A/N: This story was written for The Houses Competition, Year 2, Round 7.
House: Gryffindor
Position: Year 4 (Year 3 standing in with mod permission)
Category: Short
Prompts: 4.[Setting] A seaside village that was once an important port.
Word count: 1988 words (according to Google docs)
Betas: Thank you to CK (Theoretical-Optimist) for beta'ing :)
Other: This story may or may not be considered AU, as we do not know much of Frank and Alice's life pre-1981. There is also very, very, very minor swearing (basically, 'dammit').
Port Isaac (the location referred to as 'Port Wenn') is something reminiscent from Doc Martin, which I had in mind when thinking of the town layout (though it isn't necessary to know this when reading—just food for thought for those who do. It's a fantastic show!). I've never actually been there myself, though, so I hope that my fictional use of it is believable for a Cornwall seaside village. 'Dark Wizard' and 'Dark wizard' both occur in canon, so I went with the latter :)
Thank you for reading! :D
Seaside Memories
Her heart pounded against her chest as she ran down the small alleyway. She could still hear footsteps slapping the cobblestone path up ahead, and if she just pushed herself a little harder, she was sure she would be able to catch up.
"Alice, duck!"
She hit the ground just as a jet of purple light flew over her head. Looking up, she saw her target grinning maniacally as he Disapparated.
"Dammit!"
"Are you alright?" Frank asked, his breaths coming out in cloudy puffs in the crisp air.
Alice nodded, accepting the hand he offered her. When she was standing again, she gave her body a quick check over, seeing that she only had a few scrapes on her knees.
"I almost had him!" she said.
Her hand tightened around her wand, part of her hoping that the Death Eater they had been pursuing, Antonin Dolohov, was still around. She hated failing her missions.
Frank smiled at her. "It's alright; we'll get him next time."
With a sigh, she nodded. She took her husband's hand and allowed him to lead her back through the narrow streets.
"It's a shame what's happened to this little village. I wonder how many more will be abandoned in this war," Frank said.
Alice merely nodded, her mind still on the chase. If she had only shot a few more stunning spells or led him to one of the cottages where he couldn't escape…
She stopped suddenly, looking at the building before her. She had been paying far too much attention to Dolohov's escape that she hadn't realised where they actually were.
"Something wrong?"
Alice looked at Frank, a small smile on her face. "This is the seaside village, Port Isaac, where my family used to holiday in the summer. We used to rent that house."
She turned back to the cottage in front of them, her smile fading. The once freshly-painted white door was now boarded up, and the shutters that usually covered the large bay windows were now hanging from their hinges.
"Oh."
"I guess a lot more has changed during this war than I thought it would," she said, taking a step closer to the small house. She stepped back, however, and shook her head. "We should head back; it's getting late."
Frank squeezed her hand, and she looked up at him. "We could take a peek if you want?"
Before she could reply, he was already prying off the boards. The door creaked as he opened it, and she held up her wand to light their path.
"It's smaller than I remember," she said, leading them to the tiny living room.
"I think it's cosy," Frank said, walking over to the window. "And it has a great view. You can see all the way down to the docks from here."
Alice smiled, standing in the centre of the room. The floorboards beneath her feet were lighter than the rest of the room, an impression of the rug that was once there.
"My grandmother used to have a rocking chair, right here. She would sit in it and read us stories when it was too dark out to play. Afterwards, my cousins and I would all try to sit in it at the same time, watching as the ships docked for the night. Sometimes, if we were lucky, she would take us down to the port the next morning to see if they had brought in any of the Muggle pastries we liked."
Frank turned from the window, a grin on his face. "You're lucky; the only treat my nan would give us was Cauldron Cakes."
"That's not so bad."
"Filled with prunes."
Alice sighed. "I always thought I'd bring my own family here for holidays."
She jumped as she felt arms wrap around her waist, and she turned to see Frank standing behind her.
"We will start a family one day," he said, pressing a kiss to her neck.
The smile started creeping across her face again, and she spun around. "How about we start now?" she said, winking.
Frank's mouth fell open, but she could see the sparkle in his blue eyes. "I suppose I do need to make up for our failed honeymoon—"
They separated as a loud crash came from outside. Frank took out his wand and motioned towards the door.
Alice nodded, the adrenaline pumping through her system. She could plan for their future later; right now, she had more Dark wizards to catch.
Alice paced up and down the living room, her feet wearing a path down in the cream carpet. Every now and again, she would look at the window, hoping for a message from the Order. Ever since she had failed to round up yet another Death Eater, they seemed to think she was not good enough to go on another mission. She was forced to stay in their safe house instead, tidying a place that wasn't even hers.
"Honey, I'm home…"
Throwing a feather duster on a side table, Alice stopped pacing and turned to the front door. Frank was standing there, grinning from ear to ear.
She folded her arms. "Where've you been?"
Her husband placed his cloak on the rack by the door. "Just picked up a few supplies."
Narrowing her eyes, she blocked him from entering the room properly. "For several hours?"
Frank rolled his eyes and held up a few brown paper bags, showing her the carrots and Pumpkin Juice inside.
"Oh."
"Where did you think I was?" Frank asked, chuckling.
Alice's cheeks burned, and she stepped aside so he could get to the kitchen. She had thought that perhaps the Order had sent him on a mission without her. Afterall, Frank had never slipped up like she had, and Moody always seemed to think he was a prodigy.
She knew her husband would never lie to her, though, and doubting him was the last thing she needed to do in a world where very few people could now be trusted.
"Erm, where do we keep the vegetables?" Frank called.
Alice sighed and headed towards the kitchen. When this stupid war was over and they finally got their own place, she'd be able to order everything just as she liked.
On the way, something stuck in her foot, and she bent down to pick it up. It was a splinter of wood with a splash of white paint on the tip. It hadn't been there when she had cleaned the carpet earlier, and appeared to have broken off something, perhaps in a fight.
Looking at the kitchen, Alice's heart sank. She wasn't sure how much she could take of this war, which seemed to be changing more than just villages.
Alice held her breath, her heart pounding. The man she was tailing had paused, his wand held aloft. It would be any moment now that he turned around and spotted her, but she didn't dare move. There was nowhere to hide, anyway; she had foolishly followed him onto the pier, where only the sound of the lapping waves provided any cover.
Her wand shook in her hand as she lifted it up. She had hoped to avoid stunning him, not yet ready to give her position away.
Without warning, the man took off at a run.
She blinked and shook her head, no time to feel relief. She followed him as he ran through the narrow buildings, taking corners at odd intervals. She kept her eyes peeled for any Death Eaters lurking around, but her eyes remained on the man's dark cloak.
He didn't stop until he was in the lane where her family's old holiday cottage was, and bent over to catch his breath. She didn't walk up to him, however, and lingered back behind the wall of an abandoned cafe. Her breath caught in her throat as the man stood up again and the pale moonlight caught his face, confirming her fears.
Alice watched as Frank took another moment to catch his breath before he jogged further down the street, a tear sliding down her cheek.
"I'm back."
Alice barely glanced up as Frank burst into the room. She continued knitting the blanket she had been working on in the vain hope that she could turn the safe house into their home.
"Are you still not talking to me?"
Alice shrugged. She felt a hand under her chin, forcing her to look up.
Frank was staring at her, his eyes slightly narrowed, but there was a smile playing on his lips. "Aberforth Owled me today, told me about the little trip you made to the headquarters the other night. I think you actually might've scared him a bit."
Her cheeks burned a little at the memory. Before she had confronted Frank about his secret missions, she had paid a visit to the Order. They had all, of course, denied that he had been sent on any mission, with Aberforth Dumbledore going so far as to say that only the Prewett brothers were being sent out.
"He shouldn't have lied to me, and neither should you," she said, folding her arms across her chest. "Why can't they see that I'm still a good Auror? We're supposed to be a team, Frank."
To her surprise, Frank was still smiling. "I know, I know," he said. "And so do they. They want us both to go back to Port Isaac and scope out the place again."
"Really?" Alice stared into his eyes, searching for any sign that he was lying.
Frank nodded. "C'mon, we should go now."
She didn't need to be told twice. Leaping off the sofa, she ran to the rack by the door and picked up her cloak. The adrenaline was pumping through her veins again, and it felt wonderful.
"Are you sure he's in here?" Alice whispered, looking around the dark hallway.
They were in the summer cottage again, listening for signs of movement inside. In front of her, Frank nodded and held up his wand.
"This cottage provides a perfect view of the ships coming in. Moody thinks You-Know-Who will try to control the port again, perhaps get it up and running for those so-called 'supplies' we've heard about," Frank said.
Alice nodded, but he turned his back. He strode over to the living room door and, without hesitation, kicked it open. Light soon flooded the inside of the room.
She ran in after him, her heart pounding. "Frank! Are you okay—Oh."
Stopping in her tracks, it took a moment for her to register that there were no Death Eaters aiming their wands at them. It took her even longer to realise that the room had transformed since she had last stepped inside just weeks before.
"What…"
"I know it's not quite what you probably remember; I had to go off photographs and what you told me," Frank said.
Alice's eyes teared up as she looked around. The windows of the room were still boarded up, but fresh cream curtains had been hung to cover them. A large wool rug covered the newly-waxed floorboards, and in the centre of it, there was a white rocking chair similar to her grandmother's.
"I'm sorry, I know it's a bit shabby, but—"
Alice threw her arms around Frank and kissed his cheek. "I thought… well..."
"That I'd go on a mission without you? Well, yes, this was kind of one; I've still got a few splinters."
Alice chuckled. Frank smiled down at her, wiping away the tears that were still sliding down her cheeks.
"One day, when this war is over, we can fix the rest up and bring our family here," he said.
Alice nodded, walking over to the sofa. "Well, we'd need to start a family first…"
Frank's cheeks turned crimson, but he followed her and pulled her into an embrace.
This time, they were left uninterrupted, making new memories for the seaside village.