Ginny glanced back at the cave. "I have to go in alone. Otherwise it doesn't work. You can try the oracle after."

"Okay. Be careful," Harry told her.

She nodded and then turned around to walk into the cave alone. Harry waited outside with four of their guards.

She walked towards the back wall of the cave like she had done a few years ago. A small stream murmured into a shallow pool of water. She knelt down beside it and put her face into the cool water.

As soon as she made contact with the water, she began falling. The first time it had scared her, but this time she was prepared. Within seconds, she softly dropped into a field of flowers.

She righted herself and looked around. It was exactly as she remembered. "Gorphine?" she tried.

As if appearing from thin air, a figure appeared in front of her. The woman had her back to Ginny, but she immediately knew it was Gorphine.

Brown wavy hair whipped around as the Goddess turned around, and her golden eyes landed on Ginny at once.

"Ginevra," she greeted. She smiled broadly, her white dress dancing around her as if it wasn't trying to adhere to gravity.

"I want to thank you for our last talk. You set me on the right path."

Gorphine shook her head and touched Ginny's cheek. "You chose your path; I only told you what was already inside of you."

"Does how you do the ritual matter?" she asked. It was not her most pressing question but she had learned from last time how to keep Gorphine's attention.

Gorphine wobbled on her feet and shook her head playfully. "I know your husband thinks so but… the steps of the ritual are there for those who lack passion, and neither of you do." She touched her hand to Ginny's arm. "And of course you don't."

"That's what I want to talk to you about…" she started carefully.

Gorphine stilled and nodded curtly. "I know."

Ginny hesitated, wondering if she could ask, but Gorphine started walking again, and she started telling Ginny.

"Your parents had been hoping for a blessing because they needed something, someone to safeguard their Kingdom." She shook her head. "There are only so many things we can do from afar but then I saw it… a little baby girl in the making and I set to work." Gorphine stepped closer to her. "That's why passion courses through your veins, it was my greatest gift to you. Amongst some other things."

Ginny was starting to feel dizzy, but at least she had confirmation.

She neared Ginny. "And I can't help playing favourites so when I saw the little baby boy for you." She nodded eagerly and touched her hand to Ginny's stomach. "I gave him the best of both of you."

"Baby boy?" she replied.

"You glow so lovely." Gorphine beamed. "I am always listening to you, so if you ever need another blessing…" She looked up. "My husband calls me, I must go."

"Wait—"

Gorphine disappeared as abruptly as she appeared and Ginny let out a sigh. She braced herself. Then she felt the cool water on her face again and she sat up.

She walked outside slowly and looked at Harry. "How much of that did you catch?" She had tried to keep her mind open, but she wasn't sure if anything had come through.

"Just snippets."

She looked up at him, wary of the guards listening in. " It's a boy. "

Harry wrapped her in his arms and kissed her temple.

"She did confirm… she gave my blessings… but I didn't get to ask anything about the soulbond."

"I am sorry," Harry told her. "Suppose it's my turn to give it a try."

She looked at him and focused, trying to show him how to enter the oracle. He nodded and squeezed her hand.

"Gorphine?" Harry asked as he stood in a field filled with flowers.

Nothing happened. For a moment he wondered if he would not be able to speak to anyone, but then the man appeared. He stood as tall as Harry, with dark hair and a beard. Kind eyes that reminded him of his father and exuded an air of tranquillity.

Harry knew instinctively who it was. "Xydite."

The God smiled warmly. "Henry." He gestured towards a boulder. "Come sit with me."

Harry sat down on the spot he had indicated with a certain unease, but Xydite's demeanour did offer some comfort.

"I have some questions," Harry started. He wasn't sure how to address a God. As a King he never spoke to anyone with a higher rank.

"I know you do." Xydite settled beside him, observing Harry calmly. "I know your wife spoke to Gorphine… I am not sure if she was much help… she does like to play with humans. Gives them more questions than she answered."

"Yes," Harry agreed. He had gathered that. He plucked up his courage. "Why did you gift Ignotia?"

Xydite took a deep breath. "Gods will give lands to some. Some for greed, some for entertainment. I didn't want to reward someone with land like so many did. I wanted to instil it into someone who did not ask for it, but who could do it." He frowned pensively. "Out of the three, only Ignotus honoured our deal. I had suspected it would go that way, but I wanted to give the three brothers a fair chance." His hands folded in his lap. "I just wanted to give nature a place to thrive among people, a place where animals are not hunted for leisure."

Xydite's calm reply helped Harry gain confidence and so he asked another question. "Do you still think you made the right decision?"

"But of course," Xydite said without hesitation. "I know that ruling isn't without its difficulties, and I know it has caused your family many hardships. I know, but I hope you'll forgive me."

"You didn't kill my parents." The words slipped out, but he thought it was the truth.

Xydite chuckled lightly. "Naturally you would say that."

Harry looked at him for a long moment, wondering if he liked to speak in riddles as much as his wife. "What?"

Xydite's head turned as he overlooked the flowers for a moment. "The difference between you and Ginevra…. You assume the best in people, even after what you've been through. You assume the best in her, in me."

"You make it sound like it's a bad thing."

Xydite shook his head softly as his gaze returned to Harry. "It's noble. You have a good heart." He rubbed his beard, then he spoke. "Ginevra doesn't believe people are inherently good. Combined with all the passion she's been given… it's a powerful combination. It has brought her here, alive. Sometimes it does work against her."

Harry smiled. "I am learning that… I'm learning to understand her."

"It takes time." He cleared his throat. "And patience she can't muster."

Harry caught a fondness in the God's eye. "Do you speak from experience?"

"I am married to the Goddess of Passion. They're a force to be reckoned with. They feel deeply." He paused. "They love deeply. And they hurt deeply. Sometimes they need someone to slow them down a little, balance them out and be patient when they can't."

Harry was starting to worry their time was almost up. Ginny had been out within minutes. He asked his next question. "What's up with the soulbond? How did it happen?"

"You do know what questions to ask," Xydite commented. He leaned back a little, more relaxed. "Soulmates are souls that are created at the same moment in time, destined to be together. But I suppose you knew that part already?"

He nodded in confirmation and remained silent, trying to let Ginny listen in on the information.

"It doesn't always happen in every lifetime, but once the bond is activated, it ensures that in any life you lead after, you'll find each other." Xydite watched his reaction.

"Some of my past lives may have been pretty lonely then… I know how I felt before I met her," Harry tried.

Xydite's expression didn't shift. "I am afraid I can't tell you that. There are better things ahead, that is for sure."

"Does everyone have one?" he continued. Xydite didn't seem bothered by his questions. And it may be the only time to ask them. "A soulmate, I mean."

"No. As I've said, sometimes Gods like to play… with lands, with creatures, as a matchmaker…. I don't know which God made you soulmates," Xydite said.

Harry gritted his teeth, because he was about to ask if it had been Gorphine since she had been meddling with Ginny's life since the start.

"It could be your first lifetime, or your 700th…"

It was an answer he wouldn't get. "I thought Gods knew everything."

"I know what I do," Xydite said in his defence. "What other Gods get up to is often as good a guess to me as it is to you. There are quite a few of us, you know."

"I know," he replied.

"I have a pretty good idea what Gorphine gets up to usually." He pushed off the boulder and stood up. "Our time is almost up."

Harry stood up too, it seemed only polite. "Can I ask one more thing?"

Xydite folded his hands together behind his back. "Go on."

"The baby… the glow… was it a coincidence it happened now? With the soulbond and everything."

Xydite sighed. "That is a complicated question, Henry. What do you really want to know?"

He thought about it for a moment but didn't allow himself too long to think. "Is he a blessing?"

"You do know how babies are made, right?"

"I"—He frowned— "You're evading my question on purpose."

Xydite looked down for a moment, he nodded. "We can instil blessings on new humans. That being said, I do have a blessing for your son." He clasped his hands around Harry's, soft and gentle. He closed his eyes for a moment. "If you would be so kind to pass it on to your wife…."

"How?"

Xydite squeezed his hands and then released them. "Next time you touch your dear wife, the gift will be passed on to him. It's the ability to talk to animals, I can tell you that. It will help you and him in continuing to honour the gift I've given your ancestors."

"Thank you," Harry said, though he hadn't quite figured out if that was actually a good blessing. "I guess this means goodbye."

Xydite nodded and then froze. He closed his eyes and sighed. "One more thing." He touched both his hands to Harry's cheeks and held his head. "Gorphine and I started working on a gift for the baby together. Now I promised her I wouldn't reveal to you what it was. I do assume you'll know it when you see it." His brown eyes lit up a moment. "I'm so proud of you, Harry."

Without any warning, he landed back in the cave. He took a few deep breaths.

He walked out and locked eyes with her. " We'll talk back at the castle? " They had too many things to discuss that the guards didn't need to overhear.

She nodded. "Let's go."

Harry unclasped his cloak as soon as they entered their room. He threw it over a chair. He sat down in front of the fire, warming his hands. Ginny stood beside him and looked down. Her hand reached for his shoulder.

"Wait." He leaned away. "If you touch me, Xydite's gift will pass… and we need to decide if we want that."

Her hand dropped. "Are you suggesting we don't touch for the coming nine months?" She plopped down beside him.

"I don't know." He bit his lip. "At least we should talk about it."

"Having the ability to talk to animals is not terrible." She held out her hand. "Give Xydite's gift."

"He better not start meowing before he starts talking." He touched his fingers to hers. He felt a jolt of something start somewhere behind his navel and ran up his arm into his hand.

"Ooh, I felt that," Ginny commented, glancing down. "That arrived where it should."

Harry put his arm around her, she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I have been wondering for some time if I had been put on the earth to serve a purpose… to you or my parents, and if that was all I was." She sighed softly.

"If I understand it correctly, some God or Goddess made two souls at the same time, and then put them into these half-decent bodies."

"Half-decent?" she repeated. "Speak for yourself."

He chuckled, leaning his cheek against her head.

"I now feel more like the blessings were a gift to me, not that I was the gift. Not in that way," she continued more seriously. "I am not sure how you come into play there, though."

"Could be a coincidence," he muttered. "On second thought, it probably wasn't. I wanted to ask if it was Gorphine, but he said he didn't know."

She nodded. "I heard. Maybe they just figured you and I could use the company."

"That's nice. Did you hear about the patience?"

"Yes." She shook her head. "I am not that bad."

"I wouldn't dare say you are," he quickly replied.

He was surprised when she righted herself.

"Where are you going?" His hand slipped from her waist.

"I am going outside for a bit to train." She tugged on the laces of her dress. "I need to clear my mind after all this."

"It's cold," he said. He'd prefer to remain close to the fire.

She shrugged. "Not when you keep moving." She looked at him teasingly. "And you may heat my toes in the evening."

"You are going to keep those ice-cold things to yourself," he said with a scoff. As she started changing into her armour, he stood up to help her fasten it. "You know people know you're the Queen and the Knight now…"

"I don't care," she responded, picking up her helmet as he tightened the top part.

"All done." He kissed her softly.

She smiled, running her hand through his hair for a moment. "Thanks."

Ginny walked into dinner just a minute late. She set her helmet down on the corner and sat down, blowing a piece of hair out of her face. "Sorry I am late."

"You can't eat in your armour," Percy said.

She had been in the middle of scooping up vegetables. "Or what?"

"You can't speak to her like that, she's a Queen," Charlie said with a wink towards her.

"I have been eating in armour far longer than I have been in dresses," she argued. "Usually by myself hidden away in the corner of a kitchen…"

Percy's gaze dropped to the table. "Fine."

"I was later than I expected, so I didn't get the time to change. I needed some air."

"Oracle went that badly?" Bill asked. "Did you get to speak to anyone?"

"Yes, we did." She eyed Harry. "I spoke to Gorphine, Harry to Xydite."

"I wanted to talk to Gorphine as well, but that didn't work out," Harry said.

"Surely, Xydite wasn't a surprise," Bill asked with a frown.

"Well… no." He folded his hands. "And in the end, I got some answers. I just felt like Gorphine would have given us more answers for Ginny." He smiled at her. "But we got some soulbond answers, and some for Ginny and"—his mouth closed abruptly when he realised what he was going to say.

" Careful ," Ginny warned.

"… and?" Fred asked.

"It appears they'll be sticking their noses in our business in the future as well," he said, which wasn't a complete lie.

"I am worried there are questions we'll never get the answer to." She shook her head. "Maybe Tassia has some more answers."

"She'll arrive in the morning…" Percy thought out loud. "Then rehearsals in the afternoon… I'm sure you'll find time somewhere."

"It's not that urgent," Ginny replied. "I am just eager to find out more."

" Patience, my love. "

She sighed. "No, Harry."

Everyone paused and she looked up warily. Harry raised his eyebrows, looking amused.

She bit her lip and ducked her head. "He didn't say that out loud, did he?"

"Nope," George said. "What did he say?"

Ginny buried her face in her hands in embarrassment. "I really need to get the hang of this." She looked over at Harry, who smiled at her in turn.

" I am so glad they don't even know about the glowing; this could be much worse. " He raised an eyebrow at her.

She pulled her lip up. " We really need to work on this. "

" Agreed ." He nodded.

When she glanced away from Harry, she saw her brothers looking at both of them in baffled amusement.

"Is that weird at all for you?" Charlie asked curiously.

"No, but as you've seen, the issue is if I'm not looking at him, I can't always tell if he said it out loud or not… the difference is only minor. I wouldn't be able to tell what direction it came from, since it's in my head."

"I would hate to have Ginny in my brain," Ron commented.

Harry snorted. "It's not that bad." He took her hand. "It's not a constant stream of thoughts, thankfully. That would drive both of us crazy."

Harry sat down on the couch, closing his eyes for a moment when he felt Ginny's feet land in his lap. When he opened his eyes again, she was stretched out on the couch in just her nightshirt, wiggling her toes at him.

"You were going to heat these up, I believe," she told him.

He frowned at her. "I distinctly remember telling you that I wasn't going to."

She pursed her lips and grinned at him. "Hm, that can't be."

He took her feet into his hands, softly rubbing them to warm them. Ginny watched him quietly. Her glow grew more noticeable after the sun went down.

"I love you," she said.

He hummed in reply.

"I am glad we got some answers…" She pursed her lips. "Not as many as I'd like, but I suppose we get more than most people get in their life."

Harry nodded. "I think so. I guess the rest we'll figure out soon."

She sat up and looked at him. Her hand caressed her cheek. "With some patience…"

He chuckled. "Yes."

She pulled her feet out of his hands. "Warm enough. Thank you. Do you have any cold body parts that need rubbing?"

"I can think of a few," he quickly responded, causing Ginny to snort.

"How did the rehearsal go?" Harry asked when Tassia walked into the room.

"Good." She smiled brightly. "It's exciting to be able to do a coronation so soon after a royal wedding. And I am very honoured to be invited to Harpia."

"You managed our wedding so well, and we did not trust the High Priest here… and he has disappeared since," Ginny clarified. "We really appreciate you being here. Now..."

The high priestess beamed excitedly. Harry gestured for all of them to sit down.

Tassia settled on the couch across from them. "Go ahead and ask your questions."

"Did you know?" Ginny asked.

She took a moment to reply. "I had a pretty good inkling. I could sense you had a very strong bond…"

Ginny nodded. "Then why didn't you say anything?"

"It's not up to me," Tassia replied gently. "And there is no guarantee it activates. That had to come from you."

"How does it activate?" Ginny immediately asked. Harry turned to her, as if to ask her to slow down. She chose to ignore it.

Tassia didn't seem too bothered by it and continued. "Both of you need to have accepted your love for each other and understand what you mean to each other." Her gaze shifted between the two of them. "The final trigger is a desperate need for each other…"

"We've had that before," Ginny said. "I don't understand why now…"

Harry shifted closer to her. "The letter from our parents… it made me realise we would have always crossed paths. That we were bound to end up together."

Tassia nodded in confirmation. "The wreaths from your wedding sprouted completely the day it was triggered. It is flourishing beautifully."

"You had a vision about Gorphine and I," Ginny recalled.

"She seems very interested in you," Tassia said. "I just don't know why."

She looked over at Harry and he nodded. He spoke in her stead. "She was given blessings before birth from her. I think Gorphine is rooting for her."

Tassia nodded slowly. "It would seem that way. Forgive me," she said, looking more hesitant. "I had another vision before coming here… Are you pregnant?" She locked eyes with Ginny.

"I didn't expect it would be so hard to keep that a secret," Harry muttered. "She is. What type of vision is this?"

"So you see the glow?" Tassia asked curiously. "I've read about it but I've never known someone personally."

"Quite clearly," Harry confirmed.

"It was a weird vision," Tassia continued. "It had both Gorphine and Xydite… which doesn't usually happen."

"Apparently they're working on a gift together," Ginny said. "Did you see what it was?"

Tassia shook her head, and Ginny was a little disappointed.

"It will be something good," Tassia assured her. "I can tell you that. They seemed very excited."

Ginny nodded and absent-mindedly touched her soulmark, which drew the high priestess's attention to it.

"May I?" she asked, reaching out her hand.

Ginny stood up and sat down beside Tassia so she could take a better look. Rolling up her sleeve, Ginny held out her arm.

Tassia touched it carefully. "Interesting. You can sense the connection." She examined the soulmark further, asking a few more questions while Ginny tried to find out if she had anything more to say on the soulbond.

A/N: Great news!

There are two extra stories for you to read if you feel so inclined!
These stories are extra and so you do not have to read them to be able to follow this story.

Posted on here:

Queen of Mine: The AU's AU I talked about before. It's the What If for Harry and Ginny. Her parents live and they meet earlier. This currently has one chapter but there will be at least one more (pending since I am working on it AND there are spoilers for future chapters in there).
You need to have read up until chapter 31 here (which you did because you are here) in order not to spoil yourself for Chapter 1. I will indicate what could be spoiled when I post chapter 2 there.

Since it is such a hassle to post on here and I can't make it part of a series to indicate they are connected, this story is only posted on AO3. My username is GinnyW-Potter on there and it is part of the Knight of Mine series, so it should be easy to find:

God meets Goddess: While working on this story I fell in love with Xydite and Gorphine's dynamic (being loosely based on Hinny) and so I decided to write them a little oneshot. It's a story that takes place centuries before Harry and Ginny meet. You need to have read up to THIS chapter for that to make the most sense, since you've just met both of them here.

OKAY. Thank you Meg for the betareading!

Thanks for reading! Don't hesitate to come bug me on tumblr (GinnyW-Potter) for meta discussions or other questions.
And that's all from me.