time
Ginny stood in front of the bathroom mirror in her workout clothes. It was still dawn outside, as it was only half past five in the morning. She had been awake since five o'clock, as usual, and then immediately put on a pair of sports leggings and a T-shirt and got ready for the day. Her hair, with the help of a wave of her wand, she braided into two boxer braids and she rubbed over her tired eyes.
She turned sideways briefly and smiled as she caught sight of her small baby bump. This time her belly had grown faster than when she was pregnant with James, but was now back to almost exactly the same size it had been when she was first pregnant at the time. Ginny was only eighteen weeks along, it would be months before she gave birth and yet she couldn't wait to finally hold her second baby in her arms.
After one last look in the mirror, she turned and left the bathroom. In her and Harry's bedroom, the curtains were still drawn, but the light from the bedside lamps illuminated the room. Sitting on the bed, Harry, looking no less tired than she, smiled at her.
"Good morning," he murmured in a low, sleepy voice.
Ginny returned her husband's smile. "Good morning," she returned as well and went to Harry's side of the wardrobe in her bedroom, opened the wardrobe door and took out a hoodie of his, as it was still rather cold outside at this time in the morning.
Harry got up from the bed and went to her. He took her in his arms and pressed a kiss to her mouth. "I'm going downstairs to make breakfast for you."
This had become their ritual by now. Just before the Quidditch World Cup, England's team started every day as early as six-thirty with a team meeting and at eight o'clock with the first training session. Harry always got up with her in the morning, made her breakfast and packed her something to eat for practice as, especially pregnant again, she got hungry quickly. After Ginny climbed into the fireplace and flood to the training grounds, Harry would lie down again, only to get up two hours later, wake James, make breakfast for him and James, and then later take him to Molly's before flooing to work himself. Sometimes he would also take James to work, or work from home, or take him to one of Ginny's brothers.
Then, when Ginny got home around four o'clock, she would pick up James from whoever and spend time with her son while she waited for Harry to get home from work an hour or two later at the latest. By the time Ginny got home, she was pretty much wiped out and could barely stand to stay up past nine-thirty. Time only with Harry also came a little short, but they still managed to squeeze in time for each other every now and then.
It was a stressful schedule that didn't leave much time for leisure, but it worked. Besides, it was only temporary, because once the World Cup started, the trainings would be held at more humane times again. And when the whole spectacle was over, Ginny was looking forward to getting everything ready for the next baby and staying home with James for the last few weeks.
While Harry went downstairs, Ginny quietly crept to James' room and carefully pushed down the door handle. She opened the door slightly and the beam of light coming from the hallway allowed her to see her son lying on his stomach, across his bed, his mouth slightly open and his snuggle blanket firmly in his hand, fast asleep. Harry always said he looked like Ginny when he slept. Lost in thought, she took out her wand and cast a spell on the ceiling so that stars could be seen there, lightly illuminating the room. It was her special spell and when James woke up he would realise that his mummy had been there.
Suddenly, a hand gently rested on her shoulder. "Hey Gin, breakfast is ready," Harry said softly.
She leaned against him. "I feel really bad sometimes that I'm not there when he wakes up in the morning and then we usually take him to someone in the family and I don't get him back until the afternoon. Am I a bad mother for going to work and abandoning my child?"
"You don't abandon your child and you are not a bad mother because you are working. Gin, you are the best mother I could have asked for our son." Harry sighed and wrapped his arms around her from behind. "These crazy work hours are only temporary. When you played for the Harpies last season, you got to spend time with Jamie so often. You took him to your practice or cut your practice short with Josh so you could go home early. You are always there for him and he knows that. Besides, he's almost two years old and he loves to spend time with people other than his parents. James has the time of his life at your mum's or at George's when Freddie is there, or at Fleur's with Domi. We were planning on taking him to the daycare at the Ministry soon anyway, so he can play with other kids too."
Ginny turned in his arms to look at him.
"Besides, you're Ginny Weasley and she never gives up or doubts when it gets tough. Because she knows she's brilliant, that she can do anything she wants," Harry continued, pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose.
"Potter."
Harry furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Excuse me?"
"I'm Ginny Potter."
He shrugged but smiled. "Same goes for her."
Ginny wrapped her arms tightly around Harry's middle and leaned against him. He raised his arms and stroked her back. They stood there like that for a few minutes, still on the doorstep of James' nursery.
"Come on now let's go downstairs so you can have breakfast." Harry held out his hand to her. "And then you spend a great day training and I'm off today, which means when you get home you can spend lots of time with your son and your husband."