The Sleeping Princess

6- The Old Wizard

Ron's jaw dropped. Dumbledore? As in the same Dumbledore who gave him his blessing and the one who put his sister to sleep? But he was so… old! Dumbledore looked over their heads to see him standing there and his eyes told the truth. The same blue eyes that he had seen that day…

Dumbledore looked at him confused for a moment, his eyes becoming glassy for a moment as if he was remembering something from a long time ago. Suddenly they widened in nothing but shock before he walked over to get a closer look at him.

"So it is you…" he said softly, his voice sounded filled with age and wisdom.

"Dumbledore?" James asked in surprise, looking between the two of them. "You know him?"

Dumbledore didn't answer him as he lowered his head and spoke to Ron, "I knew that the princess's heart started again, but it is good to see you again, my young prince. After all these years…"

There was stunned silence in the little house.

"P-prince?" Hermione stuttered.

He looked up at them all as they stared at the two of them. "So it is you!" Ron gasped, relief flooding through him. Finally, someone who could help him!

"Sir?" Harry asked confused as the rest of them looked from Ron to Dumbledore and back. "What are you talking about?"

"I see that he hasn't told you," Dumbledore said as he brought them all to the table.

"You're a prince?" Harry whispered to him as they all took their seats.

"Ah… well…" Ron said ashamed. "The truth is…"

"I'll explain it," Dumbledore said gently, he looked to the others and explained, "Prince Ronald here, is part of the royal family of the cursed kingdom."

More stunned silence fell and now they were all gaping like fish out of water. Dumbledore lowered his head softly as he went on, "A hundred years ago, when I had just started out as a wizard, I was once good friends with the royal family. King Arthur, Queen Molly, and their six sons and only daughter Ginevra. I, myself, had given the princess and the prince's their blessings… when they were born; however, after the princess's birth, a dark wizard named Voldemort had cursed her."

"Cursed her?" James repeated in horror.

"Oh, the poor thing," Lily said softly, her hands over her mouth.

"Did you remove it?" Hermione's father asked.

"I would've if I could," Dumbledore sighed. "But that was such dark magic that the only thing powerful enough to break it would be true love."

"So you made her fall asleep," Ron muttered bitterly, glaring at him.

"I am sorry," he told him with a bow of his head. "But it was the best I could do." He turned back to the rest of them and explained, "Voldemort predicted that when Princess Ginevra… or Ginny for short, turned sixteen, she would prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die."

They all looked horrified and he went on, "The best I could do, was put the princess into a deep sleep instead. An ageless, sleep until a kiss from her true love would awaken her. And of course, not knowing how long the curse would last, I then placed the whole kingdom to sleep once the princess did prick her finger, for I didn't want her to have to waken to find her family and everyone she knew to have died. And now the whole kingdom has slept for a hundred years."

More silence followed.

"But then…" Hermione stuttered out, "But why would Ro-I mean, Prince Ronald…"

"You don't have to call me a prince," Ron muttered embarrassed, for some reason, not liking it when she called him that title.

"Ok then, why would Ron wake up now?" Hermione went on, asking him.