Augusta Longbottom stood in the doorway of her son's childhood bedroom. "You could just stay here, rather than moving, and save yourself on expense of the mortgage," she was saying, her voice ringing with desperation. She'd been repeating this mantra for weeks - months, even - and before the only thing that had kept Frank from leaving had been waiting to be officially sworn onto the force as an auror, and then of course there'd been Alice's graduation, and the matter of choosing a house... But at long last Frank and Alice Longbottom had agreed upon a small wizarding town in Cotswolds called Reeds-on-the-Water.

They'd found a rowhouse on the end of a lane, a few turns from the village centre. The house was old stone, featured a skylight in the ceiling of the highest floor, was next door to a magical florist and across the way from a wizarding travel agency, which specialized in trips to the Egyptian pyramids. Alice called the place darling and convinced Frank it would be the perfect place, suggesting they grow flowers in a window box in front of the wide bay window that most others of the houses on the row had converted into a shop-front window. "It will be positively lovely," Alice insisted, "And during holidays, we'll have the perfect place for our Christmas tree to shine for all the village to see."

Augusta had seemed supportive enough of the move - "A man ought to have his own home, of course, and he ought to live with his wife! Really, if your father could see how you've lived separate lives from your wife all this time, Frank, he would be positively miffed!" - but the nearer it came to be actually time for Frank to follow through with the moving out of her home, the less supportive she'd become - "You just never know what sort of trouble being a homeowner without a safety net can cause! You're rushing into things! You ought to be looking for a better place, a standalone place! Really... buying a townhouse, you must be mad! Do you even know your neighbors? Could be anybody!"

And she'd become even more so ever since the attack at Speaker's Corner, when Frank Longbottom's partner, McKenna Alliston, had been slashed by dark magic at the wand point of a death eater. McKenna had suffered a wound so awful that magic could not heal it - something about the dark magic kept the magic of the mediwizards from staunching the bleeding, and poor McKenna had undergone muggle surgical procedures to pack and close the wound. She'd only just barely pulled through in the end, and Augusta hadn't let Frank forget about the near brush with death that had been had. She'd be on leave for some time, which left Frank without a partner so that he found himself tagging along on missions with others, as he'd done when he was learning.

Now, Augusta watched as the last of his childhood things were packed away, the walls and shelves left with only the things which Frank was not taking with him to his new home, and her eyes were red from crying, though she was trying quite hard to act as though she hadn't spent the past few hours sobbing, trying to act as though she were being strong and just suggesting her son stay as a benefit to him.

"Mum," Frank turned to her and put his palms on her shoulder, staring into her eyes determinedly. "We're a short floo away. It's not anymore dramatic than if you were upstair and I were down, alright? Not really."

Augusta sniffed and squared her jaw.

Frank kissed her forehead as she'd done so many times to him and he turned and lifted up the last box, setting it on his hip and staring at her. "Honestly, mum, you should be relieved. I'm finally out of your hair."

"I just thought it might be easier for you and Alice in the long run if you didn't need to be moving. So help me if I thought it might be nice for you and Alice... Makes a good deal of things 'round her easier on me if it's only me in this... big... huge... entirely empty house... just me and less laundry, less to cook and clean..."

"See, that's the spirit," he murmured, knowing full well what she was doing.

Augusta beaded her eyes.

"Would it make you feel better if I brought my wash 'round once or twice a month? I'm sure Alice wouldn't mind."

"Go," she commanded, "Go on and leave your mother. Think it's funny that you're abandoning me!"

"I love you mum."

"I love you, Frank."

He smiled and carried the box 'round her, down the stairs to the living room, where Alice was standing, waiting in the entry way. The two Mrs. Longbottoms stood facing one another with Frank in the middle and he glanced between them, thought this a rather uncomfortable bit of symbolism, and popped out the door quickly. "Bye, mum," he called over his shoulder as he trotted down the steps toward the disapparation point.

Alice turned to Augusta. "Thanks mum," she said.

Augusta sighed heavily and gave her a hug. "If it was any other girl, Alice, I swear I'd demand he stayed."

Alice smiled as they embraced. "I love you for letting me take him home with me, mum."

Augusta grunted, then said, "Take care of him."

"I'll do my best." Alice kissed Augusta's cheek and turned in a pirouette, hurrying down the steps to where Frank waited for her, waving to Augusta as she hurried up to her husband, squealing with excitement. Frank grinned, hugged her tight, and waved to his mother. Then, together with the last box, they disapparated away to Reeds-on-the-Water.

"Do you reckon we ought to have brought something better as a housewarming gift?" James asked, glancing at the potted plant in his hand and the basket looped over Lily's arm.

"It's traditional, love," Lily murmured.

"Traditional doesn't always mean good," James pointed out.

"Well what do you think we ought to have brought?" Lily asked. They were paused in front of the Wizarding Travel Agency, a large photo of the pyramids in Egypt behind them. Lily raised an eyebrow as she stared up at James.

"Dunno," James answered. "A backyard quidditch pitch."

Lily looked around pointedly. "To put where, exactly?"

James shrugged. He paused. "Tickets to the world cup, maybe. Speaking of which --"

"I don't care what you spend your money on James, if you want to go to the world cup then by all means go to the world cup." She paused and reached up and fixed the knot on the tie at his neck. "You really need to practice your Windsor Knot."

"Simple Junction is good enough," he said, "I don't even really need a tie. Blimey, it's Frank Longbottom. He's lucky I've put on trousers."

"What were you going to do? Show up in your underwear? Honestly."

James grinned. Then, "You really don't mind if I got tickets to the cup? I was thinking it might be rathe fun to bring Oliver. As a practical, educational experience, of course."

"Sirius will be jealous."

"Then he can come too if he promises not to bloody heckle the lot."

"Sirius will break that promise the first chance he gets."

James laughed. "Sirius also wouldn't have put on trousers for this."

"Sirius wouldn't put on trousers for the Queen. Don't do what Sirius does."

"New catch phrase, that is," James said as Lily led the way across to the rowhouse - Number 18, Thistlewood Lane, "What wouldn't Sirius Black do?"

"Words to live by," Lily said, rolling her eyes as she stepped through the gate and up to the front door, which was blue and had a brand new flowery wreath, freshly hung. The windows were alight and a great deal of boxes could be seen through the bay window, in piles teetering slightly. Lily knocked.

The front door opened and there were Alice and Frank, both flush-faced. "Hullo!" Frank said. 

James smirked, "See, Frank's only barely worn trousers to his own housewarming party."

Lily pushed James as he laughed and Alice glanced down and muttered, "Tuck your shirt in, honestly, Frank!" as Lily whispered, "Boys!"

Frank grinned. "Trousers optional - didn't you see that on the RVSP?"

"Here have a plant," James answered, shoving the ugly tree-like plant into Frank's hands.

"No, no!" Lily said, "Wait. There's a blessing to say!" She slapped James's arm lightly and James laughed, but Frank kept the plant. Lily reached into the basket on her arm and pulled out a homemade loaf of soda bread that Dora had helped her bake earlier. "Bread, so you never go hungry..." Next she pulled out a bottle of Rosmerta's finest mead. "Wine, so your life is always sweet..." Then a satchel. "Salt, so there is always spice in your life... and a candle so you always have light."

Alice cradled all the gifts in her arms.

"And what's the tree for then?" Frank asked.

"It's a money tree so you're always rich," James supplied.

"Oh nice," Frank said. "It's defective, though, these are leaves." He rattled one of the leaves with his finger.

"Oh is it? Wasn't wearing my glasses when I picked it out. Must've got the wrong thing," James quipped.

Frank laughed, "Bloody hell Potter - I'm very disappointed in you."

"Are you going to keep us out here on the stoop all night?" James asked.

"Come in!" Alice cried, "Come in, come in!"

"Well, Lily can come in, but you can stay out there," Frank joked.

"Dinner's almost ready!"

Lily looked at James and hissed under her breath, "You two - honestly!"

"Blimey you act like we're at some fancy person's palace, Evans," James said, holding open the door as Lily ducked under his arm, following after Alice as she danced into the house. "It's Frank and Alice. I've listened to this bloke belch the the alphabet in pig latin, I don't think we need to be so wound up."

"Belch the alphabet in pig latin!" Alice was putting the bread and stuff down on their new dining room table. She looked 'round at Frank. "You never told me you could do that?"

"Didn't know I could do it," Frank laughed, "I must've been knackered."

"I reckon we all were, aside from maybe Remus," James said.

"Poor Remus," Lily said.

"Poor Remus?" James laughed, "Just all the more fodder for him to blackmail the rest of us with. He could decimate us all with even a fraction of the knowledge he has on all of us."

Frank nodded, "Honestly, the man holds a dangerous amount of power."

They gathered about the dinner table and ate together, breaking the bread Lily and Dora had made and passing it 'round, laughing and talking about old times and giving a general feeling of good tidings about the new home where Alice and Frank would be building their lives together. Eventually, talk turned to future plans and Alice revealed that she and Frank had decided to try at having a child, too. "We figured since you two are trying, we ought to give it a go, too," Ali said.

"Mum's a frantic mess, worried about what having a child looks like in the middle of the war and all," Frank said, "But I told her, we can't be putting our lives on hold - isn't that like letting Voldemort win?"

"And honestly Frank's job is going to be dangerous anytime," Alice said, glancing at Frank, then back to James and Lily. "And with you two trying --"

"Built in friendship for the kids, if they're near in age," Frank supplied.

Lily teared up and hugged them both, hugging Alice twice as Frank and James shook hands.

"Plus I heard they'll be having an excellent quidditch coach and flying instructor when the kids get old enough to go to Hogwarts," Frank said, grinning at James.

"How the bloody hell did'ya hear that already?" James asked, surprised.

"Overheard Underhill telling Moody," Frank answered.

"Well it's only temporary," James said, "Until Madam Hooch comes back from Uganda."

"Maybe she'll like it there so much she doesn't return," Frank joked.

Alice said, "We can decorate our nurseries together." She squeezed Lily's hands with excitement.

"Oh yes! That sounds wonderful!" Lily squealed.

James looked at Frank, "We'll exchange grunts and nod and talk about quidditch."

"Yes, manly grunts," Frank nodded.

"Of course," James said, "The grunts are only worth it if they're manly ones." To demonstrate, he grunted and Frank grunted back, slapping a palm on his chest and puffing himself up so that James cracked up.

Lily looked at Alice. "Is yours always like this? Because mine is."

"Yes," Alice said, grinning at Frank. She looked back at Lily. "We're nutters for signing up for lifetimes of this, aren't we?"

James grinned, "You both love it." He kissed Lily's cheek. "Don't you Evans?"

Lily sighed, "For some godforsaken reason, yes."

Frank broke open the mead and poured out glasses, handing them 'round to the others. They held up their glasses, "To everyday in this house being as warm as this one thanks to good friends, good food, and good laughs." He raised the glass a bit higher and they toasted, "To good things."