"He's been so busy at the Ministry ever since he became the head of his office, but you know your dad, dear.  He wouldn't want it any other way.  It's certainly nice for him to feel so needed," Molly said with a smile.  "I love this shade of paint you picked out.  This room is going to look lovely."

Ginny beamed. "Thanks!" She bent, dipping her paintbrush into the can again. "Thanks for helping. I'm kinda pants at drawing, and you had all that practice drawing for all of us when we were younger." She ran the brush over the walls, shaking her head at her attempt at waves. "I saw Fred a few days ago. Did he finally owl you? I told him to owl you."

"It's truly a joy to help you, Ginny.  And have I mentioned to you just how incredibly proud I am of you?"  She beamed at her daughter.  "This is a very brave thing you are doing.  And you're not holding back.  I don't know if I would have had what it takes to do something like this at your age."  Her expression became somber. "Fred did owl us. Which was a good thing-the timing, that is-I was just about to have your dad check up on him."

"I figured it'd gone too long. I warned him under penalty of brussel sprouts." She grinned to herself. She was twenty-one, but hearing her mum tell her she was proud made her feel like a seven-year-old all over again. She hadn't realized she still needed to hear that as often as she used to, but she did. Just the fact that her mum thought she was doing something good made everything better. She'd been worried after that first day of cleaning, but if her mum thought she could do it, she could do it. Mum had that way of erasing her insecurity.

"Thanks, Mum. That means a lot. And I know for a fact if you hadn't had us wrapped around your ankles you'd have been doing something like this forever ago. Where do you think I got the strength?"

Molly blushed.  "Well, I don't know about that, sweetheart, you've always been very headstrong."  She could see that Ginny was about to interrupt.  "No, that's a very admirable quality.  Some people go through their lives not knowing what they want, or worse, not knowing how to get what they want.   And look at you, starting your own practice.  And with a partner!  Were you going to tell me about your partner?"

Ginny's hand froze on the wall. She looked over at her mum. "Yeah. I was." She bent over, biting her lower lip as she dipped the brush again. "It's Blaise. Blaise Zabini." Ginny wasn't ashamed of Blaise. She was actually quite proud of the fact that she'd found someone young who was ambitious and already had a head for business. However, his parents weren't known for very nice things, and she was worried that her parents wouldn't understand. The war had done a lot of things. They'd lost things, and the lines weren't as clear as they once were.

Looking confused for a moment, Molly answered, "Zabini.  Yes, I believe I remember his parents.  Not terribly pleasant people if I remember correctly,  but you're a good judge of character.  I'm sure this Blaise must have some redeeming qualities for you to align yourself with him."  She smiled as she looked at Ginny.  "And he must be quite talented, am I correct?"

"From what I've heard. His boyfriend swears up and down he's the best there is." Ginny shook her head, slashing the brush a little bit too hard against the wall. "It'll be fine. We'll be fine. He's good. He's going to come help me clean... sometime this week."

Molly's eyebrows shot upward.  "His <i>boyfriend</i>?  Um, well. All right.  Well, if he comes with good credentials." She was at a loss at what to say further. "I'm glad he'll be coming in to help you some.  That's certainly very...gentlemanly."

Ginny snorted, taking a step back from the wall, surveying their work. "Yeah. Real gentlemanly."  She leaned back and sat on the still wrapped exam table. "What do you think?"

Molly looked about the room.  "It's wonderful.  Perfect, even.  I think the children will feel very comfortable in here.  It's a happy place, I think."  She paused, thoughtful, and said, "Maybe we should hang some shelves and bring some stuffed animals in?"

Grinning, Ginny nodded. "Yeah. That'll be good. Make sure they're nice and comfortable. Then they'll keep coming in. Not that I want them to keep getting sick." Yeah. No. I'd never want that... not really.  She hopped off the table. "That means we'll have to go shopping, because I'm not letting them anywhere near Bandit."

Laughing, Molly reached out to hug Ginny.  "I would never dream of suggesting you share Bandit, dear.  I'm sure we'll be able to find some nice things brand new.  Will you let me know when you're ready to decorate some more?"

"I will. Dean said he'd be coming by to help too. We'll get this open on time, promise." She squeezed her mum around the shoulders. "Thanks for the help, Mum. Really." She held up a smaller quill. "Now, sign your name along the bottom."

She took the quill from Ginny and signed a small, loopy 'Molly Weasley' on the wall.  Smiling as she handed the quill back, she said, "Thank you, dear, for letting me help you.  I'm honored that you included me in this part of your life.  You're going to have a wonderful practice; I just know it."

"Thanks, Mum."


Summary: Ginny enlists the help of mother (hers) to paint the children's exam rooms at Healing Hands.