Crookshanks | 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

Chapter 102

Once the meeting was over, the Order members left Grimmauld Place one by one, and only a few stayed behind to join the others for dinner. Once everyone was gone, Remus took out his wand and put the locks and bolts behind on the door.

Jenna soon transformed back to Crookshanks before the kids had come down for dinner. Tonks chuckled at her transformation, muttering under her breath, "Cool!"

"The meeting's over," Molly whispered to the children who were walking down, meeting them at the bottom of the stairs. "Harry, dear, if you'll just tiptoe across the hall, it's through this door here —"

But just then, her words were cut off and they all jumped when they heard a loud crash.

"Tonks!" Molly cried out exasperatedly, turning to look behind her.

"I'm sorry!" wailed Tonks, who was lying flat on the floor. "It's that stupid umbrella stand, that's the second time I've tripped over —"

But the rest of her words were drowned by a horrible, earsplitting, bloodcurdling screech. They had woken up Sirius's mother again, along with the rest of his family in their portraits.

Harry screwed up his eyes at the noise and clapped his hands over his ears. Remus and Molly darted forward and tried to tug the curtains shut over the old woman, but Walburga wouldn't stop shouting.

"Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness! Half-breeds, mutants, freaks, begone from this place! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers —"

Tonks apologized over and over again, at the same time dragging the huge, heavy troll's leg back off the floor. Molly abandoned the attempt to close the curtains and hurried up and down the hall, Stunning all the other portraits with her wand.

  "Shut up, you horrible old hag, shut UP!" Sirius roared, walking out of the dining room and seizing the curtain which Molly had abandoned.

The old woman's face blanched once she spotted him.

"You!" she howled, her eyes popping at the sight of the man. "Blood traitor, abomination, shame of my flesh!"

"I said — shut — UP!" Sirius bellowed, and with a stupendous effort he and Remus managed to force the curtains closed again.

     At last, silence fell through the halls of Grimmauld Place once more and they all stood on their spot transfixed, trying to catch their breath.

"Hello, Harry," Sirius said grimly after a long puase, "I see you've met my mother."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise. "Your — ?"

"My dear old mum, yeah," said Sirius. "This was my parents' house. But I'm the last Black left, so it's mine now. I offered it to Dumbledore for headquarters — about the only useful thing I've been able to do."

With that, they all went back through the hall for dinner, and Crookshanks followed them right behind, going unnoticed by Harry. Jenna would never admit this out loud to Sirius, but sometimes she felt slightly jealous of how much Harry loved and adored him.

Once they entered the room, they found Mundugus asleep on a chair, snoring loudly. Arthur and Bill were talking quietly with their heads together at the end of the table. But they quickly fell quiet when Molly cleared her throat.

"Sit down, Harry," said Sirius, gesturing at a chair next to his. "You've met Mundungus, haven't you?"

     "Some'n say m' name?" Mundungus mumbled sleepily, blinking a few times as he shot awake at the sound. "I 'gree with Sirius..."