Crookshanks | 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

Chapter 19

Once Sirius and Jenna went back to the edge of the Dark Forest in their animal forms and reached the Whomping Willow, Jenna went forward and pushed the knot down at the tree trunk, causing it to come to a stop and its branches to immobilize in the air.

Crookshanks gestured Padfoot with her head and so the dog followed her inside the tree, where there was a tunnel leading them down to Hogsmeade.

They both took the familiar path into the Shrieking Shack. Neither of them had been there since their last year at Hogwarts, around sixteen years ago. Although those days felt like centuries away from them now.

Once they were up and inside the room in the Shrieking Shack, with one last look at one another, Jenna and Sirius transformed back to their own human forms.

For a second, they just stood there, smiling goofily at one another before Jenna broke into a run and went forward to bring him into a tight hug. Overwhelmed, Sirius smiled and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her back and taking her into his warm embrace.

They held each other for what felt like long minutes before Jenna broke down into laughter and pulled away, giving him a look.

"What?" Sirius raised a brow at her.

Jenna smirked. "You stink."

"Ouch!" Sirius gave her a mockingly hurt look, placing a hand over his heart.

"Sorry, but it's true," she said earnestly, shrugging with a grin. "But I don't know why you wouldn't just wear my dad's old clothes. These are trash!"

"First of all, need I remind you that I have feelings?" Sirius scolded her jokingly, making her roll her eyes in a playful manner. "And second; I told you, I didn't want to reck you father's clothes in the journey. Besides, of course I stink! I haven't showered in nearly three months or even brushed my teeth! Meanwhile, you look suspiciously clean."

"Yes, well, I've been using Remus's shower —"

"YOU WHAT!?"

"Whoa! Relax! Why do men have to be so dramatic!?" Jenna huffed. "Sirius, I didn't say I showered with him. I said I've been using his shower."

Sirius threw his gaze away awkwardly, mumbling, "I knew that."

Jenna chuckled, shaking her head at him in disbelief.

"What's he doing here, anyway?" Sirius asked, for some reason still avoiding her eyes out of guilt.

"Remus has become the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," she explained.

"Really?" Sirius's head shot up at those words, his grin widening as Jenna nodded. "Being a teacher really suits him, now come to think of it."

But Jenna then folded her arms, glaring at him knowingly. And at that moment, Sirius knew she was going to bring up the one subject he's been so guilty about for the past years.

"I think you owe Remus an apology for thinking that he was the traitor, don't you?" she said firmly, looking at him sharply. "You were an idiot back then for accusing Remus in the first place, Sirius! Admit it!"

"W-well, he thought it was me, too!" Sirius tried to reason.

"Well, that's because he was an idiot, too!" Jenna retorted, but then let out a light sigh. "Although, he still remains an idiot, even after I clearly explained everything to him..."

"He didn't believe you?" Sirius mused, and in response she shook her head again.

"The story is very unlikely, Sirius, you can't deny that, specially when there was a street full of witnnesses who thought that you were the one to kill Pettigrew and those twelve Muggle," said Jenna, running a hand through her long brown hair miserably. "And what I'm mostly afraid of is that Remus might talk to Dumbledore about you and me. Dumbledore still doesn't know you guys had become Animagi."

"Well... isn't it a good sign that he hasn't told anyone about yet?" Sirius asked, trying to sound hopeful.

"Yeah, but why hasn't he?" Jenna mused. "He clearly still thinks that you're the one responsible for — for what happened twelve years ago on Halloween, and he thinks that I've gone mental."

"I honestly don't know." He sighed, sitting down on the ripped up bed in the old room. "But wouldn't Remus be coming to the Shrieking Shack on the full moons if he's here?"

"Apparently he's taking a potion that helps him through his transformation; makes it less painful and makes him more conscious of his surroundings," Jenna explained.

"Oh... well, forget about that for a second," he shook a hand at her impatiently, "do you think you can get me something from the castle to eat? Could you sneak something out for me and bring it up here?"

"Yeah, sure." She nodded. "I guess I can go down to the kitchens and see if I can sneak food out."

"Good. Because I've been surviving off leftover food and bones from the restaurants on my way here." He grimaced.

"All right." Jenna grinned. "I know it's impossible, but at least try to stay out of trouble while I'm gone. Just stay put and behave yourself, will you?"

"You know I can never behave myself, Jenny." Sirius smirked. "But don't worry. I'll try to be a good boy."

Jenna suppressed a laugh as she remembered how Sirius had told her that exact sentence back in their fifth year, after one of their Quidditch practices.

So with that, she just shook her head with a smile and transformed back to Crookshanks and left the Shrieking Shack, making her way back to the castle on her ginger fluffy paws.

Once she got to the kitchens, Jenna looked around her carefully. She knew that the Hufflepuff common room was somewhere around there, but that night all the students were sleeping in the Great Hall.

So once she was sure that no one was in the corridor, Jenna quickly turned back to her human form once she reached the portrait of the bowl of fruit and tickled the pear. On cue, just like how she remembers it, the pear giggled and with that the portrait swung open to reveal the kitchen.

All the while, Jenna had her hand in her pocket and on her wand, just incase someone came along her way and she had to obliviate them. But then she forget all about that when she walked into the kitchen and closed the portrait behind her, because her heart sank once she remembered all the times she had sneaked into here in her Hogwarts years.

She remembered the first time she had discovered this place with James in their first years, and gotten a little annoyed that James had brought along his new friend, Sirius, with him on their midnight adventure.

She could even remember all the times she had come down here to help the boys bring snacks and butterbeers up to the Gryffindor common room for a party after a successful Quidditch match.

The large room was filled with house elves, running around and preparing food or cleaning the old ones. But then her heart sank when a house elf came forward, staring up at her with widened eyes and in disbelief.

But then Jenna let out a gasp as she stared down at the elf and recognized him. "Oh, my... Mickey?"