Crookshanks | 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

Chapter 47

Author's Note

I was going to wait and post the rest of the beautiful fanarts you guys had sent me at the end of Crookshanks, but I couldn't possibly wait to post this one by @twopumpk1npasties. No words can express how grateful I am! It's absolutely breathtaking and to be honest my mouth was hanging open for ten seconds straight when I first saw it. Thank you again, I love it with all my heart! ❤︎

***

Snape collided with Remus, Pettigrew, and Ron, who had stopped abruptly. Sirius and Jenna both froze on the spot. And then, Sirius flung out one arm to make Harry and Hermione stop.

They all fell silent, staring at Remus in horror as his whole body had started shaking limb by limb, and his face had gone pale and rigid.

"Oh, my —" Hermione gasped. "He didn't take his potion tonight! He's not safe!"

"Run," Sirius whispered. "Run. Now. Leave it to me — RUN!"

There was a terrible snarling noise. Remus's head was lengthening. So was his body. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws.

Crookshanks's hair was on end again and she started to back away, her yellow eyes falling on Harry, Ron, and Hermione fearfully. They were all frozen on the spot, as if petrified. Jenna knew she had to get them out of here, no matter what it took. Even if it meant having to shift and force them away with her wand.

Although her horror increased when at the same time that the werewolf reared, its long jaws snapping, Sirius had transformed into a dog and had leapt forward to stop him. They were locked, jaw to jaw, claws ripping at each other.

But at that exact moment, all of her fears became true when taking advantage of the diversion, Pettigrew suddenly dived for Remus's dropped wand and picked it up.

Horror striking her, Jenna closed her eyes, trying to transform back to human to stop him with her wand. She was almost successful, but Pettigrew had already spotted her. So he raised the wand and directed it at the cat.

There was a loud bang and Jenna felt a sharp pain go through all her body as a jet of light hit her, throwing the cat up and slamming her back to earth in a heap.

Jenna's head had hit a rock and she laid on the ground, unable to move as she felt her eyes closing.

The last thing she saw was Pettigrew transforming exactly before Harry could try to disarm him, and so the rat ran away.

     There came a loud howl and a rumbling growl, and Jenna's yellow eyes closed, losing touch with her consciousness.

***

Jenna woke up with a start. Her headache was unbearable, weighing her down. She tried to raise her head and open her eyes, but she was only able to do the latter. She realized that she was still in her cat form.

Jenna looked around her with difficulty. It was dark, but the night was quiet. Too quiet. She struggled up to her ginger paws, her heartbeat picking up as her memories dawned on her.

Remus had transformed into a werewolf... Sirius was trying to fight him off... Pettigrew had escaped... Snape was unconscious, Ron couldn't walk, and Harry and Hermione were still there when Jenna had fallen...

But none of them were anywhere around and there was no sign of them.

Jenna started to panic and so she briskly got a move on in a rush, trying to look for the slightest sign that could explain what had happened while she was unconscious.

The moon was still full, which meant that Remus was somewhere around, running free in the woods. But that was when Jenna saw it. There was drops of blood on the ground.

With her heart pumping furiously, Jenna followed the trace which the blood had left behind, leading her toward the edge of the Black Lake, where it stopped. But there was no one there either.

Although Jenna came to a halt when a calm voice said behind her,

"Evening, Miss Potter."

Jenna froze on the spot. She knew that voice very well, even though she hadn't heard it for years. She had the choice of walking away without looking back at her caller, for she was still in her cat form. But if he already know it was her, there really was no point pretending.

So closing her eyes and focusing for a few seconds, Jenna transformed back to human form before turning around, her face as cold as a stone.

"Evening, Professor Dumbledore," she said blankly, her firm gaze on the old man.

"And what are you doing here, on this fine night?" Dumbledore smiled at her.

"This night has been far from fine, and I have sense that you know this very well," Jenna said with a grimace.

"Now why would you have such sense?" he asked, looking amused.

"Because you know what's going around here more than anyone else, so don't play the fool," Jenna replied grimly. "Where is Sirius? What happened to him?"

Dumbledore let out a long sigh, taking slow steps toward her with his hands laced behind his back.

"From what Professor Snape told me, he had woken up to the sound of wolf howls, and saw Mr. Lupin and Mr. Black in a struggle. The werewolf slammed the dog into a rock before escaping into the wood. Mr. Black shifted back to human form and walked down toward the lake, with Mr. Potter behind him. But unfortunately, they were both faced with dementors —"

"What?" Jenna breathed, clapping a hand to her mouth.

Dementors were ordered by the ministry to perform the kiss if they caught sight of Sirius, and Jenna knew that it made no difference when it came to those who stood in their way. What if they had tried to attack Harry too?

"Although, as understanding, they were faced with a mysterious savior," Dumbledore went on. "Someone had produced a Patronus charm and drove the dementors away. A powerful one, at that."

"But... who?" Jenna frowned, her mind racing anxiously, yet relieved to hear that they had both been saved from the dementors.

"As Understanding," Dumbledore smiled, "the Patronus was a stag."