"Harry, it's not like that...none of it," Remus said softly, his tone low and gentle as he attempted to soothe Harry's agitation. "Severus didn't come because of a grudge... he stayed away because he felt it would be hypocritical to be here. He would have come with me, if I'd asked, but instead I came with Serenus. He and Sirius... well, it wasn't nearly so bitter lately as it had been. I'm not saying they ever would have been friends, but... it wasn't as hostile any longer. More like habit than anything else, since the reasons they had hated each other in the first place were no longer really relevant."
Drawing in a deep breath, Remus steeled himself to address something that was probably far more difficult for Harry to hear, but he felt it needed to be said.
"As far as your parents are concerned, Harry... there was something not right about them. I mean about the version of them that manifested when this whole thing started. They were wrong, somehow. It's not just that Sirius didn't tell me about them for a long time, when I finally did meet them... it wasn't the Lily and James I remembered. It was more like... an echo, I guess, of the way Sirius always talked about them. His ideal of them, if you will. I don't know how or why it happened, but they certainly weren't the loving, devoted parents I remembered. The Lily and James I remembered would do anything to protect their son, because they loved him so very, very much. It's almost like they were Lily and James from just after they got married, well before you were born. When they had time for Sirius. Once you were born... it was all about you."