Potter | 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

Chapter 49

Just as McGonagall had promised, the rest of the year passed quicker than Jenna expected, and she didn't know which to be more nervous about; her O.W.Ls which she had barely studied for, or their final game of Quidditch which was a week away.

     But the problem was, the next full moon was the exact night before their Quidditch match.

She was secretly glad that Lily forcefully dragged her to the library every day after the classes, or she would never have studied on her own account.

"It's really simple, Mar," Lily sighed, trying to explain Jupiter's moons to Marlene for the thousandth time. "The interiors of Io, Europa and Ganymede have a layered structure but Lo has a core, and a mantle of at least partially molten rock, topped by a crust of solid rock coated with sulfur compounds."

Marlene stared at her blankly for a few seconds in silence before shouting, "HOW IS THAT SIMPLE!"

"Shh!" Their heads turned on Madam Pince, who looked pretty angry at them.

"Mar, you have to study Jupiter's 53 moons for our exam!" Lily said sternly, in a low voice.

"Actually," Jenna interrupted. "Jupiter has 79 moons, but we only know about 53 of them."

Lily frowned, quickly skimming through her Astronomy's book. But when she saw no reference on what Jenna had just stated, she quickly asked suspiciously, "How would you know?"

"Um... Sirius told me..." Jenna muttered uneasily, shrugging to seem casual.

"Did he now? Have been spending time with him, have you?" Marlene grinned knowingly. "And why do you keep looking over at the window? Waiting for a letter from your lover, are you?"

"As a matter of fact, I am waiting for a letter," said Jenna, but before Marlene could open her mouth, she beat her into it, "But it's going to be from McGonagall, saying if we can use the Quidditch pitch tonight or not, so don't get any ideas."

"Whatever you say, Potter," she grinned, but the moment she looked down at her star charts, her smile faded away quickly.

"Ugh... I can't do this anymore!" Marlene groaned, banging her head on the table before her. "I'm having a mental breakdown!"

Jenna chuckled, but Lily shook her head and closed her eyes, rubbing her temples to calm herself down. "Every day..."

***

"I told you," Remus tried to argue for the hundredth time that week. "I don't want you guys there with me for this full moon!"

     "Don't be dumb, Moony," said James as the four boys sat in the Common Room on their favorite spot in front of the fireplace.

James had sneaked off the Golden Snitch once more, letting it fly away a bit only to catch it again for amusement.

     "You have Quidditch right after it!" Remus tried to reason. "You can't be up all night. You'll be tired for the match the next morning."

     "We don't give a damn!" James huffed in frustration.

      "Jenna would disagree," said Sirius, looking at the portrait door which swung open and she came inside. "Speaking of the devil..."

"Shoot," James muttered, quickly hiding the Snitch in his pocket so Jenna wouldn't see it.

     "Alright, guys," she said happily, walking towards them, "I got an owl from McGonagall saying the Hufflepuffs are done with the pitch; we can have it to ourselves for the rest of the evening."

     "Good, now that you're here," Remus started, looking at Jenna. "You think that it's stupid to spend the whole night awake with me right before the match too, right?"

     "Don't be dumb, Remus," she said. "We don't give a damn."

     James grinned at Remus. "Told you."

     "Now that we're on the subject," Peter said awkwardly, "I've heard that Severu — I-I mean Snivellus has been asking around Gryffindors about you, Moony."

     "What!?" he exclaimed, as James and Sirius frowned, looking alarmed. "What about me?"

     "Yeah... he's been asking if you're going home this week to see your mum again... what if he has figured out that you're a... you know..."

     "Use your brain, Wormtail," Sirius huffed angrily. "The grease-ball has been sniffing around for no reason. He's not that smart. He's just nosy."

     "Ironic, considering the size of his nose," James scoffed.

     "Nice one, James," Sirius laughed, fist-bumping him.

      But their grins faded when they turned to look at Jenna, who was pursing her lips together, shifting uncomfortably in her seat.

     "What?" James raised a brow.

      "Nothing," she shook her head.

     "Drop the act, J.P. You're a terrible liar."

     "Well... I think Peter's right," Jenna sighed, causing their eyes to widen.

"R-really?" Peter said in disbelief.

"Apparently he's been becoming very suspicious," she said miserably. "Lily told me he's been having theories on the matter as of lately."

"That greasy old git!" James hissed, jumping angrily to his feet. "I'll get him for this! I'll show him—"

"Sit your arse back down, Prongs!" Remus said quietly, taking a hold of James's sleeve and pulling him back down. "If we call him on this... he'll know for sure that something's up with me. At least he's only suspecting now. I don't want the whole school to find out, if you don't mind."

"Fine," James huffed angrily, folding his arms. "But I'm only sitting quiet for you, Moony. If it was on me, I'd hex his large nose off."

Peter sniggered and Remus looked a bit more relieved, but still worried about the possibility of Snape finding out.

Sirius, who had been suspiciously quiet throughout this conversation, suddenly got to his feet.

"Where are you going?" Remus asked anxiously.

"Nowhere," Sirius shrugged cooly, walking towards the portrait whole.

"Sirius," Jenna called after him. "Please don't do anything stupid."

"Don't worry, Jenny," his voice rang before leaving. "I'll be back before you can say Snivellus."