"Is this seat open?" she asks. You nod and move over as she takes her seat on your left. "Everywhere else's full. I'm Alice."

"Frank," you murmur in reply, smiling at her before turning back out the window at the crowd of waving parents on the platform. "Are you a First Year too, then?"

Alice nods, following your gaze to where you assume her parents are standing.

"It's exciting, going off to Hogwarts."

.

"Gryffindor!" the Hat shouts, and you make your way over to the cheering table, sitting just to the right of Alice, the girl from the train. You'd had time to get to know her on the train. You liked Alice, you decided.

"Gryffindor," you say. "My mum'll be pleased."

"Are you?"

You think about it for a second before realizing that yes, you are pleased. Your mother was a Gryffindor, and she'd told you stories about her time there since she first mentioned Hogwarts. You've known for years that it was your house of choice, and to know that the Hat had chosen it made you swell with pride and relief. You plan to write your mum tonight to let her know, knowing that if you don't, you'll end up with a letter from her asking what you're so worried about regarding your Sorting that you feel as though you can't tell your own mother.

You nod, before turning the question back on her. "Are you pleased?"

"Yeah," she replies, turning up to the Head Table where the last of the students were being Sorted.

.

"Pureblood," you say, adding to the discussion in the common room that first night. All the Gryffindor First Years are gathered around a small table in a corner of the room, doing introductions, getting to know each other.

A boy across the table from you smirks at your blood status, and you lock eyes with him. "Think it's funny? Who're you, then?"

"Sirius Black. I'm Pureblood, too," and he rolls his eyes. "Though my family can be a bit—anyway..." Sirius's voice drops off, and when he talks again, his voice takes on a different, almost falsely-light tone as he turns to the others in the group who haven't been introduced yet. "How about you, Alice?"

She takes a hesitant pause before answering. "My parents were a witch and wizard, and I-I live with my aunt now and she's a witch."

"Oh," says another person in their First Year corner. The girl sounds concerned, and she adds, "What happened?"

Your eyes flit to Alice's, and though she masks it well, you don't miss the flash of hurt as memories of what had happened to her parents flood back into her mind. You see she doesn't want to talk about it - that this is the last thing she wants to think about on her first night at Hogwarts - but it doesn't appear that anyone else can see this.

Without thinking, you change the subject. "Who else?" Your eyes meet those of the others who haven't yet introduced themselves before you look back at Alice. Her eyes are trained on her hands folded in her lap as she takes a few deep breaths.

.

The night stretches on, and as the conversation around the little table in the Common Room dwindles down and people make their ways up to the dormitories for the night, you turn to Alice. "Sorry about that," you murmur, though you're not sure why you're the one apologizing. It should be the Black boy, for asking her, or the other girl who had gone a bit too far. "Do you wanna go for a walk or something?"

Alice nods, her face seeming to light up at your proposal. The two of you make your way out of the Common Room and into the rest of the darkened castle.

.

You don't know how long you've been wandering the corridors, talking with Alice.

"It's just… I've already been thinking about them all day," she says when the conversation circles back around to the topic of her parents. "Wondering what happened when they were here, wondering what they'd be thinking now, knowing I'm at Hogwarts - I still can't believe it."

"Yeah," you whisper, but you fall silent not a second later as you hear footsteps rounding the corner. Something tells you that the two of you shouldn't be walking around so late.

You turn around, and come face-to-face with one of the teachers you'd seen earlier at the feast. Professor McGonagall, the one who led the First Years into the Hall for the Sorting Ceremony. She was also Head of Gryffindor House, and didn't look at all pleased to see two of her newest students out of bed.

.

Already, you'd gotten in trouble. You haven't even lasted one day yet, and you dragged Alice along with you. On the bright side, however, Professor McGonagall had been nice enough to simply tell you that you aren't allowed to leave your Common Room at night. She led you and Alice back to the portrait of the Fat Lady and bid you goodnight.

You say goodbye to Alice at the foot of the stairs up to the dorms, knowing already that the two of you are in this together for the long haul.

.

::

.

Alice sits at the kitchen table, the morning paper in her hands. "I can't believe this," she murmurs. You pull up a chair beside her, wrapping an arm around her waist and looking at the headline.

Dark Lord's Followers Wreak Havoc

Your stomach plummets. You know who these followers are looking for, and you know that anyone who's affiliated with Dumbledore is definitely on their hit list.

You think about the Order, the organization you and Alice joined – it seems foolish now. You know how hard it is to fight off Dark Wizards, you see enough of that at work. But Alice, as ever, was the voice of reason behind your decision. "If we don't join, who will? We're trained for this sort of thing, we have to help, Frank!"

You know that a part of her only joined because she knows people – you know people – who are some of their prime targets, and you can't deny her logic, but your sense of self-preservation is gnawing away at you.

"Dumbledore called another meeting for tonight, said it was important that everyone involved come." Then, with a shadow of a sad half-smile, she adds, "Guess our dinner date will have to wait."

Your Auror training aside, this whole thing is a risk, and not one you're sure that you're willing to take. Especially not with Alice. You don't think you could forgive yourself if you let Dark Wizards get to your wife. You know you have to protect her however you can, and letting her fight in this definitely won't do that.

You move your hand over hers, feeling the cold of her wedding ring against the cold of her hand. The ring's a sign: you're in this together for the long haul.

"You're freezing, love," you murmur, running your other hand through her hair and kissing her softly. Her lips are as cold as her hands, but she kisses you back, and you remember the thing you never forgot - you remember just how much you love her, just how much she means to you.

.

"Alice! Alice, they're here." You keep your eyes trained on the door.

You'd heard their threats, so the arrival of four Death Eaters at your house isn't a surprise to you. They've gone so far astray, hunting down anyone they can't convert to their side. And of course, this includes the Aurors and supporters of Dumbledore – both of which you fit into.

You turn to your side, needing Alice to be right beside you, just as she always has been.

Light flashes all around you as the door is blasted open and chaotic spells fire everywhere. Even through all of your training you panic. Alice takes your hand in hers, both of your wands at the ready. Neville's asleep upstairs, though he's still quiet. At just over a year old, he's been hard to get to sleep lately, and you don't want them to wake him. Especially not when you're not yet sure of their exact intentions.

You squeeze Alice's hand tight, holding on for the ride, whatever that ride may be.

x

For Round 2 of The Hunger Games Competition (Prompts: astray, relief, "You're freezing," Frank Longbottom, 1408 words).