A Mother's Love

By: LaughWhileCrying

Disclaimer: I own nothing. All rights to Harry Potter belongs to J.. No copyright infringement is intended.

Rating: K+ (For refrences to violence and very mild swearing)

Summary: "'Merlin forbid that she ever grows up. Can she just stay my little Lily Lu forever?' Lily Luna Potter wakes up after a nightmare, and her mum must calm her down."

A/N: This is another Next Generation one-shot. It can be seen as a sequal to "Daddy's Little bug" but if you choose not to read that one first, I don't think you will be very confused. I hope you all enjoy! :) R&R please!

"Mummy! Mummy!"

Ginny Potter awoke with a start early in the morning. Her husband, Harry, simply rolled over in his sleep, muttering something about "too many dragons…"

She sat up in bed, legs tangled up in the sheets, goose pimples lining her arms, and sleep fogging her brain. A quick Tempus told her that it was only two in the morning. Why was she awake again?

"Mummy!"

The terrified shriek of her four-year-old daughter, Lily, filled the Potter household once again. Ginny could practically see her youngest child sitting in bed, small hands grabbing at the sheets, tears and snot dripping down her face.

Shit, she thought. Throwing her covers on top of her sleeping husband, Ginny pushed herself out of bed, grabbed her wand from her nightstand, and continued down the familiar hallway of her home. Her two sons, James and Albus, remained unaffected by the ear-shattering screams of their younger sister. Like father, like son…

By the time Ginny reached Lily's bedroom, the tiny, soon-to-be witch had thrown all the covers off and buried her face into Padfoot, her stuffed puppy (which, in fact, looked nothing like Harry's late godfather, what with its silky caramel-coloured yarn fur and button eyes. However, Lily, who had heard her daddy mention the name to James now and then, refused to let it be called anything else).

Lily sniffled and looked up at her mum, warm brown eyes filled with fear and confusion. Deep red strands of hair were stuck to her small face by trails of tears.

"Mummy?" Ginny's heart nearly broke at the frightened tremble in her little girl's voice. She crossed the room in a total of two strides, sat down on the disarray of sheets and stuffed animals, and gathered Lily in her arms.

She stroked her hair slowly, trying to placate her with soft words and butterfly kisses.

"Mummy's here, Lily," she cooed. "What happened? What's wrong, love?"

Lily's reply was muffled by the layers of hair and night clothes, but Ginny was able to faintly make out: "I had a bad dream…"

"Oh really? How bad?"

"Bad."

"Did you want to tell mummy about it?"

Lily lifted her head to look up at her mummy, lips pursed and eyes far more knowing than a four-year-old's should be.

"Mummy?" she asked, seeming to ignore Ginny's prompting.

"Yes love?"

"What was the name of the bad man that hurt daddy?"

Ginny looked at her, slightly confused. The bad man that hurt daddy? She couldn't recall Harry getting hurt recently. Sure he had gone on a few Auror missions recently, but had never come back in anything less than one piece.

"What bad man are you talking about, Lily? Daddy is fine; daddy isn't hurt."

"No," she insisted. "The bad man that gave daddy a scar. The bad man that made daddy's daddy go away."

Ginny froze. How…why…when had she found out about James Potter? How did she know how Harry had gotten his scars? Had Harry told her? Or had she overhead the two of the talking at night? Ginny knew she couldn't shield her children from the past forever, but damn it, she wanted to keep them innocent for as long as possible – especially her Lily. How could Ginny explain something so horrible to a four-year-old?

"Oh," she whispered. "That bad man."

Lily waited patiently for her answer, innocent little eyes staring up at her mum, not realizing that she had touched upon one of the few topics that her mother wished she would never learn about.

Ginny took a deep breath. I can't shield them forever…

"Voldemort, love," she answered after what felt like an eternity. "The bad man's name was Voldemort."

Lily nodded in childlike understanding. "Well mummy," she said calmly, as if she had not been screaming bloody murder less than five minutes ago. "I had a dream about…Vole-Dee-Mort."

Ginny desperately attempted to keep the tremor out of her voice. "Oh really? And what did Voldemort do?" This was not happening…this was not happening…

Lily was quiet, hesitant – very much unlike her usual self. She fiddled with her fingers and refused to meet her mum's eyes.

"Lily…?"

"He made you go away."

Ginny's breath caught. Lily's version of Voldemort killed her. She died in her baby daughter's dream. Without thinking, she pulled Lily into her stiff arms. She stroked her hair once more, but was she trying to calm Lily this time? Or was she trying to calm herself? Her heart was racing, her breath coming out in quick, confused pants.

Her four-year-old just told her that she died. How was she supposed to respond to that? She internally groaned. Harry was so much better at this sort of stuff. Not that her children woke up asking about Tom Marvolo Riddle very often.

"It's okay Lily…Mummy's here…Mummy didn't go away…Voldemort isn't here…"

Lily whimpered softly. "Daddy said he'd never go away. That he'd never let a bad man make him go away. You won't go away, will you mummy? You won't let a bad man make you go away, right?"

"No Lily," she replied. "I will never leave you. Neither me nor your daddy will leave you." So Harry did tell her. And what? Did he not anticipate nightmares? She's only four for Merlin's sake! Ginny would definitely being having a talk with her husband in the morning.

"Do you have a scar like daddy, mummy?"

Did she have scars? Yes, she had plenty of scars. She couldn't have survived the war without some sort of scar: both physical and emotional.

"Yes love, I have some scars."

"Can I see?"

Like hell I'd subject her to that. She thought. Seeing Harry's lightning bolt scar was one thing, seeing battle wounds was another.

How to explain that to a four-year-old?

"You can't see them Lily-"

"But mummy I–"

"You can't see them," she continued, ignoring the interruption. "Because not all scars can be seen with your eyes."

Lily's eyes grew to the size of a few hippogriffs. She stared at mum as if she was speaking in Parseltongue. In any other situation, Ginny would have laughed at her daughter's antics. "They can't?"

Ginny gave a small smile. "No, they can't. It's because some scars are in your mind."

"Oh." Lily gave a small pout, indicating that she was deep in thought.

"Do I have any of those scars, mummy?"

"No Lily, you don't." And thank Merlin for that.

"Why not?"

"Because I won't let you. It's one of a mummy's many jobs. We protect out babies from all types of scars, and take care of them until they become mummies – or daddies – themselves."

"What happens after that?"

"Then we still protect them. My mummy still protects me, even though I'm a mummy myself." Ginny gave Lily a light kiss on her forehead. Lily giggled quietly.

"Will I be a mummy one day?"

Sadly. "Yes sweetheart, one day you'll leave and you'll become a mummy just like me. And you'll take good care of your babies and protect and love them as they grow up." She helped Lily crawl back into bed, tucking the covers in to keep her snug and warm as she slept. "And then one day, your babies will grow up, and they'll become mummies and daddies themselves."

"And I'll still protect them?"

"Always, love. I suppose you'll understand it more when you get older." Merlin forbid that she ever grows up. Can she just stay my little Lily Lu forever?

Lily yawned, stretching her mouth into a little 'o' shape.

Ginny chuckled. "No more bad dreams?"

Lily shook her head. "No more bad dreams."

"Sweet dreams, Lily Lu."

"G'night mummy…" She drifted quickly off to sleep, most likely exhausted from screaming and crying.

Ginny shook her head lightly before making her way back to bed. She made it halfway before bumping into a miniature shadow that had been lurking in the doorway of her sons' bedroom. The six-year-old looked up at her with his emerald green eyes, Marvin the Mad Muggle pyjamas covering his body.

"Mummy?" Albus asked, his voice thick with sleep. "What's going on? I heard screaming…"

She ruffled his hair and pressed her lips to the top of his jet-black head. "Lily had a bad dream." She explained. "Go back to sleep, sweetheart. Everything's alright…"

He nodded dumbly, rubbing his eyes and shuffling back into his cluttered room Ginny made a quick mental note to get her boys to clean their bedrooms tomorrow. Of course, nothing would actually get done, but at least they'd be out of trouble, too afraid to see what would happen if they came downstairs, dirty bedroom upstairs.

She let out a loud yawn as she entered her bedroom and plopped down onto her bed. Throwing off her slippers and laying her wand (which proved to be unnecessary, but hey - better safe than sorry) down on her nightstand, Ginny slipped into her bed and burrowed under the sheets. She had just closed her eyes when a warm arm snaked its way around her waist, and a pair of lips found her ear.

"Up a bit early, are we?" Harry teased, thick with sleep. His breath tickled her skin.

"Yeah, Lily had a nightmare," she replied, turning on her side to face him. "I'm surprised her screams didn't wake you."

"Oh they did," he smiled. "But by the time I woke up and realized what was going on, you had already walked out the door. I figured that I might as well keep the bed warm for you."

"Git."

"And yet you still love me."

"Surprisingly."

He chuckled softly, pressing his lips against hers. "I love you, Mrs. Potter."

She sighed, pressing her head against his chest and closing her eyes. "I love you too Mr. Potter."

The couple lay quietly, the only sounds heard was that of their breathing. Harry threaded his fingers through her hair, stroking it, not unlike she had just done to their daughter. Speaking of which…

"Harry?"

"Yes love?"

"You and I will be having a nice little chat tomorrow morning…"

This didn't come out as I had particulary hoped, but oh well. I tried my best :)

Once again, this is by no means grammatically perfect. If you see any spelling or grammar errors, I would be very grateful if you would let me know in a review. Also, just let me know what you thought! Reviews make very happy authors! :D (Even if it is a "U suc. Stop riting." We can all use a laugh now and then, right?)

Peace off!

~LaughWhileCrying