he's the reason | james potter. remus lupin.

advice

The start of the year was just flying by for Shannon and all of the Gryffindors. Although she originally thought James was a little crazy for all the practices they had, she realized she didn't mind. While she was playing Quidditch, it was almost as if she was a different person. Her insecurities fell away, and all that existed was the game. The first game was coming up, so the practices were getting to be even more frequent.

"I think we're about ready." James said to Shannon excitedly after yet another practice. "The Ravenclaws won't know what hit them. I've never connected so well with another player like I do with you." He rambled on as they walked back to the castle.

Of course, once they were back on the ground, Shannon's confidence was not the same. On the ground, he was James Potter, the boy who she had fancied for close to three years now. She still couldn't believe that James even spoke to her now, let alone that he praised her so highly as a teammate. She tried not to read into it too much. Deep down she knew that James still liked Lily, as he always did. It didn't matter that Shannon was his teammate and that they worked well together. That was all it would ever mean to James. She was lost in her own thoughts, but James didn't seem to notice.

"We should start planning the after party now. I know we're going to win." James grinned.

Shannon looked at him then, laughing softly at him. "I always thought those parties were spontaneous?"

"Well, kind of. But this games a sure thing for us. We'll have to celebrate together." James smiled at her, and Shannon's heart skipped a beat. When he said, together, did he mean he wanted her to be his date to the party? Or did he mean as a team, or even as a House?

"It'll be fun." Shannon finally said, hoping he couldn't tell that she was already daydreaming about James kissing her after the game. It was something she didn't allow herself to think about much, but right now she couldn't help herself...

"I actually wanted to ask you something." James said in a more hushed tone. Shannon almost tripped over her own feet, but she caught herself and managed to keep walking.

This had to be it. James had just mentioned going to the party together, and now he had a question for her. He was going to ask her out, and she would have to try to act cool. She'd have to act like she hadn't been waiting for this for half her school career at Hogwarts.

"What's up?" She asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Do you think you could put in a good word for me with Lily? Now that we're friends I think she might start to see me in a better light." James had a dreamy look in his eyes, and Shannon thought that must be what she looked like when she thought of him. How could he not see?

"Oh." Shannon breathed out, her disappointment settling in her chest. "Yeah, of course. I mean, I already tell her how much fun Quidditch is and everything. But I'll see what I can do." She said, not even trying to hide the dejection from her voice. It was not like he noticed, he was probably too busy daydreaming about her best friend.

"Thank you. And do you think there's anything else I can do to get her attention? I feel like I've tried everything." James asked.

Shannon fidgeted with the sleeves of her shirt. They were now standing right outside the castle, both stopped to look at each other for this conversation. She just wanted to run inside and cry, but she knew she would have to make it through this. "I think you're trying too hard." She said bluntly, noticing how confused he looked. "She doesn't like to be the center of attention. Lily would probably prefer for you to, I don't know, ask her out privately?" She could tell that annoyance was leaking into her voice. James barely even knew Lily. Of course he didn't know how he should ask her out, they were strangers.

"Really? I was able to watch some Muggle... what do they call it? It's on the telly, the longer version of those shows?" James asked, confused.

"You should have taken Muggle Studies." Shannon said impatiently. Honestly, she thought it ought to be required for all pureblood students. "But I think the term you're looking for is 'movie'." She added helpfully.

"Yes, that's it." James nodded. "I watched some Muggle romantic movies. I thought it would give me some inspiration, since Lily grew up in a Muggle home. All of them were so dramatic, declaring their love for the whole world to see. I'll bet she's seen them before."

"Yeah, probably." Shannon agreed, rolling her eyes. "The thing about movies, though, is that they're supposed to be entertaining. So, yeah, they're sometimes dramatic. But not every girl is going to like that in real life."

"Not every girl is going to like what?" A new voice asked. Shannon felt an arm suddenly draped over her shoulder, and she looked to see that it belonged to Sirius Black. Remus and Peter were a few steps behind him.

"Shannon was just giving me advice to win Lily over." James shared, and Shannon didn't even notice that he didn't call her by her surname. "She was saying not every girl likes the dramatics from the Muggle movies we watched."

"What?" Sirius asked, sounding like he didn't believe it. Shannon took a step away from Sirius, his arm dropping back to his side.

"Those movies are fictional, they're not real accounts of what it's like to be a Muggle." Shannon mumbled, getting overwhelmed by the conversation. "Some girls would like it. But some would prefer their love lives to be private."

"And which type of girl are you?" Sirius smirked at her. Shannon wasn't looking at him, but if she was, she'd see Remus glaring at Sirius.

"I..." Shannon started, a blush forming on her cheeks. "I've got to get inside. See you guys later." She rushed her words out and slipped into the castle, not turning back until she made it to Gryffindor tower. She quickly ran up to her dorm and was relieved to see that it was empty. She fell onto her bed and finally allowed the tears to come, soft sobs escaping her body.