A/N: @_@ Just sat through Monsters, Inc. 2day. It was pretty good, only now I'm lasting on several mugs of coffee 2 keep me awake. Ah well, such is the life of a fanfiction author! And good grief is this chapter gonna be long!
Disclaimer: The song 'Queen of my Heart' belongs to the Almighty Westlife, they rock! Harry Potter, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling and various other stuff is mine.
Dedication: To lilmissperfect, thanks for your really sweet reviews! As to your question, Shannon's accent was originally Irish (when she lived in Ireland), then became more Italian when she and her dad moved there. She's still kept those accents patrially, but is sounding more an' more English as she continues to live there. It's sorta mixed and changes from time 2 time...hope that answers ur question!
Harry Potter and the Crystal of Dreams.
And so the final day of term had arrived. It signalled great relief from everybody- the students, for eventually escaping the dreaded classrooms, and the teachers, for not having to attempt (and inevitably fail) to hold a class's attention when all they were thinking about was the upcoming Dance.
Immediately after the last bell rang, dormitories became densely populated with worrying teenagers, each one intent on outdoing the next in the stakes of appearance.
The dormitory of the fifth-year Gryffindor girls was no exception. Of the four who were in there preparing themselves, Shannon alone appeared to be fairly calm. Even Hermione was acting more like Parvati and Lavender than herself, rushing about to get ready despite the three hours she had until seven o'clock. Shannon laughed as she dried her hair with a simple charm, pulling the towel off of her shoulders.
"For the love of Quidditch, calm down Hermione. You're runnin' around like a headless chicken." she giggled, shooing Tiah from her bed.
"But Shannon," she whined, staring hopelessly at herself in the mirror. "Look at my hair! How am I ever going to get this sleeked down in time?"
Shannon rolled her eyes with a smile. "Alright, come here, I'll do it for you."
Hermione moved over, setting down the bottle of Sleekeazy's hair potion on the bed and handing her brush to Shannon. Shannon dipped it into the bottle and began to brush through Hermione's bushy mane.
"I don't see why you're so nervous," she laughed. "He's probably more scared than you."
Parvati stopped on her way to her bed and looked over. "Who're you both going with again?"
"She's with Ron and I'm with Harry." Shannon replied.
"Oh. Harry." Parvati sighed as though the name brought back too many unpleasant memories. "Let's not go there. He's not interested in any girl he takes."
Shan stopped brushing Hermione's hair and met Parvati's gaze with an oddly challenging look in her eyes. "How would you know?"
"I was the one he took to the Yule Ball," Parvati said, very blatantly glad to share this information with his new date. "But he soon decided sitting at the side was more important, so I spent the Ball with a very cute boy from Beuxbatons." She smiled with a somewhat nasty veneer. "I daresay it'll be the same for you by the end of tonight."
"Three galleons says I can keep him by my side the entire time." Shannon offered coldly. "Or d'you reckon he'll definitely find me more interesting than you?"
Parvati scowled. "Three galleons." They moved over and shook on it.
"Who are you going with anyway?" Hermione asked, breaking the slightly uneasy silence.
"I'm going with Seamus again." Lavender enthused, beaming impossibly wide as she applied eyeshadow.
"Terry Boot." Parvati said, glancing frostily at Shannon as the Irish girl resumed sleeking down Hermione's hair. "The cute Ravenclaw with the gorgeous brown eyes. At least HE'LL pay attention to me."
Shannon just chuckled.
*****
The boys' dormitory didn't quite match up to the bustle of the girls', but the topic of conversation was the same- their dates.
"So, Harry, Ron, which girls are you going with?" Neville asked.
Ron grinned. "I'm taking Hermione this year. And he," He glanced at Harry and sniggered. "Is taking Shannon."
"What's so funny?" Harry asked, picking up his forest green robes from the bed. "At least she's good-looking."
"I guess she's pretty enough," Ron shrugged. "But she's also a maniac who'll probably blow something up. Guess you didn't think about that."
"Been there, discussed that." Harry laughed.
Dean grinned. "Ron, he could've done a lot worse. Seamus here is going with Lavender Brown again."
"Hey, you're really one to talk," Seamus snorted, turning to the other guys with a growing grin. "Dean couldn't even get a date from our year. He's going with some Ravenclaw girl from the fourth year, her brother's Keeper on the Quidditch team."
"What, Bryan Tolkein has a sister?" Harry said.
Dean blushed slightly. "Her name's Shadella." He raised an eyebrow at Seamus. "And she's one hell of a lot nicer than Lavender Brown. So who cares if she's a year younger?"
Seamus shook his head with a groan. "You've got it bad, Dean."
Harry and Ron laughed, and Harry asked Neville, "Are you taking Ginny again?"
"Er, yeah," he said. "I asked her just after we were told about the Dance."
"Seems like we're all sorted then." Ron muttered as they all resumed getting ready.
*****
Eventually, at ten minutes to seven o'clock, the common room began to fill up with the ready couples and people awaiting their dates. The single boys were mainly waiting at the bottom of the staircase leading to the girls' dormitories and then drifting away when their dates came down to join them.
After Lavender and Parvati had been down for a few minutes, Harry and Ron heard familiar voices and laughter. There was a clatter of footsteps and Hermione emerged, hair sleeked back into an elegant bun and looking very pretty in lilac dress robes. Harry had to kick Ron in the shins to make him stop gawking at her. Ron was looking good in his dark brown dress robes (courtesy of the twins), and the colour matched his eyes.
"Poor Ron, he looks like he's been electrocuted," somebody giggled from behind Harry. He turned to see Shannon standing there with her typical crooked grin and a sparkle in her teal eyes.
Her dress robes were bright blue, a colour that suited her well, with a plunge neck. Her golden studs had been replaced by silver hoops and her dark brown hair was patterned with blue butterfly clips. On her feet he could see a glimpse of a distinctive Shannon characteristic. Whereas almost every female foot in the room- including Hermione's- was clad in high heels of some sort, Shannon was still wearing her everyday trainers, although she'd cleaned them up with a Scouring Charm.
"You, uh, look really nice," he stuttered, hoping that he didn't look like Ron had at the moment. Her grin widened.
"Thanks. You don't look half bad yourself. Do you wanna start off for the Hall now?"
He nodded, and the quartet exited the common room along with several other energized students and began on their way to the Hall. They passed several of the ghosts, decked out in their very best ethereal finery for the occasion, and even almost encounted Peeves, who was cackling down a side corridor as he made his way to wreck havoc in some of the now-deserted classrooms.
Eventually, the chattering multitudes reached the colourful Entrance Hall, where inter-house coupls began to meet up. Harry and Shannon wandered through the students, weaving their way slowly towards the front of the room beside the doors. Suddenly, Shannon stopped and grabbed Harry's hand.
"Wait a moment."
Harry looked back at her, finding her face a mixture of amusement and mock-horror as she began to laugh silently. She gestured helplessly over to the side and he glanced to where she did, wondering apprehensively what he would see.
What he saw was Draco Malfoy, decked out again in his black velvet robes with the high vicar-like collar, with the taller Pansy Parkinson clinging to his arm. Pansy herself was dressed up in the frilliest pink robes that Harry had ever seen in his life, complete with a pink tinsel scrunchie wreathing her high ponytail. He chuckled too as Shannon leaned over and whispered in his ear, "If she had any more frills on that dress, I swear she'd pass for one of my Nana Hope's china dolls."
Looking at Shannon then, he realised that even if she wasn't the belle of the ball, she looked at least a lot more alive than most of the picture-perfect mannequin-like girls around. Her eyes sparkled with excitement still and her grin was probably permanently attacthed to her face.
"Students of Hogwarts!" Everybody turned to see McGonagall, again wearing her old tartan robes, standing in front of the doors, having slipped in unnoticed. She presented them with a very small, rare smile. "I declare this year's Winter Dance open!"
There was a cheer as the doors opened and everybody poured in. The Great Hall had been decorated sometime after their last class, as they now found the walls covered in soft drapes of light blue and white that cascaded from the enchanted ceiling. Very tiny silvery snow flakes, definitely magical (due to them not being at all cold), fluttered slowly from the roof which showed an almost impossibly clear night sky dotted with twinkling stars.
As soon as the doors shut, a song began to play, supposedly coming from all around them- yet another charm. Harry, realising that he was still holding Shannon's hand, turned to her and said, "Do you want to dance?"
"Sure." She shrugged and smiled sweetly as they walked out onto the dance floor together, along with several other couples.
All night they danced or sat and chatted, enjoying themselves immensely. Ron and Hermione they barely saw, Shannon claiming that her matchmaking skills had really paid off this time. The hours seemed to fly by, and in no time at all the final dance had come.
Shannon looked up from the discussion on Quidditch that she, Harry, Dean, Shadella Tolkien (a pretty girl with large green eyes and long mahogany hair), Seamus and Lavender were engaged in as the opening chords struck up and happy recognition shone in her face.
"I don't believe it!" she almost cried. "They're playing Westlife!"
"Who's that?" Lavender asked, eyebrows raised.
Shannon rolled her eyes. "Only the greatest Irish muggle band in the history of anything." To Harry, she asked, "Will you dance?"
"OK." With that, the three couples split to all go out onto the dance floor just as the lyrics began.
So here we stand.
In our secret place.
Where the sound of the crowd is so far away.
Harry put his arms around Shannon's waist again and she put hers around his neck.
And you take my hand.
And it feels like home.
We both understand
It's where we belong.
Shannon was singing along quietly to the words, as she obviously knew them by heart. She grinned up at Harry (he was a few inches taller than her) and said, "I love this song. My mate Elsie's always singing it now."
So how do I say, do I say goodbye?
We both have our dreams.
We both wanna fly.
So let's take tonight
To carry us through
The lonely times.
Not so far away, Ron and Hermione were dancing together, lost in a secret conversation. Obviously a close moment. Harry wrapped his amrs a bit tighter around Shannon's waist, drawing her closer to him. She rested her head on his shoulder, still singing along under her breath.
I'll always look back, as I walk away.
This memory will last for eternity.
And all of our tears will be lost in the rain
When I find my way back
To your arms again.
And until that day you know you are
The Queen of my Heart.
For a second time he noticed her prettiness, wondering why he'd only been the second person to ask her here. She'd definitely been more fun than Parvati Patil, who was now glaring at Shannon with narrowed eyes as she danced with Terry Boot.
Shannon noticed Parvati's glower and raised her head from Harry's shoulder briefly to shoot her a sarcastic smile and a small wave. With a laugh she settled back down.
So let's take tonight, never let go.
Whilst dancing we'll kiss like there's no tomorrow.
As the stars sparkle down, like a diamond ring
I'll treasure this moment till we meet again.
The night was undoubtably perfect. The beautiful night sky stretched above the dancing couples, the minute hoary snowflakes still falling slowly. Harry brushed a couple away from where they had settled in Shannon's dark hair. She glanced up at him, an eyebrow quirked, and he showed her the decoration in his hand as a silent explanation.
But no matter how far
Away you may be
I just close my eyes and you're in my dreams.
And there you will be
Until we meet.
She shook her head with a smile and let her eyes wander around the room to everyone else, not realising that Harry was watching her all the time. She turned her head back and found her face a lot closer to Harry's than it had been previously. They had both unintentionally moved closer.
I'll always look back, as I walk away.
This memory will last for eternity.
And all of our tears will be lost in the rain
When I find my way back
To your arms again.
And until that day you know you are
The Queen of my Heart.
Harry swallowed hard. Her teal eyes were like whirlpools, full of never-ending uncertainty and the slightest hints of awkwardness lurking there. She almost started to shake when he leaned a bit closer, knowing what he was about to do. Harry didn't even know what he was doing himself. He just obeyed his instincts.
I'll always look back, as I walk away.
This memory will last for eternity.
And all of our tears will be lost in the rain
When I find my way back
To your arms again.
And until that day you know you are
The Queen of my Heart.
Shannon pulled herself back from him, not enough for everyone else to notice, but just enough so that he knew she disagreed. She shook her head again, but this time there was no smile.
"Sorry." she whispered. "You don't really wanna..."
The question remained unanswered, but they both knew how it ended.
"Yeah," he agreed. "I didn't mean to..."
The Queen of my Heart.
She smiled, completely at ease again as they broke apart. "That's fine. Forget about it."
*****
That night, when Shannon entered her dormitory, she was met by a scowling Parvati.
A smile pulled Shannon's lips into its customary curve. "Three galleons, I think."
Parvati slammed the money down into the Irish girl's open hand and stormed away. Shannon laughed and started to get ready for bed- because tomorrow, she'd be straight on the Hogwarts Express heading home.
*****
That night, when Harry entered his dormitory, he was cursing himself for being so idiotic. Of all the girls he could have attempted to kiss, why Shannon?
He changed for bed, and as he climbed in, realised that there was a parcel at the end of his bed. When he picked it up, a card fell out. He opened it, finding it to be from Shannon. It read:
Dear Harry,
Happy Christmas! Open this before the 25th, and I'll curse you so bad that you'll not be able to sit down comfortably for the next thirty years. Just kidding, have a great time!
Love, Shannon.
Suddenly, he noticed something that had fallen out of the card. He picked it up and looked carefully at it. A clear plastic bag taped securely around some glittering green dust. Floo powder. Then he noticed another note on the heavily decorated card.
P.S. If you're bored and have nothing else to do, use the Floo to get to my house some time. The name you have to shout is 'Avalon House'.
*****
Hannah Parks bounced excitedly on her tip-toes as she clung to her parents' hands, trying to peer around the crowds for a glimpse of the arriving students.
"Hannah Chira Parks," her father laughed. "You're bouncing around like a little jack-in-the-box. Calm down."
She continued to glance around the packed station, then finally looked up into her father's sea-green eyes, still bobbing up and down. "When's Shanny going to be here?" she demanded impatiently.
With another laugh, Joe Parks looked towards the barrier between platforms nine and ten just in time to see the first Hogwarts students emerging. "They're just coming out now, Hannah, she'll be here in a second."
"Be patient, Hannah," her mother said, shaking her head at the little girl with a smile. Hannah bounced excitedly, occasionally glancing at her father to see any sign that her big sister had arrived.
"Ah yes," he said eventually, "Here she is now!"
Hannah quickly detatched her hands from those of her parents and sprinted off in the direction that her father had been looking as fast as her tiny legs would carry her, yelling out, "Shanny! Shanny!"
Finally, she saw her sister, dressed up in muggle clothes and pushing her luggage trolley. Shannon's eyes skimmed the groups rapidly before she caught sight of her beloved baby sister.
"Hannah!" she yelled in pure delight, scooping up the child in her arms and hugging her tightly. Hannah returned the hug, and after a moment, Shannon took to pushing her trolley once more towards her dad and stepmother, balancing her sister on her hip. She put her down to hug the adults as they did her.
"Shannon Parks, are you not cold?" Mr. Parks said exasperatedly, shaking his head at the battered denim jacket she was wearing. "We're not in Italy now!"
Shannon grinned at her dad and tugged the jacket around her. "What can I say? I just don't feel the cold."
"Did you have a good journey?" Julianna asked, taking the trolley from her stepdaughter.
"Yeah, pretty much. But it's only half done at the moment. Let's go home!" she said. Hannah cheered, clinging tight to her sister's hand. Shannon picked her up again, and together the family left Kings Cross station, Shannon starting on her tale of pranks, homework, and Quidditch.
Nobody had noticed the man standing nearby, listening to every word they said. The man who moved away unnoticed into a remote corner when they left and Disapparated where no eyes could see him.
*****
Phew! Taken me ages, that has. Please review now and tell me what you think- next chapter up by next weekend, I think. Thanx!
Disclaimer: The song 'Queen of my Heart' belongs to the Almighty Westlife, they rock! Harry Potter, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling and various other stuff is mine.
Dedication: To lilmissperfect, thanks for your really sweet reviews! As to your question, Shannon's accent was originally Irish (when she lived in Ireland), then became more Italian when she and her dad moved there. She's still kept those accents patrially, but is sounding more an' more English as she continues to live there. It's sorta mixed and changes from time 2 time...hope that answers ur question!
Harry Potter and the Crystal of Dreams.
And so the final day of term had arrived. It signalled great relief from everybody- the students, for eventually escaping the dreaded classrooms, and the teachers, for not having to attempt (and inevitably fail) to hold a class's attention when all they were thinking about was the upcoming Dance.
Immediately after the last bell rang, dormitories became densely populated with worrying teenagers, each one intent on outdoing the next in the stakes of appearance.
The dormitory of the fifth-year Gryffindor girls was no exception. Of the four who were in there preparing themselves, Shannon alone appeared to be fairly calm. Even Hermione was acting more like Parvati and Lavender than herself, rushing about to get ready despite the three hours she had until seven o'clock. Shannon laughed as she dried her hair with a simple charm, pulling the towel off of her shoulders.
"For the love of Quidditch, calm down Hermione. You're runnin' around like a headless chicken." she giggled, shooing Tiah from her bed.
"But Shannon," she whined, staring hopelessly at herself in the mirror. "Look at my hair! How am I ever going to get this sleeked down in time?"
Shannon rolled her eyes with a smile. "Alright, come here, I'll do it for you."
Hermione moved over, setting down the bottle of Sleekeazy's hair potion on the bed and handing her brush to Shannon. Shannon dipped it into the bottle and began to brush through Hermione's bushy mane.
"I don't see why you're so nervous," she laughed. "He's probably more scared than you."
Parvati stopped on her way to her bed and looked over. "Who're you both going with again?"
"She's with Ron and I'm with Harry." Shannon replied.
"Oh. Harry." Parvati sighed as though the name brought back too many unpleasant memories. "Let's not go there. He's not interested in any girl he takes."
Shan stopped brushing Hermione's hair and met Parvati's gaze with an oddly challenging look in her eyes. "How would you know?"
"I was the one he took to the Yule Ball," Parvati said, very blatantly glad to share this information with his new date. "But he soon decided sitting at the side was more important, so I spent the Ball with a very cute boy from Beuxbatons." She smiled with a somewhat nasty veneer. "I daresay it'll be the same for you by the end of tonight."
"Three galleons says I can keep him by my side the entire time." Shannon offered coldly. "Or d'you reckon he'll definitely find me more interesting than you?"
Parvati scowled. "Three galleons." They moved over and shook on it.
"Who are you going with anyway?" Hermione asked, breaking the slightly uneasy silence.
"I'm going with Seamus again." Lavender enthused, beaming impossibly wide as she applied eyeshadow.
"Terry Boot." Parvati said, glancing frostily at Shannon as the Irish girl resumed sleeking down Hermione's hair. "The cute Ravenclaw with the gorgeous brown eyes. At least HE'LL pay attention to me."
Shannon just chuckled.
*****
The boys' dormitory didn't quite match up to the bustle of the girls', but the topic of conversation was the same- their dates.
"So, Harry, Ron, which girls are you going with?" Neville asked.
Ron grinned. "I'm taking Hermione this year. And he," He glanced at Harry and sniggered. "Is taking Shannon."
"What's so funny?" Harry asked, picking up his forest green robes from the bed. "At least she's good-looking."
"I guess she's pretty enough," Ron shrugged. "But she's also a maniac who'll probably blow something up. Guess you didn't think about that."
"Been there, discussed that." Harry laughed.
Dean grinned. "Ron, he could've done a lot worse. Seamus here is going with Lavender Brown again."
"Hey, you're really one to talk," Seamus snorted, turning to the other guys with a growing grin. "Dean couldn't even get a date from our year. He's going with some Ravenclaw girl from the fourth year, her brother's Keeper on the Quidditch team."
"What, Bryan Tolkein has a sister?" Harry said.
Dean blushed slightly. "Her name's Shadella." He raised an eyebrow at Seamus. "And she's one hell of a lot nicer than Lavender Brown. So who cares if she's a year younger?"
Seamus shook his head with a groan. "You've got it bad, Dean."
Harry and Ron laughed, and Harry asked Neville, "Are you taking Ginny again?"
"Er, yeah," he said. "I asked her just after we were told about the Dance."
"Seems like we're all sorted then." Ron muttered as they all resumed getting ready.
*****
Eventually, at ten minutes to seven o'clock, the common room began to fill up with the ready couples and people awaiting their dates. The single boys were mainly waiting at the bottom of the staircase leading to the girls' dormitories and then drifting away when their dates came down to join them.
After Lavender and Parvati had been down for a few minutes, Harry and Ron heard familiar voices and laughter. There was a clatter of footsteps and Hermione emerged, hair sleeked back into an elegant bun and looking very pretty in lilac dress robes. Harry had to kick Ron in the shins to make him stop gawking at her. Ron was looking good in his dark brown dress robes (courtesy of the twins), and the colour matched his eyes.
"Poor Ron, he looks like he's been electrocuted," somebody giggled from behind Harry. He turned to see Shannon standing there with her typical crooked grin and a sparkle in her teal eyes.
Her dress robes were bright blue, a colour that suited her well, with a plunge neck. Her golden studs had been replaced by silver hoops and her dark brown hair was patterned with blue butterfly clips. On her feet he could see a glimpse of a distinctive Shannon characteristic. Whereas almost every female foot in the room- including Hermione's- was clad in high heels of some sort, Shannon was still wearing her everyday trainers, although she'd cleaned them up with a Scouring Charm.
"You, uh, look really nice," he stuttered, hoping that he didn't look like Ron had at the moment. Her grin widened.
"Thanks. You don't look half bad yourself. Do you wanna start off for the Hall now?"
He nodded, and the quartet exited the common room along with several other energized students and began on their way to the Hall. They passed several of the ghosts, decked out in their very best ethereal finery for the occasion, and even almost encounted Peeves, who was cackling down a side corridor as he made his way to wreck havoc in some of the now-deserted classrooms.
Eventually, the chattering multitudes reached the colourful Entrance Hall, where inter-house coupls began to meet up. Harry and Shannon wandered through the students, weaving their way slowly towards the front of the room beside the doors. Suddenly, Shannon stopped and grabbed Harry's hand.
"Wait a moment."
Harry looked back at her, finding her face a mixture of amusement and mock-horror as she began to laugh silently. She gestured helplessly over to the side and he glanced to where she did, wondering apprehensively what he would see.
What he saw was Draco Malfoy, decked out again in his black velvet robes with the high vicar-like collar, with the taller Pansy Parkinson clinging to his arm. Pansy herself was dressed up in the frilliest pink robes that Harry had ever seen in his life, complete with a pink tinsel scrunchie wreathing her high ponytail. He chuckled too as Shannon leaned over and whispered in his ear, "If she had any more frills on that dress, I swear she'd pass for one of my Nana Hope's china dolls."
Looking at Shannon then, he realised that even if she wasn't the belle of the ball, she looked at least a lot more alive than most of the picture-perfect mannequin-like girls around. Her eyes sparkled with excitement still and her grin was probably permanently attacthed to her face.
"Students of Hogwarts!" Everybody turned to see McGonagall, again wearing her old tartan robes, standing in front of the doors, having slipped in unnoticed. She presented them with a very small, rare smile. "I declare this year's Winter Dance open!"
There was a cheer as the doors opened and everybody poured in. The Great Hall had been decorated sometime after their last class, as they now found the walls covered in soft drapes of light blue and white that cascaded from the enchanted ceiling. Very tiny silvery snow flakes, definitely magical (due to them not being at all cold), fluttered slowly from the roof which showed an almost impossibly clear night sky dotted with twinkling stars.
As soon as the doors shut, a song began to play, supposedly coming from all around them- yet another charm. Harry, realising that he was still holding Shannon's hand, turned to her and said, "Do you want to dance?"
"Sure." She shrugged and smiled sweetly as they walked out onto the dance floor together, along with several other couples.
All night they danced or sat and chatted, enjoying themselves immensely. Ron and Hermione they barely saw, Shannon claiming that her matchmaking skills had really paid off this time. The hours seemed to fly by, and in no time at all the final dance had come.
Shannon looked up from the discussion on Quidditch that she, Harry, Dean, Shadella Tolkien (a pretty girl with large green eyes and long mahogany hair), Seamus and Lavender were engaged in as the opening chords struck up and happy recognition shone in her face.
"I don't believe it!" she almost cried. "They're playing Westlife!"
"Who's that?" Lavender asked, eyebrows raised.
Shannon rolled her eyes. "Only the greatest Irish muggle band in the history of anything." To Harry, she asked, "Will you dance?"
"OK." With that, the three couples split to all go out onto the dance floor just as the lyrics began.
So here we stand.
In our secret place.
Where the sound of the crowd is so far away.
Harry put his arms around Shannon's waist again and she put hers around his neck.
And you take my hand.
And it feels like home.
We both understand
It's where we belong.
Shannon was singing along quietly to the words, as she obviously knew them by heart. She grinned up at Harry (he was a few inches taller than her) and said, "I love this song. My mate Elsie's always singing it now."
So how do I say, do I say goodbye?
We both have our dreams.
We both wanna fly.
So let's take tonight
To carry us through
The lonely times.
Not so far away, Ron and Hermione were dancing together, lost in a secret conversation. Obviously a close moment. Harry wrapped his amrs a bit tighter around Shannon's waist, drawing her closer to him. She rested her head on his shoulder, still singing along under her breath.
I'll always look back, as I walk away.
This memory will last for eternity.
And all of our tears will be lost in the rain
When I find my way back
To your arms again.
And until that day you know you are
The Queen of my Heart.
For a second time he noticed her prettiness, wondering why he'd only been the second person to ask her here. She'd definitely been more fun than Parvati Patil, who was now glaring at Shannon with narrowed eyes as she danced with Terry Boot.
Shannon noticed Parvati's glower and raised her head from Harry's shoulder briefly to shoot her a sarcastic smile and a small wave. With a laugh she settled back down.
So let's take tonight, never let go.
Whilst dancing we'll kiss like there's no tomorrow.
As the stars sparkle down, like a diamond ring
I'll treasure this moment till we meet again.
The night was undoubtably perfect. The beautiful night sky stretched above the dancing couples, the minute hoary snowflakes still falling slowly. Harry brushed a couple away from where they had settled in Shannon's dark hair. She glanced up at him, an eyebrow quirked, and he showed her the decoration in his hand as a silent explanation.
But no matter how far
Away you may be
I just close my eyes and you're in my dreams.
And there you will be
Until we meet.
She shook her head with a smile and let her eyes wander around the room to everyone else, not realising that Harry was watching her all the time. She turned her head back and found her face a lot closer to Harry's than it had been previously. They had both unintentionally moved closer.
I'll always look back, as I walk away.
This memory will last for eternity.
And all of our tears will be lost in the rain
When I find my way back
To your arms again.
And until that day you know you are
The Queen of my Heart.
Harry swallowed hard. Her teal eyes were like whirlpools, full of never-ending uncertainty and the slightest hints of awkwardness lurking there. She almost started to shake when he leaned a bit closer, knowing what he was about to do. Harry didn't even know what he was doing himself. He just obeyed his instincts.
I'll always look back, as I walk away.
This memory will last for eternity.
And all of our tears will be lost in the rain
When I find my way back
To your arms again.
And until that day you know you are
The Queen of my Heart.
Shannon pulled herself back from him, not enough for everyone else to notice, but just enough so that he knew she disagreed. She shook her head again, but this time there was no smile.
"Sorry." she whispered. "You don't really wanna..."
The question remained unanswered, but they both knew how it ended.
"Yeah," he agreed. "I didn't mean to..."
The Queen of my Heart.
She smiled, completely at ease again as they broke apart. "That's fine. Forget about it."
*****
That night, when Shannon entered her dormitory, she was met by a scowling Parvati.
A smile pulled Shannon's lips into its customary curve. "Three galleons, I think."
Parvati slammed the money down into the Irish girl's open hand and stormed away. Shannon laughed and started to get ready for bed- because tomorrow, she'd be straight on the Hogwarts Express heading home.
*****
That night, when Harry entered his dormitory, he was cursing himself for being so idiotic. Of all the girls he could have attempted to kiss, why Shannon?
He changed for bed, and as he climbed in, realised that there was a parcel at the end of his bed. When he picked it up, a card fell out. He opened it, finding it to be from Shannon. It read:
Dear Harry,
Happy Christmas! Open this before the 25th, and I'll curse you so bad that you'll not be able to sit down comfortably for the next thirty years. Just kidding, have a great time!
Love, Shannon.
Suddenly, he noticed something that had fallen out of the card. He picked it up and looked carefully at it. A clear plastic bag taped securely around some glittering green dust. Floo powder. Then he noticed another note on the heavily decorated card.
P.S. If you're bored and have nothing else to do, use the Floo to get to my house some time. The name you have to shout is 'Avalon House'.
*****
Hannah Parks bounced excitedly on her tip-toes as she clung to her parents' hands, trying to peer around the crowds for a glimpse of the arriving students.
"Hannah Chira Parks," her father laughed. "You're bouncing around like a little jack-in-the-box. Calm down."
She continued to glance around the packed station, then finally looked up into her father's sea-green eyes, still bobbing up and down. "When's Shanny going to be here?" she demanded impatiently.
With another laugh, Joe Parks looked towards the barrier between platforms nine and ten just in time to see the first Hogwarts students emerging. "They're just coming out now, Hannah, she'll be here in a second."
"Be patient, Hannah," her mother said, shaking her head at the little girl with a smile. Hannah bounced excitedly, occasionally glancing at her father to see any sign that her big sister had arrived.
"Ah yes," he said eventually, "Here she is now!"
Hannah quickly detatched her hands from those of her parents and sprinted off in the direction that her father had been looking as fast as her tiny legs would carry her, yelling out, "Shanny! Shanny!"
Finally, she saw her sister, dressed up in muggle clothes and pushing her luggage trolley. Shannon's eyes skimmed the groups rapidly before she caught sight of her beloved baby sister.
"Hannah!" she yelled in pure delight, scooping up the child in her arms and hugging her tightly. Hannah returned the hug, and after a moment, Shannon took to pushing her trolley once more towards her dad and stepmother, balancing her sister on her hip. She put her down to hug the adults as they did her.
"Shannon Parks, are you not cold?" Mr. Parks said exasperatedly, shaking his head at the battered denim jacket she was wearing. "We're not in Italy now!"
Shannon grinned at her dad and tugged the jacket around her. "What can I say? I just don't feel the cold."
"Did you have a good journey?" Julianna asked, taking the trolley from her stepdaughter.
"Yeah, pretty much. But it's only half done at the moment. Let's go home!" she said. Hannah cheered, clinging tight to her sister's hand. Shannon picked her up again, and together the family left Kings Cross station, Shannon starting on her tale of pranks, homework, and Quidditch.
Nobody had noticed the man standing nearby, listening to every word they said. The man who moved away unnoticed into a remote corner when they left and Disapparated where no eyes could see him.
*****
Phew! Taken me ages, that has. Please review now and tell me what you think- next chapter up by next weekend, I think. Thanx!