Crookshanks | 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

Chapter 174

His heart beating rapidly, Sirius grabbed his wand from the nightstand beside the bed before hurrying downstairs, from where the sound had come from.

    He hid behind the wall, peering into the living room. That was when he saw a man limping toward the couch, dropping himself down in pain.

     Taking in a silent breath, Sirius sprang forward into the hall and raised his wand, shouting, "Stay where you are!"

    The young wizard jumped to his feet, raising his hands in defense. "Sirius, stop! It's me! Jenna!"

    The next moment, the young wizard slowly transformed into Jenna's familiar feature as she panted heavily, her forehead covered in sweat.

    Sirius let out his breath and lowered his wand. His eyes then widened when he suddenly realized that her leg was bleeding.

    "Oh, Lord." Sirius ran toward her, helping her back toward the couch as he quickly tried healing her with his wand, though he wasn't much good at healing Charms. "What happened!?"

     "I — I was trying to get in touch with other Death Eaters — to know who was a  spy at the Ministry," Jenna started explaining while taking heavy breaths out of pain. "It was going well for a few days — but — but then — ugh," she growled in pain again, "then the real Stan Shunpike got out of Azkaban — they found out I was lying — I tried to run for it — but I took a curse before I could Disapparate."

    Sirius frowned, his eyes looking into hers. Letting out a sigh at last, he placed a strand of her brown hair behind her ear before resting his hand across her rosy cheek.

    "I'm just glad you're back," he said softly.

    Jenna forced a little smile, before saying, "When are we planning on moving Harry, by the way?"

     "Tomorrow night. I'll be going with Lexi. We'll come here to the Potter Manor before taking a Portkey to the Burrow."

     "Okay... who am I going with?"

     Sirius raised a brow at her. "No one!"

    "What? Why?" Jenna frowned.

     "You can't even walk properly!"

     "That's because you're a lousy healer!"

     "Hey! I do just fine with healing Charms!" Sirius yelled playfully, making her chuckle lightly.

     "If you say so." She grinned.

***

Throughout the next day, Jenna's state still hadn't improved, and she was in extreme pain. So, no matter how much she tried to convince Sirius that she was all right and wanted to help Harry, he saw right through her and made her rest instead.

     An unsettling feeling filled up Jenna's heart the moment Sirius left the Potter Manor to join the others at Privet Drive. Earlier that week, a few of the Order members had helped the Dursleys to move away for their own safety, leaving Harry alone in the house.

     Jenna's mind couldn't calm down as the seconds turned into minutes, and the minutes turned into hours. She started to get even more worried when Sirius and Lexi failed to show up on the time they were supposed to.

    Jenna started pacing around her room despite the horrible pain and ache that had lingered in her leg ever since last night. But she came to a halt when she heard someone Apparate in the back yard. Limping toward her bedroom window, she saw that it was Sirius and Lexi.

    She felt more at ease to see that they were both alive, though Sirius's hand seemed to be hurt as the two of them walked toward the house's front door.

     Trying to ignore the pain in her leg, Jenna stepped out of her bedroom, quickly walking downstairs. She could hear them talking.

"So... what is this place?" Jenna heard Lexi ask.

Sirius smiled to himself. "This was James's childhood home."

   "Really?"

Sirius opened his mouth to respond, but he was cut short when Jenna stepped into the hall, saying in a gasp, "Oh, thank goodness you're all right!"

Sirius jumped to his feet angrily at her sight. "You're supposed to be resting! Who said you could get out of bed!?"

   "I did," Jenna said with authority. "Now sit your dramatic arse back down, Black. And give me your hand. I'll heal it for you."

Sirius grinned as she reached them, and so he sat down on the couch. "If you want to hold my hand, you can just say so. You don't have to make excuses."

Jenna gave him a look, which was enough to shut him up. She then turned to look at Lexi worriedly. "You okay, Lexi? You're not hurt, are you?"

She shook her head lightly, though the girl said nothing as she kept glancing at Jenna curiously.

     "How's Harry?" Jenna asked urgently. "And Remus?"

Sirius looked back at Lexi without saying a word.

"They're both fine," Lexi reassured them hesitantly, and Jenna felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted off her back. She felt grateful for Lexi, but there was still a feeling of worry in her mind.

"What happened?" Jenna asked, looking between the two of them anxiously.

"We were ambushed," Sirius answered grimly. The color drained from Jenna's face as she stared at them in horror. "They knew we were moving Harry tonight. We were betrayed. Didn't you know of their plan?"

"No, I wasn't able to go undercover as one of the people in his inner circle this time," she said regretfully. "They don't trust anyone as easily after what happened last time."

Lexi then opened her mouth to speak, but right at that moment, the kettle on the table started slightly shaking; it was the Portkey which was supposed to take Lexi and Sirius to the Burrow.

"I wanted to thank you," Lexi told Jenna hastily as Sirius got to his feet, "for saving me from Greyback."

   "Don't mention it." Jenna shook a hand at her. "Besides, one sassy werewolf is enough for the gang. We didn't need another one." She grinned, making Lexi laugh.

    "We better get going. The Portkey will leave in a minute," said Sirius while checking his watch, before walking toward the Portkey. Lexi followed after him, both of them getting a hold of the kettle as it started shaking furiously.

    Sirius then turned to face Jenna with a smile, saying, "I'll see you in a few hours."

     Jenna nodded unsurely, but before she could say goodbye, Lexi and Sirius disappeared out of the living room.