Late Night Stomachache

Summary: After Harry goes to the movies with Sirius and fills up on movie theater popcorn, candy, and then burgers, fries, and milkshakes at their favorite burger place, only to come home to a Christmas feast, Harry wakes up late at night with a stomach ache. Follows Going to the Movies with Sirius.

The moon was high in the clear night sky. The stars were shining brightly, twinkling in the cloudless night. Everything was calm. The residents of Potter's Bar were all sleeping in their beds in their respective houses. In the Potter household, a man with black hair and a woman with red hair was asleep in the master bedroom. Down the hall, in a bedroom that definitely belonged to a teenager, was a fourteen-year-old boy who was asleep.

Or he was until he was awoken by the angry rumbles of his stomach.

Harry turned into his side, curling into a ball, wrapped his arms around his aching stomach. He groaned quietly to himself, feeling the churning get worse in his belly.

"What is your problem?" Harry groaned to himself, rubbing his stomach one-handedly. He turned over on his back, turning his head towards the red numbers of the alarm clock. He groaned when he saw the time was 1:34 in the morning.

Harry had spent the day with Sirius. They had gone to the movies and watched Dumb and Dumber. Sirius had claimed that Lloyd and Harry were similar to Ron and Harry, but Ron and Harry were smarter. The road trip that the protagonists in the movie go on was something Sirius said Harry and Ron would do one day.

Harry doubted it. Since Sirius was talking years from now, it was still an idea.

They had a good time and a lot of good talks while they were gone. Sirius was to get Harry out of the house for James and Lily to get the house ready for their Christmas celebrations. Due to the Yule Ball, Harry and Lily were at Hogwarts for Christmas until last night when they flooed home for the remainder of the Christmas Holidays. Even though Harry's friends were all still at school, it was the perfect opportunity for Harry to spend time with his parents and Godfather.

After they came home from the movies and lunch, Lily had made their usual Christmas meal. It was basically a feast. One that they would be eating leftovers for days.

Harry ate the dinner despite feeling full from lunch.

Sirius had a stomach made of steel. He could ride roller coasters all day long. Harry had to ride them before lunch or wait two hours after eating. It didn't matter because sometimes, regardless of what Harry did. He still ended up with a barf bag.

Now, Harry was awake with a stomach ache. He remembered the times when he had woken up with a stomach ache as a child and then as a teen. He kept stomach soothers in his nightstand in Gryffindor Tower. Only once did he have to sneak down to his mother's quarters.

Only when it got more than he could bear would he go to his mother for help.

He was never one who went crying to Mummy over every little thing. If and when he got sick, he would wait until he couldn't take it anymore and go to find Lily.

And he was rapidly reaching that point.

Harry got up, arms wrapped around his middle. The cramps were getting worse. Harry knew he needed his mother. He felt his stomach roll. In the quietness of the house, he could hear it protesting loudly the amount of food Harry had stuffed into it that day.

He shuffled his way to his parents' room, greeted by the snores from James. Lily slept on the side farthest from the door. Inwardly groaning at remembering this little fact, Harry slowly walked over to where Lily was sleeping. Unlike James, Lily was somewhat of a light sleep. She woke up at any little noise, even when Harry was sick with Wizards Flu after Christmas last year, she heard him vomiting in his bathroom.

"Mum?" Harry gently shook her shoulder, keeping his other arm around his middle.

Lily woke up at the motion. She looked up, finding her son hunched over at her bedside.

"What is it, sweetheart?" she whispered.

"I don't feel good," Harry replied. Lily sat up, pushing the cover off of her. She put her feet on the floor and slipped on her slippers. She pulled on her dressing gown and led Harry back to his bedroom.

When they reached Harry's room, he gently sat on the bed. Then he slowly laid down on his side. He felt Lily's hand on his forehead. "You're not running a fever, but you feel sweaty. What's wrong?"

"My stomach hurts," Harry slurred. Lily sat down at his bedside, going into full healer mode, wanting nothing more than to take care of her son's ailment.

"When did your stomach start hurting?" She inquired.

"About…." Harry paused and looked up at the clock. It was now 2:05. "Half an hour ago."

"What all did you eat while you were out today?"

She knew that Sirius and Harry would have popcorn and candy at the movies and then go to lunch at their favorite burger place in London. Lily didn't figure Harry would already be stuffed when they got home. But then, Sirius had a tenancy to ignore Lily's instructions and do what he wanted. But then, James did, too.

"A lot," Harry admitted before telling Lily everything he had eaten. He inwardly groaned at the mention of everything he had stuffed into his stomach.

"And then you ate dinner," she finished. She shook her head slowly. "Why didn't you say anything?" Lily asked.

"I didn't want to seem rude. You spent the day cooking, and I didn't eat it. It's stupid now that I think about it. You would have understood."

Lily nodded in agreement, then shook her head. "What am I going with you?"

"Help me or make me suffer."

Lily frowned at her son. "I'll let that remark slide, young man, because you're sick. You're out of line."

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered, hugging stomach.

Lily softened, running her fingers through his hair. "Have I ever made you suffer when you are sick or have a stomach ache or a headache? I've never refused to treat someone and let them suffer. I'm not a sadist."

She got up, covering her son with the duvet and tucking it around him.

"I'm going to go get a stomach soother. I'll be right back."

Lily left the room and headed towards the bathroom. She decided to look for one in Harry's bathroom before going to the potions cupboard for one. She found one in the bathroom cupboard. She checked the date on it since it had been a while since she stocked Harry's potion shelf in the bathroom cupboard.

To her relief, the potion hadn't expired. She returned to Harry's bedroom, finding her son lying on his side like she had left him, only his knees pulled up.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" she asked soothingly.

"Stomach cramps," Harry groaned. He let out a long breath and hissed slightly when another cramp ripped through his abdomen.

Lily sat the potion down on Harry's nightstand and sat down on the side of the bed. She reached over and rubbed his back in soothing, slow circles.

Eventually, Harry turned onto his back and threw the covers off him, claiming he felt hot.

"Are you ready for your potion?" Lily asked once Harry had relaxed.

"Yeah," Harry breathed. He sat up slowly, taking the uncorked potion from his mother. He swallowed the thick pink potion quickly so the taste wouldn't linger on his tongue.

Lily had summoned a bottle of water from the scullery. She tapped it with her wand to cool the room-temperature water just a little. She twisted off the lid with practiced ease and handed it to her son.

"Thanks, Mum."

"You're welcome, sweetheart."

Harry handed the water bottle back to Lily and laid back down in his bed, feeling the potion starting to work in his belly.

He didn't move even when Lily sat on the side of his bed again. She reached over, sneaking her hand under his shirt. Slowly, she started to rub soothing circles on his stomach.

Lilly tapped her wand to Harry's lamp on his nightstand. It came on, bringing some light into the room. Harry wasn't going to go to sleep anytime soon, and neither was Lily.

With some light in the room, Lily pulled up Harry's shirt to get a clear view of her son's abdomen. It was still bloated and distended a little. But it would be back to its usual flat self in the morning. She continued to rub soothing circles, watching her son's face and the hand on his stomach.

Harry sighed in contentment as he felt Lily's warm hand rub circles on his abdomen. But something was nagging at him. Was Lily mad at him for getting a stomach ache? Was she mad at him for waking her up in the middle of the night?

"Are you mad at me?" Harry asked quietly.

Lily paused her massage and looked directly at her son. "Am I mad at you?" she repeated. "No. I'm not mad."

She continued the massage and watched as Harry relaxed more and more.

"This reminds me of when you came back from your first Hogsmeade trip with a stomach ache," Lily said, thinking back to that October day that was the first Hogsmeade day of the school year last fall. Harry had learned his lesson and paced himself.

"I kept doing it, don't I?" Harry asked, feeling Lily's hand on his abdomen, continuing to massage in circles.

"You're a teenager. I think it's just part of it," Lily assured him.

"Mum." Lily hummed in response. "Thanks."

"For what?" she asked.

"This." Harry pointed to her hand that was making the circles on his stomach.

"You're welcome. I've been doing this since you were a baby. It always seemed to calm you down and helped you to go to sleep." Lily looked up at her son and smiled. "And it still works."

Harry had fallen asleep finally after fighting sleep for twenty minutes. Lily's massages always put Harry to sleep, didn't matter if it was a back massage or a belly rub. They both worked and put Harry to sleep.

Lily smiled at the sight of her sleeping son. She continued her massage until she was sure he was asleep. When she was positive he was sound asleep, she stopped the massage. She pulled down his shirt, tucked the duvet around her son, and kissed his cheek. She conjured a cot, placing it in the middle of the room. She left enough room for Harry to get to the bathroom in case he needed to. She summoned her pillow and a heavy quilt. She cuddled on the cot and pulled the quilt over her.

She fell asleep, hoping Harry would be better in the morning.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

The sun shining through the window woke up Harry the next morning. For a second, Harry had to think of where he was. He realized that he wasn't in his bed in the fourth-year boys' dorm in Gryffindor Tower or in his bed in his mother's quarters.

He was in his bed in his room at home in Potter's Bar. Then, the night before came back to him.

It had been stupid to make himself sick, eating even when he wasn't hungry and too stuffed to fit anymore. At least he didn't throw up, or did he?

James walked into the room just as Harry had put on his glasses. "Good morning, son. How's your stomach feeling this morning?"

"Better. The potion Mum gave me help."

"Good, I'm glad." He ruffled Harry's bedhead. "Mum's got breakfast ready."

"I'll be there in a minute," Harry told him, shuffling to the bathroom. He quickly did his business, washed his hands, and headed downstairs to the kitchen. Lily had made porridge for breakfast this morning and had placed a bowl with a glass of orange juice by Harry's usual place at the table.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Lily greeted as Harry entered the kitchen. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Better." Sitting at the table, Harry got the cinnamon, sprinkling some in his porridge. He slowly ate breakfast while reading the comic section from the Muggle newspaper Lily subscribed to from the village.

James read the paper as he ate breakfast. It had been a tradition for Remus and Sirius to stay with the Potters for Christmas Eve. But this year, with Harry having to remain at Hogwarts for the Yule Ball, the tradition was a little different. They had left to head back to Sirius's flat, where Remus was temporally staying, last night after Harry had gone to bed.

"What are the plans for today?" James asked his wife.

"I thought you and Harry were going to spend some time together?" Lily retorted.

James looked at his son, who had been listening to the conversation with interest.

"Well, we could go and spend the day in London," James suggested.

"That sounds fine to me," Harry replied. He finished his breakfast, took his dishes to the sink, and headed upstairs to shower and change.

Lily was cleaning up the kitchen when Harry came downstairs, dressed and ready to go.

"Mum?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Did you sleep in my room last night on a cot?"

Lily turned around to face her son. She had gotten up and left Harry's room before he got up.

"Yes, I did, Sweetheart." She approached her son, reaching up to straighten his hair up. "I will always be there for you, whether you're sick, injured, or both. I will be there when you need me. I will never leave you alone when you don't feel well. I wanted to stay close to you last night in case you needed me."

"Thanks, Mum."

To Lily's surprise, Harry embraced her with a hug. She wrapped her arms around her son, returning the hug. She had been worried when Harry became a teenager that he wouldn't want her hugs or kisses again. Oh, how wrong she was.

"Ready to go, Harry?" James asked, swinging the keys to the Potter's Range Rover.

"Yeah, I'm ready." Harry left the kitchen briefly to get his coat and came back and hugged Lily. "Bye, Mum."

"Don't eat too much, or you'll have a repeat of last night.

"I'll pace myself, Mum. See you later."

James kissed Lily goodbye before following his son out to the SUV. Lily followed them to the door. She watched as James pulled out of the driveway.

She smiled as she thought of the peace and quiet she had to enjoy. She would have six hours to herself.

Before heading downstairs to the lab, she collected a basket to shock the cupboards with potions. They all needed to be restocked, especially stomach soothers in Harry's bathroom.

She figured that she would need them at some point tonight or tomorrow. But luckily for Lily, it was a rarity that Harry woke up with a late-night stomachache. As a matter of fact, it was almost rare that Harry was sick. But Lily liked to be prepared for anything, which explained the massive supply of potions she kept at home and in her cupboard in her personal quarters at school.

She, ever the mother, wanted to help her son if and when he got sick. It didn't matter if he had a headache, a cold, or even another late-night stomachache. She cared for her son and would help him get better for whatever ailed him.

She cared for her son, even if it was a late-night stomachache.

AN: It's been a year since I started this series, and wow. I'm completely surprised at the amount of alerts, followers, and favorites this series has brought. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, added this to their favorites and/or alerts, and has read this series. I hope you have enjoyed reading this series, as I've had writing it.

There is more to come, so stay tuned.