HP: The Magical Gamer [Chapter 134: Not A Crush! ] (Patreon)

Now, all she could do was hope that he would forgive her for barging into his matters. She couldn't help it, really. He was her son. Her flesh and blood. 

Her precious boy. She just couldn't stand at the sidelines and remain oblivious to his struggles, to unsee his feuds. 

She was an adult here. It was her job to keep him safe until he became an adult, not the other way around.

In the back of her mind, she knew that her help was unneeded. That Harry was way more powerful than her. That he didn't require her. 

That she was just being a bother. But no mother would ever want to feel useless and undependable. 

And that's what she felt seeing her children's rapid unnatural growth, seeing them maturing and becoming independent.

They had surpassed her and were so far ahead that they were just blurs on the unreachable horizon. And it stung. It hurt a lot to feel this unneeded. 

She could die tonight and her 12-year old children would still easily survive the world tomorrow. They both were that prepared, they were that grown up.

She should be proud of them. And she was. She indeed was filled with warmth and pride at how her children turned out. She was extremely pleased and delighted with their accomplishments. 

But a small selfish part of her still wanted to cling to the delusion that she was all that they needed. That they didn't need to worry about anything and could leave their worries to her.

She would take care of their problems. Just like she always did. She wanted to feel like a dependable mother once again.

But Dumbledore's phoenix never appeared that night, leaving them restless and unsatisfied.

Sirius had fallen asleep on the floor with his head on Remus' thigh. Remus himself had his back propped against the wall, his eyes blinking rapidly to ward off the sleep. Alice and Proserpina were seated in front of Lily in lounge-chairs.

At 3 in the morning, Proserpina had had enough. She stood up and moved beside her redhead friend on the sofa.

"Lily, time's up. Voldemort didn't come. He won't come. What else can we expect from a lying bastard? He lied. He never planned to show up today." She sighed, squeezing her shoulder.

Lily wanted to protest, she wanted to say that they should wait some more. That they could never be sure. But even she was past the point of believing in herself. Voldemort had lied. He had made a fool of her. Or more precisely, she had made a fool out of herself.

"I am sorry. I wasted your entire day." Lily mumbled in defeat, drawing on her shoulders vulnerably.

"It's fine. Being prepared isn't a waste. Better be prepared than be caught off guard." Alice smiled, getting on her feet and standing before her best friend.

"Yes. It's not your fault. I will gladly waste my days to keep our children safe." Proserpina nodded in support.

"Well, the day won't be a waste if any of you decides to give me a reward for being a good boy." joked Sirius, sitting up and rubbing his bleary eyes, trying to bring levity in the tense atmosphere.

"Never going to happen, Mr. Black. I will rather die than spend a night with you." Proserpina smiled blankly, her nose scrunched in disgust.

"Yup. Be content with your whores, Siri. You are just not my type." Alice smiled mirthfully.

Sirius made a dramatic pose, clutching his heart and earning an eye roll from Remus. "What about you, Lily? Up for some fun time?"

Lily chuckled, wiping her eyes. "You are a good man, Sirius. But no, I don't want a man in my life. It will just complicate matters. Harry and Iris will feel too awkward if their mum brought another person into the family."

"That's not healthy, Lily. You are still young. You shouldn't restrain yourself by thinking like that. Your children will gladly accept anyone to see you happy, I am sure." Remus gave his genuine advice.

Lily shook her head. "I am very happy, Remus. I don't need a man to complete me. My children are my life. I don't need distractions like that. Anyway, I already have a man in the house. Harry. Well, he will be in a couple of years. Who else can be more beautiful and cute than my precious boy? I dare you to name someone more perfect than him."

Lily went into full gushing mother mode, receiving exasperated smiles from her fellows.

"My Neville, of course." Alice proudly presented a contender.

"Ah, let's agree to disagree, dear." Lily smiled, not wanting to fight on this. Alice shrugged, returning her smile, knowing that their bias would only make them consider their own boy the epitome of perfection.

"Is no one going to name me?" Sirius grumbled, raising his hand.

Everyone ignored him, like usual, making him slump in exaggerated dejection.

"Both Neville and Harry are sweet well-mannered boys. You don't need to fight on that." Proserpina said fondly. "Although, my girls are particularly smitten with Harry."

"I know. Little Tori doesn't even hide it. And while Daphne tries to be discreet, it is easy enough to discern her feelings. Their crush on him is so cute. The three of them are so adorable." Lily laughed, the day's tension finally melting and giving rise to relief and joy. It was always fun talking about their children.

"I wouldn't call it a crush, Lily. Both my girls are stubborn and relentless in what they want. I think obsession is a better word to describe their passion. I just hope it won't create a fissure between them in the future." The blonde sighed, not wanting to see the heartening relationship between Daphne and Astoria crumble because they were vying for the same boy.

"You worry too much, Proserpina. They will sort it out. They are just children." Alice offered.

"I hope so."

"If nothing else, my dear godson can have both of them. I reckon he won't mind having a harem. Though I don't know how to feel about getting beaten by a kid. He is getting more loving than me. Damn it!"

His rant was promptly ignored.