A/N: This was written for the Hallowe'en Challenge at the Reviews Lounge. This is my first time writing Hannah Abbott (or anything other than my main OC-centered fic, actually), but I quite like how it turned out.

Disclaimer: I am obviously not JK Rowling and I don't take credit for her characters or settings.

Collapse

The Leaky Cauldron was empty except for the barmaid who was wiping down the counter with a white rag, her loose blonde bun falling apart over her shoulder. It had been a long night. Halloween was always busy, and it didn't help that the 31st fell on a Friday this year. Three hours ago the tiny pub had been packed to the gills with celebrating patrons, but now the floor was littered with spilled pumpkin juice and fire whiskey, abandoned sweet wrappers, smashed glasses and other debris that resulted from the evening's festivities. Though it had been hectic, Hannah had enjoyed visiting with many of the other Diagon Alley shop owners, as well as several of her old schoolmates. But there was one face in particular that Hannah was sad not to have seen, and though she wasn't surprised – she knew how much of an event the Halloween Feast at Hogwarts was – she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. She tried not to think about it too much and continued scrubbing the bar, wiping a stray wisp of hair off her cheek as she went.

Once the counter was adequately clean, Hannah decided to tackle the floor. With a wave of her wand every chair in the pub flew neatly to rest upside down on top of its respective table. Another wave caused all the garbage to vanish from the floor, and a third swish sent a scouring spell over the old wooden floorboards. Ever unsure about the efficacy of her spellwork, Hannah decided to go over the floor one more time with a mop just in case she had missed anything. She was tired, but she wanted to be sure that the job was done well and besides, she had never been one to shy away from a little extra work. She grabbed the mop and pail that were leaning in a corner behind the bar, and caught her reflection in the mirror above the liquor shelves as she did so.

Her cheeks were still as round and pink as they had been when she was eleven, but the rest of her face had matured appropriately. There were grey bags under her eyes, but those had been there for years. It had been eight years since her mother died, but Hannah still had a hard time sleeping. She'd been doing much better as of late, though, and she knew who was responsible for this change. She sighed at her weary reflection and turned to finish her work.

As soon as the floor was satisfactorily clean, Hannah began replacing drink glasses that had been drying in the sink to their shelves. She was barely half done with this chore when the she heard a tinkling bell and a wooden creak at the front of the pub. Hannah jumped at the sound and nearly dropped the glass she was holding. She usually made a habit of locking the front door behind the last patrons of the evening, but it had been so busy tonight that she must have forgotten. She turned around, sighing again.

"I'm sorry, but we closed over half an – oh!" Hannah smiled. "Hi…"

Neville stood in the doorway wearing a traveling cloak and looking just as careworn as Hannah did. There was a smear of soot on the side of his face, but he was smiling too. He walked over to the bar and sat down in a stool across from Hannah.

"How was your night?" he asked, shedding his cloak and laying it on the stool beside him.

"Good," she said simply, nodding. "Long, but good. Would you like a drink?"

"Nah, I'm okay," said Neville. "Busy night, then?"

"Goodness, yes," Hannah went on. "We had so many customers! It was fun, everyone was in such high spirits. And you should've seen the fireworks display George and Ron did from the roof of their shop. It was really something…exploding jack-o-lanterns and skeletons made of smoke, and there were some that shot up like rockets but turned into live bats when they burst! Those were the ones I was able to see, anyway. We were already really packed by then…"

Neville listened intently as Hannah spoke. Most people thought she was a rather shy girl, but that was only because there were very few people in her life that she felt comfortable opening up to. Her mother had been one of them, and her father, too, eventually, but none of her other friends had been able to listen to her the way Neville did. Consequently she had a tendency to talk his ear off whenever they were reunited.

"Ron and George came over after they closed shop, and George's wife was here with the babies, but they didn't stay long. Ernie stopped by for a while and it was nice to see him even though he was prattling on and on about some very important letter he got from the Canadian Minister for Magic or something. You know how he gets. I had to kick out Fraser Cupric (he owns the cauldron shop) when he started teaching all our jack-o-lanterns to swear. And…oh! You'll never guess who else. Harry came in with Ginny, but they had Kingsley Shacklebolt with them and they introduced me. He was very nice. I gave him a free drink."

Hannah paused here because Neville was smirking at her.

"What?" she asked, looking genuinely perplexed.

"Nothing," he said, shaking his head and smiling. "Go on."

"What else…?" Hannah pondered. "Susan was here for a while with her mum this afternoon. Did you know that Susan and Owen Cauldwell are engaged? I can't even think of who else was here all day. I feel like the whole of wizarding Britain stopped in. Anyway," she became hesitant. "Were you planning on – I mean, are you going back to Hogwarts tonight?"

"I think I can stay for a while," Neville answered.

"I was hoping you'd say that," replied Hannah. "If you want you can go ahead upstairs and I'll meet you there in a few minutes. I just want to finish with these glasses."

"Can't they wait?" asked Neville, kindly removing the cup and rag from Hannah's grasp and setting them aside on the counter. "You look dead tired."

"I suppose you're right. I am pretty sleepy. Oh, hold still a moment, though, there's some dirt on your cheek. How'd that get there?" Hannah questioned as she cleaned the side of Neville's face with her thumb. "Didn't you bother washing up before you left?" she jested.

"I was sort of in a hurry to see you," Neville answered sheepishly. "And anyway, it's a rather long story involving the Levett brothers, some floo powder, and a Fanged Geranium."

"I see," Hannah said, chuckling. "Well you can tell me all about it in the morning, but right now I'm ready to collapse."

"I'm with you," Neville said, standing up and grabbing his cloak as Hannah stepped out from behind the bar.

They walked towards the staircase together, and upon reaching it Hannah turned and flicked her wand once more, extinguishing the few candles that were still lit, casting the pub into darkness.

A/N: I'd love to hear what you thought in a review! Thanks for reading. :)