favorite scene in Book 3

  "You're free," said Harry.

  "Yes...,"said Black, "But I'm also-I don't know if anyone ever told you-I'm your godfather."

  "Yeah, I knew that,"said Harry.

  "Well...your parents appointed me your guardian," said Black stiffly. "If anything happened to them..."

  Harry waited. Did Black mean what he thought he meant?

  "I'll understand, of course, if you want to sty with your aunt and uncle," said Black. "But...well... think about it. Once my name's cleared...if you wanted a...a different home..."

  Some sort of explosion took place in the pit of Harry's stomach.

  "What-live with you?" he said, accidentally cracking his head on a bit of rock protruding from the ceiling. "Leave the Dursleys?"

  "Of course, I thought you wouldn't want to," said Black quickly. 'I understand, I just thought I'd-"

  "Are you insane?" said Harry, his voice easily as croaky as Black's.

  "Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Have you got a house? When can I move in?"

  Black turned around to look at him; Snape's head was scraping the cieling but Black didn't seem to care.

  "You want to?" he said. "You mean it?"

  "Yeah, I mean it!" said Harry.

  Black's gaunt face broke into the first true smile Harry had seen upon it. The difference it made was startling, as thought a person ten years younger was smiling through the starved mask; for a moment, he was recognizable as the man who had laughed at Harry's parents' wedding.