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'The unqualified truth is, that when I loved Estella with the love of a man, I loved her simply because I found her irresistible. Once for all; I knew to my sorrow, often and often, if not always, that I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be. Once for all; I loved her nonetheless because I knew it, and it had no more influence in restraining me, than if I had devoutly believed her to be human perfection.'

The words, straight out of Charles Dickens's 'Great Expectations', echoed through the dark, blissful emptiness that rapidly filled Frank's dozing brain. His head drooped, his chin on his chest, and his eyes fluttered closed mid-sentence. The dog-eared paperback, clutched loosely in Frank's right hand, dropped into a downward-facing position, the words now lying gently on his lap and the title facing the ceiling. The humble but tidy kitchen faded into the depths of sleep, cool morning light filtering through the window above the sink. Steam wafted up from the spout of the kettle, warming serenely on the stovetop.

Suddenly, the peaceful drift of the steam became a jet and a piercing whistle filled the kitchen. Frank's eyes opened abruptly and his head snapped erect. Consciousness flooded his brain as he shook off sleep and glanced down at the neglected book on his lap. Once again, he marveled at the ability of muggles to create such an art as a brilliant novel without magic. Then he noticed the kettle's whistling and leaped clumsily up from his chair to take the tea off the heat, dropping the book onto the floor and almost knocking the table over in the process. After straightening his light blue sweater vest and turning off the heat, he took down two delicate teacups, placed them carefully on saucers, and poured for Alice and himself. "Darling, are you ready?" He said, loudly but not without kindness. He removed the bacon and eggs from the stove, where they had been sizzling mouth-wateringly, and dished them out, putting the breakfast near the tea on the table. Alice emerged from the bedroom, looking beautiful as always. Frank kissed her lovingly. "Good morning, love." He said with a smile as they sat.

After breakfast, the couple prepared to depart for the meeting with the Order of the Phoenix. The Order meant everything to Frank; they were his family. He would lay down his life for any one of them in a second if it were necessary.

As was traditional, the Longbottoms traveled via broomstick. Frank donned his traveling cloak, earmuffs, leather gloves, and goggles before grasping his Bluebottle broom. He made sure his wand was tucked safely in its pocket. Alice was ready, so they stepped outside, took a quick look around, mounted, and pushed off. It was important to race quickly up into the clouds, in order to keep as many muggles as possible from spotting them. Luckily the thick clouds hung low in the sky, so the Longbottoms quickly plunged into the wet, cold air within the clouds. Instantly water began clinging to their travelling cloaks as the pushed through the fog. Earth was dimly visible far beneath the couple, and Frank scanned the city for their destination: the abandoned warehouse where the Order regularly met. His nose became red with the cold and flakes of snow stuck in his hair. Before too long, the building came into view. Frank signaled to Alice and they began their descent, drifting easily down, watching carefully for any muggles who might be gazing into the sky for whatever reason.

As usual, any muggles who were even awake this early had their eyes downturned in left-over morning drowsiness. Frank stumbled to a stationary position atop the roof of the warehouse as he dismounted his broom. Alice joined him shortly after and they headed down to meet the others. They were quite late, so there were sure to be others there.

The warehouse could use some sprucing up. Loose floorboards and broken glass littered the floor, and there was a distinct smell of mildew hanging in the air at all times. Frank was grateful to have a place for the Order to meet, but he had considered coming back and cleaning up a bit on many occasions. However, only recently had other things engaged his thoughts. Alice's pregnancy, for example. Frank walked on a cloud all the time now, with constant fantasies about their new child to come. Tears of joy flowed freely down his face when he heard. He was going to be a daddy.

Entering through the back room, the couple approached the group who had gathered. There was Dumbledore, of course; esteemed headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Sirius Black, who had been a first year during Frank's final year at Hogwarts, along with his close friends James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. James and Peter had found their way to the meeting, Peter was joined by his wife, Lily. Remus had not yet arrived, but surely would before too long. The five newcomers had already proved to be valuable assets to the Order. Also present were Andridica Toomes and Margareaux Moriarty, fellow long-time loyal followers of the Order. And finally, there stood a young girl with very long hair who Frank recognized, but had never seen, as Prudence Day. According to Dumbledore, she had only just joined the Order from the Death Eaters and had been living at the warehouse. Frank beamed at the sight of the group. "Good morning, all! Happy Christmas!" His cheery voice rang out as he nodded a polite greeting to each individual member and made his way to Prudence. It would only be polite to introduce himself. "Hello, you must be Prudence. I've heard so much about you." He said in a friendly and welcoming voice, his face adorned with a supportive smile. The child had surely had a shock when her parents had died and she changed alliances so abruptly. Frank knew love was one thing she hadn't received from the Death Eaters, and it was one thing the Longbottoms, especially, were more than able to give.