Potter | 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

Chapter 158

Just as expected, Lily took the news of Alice and Frank marrying even better than Jenna, congratulating the couple with all her heart.

      But they weren't surprised that Marlene threw a tantrum once she realized that she wasn't invited to the wedding. It took a lot convincing for her to finally calm down and realize that a big wedding was risky at the time anyway.

     That day, when Jenna and Sirius went to the Headquarters of the Order for the meeting, everyone was already there. But the weird thing was, the moment they entered the house, everyone fell silent at their sight.

       "Is everything all right?" Jenna asked as they took their usual seats.

      But no one really said anything. When they looked at their friends, they all looked away or shared uncomfortable glances with each other.

     "Okay, what the bloody hell is going on?" Sirius questioned, looking around at everyone.

      "There's... some news," said Edgar Bones, avoiding Sirius's eyes.

      "Well, what is it?" said Jenna impatiently. "You're killing us here!"

     "W-well..." James started, gulping. He then turned to Sirius sadly. "I'm so sorry, Padfoot... but — but we've got news about your brother."

      The color drained from Sirius's face at those words. "Regulus? What did he do!?"

      "Apparently, he wanted to back out of being a Death Eater. He'd probably seen what they do and got scared," Moody growled. "And you can't ever stop being a Death Eater. You serve for life, or you die."

      "And!?" Sirius said impatiently.

      "They say that he's... dead," Remus said in a quiet tone. "They couldn't find the body. But that's what Mundugus heard. I'm so sorry, Sirius."

      Jenna's eyes widened and she quickly turned to look at Sirius, only to see that he was gazing downward blankly, as pale as a ghost.

      "Sirius..." she whispered, grabbing his hand under the table. But he quickly pulled away.

      "It's fine," Sirius said flatly, trying his best to keep his expression blank as he avoided everyone's eyes. "That's — that's fine. He — he got himself into this mess."

       James glanced at his friend worriedly. "Padfoot, if there's anything we can do for you —"

       "Yes, you can get back to work. The sooner we get rid of Voldemort, the better," Sirius cut him off, looking more stern than anyone had ever seen him.

      No one really dared to say anything else, because it was obvious from his expression that Sirius would punch the next person who dared to mention his brother.

     Jenna decided not to say anything at the moment and to wait until they were back home. But Lily was quietly crying to herself in the corner as James held her hand under the table comfortingly.

       They quickly changed the subject and started talking about the new family who had been murdered by the Death Eaters. Remus volunteered for the mission to go and investigate to see who was behind it and why it had happened.

      When everyone returned back home, Jenna tried to approach Sirius to comfort him, but it seemed hopeless.

      "Sirius, if you could just talk to me —"

     "I said I want to be left alone, Jenna!" he snapped at her, causing her to take a step back. "What part of being left alone don't you get!?"

      Jenna swallowed, but only nodded, deciding that leaving him alone to calm down himself was the best way to deal with this whole situation.

***

It took Sirius months to go back to his normal self, but by the time November had arrived, he seemed to have been completely calmed down by then.

     That night, Lily had invited Jenna, Marlene, and Alice to her house in Godric's Hollow.

    The guys were on a mission, and this was the best opportunity for them to gather around, which helped them worry less than when they were alone.

     "How's Sirius holding up?" Alice asked Jenna as they were sitting in the living room, eating cake and tea.

      "Better," said Jenna earnestly. "It actually took him five months, but he's back to normal again."

      "Wow, I really didn't expect that," said Marlene, taking a big slice of cake. "I mean... I thought they never got along. Didn't Sirius hate his family?"

      "I don't think he hated his brother much. They just didn't get along," said Jenna. "And even if they hated each other, they're still brothers. They were raised together. Of course there's some attachments left."

     "And to add up to all that, Sirius's father died a few months ago, didn't he?" Lily questioned, frowning slightly.

     "Yeah, but Sirius wasn't as sad about that as Regulus," said Jenna. "His father was cruel, from what he told me. And don't even get me started on his mother." She rolled her eyes. "Let's just say I'm glad that I don't ever have to meet that bitch as my mother-in-law."

      "Ugh, yeah." Marlene grimaced. "I've seen her a few times at King's Cross. She's the worst. Could you imagine if she ever came to yours and Sirius's wedding if Sirius hadn't ran away?"

     "Honestly, I don't think his mother would've let him marry me if he hadn't ran away," said Jenna.

      "Why not?" Alice mused.

      "Because my family's a bunch of blood-traitors!" said Jenna with a proud grin.

      "Ugh, can we talk about something else now?" Marlene groaned. "I'm really tired of talking about blood status and war and everything. I could really use some good news now."

       "Well... maybe I can help you there," said Lily, catching all their attention.

     "Ooh, you've got news?" Alice said in glee.

     "Yeah." Lily shrugged with a shy smile. "That's kinda the reason I asked you three to come here tonight."

    "So what's the news, Lil?" Jenna asked.

    "W-well," she started hesitantly, "there's something you guys should know..."

     "What?" said Marlene, raising a brow at her.

     Lily smiled. "I'm pregnant."