"Frank?" Alice yelled down the flat's staircase. She laughed at him, two flights down with a huge bag of groceries in each hand. His muffled response had Alice laughing even harder.

"Thank you for getting the groceries. I promise you'll get a lovely, romantic dinner in return. I'll even take a bag for you so that you can even say 'hello.'" She met him down the stairs, taking the lighter of the two bags.

"how much food do you need for one dinner? The market's only a block away. Do you have any idea how stupid I looked carrying these huge bags two blocks and up those bloody stairs? I nearly took out a little old lady!" Alice only smiled in response, kissing his cheek delicately.

"I think you look adorable, not stupid."

"You would. You've always had a thing for hopeless boys."

"You're saying Sirius Black was hopeless?"

"You and him were a mistake."

"Like you and Narcissa?"

"Alice, can we not bicker in the hallway?"

"Honey, we bicker everywhere. I think the rest of the world is used to us by now." She laughed, but entered the apartment anyway. They'd only been married for three months and already they'd been threatened to be kicked out. The owner was a muggle and had no idea that kicking two Aurors out of their flat would result in their deaths. The duo had silently agreed to their landlord to keep it quiet from that point on.

Frank entered the room behind Alice, quietly placing the bag on the table. Their flat wasn't much- a tiny bedroom, a slightly furnished kitchen and a bathroom with a shower that didn't always work. But it was their home for when they weren't risking their lives on missions during the war.

Alice set her bag on the table too, but Frank's arms around her waist distracted her from unpacking them. His lips were at her neck, kissing their way slowly up to her ear.

"Frank." Alice sighed, turning her head to meet his eyes. He took advantage of the turn, capturing her lips in his. Alice enjoyed these moments. Between missions was the only time they had together anymore. Not seeing him for weeks on end destroyed her spirit. Tonight was a night for celebration on so many levels. It was their first time seeing each other after two weeks away and she was set to make sure they would enjoy every minute of it.

"Mm?"

"I missed you." She kissed him again, her tongue happily returning to his mouth and meeting again with his.

"Don't worry. Dumbledore said that the Dark Lord can't find us here. We're too Muggle-like." She smiled, as did he. She loved the way he always made her fears disappear with a simple smile. But these fears were too great for the smile.

"It's not that. I just missed this. Us acting like we're married-"

"But we are!"

"I know, but when we're out fighting, that's not how we are. We're almost as horrifying as the Death Eaters. I hate that."

"The Death Eaters?"

"No. Being soulless."

"Alice." His grip tightened around her. She fell into it, closing her eyes. "You have more soul than anyone I've ever met. So stop complaining and smile for me." She could feel his lips on her forehead for a brief second before he stepped away from her. "Please."

"You know what would make me smile?"

"Alice, we are not visiting my mother. She's going to lecture me for hours about how skinny I am and I'm going to have to blame it on your cooking skills." Frank took a seat at the table, ignoring the groceries in front of him.

"No, not visiting your mother. That woman likes me a little too much…"

"She has always wanted a daughter…"

"Frank, will you just let me finish? It'd make me smile if you could sing that song you were singing the first time I ever met you."

"Alice, my voice doesn't go that high anymore."

"I know." She was smiling anyway, putting each separate item from the bag in its rightful spot on the counter. "But it was just so adorable."

"Fine." Frank faked his disgust. The song had always reminded him of her.

Z

Year One

"Lily?" Alice popper her overly blonde head into one of the train compartments. A handful of hideous boys dressed in Slytherin robes returned her gaze. "Sorry. Looking for my friend."

"Get lost, aye?" One yelled. Alice did as instructed, her chubby face heating up much too quickly. Self-conscious issues were only ever added to by boys. Having one very confident older brother made her sure of that.

A new compartment, a second chance.

"Lily?" The door opened on a couple with locked lips. She shut the door before she could see their faces and hear their insults. The boy's blonde hair looked startlingly like her own though- Gregor probably had a new girl.

By the fifth compartment, she was ready to give up hope of ever finding her only friend. Lily Evans was the only person she knew so far, thanks to Alice's over-eagerness to assist the muggle-borns in getting to Platform 9 ¾.

Something caught her attention as she opened door number five. It seemed that someone was assaulting her ears with slightly off-key singing. In the compartment sat one tiny boy, obviously a first year like herself with the lack of maturity in his youthful face. His eyes were closed, but his badly-cut brown hair was in his eyes anyway. He wasn't the type of boy to pull off that kind of look.

He noticed her a split-second too late- she'd heard him singing and he probably wasn't going to have the opportunity to live it down. His dark amber eyes shot open, going very wide.

"Sorry for intruding. Have you seen a girl with red hair running around here?" Alice asked, laughing in her thoughts at the furious blush on his cheeks.

"Eh, n…no…A…ask…James Potter," the boy responded.

"Who?"

"A…sorry. Boy with messy hair and glasses. Should be with another boy with messy hair."

"Thank you. Sorry for intruding. Your singing voice isn't half bad, by the way." And with that, she closed the door. She laughed quietly to herself in the outside corridor before colliding with someone.

"Alice!"

"Lily! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"You'll never guess what happened! It's only my first day here and I've already found someone madly in love with me? How annoying is that? He hasn't even gotten to know me yet and automatically James Potter admits he loves me!" Lily groaned. Alice could only laugh in sympathy. They had only just met too and already Lily was turning to Alice about her problems.

"He should at least have waited until you had been sorted to say something like that!"

"Sorted?" Alice had forgotten that Lily knew practically nothing of their culture. Alice's mind drifted away from the singing boy to focus on Lily's problems.

"You have so much to learn, Lily."

Z

"Why were you singing anyhow? You were very lucky it was me that barged in and not those stupid Slytherins that yelled at me." Alice had moved on from organization of the groceries to cooking something that smelled appealing to Frank. Even eight years after the first time he sang to her and he was still turning red in embarrassment.

"I was terrified of Hogwarts. You have no idea what my brothers told me about it. My mom used to sine me that song whenever I had a nightmare. It was calming," Frank defended. Alice laughed while stirring the mixture on the stove. Frank had insisted upon their moving in to the muggle apartment that she would cook by Muggle means. She was enjoying it though, as troublesome as stirring actually was.

"And I had to wait another three hours to find out what your name was."

"And you laughed! I was watching you!"

"Your last name was funny." Frank was up from his spot at the kitchen table by that point, his arms back on Alice's waist as she cooked.

"Okay, Mrs. Longbottom."

"I love your funny last name. It was much better than mine anyway. Alice Letham is nowhere near as cool as Alice Longbottom." She was so easily distracted by his hands moving on the top of her faded muggle dreams. She missed that feeling, especially while she was away.

"Well, Alice Letham succeed in making Frank Longbottom extremely jealous the very next year." His hands showed no jealousy though as he turned Alice around to face him.

"Frank! I'm cooking!" He wouldn't listen to her protests though. He simply stopped her by touching her lips with his own.

Z

Year Two

As first year had passed by smoothly, Frank Longbottom began to watch the strange girl who had heard him sing. He found himself thinking a lot about the twinkling voice that had complimented his song and the dark blonde hair that a simple ribbon couldn't contain. He'd told none of his friends about his growing interest in her- none of them had even noticed that girls existed yet. Kingsley was probably more interested in ways to hex them.

Second year began and for once he was completely content with being a brave, proud Gryffindor. The mysterious Alice was a Gryffindor too, after all. The two had every class together, where he could idly stare at her while listening to a lecture on something he'd already mastered. He was no idiot. On the contrary, he was fairly close to the tope of the class. There was one person who was beating him though.

Sirius Black had to have been created solely to dampen Frank's spirits. He was one ranking higher than him in the class listings He had three best friends that were permanently attached to every angle of him and a horde of girls that followed him around. But somehow, that wasn't enough. Sirius had moved on to a new, poor, unsuspecting Gryffindor girl by the name of Alice Letham.

Frank had always hated gossip, mostly because it wasn't true. He didn't mind the stupid rumors, like how James Potter had gotten his sorry ass kicked by Lily Evans. He didn't even mind the rumors about himself- he was a slacking daydreamer that was on the verge of failing out of Hogwarts. Obviously, McGonagall had heard the rumor and that was how Frank discovered his ranking, seeing as how they usually didn't disclose that until fifth year. What he couldn't stand, however, was the rumors about Alice Letham. He got his first whiff of those from Shacklebolt.

"Longbottom!" Kingsley's voice always made him jump. It was booming and full of power. Very enviable.

"Hello, Kingsley. Did you finish your charms homework yet? I needed to check something." Frank showed the parchment before him to a frowning Kingsley.

"I'm not here to discuss homework. I'm here concerning Alice." Frank almost fell off his chair.

"A…Alice? Wha… what about her? What gives you the impression that I care for her in the slightest?" Even Frank could comprehend what his stutter meant. And if Kingsley had caught on, then maybe everyone knew. Frank slowly began to panic even more.

"Well, if you don't care about her than I guess you wouldn't care that Sirius Black and her are dating at the moment." Kingsley looked away, motioning for the portrait hole only steps away.

"You're lying!" Frank shouted, jumping to stand up from his chair. At that very moment, Alice entered the common room through the portrait hole with Sirius Black. It was like she didn't even see Frank or Kingsley or the group of sixth years in the corner. Instead, she let Sirius kiss her cheek lightly before walking away from him. Frank had always secretly hoped he would be her first kiss. And now that was completely ruined.

He silently gathered up his parchment and left to the comfort of his bedroom. He refused to leave it for the rest of the day until Kingsley finally convinced him to wash the tears off of his face.

Z

"Frank, you know very well that it only lasted a week. And Sirius's kisses most definitely do not count. Our first kiss is my only first kiss." Alice's lips returned to his yet again. "Now do you want this dinner or not?"

"Kissing you or food… that's a hard choice." Alice admired Frank's smile at her. The warmness of his thin face was so different from the ugly round face she had been cursed with. Frank had always told her that she had a beautiful face, but she always preferred the sharpness of his features.

"Pick the food. I'm starving. Why don't you let me cook, dear, and you can tell me about the first year we were potions partners." She was almost sad to feel his warmth leave her in favor of putting plate s on the table. At least he was being productive.

"But you were ridiculously cruel to me that year!" Frank protested, earning another laugh from Alice.

"That was because Lily would only ever talk about Remus and it was driving me batty that she wouldn't let me speak. So I took out my anger on you. I'm sorry. I still love you."

"Excuses, excuses."

Z

Year Three

"But Lily, why can't I work with you?" Alice asked, her eyes wide and pleading. Lily sat faithfully beside an already-working Remus Lupin.

"I promised Remus I'd help him out this year. Sorry." To Alice, Lily didn't sound very sorry. She probably wanted to ask Remus out on a date at some point over the year.

Alice looked around the potions classroom. Everyone else had a partner already. Everyone except stupid Frank Longbottom. Rumor had it that he almost failed out of potions in his second year. It was the last person in the room she would have chosen to work with.

Quietly, she sat beside Frank, organizing her books so she wouldn't have to talk to him. Slughorn hadn't even began his lesson yet. Alice hoped he would start soon. Instead, her teacher was rearranging the books on his desk. Frank gave a slight cough next to her.

"Are you sick or something? I missed enough schoolwork last year when the flu went around," Alice snapped. Franks cheeks instantly turned pink.

"Eh, no, sorry. Just clearing my throat. Sorry, again." He put his head down, staring at his textbook. Alice still was glaring silently at the boy.

"Listen here, slacker. I like getting good grades. So you're going to work this year, alright? I don't care if you don't feel like it, you are." Alice growled, causing Frank to look at her with startled eyes.

"Y…yes."

"Yes? What kind of answer is that?" Frank looked absolutely terrified. Alice was pleased with herself.

"I'm sorry. I meant, I'll help you get good grades." Frank stammered. The rumors about him being tough and muscular like Kingsley came to mind and in her brain she was laughing again. This boy was far from intimidating. He didn't even have muscles, she noted.

"I don't need your help." She could have sworn she saw his jaw drop, but Slughorn had finally begun to teach his class.

She could feel Frank's eyes on her through most of the lesson, but she ignored him. Towards the end of class, she managed to place a small piece of parchment in front of him without ever making eye contact. She would have loved to see his face when he read the words "I hate you" but the effect would be completely lost if she was staring at him through the process. He would have thought she hadn't meant it.

Z

"That event traumatized me. I spent that whole year trying to win you back over and-"

"Win me back over? You hadn't even won me in the first place! You did an amazing job of attempting this too in the two words you said to me all year." She brought the cooling pot over to the table, pouring a bit of spaghetti on to her plate. She did the same for Frank, watching him ponder just what kind she had made him tonight. She had made him pick up three different jars of sauce as to surprise him.

"You were glaring at me like I was James Potter and you were Lily Evans. She probably taught you how to glare super evilly. I was too afraid of you to speak." Frank defended, happily beginning his meal.

"Lily and James are happily married, so I don't think there's much glaring going on anymore." Alice countered, taking her place beside him at the table.

"Who knows with them. They were crazy about each other and they still glared."

"Like us in fourth year?"

"Exactly."

Z

Year Four

"You may begin your illumination potions as soon as both of you are ready. This is a group effort, so try to cooperate." For some reason not entirely unknown, Slughorn's eyes met Frank and Alice's, who'd both turned to each other.

Frank hadn't complained once in the past year about Alice's potion-making skills. She was exceptional. It was the group potions that they failed miserably at. She would always take control and always, somehow ended messing it up. Frank was beginning to get annoyed.

"Alright, three cups of water. I have no idea why you need water to create a make-shift lamp but who cares." Frank had also come to notice Alice's habit of nervously prattling to herself while working with him. She never did it when she was alone. Just with him.

"One firefly. How that will provide light for a whole cauldron I'll never know." She unsealed the cap to the small jar, releasing a small, half-dead firefly into the water. "Now for the spell… lum-"

"Illuma-"

"Do not interrupt me! I know the bloody spell!" Alice hissed, glaring at Frank.

"No. You don't. for the past year I have gotten abysmal scores on these group projects and I am sick of it. You are spectacular at potions. Better than I am. But you never, ever know the spell. And what's with you talking all the time to yourself? It's… distracting." He'd honestly been about to say cute, but the angry feel of his rant would have been thrown into a pen of dragons.

Alice didn't speak. She simply bit her lip and blinked twice before moving out of the way of the cauldron and taking a seat on her chair.

Frank spoke the correct spell, causing the cauldron to shine a bright, green light. Slughorn waddled his way over, a triumphant look on his face. They had actually been the first to get the spell part of the potion right.

"Brilliant! Brilliant! Both of you! You two are free to leave now. When the rest of you produce a light like these two, you are free to go. Brilliant!" Slughorn smiled. The rest of the class let out a few groans- mostly the students who had not a clue to what they were doing.

Alice gathered all her materials and practically ran out of the classroom. Frank followed, almost smiling upon hearing her slow down once she heard him behind her. Their steps were even, but she wouldn't look at him yet.

"I'm sorry. I just thought that…"

"I was awful at potions? At schoolwork?" He chuckled nervously. "I'm actually closer towards the top of our class. You shouldn't believe all you hear."

At that point she stopped walking and turned to meet his dark, amber eyes. "I don't. I heard you were tough and I never believed that." She smiled at him for the first time since that day on the train.

"My speech wasn't convincing?"

"The first time I met you, you were singing."

"Right…"

A/N: There's a second chapter, though the whole story is meant to be one so that ending doesn't very much feel like an ending (as it shouldn't.) Reviews are welcome, flames are not.