29

Societal Contributor

It ended up being the best thing for Doe. Working at Flourish and Blotts was exactly what she needed. It got her out of the house almost everyday and she was always surrounded by magic and books.

Most days she just organized the shelves, or unpacked books from the storeroom, which was easy enough, except for the order of the new book ' The Monster Book of Monsters' that tried to rip her arm off. They ended up keeping those books in a cage in the back.

Besides the vicious book, everything else here seemed to fit her well. It wasn't too busy, so she actually had a lot of downtime. She spent a majority of it reading. There were so many books at her disposal.

Her only co-worker, was a 25 year old Hogwarts graduate named Declan. He used to be a Hufflepuff, and was still 'trying to figure life out'. He was not interested in books in the slightest and found it very strange that Doe read when she didn't have something to do.

Most of the time he just asked her questions about her life and played with a sneakascope.

The weeks began to fly by. Time went by quicker when she had somewhere to go and something to do.

She occasionally saw people she knew. It was refreshing to see a friendly face every once and awhile. She was still writing to both Lily and Remus constantly, but it wasn't the same as seeing them. She missed them terribly.

She had officially given up on writing to Sirius. He was awful at responding. Sometimes he did a few days later, sometimes not at all, which was very frustrating seeing as she actually missed his company.

It was mid- July and she was reading through a book about how to avoid dark curses when she heard the bell attached to the door chime and someone come in.

She didn't look up. Usually, people didn't need help, but if they did they came to the front.

" Well if it isn't the newest member of the Flourish and Blotts team?" Someone said in front of her.

She looked up to see Sirius standing there. She smiled widely and darted around to the front of the counter throwing her arms around his neck.

" Siri, you're back" she said pulling him into a tight hug. He laughed wrapping his arms around her tighter.

" Well if I had known my homecoming would be this sincere I would've stayed longer" Sirius said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and ruffling her hair.

Doe rolled her eyes at him. It had happened slowly, but somehow over the last year, Sirius had become her best friend again. She thought it had been last summer. They had spent so much time together that it was impossible not to get close. She told him just as much as Lily these days.

" Hi James" She said waving to him. He had come in behind Sirius.

James laughed, " Not as excited a response as Padfoot got I see" James said in a false hurt voice.

Sirius laughed, " Don't blame Doe, Prongs. She's had a Sirius free summer. It must be killing her without me"

She shoved Sirius hard in the shoulder, " You are an idiot" she told him.

" You missed me, Meadowes"

She rolled her eyes and went back to sit behind the counter.

" So honestly," Sirius began, " How's your summer been?"

She shrugged, " I've spent a lot of time here mostly"

Sirius raised an eyebrow, " And how is Mother Meadowes?"

Doe stiffened. She didn't want to talk about it. It was embarrassing, but she had promised Sirius that she wouldn't keep things from him.

" It's bad" she told him, " without my father here, she has been ruthless"

" What do you mean?" Sirius asked.

She filled both him and James in completely on what had happened when she returned from Hogwarts.

Sirius made a small face, " I'm really sorry, Doe"

" It sucks that she's acting like that" James said.

Doe shrugged, " There's not much I can do about it".

" Well listen, I may have something that will cheer you up" James said, " You're invited to spend the last two weeks of summer with us at the Potter Manor. It'll be fun, and more fun than moping around your house".

Doe smiled, " That actually sounds great, I'll be there" she told him.

James smiled, " and look at that, I didn't even have to tell her that Remus would be there"

She grabbed a quill off of the table and hit him with it.

" Seriously though, who else did you invite?" she asked him.

" Marlene, Lily, Remus, and Peter" James said.

" Lily!?" Doe asked incredulously.

" She can't go" James said, " She won't be in town. She'll be in France"

" I'm shocked you invited her" Doe told him, " and that you two were civil enough to hold a conversation"

James smiled widely, " Actually, Lily and I have been writing each other all summer"

Doe stared at him, a small grin on her face, " James Potter, you haven't given up on her"

James grinned, " I'm never giving up on Evans, but don't tell her that"

Sirius was staring off into the corner.

" Come on Padfoot, we should go" James said.

He turned back to her, " I will see you on the 18th".

She watched them leave, glad she was able to see a few of her friends.

The next few weeks disappeared quickly. It was strange how quickly time passed when she was busy.

The summer was fading quickly and as her job ended, Mr. Blotts son returned and replaced her, she was throwing all of her time into preparing for her last year at Hogwarts.

Before she knew it, August 18th was here and she was ready to leave for James.

Doe magicked her trunk downstairs, and stood in the living room, where her mom was knitting a blanket.

" I'm leaving now" Doe told her.

She blinked at her, " School doesn't start for a couple of weeks".

" I told you, I'm staying at James', and going to school from there" Doe said.

" But why?" she asked.

" Does it even matter?" Doe asked her, " I'm never here anyway"

She looked at her and put down her knitting, " I think you should stay here".

Doe rolled her eyes, " Honestly what difference does it make if I go?" Doe asked her, " It's two weeks at James'"

She shook her head, " I meant I think you should stay here, and not go back to school"

Doe looked at her as if she had three heads, " You're kidding?"

She came towards her, clutching at Doe, " Doe, it would be so great! You could go to school here, and you wouldn't have to go back to that...that place"

Doe stepped back from her, " That place? Hogwarts is my home".

She looked like she had been slapped, and after a minute she spoke up, " You're not eighteen, I could not let you go"

" I'm of age in the wizarding world" Doe told her shaking my head, " and seeing as I'm not a muggle, your rules really don't apply"

She crossed her arms at her, " You're not going back to that school"

Doe stared at her with a look of pure anger and disgust.

" I am, I'm sorry" she told her. She grabbed the end of her trunk and closed her eyes, disapparating quickly.

Only hearing her shout " Dorcas!" before she was gone.

She landed in James' living room, She recognized it from last summer when she had dropped off Sirius. It was empty.

She didn't know where everyone was and she didn't want to go roaming the halls of James' house alone, so she sat down on top of her trunk and tried to recover from the scene with her mother.

She had tried to forbid her from going to Hogwarts.

" THAT'S NOT EVEN A RULE- YOU MADE THAT UP!" Marlene's shrill voice rang through one of the hallways.

She looked up to see a dirty Marlene, Sirius and James with broomsticks hiked over their shoulders, obviously bickering about the game they had just played.

Doe was glad to see that Marlene and Sirius could still be civil towards each other.

" Doe!" She said happily running over to hug her, getting dirt all over her.

" Marley" she said hugging her back.

" I'm so glad you're here, I need another girl around here" She exclaimed throwing a furtive glance at both James and Sirius.

" Marlene you've been having so much fun with us, don't lie" James said with a smile.

Marlene rolled her eyes, " But Doe is more fun than both of you"

James and Sirius both laughed.

" Marlene, why don't show you Doe where you're staying?" James said.

Marlene gave him a sour look, " Fine, you just want me to leave because you were losing"

" Come on, Doe" Marlene said walking past James and Sirius and heading down one of the large hallways.

James' house was huge. It was large and white and built in the 1800s. It had over 15 rooms and two separate wings.

Marlene and Doe were staying in a guest room in the east wing. It was a large white bedroom with two beds.

The one closest to the door was covered with Marlene's things. It looked as if she had already moved in.

" How long have you been here?" Doe asked as she put her stuff down on the empty bed.

Marlene smiled, " Only two days. I live really close to here"

" How've you been?" Doe asked her.

She shrugged, " Summer's been really boring. We always do the same thing, and it's like all of my brother's have suddenly become adults. Nobody ever wants to do anything fun anymore"

Doe frowned, " Well they are getting older, Mar".

Marlene sighed, " I know, I've just never felt more like the baby"

" Well I am sure we will have fun now" Doe told her, " when have Sirius and James ever acted like adults?"

She laughed, " Good point".

Doe sat down next to her, " You know, I'm a little shocked that you're here, and being so nice to Sirius"

She shrugged, " We've talked. We decided it doesn't make much sense for us to be at each other's throats"

" That's very mature of you" Doe told her.

" Yeah, well, I just figured I'd have more fun if I didn't mope" she said.

She got to her feet and opened the door, " Come on, let's go"

She followed her back out of the room and towards the large sitting room, trying to mentally remember the way. James' house had a lot of doors that looked exactly the same.

"...sorry I would've come sooner, but I had to recover from, well you know" she heard a familiar voice say.

Excitement flooded Doe as she rounded the corner and realized who it was.

" Remus" she smiled as she saw him talking to James and Sirius.

He turned to her a wide smile spreading across his face, " Doe".

She practically threw herself into his open arms. He held her tightly and placed a quick kiss on the top of her head. She kept her arm wrapped tightly around Remus and let her head drop onto his shoulder. She had missed him more than she knew.

" I didn't know you were here already" Remus said to her.

" We may have conveniently left that part out" James said with a smile and a shrug.

"I just got here" she assured him.

" Which means we are only waiting on Peter" Sirius said.

" Per usual" James added.

James front door opened and Mrs. Potter walked in, laden with shopping bags.

" Hi, Mum" James said.

" Do you need help Mrs. Potter?" Doe asked walking over to her, taking the bags that were about to slip from her grasp.

" You're an angel, Doe" She said as she helped her put them down on the kitchen counter.

" Oh Remus, I didn't know you had gotten here" she said walking over and giving him a hug.

" Hello, Mrs. Potter" Remus said.

Mrs. Potter looked at them all and blinked, " No, Peter?" she asked.

" He's late" James said, sitting down at one of the barstools.

" I'm sure he'll be here soon" Mrs. Potter told them.

She pulled something out of one of the bags.

" I stopped in Diagon Alley and got you all some pumpkin pasties" Mrs. Potter said pulling out a pink box from one of the magical bakeries.

" Mrs. Potter, you are the woman for me" Sirius said, as they all reached for one of the delicious treats.

Summer at the Potter's actually ended up being one of the best summer's Doe had have ever had.

James' estate was even bigger than his house, complete with tennis courts, pools, and a giant wooded area surrounding all of it. It was very relaxing to be able to be there with all of her friends, though she did wish Lily had been able to come. Peter had arrived the day after Doe did, and they all spent most of their time outside, especially in James' large pool.

James' house was always so full of fun. Both of his parent's loved him deeply, and never seemed to mind having so many people in the house.

" It feels wrong when it's empty" Mrs. Potter had told Doe.

Being here was the closest thing to normal Doe had ever experienced.

While they were there, all six of their Hogwarts letters had arrived. It didn't seem to phase James' parents at all.

" Dumbledore probably knew you were all here" Mr. Potter told them.

They opened their letters and looked at the usual lists of necessary books and supplies, she was lucky to have gotten everything already when she still worked at Flourish and Blotts.

James was opening his when something gold and shiny fell out of his letter.

He held up, a look of pure shock on his face. He was holding a large gold pin with 'Head Boy' written in a loop script.

" You?" Sirius asked in disbelief, " how'd you manage that Prongs?"

James blinked at it, " Why me? I've caused so much trouble. It must've been for you Moony"

Remus shook his head, " It's for you, it was in your letter"

James stared back at it in pure shock.

He wasn't the only one. Everyone was very confused. James was very smart, and capable of being responsible, but he and Sirius had caused so much trouble over the years it seemed impossible.

Doe thought it was going to be Remus.

James parents were thrilled, they both came over and hugged him, echoing chorus' of 'Good job Son' and ' I am so proud'.

" So is Doe our new Head Girl then?" Peter asked.

She shook her head, " It's not me" she said gesturing to her empty envelope.

" I wonder who it is then?" James asked.

Doe was curious too. Part of her had wanted it to be her. But part of her knew that there were so many other people who probably deserved it more, and who it would mean more to.

But part of her wanted it to be her.

On their last day there, they all decided to spend it outside, by the pool.

" Okay so I'm really going to miss this" Marlene said to Doe. They were sitting on the edge of the pool in their bathing suits, letting their feet dip into the water.

James, Remus, and Peter were sitting on the opposite side of the pool, talking about something in a hushed whisper.

" So what is it you think that they're talking about?" Doe asked Marlene curiously.

" No idea" Marlene said eyeing them curiously.

" Maybe this" Sirius said from behind them. In a second, he had managed to push both Marlene and Doe into the pool.

Doe was underwater, caught completely off guard. She swam upward and reached the surface, taking a deep breath.

" Sirius you are such an arse!" Marlene shrieked from beside her.

" I'm going to kill you" Doe snapped at him. Sirius just laughed, jumping into the pool with them.

James, Remus, and Peter followed him jumping into the pool as well.

Doe swam over to where Remus was.

" I hate Sirius" she said with a pout on her face.

" No you don't" Remus told her, moving a piece of hair out of her face.

" Well, he's quite irritating" she said shivering slightly as her body adjusted to the water.

She watched Marlene splash a large amount of water at James and Sirius. Peter was hanging back. Doe wondered if he still missed Mary.

Doe turned back to Remus who had just gone underwater and pushed his hair out of his face.

The t-shirt he was wearing billowed slightly and moved, exposing three red scratches deep on his shoulder.

Suddenly she understood why Remus was wearing the t-shirt. He was a fit bloke, but the t-shirt seemed to be covering scratches.

" Are you okay?" she asked staring at them in disbelief.

" Im fine" Remus said pulling his t-shirt back into place to cover them.

" When did you get those?" she asked.

Remus shook his head, " I have a few of them, there from when I turn".

Doe looked at him sadly, " Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't think-"

He put his hand over her mouth, " Doe, it's fine. There's nothing you can't say or ask me, even about that"

He moved his hand and she looked back at him, " I'm still sorry"

He sighed, " You're far too apologetic"

She grinned, " It's all part of my charm"

She leaned up to him and kissed him deeply. Even soaking wet, kissing Remus made him Doe feel warm.

Sirius splashed them quickly, " Enough you too, come join the rest of us"

" You know what, Siri" she said splashing water back at him.

And they all began splashing water at each other, marveling at how easy it was to have fun.

They decided to spend their last night of summer outside. They all sat in folding chairs around a fire pit James and Sirius had made in the far corner of the grounds. It was pitch black outside and the only light was coming from a small crescent moon, to the delight of both Remus and Doe.

James, now of age, raised his wand and lit a large fire, warming all of them.

Sirius returned from the kitchen with supplies for s'mores and a bottle of firewhiskey.

" That better not be from the kitchen" James said gesturing to the bottle, " my parent's will notice"

" Relax, Prongs" Sirius told him, " I brought it with me"

Sirius sat down beside Marlene and James.

Doe sat in Remus' lap on one of the folding chairs, in a large Puddlemore United sweatshirt.

Sirius began filling some of the cups with firewhiskey and handing them out. He passed one to her and she shook her head. She didn't want too. She wasn't the biggest fan of drinking.

" Aw Come on , Meadowes" Sirius said.

She shook her head again.

" Moony?" Sirius asked offering him the cup, giving him a look that suggested he, unlike her, didn't have a choice.

Remus sighed, taking the cup and taking a small sip.

Sirius handed the others to James, Marlene, and Peter.

Doe leaned back against Remus, watching the light from the fire dance off of everyone else's' faces.

" You alright?" Remus asked tucking some of her hair behind her ear.

" Yeah, I was just thinking" she told him.

" What about?" he asked.

She put her hand on top of his, lacing her fingers in his.

" Just the fact that we are all getting older" he said.

" That's not a bad thing" Remus said.

She nodded, " I know, it's just different".

Remus looked at her, as if trying to figure what she was talking about. After a few seconds he just shook his head, " I doubt I will ever fully understand you"

She smiled, " That's not a bad thing either" she told him.

He leaned over, " No it's not"

She grabbed the supplies to make a s'more, and broke off a piece or chocolate for Remus. Who smiled appreciatively and took a bite.

" This is officially our last night of summer" Marlene said sadly, taking a large sip from her cup of firewhiskey.

" But school is starting, and that's going to be great, Marls" Doe told her.

" It's going to be a lot of work" she corrected.

Doe rolled her eyes at her.

" We are going to be seventh years" Peter said in shock.

" To a year of fun" Sirius said raising his glass. Doe watched everyone raise their cups and take a sip.

Doe sat back watching them all and thinking how lucky they all were to have each other.