Crookshanks | 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

Chapter 184

Jenna and Sirius stayed at their old flat that night, placing even more charms and enchantments around the place in hopes of protection. Or at least, for as long as they possibly could hold off the Death Eaters. They were both tired and exhausted, but perhaps it was the fear that kept them awake through the whole night.

     Instead of sleeping, they got to work, trying to make the flat a bit more livable by getting rid of all the dust and cobwebs, cleaning the place to the best of their abilities, glad to have magic to make it easier. At last, they went back to their old bed to rest their eyes for a few hours, by which time the sun had already begun to rise.

Jenna hadn't expected the tiredness of the battle to stay with her this long. There was an ache in her body that she could not shake off even after the long and warm bath she took that night. She even felt slightly nauseous due to all the dust she had probably inhaled.

She was feeling hungrier than usual, but there was nothing in that house to eat. They couldn't really leave the house for now and go shopping, deciding to keep a low profile for the time being.

     It was in that morning when the horrible news reached them when Arthur sent them a Patronus.

As it turned out, the Death Eater whom Sirius had killed last night had been an important one, because the other Death Eaters hadn't waited a minute longer to seek revenge; they had wasted no time in searching for Sirius, seeing as he had killed Antonin Dolohov. They had to pay the price.

The previous night, the Death Eaters had sent the Snatchers to all the places they had suspected the Order members to be, including old Muriel's house, where the Weasleys stayed.

The consequences of their action was paid by Lexi, who had been taken to the Malfoy Manor for investigation. Sirius went pale in horror when he found out that it was Bellatrix who had tried to take words out of Lexi's mouth to find Sirius's whereabouts.

The girl had been tortured, but she had managed to escape that very same night with the help of Draco Malfoy, and had gotten back to Muriel's house safely.

     When Jenna found out about Lexi, her stomach turned and the feeling of nausea grew inside of her due to worry. She suddenly felt angry at Sirius for no reason, even though she knew perfectly well that he hadn't meant to say Voldemort's name on purpose. It had been an accident, but that didn't stop Jenna's anger from surging.

     "This is all your fault," she grumbled. "That bitch tortured Lexi to find out where we are!"

     "I already feel bad enough on my without you rubbing it in my face!" Sirius retorted, letting out a loud huff. He then took a few breaths to calm himself before saying, "We should go and visit her."

    "Sirius, we can't leave this house unless we want the Death Eaters to slaughter us both the moment we step outside."

     "They wouldn't think of coming here. We haven't stepped in this house for nearly two decades. They have no idea this house used to belong to us, anyway."

     "Fine, we'll go," Jenna said moodily after a moment of consideration, crossing her arms. "But just because I'm worried for Lexi."

     She didn't speak another word to him as they left the house and Apparated outside Muriel's house. The Secret Keeper was Arthur, and he had let them know how to get through. But the moment Sirius knocked at the door, Jenna transformed into Crookshanks.

     "What? Don't want to speak with me?" Sirius raised a brow at her, but Jenna remained as a cat when Molly opened the door, and so she slipped inside the house.

    With a sigh, Sirius walked inside after greeting Molly. He joined Lexi in the living room. As they both sat down on the couch, he started apologizing that she had to go through all that because of him. But Lexi only smiled, telling him that she was fine, even though in reality he could tell that she still hadn't recovered. No one would be fine after being brutally tortured like that.

     After long minutes of talking, Arthur came to sight, looking rather confused. "I thought I just saw Crookshanks. How come —"

      "Oh, that's her way of silent-treatment-ing me," said Sirius grumpily, rolling his eyes.

      Arthur nodded awkwardly and so went back upstairs, not wanting to get in the middle of a couple's fight. Lexi opened her mouth probably to ask what Sirius was talking about, but just then Crookshanks came into the living room, looking rather gloomy.

     "Oh, Hello!" Lexi said cheerfully as the ginger cat jumped up on the couch. "And where have you been all this time?"

    Crookshanks then crawled onto Sirius's lap and looked up at the girl. But then Sirius and Lexi both gasped when Crookshanks suddenly threw up on his lap.

      "Ugh, no!" Sirius grimaced and held the cat up to place her on the floor, getting up from the couch in disgust. "Damn it! Look what you did!"

    "It wasn't her fault," Lexi tried to say as she watched the furry cat jump weakly on the couch again and crawl up in a corner.

     "Of course it was her fault!" Sirius snapped. "Cats have the ability to throw up on will! She did that on purpose!" He then glared at the cat as he cleaned his pants off with a wave of his wand.

     "Sirius, I really don't think she feels good," said Lexi, glancing worriedly at the ill-looking cat.

     "R-really?" Sirius asked, now looking apprehensively at Crookshanks. He realized that Lexi was right.

      "Let's show her to Mrs. Weasley. She'll know what to do," Lexi suggested.

     With that, she picked Crookshanks up in her arms and carried her to the kitchen where Molly was cooking, and so placed the cat on the table.

     After studying Crookshanks carefully, Molly took out a guide book and started reading through, muttering somethings to herself thoughtfully.

     She then took out her wand, and following the instructions, Molly performed a few spells on the cat, causing a few sparks to glow from within her. Sirius suddenly looked worried, guilty of the way he had snapped at her.

     "Well?" he said anxiously after some while of silence, growing impatient.

     "I'm not sure," said Molly, yet she started smiling as she looked back up at Sirius, "but I think she might be pregnant."