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

hogsmeade

The first think Shannon was aware of when she woke up that morning was the fact that she had a headache. She groaned and rolled over, trying to get comfortable. That's when the memories from the previous night came washing over her. The kiss she shared with Remus, and the questionable decision making she made which led to that moment. Remus was too sweet for her to use as a simple distraction. But, if she was being honest... she did get butterflies at the memory of their kiss. Or, maybe that was nausea. She wasn't quite sure.

"Good morning!" Marlene said, quiet too cheery for her liking. Her bed curtains were then yanked open, revealing her two friends on the other side.

Shannon rolled over and shoved her face into her pillow. "It's too early."

"You need water. Here." Lily kindly placed a glass of water at her bedside table. Shannon sat up and drank it thankfully. She hadn't realized how dry her mouth had been.

"I peeked downstairs. I think Remus is waiting for you!" Marlene told her. "You don't want to keep your new boyfriend waiting."

"Boyfriend?" Shannon questioned, looking at her water. She wasn't sure if that was true. "We just kissed once..."

"Well, you and Remus don't usually go around kissing just anyone. Everyone kind of thinks you're together now." Lily explained.

"I suppose... you're right." Shannon sighed and rubbed her eyes. She got up and started to get ready to go to breakfast.

Marlene and Lily shared a concerned look. "Do you not want to be with Remus? I'm sure you could explain it to him." Marlene followed Shannon into their shared bathroom, looking at her through the mirror.

Shannon shook her head. "I'm just not used to calling someone my boyfriend." She explained, brushing her hair.

"I'm going to tell Remus you slept in and will be down soon so he doesn't worry." Lily said, quickly leaving the room.

"Are you sure, Shannon? You just told me about how much you like James, and I saw the two of you together last night, I thought maybe..." Marlene trailed her words off when she saw how much Shannon was shaking her head.

'You could never look awful.... Beautiful.' Those words would never mean enough, because she wasn't Lily Evans. "James is still obsessed with Lily. I need to move on. Remus is sweet and cute, and he actually likes me. I'm fine." She explained. This new relationship would help her to finally move on.

Once she was finally ready, Shannon and Marlene walked down to the common room together. Lily was sitting by the fire, by herself. "Where's Remus?" Shannon asked, although she was relieved she didn't need to greet him here. She wouldn't know what to do or say.

"I convinced him you were going to take a while and he went to have breakfast with the rest of the boys. We can still make it, I'm sure he saved you a seat." Lily explained, and they really did have to rush. There were only a few minutes left for breakfast.

Shannon spotted Remus, and as Lily said, he had a free seat next to him. Her heart started to speed up, but she ignored it and went directly to him. "Good morning." She said softly to him as she sat down. She noticed a plate of breakfast had been made for her. Of course, it was all of her favorite foods. "Thank you for this." She said as she immediately began to eat her food. She didn't realize how hungry she was until she sat down.

"I was worried you wouldn't make it, so I made that plate to bring to you." Remus smiled at her, pleased that she seemed to like it. "How are you feeling?"

"Bit of a headache. I'm sure it'll pass." Her arm brushed against Remus as she ate, and she was acutely aware of every touch.

James seemed more quiet than usual. In fact, he even got up and left before the rest of the group. Shannon assumed he was also feeling the after effects from the party and didn't question it.

"Do you have plans for Hogsmeade today?" Remus asked as they finished up their breakfast.

"I completely forgot about Hogsmeade." Shannon said in surprise. With the excitement of the first Quidditch game of the year only the day before, she hadn't spared a thought for the planned Hogsmeade trip.

"Does that mean you're free to go with me?" Remus smiled.

"Of course."

~

It was a nice day spent together. They wandered around aimlessly, more interested in talking to each other than they were in being in Hogsmeade itself. Remus did buy her some chocolates, which they shared as they walked.

"Have you heard the rumors about this place?" Shannon popped another chocolate in her mouth, looking up at the abandoned shack on the hill.

Remus seemed to lose his footing as he glanced at the shack. It seemed as though he did not realize which direction they had been walking in. "It's just a creepy looking building."

"People say it's haunted." Shannon shrugged.

"Hogwarts is haunted." Remus said shortly.

"I mean... yeah." Shannon agreed. "Suppose we should head back. There's not much to see over here." They started to walk together when they heard yelling and people running towards them.

Shannon instinctively took out her wand, but then she realized they were in no danger. It was James, Sirius, and Peter.

"Wormtail! How could you just let it go like that? We don't have a broom!" James yelled.

"I thought it would just hover in front of me!" Peter exclaimed.

"How many times have you watched Prongs play with the stupid thing?" Sirius asked in exasperation.

"What are they doing?" Shannon glanced at Remus, who looked unamused.

"Chasing down James's snitch, it looks like." He explained.

Just then, Shannon noticed a glint of gold in front of her. She grabbed it and looked at it in her hand for a moment, before the boys realized she caught it.

"Oh, thank you." Peter said to her, looking relieved. "Shannon's caught the snitch!" He told James and Sirius.

In their haste, James and Sirius had not noticed Remus and Shannon. James made eye contact with her and held out his hand. Shannon paused for a moment before pressing the snitch into his waiting hand. "Thanks." He muttered, turning to leave with the other two boys.

"You're not even a Seeker." Shannon said, feeling the need to keep him here. She wasn't sure why.

James ignored her statement. "We don't want to be interrupting your date." He said simply, stalking off with Sirius and Peter.

"Is he okay?" Shannon asked, looking at Remus in confusion.

"I think Lily must have rejected him again this morning." Remus said as a way of explanation.

"He normally takes it better." Shannon rolled her eyes, walking down the hill with him. Remus grabbed her hand.

"He's probably jealous I got a date to Hogsmeade before him." Remus smiled, not looking at all sorry for his friend. "He'll be fine. You want Butterbeer?"

Shannon agreed, and they walked into The Three Broomsticks together.