When the Weird Sisters finished playing at midnight, everyone gave them a last, loud round of applause and started to wend their way into the entrance hall. Many people were expressing the wish that the ball could have gone on longer, one of them being Jenna.
George offered to walk Anna back to her common room after the Yule Ball was over, but she politely refused, mostly because Jenna had no idea how to get to the Ravenclaw tower.
Once she parted with George, Jenna transformed back into Crookshanks in a deserted corridor before making her way back to the warm and cozy Gryffindor common room to get some sleep after a long night.
Everybody woke up late on Boxing Day the next morning. The Gryffindor common room was much quieter than it had been lately, everyone yawning and having lazy conversations.
Harry and Ron were already in the common room when Hermione walked out of the girls' dormitory, Crookshanks following her right behind.
"Morning," said Hermione as she sat on the couch beside Harry, though avoided even looking at Ron's direction. Crookshanks hopped up on a nearby armchair as well, curling up against it.
"Your hair is back to being bushy again," Harry pointed out with a grin.
"Oh, yes," Hermione chuckled shyly. "I had used liberal amounts of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion on it for the ball, but it's way too much bother to do every day."
Ron and Hermione seemed to have reached an unspoken agreement not to discuss their argument. They were being quite friendly to each other, though oddly formal.
Ron and Harry wasted no time in telling Hermione about the conversation they had overheard between Madame Maxime and Hagrid the previous night, about how Hagrid was a half-giant.
Although Jenna was finding interest in another matter at the moment; Fred and George Weasley had just entered the common room, and George looked particularly moody, meanwhile Fred seemed more cheerful that ever.
"I can't believe her!" George said with a huff, shaking his head as they took their seats nearby, where Crookshanks could fortunately hear their conversation.
"Maybe she had drunk a Potion to make her more cheerful?" Fred suggested, which made Jenna realize that they were probably talking about Anna. "So what happened with her, anyway?"
"Well, I just went and talked to her, but she was back to her old self again!" George retorted. "And you know what happened this morning!?"
"What?"
"I tried to kiss her!"
Fred's eyes widened as he grinned. "And...?"
"And she slapped me!"
Jenna was glad that she was a cat at the moment, because if she were back in her human form, she would've definitely burst out in laughter. Although Fred was laughing loud enough for the two of them.
***
Throughout the days that passed, Jenna was beginning to worry, because Harry still hadn't figured out what his golden egg and its clue was, though the second task was drawing near.
But other than the tournament, Jenna was also concerned about another matter, which was Sirius returning to Hogwarts. Jenna knew that there was no way she could talk him out of it, specially now that he had come all this way, but the least she could do was to make sure that he would be safe after his arrival.
Thinking a lot about this matter, she finally decided to pay Dumbledore a visit and ask for his help, even though the last time Jenna had gone to see him, she had completely lost her tempter.
Jenna didn't know the password to his office, so near the end of meal-time that night, she went and sat at the entrance to his office in her cat form, waiting impatiently before the statue of the gargoyle for him.
Nearly half an hour had passed that Jenna finally heard footsteps approaching her through the corridor, and when the ginger cat looked up, she saw Dumbledore approaching her.
A bright smile was formed on his lips as the old man reached her, beaming down at the cat. "And to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you, Miss Potter?"
Making sure that no one was in the corridor and that they were alone, Jenna transformed back to herself, looking back at Dumbledore.
"I need your help, Professor," she said rather coldly, "it's about Sirius."
"Ah, of course!" He chuckled. "I assume he's returning back to Hogwarts? I mean, it's only natural, after hearing about Harry competing in the tournament."
"Yes," Jenna nodded lightly, "he is."
At that, Dumbledore turned to face the statue of the gargoyle as he said loud and clear, "Sherbet Lemon."
On cue, the statue moved only to reveal the entrance to the Headmaster's office, and so the two climbed up the staircase, entering the room.
"What can I help you with, Miss Potter?" asked Dumbledore, sitting behind his desk and gesturing Jenna to sit down on a chair nearby as well, which she did.
"I'm not sure if Sirius would be safe, staying at Hogwarts. He's reckless, at the very least and he always has his ways of finding trouble," said Jenna worriedly. "I don't think staying at the forbidden forest would be safe for him."
"Well, as a matter of fact, I know of a place Mr. Black could stay," said Dumbledore thoughtfully. "There's a cave, near Hogsmeade. It's a safe place for him to stay, and close enough to Hogwarts if he ever wanted to see Harry, and to keep in touch about the tournament. I do think that it was a good idea for him to return."
I beg to differ, Jenna thought to herself bitterly. She was absolutely against the idea of Sirius risking his exposure.
"You can write a letter to Mr. Black tonight and inform him," Dumbledore suggested.
"I will. Thank you," Jenna muttered as she got to her feet, leaving the office after bidding the Headmaster goodnight.
Despite the overwhelming concern that she was feeling about the rest of Harry's tournament, there was still a flutter of happiness in her heart, because she was going to see Sirius again after months of being apart.