Mitigate [S. Black]

three | all-knowing

Alessia sat in the armchair Dumbledore had transfigured from a quill, her eyelids heavy with exhaustion. She wasn't sure what time it was or why she was so exhausted, but all she wanted to do was sleep. However, the brunette had a feeling this night was long from over.

Her nimble fingers ghosted over the wand in her hand, still unable to believe it was hers. When Alessia was younger, she had always wondered what it would be like to be part of the magical world and what kind of wand she would have; now that she knew, she wasn't sure how to feel about it. This whole night had been nothing but strange to her. Sighing to herself, she attempted not to fall asleep in the silence.

An unexpected crackling from the fireplace brought Alessia from her dreary half-asleep state, and she looked up as a figure stepped out of it. It was a tall, lean guy with glasses, disheveled black hair and light blue eyes. He had yet to notice Alessia, having immediately turned back to the fireplace just as another person appeared. This one was a young woman, with strawberry-blonde hair and green eyes. Her stomach was slightly bulged, showing she was perhaps three or four months pregnant; which must have been part of the reason the guy before her had instantly turned to check on her.

It struck Alessia quite suddenly that she was looking at James and Lily Potter; and that Harry was the little baby growing inside of Lily. She had been pulled to this universe during the First Wizarding War, before the two newlyweds were killed. 

"Professor!" James Potter greeted, winding his arm around Lily's waist as they walked further into the office. He began to ask something, but stopped when the two of them noticed the unfamiliar girl sitting in the armchair.

"Good to see you, James, Lily." Dumbledore waved his wand, levitating three books onto the floor in different places before casting a few more transfiguration spells. One book morphed into a small loveseat, and the other two became armchairs not unlike Alessia's. "Please, have a seat. We'll take care of introductions once the others arrive."

"But --"

"Hush, James," Lily chastised, leading her husband over to the loveseat and pulling him down to sit with her. "We can wait a few more minutes."

As they sat down, the fireplace crackled again. Alessia glanced over as another young man stepped out of it, brushing some Floo powder off his shoulder. He was thin and wiry, with troubling scars on his face that contrasted with the gentle warmth of his brown eyes. She recognized him as Remus Lupin, but remained silent as Dumbledore told him roughly the same thing he had James. Remus didn't bother to argue, instead sitting down in one of the free armchairs. 

Fifteen minutes passed by. She could feel the three of them staring at her, as if trying to figure out who she was simply by committing her facial features to memory. Between the stares and awkward moments of silence, James complained about having to wait. It seemed Dumbledore hadn't told any of them what he needed to meet for, but the old wizard was intent upon waiting for the last person to get there.

After what seemed like forever, the fireplace crackled one last time. Alessia's heart skipped a beat as she looked up to see Sirius Black exiting it. He was tall, as she'd imagined him to be, with black waves of hair falling to his chin and striking gray eyes that sought her out almost immediately -- after all, she was the only unfamiliar person in the room. He eyed her strangely, wondering who she was as he strode over to the empty armchair next to her and sat. 

"It's about time," Lily scolded him lightly. 

"Yeah," James agreed. "We've only been waiting for thirty minutes."

Sirius snorted. "Shut up, Prongs, we all know you're only on time because of Lily." He paused and then turned his gaze back to Alessia. "Who are you?"