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Surrey, Little Whinging, Privet Drive.

The houses on this street were all square and tidy, all looking much the same. The Dursleys lived at number four, Privet Drive, and were neat, orderly, and with absolutely no odd or unusual things to be found.

At least... there was no indication that three wizards would appear here at the same time.

The second floor of the Dursleys' house, Harry's bedroom.

*Thud.*

Just as Harry and his godfather had just discussed their upcoming summer cohabitation plans, and were preparing to leave the bedroom to help Harry's Aunt Petunia prepare dinner downstairs in the dining room, there was a heavy thud from the bed.

"Back! Harry, stand behind me."

Before Harry could react, Sirius Black quickly drew his wand and stepped in front of him.

"Who's there? Answer my question, or don't blame me for being impolite!"

Sirius Black looked warily at the figure that suddenly appeared in the room, and shouted sternly.

Although the magical world generally believed that since Voldemort's power had waned, not many Death Eaters would continue to follow him, Black, who had spent nearly ten years in Azkaban, knew that besides the fair-weather friends like the Malfoy family, there were still quite a few die-hard lunatics among the Death Eaters.

"Wait, Black, don't attack... that person seems to be..."

Caught off guard by his godfather pulling him behind him, Harry poked his head out and looked at the mysterious guest lying on his bedroom bed. He paused slightly, the light blonde hair, the loose Slytherin wizard robes... This was—

"Draco? What are you doing here?!"

Harry exclaimed in surprise, bypassing Sirius Black and walking straight to Draco, grabbing his hand and pulling him up from his bed, hugging Malfoy as if he were embracing a close brother.

Draco? Lucius's son, Draco Malfoy?

Sirius Black frowned deeply as he looked at the pale boy not far away.

As Harry Potter's godfather, besides investigating the Dursley family, he had learned more about Harry's life at Hogwarts in the past year after being released from prison. He was naturally familiar with this Malfoy family child.

Strictly speaking, Draco was even his distant cousin.

After all, Draco's mother, Narcissa Malfoy, happened to be Sirius Black's cousin. Although neither Black nor Malfoy seemed to take this blood relationship too seriously—in order to maintain the status of pure-blood families, most pure-blood families in the magical world had some kind of kinship relationship.

"Need you ask? Because it's your birthday today, Potter..."

Draco Malfoy stood up straight and shook off Harry's arm from his shoulder, staring into his eyes.

"But before that, I want to ask you a question before I decide whether to give you a birthday blessing—we clearly agreed to keep in touch, so why did I write you letters every day, but you didn't reply to a single one?!"

"It may sound incredible, but you have to listen to my explanation."

Faced with Draco Malfoy's aggressive questioning, Harry pushed his hair back and said anxiously.

"For the past month, all the letters you wrote to me have been intercepted by a house-elf, and my uncle only allows me to send one letter out. If I want to send Hedwig out again, it can only be to reply to you..."

"Oh? Is that so? A house-elf that hangs around your house all day, specifically intercepting your letters?"

Draco Malfoy raised his eyebrows and snorted noncommittally.

"Yeah."

Harry nodded helplessly and replied dejectedly.

He didn't know much about house-elves, these magical creatures that only appeared in ancient wizarding families, but he knew a little from his experiences at Hogwarts in the past year. Harry couldn't figure out which wizarding family's student he had offended, so much so that they sent a house-elf specifically to cut off his connection with his friends.

Of course, Harry himself knew that such a thing had little persuasive power unless he saw it with his own eyes.

Ignoring Harry's somewhat downcast mood, Malfoy raised an eyebrow and asked casually.

"You just said... your uncle allowed you to send one letter out? Did you ask the Head Girl for help?"

"No, how would I know such a thing would happen at that time? Of course, I wrote to you according to the agreement the first time."

As he spoke, Harry subconsciously looked up at his godfather behind him, who wanted to say something but hesitated. After thinking about it, he decided to try to explain it himself first—the only witness was his godfather's own house-elf, which didn't seem very convincing.

"But if I guessed correctly, the letter I sent you was probably intercepted by that elf named Dobby as well."

"Wait, Dob...by?"

Draco Malfoy's expression suddenly froze when he heard the first half of the sentence, and he frowned sharply.

"How do you know who intercepted your letter? I mean, the name of that elf..."

"Actually, I'm not sure, but that little guy kept saying 'Dobby must protect Harry Potter,' 'Dobby is doing this for Mr. Potter,' 'Mr. Potter must listen to Dobby's words'... so I guess his name should be that."

Harry replied weakly, shrugging helplessly.

Dobby? How could it be Dobby? Could it be the same name or a similar pronunciation?

The doubt on Draco Malfoy's face became more and more obvious. After a moment of silence, he asked softly.

"What does that house-elf look like—no, they all look pretty much the same—um, Harry, do you remember what kind of 'clothes' that despicable guy who intercepted your letters was wearing?!"

Perhaps intentionally, Draco Malfoy emphasized the word "clothes."

"Um." Harry pondered for a few seconds and said uncertainly, "I didn't see it too clearly, but I remember it was wearing a faded old pillowcase. Oh, right, it also had some scars on its ears—what's wrong, Draco, do you know whose house-elf this is? I almost forgot, you should have been a guest in some wizarding families..."

"I..."

Draco Malfoy couldn't respond for a moment, his thoughts in a state of chaos.

There was no doubt that, judging from Harry's description, it was most likely their family's house-elf.

But—how could it be Dobby?! How could it be Dobby?!

In the entire Malfoy Manor, there were only three wizards who could give orders to Dobby, besides himself, only his father Lucius Malfoy and mother Narcissa Malfoy could command Dobby.

However, Draco Malfoy couldn't figure out why his parents would do this, let alone how to answer Harry next. He had originally planned to come and question him, but now if that was the case—

"Hmph, of course he knows that house-elf who intercepted your letters."

Just then, a disdainful snort suddenly came from the ears of Harry and Draco.

Sirius Black walked over expressionlessly, pulled his godson away from Draco, and looked Draco Malfoy up and down slowly, his face pale and trembling, before saying coldly.

"Because that's the Malfoy family, their own family's house-elf—if I hadn't appeared today, did you think you could become Harry's only friend with this little trick?! Sure enough, I knew Lucius Malfoy's son wouldn't be any simple-minded little wizard."

"No, it's not like that, I really don't know..."

Draco Malfoy's eyes widened suddenly, and he quickly defended himself in a panic.

He felt himself trembling, not afraid of the aggressive Sirius Black, but suddenly feeling a complex emotion of being deceived by his parents, misunderstood by his friends, and even unable to argue.

"Enough, I don't want to hear the Malfoy family's excuses. Now, leave here!"

Black narrowed his eyes and interrupted Draco's words directly, looking down at the little wizard in front of him.

"Today is Harry's birthday, don't force me to cast a curse on you—for the sake of you being my cousin, I won't pursue your scheme against Harry this time, but stay away from Harry at school in the future!"

"I..."

A blush of shame and anger appeared on Draco Malfoy's face. He clenched the unfinished birthday greeting in his hand, gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and directly opened the finger that Black was pointing at his nose, saying word by word.

"I didn't send Dobby to intercept Harry's letters, I swear on the honor of the Malfoy family! As for what happened in this, I will figure it out myself later! As for the matter at school, it's not your turn to take care of it yet!"

"I'm sorry, I was originally worried about your situation, so I sneaked over to celebrate your birthday..."

Then, Draco turned to look at Harry, who was stunned aside, and pouted awkwardly.

"Anyway, it's good that you're okay... then I'll go back first... um, can I borrow Hedwig first? I'll write a letter and ask the Hogwarts Round-Faced Plump Chicken Express under Head Girl to send me back to Malfoy Manor..."

"I'm sorry, I don't think that's possible."

Harry replied without any subtlety.

Draco paused slightly and sighed slowly, a look of disappointment on his face.

Harry once again bypassed his godfather, walked to Draco's side, and looked into his gray eyes with utmost seriousness.

"Tonight is my birthday banquet, if you leave, you won't be able to blow out the candles with me. I don't want this rare birthday celebration with friends to end with you leaving after only a few minutes at home."

"Harry, that elf..." Black frowned and couldn't help reminding him again.

"I know it's the Malfoy family's elf, but what does that matter?"

Harry Potter nodded quickly and replied firmly.

"I believe Draco, he's not the kind of person you say he is. Besides, he's my first friend in the magical world, and he's also my best friend at Hogwarts. I'd feel very sad if he wasn't here on my birthday."

"Even... if he's a Slytherin?"

As if suddenly thinking of something, Sirius Black said slowly.

Harry turned to look at his godfather, who was more than half a head taller than him, and responded courageously.

"No matter what house he's in, a friend is a friend. Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw... it doesn't matter which house, that's what Head Girl has always said, and that's what we've always believed."

"...Okay, I understand."

Sirius Black raised his eyebrows and glanced at Harry's green eyes.

"You really are Lily and James' son through and through. You're exactly like your parents, inheriting all the good qualities of both your father and mother... James would be proud of you, you will surpass your father."

"As for you, kid... you just said you snuck out?"

Sirius turned his head to look at Draco standing next to Harry, and pursed his lips.

A little brat running away from home from an ancient wizarding family that advocates pure-blood ideals, this script sounded so exciting and familiar to him? It felt like he had seen it somewhere before, no wonder he was his cousin?

Come to think of it, he was the same person who had resolutely wanted to be friends with Potter, Lily, and Lupin, and ultimately had to break completely with his family, and even had his name removed from the family tapestry by his gentle and lovely mother?

A thoughtful look flashed in Sirius Black's eyes as he sized up Draco standing in front of him.

Since that's the case, why not... help him out again.

"Malfoy, um, I mean Draco," Sirius Black paused for two seconds and asked seriously, "After tonight's dinner, Harry will be staying at my house for a while. If you don't know how to go home and face Lucius's ugly face, why not... consider hiding in the old house that your mother used to live in for a while?"

You know, the house at number 12 Grimmauld Place has almost been applied to all the security measures known in the wizarding world.

It cannot be plotted on a map, and is under the Fidelius Charm, besides the front door being accessible, all the windows have been solidified and sealed to prevent external intrusion.

In other words, almost no one can visit except for the Black family.

Sirius Black smacked his lips and walked excitedly with his arms around the two boys' shoulders towards the downstairs living room.

If Lucius Malfoy found out that his son had suddenly run away from home and disappeared somewhere in this world, his expression would be quite wonderful—just thinking about it was full of anticipation.