Monday December 21st
Potter household, Albus' bedroom
6:06 am
- - -
It's the cough Ginny hears first. Hoarse and deep, it vibrates the whole house. She dashes into the direction of her son's room, knowing before she gets there what she will see, her black haired boy lying in bed with flushed cheeks, red, puffy eyes and a cough so throaty it should be paired up with a grown man and not a slender wisp of a boy.
"I hate allergies," mutters Albus to his mother from his bed, turning his head towards the wall as he coughs once more, his whole body shaking with the vibration. Ginny feels her heart turn, every year she tries to get her son through the holidays uneventfully, yet every year she fails. No matter how many times she bans real Christmas trees, flowers, scented perfumes and candles, Albus always seems to find something to upset his fragile immune system, causing him to be down for a day or two while Ginny tries her hardest to get him back up again. It doesn't matter how insignificant or small it is, she never likes see any of her children sick.
"I know you do sweetheart," sooths Ginny as she makes her way over to his bed, narrowly avoiding all his toys, books and clothes that are strewn all over the floor. Leaning over him she presses a quite kiss to his temple, noting its coolness. "Let me nip downstairs and get you some medicine," she offers as she smoothes back his hair, "It'll help."
Albus makes a face, obviously remembering the disgusting taste of the medicine from years past but he makes no fuss, which worries Ginny much more then if he had. With a last worried frown she turns from his bed and makes her way across the room, almost running straight into the small night gowned figure that is anxiously waiting in the hallway.
"Mummy is Albus sick?" asked Lily with a tiny crease in her forehead as she peers into her brother's room, her stuffed hippogriff Dimples in hand.
"Just allergies Lily Billy, nothing too bad," said Ginny as she pauses in her duties to smooth her daughter's worries.
"But is he uncomfortable?" asked Lily again in her small voice as she peers up at her mother.
"A bit," answered Ginny honestly, for despite her tender years Lily was more perceptive then people gave her credit for. "He's just going take some medicine and rest a while," she said, running her fingers through her daughter's bright red hair.
"Can I go see him?"
"Only if you're quiet, really, really quiet," said Ginny, for she knew her daughter wouldn't rest until she made sure her brother was alright. Lily nods and starts to walk into the room as Ginny watches her, a soft smile on her face.
"Al'," said Lily as she made her way to the foot of the bed, "You feelin' bad?"
Ginny watches as her son leans out of bed to look at his sister, coughing as he answeres, "A little I reckon."
"Oh."
Even from the doorway Ginny could see the worry on her daughter's face. Lily shuffles forward a little and holds up her stuffed hippogriff so that her brother could see him. "Here Al'," she demands as she handed him over to Albus, "you can take Dimples for the day. He usually makes me feel better and maybe he can help you too."
Albus takes his sister's cherished toy with the tenderness of hands. "Thanks Lil'," he mutters as he pats the hippogriff's head awkwardly and smiles at his sister. "Thanks."
Ginny backs away from the doorway slowly, not wanting to intrude on such a special moment between her children. But as she walks down the stairs in search of medicine, she reflects that maybe the hippogriff is a even better cure then the most expensive of medicines. And as she enters her son's room five minutes later she is not surprised to find Lily curled up in bed with her brother, the hippogriff between them as they both laid fast alseep. She sets the medicine on the nightstand beside them and grabs the blankets from the foot of the bed, taking special care not to wake either of them. And as she does that she whispers a saying, a saying that her mother once used to whisper at her bedside many years ago, "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living my babies you'll be*."
* Line taken from 'Love You Forever' a children book by Robert Munsch which is a necessity in any parent's library collection, no matter how old or young their children may be.