Disclaimer is in Chapter 1.
A/N: Thank you to all those readers who took some of their time to fill in a review! So far everyone likes it, so on with the show!
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Harry sat alone in his bedroom, staring up at the ceiling. He knew he spent too much time thinking, but what else was he supposed to do at night? Sleep, Harry thought, something I haven't been doing much of. Turning over, Harry struggled to remember when he had been happy. Finding out he was a wizard...now Harry wished he wasn't who he was. Vague thoughts of suicide crossed his mind, but he erased them quickly, when he thought about what it would do to the few people who cared about him. The Dursleys would be happy, Harry thought, but then erased that thought from his mind, as it only made him more unhappy then he already was.
A heavy flapping and beating of wings, and a thump on the end of his bed, alerted Harry to a new presence in his room. Sliding on his glasses, he got out of bed, and went over to the end of it. There was an unmoving gray owl, with a heavy load of parchment tied to one of it's legs. Harry poked it to make sure it wasn't dead. When it gave a feeble hoot, he hurredly carried it over to Hedwig's cage after untieing a heavy roll of parchment. "Errol? What are you doing here? Ron has Pig!" Errol gave a soft hoot, and raised a leg, almost pointing to the parchment that still lay on Harry's bed.
Harry strode over to the end of his bed, picked up the roll, and untied the silver ribbon that encircled it. Four pieces of parchment unrolled, the first being a letter..."From Sirius!"
Dear Harry,
Happy Birthday! Sorry if it's a little late, I was really busy working on a project with the Ministry. I hope you like it, it took a lot of time, but it was worth it. Sorry it's not better then that. As always, be careful, and never stay too far away from the Dursleys, as much as you'd like to. I'll write back more later, I'm a little busy right now. Before you ask, yes, I'm alright. I'll see you soon.
Love,
Sirius
P.S. - If you'd like to stay, how's August 3rd, around 6? Write back soon.
Harry raised an eyebrow at the last bit, but noetheless put the parchment aside. His birthday had been yesterday. Harry wondered what Sirius could possibly doing with the Ministry. He was still considered a guilty murderer! But the next piece of parchment Harry pulled from the pile made Harry gasp, rub his eyes, ponder if it was a hoax, and read it twice more.
To Mr. Sirius Black:
The Ministry offers it's most sincere apology for the mis-conviction of Mr. Black, without a trail at the least. Mr. Black has been found innocent, and will be recieving payment for the 12 years in Azkaban. Again, the Ministry offers it's most sincere apologies.
Cordialy,
And it followed with a list of Ministry officers.
Words could not express what Harry felt at that moment. All the guilt he had weighing down on him a moment before was lifted, and replacing it was shock, closley followed by sheer joy. The parchment was shaking fiercly in Harry's hands, and tears ran down Harry's face.
Harry put down the parchment and picked up the next one. What was on it made his eyes widen and his breath shorten.
Dear Sirius,
Seeing as you are now declared a free man, and you have bugged me about it since the date was set up for you to meet with the Ministry, yes, you can have Harry to stay with you if he is to consent.
Sincerly, Albus Dumbledore
Harry put the parchment down, shock taking over his emotions. Picking up the last parchment, Harry smiled. There was nothing else left to do.
Mr. Sirius Black:
Thank you for complying in filling the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We are sure you will educate our students well in the light of Voldemort's rise.
Sicerely,
And there was a list of the school ministers and professors.
Harry placed the last piece of parchment on the rest. Then, remembering what Sirius said about if he'd like to say, Harry wrote shakily on the back,
Dear Sirius,
Of course I'd like to say! August 3rd, around 6? That's fine.
Love,
Harry
Rolling the parchment up, Harry heafted Errol out of Hedwig's cage, made sure he was alright, then let him go through the open window. Tears ran down Harry's face, and for a change, they were tears of joy.
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Sirius turned over on his bed, groaning. He was alone in his house. It had been a few days since Sirius had been offcialy declared free. Guilt floated around in his mind. It's my fault Harry's with those awful Muggles, Sirius thought, we all knew I would rather die then betray them. Turning over again, Sirius curled up into his oh-so familiar ball of misery.
A soft *thump* on Sirius' bed snapped him out of it. "Errol?" He mumbled, sitting up and squinting through the dark. As his eyes adjusted, Sirius practicly ripped off the parchment tied to the owl's leg. Unrolling it, Sirius saw his own letter again. However, when he filpped it over, Sirius saw a shaky, slightly tear-stained reply, saying he would love to say. Sirius couldn't help marvaling at what was happening. In two days he would pick up his godson, and they would live happily. Hopefully. What happened last year at Hogwarts kept popping up in his mind.
Shooing Errol out the window, Sirius slowly made his way back into his bed. Sighing slowly, Sirius realized he needed Harry's company just as much as Harry needed his.
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A/N: So, what do you think? It's a little short. As always, constructive criticism is appreciated, flames will be sent to Lord Voldemort. He knows where you live...