Potter | 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

Chapter 164

By those words, Lily stepped aside as a gesture for Sirius to go inside and he did so. He was quiet at first until she led him through the living room and the two of them sat down.

     "So what's this all about?" Lily asked him worriedly.

      "It's Jenna." Sirius sighed miserably. "She doesn't eat. She doesn't sleep. She wouldn't even talk to me. I — I don't what I'm supposed to do."

      "Their parents passed away only four months ago, Sirius. You can't expect her to be any better."

     "I'm not expecting anything. I just want to help her. But — I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do."

     "Just try to be there for her. Make sure she doesn't feel alone," said Lily, but then she gazed away, a sad expression forming upon her face. "Something I haven't been able to do for James for a long while..."

      Sirius raised a curious brow at her. "What do you mean?"

     "Well, ever since his parents died, James has been volunteering for the worst sort of missions in the Order. He's rarely home. He thinks that by doing this, he'll get distracted from all that he's been through. But once he gets home, I can tell that he becomes miserable again."

      "James and Jenna have different ways of dealing with grief, then."

     "They're not too different, really." Lily shook her head lightly. "They're both avoiding this whole thing. They're trying to block out their emotions and won't let us be there for them, which isn't the right way to deal with this. They wouldn't even talk to us."

      "Then what are we supposed to do, exactly?" Sirius frowned slightly.

       "I say we should give them more time," said Lily.

     "Time doesn't heal your scars," Sirius whispered.

     "Maybe," Lily smiled, "but it surely tames them."

      A long silence followed these words.

     "So... when will James return home?" Sirius asked, changing the subject. "Isn't today his birthday?"

     "I don't know when he's going to come back, to be honest." Lily shrugged sadly, the worry obvious in her kind green eyes. "Which reminds me... shouldn't you be at home with Jenna right now for her birthday? She wakes up early, from what I remember."

      "Not ever since her parents died," Sirius muttered. "She sleeps at around five a.m, most nights shots awake at some point from her nightmares, and then goes to sleep again after an hour or two, and wakes up around ten." Sirius then checked his watch, saying, "It's only seven-thirty now."

     "I really wish we could throw them a surprise birthday party or something, just to cheer them up," Lily said. "But you'll never know what's going to happen the next minute with the Order and all. Besides, I'm not sure if anyone would even show up, given the state of things."

     Sirius's lips twitched up into a faint grin. "Probably not the best time for a wedding either then, until this is all over."

       Lily chuckled. "Don't worry, Padfoot. You'll get the girl in the end. I mean... you've already got the yes."

      Sirius's expression changed by those words. "What makes you think she wouldn't change her mind?"

     "What do you mean?" Lily blinked at him a few times.

     "I'm just saying, if something happens... who's to say she wouldn't want to leave me?" Sirius muttered, mostly to himself.

      He thought back of Jenna's mission, his heart sinking. He couldn't bear to think that there was a chance of her leaving him, even if it were for the Order.

      "Oh, Sirius," Lily smiled, moving closer to him and holding his hand comfortingly, "Jenna loves you too much to let you go. And I'm sure the same goes for you."

      "But say if something happens in the future —"

      "Don't think of the future," Lily whispered, cutting him off. "Try to live in the moment, while the moment lasts. So just go home to her. Because I know for a fact that you both need each other, now more than ever. We all do."

      A half smile crept through Sirius's face and so he leaned in, hugging her softly. "Thanks, Lily."

***

When Sirius went back home, he expected to find Jenna in bed, still asleep. But he took aback when he found her in the kitchen, sitting alone at the little table, gazing into nowhere.

     "Hey, birthday girl," Sirius said gleefully, walking into the kitchen and toward her. "What are you doing up?"

       Jenna just shrugged, not having the strength to even look up at him.

      "Bad dream?" Sirius questioned, sitting down beside her.

      Jenna just nodded.

      "I'm sorry." She then sighed, running a hand through her messy dark brown hair. "You probably think I'm weak..."

       "Don't say that," Sirius whispered, reaching out to hold her hand. "You're the strongest person I know."

       Jenna wanted to force a smile at him, but she couldn't get herself to do it, no matter how hard she tried.

      "Where have you been, anyway?" Jenna asked him. "I got worried."

       "Went to visit James and Lily," he answered. "James wasn't home, though."

      Jenna nodded, not saying anything else as silence reigned the room around them.

      "You know what I just realized?" Sirius started with a grin, desperately trying to change the subject and to cheer her up.

       "What?"

      "You're a fraud!"

       Jenna blinked at him a few times. "Excuse me?"

       "This is your real hair!" said Sirius cheerfully. "Not that shiny neat wavy one! Yours is messy!"

      "So? You didn't really expect me to have my hair look like James's, while I was a Metamorphmagus, did you?"

       "No," Sirius shrugged, bearing a smug expression on his face, "but this just proves that I have the better hair in this household," he said, flipping his elegant black hair dramatically.

        "Yes, you've got the better hair." Jenna nodded in defeat.

       "True," said Sirius arrogantly.

       "And you've got the better skin."

       "True."

       "And you're definitely the woman in this house."

      "Tr — hey! Don't ruin it!" He retorted angrily.

       Jenna laughed, for the first time in four months and got to her feet. "Should I make breakfast, or would you honor me with your infamous pancakes?"

       "Okay, don't be so unfair! I had a lot of progress!"

       Jenna grinned. "Whatever you say, Miss Black."