Being the typical teenaged girl that she was, Ginny had no idea how to react to what she had just been told. One of her close friends had found out that Dean, her ex-boyfriend of a couple days, had shagged a girl a mere few hours after they broke up.
She didn't know what to do or who to talk to. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before.
Electing it was best to talk to her mother; Ginny decided that she would rather floo Molly in Professor McGonagall's office instead of the Gryffindor Common room (she figured she would have more privacy).
Pushing the portrait of the Fat Lady open, Ginny slowly started to descend the halls of Hogwarts and with each step she took, the pain of everything started to sink in.
Spotting the familiar door of Professor McGonagall's office, Ginny practically ran the rest of the way, wanting to talk to her mother more than ever.
Softly knocking on the door, she bounced from one foot to another, hoping Minerva wasn't alarmed at the late night visit.
When the door slowly started to open, Ginny softly smiled, hoping not to surprise the older women.
"Ginny?" Minerva asked, surprise written on her face. "What are you doing here so late?" she asked as she took her glasses off her face (she had been grading papers when she got the unexpected visit).
"Can I floo my Mum in your office?" Ginny asked as she attempted to hold back tears.
"Of course, my dear," Minerva replied, hearing the distress in Ginny's voice. When she noticed the tears well up in the corner of Ginny's eyes, she immediately ushered the young girl into her office.
Walking over to the fireplace, Ginny grabbed some floo powder, threw it into the crackling fire and clearly pronounced "The Burrow."
Watching Arthur's familiar face appear before her, Ginny mustered the best smile she could.
"May I talk to Mum, please?" she asked quietly when Arthur looked at her worriedly.
"Of course, sweetie," Arthur replied before he walked away from the fireplace and called his wife's name.
When Ginny heard Molly walk towards the fireplace, she feverishly whipped away the tears that had managed to roll down her cheeks.
"Is everything alright, Ginny, dear?" Molly asked as she looked into the fireplace and noticed Ginny's tear stained cheeks.
"He shagged another girl, Mum," Ginny uttered as she bursted out crying. It was her first instinct to start crying when she saw her mum, so when she blurted out what had happened, she just couldn't help herself.
"Who did, love?" Molly asked, confusion written in her voice. "Who shagged another girl?"
"Dean did, Mum," Ginny replied as she finally made eye contact with Molly. Wiping away the tears that had rolled down her cheeks, she looked down at the ground, as if she was ashamed of what had happened.
"My baby girl," Molly sighed, sorrow evident in her voice. When she noticed Ginny look down at the ground in shame, she added, "Don't you dare think this is your fault!"
"But Mum-" Ginny started, but before she could finish her sentence Molly interrupted.
"Ginny, why in Merlin's name would you think this is your fault?"
"I dunno, Mum," Ginny replied as she started to tear up again. "Can you come here for a little bit?"
"Only if it's okay with Professor McGonagall?" Molly asked as she made eye contact with Minerva, who at one point during the conversation sat down. She could tell that Minerva's heart was breaking for the young girl, just like hers was.
"Of course," Minerva assured as she nodded her head vigorously.
When Ginny heard Minerva agree to Molly coming to Hogwarts, she looked over at her professor and smiled appreciatively.
"Thank you, Professor," she said as she wiped away the remaining tears from her eyes.
"You're welcome, darling," Minerva replied as she smiled back at Ginny. "I'll let you two use my office for the night. I'll find somewhere else to sleep," she added when silence fell over the three women.
"Thank you, Minerva," Molly said as she smiled appreciatively at her former professor and long time friend.
"You're more than welcome, Molly. You know I'd do anything for a friend," Minerva replied as she gave Molly a friendly wink. "Now, when you're ready, you can floo right into my office," she added, getting down to business. "I wouldn't recommend apparating in because we have wards around the school."
"Okay, I'll be there in ten minutes," Molly said as she turned her attention back to her daughter.
"Okay," Ginny uttered as she smiled softly at Molly. "But can you try and hurry?" she asked, desperation evident in her voice. She wanted to spend some girl time with her mum, knowing that it would be better to have mother and daughter time instead of girl time with her friends.
"Of course, dear," Molly replied as she stepped away from the fireplace, her face disappearing almost immediately.
Also stepping away from the fireplace, Ginny genuinely smiled at Minerva. "Thank you, again, Professor," she said as she looked Minerva in the eyes.
"You're welcome, dear," Minerva replied as she smiled back at Ginny. "You know, you're lucky to have someone like your mum," she added, surprising both herself and Ginny.
"You really think so?" Ginny asked as her smile widened.
"I do," Minerva replied. Deciding it was best to explain why she had said what she had said, she said, "When I was growing up, my mum was never there for me. So I had to go through these kinds of things by myself."
"I'm sorry, Professor," Ginny said as she awkwardly made an attempt to hug Minerva.
Noticing that Ginny was going to hug her, Minerva opened her arms up and wrapped them around the young girl, giving Ginny a warm hug. She was pleasantly surprised by the gesture, as she had never expected Ginny to do such a thing.
"You know, you're a lot like your mother," she said as she pulled away and cupped Ginny's chin.
"Don't say that," Ginny replied as she, again, started to tear up.
"Don't cry, dear," Minerva said quickly. "It's a good thing to be like your mum," she added, hoping she didn't hurt Ginny's feelings.
"I know it is," Ginny stuttered as she tried her best to smile. "But I'm not anything like her." She had never been compared to her mother before and she knew it was a compliment, but she wasn't nearly as maternal as Molly was.
Right as Ginny said this, emerald flames appeared in the fireplace, announcing Molly's arrival.
"Who's not like who?" she asked as she walked further into the room.
"I was just telling Ginny that she reminded me a lot of you," Minerva replied as Ginny rushed across the room and hugged her mother tightly.
"Ginny?" Molly asked as she looked down at her daughter. "No," she added after a pause. Hearing Ginny attempt to stifle a laugh, she also started to laugh.
"That's exactly what your daughter said," Minerva laughed as she started to collect her belongs. Once she had everything she needed, she added, "Now, Ginny, I'm excusing you from your first class tomorrow. But anything after that, there are no excuses."
"Thank you, Professor." Ginny sighed happily as she, again, hugged the matronly witch.
"It's the least I could do," Minerva replied as she hugged the young girl back, a smile appearing on her face almost immediately.
"Thank you, Minerva," Molly chorused softly as she also gave Minerva a hug.
"Seriously," Minerva laughed as she hugged Molly back. "Don't worry about it," she said as she pulled away and smiled. She then started to walk towards the door, happy that Ginny was getting some mother daughter time.
When Molly knew that Minerva was safely outside of hearing distance, she walked over to the couch, sat down and said, "So, Gin, tell me what happened."
"I dunno, Mum," Ginny replied as she mirrored her mother's actions and sat down next to her. "I've been trying to figure out the same exact thing."
"Well, then tell me what you heard, love," Molly said as she wrapped her arm around Ginny's shoulders and pulled her in for a side hug.
"Bethany, one of my close friends, told me that Dean had shagged another girl a couple hours after we broke up," Ginny replied as she cuddled into her mother's body, attempting to hold back a fresh wave of tears.
"Ginny, listen to me, okay?" Molly said as she cupped Ginny's chin and softly brought it away from her bosom. "He doesn't deserve you. You're a beautiful, smart young lady and I'm sure there are other boys who would love to have you as their girlfriend."
"I know." Ginny sighed as she dejectedly smiled at her mum, tears streaming down her cheeks. "It's just hard to believe that someone would actually do something like that," she said as she rested her head back down on Molly's bosom.
"What do you mean, love?" Molly asked as she softly pushed strands of hair out of Ginny's face.
"I dunno." Ginny contemplated her answer for a few seconds before speaking. "I've heard girls talk about how their ex shagged another girl after they broke up, but I never thought it would actually happen to me," she admitted.
"It's just like I said before, love, he doesn't deserve you," Molly repeated as she kissed the top of Ginny's head.
As silence fell over the two women, Ginny started thinking to herself. Without her mum, she had to idea where she would be, especially when it came to boy troubles.
"I love you, Mum," she said as she squeezed Molly affectionately (with the way they were sitting, it was hard for her to give her a proper hug).
"Oh," Molly said, surprise evident in her voice (she wasn't expecting Ginny to say what she had said). "I love you too, sweetie," she added as she hugged her daughter back.
Moving around on the couch, Ginny rested her head in Molly's lap, smiling up at her when Molly gave the brightest of smiles. "You know, Mum, as much as the boys and I fought, we really did, still do, actually, appreciate everything you've done for us," she said once she was comfortable. Seeing tears spring to her mum's eyes, she quickly sat up. "Don't cry, mum," she said as she Accioed the tissue box from Minerva's desk.
"S-sorry, dear," Molly said as she took a tissue and softly dabbed her eyes. "My mascara is probably running, huh?" she asked as she started to laugh.
"Just a little bit," Ginny said as she also started to laugh. Taking the tissue from Molly's hand, she started to wipe the mascara from her cheeks. "But you still look amazing," she added as finished wiping away all the remaining mascara.
"Lies," Molly said as she teasingly pushed Ginny. She knew she was an ugly crier, despite being told by numerous people that she wasn't.
"I'm serious, Mum," Ginny laughed as she rested her head back in Molly's lap.
"Well, then, thank you," Molly said as she softly rubbed Ginny's cheek with her thumb.
"You're welcome, Mamma Weasley." Ginny laughed when Molly scrunched up her nose. She never had been a big fan of that nickname. "But I really should be thanking you," she added as she smiled brightly up at her mum.
"Why?" Molly asked as she looked down at her daughter in a confused manner.
"Because a mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path."
thank you to darksaber3434 for betaing! (: this actually happened to one of my friends. quite frankly, guys can be complete douche bags.
