AU!

Written for Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

House: Thunderbird

Class: Arithmancy

Task: 5. What if Alice Longbottom hadn't lost her sanity?

Bonus Prompts:

8. (event) Halloween

12. (colour) green

14. (word) resilience

Word Count: 1152/4500

Sunflower Love

They had been visiting Frank every other day ever since that fateful day back in 1981, but Alice still had trouble believing Frank wasn't Frank anymore. Once, her husband had been an energetic ball of fluff, helping everyone he came across, encouraging people to be the best version of themselves. And now… Now, he could barely even recognize his family. He was a mere husk of himself, his eyes vacant and unresponsive; he was as silent as the witching hour.

Alice Longbottom wrapped her arm around her son's shoulders as she herded him towards the ward they dreaded — yet loved — visiting every other day. The door always caused them to stop and compose themselves, and today was no different. Neville glanced up at her, fixing his black eye patch, and whispered, "Do you think he'll like my costume?"

Alice smiled gently as she gazed at her son dressed head to toe in bandages with a pirate hat on top of his head, his dark blond hair hidden under the gauze. Neville had chosen to be a pirate mummy for the St Mungo's Monster Charity Ball, and Alice and Augusta, her mother-in-law, had helped him get ready.

"I'm sure he'll love it, sweetie," she reassured him as she fixed the bandage around his ear. "You look very scary."

Even though his face was mostly hidden under the gauze, Alice knew her son was beaming at her. She patted his head with a soft smile and turned to look at the door that blocked her from her husband. Frank Longbottom.

"Can we go in now, Mummy? This is itchy!" Neville tugged on the bandage around his wrist and scratched underneath it. "Can we see Daddy now? I want to show him my costume, and maybe we could dress him up as a pirate too! Or maybe, he'd like to be a knight? Or a dragon? What do you think, Mummy?" Alice nodded absentmindedly as she stared at the door, trying to compose herself.

They had been visiting Frank every other day ever since that fateful day back in 1981, but Alice still had trouble believing Frank wasn't Frank anymore. Once, her husband had been an energetic ball of fluff, helping everyone he came across, encouraging people to be the best version of themselves. And now… Now, he could barely even recognize his family. He was a mere husk of himself, his eyes vacant and unresponsive; he was as silent as the witching hour.

The Healers had informed the Longbottoms that there was no way Frank would ever be normal again and Augusta had accepted the news with surprising resilience, but Alice still had difficulties coming to terms with that fact. She refused to give up on him, determined to find someone who could help her husband.

Finally, Alice opened the door and walked inside, her heart thundering in her chest. Neville caught sight of Frank seated on his bed and yelled, "Daddy! Look, I'm a pirate mummy!"

Frank didn't respond, but it wasn't anything unusual. Alice walked over to his side and pressed her lips to his temple. "Hey, love, how you doin'?"

Frank blinked once, and that was all she could get out of him. She sighed as she sat down in the armchair beside Frank's bed and listened to Neville chatter about the little patch of garden Grandmother had allowed him to use.

"I'm growing dandelions and tulips and roses and sunflowers, Daddy. When they're done growing up, I'll bring you some, and we can decorate the room for you. The sunflowers are so pretty, Daddy — just like Mummy," Neville said, curling up against Frank's side. Only his right eye was visible, and Alice could see how hopeful he seemed. "They're my favourites, and I really want to bring you the flowers and show you how beautiful they are."

As she listened to her son talk about how and why he had decided to be a pirate mummy for Halloween, Alice silently wondered how Harry Potter was getting along with his relatives. She had been one of Lily's closest friends, and after the Potters had died and Sirius had been sent to Azkaban — something no one had seen coming — Frank and Alice had looked into adopting Harry. Unfortunately for them, Dumbledore had already given Harry to his Muggle relatives, the Dursleys, and the Longbottoms had to step back.

And then… the attack had happened. Before Alice could be dragged into the nightmarish memory of being tortured by the Death Eaters and barely managing to hold onto her sanity, Neville's sweet voice brought her back to the land of the living.

"Daddy, what do you want to be for Halloween?" Neville shifted as he looked up at Frank. "Maybe you could be a dragon… Ooh, I know! You could be a Auror again! Grandmother always says you were very brave, and all Aurors are brave, aren't they, Daddy? You would be awesome! I'll ask Grandmother to give me your Auror clothes, and we'll bring them when we come to see you next. Ooh, we could have a costume party, Daddy, and we'll eat sweets and chocolates. It'll be so much fun."

When it was time for them to leave, Frank pulled out a small green candy-wrapper from inside his pillow and handed it to Neville, his eyes still vacant. Neville stared at it for a few moments, tears forming in his eyes, and whispered, "Thank you, Daddy."

The moment they left the room, Neville burst into tears and flung himself at Alice's legs. Sobbing pitifully, he whispered, "Mummy… will Daddy be okay one day?"

Alice leaned down and wrapped her arms around her son, tears spilling forth from her eyes at his question. "I don't know, Nev, but we can't give up."

Neville clenched his little fingers around the green wrapper and nodded solemnly.

Two days later, the little Longbottom family arrived in the depressingly white hospital room. As it was the night of the Halloween charity ball, Neville had dressed up as a pirate mummy once again. This time, he held a little basket full of dandelions, tulips and sunflowers in front of him.

"You think Daddy will like these?" Neville asked, pointing to the sunflowers with bright green leaves sticking out of their stems.

"Daddy will love these, I'm sure, honey," Alice reassured him. As always, Neville seemed anxious and worried about his father's reaction, and Alice knew he would immediately become lively and animated the moment he entered the wardroom. Augusta had explained to her that it was Neville's defence mechanism. "Come on, let's go in."

They entered the wardroom and stopped dead in their tracks.

Frank sat on his bed, dressed in a green bodysuit with a sunflower headpiece. The petals were large and uneven, and his face was barely visible, but Neville had never seen a more brilliant costume.

"Daddy, you remembered! Oh, I love you, Daddy! You're a sunflower!" Neville cried, rushing up to Frank's side and wrapping his arms around Frank as best as he could. "You're just as pretty as Mummy! Look, Mummy, you've got competition."

Tears gushed down Alice's face as she choked on her laughter. Frank may not be able to recognize them or even talk to them, but in his own way, he had made sure to remind them that he loved them both. Alice couldn't have asked for a better husband.

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