Hey everyone. Here is the start of another story. This story was written for both Fortnightly Challenges Thread's Leaf Pile Challenge and Autumn Seasonal Challenges Thread's Elemental: Air Element on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. For Leaf Pile I used the prompt for Yellow (AUs) Coffee Shop. For Elemental: Air Element I used Astrological signs associated with Air, Aquarius, (pairing) Neville/Hannah. I hope you all enjoy the first chapter of Hannah and Neville's Coffee Shop.
Neville can still see that day as clearly as he can see Hannah sitting across the candle lit table from him. The day everything started. The day they started to fall in love with each other. Which also happen to the day they decided that they'd start their coffee shop together. It was supposed to start as endeavor between two friends. He had no idea that it would end them up here with him ready to propose marriage to her. He fidgeted with the ring in his pocket as he watched her to make sure Hannah was happy with everything. He wanted her to be very happy tonight.
"Neville," Hannah whispered, "you seem nervous. Are you alright?"
"I'm just thinking," Neville told Hannah with a small smile the ring held between his forefinger and thumb in his pocket.
"About?"
"How we met two years ago."
And it was true those were the thoughts and memories that crossed Nevile's mind in the moment before he was going to propose. He sees it as though it was yesterday and it really could have been yesterday.
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It was two years ago outside the Leaky Cauldron in London that he accidentally runs into Hannah Abbot. He silently curses his clumsiness as he helps her gather up the papers and other items that she has scattered during her fall. It was while handing them back that he notices how down she looks.
"What's wrong, Hannah?" he asks her pulling her into a standing position.
"I just left a meeting at Muggle bank," she told him. "I was planning on opening a Muggle coffee shop but they won't lend me any money. Something about needing more credit. Or something like that."
"Is that what all those sketches and other books were about?"
He watches as she blushes a pretty pink and nod. He wonders when she got as pretty as she did. Not that he'd ever paid her any mind during their years at Hogwarts together.
"The sketches were supposed to be what the shop looked like," she told him. "I did them myself. Do you like them?"
She tries to hold them up so he can look at them but it seems to be very hard to so without something to balance the weight. He motions for her to follow him into the Leaky Cauldron.
"Why don't you show me your pitch in here?" he asks her. "And we can share a drink while we're at it?"
Hannah looks a little weary but also a little confused as to why he's so interested in her coffee shop. She'd never considered asking someone else to come on and help her. Maybe she should?
Neville leads her over to a table pulling out a chair for Hannah. He gently pushes it in when she sits. He looks at the sketches that she hands him and finds them very beautiful. He can't believe that anyone would turn down a coffee show that looks like this.
"They said no?" he asks.
She nods as she sips her coffee.
"I was planning on having it in Muggle London," she told him. "Coffee is very popular among the Muggles or so I hear. I was planning on several different blends of coffee and five different specialty blends." She opens a notepad and passes it to him.
Neville reads through the note pad as she talk him through the pitch that had just failed her. He can't believe that this pitch failed though. He wants to help her get her coffee shop more than anything now.
"Hannah," he says interrupting her halfway through the pitch, "I think I might have the perfect spot for your coffee shop. Now mind you it's not in Muggle London like you originally wanted but it's got foot traffic and I already own it."
"You want to help me with my dream of owning a coffee shop?" she asked him confused.
Neville nods. He does want to help her. He really does.
"I'd feel uncomfortable just taking the place from you though," she told him. "How about we be co-owners of the coffee shop?"
"I'd like that," Neville tells her. "But what will we call it?"
"Hannah and Neville's of course."
Neville finds himself like this thought very much. It made a lot sense to use their own names as the shop's name. It also kind of made it feel so much more homey.
"Why don't we go see the shop?" he suggests leading her towards alley into Diagon Alley. He really hopes she likes the location because it's not like either of them can change it. He prays as he leads her on that everything is acceptable to her.
I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of Hannah and Neville's Coffee Shop. I can see them actually owning their own little shop or something together.
