"It's just not fair! I mean, I know they all died in the war and are heroes and they were all important to him, but why didn't I get to name a single child? Three, I had three kids and Harry got to name them all!" Ginny Potter (nee Weasley) took a breath after finishing her rant.
"It could be worse," her sister-in-law and good friend Hermione Weasley (nee Granger) said.
"How?"
"They could all have French names."
Ginny rolled her eyes and suppressed a laugh. Hermione was, of course, referring to her oldest brother's children. All three of them had been given French names: Victoire, Dominique and Louis. It wasn't hard to figure out who had named them. Bill's wife Fleur had surely smiled and said, "Bill, can ve name her zis (insert name)?" and he had surely caved in immediately.
"At least no one will mispronounce or misspell their names" Hermione said as she tried to console Ginny.
"Yeah well, I'm not worried about James or Lily. I'm worried about Albus. I mean, Albus – really? It's like asking to get beaten up. I'm sure he'll be bullied. He'll have it worse then you, Ron and Harry did."
"Honestly, Ginny, I can't imagine anyone else having it worse than us. I mean, we've been targeted by minions of Voldemort or the Dark Lord himself since we were 11 years old. What's a few schoolyard bullies compared to that? Besides, I don't think it'll be too bad. You'd have to be stupid to pick on the son of the savior of the wizarding world! And if that weren't enough, he'll have a village full of Weasleys as backup."
This thought somewhat comforted Ginny, but not much.
"What if they pick on him for something other than his name. He's the quiet, studious type. Kinda reminds me of Percy really. Ugh! That's another one. As if being named Percy weren't bad enough. Try being named Percy Ignatius Weasley. And being an insufferable, arrogant, know-it-all on top of all that! Percy definitely had his work cut out for him."
"Yes, but that was Percy's personality. He didn't behave that way because he was named Percy. And Albus is wonderful. I'm sure he'll be fine, Ginny. Don't worry about it."
Ginny sighed for the hundredth time since this conversation began. She knew she was being overly cautious and unnecessarily paranoid. But she couldn't help it. She was a mother after all. And this year, two of her babies were going off to Hogwarts. In two years time, all three would be leaving to go to Hogwarts and then the nest really would be empty.
Suppressing the urge to sigh again, Ginny refilled their teacups with her wand and brought out some more biscuits.
"What about you Hermione? Nervous to see Rose go off this year?"
"I'd be lying if I said I weren't a little apprehensive, but I think Ron's taking it harder that his little girl is grown up enough to go off to Hogwarts. He won't say anything out loud, but I catch him sneaking glances at her and checking to see that she's got all her supplies in her trunk. I even caught him putting some chocolate frogs in there the other day! Of course, I took them out, but he snuck them back in. Last night, I caught him looking through our photo albums and staring at her baby pictures for hours! I think he'll be an even bigger mess tomorrow morning."
"As long as we get there in time, it'll be fine. You know Harry and his 'oh don't worry, we've got plenty of time' motto. You know, the one that makes us late to nearly everything."
Ginny rolled her eyes good-naturedly and Hermione let out a laugh because she knew all about that motto. It had caused Harry and Ron to be late to classes on more than one occasion while at Hogwarts and even Hermione had been a victim of Harry's nonchalance; after being late to both Transfiguration and Charms during the same week, Hermione swore never to pace herself by Harry's clock again.
"Honestly, Ginny. I think your nerves are getting the best of you. There's no need to worry. Albus and James will both be fine. So will Rose. So will Molly, Louis, Fred and Roxanne. They'll all be fine. Just relax! Here, normally I wound't suggest this in the middle of the day, but it couldn't hurt."
As she said this, Hermione accioed a bottle of Ogden's finest firewhiskey that she knew Ron kept hidden on the top shelf of the cabinet where he thought Hermione wouldn't look. She conjured up two glass tumblers and poured a hearty amount into each. She handed a tumbler to Ginny and raised it in a toast.
"To our kids beginning their adventures and to us NOT freaking out! Cheers!"
Ginny said "Cheers" and they clinked their glasses. Both ladies took large swallows and gulped it down.
"Whoo! Now I remember why I don't drink that stuff often." Hermione grimaced.
Ginny also made a face. "I think I've had enough. I'd better get back home. Don't want to splinch myself while apparating. Thanks for listening Hermione. I just needed to vent."
"You're welcome sweetie. Don't even mention it! It's always a pleasure to help you out. Feel free to rant and rave whenever you need to. After all, what are sisters for?"
Ginny got up and hugged Hermione before taking a deep breath and steadying herself. She apparated out of Hermione's kitchen and into her own. It was time to start preparing dinner. She had to make sure it was a good one. It would be the last time all five of them would have dinner together until the boys came home during the Christmas holidays. As Ginny busied herself, she thought over her conversation with Hermione from earlier that day and realized that she indeed had nothing to worry about. Harry, Ron, Hermione and she herself had faced much worse. What's a couple of snotty 11-year-olds to a powerful dark wizard?
Yes, Ginny Potter decided. Her children would be fine and she would just have to accept that they weren't babies anymore. Oh, how time flies!
…
AN: I know, I know. The ending was cheesy. But hey, I couldn't help it! Review please :)
