You've never felt oldancientdecrepit before,
not like you do rightnow.
But you've heard that there is a first time for everything.
[and darling, the day has come]
This waterfall of memories is {pulling you under}
And they are all about H E R.
Thirteen years old, complaining about Arithmancy.
["Why didn't you tell me it would be so hard?"]
Her standing transfixed in front of the Hogwarts Express.
{"Isn't it wonderful, Teddy?"}
A little girl clinging to your robes with a tear-streaked face.
("Do you really have to go away?")
And you remember the day she was born,
the way that you stared at that little pink face,
[already a beauty}
and the way that Harry smiled at you, and his words:
"You can hold her, Ted. If you want."
- Would he say that n o w, if he knew? -
Because this is wronghorribledisgusting,
the thoughts that enter your mind now (when you look at her),
the way she {stars in your dreams.}
L i l y is a little girl, [gawky] and [flat-chested],
(dots her 'i's with hearts)
Right?
Except that now her dress is clinging to her curves,
["Mum and Dad didn't want me to wear it."]
And she's complaining about other things,
{"I'm tired of hiding this, Ted!"}
and with every move she makes, you're a little more transfixed.
("Oi, Teddy, do you like what you see?")
And you shiver when she runs her fingers through your hair.
It turns scarlet with her touch.
{red is for passion, for embarrassment, for love}
"Are you afraid?" she whispers in your ear.
You don't know how to tell her the answer:
Y-e-s.
But you let her pull you into the party,
And in an instant, every eye is on the |two of you|,
T
O
G
E
T
H
E
R
Albus blinks owlishly and James swears in realization
but Harry is smiling.
|You can hold her, Ted, if you want.|
And the people who still remember the war
(who still remember your parents)
don't even blink.
"Those Lupin men, they like younger women."
And Lily laughs and you laugh and you hope that
it will be like this forever.