Crookshanks | 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

Chapter 182

With Voldemort controlling the Ministry, the Order no longer stood a chance. The Death Eaters were coming after them one by one, and so they all had to go to hiding. The Weasleys were now staying at Aunt Muriel's house along with Lexi, Sirius and Jenna remained at the Potter Manor, and Remus and Tonks were staying with Andromeda.

     With the Muggle-born registration still going on, Ted Tonks had left home and was currently on the run, afraid that they would drag him to the Ministry and execute him like all the other Muggle-borns.

     The Ministry claimed that these people didn't have their own magic, and had stolen the magic from actual Wizards and Witches, which was impossible. Unless these Muggle-borns could prove that they had a magical blood-relative somehow, their wands would be taken away from them and they had to face the dementors.

    As Christmas approached, there was still no news of Harry, Ron, or Hermione. Jenna and Sirius's happiness was short-lasting, and as the days went by, they grew gloomier with time. They couldn't even leave the house for the sake of their safety.

     In fact, it didn't feel like Christmas at all. It was as though they were stuck in a never-ending bitter winter that was going to swallow them all up eventually.

     For days, the Potter Manor was so quiet that even the sound of the silence hummed through the empty rooms and dim halls of the house. But the silence was finally broken that night when once again Jenna took out the radio as she was sitting at the kitchen table, changing through the channels with the use of her wand.

     "Please tell me you're not listening to the victims' list again," said Sirius, walking into the kitchen after hearing the noises.

     "No, I'm not," Jenna muttered, trying to tune in with her wand in hand. "Lee Jordan — Fred and George's old school friend — has made a program. It's called the Potterwatch and —"

     Her words came to a stop when finally her password worked and the program started playing. Curious to know what it was going to be about, Sirius walked toward the table, drew out a chair, and say beside Jenna with the radio in front of them.

      "Evening, everybody!" It was a boy who spoke, and Jenna assumed it was Lee. "This is River, your host of Potterwatch. I am joined today by a few guests, so hopefully we can keep up with what You-Know-Who and his charming Death Eaters have been up to lately."

     "Charming Death Eaters?" Sirius repeated with a light chuckle.

     "But before we hear from our fellow contributors, let's take a moment to report a few things that Wizarding Wireless Network News and the Daily Prophet don't think important enough to mention," said Lee's voice. "I'm most unfortunate to inform that Ted Tonks and Dirk Cresswell have gone missing, along with Muggle-born Dean Thomas, Cresswell, and Gornuk. Whether they are on the run or have been captured, we do not know yet."

     Jenna's stomach lurched painfully at those names. She knew Dean Thomas; he was one of the boys in Harry's dorm.

     "... and now, we get to the next part of our program, called 'Pals of Potter', by our dear friend Romulus," Lee said after a few minutes of talking, "Good evening, Romulus."

"Good evening to you too, River," said a second voice.

"Is that — that's Remus!" Jenna exclaimed in surprise, and so the two of them listened more carefully.

"Despite the growing of You-Know-Who's followers, there are still people who support Harry Potter," Remus continued with his report. "From the most recent news, it is said that the author of the Quibbler magazine, Xenophilius Lovegood, has finally met the consequences of publicly supporting Potter through his articles. The horrible news is that they've captured his daughter on her way back home for the Christmas break."

As the minutes went by and others joined the program, Jenna and Sirius even recognized the voices of Kingsley, along with Fred and George; although they couldn't really tell who was whom.

     They even had a good laugh for the first time in months once Fred and George started reporting sightings of Voldemort, saying things like, "He can travel faster than Severus Snape confronted with shampoo when he wants to."

"Listeners, that brings us to the end of another Potterwatch," said Lee at last. "We don't know when it will be possible to broadcast again, but you can be sure we shall be back. Keep twiddling those dials: the next password will be 'Phoenix'. Keep each other safe. Keep faith. Good night."

     Jenna then tuned out and turned off the radio. When she looked up at the clock, she saw that it was already ten p.m.

"Well, that was cheerful," said Sirius with a little grin, leaning back on the chair.

"Where do they hold these meetings, though?" Jenna asked apprehensively. "It can be really dangerous. What if they get caught?"

"I'm sure they've thought it all through." Sirius shrugged casually. "They'll probably change their locations each time to be safe."

"Yeah, probably..." Jenna muttered, though a frown was formed on her forehead. "I'm still scared for them, though. I mean, you heard what happened to Lovegood. They took his daughter captive to punish him for what he's been writing." She shuddered at the thought, closing her eyes.

     "What I don't understand is why they're holding her captive," Sirius said thoughtfully, "If they wanted to punish Xenophilius Lovegood, they wouldn't have shown his daughter mercy. They would've killed her on the spot."

     "What are you getting at?" Jenna mused.

     "I mean, they probably want something from him. But what I don't get is what could Voldemort possibly want with a writer —"

    "Sirius, no!" Jenna shouted to stop him, but it was too late.

    Sirius had already spoken his name.

     The next moment, they both jumped to their feet in horror and drew out their wands when a loud crash came from outside, and the door to their house exploded, bursting open.