A Mother's Love
AN: Arthur didn't get attacked by the snake, and Sirius was freed and given custody of Harry. Sirius is also away with Remus for a mission for the Order. This is my first Molly takes care of a sick Harry fic. Enjoy!
The streets outside of 12 Grimmauld Place were quiet, even under the Fidelius charm, there was no outside noise. Inside of 12 Grimmauld Place, the occupants were all in their beds, sleeping. Well, not all of them. In one of the larger bedrooms were a redheaded man and woman. Arthur was sleeping, his snores rattling off the wall, he was facing, while Molly was awake, sitting up in the bed.
Molly felt something was off in the house. Being the mother of seven, including twins by the names of Fred and George, Molly had learned her mother's intuition was always right. Tonight, her intuition told her that something wasn't right. It was telling her that someone was sick, but not really who and where they were. She concluded that she would need to check each child before she could go back to sleep.
She had Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and Harry. Sirius had been recently cleared of all charges and given custody of Harry. His newfound freedom, allowed him to be more active in the Order. Sirius was gone on a mission for the Order with Remus. They would be back in two days, and they left Harry in Molly's care, not that Harry minded.
Careful not to disturb Arthur, Molly slipped out of bed, toeing her slippers and putting on her dressing gown. For a moment, she watched Arthur slept, thankful that he was still with her. They had gotten lucky that Kingsley and a few other Order members were in the Department of Mysteries. While they weren't able to kill the snake, they were able to keep Arthur being attacked.
Molly began checking the bedrooms of her children, starting with Fred and George as they were on the same floor as her and Arthur. Quietly she slipped into the bedroom and approached Fred, first. Years spent by a sick child's bedside gave Molly the skill to quietly walk into a room, check for fever and quietly slip out.
She felt his forehead, it wasn't Fred, who was causing her mother's intuition to go off. She then quietly moved to George's bed and felt her other son's forehead. He was warm, but it was due to the covers he was under. It was neither of them. Molly sighed in relief and quietly left the room.
Pausing at the bottom of the stairs, she recalled in her head where each of the other kids was sleeping. She remembered that Ron had moved upstairs to Remus's old room when Sirius offered his brother's old room to Remus. The werewolf agreed since it would allow Harry to have his own room.
Swiftly, she ascended the stairs and walked into the bedroom, she knew Ron was in. The snores greeted her when she walked in the door since there was a permanent silencing charm on the room. Molly added an alarm that would alert her and Arthur to any distress or problems. Even though the alarm didn't go off, she still wanted to check. She gently placed her hand on her youngest biological son's forehead. He was cool as a cucumber.
She slipped downstairs to the second floor, deciding to check on Harry first before she headed on downstairs to check on the girls. When she approached Harry's door, the feeling she had of something not right increased. Quietly, Molly turned the knob on the door and walked into the room.
She found Harry curled into a ball in the bed, looking pale. His black hair was sticking to his face and forehead.
She approached the bed quietly, watching Harry for any signs of him waking up. Once was at the side of Harry's bed, she gently pushed back the hair on his forehead and firmly placed her hand on his forehead and then the back of her hand on his cheek. The touch made Harry's eyes opened to slits.
Just by looking at him, Molly knew he wasn't feeling well. He was pale, but his cheeks were flushed.
"You don't feel good do you?" She murmured. Her motherly instincts were coming to play as she soothingly rubbed his head.
"Nun huh," Harry mumbled.
Molly returned her hand to Harry's forehead, noticing that he must be running a very high fever.
"You're burning up!" Molly exclaimed.
"I feel sick," Harry moaned pitifully.
Molly felt sorry for Harry. She hated seeing any child sick, even if the said child wasn't her own.
"What hurts dear?" Molly said soothingly.
"My stomach," Harry replied, clutching it tightly.
"Poor thing, you feel awful don't you?" she cooed.
Harry nodded. "The cramps hurt really bad."
Molly soothingly rubbed his back, just as she had done with her sons when they were sick.
"When did you start feeling sick, dear?"
"I don't know for sure," Harry admitted. "My stomach started hurting after supper and I went to bed, thinking I'd feel better if I laid down. I didn't."
Molly continued rubbing Harry's back, hoping to bring some comfort to the sick teen.
She reviewed in her head the evening meal. Harry didn't eat much, picking at his dinner. He managed to eat some carrots and chicken but left a lot of food on his plate. If Molly didn't know any better, Harry was starting to get sick before dinner.
Now the question was should she call a healer or consult with her book upstairs in her bedroom.
"I'll be right back, sweetie," Molly assured him.
Whichever she decided, she would need to do it soon so she could now what immunity potion to give the other occupants of the house.
The last thing Molly needed was everyone getting sick.
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Molly decided against calling a healer. She raised seven children and could easily diagnose Harry's illness just by looking at him. Just to be sure she consulted with the book she gotten as a gift from Arthur's mother when they got married. It was a book of common illnesses. It was so worn from use that the pages were falling out and Spell-o-taped together.
She scanned the index for the stomach ailments section and flipped to the page she was looking for. She found the spell that would tell her if Harry had the stomach flu, if he did, his stomach would glow a bright red. But first, she needed to find out Harry's temperature to know how much fever reducer to give him.
She waved her wand over him, muttering the all too familiar spell and then the green numbers glowed in front of her.
"102.4," she murmured. She then turned her attention to the book of common illnesses.
"Dear, I need you to lie on your back for a second," Molly soothed gently. Harry turned over onto his back and let Molly pull his shirt up. She pointed his wand at his bare stomach, muttered the spell and watched as his belly glowed a bright red.
"Poor thing, no wonder you feel awful." Molly pulled down Harry's shirt and covered him back up with the blankets. "It appears, you have the stomach flu. Luckily the type you have will only last twenty-four hours."
"Okay." Harry winced at the sudden sharp cramp in his stomach. He groaned when the cramp intensified.
Molly felt her heartbreak at the pained expression on Harry's face. She gently rubbed his back as he curled into a tight ball.
"It really hurts," he whined, pressing a hand to his stomach and whimpering at the strong spasms that kept rolling through his abdomen.
Before Molly had a chance to do anything, Harry bolted from the bed and ran to the bathroom.
She quickly followed him, knowing he went to the bathroom on his floor. Molly found Harry, leaning over the toilet, emptying his stomach. As she did with her children, she kneeled down beside the sick teen and rubbed soothing circles on his back.
Molly remained in the bathroom with Harry, waiting for the next round of vomiting to begin. She didn't have to wait long before she heard a low groan from Harry and then he began to throw up in the toilet once more. This went on for two minutes, Harry had only stopped to catch his breath for a few seconds before his stomach spiraled into more knots and he started puking again.
When he was positive it was done, he tried to get up from the floor. Being weak from the nonstop puking, Harry wasn't able to get up without help. Molly grabbed a hold of his arm and helped led him back to his bedroom.
Her motherly instincts kicking in, as she laid him back down on the bed. She noticed that as soon as Harry's head hit the pillow, he was asleep.
She stayed with him, keeping an eye on him. Now that she knew what was wrong with Harry, she needed to do two things. The first was to get immunity potions for the rest of the teenagers in the house. The second was to contact Sirius. He would want to know that Harry was sick.
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Molly entered the kitchen to find that Bill had made breakfast and Arthur, met her at the door.
"I flooed Dumbledore. He said that he would send Sirius back if Harry wasn't any better."
Molly nodded and headed to the stove, only for Bill to shoo her to a chair at the table.
"How's Harry?" Hermione asked. Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George all looked up at their mother, awaiting her reply.
"He has the stomach flu. I performed a diagnostic charm on him and that's what it said. I thought once about taking him to St. Mungo's or calling a healer, but both I would need Sirius's permission for and he's unreachable to us. Dumbledore said that he would send Sirius home if Harry gets worse."
Molly paused to take a sip of tea that Arthur had pushed in front of her along with a plate of eggs and toast.
"Is there immunity potions Mum?" Bill asked.
"Yes, in the cupboard, dear," Molly replied.
Arthur watched his wife, recognizing the look of concentration on her face. "Molly?"
"I wonder before Sirius took him if Harry was taken care of when he was sick," she pondered.
At the statement, Ron and Hermione shared a look, one that didn't go unnoticed by Bill.
"He wasn't, was he?" Bill asked.
Hermione shook her head, trying to hold in her emotions. She looked at Ron, who was looking at her and nodded, giving him permission to tell his parents and siblings.
"There was one time that Harry had gotten sick. It was when that stomach bug was going around last year before the second task," he explained to his siblings, who nodded remembering the time Ron was talking about. "Harry got it and Hermione and I took him to Madam Pomfrey and then back to our dorm. Hermione and I took turns staying with him. Between the two of us, we took care of him. Bringing him water and tea, rubbing his back when he would….." Ron trailed off, motioning vomiting with his hand. Everyone nodded while Arthur asked him to continue.
"Well." Ron took a breath. "We helped him feel better, even fixing a hot water bottle to help with the cramps."
Hermione, who had remained quiet, spoke up. "When he was feeling better, he told us that that was the first time he had been taken care of when he was sick."
Molly gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "You mean, ever."
Hermione nodded. Ron looked at his parents and siblings before he said, "He told us if he ever got sick, he was locked in his cupboard."
That broke the dam that was holding Hermione's emotions. She leaned into Ron's embrace when he wrapped an arm around her.
"How can they do that to a child?" Molly pondered, her voice shaking.
"What I can't understand is how can Harry be a sweet, kind, caring person having grown up like that," Hermione stammered.
Fred and George looked at each other and wrapped around their sister, who, along with the other two women in the room had begun to shed tears.
Suddenly Molly got up out of her seat and ran out of the room. Everyone watched as she left the room quickly and heard her as she ran up the chairs.
"She put that charm on Harry's room."
All eyes went to Arthur. At their questioning look, Arthur explained, "She placed a charm on the room that would alert her if Harry's temperature when up or if he was in distress. She's used that charm so many times that it's second nature to her now."
The teens nodded and slowly began to move out of the kitchen and upstairs to the sitting room where they played games to pass the time.
Occasionally they would look up towards the direction of Harry's room. Maybe if Harry felt like it, they could visit him for a little bit.
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When entered Harry's bedroom, she found it empty. She turned around and headed to the bathroom where she heard retching.
She found him just as she did the night before, hunched over the toilet. She kneeled beside him and started rubbing his back. Harry groaned and laid his head down the toilet seat.
"I think I'm dying," he groaned.
"Oh, you're not sweetie," Molly soothed. She hated to see anyone of her children sick, and this was no different. She hated that Harry was sick and feeling really awful at that. As she did with her children, she rubbed Harry's back in soothing circles, all while murmuring words of comfort.
She wondered if Hermione did this for him when he was sick like she and Ron had told her earlier. Judging from what they said, both Hermione and Ron provided comfort to Harry when he was sick.
"I've had the stomach flu before and this has to be the worst I've ever had it." Harry lifted his head up and leaned against Molly's shoulder. With Harry's head on her shoulder, she wrapped an arm around him, gently pulling him in a loving and motherly embrace.
"Are you done?" Molly asked gently. "Or are you going to throw up again?" She didn't want to move Harry back to his bed, only for him to rush back in here to throw up more.
"I think I'm done," Harry whispered.
Molly got up from the floor and then helped Harry up and back to his room. He laid down in his bed and immediately curled into a ball. His arms wrapped loosely around his stomach.
"I'm going to go and find some potions for you. One for your fever and another for your stomach. Do you want anything?"
Harry thought for a moment and then replied. "Something for the cramps would be nice. Ask Hermione if she has that water bottle. That helped the last time I was sick."
Molly smiled and returned downstairs to the kitchen. There she found that Sirius had completely stocked the potion cupboard. Inside was a selection of different potions, all lined up and organized according to the need. She quickly found the fever reducer and then went to look a stomach soother. She found the purple vial beside the pink stomach calmer. She grabbed both and placed them in a basket.
Looking around the kitchen, she found a plastic cup and tossed it in the basket. On her way up the stairs to Harry's bedroom, she stopped in the sitting room.
"Hermione, dear? Do you have that hot water bottle with you?" Molly asked.
Hermione paused and then jumped up from her chair and jogged up the stairs. Molly followed and just as she was passing the girl's room, Hermione returned with the water bottle.
"You can warm it with a warming charm. I bought it at that shop in Hogsmeade."
Molly smiled. "Thank you, Hermione." She ascended the stairs and returned to Harry's bedroom.
Harry laid curled in a tight ball, arms wrapped around his stomach. The cramps were slowly getting worse and more painful by the minute. Nausea then washed over him like a tidal wave and then it was a battle to keep the remaining contents of his stomach in his stomach. He groaned as another cramp ripped through his abdomen. Then he felt a loving hand on his back, as he had curled into a tighter ball then what he all ready was.
"Ow," Harry groaned. Molly picked up the water bottle and used her wand to fill it with water and warming it up. Gently, she placed it on Harry's stomach. Instantly, he relaxed and settled back in the bed. He wrapped his right arm around the water bottle so he could lie on his side.
"It's okay, sweetie. You'll feel better soon." Molly's motherly tone was soothing to the sick teen. Eventually, the cramps subsided and Harry knew that they would return.
"Can you sit up for a second to take some potions?" Molly asked. Harry pulled himself up in a sitting position and leaned back against the pillow he had propped up. Molly handed him the stomach soother first, thinking it would calm Harry's stomach enough to take the fever reducer. Harry swallowed the potions, grimacing at the taste of the fever reducer. The stomach soother was peppermint flavored, which Harry was able to tolerate.
Molly picked up the cup from where she sat it on the nightstand to fill it with water. "Aguamenti" she muttered, and the cup was filled with water. "Here, dear," she said, as she handed Harry the cup.
Harry took the cup from Molly, sipping the water slowly. Once he was done, he handed the cup back to Molly. Slowly, Harry scooted down in the bed, back to where he was previously.
The one effect the fever reducer seemed to have on Harry was it made him sleepy. He readjusted his pillow and then moved to a comfortable position. Molly tucked the bed covers and his quilt around him and sat on Harry's bedside, watching as Harry's eyes drooped closed. He was asleep in a few minutes.
Molly sat there for a few minutes to make sure that Harry was really asleep. She watched him for a second pushing back his sweaty hair from his face. Once the hair was away from his face, Molly noticed how young Harry looked when he was sleeping. He carried the weight of the world on his shoulders, and he was just a boy. She knew that Sirius had been telling Harry, what's been going on with the Order and in the meetings, but only what he was allowed to. She didn't think Harry should be burdened with that information.
She watched Harry sleep for another few minutes before she headed down to the kitchen for more potions and something for Harry to throw up in.
As she headed down to the kitchen, she also made a note to get a basin from the bathroom and a washcloth. The years of motherhood had given her a lot of knowledge of how to help soothe stomachaches, fevers, and depression.
She just hoped that Harry felt better soon.
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Molly had reset the charm on Harry's room and headed downstairs to make supper. Bill and Arthur were in the kitchen when she entered and found that they had supper started. Molly stood there, frozen. She was shocked to find that supper was almost done.
"Supper is almost ready, Mum. I figured since you've been with Harry all day that you wouldn't have had time to make anything," Bill explained.
Molly smiled and walked to her oldest son and hugged him, kissing his cheek. "Thank you, dear."
Everyone else had been waiting on baited breath to see if Molly was going to get mad about something else being in the kitchen. They were shocked when she didn't do anything but hug and kiss Bill.
Molly began making a cup of tea for herself. Harry was sleeping and she charm was on his room, it allowed her a second to be with the others.
"How's Harry?" Ron asked when he entered the kitchen and found his mother, sitting at the kitchen table.
"He's asleep right now. He should be feeling better tomorrow. This flu he has should only last twenty-four hours."
Ron and Hermione shared a look and then it seemed they were having a nonverbal conversation. Finally, Hermione sighed and asked, "If Harry feels like having company, could we see him tomorrow?"
"Yes, you may. We'll let the poor boy rest for the evening and you all may see him tomorrow. If he feels like it."
Arthur came to the table with a platter of sandwiches he had made to go with the soup that Bill had made.
"I spoke with Dumbledore. He contacted Sirius and he's on the first Portkey back to London in the morning. There isn't one available to London until then. He'll floo here from the Ministry," he informed his wife. Then he smiled. "He also sent a message to you. He said to tell you thanks for taking care of Harry."
Molly smiled. She and Sirius had been starting to get along, although they still had disagreements.
The charm on Harry's room went off and Molly bolted from the table.
Bill watched his mother leave the kitchen. Once he was sure that she was upstairs, he turned to his siblings and said, "Don't tell Mum, I picked that up from the Leaky Cauldron."
Everyone nodded, promising to never tell Molly.
She ran into Harry's room to find it empty. She backtracked to the bathroom and found him retching in the toilet. Molly approached his huddled form and rubbed soothing circles on his back.
"I feel like I'm going to bring up a lung," Harry groaned. After retching for a couple of minutes, Harry was reduced to dry heaves. He whimpered as the heaving made his belly hurt all the more. Molly started murmuring words of comfort while continuing the soothing circles on his back.
"Are you ready to go back to bed?" Molly asked after a while. Harry nodded and let Molly help him up and back to his room.
He laid down in his bed, and let Molly tuck the blankets and covers back around him. He was about to doze back asleep when Molly placed a hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and looked up at.
"There's another dose of stomach soother in here. Do you want some to help settle your stomach?"
Harry nodded and reached the vial. He was momentarily reminded of when Sirius had done the same for him when he first moved in and had suffered from nightmares bad enough to leave him nauseated. He swallowed the remaining potion and then the water that Molly had made him.
Once he was sure that the water and potion were going to stay down, he laid his head down on the pillow. Molly sat down on Harry's bedside and reached over, to begin rubbing his head He was asleep in a matter of minutes, the head rub soothing him to sleep.
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Harry felt something cool wiping his face, starting at his forehead and moving down to his neck. It was comforting and he was warm under the cover and didn't want to move.
"Are you awake?" Molly asked. Harry opened his eyes and looked up at her with droopy eyelids. "I guess that answers that. How are you feeling?"
Harry thought for a second. He still felt a little sick, but nothing compared to what he was earlier. His stomach still felt awful, but it didn't hurt as bad as it did.
"A little better," Harry replied.
Molly flicked her wand at the basin and vanished it to the kitchen. "Lie still, dear. I'm going to check your temperature. Let's see if your fever has gone down."
Harry listened to her and laid still, watching Molly's wand. Soon the green numbers appeared in front of her.
"100.1," Molly whispered. She reached for the vial of fever reducer and handed it to Harry. Swallowing the potion, Harry noticed that this was didn't taste as horrible as the previous one. When he sat the vial down, he noticed that Molly had selected a cinnamon flavored one.
Arthur entered the room, carrying a mug of something, Harry guessed tea and a plate of toast
"Here's the tea, Molly. Hermione sent the toast. Figured you would want to see if Harry could eat anything."
"Thanks, Arthur." Molly sat the plate down on the nightstand, she then handed the tea to Harry.
"Here, dear," Molly said. Harry took the tea from Molly and sipped some. It didn't taste like what he usually drank.
"What kind of tea is this?" Harry asked, curiously.
"Ginger tea," Molly answered. "Have you had it before?"
"Yeah." Harry sipped more of the tea. "Ron brought me some when I was sick in fourth year."
Molly smiled and made a note to herself to ask her youngest biological son how he got the ginger tea.
"Do you want to try to eat?" Molly asked, pointing to the toast. Harry looked at the toast and shook his head.
"Not yet," he whispered.
Molly smiled softly and padded his shoulder. Harry finished the tea and handed Molly the mug. He felt better, but his stomach felt a little queasy and sore. The cramps were now duller then they were sharp.
He laid back in the bed and placed the water bottle on his belly. Molly looked at him, questioningly.
"My stomach feels a little sore," he told her.
Molly just nodded and added an additional warming charm to the water bottle. The sigh from Harry had told it that it felt better, with the additional charm.
Looking around the room, Molly began to pick up the dirty clothes from the floor. She then banished them to the scullery downstairs and then vanished the empty vials to the trash.
Harry had fallen asleep while Molly was straightening up. She smiled when she saw him sleeping and leaned over and kissed his forehead.
She noticed the time and headed back to her bedroom to ready for bed. Dressed in her nightdress and dressing gown with her slippers, she peaked on Harry before she went to bed. He was still sleeping. She straightened his blanket and kissed his cheek. He never stirred once.
Quietly as she entered, she left the room and returned to her bedroom.
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Molly was up and in the kitchen before everyone else was up. She sat the table with a cup of tea in her hands. The night was peaceful and the charm on Harry's room never went off. Not even a nightmare.
She had peeked in on him before she headed down to the kitchen. She checked his temperature and was relieved to see the green glowing of 98.6. She felt of his forehead and then pressed her lips to his forehead.
"Cool as a cucumber," she whispered and decided to let him sleep.
She heard someone walking down the stairs. Molly didn't move from her chair until she realized the floo had roared a few minutes before. She reached for her wand just as Sirius entered the kitchen, with his satchel on his back.
"Hello Sirius," Molly greeted.
"Good morning, Molly," Sirius returned. He poured himself a cup of tea and sat down in the chair in front of the Weasley matriarch.
"How's Harry?" he asked.
"His fever broke last night. He was feeling better last night. Hermione had sent up some toast and he didn't try to eat it while I was there. The plate was empty this morning when I checked on him and the bucket I had left looked like it hadn't been used.
Sirius nodded. He hated that he wasn't there when Harry was sick. But he was glad that Molly was there to take of him.
"Thank you, Molly, for taking care of him. I really appreciate it."
"You're welcome. You would do the same for me if I was the one away," Molly commented.
Sirius smiled and then got up from his chair. "I'm going to go up and check on Harry. If he's sleeping, I'll let him be."
Picking up his satchel, Sirius trekked up the stairs and headed straight for Harry's room. He had opened the door quietly and found that Harry was awake.
"Hey, Pup. I hear your feeling better," Sirius stated.
"Yeah. I don't want that again." Harry thought for a second, then corrected, "Or a long time."
Sirius chuckled. "I hope so too." He sat down on Harry's bedside and wrapped an arm around his godson's shoulders. He looked down at Harry when he leaned his head on his shoulder.
"Are you back or do you..." Sirius cut him off.
"I'm here to stay. The mission was about over anyway."
Harry nodded his head still on Sirius's shoulder. They sat there on Harry's bed, in silence. The silence was broken when Harry's stomach growled. Sirius chuckled, watching as Harry looked down at his stomach as if a monster was going to jump out of his abdomen.
"Hungry?"
Harry nodded, pushing the blanket and cover, getting off the bed. They went down to the kitchen where Hermione, Ginny, and Ron were sitting at the table. Molly was at the stove, frying eggs. She turned around just as Harry and Sirius entered the kitchen.
"How are you feeling?" Hermione asked.
"Better," Harry replied. Sirius brought a bowl of porridge to Harry and a glass of orange juice. Breakfast was spent with Harry and Ron discussing the Quidditch game that afternoon, Ginny and Hermione were talking about a trip to Diagon Alley that Molly was taking them on, while Sirius spoke quietly with Molly.
Later that day, Harry found Molly in the sitting room. She, Ginny, and Hermione had returned from their shopping and Molly was cleaning the windows.
"Molly," Harry began. At the sound of Harry's voice, Molly turned around.
"What is it?" Molly asked
"Thanks for taking care of me." Molly smiled at this. This was definitely something that Harry would do.
"You're welcome, honey." Molly approached him, embracing Harry in a motherly hug. No longer the little boy who she met on the platform, he now was a few inches taller than she was. When she let go of Harry a few seconds later, Molly cupped his face in her hands.
"Just so you will know, Harry, I'll always take care of you if you get sick, and Sirius isn't here."
Harry realized that with Molly he had a mother's love. The one thing that he had been so badly neglected, he now had. He may not have been Molly's son, biologically, he was her son in everything but blood. While he had the father figure with Sirius, he had the one thing that he wanted from Molly. A mother's love.