Harry's New Home
The drive was quite pleasant. Sirius told Harry all about the trial, Harry told Sirius about his new feelings for Hermione, and how excited he was to get to spend the rest of the summer with her and Ron.
"We're meeting on Diagon Alley on my birthday," Harry told Sirius. "We plan to stay for a couple of nights at The Leaky Cauldron, then go to Hermione's house for the rest of August."
Sirius laughed. "I won't have you for very long, will I? Oh well, you'll be with your friends. And I'll come see you off at the Hogwarts Express when you leave."
Just then a small town came into sight. "That's Ottery St. Catchpole," Sirius informed Harry. Ottery was a typical looking town, with a church steeple pointing dramatically into the sky. There was a main street, with a few small shops and restaurants. The rest of the town was quaint little houses with window boxes and shuttered windows. Sirius drove down the heart of the town until he came to the very farthest edge, where he pulled up the driveway of a one-story home much like the others, with a front garden and picket fence. It was creamish-yellow with a light blue door, shutters, window boxes, and trim.
As Harry got out of the car, he thought he had died of happiness. He was living with his godfather, whose name was finally cleared, had a home of his own, and was pretty sure that the strangely-shaped shadow on top of the hill over there was his best friend's house.
Harry and Sirius hauled Harry's trunk into the front hall of their new home, which was filled to the brim with boxes overflowing with ordinary household items, newly bought. Sirius looked around and clicked his tongue. "We can't have this, now can we, Harry?" And with that he raised his wand and pointed it in the direction of the multitudes of cartons. "Expelio!" Harry was forced to duck as possessions began shooting out of the boxes at lightning speeds. Within a few seconds, everything was unpacked and with of a wave of Sirius' wand, the boxes disappeared. "Come on, Harry, I'll show you to your bedroom."
Sirius led the way down the hall and into a room with all new furnishings. There were a few Quidditch posters hanging on the wall, and the bedspread actually had moving animations of Harry's favourite team, the Chudley Cannons. Sirius cleared his throat. "I picked out a few. erm, decorations I though you might like. If you don't like them we can go shopping and get you some different things."
Harry wrapped his godfather in a big hug. "They're perfect, Sirius. You couldn't have gotten anything better."
Sirius grinned. "Well, I'll leave you so you can arrange things however you want them. If you need anything, I'll be down in my room, which is right at the end of the hall. Your bathroom is right across the hall, and the kitchen and living room are, as I suspect you already saw, down at the other end of the house. So settle in, and maybe later we can pay a call to Ron. he'll sure be surprised, won't he?"
Now it was Harry's turn to grin. "Yeah. And Sirius?" Sirius, who had turned to walk out the door, stopped and looked over his shoulder at Harry.
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
"For what?"
"Giving me a home, letting me live with you. besides when I was with my parents, I've never had a real home besides Hogwarts before, and that doesn't really count, does it?"
Sirius ruffled Harry's already unruly dark hair affectionately. "No, it really doesn't. But you're welcome." Harry wouldn't have been the least bit flabbergasted if his heart had suddenly burst open with all of the contentment swarming within it.
The drive was quite pleasant. Sirius told Harry all about the trial, Harry told Sirius about his new feelings for Hermione, and how excited he was to get to spend the rest of the summer with her and Ron.
"We're meeting on Diagon Alley on my birthday," Harry told Sirius. "We plan to stay for a couple of nights at The Leaky Cauldron, then go to Hermione's house for the rest of August."
Sirius laughed. "I won't have you for very long, will I? Oh well, you'll be with your friends. And I'll come see you off at the Hogwarts Express when you leave."
Just then a small town came into sight. "That's Ottery St. Catchpole," Sirius informed Harry. Ottery was a typical looking town, with a church steeple pointing dramatically into the sky. There was a main street, with a few small shops and restaurants. The rest of the town was quaint little houses with window boxes and shuttered windows. Sirius drove down the heart of the town until he came to the very farthest edge, where he pulled up the driveway of a one-story home much like the others, with a front garden and picket fence. It was creamish-yellow with a light blue door, shutters, window boxes, and trim.
As Harry got out of the car, he thought he had died of happiness. He was living with his godfather, whose name was finally cleared, had a home of his own, and was pretty sure that the strangely-shaped shadow on top of the hill over there was his best friend's house.
Harry and Sirius hauled Harry's trunk into the front hall of their new home, which was filled to the brim with boxes overflowing with ordinary household items, newly bought. Sirius looked around and clicked his tongue. "We can't have this, now can we, Harry?" And with that he raised his wand and pointed it in the direction of the multitudes of cartons. "Expelio!" Harry was forced to duck as possessions began shooting out of the boxes at lightning speeds. Within a few seconds, everything was unpacked and with of a wave of Sirius' wand, the boxes disappeared. "Come on, Harry, I'll show you to your bedroom."
Sirius led the way down the hall and into a room with all new furnishings. There were a few Quidditch posters hanging on the wall, and the bedspread actually had moving animations of Harry's favourite team, the Chudley Cannons. Sirius cleared his throat. "I picked out a few. erm, decorations I though you might like. If you don't like them we can go shopping and get you some different things."
Harry wrapped his godfather in a big hug. "They're perfect, Sirius. You couldn't have gotten anything better."
Sirius grinned. "Well, I'll leave you so you can arrange things however you want them. If you need anything, I'll be down in my room, which is right at the end of the hall. Your bathroom is right across the hall, and the kitchen and living room are, as I suspect you already saw, down at the other end of the house. So settle in, and maybe later we can pay a call to Ron. he'll sure be surprised, won't he?"
Now it was Harry's turn to grin. "Yeah. And Sirius?" Sirius, who had turned to walk out the door, stopped and looked over his shoulder at Harry.
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
"For what?"
"Giving me a home, letting me live with you. besides when I was with my parents, I've never had a real home besides Hogwarts before, and that doesn't really count, does it?"
Sirius ruffled Harry's already unruly dark hair affectionately. "No, it really doesn't. But you're welcome." Harry wouldn't have been the least bit flabbergasted if his heart had suddenly burst open with all of the contentment swarming within it.
