Harry stared ahead at the woman who was now sitting on the bed beside Sirius, where a moment ago Crookshanks laid. His mind couldn't grasp on what had just happened, because it was the last thing he had expected.
"You — you were — you're Crookshanks," Harry spoke with wide eyes and a terrified tone. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. "You — you've been an Animagus!"
"Not exactly," said Sirius, glancing sideway at the woman who had failed to speak. She was too busy looking back into Harry's eyes, as though she had found someone whom she had lost long ago. As though he was the cure to all the open wounds in her heart.
Harry looked from Sirius to the woman, who had shockingly beautiful blue hair, falling behind her back in waves. She looked oddly familiar to him. Harry was sure he had seen her before somewhere, but he couldn't put a finger on it.
But all he could think about at the moment was that the woman before him was Crookshanks. Maybe he was just imagining thing. His eyes could've just duped him. And what did Sirius mean when he said she wasn't exactly and Animagus?
"Who are you?" Harry asked the woman in a hollow voice, unable to even blink or to look away from her.
Sirius looked at the woman again, giving her another encouraging look, seeing as the woman had yet again failed to form the words and speak.
At last, the woman took a deep breath, before saying, "I'm Jenna."
Sirius cleared his throat.
The woman with blue hair hesitated at first, but the she spoke the words that completely caught Harry by surprise.
"My name Jenna Potter. I'm... I'm your aunt."
Harry looked back at Sirius, as if to make sure this was all real and not just a meaningless prank. He searched his god father's face for any sign that could mean this was all just a joke, but he had never seen Sirius look so stern and sincere before, with a hint of nervousness.
Before Harry could stop himself, he had let out an unsure laughter. "No. That's not possible." But despite the words that escaped his lips, Harry's heart had started throbbing inside his chest.
"It's true, Harry," Sirius spoke gently, holding the woman's hand in his, as though trying to silently comfort him. "I know this is hard to believe. I know it's going to be even harder to understand. But that wouldn't make it any less true. James had a sister. A twin sister. It's a long story... but I want you to hear it out."
Harry remained silent. This couldn't be real. It just couldn't. He would've known. Someone would've told him. He shook his head slowly in disbelief, taking a step back.
"I knew this was a bad idea," Jenna muttered with a frown, briskly getting to her feet. But Sirius was quick to grab her wrist, stopping her.
"Just talk to him," Sirius whispered to her, even though she was avoiding his eyes. Sirius then turned to face Harry. "Please, Harry. Why don't you take a seat?"
Harry hesitated at first, but he trusted Sirius more than anyone in his life. So as Sirius stood up and gestured him to take his place at the edge of the bed, Harry walked forward, sitting furthest away from the woman as possible.
"Okay," said Sirius, glancing between the two of them, "I'll just give you two some time alone to talk."
Jenna turned her head sharply on him, as if pleading him with her eyes to stay and not leave her alone, but there was no use. Sirius had already turned around and left the room, closing the door behind them.
Jenna had been waiting for this moment for years, running different scenarios in her head, thinking of all the things she could say to him and all the explanations she would have to give him. But she had never expected to sit there in silence, having no idea where she could start.
"I've seen you before," Harry suddenly broke the silence, catching Jenna by surprise.
"What?" She blinked a few times in confusion. How could he possibly know her?
"It was — it was in the Pensieve — it was a memory," Harry spoke in a small tone, though he wasn't looking Jenna in the eyes as he spoke. "My dad was there with Sirius and Lupin. And Pettigrew. They were sitting under a tree at Hogwarts, near the Black Lake. I — I remember my dad kept looking at a group of girls sitting by the lake, and they had their feet in the water. My mum was there, with her friends. And — and — you were there too, weren't you?"
Jenna nodded lightly, feeling her heart sink in her chest. She could remember that day as clear as day, as if it had happened only a few times weeks ago. But many years had passed. So many miserable years.
It had been their fifth year. Jenna had been sitting by the Black Lake with Lily, Marlene, and Alice. They had promised to go back. All of them. But now, Jenna was the only one left. She was all alone.
"I'm sorry you had to figure out this way," Jenna whispered. "Believe me, Harry. If I could've had it my way, you would have never had to live with the Dursleys."
Harry still wasn't looking her in the eyes. He said nothing.
Jenna gulped, trying to find the right words to say, but it was as though she had forgotten how to speak.
"Listen," she started again, "I know how hard it is for you to learn about this — after sixteen years — but if it was up to me, I would've given anything to be in your life."
"Then why didn't you?" Harry frowned, looking down at his feet awkwardly.
"Like Sirius said... I'm not an Animagus. I'm a Metamorphmagus."
Harry couldn't understand what this had to do with the question he just asked, but he was surprised all the same. He still couldn't believe that Crookshanks had been a human all along.
"In the first war, I used my powers to go undercover as a Death Eater, so I could spy for the Order of the Phoenix. It's a long story, but after my cover was blown, I became a target to both the Ministry and the Death Eaters. So after Lily and James..."
Jenna stopped herself in mid-sentence, the lump in her throat growing as she felt tears resurface in her eyes.
"After Voldemort's downfall fifteen years ago," she went on, trying to hold back the tears, "Dumbledore told me to flee the country. I wanted to take you in. I really did. After all, Lily and James had made me your god mother. Only... Dumbledore told me you were dead."
Harry's head shot up at those words, and he finally looked back at her. "What?"
"It's true," Jenna whispered feebly.
"But... why?"
"Dumbledore told you about Lily's magic last year, didn't he? About how she created a magical bond that could keep you safe as long as you stayed where her blood dwelled?"
Harry nodded slowly.
"So you know that it was necessary for you to stay with Petunia," Jenna went on.
"But — but why would he tell you that I was dead?"
"Because he knew — and now I see that he was right — that I wouldn't have left the country if I knew you were alive. I would've been stubborn enough to keep you with me and raise you myself, despite everything."
"Why!? What was wrong about staying with you!?" Harry almost sounded angry. Not at Jenna, but at the fact that he had been kept in the dark all these years, not knowing that his father ever had a twin sister. That he had an aunt.
"Because you wouldn't have been safe with me, Harry," Jenna admitted. She hated that Dumbledore was right about this. "I was on the run, with the old Death Eaters and the Aurors after me. I couldn't have kept you safe. Besides... in the first war... I had lost everything."
Her voice seemed weaker now as she looked away, but Jenna forced herself to keep on talking.
"I had lost everyone. Even Sirius was sent to Azkaban," she murmured, the memories of that horrible night fresh in her mind, even though she had spent years trying to forget it. "I guess Dumbledore thought I was not mentally in the right place to take care of a baby. Maybe he was right. But then again, maybe I would've become better if I had you in my life."
Before being able to prevent herself, a teardrop rolled down Jenna's cheek. She quickly wiped it away with her knuckle, taking in a deep breath and blinking away the rest of her tears.
"When I learnt that you were alive, around three years ago, I was angry at first. But then... it felt as if the world made sense again. I had finally found hope again." Jenna let out a little laugh.
"Then why didn't you show yourself to me?" Harry mused, feeling slightly calmer as he was starting to understand what was going on.
"I was too focused on trying to kill Pettigrew. And then, Dumbledore asked me to wait until the time was right."
"In third year..." Harry started, trying to piece it all together, "you came to Hogwarts as Crookshanks! That's why you were trying to chase Scabbers! That's why you've been helping Sirius! I knew you were too smart for a cat! And all this time... you've been Sirius's friend!"
"I wouldn't really say we're friends," said Jenna, pursing her lips together awkwardly.
"What do you mean?"
Jenna then raised her left hand, showing him the ring on her finger. "We've been engaged for years now."
"Oh!" Harry took aback. "Um... congratulations?"
Jenna laughed at the expression on his face. She didn't blame him. In a span of a few minutes, Harry had learnt that his best friend's cat was a human, that she was his aunt and his dad's twin sister, and that she was engaged to his god father.
"I know that's too much information to get in a few minutes," said Jenna, looking at him apologetically. "And I know I've been missing from your life for fifteen years, but... I would love to get to know you more and make up for the lost time, if only you would let me."
Harry glanced back at her, pausing for a few moments. And in the depths of his green eyes, as Jenna looked back at him, she found herself traveling back in time.
Jenna smiled. "You must've heard this a lot, but you —"
"Have my mother's eyes?" Harry completed her sentence with a grin.
"I was actually going to say you look so much like James." Jenna chuckled. "Not a day goes by that I don't miss him. And Lily too."
The tears came again, though Jenna couldn't do anything to hold them back anymore. She just let them stream down. But this time, they were from happiness. After years of waiting, the moment she had longed for was here, and she was living it.