The pants thatinspired the onesShannon is wearing can be found at under pants. I couldn't really figure out how to describe them but I tried my best and I thought everyone would like to know what I was trying to go for. Enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 22
September passed by quickly and so did the first half of October. Harry and Ron were busy with Quidditch practice so they left Hermione to talk with Shannon about continuing their conversation from the Astronomy tower so many nights ago. But Shannon was making that a quite difficult task in itself.
"So she just vanished when you followed her around the corner?" asked Harry at lunch.
"Pretty much yes," said Hermione. "She must have transfigured or has an invisibility cloak with her."
"We'll talk to her sooner or later," said Harry standing up. "Let's go, Ron."
"Where are you two going?" asked Hermione as Ron stood up.
"We have to practice for Quidditch," said Ron throwing on his jacket. "Big game coming up."
"I'll see you both in class then," Hermione said as they left.
"Who are we playing against?" asked Ron once again.
"Hufflepuff," said Harry as they entered the Quidditch pitch. "Who's that?"
Before them was a figure sitting on a broom floating inches above the ground. As Harry and Ron watched, the broom lifted the figure higher and higher into the air. The gentle breeze played with the person's hair as they floated back towards the ground. With a single motion, the person jumped from the broom about a foot from the ground. Harry hurried forward as the person stumbled and nearly fell.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked jogging forward.
"I'm fine," said the person turning around.
"Shannon," said Harry looking at their face. "What are you doing out here?"
Shannon was dressed in a pair of black baggy-legged pants, a tight black tank top, a pair of black boots, and a black beanie. The pants she wore, had several zippers and chains criss-crossed across each leg. Her long black hair was pulled into a ponytail at the base of her skull. With the dark make-up she wore, it made her appear sleep deprived.
"Hello, Harry," Shannon said with a smile. "Just flying. Helps me let out steam. You?"
"Quidditch practice," said Harry as Ron joined them.
"Your both really good," said Shannon. "I heard that Ron use to be really bad."
"Yeah," said Ron watching the broom. "Is your broom enchanted?"
Shannon looked behind her at the still floating broom. "No," she said. "It's always done that. Floats there at just the right height so if I want to lean on it I can."
"Cool," said Ron.
"So what kind of things can you guys do on your brooms?" asked Shannon. "Flips? Dives? Spins?"
"That's all Harry's things," said Ron. "I just usually fall off my broom."
"Or at least you use to," laughed Harry. "What can you do?"
"I can stand on my broom," Shannon said. "Hang upside down. Flips, dives, spins, and maybe something else but that's all I can think of."
"How do you hang upside down?" said Ron.
Shannon smiled as she sat with both legs on one side. The broom lifted into the air, several inches above Harry and Ron's heads. She leaned back and allowed her body to fall. As her body fell, her knees hooked on the broom and there she hung in the air. The guys were in aw as they watched her.
"It's easy," she said with a smile. "The other way is harder."
They watched as she swung herself back onto her broom. Once she had one leg on each side, she swung to one side and flipped upside down. Harry looked at her legs, noticing they were crossed and keeping her from falling to the ground.
"Cool," said Ron.
"But this way makes it harder to get back onto your broom," she said.
The broom lowered to the ground as Shannon allowed her arms to fall down. As her hands touched the ground, she uncrossed her legs and stood up. But as the blood rushed towards her legs, she fell backwards onto the ground.
"You okay?" asked Harry kneeling beside her.
"Blood rushing from my head," she laughed. "I stood up too fast."
"Do you want to practice with us?" asked Harry.
"I don't play Quidditch," Shannon said standing up. "In fact we don't have Quidditch in America."
"It's easy," said Harry. "All I'm doing is trying to make a goal while Ron tries to stop me."
"Sounds easy enough," said Shannon.
They all climbed onto their brooms and floated into the air. Once Ron took his place in front of the goals, Harry tossed Shannon the Quaffle.
"Just throw it into one of the hoops," Harry said. "And try to get it past Ron."
"Okay," Shannon said.
As she threw the ball, Ron dove and caught it.
"Throw it just a little harder," said Ron tossing it back to her.
This time, Shannon was able to throw the Quaffle past Ron and through the right goal. Ron retrieved the ball and tossed it to Harry. They practiced for nearly half an hour before Shannon had to go. Ron and Harry remained outside practicing for nearly two hours, before going back to the castle for class.
Before dinner was even halfway over, Ron disappeared back to the common room to finish his homework from Dark Arts leaving Harry and Hermione alone. Ginny took Ron's seat and slipped her hand into Harry's.
"Hey, Harry," whispered Ginny leaning towards him.
"Yeah," said Harry.
"Thanks for pretending to be my boyfriend," Ginny whispered. "You're a really good guy."
"Do you need my help anymore?" asked Harry.
Ginny shook her head. "No, Anthony has finally left me alone," she said.
"Your welcome," Harry said kissing the side of her head. "Glad I could help."
"I've got to go finish some homework," said Ginny. "I'll see you later."
"Bye," said Harry as she left.
"What did she need?" asked Hermione.
"To thank me for helping her with her guy problem," Harry said.
"So you're done helping her," Hermione said.
"Yeah," said Harry.
"Since we don't have Ron hanging around us, do you want to go somewhere?" whispered Hermione.
"Room of Requirements?" whispered Harry with a grin.
Hermione smiled and left. Harry took one last sip of pumpkin juice before he stood up and left the great hall. He hurried down the hall making sure not to run into any unwanted person. As he turned the last corner towards the Room of Requirements, a strong hand rested on his shoulder and spun him around putting him face to face with Ron.
"Ron," said Harry. "You scared me."
"Sorry, mate," said Ron. "Why are you heading to the Room of Requirements?"
"I was just walking," lied Harry. "Not really paying attention to where I go. Thought you were doing homework."
"I was until I realized I didn't understand a thing," said Ron. "I came to ask if I could get your help since your done."
"Yeah sure," said Harry following Ron back to the common room.
Before Harry turned the corner he looked down the hall hoping to see Hermione, but saw nothing. Excuses flew through his mind as they got closer and closer to the common room. But none were good enough to get him away from Ron and back to the young woman waiting for him. As they stepped into the common room, Harry saw Hermione sitting with Ginny beside the fire.
"Everything's upstairs so I'll run up and get it," said Ron disappearing upstairs.
"Harry," said Hermione rushing to him. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there. Ginny stopped me and asked for my help."
"Don't worry," said Harry. "I didn't make it to the door before Ron found me. I'm glad neither of us ended up waiting for the other."
"Me too," said Hermione.
"Harry, what do you think?" asked Ginny.
"Huh?" said Harry.
"Her hair," Hermione said.
Ginny's hair was pulled back into several layers instead of her usual ponytail.
"It's cute," said Harry with a smile. "Who's the lucky guy?"
"No one," said Ginny returning the smile. "I thought I would try something different with my hair."
Harry smiled.
"Okay, Harry," said Ron jumping the last step.
"What do you have so far?" asked Harry.
Ron handed him a piece of parchment and sat down in one of the chairs beside the fireplace. Harry quickly read what he had written.
"Your doing fine," said Harry handing Ron the paper. "You're almost done, too. Just mention something about the Vampires."
"Okay," Ron said sitting down beside the fire.
Harry and Hermione watched as their young red headed friend worked feverishly to finish his homework. Ginny shook her head and disappeared upstairs with a couple other sixth year girls. Hermione sat down in the chair closest to the fire as Harry sat beside her. The fire blazed and glittered like tiny red and gold creatures dancing for joy.
"I wonder what we're going to do this year for Halloween," said Hermione not looking away from the fire.
"I dunno," Harry said. "But I bet it'll be fun."
"Dumbledore and Shannon will make sure of that," Hermione said looking at him.
"How's this, Harry?" asked Ron handing Harry his homework.
Harry scanned the paper and said, "You're done."
"Good," Ron said rolling up the parchment. "I'm going to bed. See you both tomorrow."
"Night," Harry said as Ron disappeared upstairs. "Finally."
"I don't think we're going to be able to sneak away anytime soon," Hermione sighed. "Not with you having Quidditch practice and games."
"We'll find a time," said Harry with a smile. "It may take a while but it'll happen. You look tired why don't you go to bed and get some sleep."
"I should," said Hermione standing up. "Night, Harry."
Hermione kissed Harry quickly on the cheek before dashing upstairs. Harry smiled before going to bed himself. As he entered the dorm room, he saw that everyone was sound asleep already. Quietly and quickly, Harry changed and climbed into bed. Before he knew he too was sound asleep and dreaming of a young woman who he was sure was dreaming of him.
The next morning dawned dark and cloudy. Black rain clouds hung in the air blotting out the sun as an icy breeze played with the leaves outside. Harry descended down the stairs from the boys' dorm rooms and saw Hermione standing in front of the fire. Dean and Seamus bounced down the stairs behind him giving a cheery hello as they left for breakfast.
"Mornin', Harry," said Dean.
"Hello, Harry," Seamus said as they left.
"Hey guys," Harry said walking over to Hermione. "Bit chilly today, isn't it?"
"Just a bit," said Hermione with a warm smile.
"If I wasn't afraid of someone catching us I'd wrap my arms around you," Harry said, "and help keep you warm."
Hermione giggled at the thought and said, "Just seeing you keeps me warm. Shall we go to breakfast?"
"Yeah," said Harry leading her out of the common room. "Have you seen Ron this morning?"
"No," Hermione said. "Why he wasn't in bed when you got up?"
"No," Harry said. "His bed was empty and the guys haven't seen him either."
"Maybe he went to breakfast already," suggested Hermione as they descended the main stairs.
Harry shrugged as they followed a group of Ravenclaw second years into the great hall. Sure enough there was Ron sitting at the Gryffindor table between Dean and Neville. Hermione and Harry quickly sat down between Ginny and Seamus. They looked up at the staff table and saw Shannon.
She wore a pair of dark blue low rider jeans, a tight black knit sweater, and a pair of black three-inch heeled boots. Her long hair was pulled tightly into a bun on the top of her head, held in place with black chopsticks, and several small silver hair clips were placed around the bun holding any stray hairs in place. Instead of her short nails, she had her long dark green nails. Around her neck was a silver necklace with a quarter sized, teardrop hematite stone dangling from the center. She wore her usual dark make-up tinted with red this time.
"She looks nice today," Harry said turning his attention to breakfast.
"I know," Hermione said. "I wonder what Snape and Malfoy are thinking."
"Probably the same thing," said Harry.
Hermione smiled as she ate her breakfast.
After breakfast Harry, Hermione, and Ron hurried to their Dark Arts class to get their seats. As Hermione pushed open the door, a black cloak whisked by and disappeared upstairs. They stepped into the classroom and looked around.
"Who was it?" asked Ron.
"I dunno," Hermione said sitting down on the couch. "All I saw was the cloak."
"You guys don't see Shannon, do you?" said Harry looking around.
"No why?" asked Ron.
"Ron, keep a watch out," said Harry stepping onto the stairs.
Harry carefully climbed the stairs leading up to Shannon's office. He listened as he stood in front of the door with hand on the knob. After a few moments of not hearing anything, he turned the knob and was about to open the door when a voice rang out.
"Don't you dare," hissed Shannon from right behind him.
Harry jumped and spun around to face her. Shannon's frown made him take a step back and thoughts of punishment flooded his mind. She rested a hand on his shoulder and sighed.
"Not yet," Shannon said with a small smile. "The time is not yet right for you to see what's in that room."
"Oh, okay," said Harry as his voice stumbled.
"Now, go sit down," she said pointing down the stairs.
Malfoy and the other Slytherins came bounding into the room as Harry, closely followed by Shannon, walked down the stairs.
"Looks like someone got in trouble," laughed Malfoy as he sat down.
"Draco," growled Shannon pointing her wand at him.
Draco smiled and said, "You won't do anything."
"Maybe I'll take a page out of Moody's book," she teased. "Wanna be a ferret again? Or maybe a mouse and then I can feed you to Morpheus."
Malfoy's face drained of all color as his eyes widened. He closed his mouth and sank into the couch. All of the Gryffindors bursted into laughter as Shannon picked up several small-throwing daggers.
"Today we will be learning hand-to-hand combat," Shannon said putting her wand away. "This is mandatory in America and Dumbledore has asked me to teach you."
"What's the point?" asked Malfoy.
"The point is when you get into a fight with your opponent and you both loose your wands," she hissed, "you will still be able to take the other person down. Unfortunately, I forgot to inform you ladies to wear some sort of pants. No worries, I have plenty of martial arts pants for you. If you all go behind the curtain you will see two piles one green for Slytherin and the other red for Gryffindor."
The girls all stood up and quickly went behind the curtain.
"Everyone please remove your robes we don't want them to get in the way or damaged," instructed Shannon turning towards the curtain. "Are you ladies almost done?"
The first girls to come back into sight were the Gryffindors. Instead of their navy blue skirts, they wore ruby red pants that tied at the waist. As the Slytherin girls came into sight, everyone saw that they wore the same kind of pants but in emerald green. Everyone removed their robes and placed them on the couches.
"Excellent," Shannon said. "Be sure to remove your robes and then we can begin. I have asked a friend to come and help us today. Everyone please say hello to Damian."
A tall young man with short shaggy dirty blond hair appeared at the top of the stairs. He wore black jeans, a baggy white t-shirt tucked in his pants, and white socks. His eyes were a gorgeous sapphire blue and he wore a pair of silver earrings.
"Hello, my dear," Damian said kissing Shannon on the top of her head.
Damian stood several inches above Shannon. His body was thin but muscular and you could see a couple scars on his arms and one on his neck.
"Damian is an old school mate of mine," said Shannon. "He will be helping us for the next couple of weeks to perfect our combat skills."
"It's an honor to be here and to teach such intelligent young men and women," said Damian with a smile. "Shall we begin."
"Of course," Shannon said pulling out her wand. "First we must remove the furniture and breakables and make this room safe for fighting."
She waved her wand above her head and in a slit second the room became bare. With another wave the stone floors became soft and everyone sank slightly.
"There," she said. "Now no one can get hurt if they fall."
"Everyone pair off," instructed Damian. "Guy and girl. Girls, now's your chance to take your anger out on the guys."
Everyone quickly paired off, Gryffindors with Gryffindors and Slytherins with Slytherins. All eyes were on their teachers when Shannon suddenly tried to kick Damian in the face but he blocked her by grabbing her ankle and then spun her around throwing her to the ground.
"That was fun," giggled Shannon as jumped to her feet. "Soon all of you will be able to do that."