"Mr. Potter, wake up!" said a female voice, rousing Harry from his sleep. Looking above him, he was shocked to realize that he'd fallen asleep with his glasses still on. Looming over him was the nurse who had healed his injuries earlier. "It's about time Mr. Potter. You're guardians are waiting to see you." Shock ran through him.

"I don't want to speak with them," he said, hugging his middle. He felt like he was going to fall apart at any moment. Guilt was still eating at him for how bad he'd caused everything to go, but he was also still angry about Sirius and Remus lying to him.

The nurse looked at him sternly. "It is time for you to grow up Mr. Potter. They've done nothing wrong, and you're acting like a temperamental child. You've put the two of them, along with many others, through hell and you need to move past all that's happened. If not, then you're going to be forced into the foster system."

Anger pumped through him at her words, and he glared at her firmly. "Send them in then," he said with a scowl, although he did recognize the truth in her words. Am I acting foolish? Fear had eaten at Harry when Renwick had been on the loose, and that had sparked his protectiveness over his guardians. Never once did he think he'd been acting like a child in doing so, but now he was starting to have second thoughts.

The nurse left, leaving him in the room alone. Standing up, he straightened his robes and gave a futile effort to flatten his hair. Looking in the mirror by his bed, he knew that with the bandages and scar on his neck that he was a sore sight. Feeling a bit sore, he winced as he sat on the foot of his bed, waiting impatiently for Sirius and Remus to enter.

After a few minutes, the door opened and in walked Sirius and Remus. Harry swallowed a lump in his throat as he looked at the two men. Sirius looked worse; thin, bags under his eyes, and was extremely pale. Remus, whom Harry hadn't seen since he left six months ago, looked terrible. His hair was almost entirely gray, and he was almost as thin as Sirius. Dark bags sat under his eyes, and he was an odd gray color. Harry stood up, watching as the door shut behind them, shutting the three of them up in the infirmary. An unmeasurable silence drowned on between them.

Harry sighed. I guess if someone's going to start, it might as well be me. "I can't ask you to understand why I did what I did. I don't regret it, and I'd do it again if I felt that I had to. The only thing I regret, and can never forgive myself for, was putting you guys through such a hard time. Many days passed where I wished I had said good bye in a better way, or at least spoke to you before I left, but then I think about what happened. You both lied to me about Renwick's capture. You must have known that I'd eventually find out and act rashly from anger. After six months of being alone and think about what occurred, I still harbor an anger at the two of you for lying. By doing so, you carelessly left me in the dark and that was dangerous for you and for me." Taking a deep breath, Harry sat back down on his bed and watched his guardians absorb the information with stoic expressions.

After a long minute, Remus spoke in a hoarse voice. "Harry. Lying to you was not our intention in the beginning. Sirius and I had spoken about ways in which we could calmly tell you that Renwick was still free and keep you from doing something reckless. Neither of us has experience being parental figures, and we were trying desperately to get it right. Keeping the truth from you proved not to be helpful, and we are both sorry for what that put you through. Betraying your trust was never our intention. We were just trying to prevent exactly what happened." Remus ran a hand through his graying hair and looked at Harry nervously.

"What you did was also reckless and irrational," Sirius said, trying to sound firm. "You're only fourteen and yet you ran away to take on a dangerous man. We never had any idea if you were still alive or not! The stress and worry we went through, the continuous searches… If you ever do something like that again Harry, I don't think Remus or I will live through it. When we got called in to identify if it was your body they had found, we both lost ourselves. You can't do anything like that again Harry, never."

Guilt was eating through Harry's insides as he fidgeted with his wand. "I know, and I won't. I'll never forgive myself for what happened, but nevertheless, I am sorry. You both didn't deserve what I put you through, but I needed to make sure that Renwick couldn't come back. I didn't want to the nightmares he sent to me, to become reality. That would have destroyed me. I also understand if you don't forgive me; heck, I understand if you hate me and want me out of your lives. I'll go back to the Dursley's if you want, or I'll even go into the foster system if it makes everything easier."

Shock and anger crossed both men's features. "Harry!" Remus choked out. "We'd never send you away!"

"How could you think that?" Sirius gasped. "Hate you? The words are poison in my mouth. We love you Harry and you'll be coming back to live with us. No ifs, ands, or buts, about it."

Harry couldn't keep the goofy grin from crossing his features as he launched himself at them. Wrapping an arm around each of them, they shared a fierce hug. A thought struck Harry about how he'd truly missed the hugs from these two men. Tightening his grip, he couldn't stop a few tears of joy that slipped from his eyes. "Thank you," he choked out.

Both men squeezed Harry tightly in response. "We're not going to let you go again Harry," Sirius warned as he placed a kiss on his godson's head.

"Never," Remus agreed.

"I love you, both of you. Never in all my life could I have thought that I would love, and be loved in return by, parents. Thank You."