Chapter 109

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Later that night, Jenna awaited Sirius in their bedroom, still in her cat form. Once he walked inside and locked the door behind him, Jenna transformed back to her human form and sat at the edge of the bed.

     "Well?" she questioned, looking up at him curiously. "Did Lexi recognize the necklace?"

     "No, I don't think so." Sirius let out a short sigh, walking toward her. "Maybe we were mistaken."

     "Look, I've been keeping an eye on her all summer, and realized that Kreacher has never defied her," Jenna reasoned. "She's the only person in this house that the elf doesn't insult, even though she's supposed to be a Muggle. Lexi has noticed this too."

     "But the timing wouldn't have made any sense!" Sirius ran a hand through his black hair in frustration. "Regulus died fifteen years before she was even born."

      Jenna remained quiet, pondering the matter in her head. Although Sirius broke the silence once more when he said,

      "She told me about Harry, you know," he went on. "Lexi told me that he was going to be cleared."

     "You knew?" Jenna frowned. "Then why didn't you tell me?"

     "Because I wasn't sure of how accurate her knowledge was," Sirius explained. "I didn't want to get your hopes up. But turns out... Lexi really knows everything that's going on. Better than a seer."

     "And Dumbledore doesn't want her to change anything just yet, afraid that it would change the outcome for the worse," Jenna stated, talking mostly to herself.

     Although the same questions kept running around her mind. Who had sent Lexi Hooper back in time, and what moment were they hoping to change?

***

Near the end of the summer vacation, the kids' Hogwarts letters finally arrived by owl, carrying their new book list. Although what happened that caught everyone by surprise, was that Ron and Hermione had both received a prefect badge.

     Jenna was glad that Harry hadn't become a prefect, remembering how Fleamont always said that it was a shame to the name of Potter. But she couldn't help but feel taken aback at the fact that Dumbledore had decided against it. And apparently, she wasn't alone in thinking so.

     Molly had decided to throw a little party downstairs that evening to celebrate this amazing news. She had hung a scarlet banner over the heavily laden dinner table, which read congratulations ron and hermione — new prefects.

    "I thought we'd have a little party, not a sit-down dinner," she told Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Lexi, and Ginny as they entered the room. "Your father and Bill are on their way, Ron, I've sent them both owls and they're thrilled," she added, beaming.

      Fred rolled his eyes.

      Sirius, Remus, Tonks, and Kingsley were already there and Mad-Eye Moody stumped in shortly after Harry had got himself a butterbeer. Jenna was present as Crookshanks, following Sirius closely wherever he went.

     "Oh, Alastor, I am glad you're here," said Molly brightly, as Mad-Eye shrugged off his traveling cloak. "We've been wanting to ask you for ages — could you have a look in the writing desk in the drawing room and tell us what's inside it? We haven't wanted to open it just in case it's something really nasty."

     "No problem, Molly..."

     Moody's electric-blue eye swiveled upward and stared fixedly through the ceiling of the kitchen.

     "Drawing room..." he growled, as the pupil contracted. "Desk in the corner? Yeah, I see it... Yeah, it's a boggart... Want me to go up and get rid of it, Molly?"

      "No, no, I'll do it myself later," Molly shook a hand at him. "You have your drink. We're having a little bit of a celebration, actually...." She gestured at the scarlet banner. "Fourth prefect in the family!" she said fondly, ruffling Ron's hair.

      "Prefect, eh?" growled Moody, his normal eye on Ron and his magical eye swiveling around to gaze into the side of his head.

      "Well, congratulations," said Moody, still glaring at Ron with his normal eye, "authority figures always attract trouble, but I suppose Dumbledore thinks you can withstand most major jinxes or he wouldn't have appointed you..."

      Ron looked rather startled at this view of the matter but was saved the trouble of responding by the arrival of his father and eldest brother. Molly was in such a good mood she did not even complain that they had brought Mundungus with them too.

     "Well, I think a toast is in order," said Arthur, when everyone had a drink. He raised his goblet. "To Ron and Hermione, the new Gryffindor prefects!"

      Ron and Hermione beamed as everyone drank to them and then applauded.

      "I was never a prefect myself," said Tonks brightly from behind Harry as everybody moved toward the table to help themselves to food."My Head of House said I lacked certain necessary qualities."

     "Like what?" said Ginny, who was choosing a baked potato.

      "Like the ability to behave myself," said Tonks.

     Everyone laughed. For some reason, Tonks reminded Jenna of one of her old friends, Marlene. The two were so much alike in ways that she couldn't explain.

     "What about you, Sirius?" Ginny asked, thumping Hermione on the back.

     Sirius, who was right beside Harry, let out his usual barklike laugh.

     "No one would have made me a prefect, I spent too much time in detention with James. Lupin was the good boy, he got the badge."

     Jenna suddenly felt a jolt in her heart, remembering her old school days. She was reminded of the summer before their fifth year when James had found out that Lily had become a prefect, and was mad that he hadn't gotten the badge.

     Jenna remembered how she teased her brother about it, telling him how he used to spend more time in detention than in class. She defended Remus, saying how better he was. Jenna had almost forgotten that she had a huge crush on him in their fourth year at Hogwarts.

     "I think Dumbledore might have hoped that I would be able to exercise some control over my best friends," said Remus, now smiling. "I need scarcely say that I failed dismally."

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