Chapter Text
“Nice to meet you, King James.” Ginny curtsied under the watchful eyes of her parents as the last of the seven kids.
“Alright, now run along, kids,” her father said.
The youngest four took off, following Prince Henry into the garden while the older boys and their parents talked ‘Kingly’ business.
Ginny stopped and shrieked when she spotted a group of fifteen cats.
“She’s always wanted cats,” Ron informed Henry with an eye-roll.
Ginny immediately forgot about the prince and settled down with the cats, ignoring the boys as they started a game of tag. She petted all of the cats as they ran past her and butted their heads against her hand.
The prince ran up to her after a while. “They’re nice, aren’t they?”
She looked up and locked eyes with him. “Yes! It’s so nice that you have cats.”
Henry shrugged. “Our land was gifted by Xydite, so we have to take care of the animals.”
Ginny smiled and turned her attention back to the cats.
“Won’t you join the game?” Henry asked after a moment.
She smiled brightly. “No, because I’d beat all of you.”
Henry folded his arms. “Really?” he let out in disbelief. “Then prove it.”
Ginny immediately shot up and righted her shoulders. “You’ll be sorry, Henry.”
“Harry.” He offered her a toothy grin.
“Ready to lose, Harry?” She pushed off and ran towards her brothers. Henry ran after her, trying to keep up.
Princess Ginny sat in front of the castle, awaiting the arrival of the Royal Ignotian family. How she had escaped the guards’ watchful eyes was anyone’s guess.
The carriage stopped in front of the doors, and she perked up, trying to get a glance of her friend.
Queen Lily stepped out first and walked up to her. “I don’t think you are supposed to be out here, Princess.”
Ginny grinned, her face slightly red. “No one will know.”
The Queen laughed. “I sincerely doubt that. Come on.”
When her parents found out, she was sent to her room as punishment.
Harry came up to her room to talk to her. The guards let him in.
“Hi Harry,” she greeted him.
He looked around the room. “I am sorry you’re stuck here.”
She shrugged with a mischievous look in her eyes. “I am not staying here.”
“But the guards...?” he said.
Ginny pulled a wooden sword from a chest of toys and put it into the belt on her waist. She felt along the wall and pushed, revealing a secret passage. “Let’s go slay some dragons.”
Harry smiled and grabbed a second wooden sword and together they disappeared into the secret passageways of the castle.
She was too young to understand what it would be like to lose a parent, let alone two but she would have cried too. The whole trip to Ignotia was spent in silence, with hushed voices and discussions she wasn’t meant to hear. Ginny was instructed not to bother her friend, Prince Henry. The twelve-year-old boy would be King soon.
She wished she was allowed to speak to him. He sat there, all alone at the front of the temple beside his advisor. It was dreadful and she cried too, tucked into her mother’s arms.
The coronation was worse. He wasn’t really tall enough to sit on the throne. His feet were dangling off it. Her friend became King of Ignotia that day. They had been playing around the castle just months before, and now he was meant to rule a country.
Ginny went to find him despite explicit warning from her parents not to. She found him sitting in an empty room, staring out the window.
“Harry,” she said, sneaking in and closing the door.
He startled and looked at her.
“Sorry,” she said. She curtsied. “King Harry.”
He stood up and stared at her. His chin trembled and his eyes swam with tears. As soon as her arms wrapped around her friend, he shuddered and then they both collapsed onto the floor.
“We are going to find out who did this to your parents,” she promised him.
Ginny stood in front of her parents and faced her dad. “I did something very bad.” She bowed her head down.
King Arthur shifted in his seat. “Did you? Then why are you telling us?”
She dared to look up at her dad. “Because someone else did something worse.” She pulled the letter she had stolen from Uncle Peter’s office from under her dress and handed it to her father, hands trembling. “I think I know who killed the King and Queen,” she whispered.
Both her parents paled visibly. They read over the letter together.
“By the gods...” her father muttered.
“Ginny, go find Harry and go wait in Bill’s room together. Do not come out until Bill says it’s safe to do so,” her mother said firmly. “Do you understand?”
She nodded quickly. Despite her playful nature, she understood the seriousness of the situation. She ran off and looked for Harry. She found him curled up on his bed.
“I don’t want to go,” he said.
She nudged him. “Please, it’s important.”
“No.”
She pulled on his foot and dragged him off the bed with all the power she had. “You will come with me now,” she demanded in a tone that could rival her mother’s.
Harry swallowed and stood up. He wiped his tears.
She took his hand. ”Come on, we have to be quick.” She brandished a small knife from her sleeve and ran down the corridor towards Bill’s room.
Her brother pulled her inside. “Quickly.” He closed the door and bent down. “Are you alright, Harry?”
Harry quickly nodded. “What’s happening? Is this about the letter we found?”
Bill nodded gravely. “It is. We need to keep you safe in here. I’ll be by the door.” He pulled his sword out, pulled up a chair by the door and sat down.
Ginny looked over at Harry. “We’ll be okay,” she said, though her heart was thundering in her chest.
Harry fell onto his back and Ginny held her sword to his throat.
She bent over. “Oh, you big strong King can’t take a hit from a tiny girl like me.”
Harry grumbled and pushed off the floor. “You know well enough you’re a better duellist than I am.” He picked his sword back up. “You look all sweet and innocent, but you’d stab a man without a second glance.”
“I have to glance, my King. How else would I know I’m stabbing right.” She twirled her sword and readied herself again. “I’ll let you win this time, it’s your seventeenth birthday after all.”
“Oh, shut up,” he retorted. He looked around. “Where are the horses?”
“Red!” she yelled.
Both their horses trotted back into the clearing and stopped. Lightning let his head run across Red’s body, who pushed against him softly.
“All those summers together are rubbing off on them,” Harry commented. “I think they’re in love.”
“Ew,” Ginny whispered.
“Excuse me! Lightning is an excellent stallion. Red could only be so lucky,” Harry told her.
She shook her head. “They only get the summers together; how can we separate them the rest of the year?” She leaned against Harry comfortably as they observed the horses. Lightning stood up straight and circled around Red, trotting proudly.
“You could learn a move or two from your horse.” She nudged him in the ribs. “As soon as you’re 18, you can marry some lovely Lady.”
Harry scoffed and pushed her off him. “I don’t want to marry just because it’s the time. I’ll wait for someone special.”
“You should,” she said, her heart aching. She didn’t have that freedom, she was betrothed. The guy she loved was free to marry who he liked, and she was stuck with a pale ferret.
“Hey, Gin. I didn’t mean it like that.” He sighed and looked down. “I’m sorry. It sucks.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Ginny said with a forced smile. “It’s not your fault and you have any right to marry as you please.”
Harry's advisor ran in, seemingly trying hard to keep ahead of the visitor he should be announcing. Before he had a chance to speak, Ginny strode into the room.
“No need to announce me, Neville,” she said.
Neville sighed, shrugged and walked back out. “You need to stop doing that.”
She grinned as he walked past her. “You’d think you haven’t missed me at all.”
Harry took a moment to really look at her. Her red hair longer than ever, freckles ever so present, her dress fitting her form just right. Every summer she turned more gorgeous. “Ginny!” he said, standing up to greet her.
She halted in front of him. She curtsied, looking at him through her eyelashes. “My king.”
Harry’s heart skipped a beat and his mouth went dry. He bowed. “My princess.”
She righted herself and then she chuckled. She wrapped him into a hug. “How have you been?” Ginny released him and looked at him with a bright smile.
“I’ve been alright, what about you?”
“Just fine. Been looking forward to summer swinging around, I do enjoy spending the summers here, for however long I can keep doing that.”
Harry nodded. They were all growing up, and having other commitments.
“You’ve grown tall,” she noted. The years they were the same height were long gone.
“You’ve grown… pretty,” he offered. His cheeks heated up at the poor delivery.
Her hands framed her face. “It’s the legend of the Harpian beauty.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “Your humility suits you… I hope you’re not too tired from travelling. I do recall you challenging me to a duel in your last letter.”