Pumpkin Spice
Pairing: Ron/Lavender
Word Count: 420
The bell chimed in the coffee shop that Lavender worked in, and she jerked her head up eagerly. She'd had the little shop open in Diagon Alley for a few weeks now, and it didn't get much traffic, so she was always excited during the occsaions when someone walked in.
"Hey," she called out automatically, before realising who it was. Shivering in the cool autumn breeze and loosening his woollen scarf, was Ronald Weasley.
Only a few years had passed since she last saw him, but he looked so much different. He seemed taller, broader, his hair was cut a little neater and his eyes were sharper, as though he'd lived a lot longer. His auburn eyebrows soared underneath his fringe when he spotted and recognised Lavender behind the counter.
"Oh...hi," he greeted, his voice wavering. He looked uncomfortable, and Lavender felt the uncomfortable heat of embarrassment rising in her face. She would never forgot how clingy and ridiculous she had acted during their brief few weeks of dating, but she had hoped that he might. "Erm...can I..." he averted eye contact with Lavender deliberately and started scanning the menu board wildly. "What's that new drink you have? The one that coffee shops only do in autumn? With pumpkins?"
"A pumpkin-spiced latte?" Lavender suggested. Ron's eyes glittered brightly.
"Yes. Can I have one of those, please?"
It was an interesting choice for a Pureblood wizard who probably hadn't drunk that much coffee in his entire lifetime, but Lavender didn't question it. She nodded at Ron and waited for him to sit at one of the little tables by the window, and set to making his drink.
When she had finished, she reached for the chocolate dust, ready to shake a generous amount over the foamy surface of the drink. However, just before she did so, she noticed the little heart-shaped stencil that she had been saving for Valentine's Day. Without really thinking about her decision, she dropped the stencil over the coffee and shook the chocolate powder into the cup, creating a heart-shaped chocolate mound on the pumpkin-spiced latte.
Her cheeks glowed as she headed over to Ron's table with the mug on a tray. She placed it in front of him and beamed, and he returned her smile politely.
When his eyes fell on the heart, he rose an eyebrow. Lavender waited, half expecting him to throw the drink back in her face and march out.
He didn't. Instead, his grin widened a little, and he took a sip right there, continuing to make eye contact with Lavender. When he lowered the mug, a smear of coffee foam was on his upper lip, and Lavender tried not to laugh.
Things were different, now. Who knew what was going to happen in the future. Maybe Ron would come into her coffee shop more often?