Chapter 3

Once When I Was Eleven

11 Years Old

Lily groaned awake as a weight settled on her stomach. Tiny hands prodded her face urgently to rouse her from sleep.

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Mum!" Harry yelled in her ear, making her wince.

"Is the house on fire? Are bad people attacking the house?" She asked without opening her eyes, her eyebrows twitching in displeasure.

"...No." His small confused voice came as her answer. Lily silently groaned, not liking being awakened this early in the morning. She grabbed the offender of her sleep and pulled him tight against her, cuddling with him.

Harry yelped in surprise, suddenly finding himself in his mother's soft yet restricting hug.

"Then let's sleep." She mumbled drowsily, patting his back.

"Mum! Wake up! Today I'll receive my Hogwarts letter." His muffled protest got lost in her chest. He wiggled against her grip, trying to pull his face away from her suffocating breasts. Lily groaned again, knowing that there was no chance in hell that she was going to get any more sleep. She finally opened her eyes and saw his giddy smile.

She sighed, and couldn't help but match his smile.

"Go take a bath. I'll prepare breakfast."

"Okay, mum." He grinned joyously, kissing her on the cheek. "And Good morning."

"Good morning to you too, little knight."

Harry and Lily sat at the dining table, facing each other, a letter in his hand. Harry had read the school letter and was throwing various questions at his mother who was answering him patiently if a bit disheartenedly. Her eyes were blank, trying to not show the rapidly growing despair that was eating her up.

"So, I'll finally be able to leave the house and will be able to meet new people. Though I have already finished the seven-year curriculum of Hogwarts, I can use that time to revise it." Harry concluded optimistically in the end.

Lily nodded with a strained smile, not wanting to be a downer. She wasn't particularly happy with the situation. After living alone with Harry for the last ten years, she wasn't too eager to step back into the outside world. She didn't want Harry to go alone to Hogwarts. Who knows what they would do to her precious little child?

"The only problem I can see is finding a way to take you to Hogwarts with me." Harry mumbled thoughtfully, looking at her for an answer. Lily's eyes widened at his statement. She immediately felt the tension leave her body.

Her Harry wasn't trying to leave her. He was ready to take her with him. That was a massive relief.

"I had thought that you would have had enough of me and would want some independence." Lily spoke up, her voice filled with mirth and gratefulness.

Harry shook his head.

"Never. Leaving you by yourself is out of options. And I can't just let you sleep alone and face your nightmares after all." Harry said seriously as if leaving her alone in the Potter Manor would be a grave offence. She couldn't help but let a few tears escape her eyes in joy.

Harry got onto his feet, rolling his eyes at her fondly, used to her sensitive nature by now. He walked behind her chair and leaned forward, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. He perched his chin over her left shoulder and pressed his cheek against hers.

Lily smiled, dragging up her hand and caressing his face.

When Harry went to Hogwarts, his mother took the position of History Professor, replacing Binns. Harry then went on and got sorted into Ravenclaw.

The first year was pleasant enough for the mother-son duo, as nothing much out of ordinary happened. Lily had already warned Harry to keep away from the third corridor room and he was a boy who followed his mother's wish almost religiously. As a result, Voldemort died facing Dumbledore.

On personal matters, Lily and Harry still shared a bed every night. He would use his Invisibility Cloak and slip into his mother's room secretly at midnight, where she would be waiting for him eagerly.

Harry was now also aware that sleeping in his mum's bed was inappropriate at his age. Still, it didn't bother him that much. If he revealed this secret to the others then he would either become a laughing stock for the Hogwarts population or a subject of their disgusted looks. So, he decided to keep it a secret and would continue sleeping with his mum. She needed him to fight off her nightmares, and so he didn't care what others would think about that if it was revealed.

Harry did make friends with his classmates, but they weren't strong bonds. They were weak casual friendships on which he couldn't really count. He was quite an introvert thanks to his upbringing and liked to spend most of his time reading rare powerful books from the Potter family vault.

Lily on the other hand was still trying to get over her paranoia but was good to others. Unfortunately, Sirius and Remus had moved to the States, not having any reason to stay in the British Isles after Lily cut off all communication with them. She felt a little guilty for that, but not enough to contact them again. She needed no one but only Harry in her life. Everyone else could go fuck themselves.

She still hated Snape whose mistake caused the loss of her husband's life but was professional enough in her behaviour with him. Even his disgusting sad puppy eyes couldn't get to her cold heart. He was once a friend, but now he was just a colleague and nothing more. She could even consider him as her enemy depending on in which mood she was.