Crookshanks | 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

Chapter 173

After Dumbledore's death, the Order of the Phoenix was bound to change their headquarters from the Grimmauld Place, seeing as Snape knew how to access it. The Order had no doubt that he had told the Death Eaters about the old headquarters, so they were in desperate need of a new one.

     Jenna suggested the Potter Manor without hesitation, seeing as it was the perfect location; it had many protection charms around it already, and it was big enough for all of them. Even Sirius was happy that he didn't have to go back to that horrible house ever again.

     "I knew something was wrong with him all along," Sirius said grimly, as he and Jenna awaited the Order members to arrive that day. "And Dumbledore actually thought that Snape had miraculously turned good?" He scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief.

     "I don't know..." Jenna whispered, shrugging. "Dumbledore always said he had a valid reason for trusting Snape. He was so sure..."

     "And look where that got him," Sirius said bitterly.

   Right at that moment, there came a knock at the door. Automatically, Jenna and Sirius both jumped to their feet and drew out their wands. It took them a second to remember that only the Order members could get past the protective enchantments of the house.

   The first to show up was Moody, and the rest followed in a matter of minutes, gathering in the dining room so the meeting could start.

     It had been more than a month since Dumbledore's death, yet everything in the Wizarding world and the Muggle World had changed for the worse. The only good news that they had received in those long miserable weeks was that Bill and Fleur were going to have a wedding near the end of summer, Lexi and Fred were planning on moving in together, and Remus and Tonks were now engaged, soon to be married with a small ceremony.

  "I asked you to gather here today to discuss Harry Potter's situation," Mad-Eye growled, sitting at the table along with the others. "He's turning seventeen soon, which means that the Trace will be taken off him, and so will the magic that had been protecting him all this time. We need to move him out of the Dursley's house before his birthday —"

Moody was saying, though his words were cut off when Mundugus cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention.

"I've got an idea," he started unsurely, all eyes now on him in surprise.

  "This gotta be good," Sirius mumbled grumpily under his breath and leaned back on his chair, folding his arms.

Mundugus cleared his throat again, his voice raspier than ever because of the pipe he had smoked just minutes ago.

  "How 'bout Polyjuice Potion?" Mundugus started. "We'll take him to a safe house, along with a few other Harrys. No one can know which one it is."

It took everyone a few moments to think the suggestion over and to let it sink in. It was rather odd for Mundugus to come up with such great plan. It was perfect.

"We'll need eight safe houses, for eight Harrys," Moody said after a long pause, his magical eye wandering around the room and studying everyone's faces. "After that, we'll all take Portkeys into one house."

"We could bring him here," Jenna suggested without a second of hesitation.

"It's too risky," said Kingsley, shaking his head thoughtfully. "This is the most obvious safe house. This is Harry's family home, and now his aunt's."

    "We could all gather at the Burrow," Molly suggested, looking rather pale. She wasn't sure if this plan was a good idea. It seemed too risky and dangerous. So many of them could get hurt. But even so, she tried to hold on a strong face. They all did.

"So how are we going to take him away?" Tonks mused. "Brooms?"

  "Brooms. Thestrals. Motorbikes. Anything we can put our hands on," said Moody sternly. "But Potter better not use a broom. The Death Eaters will expect him to fly on one. Snape's had enough time with them to tell them all about Harry's weaknesses and strengths."

   Jenna felt her heart sink, a shiver running down her spine. Everything that could possibly go wrong with this plan flashed through her mind. It was a big risk, but Harry was their only hope of destroying Voldemort once and for all. They had to do everything in their power to keep him safe for as long as they possibly could.

"Who's going to take the Polyjuice Potion?" Bill asked, holding Fleur's hand on the table, giving it a comforting squeeze.

"Eight of us," Moody started, the whole plan already clear in his mind, "Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Lexi —"

"The kids!?" Molly exclaimed.

"They're not kids anymore, Molly," Arthur said in a low voice, avoiding his wife's glare at him. "They're all of age. It's up to them if they want to take part in this or not."

Molly looked as though she was about to argue, but she kept silent, going paler than before, if that was even possible.

"How bad is it in the Muggle world?" Moody asked Kingsley, who had been in charge of watching over the Prime Minister. "Have they become suspicious?"

"They can tell horrible things are happening, with the number of the deaths and disappearances growing everyday," said Kingsley. "But they can't explain why it's happening."

"It's better that way," Moody growled. "More and more Death Eaters are resurfacing from their hiding places. So many more have escaped Azkaban. They're filling in the Ministry, and there's no way we can tell who's on our side and who's not."

   There came a short pause, but the silence was soon broken when Jenna suddenly said, "I can help with that."

     Sirius's head snapped toward her sharply. "What?"

     "I could go undercover." Jenna shrugged, as though it was nothing important. "I've done it once before. I can do it again."

    "No." Sirius shook his head furiously. "Absolutely not! Have you forgotten what happened the last time!?"

     "This is not going to be like the last time!" Jenna argued. "I'm not going to stay undercover for long. Just a few days to make sure who's a spy in the Ministry, that's all. Besides, I'm not going undercover as someone in Voldemort's inner circle. I'm not going to live with the Death Eaters like the last war."

    "I agree," Moody growled. "With Jenna."

    "I wasn't asking for opinions!" Sirius snapped.

     "Funnily enough, I wasn't either," said Jenna.

***

There was nothing Sirius could do or say to change Jenna mind. She was more stubborn than Sirius, James, and Harry put together.

     She had gone away the next morning, going undercover as a young Death Eater who had recently ended up in Azkaban, though he wasn't well-known in the Wizarding world. His name was Stan Shunpike.

     Jenna had left the Potter Manor for around a week now, and Sirius had become a nervous reck ever since. Somehow it was worse than the last time, because now he knew what the Death Eaters were capable of. He'd had a taste of grief and he knew exactly what loss felt like, and he wasn't ready to go through that again.

     He was tempted to ask Lexi whether Jenna was going to be all right, or if they could get Harry to safety. But he held himself back, remembering how Dumbledore had said that if they weren't careful, knowledge of the future could lead to worse outcomes.

     It was late at night and Sirius couldn't fall asleep, no matter how much he turned over in his bed at the Potter Manor. His mind was sick with worry, just as it always was whenever Jenna wasn't beside him. At least before he was sure that she was safe at Hogwarts. But now, she was among Death Eaters undercover.

     After long hours of waiting, Sirius's eyelids were finally growing heavy and he was slowly drifting to sleep, but just then he suddenly shot awake when he heard a loud crash from downstairs.