It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in early July, and Molly felt it was warm enough for everyone to eat outside. With their family now so large, Molly insisted on at least one Sunday a month where everyone would attend a family meal, and today was it. Potters, Weasleys, a Lupin, a Longbottom and even a Malfoy were starting to arrive.

Harry had come over earlier than most, as his house was empty. Ginny had attended a Quidditch match yesterday, and was currently at the Daily Prophet office, writing her report. She would be along later.

James, now twenty-one, had pulled the night shift at the Auror office, so he was still sleeping. Harry was still trying to get used to the fact that his eldest sone had moved out of home and was living with his girlfriend, Alice Longbottom. They both planned to arrive closer to tea time.

Al, now twenty, was standing next to his cousin Rose, and her boyfriend, Scorpius, who was Al's best friend. Al had done so well in school, but had no idea what he wanted to do for a career. He had spent the last twelve months working in his grandfather's old job, in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office, but had recently quit. Scorpius and Al were going to travel through Europe, before Al returned to start Auror training.

Harry looked around for his daughter, but couldn't see her. He knew she had gone out with her cousins last night, to a night club. Lily had caused Harry the most anxiety lately. She'd just graduated from Hogwarts and had just turned seventeen. Although she had great results in her NEWTS, she had seemed determined to enjoy her last year, pulling several pranks that earned her detentions, and even a couple of notes sent home. Then there were the boys!

Lily was a lot like her mum, realised Harry. She was petite, with gorgeous red hair, and his emerald eyes. She was fun loving and always up for a good time, but you didn't want to mess with Lily Potter. She was fiercely loyal, and not afraid to use her mum's Bat- Bogey hex when it warrranted it, as a few boys who had pushed too far had found out.

So Harry had a few things on his mind, as he sat at a table, only half listening to Hermione as she talked about the goings on at the Mimistry, or to George, talking about his latest invention at WWW. He greeted Teddy with a nod of his head, then tuned out as Ron, Teddy and Hugo argued over the next Cannons vs Tornadoes match.

He heard feminine giggling, and turned to see Victoire, Dominique, Roxanne, Molly and Lucy come out of the Burrow and head for the table. He looked behind them for Lily, but didn't see her. Rose joined her cousins, as they discussed the night before. Harry tried to stop listening to them as they discussed who wore what, and who was seen leaving with whom. He frowned as he heard mention of Firewhiskey shots and strippers!

The sound of a big motorcycle made everyone turn to look. Harry certainly appreciated a good motorcycle, having fixed Sirius's old one the summer after the final battle. The rider came closer and stopped the bike. A tiny figure behind him got off and took off her helmet. Harry gasped. It was his daughter, Lily.

Everyone at the table had stopped talking, and were looking at Lily. Harry got up, assuring everyone he was going to check it out. Ron and Teddy offered to go with him, but he declined. He walked towards Lily, who had yet to see her dad approach.

The rider stayed on his bike, but removed his helmet. Harry could see that he wasn't old, maybe the same age as James or Al. His head was shaved, and he had tattoos down the side of his neck. His ear was pierced, and he wore a leather jacket over a leather vest.

Harry hated him on sight. He listened to what they had to say.

"Are you sure you're okay, Lily?"

"I'm fine, Brandon, really," insisted Lily.

"Cos it usually hurts the first time, you know," said Brandon.

Harry's jaw dropped open. His daughter had had sex! For the first time! With this leather clad, tattoo, pierced biker!

"Did you get the cream? Rub it on, it'll make you feel better. I can do it now, if you like," offered Brandon.

Harry's eyes narrowed. Like hell this guy was getting his hands on Lily anymore.

"You know, it won't hurt as much next time," said Brandon.

"Yeah, I know. The more I do it, the less it will hurt," said Lily.

Harry wondered if he was having a heart attack. He swore his heart just stopped beating!

"Well, when you want more, you know where to find me," said Brandon, smiling at her.

'In hell!' thought Harry. 'You'll be in hell for touching my daughter'. He decided it was time to make his presence known.

"Ahem," he coughed, coming into view.

Lily swung around. "Daddy!"

Harry came up to Lily and put a protective arm around her. He glared at Brandon. "Do you know who I am?" he asked in a threatening way.

Lily just sighed and shook her head.

Brandon smirked, leaning his forearms on his bike. "I guess you're Daddy."

Harry saw red. "Yes. I'm Lily's father. I don't know who you are, but-"

"Daddy, it's Brandon. Brandon Finnegan. You know, Liam's older brother," said Lily.

Harry stared. This was one of Seamus Finnegans's boys? Good Lord, did it get any worse?

Ron came up and stood on the other side of Lily. He looked between Brandon and Harry. "Everything all right here?"

"Everything's fine, Uncle Ron. Daddy, why don't you go back with Uncle Ron while I say goodbye to Brandon. PLEASE?" she asked, sending her father and uncle a death glare.

Harry nodded reluctantly, and he and Ron took a step away. Then Brandon called out to him.

"Yo Daddy? You got yourself a good little girl there. She barely whimpered. She was a bit tense at first, but she soon got into it."

"Brandon!" cried Lily, shocked.

Harry and Ron turned around. Harry's fists were clenched. Ron's face was red.

"Do you know who this is. He's Harry-bloody-Potter, Lily's father. And just so you can say you were warned, she's got two brothers, a god brother, four uncles and three male cousins who would gladly help Harry if ANYONE hurt Lily, got it!" cried Ron, counting family on his fingers.

"Uncle Ron!" cried Lily.

"Lily's also got an uncle who's a dragon trainer in Romania. Believe me, we know how to get rid of a body," finished Ron.

"Really," drawled Brandon, quite amused. Lily looked mortified.

"And when we're all done with you, we'd leave your leftovers for Ginny. Then you'll know real pain," said Harry, quite enjoying himself.

To his surprise, Brandon laughed and put his helmet back on. "You old dudes need to chill before you give yourself a heart attack. Lil, I'll see you around. Well, hello, Mrs P, looking good," he whistled and winked.

He left on his motorcycle, as Ron and Harry turned to see Ginny approach them. She waved goodbye to Brandon, then turned to face them.

"Hi, what's going on?" she asked.

"Daddy's ruining my life, that's what's going on!" cried Lily dramamtically, brushing past Harry and Ron and heading back to the house.

Ginny watched her go, before turning back to Harry and Ron.

"Well?" she asked, her hands on her hips.

"I can't believe he flirted with you, and you just waved to him. Do you know who he is? What he's done to our baby girl?" asked Harry, running his hands through his hair.

Ginny looked surprised. "It's Brandon Finnegan, Seamus's oldest son. What's the matter? What's he done to Lily?"

Harry started pacing. "He-He's too old for her, for a start. With his shaved head, and the motorcycle, no. No way. I'm sorry, but Lily is grounded. You go and tell her, Gin. She's grounded for the next two, no five years!"

Ginny sighed. "You can't ground her, Harry. She's seventeen. Will one of you please tell me what's going on?"

She looked to Ron who shook his head. Then she looked at Harry.

"You should have heard him, Gin, the things he was saying. He said it was her first time, and...and that she did really well. Merlin, he offered to rub cream on...it!"

Ron paled. "Bloody hell. We just let him leave. We need to go and find him, so we can-"

"No!"

Harry and Ron jumped, then looked at Ginny. She had her finger pointing at them.

"You promise me you won't do anything to Brandon, especially without talking to Lily first. Both of you, promise me."

"Okay, I promise..." muttered Harry.

"I promise..." mumbled Ron, not meeting his sister's eye.

Ginny nodded. "Good. Harry, if I know our daughter, she's gone home. I think we should go and talk to her. I'll go and let Mum and Dad know we're leaving. I'll meet you at our home in two minutes."

When Ginny was far enough away, Ron muttered, "I promise I'll help you Harry. I'll hold him down while you hit him with your best spell."

"Yeah, well I promise to make him sorry he called us old dudes and told us to chill. Then I-I, damn I can't think of anything right now. I've got to get home or Ginny'll have my ba-"

"HARRY!" bellowed Ginny.

"Coming, dear," yelled Harry. He ignored Ron's snicker as they walked back to the Burrow.

"These girls are going to be the death of us, Harry. When I held my little Rosie in my arms for the first time, I swore I'd do anything to protect her. She's had me wrapped around her finger since the day she was born. Now we have to let our baby girls grow up and go out there and meet these blokes, like that git Brandon, and we know what they want."

"I don't want to think about Lily growing up. I want her to stay my little girl forever. Growing up means dates and clubs with strippers, and boys and well, you know," said Harry, gloomily.

Ron nodded. "Sex. At least you don't have to worry about your little girl having sex with a Malfoy."

Harry perked up and slapped Ron on the back. "A Finnegan doesn't make me feel all warm and gooey, but hey, thanks, I think that actually made me feel better. Cheers, mate."

Harry flooed home alone, as Ginny had already gone. As there was no-one in the lounge, Harry assumed Lily and Ginny were in Lily's bedroom. Sure enough, Ginny came downstairs. She came to him and hugged him.

"Go on, love. Go and talk to her. Tell her how you're feeling, but please, listen to what Lil has to say, too."

Harry nodded, and with a quick kiss, he went up the stairs. He knocked on Lily's door, and she called, "Come in."

Harry went in and saw Lily was unpacking her bag. She had had a quick shower, and now, with her face make-up free, and in shorts and a tank top, she looked more fourteen than seventeen. For a moment, Harry wished he had a time-turner.

"So, what's new?" he asked. Inwardly he cringed.

Lily sent him a look. "What's new? That's what you wanted to ask me? That's lame, Dad."

"I know, you're right. I'm sorry, Lil," said Harry, sitting on her bed. "Have a good night with the girls?"

Lily nodded. "Yeah, it was a lot of fun. We went to that new club off Diagon Alley. The music was really good, so I was dancing most of the night."

"You spent the night at Molly and Lucy's, right?" he asked.

Lily nodded. "Yeah, we didn't get home till about two, and then I met Brandon abou eleven. I'm pretty tired, I think I might go to bed early tonight. It's been a big day," she said, yawning.

Harry gulped. Lily had given him an opening to ask about Brandon. Did he really want to know?

He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Lily beat him to it. "You really embarrased me today, Daddy. Brandon did nothing wrong, and you and Uncle Ron went crazy. Talking about getting rid of his body in Romania, honestly," said Lily, shaking her head and putting her hands on her hips.

She reminded Harry so much of Ginny right then.

"Yeah, well, I-"

"Although it was pretty funny when you said Mum would finish him off. You know, I really think you and all my uncles are scared of Mum, aren't you?" giggled Lily.

"Have you met your mother? Of course we're all scared of her," said Harry, dryly.

Lily laughed again, then stopped. "Daddy, have I done something wrong? You've acted different to me since I got home from Hogwarts."

Harry sighed. "No, Lil, you've done nothing wrong. It's all me. You've grown into a beautiful young woman, and I'm just having a hard time dealing with all that goes with that. You know, the night clubs and the drinking, and -"

"Daddy, last night was Vicki's hens night. Sure, I had fun at the night club, but I couldn't imagine going to one all the time. And the strippers were Domi's idea," siad Lily, defensively.

"-the boys," finished Harry. Lily sat quietly. Harry reached for her hand.

"It's so hard to see you grow up, Lil, because I know that one day, I'm going to have to let you go. You're so much like your mother, so beautiful and loving. What young man isn't going to be attracted to that? I know that one day you will meet a man, and he'll be The One. But let me tell you, my precious Lily Luna, no man will ever be good enough for you, do you understand?" said an emotional Harry.

"Oh, Daddy," cried Lily, throwing herself into his arms. Harry hugged her tight, his baby girl, his precious only daughter.

Lily pulled back, tears in her eyes. "Thank you for saying that, Daddy. He'll have to be very special to be The One, Daddy, because I measure every guy I meet against you. That's why I got this."

Lily turned around and pulled her tank top off one shoulder. On her right shoulder blade was a tattoo, with the word 'Dad' inside a red heart, with a green lightening bolt running through the middle.

"I got it today. Brandon took me," said Lily. "What do you think? Daddy?"

Harry looked at it, then at his daughter. "He-he took you," he stammered.

Lily nodded. "I was going to go to this place down Knockturn Alley, but Brandon heard me telling Li, er, someone, and said he knew a better place, and that he'd take me and stay with me. I was really glad to have him there, Dad. Dad?"

Harry's heart had gone cold when she'd mentioned Knockturn Alley, but he came out of his stupor and hugged Lily again. "Good, I-er, I'm glad he was a good friend and helped you, sweetheart. I'm touched, really. It's a nice tattoo."

"So, we're good. Everything's okay? And Brandon can come over and hang out, sometime?" asked Lily, hopefully. "He's met Mum, he likes her."

'I bet he does', sneered Harry. To his daughter, he smiled. "We're fine, sweetheart. I can't promise I won't have a blow up again, but hey, I'm your Dad, that's my job," he said, heading for the door.

"And Brandon?" asked Lily, before he could leave.

"Sure. When hell freezes over, okay," he winked at her as he left the room.

"Dad!" he heard her wail.

Lily plopped down on her bed, and grabbed an old purple dragon toy that was laying on her bed. She sat down and cuddled it, thinking about her dad. A knock on the door made her look up.

"Come in," she said.

Ginny popped her head in. "How did it go? Did he like it?"

Lily nodded, smiling. Ginny came in and sat next to her on the bed. Lily rested her head on her mum's shoulders. Thinking about what her dad said about him and her uncles being scared of her mother made her smile even bigger.

"Everything's all right with you and your Dad, then? It's hitting him hard, Lil, you growing up. Go easy on him, please?" asked Ginny, kissing her daughter's forehead.

Lily agreed. Ginny got up to go, but as she got to the door, she stopped.

"What did your Dad say about Brandon?" she asked Lily.

"That he can come over when hell freezes over. So unfair, Mum," wailed Lily.

"I know, love. Still, this should make it easy," said Ginny.

"Huh?" asked Lily.

"If I were you, I'd give it a day or two, then invite Liam over for tea. It's about time your Dad met your boyfriend. He'll be so happy it's not Brandon, he'll practically welcome Liam into the family. Trust me, I know your father," smiled Ginny.

Lily leaped off the bed. "Thanks, Mum. You're brilliant," she said, hugging her hard.

Ginny hugged her back, and left her room.

Lily decided to finish unpacking, and even though it was early, she decided to get into her pyjamas. As she got changed, she giggled.

"Good thing I didn't tell Dad OR Mum about the piercing," she said, as she looked at her new belly button piercing, a gold hoop with gold snitch swinging from it. "That may have been pushing it!"