10. Quidditch Star

She learned about it from the papers of all things. There it was in black and white: Potter's Girlfriend Joins Holyhead Harpies. Suppressing her irritation that Ginny was once again relegated to 'girlfriend' status rather than being her own person, Molly focussed on the article. Her baby was growing up, and had chosen what seemed to Molly to be a very dangerous career. Not as dangerous as Harry's, she'd grant her that, but still one that often resulted in major injuries to the players. Molly wondered sadly why Ginny had chosen not to tell her this herself, and wondered if in the time after the war they had lost that sense of camaraderie they had gained earlier.

'Hello! Mum! Are you in here?' Ginny's cheerful voice reverberated through the house, and pulled Molly from her sour musings.

'I'm in here, dear.'

Molly stood up and began bustling with dishes in the warm kitchen. Ginny came round the door and smothered her in a huge hug.

'I feel like I haven't seen you in ages, Mum. How long has it been? A month? Maybe two?'

Reluctantly Molly chuckled. Ginny always teased her this way when she visited. 'A week, dear. At most.'

'It just seems like longer when I'm away from your cooking.' Ginny looked at her mother with an expectant look on her face and Molly laughed, knowing the drill here, too.

'Here you go, dear. Fresh out of the oven, some treacle tart.'

'Oh, bless you Mum! Harry's favourite. He's going to be over the moon when he gets here. I really should learn to make this,' she said around a mouthful of the warm tart.

'I seem to recall you saying you didn't want to learn to cook or do domestic chores,' Molly teased her with a smile.

'I grew up and realised that, unless I'm made of money, I need to know how to cook or I'll starve. That's not a girl thing, that's a survival thing.'

'Your new career should be more than enough to pay for a cook, dear.'

Ginny's spoon clattered to the table and she looked at her mother in shock. 'How do you know about it? It was meant to be a surprise.'

Molly proffered the newspaper with the glaring headline, and Ginny rolled her eyes.

'I should have known. Nothing ever escapes the eyes of those idiots. I'm sorry, Mum. I wanted to tell you myself. In fact, that's why I was here. I was just waiting for Harry.'

There was silence in the kitchen as Molly fussed around and set another place at the table. Ginny picked up her spoon again and carried on eating the tart, but there was a new tension between the women that bothered her.

'I'm worried about it, Ginny. Worried that you will be hurt, too.'

Ginny smiled gently at her mother. 'I know, and I understand.' Her eyes sparkled as she thought about her new career, making Molly smile despite her worry. 'But, Mum, it's all I've ever wanted to do. I have my dream in my hand; isn't that a good thing?'

'Yes, it is dear. And I'll never stop you ...'

'As if you could,' Ginny's voice was warm and cheeky.

Molly smiled again, a little uncomfortable at the reminder that Ginny was no longer her responsibility.

'But after Fred ... I worry so much. I thought before it happened that losing a child would be a terrible thing.' She took a deep, shuddering breath and looked away from Ginny, into some distance only she could see. 'I was wrong. It's more than terrible ... it rips the soul out of you, and now that I know what it's like ...' Molly looked over at Ginny again, her fear written all over her face. 'I worry so much more about the rest of you.'

There was a suspicious crack in Molly's voice, and Ginny got up and engulfed her mother in her arms. She concentrated on pouring all her love into her mother, letting her know without words that she understood.

'Mum, I know, better than most, what it's like to worry about someone to the point of losing yourself. But I couldn't let it stop Harry, or me, from going after our dreams.'

Molly gave her a watery smile. 'I know. I know I'm being silly, dear. This whole thing has been dreadful for all of us.' She took a deep breath and began fiddling with some dishes in the sink. 'You're right, Ginny. Merlin knows that Harry has been through his share and I know you've worried about him.'

They shared a smile, remembering Ginny's stress during the war and Molly's comforting shoulder. Ginny sat down at the table again, and Molly bustled some more, trying to cover up some of her discomfort with movement.

'It was hard, Mum, but I had to learn to let my worry about him go.' She smirked at her mother, knowing that she would hear the suggestion in the comment and wouldn't be able to resist the unspoken taunt. Ginny wasn't disappointed.

'I wish it was that easy, Ginny, letting go of my fear for you...'

'You think it was easy, Mum? Letting go of that worry was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Especially after ... after Hagrid carried him out of that forest. It took a conscious effort to push it away.'

Her mother finally sat down at the table across from her, holding a cup of tea in her hand and pushing another across to Ginny. She took a sip as she contemplated what to say next. Finally, she spoke.

'You're right. I don't have a monopoly on feeling like this. But you're young, and resilient ... I feel so old. I don't know if I'm strong enough to – to live through the worry again. It about killed me once, I don't know if I can do it again.'

'Mum, you're a strong witch, a strong person. And you have to just go with it, I think.' She thought for a few moments about how to get her point across and finally said, 'That's what I learnt ... you just have to roll with life. No matter what your age, you gotta live your life not hide from it. Anyway, I'm playing quidditch and you can't change that.'

The grin that she directed at her mother was impish, and her mother let out the throaty laugh that Ginny remembered from when she was a tiny child. The sound swept her back to all the conversations she'd had with her mother in this very room.

'I know I'm never going to move you when you get that stubborn look on your face.'

'Too right! I worked hard for this one, and I'm not giving it up for anyone, not even you, Mum. Even though I love you to bits.'

Molly smiled at her, a little reassured by Ginny's passion for what she was doing. Ginny gave her a cheeky look and took a sip of her tea just as Harry walked into the kitchen. As always, Molly watched as the pair immersed themselves in each other. Ginny's eyes flicked right to him, and the cheeky look changed as her whole face lit up. Harry walked to her and put his hand on her shoulder as he dropped a kiss onto her hair. He leaned down and whispered something to her which made her giggle, and she reached up and gave his hand a squeeze before he dropped it and sat down. The look they had shared still lingered in the air.

It usually amused Molly that every time the two of them were together in one place, they had a way of ignoring everyone and everything else for a few moments as they greeted each other. Now, she felt envious. This was obviously one of the ways they had come up with to counter the darkness, and it worked. They were so clearly in love and showed it in everything they did. Watching them, Molly knew Ginny was right. Life was for living, not for killing yourself with fear. She wondered when it had happened that Ginny had become her comfort and not the other way around, but shrugged it off as she watched Harry start appreciatively on her treacle tart. Her daughter was a woman now, with a woman's choices ahead of her. It was time Molly let go of the tiny child she had held and embraced her new relationship with the woman before her.