Trapped In Time: Love's Secrets (Adult)

Chapter Twenty Four

The stories of killer Sirius Black were still circulating the castle a few days later and Ron could be heard telling his death defying story loudly to whoever would listen while teachers whispered and speculated with one another about how Black could be getting into the castle without anyone noticing. Security was tighter everywhere with everyone pitching in in whatever way they could to keep the castle safe from future break-ins. Charms were put on doors and staircases, the paintings passed along a list of steps to be taken if you saw Black in the corridors and trolls patrolled Gryffindor tower and the school grounds.

Shannon had told Remus about the break-in when they woke early Sunday afternoon and asked if he had heard anything but he said he had unfortunately been sleeping too deeply and regretted that he hadn’t been able to aid in the search. Dumbledore took Shannon aside at one point and asked if she would like protection going to and from work but she turned him down insisting that she was safe. Walking past the leering trolls was uncomfortable but she would survive.

A letter had been sent telling Alissa very cryptically, that all had gone well but there had been no letters arriving from her since the last early in February. She must have been taking Sirius’s departure very hard, Shannon thought with some annoyance. She understood what it was to miss someone, but Sirius was safe and he would be home even if it was in a few months. At least they would be together for as long as they wanted and were not facing the end of everything.

A Hogsmeade visit was set for the next weekend and with that depressing thought taking permanent root in the back of her mind, Shannon spent most of her free time crouching over books of art and nature with pencils and a sketch pad. Remus’s birthday was a week away and she wanted to get this done on time for him which meant it had to be done on this trip to the village.

The other bad news was that Lucius Malfoy had somehow managed to get Buckbeak’s hearing moved up a month and it was the coming Friday. She had gone down to visit Hagrid and wish him and Beaky luck but only stayed a short time because Hagrid didn’t want to talk much about it and he was picking up Harry and Ron from the school just after dinner.

It was a stressful time at the school even for those who didn’t know what was coming. End of term was nearing and the students were piled under loads of homework, dragging heavy bags around the castle, studying in groups in the corridors, out in the courtyards and filling the library and common rooms.

Early Friday morning, Remus arrived with breakfast and caught Shannon working furiously and with obvious frustration. When she saw him coming towards the bed, she gathered up all the sketches and slammed the books shut before he could get a peek at what she was working on.

“What’s wrong love? You seem a bit stressed.” He turned back to his chair near the fire and got started on breakfast.

“I used to be able to draw but apparently I have managed to lose that skill completely. No matter how hard I try I can’t get this right and it needs to be right by tomorrow!” She eyed him across the room and considering it safe, opened her sketch book again and glared at her work. “I have tried to sketch my dogs just for practice and because I miss them but even those are coming out awful.”

“I think it is quite lovely” Remus said from behind her, looking down at the sketch of the big black and white dog snoozing with his back to the viewer.

She slammed the book shut and glared at him for sneaking up and looking over her shoulder. Even under normal circumstances she was intensely private about her art because she felt it too awful to share. It was only after she thought something was as perfect as could possibly be that she would share it with anyone. A habit that applied to every sort of creative work she did and that often made her teachers crazy through school as she would never ask for help or show rough drafts until forced into it.