sometimes i think a lot about what would have happened if sirius had actually been exonerated at the end of book 3 and harry had gone to live with him and also snape kept his mouth shut and remus kept his job
in the time between sirius being cleared and the end of the school year, sirius starts an intensive course of physical and mental therapy
sirius picking harry up from king’s cross
i know it’s not canon that sirius was an auror after graduating hogwarts but i really like to think he was
anyway once he passes a psych eval he’s reinstated as an auror
kingsley is his partner; they trained together back in the day
it takes kingsley a while but he gets over “sirius black escaped convict and former death eater” and they grow to have a really strong partnership
the rest of the aurors follow suit
the head of the auror office (is it scrimgeour at this point? probably) forming a task force to find pettigrew
sirius wanting to be assigned to that task force but being denied because it’s such a huge conflict of interest
sirius picking up harry from king’s cross when school gets out
both of them really nervous but smiling really big
sirius got a new flat in london in the same neighborhood as his bachelor pad but this one with enough room for both him and harry (and a room that is ostensibly a guest room but really remus uses it all the time that summer)
(he tries to get sirius to let him help with rent and sirius says no because it’s a guest room, remus, you’re a guest, and guests don’t pay rent)
harry spending a lot of time with remus that summer while sirius works
sirius and remus and harry going to the quidditch world cup
ron staying with them in their tent
they get to the top box and they’re in front of the malfoys and sirius just kind of smirks at lucius
sirius’s heart in his throat when he can’t find harry after they’ve gotten the muggles down
sirius almost physically attacking barty crouch for accusing harry of casting the dark mark in the forest
(sirius almost physically attacking barty crouch a lot, tbqh)
sirius trying to be gruff and cheerful when he drops harry off at king’s cross on september first, and thinking about meeting james on that same train 23 years ago
hugging harry tightly but quickly, and harry gripping the back of sirius’s jacket
sirius worried but knowing that remus will look after harry at school
because of how slowly the wheels of justice move, pettigrew’s trial isn’t held until after harry is back at school
remus is there too because they’re both testifying witnesses
sirius wondering for a moment if azkaban is a place he’d wish on anyone, even wormtail
then remembering what it felt like to open the door to the cottage at godric’s hollow and seeing james’s body
remus pulls a block of chocolate out of his pocket and hands it to sirius
and then i honestly think sirius would have found a way to get harry out of the triwizard tournament, even if it meant kidnapping the kid