Perseverance

A/N: The story is about overcoming mild body image issues. If this is a trigger for you, then this story might not be for you. The story ends happily and is meant to be fluffy and uplifting. Enjoy! Post-Deathly Hallows Harry/Ginny fluff story. One-shot. Rated T. Everything belongs to JKR.

It was reaching the point beyond aggravating. The baby weight with James and Albus hadn't necessarily fallen off, but with a bit of work, Ginny had been able to get back into her wardrobe by the time each boy had reached a year old. But with Lily it was different. At first, the weight came off as it had for both boys, slowly, but steady none the less. Lily was almost a year and a half though, and the last ten pounds would not budge. It wouldn't have been so bad if those ten pounds had been spread around, but they weren't; it was all centered around her stomach and hips, and Ginny hated the way it looked, and the way it made her feel.

Ginny was very self-confident and she didn't like how these extra ten pounds made her feel self-conscious about how she looked, and she hated that certain dresses and pairs of pants simply didn't fit still. Almost 18 months of decent workouts - although understandably short ones - eating reasonably well, and doing her absolute best to stay positive and upbeat had left her with an extra ten-pounds around her waistband that would not leave.

Ginny was fighting the urge to do drastic and potentially dangerous things to lose these last ten pounds. She'd settled on the safer choice of eating smaller portions and saying no to dessert more often. But as another month moved on, her clothes still weren't sitting like they used to. She had originally wanted to find someone to commiserate with, but Harry had laughed and then decided to show her how much he was still attracted to her; while she had thoroughly enjoyed his reminder that she was still sexy in his eyes, it hadn't helped the desire to be heard and understood. Hermione had scoffed at her, claiming that Ginny didn't know the real struggle, assuming that the ten pounds Ginny was trying to lose were nothing to complain about in comparison to the 20 she was still working to lose after Hugo. When Ginny had casually mentioned to her mother that the last ten pounds were stubbornly hanging around, her mother laughed and informed her that by her seventh kid she'd stop caring so much. Ginny let the subject drop, more children were not in her future but that particular argument with her mother wasn't worth it at that moment.

Ginny had tried to casually bring up the subject with her sisters-in-law, all to no avail. Granted she was the slimmest of all of them - minus Fleur who, as part Veela, would always bounce back immediately to her pre-baby weight and figure - but they all seemed to scoff at her frustration. Fleur had tried to be understanding, but she'd never known what it was like to not fit into her clothes within a week of having a baby. In the end, Fleur was a good listener, but she didn't understand and could only offer Ginny sympathetic sentiments.

Frustrated and feeling hopeless, Ginny had started to worry that those ten pounds would never leave and would make it so a good third of her wardrobe would need to be replaced. Lamenting the possible loss of her favorite dress as she started separating out what didn't fit still from what did fit, James came running into her room.

"Mummy! We want to go to the park!" Jamie said excitedly.

Al came running in behind him. "Please Mummy!"

Then a toddling Lily came in laughing, "Slide! Slide! Slide!"

Ginny laughed. "Alright, you three. Jamie go get your shoes on and then bring me Lily's, Al get your shoes on and I'll tie them for you."

The three children went running out of the room cheering.

The muggle park was deserted as school was in session and most of the children in the neighborhood were of primary age. Ginny was grateful, she'd done pretty well blocking Jamie and Al's accidental magic incidents, but it was much easier to just let the boys play without worry. They played for about an hour before Lily became cranky and Ginny wrapped her in her blanket and rocked her to sleep. Ginny loved that Lily would do this. Jamie and Al both refused to sleep anywhere but their cribs at this age. It had been exhausting. Lily, thankfully, was much more practical about sleep, and as long as she had a soft and reasonably quiet place to lay down, she'd drift right off.

Tucking Lily into her stroller and reclining it for her, Ginny noticed a woman with a small boy walking towards the park. Sighing that at least she could be on red alert with Lily asleep, she began focusing on Jamie and Al and what exactly they were doing.

The woman sat down on the bench next to Ginny's bench and her little boy went running into the playground. Jamie, always one for a group, immediately invited the child to play their game and the boys were quickly fast friends, running around the playground pretending to be pirates.

The woman smiled politely at Ginny as the boys played. "Just the three then?" She asked.

Ginny smiled. "Yes. Three is all I need."

The woman gestured toward her son. "Geoffrey is my youngest. I have four. We thought we were done at three, but Geoffrey obviously had other plans."

Ginny laughed, "We were trying for Lily here, but it took a long time. That's why she's so much younger than her brothers."

"I'm glad it worked out then." The woman smiled. "My name is Rebecca by the way."

"Ginny." She smiled. Ginny couldn't help but notice that the woman was perfectly thin, and she wondered how the woman had managed to bounce back after four children. Their small talk continued and Ginny invited Rebecca to move to her bench to chat more comfortably. After almost an hour Rebecca looked at her watch.

"I'll need to get going soon. School will be out in a half hour."

Ginny nodded. "I need to finish up some housework, and I still need to fit in a workout today."

"Trying to lose the baby weight?" Rebecca asked sympathetically.

"Does it show so much?" Ginny asked forlornly.

"Of course not!" Rebecca laughed. "I know because I've been there, but here's a tip Ginny, no one but you can see that little bit extra you're trying to lose. It'll take the longest to get rid of and you're going to feel impatient about it sticking around. Just remember, only you notice it. Keep on doing what you're doing, and stop thinking and worrying and fretting about it. Don't deprive yourself, but don't give up and start gorging either. Be patient and in a year or two, you'll wonder why you ever wasted so much energy and time worrying about it." Rebecca smiled before standing and calling Geoffrey to her. "Remember," she said as she took her son's hand. "No one else can see those last few pounds. Just you. Don't let it affect the way you see yourself, just keep focusing on being healthy, and you'll be fine." And she waved as they turned and walked back the way they had come.

Ginny sat contemplating Rebecca's words as she let the boys play. When they got home, Ginny put all the clothes she'd pulled out back in her closet and drawers near the back so they wouldn't remind her they didn't fit. She wasn't going to fret about it anymore, they'd fit again when they fit again. At dinner that Sunday at the Burrow, she had a slice of treacle tart. She made time to run and fly during the week. But most importantly, Ginny stopped letting those last ten pounds worry her. It was hard at first, but she kept reminding herself what Rebecca had said, no one could tell but her. With time it grew easier, and soon, Ginny didn't need to remind herself not to worry. She was living life, and she had forgotten about worrying when the stubborn ten pounds would come off.

One day much, much later, Ginny quickly reached back into her closet and pulled a dress off the hanger and slid it over her head, trying to hurry. She and Harry were going to dinner and her parents would be there any minute to watch the kids. A quick flick of her wand pulled her hair up off her neck and she slid into her favorite heels. She took one quick glance in the mirror before turning and running downstairs. Giving the kids one last reminder to mind their grandparents, Harry and Ginny apparated away.

After being seated at their table Harry smiled at her across the table. "What made you decide to pull that dress out? I don't think I've seen you wear it in years?"

Confused Ginny looked down. She had pulled out one of the dresses that hadn't fit since before Lily was born, but now it fit just as it once had. The smile that spread across her face stretched from ear to ear and she remembered the chance meeting with Rebecca at the park, and the wise words she'd shared. Ginny looked back up at Harry, "I honestly didn't realize it had been so long since I'd worn this one. But it's rather stunning, don't you think?"

Harry's grin turned up a bit more, "Truly enchanting, dear. Maybe we'll get lucky and the kids will be asleep when we get home..." He reached under the table and ran his hand along her bare knee.

Ginny smirked, "That's never stopped us before." And she laughed a silvery laugh at the light tinge of pink that hit Harry's neck and cheeks.