The house, which had felt like a tomb only hours ago, was suddenly bursting with a chaotic, vibrant energy. The kitchen was filled with the sounds of clattering pans and overlapping conversations, a stark contrast to the heavy, silent tension that had been suffocating me while Eryx and Theon were away.
Even the air felt lighter, or at least I tried to convince myself it did. With my dad and Sirius here, the world felt anchored again. The terrifying dreams seemed like distant, feverish hallucinations.
I stayed glued to Sirius’s side as we moved toward the dining room. I kept reaching out to poke his arm or mess with his hair, still unable to wrap my head around the fact that he was practically a man now. He took it with the kind of annoyed patience only a younger brother can manage, thou
