Written for The Houses Competition
House Hufflepuff
Category: Short
Prompt: "You were the one with noodles in your hair."
Word count: 1,189
Beta: Aya
Laughter echoed out into the street from the unseen pub called The Leaky Cauldron. It was a special type of pub that normal people couldn't see, only those with magic could see, enter or allow non-magicals to enter. Tonight, everyone in the pub was celebrating the marriage of their landlady to her gardener.
The lady herself was present and making sure that all the mugs were kept full while the man she married was passed around the room and slapped on the back/warned not to hurt their landlady by the crowd. He took it with good grace, already knowing that the patrons of The Leaky Cauldron were highly protective of Hannah.
They loved Hannah Longbottom nee Abbott being the owner of The Leaky Cauldron and she loved being there for them. The pub had changed from being slightly dingy – only slightly, but still dingy – to being a place full of warmth and energy. Hannah had painted the walls of her pub a chocolate brown with highlights of bright yellow streaked through, brightening up the previously dark room. Plants had made their way into the main area of the pub – mainly due to the owner being in a relationship with a herbologist.
No longer was The Leaky Cauldron purely a gateway into Diagon Alley that parents quickly shuffled their children through. Instead, it was a place where those same families would stop for a half hour and relax with some tea, coffee, hot chocolate or butterbeer. Once the hour reached seven, the alcohol was released from its cage and the patrons were allowed more than a single pint of whatever beverage they preferred.
It was an ingenious solution to bringing The Leaky Cauldron into the more mainstream cafés and pubs that populated the alley it provided a way into. Whenever a new customer stopped and ordered something instead of hurrying through, the original patrons that were there all raised their glass or cutlery to their landlady who had made it happen. She always grinned and nodded back at them before returning to serving whatever customer was in front of her.
Eventually Neville had been passed around the whole room and received many a death/castration threat should he ever hurt their landlady and returned to the side of his new wife. She grinned at him and raised an eyebrow inquiringly. He shuddered and she laughed, pulling him into a comforting hug.
The patrons all cheered and raised their full mugs. When the two separated, Albert called out, "Tell us a story!"
The demand was eagerly seconded by the rest of the pub and the pair sighed before looking at each other and speaking in the silent language that came with knowing someone for so long. When they had settled on a story using eyebrow wiggles and hand gestures, they turned back to their attentive audience and cleared their throats.
"It all began in the Hogwarts' kitchens," started Hannah. "I had not been having a very good day and retreated to said kitchens wanting a nice cup of tea and maybe a biscuit or two. I got those easily enough, I'm sure you all know how the House Elves at Hogwarts are."
The attentive audience grinned and nodded in assent. "One kept giving me a whole basket of muffins every time I went in for a single muffin," someone muttered lowly.
"Anyway, it turned out that I wouldn't be able to rest in peace and quietly enjoy my cup of tea because a few moments after I had settled down, a loud Gryffindor came bursting through the portrait."
"Excuse you," Neville interrupted, "I was not loud."
Hannah smiled and patted him on the shoulder fondly, "Forgive me, a quiet Gryffindor came in very quickly and silently through the portrait before collapsing onto a chair and exhaling a great big inaudible sigh."
Neville grumbled a bit but accepted that he had probably been a bit loud when he had rushed into the kitchens that day. Hannah grinned and continued her part of the story. "I had seen this Gryffindor about a few times before and quite liked what little I knew about him. He was quite flustered when he came into the kitchen and I thought he might benefit from a cup of tea. So, I poured him one and set it in front of him, which he drank before realising it was a witch who had given it to him instead of a House Elf."
"I was a bit out of it," Neville defended and they all laughed at his blush at the reminder of his actions.
"That was when he noticed that I was there and asked what I was doing. Of course, I simply raised my teacup and gestured to it in the answer that seemed obvious to me. And then he decided that we were going to eat more nutritional food than a few biscuits."
Neville grinned and took over, "I had seen this Hufflepuff girl all alone in the kitchens and figured she could use some company and the best company, according to my gran, can be found over a dinner table. I had also been told that the best dish to have in order to get to know your dinner partner was pasta. So I asked the Elves to make us a pasta dish."
"Didn't even think about any allergies or aversions I might have," Hannah grumbled.
Neville pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head, "The Elves knew so you weren't in any danger."
She grinned at him, "But did you know that at the time?"
"Well, no. But that doesn't mean that you were about to have an allergic reaction." Hannah nodded to accept his argument and he continued telling the story, their eager audience not minding in the least the short break as they got to witness an adorable moment between their landlady and her gardener.
"We didn't really talk much while the Elves made us food, we kinda just sat there drinking our tea and wondering what we were supposed to say to the other. Well, I was at least," Neville amended at the end and Hannah hummed in agreement.
"Turns out they're right when they say pasta is a great way to get to know someone. Within a few minutes of having her plate in front of her, Hannah decided she wanted a noodle moustache. Which of course, started a noodle war of who could do the most ridiculous thing with the pasta noodles."
The patrons of The Leaky Cauldron all laughed as they saw where the story was headed. Hannah chipped in again, "If I recall correctly," she said slyly, "you were the one with noodles in your hair."
Neville blushed, "I make a very good blond."
Laughter burst out of everyone in the pub at his blushing pout. Hannah kissed him quickly and comforted, "Yes you do. But I think I prefer you with normal, un-noodled, hair."
"Anyway, we concluded our contest and from then on started to meet in the kitchens for tea and friendship."
"And occasionally pasta," Hannah added.
"And occasionally pasta," Neville agreed.