It must be said, Sirius Black was never one to back down from danger or difficulty.
After fruitlessly searching for Peter Pettigrew with Dumbledore, he quickly took matters into his own hands—stealing his godson Harry Potter away from the Dursleys and smuggling him into the Black family home.
Amid Kreacher's muttering about "ungrateful scum bringing his Potter brat into the house," the two successfully settled in.
"That only leaves Jane!" Sirius declared, his eyes alight with determination. His enthusiasm was so infectious that even Harry found himself inspired, revealing Jane Yu's general whereabouts in full detail.
"I'll steal—rescue her from the old bat!" Sirius solemnly promised Harry, adding indignantly, "Sometimes, I really think the Headmaster's age is catching up with him. Does he honestly believe that a greasy git is better suited to care for a child than I am?"
A loud crash came from outside the door, where Kreacher had evidently dropped something heavy.
"Quiet, Kreacher!" Sirius roared at the door.
The elderly house-elf lowered his voice but continued muttering, his words still perfectly audible to the two inside:
"Back from Azkaban, and now he thinks he can boss Kreacher around."
"Oh, my poor mistress, what would she say if she saw the house like this? She swore she'd disown that son of hers…"
"Filthy little thief, bringing his Potter brat here and planning to steal someone else's little girl… My poor mistress would be heartbroken…"
Harry's gaze toward Sirius turned increasingly peculiar. Something about this situation felt… off.
Did Sirius just use the word "steal"?
In any case, Sirius wasted no time springing into action. After piecing together Jane's approximate location based on Harry's letters, he concluded:
"Harry, I know where your mother used to live. The old bat's house must be nearby—"
From the contents of Harry and Jane's correspondence, Sirius precisely pinpointed Spinner's End.
And so, the attack began.
In his Animagus form, Sirius spent several days skulking around Spinner's End, observing his target. Finally, he decided to squeeze through the gaps in Snape's fence to infiltrate the yard.
His invasion was thwarted.
Sirius, oblivious to the fact that the good food at St. Mungo's, combined with Jane's hospitality and a steady supply of snacks, had left him far from the emaciated dog he once was, found himself stuck.
In other words, he had grown too fat to fit through the fence.
Struggling desperately, Sirius discovered that the fence, reinforced by Snape's enchantments, wouldn't budge an inch despite his efforts.
The next moment, two shadows loomed over him.
Trembling, Sirius looked up—
"Woof! Woof!—Awooo—Ow ow ow—"
He let out a pained howl as goat hooves and cow hooves stomped on him mercilessly. Clearly, the livestock were determined to defend their territory with all their might.
Soon, the chickens joined the fray, pecking his fur until it was half-plucked.
After transforming back into his human form to escape, Sirius patted his pockets—only to find that all his valuables were gone! Even his cufflinks had vanished!
How was he supposed to pay for the Knight Bus now?
"My return fare—!"
The Nifflers in Jane's trunk pawed at their newfound Galleons and Sickles, blinking innocently.
"This was just a fluke, Harry!" Sirius declared upon his battered and bruised return, vowing to his godson that he would succeed next time.
Determined to try again, Sirius returned to the small yard, this time in human form.
Brazenly, he pushed open the door and stepped inside—only to come face-to-face with Snape, who was fertilizing his Chinese Chomping Cabbages.
Snape grinned menacingly.
So did the cabbages.
...
Jane noticed that her temporary guardian's mood had inexplicably improved.
He even took on the task of watering, fertilizing, and tilling the soil for his vegetables—a surprisingly down-to-earth activity.
The heart of a man is like the depths of the ocean, Jane mused.
Hadn't he been complaining just the other day that the smell of fertilizer was contaminating his potions?
Perplexed by Snape's ever-changing moods, Jane scratched her head in confusion.
But she soon noticed that his mood took another downturn.
This time, it was due to the sudden appearance of the Malfoy family stepping out of the fireplace.
"Oh, Severus, it's good to see you're doing well," Lucius Malfoy greeted him with his usual haughty smile, his gaze sweeping over the room before landing on Jane.
"And you as well," Snape replied curtly, his lips betraying not the slightest hint of a smile.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the Potions Master quickly realized something was amiss.
The Malfoy trio, while discussing some rejuvenating potion, couldn't seem to stop glancing in Jane's direction.
Their intentions were clearly not about the potion.
Alarm bells rang in Snape's mind as he plastered on a fake smile, skillfully maneuvering to block Lucius's line of sight while politely rebuffing him with every social nicety in the book.
Lucius, however, was no fool.
Frowning slightly, he signaled to Narcissa and Draco.
Deploying a strategy of "wife diplomacy" and "son diplomacy," the Malfoys successfully distracted Snape, allowing Lucius to corner Jane for a private conversation about business influence and the distribution of Galleons.
The two quickly and amicably reached an agreement, parting with satisfied smiles.
"Well then, I look forward to seeing you at the Quidditch World Cup," Lucius said with a slight nod to Jane before disappearing into the fireplace with Narcissa and Draco.
After sending off the Malfoys, Snape turned to Jane, his expression dark.
"I trust Miss Yu understands that the Malfoy family is not an appropriate choice. Neither, of course, is the troll-filled Weasley family."
"I reminded you as early as your second year—you must be cautious and deliberate in choosing your future companions—"
Jane scratched her head in bewilderment.
Future companions? Appropriate choices?
Hadn't she and the Malfoy family already become business partners?
Professor Snape's mood swings were truly perplexing.
She watched in confusion as Snape stormed into the yard, angrily dug up a large bucket of soil meant for the Chomping Cabbages, and dumped it all into the fireplace, sealing it shut.
Wouldn't he have to dig it all out again when term started to use the fireplace?
Jane couldn't make sense of it.
Shrugging, she went upstairs to count her Galleons and Pounds.
Planning to buy several properties on Spinner's End, she had enlisted Lucius's help to exchange a large sum of Muggle currency.
After all, this was one of her rare opportunities to venture into Muggle neighborhoods without her guardian's watchful eye.
Taking advantage of Snape's trip to restock potion ingredients, Jane, under the effects of an Aging Potion, successfully purchased the houses on either side of his.
...
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
Read up to (100 ) advanced chapters on Patre\on
Visit us here: patreon.com/DarkGolds
Happy reading, everyone!