Potter | 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

Chapter 16

Curiosity took the better of her as Jenna watched Remus and Madam Pomfrey disappearing down into the roots of the whomping willow from the hospital wing's window.

Swallowing hard, Jenna ran out of the hospital wing and down onto the grounds, trying to come up with a reason that could explain all of this, but she simply couldn't think of one.

The night was slowly emracing the sky as she neared the edge of the forbidden forest where the Whomping Willow was planted.

But just then, from afar, she saw Madam Pomfrey getting out of the tree and so Jenna hid herself behind a big rock, watching her walk back towards the castle.

But as she was about to walk away from the rock, she saw three figures silently walking towards the tree. They looked around them every few seconds, as if to check and make sure that no one had been following them.

Jenna narrowed her eyes, trying to see better. But when she finally realized who they were, she let out a small gasp. It was James, Sirius, and Peter, sneaking up towards the Whomping Willow underneath the dark night.

Jenna watched with great concentration from behind the rock as the three boys stopped when they reached the tree.

But just then, something extraordinary happened before Jenna that she couldn't even believe her own eyes. Jenna clapped her palm over her mouth to stop herself from yelping.

Peter started to shrink and the next moment, he had appeared into a small creature that from where Jenna stood, looked like a fat mouse.

"What in Merlin's pants is going on?" Jenna whispered to herself in pure horror and shock.

She then watched closely as the mouse or rat – who stood where Peter once was – ran towards the Whomping Willow. It was so small that the tree made no move as to smash it.

Peter then pushed a knot on the root and then suddenly, the tree stopped moving and stood still, as if sleeping.

Taking advantage of the stillness of the tree, James and Sirius leaped forward and disappeared into the tree, the rat following them behind. The moment they were gone from sight, the tree started to move again.

Jenna sat there for long minutes, dazed and confused as to what had just happened. How on earth was Peter able to transform into a rat?

The only explanation is that he's an Animagus, Jenna thought to herself, but then shook her head, remembering that the Ministry took tabs on the few existing Animagi, and Peter Pettigrew surely wasn't in the list.

The questions inside her head were too much that Jenna thought that her face would blow up from curiosity any moment now.

Her heart was throbbing against her chest as she slowly and hesitantly walked away from the rock and towards the Whomping Willow.

She couldn't get too close to the tree, for she knew it would snap her into pieces. But how could she touch the knot again? She obviously couldn't turn herself into a rat.

Advanced Metamorphmagus could change themselves into animals, but the furthest Jenna had gone with her abilities was to change her hand into a lobster claw hand to freak James out as a kid.

She couldn't see the power in herself, however, to transform herself into such a small animal. She had never tried, but that was mostly because she knew it was impossible.

The moon was finally out as it shone in its fullest beauty against the dark sky. So thinking quickly, Jenna took out her wand and pointed it at a branch that laid nearby.

"Wingardium Leviosa," she murmued and with that, the branch took off the ground and started floating in the air.

With pointing her wand, she carried the branch in the air and lowered it down towards the knot, pushing it.

On cue, the tree suddenly stopped moving again. Jenna quickly leaped forward before it would move again and slid down the hole hidden beneath the roots.

She then came upon what looked like a long dark corridor. Jenna had no idea where it would lead her to, but she started walking forward anyway.

     It felt as if she were walking for an hour until Jenna came to halt, finding herself in what looked like an old house.

     The walls were all scratched and the windows almost broken. The furniture look as if they'd been attacked by a vicious monster. Yet, there was no sign of the boys.

     Just then, Jenna started hearing weird noises coming from upstairs; growls, squeaks, and even barks.

     She'd never been so unnerved in her whole life, yet her feet automatically carried her upstairs. Jenna took careful steps on the stairs, hoping not to attract the attention of whatever was up there.

     She slowly came upon a half closed door upstairs. Gulping, Jenna walked forward and cracked open the door a bit more, peeking inside.

     But she was startled to see that where there was supposed to be Remus, Peter, Sirius, and James, now stood a werewolf, a rat, a dog, and a stag.