auror extraordinaire

"Fine, fine. No lying to the nurses." Frank pouted, not doubting her threat for a second. Of course she'd seen through his plan of bribing his way out early. Alice would absolutely send him back here, too. Well she always had been the more level-headed of them. And she was right, Ela would be there. "Augusta might stop by for a few days as well, if Ela needs a break. You'll make her send me updates, won't you? Merlin he's right there sleeping and I miss him already."

"Very good. Thank you." She sighed in relief that he would listen to her, knowing that if he told her something he stood by his word. It's one of the many things she loved about him. Hearing that he had gotten hurt had terrified her, she couldn't bear the thought to lose Frank. "That would be great, you know she's always welcome." Her mother in law was intense to say the least, but she had managed to raise a man as wonderful as Frank so she knew what she was doing. Hopefully though, she would not need to stay long. Frank should be the one by her side, witnessing all of Neville's firsts. "I'll send you daily updates myself. But it won't be long. You will get better soon. Focus on right now. We are here together, all three of us."

Ted was relieved that Frank was out of hospital, to say the least. He'd had a particularly nasty run-in with that Death Eater. They were becoming more violent and more brazen. Attacking an Auror in broad daylight would've been unheard of a year ago. Now, things were escalating faster than he wanted to consider. Just when he thought he'd seen the worst, something else happened to make him realise his fears were nowhere near as bad as they should be. He was exhausted and so was Andromeda. But he hardly needed to explain that to Alice.

Having a new baby meant sleepless nights and waking up every three hours to feed him, but while it was exhausting and stressful, she would not change this time with Neville for anything. Whenever he looked up at her with his big brown eyes she fell in love all over again. She was trying to focus on him, on their little bubble, before she started worrying about everything else again.

Well, wasn't that bloody adorable. Cracking a wide smile, Ted greeted Alice with a kiss to her cheek and bent to wave at little Neville. He was thrilled for the Longbottoms. Anyone could see they were besotted with each other, and now their family was complete. In some ways, they reminded him of himself and Andromeda. The differences were obvious, but the similarities were, too. Love was powerful and precious. "Hope you're having fun, Alice. Neville enjoying the change of scene?" Pulling out a packet of Pepper Imps, he offered it to Alice. "Frank around? Andromeda just took Dora to try the children's games."

Alice smiled back at Ted when she spotted her friend, happy to see him here. It seemed that happy occasions were few and far in between so they needed to celebrate the good times even more. All three of them were happy and healthy, out of the hospital, that was something worth celebrating in her mind. "We are. He's been wide awake, taking everything in." Her heart warmed each time she heard a little giggle come out his mouth. Taking a treat she thanked him. "He saw some hand knit stuffed animals and wanted to get Neville a stuffed frog. He's convinced that's his favorite animal. Don't ask me why." She shook her head fondly, motioning to a stall not too far away. "How are they? I feel like I have not seen the three of you in way too long."

"Thank Merlin for that." Frank said with a breathy laugh. He had no idea whether he wanted those months to linger or fly by. It wouldn't matter either way. They were a family now. There was all the time in the world to spend together. "I bet I can get cleared around the same time you two get to go home. I hate the thought of missing his first few days, and of you doing it all alone."

"Ideally we can go home together, but I want you to be one hundred percent good before you go. And don't lie to the healers to get out faster because I will send you back here myself if I don't think you're good." She warned her husband, her tone loving and threatening at the same time. Alice had almost lost him, she could not risk that happening again. "I won't be alone. Ela said she would come and stay over if you are still in the hospital." Of course she would rather have him by her side, but his health mattered too.

Merlin he couldn't wait until they got to go home and spend the rest of their lives with each other and watch Neville grow up. Their son already had an absolute vice grip on his heart. What else could he need the three of them all together? He'd fight Voldemort single-handed if it meant he could keep them safe and whole.

While they had been together for years, now that it was the three of them, it felt like a proper family. Times like these were what they had been waiting for for years. All they needed now was to win the war and then they could make sure Neville had several younger brother and sisters.

Frank had begged his nurses to let him out of his room for the entirety of Alice's labor and birthing. The fight with the Death Eater had definitely left scars, and it was still a bit difficult to catch his breath sometimes. But none of that mattered now. Neville was here, and he was perfect.

With Frank injured, she'd already spent a majority of her time in the hospital, refusing to anyone that urged her to go home. She didn't like being at their house knowing he was lying in a hospital bed and in pain-she needed to see him with her own two eyes to make sure he was getting better. So her already being here when her water broke was convenient, but she was relieved that they let Frank into the delivery room with her. He was her soulmate, as long as they had each other things would be fine.

It had been an early morning for Fabian, getting some early shopping in before getting to work. It was quite the surprise to find Alice in front of the ice cream parlor already having an ice cream while this was certainly not the time for it yet. A grin was on his face when he was caught looking at his friend. "I am not judging." The man paused for just a moment before continuing speaking. "Okay, maybe I am a little but as a not-pregnant-man, I suppose I can't judge about it at all. How are you doing, Alice? Have you had to give up work yet?"

"Good, because then I would have to throw some of my ice cream on you and I would hate to have this deliciousness wasted." She joked, her tone teasing. With him being Molly's brother she did not doubt his ability to handle a pregnant woman the right way. "I am doing well. Ready to meet the little guy. Yes. I have been strongly advised to go take my maternity leave. And Frank feels much better when he does not have to worry about something happening to me."

Aurora raised her hands in mock surrender, a smirk tugging at her lips as she leaned casually against the nearby wall. "Who am I to argue with a baby’s demands?" she said, eyeing the ice cream cone with mild amusement. It had been too long since she had seen Alice last. Her gaze softened as she took in Alice’s rounded belly, a flicker of warmth crossing her face. "Baby must be here soon-ish? Are you and Frank ready?"

"He gets whatever he wants. I'll have to work on discipline once he's old enough to understand it." She chuckled, taking another spoonful of her ice cream. It truly was delicious. Neville was a genius and he was yet to be born. "Only a couple of weeks left. I can hardly believe it.. I don't know if you can ever be ready... I've been told we'll feel ready once he's here... Hopefully that's true."

“I doubt it, who can lose their taste for desserts?” New mothers needed desserts more than anyone else. Two months into the experience and Felicity knew it more than others. “He’s two months old now, though it feels like four. How far along are you?”

"I don't know and I sincerely hope I will not be the person that proves that theory to be true." She loved a sweet treat at the end of the day, it was a great way to brighten an otherwise bleak day and in the times they were in they needed all the positivity they could get. "I'm nine months pregnant now. Merlin, that feels weird to say. My healer thinks he should be here in the next few weeks."

“Apparently I arrived two weeks late, so hopefully he’ll take after you instead.” He bent over to kiss his wife’s stomach. “We’re aiming for punctual okay, Nev?” He told his son, even though the baby couldn’t really hear him. That didn’t matter. “Merlin bless her for that. Mum said she would bring us by some nappies and a high chair as well. I can’t believe he’s almost here now.”

"While I do hope he'll be here sooner than later, but what matters most is that he will be healthy, I do not care about anything else." She knew Frank was the same way, smiling adoringly at him as he kissed her stomach. Their own little family. They had dreamed about this for so many years and now it was becoming a reality. "It's hard to wrap my head around. He's been here, but not actually here for so long now, I know holding him for the first time will feel so surreal." Once again she wondered who he would take after more.

Hestia had stopped short, about to open her mouth to greet the other when those words had floated over, causing a sharp grin to appear on her face. “Oh, Alice. I know better than to judge you for such cravings.” Or anyone else, for that matter. When it came to such things, the judgy she would leave with the person in question.

"Well then I am sorry for assuming. I may be a little sensitive at the moment." She winced, her tone apologetic as she smiled at her friend. She was glad that she ran into Hestia, she felt like they had not seen each other in way too long.

It was an odd feeling to see everyone around him finding their footing so quickly after Hogwarts, surely it'd been some years now but he still felt so young and mostly lost. He didn't have big plans for his life just yet, but everyone seemed to be embarking on a certain path, one that had them happy. Peter could tell his friends were actually content with the way things were going for them, even amidst the war, and while he couldn't really see it for himself-- he tried to be supportive of them. "There's no such thing as too much sugar." The wizard said with a chuckle, offering Alice a small smile, before looking down at his watch and realizing just how late it was. "I'd love to wait around for Frank a bit longer, but I do have to get back to work. Think I can leave the message with you instead?"

"On that we are in complete agreement. I love sugar and ever since I got pregnant I've started to love it even more. I did not know that that was possible." Alice admitted with a laugh. Her healer friends all said the same thing, that she should listen to her body and give the baby what he craved. "Oh of course. Just let me know and I will pass it along to him as soon as he gets here. Thank you for keeping me company. It was lovely to have you here. You're always welcome to stop by."

"Thanks," he replied shortly. He could tell by her tone that she felt bad for her questioning but he wasn't in the business of comforting people who had caused him discomfort. Luckily, he was also the type to brush over it quite quickly. "How's Frank holding up?" he asked. Sirius would be planning his journey to another planet if he found out he was having a baby, but Frank and Alice were in quite a different place than he was. "You'll be great parents."

"Frank is the best husband I could ever ask for. Not that I doubted him for a second. He does everything for me and the baby. He can't wait to be a dad." She had this longing look in her eyes, missing her husband despite only seeing him this morning. She knew he was looking forward to be a dad and how much time he spent preparing for it. It was adorable. "That's very kind of you to say, thank you. We will certainly do our best to be there for our son, no matter what. I want him to always know how loved he is. Sorry- I'm rambling. I'm just excited to finally meet him."

Never having been one of those birds, it was quite an oddity for Charity to be up and working this early, only one reason for her to be out and about. The manor was a mess and she couldn't stand it any longer, the need to be out and about stronger than usual. She couldn't help but chuckle as the witch coming from the other side of the street mentioned the baby. It wasn't something she was familiar with but she was quick to dismiss her worries. "No need to justify yourself, ice cream's alright at any time of the day and whoever says it isn't should be judged instead."

"I like that way of thinking." She chuckled, a smile playing on her lips as she took another bite of her ice cream, stifling a sigh due to how delicious it was. No matter how many times she's had it, it always tasted just as good as she remembered it.

Flick didn’t talk about her pregnancy often. She’d spent most of it at the Estate, avoiding scandal and the chance of ruining her family name. Seeing Alice made her wish she hadn’t. Alice was glowing, happy, totally unashamed. Flick couldn’t help feeling a tad jealous.

"Oh I hope I won't have the same issue with desserts when the little guy is here." She chuckled, her hand resting on her stomach. It seemed like he always knew when it was her hand and immediately he kicked. Alice couldn't help but laugh. "I doubt he even wants to consider the possibility of less sweets in the house." She smiled back at the brunette. "How old is your baby now?"