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Chapter Two
From Girl …
Dorcas' eyelids fluttered lightly before she could completely pull out of her dreams of confusing faces and flashes of green. The first thing she saw was harsh, blue fabric with a never ending white lined pattern on it and she couldn't remember where she even was at the moment.
Not until Dorcas noticed that it was her rolled up, lavender coloured sweater she was resting her head on instead of her usual pillow and felt the rumbling of the train did she remember she had lay down across the empty seats of her and her fathers train compartment as they were headed to Bordeaux.
"Did you enjoy your nap?" George smiled warmly at his daughter as she sat up on her seat, looking slightly confused and like a lost, little bird with her hair in a tangled mess.
"Umm," Dorcas absentmindedly scratched her forehead, still not awake enough to answer properly "yeah, sure." she finally answered, rubbing her eyes and looking out the window to see how far they were.
George carefully put the top of his pen back on and placed it in his briefcase lying open on an empty seat next to him "Good." as he noticed her staring expectantly out the window he chuckled a little "Sorry sweetie, but we already passed Paris."
"Oh." Dorcas tried not to sound too disappointed, but she had hoped they would have driven by The Eiffel Tower or Notre Dame so she would have seen it in person, but all she saw passing by quickly was small towns and endless wine fields. It was all so beautiful though that it mended her disappointment.
George's expression changed and he looked pained "I'm sorry I didn't wake you, but you mentioned this morning how you hadn't slept well so I thought it would be better to let you sleep." he explained, hating the look of disappointment Dorcas had just had. When he knew she wasn't happy or at least content, it made him uncomfortable as he wasn't always sure how to console his daughter.
But of course Dorcas smiled at him right away "Don't worry about it daddy, I'll see it on the way back and besides the view right now is beautiful. Will Bordeaux look like this too?" she asked curious, she had never travelled outside of Britain as her father's work always kept him busy and she was longing to see anything different.
George let out a sigh of relief as Dorcas went back to normal and he glanced at his watch "Well we should be there in about half an hour so I don't think it'll change much." Silently he wondered if she would be hurt if he went back to the work he had brought along.
Dorcas practically pressed her nose up against the window as she tried to see everything they passed "I'm looking forward to seeing Jacqueline again, though it'll be a bit weird when we haven't seen each other for so long." she wondered out loud.
George decided he could postpone his work for a little while and leaned back in his seat, running a hand through his steel grey hair quickly "I can't imagine she has changed much, she was such a lovely girl. But you know her stepbrother, Adrian, is living with Dorothy and Pierre now so you will get a chance to get to know him as well."
Finally Dorcas could tear her eyes away from the window "Really?" she asked, her brown eyes sparkling, alive with curiosity "I thought he went to a boarding school in Switzerland?" she asked her father wondering why Adrian was suddenly living with the Deforgés'; Dorothy had never been too happy about her husband having a son from an earlier marriage so Adrian had went to boarding school and spent his summers with his mother.
"Yes he did, in Zürich I believe, but his mother – what was her name Melody or Melanie or something? – Anyway, she has a new husband now and apparently he doesn't like children so when Adrian was finished with school he was sent to live with his father and Dorothy." George explained as he had recently had the news told himself in a letter from his old friend Pierre.
Dorcas' eyes dropped to her lap "That is so horrible; I don't understand how his own mother could just send him away like that." anything concerning motherly affection always hit a nerve with Dorcas.
"Yes, well according to Pierre he is adjusting to the more quiet life in Bordeaux so maybe it's not so bad." George knew they were moving in on dangerous territory as he saw Dorcas' eyes staring meekly at her lap and he quickly picked up some papers from his briefcase and said "Sweetie I just have to read these documents, but the bathroom is close by if you want to wash up a little before we get there."
Dorcas nodded and wouldn't have minded some cold water in her face as her eyes still felt puffy from her nap, but instead she leaned her head against the cold window and flipped through the pages of a tourist guidebook her father had bought her in London before they had boarded the train.
"Next stop: Gare Saint-Jean, Bordeaux." a female voice drifted through the train repeatedly and George finally put away his work again, while shutting the briefcase close "This is our stop sweetie." he got up from his seat and grabbed his brown leather bag from the overhead compartment as Dorcas got up as well, stuffing her book into her cluttered, brightly coloured purse, tied her sweater around her waist and struggled to get her Hogwarts trunk down.
As they stood patiently in line behind other passengers, equally struggling to remember everything and getting off the train in time George frowned slightly at Dorcas' trunk "Are you sure it's a good idea you brought your school luggage? What if they ask about it?" in the confused commotion of people he didn't have to worry about anyone listening in on their conversation, but still his voice dropped lower as he spoke.
Dorcas had thought about that as well, but she felt certain it wouldn't be an issue and gasped "Don't worry about it daddy." as she had to answer at the same time as they moved out of the train and onto the platform.
"Finalement, they're here!" even though Dorcas didn't speak French, she was fairly sure that Dorothy's British accent wasn't supposed to be so obvious in that one word.
"George, over here!" following the shrieking, high pitched voice Dorcas turned around and recognized Dorothy Deforgés immediately, in spite of the extra wrinkles and obviously dyed, blonde hair, as she stood a bit away from everyone else with twitching lips and her hands nervously gripping her large, fur coat despite the summer sun.
Pierre Deforgés strode towards them with long, firm steps, first shaking George's hand enthusiastically before moving on to Dorcas, kissing her on each cheek, his voice chipper "Mon dieu, I cannot believe 'ow big you has grown Dorcas, a young lady now! Beautiful!" he exclaimed and though Dorcas felt slightly embarrassed she was happy to find that Pierre had not changed, especially not his accent as well though it didn't annoy her as Dorothy's did.
"Yes Pierre is right, you are such a pretty girl now Dorcas." Dorothy dryly agreed after she had greeted George, emphasizing the 'now' with a forced kind smile and Dorcas fought back an annoyed growl; Dorothy was definitely still the same as well.
"Thank you Mrs. Deforgés, it's lovely to see you again." Dorcas politely answered as the foursome walked out of the train station to a crowded parking lot, the men eagerly chatting away as Dorcas took in the beauty of Bordeaux while trying to keep Dorothy's voice out of her head as she laughed shrilly "Oh no, none of that formalité, call me Dorothy." she insisted and Dorcas winced at the accent once again.
Pierre led them all to an impressing, black car, the interior complete with leather seats "Let's get your things," his 'th' was pronounced more like a 'S' "in le back and drive 'ome." he grabbed Dorcas' trunk with ease despite his age, and George placed his bag in the car himself before sitting on the backseat with Dorcas as Pierre sat behind the wheel and Dorothy next to him.
Dorcas was grateful that no one demanded any strong opinions of her in the car ride back to the Deforgés Châteaux so she could be as enthralled with the almost fairytale like surroundings as she was, but when they finally arrived at the châteaux her mouth fell open in awe "It's a castle!" she blurted out, amazed by the size, structure and beauty of their home.
Dorothy's mouth seemed to tighten into an even thinner line at Dorcas' sudden comment, while Pierre laughed proudly "Ah yes ma chérie, I see you 'ave the good eye for 'ouses." It was obvious that Pierre loved the châteaux and his grounds as much as his family.
They drove up a long lane, the gravel noisy underneath the tires, with trees planted all along the side of it, separating the many wine fields, all of the vines already blooming green as far as the eye could see, from the road. But at the end of the lane were the large châteaux, the stones a pale yellow colour, some of them almost white, with long, white windows, and a black tiled roof.
"I must say Pierre, your châteaux look impressive already, and the grounds are beautiful." George said, already happy that he had accepted The Deforgés' invitation.
Dorothy let out a laugh, as hard on the ears as her high pitched voice "Oh you haven't even seen the yard yet, we actually have our own forest." she casually waved her hand and her heavy gold jewellery caught a ray of sunshine while Dorcas was reminded of once when she had been hiding in the study and her father, unknowing of Dorcas' presence, with another neighbour had discussed Pierre's fortune and Dorothy's love of luxury. That was when she had learned the word Golddigger.
White rosebushes was planted by the short, white stone steps leading up to the wide, equally white front door Dorcas quickly noted as she was being led inside by Pierre and Dorothy. She had wanted to bring her trunk with her, but had been told not to and she noticed a maid rushing to the car with a twinge of guilt.
The foyer was kept in light colours with some wooden antiques matching the dark wooden, broad stairs that led to the first floor. Dorothy was rambling on about a golden mirror hanging above a small table with a too large flower piece on when Dorcas first recognized Jacqueline.
She was absolutely beautiful, with thick, wavy black hair, inherited from her father, falling down her back making her blue eyes seem even bluer. She was wearing a stunning, black v-neck silk dress, tightening in her small waist before fanning out, showing off her tanned, slender legs. A red belt livened up the dress and Dorcas felt a twinge of jealousy this time; she could tell the dress had been expensive and even if she had been able to afford a dress like that, Dorcas knew she would never look as perfect in it as Jacqueline.
"Dorcas!" Jacqueline's melodic voice rang through the foyer before she rushed towards Dorcas, who opened her arms to give a quick hug, but instead Jacqueline leaned forward and kissed Dorcas on each cheek "It has been too long, it's so great to see you again." the girl immediately squealed, grabbing Dorcas' hand "You can get a tour later, right now I'll show you to your room." Dorcas felt a tug at her hand and soon she was leaving the white, marble floor and was on her way upstairs.
"I get my own room?" Dorcas asked, even though she knew they would have a big house, she had still expected to sleep on a couch or maybe in Jacqueline's room "I don't want to be a burden, a couch is fine enough or a mattress or something." Dorcas babbled on as she was being led down a long hallway with blue wallpaper and a soft white carpet stretching all the way down the hall over the wooden floor, a lot of similar white doors on each side of the wall.
"Oh I'm going to get lost." Dorcas breathed when Jacqueline finally stopped in front of a door, her pretty face lighting up as she was about to burst with excitement before she opened the door and quickly stepped inside the room before Dorcas who followed her.
The room had white, wood panels reaching up to the middle of the wall and the rest was painted a light green. There was a single, silvery bed with a beautifully designed headboard, long iron roses twisting together. The covers were spotlessly clean and white, apart from the silken, light green bedding with golden embroidery lying across the foot of the bed.
The other pieces of furniture in the room was a white dresser, and a white make-up table with green candles standing on it and a small white stool with matching green fabric over it.
"When we first moved here my mother furnished and decorated every single room herself, isn't that amazing?" Jacqueline asked before pulling Dorcas out of the room again before she even had time to answer "I have the room with the adjoining bathroom" there was a bragging edge to her voice and Dorcas feared Dorothy had been having too great an impact on her daughter "so you have to use this one." Jacqueline pointed to one of the white doors and Dorcas made a mental note that there was a light switch right next to it so she would be able to find it later.
Turning around, even though it was almost more of a twirl, Jacqueline smiled "I'll let you get settled now, but when you have unpacked come downstairs, we are having dinner in the yard tonight because the weather is so lovely." she practically bounced down the stairs and Dorcas wondered if someone besides her in the household was magical, because surely Jacqueline couldn't be so cheery without a little help from a spell.
She was abruptly snapped out of her wonderings as the maid she had noticed earlier was bringing her Hogwarts trunk to her room "Oh, thank you, I'll take it now." Dorcas hurriedly offered, but the young girl in front of her simply pushed open the door to Dorcas' room and sat down the luggage before doing a small curtsy in front of Dorcas and rushing away again.
"Okay then." Dorcas mumbled confused, already feeling misplaced in the house as she looked around her room once more, the way everything matched was almost starting to annoy her; it was unnatural.
Trying to forget it and just be grateful she got to stay in such a beautiful place for the summer Dorcas swiftly began unpacking her things, involuntarily comparing her boring clothes to Jacqueline's impressive dress as she did so.
Once all of her stuff was lying around the room Dorcas started to feel a bit more at ease in there and she sat down in front of the large mirror on the make-up table while brushing her hair and checking her appearance. She would just have to hope her denim shorts, a simple white t-shirt and the lavender coloured sweater was good enough to wear at dinner.
She was almost at the door when someone knocked on it and instead of inviting the person in Dorcas opened the door, to find her father on the other side "Oh, hi daddy." she smiled and stepped aside so he could come in.
"Hi sweetie, wow," he looked around once "this is a nice room, huh?" Dorcas simply nodded in response and George told her he had come up to tell her that dinner was ready and she followed him downstairs, happy that she wouldn't have to find the garden on her own.
At first she stepped out on a large patio, lined with green bushes where an impressively decorated table was standing with eight matching chairs around it, but Dorcas was surprised to see beyond the patio were an impossibly long lawn leading down to the forest Dorothy had mentioned earlier. On the right side of the lawn there were large stables and Dorcas was surprised her father hadn't told her they had horses. In the middle of the lawn there was a big swimming pool which made Dorcas happy that she had packed her swimsuit.
"Pleaze, sit down everyone." Pierre cheerfully asked gesturing towards the dining table and everyone took a seat, Jacqueline sat next to Dorcas leaving the chair across of her empty.
Dorothy pursed her lips "Oh where is that Adrian, he is never on time." she seemed pleased to go on about the subject, but Pierre interrupted her by saying that Adrian was on his way and passing around a basket of bread.
And sure enough just as Dorcas was getting a roll for herself a cute guy with black strands of hair falling into his blue eyes and a smile lighting up his tanned, freckled face so you almost didn't notice the crooked nose sat in front of her.
"Ah Adrian, my boy, let me introduce our veri speciál guests." Pierre had risen from his seat and now held his hand towards Dorcas's father "This izz mon ami George Brands and," his hand now moved so it was pointing towards Dorcas instead "his daughter Dorcas Meadowes."
Dorcas blushed slightly when Adrian grinned widely at her after shaking hands with her father, but she smiled back until Adrian frowned "Wait, Brands and Meadowes?" this was not a story she enjoyed telling.
Thankfully Pierre saved her as he let out a rumbling laugh "You see Adrian, Dorcas is a veri stubborn girl and she insisted on keeping her mother's last name. Do you remember George?"
George nodded and Adrian smiled at Dorcas again. "Well please do begin the meal now that everyone," Dorothy glared pointedly at Adrian "are here." and for a moment all that was heard was the sound of cutlery.
"So Dorcas," Adrian began looking up from his plate "do you have any plans for tomorrow 'cause if you don't I'd-" but he was cut off by Jacqueline "You'd what? Take her out on your motorcycle?"
Dorcas was surprised by Jacqueline's, who'd acted as the next Miss Wizarding World since Dorcas had arrived, harsh tone towards her stepbrother "Sorry Adrian, but Dorcas and I are going in the pool tomorrow and we'll be going shopping in Bordeaux one of the next days."
Adrian faked a yawn "If you start to get tired of miss Prissy Perfect's activities, let me know." he told her in a low voice as he'd leaned over the table and Dorcas couldn't keep a grin back, she was pretty sure Adrian was flirting with her.
All of the new impressions, Adrian and the different wines that of course accompanied the meals were getting to her head that felt heavy with exhaustion so when a cool breeze started long after dessert Dorcas excused herself to get to bed.
Adrian jumped up from his seat and offered to walk her to her room so she wouldn't get lost and Dorcas gratefully accepted his offer, sleepily leaning against him with her eyes half-closed as he led her up the stairs.
"Sleep tight." he smiled again. Dorcas had noticed he did a lot and how cute he looked when doing so. She fought back a yawn when Adrian leaned in to briefly kiss her forehead. Once she was inside her room she leaned towards the closed door with a heavy sigh.
0o0
In the following week Jacqueline monopolized Dorcas as they tanned by the pool, played cards on the patio or, as Jacqueline seemed to enjoy the most, went shopping at elaborate stores. Dorcas would carefully study the different fabrics and designs while Jacqueline tried on clothes.
Dorcas preferred to save her money and buy fabrics for them instead to sow her own clothes. She was very talented, but rarely made clothes for herself. In school all that had mattered to her was getting good grades and she was fairly certain she'd made more clothes for Marlene than herself.
But now school was out and with the crush she was developing on Adrian and after seeing herself in short, red velour skirt Jacqueline had insisted she'd tried on Dorcas was ready for some changes.
The first happened the day she told Jacqueline she was going to take a walk by herself, when instead she set out to find Adrian who was helping out in one of the wine fields. He wasn't wearing a shirt and his slim, but muscular upper body was as tanned and freckled as his face.
He wiped the back of his hand over his forehead when he noticed Dorcas nearing him, her brown hair up in a ponytail and her lavender dress hanging loose on her body.
"Hi," he smiled at her. He liked how every time she would smile back, but then her cheeks would flush slightly "you're finally tired of being dragged around by Jacqueline?" he continued.
Dorcas frowned, sure it could get boring to be with Jacqueline all the time and she could be a bit tough to take, but the way he'd put it made it sound like she was just some mindless puppy following his stepsister around. So Dorcas shook her head in response "No, I just," she hesitated "need a change I think."
Adrian raised an eyebrow "You think?" but when Dorcas rolled her eyes he dropped the smug act "Well you've come to the right person. Let me get cleaned up and I'll take you out, okay?"
Dorcas bit her lip, but then nodded. They walked back to the châteaux together and when Adrian stopped at the bathroom across from the room Dorcas was staying in he put one hand on the handle "We're leaving in half an hour."
Dorcas smiled "Sounds great, I'll just be in here." she pointed towards her room and was about to go in when Adrian shot her a crooked smile "You might wanna change." he eyed her dress quickly before walking into the bathroom and Dorcas heard the door being locked.
She glanced down upon herself. Well it wasn't the most flattering dress since it looked more like an oversized t-shirt, but that Adrian would have the nerve to tell her to change! Butterflies started coming to life in her stomach at the thought of being alone with Adrian, away from prying eyes. With a sigh Dorcas started digging through her trunk for some clothes.
About half an hour later Adrian was leading her outside and towards something that turned out be a garage. Dorcas eyes widened.
"You're taking me out on that?" she asked, staring at the largest motorcycle she'd ever seen. Not that she'd seen a whole lot, but still, being crushed under that one couldn't be fun. The motorcycle was a dark green and Adrian held out a matching helmet for her.
"Yeah, unless you're too scared?" he grinned teasingly at her before putting on his own helmet. Dorcas defiantly tugged the helmet out of his hand and put it on, feeling incredibly silly. When she sat on the bike behind Adrian, she was grateful she'd changed from her dress into cut off jeans and a t-shirt.
The engine roared when Adrian started the motorcycle and he called out "You ready?" over the noise. Dorcas gave him the thumbs up and silently prayed her heart would someday move back down from her throat.
The feeling when they were driving down the long road Dorcas had come up at the day she'd arrived was an indescribable amazing one. Although her arms were tightly wrapped around Adrian so she could feel a bit more sure she wasn't about to fall off, there was no doubt in her mind. This was freedom right there.
0o0
So in the next week it was Adrian who monopolized Dorcas, not that she minded though. She could now drive the Ducati herself, she could swear in French and most importantly she could flirt back with Adrian without constantly blushing.
One of Jacqueline's friends from school had come back from her vacation so Jacqueline was happy that Adrian took care of entertaining Dorcas.
This day they were both lying in the grass in the cool shadow from a large tree after they'd had an impromptu picnic when Dorcas turned to lie on the side and she watched Adrian's face.
He seemed so calm and peaceful that Dorcas was sure he'd fallen asleep and she very carefully let two of her fingertips trace the arch of his eyebrow, his cheekbones, she let them gracefully dance over his chin, but when she reached his lips Adrian's hand was suddenly locked around Dorcas's wrist and he tugged at her arm so she was lying almost on top of him.
Electricity seemed to spark between them with their faces so close and her brown eyes staring into his piercing blue ones. Dorcas flinched when Adrian moved his face and she quickly said "Let's go horseback riding!"
Adrian moved so Dorcas rolled off him and brushed some imaginary dirt of his shirt "That was random." he told her and Dorcas blushed, but it was all she had thought of at the moment "And besides we don't have horses." Adrian finished.
Dorcas frowned "But what do you use the stables for then?" she pointed towards the stables on the side of the long lawn to emphasize her point.
"Silly Dorcas," Adrian grinned and ruffled her hair "they're used for the wine. You've seen the bags we put all the plucked grapes into right?" Dorcas nodded "Well we empty them into these large barrels and then we squash them with our feet."
"But that's … gross." Dorcas said and Adrian laughed loudly "No it isn't," he held out his hand to help her up and she took it, trying to ignore the tingling feeling it brought her "come on I'll show you. I'll even let you try." he laughed again as Dorcas wrinkled her nose, clearly displeased with the thought.
"It's actually not so bad." Dorcas had to admit as she had tied her long, blue skirt up so only her legs were smothered with grapes and she and Adrian had been working on the same barrel for some time.
"I told you." he smiled, standing still for a moment as he saw Dorcas step around, careful not to fall. She wasn't careful enough though and he quickly moved to catch her when she did fall. Their faces were close again and this time he wasn't going to let her go.
With open eyes he slowly leaned forward until he took her mouth almost possessively, his arms wrapping tighter around her, holding her closer still.
Dorcas felt like her head was spinning. One moment she was gliding on the slippery mess of grapes and the next she was in Adrian's arms, with his warm, delicious mouth moving against hers. Her fingers gripped around his hair as she kissed him back as heated as he was kissing her. Previously unknown feelings were making her hot and dizzy and she had no objections when Adrian lifted her up so her skirt hitched up high on her thighs and he carried her out of the barrel.
A/N: So my lovely Corinne does not have the time to continue this with me, so from now on the story is all me. If you don't like it you can still blame it on her though, lol. Wow, long chapter. I'd originally thought I could put all of Dorcas' vacation in one chapter, but that didn't happen. So the next chapter will be the last part of her vacation and don't worry there will soon be lots of magic, mystery and Sirius Black in this story! Please do review!
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