Harry held the baby close to his chest, rocking back and forth on the rocking chair. "Shh, baby, shh," he whispered soothingly as he absentmindedly ran a hand through tussled jet-black hair. Lily was growing so big – he soon wouldn't be able to cradle her in his arms. He felt a feeling of gentle sadness wash over him. He smiled despite himself, vaguely wondering what he would do when they all grew up and went off to school. But I don't want to think about that.

The red-haired girl was soon asleep in his arms. Harry tenderly stood up from the chair and placed her gingerly into her crib. Lily's eyes remained shut and peace settled over her face. Harry bent down and kissed her forehead. "Don't grow up too fast," he whispered as he turned off the lamp and shut the door behind him.

He looked down the hallway that now stood before him, glancing at the various pictures of his children. He walked down it, pausing at photos of smiling babies and parents laughing despite a tremendous lack of sleep.

"Daddy?" asked a small whimper from a little boy in a room of to his right. Harry poked his head through the door. He couldn't see much, but he could barely make out the top of a young boy's head, the rest of which was covered by a blanket.

"Yes?" Harry asked the little boy.

"Are there really monsters under my bed?"

Harry cocked his head in mild confusion and stepped into the room, illuminated by the hallway behind him. "No, Albus, there are no monsters under your bed. Don't believe what your brother tells you."

"I wanted to make sure," the boy said with an unconvinced tone.

Harry let out a small sigh and walked over to Albus' bed. He sat on the edge of it and the child huddled closer to him. "I promise you, there are no monsters under your bed." He kissed the top of his son's head. "Get some sleep now."

Albus nodded and rolled away as Harry stood, his hand lingering on the boy's shoulder for just a moment. Harry walked back into the hallway and closed the door behind him until only a sliver of light peeked through.

The last door in the hallway was half-way open, a signal that it was Harry's turn to put the child to bed. Though he was 11 years old now he still insisted on talking with a godparent before he went to sleep.

Teddy Lupin lay flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling. Harry usually found him in this position, whether he be stargazing or cloud-gazing or talking with Victoire. The older man looked up at the spot where Teddy gazed, making sure there was no crayon or markings of any sort, signs that would have indicated James had gotten crazy with art supplies again.

There was nothing there, only white paint that eventually became the light blue of the walls and then the navy carpeting that shielded the floor.

"What was your first day of school like?"

Harry hesitated.

"Were you scared?" he asked.

"Of course." Harry moved from the doorway to a chair set up next to his godson's bed. "I was excited too." Teddy turned his head to look at Harry.

"Do you think people will know my name?"

"I'm sure some will."

"Did everyone know yours?"

"Yes. Everyone had heard of me before I knew I was a wizard."

Teddy nodded and directed his gaze back to the ceiling. Harry involuntarily followed his gaze. "Do you think I'll make friends on the train?" Teddy asked.

"Yes, you will make friends on the train."

"But how do you know?" he asked. His blue-green eyes once again looked at Harry. His hair was a slowly intensifying shade of hot pink, signaling insecurity. The color took over his head as the feeling grew more prominent within him. It began to mix with swirls of indigo, which represented fear.

"I don't know. No one does. But you're friendly. You're kind, you're smart, you're creative – you'd make a very good friend."

Teddy smiled, his colored hair fading back to brown with just a hint of silver.

"How big is Hogwarts?"

Harry smiled. "Huge." He got up and kissed his godson's forehead. "But it's bedtime now. You can ask Ginny tomorrow – she's taking you to Diagon Alley to get your supplies."

Teddy sat up suddenly, his hair becoming yellow-orange with a golden shine. "Really? Awesome!" He wrapped his arms around Harry. "That's gonna be so cool!"

Harry couldn't help but smile. "It was for me. Now get some sleep, you're going to be leaving early in the morning."

Teddy's eyes widened as the gold shine faded away. He tucked himself into bed and shut his eyes tightly, willing sleep to come with the concentration of a surgeon.

Harry turned out the light as he slipped quietly out of the room and back into the hallway in which he had began. The light beneath his bedroom door was still on; Ginny had waited for him to finish with the kids.

Ginny was reading a cooking magazine as Harry entered the room. "Is he excited?" Ginny asked as Harry climbed into their bed.

"Of course he is."

Ginny smiled and the two of them went to sleep, having been exhausted by the four children living in the house.

(***)

He lay next to the girl in the field they always went to, full of grass and dandelions in the summer. Not a foot from their faces was a frog, its eyes closed and body still. It still crouched as though it were alive, but that detail was uncertain.

"Is it dead?" she whispered to him.

"I don't know. I don't know if they sleep in the water or on land."

She elbowed him. "Grab it! Then it'll wake up!"

He gave her a look. "Do frogs bite?" he asked, an indigo swirl appearing over his silver hair.

"Nah, they only lick things. Go on, Teddy, just poke it!" Her blue eyes gleamed with childhood excitement.

Teddy smiled and leaned on his elbow as he reached an arm forward to touch the frog. He hesitated when his index finger was less than an inch away from the frog. The indigo swirl had faded away and was replaced by a golden gleam, curiosity. The silver and gold reflected the sunlight and sparkled in the air. It wasn't quite what you would call glitter; more of a metallic shine.

The frog's eyes opened suddenly and it jumped away as Teddy's finger poked it as gently as a seven-year-old boy could. The strawberry-blond girl squealed with delight and Teddy made no noise, just stared at the place where the amphibian had been and then at the splash in the water where it had jumped back in.

Teddy jumped up from the grass. "C'mon, Victoire, let's go find more animals!"

She smiled and jumped up to follow him, and off they raced in the field, not a care in the world.

(***)