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She had been allowed to keep Josh. Even though she was now playing for England in the World Cup and not starting a new season with the Harpies, she was still allowed to keep him as her personal trainer. Ginny was more than happy about that, because Josh knew her and knew what she needed. Especially now that she was pregnant, she needed someone who knew about it, could adapt the training and was also considerate.
"I hate you," Ginny said breathlessly as she lay on her back on the floor of the England Quidditch National Team fitness centre, trying to get air back into her lungs.
Josh grinned. "You don't hate me, secretly you're grateful to me for helping you keep playing. And I have to say, you're doing better this time than you did with this little man here."
James, who was on Josh's arm, grinned cheekily at his mum. She could have sworn he had laughed at her in between while she had completed her workout. Ginny propped herself up on her forearms and stood with a groan.
"If you keep wearing me out like this, I won't be able to make the team practices in the afternoon because I'll be too knackered," she said, taking a sip from her water bottle.
Josh shrugged, continuing to grin. "Are you taking James to team practice later?" he then asked her.
"No, I'll take him to Harry. He'll take care of him this afternoon."
Since James was two years old, he actually went to the daycare at the Ministry where he could play with children his age and was taken there by one of his parents and later picked up by one of them. Depending on when his parents had to go to work and how long they worked, they sometimes picked him up earlier, sometimes later. On Mondays, Ginny was usually off after she had a game on the weekend, so he usually didn't go to kindergarten then.
On that day he accompanied his mummy and later his daddy to work, because there was an outbreak of dragonpox in the daycare and Molly and Arthur were currently in Romania with Charlie and could not take him. Since Harry was the Head Auror and had his own office, he had no problem taking James with him. But he was stuck in a conference in the morning, which is why Ginny had taken him to her training session with Josh. That wasn't a problem either, because he had been there a few times as a baby and knew Josh already.
"Will I see you tomorrow?" Josh asked, helping her to her feet with his free hand.
Ginny nodded. “Yes, but this time without James. My parents are coming back tonight and picking him up tomorrow."
“It’s a pity I like having James here. With all the women who always run into me on the Harpies training ground, I am happy about every male support I can get. Will you miss me too, James?"
The two-year-old turned his head to him and smiled at Josh. "Yes!" he replied directly.
“Everything else would really hurt me. I know you since before you even knew yourself. I thought your mummy was firing me when she told me she was pregnant with you," Josh replied, setting him down on the floor.
Ginny grinned. “I hope I did better this time." Then she turned to her son and held out her hand: "Come on Jamie, let's go see Daddy."
"Daddy!" James shouted happily, willingly taking his mother's hand, but turned back to Ginny's personal trainer. "Bye, Josh!"
"Goodbye, James!" he replied with a smile. “See you tomorrow, Ginny."
"See you tomorrow," she returned, and walked with James toward the exit.
After a refreshing spell (a shower was not worth it, as training continued later), she and her son finally left the building and headed for the car in the parking lot. Normally Ginny would floo or apparate to work, as she was of course a witch and it was easier and much faster than driving a car. It also played a role that Holyhead was in Wales and she herself lived in England.
At the moment, however, she did not play for the Holyhead Harpies (this season was cancelled due to the World Cup, which was unusually in the middle of the season, so she would not have played for the Harpies that season anyway), but for England, whose training camp was in London. Since she and Harry lived a little outside of London, Harry worked in London, and James was in a phase where he hated both apperating and flooing, that day she claimed the car she and Harry had bought a few years ago after they both got their Muggle driver's license.
Ginny strapped James in his car seat and gave him a children's book, the pictures of which were enchanted and moving, to distract him during the twenty-minute drive, as driving was not his favourite thing at the moment. She herself sat in the front seat, buckled up and started the engine when James dropped the book on the floor of the car.
"Mummy," she heard his voice from behind. “Book gone."
She sighed, unbuckled herself again, got out, opened the car door, and handed him the book back. Well that could be a very long drive. And she swore to herself that if he dropped the book again, if necessary, she would use a glue charm to make sure that James would never lose the book again.
~
Thirty minutes later Ginny finally entered the Ministry with James on her arm. For once, she took James on her arm and walked with him through the entrance area of the Ministry. Her son was more than capable of walking on his own at the age of two and since Ginny was pregnant and her body was already quite strained by her training, she should not lift too much. But she wanted to avoid being recognized and that was difficult with a toddler who could not walk very fast.
On the way to the elevators, she met only briefly the Minister of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt, who greeted her briefly, and in the elevator itself was her brother Percy with her. He greeted her and his nephew, but then had to get out. Ginny had to get out one floor later.
She walked down the long corridor through the Department of Magical Law Enforcement until she turned left to the Auror Quarters. At the front sat Stephanie, the secretary of the department she was going to.
"Hey Stephanie, do you know if my husband is out of his meeting yet?" Ginny asked her, maneuvering James from her on arm to her other.
The woman in her early forties looked up and smiled warmly. "Hello Ginny! Yeah, Auror Potter's back in his office."
Ginny thanked her and went on. Now a little slower, she continued past the open-plan office where the Junior Aurors and the trainees were sitting. Some turned their heads to her, but many who had been here for some time were accustomed to Mrs. Potter visiting her husband. On the other side were the offices of the Senior Aurors, which usually two Aurors shared until she turned left again and arrived at the office of the Head Auror; Harry's office.
She knocked and waited for no answer, but opened the door and entered. Harry was bent over a few files and looked up as she entered. Immediately a broad smile spread across his face.
"Hey," he said and stood up.
"Daddy!" exclaimed James joyfully, stretching out his small arms to his father, who readily received him. "Mummy did sports," the two-year-old told him.
Harry grinned. “Oh really?!", he asked playfully shocked. “I thought Mummy always said that and actually went to eat cake."
James nodded. “That’s why Mummy has a big belly."
Ginny looked with an open mouth and inevitably gave out a breathless laugh. Harry couldn't help it either, before he burst into laughter. His wife shook her head amused and turned to her son.
"My tummy is big because there's a baby in it, Jamie," she explained patiently.
James only shrugged his shoulders as Harry put him on the ground. Ginny looked intently at her husband. "Are you sure you can take him?"
She knew that at the moment there was another difficult case that the Aurors had to deal with. After the war and after almost all Death Eaters had been caught, it had become quieter and there were fewer large cases. When Harry was a junior and later a senior Auror, he had sometimes been on missions, but since he was Head Auror, he was no longer required to go on missions. He had promised her that he would not go on missions during her pregnancy, and that as long as the children were small, he would not go on dangerous missions, or those that lasted several weeks.
“Gin, that’s not a problem. He's also my son and you can't take him to team practice," he replied, putting a hand on her cheek.
“I can also take him to George and Ron in the store, maybe one of them can watch James."
But Harry shook his head. “I’m just busy in my office this afternoon with a bit of paperwork. Today I finish early anyway, as there is not much left for me to do. We're not really making any progress with the case anyway, which means there's not much to do," he assured her.
"Okay," Ginny then said, looking at James, who was sitting on the floor tearing up paper he had found in his father's office. She knew it wasn't an important document, or Harry would have intervened by now. “I hope the kindergarten will reopen soon. James really misses going there. Although, he had a really good time with Josh today."
"How was your training today so far?" Harry then asked, pressing her onto the sofa in the room and sitting next to her. He put a hand on her rounded belly. "And was Baby-Potter-Number-Two good for his mummy?"
His wife laughed. “The training was fucking exhausting. I'm really looking forward to the team training later, when I finally get back on my broom. And Baby-Potter-Number-Two was, as always, a little angel."
"How about I order us something to eat and we'll eat here in my office before you have to go?"
Ginny smiled. “Sounds good."