The Houses Competition
House: Hufflepuff
Class: DADA
Category: Drabble
Prompt(s): (action) baking a cake
Word Count: 1,000
Additional Information: Blind!AU in which Hannah was made blind after an accident.
The acrid smell of smoke was the first thing to alert Hannah of a problem. She knew that she'd done everything right. Or at least she thought she knew that she'd done everything correctly. It was hard to tell now that she'd lost her sight.
"Hannah, are you alright?" Neville asked, rushing towards the kitchen.
She got up from the chair she'd been sitting in trying to figure out how to read Braille. She'd almost thrown the book twice already and was getting ready to do so once more when the smell had hit her nostrils. She unfolded her red and white cane and set off click-clacking towards the kitchen
"Hannah!" Neville's frantic voice cried from somewhere in front of her. Since the accident which had taken her sight away her other senses had heightened to compensate for the lacking one.
"Neville," she called out, trying to catch a hint of his scent in the smoke-laden air.
"Hannah?" Neville cried, his footsteps sounding like they were swiveling in one spot.
His scent was close; she could almost smell him over the smoke. Hannah reached out her hand and placed it upon an arm.
"Neville," she said, sniffling now that she was sure her surprise birthday cake had been ruined.
"It's alright, Han," Neville said, putting a comforting hand on her back as he held her for a bit.
The sound of crackling flames caught upon the air and made her pull back from the hug. She could sense that the fire wasn't massive but if not taken care of it would become so.
The sound of fire suppressant being used came from where she was well aware the oven was. The hissing of the hot oven almost scared her. Then the sound of a dial turning signaled that the oven was finally being turned off.
"Hannah, you set the oven for the highest temperature," Neville told her.
"I didn't mean to," she said, hanging her head as Neville performed the repairo spell on the oven and surrounding area which must have been caught up in the conflagration. The scent of smoke was still thick in the kitchen. She walked over to the windows over the sink and opened them.
"What were you trying to do?" Neville asked patiently, she could see him watching her in her mind's eye. His kind loving eyes showed concern for her.
"I was trying to bake a cake," she said, hating that she had to ruin the surprise. "For your birthday."
"I don't need a surprise birthday cake," Neville said, taking her hands and leading her over to their kitchen table. He helped her into her seat. "I was so afraid that you'd hurt yourself when I smelled the smoke."
"I didn't mean to scare you," she said, feeling the sting of tears in her unseeing eyes.
She felt Neville's finger wipe the tears off her cheeks. His soft finger lingered upon her skin in a way that she loved.
"Alright," he said, sounding like he was getting to his feet once more. "Why don't we do this? We'll make the cake together."
She started to say that she wanted the cake to be a surprise. But he must have been prepared for such an argument.
"I don't need a surprise cake," Neville said, the smile clear in his voice. "I need to know that my wife is happy and not accidentally burning down the house. Plus it would be an honor to help make a cake with you. What do you say?"
Hannah sniffled a bit, feeling the tears flowing down her face. She hadn't meant to cry but the honest frankness with which Neville had spoken had brought on the tears. She nodded in agreement.
"Okay," she said, hearing the croaky sound of her voice.
"What do I need to get first?"
She could hear his footsteps retreating towards the cupboard. "We need flour, sugar, vanilla extract, and baking from the pantry," she said, taking a deep breath. "From the fridge, we're gonna need some milk, a couple of eggs, and the strawberry puree that I made yesterday."
She knew he was staring at her in shock. He must be wondering how she knew where he was. If he was wondering he never asked. She could hear Neville collecting the ingredients, bowls, whisks, and baking pans even though she hadn't listed them yet.
"First you're going to need to pour two cups of flour into a dry ingredients' bowl," Hannah said, remembering how her mother used to teach her to cook. "After that, you should measure one-half cup of both sugar and baking powder."
She could hear Neville fumbling nervously with the packages trying to open them. She had been like this her first time baking a cake too. Her mother sat her down and gave her an important piece of advice.
"Slow down, Neville," she said, grinning as she heard the words being echoed in her brain by her mother's voice. "It's not important to do things quickly. It's important to do them properly."
She could hear Neville taking a deep breath and then the sounds of the packages being opened in slow succession. The dry ingredients hitting the bowl were like a symphony she'd never heard until now. But now without her sight, everything was a brand new symphony of sounds.
She told him to add two eggs to a bowl for drying ingredients. The wet-sounding plop of the eggs hitting the bowl sounded in her ears. The milk and puree soon followed.
"What about butter?" Neville asked, sounding concerned.
"Yes," Hannah said, feeling her cheeks heat up. "Two tablespoons of butter."
She could hear the sounds of the mixer going and the sounds of the batter being poured into pans. Then the pans were slid into the now repaired oven. The click, click, click of the timer sounded, and then Neville led her back to the sofa to read her a book and wait for the cake to be made.
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I hope you all enjoyed Neville's Happiest Birthday Ever as much as I enjoyed writing it.