a/n 1. hey, guys! just a little marauder era love. a drabble collection, all about the lives of those who lived through a war. first one's frank/alice, written for the hpfc drabbletag.
disclaimer: for the entire collection. i do not own the world or these characters in any shape or form; thank you, jkr.
frank/alice -— a most solemn affair
"the human capacity for burden is like bamboo—far more flexible than you'd ever believe at first glance" -— my sister's keeper, jodi picoult
i.
if he could paint the sky, he'd arrange the stars to spell out her name.
ii.
her name is alice, and she likes butterflies and knitting and all the fairytales everybody else forgets when they turn ten.
iii.
they grow up in a time of intangible turmoil, where the smiles of their mothers have shadows and their fathers' stern words are a little desperate, a little afraid.
their childhood becomes the history of the war and it is dotted with pain and most solemn affairs, like the death of a loved one and the birth of an innocent into this world that allows the greed of the powerful to coexist with the defencelessness of the weak.
iv.
he's righteous but she is brave and when she defends little mary macdonald from the slytherins that persecute muggleborns, he thinks maybe he's in love with this little pixie-like girl named alice.
v.
she's alice, but she's not looking for wonderland, just solace.
vi.
they're sixteen when they first kiss, and she tastes like honey and he tastes like cinnamon and they both feel her beloved butterflies taking root in their stomachs.
vii.
he signs up for dumbledore's order, and she does too. "alice," he says, "it's a war, and we could die." he still doesn't believe it, but he knows it's true.
she nods, and puts her hand in his. "i know," she says, and that's when he asks her to marry him.
viii.
there is life within her, and it's terrifying but it's beautiful. when he's born, a dark haired little boy with her cheeks and frank's eyes, she weeps over him and names him neville.
she promises him that she'll make the world better for him, and prays that he never needs to be as brave as his parents.
ix.
bellatrix lestrange steals their bravery and righteousness from the world in one night, and all they can do is remember those butterflies and hope that in their innermost selves, they can hold onto their histories.
somewhere, a little boy wakes up without his parents.
x.
bellatrix is dead, courtesy of an old friend, and neville is more scarred than their worst nightmares and braver than they ever dared to hope, and they are locked away within theirselves, remembering the butterflies.
a/n 2. so, please leave a review and let me know what you think, and please no favoriting without reviewing.