Trapped In Time: Love's Secrets

Chapter Seventeen

Monday morning the school was back to a normal routine and though Shannon missed Remus at breakfast and lunch, she checked in on him before work to see him up and about preparing for class. She wished him luck and told him how happy everyone would be to see him then went off to work thinking how much she already missed the weekend.

She had sent Matilda out just that morning with a reply to Alissa and hoped they hadn’t worried too much about the owl when she didn’t come back right away. Smiling to herself when she thought of her poor friend reading pages and pages about how in love she was and how amazing Remus was, Shannon worked through her Owlery chores in a dreamy haze.

At dinner, Remus finally showed up for a meal but looked as though the day had been a bit of a strain. He sat down slowly and making no effort to be subtle, pulled his chair close to Shannon so they were sitting almost shoulder to shoulder.

“Been a rough day?” Shannon asked softly, “you look exhausted…”

“It has been a long day; I have a lot to catch up on with having been ill. Nothing to worry about love.” He smiled softly. Huge dark circles had formed under his eyes and his hollow face somehow looked worse in the Hall lighting than it had in his room.

“I hope Severus didn’t do anything too terrible to ruin class for you.” Of course she knew about the werewolf essay but unlike Remus, she also knew that only one student had done it and now that student knew his secret. She wondered if he feared exposure and that was the reason he looked so drawn.

“No I don’t believe so, just being himself as expected.” He answered quietly.

“How was Harry? I hear they just let him out of the hospital this morning.” It felt horrible having to lie to the man she loved even if it was just faking ignorance.

“Yes, that’s what I heard. He asked me…” Remus paused, he was sure Harry wouldn’t want him talking about his fear of the dementors or the reason they affected him so terribly. He would of course have to run this all by Dumbledore but that was different seeing as Dumbledore knew Harry’s entire life story. In fact, it struck him as odd that Shannon had never once spoken of Harry before; being foreign, did she even know the story?

“For help with the dementors” Shannon finally said quietly after a short pause. It wasn’t right to put him in a position where he might have to lie to protect a student and then hold it against him. And maybe she wasn’t ready to face the possibility that he would never be able to tell her everything in the same way she had to keep things from him.

“How…?”  He frowned in concentration. “You are quite unnerving at times.”

“Yes, I figure that’s true.” She smiled faintly and looked away. “You are supposed to help him, much depends on it but don’t worry, you both can do it. It works out in the end.”

They ate on in silence, absorbed in thought. As the room slowly emptied around them, it was a shock when they realized almost all the staff had gone but Dumbledore who sat in his seat apparently waiting on them.

“Miss O’Connor, remember the conversation we had many weeks ago?” Dumbledore asked randomly, still looking out upon the few older students who were finishing supper while reading up on homework or test material.

Both Shannon and Remus looked at Dumbledore quickly, having been interrupted from thought and surprised by the sound of the unexpected voice. Shannon had to think only a moment before answering. “Yes Headmaster, I remember all of our conversations. Why do you ask?”

“You have been telling a number of stories all evening.” Dumbledore turned his gaze on the couple at the end of the table. “I must remind you to be more aware of who might be watching.”