Crookshanks | 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

Chapter 149

After getting dressed, Jenna followed the smell of pancakes downstairs, only to find Sirius in the kitchen. While Jenna was asleep, he had gone back to the Muggle village nearby to buy everything that they needed for the time they were going to spend at the Potter Manor.

    "That smells surprisingly good," said Jenna cheekily, walking toward Sirius.

    "Well, then brace yourself, because it's gonna taste even better than it smells," Sirius replied with a smug face.

    "You always say that, but each time it makes us both want to puke," Jenna joked, laughing. "I even threw up once after I ate your stupid pancake."

    Sirius laughed. "That's not true! You didn't get food poisoning because of me! You were p —"

    Before he could say the word, Sirius immediately stopped himself in mid-sentence right in time, his smile fading as he shared a look with Jenna. Neither of them said anything and merely looked away, an eerie silence falling between them.

    "So," Jenna cleared her throat, trying to ease the visible tension in the atmosphere, "bring the pancake and let's see what's all this fuss about."

    "Coming right up," Sirius sang cheerfully before taking out two plates and placing the pancakes on them, taking them over to the kitchen table.

    "Er... maybe we should eat this in the dining room," Jenna suggested with a grin, eyeing the kitchen table rather awkwardly.

    "Good idea." Sirius laughed, taking the plates to the dining area as Jenna brought the glasses and some orange juice.

Sitting down in front of each other at the table, they started eating the pancake. Jenna even jokingly started to say prayers loudly just in case she would die after eating the pancakes, just to annoy Sirius, who gave her a sharp look.

But the moment Jenna put the first bite in her mouth, her eyes widened in surprise.

Swallowing it, she gave Sirius a suspicious look. "You sure you made this yourself and didn't buy an already-made one from the village?"

"No, Jenny," said Sirius with an arrogant smirk. "And why do you ask?"

Jenna mumbled an answer under her lips which was barely audible, looking down at her plate.

"What was that?" Sirius asked, still grinning.

"I said because it tastes good!" Jenna said sharply, and Sirius's cheeky smile grew wider than ever before.

"Yes!" He punched the air in victory. "Ha! Told you it was gonna be great!"

Jenna rolled her eyes, shaking her head at his childishness. "How did you do it, anyway? The last time I checked, your cooking still sucked."

"Ouch." Sirius placed a hand over his chest, giving her a fake hurt look. "I'm heartbroken, Jenny. I thought you believed in me."

"I did believe in you," Jenna shrugged with a grin, "but after seventeen years of believing in you with no visible progress, I just decided to give up."

Sirius chuckled once more, saying, "I had a lot of practice at Grimmauld Place. Whenever I got bored, I used to make pancakes. And believe me when I say, I got bored there pretty frequently."

"Well... it really tastes great," said Jenna earnestly, giving him a smile.

"I know." Sirius winked at her arrogantly, making her laugh.

They ate the rest of their breakfast in silence, mostly enjoying the peaceful quietness of the house. But the silence soon haunted their thoughts as their minds wandered off.

They knew that their happiness wasn't going to last long, because they had been living the last few hours in denial, making themselves believe that there was no war going on. Their happiness was temporary, because they both knew that they had to get back to the Order, and face the dark and bitter reality that awaited them.

"By the way," Jenna started in a small voice as Sirius was taking a sip of his orange juice, her glance fixed on her plate, "I was planning on visiting Harry today."

Sirius nearly spat out his drink at those words. With difficulty, he swallowed it down before staring back at Jenna, who was still avoiding his eyes.

"Really?" he mused, trying to read through her expression. For some reason she seemed extremely nervous and even worried.

"Yeah," Jenna muttered, nodding lightly. And yet, she seemed a bit unsure.

"I thought you said you wanted to meet him whenever there was a lot of time to get to know him better. We have duty tonight for the Order. Don't you want to wait for a better opportunity?"

"If I keep postponing it, then I'll never meet him," Jenna reasoned. "I know if I don't do it now, I'll be away for different missions for the rest of the summer. And I can't reveal myself to him at Hogwarts either. It's too risky. No one can know about my cover as Crookshanks."

Sirius let out a small sigh, thinking the matter through, before finally saying, "You know you'll have my support with all your decisions, Jenny."

"Thank you," Jenna whispered with a little smile, reaching her arm across the table to hold onto his hand, giving it an appreciating squeeze.

Her heart started beating rapidly as she thought about meeting Harry officially for the first time, trying to imagine the different reaction he would have upon meeting her and learning that she's his aunt. She had no idea how it was going to go, and that was exactly what made her worry.

***

The sun was almost setting as Jenna bid Sirius goodbye and wore on her black traveling cloak, stepping out of the Potter Manor. She closed her eyes, and so with one last deep breath, she Disapparated away.

When she finally opened her eyes once again, Jenna found herself standing before Number 4, Privet Drive. This was the moment she had been waiting for ever since she figured out that her nephew was alive.

She was going to meet Harry.