Growing up in a pureblood house – in one of the bloody sacred 28 homes – meant that you knew that there were some things you just had to accept. You had to accept that the 'heir' to the family name was likely to be treated like gold and the rest as backups who were to be married off to further the family name. But in one of the families that were facing the brink of 'extinction' things were a little different. In a home that had been blessed with a female heir, it was a completely different ball game.

For as long as I had been able to understand what the adults around me were talking about, I'd been aware of the burden I needed to carry. It wasn't strange for my parent's friends to visit our home to talk and somehow, without fail, the conversation would drift to the fact that the noble Selwyn house had no male heir to carry on the family name. It was within one generation that the family name would be completely wiped out and I tried not to scream out in annoyance each time I heard those words. It wasn't as if I had asked to be born through a complicated pregnancy that would render my mother unable of having another child. And yet it was a blame that I carried from the moment the mediwitch announced that I was a girl.

And now, as I sat in the drawing room where my parents were entertaining yet another group of their friends, I was forced to listen to them as they spoke about their options as if they weren't discussing my life whilst I was sitting right there. I picked at my nails, listening vaguely as my father talked about which family it would be best to link with mine. From under my eyelashes, I eyed the way Mr Crabbe suddenly sat up with interest and fought not to narrow my eyes; I'd sooner marry a flobberworm than marry his son. And if the middle-aged man actually asked me, I'd be more than happy to tell him that.

My mother, without even looking at me, reached out to swat my hand and I instantly stopped picking at my fingers, knowing how much it annoyed her. Silently, not even bothering to turn towards me, mother turned her attention back to Mrs Crabbe who was busy listing the houses that were a part of the sacred 28 – as if my parents hadn't already had the bloody list memorised. Salazar, the moment my parents had realised that it was my destiny to be treated like some sort of prized cow who would be granted to the highest bidder, their interest in the sacred 28 had skyrocketed. How many times could they possibly have this conversation without growing bored?

It seemed like they'd been talking about this since the moment I turned 16 – and that was only the conversations that they had in front of me. I had no doubt that they'd been having these conversations long before my 19th birthday. Again, without seeing the need to face me, mother dismissed me without a second glance and not being one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I hurried out of the drawing room and back to my bedroom.

Stepping into the room and closing the door quietly behind me, I turned instantly towards the window where an owl was waiting, tapping its beak repeatedly against the glass. Hurrying across the room to open the window, I stroked a finger apologetically across the top of its head when it perched on my window sill.

"Poor thing," I murmured, recognising the owl as Frank's personal owl and taking my letter from it. "Who knows how long you've been waiting out there."

Grabbing some owl treats from the bowl on my desk, I fed the owl a handful before gesturing for it to leave. The first few times the owl had visited me, it had stubbornly waited for an answering letter that I had no intention of writing. And now, about two dozen times later, it had accepted that I wasn't going to send a letter back to its owner. Once it had recovered from the strain of its flight, the owl turned and flew away.

Closing the window once again, I opened the letter and read over its content. Really it was nothing special; just Frank checking in and talking about how he had spent the last week of his holidays and his regret that we were returning to Hogwarts for our final term. It was nothing much – nothing at all, really – and yet it made me smile.

Carefully folding the letter again, I replaced it in the envelope before setting it on the growing pile of letters on the corner of my desk. Each of them was from the same sender and each had gone unanswered. This time would be no different.

Summer had once again returned to the school and the students made the most of each sunny day; Salazar knew how long the weather would last before taking a turn an eventual for the worse. My friends and I had naturally gathered around one of the trees bordering the school once we had finished our final lessons of the day. Closing my eyes, I leaned back against the tree trunk with a content smile. Even though we all had work to be doing, an afternoon lazing around in the shade was just too hard to resist.

Eyes closed, I listened to my dormmates as they chattered quietly about the rumours about Snape and how the stupid git had been caught by one of the younger years with the mark on his arm. Avery and the rest of the boys that were part of that slimy gang, had crowded around the fifth year and forced the boy into submission and the house all kept Snape's allegiance to ourselves. Whilst most of us might not all have agreed with what Snape was clearly rooting for, we were loyal to each other. We protected each other because Merlin knew that no one else in this school would.

"How stupid does he have to be in order to be found out by a ruddy fifth year?" I wondered aloud, my question met my murmured agreements which were soon overpowered by the sudden peals of laughter.

The joyous sound pierced through the quiet and I reluctantly forced myself to sit up properly, opening my eyes as I grumbled, "Bloody Gryffindors."

And sure enough, as I turned towards the sound, I pursed my lips at the sight of the five boys with red and gold ties wrapped around their necks – well, Black had his tied around his head and it seemed that Potter had chosen to ditch his altogether. One by one, my friends did the same and looked towards the group of Gryffindors with disdain.

"How old are they?" Leslie grouched with a sigh as we watched the seventh year male Gryffindors toss what seemed to be an enchanted frisbee around.

"Ignore them," Katarina piped up, rolling away as I continued to look over the five boys, my eyes routed to one in particular. "Did anyone find the idiot that decided to make so much noise last night in the common room? They woke me up at bloody 3am – I barely got any sleep after that."

Frank, one of the taller boys in the small set, easily caught the frisbee Lupin threw his way and tossed it back to the Prefect, the enchanted toy flying over the head of a perturbed Black. He let out an easy laugh, one that I had realised I missed hearing and it was that realisation that had me shifting uncomfortably and turning away.

"No clue," I admitted, smiling slightly when I realised that Leslie had fallen asleep. "It was one of the seventh-year boys and when I find out which one it was, he's going to find himself facing the strongest stinging hex I can manage."

"I'll join you," Kat offered around a yawn. "It's bound to hurt more if two of us cast it together."

"Oi!" The sudden examination had me glancing sharply towards Potter who pointed to something, "Watch out!"

Just like that, my eyes were fixated on the bloody frisbee that was heading straight towards me. And because my mind always worked faster than my body did, I began to wonder why they didn't attempt to cast magic to stop it. But the answer dawned on me just as quickly; if it was enchanted chances were it could only be caught and was impossible to stop with magic. Only when I had come to the conclusion that using magic on it was useless, did my body begin to move. Salazar, I needed to speed up my reactions.

It proved pointless as Frank had sprinted towards us in a heartbeat, catching the frisbee easily with that stupid laugh of his. Holding the frisbee with two hands, Frank glanced over his shoulder at me and unable to look away, I held his eyes for a long moment. It was only when he looked away to throw the frisbee back to Pettigrew, that I turned as if to leave. But once again I was too late; he turned back towards us, crossing his arms over his chest. Silently I counted my lucky stars that both Kat and Leslie were too sleep deprived to question me about what was going on.

"It's been a while," he greeted with a smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"What do you want, Longbottom?" I asked bluntly, arching an eyebrow.

"To talk," he said simply.

"Well get to the point," I muttered, drawing a little into myself as I watched him tuck his hands into his pockets with a grin. He rocked on his heels slightly, looking down at me with obvious amusement and I forced myself not to fidget nervously. "You're not – you're not trying to ask me out again, are you?"

"You didn't even let me finish my sentence the last time," he reminded me.

Narrowing my eyes, I pointed out, "That means you are planning on asking again."

"Well would you look at that," he drawled, his grin growing even more. Merlin, why was he always smiling; who could possibly have something to smile about so often? "It looks like I've been caught."

"In that case," I mumbled as I hurried to my feet with a sigh, "I'm heading inside."

Turning on my heels, I called out a goodbye to dormmates before heading back towards the castle. I almost expected Frank to follow after me, to make me listen to what he had to say. But doing that would be so out of character for him; he wasn't that sort of person. He didn't push past the line that I had so clearly drawn between us and I begrudgingly respected him for it. He'd said so himself that he'd rather wait for me to choose to cross that line myself than to risk putting more distance between us by forcing things. Now if I could just remember the list of reasons for why I couldn't cross that line.

When I woke up in the morning I'd instantly known that it was one of those days where I was in such a good mood that it would take nothing short of a disaster to ruin it. But how was I supposed to know that a disaster would strike quite so easily – and so early in the day for that matter? Merlin, I'd been minding my own business as I sat waiting for the first lesson of the day to begin when Kat settled into the seat beside me, holding a letter out towards me.

"What's this?" I asked, taking the envelope from her and curiously looking down at my name written on it.

"You missed the post this morning," she explained as she turned away to rummage through her bag in search of her inkwell. Salazar, she was always losing that blasted thing.

Turning the envelope in my hands, I frowned at the sight of my family seal. Making a face down at the wax seal, I fought the temptation to throw the letter away without bothering to read the thing. It wasn't often that my parents reached out to me, so chances were it was important and that just spelt bad news for me. Breaking the seal quickly, I unfolded the single piece of parchment and let my eyes take in the hastily written message.

Clenching my jaw tightly, I breathed sharply through my nose as I tried to keep my composure. But it wasn't enough; Kat glanced cautiously towards me, watching as I folded the letter up to put it away. Chucking the letter on the table, I gave up my pretence of calm and groaned aloud, burying my head into my hands.

"What's the matter?" Kat called out in concern, putting a hand on my shoulder.

Shrugging out of her hand, I lifted my head and gestured towards the letter. "Read it for yourself; it's my parents being hell-bent on trying to fix me up with one of the spoilt heirs from the atrocious sacred 28."

Kat winced at that, knowing exactly what my parents thought of the sacred 28. Hell, they didn't approve of my friendship with Kat either. It wasn't good enough that she was a pureblood because her family weren't the right type of pureblood; they weren't one of the 28. She reached out towards the letter, reading it quickly.

"Salazar," Kat breathed out quietly, "surely they're not wanting you to date Avery's older brother? The one in our year is a big enough twat; I can only imagine what his brother would be like."

"They've moved long past dating," I despaired, pushing my hair from my face. "They're planning to shackle me to him – or someone like him for the rest of my life."

"I would not be able to live the way you do," Kat admitted, handing the letter back to me and I eyed the parchment dirtily, wanting to rip it into a million pieces. "How have you not blown up at them yet?"

"Apparently, I have more patience than either of us thinks," I muttered dryly, straightening up in my seat when I realised the way Kat continued to watch me with poorly concealed sympathy. "Don't look at me like that – I don't plan on living like this for much longer either."

"Good." Glancing towards the Slytherin boys in the corner of the room, Kat leaned in closer to me and asked quietly, "You don't think the Avery you're meeting over the weekend is anything like his brother, do you?"

"If he is, then I give him ten minutes before I hex him the way I hexed his brother back in fourth year," I muttered dryly.

"But we both know why you hexed him in fourth year," Kat teased, and I narrowed my eyes at the reminder of my darkest secret. "So, if it's the same reason, I take it that you're going to marry him then."

"And have to deal with someone I can't stand for the rest of my life? Like hell." Fiddling with the letter, I grumbled, "No one can be patient enough to deal with the Avery brothers for the rest of their lives."

"You'll just have to talk your parents out of forcing any wedding."

"And I will," I assured her, hearing the concern she tried to hide and before I could say anything else, the letter was suddenly ripped out of my hand.

Mouth parting incredulously, I looked at the Gryffindor standing beside my table but somehow, I just wasn't surprised. Instead of saying anything, I watched as Frank read over the letter and saw the way his hand curled into a fist around the parchment. He let out a slow breath, gently easing his hold on the paper before setting it back down on the table.

"You have the most horrendous habit of butting into my life," I remarked quietly, a little taken aback by the way his face had gone completely blank. He clenched his jaw tightly and I cleared my throat, adding, "Especially when I don't want you to."

He didn't rise to the bait; he never did. Instead, he continued to look at me and I met his eyes head on. Usually Frank would be the first to look away, the first to give in but not this time. This time he continued to hold my gaze until I was the one to awkwardly averted my eyes.

"Your blind date this weekend," he started, barely able to get the words out. "Are you going?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business," I shot back, turning my body away from him.

But he remained where he was, looking down at me with intent eyes. "Well, are you?"

I didn't answer him. Not because I didn't know my answer but because I knew that he wouldn't accept my answer. If I told him that I didn't have a choice, then he would behave so very Gryffindor-like and insist that there was always a choice. But he had no idea.

Frank, not willing to accept my silence, waited patiently for an answer that I was determined not to give him. It was only when Slughorn told him to take a seat that he reluctantly headed to his own table. Even then, I could feel his eyes on me for the rest of the lesson.

The days flew by quickly, the way they always did when you had plans that you weren't looking forward to. And just like that, somewhere between the countless pieces of work and essays I'd had to complete throughout the week, my so-called blind date was upon me. I had managed to hightail it out of the dorm before Leslie could try to convince me to change my clothes because apparently what I was wearing was something you did not wear to a date. And that was exactly the point – it was why I had decided to wear it in the first place.

Taking my time to reach the bordering village, I practically dragged my feet as I walked to the Three Broomsticks, actually wishing that Avery decided to stand me up. Merlin, maybe it wasn't that farfetched of an idea; wasn't Avery currently with a witch? If you believed the rumours, - and I did – Avery was a downright bastard, but even still, he wouldn't be as cruel to his witch as to go on a blind date, would he?

The thought brought some life back into my steps as I fought a smile; all I'd need to do was turn up and wait until he inevitably didn't show up. But, as I stepped into the pub and looked around the room, I realised that I'd gotten my hopes up for nothing. Sure enough, settled in one of the corner booths was bloody Avery.

My smile faded, and it wasn't because of Avery. No – it was because of the ruddy Gryffindor who'd seen the need to sit in the booth right beside the one where Avery was sitting. Of course, Frank could have simply been in here to get a drink, to avoid the sun for some of his trip into Hogsmeade – goodness knew some other students were doing the same – but it was the fact that he was sitting alone that told me he was here to snoop. Merlin, why couldn't Gryffindors keep their noses out of anything?

To make things worse Frank had spotted me but I turned my eyes away from him and headed straight towards Avery – even when Frank rose from his seat as if to physically stop me from approaching the former Slytherin. I didn't so much as throw a glance in the Gryffindor's direction as I slid into the booth and settled directly across from the older man.

"Long time no see," Avery greeted as I crossed one leg over the other. "It's been two years, I think?"

"Let's cut the chitchat," I suggested bluntly.

Avery's eyebrows rose in surprise, but he gestured for me to go ahead. "Seems like you've got something on your mind."

"What are you even doing here?" I demanded, crossing my arms. "Last I heard you were dating some witch and I don't think she'd be pleased to know where you are at the moment."

"There are witches you date and there are the type of witches you marry," he said slowly, watching me from beneath his eyelashes as he ran his finger over the rim of his glass. "Although, you'd be the type of witch who could be both."

"Funnily enough, I wouldn't do either with you."

"And yet you're here Selwyn," he smirked, strengthening up in his seat. "Let's not pretend that this is a normal date – we both know this is a blind date with marriage in mind. Here's my ground rules; I won't care who or what you do as long as you don't end up ruining my reputation. Whatever piece on the side you find, keep it hidden –"

"And I assume you'll return the favour," I quipped dryly.

"Of course. Once a male heir is –"

"Let me stop you before you get ahead of yourself," I interjected, sitting up and narrowing my eyes at him. "Here's what's going to happen, Avery, you're going to go home and tell your parents that for some reason or another, you didn't like me. We end this bullshit right here and go on with our lives without having to run into each other again. If I so much as hear a suggestion of a second date, then I'm marching straight to your parents to tell them that your witch isn't a witch after all – but some muggle bint you met in London."

"Most girls in your position would jump at the chance I've offered you," he said quietly, and I noted that he did nothing to deny the rumour I'd sprung on him. "Unusually in these situations, only the man gets the chance to play around with the witch bound in fidelity bonds from the moment she says 'I do' –"

"You're point being?"

"You've got someone." I laughed incredulously at his statement. I didn't have someone.

"Marrying you is the last thing I want to do, Avery."

"You didn't say no," he pointed out and I rolled my eyes.

"Do we have an agreement or not?"

"We do," he accepted after a moment's thought and that was all I needed.

Rising to my feet, I turned to leave without seeing the need to say goodbye to Avery. Instead, I walked out of the booth and planned to head out of the Three Broomsticks to see if I could find my friends. But a hand closed around my own and the sudden contact would have startled me but the fluttering in the pit of my stomach told me who it was. There was no need to get tense and so, without even looking at Frank, I let him guide me out of the pub. Frank, rather uncharacteristically, pushed his way through the crowd to get to the door and I stumbled after him.

When we reached the street, I forcefully pulled my hand out of his and stared disbelievingly at him. He watched me without a word as I scoffed and rubbed my hands together to try and stop the stupid warmth that his touch caused me. Backing away from him slightly, I crossed my arms defensively as I stared defiantly back at him. I would not let him make me think that I had done something wrong.

"What in Merlin's name were you doing in there?" I demanded, "And don't think about spinning some sort of story – just tell me the truth."

"How could I just let the pair of you meet alone?" he shot back sharply. "You've heard what he's like, Merlin the entire castle has heard stuff like that. You know what his little brother is like, and he's worse – much, much worse, so how –"

"Stop it, Frank!" I cut in harshly, and I wasn't sure if it was my tone of voice or my addressing him by his first name that rendered him speechless. "I don't need you to protect me."

"You have no idea what's could have happened today – what it would have meant for your life and-"

"You must think that I'm some sort of idiot. Do you think I came here not knowing anything about what this could have meant for me – you know what, forget it." With a deep sigh, I closed my eyes for a moment to gather my composure. Merlin, I was showing him too much. "Listen to me, I know they call you some sort of Prince Charming up in that red and gold tower of yours but you're not. Not for me anyway."

"Selwyn –"

"You don't get to run in and slay the dragon, to fend off the ghosts haunting me, to be the shield that lets me hide behind him whilst taking all the blows. You don't get to do any of that for me, Frank." Swallowing thickly, I glanced away from him for a moment when I watched him lower his head towards the ground. "I won't let you. The only person capable of saving me is me, so don't try it."

Turning on my heels, I walked away from Frank. Letting out a deep breath, I silently congratulated myself for my decision. It was the right thing to do, so why did it feel like I'd driven a bloody knife through my heart –

"I just want to help you," Frank insisted, suddenly sprinting to stand in front of me again.

I started suddenly in my step, almost falling over my feet at his abrupt appearance. "What?"

"I just want to help you," he said quietly.

"Fine – you wanted to help," I agreed softly, "but have you ever asked me what I want? You just do whatever you want – regardless of my wishes." Just like everyone else.

"I'm sorry about that – really. But I won't apologise for just wanting the best for you –"

"My God, Frank –"

"What is it you want then?"

"I – what?" His question threw me, more than he realised. Merlin, I couldn't remember the last time someone asked me what I wanted.

"What do you want from me, Selwyn?" he asked again, moving as if to take a step closer to me, only to halt when I shuffled away from him.

Merlin, one question and I became so bloody skittish. Was it stupid to admit that I'd never thought I'd get to hear something like that again? Because no one did ever ask, they just insisted they knew better, that I'd follow along without a word. And maybe that was my fault, for not kicking up a fuss when I was younger. But Salazar, that was such a loaded question. What was it that I wanted from Frank?

The answer; so much. I wanted so much from him, but I just couldn't let him in simply because he was a Longbottom – one of those bloody 28. The moment I'd learned to think for myself, the moment I'd detached myself from my parents, I'd promised that I'd keep away from the 28. I didn't want to give them that satisfaction. Merlin, I just needed to stay away from him, just until I could look after myself. And I was a long way from being able to do that.

"Please, just-just stay away from me."

With the school year winding down to a close, most of the students had taken to sticking to their friend's sides for as long as they could before they would eventually be separated from each other for the majority of the holiday. Or, in the case of the seventh years, before they were forced into to become part of the adult world. As a result, there were very few places in the castle where you could be alone to just take some time to think. And Merlin, did I need the time.

Following the 'disaster' of my date with Avery, I waited each morning with slight dread for our family owl to come flying into the great hall with a howler waiting for me. But each day passed, followed by the next and there was no sign of the owl. The week of no news had lulled me into a false sense of security, so it genuinely caught me by surprise when an all too familiar owl flew into the great hall to drop a letter in front of me. It was just a plain letter and staring down at the inanimate envelope filled me with even more horror. I'd stashed the letter away to read once I'd found a quiet place in the school which was far harder to find than I had thought it would be.

Eventually, I'd managed to track down an empty bench in the courtyard and because I couldn't afford to be picky, I didn't even care that there was a group of rowdy first years a few metres away from me. The letter did an incredible job of portraying just how outraged my parents were, almost as if it was a howler. Merlin, they demanded to know what I could possibly have done to Avery to make him refuse outright to the suggestion of a second date. The small bit of relief that filled me at those words fled completely when I reached the bottom of the parchment where they warned me to prepare to go on another blind date when I returned home from school.

Merlin, I wanted to rip this bloody thing up. Really there was nothing stopping me from doing that anyway.

"Let me take a look." The voice, one I hadn't heard in days, somehow didn't take me by surprise. Instead, I glanced towards Frank who shuffled slightly on his feet as he explained, "You practically ran out of the great hall so I thought that someone needed to check on you. Even if you didn't want that person to be."

"I wouldn't have wanted anyone else," I said with a resigned sigh, handing the parchment off to Frank who took it eagerly.

Shuffling down the bench to make space for him to sit, I watched silently as he read it. Slowly his eyebrows furrowed, the corner of his eyes pinching slightly in a small show of anger. But then he breathed out and all signs of tension were gone. Folding the letter back up, he held it out for me to take, eyes searching out my own.

"The sacred 28," he murmured, holding my gaze even after I'd taken the letter back. "They're searching through the sacred 28. The Longbottoms –"

"How's Alice?" I asked suddenly, stopping him before he could vocalise the rest of his sentence. Either way, we both knew what he wanted to day.

He stared seriously at me for a moment clearly wondering whether to push or not. Eventually, like he always did, he decided against it and sighed before asking, "You saw her ask me out?" If he was waiting for some sort of answer from me, then he wouldn't get one. "She'll get over it eventually."

"Why'd you reject her? She seemed like a lovely –"

"Don't change the subject."

"Alright, I won't," I said softly. "Only if you say what you really want to say."

"Sacred 28 – they're searching within the sacred 28. I belong to one of those families."

"That's why I don't want anything to happen between us," I admitted. What harm could possibly come from sharing the truth with him now? My time at Hogwarts was ending within a few weeks and once we had left school, we wouldn't be around each other. "If anything happened between us, they wouldn't ever see you as Frank. You'd just be an extension of your surname and I don't want that."

He nodded to himself, seeming to accept that my words were correct but then he hesitated before turning his body towards my own. Speaking slowly, he asked, "Then why did you kiss me?"

"I –" sighing, I ran a hand through my hair. "That happened last year Frank – can't you just get over it?"

"No – and I don't want to. Godric, the entire scene keeps running through my head and if I'd have known that it'd only happen once, I'd have pulled you back and kissed you again."

"Frank, I –"

"Can you? Get over it, that is?" He leaned in closer towards me, lowering his voice as he tried to meet my averted eyes. "Can you get over me, Selwyn?"

"No," I admitted truthfully, almost returning the smile that grew on his face. "But I refuse to let you save me Frank; I'm sorting this out for myself."

"And I won't stop you," he assured me. "But how are you going to do anything? We're almost done with school and then what? You'll be stuck in that house and you'll just let them shackle someone to you? Am I not the better choice?"

Merlin, he was the only choice I wanted to make. But instead of saying that, I shook my head and smiled to reassure him softly, "I'll be fine, I promise."

"You'll probably say no – but can I help you with something? Is there anything you need me to do?" I bit my bottom lip hesitantly, but he nodded encouragingly. "Go on."

"I need space, Frank."

He sighed, drawing away from me and dropping his head for a moment. "I get it."

"Frank I –"

"I told you I'd help you," he reminded me solemnly, leaning in to press a quick kiss to my cheek. I drew in a sharp breath, watching him with wide eyes. "If that's what you need from me, then I'm fine with that."

"Thank you."

And because I could never hold his eyes when he began to look at me like that – like I was worth something more than the potential heir I could produce – I looked away from him. Sticking my hands into my robe pockets, I fingered the other letter hidden inside. The Gringotts seal on the back remained unbroken and whenever Frank decided to leave, I'd get the chance to look at it.

"I should head back inside," Frank said with a reluctant sigh, making me look back to him. He rose to his feet, staring down at me as he rummaged through his robe pockets. Pulling out a small jewellery box, he set it down on the bench beside me. "Happy Birthday, Selwyn."

Without giving me the chance to respond, he turned to walk away and headed back towards the castle. The Gringotts letter long forgotten, I reached towards the box and opened it to find a locket nestle inside. With gentle fingers, I lifted the locket to eye level before unlocking it. And Frank being Frank, had already placed a picture inside it. Staring back at me were two grinning babies with identical party hats on their faces, both with ice cream cake smeared all over their faces.

"Salazar," my breath left me in a whoosh. "He really doesn't make it easy."

Frank Longbottom, no matter what you thought of him, was a man of his word. Once he agreed to do something, once he made a promise, he stuck to it and that was why I didn't even need to contemplate the idea that he wouldn't keep his distance from me. And he did keep his distance for our remaining time in Hogwarts.

Even when the following summer arrived, and the months ticked by, I didn't seek Frank out. He didn't seek me out either, just like he'd agreed. I'd still had things that I needed to sort out and it was the promise I'd made to myself that, once I'd sorted things out I'd go to him, which stopped the overwhelming loneliness.

I had apparated into the middle of the street about ten minutes ago and, as I stared down at the address written on the parchment in my hand, I wondered whether it was really right to do this. Merlin, how would he take it if I just randomly turned up on his doorstep after almost three months of no contact? But wasn't it better just to go and see what happened anyway? Instead of continuing to worry about the ways he could possibly react, wasn't it better just to find out the truth for myself? So, what if Frank turned me away – albeit, it would be in the nicest way possible – I certainly hadn't wasted so much time tracking him down just to chicken out in the last minute.

Salazar, I'd had to approach his old dormmates to find out if they knew the address of his new house. And naturally, they'd been reluctant to share the details with me. Even though I understood the need for caution, I couldn't help but think they'd gone to unnecessary lengths to make sure that I was being 'honourable'. Although Lupin had taken me aside to tell me that they were doing it out of the goodness of their hearts, just to ensure that I didn't cause their friend anymore heartache. It was that little comment that had me looking past all of their antics.

"Merlin, I can't believe I'm doing this," I muttered under my breath, folding the parchment up and shoving it into my pocket.

Letting out a deep breath, I walked to the rest of the way to the doorstep, eyeing the house up and down. What sort of student bought a house straight out of school? But then again, he did belong to one of the '28'. Raising my hand to ring the bell, I hesitated again, lowering my hand to my side. What if he asked what I was doing on his doorstep after months without reaching out to him? It wasn't exactly my fault that sorting things out had taken so long! But what if he was still asleep? Merlin, it wasn't even 9 o'clock in the morning. I'd let my excitement to see him get the best of me and now –

"Right, that's it!" Forcing myself to ring the doorbell, I waited anxiously on his doorstep.

Tapping my foot rapidly, I crossed my arms and waited. One minute, I'd wait one minute longer before hurrying back home. One minute more. Just one –

The door opened slowly, and I took a surprised step backwards. Frank peered out from behind his door, eyes squinted against the glare of the sun before they settled onto me. It took less than a second for his eyes to widen as he wrenched the door open completely, not seeming to care that he was currently in his pyjamas.

"Frank, I –"

He stepped forward suddenly, taking a hold of my shoulders as he demanded earnestly, "Where the hell were you, Selwyn? You disappeared as soon as we left Hogwarts and –"

"Frank –"

"– your parents have gone insane! They're on a witch hunt for you – claiming that you've transferred your assets to your own bank account and ran off to –"

"That's true," I admitted abruptly, cutting him off completely. His eyes widened, and I cleared my throat, deciding it best to just be truthful. What was the point of hiding it when I'd already come this far? "Apparently when you're 18 your assets become your own and I realised that any threats my parents could make about cutting me off became useless. Merlin, if I hadn't spoken to my grandparents then I'd never have found out the truth."

"Well – where have you been? You can't just have –"

"Can I come in?" I asked hesitantly, gesturing down the street to where some of his neighbours had curiously popped their heads out to see what was going on.

"Oh right," he said quickly, nodding and stepping aside to hurry me inside. "Come in, come in."

I waited for a moment and when Frank made no move to let me inside, I raised an eyebrow. Realising that he was standing in the way, Frank hurriedly stepped aside to let me in. Brushing past him slowly, I looked curiously around his new home. Maybe it was because he hadn't moved in that long ago, but it didn't seem to fit him properly. There weren't any traces of Frank within the place.

"Where have you been staying then?" Frank asked, shutting the front door and watching as I turned towards him.

"I have a place," I assured him with a smile. "Just a small flat, not too far away from here actually."

"That's good." He cleared his throat, looking down as he murmured, "That's good."

I watched him, seeing the way he hesitated as if unsure of what to say and I knew in that instant that it was now or never. If I didn't do something or say something, then we'd continue to drift apart, and the damage would be irreversible. Straightening my shoulders, I strode towards him before I could second guess myself.

His eyes widened in surprise as I took his face in my hands. He stared down at me in surprise, blinking quickly and before he could vocalise the question on his mind, I rose to my toes and kissed him. Merlin, this mirrored the way I kissed him the first time.

Drawing away from him, I looked hesitantly at him to see his reaction. But he just continued to look down at me in complete confusion. Speaking quietly, I told him, "I missed you. A lot more than I thought I would."

The words snapped him out of whatever daze he was in as he removed my hands from his face. Unsurprisingly, the slight action hurt more than I imagined it would, but Frank wrapped an arm around my waist, hauling me into his chest. He lowered his head, kissing me and this time he was the one to pull away.

"I'm still ridiculously confused," he warned, moving to cross the distance between us again.

"I'll explain everything to you," I promised, rising to wrap my arms around his neck.