Chapter Song

She'll Go on you ~ Josh Turner

If you've got a little girl, you better take the time

To go to her tea parties and give her a piggyback ride

Be a dragon or a dinosaur every chance you get

Cause one day you can bet

She'll go on you

Before you turn can around

And it's so lonely watching' that

Fast train leaving' town

Better cherish her every second of your life

Cause this precarious little thing that we call time

She'll go on you

Chapter quote

To a father growing old nothing is dearer than a daughter.

~Euripides~

? POV

At exactly midnight on October 30, 1980, a tall, well-built man with black hair, and striking grey eyes appeared in a dark alleyway with a loud 'POP'. He looked across the alley into the window of lone woman holding a child and he knew that he reached his destination. The woman's name was Melissa O'riley he'd know her for years but hadn't been able to see her in the past year and hurried here when he heard the news that she had gotten married. She was looking down into the small pink basket that was currently located at the end of her bed. He let out a heavy sigh, before slowly and dreadfully making his way to the steps that led to her door. Leaving the woman and his child he knew the girl in the bassinet was his would be the hardest thing he would ever do.

Once he reached the building's stone steps, he carefully laid the small box down on the cold stone. He could only hope that the child took after her mother. She had received his family's trademark black hair and grey eyes. As he looked at the woman she pulled the child out. He didn't think coming to see the love of his life would be this hard. But that small little girl had changed everything, but already he knew he would love her for the rest of his days even if he never met her. It broke his heart to leave them like this without explanation but it would be for the best and both girls would stay safe as long as he was gone.

For the next five minutes he walked back and forth between the alleyway and the steps debating if he should leave a letter or not. He was amazed at how fast the child fell asleep; his only wish that he someday being able to sing her to sleep. His best friend's child would scream for hours no matter who sang him to sleep. First looking up and down the street to make sure that no muggles were in sight, he withdrew his wand from his pants pocket conjured a letter and placed it on the steps with the box. He waved to the child and her mother even though they could not see. It hurt him so much that the only thing he could offer his child was a wave that they could not yet see.

He knew that he should be happy that she was no longer in danger from the harm that could be caused by being involved in his world but she would be welcomed in 11 years time. No one would know that he had a child but his two best friends. She would grow up in a family that could give her anything she needed. He only had a small inheritance and wouldn't be able to support a mother and child. She would grow up in a way that neither family would allow.

He watched as the mother placed the child into her bassinet and attempted to wipe away her tears, but it was no use as more continued to fall from her eyes. He hated to see her cry. He wished he could help her. Taking a step back, he and watched as a man walked into the room and pull the woman close comforting her as she cried for a love lost at least he hoped that was the only reason he cried. He took his wand out once more and conjured up a stuffed lion and embroidered with his initials and the words "love you always my little girl." He reluctantly turned and made his way back to the alleyway.

"Good-bye Mellissa Guinevere O'riley, someday I will find you and bring you back home where you belong. Until then; good luck." He replied turning on the spot to look in the window again. "No matter how long you are gone; I'll always love you." he whispered as he apparated away with another loud 'POP' leaving behind the one thing he thought he would never have. Happiness because his mother and father never showed him what it was like to have happiness; they were always bitter.

The man apparated back to his best friend's house and walked into the living room where his friend's wife was holding their new born child. Seeing him caused them to flash a few smiles. While his friend's wife noticed nothing his friend did and made him walk outside into the garden so they could talk. It had broken his heart when he had decided to walk away and give up any right to bring his child up in the wizarding world.

His friend quickly left his wife's side to talk with his heart broken friend. They had so much happiness he didn't want to rain down on their parade. But he would have to tell his friend why he was so down and where he was for the past few hours.

He turned and made his way down a set of stairs and in to the magically enlarged garden. He walked around until he reached the place he was looking for. Sitting on the bench he looked out at the small pond he was going to propose to Mellissa if she would have came with him. When his friend finally found him he sat alongside him on the bench. As the two boys looked out at the small pond the happier one woke up first.

"What happen?"

"She had a child that's why she needed me but I was protecting . . ."

"You had a child and didn't leave my wife to be with the mother of yours."

"I didn't know she didn't say in her letters that she was with child. Not one single word; just that she needed to talk with me soon."

"You should have gone anyhow. I can take care of my own family."

"I know I didn't want to let you down because you're the only family I have left."

"Alright well did you ask if you could be in the Childs life?"

"No I didn't ask if I could be involved in her life. Mellissa's already married to someone else."

"Since you can't do anything about it; come back inside and have some stew because you know my darling wife would kill you for not eating after being in the rain that long."

Both men when inside and had a late dinner of stew and potatoes which was all that was needed even though they could have made more course with magic they didn't need to the food was filling enough.

The sadder of the two men sat and watch as the happier one entertained his newborn son with colored smoke rings. The sight before him only brought another round of tears to his eyes. When he had looked into their eyes, they both seemed to know that they both should be holding their children entertaining them, watching them learn to crawl and walk and fly on toy broom sticks given to them at Christmas time but that would never happen because one man lost his child even before he got to meet her. He would forever hold the image of the little girl being held by her mother in his arms.

The man decide at that moment that he would write a letter to his daughter every year and send it to her on her birthday and would sit waiting and praying that the mother would read or put them away for her latter in life. He also decided to send a picture with the first letter. It was of the two of them in the leaky caldron the only non-muggle place the pair when ever gone out anywhere.

He would also visit the child on her birthday he decided even if it was just as a family friend or just to leave another lion like the one he left with her tonight. Maybe he would leave her a bird or badger for the other Hogwarts houses. They would all say the same thing as the first one "love you always my little girl." with his initials following the message. He would send her a toy broom but knew that the child would be raised muggle because her mother was muggle.

The man took one last look at his friend and family said good bye and walked out into the garden to the house he dreaded. He was alone but glad that he didn't have to go home to the family homestead. They were all caught up in pure blood mania like a lot of the other blokes he knew from school although he disliked most of them and wouldn't hang out with them even if he did believe the pure blood stuff.

He walked into his study and with one flick of his wand started a fire in the fire place just in case he needed to fire call someone or not; plus it warmed up the drafty place. He sat down at his desk; put his feet up and looked in to the fire and thought about what he wanted to put into the first letter. About an hour later he took his feet off the desk got up and started to pace the floor in front of the fire. He had no idea what to say, the child would most likely grow up to hate him because he wasn't there for her when she needed him.

He finally got an idea of what to write to his little girl when it was almost five in the morning, a mere five short hours since he arrived home. He wrote down how he was sorry that he wasn't there for her mother when she pregnant with her. He wrote how sorry he was that he wasn't there for her. He wrote down what he would have named her. He wrote down the story of how he met and fell in love with her mother. He wrote how he loved her mother and was heartbroken to see her married to someone else. He even told her how it broke his heart when he wasn't able to walk into the room and comfort her when she started crying.

He folded the parchment that contained the only words that he would be able to send his daughter for now. The next letter would have to wait until next year if he was still living that I; because no one knew how long they would live these days with how powerful Voldemort had become. Several families had been dedicated with loss like his own while other family went into hiding for various reasons that ranged from protecting the children to running from the dark lord. He himself fell under the latter category along with his best friend and his family.

His best friend started running when he lost his mother and father to a death eater attack and took his wife and child into hiding. While the man himself lost his brother and father in the span of two months to separate death eater attacks by the same death eaters. Even though he didn't get along with them he still had a hard time believing that they were both gone for good. His father was buried in the family plot his brother's body was never found so he suspected the he was also on the run not wanting to be involved in the family pride anymore. The man knew his brother believed the pureblood mania like has parents just not to the extent.

But he took the letter to his one and only daughter and put it into his owls beak and sent it to Mellissa's home and went to bed and slept the last good sleep he would ever have because a day later he would get the news that his best friend was gone along with his wife.