Home for the Summer
A/N- 27 is my lucky number, and this is my first chapter 27. Coincidentally, this one is really important. Harry is going to see his mom for the first time in his entire life.
Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Truth After All These Years
Harry stirred awake. He hadn't had a dream, something in his brain signaled for him to wake. The space next to him in the small hospital bed was empty. There were only three places she could be.
" Your son?" Hermione gasped.
The women, grin still in tact, closed her book and placed it on the bedside table. " I only had one".
Tears streamed down Hermione's cheeks, " you are Lily Potter".
She nodded, " yes, believe me, I was very shocked myself when I saw you and Harry here, I guess I just got cold feet".
Hermione paused, " y-you knew we were here?".
Lily continued nodding, " walked right past him when he was in the nursery. Though it'd be awkward had I gone in there when he was with his daughter".
" Why are you here?" she obviously wasn't just visiting.
" Only a little car incident dear, I'm being released in the morning".
" Do you want to-see him?" Hermione ventured, but promised herself that if Lily were to refuse, she wouldn't mention this conversation to Harry.
But she didn't, " I'd kick myself forever were I to say no. I haven't seen him since he was so little".
Hermione softly smiled, " I'll go wake him" she still thought he was asleep in their room, not in the process of looking for her.
" No need dear" she had a very loving, motherly voice, " I've waited eighteen years, I can wait a few more hours ' til he wakes. If you'll excuse me for a moment, I need to use the little girls room". Lily helped herself out of bed to the small bathroom not six feet from her bed.
" Hermione!" she recognized the voice behind her only two minutes after the door was closed.
" Harry" she said after turning around to face him. Out of the three possible places, here was second since she wasn't at the nursery, but before he checked the cafeteria. She desperately tried to find an excuse, without giving anything away.
Then she heard the click of a door. Hermione watched Harry look beyond her, and suddenly he went pale. He still had the photo album, he knew the face, the woman behind his wife was his mother. Harry nearly lost his balance against the wall, but Hermione grabbed his arm.
" I'll leave you two be" she brushed past him into the hallway, praying for the best.
" Hello Harry" Lily's smile was so warm and reassuring.
Harry barely blinked, " h-hi". It was very odd, and so much different for him. Lily knew that her son was alive, while he thought she had been murdered long ago, when here she was, standing there, living.
Lily took a step closer, reaching out to caress his wrist, " it's alright, you don't have to be afraid".
He gave a quick smile, " it's just, weird".
" I know, I never thought I'd see you again".
" I've never seen you" only in photographs.
Lily embraced her son. What felt like yesterday, he fit perfectly in her arms, now she hardly reached his shoulder in height. As for Harry, this was the first time he physically touched his mother. The women that carried and gave birth to him. But, she could no longer be the person that gave up her life. Though somehow, she saved him before he could know. Like he had been living a lie which he had mistaken for the truth.
" What happened?" he whispered. The question was simple enough.
The answer, on the other hand, " you're old enough to know". She led him to sit on the side of the bed. Lily took a deep breath. " This could be very confusing. The night, when you were little, I didn't die, obviously. Lord Voldemort spared our lives, only ours".
" Dad died" he didn't know if he was asking or stating.
" James died" she responded, " and we were separated".
Harry gazed at her, " why?".
Lily looked directly into his eyes, " it was for our safety. After pleading for survival, Voldemort refused to let us be together. He left you in the rubble that was once our home, but promised that you'd be alright, which you were. Then he forced me into hiding, living the life of a regular Muggle. He told me to forget I ever had a child, it's impossible, you should know that" Harry nodded, Lily continued, " I always knew where you were, even though you thought I was dead. I felt better when you went to Hogwarts, not because you wouldn't be with Aunt Petunia and her horrible excuse for a family, but because that's where you belonged".
" Wasn't it safe to come see me when I was at school?" he pleaded, sounding like he wanted her to do so at that moment.
She shook her head, " I wanted to go, the week you arrived. Voldemort threatened to kill you, but not be so there would be suffering. I couldn't, especially when he was there as well. For Christmas, I sent you the cloak, and then the Firebolt, but it looked as though Sirius sent them for precautions. I'll never forget when he wrote me saying I was a grandmother".
Harry smirked, " thought you would be mad if I knew" after all, Hermione's parents disowned her for that when she was fifteen.
" You're a smart boy Harry. I knew you loved her and you could succeed in parenthood, despite age. Isn't that why you and Hermione had another baby?".
Harry though of how both his daughters had not been planned, though never regretted a single moment since the day Ella was born. With the exceptions from the interferences by Lord Voldemort and Draco Malfoy.
" I know what you mean".
Lily placed her chilled hand on his warm cheek, getting his full attention towards her. " You've become a brillant, kind, and handsome young man Harry".
By the touch on his cheek, Harry knew there was something missing. Something Lily was hiding from him.
A/N- Hopefully, this cleared up some confusion. I've written some foreshadowing hints in this chapter (and maybe future ones, I don't know because they haven't been written). In this chapter, watch carefully when Lily explains things to Harry.
A/N- 27 is my lucky number, and this is my first chapter 27. Coincidentally, this one is really important. Harry is going to see his mom for the first time in his entire life.
Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Truth After All These Years
Harry stirred awake. He hadn't had a dream, something in his brain signaled for him to wake. The space next to him in the small hospital bed was empty. There were only three places she could be.
" Your son?" Hermione gasped.
The women, grin still in tact, closed her book and placed it on the bedside table. " I only had one".
Tears streamed down Hermione's cheeks, " you are Lily Potter".
She nodded, " yes, believe me, I was very shocked myself when I saw you and Harry here, I guess I just got cold feet".
Hermione paused, " y-you knew we were here?".
Lily continued nodding, " walked right past him when he was in the nursery. Though it'd be awkward had I gone in there when he was with his daughter".
" Why are you here?" she obviously wasn't just visiting.
" Only a little car incident dear, I'm being released in the morning".
" Do you want to-see him?" Hermione ventured, but promised herself that if Lily were to refuse, she wouldn't mention this conversation to Harry.
But she didn't, " I'd kick myself forever were I to say no. I haven't seen him since he was so little".
Hermione softly smiled, " I'll go wake him" she still thought he was asleep in their room, not in the process of looking for her.
" No need dear" she had a very loving, motherly voice, " I've waited eighteen years, I can wait a few more hours ' til he wakes. If you'll excuse me for a moment, I need to use the little girls room". Lily helped herself out of bed to the small bathroom not six feet from her bed.
" Hermione!" she recognized the voice behind her only two minutes after the door was closed.
" Harry" she said after turning around to face him. Out of the three possible places, here was second since she wasn't at the nursery, but before he checked the cafeteria. She desperately tried to find an excuse, without giving anything away.
Then she heard the click of a door. Hermione watched Harry look beyond her, and suddenly he went pale. He still had the photo album, he knew the face, the woman behind his wife was his mother. Harry nearly lost his balance against the wall, but Hermione grabbed his arm.
" I'll leave you two be" she brushed past him into the hallway, praying for the best.
" Hello Harry" Lily's smile was so warm and reassuring.
Harry barely blinked, " h-hi". It was very odd, and so much different for him. Lily knew that her son was alive, while he thought she had been murdered long ago, when here she was, standing there, living.
Lily took a step closer, reaching out to caress his wrist, " it's alright, you don't have to be afraid".
He gave a quick smile, " it's just, weird".
" I know, I never thought I'd see you again".
" I've never seen you" only in photographs.
Lily embraced her son. What felt like yesterday, he fit perfectly in her arms, now she hardly reached his shoulder in height. As for Harry, this was the first time he physically touched his mother. The women that carried and gave birth to him. But, she could no longer be the person that gave up her life. Though somehow, she saved him before he could know. Like he had been living a lie which he had mistaken for the truth.
" What happened?" he whispered. The question was simple enough.
The answer, on the other hand, " you're old enough to know". She led him to sit on the side of the bed. Lily took a deep breath. " This could be very confusing. The night, when you were little, I didn't die, obviously. Lord Voldemort spared our lives, only ours".
" Dad died" he didn't know if he was asking or stating.
" James died" she responded, " and we were separated".
Harry gazed at her, " why?".
Lily looked directly into his eyes, " it was for our safety. After pleading for survival, Voldemort refused to let us be together. He left you in the rubble that was once our home, but promised that you'd be alright, which you were. Then he forced me into hiding, living the life of a regular Muggle. He told me to forget I ever had a child, it's impossible, you should know that" Harry nodded, Lily continued, " I always knew where you were, even though you thought I was dead. I felt better when you went to Hogwarts, not because you wouldn't be with Aunt Petunia and her horrible excuse for a family, but because that's where you belonged".
" Wasn't it safe to come see me when I was at school?" he pleaded, sounding like he wanted her to do so at that moment.
She shook her head, " I wanted to go, the week you arrived. Voldemort threatened to kill you, but not be so there would be suffering. I couldn't, especially when he was there as well. For Christmas, I sent you the cloak, and then the Firebolt, but it looked as though Sirius sent them for precautions. I'll never forget when he wrote me saying I was a grandmother".
Harry smirked, " thought you would be mad if I knew" after all, Hermione's parents disowned her for that when she was fifteen.
" You're a smart boy Harry. I knew you loved her and you could succeed in parenthood, despite age. Isn't that why you and Hermione had another baby?".
Harry though of how both his daughters had not been planned, though never regretted a single moment since the day Ella was born. With the exceptions from the interferences by Lord Voldemort and Draco Malfoy.
" I know what you mean".
Lily placed her chilled hand on his warm cheek, getting his full attention towards her. " You've become a brillant, kind, and handsome young man Harry".
By the touch on his cheek, Harry knew there was something missing. Something Lily was hiding from him.
A/N- Hopefully, this cleared up some confusion. I've written some foreshadowing hints in this chapter (and maybe future ones, I don't know because they haven't been written). In this chapter, watch carefully when Lily explains things to Harry.
