Crookshanks | 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

Chapter 24

Jenna stayed in Remus's room for the next few hours, helping him drink from the potion Snape had made him every one in a while and dabbing a wet tissue over his forehead which had started sweating.

     She glanced out of the room's window anxiously, where the sun was slowing setting over the horizon, right above the Black Lake.

     But Jenna gulped worriedly when she saw that Remus had started panting now, a grimace of pain across his face. Although the Wolfsbane potion was in fact working, otherwise he would be howling in pain right now.

     But the darker the sky outside the window got, the worse Remus was starting to feel. Jenna felt an ache in her heart as she watched him, desperate to do something, yet knowing that there was nothing she could do to help him.

     None of them had ever seen Remus transform when they were younger and at school. Because they waited until he was turned fully into a werewolf before changing into their animal forms and joining him in the Shrieking Shack, knowing that the transformation was the toughest and most dangerous part of the night.

     Jenna was now holding onto Remus's hand as he had his eyes shut close, writhing on the bed. She couldn't imagine how horrible it must've been to turn every single month ever since he was only five years old.

     "You — you need to leave," Remus growled, trying to get up from the bed. "It's — too — dangerous."

     "Cut the crap, Moony. You should know me by now. I won't leave you," Jenna said stubbornly, offering him a little grin as a helpless attempt to brighten the mood, even though she knew it was impossible.

     "G-get me over there," Remus groaned in pain, pointing weakly at the corner of the room, not wanting to rip up his bed while transforming.

     Nodding briskly, Jenna helped him up from the bed, supporting him to stand as his knees seemed to be giving in any moment. So placing his arm over her shoulder and with an arm around him, Jenna led him toward the room's corner.

     Glancing behind the window, she saw that the full moon was slowly rising and the day had been forsaken by the darkness of the night. But Jenna quickly turned her attention back on Remus who was growling as he laid down on the floor, but it was obvious that it was at least less painful than ever before.

     "It's okay," Jenna whispered, running a hand through his sandy hair to comfort him a little. "It's okay, I'm here."

     Remus had started panting miserably as the sweats ran down his forehead, and Jenna had to hold herself back from crying as she watched her old friend going through that much pain, and it was even worse to know that he had gone through worse while he had been alone for twelve years.

     Jenna wrapped an arm around him, to reassure him she was still there and gave his arm a comforting squeeze as if to tell him that she wasn't going to leave him alone.

But Jenna was finally forced to pull away when the full moon rose up high in the sky and Remus started shifting. So with that, Jenna immediately turned herself back to Crookshanks and distanced herself from him to give him some space.

Remus ripped up his clothes as he grew into a wolf, breaking each bone in his body while transforming. Jenna tore his eyes away from him and looked down, not bearing to see him hurt that way.

But at last, when the silence once again fell upon the room, Jenna finally looked up to see the werewolf curled up against the wall, his head on the floor as he whined quietly.

With that, Crookshanks took slow steps toward the werewolf on her furry little paws until she finally reached him. Remus was breathing in and out peacefully with his eyes closed, and so she moved forward, nuzzling into his side until they both eventually fell asleep in the quiet of the night.

***

The next day, Jenna woke up not by the sound of the storm outside, but to the noises someone was making near her. So forcing her eyes open and looking up, she saw Remus back to his human state, wincing in pain as he was trying to put on his shirt while he was sitting at the edge of his bed.

So yawning, Jenna shifted back to her human form as well, walking toward where Remus sat on the bed, struggling to button up his shirt.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you," Remus said rather weakly, looking paler and more worn out than ever before.

"No, don't worry about it." She shrugged casually with a grin on her lips. "It's Harry's first match today and I didn't want to miss it, so I had to wake up early anyway."

Remus nodded in response, but couldn't find the strength to speak another word as he tried to button up his shirt with full effort, though his arms were too weak to do so.

Jenna watched him struggle for long seconds with amusement until she finally snorted in laughter.

"Now this is just sad." She then chuckled as Remus huffed and dropped his hands in defeat. "Here. Let me do it. If you go any slower I will kill myself."

So before Remus could get the chance to protest, Jenna had already moved forward and sat on the edge of the bed next to him, buttoning his two last ones up effortlessly.

It only happened for a split second, but when she was done, there came a moment when their eyes connected and they both froze. Although Jenna quickly cleared her throat and got to her feet, clapping her hands together.

"Now if you excuse me," she started with a grin, "I'm gonna go down to the Quidditch pitch and see my nephew play. I've got a bet to win." And so without another word, Jenna left the room and immediately turned into Crookshanks, running down the corridor.