House: Slytherin
Year: stand-in for 7th
Category: Short
Prompt: [Speech] "Name told me to. So I did." (Name = James)
Word Count: 1511
oO0Oo
It felt good to be lost, for once in his life. He was striking out in a new direction; he was shedding his bumbling self and gaining the attention of his peers. He was changing himself, but he was earning the attention of Alice Marchbanks. Maybe he would lose who he was, but he'd always been quiet, steady Frank Longbottom. Alice hadn't noticed him then; in those days, he'd been lucky if she even smiled at him in the hallway, because most of the time, she would catch a glimpse of him, stare at the ground, and then hurry past, as if she couldn't get out of his presence quickly enough.
It had hurt. He'd begun avoiding her, or at least avoiding her as much as he could while still harboring a massive crush on her.
Yet, he must have been acting like a lovelorn fool, because then James Potter had pulled him aside. "Mate," the fifth year had said, clapping Frank on the back in an overly familiar manner, "You're obsessed. But you've got to go for it. Birds don't like shrinking pansies — they want a man who knows what he wants and isn't afraid to show it."
Frank looked at James, then raised an eyebrow. "Because that's worked so well with Lily."
"Hey, what I have with Lily should be considered a 'work in progress'. But I'm much better with birds than you, Frank. You might be a sixth year, but my advice is good! At least give it a try!" James crossed his arms, then scoffed, "We all know you're bloody obsessed with her for some reason."
Frank narrowed his eyes at James. "Fine," he finally said. James did get on famously with most the Gryffindor witches, and even ones from other Houses. Merlin, he'd even seen some Slytherins praising his Quidditch prowess and fluttering their eyelashes at him! He didn't think Alice would be interested in that type of guy, but bloody hell, even after the past four years spent working up the courage to talk to her and ask her to go to Hogsmeade with him, he'd gotten nowhere. Maybe he just needed to try another angle of attack.
And that was how, a week later, he found himself sitting between Alice and her friends, laughing about the frequency at which shepherd's pie was being served in the Great Hall, and how Alanna's boyfriend couldn't stand it, so he always snuck to the kitchens on those nights, but tonight he'd found Professor McGonagall sitting in there drinking sherry, her pointed witch's hat sitting crooked on her head. It was marvellous fun. After four long years, he was finally being noticed by the girl of his dreams. Now, with his confident facade, he was able to talk to her without stumbling over his own words. With this false confidence of his, he could wink at her, flirt with her, and she would blush and smile at him. His plan was working.
But it wasn't him.
Suddenly uneasy, Frank stood up. "I — I've got something — something important — that I forgot to do," he stammered, grabbing his book bag and hurrying away from Alice. He didn't know what it was, but suddenly his stomach was tied in knots, and he didn't think he could keep pretending a second longer.
As he made his hasty retreat, he caught sight of James watching him leave, a frown on his face. That made Frank frown, too. James Potter liked to meddle, and right now, Frank wasn't sure if he wanted any more if the boy's well-meaning advice. For some reason, it didn't seem right to him. When Frank got back to the Common Room, he pulled out a thick Arithmancy tome, hoping it would keep the boy away when he came up after dinner.
Sadly, after an hour of quiet reading, he was interrupted by a self-important cough and a declaration: "Frank, you've got to be strong to get that witch. Alice can be bloody terrifying, but somehow she's the woman of your dreams, and she does deserve a man who can match her dreams." James seemed completely serious, but Frank was starting to doubt his ability to give relationship advice. At least, good relationship advice. After all, just that morning he'd heard Lily telling her friends that she absolutely loathed James Potter, and she had sounded like she'd meant it.
"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind," Frank replied, grabbing his bookbag yet again. "Sorry, but I've got an essay for McGonagall to finish tonight, I'll be up in my dorms."
"Sure." James glanced over towards the fireplace, where Lily was sitting with a Herbology textbook. Perhaps he thought he was being subtle, but to Frank it was clear as day that James was head over heels for Lily Evans. "Good luck, Frank."
"You too, James." And you're going to need it a lot more than me, Frank silently added as he left James to compose another elaborate way to ask Lily to Hogsmeade — he had recognized that light in James's eyes, and he only hoped Lily would go easy on his well-meaning yet misguided friend. Just as he hoped Alice would go easy on him.
If a man couldn't be true to himself, who could he be true to? What woman would want a man who hid himself away, never trusting himself to her completely and without reservation? What woman would want a man who was afraid of himself? Merlin, Frank knew that if the tables were turned and Alice were pretending to be someone she wasn't for nothing more than trying to get him to like her, he'd lose a lot of his respect for her.
James had told him to be strong to get the witch of his dreams, but he was wrong, at least in the way he had meant it.
It would take a special kind of strength to tell Alice that the confident, charming Frank Longbottom with whom she had gotten along with so well was nothing more than an act. He was the quiet steady boy she knew from all her years in Hogwarts, not this imposter. He didn't want to continue this charade any longer, and beyond that, he knew Alice wouldn't want a man who hid his true self. He certainly wouldn't. And he also knew that he wouldn't want any woman who encouraged her boyfriend to put on a mask and become someone else.
That night, as he fell asleep, he swore to himself that he'd speak to Alice tomorrow, and that he would stop hiding from her.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The next morning, Frank came down to breakfast as usual. However, before he took his new seat, which was with Alice and her friends, he took a deep breath. This wasn't going to be easy. Tapping Alice's shoulder, he gave her a nervous smile before saying, "Alice, could I have a private word with you?"
Her friends laughed and urged her to join him amid many a thinly veiled suggestion as to just exactly what Frank Longbottom wanted with her, yet Alice only shrugged them off. "Sure," she said, getting to her feet with the faintest of blushes. Frank offered her his arm, which she took. Together, the two of them walked out to the lake, where Frank cast a Drying Charm on the grass and gestured for her to take a seat at the base of the tree before sitting down beside her.
"Alice," he said, glancing down at his hands, "I've made a mistake. James told me to. So I did. But it is still my mistake, and it's my duty to apologize to you." He looked up, and although it was hard to look her in the eyes, he did.
"I really like you," he said. "I like you, and I like spending time with you." He took a deep breath. "But you see, I've— I've changed myself to get your attention, and that's not right, no matter what James says. This past week, I've been hiding who I really am and pretending to be someone else, to make you like me." She seemed to be thinking about his words, and at the thought, Frank was struck by a sudden flash of fear. Merlin, she could be thinking about anything — how much she liked him, how much she hated him — he certainly felt like a fool, baring his heart to her like this. What if she thought he was weak?
But that was why he was here. That was why he was doing this. She would either have all of him or none of him. Steeling himself, he said quickly, "Alice, look, I just— I've been pretending to be someone I'm not, and I just want to be frank with you. I just want to be Frank with you."
Alice's grin was blinding. "I want you to be Frank as well," she said, taking his hand and squeezing his hand hard. "You don't have to change yourself for me. I like you, Frank. I like you just the way you are."