Pairing: HarryGilderoy (platonic)

Prompt: 11. Time Goes By

Word count: 498

Time Goes By

"Bye, Harry!" Gilderoy smiled fondly at the small bespectacled boy as he waved from the train. What a ten years it had been with the orphan, taking him around on tour and to book signings across the world. Not only was he now cultured in the way of living, he had a very clear understanding of the way the world of fame worked. He would pose with his adoptive father for photographs, and his name would pop up in the Daily Prophet every once in a while. It was quite the life for a little boy – one many would dream of, Gilderoy suspected.

"Bye," Harry said as the smoke began to blow.

"Remember," Gilderoy said, chasing the moving train along the station, "if anybody asks for my autograph, you have the pre-signed ones in your trunk!"

"Right," Harry replied just as the train left the station and rounded the corner. "Of course I will!"

"The last thing Gilderoy heard before his son was completely out of earshot was the sound of another voice asking, "Is that Lockhart," and then all that was left was the sobs of parents who had had to let go of their precious babies.

Gilderoy shrugged. Harry would be fine. He knew he would be. He'd probably eventually embrace the small amount of fame he already had. At least, that was what Gilderoy hoped for.

…

Gilderoy waited at the platform with everybody else. He waited impatiently to make sure that his son would arrive safely. After the death of Dumbledore and the Death Eaters on the streets, he wanted to make sure the boy was safe.

He had aged greatly in the past six years. His golden hair was now greying at the roots, and the curls he had once contained were falling out, being reduced to baldness.

He waited as the Hogwarts Express came to a holt on the platform and waited with anticipation as students began to exit. There were a few of the Weasleys over there, but no Ron. Oh, there was Hermione Granger, but she didn't seem to be with Harry.

"Excuse me, Mr Lockhart?"

Gilderoy turned to a nervous looking first year who was holding a quill and a piece of parchment in shaking hands.

"I was just wondering if –"

"Not now!" Gilderoy snapped, making forward to where his son's black, messy hair had just appeared from the end carriage. He strode past the boy and embraced his own son with a tight hug. "It's good to see you, Harry," he said.

"You, too," Harry responded with a grateful hug. He then looked to where the boy still stood, shock on his face. "You can't leave your fans waiting," he teased, quoting something Gilderoy had told Harry over and over as a boy.

Gilderoy turned back too. "Well," he said, "Sometimes there are more important things that fans." He winked, looking at the now young man. Time really had gone fast. His son was now a man.

This chapter was requested by ksecc1.

Please PM me to make your own requests! All pairings/characters/anything accepted.