Story Title: A Million Cups of Coffee
Chapter Title: It's Now or Never
Length:
Prompt: Coffee, Bookstore
Hannah Abbott stacked the books carefully. She bit her lip as she heaved another sack onto the bench, where she would sort the books and put them in their correct place.
I hate this, she thought. She had been stuck working in the bookstore after the war, and was tiring quickly. She was bored in the shop.
The bell chimed and in walked a man she recognised; he was the Junior Secretary to the Minister for Magic's wife, Neville Longbottom. She sucked in her breath.
"What do you want, Mr Longbottom?" She asked, trying to be polite and trying to hide her blatant disrespect for all the Ministry workers other than the current Aurors. Whilst she respected him she also wanted to be respectful to his wife, "And how is Mrs Longbottom doing? And the baby?" Hannah asked. Neville groaned.
"We just got the divorce papers filed," Neville mumbled. Hannah's eyes nearly popped out of her head.
"What?" Hannah asked, "You… Divorced? What about the baby?" Hannah gaped at him. Neville shrugged uncomfortably.
"It isn't time, Han." He mumbled, using his schoolboy nickname for her, "She's not even sure if it's mine,"
"What do you mean?" Hannah demanded. She wasn't one for gossip, but anybody would want the details of this major break up.
"Turns out she cheated on me with Roger Davies," Neville blushed. Hannah raised her eyebrows.
"Gawd, here I was thinking Fay was something decent," Hannah drawled, "Anyways, why are you here?"
"T-This is my new job," Neville stuttered, "Can you show me what to do?"
"Sure," Hannah smiled happily, heaving another sack onto the table and shoving it over towards him, her mousy brown hair whipping her freckles. He undid the sack and stared at the books inside it.
"What do I do now?" He asked. Hannah sighed.
"You sort the books into their correct genres then stack them on the shelves," Hannah informed him. Neville nodded.
"What time do we finish?" Neville asked. Hannah shrugged.
"About three a.m, then we start up again at ten," Hannah told him pulling two biographies out of the sack and dumping them in a pile. Neville watched her with curiosity before pulling out his own. He stacked a couple of copies of Tales of Beedle the Bard in a pile on the corner of the table.
"Not there!" Hannah instructed, "They'll topple over," She grabbed the pile and carefully placed it in the centre of the room. Neville went red.
"Sorry," He mumbled. Hannah rolled her eyes.
"Don't worry about it, it happens all the time, honestly," She grinned. Neville sighed.
"So I'm not the only doosh? That's a relief," Neville grinned.
"I bet it is," Hannah chuckled, "Anyway, let's get to work. We've only got about an hour to go,"
"Does it ever get boring?" Neville asked. Hannah bit her lip.
"Sometimes. But it's worth the money, because no one else will do it. If you complain, they actually give you a pay rise!" Hannah laughed. Neville's eyes bugged out.
"Seriously?" Neville asked nervously. Hannah shrugged.
"Yeah. It's one of the few perks to this job," Hannah smiled and her freckles flushed nervously.
"Really? Anyways, how is your life going apart from work?" Neville blushed, "I mean, you know mine,"
"Oh, right!" Hannah got up and began to stack some books, "Good. Ernie says he misses me though. He works at the Daily Prophet as a junior editor, remember? I guess it must be boring for him at home, but I do get more income, you know?"
"So, you and Ernie are dating, are you?" Neville bit his lip. Hannah smiled and nodded.
"Oh, yes, but nothing serious like you and Fay were," Hannah pressed her lips together in deep thought.
"Come to think of it, that may have been a bit rushed," Neville admitted, "We were just so young, it was a good idea at the time, and we both needed each other's company, so we got engaged, then..."
"Then you weren't sexually good enough for her and she ran off with Roger Davies and their unborn child," Hannah finished. Neville went red.
"When you put it that way, it does sound pretty silly," Neville nodded and Hannah laughed.
"Don't worry about it. And let's hurry, because if we finish early we can go!"
Neville and Hannah finished just before three. Neville sighed.
"Is it like this every night?" He groaned. Hannah rolled her eyes.
"You guessed it. It'll get done faster with two people, though and luckily we don't get much more than this," Hannah nodded glumly.
"That's good. But you should probably install a coffee machine here," Neville added. Hannah frowned.
"Why?" She asked. Neville shrugged.
"Caffeine keeps you awake," Neville informed her. Hannah rolled her eyes.
"I knew that," Hannah said, sticking her chin out, "Or we could just have coffee now,"
"What do you mean?" Neville asked.
"I'll show you," Hannah grinned. She took his hand but Neville quickly snatched it away.
"We're apparating?" He asked, swallowing hard as nervousness swallowed up his voice. All of the blood drained from his face and Hannah frowned, concerned.
"Is there a problem with that?" She asked. He shook his head.
"It's nothing, really, just a stupid fear-"
"Look," Hannah shouted bossily, "If you're scared, we can just walk. It's really not that far and-"
"Thank you," He blushed. Hannah took a deep breath and gave him one of her friendliest, warmest smiles that she would normally use when addressing a customer.
"It's fine," She assured him. Neville smiled gratefully.
"Not many people would do this for me," He squeaked quietly. Hannah gave him a pitying look.
"But I just did," She smiled. He blushed.
"I know,"
She wanted to add 'Because I've loved you since Third year' so desperately.