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| �Miss Fletcher, please tell me the purposes of wolf�s bane.�
Shaia�s brown eyes blinked once or twice, losing the glossy fog that had settled over them. �Pardon me?� Professor Burgeon put her hands on her slim hips. Her large gray eyes stared suspiciously at Shaia behind her round glasses. �I would appreciate if you paid attention in my class, Miss Fletcher, I realize it�s not your favorite subject.� Shaia felt red creep up her cheeks as she looked away from the professor�s stare. �Now please tell me?� she was cut off when a knock sounded on the outside of greenhouse. �Blimey,� she muttered under her breath, turning away from the class to direct her attention toward the person outside of her classroom. A nudge into her right side managed to shake Shaia of her reverie. She turned to find her green-eyed best friend smiling at her knowingly. �I take it your talk with Remus didn�t go as bad as you thought it would last night? Excuse me, as bad as I thought it would. You didn�t tell me a word!� Lily demanded, giving her a hurt expression. Shaia rolled her eyes. �I don�t know. I mean, it didn�t go well at first.� And before Shaia could stop herself, she was telling Lily everything. She even expressed things that she had not to Remus. She told her all about how scared she had been at first, and her immense relief when he�d finally told her. �It�s so strange,� Lily said, looking up toward the ceiling. She had tears forming in her eyes. �You and I have been friends since our first year, and the same with Sirius and Remus. It�s weird to think that neither of you have taken the time out to talk to each other until this year. And then boom� you fall in love.� Shaia smiled nervously. �I guess� I guess it doesn�t matter to me anymore. What he is or who I used to be� It�s just me and Remus.� The bell rang and the girls gathered up their things. They proceeded to leave the Potions dungeon quickly. Once outside, Lily decided to tell her friend the things that she had been keeping secret for a while. �James and I have been talking,� she said, her face turning bright red. �And we decided that� after Hogwarts�� she sighed, and lifted up her left hand and shoving it under Shaia�s nose. �We�re going to get married.� Shaia�s jaw dropped. �And you failed to tell me this?� Lily was suddenly ecstatic. �Well we�ve been talking about it for a couple of months now and just the other night he actually proposed� got down on one knee and everything� I asked him if he thought it was too hasty and he said, �No, do you?� All I could do was kiss him, Shaia. I love him so much. And we�re going to get married! Do you believe it?� For the next half-hour, Shaia and Lily could only talk about a wedding. Lily was expressing her dreams for the perfect wedding. Shaia was very excited for her friends, but during the course of their conversation, her mind kept drifting toward Remus. If they stayed together, even though she now knew the truth, what would become of it? Would they ever get married? The two of them made their way into the common room and sat down on the couch. They were still discussing the wedding excitedly when Lily broke through the thoughts that Shaia was having. �What do you suppose you and Remus are going to do? After Hogwarts I mean.� Shaia shook her head. �I-I guess I don�t really know. I never thought about marriage until� well, until today really. It�s not something I�ve been concerned about.� Lily gave her friend a sympathetic smile. She knew exactly what Shaia meant. �Well, all I can say is,� Shaia spoke up suddenly, breaking the tense moment. �When you and James get married and have kids, I hope they don�t inherit his�� she coughed, �hair.� Lily�s jaw dropped. �You�re awful. If you and Remus ever get married and have kids, I hope they don�t inherit his charming conversational skills.� Shaia rolled her eyes. �Just because he�s a little quiet?� �Who are you talking about?� came a voice from behind them. Both of them swiveled around to see James standing behind the couch, donning his Quidditch robes and a curious expression on his face. �I know you�re not talking about me.� �Of course not, we used the word �quiet,� � Lily remarked loud enough for him to hear. He tugged on her hair playfully. �So what are you two up to besides trouble?� he asked, petting Lily�s hair affectionately. Shaia shrugged, reaching over for her book. She opened it to the page she had marked and then answered noncommittally, �Not a whole lot. Things we�re doing after Hogwarts, Remus, the wedding�� James turned bright red and bit his lip. �Oh, well�� Shaia glanced up at him quickly and smirked to herself, reading the first paragraph of the chapter again. �Don�t be embarrassed. It�s rather romantic.� She didn�t need to look up to know that James had bent over and kissed Lily lovingly. She tuned out while they talked quietly about their plans for the remainder of the day. Shaia really couldn�t have been happier for her friends. If anyone deserved each other, it was James Potter and Lily Evans. She hoped that wherever life took them after Hogwarts, it would be a happy and pleasant one. �She had the audacity to say she doesn�t want our kids to have your hair,� Shaia heard Lily say just as she shut the book. James looked over at her, looking offended. �What�s wrong with my hair?� he demanded. Shaia daringly leaned over and tousled it with her free hand. �Need I say more?� His bright brown eyes narrowed in on Shaia�s, and without warning, he leapt over the couch and tackled her off onto the ground. Lily sat comfortably in the same place, watching with growing amusement. Shaia fought the muscular Seeker until she was pinned to the floor. His six years of expertly flying on his broomstick had paid off. His strong legs were holding down her arms. �For the love of Merlin, help me!� she shrieked as James cackled evilly. Lily only yawned and looked down at her fingernails. Shaia managed to muster up more of her strength and pushed James flat on his back. She scurried away, still crawling on the floor, and hid behind a chair. James, however, had jumped over the chair to tackle her. The portrait hole flew open and Sirius, followed closely by Peter, clambered in. Sirius looked at Lily and then started at the sound of a girlish screech coming from behind the chairs. He frowned. �What�s going on in here?� James glanced up from behind the chair, his hair a mess and his glasses askew. �Hullo, Sirius.� Sirius only half smiled at James, lifting his fingers and waving them a bit. Peter was sitting across from Lily, digging through his book bag. Whatever James was doing didn�t seem to concern him too much. Shaia got up and ran away from James again, toward the girls� dorm stairs. Her hair was even messier than James, if that was at all possible. He was breathing heavily, his hands on his hips. �You�re going to make me late for Quidditch practice, Miss Fletcher,� he stated angrily and then fixed his robes. �Then I suggest you get going, Mr. Potter,� she retorted, folding her arms across her chest and looking away haughtily. �Perhaps I should,� he said. Grabbing his forgotten broomstick behind the couch and kissing Lily on the cheek, he ran out of the common room. Shaia straightened her hair and walked back down into the safety of the common room. �I can�t believe you�re going to marry that git.� Lily only smirked at Shaia and watched as she collected her books and made to leave. �Where are you off to?� she called after her. �The library.� The common room became silent again as Lily stared at the portrait hole where her friend had just disappeared. She hadn�t realized it, but she wasn�t the only one in the room watching Shaia. Setting her books down on an empty table, Shaia settled in to start more studying. She realized that aside from spending time with her friends, studying was the only real comfort she got anymore. It was odd to have such unsettling feelings, but she was uncomfortably used to it. The uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach had intensified when Lily mentioned Shaia�s relationship with Remus post Hogwarts. What was going to happen? They had never really discussed it. Then again, Shaia had had to come to terms with a lot in the past couple of weeks. The last thing she had to worry about was whether or not she and Remus would get married after school. She flipped open a textbook and began to scrawl incessantly. Her mind was almost completely focused on her work when a quiet whisper sounded from behind her stacks of books. �Hello, beautiful.� Nearly dropping her inkbottle on the floor, Shaia jumped. She pushed aside a stack of books and saw Remus� face behind it, his chin on the table. He was staring up at her expectantly. �Hello,� she said dreamily. She leaned forward and pressed her lips up against his in a pleasant greeting. �I should sneak up on you more often,� he mused when she pulled away from him. �What are you doing?� �Oh, just studying.� �As usual.� She rolled her eyes at him. �Well, there�s not much better to do.� �How about spend some time with your boyfriend?� he asked, setting his chin in his hand casually. �Hmm� boyfriend�� she said, closing her books. �I don�t believe I have one of those.� �Oh, you don�t?� he asked, and Shaia shook her head. �Well, that�s odd.� �What�s odd?� she replied, stacking her books and pushing them off to the side. They stood up and Remus collected Shaia�s heavy stack of books in his arms. �I heard that you, Shaia Fletcher, were dating someone. Could have been my imagination.� �Might have been,� she answered, grabbing her unusually light book bag. �What qualities, pray tell, did this mysterious boyfriend of mine possess?� �Well,� Remus said, enjoying their playful bantering more and more each second. �I heard he�s very charming and very attractive.� �Interesting,� Shaia said, not being able to suppress a smile. �Go on.� �He�s a fantastic person, very popular, with lots of friends,� he told her, struggling under the weight of her books. �Really? Anything else?� Remus stopped in front of Shaia and let her books drop to the floor. He stared her in the eyes intensely. �He�s also crazy about you.� �Is he now?� she asked, trying to keep the pretense of the game going but feeling her knees weaken nonetheless. �He loves to kiss you,� Remus said, stepping closer. �And your hair looks much prettier down. In his eyes.� Shaia didn�t have a chance to retaliate as Remus pressed his lips up against hers. She fought for breath as she felt his hands climb steadily up her neck and into her hair. The next thing she knew, the clip holding her hair back had been removed, leaving her curly, dark blonde tresses to fall onto her shoulders. Remus lifted his lips off of hers for a moment and breathed, �That�s better.� They continued to kiss and found themselves wrapped up in a whirlwind of love and romance. Within a couple of hours, they were back in the Astronomy Tower. Shaia rolled over lazily and stared at the watch Remus had removed two hours prior. �I can�t believe it�s so late,� she commented. He was lying on his back, eyes closed, arms behind his head. He was drifting into a deep haze while Shaia squirmed restlessly next to him. She didn�t want to relax suddenly. She had to get up and do something. �We�ve been�� he coughed, �doing something for the past two hours,� he told her. �Just relax.� She was on her feet in a matter of minutes. �I just can�t� I have to do something� I don�t know what it is. You never cease to give me tons of energy.� He smiled idly at this. She had gotten up and walked over to the telescope, peering through. �Wow,� she breathed. �I�ve never seen the stars shine so bright,� she whispered. She was completely awestruck by the sight of the night sky. Remus saw the moonlight pour in on her, giving her an ethereal glow. She looked five times more beautiful than she already was. He couldn�t resist. He stood up and walked up behind her as she peered once again into the telescope. She sighed, pressing her hand lightly to her heart. Remus wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her in tightly. He bent down and kissed her bare shoulder tenderly as she let her head rest back in the curve of his neck. �I could die happy right now,� he sighed contentedly. �I wouldn�t be happy if you died right now,� she responded after a moment of silence in the dark. Remus laughed. He laughed so heartily that Shaia could feel it boom in his chest. He turned her around in his arms. Looking down at her face, all he could do was sigh. �I love you so much.� �I love you, too,� she said, staring into his face. She closed her eyes in rapture as he touched his hand to her cheek compassionately. He leaned in slowly, letting his eyes flutter close as he pressed his lips gently to hers. She took it in wholeheartedly, tasting his lips like they were a good wine, and allowed it to pour forth onto her. Their lips flowed together like beautiful music, and it was all Shaia could do not to scream for joy that she had found it. She had found love that would last forever. Remus pulled away. �It�s past midnight. We really should be getting back to the dorms.� Shaia pouted, making her face even more irresistible than before. �Okay,� she consented. They gathered up their things and made their way back to Gryffindor Tower. The Fat Lady looked most unpleased to see them at such a late hour, chided them for a few seconds, and then let them in. No one was in the common room that late, and Remus led Shaia over to the stairs. He wrapped her in his arms. �I had a great time tonight, love,� he whispered, kissing her cheek softly. �As did I,� she replied. They stared at each other blissfully for a few seconds before they kissed again. It was a pure kiss, one meant to tell each other they were done for the night. Remus touched her cheek with the back of his hand, smiled, and turned to leave. Shaia stayed in one spot for the next few minutes, watching Remus retreat. She sighed happily, leaning against the wall for a while and then eventually pulling herself away. However, she was just about to make her way up the stairs when she heard someone call her name behind her. �Shaia?� She jumped, turning around. Sirius had been sitting in a chair in the back corner. He had obviously been asleep. She frowned at him curiously. �Hullo, Sirius.� He stretched and walked toward her cautiously. �S-So,� he said, gulping. Ever since the incident between him and Remus, he had been unable to carry on a normal conversation with her. �Did you just get back?� She nodded, unsure of what else to do. She didn�t want to say much. She just wanted to go to bed. Sirius was no longer a person she wanted to keep in company. �Shaia, I have to talk to you about something,� he confessed. He leaned up against the wall, looking down at his feet. His shaggy black hair fell into his eyes and Shaia couldn�t help noticing how handsome he looked with his head titled so he could peek through his hair at her. What could it be? �Yes? What about?� He cleared his throat and averted her eyes. �I�m really sorry for everything that happened. I mean� I never intended on hitting Remus� it just kind of happened.� �You don�t need to apologize for that, Sirius. It�s all right.� �No, no, it�s not all right. I�m really sorry� I never meant to hurt you�� Shaia scoffed, daring to step closer to him. �I don�t know why you�re apologizing to me. I�m the one who broke your heart. I knew that you were in love with me for two years� but I just couldn�t help it. I fell in love with your best friend, and I just feel awful about it.� �Don�t apologize for that,� Sirius said, stepping closer to her as well. �It�s not your fault that you didn�t feel that way for me,� he sighed, running his fingers through his hair. �I shouldn�t have gone off the way I did. You don�t deserve that.� �Neither does Remus. Maybe he�s the one you should be apologize to,� she said, looking down. �I�ve already made my peace with him. I really needed to settle everything with you.� Shaia couldn�t help but stare at Sirius just then, the emotions spilling from his eyes. Was he crying? �I can�t help it if I feel this way about you, and neither can you. And I can�t help it if you don�t feel the same about me. I wish it was different, but that definitely won�t change anything. All I can ask of you is�� he sighed and took one step closer to her, seizing her hand in his. �Will you let me be there for you? Every step of the way? Can I be the friend you turn to when you need a shoulder to cry on?� Shaia was overwhelmed. A feeling she had never known now stirred inside her. What else could she do? She looked up at Sirius with large, wet eyes and nodded. A look of relief passed over his face and Shaia did something she hadn�t expected to. She reached up, touched Sirius� cheek briefly, and then wrapped her arms around his neck. He was taken aback by this, not quite sure how to receive it. After a long pause, he wrapped his arms around her frame and took her into his embrace. They relished in it for a few minutes before Shaia stepped away. �I�m glad to have you in my life, Sirius,� she breathed, and with that, she turned and fled up the stairs. Sirius could only watch as her beautiful dark blonde hair swished behind her as she ran out of sight. He sighed to himself, leaning up against the wall again. He looked down at his trembling fingers and rolled his eyes. He was in her life, and that was all that mattered. The best part was she was glad to have him there. It made his existence all the better. |