When Sirius looked back on that Christmas, he would have said it was the best one of his life up until that point. Not only did he have his freedom back, he was celebrating it with Harry and Remus, the two people he most loved in his life. The only thing better would have been if James and Lily had been there, but you couldn't have everything, even if you were a wizard.

Sirius hadn't expected to fall asleep, or not to sleep as long as Harry, but when he woke up, Harry was rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The kitten hadn't moved, and his eyes were closed. They should really try to find a name for it, or the poor creature would be stuck as "Kitty" for the rest of his life.

Harry smiled at Sirius, who grinned back without any self-consciousness. By now, the two had slept or napped together so often that it seemed almost odd that it would have been something to feel uneasy about. Sirius remembered that, even when Harry was a toddler, he had taken naps next to Sirius while his parents tried to catch up on some sleep, or clean the house, or run errands. As long as Harry was with Sirius, he had slept undisturbed.

This was still the case-most of the time, anyway. The nightmares might never go away entirely, but surely, without the connection to Voldemort, if the Dark Lord decided to cease his self-imposed Occlumency, he would never interfere with Sirius's pup's mind again.

Really, they should have removed the scar the previous year, since Dumbledore must have known about the horcruxes by then. And wasn't having Harry undergo a surgical procedure that would eliminate his connection to Voldemort far more practical than having Snape teach him Occlumency?

Sirius had to wonder what went through that old man's head.

"You're worried about something," Harry noted, staring at his godfather.

Sirius managed a smile. "Just thinking about you, kiddo. And what's going through Dumbledore's head at this moment."

"Sorry, but my connection was only to Voldemort, not to Dumbledore," Harry replied, with a laugh.

"Things would have been much easier if that had been the case," Sirius observed, giving him a hug, which Harry happily returned. "You up for some games? Or, are you hungry?"

"Games, first," Harry decided. "How about a board game?"

Sirius wordlessly summoned the box containing all the board games they had brought with them.

"Oi, Remus! We're playing a board game!" he called. "Want to play?"

Remus entered the sitting room sedately, carrying a large pot. "Certainly. Hot chocolate, anyone?"

After a game of Clue, which Sirius won, they set up a game of Monopoly.

"Did you know that there are different versions of that?" Harry asked, as he distributed the money. "I think I saw one based on a tourist town."

"That could be our next idea, if you like," Sirius suggested, taking the handful of bills Harry gave him. "Wizardopoly."

"Hogwartsopoly?" Harry grinned. "Or Hogsmeadopoly?"

"Why not all of them? Same general premise, just different places to buy up. Also, instead of going to jail with the Hogwarts one, you lose points or do to detention," Remus noted. "Although, going to prison with Dementors is far worse than simply skipping a few turns in the muggle version."

"Tell me about it," Sirius grumbled, and Harry placed his hand on his.

Everyone had played before, but they went over the rules to be sure they remembered everything.

"I've actually never played this before," Harry admitted, once they began the game.

There was a brief pause as the two wizards took that in. Sirius placed a hand on Harry's, and he smiled.

"Come to think of it, I don't think Dudley ever played it either, though. I know he owned one-it was in his second bedroom when I got it. Never touched, still in the plastic wrap," he added, with a grin.

"Not enough aliens to shoot at for Big D?" Sirius chuckled.

Remus coughed. "'Big D'?"

"Nickname his friends gave him...summer before last. He'd joined the wrestling team at school, and was good enough to earn a nickname. Lost quite a bit of weight, or at least, turned it into muscle instead. All of those days of Harry hunting paying off," Harry explained, realizing belatedly he should have left the last bit out.

"Harry...hunting?" Sirius echoed.

"Mostly before Hogwarts," Harry explained, quickly. "He and his friends would try to chase me around at school recess, and at home. He, er, liked to use me as a punching bag. When he could catch me, anyway. I was pretty fast, and when it was only Dudley, I mostly escaped."

The memories Snape had forced him to relieve proved he hadn't been as successful as he'd thought, when there had been a gang pursuing him, at any rate.

"Great Merlin!" Sirius growled. "And I suppose his parents encouraged it."

"Er, yeah," Harry admitted, glancing from Sirius to Remus. "You're not going to kill them, are you? We need them alive, at least until the beginning of next summer."

"Hang that!" Sirius took a couple of deep breaths. "All right, you do need them alive to keep the wards alive. How's this? I'll lay off killing them until after we defeat Voldemort and his followers. Sound good?"

Harry glanced over at Remus, who shrugged. "Best deal you're likely to get, Harry."

"Now that I think about it, death is rather too easy for them. Once those damned Dementors get back in line and sent to Azkakan-because Merlin knows they likely can't be destroyed-I reckon we should ship the Dursleys off. Maybe not Dudley, or not forever. A good week in Azkaban should be plenty," Sirius mused, buying one of the properties and handing Harry the money.

"He wasn't so bad last summer," Harry protested, rather lightly.

"Oh, well, that makes up for nearly ten years of terror, plus summers in between," Sirius grumbled. "Damn it. Now, I'm even more motivated to track down that snake and Voldemort. I could take them both, I'm so mad..."

"DON'T!" shouted Harry and Remus at once, and Sirius diminished visibly.

Then, he pulled Harry into his arms. "You know you never deserved any of that, right? Those bloody relatives of your should never have been given care of a goldfish, let alone you. I don't care what Dumbledore thinks, he was wrong to keep you from me, or at least, a proper wizarding family who would have given you the love you deserved."

"I know that!" Harry nearly shouted, then immediately lowered his voice. Sirius in no way deserved his anger. "I know," he repeated, more quietly. Before his godfather could interject, he continued, "Look, I knew early on that normal families didn't act the way the Dursleys did. Sure, I didn't have friends until Hogwarts, but I could see that most kids weren't as spoiled as he was, even though they usually had loving parents. I knew that the Dursleys were rotten and it was my bad luck that my parents died and I was stuck with them."

"You shouldn't have been. I should never have let Hagrid take you. Hexed him, even, if I had to. Merlin, pup. I am so sorry." Sirius held him tightly, eyes blurring.

Taking a deep breath, Harry nodded, then added, rather quietly, "I used to wish that some people would come and take me away from them. You know, that I would have a long lost great uncle or something. And when I occasionally saw witches and wizards who acted like they recognized me, I thought that, maybe, it could happen." Harry glanced up at Sirius and Remus. "I couldn't believe it when Hagrid came and told me I was a wizard and could go away to school for most of the year. I thought that even if I was the worst in the class and didn't have any friends, it would be better than Privet Drive."

Sirius squeezed him even tighter, and Remus joined in. Harry had to smile. He hadn't had a hug sandwich, not since he'd been well, since that day in July, and he thought it was rather a pity. Of course, Sirius's hugs were nothing at all to complain about.

There was a fierce protectiveness around the adults that seemed to penetrate through the air. Harry rather felt that if Voldemort or one of the Death Eaters appeared then, their love would have kept them from even considering laying a hand on him.

Harry knew that Sirius loved him. Had known it for ages. Maybe, it had started when he believed that Sirius would have truly died rather than betray his parents, or maybe with the letter that came a couple of weeks later. Harry had first felt it when Sirius left wherever he had been hiding to return, to keep an eye on him. Just because his scar hurt after a nightmare.

Still hugging him fiercely, as though Sirius could not get enough of his godson, he spoke softly.

"You might have made me rethink my promise not to kill your relatives, pup."

Remus snorted from behind Harry's back. "You never actually made a promise."

"Oh, didn't I? Well, that's a relief." Sirius chuckled, then released Harry, holding him at arms length. "I am glad, at least, that you knew you never deserved their abuse. More than abuse, but outright hatred. I'm glad you were able to have some hope."

Harry managed a smile. "Yeah, I guess."

The three of them snuggled together, the Monopoly game momentarily forgotten. Harry wondered if this would become a regular thing, games and such interrupted by spontaneous comments that resulted in long conversations and, of course, even longer hugs.

He doubted that the Weasleys, affectionate as they were, would act this way.

Not that he minded in the slightest.

"I might not kill them outright," Sirius added, contemplatively. "Could hex them enough to make their outside look as repulsive as their insides. For, say, ten years? No, let's say seventeen."

Harry snorted. "Poor Aunt Petunia could never leave her house. Uncle Vernon would get fired from his job. They would likely lose their house."

"Probably," put in Remus, far too cheerfully. "But it's better than being forced to work in the goblin mines and undergo perpetual deaging."

"What's that?"

"If a muggle commits a particularly atrocious offense against a witch or wizard, an underage one, and there are enough witnesses, they can be forced to perform servile labor for the goblins for the remainder of their life. Then, they get deaged back to the height of health, moments before their death, and have to do it all over again. It's not quite forever... I believe the longest possible sentence is a thousand years," Remus explained, rather calmly. "It's never been enacted."

"Yes, but Moony, tell Harry about what happens after they complete their sentencing," Sirius pushed, his arms still wrapped around Harry.

"Ah, yes. Dismemberment caused by being drawn and quartered," Remus explained. "There was some speculation about whether the torture curse would be permitted, but they decided against it. Set a precedent."

Harry gaped at the two adults. "What would a muggle have to do to earn this sentence?"

"Well, it's never been used, so that should say something. Usually, though, it's extreme forms of abuse against a minor witch or wizard, often of a sexual nature," Remus explained.

"Muggles call it gang rape," Sirius said, grimly, "which the Dursleys never did to you, right?"

Harry paled. "No, never! Dudley didn't even try to...you know."

"Did they lay hands on you?" Sirius asked, quietly.

"I had to dodge blows on occasion," he admitted, "and I learned early on not to be within an arm's reach of my uncle, if I could manage it." Harry stared Sirius and Remus in the eyes so they knew he wasn't lying. "He never left a mark."

"Lily's protection, likely, over any restraint he showed," Sirius murmured, and Remus nodded.

There was a long silence, and Harry tentatively asked if they could resume the game.

"All right, but I am not letting you go," Sirius informed Harry, tightening his arms around his sides.

"So long as you let me breathe, I won't protest...and no tickling!" he added, quickly.

"You would tickle him, Padfoot? Just a few days after surgery?" Remus chided.

"I never said I did!" Sirius protested, pretending to look innocent.

"Harry as good as," Remus retorted. "Didn't you?"

Harry nodded, adding an exaggerated put upon look for emphasis. "That's how he woke me up this morning."

"You know, I do believe that this calls for revenge in the form of a pillow fight. Harry and me against you," Remus challenged Sirius.

"B-but we have a game to complete! Don't we, pup?" Sirius pleaded.

Harry looked at Remus, who was smiling widely, then up at his godfather.

"I rather fancy being hugged like this," he decided. "Perhaps we can have the fight after the game?"

The two adults conceded, and Sirius adjusted Harry in his arms so he was even more comfortable.

Of course, Harry thought wryly, Sirius might be waiting for him to fall asleep to avoid being attacked by pillows.

That wouldn't happen.

Next up: The Christmas festivities conclude with the promised pillow fight. Who will win-Harry and Remus? Or Sirius?