We're not actually family. Lucky me.

Frank didn't look impressed, but Hermione - quite frankly (yes, pun intended) - did not particularly care. See, there was a mission of sorts that Frank needed to undertake, and it would only work if he decided to pretend he was happy about it. Surely he wouldn't mind spending some time with Rose to help her out? Hermione couldn't be sure, but she rather liked the idea that Frank might have some interest in Rose.

He wasn't a fantastic role model, of course, considering he seemed to do little to nothing most of the time. But perhaps Rose would knock some sense into him one of these days. Neville and Hannah would probably appreciate that. If nothing else, perhaps Rose could help him, even if Hermione didn't get what she wanted out of the whole thing.

"Yeah, of course I will."

Hermione smiled, accepting the dramatic sigh he let out before pulling on his jacket. Sending out a patronus message, he invited Rose to lunch, giving absolutely no excuse for his request. Then he hugged his not-aunt-but-basically-aunt Hermione, and apparated to the Hog's Head.

Rose Granger-Weasley didn't usually get lunch invitations. Especially not from Frank Longbottom. Rose never thought of the two of them as being particularly close and that was probably because they weren't.

Normally she would have ignored the patronus, or sent one back that she didn't have time. But today, she needed a break. St. Mungo's was understaffed lately meaning Rose had been working more hours than she already had been and it was really starting to tire her out. It would be a good change of pace.

But she wasn't sure what to think of Frank, of all people, inviting her to lunch. Was it a joke or something? She never took him as that kind of person, but even if it was, she was fine with getting a little bit of air.

It would've been nice to have been given a reason, though.

She took her jacket from the hook it was hung on and told one of the nurses that she would be going out for a bit for lunch before apparating to the Hog's Head to meet Frank.

Frank landed with a crack, flicking his coat dramatically when the wind caught it and tugged it around his arms. A young boy nearby looked amused, so Frank gave him an absurd salute to pull the whole character together, then winked good-naturedly at the boy's mother before walking inside the pub.

He wasn't actually sure what he was supposed to do, besides check up on Rose. And, he understood that a mother would be concerned about her daughter. But surely Hermione could've asked Hugo? Then again, Frank hadn't seen Hugo in months, so perhaps the other man had gone a bit AWOL.

Either way, Frank was massively surprised that he had been the victim of choice. Or, as he chose to see it, the hero. Somehow, he doubted Rose would see it that way.

He selected a booth along a side wall, where he could face the door. When she came in, he lifted a hand in greeting, a cocky but genuinely friendly smile appearing alongside it.

Rose believed in the saying 'curiosity killed the cat', and that was because she'd seen others who were taken in by curiosity get hurt in some way. Now it was happening to her, in a way. She couldn't say for sure whether anything bad would happen while she was with Frank but at the same time, she couldn't say something wouldn't happen.

Frank was a mystery, and not only because she didn't really interact with the man often. From what Rose had been told, he didn't have a steady job. Something about him not being able to hold down a job for very long. She wasn't sure she was so surprised about that, but she couldn't tell him that.

Well, she could, but that would be mean.

After entering the pub, Rose looked around, searching for Frank. She was greeted by the hand he'd lifted and made her way toward him. "Hi," she said, a rather awkward smile appearing on her face in response to his. "Why the sudden lunch date? You hardly ever ask me."

Frank and Alice had grown up, more or less, around the Granger-Weasleys. The Weasleys in general, sure, but certainly those related to Hermione, who had come round sometimes to help them. To teach or see Neville and Hannah or whatever the reason, but Hermione had been there. Sometimes, Frank had wondered whether she'd missed her children and thus tried to help the Longbottoms as well. Ace was still at Hogwarts, after all, so the age difference between her and Hugo was obvious. Rose was older than Frank as well, of course.

But then, things had gone quite badly for her with Hugo, and then Rose had obviously put some distance between herself and the family. Frank didn't blame Hugo for anything, but he did wonder why Rose had not been there for her family afterwards.

Then again.. Frank was the sort of hero who almost took pride in people assuming he was nothing more than an entitled bastard. It was far easier to do his job when nobody expected anything of him. And he despised praise, considering he firmly believed he didn't deserve it. He was cocky as all hell, of course, but merely because it was infinitely more fun that way.

So the fact that Hermione had asked him, of all people, to check up on Rose? It was laughable. And probably some attempt on her part to make him feel he could be useful. Hah. Hahahahaha.

Lunch date? Frank grinned devilishly, despite knowing better.

"Date?" He repeated. "Interesting." Then he paused, giving that time to wind her up, as he obviously expected it to. "Is it against the rules for me to invite a pretty lady to lunch, now?"

Rose felt her eyebrow twitch.

It was just a reflex but it was a clear sign that she was already annoyed, though slightly, with Frank. She hadn't meant anything by calling their meeting a date but either he had taken it wrong or he was trying to test her patience. She was willing to go with the latter.

She sighed, shaking her head as she took a seat across from him. "You know what I mean." she huffed, tossing her hair over her shoulder. Rose wasn't sure what she expecting when she asked him what the meaning of the meeting was. "I mean, no. But it was sudden so I thought something might be up." she placed her elbow on the table, leaning forward to place her chin in her hand.

"It's not like you do this often, or like we're close." she told him.

His smirk faded slightly, a show of hurt breaking through the calm exterior. Was it real? Well, let's just say that Frank had incredibly thick walls when it came to his ego and emotions. So, no. Not particularly. Though he was vaguely surprised that she was hung up on the fact that they hadn't been close before. They weren't related or anything, but she'd known him his entirely life. Did she not like him? Why would anybody not like him?

"I appreciate," he began, "the fact that you took the compliment so subtly. But I take it from your tone that you don't want our level of closeness to change. And that's fair enough. My family already know that I'm a bit rubbish as far as companionship goes," he shrugged, entirely casual and nonchalant about it. Flippant, nearly. If not for the way he leaned back against the booth rather than sitting forward like he had been. But Rose probably wouldn't notice, so he didn't bother to either.

"You, on the other hand..." Oh, he shouldn't. But it was Frank. So he was going to. "Well, you disappear, basically. Aside from living with Dom and all. But nobody bothers to throw a fit."

He lifted a hand, hoping to block whatever commentary Rose was about to give. "I won't try to tell you how to behave. Most people don't seem to get either of us, it seems. Which is all the more reason to change the fact that we're not really friends."

"If you wanted to change things, you're certainly off to a terrible start." They'd only just gotten there and she was already aggravated. This was probably the reason she never bothered to go anywhere near him unless she was obligated to. But could anyone really blame her?

"If I disappear, it's because I have a lot of work to do. On the other hand, you're literally just gone and then reappear whenever you feel like it." She crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat. "I, at least, have a valid excuse for not being around some times."

That was what she tried to convince herself of, anyways. But if she was being honest, she was like Frank in the fact that she, too, was rubbish in companionship. Not that she would acknowledge the fact in front of him.

Rose sighed, not really knowing what he was expecting to happen. Or what she was expecting, really. Having friends was something she was never particularly good at, especially now that she was older, and she wouldn't mind having one aside from Dom.. but the problem was who. Did she really want Frank around her even more?

That probably wouldn't even work out well.

"Anyways, was lunch all you had planned?"

"You may not realize this," he countered, "but I'm actually quite observant." Frank leveled her with a serious expression but decided it wouldn't be best to push too much more. She was already on edge, evidently. If her expression hadn't given that away, her next question certainly did.

Just lunch? Frank didn't know. He hadn't exactly planned this out, given Hermione's last minute request. But now he needed a real plan. And Frank was pretty great at making up plans. He just had to figure out which angle he needed to play in order to win Rose over to his side of things.

"It's pretty difficult to make plans when the other person has such a busy schedule, don't you think? It wouldn't exactly be fair if I said I expected you to spend more time away from the hospital."

Shrugging, Frank turned and waved to Will, his favorite server, a big grin pulling his mouth upwards. So as the Jamaican-British man walked over to ask about their order, Frank looked back at Rose.

"If you want to spend some friend time with me, that'll have to be on your schedule. As you so astutely said, I hardly have a job to worry about."

And Will, of course, had perfect timing. Frank had made sure of it. "Hello, Frankie-boy! What're you two hungry for?"

Will left after taking their orders, and within seconds the awkward threatened to settle in and make a fuss. But just as Frank glanced up, the king of rescuing awkward silences swung the door open and strode in. James hadn't planned on running into family - or family friends - but once he had done, he took notice. Neither of them were his sibling, which was a saving grace, really. If it had been Lily or Albus, he probably would've gotten one of those shivers like someone walked over his grave or turned over in their grave or some other equally grave saying that people used. James couldn't remember any others.

But one of them was Rose, so of course he had to wander over as if it were nothing out of the ordinary at all. But of course it was. And Frank was there to remind him of the fact. Thus, when James sank down on the edge of the booth seat on Rose's side and nudged her with his shoulder, Frank scowled, visibly angry for once.

James didn't get it, really. Frank had no room to be bothered by James being an absentee brother. And if anything, at least James was successful. He could take care of his family if they ever let him, or wanted him to. But Frank? He was just kind of.. there.

"Hello, cousin. Longbottom. Merlin's beard," James added as a devilish smirk appeared for Frank's sake, "I still love your last name, mate. Positively outrageous."

"Very original, prick." Frank rolled his eyes, reaching for his drink. "What're you doing here, James? Don't you usually avoid anyone who's ever been so much as friends with your family?"

James just laughed, shaking his head and dropping an arm over the back of Rose's seat. "If that were true, Frank, then I wouldn't be talking to you at all, now would I?"

And that made Frank even more bristly. Because he shouldn't have known that Rose disliked Frank. But then, this bickering wasn't strictly new, and James was observant. So whatever. Maybe he would leave soon. Or Frank would just say 'screw it' and tell Aunt Hermione that he just couldn't do it. That it wasn't the trouble.

He wanted to say he'd let her work that out for herself, but he liked her too well. So, no. He'd make it clear that her godson was a bleeding nightmare. Then he would go back to keeping to himself. That sounded like a pretty fair plan as far as Frank was concerned.

Even if he kind of wanted to add 'Punch James Potter in the face' to his checklist.