Your little hand's wrapped around my finger
And it's so quiet in the world tonight
Your little eyelids flutter cause you're dreaming
So I tuck you in, turn on your favorite night light
To you everything's funny, you got nothing to regret
I'd give all I have, honey
If you could stay like that
Victoire sat in the large cushioned hospital chair, the baby girl in her arms, only a few hours old, had her tiny fist clenched around the older girl's fingers. As the baby's eyelids fluttered Victoire looked up at the Healer worriedly. The Healer gave her a reassuring look, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. The hand soon disappeared however as another baby in the nursery began to cry. Victoire stroked the baby's smooth skin with her thumb, hugging the baby closer to her body. She was warm and smelled lovely and Victoire missed the scent when the Healer took the baby from her and placed her back inside the incubator.
Victoire, at the age of eleven, was very curious about the baby. Unlike the rest of her cousins and siblings, this baby was all alone in the nursery upon her birth. The baby had been early, she was sick, and there had been complications with her birth. While the rest of her family had stayed to fuss over her Aunt, Victoire had asked her Uncle if she could go to the nursery to see her baby cousin. She would have liked some company but the Healers said that the other children were too young to come into the nursery as they would likely pass on germs to the babies. So Victoire had come alone.
As the baby began to softly whimper, Victoire bent down and kissed its hand, covering her with the purple blanket. The little girl instantly quieted and Victoire looked into the baby's currently blue eyes. Her mother had told her that baby's were often born with blue eyes that later darkened to a different colour. The baby was so innocent; so still and perfect. She looked so peaceful, no worries about boys or school. No need to think about Hogwarts houses or best friends, the little girl was just laying there in her tranquil slumber. Soon she would grow up, come into the world of flashing cameras and persistent reporters; but for now Victoire hopelessly wished that the baby could stay this peaceful. For now Lily Luna Potter would be safe in this hospital nursery.
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up,
Don't you ever grow up, just stay this little,
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up,
Don't you ever grow up, it could stay this simple,
I won't let nobody hurt you, won't let no one break your heart,
And no one will desert you,
Just try to never grow up, never grow up.
The sun warmed her face as she watched her youngest cousin grin with delight as her best friend took her hand. Peter Wood. Brown hair, green eyes and the most gorgeous six year old Victoire had ever seen. Aside from her Teddy that is. Lily and Peter splashed and swam in the pool without a care. Their innocence was adorable. Their love casual and sweet. No complications involved. They were blind to the truth; but reality was slapping Victoire in the face. Their friendship was like a precious gem they should have been guarding with their lives.
In the end, it didn't matter if they fell in love. It didn't matter if they fell in love if their friendship wouldn't last. Victoire had experience in this particular subject. So what if she and Teddy had reconciled in the end? The heartache of it all was something she'd like to spare Lily. The simplicity of being six would only last so long. If only Lily could stay little forever. If only the simplicity could be frozen in time. If only life didn't keep going when you stopped. If only you could stay immortally young forever.
You're in the car on the way to the movies,
And you're mortified your mom's dropping you off,
At 14 there's just so much you can't do,
And you can't wait to move out someday and call your own shots,
But don't make her drop you off around the block,
Remember that she's getting older too,
And don't lose the way that you dance around in your pj's getting ready for school.
She smiled to herself as she stepped out of the fireplace to see Lily and her best friends Charlotte and Tessa dancing around in the kitchen. Pajama clad and hairbrush handles held up to their mouths, they failed to notice the small group of people gathering. James had his phone out and was taking pictures while Harry and Ginny laughed wholeheartedly and Peter, who was clearly dazzled by his best friends, smiled.
At fourteen, it was nice to see that some things never change. This tradition had stayed alive since the girls were four; for ten years the girls had awoken and danced around in their pajamas, none of Lily's usual embarrassment evident. Victoire was smiling this morning, as she often did around her cousin. Lily was fourteen, yet she was acting like a four year old. She wasn't fussing about boys or her father embarrassing her, she was lip synching into a hairbrush and dancing in princess pajamas. Soon enough Harry would take Ginny's hand and spin her around; soon enough, everyone would be rushing to get ready to go back to Hogwarts. But right now, in the moment, they were looking like toddlers and having fun; if only for a moment.
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up,
Don't you ever grow up, just stay this little,
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up,
Don't you ever grow up, it could stay this simple,
No one's ever burned you, nothing's ever left you scarred,
And even though you want to, just try to never grow up.
Victoire knew that Lily was smart, street smart, book smart, common sense smart? Lily would never end up in a situation that would get her hurt. But sometimes, you can't help it; sometimes, you need a protector. And Victoire would be just that for Lily. Victoire still thought about that tiny baby girl she held in the hospital that day. She didn't want her baby cousin to be broken; that would mean someone would have to pick up the pieces, and put her back together. There would always be a scar then. Nothing is ever left unremembered; there is always evidence of the bad things. So if Victoire was a good protector then Lily wouldn't be scarred or hurt. But how many sixteen year olds want a protector now-a-days? How many girls want to feel useless? So as Victoire looked on, Lily continued to grow, and as her cousin wished more and more, Lily stopped trying less and less to stay little. After all, the regret of growing up doesn't set in until after she grows up.
Take pictures in your mind of your childhood room,
Memorize what it sounded like when your dad gets home,
Remember the footsteps, remember the words said,
And all your little brother's favorite songs,
I just realized everything I have is someday gonna be gone.
Of course, Lily would always remember her room. Just a few doors down from Teddy's, it faced the back with a window seat overlooking the yard below. The white wood and the purple walls made it feel even more beautiful than it was, and her green, pink and blue accents gave the room a soft, quiet atmosphere that radiated Lily Potter. Victoire knew the room well; it was one she had sat in many times, listening as Harry returned home from work, kissing Ginny, greeting Al and James before changing out of his work clothes and making his way up to his daughter's bedroom.
Lily would sit quietly, reading a book or daydreaming. She would patiently wait for her father to come into her room, kiss her head and grab his wand from his back pocket. Then it would all begin; whatever Lily wanted to do, Harry did. More often than not, Harry read to his daughter or showed her how to cast certain spell but sometimes they danced together or went outside to play Quidditch. Then Lily would help her mother make dinner while her father went to his study.
Victoire missed this; this happy family. She remembered spending time with her parents when she was younger, now it was special if she got to see them at least once in a week. She wanted to go back in time, tell her younger self to value the time she had with her family, her friends. But since she didn't have a timeturner on hand, she'd just have to do with telling her baby cousin. She didn't remember a time when she wasn't telling Lily to value what she had. Of course, Lily was a teenager and didn't much like listening to every little thing that came out of her older cousin's mouth. Especially if she'd heard many times before.
So here I am in my new apartment,
In a big city, they just dropped me off,
It's so much colder that I thought it would be,
So I tuck myself in and turn my night light on.
Victoire kicked open the door, letting it bang against the wall. She looked around her apartment, in its untidy state. There were blankets strewn over the floor and a pair of Teddy's jeans lay on the ground. She dared not to take a look at the kitchen which probably still had this morning's breakfast dishes. She walked past the bathroom and guest room and straight into her bedroom; snatching a blanket from the floor as she went. Wrapping the blanket around herself tightly she closed the curtains and snuggled into bed. With all the lights in the apartment off, it was strangely dark; Teddy's absence left her in the quiet, lonely state that she hated.
Victoire longed for her mother or father. Someone to stroke her hair and tell her stories until she fell asleep; tell her everything would be better in the morning. She was older now; she had stopped believing that long ago, but she still wanted to go back to that time. Lily was in that time; old enough to know better, young enough not to care. She missed that time; there really wasn't anything special about being grown up. Because quite frankly, responsibility sucked.
Wish I'd never grown up,
I wish I'd never grown up.
Oh I don't wanna grow up, wish I'd never grown up,
I could still be little,
Oh I don't wanna grow up, wish I'd never grown up,
It could still be simple,
She wished she could do it all over again, but this time, the right way. If only she had known back then that her mother was right. Fleur had told her not to waste her time on the silly unimportant things. She had told her to be careful, but still make her own decisions. She, of course had taken this to mean, not to take her mother's advice. Why-oh-why hadn't she? The answer to that was easy. She was a teenager who thought that she was the Sun that the world revolved around. She had wasted her childhood trying to grow up. She envied her little sister. Dominique had done everything right; she had chased butterflies and played among the flowers. Victoire had thought it all too childish but now she needed those times. At twenty-one it was too late for her to have that simple young life.
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up,
Don't you ever grow up, just stay this little,
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up,
Don't you ever grow up, it could stay this simple,
Won't let nobody hurt you,
Won't let no one break your heart,
And even though you want to, please try to never grow up,
Oh, don't you ever grow up,
Oh, never grow up, just never grow up.
But it wasn't too late for Lily, not if Victoire could help it. Lily was still little. She still had childish moments to come, and Victoire would not let Lily throw those away. Lily would chase the butterflies, jump the waves at the beach, spin around in pretty dresses on Easter. Lily would get to experience those moments; Victoire would not let her miss them. Lily was too innocent, too tiny and perfect. Lily didn't deserve the regret that Victoire had. Lily would never have to experience that. If only she were to never grow up, she would be spared.
A/N: Thoughts? It's my first ever songfic so I'm not quite sure how it turned out.