Crookshanks | 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

Chapter 48

A deadly silence fell among them. The sound of Jenna's breathing was even louder than the howling wind as she stared back at Dumbledore in disbelief.

     "No," she whispered, shaking her head weakly as she took a step back, her knees slightly trembling. "No... he's dead... James... my brother is dead..."

     "No. Not him," said Dumbledore softly. "Can you think of nobody else?"

      "No, I —" But Jenna stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes widening in realization as she let out a shaky breath. "Harry..."

     Dumbledore smile. "Indeed."

     "Remus did say he was teaching him... I didn't know his Patronus was a stag... just like his father..."

Jenna stood there motionlessly for long seconds, her racked up nerves in a state that nothing could soothe them, as she thought back on what Dumbledore had told her.

"But then... you said Sirius and Harry were saved by a mysterious person... and there must've been a hundred dementors!"

      "Well —"

      "No, you know what!?" Jenna cut him off sharply. "I'm sick of guessing games! I'm sick of the fact that you're just standing there smiling, pretending like the last twelve years never happened!"

     Dumbledore stood there in silence patiently and let her go on, knowing that after all these years her frustration had been built up and she had to lash it all out to find peace once and for all.

     "You lied to me!" Jenna shouted, tired of pretending. "You told me that Harry was dead the night that James and Lily died! I was devastated! You took away the last hope of happiness that I could've had! You took away the life that Harry deserved as a child, and I could've given it to him! I was miserable, Dumbledore! I had lost everyone! Everyone! My mum, my dad, my brother, Marlene, Lily, Sirius... and you made me think that I had lost Harry too! My own nephew! My godson!"

     Tears were now rushing down her face uncontrollably, but she felt as if they were more of anger than anything else.

     "You just sent me away without giving me time to even say goodbye to Remus! He thought I've been dead all these years!" She went on, feeling her pulse all through her body. "I — I didn't even get the chance to see Alice one last time! And I could never speak to her again! Thanks to you!"

     The thought of Alice was devastating enough, knowing that she was never going to be there to hum her favorite song under her breath dreamily, or to braid her blue hair and conjure little white daisies and put it in her hair.

     "You didn't let me help Sirius back then! You wouldn't listen to me and you did nothing! And now..." Jenna shook her head. "You're doing nothing to save an innocent man's life. Again. The least you could do is to tell where the hell my fiancé is and what happened to him tonight!?"

     "They have locked him up here, somewhere in the castle," Dumbledore explained once he was sure that she was done. "I spoke with him... and Sirius explained everything to me."

     "Then why don't you tell them!? Tell the Ministry to set him free!" Jenna retorted.

     "I'm afraid, the Ministry wouldn't believe me even if I told them so. They're too arrogant that they are sure that they're never wrong. So sure, that they wouldn't even see it necessary to use Veritaserum; because they are under the false impression that Dark Wizards can fight the potion's effects off by using dark magic. They just want to seem like they're doing something, and afraid of being proven wrong. I'm positive that they wouldn't even believe it right now if I brought them proof that Lord Voldemort was back, unless they saw him with their own eyes."

     Jenna's heart sank. She could only listen to the first sentence. Sirius was locked up somewhere in the castle and now that Pettigrew had escaped, there was no way to prove that he was innocent. And any moment now, they were going to perform the kiss and then Jenna would lose him forever...

     "Don't worry, Miss Potter," said Dumbledore, seeing the obvious look of concern across her expression. "A plan is in action. And as it seems..." he looked up at the sky, his smile widening, "the plan has worked."

     Jenna frowned in confusion, following his gaze and looking upwards. But all she could see was a bird in the far distant, flying away.

      "I'm sorry about what I did, Miss Potter," Dumbledore said gently, catching Jenna's attention again. "I know how hard it must've been on you. But the lie was necessary. You had to believe that Harry was dead."

     "How was it necessary, exactly!?" Jenna snarled.

     "You had both the Ministry and the old Death Eaters looking after you. Everyone had to believe you were dead. Everyone had to forget about your existence. That was the only way you could remain safe," Dumbledore explained. "But tell me... if you knew Harry was alive, would you have gone away?"

     Jenna remained silence, throwing her glance away. She looked back up at the sky. The bird was now completely out of sight.

     "Miss Potter, if you knew Harry was alive, I'm sure you would see it in your caring heart to stay for his sake, and have him come and live with you, so you could look after him, just like you had promised Lily and James. But that would've only put his life in more danger," he said. "Although, there was also another reason as to why he couldn't have stayed with you."

     Jenna looked back up at him, but said nothing in response and just let him go on.

     "When Lily Potter sacrificed her life to save her son, her love was so powerful that it put Harry under a magical protection. That's why when Voldemort tried to kill him, the curse backfired and Harry survived, left with only a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt on his forehead."

      "And what does this have to do with the fact that Harry couldn't and still can't live with me?" Jenna asked, growing more and more impatient by each passing moment.

     "Everything." Dumbledore said quietly. "Lily Potter casted an ancient charm, called the Bond of Blood."

     "What is that?" Jenna questioned, having never heard of it.

     "It means that even to this day, Harry is still under Lily Potter's protection, created by her love for him," he said. "A charm that binds Harry to her blood. So he will remain safe and unharmed as long as he stays where Lily's blood dwells. And the only person who is a close blood relative to Lily is —"

     "Her sister," Jenna whispered, now understanding why Harry was sent to live with the Dursleys.

     "Precisely." Dumbledore nodded. "As long as Harry can still call home the place where his mother's blood dwells, there he cannot be touched or harmed by Voldemort."

      "All right..." Jenna said firmly, her face stern and emotionless. "But you can't stop me from seeing Harry now. I left him once... I won't do it again."

      "Very well..." Dumbledore nodded slowly. "But only as long as Harry doesn't know your true identity. Or at least... until your name is cleared."