Disclaimer: I'm sorry it's been a year please don't hurt me

So Far: Alice and Frank have been training to be Aurors, but last we saw them, something mysterious and slightly worrying happened to them.

Chapter 34

Or

Of Alice and Frank

"I'm really glad it's a Hogsmeade weekend," Sirius said as he sat in the seat next to Peter's in Defense, "because Moony keeps eating all of my chocolate. What's up with her?"

Their current teacher, replacing Professor McMillan who got checked into St. Mungo's in a rather permanent way late last year, was a small women with dark skin and a mess of hair that was just on the verge of fashionable. When she was angry, she had a habit of clicking her heals as if attempting to leave Oz, and even though she was doing that at that very moment, Peter guessed he didn't mean her, but Lily, who was staring blankly at the wall.

"She's been doing that a lot lately," Peter said. "Maybe she's still grieving?"

"No, no," Sirius said dismissively. "I'm going to ask her."

He did, though in a bit of rude way. She blinked and looked at him just as blankly, not a ripple in her expression for a few scary seconds, as if she didn't recognize either of them. Then she shook her head and said, "I'm sorry?"

"You should be," Sirius said, "but that's beside the point. Where were you?"

"Oh," Lily said. "It's nothing."

Sirius raised his eyebrows.

Lily sighed. "Just that… Alice hasn't been answering my post. And I'm getting worried."

"Isn't she doing that Auror program?" Peter asked hopefully. "Isn't that really strict? Maybe she has no time to reply."

"Yeah, maybe…" Lily said. "But I have been writing her a lot." Some more students shuffled in, including James and Remus, and Peter got distracted. Every time he glanced her way during the period she seemed focused on the coursework, and when he threw a scribbled on crumpled piece of paper into the bin at the end of class, all his worry about her went with it.

It was a beautiful Saturday, located at the tipping point between fall and winter, when the air is chilly but not cold, the wind strong but not harsh, and the leaves grounded but not dry. It had rained the night before, making the air smell like – well, that after-rain smell, with the big downside being that the entire way down to Hogsmeade was muddy.

Dorcas was not the type to savor the weather. Instead, she focused on the mud that managed to lodge itself in her boots and on the fact that she, personally, couldn't stand the smell of rain, and preferred, personally, the smell of flowers, or salt.

"Salt doesn't have a smell," Mary said, rolling her eyes. This Hogsmeade trip, she was accompanied by a Slytherin boy with long feet and an awkward haircut, but who seemed nice enough beyond the fact that he was a Slytherin, although he didn't seem to be very comfortable around the group of Gryffindor girls, which seemed odd to the most of the girls, who didn't want to mention it as, previously, Mary seemed to be enthusiastic about this date.

Which stood somewhat at odds with the fact that she'd paid him no attention at all since the moment they left Hogwarts, short of holding his hand.

"Maybe not," Dorcas agreed half-heartedly. "But there are salty smells. You know. They're almost spicy but not quite."

"Why are we discussing salty smells again?" Mary wondered.

"Dorcas was complaining the smell of rain," Marlene said.

"I like it," Lily said.

"Well of course you do," Dorcas said. "You're Lily Evans. You might as well be a new cliché all by yourself, you're so full of them."

Lily didn't take it to heart. "Let's hurry and get to the Three Broomsticks," she said instead. "I've been craving Butterbeer all day."

"Besides, I think it's going to rain soon," Marlene said, squinting at the sky.

Dorcas did the same, and after a quick observation of the state of the sky – it was completely clear, and a shade of blue that reminded her of the way Marlene's eyes shimmered when talking about something she was passionate about – concluded Marlene must be insane, and so she said as much.

"I swear," Marlene said. "Maybe I'll get a new umbrella while we're down there."

"Where in Merlin's name would you get an umbrella in Hogsmeade?" Mary said.

The conversation flowed more or less easily right up to the entrance to the Three Broomsticks which, as it was still beautiful outside, was only half-full. It was nice and toasty inside, and the air had a hint of cinnamon in it. Lily offered to go get drinks for all of them, and after the group gave her their orders, they grabbed two tables and pushed them together.

A few minutes of conversation passed:

"All I'm saying is that they could pay a little more attention to detail when they try to fabricate something like the moon landing," Dorcas said.

"Wait, are you saying that you think that the moon landing was fake? … How do you even know about the moon landing?" Mary said, rejoining the conversation following a brief hushed conversation with her date.

"You think that just because it was a Muggle who took the step itself, there was no involvement from the worldwide Wizarding community? That's just foolish," Marlene said. "But Dorcas straight up thinks the whole thing was faked. I think there was simply a push from our side, steering them towards the right direction."

"I think it was more than just a push," said the Slytherin boy whose name Dorcas had forgotten so thoroughly she doubted she would recognize it even if paired with a picture of the boy's face. "I think I read somewhere that at least half the team of so called 'scientists' were wizards, there to fortify the rocket ship."

"It would be cool if I could have a rocket ship," Mary sighed. "I could go to Mars. Set up a Wizarding colony there, if – "

"Yes, because that's not silly at all," Dorcas said.

"Like all that matters in life is practicality?" replied Mary indignantly.

"Well, yes," Dorcas said. "I mean, at least in most situations, dreaming about the impossible does nothing but hurt you. And I don't mean that – people can't decide they want to do something hard and then do. Of course they can. But that requires planning and executing. If you've made all your moves and been rejected, there's no point to thinking about it anymore. No matter how much you wish it would be different."

"Well, that's… depressing," Mary said.

Dorcas stared at her hands. "But still true."

The moment Lily left the table behind her, a pair of hands grabbed her and pulled her away from the crowd in The Three Broomsticks. Anger rising in her, she scratched her attacker, who yelped familiarly.

"…Alice?" Lily cried, only to have a hand placed on her mouth.

Alice was wearing a hood over robes that were seemingly intentionally plain, large, and obscuring. "SHUSH," she whispered harshly. She removed her hand and then proceeded to continue to pull Lily along, out of a backdoor, into an empty alleyway.

"Wha – " Lily started again, but then Alice pulled out her wand and muttering, presumably casting spells under her breath. When she was done, she looked up at Lily and nodded. Lily took a deep breath and then –

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN? Do you have any idea how worried I was? I kept writing and writing and you never answered, I thought something happened to you! I even sent post to a couple of your friends who had pretty much barely heard of me only to hear that they too hadn't heard from you! What. The. Hell. Alice Prewett. What have – "

The rant was interrupted by Alice hugging Lily. "You're so sweet, Lily," she said. Once the hug was over – it took a while, but it did end eventually – she added, "I'm going to tell you everything, okay? But I need you to take a deep breath, because at the end I'm going to ask you a question."

And Alice told Lily everything: About Auror training kicking her ass only to be invited into the secret Order of the Phoenix in the middle of a romantic dinner with Frank, how in their very first meeting they had a simulated attack that scarred her for the rest of her life, how these three things – Auror training ("Which is not getting easier, let me tell you"), meetings with the Order of the Phoenix ("I wish I could tell you about what's actually going on in them, but I'm technically not even supposed to tell you it exists"), and fleeting moments with Frank ("and Benjy, your friend oddly enough, seems to constantly be around him nowadays, which is unbearably annoying").

"So, how come Benjy managed to reply to my letters, then?" Lily demanded at the end of that last comment.

"I don't know, honestly," Alice said. "I've barely been sleeping. Then again, Benjy isn't training to be an Auror. That's like seventy five percent of my stress right now. At least there's a social aspect to the Order."

"What, are there donuts at the meetings or something like that?" Lily asked.

"You're joking," Alice said. "That's good. Means you're not as angry anymore. It's especially good, because I need – "

"How come you're allowed to tell me about this, anyway?" Lily asked.

Alice frowned. "Technically, I'm not. But I saw in Moody's hand a list, and I think… I think it's members of your year they're considering for the Order. There were, like, ten names or so on there. And yours was on it."

Lily didn't know what to say to that. Eventually, she mustered a singular "Wow".

And then Alice said, "Now, I need to ask your advice on something."

Once Lily and Alice said their goodbyes, Lily walked back into The Three Broomsticks. Walking behind large groups of people so as to not be seen by her friends, she reached the bar and ratted off her order.

"Hey," said a voice next to her. Lily yelped and backed up a couple of steps, automatically reaching for her wand, before realizing it was Frank.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" she demanded in a low voice. "Shouldn't you be – uhm. Shouldn't you be Auror training?"

"Well, yeah, but I had a couple hours off and… I needed a neutral friend," he said, blushing.

Lily was confused, but she just stared at him. He was wearing plain robes, not exactly hiding the way Alice was. I guess whatever this is isn't about the Order, she thought.

"I, um. Well. I needed someone who is friends with me and Alice both, but that would tell me the truth, and well, you aren't as busy as some of our other mutual friends…"

"Ouch!" she cried, but with a laugh. "I'm hurt, Longbottom!"

"Well, Evans, I'm going to need your advice anyway. I," he began. And then he reached into his pocket and took out a small box.

The perfect size for a ring.

"Alice and I have been dating for, uh, quite a while now and I just thought… do you think it's time yet? How should I do it? I need some help here, I'm drowning," he admitted.

"Holy fuck," Lily said. "You're going to propose!"

He nodded.

"Well," she said, thinking. There was a huge grin on her face, but she forced it off when she started speaking. "Do it when it feels right. Don't make it too artificial, but don't do it in the middle of training, either. And, I think you should wait a little. Don't get me wrong – " she said, seeing the disappointed look on his face, " – she'll say yes. But she's told me a few things and you're so busy right now… I think waiting is the best option. Just a few months, though. Maybe the night you finish training?" she suggested, and if Frank saw a twinkle in her eye, he must have missed it.

They said their goodbyes as well, and she wished him luck, before taking a tray of drinks to her table.

"Finally!" Mary said.

"Yeah," Lily said. "Longest line ever."

A/N: IT'S BEEN A YEAR I'M SO SORRY

Well, not a year. But ten months. And that is SO LONG. And I am SO SORRY.

What's been up with me, you ask? Oh, you don't care? Too bad, I'm fucking letting you know anyway.

So, I've spent my year working, mostly. I got into one of the best film schools in the world, and I'm starting that this fall. It turns out I have bipolar, not depression, and I've gotten on medication that actually WORKS; I'm also seeing a psychologist, so in general, I'm in a much better place, mentally. I've started a drarry au (going up sometime in the future, probably, I don't know), and written several thousand words in an original story or two. I also reread HP last month for the first time in three years, which is way too long, bad Gail.

Also, bad Gail for not updating for a year. But I've already apologized for that. Also, I'm uploading the side-fic, INTERLUDE, that wasn't supposed to be uploaded till after the next chapter, when it actually occurs in this fic's canon. So hopefully that makes up for a year of neglect and other projects and how short this chapter actually is.

I broke 100,000 words when I finished chapter 36, and chapter 37 is the last one before the epilogue, and that means I have half a chapter and an epilogue to write before I can finally be rid of this fic I started when I was SIXTEEN and OH MY GOD the first ten chapters are SUCH crap how are you even here, reading this, I'm so sorry you had to see my writing evolution like this, most of this is at least two years old if not older, please read my drarry fic when it goes up it'll be better, I promise.

I'm flying to the United States in less than 48 hours, so I'm not going to be able to publish the next few chapters or even finish writing chapter 37 and the epilogue for the next two weeks. I'm not going to promise anything, but I hope to finish this before I start uni in October. Hope, being the operative word right now.

Okay, that's it.

Thank you SO MUCH for reading, and for sticking around, if you have,

(and don't forget to like, follow, and review, please!)

JustGail