AN: I got quite a few Taylor Swift lyrics in here XD I hope you enjoy it!

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Teddy watched as Lily broke down into tears. She was seven years old and although he himself had been throwing tantrums none too long ago, sixteen year old Teddy squeezed his eyes shut at the noise. "Lily, I'm trying to do my holiday homework. Please, be qui—" he began, but was cut off by Lily's shrill:

"No!"

Teddy sighed in resignation and surveyed the young girl cautiously. She wasn't hurt. "You know," he said, "when I saw you for the first time, you were crying."

"And?" asked a sulking Lily.

"Some things just never change," he said with a chuckle, jumping out of his seat as Lily leapt at him in anger.

It was only two days later that Teddy was forgiven. He knocked on Lily's bedroom door, and when she opened it to his grinning face, she almost closed it right away. Fortunately, Teddy spoke quickly.

"Please, just listen?" he asked.

Lily scowled at him before crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow—the spitting image of her mum, which almost made him laugh—prompting him to speak.

"Come downstairs."

Lily frowned. "Why?"

Teddy smirked, and he could tell that she was annoyed, but curious about how smug he looked.

Sure enough, not even two minutes after he had reached the kitchen, Lily entered hesitantly. Then she noticed the box on the floor. "What's that?" she asked.

A bark came from the box, and her hand flew to her mouth. "Teddy!" she exclaimed, quite speechless, for once.

"Open it," he urged, ushering her forwards.

She complied, and he was forgiven.

The husky he had bought her all those years ago rested its head in fifteen year old Lily's lap as she sobbed.

Teddy, now twenty-four years of age, frowned and crouched before the teenager. Elizabeth, the husky whined at him. "There, there, Lizzy. I'll find out what's up."

He didn't know why Lily had chosen such a grandiose name for her pet, but Lizzy was hers, after all.

"Lily?"

"Go away," said Lily's muffled voice.

"What happened?" he asked, softening his tone, and glanced Lizzy as if she could help.

"Do you remember Alex McLaggen?" she asked, sitting up. Teddy tried not to look shocked at her red-rimmed eyes.

"You were only going on about him for the past few months," he said, sarcastically.

Lily buried her face in her hands. "I'm so stupid," she groaned.

Teddy frowned. "Why?"

"Because now he's gone and gotten himself a girlfriend!" she said with a sniffle.

So that was what this was about.

Teddy smiled sadly at Lily. "In your life," he began, "you'll do things greater than dating the boy on the Quidditch team," he said.

Lily looked up and blinked at him twice; then she straightened her shoulders. The expression on her face was strong and determined—then Lizzy licked her cheek, and they all dissolved into giggles.

Lily's eighteenth birthday celebration was away from home. The Potters had retired to bed, expecting a late return for their youngest child, and Teddy had been sleeping too, when Lizzy had jumped onto his chest, whining and pawing at him.

"What's wrong, Lizzy?" he asked, groggily.

Lizzy jumped off of his chest and padded over to his door, growling in a way that made Teddy think if he wasn't up in the next few seconds, she wasn't going to be happy.

He followed the sound of the dog's footsteps down the stairs and to the front door, where she scratched at it and whined again. Teddy barked out a laugh. "Is that what you wanted? Lizzy, I can't take you out for a walk at this time!"

But Lizzy persisted, scratching at the door until he finally gave in, worried that the paint would come off. He grabbed her leash and clipped it onto her collar before opening the door, and promptly dropped to his knees.

There, on the doorstep, lay Lily. She was face down, but her red hair, illuminated by the light of the moon gave it away. Lizzy pounced on her owner, nuzzling Lily to wake her up—but she didn't.

Panicked, Teddy scooped up her unconscious form and laid her on the sofa. Then, he grabbed a tea towel and whispered a quick Aguamenti before dabbing at her face with the wet material, clearing up what he guessed was vomit on her chin.

He remembered Madame Pomfrey teaching him how to cast diagnostics during his work experience placement—the matron had invited him to work alongside her for the week as he'd had no idea where he wanted to go—and quickly cast the spell, watching as the coloured dots circled her head. He squinted for a moment, and identified the cause as over-consumption of alcohol.

Looking down, he winced at the state of her dress. The top half was also covered in what he presumed was also vomit, and it seemed to have made its way into her hair. Wrinkling his nose, he lifted her slightly and pulled her hair out from under her.

"Scourgify," he whispered, and watched as her hair filled with bubbles as it cleaned.

The dress was another matter entirely. If he cleaned it, then she would be sleeping in a soggy dress, and after being outdoors in the cold for so long, she would surely become ill. On the other hand, if he left it as it was, she was going to be sleeping in her own vomit. Neither option was ideal.

Thankfully, before he had to make a decision, Lily groaned and lifted her hands to her head. Teddy rushed to the kitchen to grab a glass of water, Sober-up and headache relief potion.

He returned to find her sitting up, looking in pain. "I think you might want these," he said, handing over the vials of potions, before giving her the water after she'd done drinking them.

He remained stood up and neither of them spoke until Teddy heard a sniffle. "Lily?"

"What am I meant to tell Mum and Dad?" she asked, looking down at her hands.

Teddy crouched before her. "It's the first time you've done anything like this. You got carried awa—"

But Lily cut him off. "It's not the first time I've done this." Teddy only blinked in shock. "The first time, Mum found me—and the second time Dad did. They were so worried about letting me go out this time, but I kept nagging at them. I promised them—" Here, Lily's voice became more strangled. "I promised them I wouldn't break their trust, but there were so many people and we were all celebrating, and people kept offering and offering and—"

Teddy watched helplessly as Lily began sobbing openly. "I'm such an idiot. I keep breaki—"

At the very sound of her self-deprecating speech, Teddy hushed her gently. "Remember what Molly always says? 'I hope you remember, today is never too late to be brand new.'"

Lily nodded, and wiped her eyes, wrinkling her nose at her dress as she did so. Lizzy whined, and Lily's attention immediately went to her dog. "Oh, Lizzy, I'm so sorry I scared you!" she exclaimed, dropping to her knees and giving her dog a hug, carefully avoiding getting any vomit on her coat.

"She woke me up to come and get you," said Teddy with a sad smile.

Lily looked up at him. "I'm never drinking alcohol again," she stated, and stood up. Pointing her wand at herself, she muttered a Scourgify and enveloped Teddy in a hug that lasted a second longer than he expected it to. Her lips ghosted his cheek as she whispered a thank you and made her way up the stairs, Lizzy following her lead.

It was Teddy's favourite time of year: Christmas. Everyone always went to the Weasley's home for Christmas and this one was no exception. The dining table had to be moved outside and expanded as Molly Weasley's children, children's friends, and grandchildren all attended.

As soon as he entered the Burrow through the fireplace, Molly Weasley set to making him comfortable, cooing over how much he had grown and "How old are you now?"

"Thirty-two," he answered with a chuckle.

"And not married yet?" asked Molly with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. Teddy resisted the urge to roll his eyes; the matriarch always asked him the same question.

"Not yet," he said.

"What not yet?" came a voice from beside him.

Teddy managed to control his jump to a slight flinch, and saw it was Lily.

"I was just asking him how on earth he isn't married yet," said Molly with a chuckle.

Lily laughed, but it sounded slightly forced. "I'm sure the ladies are drooling over him. Do either of you know where Lizzy is?"

"She should be with the kids, my dear," said Molly with a smile, and shooed them both from her kitchen.

Lizzy had been staying with the Weasley's over the holidays as Lily had been away for the past couple of weeks on a training trip to research Ancient Greek wizardry. She wanted to become a history teacher, and, for only being twenty-three and not fully qualified yet, Headmaster McGonagall appeared to be more than confident in Lily's abilities.

"She always asks me the same question every time I visit," said Teddy with a chuckle.

Lily smiled, but there was something he couldn't quite pinpoint in her eyes. "I wonder too. There are plenty of women out there who would love to have you," she said.

Teddy frowned. "Well, none of them… are right, I guess," he said.

For some reason, a smile appeared on Lily's face, and didn't leave for the rest of the night.

It was as Teddy walked Lily to the fireplace that she said: "Let's hope the next time I see you, you're not married."

Teddy laughed. "If I got married, you'd be invited, of course."

Lily rolled her eyes. "We're close now, but these things will, or can, change easily."

"What's gotten into you?" asked Teddy.

"Nothing at all," answered Lily, stepping into the fireplace, and left a confused Teddy in the kitchen of the Burrow.

Spring came around and thirty-four year old Teddy was out on a walk with Lily and Lizzy. It was also the anniversary of the 'Battle of Hogwarts', so they visited the cemetery, finding people from all walks of life already there, with tears and flowers in abundance.

Teddy's face was solemn. "Everyone here was someone else before the war," he said. "Their lives would have been so much different without it."

Lily shook her head, looking over at her family beside her uncle's grave. "When we were all little, I remember you and I didn't understand why there were wars, and why people fought and risked their lives. Then we came here, and we saw just how much everyone loved each other and how much they mourned the passing of their loved ones."

Teddy cleared his throat, feeling the beginnings of a lump forming there. "Well, now you and I understand why they lost their minds and fought in the war."

He didn't need to state the reason; Lizzy's leash and Lily's hand intertwined with his as they made their way over to the Weasleys and Potters.

For love.