Draco stood by the window, gazing at the dark blue sky and the pitch-black pitch, a surge of excitement welling up inside him.
The excitement was not for himself, but for Harry.
There was something Draco could not wait to tell him the next day.
This boy, who suffered so much abuse from Muggles, should know one thing: he was never truly alone in the wizarding world.
Harry does not only have the option of living in a Muggle family. He can choose to live in a wizarding family. In that family, no one will lock him up, and no one will arbitrarily confiscate his wand.
There is someone who is about to eliminate all the malice Harry received from his Muggle aunt and uncle.
To resolve all the problems that were bothering Harry in a fair, just, and legal way.
Harry needed to know this immediately—especially after the shock of Peter Pettigrew betraying his parents—that he still had a godfather alive.
Since his rebirth, Draco retraced his steps, gradually developing a secret sympathy for Harry. After discovering that the saviour people spoke of had lived an unimaginably miserable first eleven years of his life, Draco found it difficult to truly hate him. Even the immense resentment he harboured for Harry in his past life slowly melted away with time spent together.
Now, Draco is less likely to hate Harry and more likely to be worried about him.
Harry's lack of basic wizarding knowledge was shocking, and he had not developed many of the proper wizarding habits. For example, he carelessly left his wands lying around, even using them as throwing weapons instead of tools for casting spells; he possessed an incredibly valuable Invisibility Cloak, yet he left it scattered everywhere and did not use it properly, even wandering around at night without wearing it; most importantly, he would readily believe in magical objects that seemed to possess sentience, which was simply too dangerous...
No wonder Professor Snape had a problem with him. If people did not know he came from a Muggle family, they would think Harry was deliberately causing trouble. If he had a reliable adult wizard to guide him, he might have behaved much better and attracted far fewer misunderstandings and criticisms.
For young wizards from Muggle families, the adult wizards who take them to Diagon Alley for the first time have a mentor-like role. They are the guides for the young wizards, and they will tell the Muggle-born young wizards all the rules and precautions of the wizarding world.
Why would Dumbledore send Hagrid to be his guide? He is even less reliable than Harry.
Why not send a more reliable wizard, even Professor McGonagall?
Look, thanks to the irresponsible Hagrid, Harry not only does not know the wizarding world inside and out, but also has many wrong ideas, at least he does not take some dangers seriously.
It is not hard to understand that Hagrid himself had some misconceptions about the word "danger".
Now, Harry, who had no one to care for him, no one to teach him, and no one to guide him, finally has a decent mentor.
His godfather, Sirius Black, came from a proper wizarding family and should be able to guide Harry well into the wizarding life, Draco thought with satisfaction.
After a long whilst, the door reopened. Fudge rushed out, followed by the two Aurors who had Peter Pettigrew bound tightly.
"This is unbelievable," Fudge said to the Auror behind him, exasperated. "Sirius Black is innocent... and we have kept him in Azkaban for eleven years! Who knows how many people will make a big deal out of this? I have to get back to the Ministry immediately and reopen the case! I hope they still have his wand; that would make things much simpler... Everything is in chaos!"
"But on the other hand, you have captured a Death Eater on the run, which is a great achievement," Kingsley said enthusiastically.
"That is true." Fudge scratched his nose.
"About the Chamber, and about Hagrid, the Keeper of Keys and Grounds..." Dawlish said.
"We will discuss that later," Fudge waved his hand vaguely, took out his gold watch from his pocket and looked at it. "Peter Pettigrew is more important right now! He might be the one pulling the strings behind all these attacks!"
A whilst later, Harry came out of the Headmaster's office alone. He looked unwell, and his eyes were red and swollen, clearly from crying.
Harry had just suffered a devastating emotional blow. He had not expected that Ron's Scabbers was actually his enemy. The truth was so shocking that the diary incident seemed almost insignificant.
"Harry," Draco greeted him, "how are you?"
Harry gave him a forced smile, clearly lacking enthusiasm.
"I told Professor Dumbledore about the diary. I also told him that the owner of the diary was Tom Marvolo Riddle. He looked very serious and said he would keep an eye on it. He said he thought the diary was dangerous and that if it were ever found, it should be given to him immediately."
"That is not what I am asking about," Draco said with concern. "I am asking about Peter Pettigrew."
"He was a Death Eater, if you want to know." Harry lowered his head, his eyes welling up again. He spoke softly, as if all his strength had been drained away by Dumbledore's office. "I never imagined he would betray my parents. He was their friend, but he killed them..."
"Congratulations, I am happy to hear that," Draco said.
Harry finally looked up, his eyes red-rimmed, and said in surprise, "I simply cannot believe you would say something like that! You are glad he is a traitor, are you not?"
"No," Draco said calmly.
"No, Harry, I just want to congratulate you. You are finally going to have a loving family member."
"What do you mean?" Harry said, his face flushed. Draco could tell that Harry was quite angry with him.
"Sirius Black, you have heard of him, have you not? He is your godfather and your parents' best friend. Now the truth is out, he was wrongly accused. I think they will exonerate him soon. After he gets out of prison, he will naturally take care of you, and might even take you away. You will not have to live with your Muggle aunt and uncle anymore," Draco said with a faint smile, observing Harry's expression.
"My godfather—I have a godfather?" Harry's face gradually lit up.
He murmured, "Sirius Black?"
"Yes," Draco said confidently, patting him on the shoulder. "He will take care of you; he is a very powerful wizard."
That is how it was in his past life—the Death Eaters all feared him, Draco thought.
"Draco! This is the best news I have ever heard!" Harry's eyes welled up with tears of joy.
He tried to hug Draco, but Draco warily stepped back and dodged him.
"No, Harry, be a British wizard!" Draco glanced at him in alarm, then looked away. "We should only be affectionate towards owls and flying brooms!"
"Whatever! Pick one!" Harry hugged the struggling platinum-haired boy, patted him hard on the back, and said happily, "Draco, thank you!"