Snapshots From Life

Chapter 15 - Meet and Greet

Harry and Teddy were standing by the tunnel that led to the players' locker room after the Championship match. Harry stood with a cane in his hand as he and Teddy watched Ginny, still in her quidditch kit, greeting and talking with the fans. It was an exciting match. The Harpies managed to beat Portree by a mere 50 points to win the Championship Cup and Ginny had won the MVP award, again. Harry had been discharged from St. Mungo's just yesterday morning on the promise that he follow up with his private healer for exams, outpatient therapy, and potion refills for his wounded leg. He saw Madam Pomfrey just this morning for his first exam. She's been Harry's private healer since the end of the war. The wound on his left leg was caused by a modified Petrificus Totalus curse. Not only did it bind the whole body, but it permanently petrified the victim, spreading out from the point of impact ultimately killing the victim. St. Mungo's expert curse breakers got it sorted out and whipped up a potion to counter the effects, but the healing was slow going. The curse had spread through a good portion of his leg and there was no guarantee that the potion would totally reverse the effects from the curse before the effects became permeant.

Teddy looked up at Harry and said, "Gran told me not to ask."

Harry fully knew what Teddy was going to ask but he wanted Teddy to feel he could talk to Harry about anything. Harry asked, "Ask about what Teddy?"

Teddy got slightly embarrassed as he asked, "Why do you need a cane to help you walk?"

Harry smiled, "Well, I got hurt at work."

Teddy's eyes went wide, "Was it from a bad wizard?" Harry simply nodded yes.

Teddy asked, "Did you get him?"

Harry nodded again as he said, "We sure did. He was arrested and he's now waiting for his trial."

Teddy smiled. He knew his godfather always got the bad wizards.

A woman approached Harry and Teddy and said, "Excuse me Mr. Potter, I'm Betty Braithwaite from the Daily Prophet. Can you tell our readers why you're walking with a cane?"

Harry glanced over at Ginny still talking with fans and posing for photos with them. He told the woman, "I'm not your story today." He pointed over to Ginny, "Your story's over there. Ginny scored 8 goals, assisted on 9 more, and won the MVP award of the match. She made a lot of great plays today and her flying was the best I've ever seen. That's your story Ms. Braithwaite, not me and my cane." Disappointed, Betty Braithwaite walked away.

Harry watched Ginny shake hands, pose for photos, and sign autographs all with a smile. She really did love it. The fans made it all worthwhile for her. The queue of fans was always larger for Ginny than any other player. The fans that flocked to her were all ages and from all different walks of life from the wizarding world. She never went to the locker room until she had met with everyone.

She turned in Harry's direction and flashed a smile just for him. Harry waved back and mouthed, "Take your time." Ginny smiled again and blew him a kiss. Harry never rushed her. No matter what they had to do after a match, everything else could wait. He knew how much this meant to her. Harry knew that Ginny never took the fans for granted.

The children were always the most excited to meet Ginny. She would get down to their level when they wanted a photo and autographed whatever they wanted her to. The boys were always cute, and you could tell that some of them had a crush on her. Ginny usually saw them blush when they talked to her and she made sure to give those boys a quick peck on the cheek. "Think of the story he'll tell," she would say to Harry. Ginny always encouraged the girls she met to be themselves, be proud of who they were, and if they wanted to play quidditch, they should.