Harry woke up early on Christmas morning. He got dressed and sat on the front stoop despite the cold. After an hour, Sirius joined him.

"I was wondering where you were," Sirius said.

"I'm sorry," Harry told him. "Were you worried?"

"No," Sirius said. "I first assumed you were still sleeping. I asked Kreacher and he said you're outside. Come inside and open presents."

"I forgot it was Christmas!" Harry exclaimed.

"How could you forget that?" Sirius teased.

"I guess I was thinking about yesterday," Harry said.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sirius asked.

"I feel bad that I caused everyone else so much pain by dragging them with me," Harry said. "Just because I wanted to cry over my parents doesn't mean everyone else has to."

"We all cried over your parents many times," Sirius said. "You didn't cause us any additional pain. Come inside and open presents. After breakfast, we can talk about what's going on."

Harry quickly opened his presents and ate breakfast.

"According to Dumbledore, your problem is that you never mourned your parents," Sirius explained. "As a baby, you had to adjust to a whole new life and didn't get a chance to mourn. Once you had your dream, you managed to convince yourself that your father wasn't worth knowing, according to Dumbledore. It was only this summer that you found out your father wasn't a terrible person and that's when you started grieving. Does this make sense so far?"

Harry nodded.

"When I saw your parents' dead bodies, I started crying uncontrollably," Sirius told him. "Hagrid came to get you, and I cried on Hagrid's shoulder. I just couldn't believe your parents were dead. When Hagrid left with you, I went after Peter and you know what happened. For ten years in Azkaban, I kept thinking about your parents' dead bodies on the floor and wondering what happened to you. Then one night, an auror told me I'm free. I didn't really understand first, until he explained that you remembered everything and identified Peter. Peter gave a full confession under veritaserum. I didn't know what to do first! I was thinking that I want to go see you, when I got a message from Fudge saying that you have a lot to tell him but only feel comfortable if I'm there with Remus. I was so excited! He said I should first eat something, take a shower, change my clothes, take a strengthening potion, and get myself together, but he'll wait for me in school. All of a sudden, my life had a purpose again. I was so excited that you wanted to live with me and was thrilled that I can raise a miniature James. Of course, I soon found out that you do not have your father's personality, but I was still delighted to be an important part of your life. Through you, I feel connected to both of your parents. Any time you want to mourn their deaths, that's fine with me. I spent ten years mourning, plus I go to their grave every Halloween. I have pictures in my room. You don't need to feel bad about making me cry, because I cried so much anyway. A few more tears won't hurt. It hurts more when you lock yourself up and I can't get through to you. Then I feel like I lost both your parents and you."

"I'm sorry," Harry said.

"Don't be sorry," Sirius said. "Just don't do that to me again. Anytime you want to talk about your parents, I'm ready to talk to you. Anytime you want me to be quiet, that's fine too. Just don't shut everyone out again."

"I'm really sorry," Harry said again. "I won't do that again."

Remus came to visit in the afternoon and asked Sirius if he could talk to Harry alone. Sirius left the room.

"I know Sirius already spoke to you, but I want to tell you about my grieving process," Remus said. "The only reason I'm telling you is so that you will know that what you're feeling is completely normal. When your parents died, I lost all my friends at once. I lost both of your parents of course. I thought Peter was dead. Sirius was in Azkaban. I was never able to hold onto a job for too long because of my condition. I was alone and devastated for ten years. I aged a lot during those years. Every full moon, I was alone, locked in my basement and attacking myself. I missed having my friends with me all the time, but it was worse when I felt the moon coming. I don't know how I survived those ten years. I kept trying to get jobs. Sometimes I managed to find a temporary job but most people didn't want a werewolf working for them. Being out of work gave me time to miss your parents more. When I got a message from Dumbledore saying that you have important information to share and will only share it if Sirius and I are present, I was shocked. I couldn't believe you remembered me. I also felt horrible for ever doubting Sirius. All of a sudden, my life turned around. I still think about your parents sometimes. I was good friends with both of them, but I know they would be proud if they would see how you are today. As long as I have you in my life, I have a connection to your parents. I know you don't like when I hold you or hug you, but I do it because I knew your mother well and there is no way she would have been content to let you sit and wallow in your misery. I try to think of what she would do in that situation. I'm not your parent, but since I knew them well, I try to make sure you have all your needs met. I'm doing it for myself as much as for you. It makes me feel connected to them when I have you to take care of. You complained that I didn't marry Tonks yet. She understands that right now, I feel like I have to be there for you all the time. I know you don't need me, but I still need that connection. Your dad was my first friend. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I abandoned his son, even though I know you don't need me. Was that too much for you?"

"I don't know how much I believe that," Harry said. "According to the original plan, you only teach me one year. You taught me a lot that year, and once Tom was powerful again, I saw you at the order. You didn't feel obligated to stay connected to me."

"Okay, so maybe it's not just because of your parents," Remus agreed. "I owe you the life I live now. I was nothing until you convinced Dumbledore to give me the job and Severus to make me the potion. Not only that, you were willing to risk great embarrassment during your third year in order to keep me out of trouble. I owe you a lot. There's no way I could abandon you. While I'm in your life because of the wonderful person you are, I try to think about how your parents would handle different situations and react the same way. There's no way your parents would approve of the way you locked yourself up the last few months. If you want to talk about your parents, I'm always willing to listen. You don't need to keep everything to yourself. Even if you're concerned about bringing us down, we all owe you so much. I owe you my job. Sirius owes you his freedom and his life. Dumbledore owes you his life, even if he won't admit it. We all care about you and are willing to suffer along with you. Don't keep us out."

"I'm sorry," Harry said.

Sirius, Remus and Harry somehow managed to enjoy the rest of Christmas.