(no subject)
Title: Sacrifice
Summary: Alice reflects on sacrifice in her marriage
Disclaimer: All characters property of one J.K. Rowling. Not me. Unfortunately.
Rating: Pretty G
A/N: Frank and Alice don't get nearly as much attention as they should. So I thought I'd contribute something and the feeling behind this has been in my head for days. I'll come with something more fun next time.
Alice had heard that marriage was about making compromises. About two people putting aside their own selfish desires to come to an agreement that's to the best for everyone. It must be nice.
Alice often felt that her marriage was about sacrifices, which weren't nearly so easy. Making sacrifices isn't about meeting in the middle or doing what's best for everyone. Because if it's good for everyone, that means it must be good for you too. Sacrifice was about doing what was best for everyone without thinking of yourself. It was about doing something because you were the only one who could.
The problem was that in order to do what was best, she was sacrificing her marriage. And that was only to start with. She had made a decision: to become and Auror and then later to join the Order. But that decision required sacrifices. Her time, for one. Alice was often gone for days at a time. She'd stagger home, to that little London row house she and Frank had moved into after they were married, too tired to do anything but crawl into bed next to Frank and sleep. And of course, those times when she was home, it was often Frank's turn to be out on field work or on a mission for the Order.
The nights when he was gone were the hardest. She had a reluctance to sleep in their bed without Frank. Aurors tended to be superstitious and Alice was no exception. Part of her thought that if she got too used to sleeping in bed without him, it would become easy. And if it were easy, that meant it would continue. That if she got used to his absence, it would mean she would lose him. So she slept on the sofa downstairs or sometimes in the guestroom and she tried not to think of all the things she knew could happen to him.
That was difficult as well. Because she knew every single thing that could possibly go wrong. All Aurors developed a sense of their own impending doom. And if they ever forgot just how dangerous things really were, looking at Moody soon reminded them. But the two of them had been lucky so far. That didn't mean they weren't keenly aware that their bodies were sacrifices as well. She couldn't count the number of times she'd wince when Frank embraced her because she was sporting a few bruised ribs. Or she'd come home and Frank would help her wipe the blood from her face. And on those nights when they were both home, she could feel each new scar on his chest beneath her fingers.
Sometimes she fantasized about a time when she could leave Auroring behind, a time when there would be no need for the Order and she and Frank could have a family in peace. She could compromise then. Too bad it wouldn't come without sacrifice.
Summary: Alice reflects on sacrifice in her marriage
Disclaimer: All characters property of one J.K. Rowling. Not me. Unfortunately.
Rating: Pretty G
A/N: Frank and Alice don't get nearly as much attention as they should. So I thought I'd contribute something and the feeling behind this has been in my head for days. I'll come with something more fun next time.
Alice had heard that marriage was about making compromises. About two people putting aside their own selfish desires to come to an agreement that's to the best for everyone. It must be nice.
Alice often felt that her marriage was about sacrifices, which weren't nearly so easy. Making sacrifices isn't about meeting in the middle or doing what's best for everyone. Because if it's good for everyone, that means it must be good for you too. Sacrifice was about doing what was best for everyone without thinking of yourself. It was about doing something because you were the only one who could.
The problem was that in order to do what was best, she was sacrificing her marriage. And that was only to start with. She had made a decision: to become and Auror and then later to join the Order. But that decision required sacrifices. Her time, for one. Alice was often gone for days at a time. She'd stagger home, to that little London row house she and Frank had moved into after they were married, too tired to do anything but crawl into bed next to Frank and sleep. And of course, those times when she was home, it was often Frank's turn to be out on field work or on a mission for the Order.
The nights when he was gone were the hardest. She had a reluctance to sleep in their bed without Frank. Aurors tended to be superstitious and Alice was no exception. Part of her thought that if she got too used to sleeping in bed without him, it would become easy. And if it were easy, that meant it would continue. That if she got used to his absence, it would mean she would lose him. So she slept on the sofa downstairs or sometimes in the guestroom and she tried not to think of all the things she knew could happen to him.
That was difficult as well. Because she knew every single thing that could possibly go wrong. All Aurors developed a sense of their own impending doom. And if they ever forgot just how dangerous things really were, looking at Moody soon reminded them. But the two of them had been lucky so far. That didn't mean they weren't keenly aware that their bodies were sacrifices as well. She couldn't count the number of times she'd wince when Frank embraced her because she was sporting a few bruised ribs. Or she'd come home and Frank would help her wipe the blood from her face. And on those nights when they were both home, she could feel each new scar on his chest beneath her fingers.
Sometimes she fantasized about a time when she could leave Auroring behind, a time when there would be no need for the Order and she and Frank could have a family in peace. She could compromise then. Too bad it wouldn't come without sacrifice.