Crookshanks | 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

Chapter 65

A long silence fell between them as Jenna stared at Hermione, thinking as if she had heard her wrong. This had to be a joke. She wanted to convince herself that maybe there was another Harry at Hogwarts. It was a common name, after all.

"Huh?" Jenna blinked at Hermione a few times, looking dazed.

"Oh, God! I don't know what happened myself either!" Hermione blurted out hastily, flapping her hands nervously. "The Hogwarts champion was Cedric — he was chosen — but then — then the Goblet of Fire turned red and the fourth piece of paper was shot to the air and Dumbledore caught and — and it had Harry's name written on it!"

Jenna's whole body was frozen and she couldn't get herself to even blink as she stared down at Hermione, as if the girl were speaking in a whole other language.

"Where is Harry now?" Jenna asked blankly, not even able to move a finger from the shock.

"He's gone down to see Dumbledore and the rest of the judges along with the other three champions," Hermione said quickly, now breathing slightly more rapid.

"Dumbledore, did you say?" Jenna nodded calmly, forcing an obvious-fake smile. "Hmm... Very well, then."

She then took one last deep breath and stepped toward the dorm's door, taking the enchantments off the room.

"Stay in the room for a few minutes until the coast becomes clear again," said Jenna, putting her wand back in her pocket.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione questioned in confusion, but she got her answer when Jenna transformed herself to look like Hermione before stepping out of the dorm in her form, closing the door behind her.

Holding her hair from turning red, Jenna walked across the common room in Hermione's form and pushed her way through the mass of students. Harry had just entered the room and was gushed over by the Gryffindors, not noticing that Jenna — in Hermione's form — had passed him and left the common room, pacing briskly up toward Dumbledore's office.

Once she neared the office and made sure that no one else was around, Jenna took out her wand angrily just as she transformed back to look like herself again.

With her teeth gritting against each other, Jenna reached the Gargoyle to the entrance of his office. To her luck, the Gargoyle had already been pushed aside to reveal a staircase up to Dumbledore's office, which meant that someone had just went up there.

Although it was more sensible to say that the stone-made Gargoyle was in luck, because at that moment Jenna wouldn't have hesitated to burst it open with a flick of her wand in order to have a word with Dumbledore.

Climbing up the staircase before the Gargoyle could close it up again, Jenna stormed toward the office's door, pushing it open harshly and bursting inside with her wand still gripped in her hand.

At her entrance, Jenna saw three people inside the room who all turned to face her abruptly; there was Dumbledore who still looked as calm as ever, Snape who became more stern at her sight though he was not surprised, and then there was Professor McGonagall who gasped as she stared at Jenna in disbelief, going as pale as a ghost.

Snape had probably seen Jenna last year at the Shrieking Shack and Dumbledore had explained everything to him, though by the look of shock on Professor McGonagall's face it was easy to conclude that she still didn't know that Jenna was alive and that she currently lived at Hogwarts.

"Ah, Miss Potter... I expected that I would be seeing you soon. I assume you've heard the unfortunate news," said Dumbledore, smiling at her softly. "You missed Alastor on your way here; he had just left the office. I'm sure he would've been amazed to see you."

"Potter? How — how is this — how's this possible?" Professor McGonagall breathed out as she stared at Jenna as though she had seen a ghost.

"What are you playing at, Dumbledore!?" Jenna snapped, her dangerous eyes fixed on him. "What is the meaning of this!? Harry's the fourth champion!?"

"But — you — you were supposed to be dead!" McGonagall croaked, still not over her shock.

"Believe me, Miss Potter, that I am as lost as you about the recent events," said Dumbledore earnestly.

"Then why aren't you doing something about it!?" Jenna yelled. "Why are you letting him compete!?"

"I'm sure you were dead! Everyone thought so — but they could never find a body!" McGonagall mumbled to herself.

"The Goblet of Fire has created a powerful binding magical contract," Dumbledore explained to her. "Harry has no other choice than to compete."

Jenna's hair started turning red as she gritted her teeth together.

"People die in this tournament!" Jenna snapped sharply. "Not to mention that there's a Death Eater at Hogwarts! And Harry's scar had been hurting through summer! This is not a coincidence, Dumbledore! Harry's in danger!"

"I'm well aware that this tournament is dangerous... but as I said, Harry's been bound magically to the Goblet of Fire. Although I've already asked Alastor to keep an eye on him."

Jenna abruptly raised her wand and pointed it at Dumbledore. On cue, Snape immediately drew out his and directed it at Jenna, but she couldn't care less as she glared at Dumbledore, who stood there calmly.

"You might have everybody else fooled, Dumbledore, but not me," she snarled, breathing heavily. "I know that one of the reasons that you're not doing anything to stop this is because you want to see how it ends. You want to find the source to this problem in your own twisted ways. So don't you strike me as a fool."

With one last glare at Snape, Jenna then placed her wand back in her pocket before storming out of the office, turning into a cat as she walked back to the Gryffindor common room.