Tea and Misery
Neville sat beneath the clouded sky, his head hanging low and hands clenched before him. Beside him sat a plate of food that had been forced upon him by Mrs Weasley just after his arrival. The wind swayed the trees above him, and the birds noisily played among the leaves. He heard the soft crunch of approaching feet and lifted his eyes to them. He frowned as he took in the dark blonde hair of Hannah Abbott.
"Hannah?" He said, shocked. "I didn't know you were here?"
"Yeah," she shrugged, "It looks like all the DA was invited," they both looked around as she said this. Neville's eyes landed on Cho Chang, Seamus Finnigan, and Padma Patil, just to name a few. A small smile formed on his face.
"Well, it's really good to see you," he said softly, then cleared his throat. "Will you sit down?" he gestured to the spare seat next to him, moving the untouched plate of turkey and baked vegetables. Hannah smiled, taking a seat before leaning closer and answering.
"It's good to see you too."
They talked for hours. Every now and then their chatter was interrupted by the arrival of a friend or the conversation of a peer. Neville's smile grew larger, brighter, and by the end of the night it came so easily he could not remember why he had been so...
"Mopey."
"What?" Neville said, looking at Hannah.
"That's why I came over. You just looked really mopey. I mean, it's Thanksgiving for goodness sake!" She chuckled, throwing her hands into the air. "And you were over here frowning like the world was about to end." Neville shook his head.
"No, I wasn't," he argued.
"Yes, you were. Ask anyone!" They chuckled together, both of their cheeks reddening as they realised how close they had shifted together over the course of the night. After a few moments of silence, Hannah spoke, tucking a stray stand of hair behind her ear.
"You're a bit like the Giant Squid, you know. All mysterious and lonely, but you'll still let strangers come up and tickle you if you're in the right mood." Neville brow came together as he gave her an amused but confused smile.
"Weird analogy, but I'll take it." Taking a few deep breaths, Neville shifted in his seat to face Hannah more directly. Without giving himself enough time to back out, he quickly said, "You wanna go out sometime?"
"Yeah," Hannah smiled, "I'd love to."
Written for:
'the June Event': Hannah Abbott
'HSH': Abbott
the 'If You Dare' Challenge: 95. Lonesome
'12DoC': 2. Two canon fics [1/2]
using the title: Tea and Misery from 'the Title Challenge III'
'Disney CC': Daisy Duck- Write about Hannah Abbott
Words: 427.