The next day Sirius went to the smithery again. He was still a bit grumpy because the flower died the moment Sirius picked it up. It didn't just lost the freshness, it literally wilted into dust when it was separated from the roots. At least that failure was compensated by his new toys to play with, namely ceramics infused with metals and metal caps. But first he had to help Corwel with fixing the statue. Since tin was rather soft, the mode for smithing was enough to melt it into nice shining liquid which was poured in the hollow statue. Sirius made sure it was roughly similar in volume, lest it would fail again. While blacksmith was doing that, he finished the diagram on the base and they attached both parts together, sealing with some fireproof mortar. The result looked less appealing than what was provided by the Order, but it had its charm. More important was the fact that it functioned the same as the broken one. Sirius thanked him from the bottom of his heart, happy that Corwel still treated him as a person.

It seemed that the incident became filled with more cruel details about him, so to avoid meeting anyone in foreseeable future, Sirius gathered all his stuff and took it to the World Tree. He planned on making a hiding spot in that place. Make a house out of stone plates, maybe a kiln similar to Brown's, a kitchen with a stove. Anything that would remind him of his old home, to be fair. Even though he liked living in Rivervale, he felt like alienated in there. Initiated villagers viewed him like a worthless leech, and not initiated - as a privileged kid who was lucky to know Father Gregor. At least Father Gregor would not leave him alone in a trouble, as he and Emissary accompanied him on his way.

"I cannot blame you for your decision, Pupil Sirius." Suddenly she said on their way. Sirius stopped pulling the cart with all the materials and vials he gathered over the summer. In the cart a coiled pearly snake was basking in warm sunlight, dizzy from the journey.

"What do you mean?" He said, out of breath.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

"I mean, that priest antagonised everyone in the village."

"Not everyone, just the most zealous ones." Clarified Gregor.

"I set them up against me in the winter. Not every day you hear the rumour that Silver Inquisitor nearly killed some kid in the blackwater village like this one."

"It was before I was assigned to observe you?"

"It was the reason you were assigned." Giggled Sirius. "If not for that, though, I would still be dying from boredom."

"I feel like dying from boredom is still better than just plain dying." Grumbled Gregor.

"I think I will only be in the new lab over day, I still need to visit church and heal whatever anyone need. I hope one day they will be grateful, like they were to uncle..." Added Sirius with sadness.

"He was almost lynched as well." Added Gregor. "For the same exact reason - for healing something that was deadly before him."

"At least we are similar..." Whispered Sirius, shedding a tear. "Let's continue on our way. The trip over the road is almost over."

"What are you going to do after the road ends?" Asked Emissary.

"I will make a shed out of stone to hide everything from the rain and then move everything into the hut."

"Will you pave a path for people to visit you?" Emissary questioned, curious if Sirius will seclude and hide.

"After a while, maybe. Only if people stop looking daggers at me."

"What about your friends?" Gregor worriedly said.

"I don't know..."

"Why?"

"Mark seems a bit scared of me, and Melissa doesn't approve of what I do. We often talk about stuff, but their tone changes the moment we touch magic..."

"I don't think so. They always ask me where can they find you. They are caring for you."

"Really?..." Sirius was looking into the ground under his feet. "After I make a hut, I will show them over. You can tell them where to look for me, in case they ask."

They have arrived at the curve where the road was the closest to the foot of the World Tree. At this point the cart could no longer be pulled, so Sirius thanked Father Gregor and Emissary for their help and, after hiding the cart behind the trees went towards the tree. He was still thinking about the conversation, unsure if things will go back to being the same as before. To drown the sad thoughts he began planning out a place for a small stone shed.