A small castle stood on the edge of what was normally a bustling town—but everything was now quiet and peaceful as night had come and covered everything in a warm blanket. This castle stood on a small hill, overlooking the shore and the sparkling ocean that shone in the starlight, with a feeble crescent moon shining on the sleeping town.
In this castle, a family of five lived and the mother had just finished telling her daughter a bedtime story.
"And then what happened?" little Lily cooed to her mother. "After the farm boy kissed the princess awake?"
"You know the story as well as I do by now," Ginny laughed. She had been telling this new princess this story almost every night since she was born. "The princess and her farm boy prince came downstairs and danced all night."
"And the next morning, the king and queen asked them what had happened to them while they had slept?" Lily asked, her bright brown eyes—just like her mother's—shining brightly.
Ginny laughed again. "Yes, they wanted to know exactly what had happened while they had been asleep, and the princess told them about her new prince."
"And the farm boy said that he loved the princess more than anything?" Lily piped up.
Ginny grinned. "Yes, and that made the princess so happy just to hear those words. The queen was thrilled… she liked him right away. You know what she said?"
"She said that she was glad that someone with manners was finally coming into the family!" Lily laughed.
"That's right," Ginny giggled as she pushed the active 5 year old into bed. "And then a week later, the Farm Boy Prince and the Sleeping Princess were married."
"And what happened to everyone else?" Lily asked curiously.
"Well, the prince who had been with them their whole journey, and the farm girl were married as well," Ginny said seriously. "And when word was sent to their families back on the farm and I can tell you how shocked they all were."
"They must've been surprised," Lily nodded wisely. "After all, they didn't expect them to marry royalty."
"Also, an old pirate came to the wedding," Ginny went on.
"Like Uncle Sirius?" Lily asked wonderingly.
"Just like Uncle Sirius," Ginny smiled. "And the whole family loved him right away…"
"Except for the queen?" Lily asked, knowing the answer.
"Well," Ginny admitted. "She got along with him ok, I suppose. But she always thought he was a bad influence on the rest of the family."
Lily giggled innocently. "And once the royal family awoken, they were able to get control of the land and the nobles were all punished for how they treated the people."
"That's right," Ginny nodded. "They all got their dues. Once the king and queen discovered how the nobles abused their power, they were able to seize control of all their fortunes and use it to help the poor people."
"And then what?" Lily asked knowingly.
"The Sleeping Princess and the Farm Boy Prince had a castle built on the edge of one of these towns near the beach but for the first few years of their marriage, they didn't use it. For they travelled the land—as well as with the Farm Girl and the Princess's brother. And for the next few years, they travelled together… going to many places that were just as beautiful as the dreams that the princess had with her farm boy. But then they finally decided to return to their castle where they had two sons…"
"But the princess wanted a daughter too didn't she?" Lily asked at once.
"She really wanted a daughter," Ginny laughed. "And she was so happy when her third child turned out to be a beautiful baby girl. When these three children were born, the eldest son was given the gift of adventure."
"Like James?" Lily asked.
"That's exactly right," Ginny nodded. "And that means that he will always be sure to find exciting adventures to go on… as for the second son, he had been given the gift of courage like his father."
"Like daddy and Albus both have?" Lily stated.
"Right," Ginny said. "And as for their daughter… she was given the gift of a long and happy life filled with love."
"Just like me," Lily giggled.
"Just like you," Ginny smiled and kissed the top of her head. "And then they lived happily ever after… to the end of their days."
Lily stood up in bed and began waving a stick around as if she was fighting an imaginary monster with the same sword from the story. "Wow! The farm boy was sure something wasn't he?"
"He sure was," Ginny nodded wisely. "And I'm sure that he still is…"
"Did he and the princess ever flip into each other's minds again?" she asked curiously.
Ginny merely smiled. "No, they haven't. But then again, they didn't need to. For they found each other and have been together every day since then."
"Here you are," said a familiar voice behind them. Ginny turned to beam at her husband, standing in the doorway, in a very simple robe, smiling down at the two of them.
"Did you put the little monsters to bed?" Ginny asked, her eyebrows raised.
"Barely," he laughed. "Getting the boys to sleep is harder than fighting any monster if you ask me. Now then…" he added, turning to give his daughter a sarcastic look. "Why isn't my princess sleeping right now?"
Lily giggled loudly as she got up and hugged her daddy tightly; Harry picked her up and spun her around as she roared with laughter. "You were supposed to be asleep an hour ago!" he told her as he collapsed onto the bed with her on his chest with Ginny laughing at the two of them.
"Mummy was telling me a story," she informed him, looking up at her.
"She was, was she?" Harry asked looking up to his wife. "What about?"
"The same story as always," Lily answered as she dropped her stick.
"Oh, right…" he said sitting up, Lily clinging to his arms like a monkey. He frowned and sarcastically pretended to think. "The story about the hopping pot?"
"No!" Lily laughed.
"No?" he repeated in mock surprise. "Ok… oh, wait! It was the story with the laughing stump?"
"No!" Lily screamed with laughter. "It was the Sleeping Princess!"
"Oh, right," Harry laughed, smacking his forehead. "That was my next guess."
"Ok," Ginny said standing up, a bright smile on her own face. "Enough of that. Everyone needs to go to bed. We're going to meet up with Uncle Ron and Auntie Hermione tomorrow remember?"
"Oh, does that mean we get to see Hugo and Rose?" Lily asked brightly.
"When don't we?" Harry laughed, running his hands through her hair. "You all can play the Sleeping Princess tomorrow too."
"Ok," she said. "But I'm going to play the part of the princess! And Rose will play the farm girl won't she?"
"That's how you always play," Ginny grinned. "And Hugo will be the princess's dense brother, Albus plays the part of the farm boy prince… and James is usually the monsters that stand in the way. And if Teddy decides to come, he'll be playing the part of the old pirate."
After a few more rounds of laughter, Lily was finally worn out enough to fall back onto her bed and was yawning widely as her mother covered her with the blanket.
Ginny reached down and kissed her forehead as Harry blew out the lantern darkening the whole room as if he was casting a spell. "Goodnight," Ginny whispered as she and her husband turned and left the room. But just as they were about the close the door, they heard Lily ask, "Daddy? Mummy?"
Harry stopped and they poked their heads back into the room. Little Lily rubbed her sleepy eyes and asked, "Is that a real story?"
They both smiled at each other, as if sharing a secret that only they knew about.
"Maybe a little bit," Harry answered her, knowing that it wouldn't matter either way, for Lily was almost asleep by this point. Chuckling lightly, they quietly closed the door as they tiptoed away from their daughter's room. As they reached the ground floor, Harry took hold of his wife's hand and together, the couple went outside into the dark, cool night. They could hear the sounds of the sleeping animals in the town below them, and hear the sounds of the waves lapping up on the sandy beaches in the distance. They stood there, under the stars as they simply enjoyed the stars together.
"Think they'll ever figure it out?" Harry asked her. "That it's less of a story and more of memories?"
Ginny giggled. "Oh, I'm sure that they'll realize that it was more than just a story one of these days. But let's let them play for now."
They stood there silent for a long moment before Harry asked her softly, "Who are you?"
It was a question that he hadn't asked her in a long time, but one that brought back so many memories. She knew at once what he meant as she looked up into his eyes. "Why ask a question you already know the answer to?" she asked softly.
"In case you might answer?" he grinned down at her.
She smiled back, reaching up to touch his cheek, tracing his eye with a delicate finger and whispered, "My name is Ginny. I am the daughter of King Arthur and Queen Molly… as well as the mother of Princes James and Albus and Princess Lily. I am your loving wife… and you are my husband… Harry. And I wouldn't have it any other way,"
And then their lips met, their hearts melting together perfectly… the two of them still just as much in love as they had been since their first kiss.
THE END