I'll Always Remember
A/N: This is a short story (formerly part of a shorts collection that I did- and recently deleted) for the ship S.S. Aurora Borealis, or Frank and Alice Longbottom. Thank you so much for taking the time to read, and if you have a spare moment, please consider dropping a review at the end. I love you all- enjoy!
The white-haired woman looked between her fingers at the photograph, as if trying to view it from a strange new perspective. Though still young, she radiated an aura of defeat and hollow desperation as she lifted a small slip of paper from her bedside table and held it into the light. It was a candy wrapper. A small, brightly colored wrapper for Drooble's Best Blowing Gum. The woman pressed the paper to the glass covering of the framed photograph, her gaunt face slowly crumpling into a dry sob. Without warning, she seized the picture and flung it to the ground, curling back onto her bed and turning her back on the empty-eyed man on the cot beside her.
Even with its cracked encasing, the feebly moving photo was still vaguely recognizable. Three figures beamed up, their features slightly blurry and discolored. A pretty, plump-faced woman with long blonde locks, a handsome man with shining brown eyes, and a fat baby dressed all in blue.
Alice Longbottom couldn't particularly recall who the people in the picture were, but they brought her a strange new feeling all the same. Some might have called it grief, others anger, but a few could have recognized it for what it was. The love of a mother and a wife. As she closed her eyes, allowing herself to sink into a sluggish sleep, a sudden memory came to her and she watched it- unable to understand the story that she was reliving.
~0o0o0~
"Allie! What are you doing up here?"
A teenage boy with cow-brown eyes stared eagerly up at the young blonde as she teetered on the high ledge. Her pink flowered sun-dress flapped carelessly around her knees as she lifted her arms, steadying herself in the sudden breeze. "I'm training, silly!" She laughed, her blue-green eyes dancing under the warm mid-morning sun.
"B-but isn't t-that dangerous?" The boy's brow creased in worry as he stumbled over his words.
The girl tossed her hair, slowly lowering herself to her haunches and settling on the edge of the high stone wall on which she had been balancing. "Frank! If we're going to be Aurors, we've got to start doing things out of our comfort zone! We'll never defeat the bad guys if we don't start practicing now."
The boy shrugged, extending his hand for the girl as she gradually eased from her high perch. "I know, Allie... but if we're going to be Aurors, then we've also got to survive our school years! It wont do any good to land yourself in Saint Mungo's for the rest of your life while we're only in our fifth year."
The blonde cuffed Frank lightly on the cheek, her smile widening. "Well, Mr. Longbottom, one thing's for certain. If I do get myself stuck in Saint Mungo's, it'll be alright as long as you're with me."
He chuckled, his eyes shining as their fingers intertwined in a gentle hold. "Oh, so you want to get me landed in a cot with spinal injuries or something, simply for the sake of our relationship? Miss Alice, I had no idea you were so possessive."
Alice shrugged, rising to her tiptoes for a moment with a look of youthful unconcern. "If at all possible, I'd like to avoid that kind of circumstance. If it happens though, at least we'll have each other. I mean, no injury or malady will ever steal our memories, right?"
Frank Longbottom looked lovingly down at the girl, tucking a stand of her long golden hair behind her rather prominent ear. "Of course. You'll always be in my heart, Alice. Or should I say, 'Mrs. Longbottom'?"
"You tease!" Alice blushed, spinning around and then straightening up to plant a soft kiss on his cheek.
~0o0o0~
The white-haired woman opened her green-blue eyes, blinking slowly up at the white-washed ceiling. She had an odd feeling- as if she had just been roused from a dream which she could not quite remember. She shifted between her sheets, turning to face the bed beside her. The man with wide brown eyes stared listlessly at a point a bit to her left, his lips slightly parted. Alice Longbottom gazed at him, wishing she knew who he was- wishing that she could understand why, for all the years, he had always been at her side.