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Tweak says, "Shampoo me."

Neville Francis Longbottom (serpentslayer) wrote in irreparable,
@ 2011-02-24 22:10:00

Entry tags:

hannah abbott, neville longbottom

WHO: Neville, Hannah, Lucy, and GRAN
WHAT: Gran meets Hannah and Lucy
WHEN: Thursday Night
WHERE: Gran's House

Neville had initially planned to have Gran over to his flat, to keep it on his terms, but he couldn't pass up a home-cooked meal and he didn't want to have the added pressure of cooking for her while trying to earn her approval. So, after he got over his reluctance to meet on her turf, he told Hannah about the plans and got dressed in a light sweater Gran ad bought him for Christmas. Maybe it was sucking up, but he thought that it couldn't hurt to be polite.

He sat at the counter in the kitchen, waiting for Hannah to be ready, drinking a glass of chocolate milk for comfort. He really needed Gran to come around and approve of Hannah. He would be miserable if she stayed stubborn on the issue.

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	serpentslayer 2011-02-26 08:54 pm UTC (link)
	"We're not in a war anymore," said Aberforth, who could sympathize with someone wanting to keep their head down. "There are people to do the cleanup, and you did more than your share." Gran still had her eyes trained on Hannah. "I'm going to work on Herbology," Neville continued. "Expand the rare plant supply business I've been doing on the side." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

h_abbott
2011-02-26 09:24 pm UTC (link)

Hannah was riled up just enough to resist the overwhelming urge to back down. While she would step aside if she absolutely had to for Neville's sake, it would be a motion made out of love and a desire for the most happiness in his life. But right then, right there, the lack of vocalized support on his Gran's part seemed a direct contrast to what would make Neville happy in the present. Even without Lucy and Hannah in the picture, Neville had reasons to want to retire from being an Auror. Hannah couldn't understand the woman not supporting that outright.

She only glanced to the side to watch Neville as he talked and to give Lucy another spoon of spaghetti. She, otherwise, was quite content to hold her head up and talk. It was much, much easier to ignore nerves when a hint of temper mixed with caring. "And I'm going to continue working at The Leaky Cauldron, of course."

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	serpentslayer 2011-02-26 09:48 pm UTC (link)
	"Your mother was always good with plants," Augusta finally said, taking her eyes off of Hannah for the first time since Aberforth had served dinner. "You get that from her. I can't keep a petunia alive, I'm afraid." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	h_abbott 2011-02-26 09:56 pm UTC (link)
	"He was always the best with Herbology at Hogwarts. Some of the flowers he has now are r-" Lucy decided to cut Hannah off and chimed in with an echo of, "Flower!" As tense as Hannah had been, the seeming final approval of the new career path combined with Lucy's little outburst was enough to make her crack a bit of a smile and relax. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	serpentslayer 2011-02-26 10:01 pm UTC (link)
	Even Gran couldn't help but smile at that. Neville laughed out of relief. "I'm going to have to start looking for a place for a bigger greenhouse," he added. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

h_abbott
2011-02-26 10:14 pm UTC (link)

Hannah grinned as Neville laughed, unable to help herself. She loved hearing him laugh, even if it was just out of relief in a tense situation.

She then turned her attention back to Lucy. "Does Mr. Bear want more spaghetti? Or does Lucy?" Hannah spoke quietly to her daughter, giving her another spoonful of the saucy noodles and feeling rather pleased to see how well Lucy was taking to the food. It wasn't Hannah's sauce, after all, and Lucy didn't always go along with unfamiliar foods. It was an added relief to the night as a whole.

She took the opportunity of Lucy eating a bite to snatch a bite off of her own plate for herself. When she was finished chewing and swallowing, she added, "And I'm sure there's something out there that will be a fit."

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serpentslayer
2011-02-26 10:20 pm UTC (link)

They ate quietly for a few minutes, everyone content to eat and watch Lucy be genuinely adorable. Of course, Augusta wasn't a woman who could hold her tongue when she had something to say and eventually she lost the battle of self control.

"I will be honest with you, Hannah. I don't much approve of having children outside of marriage."

"Augusta," Aberforth said, trying to interfere.

"No, let me finish. When Neville asked for his mother's ring I told him no, that he was making a mistake. And then he told me a few things I have never heard out of his mouth since he was born. He reminded me an awful lot of his father in that moment. He's finally a man and not a boy and if loves you and trusts you then I have to have faith that you're a good woman, even if I don't agree with all of your choices."

"That said, if you hurt him, you will want to watch over your shoulder."

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h_abbott
2011-02-26 10:37 pm UTC (link)

"I could never hurt him." Hannah answered immediately and honestly, meeting the woman's gaze straight-on at the mention of it. While it all was news to her, and somewhat upsetting due to the fact Neville hadn't told her before coming into the dinner, it was almost a bit of a relief to have it out. Finally, she could address this woman's issues with her.

"While I have made some mistakes in my past, I've learned from those mistakes and become a better person for it. I do love your grandson and I care greatly about him and his happiness - and I know he loves me even though I've made mistakes. Lucy also loves and adores him. While I can't express how much I appreciate you putting that trust in his judgment in relation to me, I have one slightly selfish thing to ask on that note. I hope that, eventually, both of you would be open to and comfortable with the idea of him and I together and with the idea of having Lucy around as a granddaughter. I don't want to take him away from what family he has or have you any less involved in his life. I would like this to stay a family - just extend it a little. You would also both, of course, be welcome to meet my parents long before the ceremony if you would like." And now it was all out on the line.

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	serpentslayer 2011-02-26 11:26 pm UTC (link)
	"Is Neville officially adopting her?" Gran asked. She saw no point in keeping Lucy's birth father as her legal father. He wasn't much help to her now. "Yes, mam," Neville said. "She's going to be my daughter. Completely." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

h_abbott
2011-02-26 11:46 pm UTC (link)

Hannah couldn't help but feel a certain sense of pride in hearing Neville say that with such a lack of hesitation on his part. She knew that he loved Lucy like a daughter and had for a long time. "She's already as good as your daughter."

Then she glanced toward Augusta Longbottom, "But we have discussed and taken the steps to get the legal documents to start the process. I wanted to meet you first, though, and for you to meet myself and Lucy."

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serpentslayer
2011-02-27 05:16 pm UTC (link)

"When are you two thinking of having the wedding?" Aberforth asked.

Neville shrugged, "Dunno. Right now we have some things to get in order before we worry about dates."

"People always wait to get their lives the way they want them before they get married," he said, his tone indicating that he found the idea ridiculous. Of course, he wasn't married, so he wasn't really talking from experience, "You're getting married, shouldn't that be one of those things you want to set with your life? You don't have to be perfect before you get married."

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h_abbott
2011-02-27 06:50 pm UTC (link)

For a man talking with absolutely no experience, his words seemed awfully true to Hannah. Still, so many things immediately popped into Hannah's mind at the very idea of getting married anytime soon. Winchester, planning the actual wedding, Neville's business aspirations, having enough to pay for the wedding without taking a dent into their financial situation (which Hannah still wasn't terribly sure on) -

"The friend I have helping me figure out wedding planning details is a professional Quidditch player and a new mum, so she's a bit busy. Even if we set a date, I'm not quite sure what I'm doing and it would probably have to be awhile off anyhow." It wasn't arguing or even patronizing Aberforth's comment, simply stating a simple fact. Hannah had no idea what she was doing. She didn't remark that she shouldn't really be running about to do errands relating to a wedding due to Winchester being about, but that was because - honestly - Hannah had no intentions of paying any heed to that regardless. If they decided to get married a day or a year from then and Winchester wasn't caught, her reaction was going to be the same.

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serpentslayer
2011-02-27 07:43 pm UTC (link)

Neville figured he had better tell Gran no than have her find out through the grapevine and so he took a long drink of water before plucking up the courage to speak. "Hannah and Lucy have moved in since the Azkaban Break-Out," he said. "It's just not safe to be at the Leaky Cauldron, considering that I already arrested Winchester once trying to get into her flat."

"Well that's nice," Augusta said, much to Neville's surprise. Aberforth raised his eyebrows at Neville. "You've got space," she went on, "With that extra guest bedroom all made up."

Neville couldn't tell if Aberforth was choking or laughing. Neville just decided to let Gran assume what she would about their sleeping arrangements.

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h_abbott
2011-02-27 08:26 pm UTC (link)

Even if there were wrong assumptions on sleeping arrangements, Hannah saw no need to correct that and find herself back on the woman's bad side. She and Neville had technically never had sex - they just slept next to each other and snogged... aggressively... on occasion. But still, that was their business.

"Hopefully Winchester will be caught sooner rather than later. We won't skip getting married if she isn't, but I'd feel a bit safer with things if I knew she was -" Hannah continued to feed Lucy a few more bites, ignoring Aberforth's choking - or laughing.

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	serpentslayer 2011-02-27 08:29 pm UTC (link)
	"Aberforth, dear, drink some water," Augusta said. Neville was starting to think, though, that it was indeed laughter. "This is delicious, Gran," he said as he finished off his plate and grabbed another slice of garlic bread. "Thank you, Neville." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

h_abbott
2011-02-27 08:40 pm UTC (link)

Hannah wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh or not at the whole matter, so she figured it was time to duck down again and hope things would go smoothly from there on out.

"It is. Lucy rarely takes so well to someone else's cooking, either." Hannah added quietly after a moment. Lucy, of course, chose that moment to reach for her cup instead of taking the bite of spaghetti Hannah offered her. Granted, most of the spaghetti Hannah had set aside for Lucy was gone. Hannah simply sat the spoon back down and went about having a bit of time for her to eat. Neville had finished his plate and Hannah had taken two bites.

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	serpentslayer 2011-02-27 09:04 pm UTC (link)
	Neville scooted his chair over to take over feeding Lucy. "Before your food gets cold," he said, taking the baby spoon. If he was going to be her father, he should start pitching in taking care of Lucy. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

h_abbott
2011-02-27 09:23 pm UTC (link)

Hannah gave Neville a rather grateful - and admittedly loving - look. While Lucy and acceptance of Lucy was a huge part of Hannah, it hadn't been the only way he had won her over. Still, his willingness to help out - even before they were dating - was something she still couldn't completely wrap her mind around. "Thank you."

She went about eating without any further urging, taking care to use proper manners. She didn't want to inhale it.

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	serpentslayer 2011-02-27 09:33 pm UTC (link)
	Neville watched Lucy carefully as he fed her. Hannah had chopped up most of the spaghetti and so it didn't take much work, just patience, to feed her. Gran started summoning Neville and Aberforth's empty plates. "We have coffee and strawberry shortcake when dinner is cleaned up." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

h_abbott
2011-02-27 10:06 pm UTC (link)

As much as Hannah enjoyed baking, she didn't get a lot of time for it. Even with Baxter's Bakery nearby, she generally couldn't find validation to go there and buy a lot. It was easier on the budget to bake things herself. Thus, what little she baked was usually healthy along the mentality of banana bread. The last time she had probably had strawberry shortcake was when she was little. The idea was, surprisingly, quite appealing.

She finished up her own plate rather quickly by eating instead of talking. When she was done, she turned to Augusta Longbottom and made a somewhat risky offer - hoping that the meaning behind the action would be caught. "Would you like any help?" Hannah hoped her tone and expression during the offer would make it clear that she was offering to be polite and helpful, and not out of any illusion that help was actually needed. The other woman could use magic and do it just as well on her own as she could with an extra set of hands helping.

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serpentslayer
2011-02-27 10:14 pm UTC (link)

Augusta looked around the table. "If you could bring the leftovers into the kitchen, we can box them up."

Aberforth stacked the plates while Neville wiped Lucy's face with a cloth napkin. Augusta levitated the dirty dishes ahead of her down the hall and Aberforth decided it was time for guy-talk.

"If you ever need any tips, I know a thing or two," he said. Luckily Neville didn't get it, or he would have been mortified.

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h_abbott
2011-02-27 10:33 pm UTC (link)

Hannah got up and happily obliged with helping bring the leftovers into the kitchen, quite pleased that her offer had been taken up. It meant the woman understood the meaning behind it or else intended to have another word with her in private. Hannah figured - and hoped - it would be the former. Still, either way, she was surprisingly happy with the turn that things had taken as a whole. Plus, helping with food items put her back into her own element, in a way. She was rather used to it.

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	serpentslayer 2011-02-27 10:45 pm UTC (link)
	Augusta didn't say much to Hannah while they worked. She was just backing down from her defensive mode and she didn't have any nice things stored up in her cache for Hannah. She kept it quiet and civil and then got the strawberries and whipped cream out of the icebox. "The cake is in that box," she said. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

h_abbott
2011-02-27 11:00 pm UTC (link)

Hannah was quite content not to get any sudden compliments. She would've registered them as fake, anyhow, after everything. She was simply thrilled not to be getting any insults.

She wordlessly, carefully, got the cake out of the box and levitated it onto a serving plate. Whenever the two were facing each other, Hannah would smile. She wasn't expecting instant acceptance - but a slow acceptance seemed possible.

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	serpentslayer 2011-02-28 12:13 am UTC (link)
	The four ate dessert and drank decaf coffee and when Lucy was falling asleep on them, Neville said goodnight to Gran and took Hannah and Lucy home. Neville put Lucy down to sleep in her crib before coming back to the bedroom to talk to Hannah. He was generally pleased with the night-- relieved really. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)