Chapter Two: Molly's Apprentice
"Mum, I want to learn how to knit jumpers," said Ginny one day while helping her mom prepare the table.
"You're too young to be handling needles, Ginny," Molly admonished smoothly. "Maybe when you're older."
Silence.
"I want to learn everything, mum," said Ginny in a sharper tone, everything in the dining room began to rattle, influenced by her raw magic. "I want you to teach me how to knit jumpers, first. After that, I'd want to learn how to man the kitchens then tend to the field. Wash the dishes, clean the house, nurse my brothers' silly wounds," she paused. "I want to learn now."
Molly raised her gaze from the warm pot of soup she had just settled down on the table and turned to look at her four-year-old daughter. What she saw in front of her is a witch who knows what she wants and has that look in her eyes that she's a stubborn one too.
"Alright," Molly said and the rattling abruptly stopped. "But no knitting before you turn six."
Ginny cleared her throat and nodded, calmer this time. "What do you have for me to do then, mum?"
"I will teach you how to raise crops and tend to the field," said Molly, smiling. "You're capable enough for that, aren't you, Ginny?"
Ginny nodded, curtly. "Of course, I am."
It was to the amazement of her brothers that Ginny, with their mother's help, started tilling her own mini field and chose potatoes as her very first next day, she woke up early to fertilize the soil with chicken manure without the help of her mum this time. She'd ignored the smell and focused on the task at hand. She has potatoes to grow and a family to feed. She was determined to do this right.
Her mum approached an hour later with a bucket full of cut potatoes. She listened diligently to her about potatoes' eyes, how deep she should plant them in the plot, and how far from each other they should be. It was already half-past eleven when she finished planting and watering them all. She has three plots all of which have 32 potatoes total. She has a hundred days before harvest and sees if she'd succeeded.
After that, her farming venture turned to every day watering, soil, and pest monitoring, and occasional weeding. Once her morning farming routine's all done, her mom will let her dust the windows. Her mum had also taught her how to feed and take care of the ghoul. It was one month after she'd planted them when she came across the term experimenting in one of her father's notes about muggles. She had learned to read early when she heard her mum teach Ron in his room. She sat down with Ron when she was three and learned it faster than he did. He was lazy about it while she was very much enthralled by the benefits of reading. She remembered how she'd always been curious about her father's newspapers and her mum's cookbooks before.
There's this thing about the term that despite sounding very mugglish, makes total sense.
She has three plots of potatoes. She decided to give it a shot. It so happens that she'd read about fertilizers in one of her mum's farming magazines. She asked her mum if she can boil eggshells for her and with a frown on her face, she conceded. After cooling the water down to the appropriate temperature, she watered one of her plots with it. She doesn't have many eggshells to boil water with so she only did it twice a week for that particular plot of soil.
Her brothers ignored her sudden interest in house chores and continued with their everyday lives like nothing really changed. For Ginny though, everything changed that day she stepped outside the Burrow. In the evening, she'll read books about household spells she'd nicked from her mother's shelves.
It was a hundred days later when her first harvest arrived.
Her mum and dad were there and so was Percy, Ron, Fred, and George. Bill and Charlie were both at Hogwarts and so was nonattendance. One by one they helped with uprooting the potatoes. They all decided to uproot all of them and sell the excess in the nearby magical village's public market.
She was amazed at how much potatoes she'd managed to grow in the span of three months. They were normal looking potatoes big potatoes and with her eggshell watered plot, she had garnered tons of tubers in each one. All in all, she had an amazing harvest.
"This is pretty impressive, Ginny," said her dad and she couldn't help but beam her warmest smile at him. "For someone as small and young as you, you managed to make this many crop. I'm very amazed by this."
Molly pulled her close in a hug. "So, do you want to come with me and sell them?"
Someone cleared his throat. "Mum, I believe this is where I'm supposed to step up and play a role."
It was Percy trying to sound like an adult when he's only nine, really.
"Alright, Percy," said Ginny. "Do you know how to sell these potatoes and to whom?"
Percy frowned and cleared his throat. "I can learn."
Ginny nodded. "Mum?"
"Yes, Ginny?"
"Percy said he can do it," said Ginny. "I won't be going."
"Okay," said her mum. "Percy will surely do a wonderful job."
Arthur watched the exchange and turned to look at the basket full of potatoes lying around. He still can't get around the fact that his daughter had managed to do something so…
"What will you do with the profits, Ginny?" asked Arthur.
Her brothers perked up at that. And Ginny had thought about it for a while, she answered with a smile, "I would like to buy my brothers two Broomstick Servicing Kits. One for Bill and Charlie to share at Hogwarts and one for the twins here."
"Is that all?" asked Arthur a bit surprised at the idea that Ginny had thought about her brothers first before herself.
"Well, if we can still squeeze in a box of Chocolate Frogs for us to share then, I'd want that as well," Ginny shrugged. She'd wanted to buy some of that Wisteria Blooms but she didn't think she could get to drink it every day just yet with the money she can get from selling the potatoes.
Percy and their mum left that morning and returned with two Standard Broomstick Servicing Kit and a box of Chocolate Frogs. Her mum then told her that she still has fifty sickles left to buy something but she only shook her head and told her mum to keep it. When her mum asked her why she simply told her that it was her pay for lending her the potatoes to plant, and for the carrot seeds she'd be asking her to teach her how to plant next.
Bill and Charlie owled them back as soon as they received her gift. They were both happy to share and just couldn't believe that it was brand new. Ginny was a young witch who knows full well what it means to be poor. Someday, she'd have Wisteria Blooms every day. Someday.
Finally, Ginny turned five and then six years old with three plots of potatoes and three plots of carrots to tend to. She'd had five potato harvests, three carrot harvests, and finally, the cabbages. She'd also hired her brothers to work for her. Ron helps her water her crops while the twins do the degnoming every day. Percy helps her with the more complex stuff like experimenting and what muggles are termed as logistics.
In her spare time, she'd recite household charms out loud with a stick to practice wand movements and before sleeping, she'd be rereading the books in her mother's stores. There were books there too about other subjects like potions and transfiguration but she decided that those can wait. She has seven years of Hogwarts for that.
The seasons passed by and her profits grew. Percy had also started reading books about accounting and investments, all of the second-hand books from Flourish and Bolts. There was this one incident where Percy and Ginny were all by themselves browsing books along Business and Galleons sections that became very memorable.
"Now, this isn't something you see every day."
The two of them looked up from the book about proper spending and saw, to their visible surprise, the person standing by the end of the shelf. He was dressed very nicely. He has a crane in one hand and an amused smirk on his face. What took her interest was his long silver blond hair that is somewhat familiar. He was alone and he was looking at them a bit condescendingly.
Percy and Ginny looked at each other and back at the wizard standing a few feet away.
"Do you know us, sir?" asked Percy.
"Of course," the wizard answered. "Red hair, vacant expressions, hand-me-down robes? Weasleys, I presume."
Silence.
Ginny may be young but she knows what an insult sounds like. She grabbed Percy's sleeve before he can do something they will both regret. But before she can usher him away, Percy was already reaching for her hand.
"Is there something you need from us, sir?" Percy asked, calmly.
"How I rue the day I will need something from Weasleys," said the wizard, disgusted. "I believe you are lost. Why don't you children go and find your way out?"
Percy's grip on her hand may have tightened but his voice came out smooth. "We'll take our leave then. Good day to you, sir."
Before she knew it, both of them were out of the store, and on to Merlin knows where. "Percy, stop."
Percy continued as if he heard nothing. Ginny then yanked her hand from his and raised a brow at him. "We're far enough, Percy."
Percy nodded and looked around. "I guess we won't be buying any books today."
"Yes, I guess there's no Birthday gift for you today," Ginny said. "Adults are very weird sometimes. Don't you think?"
Percy stared at her for a while and nodded. "Why don't we just go and buy us both ice cream?
"Sounds like a great idea," Ginny nodded, vigorously. "Mum said we should meet up at Fortesque anyway."
And with that, the two Weasleys made a beeline towards the ice cream shop, all the Malfoy encounter was forgotten.
