Disclaimer: I don't own anything relating to the Harry Potter universe.

AN: I got inspired to write this while listening to Taylor Swift's Never Grow Up. It's an awesome song.

"It's a girl!" the healer beamed. She wrapped the baby in s clean pink cloth.

A girl. I have two little boys at home, they're a riot. But this is my first daughter. According to Ron girl babies are worse than boy babies. He would know his daughter is about to turn two just like little Albus.

"Would you like to hold your daughter, Mr. Potter?" the healer asked.

"Yes, of course."

I took her in my arms, the same way I did with James and Al but something was different. Her pretty chocolate eyes were staring into mine, little teardrops in the corner of her eyes from where she cried for the first time. I rocked her softly.

"Hello beautiful" I whispered. And she was, beautiful I mean. She has the exact same hair color as her mom, I love Ginny's eyes. She already had hair too, swirly redness. My first girl, my first redhead.

"You are so beautiful" I repeated. "You're going to look just like your mom. Your brothers will be fighting boys off of you all of your life. You're not getting married, ever. No one is going to take you away from me. Speaking of your brothers they're all waiting to meet you, along with a lot of cousins and your god brother. A few pieces of advice, never accept sweets from James or Fred or your Uncle George for that matter." I still remember Albus at six months with white feathers spouting out of his back. Part of George's new cupid candy, a valentine special. James was the one who gave it to him. I swear I have no idea what we were thinking when we named him after two pranksters.

"Al and James are both can't wait to see you. And you should see the room we have set up for you. Of course we already have a lot of clothes and blankets. If you ever start to wonder why you're seeing too much red, don't worry it just happens to be the Weasley's favorite color, Gryffindor pride and all. You'll probably be in Gryffindor too but we won't have to worry about that for another eleven years. Or not at all if you want. I can home school you. I held an impromptu class before. We called it Dumbledore's Army."

"Harry!"

I snapped out of my ramblings and looked away from my daughter for the first time. I frowned at Ginny for interrupting our first father-daughter moment.

"I've been calling your name for five minutes straight. Bring her here I want to hold her" Ginny said.

Of course I was being selfish. I couldn't keep her to myself.

I put my daughter gently into Ginny's arm. Ginny's whole faced changed and she made little cooing noises at her daughter. She was just as enthralled as I was.

When James was born, I think I went into shock. I mean I knew Ginny was pregnant and we were going to have a baby but when the healer asked me if I wanted to hold him it felt like there was a bunch of weight put onto my shoulders and that my legs turned to jelly. I fell on my bum. It wasn't a faint, just a really hard shock. I was going to be a father, like for real. No one expected me to feel that way it was so out of character. The family hasn't stopped taking the mickey out of me even after all this time.

Albus was different. I was prepared. So when the healer asked me to hold him I held out my arms with pride. When I actually had him I freaked out. He was just so tiny, even smaller than James. He wasn't the first baby I ever held but I was sure I was going to drop him. Even though he was tiny he cried louder than James did. He only seemed to cry around me so I got disheartened then Ginny pointed out I was badly shaking every time I held him. I hadn't even realized. I never shook when holding James.

James wasn't even the first baby I held. It was Teddy Lupin, my godson. He was one month old when I first met him. He was so adorable changing his hair color every few minutes. I was acting like a proud father pointing out the obvious to Ginny. "Ooh look he just changed his hair again." And "Aww he fell asleep, he's so cute" and "Look he changed his eyes" or when he was crying "I think he's hungry I don't know how to feed him. Where's his bottle? Oh crap I lost his bottle. What am I going to do?"

Molly thought it was the sweetest thing ever.

"Her hair is going to be darker than mine" Ginny said pulling out of my flashbacks.

"Really?"

"It's going to be Lily red."

I looked at Ginny. We discussed this when she got pregnant for the first time. Whether or not we should name our kids after people we know. We asked to keep the sex hidden until the day of, we wanted to be surprised. Ginny was a little iffy about Albus' name. It felt right to me. She refuses to admit his middle name though.

"Lily" I muttered stroking her hair.

"Lily Luna" Ginny said.

"Lily Luna Potter" I said. Yeah it was prefect, like my little girl. I kissed her forehead and then kissed Ginny's.

I went out of the room while Ginny fed her and went to tell the family who was waiting around in the waiting room.

"It's a girl" I said.

"Told you pay up" George said. I rolled my eyes as more than one person pulled out their purses and wallets. Molly gave me a hug, Arthur shook my hands. I got a lot of congratulations from all around.

"What did you name her?" Hermione asked holding up a little Rose. She was eight months pregnant with a boy.

"Lily Luna Potter" I said.

"So I have a little sister? Can I see her?" James asked bouncing up and down.

"I want to see her too" Al said excitedly.

"BaaaaBeeee, me see" George's one year old daughter Roxanne said.

"Okay, I'll go get her" I said.

"Babbitty hopped out of the grounds and far away, and ever after a golden statue of the washerwoman stood upon the tree stumps, and no witch or wizard was ever persecuted in the kingdom again" I read. I closed the book softly and sat it on the bedside table. Ginny and I take turns every night on reading the kids to sleep. James loves The Tales of the Three Brothers and Al's favorite is The Warlock's Hairy Heart. Al loves the word 'Why' and he uses it a lot whenever I read the story to him.

Lily was sleep now, she'd be back awake in a few hours. It's been six months and I still can't believe she's real. "Goodnight my flower" I whispered. I gave her a kiss on the forehead.

Stay this way forever my little one. Stay sweet and innocent. Don't ever grow up, don't ever change.

"Daddy I can't find my trunk, I know I left it right here" Lily yelled from her room.

I fought back a smile and went to stand in front of her door. "Sorry Lily-flower I haven't seen it" I said.

"JAMES!"

James came into the hallway. He had my black hair and brown eyes, as he stood there with a grin on his face I was reminded of the picture of my father I saw at Grimmauld's Place.

"Did you take my trunk?" Lily asked with her hands on her hips.

"Nope, sorry maybe it grew legs and walked away" James said with a shrug.

"This is not funny. I need my trunk so I can go to Hogwarts today" Lily said.

"You lost your trunk? How do you lose something that big?"" Al asked as he walked by.

"It's not lost it's just missing" Lily said.

"Al, here's the hat you were looking for. James, I unpacked your firework. You are not going to release Weasley Wildfire Bangs when you sister gets sorted" Ginny said.

"But mom nobody complained when I did it at Al's sorting" James complained.

"You scared the crap out of the first years and you know that" Ginny said.

"That's what made it funny" James said and he went back to his room. He was probably going to write a letter to Fred asking him to sneak in the fireworks.

"Lily honey, don't cry I found your trunk" Ginny said. She did? "It was hidden in your father's office."

"Look at the time, we better get going if we want to make it to the station on time" I said quickly trying to hide my blush. I got foiled so easily.

"If we miss the train we could always fly the car to school like you did long ago" James said from his room.

"Don't be silly, our car can't fly" Ginny said. Yeah it's really time to go. "Harry?"

"Yes dear" I said and smiled, it was a habit I picked up from Mr. Weasley.

"You didn't enchant the car to fly did you?"

"Of course not" Arthur did. "Is everybody all packed? Let's go."

We went to the station. The whole way to Kings Cross I tried and failed to convince Lily to let me home school her. It didn't help that Al and James kept going on and on about how epic-ly awesome Hogwarts is.

I said goodbye and gave a hug to all my kids. I whispered a reminder in James' ear that the best pranksters never get caught. I gave Al last minute pointers for the dueling club he started last year. I tried and failed to convince Lily to stay home one last time.

"It won't be so bad" Ginny said. "It'll just be the two of us in the house again." She wrapped her arms around me. I think she was trying to help, it wasn't working. We walked back through the platform and towards our car.

"It'll just be the two of us from now on too. They'll want to stay at school during the breaks and during the summer they'll spend most of it at their friends' houses. When they finish school they'll want to move into their own place."

"They'll come back from time to time, bring home a spouse, get married, have kids, and then the house will be overrun with grandkids."

I froze. I'm going to be a grandpa someday?

"Too soon?" she asked.

"Too soon" I answered. I opened the car door for her, and then got in on the driver's side. "I just want them to stay young forever" I said.

"I know" Ginny muttered. She leaned her head on my shoulders.

Four years went by fast. We were all sitting at dinner the first night of Christmas break. The kids were filling Ginny and me on all their school adventures so far.

James was growing his hair out. It was now nearing Dumbledore-like proportions. Al looked the same, just like me. He tried cutting his hair a number of times but it always grows back and in the same way. I told him it was the Potter genetics. James might have my hair color but it isn't messy all the time like mine and Al's. Lily took to curling her hair lately. She tried to get me to let her put blonde highlights in her hair over the summer. I said no. She's sitting across from me with blonde highlights now.

"What happened to you hair?" I asked.

Lily looked unabashed and she even flipped her hair. That's it she's not spending any more time with Dominique she acts too much just like her. "I wrote mom she said it was okay. Rose did it for me. It's cute right?"

"Sure it's cute" I said trying to hide the frown out of my voice.

"I'm sure Troy McLaggen thinks so too" James said.

"Who is Troy McLaggen?" I asked.

"He plays seeker on our quidditch team. He's Lily's crush" Al said.

"He is not!"

"Rumors went around that Troy only like girls with blonde hair and then the next day Lily shows up with blondish hair" James snickered.

"Lily even tried to join the team when she heard Troy was going to try out" Al snickered.

"You tried out for the team?" Ginny asked.

"That's not what's important" I said trying to get the focus right back where it belongs. "How old is this Troy kid?"

"My age" Al said.

"He's too old" I said immediately.

"He is not! Besides I don't even like him" Lily said glaring at her brothers.

"That's good. If he's anything like his father he'll have a big head and an even bigger ego" I said.

"Troy does not have a big ego. He's modest" Lily protested.

Both Al and James snorted. I frowned not liking the sound of this Troy McLaggen even more.

"Enough embarrassing you sister" Ginny said. She's probably do the whole girl talk thing with her later when the rest of us weren't around. "How's quidditch going?"

"So," I said giving the kid's hand an extra hard squeeze, "You think you're dating my daughter."

It's the summer before Lily's seventh and final year and Lily wanted me to meet her boyfriend. She chose the place well. The Leaky Cauldron always seemed to be full of people. Never know who has a camera hidden under their cloaks ready to sell pictures to Witch Weekly or one of the other tabloids.

"Yes, I'm dating Lily" the kid said.

"Look Jordon"

"It's Jason"

"Whatever. My Lily is special. She's my little growing flower and I won't let anyone hurt her. So I'm letting you know now. You break her heart, figuratively; I'll break your face, physically. Understand?"

The kid gulped. Good he knows when to be scared.

"Okay dad we're going to go now" Lily said. She was talking to her mom so she didn't hear my threat to her boyfriend. Ugh, I hate that word.

I gave the kid's hand one last tight squeeze before I let it go.

"Have fun shopping, flower" I said.

"Don't follow us" Lily warned.

"As long as you'll promise physical contact will remain to only holding hands" I said.

Lily rolled her eyes.

"I'll make sure you're not followed" Ginny said.

"Bye mom, bye dad, I'll apparate home by ten"

"Eight."

"Ten is just fine. It was nice to meet you, Jason" Ginny said.

"It was nice to meet you too Mr. and Mrs. Potter" the kid said.

"Sure, it was nice to meet you too Jordan."

Ginny stepped on my foot as Lily said "It's Jason, daddy, Jason." I'll remember that for the background check I'll do when I get home.

"Chill out dad" Lily said as we walked down the aisle.

I took a deep breath. I'm chill, I'm fine. There's nothing I could do at this point anyway. We paused and the music got super sweet.

"Deep breath" I muttered. I was saying it more to myself but I heard Lily breathe in deep next to me.

We stepped into the crowd and they all looked in our direction. They weren't looking at me. Not today. Today is Lily's day, her wedding day. She was standing next to me in a long white dress all lace and other girly material looking pretty. Her hair was piled on top of her head and there was a veil over her face. She looked beautiful, then again she always does.

After that Jason kid ran off to go looking for the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland Lily started focusing on her career and I thought that was a good option. Then she went off with her god-mother Luna to Spain for a summer. When she came back she was dating one of Luna's sons Lorcan. I tried to explain to Lily that they couldn't date. He was her god-brother that made them practically family. According to Lily it doesn't work like that.

He waited two and a half years to propose so I give him points for that.

We got to the front of the place.

I placed Lily's hand inside of Lorcan's. "Take care of her" I said.

"I will of course" Lorcan said while Lily just rolled her eyes.

I went to my set in the front row next to Ginny.

"Here you go mate" Ron said from behind me. He handed me a couple of tissues.

"Allergies" I muttered knowing he wasn't buying it. His little Rose got married last year. He knew what I was feeling.

I watched my little seed bud, bloom and blossom into the beautiful Lily flower she is today.