Remember that first time you finished reading Prisoner of Azkaban, and the wait for Goblet of Fire was unbearable?

Obviously this was for many reasons, like how Harry Potter was your entire life.

But for us, we wanted to see more of Sirius Black, the rugged ex-convict who turned out to be an innocent man. After all, Sirius was quite simply the coolest, and after a blasé comment to Harry about living together, this was all we ever wanted for those two.

Up until the end of Order of the Phoenix, it was impossible for fans not to daydream about the type of life Harry and Sirius could’ve had together, if only his name had been cleared! Where is our justice? During a tragic battle against the Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries, our hopes, hearts and lives were shattered. (Hands up if you wore black in mourning the day after finishing book five. SIRIUS Black, you might say.) (Sorry.)

So, without further ado, let’s torture ourselves further and imagine what Harry and Sirius’s life might’ve been like if the pair had moved in together.

Sirius would have given Harry the love the Dursleys never did

After Sirius’s death, Dumbledore noted that Sirius was the ‘closest thing to a parent’ that Harry had ever had. From the moment Sirius entered Harry’s life, he did naturally seem to slip into that role.

At the end of Prisoner of Azkaban Harry learnt that it was Sirius who bought him the mysterious Firebolt in order to make up for 13 years’ worth of missed birthdays (fair enough!), but he also did what he could in his capacity as Harry’s newly discovered godfather.

Just something as little as signing his permission slip to go to Hogsmeade, which the Dursleys never did, was huge for Harry. Huger than a Firebolt, even.

They would have played Quidditch together

In addition to the Firebolt, we later discovered that Sirius was actually responsible for giving Harry his first-ever broomstick. Harry came across an old letter written by Lily to Sirius and discovered that he was particularly taken with a little toy broomstick Sirius had got him for his first birthday. Too cute for words, we know.

Sirius clearly planted the Quidditch-loving seed in Harry’s head. If only we’d got to see more stuff like this.

Dear Padfoot,
Thank you, thank you, for Harry’s birthday present! It was his favourite by far. One year old and already zooming along on a toy broomstick, he looked so pleased with himself, I’m enclosing a picture so you can see. You know it only rises about two feet off the ground, but he nearly killed the cat and he smashed a horrible vase Petunia sent me for Christmas (no complaints there).
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Harry would have had an adult he could talk to about his problems

Despite the fact that Sirius only appeared – in the flesh, as it were – in three of the seven Harry Potter books, he made a profound and lasting impression on readers, and on Harry himself.

One of the loveliest things about Harry and Sirius’s relationship was that Harry felt completely comfortable reaching out to his godfather for advice. Honesty and open communication isn’t always easy in any relationship, but Harry and Sirius were very unguarded with one another.

Remember, Sirius was the one who fought for Harry’s right to know what was going on with Voldemort during Order of the Phoenix, while Molly – another huge parental figure for Harry – tried to protect him. When Harry needed someone to talk to throughout the year, the still ‘at large’ Sirius put himself in significant danger on more than one occasion to talk to Harry – risking a return visit to Azkaban just to give the young lad some advice.

Whenever Harry needed a pep talk from Sirius, he was the one who always knew what to say. But tragically, their one-to-one chats were always so fleeting: in and out of fireplaces, always hidden away somewhere due to his godfather’s little ‘escaped convict’ predicament. If only they’d had more time to properly talk it up. Lord knows Harry could’ve done with some more advice about girls.

They would have been each other’s family

At Hogwarts, Harry created his own ‘magical’ family with Ron and Hermione, the other Weasleys, Hagrid and beyond. But a living, loving family (which cancelled out the Dursleys) was something Harry had always lacked, and something that Sirius could’ve been. After all, they both needed a substitute family, and James and Lily connected them both.

Whereas Harry’s family was ripped away from him, Sirius was burnt out of his own. If Sirius had lived beyond that dreadful day at the Ministry, you just know that Harry and Sirius could have been there for each other.