Harry’s POV:

As I move down the stairs, voices come from below.

“I'm warning you, Hermione! Keep that bloody beast of yours away from Scabbers, or I'll turn it into a tea cozy.”

“He's a cat, Ronald! What do you expect? It's in his nature.”

As I reach the bottom, I find Ron protectively cradling Scabbers, while Hermione does her best to restrain a hissing Crookshanks.

“A cat! Is that what they told you? Looks more like a pig with hair if you ask me.”

“That's rich coming from the owner of that smelly old shoe brush. It's all right, Crookshanks. You just ignore the mean little boy…”

As if sensing another presence in the room, they both turn.

“Harry.” They say in unison.

“Hey!” I smile and hug them. In the corner of my eye, I see Draco leaning against the wall, looking at me but talking to Remington and someone else. “Draco…” I mumble before looking back at Ron and Hermione, smiling.

“It’s okay, you can go to him. I have to tell you about my trip to Egypt though! It was fun so be quick!”

I nod and walk to Draco and Remington. Remington hugged me quickly and pulled the younger person over. “This is Emerson. My younger brother. I don’t know if you remember him.”

“Oh! Yeah! I remember now! How are you doing?”

“Good! We just finished shopping!” Emerson spoke happily.

“I bet it was exhausting.”

“It really was. I almost caused an explosion in Ollivanders.”

I smiled and looked at Remington. “Keep him away from Seamus.”

Remington laughed and turned to Draco. I looked over to him and saw him smiling faintly at me. “Hey.” He spoke while getting off the wall. I was about to lean in to hug him, but instead of a hug, he kissed me.
“I see you got my letter then?”

“Yeah…” Draco smiled. I smiled back and put my head on his before laughing softly. “I’m happy you agreed to try it..” Draco whispered softly. “I really hated the feeling of getting rejected last year. I’m glad you finally came to your senses and saw how amazing I am.”

I rolled my eyes and hugged him before turning back to Ron. I pulled Remington and Draco with me as we all sat down with Ron.

“Egypt! What's it like?”

“Brilliant. It's got loads of old stuff. Mummies. Death masks. Tombs –”

“You know, the ancient Egyptians of the Nile River delta worshipped the cat goddess Bast.” Ron glares stonily at Hermione, then turns back to me.

“I also got a new wand.” Just then, a commotion is heard. The Weasleys -- Percy, Fred, George, Ginny, Arthur, and Molly-- arrive en masse, laden with purchases from Diagon Alley.

“Not flashing that clipping about again, are you, Ron?” George spoke.

“I haven't shown anyone!”

“No, not a soul. Unless you count Tom. The day maid. The night maid. The cook. The bloke that came to fix the toilet. That wizard from Belgium…” Mrs. Weasley takes my face in her hands, smiles. As if relieved to see me.

“It's good to see you, Harry.”

“Good to see you too, Mrs. Weasley.”

“Harry. I wonder if I might have a word.”

“Of course, Mr. Weasley.” As Mr. Weasley pulls me away, the others continue to hover over the clipping.

“George's nose looks positively massive in that photograph.”

“That's your nose, Fred.” Ginny laughs.

“Bloody hell. 'Tis, isn't it? Take after your side of the family, don't I, Mum?”

I notice Mr. Weasley glanced edgily at a fugitive poster tacked to the wall.
“Harry. There are some within the Ministry who would strongly discourage me from divulging what I'm about to tell you. But I think you need to know the facts. Because you're in danger. Grave danger.”

My eyes drift to the fugitive poster. “Has this anything to do with him, sir?”

“What do you know of Sirius Black, Harry?”

“That he escaped from Azkaban. That he killed someone…”

“Harry, thirteen years ago, when you stopped…” Mr. Weasley hesitates, unable to continue.

“Voldemort...?”

“Black lost everything. But he remains a loyal servant to this day. In his mind, only you stand in the way of…” Once again, Mr. Weasley hesitates.

“Voldemort...?”

“Harry, I hate it when you say –”

“I know, sorry. Ron hates it, too.”

“In Black's mind, only you stand in the way of... You-Know-Who returning to power. That's why he's broken. That's why he's broken out of Azkaban. To find you. And…” Mr. Weasley hesitates yet again.

“Kill me?” Mr. Weasley nods. Nervously.

“Harry. I want you to swear that - whatever you might hear - you won't go looking for Black. “

“Mr. Weasley, why would I go looking for someone who wants to kill me?” Mr. Weasley nods, then claps me on the shoulder.

“Just watch yourself, will you, Harry?”

"Yes, sir."

I went back to my room and got my stuff ready. Making sure I had everything before we left to go to the train.

"Harry?" I turn and see Draco standing in the doorway. "What did Mr. Weasley want?"

"Just something to do with Sirius Black."

"Harry. You might not want to hear this, but he's not a bad man. I heard my father talking. They got the wrong -"

"It's okay, Draco. It's best if we stop talking about it."

"No, listen. My father was laughing about it. Saying they had the wrong man, but it was a good thing because now we still have the real madman. It's a whole thing -"

"Draco. Im not in the mood for this." I spoke tiredly.