Even though Allen tried to comfort him, Harry still felt incredibly awkward.
Seeing this, Allen decided to leave immediately to give the two close friends, who were sharing the same room, some space.
"What's our first lesson?" Harry asked, breaking the awkward and uncomfortable silence.
Ron suddenly snapped back to reality and fumbling for his class schedule. "First year, Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures!"
"Then we'd better hurry, class starts soon," Harry suggested, blinking.
The two children looked at each other, and with the same carefree expression on their faces, they ran towards the castle gates.
It was indeed late; the path from the castle to Hagrid's hut was silent. In the distance, Hagrid's hut was bathed in bright, warm sunlight.
As Harry and Ron hurried along the road, Harry suddenly stopped. His gaze froze, and his expression changed abruptly.
This caused Ron, who was following him with his head bowed, to also turn his attention to the man sitting next to Hagrid.
"Sirius Black!" Ron exclaimed in astonishment.
Sirius was watching Harry intently with his dark grey eyes.
Despite being very thin, her style of dress was remarkably neat compared to before.
Despite the slight melancholy in his eyes, no one could deny that he was a frail man who still bore traces of his former handsomeness, and that he was in the prime of his life.
There was an indescribable tension on his face; not an obvious tension, but rather a thoughtful, introspective tension.
Harry didn't know what expression was on his face; expectation, withdrawal, worry… In any case, it was probably not a very appropriate expression, for he felt his limbs stiffen.
Despite everything, it felt like it had happened so quickly, yet at the same time it felt like a very long time had passed; finally, Harry was standing in front of Sirius.
"Hello Harry!" said Sirius. "I'm Sirius Orion Black, but I'm also—I don't know if anyone has told you this before—your godfather."
"Yes... I think I know," said Harry, looking into Sirius's eyes with curiosity and anticipation.
Sirius looked relieved, a smile appearing on his face. "As your godfather, I should give you a gift. Let's see if you like it!"
Sirius handed Harry a large bag containing some items.
Harry opened the box and found a variety of items that every young wizard dreams of: delicious treats, fun toys, robes that felt incredibly comfortable to the touch… Suddenly, an idea struck Harry: "Fire Arrow!"
Ron looked at Harry in surprise.
"You sent me the Fire Arrow, didn't you?" Harry asked, looking at Sirius expectantly.
"Yes, the Arrow of Fire was from me. Allen's house elf, Maggie, helped me send the order to the Owl Post Office. I used your name, but I made sure they retrieved the gold from safe deposit box number 711 at Gringotts—my own safe. Please accept this as a belated thirteenth birthday present from your godfather," Sirius said, smiling.
"Ha!" said Ron triumphantly. "See! There was no curse! Hermione was wrong."
Harry's heart swelled with joy. Even while on the run, Sirius had remembered to send him a birthday present; it meant he really cared about him!
A small, grey creature suddenly leaped onto Sirius's shoulder and tilted its tiny head to examine them.
Ron looked closer with interest and realized it was a scrawny owl.
As if it had sensed Ron's gaze, the owl flew straight towards him and landed in his palm.
"Ow!" The little owl, chirping cheerfully in his hand, pecked at Ron's finger with its beak. He perceived it as a show of affection.
"Ron, perhaps you'd like to adopt this owl. It was my fault you lost that mouse," Sirius said, smiling at Ron.
Ron's eyes widened in surprise. The little owl was still hooting excitedly.
"Should I adopt it?" he said, half-believingly, glancing at the owl for a moment. "Thanks, is it a real owl?"
Harry and Sirius looked at his expression and both laughed.
"This is absolutely enough for me!" Ron said cheerfully. "This is mine."
"Oh, and this one!" Sirius pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket and handed it to Harry.
Harry glanced around quickly, and instantly, a warmth spread through him as if he'd downed a bottle of hot butterbeer in one gulp, and he was practically flying with happiness.
He handed the parchment to Ron. "Wonderful! Now you can come with me to Hogsmeade without any problems."
Ron shouted excitedly, then suddenly covered his mouth with his hand.
Sirius laughed cheerfully beside them. "It's alright, I know James has the Invisibility Cloak; it helped us a lot back then!"
A fleeting wave of nostalgia flickered in Sirius's eyes. Those were his happiest days.
From a distance, Hagrid glanced around a few times; although he pretended not to care, his large size made it difficult to hide.
Sirius suddenly began to hesitate, and Harry and Ron looked at him curiously.
"Well... your parents appointed me as your guardian," Black said hesitantly. "In case something happens to them..."
Harry waited. Was what Black meant exactly what Harry thought?
"Of course, if you want to live with your aunt and uncle, I understand," Black said. "But... uh... think about it. After you've been cleared of all charges... if you want a different home..."
Harry's heart was filled with joy.
"So, I'm going to live with you?" he said, accidentally hitting his head on a protruding stone at the top of the tunnel. "I'm going to leave the Dursleys?"
"Of course, I don't think you'd want that," Black said quickly. "I understand, I was just thinking—"
"Are you crazy?" said Harry, his voice almost as hoarse as Black's. "Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Do you have a house? When can I move in?"
"Do you want to?" Black asked. "Really?"
"Yes, of course I want to!" Harry jumped to his feet. "I'd say I'm looking forward to it!"
Black felt this was the happiest day of his life in thirteen years. He laughed and patted Harry on the shoulder, just like he used to do to James.
"I have to go, Harry. I'll come to pick you up and take you home while you're on holiday," Sirius said reluctantly.
Harry shook his head repeatedly and began calculating how much time was left until summer vacation; this was completely contrary to his previous calculations and feelings about how long it would be.
"Ah, right!" Sirius had taken a few steps when he suddenly turned to Harry. "Stay away from Allen Harris! Harry, don't get too close to him!"
Harry stared in astonishment. Why would Sirius say such a thing? Wasn't Allen the hero in this situation? However, though not entirely willing, he nodded obediently, not wanting to go against his godfather—if there was a misunderstanding, Harry planned to use the holiday to change Sirius's mind about Allen.