franklongbttms:
The second that Frank had walked into the room, he knew that he wouldn’t bring it up unless Alastor did. He knew that the war came with not only casualties but scars, whether physically or emotionally. From what he could tell Alastor had gained one of those scars and Frank wished that he could help take that away more than anything. But, knowing Alastor, the best course of action would be to not bring it up, not try to fix it, and just focus on the task at hand. The fact that Alastor was helping him with this and giving him the chance to fulfill his purpose meant more to him than he could say.
“July, huh?” Months ago, which wasn’t a great sign when it came to missing people. “Disappeared after an attack in muggle London, was considered a target …” He read from the notes, committing the facts to memory, before glancing back toward Alastor. “It’s possible he could be in hiding. Slim chances, but it’s never impossible. We should probably look into any family and friends, trace him back …” And just saying that brought a jolt of excitement into Frank, even if the subject matter was rather bleak. “Alastor –” he began, appreciation crossing his features as he handed back the notes. “I just wanted to say thank you, for letting me help out. It was driving me bloody mental after everything that happened, but I’m sure you know how that can be better than anyone.”
Alastor had always respected Frank’s skills as a wizard and an auror. He spent most of his time looking down his nose at the other people in the auror’s office, mostly because he felt like they were tough on all the wrong people (which he now realized was by design) but Frank was always willing to do what needed to be done, and that too for the right cases. Not the ones that Alastor thought were a waste, or were persecuting the wrong people. Of course, all of that changed when they got laid off, but thankfully, Alastor’s skills managed to find a second life in his office. It would be cruel not to offer that same second life to Frank.
“Unfortunately.” They both knew what that meant; this wasn’t a manhunt anymore, but a corpse retrieval. Alastor was going to put his all into finding the kid, but he wasn’t going to hold out hope. It was better these days to let go of hope and face the realities of their world rather than holding onto something that only caused more pain. “I haven’t been able to find all the magical hideouts here—” Alastor pointed at the map on the wall with his wand, drawing a circle of light around the northeastern part of the city. As aurors, they had been trained in sniffing out these kinds of hideouts, but it was much easier to do with a team, rather than alone. “If he’s in hiding, my money’s there.” Alastor paused when Frank spoke again, tilting his head to the side for a moment before he just shrugged. “No need to thank me. I needed the help anyway.” He didn’t, but he wanted Frank to feel needed. Alastor knew that he always felt better when he was needed.















