Princess Ginevra, or Ginny as she soon became known, grew up to be a sweet, intelligent, courageous, and inquisitive girl, with a nature as fiery as her red hair. Albus and Minerva traveled most of their time, only visiting the royal family a few days each year, but the princess had easily won their hearts.
Finally, almost sixteen years after Voldemort had cursed the princess, Albus had returned to the castle and spoke with the king. "The princess's birthday is fast approaching."
"Don't you think I don't know?" the king sighed miserably. "But we are so close… if we could only make it through the next few days…"
"Does she know about what Voldemort has done?" Albus asked, though he already knew the answer.
"Of course not," Arthur grimaced. "Like she needs that hanging over her head before she turns of age. We made it this far… I had all the spinning wheels destroyed… my daughter isn't out of the guards sights for a moment… if we can only make it through this last birthday then we are free from this worry… at least that's what me and Molly are hoping for."
"Yes, she'll be ready to marry soon?" Albus asked with his eyebrows raised.
Finally, the king chuckled. "Molly's been looking for suitable suitors for her. So far, she's not impressed by any of them. She's planning a massive party but she's worried about the curse as well. I think that she hopes that if we can find her true love here and she does fall asleep, he will kiss her and the spell will be broken right away…"
"But that will not work," Albus sighed. And at last, he told him the truth… that should the princess fall asleep, then the whole kingdom will as well. The king stared at him as he then explained, "And as for the matter of all these suitors…" Albus sighed, "Your highness… I'm afraid that it is only something that the princess will be able to decide. It has to be a kiss from the one who is destined to walk by her side—someone who will give her his heart just as she gives him hers. No one else will do…"
"I know…" the king said, gripping his thinning hair. "What should we do?"
"I set a plan up in the spell I cast," he answered at once. "The moment that your daughter falls in love, the spell I cast will wear of slightly… just enough so that one of the princes will awaken before the others and bring his sister's love here to her."
"Which one?" he demanded at once.
"I cannot say," he sighed. "Only that it will be the one most able to pull this off."
"Most likely that will be Bill," he said thinking it over. "But how can my daughter fall in love if she's asleep?"
"While she may sleep, her dreams will be the key," he answered vaguely.
"But what does that mean?" Arthur asked desperate.
"I can't give you the details of the spell," he answered sadly. "But should the princess fall asleep, she will be in a sleep so strong that it will seem like she is dead. She will be pale as death, no breath will come, and her heart will stop beating. But she will still be alive."
When the king looked horrified he went on, "Only when the moment that she chooses her soul mate will her heart beat again. The second that it does, one of your sons will awaken and venture out to find him and bring him to her. The kiss that he gives her will awaken her and everyone else in the kingdom."
After that, the two of them sat there in stunned silence for a long time.
"Father?" said a familiar voice. Both of them turned to see the princess peering through the doorway. The king beamed at the sight of his daughter. As it was predicted, Ginny's hair was so red that it embarrassed even a rose… her skin was like cream and her eyes shone in the light like twinkling stars.
But all of this only reminded the King the dangers of the curse that was bound to come.
"Father?" she repeated, until she saw who he was with.
"Oh!" she cried happily. "Dumbledore. It's been so long! Did you come for my birthday?"
Albus smiled at her and nodded, before he made a small bow and took her hand. "I won't be able to stay the whole night I'm afraid, princess…"
"And I've told you not to call me princess," Ginny interrupted at once. "It's Ginny… nothing else."
Albus bowed his head again. "Your pardon, Ginny," he said smiling. "But as I was saying, I will be able to stay and enjoy as much as I can. So tell me… I hear that your mother is looking for suitable suitors for you?"
Ginny raised her eyebrows at her father who grinned back.
"She's been looking," she told him. "But none of them are my type. They all treat me like I'm some fragile doll or something."
"Well," Albus said nodding as he stood up straight. "I have a feeling that you will be waiting out for the right one?"
The king shot him a warning look as Ginny said, "I plan on it. If I am to marry, it will be to someone I love with all my heart. But…" she added as she gave her father a hard look. "I don't remember asking you to tell that to everyone."
"I meant nothing of it, sweetheart," he told her. "Now is there something that you need?"
"Just that I heard the guards tell the boys that you wanted to see them," she asked. "I was just wondering what it was about."
The King and Albus looked at each other. As the day of Ginny's sixteenth birthday approached, the whole castle was in a frenzy trying to prepare of the party. They had hoped with so much going on, she wouldn't have noticed that all the prince's were asked here to discuss about what would happen should the worst come to pass.
After all these years, only the two oldest prince remembered what happened that night.
"It's just simply a matter of making sure that everything goes well for the party," Albus lied to her. "It's one of those father-son talks my dear. How about you go and find Minerva for me? I promise to tell you about it later."
She didn't look convinced, but she didn't say anything as she left. Once she was out of sight, she heard the king give out a sigh. "It hasn't been easy keeping this all secret from her all this time," he said.
"While I understand that you were just trying to protect her," Albus said to him, "I am surprised that she has no idea what had happened."
"Me and her mother been taking very careful measures all these years," he answered, rubbing his hand over his eyes. "Everyone had been forbidden to tell her anything about it, she hasn't been allowed anywhere near a spinning wheel, and the guards are always watching her… but for now… let's talk with my sons."
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Later that night, he called all six princes together and told them about the curse that Voldemort placed upon their sister… all of them but Bill and Charlie looked startled at the news.
"So that's the secret that you've been keeping all this time?" Fred asked, turning pale.
"I'm afraid so," his father sighed. "Now… we've made it all these years… if we can make it through just one more birthday then we won't have anything else to worry about. But should the worst happen, and your sister does go to sleep…" he glanced at Albus sadly before saying, "Only when her heart starts beating again will one of you awake."
"But which one of us?" George demanded at once, looking around at them all. "I mean…?"
"That is impossible to say," Albus admitted. "But merely that it will be one of you who is most likely to find the one your sister loves."
They all glanced at Bill who looked at them all. "What?" he demanded.
"Oh, nothing," George laughed.
"Only that it's gonna be you!" Fred agreed at once. "I mean… anyone but Ron…"
"Hey!" Ron yelled at them angrily.
"Regardless of which one of you it will be," their father went on, and they all fell silent, "I want all of you to swear to me that you will bring him here. Until your sister wakes up, then the rest of us will sleep as well."
"But surely there must be a way to prevent it from happening," Percy asked at once.
"Yes," he answered at once. "According to the curse, if she pricks her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel before the evening of her sixteenth birthday she will fall asleep. We've kept a very close watch on her for years… making sure that she never came near a spinning wheel. If we can make it through her birthday, then we need not worry anymore. But should it happen, I want your word that whoever it will be, you will bring him here."
"But how will we know how to find him?" Percy asked confused.
"Albus said that he set things up," he said turning to the young man.
"Once the princess's heart beats again," Albus agreed, "One of you will awaken and leave the castle. That's when the magical protection I created will react."
"Magical protection?" Bill repeated.
"Should we be unsuccessful in preventing this from happening," Albus explained, "The castle will become surrounded by magical protections to prevent anyone from entering while you all sleep. Once one of you awakens, you must leave and bring back your sister's true love. As soon as one of you wakes and leaves the borders of the kingdom, the spells and enchantments will activate. Only someone who loves your sister with all his heart and soul will be able to reach her then."
The king looked at them all sadly, but with determination. "The future of the kingdom depends on all of you. But to ensure that nothing happens, I ask that you all keep to Ginny's side at all times until her birthday is over. I want at least one of you with her always…"
They nodded in understanding.
"We understand," Fred said at once.
"You don't need to worry at all!" George cried out, thumping his chest. "Just leave it all to us!"
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Three more days had passed and finally the day the princess turned sixteen was here. The preparations were almost ready for the grand ball that night… but no one could understand why everyone in the royal family, save for Ginny, was so uneasy.
All the princes had taken what their father said to heart. They all kept Ginny in their sights at all times… if one of them had to leave, then another would stay with her until they came back. Ginny was getting frustrated that she hadn't been able to have any time to herself for the last four days.
"You know," she said grimly to Percy that afternoon, "I think I'm old enough to go to the bathroom myself!"
"Is it wrong to want to spend time with your sister on her birthday?" he asked pompously.
"No," she answered him, "But can't I also have a little bit of time to myself as well?"
"Now now," Fred said happily. "I promise that tomorrow we'll leave you alone. But why not spend time with our only sister before her party tonight?!"
She rolled her eyes but didn't say anything, also excited for the party. As twilight drew near, the king and queen were in the great hall, setting up the final decorations while Bill went out to greet his fiancée… a young woman named Fleur.
Charlie had gone to greet several friends as Ron was drooling over the food, leaving the twins and Percy to guard Ginny.
"I have to get ready," Ginny told them in great annoyance. "I am allowed to go up and change aren't I?"
They all looked at her suspiciously before they all went up as well. As they went up to her room, she made them wait outside while she changed into the dress that her parents had given her for an early birthday present.
Heart beating fast, she pulled it out of its wrapping and gasped as she stared at it. It was a beautiful red dress, trimmed with gold. At first glance, it was rather plain-looking… but as she ran her fingers over the soft fabric, she felt tears form at the wonderful gift. The long sleeves sparkled slightly as the gold glowed like liquid light… as a dark green scarf that wrapped around the waist made the whole thing look perfect in her eyes.
When she pulled it on and spun around—she loved how it flared out and moved as she did. With the red hair and dress and her green scarf, she now looked like a wild rose dancing in the wind. She let her hair hang around her—having hate to have to pin the mess up. And instead of putting on make-up, she bit down on her lips slightly to give them a little color and slapped her face gently until they took on a rosy hue.
Once she felt she was decent, she went out into the hall. She grinned broadly at the startled looks on their faces when they saw her. They stared at her as if they never seen her before… just then one of the twins got down on his knee and held out his hand to her. "Oh, fair princess!" he called out loudly. "Would you grace me with your first dance tonight?"
That was when the second twin pushed him aside playfully and cried out, "Only if you let me have the honor of your first dance!"
Ginny laughed again as they pretended to fight over her hand as Percy shook his head. "Enough! Both of you!" he yelled. "We're supposed to go down soon!"
"Oh, very well, Perce," she said grinning. "I'll let you dance with me first."
The twins laughed loudly as they all headed down together. But once they reached the fifth floor, Percy went off down to his room. "I have to change into my best clothes as well," he said self-importantly as he walked off.
Ginny rolled her eyes as the twins snorted. Honestly, just because her brother had been given the Blessing of Knowledge, he thought that he was better than the rest of them. Which suddenly reminded her of something…
"Hey, Fred, George?" she asked them. "You think that mum and dad will tell me what blessing I got?"
She frowned as her brothers shot each other a nervous look. But then it passed as Fred said dramatically, "Now, now Ginny… that's…"
"A secret!" George cried out as he grabbed her from behind. She laughed as she flung him off… and ran up a random flight of stairs like how they did when they were children. She could hear them roar with laughter as they ran behind her. Grinning from ear to ear, she ran down a corner and hid herself behind a suit of armor as she heard them run by.
Still laughing, she ran the opposite direction, enjoying freedom for the first time all week. Knowing that she still had almost an hour before she was expected to be at her party, she ran up to her secret hide-out.
Which if you think about it, wasn't very secret at all. It was a small room at the top of the tallest tower—just an old part of the castle that hadn't been used much anymore. From it, you could see the whole kingdom for miles around and then some.
The room was made from the same rough and aged stone as the rest of the castle, but the columns that held up the roof in here were elaborate with little stone rosebuds decorating them and with little cherubs carved here and there. There was only one window that was left open year-round that gave her the most perfect view that you could ask for. When she was younger, her parents had some craftsmen build a small window seat for her when she found this place as well as the carvings on the walls.
As she looked out at the beautiful spring air, she could just catch the scent of a meadow after a rain shower and jasmine coming from the grounds. She sighed as she sat on the window seat and stared out longingly at the only winding pathway that led out of the kingdom.
For as long as she could remember, she had been trapped inside this castle… she was only allowed out into the town on special occasions, or when she was able to accompany her parents on a trip. To leave the castle was a rare treat. She sighed heavy, leaning forward on the sill, her chin propped up on her arms as her elbow dug into the hard stone. Now as much as she loved her family, she wished that she just a little bit more freedom… honestly, the way they treated her… like something terrible would happen if she was out of their sight.
She was of age now! They didn't have to keep treating her like she was helpless did they? How she wished… oh wait…
She suddenly thought of something. She looked over at the only other thing in the room. A small toy chest that she and her brothers used to store all their old toys… She got up and opened it, looking for something.
She moved aside old tops, dolls, little figurines, some puppets… ah there they were!
When she had been much younger, she and her brothers would sit up here and play so long that it was dark before they were done; and they would have to try and feel their way down the stairs. After one time when Ron tripped and fell down a few flight of stairs and broke his ankle, they kept a few candles up here just in case. She took out the smallest one and carried it over to the window so that she could light it.
It was her birthday after all… and she was going to make a wish. She lit it with some flint that they kept on the floor in the corner, and stared off into the distance, watching the sun set and the little dancing flame… wondering what to wish for.
She thought long and hard before she made up her mind. Screwing up her eyes, thinking with all her might, she blew out the candle.
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"Where is that girl?" the queen grumbled as she checked the castle for her daughter. The party was about to start and still no one had seen her after she went up to change.
Just then, the king and Albus came down the stairs, in time to see the queen and Minerva walking towards them.
"Is something wrong, dear?" the king asked when he saw her looking around.
"Arthur," she said coming towards him, "Do you know where Ginny is? The party is about to start, but we can't find her anywhere."
The king went a little pale at the thought. "Where are the boys then? I asked that they keep an eye on their sister until after today."
"Oh…" she said slowly. "Well, then… I guess…"
But at that moment, Ron came over, his fingers on a dumpling. "What's happening?" he asked after a big swallow.
"Ron," Arthur said hurriedly, "Do you know where Bill and Charlie are?" Albus asked, suddenly having a very bad feeling about this.
Ron jerked his head towards the hall. "They're in there. They've been there all morning."
"And your other brothers?" Minerva asked. Ron blinked and he swallowed his food. "Yeah, I saw Percy, Fred, and George with Ginny so I thought that I could eat. Why?"
"Ok," Arthur said slowly, if she was with the others then she should be alright… at least that's what he thought until he saw Percy coming down the stairs in his best clothes. "Evening all!" he called when he saw them.
"Percy," the king called. "Where is Ginny? Ron said that she was with you!"
Percy stopped. "You mean they're still not down here? I left her with the twins while I went to go and change." He gestured to his fine clothes…
Now everyone was starting to worry.
"Ok, I want you all to help me find her," the king said at once. "I don't want her out of my sight until the party is over."
"But if she's with the twins, she'll be fine right?" Ron asked.
"I know," the queen said as she hurried past them, pulling up her dress so that she could run. "But I want my girl here where I can see her…"
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Ginny watched as the little smoke left over from the flame went out before she realized that she was late. She got up from her seat when she heard the door open. She turned to see one of the servants standing there.
"Oh, I'm sorry to disturb you, princess," she said at once as she set down a strange contraption that she had never seen before in her life. It was very low to the ground, with a giant wheel at one end, and a tiny bundle of string on the other…
"That's alright," Ginny said as she watched the servant girl set the thing down and move strands of thread through the giant wheel. Ginny watched with great interest as she set up a small stool and began to thread the string through.
The girl noticed and smiled at her. "What is it your majesty?" she asked politely.
"I'm sorry," Ginny said walking forward a little. "But I've never seen this before. What is it?"
"Oh, it helps to create thread," the girl explained. "It was on something like this that helped to create that beautiful dress you are wearing princess."
"What's it called?" Ginny asked getting a close look at the wheel.
The girl gave a rather sinister smirk at the question, though Ginny didn't notice as she watched the wheel turn.
"A spinning wheel…" she answered darkly.
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"Where is she?!" the king cried as the whole team went striding up the corridor.
"Arthur?" his wife shrieked. Missing children was an immediate cause of panic for the queen. Especially when it came to her precious daughter… "Where could she be?" her hands were clenched in desperation.
At that moment, to their relief, they saw the twins running up towards them—that is until they saw that they were alone, and were wearing identical panic-stricken looks.
"Dad!" they called when they came up to him.
"Fred! George!" he said in relief, when they came up to him. "Where is your sister?"
They glanced at each other before they looked up at him.
"We…" George said slowly, "We… lost her."
Everyone had gone very white at those words.
"What happened?" the king demanded.
"We—we were just playing around," Fred said at once, trying to explain what happened. "But… but I guess she just gave us the slip! We can't find her!"
They all looked ready to panic at those words; even Ron had dropped his bun. They all glanced at each other in horror, but Minerva said quickly, "Alright! Now think! You all know Ginny, where would she be right now?"
"Well, she's not in her room," Fred said at once. "We just checked."
"Nor downstairs," Albus said hurriedly. "But is there a place that she likes to go to a lot?"
That was what it took for them all to understand.
"Upstairs!" the queen gasped. "In the tower! She goes there all the time! She must be there."
Albus nodded. "Let's hurry before something happens."
"But it's not like there's a spinning wheel up there right?" Percy asked looking at them.
"Yes," Molly said hurriedly, hope rising in her chest. "Yes, we had all of them burned years ago… so there's nothing that we need to worry about?"
"I doubt that," Albus said quickly, fear creeping into his own heart. "We must get there now!"
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Ginny finished marveling the spinning wheel as she stood back and watched the girl use it. "It really is a beautiful thing," she said. "I don't suppose you could teach me to use it?"
"Oh, you don't want to spend time making thread now do you, your highness?" the girl asked lightly, as the wheel spun a little faster.
"Well, you never know," Ginny answered. "Is it that hard to learn?"
"Oh, not at all, dear," she answered, smiling at her. "To be honest, it's very easy. Do you really wish to learn it?"
Ginny nodded, but she suddenly remembered, "Oh, but not right now! I'm supposed to be downstairs!"
"But this won't take long," the girl said hurriedly. "How about I just give you a quick explanation now and then show you how to do it tomorrow?"
Ginny hesitated. While she was fascinated by this, she knew that she should really be downstairs. "I'm sorry," she answered, "But how about we learn it all tomorrow? Or even after the party?"
The girls sighed, "Very well," she answered. "I should be getting down as well." She stopped spinning and got up from the stool. "But…" she added as she looked at her. "Do you mind so terribly holding onto this little thing for a second?" she asked, picking up part of the spinning wheel that held the thread.
"This is called the spindle… would you be so kind to hold onto this for me for a moment?" she asked.
Not seeing why that would be a problem she reached forward to take it… that was when the girl grinned wickedly, and turned the spindle so that Ginny couldn't help but prick her finger on the sharp end.
"Oww!" she cried pulling away and looking at the little blossom of blood beginning to form. That was when something very strange happened. Her eyes got heavy and her limbs suddenly went numb. "What's...happening…?" she asked as she stepped back, staring at the girl's sinister face, grinning with triumph.
Ginny didn't understand what was happening to her… she suddenly felt so… tired…
She staggered backwards until she hit the wall behind her, the whole world becoming foggy as her vision blurred. So… tired…
The last thing she saw was the window where the last feeble rays of light disappeared. "I'm…" she garbled, as her eyes rolled into the back of her head and slipped on the floor.
"I'm so… tired…" were the last words she said before everything went dark and her head hit the floor. She was asleep before she even went down… not hearing the mad cackling of the servant girl who caused this…
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The group had just reached the bottom of the staircase that leaded up to the tower. Albus and Minerva were in front, hurtling themselves up the stairs when something happened.
The king next to them suddenly collapsed.
"Your highness?!" Albus cried as he looked back to see the man lying motionless on the step below him. And just like that… one by one the queen and her sons also fell—as did the servants walking the halls.
"Oh, no…" Minerva gasped as they both hurtled up the stairs, taking each step three at a time. They burst open the door at the top and standing there was a wild-looking girl with a mad glint in her black eyes.
"Bellatrix!" Minerva yelled, recognizing the girl who had sold her soul for eternal life to Voldemort. As well as spend the rest of time serving as his servant.
She grinned like a maniac. "Hello…" she grinned. "It's been a long time hasn't it? I have to say, I was worried that my master's plan wouldn't work… but he predicted it right in the end didn't he? Just like always!"
"What do you mean?" Albus demanded. "And what did you do with the princess?"
"What? The little girl?" she grinned madly, staggering forward. "Why, she's right… HERE!" she stepped aside and they stared at the princess… lying face-down on the stone floor as pale as death.
The mad witch cackled as she went and jumped out the window. "No!" Albus shouted, running to the window. "You won't get away with this!" he shouted out as Minerva leaned down next to the girl. But Bellatrix had disappeared like smoke on the wind.
Hating himself, he spun around to look at the whole scene. There was a turned-over spinning wheel on the floor… as the tiny spindle lay just a few feet away from Ginny. Minerva looked up, tears in her eyes.
Albus turned to the window again, staring at the crowd. As he thought—the night that had once been filled with loud voices and music had turned as silent as the grave. "Time…" he said softly. "has stopped here."
The moment that Princess Ginny fell asleep, so did everyone in the kingdom. All the people collapsed where they were… the horses, dogs, birds… even the fire stopped burning and fell asleep.
"Albus?" Minerva asked scared. "Why didn't we fall asleep to?"
"Because we aren't a part of this kingdom," he answered simply. "And even if we were, it wouldn't matter. As it is our magic protecting us…" he turned back to her. "But everyone is alive…"
Though that was hard to believe here as he stared down at the sleeping girl; as he predicted, she was as white as a corpse, she had no breath, and even her heart had stopped.
"But," he told himself firmly, "She's alive. And once she receives true loves first kiss, then she and everyone else will awaken."
"But Albus," Minerva said looking around her, as if hoping for a way out of this. "What do we do now?"
"Nothing," he sighed. When she stared at him, he explained. "Only true love is strong enough to break this curse. I had a feeling that this would happen… we must finish the preparations."
And so the two of them had conquered up a long bed in the room; one that had a tall headboard and beautiful drapery hanging from it at the head while they covered the princess with a blanket to make her more comfortable. But before they left the room, Albus folded the princess's hands together so that they held an enchanted rosebud between them.
When they left the room, he made the doorknob to the door disappear, replacing it with a lock instead. He then conquered up a large silver key, just like the lock, and locked the door shut. As they walked down the stairs, they moved the royal family and back downstairs before they cast the final protective charms around them.
They walked through the now silent castle… every single person they passed was sleeping. The guards, the servants, even a little mouse was sleeping—with a giant cat behind it—obviously falling asleep in mid-chase.
They left, passing all the guests that were just beginning to gather and had fallen asleep where they stood…
They walked through the town and it was no different than the rest of the castle… continuing to cast their magic; until finally they reached the wall that divided the kingdom from the rest of the world.
"Albus?" Minerva asked softly. "Is this really all we can do?"
He nodded grimly. "I don't know how long we will have to wait," he told her. "Ten, twenty… even fifty years… but there is nothing more I can do… all we can do now is protect the kingdom until the day they all awaken.
Albus sighed again and cast some more magic. And all around the kingdom, there began to grow a great hedge of thorns. And when it stopped, the wind fell, and not a leaf could be seen to stir. He used one more bit of magic to create a guard for this place before the two of them left.
And so the princess slept… as did everyone within the castle who was put to sleep. That was how it was… anyone who came near the kingdom and tried to rescue those inside were caught up in the spell as well and never seen again.
But this story of a princess, sleeping inside the castle spread throughout the land, bringing other would-be rescuers from far and wide, thinking that they could succeed… though each of them failing. Try as they might, no one could break through and enter past the wall of thorns, to save them. And while nothing ever change or moved inside the kingdom, outside the borders, the seasons came and went and life went on in its usual way.
From time to time, a prince would come and try to force his way through, but like everyone else foolish enough to come near, were attacked by the vines protecting the castle. Eventually, the whole world slowly began to forget about this place. Knowing that no one could ever get inside…
And so the princess slept on. On and on… her face still as pale as death… the only sign that she had ever been awake was the tiny candle that still stood in the lonely window…
But then one day, a century later, the rosebud in her hands opened just barely so that you could see a flicker of red petals… and princess's heart began to beat once again…
The second that it did… was when the youngest prince's eyes opened.
A/N: Thanks for reading and please vote and comment!