A/N: Written for:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments)

Fun With Fishing Challenge - Coffee Shop AU & Marshmallow

Writing Club - Days of the Month - Serendipity Day: write about a chance encounter
Happiness Happens - 5. (phrase) smiley face

Gobstones Club - Yellow Stone: First Love. Prompts: A2 (word) refreshing, P8 (object) Witch Weekly Magazine, T7 (weather) rainy

HPFC
Ultimate AU Promptation Challenge - Coffee Shop AU

ii. hiccups

The first time that Lily met James outside of school was not fun. But it was something to laugh about.

It was a week after leaving Hogwarts, Lily was sitting in a chair by a wooden table, a cup of coffee in her left hand and a new issue of Witch Weekly in the other. Rain thumped on the window next to her, and eventually it became a minor buzz in Lily's ears. A muggle waitress came before her and laid a plate of muffins on the table. The girl looked a little puzzled at the magazine in Lily's hands, because to her Lily was holding a piece of a textbook.

"Thank you," said Lily, looking up at her. And the waitress walked away.

The redhead turned back to the piece in her hand.

A few minutes later, she finished reading, and laid the magazine on the table, and picked up her coffee cup to take a sip of it. And that is when she saw the face peering at her from the window. Lily was so shocked that she spilled some of her coffee.

The grinning face of James Potter was pressed against the window beside her, and evidently he didn't care much for the rain.

"What are you doing here?" Lily mouthed.

James just grinned brighter.

Lily rolled her eyes.

Since the window was already cover in mist thanks to the humidity that was brought on by the rain, James used his finger to draw a smiley face on the window. Then he drew the expression on his own face. James looked up at the sky and decided that it would be better to get in the building, so he walked over to the entrance of the coffee shop and walked in, the bell ringing as he stepped onto the mat.

"Lily!" he exclaimed, his hands in his pockets as he strutted towards her. "How nice to see you!"

Lily didn't feel like it was good to see him. She placed the cup back down on the table and glared at him as he walked over and plopped himself down on the seat opposite her.

A few of the other guests in the shop turned towards them and stared. Lily thought she caught the phrase 'young love' bouncing through the crowd.

"What are you doing here?" asked Lily once again in a hushed whisper.

James grinned his stupid grin. "Well, what do you think I'm doing here?" Lily glared at him. "Alright. Alright. I came simply to enjoy the fresh air with my mum, and she's somewhere in the muggle streets, shopping, so that buys me a couple of hours of free time. And when I saw you, I mean, what luck it is to see you! I had to come in and say hello, right? So, I came." he explained.

"Yes. Hello, Potter." said Lily curtly, wondering what he was going to do next.

James was actually dripping on the wooden floor of the coffee shop, but he looked thoroughly happy about the fact that he was drenched in rainwater.

Before she could stop herself, she asked, "Didn't you bring an umbrella with you?"

James brought his hand to his face and wiped the rain from his dripping nose. "No, I didn't. Well, my mum forgot to give me an umbrella when she left me, and that was when the rain came harder. Well, luckily I saw you, right?" He smiled at Lily, a genuine smile.

Lily couldn't help but smile back.

"So, is there something I can drink around here?" asked James, who was reaching over to the plate of muffins and took one in his hands and started munching on it.

Lily stood up. "Well, I'll order you something warm. But know that I'm only doing that because I'm taking pity on you, and you'll have to pay me back for this." she said, and walked over to the counter and ordered a hot chocolate for the boy, and then she sat back down.

"Has your OWL grades come back yet?" asked James.

That was the thing that Lily didn't like to discuss, especially with Potter, because she was nervous about her grades and Potter never was. His was gifted in that area, that he rarely handed in a piece of homework, but his brain worked very good.

Lily took another sip and shook her head.

"And? How well do you think you did?" he asked.

Lily lied back on the chair and groaned. "I don't know. I don't know. And I'm awfully scared that I won't get enough grades to become a healer."

"You want to be a healer?" asked James, his eyebrows raised. This was the first sign that Lily had given him, a sign that she ever wanted to have a full and heartfelt conversation with him. He wasn't going to give it up, actually, he felt a little giddy inside.

"Oh, I'm not really sure." said Lily, raising her head and looking at him through her strands of dark red hair. "But I think it's a very good option. I grew up going to muggle doctors, and they're very good, but they're not healers. They save lives, yes, but they don't really save people of pain."

James listen intently. "And you want to save people from pain?" He asked.

"As much as I can, yes." replied Lily, nodding, and glaring at James. She had no idea why she was glaring at him.

James opened his mouth to speak but before he could, a cup of warm something was brought up to him. "Thank you," he smiled up at the waitress, and he added a wink with it. The waitress ignored him. Both she and Lily rolled their eyes at James. James looked hurt, but Lily doubted that he was.

"So, what have you got me?" asked James. Then he bent down and smelled the drink. "Ah, hot chocolate. Perfect, just what I needed."

"Remember, you need to pay me back for it." said Lily, almost too quickly. Which made her blush.

James rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes. Keep your hair on. I'm pretty sure that I have muggle money stowed somewhere."

Lily wasn't altogether reassured, but she decided not to continue the subject.

She watched as James gulped down the hot chocolate, and suddenly he stopped, looking at the inside of the cup with utter delight.

"What is it?" asked Lily, her eyebrows knitted together.

James' face broke into a huge grin. "Nothing. Don't you worry, sweet Evan. I just found something amazing." "What is it?" asked Lily, peering over at him, curious. That is, until Potter showed her his cup, and inside, floated a couple of white cubes. "Marshmallows!" cried James happily, pointing to the inside of his cup.

Lily slapped him on the shoulder, and then started to laugh. And so did James.

They didn't stop until the other customers started to stare.

James took another large gulp of the hot chocolate and set the mug down. And suddenly, he started to hiccup violently.

Lily started to laugh again, and she didn't care that the rest of the shop was staring at them.

For the rest of the hour they talked about nothing and everything, while James hiccuped. And in the end, James had no intention of stopping, and Lily thought that James wasn't so bad after all. Not bad at all, just, never been able to grow up as quick as she had. But she could hardly blame him.

And five years later when the two of them were walking down the streets of London, arm in arm, and see that coffee shop, Lily stopped. "Did you know that in that coffee shop when I decided that you weren't so bad?"

"Oh, is that so?" asked James, looking down at his fiancé.

"Yes." replied Lily, smiling up at him. "And you were an excellent hiccup-er?"

James smiled and looked up at the windows and the signs pasted on the window of the coffee shop. "The only thing that I remember is that I saw a beautiful girl that gave me a refreshing cup of hot chocolate. And I realised that I loved you. My first love, and my last." He glanced down and kissed her on the forehead. And he looked at her, as if she was the only beautiful thing in the world, in his world.