A Royal Affair

Sixteen-year-old Crown Prince Harry of the Kingdom of Gryffindor stood beside the stone statues of his parents, former Crown Prince James and Crown Princess Lily. As was tradition, James had been depicted with the Sword of Gryffindor and its shield, while Lily was wearing the Diadem of Ravenclaw. Harry reached up and caressed the locket that adorned his neck; it had been a Yuletide gift from his betrothed, King Severus of the Kingdom of Slytherin, and was the official piece of jewelry for the Irish kingdom. His seventeenth birthday was the following week, and there were to be celebrations beginning that evening, as King Severus was due to come into the kingdom to marry him, and then whisk him away to Ireland.

"Harry? Are you all right?"

Turning, Harry smiled automatically at the crowd gathered in the doorway, which was filled with his closest friends. Hermione was the one who had spoken, and she was wrapped in the arms of her husband of one year, Ron Weasley. Beside them, stood Harry's other close friends, Neville Longbottom and his wife, Luna Lovegood, daughter of Viscount Lovegood, and on their other side, Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister, and her husband, Lord Draco Malfoy, heir to the Earldom of Malfoy. Harry tucked the locket of Salazar Slytherin, the first King of Slytherin, into his doublet as he stepped towards them all, his dragonhide boots soundless upon the stone floor of the kingdom's chapel.

"I'll be all right," he told them, permitting the smile that graced his lips to remain there, as he gazed at all his close friends, relieved to have a semblance of comfort around him. "Draco, tell me... I know that I've met King Severus in a formal setting, but your father is his closest friend, plus a diplomat and advisor to all Four Kingdoms. How is the king on a personal level?"

"You've met him several times, Harry," Draco responded gently. "Surely, your opinion is much better than mine..."

"It is not that I doubt my opinion of him, Draco," Harry told him, "but I've only seen him publicly, surrounded by servants. This is the first time I'm permitted to be with him alone, now that the betrothal has been properly announced and approved..."

"We went to the Kingdom of Slytherin for our honeymoon, Harry," Ginny told him brightly, from where she stood beside her husband. "King Severus was most generous with his time, and he even took us on a riding tour throughout the kingdom, and we were invited to all the royal hunts which were taking place... Well, until the inevitable happened," she said softly, caressing her swollen belly.

Ron turned red to his ears. "I still can't believe their wedding was approved..."

"Likely because you yourself married up, Ronald Weasley," Hermione said promptly, clicking her tongue and shaking her head at him. "Rose is a year old now, so they know just how fertile this generation of Weasleys is..."

Ron pinched the bridge of his nose. "'Mione..." He whined.

"It is quite true that our generation is so fertile," Luna said softly, and Neville cuddled her closely in his arms, and she let out a delighted giggle. "Madam Pomfrey told us just last week that I'm carrying twins..."

"And I'm quite sure all the fresh plants and herbs that Grandmother and I are harvesting for the kingdom had something to do with it," said Neville proudly. His smile faltered. "It... It will be nice to have more people to love again..."

Harry smiled sadly at Neville, who had lost his own mother and father within hours of his own father's death. He recalled the story of Sir Frank, who had been assigned for guard duty in the dungeons of Gryffindor Castle; the dark wizard Riddle had slashed at his throat, leaving him to die, as he himself made his daring escape. So overwhelmed with devastation, Dame Alice had launched herself off the highest tower, the astronomy tower, of the castle itself, leaving their court astronomer, Aurora Sinistra, to find her. Neville had been alone for such a long time, until Luna had been traveling the kingdom with her father, who managed a newspaper in Ottery St. Catchpole, near where the Weasleys had set up house away from court.