Crookshanks | 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

Chapter 89

It was as if her whole body had become frozen. With her heartbeat speeding up, Jenna turned to glance at Remus, who had gone pale and was looking down at his plate guiltily, avoiding her eyes.

"A-arthur, I think we better get going," Molly whispered to her husband. "The — the kids have been alone for too long."

"Yes, yes, of course, dear," Arthur mumbled nervously under his breath, getting to his feet.

So after muttering a small goodbye, the Weasleys left the couple alone. Although Remus remained at the kitchen with Sirius and Jenna, feeling as if this was all his fault.

"Remus told you..." Jenna whispered mostly to herself after the three of them were left alone in the kitchen.

"Yeah, he did," Sirius said sharply. "When we were at his house, he felt guilty about it and so he apologized to me, thinking that I already knew and that you had told me. But it was quite the shock for the both of us when we figured that you had kept it to yourself all along."

"Sirius, please let me —"

"No need to explain!" Sirius snapped. "Remus already explained everything I needed to know!"

"Sirius, I already told you," Remus started, trying to calm him down, "it wasn't her fault. It had nothing to do with her. This was all my fault. It was the day that the Ministry had sentenced you to the dementor's kiss. Jenna was devastated, and I didn't want to leave her alone. We — we both were drinking, but like I said, I was the one who kissed her. She pushed me back the next moment!"

"Remus —" Sirius started, but Remus cut him off again as he went on.

"Look, we both regretted it the moment we pulled away. And the next day, we both agreed that it was a mistake. I only did so because at the time, I thought you were the one who had betrayed Lily and James, so I thought I wouldn't feel guilty about kissing her, but I did. I really did," Remus confessed. "I told you this before, and I'll say it again... this had nothing to do with Jenna."

"This is not about who kissed whom first, Remus!" Sirius retorted furiously, all the while Jenna was starting down, trying to control her breathing. "It's not even about how long the kiss took, or wether or not you two felt guilty for it! This is about her not telling me herself!"

Sirius then fell silent, glaring back at Jenna again as he gritted his teeth together, his jaw clenching.

"I'm so sorry, Sirius..." Jenna whispered, still refusing to look up at him, feeling too scared and anxious.

"You know, I would've understood eventually if you had told me yourself," said Sirius, more quietly this time. "What do you think I would've done if I found out!? Telling you that — that I want to break up or something!?"

"Is that what you want now?" Jenna whispered weakly, her lips slightly trembling.

"No! But that's not the freaking point!" Sirius said in fury. "The point is that — is that I had to hear it from Remus before you! Were you just never going to tell me!?"

"No, I —"

"Is that how you are!? Keeping secrets from me!?" Sirius was almost yelling now. "So was it a lie as well when you told me that you hadn't been with anybody else those twelve years while I was in Azkaban!?"

"Sirius!" Remus scolded him at those words, his eyes widening at the man's harsh tone.

"You stay out of this, Remus!" Sirius snapped back, his eyes still on Jenna, who had finally turned to look at him, her heart sinking at his words.

"Is that what you think of me?" Jenna questioned, breathing heavily through her nostrils as she glared back at him. "You think I've been sleeping around with other men while you were gone!?"

"Well, I wouldn't know, now would I!? How can I possibly know, if you keep these things from me!?"

"For your more information, I didn't even think about being with anybody else while you were gone, because I couldn't imagine myself being with anybody but you! I didn't do it, even though my colleagues kept trying to set me up with others! I didn't do it, even though I used to think that I was never going to see you again, until the day I died! But I was okay with that! I was okay with dying alone, because I couldn't possibly love anybody but you!"

"Oh, yes, what hard time must you have had, refusing to date other guys. That must've been devastating for you," Sirius said sarcastically, still glaring at her. "I'm sorry if the ring I had put around your finger prevented you from having fun, while I was rotting away in Azkaban!"

Angrily, Jenna got to her feet, glaring daggers at him as her hair turned a deep and dangerous shade of red. "How dare you suggest — how could you possibly think that — that those twelve years were easy on me!?"

Sirius briskly got up from his seat as well, fuming. "And how exactly was it hard, may I ask? Was your job boring? Did you not get to have butterbeers anymore in the Muggle world?"

"Sirius, calm down!" Remus told him, but Sirius ignored him.

"No, no, I really want to know!" said Sirius, as both him and Jenna were now on their feet, facing one another while both their bodies shook in fury. "How was it not easy on you!? I had to spend day after day in a dirty cell, almost dying of hunger with the dementors around me every minute of every hour, for a crime I hadn't even committed! Meanwhile you were out, hanging out with your colleagues, being set up with friends, and living your little happy life in your little Muggle house! How hard could it have been!? I really want to know!"

"Do you!?" Jenna shouted, her whole body shaking. "Do you really wanna know why it wasn't so easy on me!?"

"YES, I DO!"

"I WAS PREGNANT WHEN YOU LEFT ME!"