When Alice went back to the Auror Office a couple of days later, Moody had put her on desk duty, and that was inadmissible. Even though Alastor Moody was not the Head Auror, everyone knew he was the person in charge. She knocked on his office door, with a freshly made cup of tea in her hand.
"Auror Longbottom, what can I do for you?" He asked. "And with a cup of steaming tea… So nice of you. What do you want from me?"
"Moody." She said, sitting on the empty chair by his desk. "I cannot be on desk duty."
"And yet, I think you were assigned desk duty." He said, tapping his quill on the table before sipping on his tea. A half-smile appearing on his face before it disappeared. Alice had brewed it to perfection.
"I'm well, Moody. And Declan had it much worse than me and he's back on the field." She said.
"Well, Declan's wife is not a pain on my ass, Alice. Get your grip back in your husband, and you are free to join the other Aurors on the field." He explained.
"That little Gryffindor who thinks he knows best… I will-"
"Ah, ah. No threats in my office. Otherwise, I need to file a report." He sighed, rather dramatically.
"I will be back, sir. Now if you will excuse me." She got up, picking one of the peppermints sweets that Moody had on his desk.
"Alice, the report for assaulting an Auror within the walls of the Auror Office, is even bigger. And don't use your wand." He said, dismissing her with a hand gesture.
She found her husband in the break room, a cup of tea in his hand and a little tart on the other. "Lissie, come have something to eat. Romero is trying to catch the eye of a little baker in Diagon Alley, and he keeps going to see her and spending the family vault there. Not that I'm complaining."
"I don't want a pastry, Longbottom." And the use of their last name should be enough information for him to realise that something was wrong. It had been years since the last time that she called him something besides Frank or little pet names. "You told Moody that I should stay put in the office. I'm an Auror, I'm not a secretary! I did my training like all of you! I deserve the respect-"
"I know, Lissie. You're an amazing Auror… I just think that once-"
"Once what? Once I've recovered? Once I'm healed…" She stressed each word with a stab of her finger on his chest. "How many times have you ended up in St Mungos since we left Hogwarts? And not once I said you should stay home resting, or be tied to a desk."
"Lissie, please-"
"No, Frank, listen to me. When you married me, you knew very well that I would not be the kind of woman that would just stay home and make you dinner, and put little love notes on your lunch. This is who I am, this is the woman you love and married. So accept her exactly as she is." She said, looking into his green eyes. "Accept me!"
Frank wrapped his arms around her, tightly, and he would not let go, he just held her to his chest, tucking her under his chin. "I'm sorry."
"I know… I just… Don't you believe your own words any longer? When we found out that my Patronus was a phoenix, you said you should have expected it. Because nothing can keep me down." She whispered, stroking his cheek.
"My phoenix…" He said, kissing the top of her head. It had taken weeks for her to become proficient on the charm after her parents' death. And then when the mist consolidated, a beautiful phoenix rose from the top of her wand.
"Once I'm transformed, Once I'm reborn. Do you remember saying those words to me?" Alice asked, her hazel eyes finding his green ones. He nodded. "So don't worry, Frankie, you know I will rise like a phoenix. Always."
Frank sighed, holding her tightly in his arms. He seemed unable to let go. It had been like that at home as well, always looking after her. "I don't know what I would do without you, Lissie. I wouldn't last a day."
"You and your Gryffindor impulsivity, I don't doubt it for a moment." She kissed his jaw, letting a red mark behind, before pulling away and taking a bite from the pastry he was still holding. "But you're my flame, Frank Longbottom. You keep the phoenix on me burning and coming back."
"I'm going to tell Moody that I regret my previous statement." He said, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and walking to the Bullpen.
"Now…" She said, pointing to Moody's office.
"Yes, ma'am. Can't wait for the day you become a sergeant and have your own little office." He teased, kissing the inside of her wrist.
Alice rolled her eyes and went to her desk. She enjoyed some research and investigation, but the rush of duelling and apprehending a fool. Those were the moments she enjoyed the most. Catching someone so they could not hurt others.
She was just making some corrections to the greenhorns' reports when Frank took the papers from her hands. "What are you doing?" She asked, looking at her husband.
"By Moody orders, I'm to take all your paperwork and do it myself." He explained, sighing deeply.
"Poor Frankie." She chuckled. "And if my husband takes my cases, what shall I do?"
"Newbies need a senior officer while they Patrol Diagon Alley." He explained. "Have fun and don't let Romero wander too close to the stalls or he loses all the focus."
Alice chuckled. "You really need to stop teasing Matteo, Frank. Don't you remember how you used to be back in school?"
"Shhh, Lissie. I was a teenage boy, not a grown Auror." He pecked her lips. "Be safe in Diagon Alley."
Alice snorted. "The newbies are barely Aurors, they're more like teenagers in grey instead of Hogwarts robes. Let them have their crushes. I'll see you later. Have fun with the paperwork."
When she finally arrived back at the office, there was a letter waiting for her on top of her desk. A beautiful stationery envelope, with a dark green and purple wax seal with the Malfoy crest. Narcissa, Narcissa Malfoy.
"I cast all the charms I could remember to detect any threat or dark magic, but it's clean," Frank said, appearing with two cups of tea.
Alice nodded and opened the letter very carefully. "She wants to meet for tea. Next week. At Rosa Lee's"
"You can't go," Frank announced. The Slytherin just wanted to laugh, her husband could be so protective, he didn't even think things through properly. He jumped to the conclusion that he befits.
"Narcissa will not hurt me in the middle of Diagon Alley, Frank." She rolled her eyes. "She's the pureblood lady my parents would wish I would become if they were still alive."
"But you two aren't even friends… were never really friends at Hogwarts." He said, stroking her cheek. "And her sister…"
"We have dinner with her sister at least once every month," Alice explained, sipping her tea.
"Not that sister." Frank sighed. "Andromeda and Ted are our friends. And little Nymphadora is just so adorable." He sat on the edge of her desk. "But Narcissa lost Andromeda's influence in her life. She's surrounded by elitists."
"People should not be defined or judged by their acquaintances. Each person is free to make their own choices. We did? Didn't we?" She asked, leaning her head against his stomach. That always made him soften and melt like chocolate.
"We did. We didn't follow the path that our parents had envisioned for us." He repeated and stroked her hair with such tenderness that Alice would have fallen asleep if they weren't in the Auror Office.
"Now, husband. Why don't you go about your business and let me take care of my affairs?" She patted his thigh. "Thank you for the tea. And to settle your mind, nothing strange happened in Patrol."
"Glad to hear that. I will see you later. They called me to testify, so I don't know when I will be home."
"I'll try to make your favourite, but you know your mother… she might kick me out of her kitchen." Alice chuckled like it was nothing more than a joke, but the meaning was there. When can we go back to our home?
Frank smiled sadly. "Just act as if you're free. We're living there, it's our kitchen as well. Ask my father for help, I'm sure he will distract mother."
"Anything you say, dearest." She whispered, watching him go back to his desk.
