She told him “Don't be late”, she warned him even that her friend from school was coming over for supper. The name seemed familiar and he was sure if he racked his brain for the answers he would remember him but at the moment it seemed faint and distant. Yet there he was nearly a quarter past five trying to convince a young witch that she isn't in trouble for blowing up the neighbors cat. The emotional burst had been all but handled, the memories of the two child witnesses all but wiped by the obliviators and the cat was back to some form of normal when he felt he could finally leave. The poor muggleborn had no idea that they were of wizarding blood and found it a shock to say the least.

When he finally made it back to the office he saw the clock, “Oh bloody hell Susan is going to kill me!” He whipped out his quill and wrote down a short summary for the events and rushed out of the office heading toward their home. He could already see her in his minds eye tapping her foot and looking at him like he was in plenty of trouble. He had promised to be home early, five o'clock to be exact. It was damn near an hour and a half later and he was rushing to a florist to make up for his lack of proper time management.

Stepping into his house Ernie cleared his throat, holding a bouquet of her favorite flowers. “Susie Q are you there?” He flinched when he heard the food cooking and no response. Maybe she just hadn't heard him. Ernie took a deeper breathe before stepping out father into the foyer. “Susan?” His voice barely hiding the anxiety within. It was his deepest home that she didn't catch a temper with him when he came into her view.

Susan's Outfit

Five o’clock went and past half an hour ago. Susan was busy cooking dinner; making sure things kept stirring while she was cutting vegetables. It would have been nice to have some help because Susan enjoyed cooking by hand but mainly when she had Ernie’s help. Susan had been a terrible cook when she first moved in but with some help she turned into quite the cook. Susan caught a whiff of some food she normally liked, the smell of cream sauce for the pasta; it sent a wave of nausea over her. Was it bad? Damn it she needed Ernie here to smell it. It was the fourth time someone smelt gross to her that was perfectly all right, it was this damn hormonal imbalance. She was craving food she normally didn’t crave and she heard it was only going to get worse from here.

Tasting the pasta sauce she realized it was just her smelling it because it tasted delicious to her. Susan wasn’t even going to try and figure out the logic behind it. So she continued on cutting and cooking. She smelt the roast cooking in the oven, and she was getting ready to start steaming vegetables and cooking pasta. Her eyes glanced up to the clock on the wall growing annoyed that Ernie was still not home, the man had no sense of time management at all. She had worked today too and made it home on time to clean and shower and look decent. She had part of her hair pulled back into a clip with the rest of it falling down her back. She had on a nice cream white dress that was hidden by the Puddlemere United Apron she owned.

Susan’s chopping had become more angered and frustrated as she took out her annoyance on the poor chopping board and vegetables. She started to grumble under her breath about time management when she heard his voice calling her name through their flat. She heard him growing nearer and she put down her knife. “Where were you?” She said crossly as she walked towards him. “You are late, I had to start prepping on my own. I cleaned the house, and had to look presentable. Frank will be here soon. You aren’t even ready.” Susan looked at Ernie with that annoyed look that rarely snuck up on her features.

Then she saw the flowers, Pink Calla Lilies her favourite. The annoyance on her face softened and she walked towards him and hugged him. “You pain in the butt, I love you.” She kissed his cheek softly as she took the flowers. “You know what to do to dodge my anger don’t you,” she said softly almost as if she was about to tear up, damn those hormones. “Go and get ready I will put these in some water and then come help me with dinner.”

From what he could tell the house smelled good. He loved home cooked meals and when they went out he generally stuck to similar foods. Ernie was anything if he wasn't a creature of habit. His outfits were carefully selected each night and pressed to look his best for went into the office the next morning. Each morning he had fruit, eggs and toast with tea waiting for him. It was just how he was, his routine made him feel comfortable in his skin.

Coming home late from work, had sadly made it's way into his regularly scheduled programming causing some discomfort with the wife, but he knew eventually that she would forgive him. In fact it happened so often nowadays that he even planned ahead for it. Instead of coming home empty handed Ernie prepared with things that would bring a smile to the lips of his bitter wife. Susan wasn't one to keep her sour or foul mood so thankfully for Ernie she was easy to turn back into the sweet woman he loved.

The flowers did the trick and he breathed a sigh of relief, as she took the bunch from his hands and looked at them like they were gold. "You know full well I try my best love," slipping to her side he gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. "Muggleborn blew up a neighbors pet, had to talk him down from embarrassment." Shrugging a bit he headed to the wash room.

There was an outfit set out for him already from the night before, it was casual but not too much. So he grabbed it up in his hands, took a quick shower and made sure to dress in a timely fashion. By the time he made it out into the kitchen he saw his wife stirring. Ernie pulled out his wand and began to shoot charms to organize the table and get out the glasses, dishes and silver ware. "Smells amazing Susie" he chirped hoping to keep her in a pleasant attitude.

“Oh the poor lad,” she said thinking a back onto her first signs of magic and if it were not for her parents she doubted she would have reacted as well as she did. “I could just imagine his concern and embarrassment.” Susan smelled the flowers again before finding a vase and filling it with water. She used her wand to make some scissors cut off the ends diagonally and drop into the vase filled with water. “They look brilliant, I shall put them on the table.” Susan went to replace the centerpiece on the table with the new flowers.

“Oh thank you Ernie,” she said as she busied herself with her stirring and it seemed like everything was ready and just had to simmer. “I think it should be ready soon. I figure just shortly after Frank arrives.” Susan was pleased she had time it just right. She looked at the rest of the food and nodded her head. “It seems perfect. We have steam vegetables, pasta, and roast beef.” Susan removed her apron from her small frame and folded it up sticking it back in the drawer.

Susan walked around and pulled a shawl over her slit frame. Susan walked over to Ernie, “I am glad you agreed to this, I haven’t seen Frank in years before that day at the greenhouse, you know he hasn’t seen you either.” Susan was curious if Ernie really remembered him at all, a fellow housemate. Susan doubted this little dinner would have happened if it were not for the random crossing of paths that day at the greenhouse.

Frank was a little nervous about the dinner with Susan and her husband, Ernie. It had taken him some time thinking about the man before he recalled him; older than Frank, same house, not a bad chap at all. It had just been years… and a war. And growing up. And everything in between. No big deal, though—it was just dinner. Staring at himself in the mirror, he bit his lower lip as he leaned forward to fix a stray hair.

That in itself was funny; his hair had a mind of its own. It worked for him, though. If he kept it too short, however, he had little tuffs that stuck out, oblivious to the way the rest of the hair was doing. He liked to think that his hair showed off his sometimes eccentric optimism. Parts went their own way, did their own thing, and certainly didn’t seem to mind doing that… Squirting some more gel into his hands, Frank quickly rubbed it between his palms and spread it over, repressing the hair. It would be back to fight again later anyway.

Once that was done and he was happy with the general look of his hair, he washed his hands off and dried them before even attempting to put his shirt on for the evening. Frank was clumsy in general, and didn’t trust himself near as far as he could throw him…self… with getting ready completely on his own without something not turning out right. Frank pulled on the white button up collar shirt he had assured himself went well with the black trousers he had, and just to make sure that he stayed warm, he also put on a dark red sweater over it. Pulling the sleeves up to his elbows and rolling the cuffs underneath, he felt a lot more comfortable without being underdressed.

Now it was just a question of: how early did he need to show up? And should he take a gift? Running his fingers absentmindedly through his hair in a nervous habit, messing it up, he frowned in concentration. Scratching the back of his head as he turned in a slow circle in his living room, Frank finally stopped and decided on a dessert. If they were making dinner… he could take some dessert. That was an acceptable gift, yes? Now… all he needed was a dessert.

In his kitchen, he glanced through cupboards and the refrigerator—then he thought about it. His mum had brought some fresh Scottish ginger cake the day before, and he hadn’t been able to sink his fork into it yet. She’d given him a hard time about never visiting her unless he needed something, and so instead brought him something to spend some time with him. It was sweet, considering how out of the way it was for her to come down and visit. He had told her she should’ve just sent an owl, but she said she had to see how her boy was living.

Either way, he had the cake, and his mum had left earlier in the day. Frank held the wrapped cake with one hand and pulled his wand out with the other. A few moments later, and he was apparated to Susan (and Ernie’s) home. Checking his watch, suddenly a bit apprehensive about the dinner, Frank swallowed and stepped up to the door, bouncing a little on his heels. It was going to go great—old Hufflepuff’s having a dinner to catch up and have a nice evening.

Nodding to himself, doing a last minute check of his outfit and trying to fix his hair with his spare hand, Frank finally reached forward and knocked loudly on the door. Standing up straight, he waited patiently, biting his lower lip.

Ernie had started straightening the dining area finding that much of the mess was his own. Using spells to dust and tidy was one thing but he couldn't have whole documents floating through the air without risking losing his place. So Ernie pulled much of his work back into his den and he transfigured a few of  items on the shelf to be more inviting and less drab.

Setting the wizard wireless from the constant drone of news to light music he shuffled about his den. It wasn't until he heard the knock, just barely over the music, that he stopped what he was doing. Sprout who had been napping in their room came flying out and ran down the stairs excited for whoever was hidden behind the oak entrance.

Grumbling he fixed a toppled chair that Sprout had seemed to tip with ease and wiped off his hands before heading down to where his dog was now pawing and whining up a storm. "Back Sprout you bloody nut," with his leg he nudged the dog out of the way.

Finally opening the door he looked at the man with a box in his hand. A deep sigh left his chest, "If you're here to sell broom polish I'm sorry we don't want any. In fact I don't think either of us have touched a broom since school so..." he swatted at Sprout who was attempting to force his legs out of the way "Bloody hell Sprout not now!" The dog jumped up and slammed the door shut.

Ernie called up the stairs "SUSAN CALL YOUR DOG!" Hearing a short whistle he opened the door again for the man standing there, "Sorry about that... energetic dog. But yeah, I'm sorry we aren't looking for anything at the moment. Good luck in your endeavors and all that" he began to shut the door...

The music was a nice touch, Susan heard the tune and it put a bit of a lyrical beat to her movements as she pottered around the kitchen making sure everything was perfect. She heard the dog rather than the knock. She knew someone was at the door and she was pretty sure it had to be Frank. Susan walked towards the door hearing Ernie mention something about not needing broom polish. “Oh poo it isn’t Frank,” she thought to herself as she walked towards the door to grab hold of Sprout.

“Sprout come here!” She said loudly as she patted her legs but the body in the doorway caught her attention. “ERNIE!” She said almost shrilly as she rushed towards the door to stop the embarrassment any further, no longer worried about the energized Sprout. “It is not a broom polish salesmen it is Frank!” Susan rolled her eyes as she moved to stand next to Ernie. “Is your memory of a face that bad dear?”

“I am sorry about that Frank, please do come in.” She smiled at him and looked to Ernie with a raised eyebrow but she just laughed it off. “Here let me take the box from you?” Susan held out her hands to take the box from him. “You look very nice tonight Frank.” Susan felt she was lucky to have two handsome men to dine with tonight.

“How was you day Frank?” She asked as she started back into the house more making room for Frank to come in. “And as Ernie said sorry about the dog he loves new people. Sprout has lots of energy when you don’t need him too.” Susan laughed a little.

“If you’re here to sell broom polish I’m sorry we don’t want any. In fact I don’t think either of us have touched a broom since school so… Bloody hell Sprout not now!”

To say that Frank was surprised and shocked was the least of it. Glancing from his box to the man and down to the dog, his mouth hung open slightly as he tried to think of how to respond. Broom polish? Glancing at his box again, clearly unsure of what the man was thinking, he frowned and blinked. Touching a broom? With broom polish? Sell? Sprout? Running a hand over his face a moment, Frank took a slow breath and turned his gaze back to the man, about to correct him.

“SUSAN CALL YOUR DOG! Sorry about that… energetic dog.”

“Oh, it’s no-” He had just started to tell him the dog wasn’t a problem, trying to remember exactly how it was he was going to tell the man he wasn’t selling broom… polish.

“-But yeah, I’m sorry we aren’t looking for anything at the moment. Good luck in your endeavors and all that.”

Glancing once again at his box, then at his outfit, Frank wondered briefly if he was dressed like a door-to-door salesman. Maybe that was the issue. Opening his mouth to respond, he glanced up just in time to see the door starting to close. His eyes widened a little and his cheeks flushed in embarrassment, trying to make his voice heard over the door. “Ah, no, wait a-”

“ERNIE!”

Jumping slightly, he glanced at Susan and felt a bit of relief come over him. As she told the man, who was obviously Ernie, that Frank was not selling brooms or polish or… or anything, he nodded slightly and smiled a little sheepishly.

“Is your memory of a face that bad dear? I am sorry about that Frank, please do come in.”

“Don’t worry about it, please. I ah… it’s been a while. Thank you.” As she offered to take the box, his eyebrows rose and he offered it. “That’s for… for you both, some ginger cake.” Right, good job Frank. Handing it over to her, he blushed at her compliment and smiled, inclining his head towards her. “Thank you, you look beautiful as well, Susan. You two are a lovely couple.” He almost stumbled over his words and was happy that he hadn’t. That would’ve been more embarrassing.

“How was your day Frank? And as Ernie said sorry about the dog he loves new people. Sprout has lots of energy when you don’t need him too.”

Stepping in after Susan and Ernie, Frank shook his head a little, smiling as he glanced to the dog. “Don’t apologize, please. Dogs are great; more energy the better.” They were fun to rile up and play around with, in his opinion. “My day was great, thanks for asking. How about yours?” Turning to Ernie, Frank held out his hand, realizing he hadn’t had a chance to reintroduce himself after a while. “Ernie.” Smiling, he shook the man’s hand. “Nice to see you again after all the years.”

Sprout continued to struggle against him, "I swear if you don't get up the stairs and back in the den I will have you fixed," he mumbled under his breathe. Sprout ran off towards the den without a moments hesitation. The shock of his dog listening caused him to stumble and stammer a bit.

"Err yes, hello again Frank I feel like a heel not recognizing you," he took the other mans hand and gave him a firm hand shake. It is his own personal feeling you can tell a lot about a person by their handshake. Like if it's weak and limp wristed it you aren't looking a confident person, a firm handshake set the tone.

He nodded, "It has been quite a while. I guess so much more than I anticipated considering I didn't even recognize you. You grew up, not in a bad way mind you" Ernie babbled on and shook his head. "Let me get you a drink what would you like?" He figured if he got Frank something he might be able to shut up his own incoherent banter. It wasn't like he meant to but he already made an arse out of himself.

The last thing Ernie wanted was to make it any worse. He looked over at Susan with pleading eyes hoping she would help him out.

Susan still felt a little embarrassed that Frank had been accused of selling broom polish door to door; it had not been how she expected this evening to start. She now felt she had to make it up to Frank, even if he didn’t seem to bothered by the misunderstanding. At least it couldn’t get any worse and Susan had to focus on that. “Oh ginger cake, thank you Frank you really didn’t need to but thank you.” She had not made a dessert especially for this evening so the ginger cake would work out just fine after their meal.

A light blush snuck up on Susan’s cheek at the compliment to her clothing and Ernie and herself as a couple. “Thank you,” she spoke once more before heading towards the kitchen area to put the cake down. Susan figured that Ernie and Frank could play nice for a moment or two, maybe find something to talk about. She had to just do a quick check on the meat and pasta before she went back out to entertain.

Susan had been slightly wrong in figuring the two could find something to talk about as she saw the pleading eyes of Ernie. “Sorry I dashed off there without answering your question Frank but my day was good, got to leave a little early to come home and clean house.” Susan sweetly spoke with a smile.

“So Ernie is getting you a drink, anything in particular you would like?” She asked as she walked towards Frank a little more. “If you like we can move towards the living room sit for a bit, dinner should be ready very shortly.” Susan was waiting to hear the distinct ding of her cooking timer to mark the completion of her pasta being cooked.

“Oh ginger cake, thank you Frank you really didn’t need to but thank you.”

A small blush stained his cheeks and he gave her a goofy grin. “It’s no problem, thank you for having me over for dinner.” It was proper to bring something when you were the guest, right? And even though it wasn’t necessarily expected, if he hadn’t brought something it could be construed as rude. So Frank was just playing it safe.

“Err yes, hello again Frank I feel like a heel not recognizing you.”

“Don’t worry about it, Ernie. It’s been ages so, loads of time to… forget.” Gripping the man’s hand, Frank was good with assessing someone’s grip and giving them it back equally. He wasn’t going to crush an older woman’s hand, and he wasn’t going to lightly shake a burly man’s… Then again, he’d probably give the older woman a hug after the handshake, if there was one. Either way, it was a good handshake, if brief. Those were best, though, otherwise it became awkward. Standing back up straight again, he gave the man a half smile.

“It has been quite a while. I guess so much more than I anticipated considering I didn’t even recognize you. You grew up, not in a bad way mind you.”

Nodding in agreement, Frank shrugged and moved his hand to show he wasn’t concerned, brushing it off. It was nice to be surrounded by people who were just as anxious in conversation as he was. “Yes, we all grew up in a good way.” Did that make sense? He was trying to point out in only a few words that Frank thought Ernie and Susan had done well for themselves.

“Let me get you a drink what would you like?”

“Ah… whatever you’re having, mate.” His mind went blank at the thought of what he might like to drink. Water? Too plain… Tea? Too girly. Whiskey? Too early. When Susan came back, the air seemed to lift a bit, and it wasn’t so thick and uncomfortable. Frank thought the evening had started interesting, and didn’t look at the blunder as a bad thing. It would add to future conversations, right? When Susan responded to him, Frank nodded again and smiled. “Oh, you didn’t have to clean up. It looks very nice, though.”

“So Ernie is getting you a drink, anything in particular you would like?”

Pausing a moment, he gave her a thoughtful look before shaking his head. “I’m not picky.” His mind still couldn’t think of what would be good, but at this point he wasn’t going to moan about it. Anything would be nice, to help sate the parched feeling he was getting in the back of his throat. Things would get less awkward as the front door incident faded into the background of the night.

“If you like we can move towards the living room sit for a bit, dinner should be ready very shortly.”

Eyebrows rose as he nodded in earnest. “Certainly, thank you.” He followed her into the living room and sat down, taking a slow breath. “Whatever is cooking smells wonderful. You guys didn’t have to go to such trouble, though.”

The ginger cake was a nice touch. It was good manners to bring a treat to someone's home when you were invited over to dinner. Ernie thought it was in good taste at any rate. While formalities were the way they were, and he was pleasant enough with Frank for his own liking. Ernie kept his attention to what he was up to.

"Alright mate sounds like a plan," Ernie slipped into the other room his head in a fuzz since he decided to accuse Frank of peddling broom polish. His face was bright red still and he splashed it with water as he tried to figure out what to get him to drink. 'Ah whatever you're having, mate.' Simple words that sent him into a tail spin.

Ernie scurried about the fridge and cupboards looking for something to drink. He figured something with a kick, but nothing too crazy.

Fussing for what he felt was an adequate amount of time in the kitchen, Ernie came out with three drinks on a tray. One non-alcoholic for his wife, and two chilled glasses of beer. He figured what better way to relax then that? "Hope you don't mind a pint."

Placing the tray down in the living room he let out a soft sigh, happy his nerves didn't have him dropping the bloody thing. If it wasn't for the embarrassing episode at the door he would be completely cool and confident in them meeting again after so many years. However looking at the bloke he felt himself almost paled and it didn't sit right. He looked over at Susan and the ring on her finger, comforted in the fact that he had her and others wouldn't dare touch her.

Or he might harm them. No not might, definitely. Definitely he would harm them.

Susan was pleased Frank had agreed to come over, Ernie and Susan needed to entertain a little more. Susan liked having guests over especially ones that not had the chance to experience Ernie and Susan together in their home. Sure it was nice to have Hannah, Justin, and the others from Hufflepuff that they had kept in touch over for dinner, but someone she had not seen in a while it was nice. Susan liked to let people know things were going well, if they were worried, and liked to share things with her friends.

“Oh, you didn’t have to clean up. It looks very nice, though.”

“Oh you are being nice, I am sure if I had not cleaned you wouldn’t think so.” Susan had this tendency to find things dirty even when they were not. This place was always clean but the only thing she didn’t touch was Ernie’s papers and work forms. Those things were not meant to be touched or organized by anyone other than Ernie.

“Whatever is cooking smells wonderful. You guys didn’t have to go to such trouble, though.”

Following behind Frank into the living room while Ernie rushed off to deal with the drinks, she really wanted to make sure Frank felt comfortable and at home here during dinner. “Oh thank you Frank. It was not too much trouble I would have been cooking anyway.” It was true she would have been cooking a meal just like this for her and Ernie.

As Ernie entered into the room she smiled and walked over to him kissing Ernie’s cheek she picked up her glass of iced lemonade. “Thanks sweets,” she said flashing Frank a smile. “Why don’t you two chat I think by the smell of the food in the kitchen it is almost done. I should probably start carving up the roast and putting the last touches on the pasta sauce.” Susan looked at her husband and patted his chest, he would be just fine on his own. Susan sipped her lemonade as she headed back out of the living room towards the kitchen.

“Oh you are being nice, I am sure if I had not cleaned you wouldn’t think so.”

Laughing at that, Frank shook his head in disagreement. “I’m a bachelor, Susan, I probably wouldn’t have noticed anything out of place.” And that was true. Now and again he did a thorough cleaning, but there was something satisfying about not having his clothes in a hamper all the time. Come to think of it, he detested laundry. It was just the biggest pain, and he was still working on the spells to get it over and done with quicker than by hand.

“Oh thank you Frank. It was not too much trouble I would have been cooking anyway.”

His eyebrows rose in slight surprise but he merely scratched the side of his cheek in thought. Hadn’t he all ready mentioned how he thought Ernie was a lucky man? Someone who enjoyed cooking on top of everything else, though, really sealed the deal. Frank was glad to see old alumni were happy and enjoying life. Or they seemed to be, anyway.

“Hope you don’t mind a pint.”

Beer was alcohol, and Frank wasn’t much of a snob when it came to it. If he could drink it, he would. Taking the glass when it was offered, he nodded towards Ernie and grinned. “Thank you, nothing like a beer to hit the spot.” Lifting the glass towards them, he paused before taking a sip, holding the glass between his knees with both hands.

“Why don’t you two chat I think by the smell of the food in the kitchen it is almost done. I should probably start carving up the roast and putting the last touches on the pasta sauce.”

Glancing towards Susan as she left, he nodded slowly and then turned his gaze to Ernie. What to talk about now? Racking his brain, he tried to recall what the man had been into during their time at Hogwarts. Whether it would make any difference now, however, was yet to be seen. Then it hit him; the easiest conversation to start off with. “The Magpies are doing rather well this season, I’m looking forward to seeing how they hold up for the World Cup.”

He wasn’t the biggest Quidditch fan, but he kept up on some of it for the sake of conversation points. Besides, it would look pretty bad if he was less informed than his overbearing female boss. A safe subject for sure. Besides, when it came to teams, Magpies were second only to the Harpies, and that was more of the fact that Frank liked to watch the Harpies play. An all witch team? Yes please.