The sun shone brightly in a clear azure sky, baking the city of London in stifling heat. Businessmen in suits and mothers trying to control their fretful children sweated uncomfortably in clothes that were completely unsuitable for the season warmth.
A fifteen year old girl breezed past the sweltering crowds with barely a hint of consideration for the state they were in. As far as she was concerned it didn't matter who you were, where you were or what you were doing, in the heat of the summer you dressed appropriately. In a flower print sundress that ended just above the knee and a pair of sandals, she felt light and airy and cool. Her bag was slung across her body, the strap starting on her right shoulder while the bag rested on her left hip with a denim jacket slung carelessly over it in case the bright weather turned to rain. Her skin was tanned so was almost the same colour as a nut, her chestnut coloured hair had been bleached a few shades lighter by her time outdoors. She was clearly a girl who enjoyed the summer and wanted to utilise it while the good weather held. Her lips shimmered slightly with lipgloss, a silver charm bracelet jingled cheerfully when she moved.
Trafalgar Square was full of the usual tourists and pigeons. But even through the swarm of people she quickly spotted the figure she was looking for, lingering next to one of the lion statues, his grey eyes lighting up as soon as he heard his name being called.
"Sirius!"
And then he spotted her and moved towards her.
"Hey Dory."
She was only fifteen, but Dorcas Meadowes had already decided that she liked the way the opposite gender looked at her. It was the same way that Sirius was looking at her now, his eyes following her legs up until they disappeared under the skirt of her dress, then going up her stomach to her chest, lingering there for a few seconds and then going up to her face. The smile on his lips was both apologetic and defiant when he realised she had noticed him staring. But that was Sirius all over, if he was caught doing something he shouldn't then he couldn't bring himself to look sorry over it. Especially since, most of the time, he wasn't sorry. Dory didn't mind him looking anyway, it meant that he liked her.
"So, where are we going today?"
Each day that summer was somewhere different. They had been driven together by boredom and in it found that when you were with another person London could actually be quite a lot of fun.
They had gone to the British Museum and laughed at the stiff elderly adults and the wealthy tourists who had taken one look at Sirius' leather jacket and Dory's pink fishnet tights and turned their noses up at them, completely unaware that Sirius' family probably had more money than most of them.
They went to Camden and strolled through the market before going to the pub, where a punk group bought them beer despite their age, and the women tried to persuade Dory to shave her hair off and the men encouraged Sirius to get a piercing or two.
One day they trekked to Westminster Abbey, where Dory tried to explain muggle religion and history to the bemused Pureblood that was with her. Afterwards they walked along the road parallel to the river and talked about their families.
One afternoon they couldn't quite stop themselves from walking, and put off the time to go home for as long as possible. Eventually, when Sirius walked Dory back to the public fireplaces so she could floo home, he caught her hand and pulled her close and kissed her. It wasn't her first kiss, but it was her first kiss with him, and it left her lips tingling and butterflies in her stomach. She had to spend the three days following without him, he had arrived home very late and was confined to his room as a result, but when she saw him again she couldn't stop herself throwing her arms around him and kissing him again.
They got caught in a sudden, heavy shower of rain and took shelter in a cafe, where Sirius bought them coffees and they sat in a corner booth. The coffee quickly ended up forgotten as they kissed, the scent of washing powder enveloping them from their drying clothes.
They took a picnic to a park, which proved to be remarkably empty given the hot weather, in a rather wealthy residential area. Just as their coffees had been left on the raining afternoon, their lunch ended up being forgotten about in favour of an embrace. They were startled by a woman walking her dog, a yapping little terrier that took an instant dislike to them, and they had to stand and listen to her tell them off for "inappropriate public behaviour". Finally she sniffed and gave Dory a look, turning her speech to her directly; "and you shouldn't be tarting yourself out like that, your parents would be ashamed if they could see you". Dory felt a ball of shame settle in her stomach, her gaze focusing on the grass under her feet until Sirius' hand wrapped around hers and he stuck his middle finger up at the woman "don't be such a fucking prude, and don't call my girlfriend a tart you fucking hag". It was all forgotten in that one word, "girlfriend", and the fact that he had defended her, and she resolved to never, ever let anyone make her feel shame like that again.
The last day of the holidays were spent wandering aimlessly, not talking about much, until they ended up in a children's play area and sat side by side on a pair of swings, holding hands and staring into the middle distance.
"So...I guess this is the end of things..."
Dory's hand tightened involuntarily around Sirius when he finally spoke. Their gazes were pulled to each other by that simple flinch.
"I don't want it to..."
Sirius' face instantly broke into a grin, his hand squeezing back gently.
"Really?"
"Really really."
"Me either..."
