Chapter 2: Horrible News

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except Shannon and her family...the rest are rightfully owned by JK. Rowling. Also, if I get any important information wrong and someone notices it, just eMail me and I'll fix it, as long as it doesn't drastically change the storyline, then I'd have to change the whole thing...so ya :)

Shannon felt the light of the morning sun stream along her face and slowly opened her bright gray green eyes. She heard the faint chirping of small birds as they fluttered about in the tree outside her bedroom window. The morning mist lingered outside and covered the grass with a misty dew. Yawning and stretching her arms over her head, Shannon sat up and gazed lazily outside. 'Beautiful day' she thought to herself as she stood up and walked over to her vanity table. She looked at her reflection in the mirror that hung over the table and picked up a small brush that lay among other small brushes and makeup cases. Combing through her long, white blonde hair, she thought about what she needed to buy today at the market. 'Flour, sugar, salt..' she was naming off when she heard a knock at the door. Her mothers head poked in and smiled softly as she spoke. "Breakfast is ready Shannon," she said and walked out. Shannon smiled at the thought of food as her stomach grumbled hungrily. Setting down the brush, she walked out of her room and into the kitchen to eat breakfast. "I'm leaving to go to the market in a bit to pick up some things," Shannon said as she sat down. "Yes, we definitely need to stock up for the dinner in a few days," her mother said, winking at her drowsy daughter. Shannon ate hurriedly and rushed into the bathroom to take a quick shower. She stepped in and felt the steaming hot water flow down her body, indulging for a quick moment before washing her hair. She rushed out and dried herself off and got dressed, barely having time to dry her hair. Shannon grabbed a small purse with coins in it and jogged out of the house, kissing her mother on the cheek. She picked up a basket on the front porch and began to make the mile long walk to the market. While she was walking, Shannon pretended she was flying, soaring high above the trees on her broomstick. She wasn't allowed to fly outside of the magic world, or do any magic at all. So she was stuck pretending, acting like a little girl once again, jogging down the dirt road in her white cotton dress and silky long hair flowing behind her back. It had been 11 years since her last year at Hogwarts, but her memories of the school were far but lost. She still remembered every crack in the walls and where every classroom was located. She even remembered Severus, the boy with the pitch black eyes. Shannon had kept in close touch with her friends Lily and James, who were now happily married with a baby boy they named Harry. She was now heading into town, to buy things to help her mother bake for a large dinner they were preparing for a visit from Lily and James. When she reached the marketplace, she noticed all of the witches and wizards she knew to be around where she lived acting very strangely. A woman she knew ran up to her and was crying, shaking the newspaper in Shannon's face. "What? What happened?" she asked worriedly. She took the newspaper from the woman who was now kind of of gaining back her composure and read the headline and felt a stab of pain in her side.

Voldemort Strikes Again in London, Killing Two

The young couple was killed in their home just last

night by what is now known to

be the work of Voldemort. The two people have been

identified as Lily and James Potter,

a successful wizard and witch who graduated from Hogwarts

just a decade ago. They left

behind a baby boy, who miraculously came out of the ordeal with

nothing more then a scar. No

clues have been found as to how the boy survived. He is now

being placed into foster care.

Shannon clutched her side and struggled to comprehend what had happened. Her best friend and her husband, gone, just like that. Shannon sat down on a small bench and blocked out all sound around her, only hearing her rapid breathing and heart beating steadily faster. She thought of her friends, but then recalled something else she'd read in the article. 'Their baby, Harry, he's alive!' she thought with an almost sigh of relief that at least the baby was still alive. 'But oh...oh god Lily, James...' she thought to herself again, a wave of sadness sweeping over her. She picked up her basket and walked back to her house, to find it was empty. Her mother and father and sister must be out in the fields, she thought to herself as she began writing up a note. She decided she had to go to London. Though she didn't know why, something was calling her there, something important. She had to go. When she finished the note she read over it, her hand shaking uncontrollably.

Mum, Papa, and Heidi,

I've heard some horrible news, you can read it in this newspaper next to this note.

I must go to London right away, something in my heart is telling me to go there,

I don't know what but I must. I'm sorry, I will send you an owl when I get there.

Much Love, Shannon

She placed the note next to the newspaper showcasing the article about Lily and James. She ran into her room and packed her suitcase and grabbed her broomstick. It was a long way to the train station, but Shannon knew of a small bus that would be able to take her directly there. So she hurried out the door, slamming it behind her and running off into town to catch the next bus.