Entry for Parental Figure Challenge.
pen name: catchingdragons
parental figure: Molly Weasley
as a parent to: Harry Potter
one shot/ multichapter: one shot
Enjoy and leave comments! x
Harry wakes with a terrible pounding in his head. It takes his mind a moment to shake of the blissful fog of sleep before he realizes he is not in the same place he fell asleep in. How foolish of him to believe he would be able to sleep soundly just because Voldemort was dead now. Of course his followers would want to get their hands on him. They must be out for revenge.
His heart starts racing and he breaks into a cold sweat when he tries to stand up and realizes he can't move a muscle from the waist down. Frantically he reaches under the pillow in search of his wand but there is nothing there. Of course it isn't there because it's not the bed he put it under before going to sleep.
In a panic he starts thrashing about with his arms flailing in the air while his legs stay transfixed on the bed. Before he can decide whether it's wiser to scream for help than to be quiet and wait until his captors come back for him, a well-placed Full-Body-Bind Curse hits him in the shoulder and he falls back onto the pillow.
His eyes are wide with fear and terror as a face appears above him. Without his glasses he can't see who it is, but he makes out a face framed by unkempt red locks. Only as the woman starts to talk in her familiar western country accent, Harry starts to calm down a little.
"Oh dear, it's fine. You're safe now." When she looks into Harry's frantic eyes, Molly puts a hand on his arm and softly puts his glasses onto his nose. Soothingly she rubs his skinny arms. "You're in St Mungos, dear. You have been hit by a few nasty spells the healers say. One must have hit you in the waist, that is why your legs are paralysed. Surely something awful by the mark it left."
Again Harry tries to move his hands to his hips to investigate the damage himself, but the only visible reaction is the hectic look of his eyes. Molly tenderly brushes her hand over his forehead. "No, don't try to move. You need rest, your body must rally and it's most important you give it rest and let it do so gradually."
For a few moments Molly just sits by Harry's bed and runs her hand reassuringly over the boy's arm. Only when his breathing finally sounds even and calm enough for her liking does she cup his face in her hands and sternly speaks to him despite the tears that threaten to fall from her eyes.
"I don't know what happened these last few months to you and the other two, but I know it was crazy and difficult and probably worse than I dare to imagine. But now you're here and that's more than I could hope for all these months you were gone." Swiftly she wipes a tear of her cheek before continuing soberly. "I will release the spell now and undo the Body-Bind on your upper body. I promised the healers I'd make sure you're resting and I intend to keep that promise, do you hear me Mr? I don't like hexing you to this bed, but so Godric help me I will if you so much as try to disobey the healer's orders. Okay, one. Two. Three."
Breathing instantly gets easier as the Body-Bind is released upon Harry's chest. Carefully he moves his fingers on his right hand, then his left ones. With droopy eyes he looks up into Molly's eyes. His voice is hoarse and rough when he tries to speak. "R-Ron?"
That her son is the most pressing concern on the mind of the boy who just won a war, makes Molly's heart swell with love and pride. Smiling she rubs the young hero's arm. "Ron's okay. The healers discharged him yesterday and he's home now. Hermione is too, the poor dear. Now she has to stay on the armchair all day and watch Percy lose against Ronnie at chess." She sighs, smiling sadly. "Charlie and Arthur are with George, he- well, he's not feeling too well. I do hope they'll get him to eat some porridge..." Her look becomes distant and gloomy as her voice trails off. Harry's heart painfully tightens when he watches her think about George... and Fred.
"I'm sorry, Mrs Weasley." His voice is so sorrow-stricken, so full of honest and true sadness that Molly looks up at him blankly. Harry stutters as he continues. "I- I shouldn't have, well, Fred was giving me cover... I'm so sorry." He hangs his head and swallows hard, but the lump in his throat doesn't seem to disappear.
"Oh, dear, don't be. He knew what he was getting himself into, we all did, didn't we? It could have ended one of two ways for all of us... it's not easy, it hurts now, but it will be okay. Maybe not today or even next week but someday it will all be okay. We're a family, we have each other."
It takes Harry more than a little strength to speak. His chest feels tighter than before and the sadness chokes his throat. "You should be with them. I'm fine, I promise. But you should be with your family now, Mrs Weasley."
The quiet laugh surprises him and when he looks up, Molly tearfully smiles at him. "You silly, silly boy. I am with my family, dear. You are one of us, one of mine." She leans forward and softly brushes her finger over his cheek. Harry awkwardly blushes, feeling close to tears. "Maybe I wasn't good enough to you, but you were one of us since second year, Harry. I always considered you one of my kids. I'm sorry if I never made you feel like a part of his family."
He wants to tell her she always made him feel welcome, but she is suddenly on him and for the first time in what feels like forever, Harry lets an adult hug him. Mrs Weasley basically crushes him while she squeezes him affectionately to her chest. A tear finally escapes the boy's eye. A family. A part of a family who loves him. Although he always felt like the Weasley's were somewhat the closest he had to family, he never felt quite so much a part of them as now with Mrs Weasley, Molly, Mum hugging him to herself. When she lets go and sits back down with her hand resting on his arm still, he catches a faint scent of butter and vanilla in her hair.
"You're only skin and bones now." She tsks as she shakes her head disapprovingly. "Even worse than Ron and Hermione, you are. We better start feeding you up soon or you might just disappear completely." She becomes sombre for a moment again. "I already lost one son. Only over my dead body will I lose another one."
Again Harry's reply is cut off. Outside the door, right in front of his room there's a loud CRACK to be heard. Instinctively Harry starts to grab his wand that isn't there while Mrs Weasley appears to be nothing but calm. Frantically Harry starts to throw instructions at her, but she only smiles after a quick look at her watch.
"Oh, that must be Ginny. I had Bill force her to get some sleep and eat. Sweet girl stayed in this room hours and hours waiting. Took a bit of a toll on-" Mrs Weasley's sentence is cut off by the entrance of one Ginny Weasley. When the young redhead sees Harry awake, she launches herself at him. Fortunately she lands on Harry's still numb legs and starts screaming.
"Harry Potter you absolute ARSE! You stupid git! How in the world did you think GETTING FUCKING KILLED is the RIGH THING TO DO?! And then you just basically fall INTO A BLOODY COMA! TWO DAYS, Harry. TWO days I waited for you to wake up." In a rage she hits him everywhere she can reach, punctuating her words with tears rolling from her eyes. "I was scared SHITLESS! Never EVER think about doing SUCH A STUPID, NOBLE FUCKING THING LIKE THAT AGAIN, Harry Potter. NEVER DO YOU HEAR ME?!"
While Harry is baffled and barely manages to nod before her, Ginny throws herself onto his chest and hugs him. Mrs Weasley snickers quietly. "I believe the whole of London heard you, dear. And don't you worry, he won't be able to do such a foolish thing again. He's grounded for until he is discharged and every single wound and injury is completely and fully healed."
If you enjoyed this, you should check out my one-shot collection about Teddy&Harry.