0930

Frank had recently gotten back with the latest book Fiona and he had been out hunting for. Luckily, it wasn’t that big of a deal to locate, after looking through clues and old maps. It had only a handful of traps set up to get to the small library that it was housed in. Sometimes Frank wondered how people learned of book titles that had been missing for a while… Not that he thought about it a whole lot—it was payment, after all. He was just, on occasion, curious about how people went about it.

As he wrapped the book gently in brown, tough paper, Frank mulled over it longer. Perhaps there was somewhere that book titles had started to be kept, and people knew which were missing and which were necessary for them. Shaking his head at that, he let out a frustrated breath. No, that didn’t make sense. If that were true, then the books would be found and the need for bookhunters would be null. Scratching the back of his head, Frank frowned at the now wrapped book.

What, then? Did it go through one witch or wizard or another, and someone just finally got curious about reading it and sought out a hunter? Pulling some twine out, he let out another heavy breath, eyeballing a piece of twine before moving it around all four sides of the book to tie into a hasty little bow. He figured it should look nice and presentable when he took it to the client.

After letting Fiona know that he would be gone for a short while, Frank set about checking the address to the closest known area would be. “Green Wand Greenhouses… Right-oh.” With the book under one arm, held against his side protectively, Frank headed out and apparated to a close tavern that he had stopped at before. From there, he set out on a brisk walk. It was a nice little bit of exercise for the morning, and helped wake him up a bit.

As he came upon the Green Wand Greenhouse, Frank double checked what he had written down (name and address). Nodding to himself, he glanced up to the front door, which was now a few steps closer. Sometimes his aimless walking where he didn’t watch where he was going ended up with him face down on the floor, and sometimes he was lucky to have not hit anything. Once, he even ran head first into a glass door. That had been embarrassing…

Knocking on the door loudly, Frank stood back and waited patiently for someone to answer.

Susan had a busy morning she had to make sure all the orders were correct doing the double check. She then had paper work to do for the delivers and new orders to process. She was also looking at her accounting books and budget to see if she could hire on any summer staff as the load got busier especially with the many summer blooms that they got. Plus there were these new blooms she wanted to order for then and she would need the extra hands cause she would be tending the new blooms. Plus by that time she could be a bit too big and need the extra help. God what would she do when she had to hire on another manager temporarily to take her spot when she was raising her baby after the baby was born. She knew she would go back to work early because she would have to it was her business, she had to help run it. It was a lot of stress to have to think about alone since she had still not told Ernie. He was working late nights and she still had not had the chance to tell him.

Susan heard a call out in the greenhouse, which got her to her feet, and she rushed over. “Oh dear,” she said as she saw the plant it was not looking too good. “Okay I will tend to this one.” It was once more another thing for her to have to tend to on her growing list, at least this was something she loved doing rather than paper work. Grabbing her work robes she started to tend to the plant which involved moving it to a new pot with fresh dirt. After spending an hour dealing with the plant she heard a knock on the door. She brushed a few strands out of her face leaving a few soil smudges on her face and in her hair.

“Coming!” She called as she rushed to the door wondering who was here. She rubbed her hands on her brown robes that were covered in stains of dirt or other potions. She got to the door and yanked it open with a gentle smile on her face. “Hello,” she said looking at the face then the smile went wider. “Frank?” It had to be him it had to be. She had not seen him in a while but he had been in her house a year bellow her, she was pretty sure it was him. “Come in,” she said sweetly.

Glancing down at himself, Frank brushed off some fuzz that was clinging to his shirt. The tan trousers were a little wrinkled, and the plain black shirt was in need of replacing (it had faded to a dark gray, after so many washings), but overall he looked all right. After this, he was planning on a nice lie in. Unless Fiona needed his help, in which case he’d drink some coffee and shovel down some breakfast.

They had just gotten back three hours before, and Frank had had time to get cleaned up before he made his way over to the client’s house. He preferred to get the book to them as quickly as possible, but also felt the need to appear clean. One time they’d gotten back and he’d been covered from head to toe in mud. That had been an interesting trip. Smiling as he remembered, his eyes moved to the door as it opened.

“Hello… Frank?”

Staring at the woman in the doorway, Frank’s eyes widened slightly before a brief pursing of his lower lip came over him. Familiar face… Older, yes, but familiar… Macmillan wasn’t… Then it clicked and his eyes widened again, followed with a wide grin. “Susan? Oh wow.” Scratching the side of his head with his free hand, he felt a pull of older memories and different times at Hogwarts. “You’re looking dashing as ever.” He was… twenty six now, almost twenty seven, which made Susan at least twenty eight. She looked great.

“Come in.”

Glancing around momentarily, he finally stepped forward into the open door. “Thank you.” It wasn’t too chilly out, and the walk had warmed him up enough, but it was still nice to get inside. Glancing around the greenhouse, Frank ran his fingers through his hair before realizing why he was there. “I’m sorry, right.” Holding out the package, he grinned wider. “Ah, Ambridge and Lloyd Bookhunter. We were able to find the requested book.”

Realizing he had it wrapped, his smile fell slightly and his eyebrows rose. “By all means, you can look it over. It was in good condition considering it wasn’t set on a shelf in a library for all these years.” Biting his lip and looking at Susan’s face, he grinned around it. “How’ve you been?” It was a bit trippy, running into her.

Susan could not stop the pink blush that came to her cheeks as he told her she looked dashing. “Oh thank you,” she said bashfully and a little shyly, to this day she even blushed when Ernie complimented her let alone an old housemate. “Well you look good too you have matured,” he was no longer the sixteen-year-old boy that she remembered from Hogwarts.

Standing there she closed the door once he had entered and she looked at him curiously wondering what caused him to drop by. She didn’t want to seem rude and ask him why but she was at work and all. When he held out a package she smiled, “Oh thank you so much I had sort of forgotten I asked for it, but I definitely needed this.” Susan was very pleased to have the book. “I have so many things on my mind I cannot believe I had forgotten I requested it.” Susan looked at the wrapped book for a second and then held it to her chest. “I will leave it wrapped I don’t want to damage it with soil covered fingers.” She waved one hand showing dirt covered finger tips.

“Well I have been good Frank, kept busy with this place and the husband.” She grinned at him as he stood there, she would have spilled the beans on the baby but she promised herself to tell Ernie first. “How have you been keeping?” She looked towards her office and thought it would be polite to invite him in. “Would you like some tea? I am afraid that is all I can offer here. Oh and of course water and milk.” Susan drank tea at work it soothed her.

“Oh thank you… Well you look good too you have matured.”

Giving her his signature goofy grin, he ran a hand over his cheek a moment. He supposed he had matured in ten years. “Thanks, Susan.” Frank had looked a bit different at Hogwarts; he’d been classified as ‘dorky,’ and certainly was a bit of a shove off considering his history and then the house he had been in… over all, he’d been the brunt of a few people’s jokes. Now, though, his looks helped him quite a bit. Frank figured it was his charm more than anything, though.

“The sad part of growing up is maturing, right?” Winking at her, he tapped his thumb against the book quickly. He was still quite a kid at heart, and got to show that off whenever he could. He also wasn’t the most stable on his feet at all hours of the day, which many contributed to being less of an adult than the non clumsy. Frank didn’t worry too much about how others thought of him, though.

“Oh thank you so much I had sort of forgotten I asked for it, but I definitely needed this… I have so many things on my mind I cannot believe I had forgotten I requested it.”

Shrugging, he smiled as she took the book. “More than happy to be of service.” Waving a hand as if to cast aside her apology, Frank put his hands in his trouser pockets. “Don’t worry about it, Susan. It’s my job to not forget the book.”

“I will leave it wrapped I don’t want to damage it with soil covered fingers.”

Looking at the waved hand, he laughed lightly and inclined his head in agreement. “Well, I can tell you from looking it over that it’s in great shape for where it was. Almost every page is accounted for.” That was better than some—sometimes there had been some sort of water damage in the hidden chamber or room, or it was buried in a sack in the ground, or countless other things… “There was even a bookmark made out of a leaf somewhere, I just left it there…” In case it was something they didn’t have a lot of, or hadn’t seen before; Frank tried to keep everything as he found it.

“Well I have been good Frank, kept busy with this place and the husband.”

Caught off guard by the fact that she was married, Frank’s eyebrows rose. That would explain the last name. Now that he had that to put together, he recalled an older student with the name. “That’s good, and good for you. I would imagine being married would keep you busy.” It was sometimes enough work keeping up after himself, and then having to keep up with someone else as well… that was why you should love the person before you commit like that, he supposed.

“How have you been keeping?”

“Oh, I’ve been good. Keeping busy with work.” He did enjoy his work, even with the ups and downs of his boss. She was moody, but luckily Frank deflected most of that, especially since Aidan had been born. He’d helped out where he could, and handled the more mundane tasks. “It’s a lot of fun though, so it’s worth it.”

“Would you like some tea? I am afraid that is all I can offer here. Oh and of course water and milk.”

Frank was a little torn; he wanted to sleep, but he also wanted to catch up a little with Susan. Finally, he took half a step forward, rubbing his hands together. “Ah, tea would be wonderful, as long as I’m not opposing. If you have work to get to, I can see myself out.” He gave her a smile and raised an eyebrow. It wouldn’t be that hard to go if she needed. She was just as pleasant as he recalled from school, though. Thinking of others… good trait.

“I don’t know about that,” Susan didn’t mind the maturing bit, but then again she always thought she was in need of a bit of maturing. “I just don’t want my skin to mature with my mind.” Susan laughed, it was a joke of course because she knew she wasn’t getting old and wrinkly just yet.

“Well, I can tell you from looking it over that it’s in great shape for where it was. Almost every page is accounted for.”

“Well that is good to hear, I hate when I get a book with a few pages missing,” she paused shifting the book a bit, “it is like doing a puzzle and the last piece is missing.” Susan hated when that happened her mother and her always had to face that ordeal when they did puzzle, they liked to blame it on her father.

“There was even a bookmark made out of a leaf somewhere, I just left it there…”

“Really, well I will have to have a look for that.” Susan was going to spend some time reading this tonight unless Ernie was on time of course she had much bigger things to talk about. The bookmark would probably come in handy because of hers that was in the work.  “I am using the book for a reference and research for my own so I am very pleased to have it.”

“That’s good, and good for you. I would imagine being married would keep you busy.”

Susan nodded her head, “It does keep be busy but Ernie does make me happy.” Susan honestly couldn’t really picture life right now without him. She never regretted that kiss she gave him after the battle. Susan was proud she did it because who knows if she would be where she was now.

“So what got you into book hunting?” Susan was curious and figured it would be a good topic to discuss over tea. “We can discuss it over tea.” She said as she led him to her office. “Just don’t mind the state of my office, paper is everywhere.” Of course Susan was exaggerating a little, she had a bit of paper strewn over her desk and a few that had fallen on the floor.

“I don’t know about that… I just don’t want my skin to mature with my mind.”

Laughing as well, Frank shook his head in agreement with her statement. Running his fingers over the back of his head, through his hair, he gave her a half grin and shrugged a shoulder. “I am more worried about my hair going gray.” Winking, he let his hand fall back down to his side so he wouldn’t fidget. His fingers would prefer to stay busy than let him just be still. Frank’s father had gone gray early, and his mother was getting to the point she didn’t dye it as often… Maybe he’d be lucky, though, and it would pass right on to his sister.

“Well that is good to hear, I hate when I get a book with a few pages missing… it is like doing a puzzle and the last piece is missing.”

Nodding in agreement this time, Frank had little quirks with torn pages from books. As a previous librarian (it never really left your blood, the need to catalogue and alphabetize according to name and call number), Frank found the desecration of books quite an atrocious idea. The issue with looking for books that were hard to find or hidden, however, was that they weren’t often in the best of shape. There was only so much you could do to help what mother nature has done for you.

“Those are the worst… spend all that time and then you can’t even finish the entire puzzle.” Frank was easily amused and could keep himself going by himself with a puzzle, book, or some other thing he could do at his apartment, but sometimes things could get irritating. Like missing a piece or two from the puzzle, or getting bored with a book that he’d read five or six times, or realizing that he hadn’t dusted in a month… Not that that was necessarily important, just a nitpicky thing he noticed when he was near a dark surface in the light.

“Really, well I will have to have a look for that… I am using the book for a reference and research for my own so I am very pleased to have it.”

His eyebrows rose a bit and he bit his lower lip, giving her a slow nod as if he was processing what she was saying. “I hope it works out great, then. No one recently would have used it for reference, so there’s that.” Frank found that part of the entire process rather interesting; through book hunting, with certain orders, you could find a book that hadn’t been touched in hundreds of years. Then that came back to his original question: how did people find out these books exist?

“It does keep be busy but Ernie does make me happy.”

Ernie… Macmillan. Frank put the name together and then he was able to recall a fuzzy face, at the very least. Good for them, making it work. “Wonderful, that’s the point of it.” Or he supposed it was… his parents seemed to like each other most days. Frank had considered the whole wedding deal once or twice, but had yet to find that ‘one’ who you could be content to be happy with forever.

“So what got you into book hunting? We can discuss it over tea… Just don’t mind the state of my office, paper is everywhere.”

The question caught him off guard, and he paused to try and think about it. Realizing he hadn’t responded, he came back and tried to recall what she had said. “Oh, ah, no of course… I’m sure my office is worse.” Following her in, Frank smiled. It was a nice office that had a very warm and friendly feel to it. Then again, it was Susan’s. “Book hunting… well I was a librarian for a few years, since I loved History of Magic and reading so much.” That was always an odd thing to tell someone, but it was part of his history.

“It was a fantastic job, but wasn’t… paying the bills. And one day, there was an ad in the newspaper for help… and she happened to be a Bookhunter, and has spent the last two and a half years teaching me the ropes.” Give or take, anyway. He left out the fact that he helped her as needed, helped watch after the little boy, and occasionally had to learn how to be a Bookhunter from Fiona’s mentor, since she wasn’t always available. Short versions were always better. “What are you doing out here, though?”

“You know you might look good with a bit of gray, you know distinguished or something like that.” Susan smiled sweetly and nodded her head; hopefully Frank was the type to look distinguished. “Plus eventually I will have gray hair and I am not so sure I can look distinguished, I doubt any female can.”

Susan nodded her head enthusiastically in agreement. “It really is the worst when you are missing pieces it is like something has been left undone.” Susan hated leaving things incomplete which was why she always found herself at the Greenhouse longer after others had returned home. Susan was getting better at the leaving things for the next day.

“Wonderful, that’s the point of it.”

“Yes it is the point of it, and I hope I make him happy. With the way Ernie acted she was pretty sure she did. The thought of making Ernie happy made her mind drift back to the fact she was pregnant and still hadn’t told him yet. Susan wasn’t happy she was keeping something from Ernie but she would tell him eventually.

“You know I could definitely see you as a librarian,” Suasn always liked to hear that people were doing things that at least interested them. It was unfortunate it didn’t pay the bills for him though; Susan chose not to dwell on that part. “Well do you enjoy the book hunting?” Susan loved doing this playing catch up and hearing about how fellow housemates were doing.

“What are you doing out here, though?”

Susan grinned at the question as she started to get out a teapot and two cups. “Do you take milk and or sugar?” She said as she settled down into her own seat motion to the other seat near her desk. Susan dwelled on how to sum up the reason she was all the way out here without babbling too much. “Well I got a job here shortly after school, eventually became manager and then the Amadeus who I suppose you could call my mentor decided to retire, and Ernie bought this place for me.” Susan always found that part of the store sweet yet embarrassing, Ernie was much more well off than she but at least he didn’t go buying business for her ever anniversary. “So that is how I came to be here.”

“You know you might look good with a bit of gray, you know distinguished or something like that… Plus eventually I will have gray hair and I am not so sure I can look distinguished, I doubt any female can.”

Shrugging at that, Frank thought about it a moment before responding in light. “At that point, I doubt I’ll be worried about whether I’m distinguished or not, you know? All about having a good life and all that. So as long as you can accomplish that, why worry about others opinion?” Gray hair just signified someone had lived a longer life and was probably wiser than Frank. His mum still tried to keep her hair dyed, while his father refused.

“It really is the worst when you are missing pieces it is like something has been left undone.”

He could only agree at that. Frank also hated the feeling of thinking he was forgetting or missing something. Then he spent extra time worrying over ‘what if I forgot this,’ or ‘will it have been a big deal if I didn’t remember to do that?’ In the end, it was just useless worrying. Luckily, over the years he’d brushed more and more off; it was silly to keep around all that guilt of something he couldn’t remember if he’d done or not, and nine times out of ten would find out he had.

“Yes it is the point of it, and I hope I make him happy.”

Smiling at that, Frank nodded. He hadn’t seen Ernie in years, so he really couldn’t weigh in on an opinion, but supposed if they were still married and she could still talk about him with a glint of excitement in her eye and a smile on her lips, then it was more than likely a shared feeling between the two. Kudos to them.

“You know I could definitely see you as a librarian… Well do you enjoy the book hunting?”

A grin spread across his face at her question. Frank didn’t dwell on the statement of picturing him as a librarian; a male librarian definitely took the mickey over a female. “It’s awesome, yes. Just what I was looking for.” Frank rarely had a day when he didn’t enjoy his work, and that was more often during office days or ‘listen to Fiona moan about not being out hunting’ days. Overall, he had a high satisfactory level of working for his present employer.

“Do you take milk and or sugar?”

Pausing a moment, he nodded and smiled. “Both please.” Sitting down in the chair motioned, Frank leaned back and settled in. He couldn’t seem to stop smiling; not that that was unusual for Frank, but it was also more pronounced now. He liked running into people he knew from before and getting reacquainted with them. He was enough of a social creature for that, he supposed.

“Well I got a job here shortly after school, eventually became manager and then the Amadeus who I suppose you could call my mentor decided to retire, and Ernie bought this place for me… So that is how I came to be here.”

Biting on his lower lip, Frank grinned around it and nodded as she finished up her short winded story. “That’s wonderful, Susan. Congratulations on your accomplishments.” A business owner, no less. That really was wonderful, and Frank was happy for her. It wasn’t everyone who could say they’d accomplished so much only ten years out of school, right? Not at all. “And you seem to enjoy it, which is most important. So hats off to you.”

“Too true Frank, too true. By that point you are wiser than others, or should be, so there for their opinion does not matter.” Susan grinned at thought of being thought of as wise. As she thought about it her hand ran over her stomach, she would be the one to teach the little one inside her, she would be wise to them. Susan snapped from her thoughts hoping Frank didn’t notice the small gesture of her hand running over her abdomen, a gesture that was so small but so big to Susan.

Susan was dwelling on Ernie for a moment and smiled at a sudden thought. “You know Frank you should pop over for dinner one night. I am sure I could persuade Ernie to be there.” The grin didn’t falter as a sweet chuckle left her lips. “He has been busy lately but for an old Hufflepuff I think he would be there with bells on.” At least Susan hoped. She felt like she was far too out of touch with her old housemates and she wanted to fix that. Her life had become so consumed by Ernie, but she still had Hannah, Justin and Wayne around. In turn that meant Neville but that was never and issue for Susan as his company was always welcomed. Susan felt the need to expand her social circle a bit though.

Spooning some sugar and pouring in some milk she got the cup ready. When the tea was ready she poured herself and Frank a cup. “Here you are, hope it is strong enough for you.” Susan pulled the cup towards her wrapping her hands around the warmth. “I am glad to hear you are so happy with what you are doing Frank,” she hoped all her old friends or acquaintances could say the same.

“Thank you Frank, I do enjoy it. My happy place always was amoung the plants in the greenhouse.” She had always been there to help out Sprout with a bit of extra work, even when it wasn’t for a grade. “Now Frank do tell me is there any lovely young ladies in your life?”

“Too true Frank, too true. By that point you are wiser than others, or should be, so there for their opinion does not matter.”

Grinning as well, he inclined his head in agreement. He had never really cared about what others thought anyway. He was for friendship and understanding amongst as many as would allow it. Around the female gender, and those he found attractive, he might find their opinion a bit more important than others—that was just Frank being a male, though. At least a conscientious one.  Plus, the people who mattered loved him no matter how he looked.

“You know Frank you should pop over for dinner one night. I am sure I could persuade Ernie to be there… He has been busy lately but for an old Hufflepuff I think he would be there with bells on.”

Frank’s eyebrows rose at that idea and he nodded enthusiastically. “That would be wonderful, Susan. I’d enjoy that.” It was fun to interact with old school friends, especially those from his house. So many stories that came up… Ah, yes, good times. “I would be there for sure. Just let me know what works best for you.”

“Here you are, hope it is strong enough for you.”

Accepting the cup of coffee, he grinned warmly at her. “Thank you very much, I’m sure it’ll be great.” So as not to burn his tongue, he held on to the mug for a few moments, enjoying the warmth it spread into his palm. It smelled great, at least.

“I am glad to hear you are so happy with what you are doing Frank.”

He agreed fully with her; it was nice to finally feel as if he was making a difference. He loved working at the library, of course, but now… he felt as if he had a purpose. Fiona would probably roll her eyes at him, but he really took his job seriously. It gave him the opportunity to partake in bringing back history that some people hadn’t seen in ages. It was awesome. “I am, thanks.” Taking a sip of coffee, he was delighted to find it tasted awesome.

“Thank you Frank, I do enjoy it. My happy place always was amoung the plants in the greenhouse.”

Hogwarts was good for helping one figure out where they felt most comfortable, that was for sure. It gave each student the chance of many different subjects to find their niche. Frank found his in History of Magic and the library, and Susan had found hers in the greenhouses. It was nice when it came that easily, to find passion and a drive for something at that age. If he stayed a bachelor, he could consider taking a professorship at Hogwarts as the History of Magic professor, if the job became open in the next five to ten years. Never knew what life would bring, though.

“Now Frank do tell me is there any lovely young ladies in your life?”

 A faint blush spread over his cheeks at that question and Frank grinned, shaking his head slightly. “I’m afraid not, Susan. Other than my mum, sister, and Akiva, anyway.” He didn’t think to clarify that Akiva and he had stayed best friends since Hogwarts; it was common knowledge to him, and had been at school as well. They were like peas and carrots, to quote a muggle movie he had seen years ago. Though, to be honest, he didn’t consider peas and carrots to be good mixing food… so perhaps potatoes and kippers, to bring it close to home for him.

“Are there any young boys or girls in your life, Susan?” He hadn’t thought to ask if she had children with Ernie or not.

“That would be wonderful, Susan. I’d enjoy that.” It was fun to interact with old school friends, especially those from his house. So many stories that came up… Ah, yes, good times. “I would be there for sure. Just let me know what works best for you.”

“I will discuss with Ernie what night works best for him and then send you an owl?” Susan was not planning in her head what sort of food that she could serve. She had many things she felt most comfortable making and would probably choose one of those. It had been a struggle to learn to cook but she thought she had become quite a good little cook.

“I’m afraid not, Susan. Other than my mum, sister, and Akiva, anyway.”

“Oh that is a shame,” Susan said with a sigh and took a sip of her tea. “You know I am glad to hear that you and Akiva are still friends, but honestly I am not all that surprised. You were very close in school. Just as I was close with Hannah.” Susan still kept in contact with the group of Hufflepuff friends she spent seven years with. They had all been at their wedding and Hannah had even been Susan’s maid of honour.

“Are there any young boys or girls in your life, Susan?”

Susan laughed a little and shook her head. “Not yet,” she glanced down for a moment wishing she could just say it out loud that she had one on the way but she hadn’t told Ernie yet. “I am sure I will hear the pitter patter of feet around my home and the greenhouses soon enough though.” It was perhaps a bit too soon for her tastes but she was happy about it.

“Are you ever going to have kids?” Susan thought she might as well ask since the conversation had slipped in that direct. “Ever thought about being a dad?”