Ginny took her sweet time saying goodbye to her brothers, except Ron, and gave them all a big hug. She promised to write as soon as they arrived at the castle.

She stopped in front of Regulus. "I better see you at Royal events, then," she threatened mildly.

Regulus shrugged. "That's up to the King."

Sirius scoffed, releasing Harry from a hug. "I will demand it." He patted Harry's cheek. "Take care."

"You too."

She said goodbye to the 4 remaining Pages. She watched as their guards said their goodbyes to the new guards of the Harpian castle; they seemed to have become friends.

When she had greeted everyone, she turned around to Harry and held out her hand for him. "Let's go home."

They made good headway when they paused for lunch and the horses had a moment to rest. Ginny ducked into the woods to pee and Harry sat down on a fallen log.

Walto had prepared food for everyone and handed it out.

Harry suddenly felt Ginny's mind go silent—a sign she was deliberately cutting him out. He looked up in her direction, but he couldn't see her. Then he felt something between sadness and excitement spark and he knew he just had to go check what she was doing.

She came up to him in the other direction, her cape wrapped tightly around herself and it was as though she was cradling something. She wore an apologetic smile.

"What do you have there, darling?"

She reached under her cloak with one hand. Then she showed him an incredible round tabby kitten with a sandy colour.

"Ginny, you can't just take animals from the forest," he told her.

She raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "The mum is dead. I think she died protecting her babies. I don't think she was dead for long, but if we leave the kittens out in this weather… they'll be dead soon too." She inspected it. "I think it's about old enough to start eating some solid foods."

"So you want to bring them back and raise them until they're big enough to join the lot?" he asked her.

She nodded, her soft brown eyes bordering on begging. Even if he would have wanted to say no, he would have been unable to.

"It is our duty, I suppose, to save it," Harry offered.

She grinned at him. "Great! Then meet Summer."

Harry was endeared with her. She had been gone less than a few minutes and had managed to find kittens, decide to adopt and name them all before coming back. He eyed her cloak. "Now show me the other one."

Her eyes widened. "How did you know?"

"You said babies, it's not like you'd leave one, and that bump on your side is for sure kitten-shaped." He pointed to the shape between her side and her elbow.

She reached into her cloak and then the second kitten came out too. It had the same tabby colour but it had white paws. "This is her sister, Winter."

Harry stuck out his gloved hands. "Give me the royal felines."

Ginny handed them over carefully. They gladly leaned into the warmth of his body when he tucked them against his chest. They purred softly.

"You're about to be the most spoiled kittens in the world, do you know that?" he told Summer and Winter. "I don't understand why you shut me out for this."

She pursed her lips for a moment. "I wasn't sure if you were going to say yes."

"It's not like you could hide them for very long," he commented, as he turned around and walked back to the group before they got worried.

Ginny came to walk beside him. "I know, I wasn't sure yet what I was going to do."

"You're my wife, we are equals. If you want to get some kittens, we get some kittens," he told her.

She nodded. "You are the King."

"Not within our marriage," he told her. "You do know that, right?"

"I know," she replied. "I think I am still used to getting told 'no' a lot by Regulus." She squeezed his upper arm. "I'm sorry."

He nodded in understanding. "Let's see if Walto has any spare meat they may like to chew on. We'll get them on milk as soon as we're home."

"Too bad North, East, South and West aren't a little younger, they could've joined them. I think they're weaned by now, however," Ginny thought out loud.

Harry smiled at her. "No worries, Hagrid has raised kittens before. He'll know what to do."

They walked back and sat down.

"We were just about to come check if you had been killed," Seamus told them.

Ginny shook her head. "All fine." She held out her hands for the kittens.

Harry handed them back carefully and she put them in her lap. They curled up into each other, heating up against her. She tried to cover them a little with her cloak.

"Are you not going to explain the kittens or…?" Ron asked them.

Ginny scratched between the ears of Summer. "Oh, they were orphaned so I rescued them."

"Are you going to put them out with Ce?" he asked.

"No!" she told him. "They are much too small. They'll remain safely inside until they grow big and strong and the weather is a little warmer."

Harry nodded in confirmation. "It'll be fun. They're cute. And the more the merrier." He pointed at the additional people who would be joining them in Ignotia. Then he exchanged a look with Ginny.

She could sense the relief in Harry when their castle came into view. It looked cosy and inviting. It was terribly late in the evening and the sun had set a good while ago, but she was glad they had made it back in the same day.

Hagrid stood waiting excitedly by the door. Servants came out of the castle to bring their luggage inside.

"Go on and heat up inside," Hagrid told them. "I'll take care of the horses."

"Thank you," Harry said. "We do have another pressing matter." He held up the two kittens. "They've had some meat but I don't think they're fully weaned yet."

Hagrid gasped. "Oh, sweet dearies!" He petted both of them carefully with one finger. "Lucretia knows how to prepare milk for them. I'll set the stable boys to work and I'll be right there."

Ginny walked inside beside Harry, inhaling the familiar scent of the castle. The servants were all eagerly looking and bowing; they hadn't seen the Queen since it had become known she was also the Knight they all knew.

"I already knew," Lucretia told another cook with pride. "Before they left she told me."

"Walto!" one of the servants said.

Walto walked towards them and Lucretia hugged him tightly. "Welcome back."

Ginny spotted Neville and she smiled at him. She quickly pulled him into a hug. "I have so much to tell you."

"Tomorrow?" he asked.

She nodded and released him.

"Hey, Colin," Neville greeted the squire. "Hermione."

She smiled and waved, escaping the small crowd quickly. Ron looked after her as she walked. Ginny shared a knowing look with Neville as they both noticed it.

Luna walked in, her hair dancing behind her. She walked up to Neville. "You must be Ginny's other best friend." She hugged a startled Neville tightly. "Thank you for looking out for her so long when I couldn't."

"I'm a—Yeah," Neville stammered. "You are welcome. You must be Luna. She talked about you a lot when she was homesick."

Ginny smiled between them and walked towards Lucretia to ask about milk for the kittens. She took one look at the kittens and then hurried off to the kitchen.

Kingsley walked in and bowed deeply. "That was a great victory. When are we celebrating?"

Harry chuckled. "Will you allow me a few days to get settled?" He glanced at Ginny. "It's good to see you."

"Likewise," Kingsley said.

Ginny saw Seamus sneak off with Lord Dean but she pretended she didn't see. Ernest took Colin along to get him settled with his items. Most of the servants set back to work; they still had to eat dinner.

The travelling party settled down by the dinner table at once, knowing they wouldn't want to move once they sat down.

Hagrid walked in from the kitchen, having already picked up the milk for the kittens. He set down two makeshift bottles to feed them. Summer seemed most eager and quickly started sucking on the bottle, her little ears wiggling as she did.

"Slow down, little one," Hagrid told Summer. "There is enough."

"Go on and try with Winter," Harry told Ginny, who had been focused on Summer.

Ginny quickly took up the bottle and while Winter tried, she didn't seem to get it immediately. Ginny pouted.

"Give it a little squeeze so she gets a taste of it," Hagrid told her.

Ginny did it, carefully offering it up to Winter as she stood on the table. Then she suddenly seemed to get it and started drinking, though not as greedily as her sister. Ginny smiled widely, looking over at Harry. He smiled encouragingly.

The whole table was silent, preferring to watch the kittens feed, too tired to keep up a proper conversation. Summer finished her bottle first, hiccuping from eating too fast. Hagrid smiled proudly at the kitten.

When they had both finished their food, they hopped off the table and towards the fireplace and then fell asleep on the carpet in front of it.

Dinner was served quickly and they all just finished their food so they could go to bed.

After Hagrid had assured them the kittens would have a full tummy until the morning, Ginny insisted on taking them to their room with them. Harry knew better than to object.

They walked into their large room together. It was strange they had only spent two nights here and so many more together in Harpia. Ginny set the kittens down as soon as he closed the door so they could explore the room.

Harry and Ginny changed into their night clothes quickly and silently. They crawled into their bed and Harry wrapped his hand around her, only to come into contact with something fuzzy.

"Gah!" he let out in surprise. He leaned on his elbow to look. "When did those get up here?"

"They crawled up while we were changing," Ginny said, her hand cupping the back of one of them. "And as soon as I laid down, they just came to sleep against me."

Harry shook his head. "I suppose this bed is big enough for a pair of kittens." He rested his hand with the kittens too, and felt a little nose butt against his finger. He scratched under her chin. "But let's be clear, we won't make this a habit."

She turned around just enough to kiss him. "Sure, Harry."

A/N: Summer and Winter were based on two kittens I was fostering back when I wrote the first draft of this chapter... December 2022 (I actually find it difficult to believe it has been that long!)

Thanks Meg for the beta-reading!

I am very sad I can't upload photos on here of the inspiration of Summer and Winter, because they are adorable!