My name is Harry Potter. Remus is making me write this paper on the importance of family and what it means to be a part of one, which is pretty stupid, because by putting me on restriction and making me write a paper, which I hate doing, he's teaching me that being part of a family means having someone to punish you properly when you do something dangerous, and even after you explain a million times why you did it and tell him that you get the point, he still won't budge. Git. And Sirius is actually taking his side.

But I don't seem to have much of a choice, so here I go. I think I'm going to write about both Remus and Sirius, because it looks like Sirius is still going to be looking after me, even if he's not going to be my guardian in the same way that I used to think he would (I'm okay with that, as long as I still get to have him around).

Being part of a family means everyone pitches in and does their part, but you also have to be okay with letting other people do their part too. The Dursleys always made me do all of the cooking and cleaning, so when I first started living at Grimmauld Place, I thought the best way to make everyone want to have me around was to do that again. I found out that it was just making everyone uncomfortable. Family members aren't slaves and they don't like it when people in the family act like they are. That's why Remus wouldn't let me write about doing extra chores as something that makes me a valuable part of the family. But I'm still supposed to say something about why I'm a valuable part of this family. I do my part around the house, but I don't overdo it anymore. I think it actually makes Remus happy to be able to do some things for me, too.

Something else I'm learning about family is that it's kind of like being a part of a team. We root for each other, just like we do in Gryffindor or on the Quidditch team. When one of us is happy about something, we're all happy about it, and we try to have fun together as much as we can and make each other happy. When one of us is hurting, we all hurt over whatever happened, and we try to take care of each other. That's true for friends, too, but it's even more true for family. I think it's something I'm pretty good at, too. I would do anything for my family, and I know they would do anything for me.

I think the most important thing about family is that it isn't conditional. It's different from with friends. Ron Weasley is my best mate, but he could decide not to be friends with me any more if he wanted to, and if we wanted to stop hanging out after we graduated from Hogwarts, we could decide to do that. I don't think we will, but we'll always have that choice. Family isn't like that—it's a stronger tie, and it's permanent. Remus (and Sirius) can't just decide one day that they don't want to have me around anymore, even if I mess up really bad. And since I'm supposed to write about what makes me a good member of the family: I'm not going to give up on Remus or Sirius, either, even if I get upset with them. I'm not going to run away again. It would be completely pointless to run away—I know Remus would just come and find me.

Well, I'm running out of things to say, but I'm supposed to write three feet and I still have a few inches left. I guess it doesn't really matter, though, because Remus will probably make me rewrite this whole paper when he sees it just because I called him a git in the first paragraph. But I guess that's what he's supposed to do, since he's the closest thing I have to a father. So maybe this paper wasn't completely a waste, because at least it helped me realize that Remus is basically my dad, even if he is a super over-protective, over-strict dad, and he really cares about me, because he probably wouldn't put up with my whining over doing this if he didn't care. So . . . thanks I guess, "Dad."

-------

On the last night of Harry's grounding, Remus went in to check in on him late at night. Over the course of the week, Harry had transitioned from solemn, to sullen, to downright whiny about the whole situation. It had Remus tearing his hair out, almost ready to threaten a longer grounding if Harry didn't stop nagging and complaining about the well-deserved consequences he'd earned. At the same time, it also encouraged Remus more than anything else could have. If Harry felt safe enough to act out and complain, Remus was doing his job.

Remus really didn't know what to expect to find when he entered Harry's room that night. But Harry was already asleep, limbs sprawling and his covers twisted around him, the way he often was after he'd been asleep for a half an hour or so.

Today was the last day Remus had given Harry to complete that essay. Part of him wanted to wake Harry to finish it; he was torn between that and extending the period of restriction until Harry had it done, but then he saw a roll of parchment on Harry's desk. He unrolled it and read through the essay.

By the time he reached the end, tears prickled in his eyes. Finally, Harry had heard him.

The End