Determination

LXVI: Climax

1995

Harry stood watching his mother from the open doorway of her classroom as she finished up with a third-year class. She was truly radiant. She had the brightest smile on her face and had an exuberant light that constantly shines in the presence of others. Her kindness knew no bounds as she patiently answered the same question for three different students on their homework. Harry had the stray thought that he might be thinking of her too highly now that he knew, but he remembered how downtrodden many of his friends who did take her class had been the last year she'd been gone. Like a light was sucked out of them, her light.

Harry noticed the group of third years now leaving the classroom and slowly made his way inside.

"Oh, Harry! Is this one of your free periods? What a coincidence! I actually have one about now, too!" She exclaimed as she saw him come in.

Harry was delighted she was enthralled to be in his company. In all honesty, it hadn't been a coincidence that he managed a free period at the same time as her. He quietly asked Professor McGonagall if she'd be able to line one up for them when she was passing out timetables at the beginning of the year. Surprisingly, the professor hadn't even asked and simply raised her eyebrows at him with a kind smirk as she handed it back.

Now here he was.

They both had free time, and should they both choose, they could spend this time together. Harry had yet to shake that lingering want deep within him to spend as much time as possible with her, be in her company. It hadn't been enough recently just knowing she was safe under the same roof.

"Yeah, a hell of a coincidence, really." He replied.

"We'll come sit! Hang out with me if you have the time. Oh! Did you come here for a reason? Did you need help with homework or something?" She continued.

Harry carefully made his way into the classroom and took a seat at a chair that made its way over towards her desk.

"I just..." wanted to be near you, wanted to see you.
"I just needed some time away from Ron and Hermione." He decided.

She gave him a sympathetic wince. "Are they at it again?"

"Yeah, sort of, part of me thinks they're going to end up getting together, and the other part wonders if they ever even will."

"Ahh, young love sort of sneaks up on you when you least expect doesn't it?" She asked as she stood rifling through her papers.

Harry at first thought of Ginny, but his mind wandered to the woman in front of him.

Was that what it was like for her and his dad? Unexpected.

Harry had asked his uncles all sorts of questions about his parents once they all knew the truth. According to them, the two hadn't started on the best of terms, and it was his dad who'd realized first. Well, Sirius was quick to point out that Lily Evans had actually figured that out first...

Harry wondered when his mum realized. What was it that made her realize she'd been in love with him? From what Harry knew, his dad was kind of a prat in his day, and he could understand why Meae would have wanted to keep some distance from all that.

"The real bother has been Ron's foul mood." He told her. "Ginny went on about Ron never kissing anyone, and every day it's like he's been stuck in this perpetual cloud of gloom."

"My guess is Hermione has been kissed before?"

"I wouldn't know for sure, we don't really talk about it, but I would reckon, yeah." He answered.

"That'll do it." She laughed softly.

"And now the match against Slytherin is coming up, and his bad mood is making him a worse keeper. He can't keep his head on straight."

"That's some tough luck he's run into: verbal lashing from his little sister, heartbreak, and a looming match in the works?" She scoffed, "I don't envy him."

A lightbulb went off in Harry's head.
"Wait, that's it, luck!" He shouted, "I have Felix Felicious in my robes, I could sneak some to him and-"

"If you're going to cheat, you might as well just hand Slytherin the match, no way Madame Hooch wouldn't notice." She stopped him.

Harry sat back in his chair, defeated once again.

"Though I suppose if he thought you'd given it to him, it might have some sort of... placebo effect? Make him think he's going to be really lucky, and it puts his mindset in a better place, so he starts noticing all the good instead of the bad. But obviously, you don't really give it to him; that would be cheating and guarantee Slytherin the win. Oh, not to mention boost their egos that you'd have stopped as low as cheating in your first match as captain against them-"

"Meae?" Harry interrupted

"Yeah?" She asked, mind still elsewhere.

"You're doing the thing again... the thinking out loud?" He told her.

"Oh Shi- sorry, Harry! I didn't even realize I was doing it." She quickly apologized.

Harry laughed at her slip-up. "Meae, you know I'm 16, you can curse in front of me. Padfoot tells me that it used to be a natural part of your vocabulary, but you've been catching yourself around me and trying your best not to... You don't have to."

"I'm sure you've heard much worse from your friends and your uncles, I just.... It doesn't make sense, but it feels weird with you. I don't like doing it in front of you." She confessed.

Since the moment Harry found out she was his mother, he'd wondered if there was any piece of her that did remember. There were small things that told him there might be, but he could also be finding answers he wanted from nothing. He wanted to think it was some maternal instinct in her that treated Harry differently, but his uncles said she'd always been unwaveringly kind to others.

"So you think I should pretend to put it in his drink?" He continued

"Oh yeah, then at least for a little bit he'll think luck is on his side, and his mood will be better, and he'll probably play better too." She answered easily.

"What about Hermione?" He asked.

"Oh, even better if you can get her to think you've done it. She'll be rightfully outraged, but it'll really sell it to him."

"That's a good point!" 

"Your only trouble will come after I think..."

But Harry had stopped listening at that point. Mulling over the exact hows of this newly thought-out plan, he and his mum had made.

He and his mum.

He couldn't help but feel ecstatic over this new turning point in his life. Coming to his mum over some sort of trouble and being able to talk over solutions with her. He never thought he'd get this, even if it's not exactly the way he would like, it's leagues better than anything he's had before.