Ginny thrust her wand at a head of lettuce, deciding she'd had enough. She poked her wand at the head, and watched with a triumphant smile as it ripped into shreds and fell in a bowl.
"Can't you do anything without a wand?" asked the familiar voice of Harry, her husband, from behind her. She glared at him, appearing to be offended.
"I am a witch, you know," she replied in an angry voice that Harry knew was fake. She rounded on him and pointed her wand at him. "Now, if you don't want to end up like that lettuce, I suggest you go and start the grill."
Harry's green eyes flashed with a hidden smile. He jumped away from the threat, laughing.
"Only joking, Ginny," he said as he went outside to see to the grill fire. His best friends, Ron and Hermione, whom he and Ginny hadn't seen for two years, were coming for a reunion of sorts. Harry couldn't wait to see them again, and to hear all about their lives: Ron's Quidditch career, and Hermione's studies at a prestigious Muggle art college. Most of all, he couldn't wait for them to see Jamie, his daughter, again, who had just turned five.
"Harry!" Ginny called from the kitchen window, "Harry, Ron's here!"
He jogged back into the house, just as Jamie bolted out of her bedroom. Harry opened the front door for Ron, who staggered in under the weight of a suitcase and a large bag. He threw the stuff down and heartily shook Harry's hand, then wrapped him in a bear hug.
"Good to see you again, mate!" Ron cried happily. "Still short as ever, eh?"
"Oh, come off it!" Harry said with a grin. He opened his mouth to say something else, but Jamie burst in, instead.
"Uncle Ron, Uncle Ron!" she exclaimed, jumping up and down excitedly. "What did you bring me, uncle?"
Ginny came hurrying from the kitchen.
"I heard that, Jamie! Mind your manners!" she scolded, rather sternly, but her face was all smiles. She exchanged warm greetings with her brother.
"You know, Ginny, you sounded rather a lot like Mum just then," Ron commented with a laugh. He reached into the bag he'd been carrying. After instructing Jamie to close her eyes and hold out her hands, he placed a miniature Nimbus 2000 in her outstretched palm. She opened her eyes, and her face lit up.
"Oh, wow, Uncle, a model! I love it! Thank you!" She gave Ron a hug, the tiny broomstick still clutched in her hand. Ron looked at Harry and winked over Jamie's shoulder.
"That's the same kind of broomstick your dad rode on when he played Quidditch in our school days," Ginny put in. Jamie looked up at her father, amazed.
"You played Quidditch, Dad? Wow!"
Harry chuckled and ruffled Jamie's thick auburn hair.
"Someday I'll teach you how to ride a broom."