chance
Her whole body ached, her muscles rebelled, but she would not give up just like that. She had endured much worse pain - the Cruciatus curse and childbirth were just two examples. She had a goal and she had known months ago that it would be painful to achieve it. And that's why she stood in the kitchen of her house, wrapped in sports clothes suitable for the cold weather, preparing breakfast for herself and her husband.
"Look James, who's here again." She looked up when she heard Harry's voice and saw him coming towards her with their three month old son in his arms.
Ginny smiled. "And look who's never been away: your lazy daddy. If he keeps being this lazy, I don't want to know what his athletic condition will be like in four months when he starts working again."
"Not as good as Mummy's, that's for sure," Harry replied, nudging her with his hip.
"I offered you to come jogging with me. We didn't buy James' pram for him to come with us when we both go running for nothing."
Harry manoeuvred James from one arm to the other. "Um, I think we did", he joked.
"Remember a few years ago when you were the one who kicked me out of bed incredibly early every morning to help me get in shape?" asked Ginny, handing him a glass of juice, which he accepted gratefully.
"We didn't have a baby then," Harry countered. "And we were still teenagers."
Ginny brought both bowls of porridge to the table and sat down. Harry followed her and set James down on his lap.
"Have you been worried in the last few months, since you've been on parental leave, that when you come back people will take you less seriously or respect you less because you're a dad now?" asked Ginny suddenly.
Harry shook his head, frowning. "No, why do you ask?"
"I have been worried about this. All eyes will be on me when I return to the Harpies, everyone will be waiting for the slightest mistake. And it's all to prove that what I'm aiming for can't be done. That you can't be a successful Quidditch player and a mother."
"But you can!"
Ginny smiled slightly. "Harry, you are the kindest man I know and my husband, of course you think I can. If you didn't, I certainly wouldn't have married you." She reached for her spoon and began to eat. "The opportunity I have is not a given in our society. There are only a handful of female Quidditch players in this world who have continued playing after the birth of their first child and even fewer of those have made it longer than one season. On top of that, as the man of the house who, if you go by the stereotypes, should be bringing home the money, you're taking over half a year parental leave so I can go to work. Yes, maybe I also want to prove to myself that this is possible the way we planned it."
"I hardly think pregnancy has made any difference to your Quidditch talent. And one thing I can tell you is that if you think it's a challenge for you, for Ginny Weasley, to return to the team and deliver exactly as you did before, then you should think of another challenge that is truly one for you. For example, you can set yourself the goal to play in the Quidditch World Cup in two years' time, while still retaining your place with the Harpies."
Ginny snorted. "Dream on."
"It's not impossible," Harry replied with a shrug.
For a short while they both looked in silence at James, who was sleeping peacefully in his father's arms.
"You know, sometimes I'm jealous of him," Harry then said.
"Why? Because he gets my boobs shoved in his face multiple times a day?" retorted Ginny dryly.
He laughed. "That too. But I mean more because he doesn't have a clue about what's going on in this world yet. That even though at least there's no war anymore, there are still countless evil people, that there's injustice everywhere you look, that his mummy must be afraid of failing because she has a child and is employed. Sometimes I wish I could forget all that and just go about my life."
"Wait a minute. Now it sounds like we're raising James to be a tolerant and feminist man later in life. But what if in reality he's going to be the biggest sexist ever," Ginny laughed.
Harry grinned. "As long as he has you for a mother, that will never happen. And I hope he has you as a mother for an incredibly long time. And I you as a wife."
"I should hope so. You'd be pretty much fucked without me."
"We'd better stop swearing in front of James," Harry remarked.
Ginny snorted. "Oh stop it, just because we're parents now doesn't mean we have to be sensible. After all, we're only in our early twenties. Everyone always says this is the best time in life. And what would life be without swearing!"
Harry leaned down to his sleeping son and whispered to him, "Did you hear James, your mummy really is complete bonkers, but you'll find that out for yourself soon enough."