Crookshanks | 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

Chapter 185

"That's brilliant!" Lexi suddenly exclaimed in excitement after a few moments of silence.

     Upon hearing what Molly had said, Sirius had nearly fallen to the floor, clenching the table to hold himself up, the color draining from his face.

"Oh, Sirius..." Mrs. Weasley smiled happily, going forward to hug him. But Sirius looked too much in shock to have noticed.

"Naughty Crookshanks," Lexi giggled, patting her on the head. "Is that where you've been going when you disappeared? To meet up with your secret guy-cat lovers?"

Sirius coughed uncomfortably, sitting down on a chair nearby awkwardly, still pale and windswept.

"Aww, can you imagine that in a few month little kittens would be running around here!" said Lexi, clapping her hands together in glee.

By those words, Sirius went even paler, if that was even possible. "Kittens? As in p-plural?"

   "Well, yeah," Lexi shrugged, "cats usually have around six or seven kittens on average."

Sirius looked like he was having a stroke.

"Lexi, why don't you go help Fred and George around?" said Mrs. Weasley hastily when she saw the expression on his face. "They do seem to be having slight complications with making their new products, considering the explosion sounds in the backroom."

"But —"

"Go on," she said, pushing the girl out of the kitchen by placing a hand on her upper back. "Thank you, dear."

And with that, she left the kitchen to help Fred and George, still confused as to what had just happened.

     The moment they heard the door to the room upstairs close behind Lexi, the cat jumped off the table and Jenna transformed back to her human form. She had gone completely pale in the face, and she looked just as shocked as Sirius, if not more.

     "You — are you sure?" Jenna asked shakily, suddenly feeling it hard to breathe as her mouth went dry.

      "I've been pregnant six times, dear. Of course I'm sure." Molly chuckled happily, but when she saw the horrified look on Jenna's face, she offered, "I can try it again, if you like."

    Jenna nodded feebly, not meeting Sirius's eyes. "What should I do?"

     "Roll up your shirt just a little bit," Molly instructed. "I'll do a little spell. If golden sparks appear through your stomach, it means that you're with a baby. If nothing happens, that means you're not pregnant. It's as simple as that."

      Jenna felt scared as the horror of the idea settled within her. She had always been afraid of starting a family in such a dangerous state, even during the first war. She didn't want to think what would happen to the baby if she or Sirius died, just like the way Lily and James had.

    Or even worse, she knew exactly what it felt like to lose a baby through miscarriage. The war was terrifying and even worse than the last time, and the stress of it all couldn't be healthy for a pregnant woman. Jenna didn't know if she could go through the loss of losing another baby again.

   So as she rolled up her shirt lightly to reveal a small portion of her stomach's skin, a part of her hoped that Molly had made a mistake. She wanted to wait for the war to end before starting a family with Sirius. She wanted her child to be born into a peaceful world.

    Both Jenna and Sirius watched carefully as Molly tapped the tip of her wand on Jenna's belly, murmuring the long spell under her breath incomprehensibly. They waited and waited, but to all their surprise, no sparks appeared this time.

"What — what does this mean?" Jenna asked, but Sirius remained silent beside her.

"That's odd..." Molly muttered with a frown. "Maybe you're not pregnant after all."

Jenna's heart gave a painful ache after Molly said that. She had expected to be happy to hear that she wasn't pregnant, but an unfamiliar sense of sadness filled her up. Perhaps deep down she had found a new hope within her to think for a second that she was going to have a baby. Perhaps in her heart she had really wished to be pregnant after all.

"Please try again," Jenna said without thinking, surprised at her own reaction. "Maybe — maybe the spell was said wrong this time."

"Yes, yes, that's a possibility. Let me try again," said Molly softly, and Jenna heard the sympathy in her voice. She then tapped her wand on Jenna's skin for the third time, saying the spell in a low whisper.

At first, nothing happened. Jenna was beginning to feel even more disappointed. But then, her eyes widened when the golden sparks reappeared from inside her stomach, glowing underneath her skin.

      "Looks like I'd made a mistake after all. Oh, this is just wonderful!" Molly cried out happily, laughing out of excitement.

      She then threw a knowing glance between the couple when she found them quiet, and then said, "I'll give you some alone time."

     Molly left them soon after to give them some privacy , walking upstairs and leaving Sirius and Jenna in the silence of the kitchen.

Taking in a shaky breath, Jenna slowly turned to face Sirius as the golden sparks vanished once again and her skin turned to its normal state. She saw that tears had appeared in his grey eyes as he looked back at her wordlessly.

Jenna managed to form a smile on her lips. "We're having a baby."

Sirius let out a little laugh of happiness before grabbing her face in his hand and crashing his lips down against hers. Jenna felt the happy tears rush down her cheeks as she kissed him back, her heart beating loudly along with his.

Sirius pulled away lightly, resting his forehead down against her, with his arms now wrapped around her waist. He then nodded, repeating her words in disbelief. "We're having a baby..."