Dances over to the computor screen

Wow, ten reviews! That double figures, which is even more fun than normal!

Thankies to Miss Tea once again (it was time she had a nicevariation on her name) and W00t to new reviewer LupinLover88. In answer to your comment, you have a valid point and i re-read Chappie one to ponder it.I think my mental gubbings at that point was something along the lines of Frank's confidence being quitelow due to beeing picked on from a young age. I also put that he is the youngest of four brothers, and i know from a friend that having three older bro'scan be quite hard (come to think of it, i know from experience having one older brother is difficult!)

I'll stop jabbering now.So long...

Frank fought on for about five more minutes, until a powerful jinx brushed along the side of his face. If it had hit him straight on he'd have been dead, but instead it caused a huge gash to open up along his cheek and forehead. Warm blood gushed down his face in torrents. Knowing he had only minutes before blood loss would cause him to black out, Frank dodged his way through spells to the side of the hall next to Ali. He lowered himself down next to her and tried to stop the flow being so rapid. Nothing would work, so Frank leant back in despair. The war was continuing around them and Frank was itching to go back out and help his friends. But he knew it would be pointless to try in his state. Instead he looked down at Ali who was stretched out beside him. Her limbs were sprawled all over and her head as lying straight onto the hard floor. Frank pulled of his jacket and rolled it up until a blood free patch was showing. He lifted up Ali's head and slipped it underneath her.

Her eyelids flickered and opened. She stared up at him with a look of mild surprise. From the glaze of her eyes and the huge grin on her lips, Frank was quite sure she was delirious.

"Yes."

"Yes what?" asked Frank wearily, pulling at his blood soaked collar.

Ali giggled and rolled her eyes.

"You know what Silly."

"No, I'm afraid I don't." Frank smiled softly and stroked her cheek. "You'll have to explain it to me."

"Yes I'll marry you." She giggled once more and fell back to sleep.

As Frank surveyed the carnage that littered the room, blinking the blood from his eyes, he had a brief moment of complete happiness.

Then he too, slipped into darkness.

Ali awoke to the sound of quiet voices murmuring beside her. Opening her eyes slowly she tried to get up.

"No Ali," said one of the voices, it sounded familiar, "Don't move yet, we haven't finished your ankle.

As her blurred vision became more defined Ali recognised the normally smiling face of Lily Evans looking down at her. A faint tickling was apparent by her feet and Ali squinted down at them. Blue sparks were hovering all around, dancing off her flesh and into the air. After a moment they stopped and Claudia Brewer came into view. She knelt up and looked down at her patient kindly.

"Hey sleepy-head. How you feeling?"

"Alright I think," said Ali cautiously, shaking her leg a little.

"Can you wiggle your toes? Twist your ankle?"

Ali demonstrated.

"Your fine," smiled Claudia, helping her to sit up. "In fact, you got off lightly as injuries go. Your boyfriend got a gash all down his face and everyone knows head injuries bleed like stuck pigs." Ali looked past her to where Frank was sitting. His cut had been healed and he looked fine, but his shirt was turned from blue to red with dried blood. The site of him reminded her of the 'conversation' they'd had in her brief period of consciousness. The memory was pretty fuzzy considering her state, but her last words remained fresh.

"Fiancé," she corrected Claudia softly.

"What?" she asked offhandedly, clearing up the small amounts of healing supplies.

"A moment ago, you called Frank my boyfriend, he's not, he's my fiancé."

Lily, who'd been watching the other casualties being healed, or if necessary, taken to St Mungo's hospital, whipped round instantly.

"Did you just say fiancé? Have you two got engaged?"

Ali smiled at Frank and he nodded.

"Yes."

Lily and Claudia looked at each other; their faces were pictures of delight.

"Oh this is great!" said Claudia in ecstasy. "Little old Ali the first to walk down the aisle."

"I know, you'll have to start organising. Have you set a date-?"

"You'll have to write out invitations, and a find a venue, and don't forget-"

"The food! And, oh, oh, make sure you get a good-"

"Best man, or the whole thing will go to shambles! Wait, we need to go shopping, you need a gorgeous-"

"Dress! It will have to be all nice and pretty, do you want white or you gonna be different. Oh, and not just for you need some for your-"

"Can we be your bridesmaids? We'll be good and help organise everything. Why, there's so much to discuss!"

"But maybe now's not the time or the place," said Lily, the first to regain her senses.

"I suppose," said Claudia, forcing down her grin, "later, over wine and chocolates."

"It's a deal," laughed Ali, nodding. She reached up and scratched her head. "How long were we out?"

"About forty-five minutes," answered Claud. "The fighting didn't stop until about ten minutes ago when the Death Eaters still standing all fled. I presume Voldemort touched one of their marks." Ali flinched as she remembered the charcoal black skulls burnt into all of the Death Eaters skins. "Dumbledore came back a couple of minutes after that. He just told us to help the wounded and round up any remaining Death Eaters. The ones that ran away carried a few of that couldn't go under their own steam, His favourites I presume, but they left most of them behind. We must have caught nearly fifty tonight."

"Oh," Ali processed this new piece of information. "Not that I'm complaining, as you lot certainly saved our necks, but what are you doing here? Your not aurors."

"No, we're the Order of the Phoenix," explained Lily.

"The Order of the whatix?"

"Order of the Phoenix," she smiled at Ali's confusion. "It's a group Dumbledore set up a few years back, when Voldemort first started hitting the headlines. We try and keep tabs on all the Death Eaters, capturing as many as we can. I suppose if you wanted to sound posh you'd say 'A secret society for the prevention of Dark Arts', but The Order will do nicely."

"Wow." Ali and Frank were shocked, they'd had no idea their friends were involved so deeply in the fighting.

"How come you didn't ask us to join?" asked Frank.

Lily shrugged.

"We thought you might be too busy with your auror training. Why, would you want to?"

They nodded.

"Ok, we'll organise a meeting with Dumbledore. He should let you in though. I mean, he still knows you from Hogwarts, and you're not exactly ill equipped for this type of thing. By the way, why are you two here? I thought only forth years and full aurors were allowed on big attacks."

Ali and Frank exchanged guilty looks.

"I can guess," laughed Claudia.

James Potter came hurrying over to them. He squeezed Lily's shoulder gently and looked at the two aurors.

"Frank, Ali, I think you should see this."

All the happiness Ali had felt in seeing her old friends disappeared instantly. She hated to think what James might be taking them to see. The pair rose and followed him out of the hall, leaving a worried looking Lily and Claudia behind. They walked through a mesh of corridors, emerging in a room that had been hit hard by spell damage. The walls were crumbling slightly in places and the tables and chairs had been thrown all over. The window frame was broken and glass had been smashed. Scattered pieces of paper were being blown about in the cold wind. Stars were glittering outside and a pale, half moon shone down. A small group of people stood huddled in the corner. They were speaking in hushed tones and one was kneeling down next to something lying on the floor. They spotted Remus's light brown head, which was bent solemnly. Tracey was also their, her back to them.

"Tracey," called Ali softly as they walked towards them, "what-"

She turned; her hand was over her mouth. She was trembling and her dark brown eyes were full of tears.

"Ali, Frank," she half sobbed, "It's terrible. The Death Eaters, they stormed this room. We were out numbered. We tried to fight them off, but there were, casualties." She stepped aside.

There was a body stretched out the floor. It's eyes were half closed and a small smile still played about its lips. The moonlight fell across it, leaving it half in light, half in shadow.

Michael was dead.

"No." Ali kneeled down next to him. "He won't be dead, not Michael. He was always the one telling us not to take the risks and get ourselves killed. He can't be dead, he just can't be." Her voice was getting slowly higher. She grabbed hold of his wrist. It was cold.

Frank solely lowered himself down. His face was as set and emotionless as it had been when he'd been faced with death. But there was a look at the very back of his eyes that betrayed his true feelings. Michael had been an inspiration to both of them. From the start of their course he'd been the force that kept them training. He may have been strict sometimes, harsh even, but he had a good heart and was the first person that realised the true power that Alice and Frank shared. He still looked normal. Avda Kavada leaves no marks on its victims. It kills them from the inside with a force even now a wizard has never been able to describe.

Numbly, Ali felt Frank put his arm around her cold shoulders. Everyone was silent. As she looked into his calm face Ali remembered how proud Michael had always seemed at every years qualification ceremony. His eyes were always bright with happiness as he handed over each certificate and proclaimed each scholar a fully-fledged auror. He had worked so hard over the twenty or so years he'd been in the team, and each new generation that earnt their stripes had been a demonstration to just how committed he'd been to helping them. A few weeks after they'd joined, Ali had been unable to produce a proper stealth charm in a particularly difficult exercise. This, added to too much stress and all out mood swings, had caused her to storm of in a temper. After securing the other pupils, Michael had gone looking for her, finding her crying in one of the disused rooms in the back of the ministry. Slightly frightened of the high-powered official, she'd been expecting him to jeer at her and tell her to grow up. But he just sat silently beside her and handed her a tissue. Ali had found herself pouring out to him her hopes for the future, and her fears of failure. Michael had listened patiently, neither dismissing her dreams nor belittling her worries. When she'd finished he'd merely smiled and swore he'd bet money on her being top of the class by the time they collected their certificates.

And now he'd never see it.

The sadness both Alice and Frank felt at their first real loss hit them hard. They stayed quietly beside his body until the shadows had gone and the corners of the thick clouds had turned pink with the rising sun. His funeral was some three days later, on a blustery morning with heavy grey skies. Both his family and friends turned up to mourn his passing. Aurors both past and present filled the hall to say their last goodbyes.

Teacher, mentor, friend.

Memories were exchanged, moments remembered as his remains were cremated and his ashes given back to the to the earth. The thin black dust was blown through the air, travelling with the wind.

Inside the hearts of all that knew him, he would live forever.

Did you spot her, did you? The hint of a never before seen character to come! (did that even make sense, probably not) If you did, you get a gold star, if you didn't, then have a gold for trying.

GOLD STARS FOR ALL!