Prompt: Hannah started working at the Leaky Cauldron because she couldn't face returning to Hogwarts to complete her schooling.
Chronology: Takes place at the end of August, the summer immediately after the Battle of Hogwarts.
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Hannah made her way through the crowded pub, settling into her usual seat in the back corner. She sighed softly as she lowered herself into the chair, looking out over the room, scanning the faces, searching for the one she was meeting. A smile spread across her own face as she raised her hand in greeting once she spotted Susan, who was standing at the counter, waiting for Tom to slide two butterbeers across to her.
"That took absolutely forever," Susan said, giving Hannah a quick hug before placing the two drinks on the table and taking her seat. "Honestly, it takes a solid fifteen minutes to even get Tom's attention when this place is crowded." She took a long sip of her butterbeer and relaxed into her chair. "Have you really been staying here?"
Hannah nodded, sipping her own drink more slowly, "Yeah, I have. I just couldn't stay in Cumbria anymore. I tried… I really did. Everywhere I went reminded me of Mum." She rubbed her hands over her face tiredly. "It's different than it was with Dad. I never really knew him… I don't really have memories of him. But Mum… It just got too hard." She wiped away the tear that had slid down her cheek.
Susan reached over to give Hannah's arm a squeeze. She smiled warmly at her, "It's totally understandable, Han. You don't have to feel like it's wrong to miss your mum. She's… your mum."
Hannah returned her smile, and continued sipping her drink. She pushed her blonde hair out of her eyes – she had stopped wearing pigtails the day her mother died, the day she realized she had to grow up – and gestured upstairs, "My room actually isn't that bad. I mean, it's not a manor by any means, but it's definitely livable."
Susan smiled again, nodding, "That's good. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to visit you. I've been spending a lot of time at Hogwarts, helping with the reconstruction. It's definitely going to be ready for the start of term." She paused to take a drink, looking at Hannah out of the corner of her eye. She fiddled with the cap from the bottle before cautiously continuing, "Have you gotten your school things yet?"
"No."
"Hannah… term starts in a week. You've got to get your books and thi-"
"I'm not going back." Hannah's gaze remained fixed on the table as she spoke, her hands twisting a napkin in her lap, "I can't go back." She raised her eyes up to meet Susan's after a moment, and the other girl was shocked to see that they were full of tears.
"What are you talking about, Han?" Susan stared at her in disbelief, "You've got to go back. What are you going to do without your N.E.W.T.s?"
"I don't… I don't know. I just know that I can't go back there. I've been out of school for so long. I haven't set foot in Hogwarts in almost two years except for the Battle. I tried to go back a few times this summer. I tried to help… to contribute to fixing the school. I can't even look at it anymore. All I can see are the bodies and curses flying… all I can hear is his voice ringing through the halls." Her voice broke as the tears started sliding down her cheeks.
"Hannah…" Susan reached out for her hand, grasping it tightly in both of hers. "Why didn't you tell me? I could've helped… I could've tried to help."
Hannah shook her head, her blonde waves flying, "I couldn't even put it into words. I couldn't deal with it." She rubbed her free hand over her face and whispered, "I still can't."
"Oh, Hannah," Susan pulled her chair over to sit directly next to her best friend, enveloping her tightly in a hug. Hannah cried earnestly into Susan's shoulder, choking out the memories that had haunted her since the Battle, "I keep seeing it all: Lavender trying to crawl away after Greyback attacked her; Colin falling over, dead; Hagrid carrying Harry's body out of the forest; Neville on fire, screaming… I can't stop seeing it."
When it became clear that Hannah would not be able to pull herself back together anytime soon, Susan began to gather their belongings. Just as she was trying to debate how best to get Hannah – who was now curled up in her chair, gazing at nothing, tears running down her face in a constant stream – upstairs to the room she was staying in, she was almost knocked over as someone stumbled into her.
"Susan!"
At the delighted yelp, she turned to see Neville standing behind her, a broad grin across his face, which still bore the scars from both his seventh year at school and the Battle. He drew her into a tight hug, "It's so great to see. It's been forever! How are you?"
"I'm alright. Umm… I can't actually talk now." She looked worriedly over her shoulder at Hannah, noting that she still hadn't moved. Turning back to Neville, she saw that his eyes had followed and were narrowing in concern at the sight of Hannah's obvious pain.
"What's happened?" he whispered, taking half a step toward Hannah.
Susan held an arm out, stopping him from advancing, "I don't really know. I asked her if she was going back to school to finish her N.E.W.T.s and she said no and before I knew it she was having a complete meltdown. I need to get her home... well, upstairs."
"Upstairs?" Neville looked at Susan questionably, "Is she staying here?" When Susan nodded in assent, he moved closer to Hannah, "I'll help you."
Before Susan could say a word, Neville had scooped Hannah up in his arms and began to make his way up the stairs. Susan quickly gathered up Hannah's purse and her own belongings and followed behind him. The buzz of the pub faded as they made their way up to the second floor to the room in which Hannah was currently staying. Susan rummaged inside Hannah's purse for the key and swung the door open for Neville. He crossed the room quickly and gently laid Hannah down on the bed closest to the window. He pulled the blanket from the foot of the bed, cast a quick Warming Charm on it and spread it over her, slowly brushing some of her hair from her face.
Susan stood in the doorway, watching the tenderness with which Neville was treating Hannah, smiling in spite of herself. She had always suspected that Neville had a bit of a crush on Hannah. It was sweet to see him caring for her.
She looked around the room, noting that it definitely had the feel of a place that had been lived in for a while, not just a few days: the wardrobe was full of clothing and Hannah's trunk was nowhere in sight; the desk was covered in books and papers; a tray with what was left of Hannah's dinner that night stood near the door, yet to be taken away by the night maid; the second bed was neatly made, awaiting Susan who had planned to stay with Hannah for at least a few days. As her eyes fell upon Hannah again, she sighed softly, thinking to herself that her trip might be lasting longer than she had originally planned.
Susan crossed the room to stand next to Neville and looked down at her best friend, who had by now dropped into a fitful sleep. She felt a tear slide down her own cheek and reached up to wipe it away.
"I had no idea she was hurting this badly," she whispered. "I haven't seen her in ages… I've been so busy at Hogwarts."
Neville wrapped an arm around Susan's waist, pulling her in for a quick hug, "You're here now. That's all that matters." He smiled down at her. "I've got to go, unfortunately. I was actually on my way into London to meet Harry and Ron. Ministry stuff," he explained.
Susan nodded, "Go ahead. Thanks for your help."
He walked across the room, stopped at the door, "Do me a favor? Send me an owl in a couple days… let me know how she's doing?"
"Of course," she smiled and watched him leave the room. Instead of climbing into the empty bed, she laid down next to Hannah, grasping one of her hands tightly, and whispering to her, "I'm here, Han. I'm here now."
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A little over a month later, Susan stopped for a quick drink at the Leaky Cauldron on her way to Diagon Alley to do some shopping. She grinned when she walked in, seeing Hannah bustling from table to table, smiling widely at the customers as she spoke to them. She made her way over to the counter, onto which Hannah was levitating glasses full of Firewhisky.
"Well, if it isn't the famous waitress of the Leaky Cauldron."
Hannah laughed lightly, "Sue! How are you?" She reached across the counter to give Susan a hug. "Just give me two minutes and I can take a quick break."
Susan took a seat at the counter, taking a copy of the Daily Prophet out of her bag. She skimmed a few articles while she waited for Hannah, her eyes widening in surprise as she read that Draco Malfoy's hearing had been held earlier that week and he had only received probation. Before she could read the entire story, Hannah plopped into the seat next to her.
"You look good, Hannah. How are you feeling?" Susan stowed the paper in her bag, turning her focus onto her friend.
Hannah smiled, "Much better, thanks to you."
"What are friends for, right?"
"You were right. I needed to do something. I needed to get a job. Sitting in that room day in and day out doing nothing was just making everything worse. Thank goodness Tom gave me the job."
"How is it going?" Susan took a sip of the glass of water that Hannah had floated over to her.
Hannah nodded, looking around the room, "It's going pretty well. I mean, I probably won't stay here forever, but it's good. Tom's been great. I've moved into one of the flats above the Apothecary. It's small, but nice. I need to look up how to block scents from other rooms, because some of the smells that drift up from the store aren't the greatest."
The two girls giggled, catching up quickly before Hannah needed to return to work. After a few minutes of chatting, they both stood up. They hugged briefly, before parting ways.
"My shift is over at eight. I'll meet you here then?"
Susan nodded, "Sounds perfect. I'll see you then." She headed towards the back courtyard, digging in her purse for her shopping list.
"Hey Susan!"
She turned around to see her friend smiling widely at her.
"Thanks."