Trapped In Time: Love's Secrets

Chapter Twenty Five

Spring was in full swing at Hogwarts with typical Scottish rain showers pelting the grounds more often than not before opening up to brilliant blue skies. Moss was almost always singing and flying around Shannon’s room happily, even entertaining Remus who at first had been unsure about his song but grew to enjoy the deeper concentration it brought on. Easter break arrived the first week of April and Remus moved into Shannon’s room saying he wished he could take her away again but work made it impossible.

He was working very hard, no one could argue with that. He spent most of the day in his seat by the fire with tables arranged in a semi-circle covered in loads of student papers and lesson plans as well as the term review papers all teachers had to fill out for the school board to look over. When not working directly on the task spread out before him, Remus was heading into the corridors to break up student altercations. With the Quidditch final set for the week after break and the stress of the school workload, tensions were high and students were being sent to Dumbledore or the infirmary on a regular basis.

For Shannon, the extra time with Remus was a blessing and a curse. The relationship wasn’t very old and so both of them were very much still in the honeymoon phase which meant that when they were together, she could almost forgot everything and just enjoy him. On the other hand, the more they were together, the more in love she fell. This seemed to work both ways as over time, Remus found it harder to be away from her and when together he found it harder to concentrate and keep his hands to himself. With that knowledge pacing through the back of her mind like a caged animal, she fought between the opposing urges of giving in to him completely or withdrawing to make the end easier on both of them.

The other downside of having Remus in her room was that Severus had to stop by on a regular basis to drop off potion. He seemed to have taken the talk with Dumbledore seriously because he knocked and remained in the doorway and would deliver the potion without a word though his face said enough on its own.

It was the last night of Easter break and Shannon was sitting in bed reading the first letter from Alissa in ages. She was doing as she promised and giving a large update on everyone including Irma who seemed to be rallying and apologizing for the time she had needed to “recover” from seeing Sirius off again. Remus was in his usual spot and writing out a draft of his plan for the final exam after having finally caught up on everything else.

There was a knock at the door and Shannon groaned saying “three guesses who that is.”

Remus smiled playfully at her and got up to answer the door. Neither were surprised when it turned out to be Severus even though they were not expecting any potion. There was an evil gleam in Severus’s eyes and a strange triumphant smile across his pale face.

“Miss O’Connor, if you please, you are expected in Dumbledore’s office.” Severus said in a low silky voice, ignoring Remus completely.

“I will take her there” Remus stepped into the line of vision, redirecting Severus’s attention and causing a deep sneer to spread over the latter’s face.

“Very well” Severus regained his composure quickly, smiled that hateful smile and then turned on his heel, stalking away silently.

“I haven’t done anything…” Shannon frowned as she pulled on a pair of shoes and her cloak.

“No use worrying about it until you find out what is going on” Remus reassured her and led her to the Headmaster’s tower. When they arrived, he gave the password and motioned her up, promising to wait.

Not surprisingly, Severus was already there, sitting in front of the desk and still smiling. Dumbledore appeared to be tired and weary but a smile lit his face when Shannon entered the room. “Miss O’Connor, sorry to disturb you especially on a holiday but this matter needed immediate attention. Please have a seat.”