"Come on, Ginny dear," Molly Weasley said. "It's time for you to try to feed James again."
"I'm really too tired for that, Mum" Ginny said, yawning to emphasize her point. "Can't you or Harry give him a bottle instead? I need to get some rest." She turned on her side to face the bedroom wall, presenting her back to her mother.
"You've been home for three days now and you've not completed a single feeding," Molly pointed out. "You need to try harder to nurse so that your milk will come in properly."
"It's all right," Harry said, looking in from the doorway. "I'll be glad to feed him."
"Well!" Molly sniffed. "That's all well and good for you to help out now and then. But it's Ginny's job to feed him, as it's important for him to bond with his Mum and nursing is the best way to do it."
"Who am I?" Harry shot back. "A next door neighbor? James needs to bond with his father, too!"
Ginny turned back to face her family. "Please! Stop arguing." Taking a deep breath, she declared, "I don't think I want to breastfeed at all!"
"You can't mean that!" Molly was aghast. "Nature intended for mothers to feed their babies with their own milk."
"Harry and I discussed this when I was pregnant," Ginny said. "He wants to share in caring for James, not just help out now and then. And I don't want to have to always be the one who has to get up in the middle of the night when James is hungry. If I bottle feed, I can share the feedings with Harry and Kreacher."
"I can't believe what I'm hearing," Molly said. "That sounds like something a muggle woman would do."
Harry looked at his mother in law in surprise after hearing her last sentence. The Weasleys made a big show out of their tolerance of muggles, but every now and then, condescending comments came from Molly that were worthy of the most rabid pureblood supremacist.
"I don't want to talk about this right now," Ginny said wearily. "I just want to get some sleep."
Taking James from Molly, Harry said resolutely, "I'll feed him. Let's go downstairs and leave Ginny alone for awhile."
Molly did not argue further, but followed him out of the room, tsk-tsking under her breath.
Ginny sighed in relief as the door shut behind Harry and her mum. She thought they'd never leave! Waiting until she heard them descending the stairs, she pulled out a magazine from under the bed.
It was the latest issue of Quidditch Monthly, which had arrived by owl-post the day she went into labor. She'd not had a chance to read it yet, so she settled in comfortably to enjoy the magazine in peace.
She idly browsed the articles, which dealt mainly in predictions for the coming season. She laughed softly to herself, knowing that Divination was particularly useless when it came to Quidditch, where anything could, and usually did, happen.
The young witch was about to put the magazine down and take a nap for real, when she noticed an ad on the magazine's last page:
Holyhead Harpies
Now Recruiting
for
All Positions
for the new
Reserve Team
Please owl Team Manager Miranda Demianenko for further details
She stared at the ad for a long time, as visions of her long-time dream danced through her imagination. Since those long ago pickup quidditch games with her brothers out behind the Burrow from the time she was able to first sit a broom, Ginny had fantasized about playing for the Harpies.
After a long moment, she got out of bed as quickly as she could in her condition. She rooted through the desk for a spare piece of parchment and a quill, then hurriedly scribbled an inquiry note to the team manager, placing it inside the magazine when she was done. Ginny did not dare call for Kreacher to send it off for her, as she knew the decrepit old elf couldn't keep a secret and would immediately tell Harry about it. She'd have to wait until she had a spare moment alone to take it to the owlery herself.
Sighing yet again, this time in anticipation, she extinguished the light, then rolled over for a long overdue nap.
--
"Harry, I don't think it's helpful when you contradict me in front of Ginny when I'm teaching her how to be a Mum," Molly said as Harry fed James a bottle. "Ginny's always been headstrong, so it's important we present a united front to her. I really don't think you need to undermine my authority."
Turning to Arthur, who was drinking a cup of tea, Harry quietly asked, "Could you take James for a few minutes, please?"
"Certainly, Harry," the older wizard said. "Come along, then, James, and visit with Grandpa for awhile."
Once Arthur had taken the baby to the lounge, Harry returned his attention to Molly.
"Let's get one thing straight here. While Ginny and I both appreciate your help with James, any final decisions about James' care will be made by me or Ginny," he told her, his voice barely under control. "The authority is ours."
"But that's simply ridiculous," Molly tutted. "Neither of you know a thing about caring for babies, while I've raised seven children! I know the right way to raise children."
"That's true, and I'm sure we'll be asking your advice about all sorts of things while James is growing up," he admitted. "But there's a difference between asking for advice and being told what to do. And there's more than one right way of doing things."
"I'll not stand by and let James come to any harm," she doggedly insisted. "What kind of a grandmother would I be if I just stood by and let you make mistakes that I could easily prevent?"
"I'm sure we will make mistakes," Harry responded wearily. "But most mistakes aren't fatal." After a long pause, he added, "I had to take care of myself most of the time when I was living at the Dursleys, so I think I'll be able to manage with James. I've never had the opportunity to be wild and irresponsible."
"I'll be watching you," Molly warned. "And I'll not hesitate to step in if I think it's in James' best interests. I'm sure you'll change your mind once you see that taking care of children isn't as easy as you thought it would be."
Before Harry could reply, Arthur returned to the kitchen. "I think think little fellow needs his nappy changed," he announced, holding the infant out to his wife. Noting the expressions on Molly's and Harry's faces, he asked, "What's going on here?"
"Nothing," Harry replied tersely. "I'm going to go check on Ginny." He hurriedly left the kitchen before he said something he'd later regret.
--
Ginny had given up on trying to get a nap. Perhaps it was the excitement of fantasizing about becoming part of the Holyhead Harpies, but she'd simply not been able to fall asleep.
The young witch finally gave in to the inevitable. She sat up, quietly whispering Lumos, then pulled the Quidditch magazine from under the bed to through it again. As she returned to the Harpies ad, she heard her mother's and Harry's voices raised in heated discussion coming through the ventilation shaft.
Frowning at overhearing yet another squabble between the two, she wondered why Harry didn't just let her mother take care of the baby. It was obvious her Mum wanted to do it, and if she did so, it would leave her and Harry more time to do things they enjoyed. And it wasn't as if leaving James with Mum would be anything like leaving him with those awful Dursleys.
Refocusing her attention to the magazine, Ginny suddenly realized it was the perfect time to sneak to the owlery and send off the note. She eased out of bed, then stuffed her feet into her slippers before quietly making her way to the door.
The sounds of arguing were louder as she stepped into the hallway. Ginny looked over the railing at the foot of the stairs to see if anyone was lurking about before moving to the other stairway that led to the roof. Confident that they'd be busy for awhile, Ginny slowly made her way up to the owlery.
She stopped to rest for a few minutes, once she'd given the letter to Pigwidgeon. The short trip up the stairs had worn her out and Ginny knew she'd have to train hard, once she'd recovered from giving birth, if she wanted a chance at making the reserve team.
After a few moments, she returned to her bedroom, where she was dismayed to find Harry sitting on the bed waiting for her.
"What's this all about?" Harry asked quietly, holding up the Quidditch magazine, point to the ad which Ginny had circled. She'd been so intent on getting to the owlery, that she'd left the magazine lying on the bed, opened to the page with the ad. "And where have you been? I thought you were taking a nap."
"I, uh, couldn't sleep," Ginny said. Taking a deep breath, she said, "And I've decided to apply to the Harpies. An opportunity like that doesn't come along very often."
"What about James?" Harry demanded. "Have you forgotten about him?"
"Mum has already said she wants to take care of him," Ginny said. "I don't see why you're so against it."
"I'm not against her taking care of him now and then," Harry told her. "But we're his parents and it's not fair to her and your father to take care of him all the time."
"But she wants to," Ginny insisted. "We're not taking advantage of her, trust me."
"What about when we have other children?" Harry asked her. "What do you plan to do then?"
"I don't want to have any more children," she admitted. "I don't ever want to go through pregnancy, labor, and delivery again. One child is enough, anyway."
"I thought you wanted to have at least 3 or 4 kids, like I do," Harry said slowly. "I thought we were agreed on that." After a pause, he added, "And considering how many people we lost in the war, I don't think having just one child is enough."
"I'm sorry, Harry, but my mind is made up," she said. "Even if I don't make the Harpies, I don't want any more kids." Looking him in the eye, she added, "And if you think my Mum isn't good enough to take care of James, why don't you quit your job and take care of him yourself!"
"Actually, I've been considering doing just that," Harry told her. "I don't really like being an Auror all that much and I'd much rather spend time with James. Lucius has told me that the Potter fortune, with wise investments, is more than enough to support us without me having to work."
"You went to Lucius Malfoy, of all people, for advice?" she exploded. "You reject Mum's advice, yet you believe whatever he says without question!"
"Well, when it comes to money and investments, you must admit he knows what he's talking about," Harry retorted.
"I don't want to talk anymore!" Ginny said. "I'm hungry, so I'm going to see if Mum has started dinner yet."
"We'll talk about it again later," Harry warned as he followed her down the stairs.
The couple arrived in the kitchen just in time to hear Molly explode again. "I can't believe what I'm reading!" Seeing Harry in the doorway, she angrily shook a copy of the Daily Prophet at him.
"You've got a lot of explaining to do, Harry" she exclaimed angrily.
--
A/N: Thanks again to my loyal readers!
A/N: Yes, I know, I put one of Gred and Forge's expressions into Harry's mouth. But hanging around Weasleys for so many years, he's bound to pick up some things from them!
A/N: The surname of the Harpies' Team Manager, Demianenko, is that of my former high school gym teacher, whom we called "Miss D".
A/N: Next chapter, as yet unnamed.