But Sirius's melancholy lasted less than half a night before he was back at full strength.
At midnight, as he paced alone in the living room, his four paws digging little holes in the carpet while he howled mournfully at the moon outside the window—
Arthur Weasley, who had been working overtime for over ten days straight and finally returned home in the dead of night, brought him exhilarating news—
Peter Pettigrew had been captured and was already dead.
Exhausted Arthur watched in horror as the big black dog before him kicked hard with his hind legs, leaping three feet high and bounding straight from the floor onto the ceiling-high cabinet, letting out a howl filled with blood and tears!
The sound was so loud, so tragic, so emotionally raw that it woke everyone sleeping upstairs!
Then Sirius leaped down again, propping himself up on his hind legs with his front paws bent at his chest in a standing posture, bouncing and spinning in circles.
It was the first time Arthur realized that dogs could actually grin.
"What's happening, Sirius?" Mrs. Weasley, already unable to sleep from anxiety, rushed downstairs in panic. "Arthur—you're back?"
The loving couple, who hadn't seen each other for days, hugged tightly and began kissing, leaving Sirius dumbfounded. His mouth, which had been grinning from joy, snapped shut, and even his tongue retreated.
Was this what they meant by "birds of a feather flock together"?
How did Arthur, all the way at the Ministry of Magic, know that Molly was serving as marriage propaganda ambassador in this house?
Why did he also have to show off in front of him, a single dog?
Sirius wondered in confusion.
"Death Eaters attacked Yu and the Ministry's classified project," Arthur said rapidly. "The place was razed to the ground, but fortunately Fred and George weren't on site at the time, and Yu and the others are all unharmed."
Mrs. Weasley gasped, suddenly covering her head with both hands and speaking uneasily:
"Merlin, such a big incident—Yu came back this afternoon, why didn't she mention a word?"
"It's all my fault for being so angry with Charlie that my brain turned to mush—I didn't even ask how she was doing... Merlin, that child must have been terrified!"
Her cry of alarm brought Harry and Lupin downstairs—they hadn't been able to sleep, worried about Sirius's strange condition. Then came Fred and George, who had been secretly developing Death Eater tattoo products, followed by Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, all awakened by that wolf howl and rushing downstairs.
A group of people in pajamas stood on the stairs, listening to Mr. Weasley recount the events.
"The project location was exposed and attacked. The entire factory was completely destroyed by explosions. Yu and those researchers fought desperately with them. Many were injured. Although those Death Eaters escaped, they successfully used Blasting Curses to kill Peter Pettigrew and captured his body."
The living room fell utterly silent, everyone absorbed in shock.
For dozens of seconds, no one spoke—not even Sirius continued howling.
"Wormtail is dead? Yu led people to blow him up?" Lupin finally spoke, his heart a tangle of emotions.
He slowly sat on the stairs, covering his face as tears leaked through his fingers, though his mouth stretched wide in a grin.
"Finally—finally—!" He cried and laughed simultaneously. "That traitor! I need to find time to go to Godric's Hollow and tell James and Lily—they'll be so relieved! He's finally gone to meet Merlin!"
Sirius whimpered, and in his mixed grief and joy at having his great revenge fulfilled, he forgot to transform back to human form, simply placing his front paws on his best friend's shoulders as man and dog wept together.
"Harry!" Sirius called to his godson standing dazed on the stairs. "Your parents are buried there. The rat who betrayed them is dead. When all this is over, I'll take you to pay respects at their graves!"
Harry nodded frantically. He felt a joy at having his great revenge fulfilled, but another worry surfaced, making him ask:
"But Yu—she went through a desperate fight, the place was razed to the ground—she—"
For a moment he struggled to organize his words, involuntarily recalling Jane's demeanor and every gesture from that afternoon and evening—
She had seemed so natural, relaxed and at ease, as dazzling as ever, as if everything was under control...
She had quietly chatted and gossiped with them amid all the scolding, discussing the interesting topics of "matchmaking" and "marriage" regarding the Weasley family and Sirius...
But who could have imagined that she had just experienced such brutal combat, that so much of her hard work had turned to ash?
Yet she hadn't mentioned any of this pain... while they had been laughing and joking, not even asking what she had endured...
She must have felt terrible inside, just not wanting to bring negative emotions to them...
A sudden guilt choked Harry's throat, making Ron uneasily put a hand on his shoulder.
"Merlin—"
Hermione and Ginny stood dazed, gripping the banister, feeling they could only exclaim in shock.
Fred and George also felt they could no longer smile. They knew how much effort Yu and the researchers had put into this project.
Even they themselves had been moved by the project team's enthusiasm. Hearing that the place had been razed to the ground made their hearts bleed.
"She didn't even mention it," Fred murmured. "How painful this must be..."
"Yu is truly psychologically strong," George said. "If our joke shop were destroyed, I'd probably stick my head in an oven."
Everyone in the room fell silent, all realizing this point as they looked up toward the upper floor.
"Oh, this child—sigh—"
The guilt-ridden Mrs. Weasley sighed and rushed into the kitchen, dragging Kreacher along as she began working her magic.
Sirius let out an excited yet pained howl and bounded upstairs three steps at a time—
"Don't—Sirius—don't be rash—Yu is resting—this isn't appropriate—"
Everyone who knew his impulsive nature reached out trying to restrain him, preventing Jane's bedroom door from suffering damage.
But unfortunately, they failed.
His four-wheel drive speed was so fast that his godson Harry, best friend Lupin, and the string of companions scrambling upstairs behind him couldn't stop him.
...
Jane felt like she was sleeping in a daze.
Her brain, overused and tense day after day, had suddenly arrived at a safe place without explosions, making her whole body relax as drowsiness spread like a tide.
But this sudden relaxation also made her memory run slowly and completely stop functioning before sleep.
She seemed to have forgotten something...
Something she had been thinking about telling Sirius and Harry immediately before entering the house... something that had been scattered by Mrs. Weasley's marriage propaganda shouting...
The afternoon and evening time had been occupied by the Weasley Third World War, making all her thoughts interrupted... with no chance to interject...
Only brainwashing phrases like "get married quickly" and "unmarried Weasleys don't deserve to eat" and Mrs. Weasley's shouting echoed in her mind, lingering endlessly...
In her dream, she felt like she heard a very loud crash by her ear...
That didn't matter—it was just a door slamming, not an explosion... continue sleeping...
Then her bed sank heavily, as if something had pounced on it...
That didn't matter—that thing wasn't a bomb and wasn't noisy... continue sleeping...
But she soon realized she couldn't sleep anymore.
Because a furry, heavy creature like a fire dragon had jumped directly onto her and started bouncing!
She felt like she was about to be trampled to death by four paws on the bed, with a mouthful of blood already shooting to her throat—
This scene was very familiar, just like the dog she had once kept in her dormitory... the dog she had kept?
Jane suddenly opened her eyes and let out a weak cry:
"Help—"
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