Harry was roused from his sleep by the sound of yelling emanating through the halls. He was in the Hospital Wing, tucked in and comfortable under the warm blankets. The lingering, fiery pain was long gone. Sitting up, he found Ginny and Ron in the beds next to his. Both were asleep and appeared to be healthy. Luna was curled up in a ball in a visitor's chair - still in those mustard pajamas. Her soft snores echoed off the formally peaceful room. The door banged open and Alabasandria Adams thundered into the room, fuming.
"Harry James Potter! What the fuck were you thinking!?" She appeared at his bedside, her green eyes glowing. "A basilisk? You went into the Chamber of Secrets and fought off a basilisk by yourself? How stupid are you?!"
The Weasley clan shuffled awkwardly into the wing behind her, heading over to their family's bedsides. Not even Mrs. Weasley made a move to calm his raging mama, faint tear tracks visible down the mother's face as she hurried over to her children.
Mama grabbed at his wrist, checking him for a pulse. She tugged at his sleeve and examined the faint scar left from his adventure, which had cut cleanly through a protection rune tattoo. "This is where it bit you? Are you hurt? Did the phoenix tears heal you fully? Honestly, what was the one rule I had?!" Her voice dropped down from a yell to a whisper, although her tone was still shaking in rage. "I wouldn't have been able to bring you back properly, you idiot. Most of your soul could have been permanently destroyed! You would have been nothing more than a husk and a shade. Why did you not think to come and fetch me before you went down there? You could have died! A basilisk? A basilisk!"
"Ms. Adams, Harry," Dumbledore called, starting to make his way over. Mama swung around to glare at him, hair whipping like a knife as she moved. The green in her eyes reflected the glow of a curse she would gladly cast on the man if she was interrupted further.
She did not have to speak a word. Dumbledore, one of the smartest wizards of all time, saw the look in her eyes, raised his hands in surrender, and promptly left to go talk to the nurse.
"Mama," Harry said. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."
"You're grounded!" She ordered as she returned to check over his body for injury. "No Quidditch for the rest of the school year!"
"I had to," Harry whispered. "Ron, the Weasleys, they were in danger. It all happened so fast, I -"
Her hands carted through his hair, a gesture so unfamiliar and maternal that his excuses died in his throat.
"I didn't raise you to have such a big heart," she complained. Without warning, she bent over and pulled him into a crushing hug. "Fucking idiot! You're very powerful, Harry. But power does not compensate for experience. You were a child going against one of the most dangerous magical creatures out there. I would have felt better if it had been a dragon. I was in the castle! Next time, you will fetch me before you do something stupid! How many times must I tell you to think before acting!" Her voice rose with each word, shouting again by the end of it.
"Sorry," Harry said in earnest, his ears ringing. He wrapped his arms around her before she could escape and let himself enjoy a moment of physical comfort. "Everything happened so quickly. I talked to Slytherin, and then I ran into Ginny, and then I heard the basilisk in the pipes. Ginny and Luna went to fetch Dumbledore, but Ron and I went straight down there because it was threatening to eat students. I wasn't thinking about my own safety. But I didn't mean to frighten you, sorry."
Alabasandria squeezed him once more before moving out of the embrace. She stood over him, traces of anger set deep into her skin. It was more emotion than he'd ever seen from her. Harry realized he truly had worried her. She looked a lot like the sobbing Mrs. Weasley who currently had Ron in his own death-grip hug. She was not about to burst into tears herself, but her body was tense, her emotion wafting out of her skin where apathetic darkness should be. It had not occurred to Harry that other people would care about his well-being like that, that mama might be his beyond a childhood fantasy and mischievous preteen teasing. She was his mama, he was her son. That fact had always felt a little fake, a little one-sided on his part. Never, ever had he doubted her care but her love had always felt locked away, trapped behind her decades or centuries of relying on nobody. He'd assumed such a deep emotional connection was simply beyond her capability. He'd thought it was beyond his, for a time. Both of them hollowed out and twisted by their calling. Harry had never felt particularly worried about death - what did it matter if he was hurt or injured, if it was easy enough to heal away with magic, if even the most mortal wounds could be fixed - that Harry could be brought back even from death. With the basilisk, he'd been afraid, sure. Angry that he'd walked confidently into a situation he had been severely underprepared for, and had dragged Ron along with him. But necromancers did not fear death.
And yet here she stood, face pale and marred by fear. Fear for him.
Shame flickered through Harry.
"I really am sorry for scaring you," he whispered again. "And for running off into danger without telling you. I don't act impulsive on purpose, I promise." He paused. "I love you."
Her eyes had lost their rage and she gave him a genuine smile. Her hands lingered in his hair, brushing it away from his eyes and scraping her manicured, sharp nails gently against his scalp. The terror he'd felt down in the Chamber faded under her comforting gesture. Not even her angry words meant anything to him. Mama was here and he felt warm and safe. His head angled deeper into her touch. She sat down on the edge of his bed with a long, exhausted sigh. He grabbed her free hand with both of his and they existed there, in mutual comfort for a moment or an eternity.
She cleared her throat. "You'll have to tell me all about the fight once I don't feel like yelling at you anymore. It's a very impressive feat to slay such a beast. I'm very proud. But! Never, ever again are you to go anywhere near basilisk venom of fiendfyre or anything else that can kill you, is that clear?"
"Yes mama. I'm sorry."
....
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