight back here. And be strong. Don't be the Bess he can manipulate. Be the Bess who tells him what the plan is. He may be older than you, but you know more than he does now. Remind him of your brilliance. And remember that I'm so proud of you."
"You are?" Bess whispered.
"How could I not be?" Euphemia replied.
Bess, whose mother had never told her she was proud of her, practically melted.
xXx
They snuck back into the castle using the Marauders' Map, which James had given Bess for the evening. When they reached the gargoyle, Jasper stayed at the foot of the stairs while Bess ascended them. It was now seven in the evening, and so there was more of a chance that students and staff would interrupt them. Jasper, they'd decided, would be more useful disillusioned than listening in.
"And?" Dumbledore asked when the door to his office shut behind Bess for the second time that day.
Bess had to remind herself to be strong, and so decided to distract herself from the seriousness of the situation by doing something she'd wanted to do for a while.
"I have it," Bess said, walking over to the cupboard where the pensieve was hidden.
Dumbledore let out a long sigh. "May I see it?" he asked from where he sat on his large ornate office chair.
Bess shook her head, glancing at him through the mirrored panels of the pensieve cupboard. She placed her hands on the handles and said, "You know everything you need to for now. I've left the notebook with James until I return. If you'd like to view it, you can come to the house."
"You don't trust me?" Dumbledore asked, standing now.
Bess opened the cupboard and lightly traced her fingers across the vials which were filled with swirling silver. She chose not to answer.
She watched in the mirror as Dumbledore tilted his head down. "Alas, perhaps you are right not to. In any case, I am keenly aware that my time is limited. I may not be of any assistance soon enough."
"Months?" Bess asked slowly, her finger tracing the corner of a label on a bottle, which had scrawling writing across it, entitling it, "Elizabeth Coulson, vial two."
Dumbledore looked up, but remained silent. Bess took this to mean that she was right. She watched him for a minute, and then she ducked her head. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
Dumbledore shrugged a shoulder. "As I have said before, I seem to remember that you tried to warn me. I simply did not listen."
Bess nodded slowly and turned back to the vials, picking up her memory.
"Where's the other one?" she asked, uncorking the vial slowly. She reached her wand tip to the liquid and marvelled as the silver attached itself to the magical wood.
She carefully placed it against her temple and gasped as the memory flooded back to her. She looked around with blinking eyes, taking in more breaths as she remembered Voldemort's true visage. It was so much more terrifying than in the films, so much more real.
"It was destroyed," he replied calmly. "In a manner of speaking."
Bess frowned and turned to him finally, taking the bait. "Why?" she asked, staring. "Why would you destroy it?"
Dumbledore sighed and placed his uninjured hand upon the table top. "I kept the memory within my stores. Christmas last, I invited Mr. Black to visit me for a chat. We spoke at length about the war and his place in it. He agreed to step up and take on more responsibilities. That night, he and Mr. Potter left for their first mission. It was only in the new year that I discovered that the vial had been tampered with. The memory had been severed; the ending removed. As it no longer contained the more important information, I was loathe to keep it and so, thinking that it wasn't needed anymore, I destroyed it."
"Sirius took the ending?" Bess whispered, thinking about what Sirius had told her about that specific vision - that it had been of her running away from a werewolf, ending with her potential death.
"I assume that it was him," Dumbledore replied. "The specific part removed was, I believe, of you saying his name and that you loved him. He had promised me that he would do his best to move on, to mourn your loss by fighting. And, in truth, he did that. Which is why I have not said anything to him of the theft."
"Then how do you know he got rid of it?" Bess whispered.
Dumbledore sighed. "Memories like these are meant to be taken from the witness and watched within a pensieve. If the memory does not belong to you, it is possible to absorb it, but it takes immense magic and a will that I have never had. A connection with someone, a friendship, a love, a purpose-"
"What did he do?" Bess whispered.
"Once a memory has been melded into the mind of a new person, it cannot be retrieved. The process leaves a small silver scar which fades within weeks to nothing, or grows and grows until the person succumbs to the magic. It depends on the, as I said, will and magic of the inhabited. I saw the telltale mark on Sirius' temple in the beginning of term."
"Wh- why would he do that?" Bess asked, confused, her eyes brimming with tears.
"The first time Mr. Black watched that particular memory, it affected him deeply. He asked to see it again and I declined. Within minutes he had returned to your flat and discovered you missing. And so, Christmas last when he asked to watch it again, and I agreed, compelled by his obvious grief. He said that he wanted to see your eyes once more. I believe... No, I know that love and grief can propel us towards incomprehensible actions. Though, alas, as it turns out, he could have saved himself the trouble."
Bess gasped in another breath and began to count to herself - eight in, four out... Is that right? Or is it four in eight out?
"Bess?"
"I'm fine," Bess replied, straightening to her full height. "I'm fine."
She made a mental note to tell Sirius that he was a little demented...
"Yes," Dumbledore replied, "I do believe that you are. Now, if you are not here to share the notebook with me, why did you return?"
"You asked me to come back, didn't you?" Bess said slowly.
Dumbledore smiled. "I did, but we both know that you did not need to. You could have stood me up and I would have understood. I asked a great deal of you in retrieving that notebook alone."
"You were testing my loyalty?" Bess asked.
Dumbledore inclined his head. "Yes. I know that you don't trust me, but I needed to see if you were still loyal to the cause. I needed to know if your trust in your friends remained."
"It will always remain," Bess replied simply.
Dumbledore continued to smile.
"That's not the only reason," she replied.
"I thought so."
Bess wrung her hands together nervously. "Uh- well, to put it plainly, you're going to die soon, and I want you to do some things before you go."
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, but gestured for her to continue.
"First, please clear Jasper's name? The papers are getting ridiculous and I'm worried his sisters or parents will see something and freak out. Could you say that you don't believe in Fish's witch-hunt, pardon the pun, and that Jasper is a brilliant young man who is still fighting to save us all? Not... not release a statement, but just... say it around the right people? Second, I want to go to another Order meeting. I want to show my face. And I want you to prove to them that you believe in me. When you're gone, I'll need allies and I can't just pop up out of nowhere and expect help unless you tell everyone they should trust me. And third, I need you to promise me that I will be with you when you die."
Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "I will endeavour to complete the first two tasks bestowed, but I cannot in all good conscience agree to the third. I do not yet know-"
"The third is the most important," Bess replied. "I need to be there when you die."
"Why?" Dumbledore asked.
"I can't really explain," she said quietly. "But just... Please try? It really will determine the end of the war."
Dumbledore nodded slowly. "If I find myself able to predict the moment, I will invite you along," he said, raising his chin. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have matters to attend to. I will schedule another meeting of the Order within the fortnight which you will be invited to."
"Thank you," Bess replied, walking towards the door.
Suddenly, something popped into her head and she finally pieced together what Regulus had said.
"Sir?" she asked, turning back to him.
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"
"What does Voldemort wear around his neck?"
Dumbledore frowned. "I cannot say that I have personally seen him wear jewellery, not since his Hogwarts days," he replied, glancing down at the ring on his blackened hand. "But I had intelligence that he has begun to wear a locket about his neck."
Bess stopped and started. "A... a locket?"
"Yes."
"What does it look like?" Bess asked, hoping against all hope that it wasn't what she thought it was.
"As I said, I have not seen it myself. I assume it is of significance?" he asked, his blue eyes trained on her brown.
Bess ducked her head, avoiding eye contact. If she was wrong... But, there was a strong possibility that she'd simply forgotten the origins of the locket... That was extremely possible in fact.
She groaned. She'd been so focused on the other Horcruxes that she'd completely discounted the locket since it wouldn't be left in the cave until 1979. But... but the locket and the cup were stolen from Hepzibah Smith. So there was a strong chance that Voldemort had already made it into a Horcrux and was simply waiting for a place to store it. Fuck.
She looked up at Dumbledore again. She made eye contact and quickly realised that the tugging and haziness she was feeling in her head was not accidental. She summoned all of her willpower and looked at his nose instead, breaking their eye contact. "You said a long time ago that you wouldn't try legillimency on me."
"And you agreed to help the cause in return," Dumbledore replied.
"You don't think that's what I'm doing?" she asked indignantly.
"I believe that is exactly what you are doing," Dumbledore replied. "It is all you have ever tried to do. And so, you will have to forgive me. My curiosity got the best of me."
Bess nodded. "That's okay. Just... If you hear anything about the locket, please let me know," she said, turning the handle of his door.
"I will."
xXx
A/N:
Oh my god I'm so annoyed at myself. I've totally being going in thinking that she didn't need to know where the locket was since it wouldn't be in the cave until 1979, and then I reread HBP and realised that Voldemort stole the cup and locket together from Hepzibah. We'll see what I come up with. I have the ending already, but hadn't accounted for this so I just need to jiggle around my plan a bit!
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