14

The Endless Season of Summer

Surprisingly, having Sirius next door ended up being extremely convenient. The days that had felt like they would never end before became more bearable with someone to spend them with. Oddly, it was like no time had passed between ages 10 and now. Sirius had managed to be good company.

Seeing as they were the only ones around, the two spent most days together. They sometimes went to the park or out to muggle London, but most of the time they were just at Doe's house. Sirius despised both his family and his house so he avoided it at all costs. He was around so often that both Doe's parents had gotten used to his constant presence.

One night her father returned home early from work and found Sirius sitting in the living room for the third night in the room.

" Sirius you've become such a constant figure around here, you might as well move in" he said with a laugh.

Sirius was seated in the armchair beside Doe.

" Oh trust me, Mr. Meadowes, I'd much rather live here than my own home" Sirius said.

Her father had laughed and walked into the living room.

Both of her parents adored Sirius. They always had. They thought he was a perfect example that a good kid can from even the worst families.

Doe continued reading the prophet. Lately it covered much more death and tragedy than good news.

" Sirius, I suspect Doe hasn't been much company lately, all she does is read" My father said with a laugh.

Sirius joined his laughter. Doe narrowed my eyes at both of them.

" I've had to practically drag her away from her books" Sirius said, " but then again I have to do that at school. Between her and Remus. One of them is always at the library."

Sirius perched himself at on one of the barstools in the kitchen.

" Would this be the famous Remus Lupin?" Her father asked with a grin and an arched eyebrow, " as in Doe's secret lover?"

Doe grabbed a pillow off of the couch and threw it at her father.

" Don't call him that" she said.

Sirius was grinning so wide it looked like his mouth was going to spread in half, " The very same"

Her father sat down beside Sirius, " Now tell me Sirius, Is he a good young man? Doe won't tell us a thing"

" Oh he's about as good as they come, Sir." Sirius said earnestly, " he's one of my best friends, and he's much more behaved than me"

Both of her parent's laughed.

" You're not misbehaved, Sirius" her mother told him, " you're spirited"

" I like that, Spirited Sirius" Sirius said smiling, " come on Doe, let's get that started"

"Somehow, I doubt Filch will agree" Doe told him.

" Filch is irrelevant, He will always hate me" Sirius said with an impatient shake of his head.

" And it's completely unwarranted," she said sarcastically, " It probably has nothing to do with the hundred of pranks you've done and school rules you've broken?"

Sirius put his hand up in front of her, " Hush, Meadowes"

She rolled her eyes at him.

" Are you going to be staying for dinner, Sirius?" her mom asked taking out the dinner plates.

Sirius nodded earnestly, " I would love to Ms. Meadowes"

Doe made a face at him from the other side of the counter. She wasn't used to seeing him this polite or charming.

He took a napkin from in front of him and balled it up, tossing it in her direction.

The phone rang shrilly in the background.

" Dorcas, can you please go answer that?" her mom asked opening the oven door.

" Sure," she told her and walked over grab the phone off the wall.

" Meadowes residence" she said into the receiver.

" Doe?, is that you?" Remus asked, " Can you hear me? Doe?"

" Rem? Are you using a telephone" she laughed into the phone.

Remus was halfblood, but both of his parent's were wizards and they didn't have very many muggle items.

" Yes" Remus answered, " And it's very weird. I'm at this strange box, it's called a payphone"

She laughed lightly, " I've missed you"

" I've missed you too, more than you know" Remus said.

" How've you been, how's the lakehouse?" she asked twirling the cord around my fingers.

" It's been good. It's beautiful here" Remus said earnestly, " you'd love it"

" Listen, Doe. Actually my parent's were wondering if next month when we get back if you and your parents wanted to come over for dinner? They're dying to meet you guys" He said quickly.

" I'd love too" she told him earnestly, " And I'm sure my parents would love to as well"

" Please insert another 50 cents for an additional three minutes" the electronic voice rang out on the line.

" Listen I've got to go, but I'll owl you okay?" Remus said.

" Yes, definitely. I'll talk to you soon" she told him.

She placed the phone on receiver feeling very happy. She and Remus had written each other a few times but it was nice to actually hear his voice.

" Was that Remus?" Sirius asked with a wink.

" Oh shut it, Black" she snapped it him. She could feel her face turning pink while she blushed.

" What exactly would your parents love to do?" Her father asked with a smile.

" Well" she said perching herself onto the edge of the counter, " He and his parents invited us over to their house for dinner next month" she said.

" How wonderful!" her father chorused, " I can't wait to meet them"

" Are Remus' parents wizards?" her mother asked quietly.

" Yes" she told her tentatively. She made a small face and then turned back to preparing dinner.

Sirius' eyes caught meet Doe's and he raised his eyebrow in confusion.

" Later" she mouthed. He nodded his head.

She knew he was going to ask. Her mother's strange attitude towards the wizarding world was very confusing.

They finished the rest of the meal keeping casual conversation. It was strange to her how well Sirius got along with her family. She suspected that he despised his own so much that even her non-magic home felt more cozy than his own.

" Well, personally I think we should do something fun tomorrow, like Diagon alley" Sirius said as he put his fork down.

" Okay, fine." she told him.

" You two need to be careful," Her father warned, " Don't wander off. It's not the safest place right now"

" Diagon Alley isn't safe?" she asked incredulously. Her entire life Diagon Alley was regarded as one of the safest places in the Wizarding World. She had been allowed to wander alone there since she was eight.

" No magical place is entirely safe right now" her father said, " just be alert okay?"

" Oh we will be, Mr. Meadowes" Sirius said.

When they all finished eating, She and Sirius brought the plates back to the kitchen.

" So, why did your mom ask about Remus' parents?" Sirius asked her while she washed some of the plates. She handed him a towel so he could dry.

She looked over to where her parents were. They were in the sitting room, far out of earshot.

" She's ridiculous. She despises everything about the magical world, including witches and wizards" she told him.

Sirius' eyebrows furrowed, " But both you and your dad are…"

" I know, it's dumb" she said.

" But she married your dad, knowing he wasn't a muggle right?" Sirius asked.

She sighed, " I think she married him despite it".

Sirius' eyes widened, " My mom is a witch who doesn't like muggles, and yours is a muggle who doesn't like witches"

She laughed, " Yeah I guess so"

" Why doesn't she call you Doe?" Sirius asked.

Doe shrugged, " I have no idea really. We don't get along very well".

Sirius looked forward and dried the dish in front of him, " Well I hate my entire family. Be happy you have your dad"

And they kept doing the dishes until the sink was empty.

The next morning she had gotten up early and gotten a small bag of her gold together for the occasion. She loved going to Diagon Alley. Every time she was there she always felt connected to the magical world. It was so refreshing to be around people who would talk about potions and wands and magic. It was like being back at Hogwarts.

Both of her parents had left for work before she had even gotten up, so when she heard a knock on my bedroom door she froze.

" It's just me, Doe" Sirius voice rang through the wood.

She had been sitting on the floor near my desk, half-crouching behind it.

" Come in" she called.

He strode in his head down, " Your front door was unlocked".

She looked at him and saw that he had dark bruising across his cheekbone. It looked as if he had been hit, hard.

" God, Sirius are you okay?" she asked striding over, examining it closer.

Sirius nodded, " I'm fine. Let's just go".

She shook her head and went into the bathroom that was next to her room. She opened the medicine cabinet and grabbed a jar of creme that was meant to heal injuries. She took the jar and brought it back into her room.

" Hold still" she told Sirius and began to dab it on his face.

" Sirius, How did you get this?" she asked.

Sirius pursed his lips.

She didn't push him. Sirius would tell her if he wanted to. He was always a very private person when it came to the most intimate details of his life.

" It was my mother" Sirius said quietly.

She looked up at him, " Does it hurt?" she asked, putting away the medicine.

Sirius shrugged, " Not anymore"

She sat down on her bed. Sirius followed and sat down next to her.

" Want to know the best part?" Sirius said slight anger in his voice, " It was all because of a tapestry, because I hung up a Gryffindor tapestry in my room"

She looked at him, " That's not wrong, Sirius. It's her issue not yours"

" They can't stand that I'm not in Slytherin. They always bring up the fact that I'm the first Black in a three centuries that isn't a Slytherin" Sirius said.

He clenched his fists, " I'm glad I'm not a bloody Slytherin. They're all a bunch of slimy evil bastards"

Doe let him rant. she watched his muscles tighten angrily and clench his fists as he went on.

When he stopped and took a deep breath, she turned to him, " Sirius, they can't treat you like that. It's disgusting"

He shook his head at her, " I don't even care anymore. As soon as I'm seventeen, I'm out of there"

" Do you want to skip Diagon Alley, we could just hang out here, or talk" she told him.

He shook his hair out of his eyes, " No. I want to go. Let's go"

Doe frowned and looked at Sirius' sullen expression. She hated seeing Sirius anything other than the over-confident ass he was.

" Are we using floo powder?" Sirius asked.

Doe nodded, " The fireplace is downstairs"

They headed downstairs to the fireplace. Doe grabbed a handful of floo for both of them. She handed Sirius his.

" See you on the other side, Black" she told him and threw my floo into the fireplace.

" Diagon Alley" she rang out clearly.

Doe hated traveling by floo powder. She felt herself land very hard on the floor of the fireplace in the leaky cauldron. She was covered in dust. She stood up and almost bumped her head on the top of the fireplace.

A second later she felt something slam into her and Sirius' dusty shape fell against her.

" Ow, Sirius get off" she said crawling out of the fireplace.

" Oh yes, Doe. Because I choose to slam into you" Sirius said rolling his eyes but with a smile plastered on his face.

They brushed the dust off of their clothes and walked to the back of the pub where the brick wall was. She let Sirius tap the bricks and watched as the cheerful streets of Diagon Alley appeared in front of them.

The streets were full, as they always were on Saturdays.

They saw lots of people they knew from Hogwarts. Mafalda Hopkirk and Xenophilius Lovegood were seated at a table in front of Fortean Fortescue's Ice Cream, and Amos Diggory was leaving the pet shop carrying a large ornate cave with a brown owl.

They had only been in Diagon Alley for a few minutes when Sirius turned to Doe excitedly.

" Can we go to quality quidditch supplies?" Sirius begged, " I want to go see the new brooms"

" Sure, let's go" Doe agreed.

Sirius ran to the store and she watched as he stared at every single product, trying to make sure he saw everything.

He eyed a new set of platinum beater's bats

" Now those could do some damage" Sirius said stroking the base of bat.

" Even without them you're still a better beater than any of the other houses' teams" she told him.

" Well I'm better than Hufflepuffs for sure, They're team is rubbish" Sirius said boldly.

" Amos Diggory is a pretty good seeker" she said looking at a pair of leather gloves.

" One decent player out of seven isn't good" Sirius told her walking over to a wall of Quidditch posters.

They spent the rest of the day walking into the individual shops, looking at all of the new products that they had put out for the coming year. After they had gone into almost of all the shops they had some ice cream at Florean's.

" I have an idea" Sirius said smiling widely.

" And what is that?" Doe asked throwing away the last soggy bit of her cone.

" Let's check out Knockturn alley" Sirius said mischievously.

Doe eyed him incredulously, " You can't be serious"

He grinned widely, " Actually, I am Sirius. Sirius Black"

She rolled her eyes at him, she should've expected that.

But he had to be insane. Knockturn Alley was a street off of Diagon Alley. It was notorious for being Dark and containing shops that were devoted to creepy things. She had never been allowed to go. Her father had warned her it was the breeding ground for dark magic.

" Come on, you can't be an auror and be afraid of a dark street" Sirius said egging her on.

He knew exactly which buttons to press to make her give in.

" Fine, after you" she said.

Sirius smiled and bounded off towards the street. Doe followed after him begrudgingly.

Knockturn Alley was completely made of dark gray cobblestone. The entrance was at the very end of Diagon Alley. Everything in it seemed to be decaying.

The shops were like caves settled into the wall, rather than the bright displays of Diagon Alley.

She took a deep breath before following Sirius down the path.

All of the witches and wizards we passed did not look friendly. They all wore angry expressions and were dressed in either black or Emerald.

" bunch of ruddy Slytherins, I should've known" Sirius said.

Doe smacked him on the arm, " Not a smart thing to say here"

She clung closely to him. They passed a particular scary look witch with frazzled grey hair who was leaning against the wall, talking to herself.

Upon noticing them, she jumped up and grabbed onto Doe's arm. " Surely you're lost? A nice young girl like you doesn't belong here. Why don't you follow me into my shop, I'll help you find your way back" she said in a voice that sounded very sinister.

" No thank you, " Doe said trying to pull her arm out of her grip.

" But I insist" the witch said through the missing gaps in her teeth.

" Were fine" Sirius said pulling her arm from her grasp and pulling Doe forward.

Doe shuddered as they passed her and Sirius said " What a creepy old bird"

" Sirius, where are we going?" Doe asked. The street was beginning to get darker and creepier, and I didn't like the looks we were getting from the other wizards on the street.

" Just a little further," Sirius said, " There's a shop I want to go to"

They rounded a corner and in front of them was a large slanted shop with tall broken windows covered by black curtains. The sign out front read in chipping letters ' Borgin and Burkes'.

" Come on, " Sirius said opening the door for her.

She went in quickly, glad to avoid the street and it's strange inhabitants.

Although once inside she immediately regretted it. The shop was very dark and cramped. It was covered floor to ceiling with strange objects.

There was a shopkeeper hovering behind a desk. He was staring at them with a look of pure disgust.

" Is there anything I can help you find?" he growled.

Sirius shook his head confidently, " No were just looking" he said directing Doe down an alley of scary looking glass orbs.

" Creepy bloke, huh?" Sirius whispered as he ran his hand over something that looked a lot like a dagger.

The place seemed like it was getting scarier the longer they were in there.

" Sirius, can we please go?" Doe said. Her heart was racing. She felt like something bad was going to happen here.

Sirius nodded, " Yeah this place is giving me the creeps".

Grateful to leave, she threw open the door and was back on the street.

" That was terrifying" she said to Sirius, " absolutely frightening"

Sirius shivered, " I know that shopkeeper was downright-" he stopped mid sentence and all the color drained from the face. She tried to turn to see what he had seen behind her, but grabbed her roughly by the wrist and pulled her into the an empty alley of the street.

" Sirius what's going-" she tried to ask him something but he put his hand over her mouth and whispered,

" Doe, don't say a word"

She turned to look where Sirius was staring blank faced.

Filling the street was a group of people clothed in dark cloaks and wearing metal masks, hissing something unrecognizable. It took her a minute to realize why they looked so familiar.

She had seen them on the front of the prophet, underneath the dark mark.

They were death eaters. You-Know-Who's supporters.

She now understood Sirius' panicked actions. Sirius looked terrified. His whole face was contorted in fear and his whole body was stiff.

They stood quietly in the alley, covered by darkness, neither of them moving, while the death eaters passed and disappeared down the street, further into Knockturn alley.

Once they were out of sight, Sirius and Doe emerged from the alley.

" Are you okay?" Sirius asked when they were safely back on the familiar path.

" I'm fine. You?" she asked.

Sirius nodded, " I'm fine. I'm sorry. We shouldn't have gone. I was just curious"

Doe shook her head, " You didn't know, but let's not mention this to my dad okay?"

Sirius laughed, " Oh trust me, I won't. I don't fancy getting arrested"