Mothers and Sons

Summary: Three different looks into Harry and Lily's mother and son relationship

It's a special relationship that is harbored between a mother and her son.

This was especially the case for Lily Potter. She and her son Harry shared an unbreakable bond, and so far, it had made it through the early years of Harry's teen years. Lily claimed it helped that Harry was an only child, her and James's only child. She had only missed a year of his life and that was when she and James were recovering from the attack of Voldemort that Halloween night

They were as close as a mother and son could be. Lily's friends who had children either hoped they had the same close relationship with their son or wished they had a close relationship with their son. Lily was quick to tell them that this wasn't something that didn't develop overnight, it took years. There was many up and downs and times that Lily didn't think she would have the relationship she did today with her son.

"Mum?"

Lily looked up from the potions book she had been reading in the chair in the sitting room.

"I'm in the sitting room," she called.

Harry came in, sweating, hair sticking up from a combination of sweat and wind. He had his T-shirt off, slung over his shoulder. Lily could tell from the pink on his shoulder, he got a little sunburned.

"The grass is mowed and the car is washed," Harry said.

"Which car are you taking, the Volvo, the Range Rover, or the Jeep?" Lily asked.

"The Volvo, I think. I'm not sure," Harry replied, reaching up to wipe the sweat off the back of his neck.

"Turn around," She directed. "Did you get burned?"

"I don't think so." Harry turned around and Lily noticed his back was also a light pink.

"Looks like you got a little bit of sun today," Lily said. "Are you going to get a shower?"

"Yeah, Dad said something about wanting to do something later," Harry explained.

"Okay, I washed the bath mat in your bathroom, so if it feels extra fluffy, that's why."

"Alright, I'll be in the shower."

"And don't put those sweaty clothes in the hamper, put them on that rack in your bathroom. I'll get them later and take them down the scullery," She called as he headed up the stairs.

"Thanks, Mum."

Lily smiled, happy that Harry would, without complaining, do any work she asked him to do. The only time she might get a complaint out of him if she had asked him to help her chop up ingredients.

She headed upstairs when she heard the shower in Harry's bathroom turn on and head into her bathroom to get the lotion she used to help with sunburn. She set it down on the counter and headed out to the bedroom, checking to see if anything she had in her wardrobe needed pressing or anything, her eyes caught on a picture of her and Harry.

It was recent, taken when they were at the coast a few weeks ago on the deck looking out onto the beach. It was one of few Muggle pictures they had upstairs. The picture had become a tradition every year.

At that moment, Lily saw the same thing James did when he looked at pictures of himself and Harry, the older Harry got, the older she got. The farthest the pictures went back was the summer before Harry started Hogwarts.

How did time pass her by so fast? It seemed that Harry went from ten to sixteen overnight. She had heard James talk about it, but she didn't think it was true for herself.

She should say that she had made it through the rough patch of Harry's teen years. While their relationship was great now, it wasn't always sunshine and roses. There were moments where there were arguments and disagreements, sometimes ending with Harry leaving the kitchen or sitting room, followed by a slam of a door, rather it be Harry's room or the back door. But thankfully, it didn't last long, an hour or two to allow them both to cool off.

James told her while Harry had his jet black hair, he had inherited Lily's red-headed temper.

Lily heard the shower in Harry's bathroom, shut off. She waited a few minutes before headed to the bathroom with the lotion in hand.

She knocked on the door, gently. "Harry, I have some lotion for your back."

Harry opened the door, dressed in his boxers. "Thanks, Mum," he murmured.

Closing the door behind her, she opened the bottle of lotion and squirted some in her hands, rubbing them together once she sat down the bottle. She rubbed the lotion onto Harry's back, gently massaging it into his shoulders.

"Mum?"

"Child," She replied, looking at her son in the mirror, smiling softly at him.

Harry meets her eyes in the mirror. It was a little thing they came up with when Harry was thirteen if Harry ever said 'Mum' in a whiney or similar sounding way.

"What did Dad do for your first anniversary?" Harry asked.

Lily now knew what Harry was talking about. After school resumed, Harry and Ginny's first year anniversary would be around the time of the first Hogsmeade visit. It was on that day last year when Harry asked Ginny to be his girlfriend and she accepted. Now, Harry had been planning some ideas for their anniversary now that Ginny's birthday had passed.

"Well, he took me on a date to Hogsmeade," She replied. "When it wasn't a Hogsmeade weekend. He had used that tunnel where you can go to the Shrieking Shack and we headed to the village. No one told on any student who appeared in the village on an off weekend and James was friends with Rosmerta. She let us have a spot behind the kitchen so we could be alone."

"I'm shocked, I thought you were a goody two shoes to do something like that," Harry admitted.

"I didn't always follow the rules, Harry," Lily said, smiling when the look of surprise came over Harry's face. "But in all seriousness, Harry, your father made our first-anniversary special by taking me to Hogsmeade and giving me a necklace I had seen in the window of a shop earlier that day and he surprised me with it later in the kitchens where he arranged a dinner for two. It was sweet, special, and memorable."

"Thanks, Mum, that gives me an idea," Harry murmured, turning around to face her. He no longer was eye to eye with her. He was taller than she was.

"Alright, I'll leave you to get dressed."

Lily returned downstairs as James entered the front door. She greeted him with a hello and a kiss, inquiring about his day.

"Where's Harry?"

"Harry's getting dressed, do you want to get a shower?"

"Okay then." James headed upstairs, heading to Harry's room. He knocked on the door and then opened it when Harry called it, was okay to come in.

"Are you ready?" James asked.

Harry nodded. "I don't think Mum suspects anything."

James smiled. Harry had approached him a week ago about doing something special with Lily. Sitting in Dr. Jacobs's office a few weeks ago for his sixteen-year physical, he had read an article on Mother and Son date nights and it sparked an idea to Harry.

He and Lily hadn't done anything together that didn't follow a school-related shopping trip or doctor/healer's appointment in a long time.

One hour later, Harry and James left in the Jeep, driving into Potter's Bar. Lily was going to enjoy her evening boy free until she found a note, telling her to get ready and be ready in an hour. Confused, Lily headed upstairs, quickly got a shower and then went to find something to wear. On a flowered navy sundress was a note saying 'wear me'.

She put on the dress, using her wand to zip up and quickly put on her makeup and fixed her hair. By the time she finished, she had five minutes to spare.

A knock on the door got her attention. She opened it to find Sirius, standing on the other side of the door.

"Sirius, what's going on?" She asked.

"Do you know what a surprise is, Evans? Your chariot awaits."

Lily locked up the house and followed Sirius out to his SUV. She was puzzled when he pulled into a car park of one of her favorite restaurants in Potter's Bar.

"Go on," Sirius encouraged.

Lily stepped out of the SUV and entered the restaurant. She found Harry and James waiting on her.

"Okay, you two, what's going on?" She asked.

"Well, Sirius and I are going to the pub and Harry and you are going on a date," James explained.

Speechless, Lily turned to her son, feeling tears welling up in her eyes. "What?"

"I wanted to do something special for you and Dad helped me plan this," Harry said.

Lily approached her son, pulling him into an embrace.

"You sweet, sweet boy," she murmured.

After James left to meet Sirius, Harry and Lily headed to their seats. This was just one of many mother and son date nights Harry and Lily had over the course of the next few years. Even when Harry and Ginny got married and gave her grandchildren, he still made time for her, taking her out for dinner or for a treat at the bakery. They shared many great talks in that time, just the two of them.

It is a special relationship that is harbored between a mother and her son and Harry and Lily's relationship was special to them.

Sons may grow into men and grow out of their toys. But in the hearts of mothers, they are still, their little boys.

Lily had heard that quote so many times since she became a mother to a son that she had literally lost count. But the words were true though. Gone were the days of Lego's, toy cars, Quidditch playsets, the police set she had gotten Harry the Christmas he turned six. He had switched the gun for his play wand and decided he would play Auror instead. Lily had turned one of James's old Auror uniforms into a small one for Harry.

She still had that picture of Harry and James in their Auror uniform, hanging on the wall in her bedroom as the wizarding pictures were kept upstairs. James had a copy of the picture sitting on his desk, never imagining one day that Harry would seriously say that he wanted to be an Auror after Hogwarts.

Even now, Harry was still her little boy. At sixteen, he had passed her in height and was about as tall as James, only, she teases a skinnier version.

These days, the broom is the only thing that remains, a real one now as Harry only had the child version before he went to Hogwarts. In terms of Muggle activities, Harry spent a lot of time reading mystery books such as Sherlock Homes and old books such as The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. He had also gotten into some wizarding mystery series, which Lily was happy about as it wasn't Quidditch related.

He also spent a lot of time when he was home playing video games. There had been some intense Mario Kart races between James and Harry. But that was nothing like the races James and Sirius did, which included a lot of name calling and threats. Harry would watch from the couch, taking notes on beating Sirius.

But to Lily's relief, Harry also enjoyed playing board games. He was the king of Scrabble and Monopoly so much that Sirius and James would begrudgingly play with him. Lily didn't know if she should be proud or amused.

One day in early August, Lily had Hestia over for some catch-up and to discuss the possibility of a girls' trip of just her and Hestia to anywhere they would want to go.

"I wouldn't mind going to Liverpool or Bath," Hestia said, looking at a magazine of traveling in the United Kingdom.

"I've been to Liverpool, but it's been years." Lily sat down a cup of tea in front of Hestia and a plate of biscuits.

"Really."

"Yes, James and I….." Lily was suddenly interrupted when Harry flew by the window fast. "One moment, Hestia."

Lily approached the French Doors and opened the door, peeking her head out the door.

"Harry James Potter, slow down!" She yelled. Shutting the door, she sighed. "I swear that child is going to make me white-headed."

"Instead of gray, your hair will white?" Hestia asked.

Lily nodded. "The benefits of being a redhead," she said. "James, on the other hand, will be gray-headed, maybe even thinning a little on top, if I remember correctly."

Hestia smiled and looked outside the window. Harry had moved down to the pitch on the lower end of the garden. It was oblivious he had the snitch and was practicing.

"Does he do this all the time?" Hestia asked.

"Honey, the boy has been on a broom since before he could walk. I wanted to curse Sirius for giving him a broom for his first birthday. But I knew if Sirius didn't James would."

"And Sirius had bought every broom Harry has owned?" Hestia inquired, knowing the truth.

"Yes, he has. I wanted to wring his neck when he gave Harry the Firebolt that Christmas when Harry was thirteen, but James assured me that he had talked to the inventor himself and said that Harry should be fine on the broom. He's not reckless on a broom, unlike another Potter boy I know."

"It's because Harry knows you'll kill him if he ever tried any of the tricks I did."

James's voice made the two women jump.

"James Henry Potter, don't do that!" Lily exclaimed.

"Sorry," he said, entering the kitchen.

"Can you call in Speedy from the pitch and tell him to come in for lunch?" Lily asked her husband.

"He'll come in when he's hungry Lily," James assured her. He left heading out to the garage.

"I miss the days when I looked into the family room and all I saw was toys. There was a point where I thought we had every boy's toys in existence." Lily chuckled. "Then slowly, they all disappeared. Replaced with video games and chapter books. The broom was the only thing that remained, only not a child's broom."

Hestia smiled and reached across the table, giving Lily's hand a squeeze.

"Lily, no matter how old Harry gets, he'll still be your little boy," she assured her friend.

Lily nodded, smiling softly. The door in the scullery opened and shut, and somehow, Lily knew it wasn't James.

"Leave the shoes in the scullery, and wash your hands before you do anything," She called.

"Yes, Mum," Harry replied.

Harry entered the kitchen, saying a quick hello to Hestia and headed to the downstairs bathroom to wash up. When he returned, he made himself a sandwich and got a can of Coke from the refrigerator.

He left the kitchen and headed upstairs to his room. Lily turned to Hestia.

"I know there is going to come a day when he's not going to need me," She whispered.

"Lily, you are Mum. He's always going to need you."

Lily smiled knowingly. "I know. He still wants to be around me and he still seeks me when he's sick or just wants a hug. Other Mums I know have told me their sons don't want anything to do with them unless they are sick or really need them. Harry isn't like that. The other night he laid his head in my lap while we watched a movie James picked. I don't remember what it was. James told me that I should be grateful that Harry will still do that."

"See Lily, I don't think you have anything to worry about."

Hestia's point was proven when later that night when James and Lily were sitting in the family room, watching a television show Whose Line is it Anyway? Harry came downstairs and sat down beside Lily, laying his head on her shoulder. She smiled softly and wrapped an arm around him, running her fingers through his hair.

She knew no matter how old Harry got, he was always going to be her little boy. Because in the eyes of a mother, her son will always remain a little boy.

A mother's heart experiences a myriad of emotions when her child is sick

Lily quietly entered Harry's bedroom with a cool, damp washcloth in her hand. She approached the bed in the darkened bedroom with only a little light peeking through the edges of the curtains. Harry laid curled up on his side, head under the pillow to try to block out the little bit of light still peeking in. He groaned slightly when he turned over, slowly.

"How are you feeling sweetheart?" Lily whispered. Harry groaned in response.

Harry had woken up with a migraine and immediately rushed to the bathroom to throw up when a wave of nausea hit him with such a force that he nearly vomited on the floor of his bedroom. He was loud enough to draw Lily's attention causing her to rush upstairs. Her first thought was he was sick with an upset stomach or food poisoning.

When she entered the bathroom, she asked, "What's wrong, baby?"

"Head hurts, stomach sort of hurts. Head hurts more than my stomach," Harry replied, his eyes closed and his arm over them to block out the sunlight from the window beside the toilet. It had a set of blinds on them Harry only closed when he was getting a shower and the Potter's didn't have any neighbors to their right.

Lily kneeled down behind her son, rubbing his back in soothing circles. She murmured words of comfort when Harry started to heave again, this time more dry heave than anything actually coming up. She summoned a washcloth, wetting it with her wand and wring out the excess water, banishing the puddle it created.

She tapped the washcloth with her wand to bring the temperature to cool before folding it and laying it on the back of Harry's neck. She didn't miss the small groan when she laid the washcloth down on the back of his neck. She summoned another washcloth, repeating the same process and this time when Harry sat up, finally, she wiped his face, cleaning off the sweat and a few tears from his face.

"Do you think you can go back to bed?" Lily asked.

"In a minute," Harry murmured. "My stomach is still rolling."

Lily took a mental note to remember to give Harry a stomach soother before she gave him the migraine potion.

"Okay."

She sat there on the tiled floor of her son's bathroom, rubbing his back and his shoulders, waiting for him to tell her it was okay to move him back to bed. She hated seeing him so sick and felt absolutely helpless when there was nothing she could to do help. She remembered something her mother said to her years ago, 'a mother's job is to protect her child and you can't do that, it is the most helpless feeling there is in the world.'

How true were her mother's words? She never felt more helpless than when Harry was sick. She wanted to try and do anything to help him feel better. Sometimes she could, but others there was nothing she could do.

"Okay, I'm ready," Harry whispered, meaning he was ready to head back to bed.

Slowly, Lily helped Harry back to bed and closed the window curtains, trying to make the room dark. She knew from her experience when James had them, it could get bad.

Laying the damp cloth on his head, Lily remembered back to when Harry first experienced a migraine. He was in his third year at Hogwarts. Ron had come down to the hospital wing and told her that Harry was sick, apparently too sick to get out of bed. She collected Sirius for help and headed to Gryffindor Tower, where she found her son in his bed in the third year boys' dorm.

She didn't need to look at him long to realize he had a migraine. Gently, Sirius picked him and carried him down the stairs to Lily's quarters. She followed until they got to the entrance of her private quarters and she sent Sirius on in with Harry while she went to the hospital wing for a migraine potion, a potion she herself created. It was one of the potions created to get her mastery in potions.

Since that day in April a few years ago, Lily could only count on one hand the amount of times Harry had a migraine, partially a bad one like the one he was having today.

Lily left her son briefly to go check and if the migraine potion was in Harry's bathroom and luckily, there was one on the shelf beside a lone stomach soother. She grabbed both and returned to the darkroom, but years of walking around a dark house gave her enough experience to get from the bathroom door to her son's bedside without any problems.

"Sweetheart," she whispered. "I need you to sit up for me. I know it hurts, but this will help your head. Trust me."

Slowly, Harry pulled himself up to a semi-sitting position, supporting his upper body with one hand.

"What if it comes back up?" Harry asked, softly.

"I'll give you a stomach soother before, to calm your stomach. You should be able to keep it down," Lily explained.

"Okay."

She uncorked the stomach soother, handing it to Harry first and then uncorking the migraine potion. To prevent any accidental spilling, Lily helped guide each potion to Harry's mouth and then took the empty vial, switching it for the other potion. She then gave Harry a sip of water from a bottle of water with a bendy straw.

Softly and gently, she helped Harry lay back in his bed, tapping her wand to the washcloth to keep it cool and to place the spell on it that will make it stick to Harry's head regardless which way he moved.

She took his hand and laid the snitch in his palm. The snitch had been helpful to alert Lily or James if Harry needed them.

"I'll be downstairs if you need me," She whispered.

"Thanks, Mum," Harry replied.

Lily waited until he fell asleep before she left him with the door closed to a crack and made sure to let James know to be quiet. The day passes by Harry in a haze of exhaustion and pain as he sleeps the day away. Lily rouses him every couple of hours to get him to drink some water or take another dose of potions.

In the afternoon as the episode seemed to be coming to an end, Lily gently massaged his neck, knowing that was where he often felt sore following a migraine episode. The massage relaxed Harry enough that he fell back to sleep. Lily let him sleep until she had dinner ready, sending James up to wake him.

"How's the head, Son?" James asked when Harry woke up.

"Better. The potion really helps."

Harry followed James downstairs to the kitchen, stopping into the bathroom in the hallway to wash up. Upon entering the kitchen, Harry saw that Lily had made him her homemade tomato soup with peanut butter sandwiches. Lily made herself and James something else and something that Harry didn't really like.

"Thanks, Mum," Harry said, sitting down in his chair at the table as Lily sat down the bowl of soup in front of him.

"You're welcome."

The conversation was kept small, James and Lily discussed what they had done that day and what the plans were for the following day. Harry added a comment here and there but mostly kept quiet. When he finished eating, he remained at the table, listening to his parent's conversation. His eyes started drooping twenty minutes later before he lost the battle and let them close. He was almost asleep when he felt a hand gently shake his shoulder.

"Huh?" Harry mumbled.

"Go on upstairs and take a hot shower and then go on to bed," Lily directed. "You need some rest."

Harry nodded and headed upstairs to do what his mother had said.

When Lily when to check on him when she had finished cleaning the kitchen, she found him asleep, his hair damp and the cover at his waist, showing that he hadn't bothered with a shirt that night. Smiling at the sight of her sleeping son, she spelled his hair dry, flattening it to hopefully to prevent wild bed head in the morning and pulled the cover over his torso.

She bent over and kissed his cheek, whispering an 'I love you' in his ear before giving him one final kiss before she left the room, closing the door behind her, hoping when Harry woke up in the morning, he would be feeling better.

No mother wants to see her child sick or hurt, especially sick. In some cases it could cause a sense of helplessness, no mother should ever have to feel. A mother's heart experiences a myriad of emotions when her child is sick.

There has never been, nor will there ever be, anything quite so special as the love between the mother and her son. The love between a mother and her son is forever. This was especially true for Lily and Harry, who shared a bond that couldn't be broken and would last forever

Happy Mother's Day!