![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
FIC: Pumpkin Lattes
Stupid LJ! Or possibly stupid Firefox browser, I'm not sure which. LJ didn't save the post I started last night (even though it was auto-saved), so I had to do it all over again, plus the rich text editor doesn't seem to be available for new posts, although I can access it when I edit my older posts. I hope this is only a temporary glitch, because I suck at html formatting. Anyhow, here's the story, no thanks to LJ! >_<
Title: Pumpkin Lattes
Rating: PG
Pairing: Snape/Lupin, Ash/Tsubasa
Word count: ~1,465
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: Scars, and the non-Snupin story Ash's Wand
Summary: Set in October of the school year following the end of Scars. This story came about after I bought a pumpkin latte at the local coffee shop, and I started wondering if the wizarding world would welcome the equivalent of Starbucks.
***
"This is it," Lupin said to Snape as they paused outside the door of the Full Moon Cafe. They had been invited to the grand opening of Diagon Alley's newest shop by Lukas, who had provided the capital for it with some of the money he had inherited as the head of the Diggory family. Some of the werewolves still had trouble finding work, even with the new laws protecting their rights, and they had gotten the idea to run their own business and open a coffee shop.
"It's rather crowded," Snape observed with a hint of distaste, but also surprise. He hadn't expected a werewolf-run business to do so well, given the prejudice that was still rampant in the wizarding world. But the shop was filled mainly with wizards and witches in their late teens and early to mid-twenties, and the younger generation was a little less bigoted than their elders. Snape let out a little snort of amusement as he thought of the current crop of Hogwarts students, who adored their werewolf teachers.
"Professor Snape, Remus--over here!" Tsubasa called, waving at them from across the room; Ash was sitting next to him. Snape and Lupin managed to make their way through the crowd, with Lupin offering apologies whenever they accidentally bumped into someone. Snape found it more effective to put a fierce scowl on his face and watch the crowd hastily part in front of him. They finally made it over to Tsubasa's table and sank with relief into two empty chairs.
"We saved you a table since we figured it would be crowded," Ash said with a wolfish grin. "Although I didn't really expect this many people to show up."
"It's your own fault, my love," Tsubasa laughed. "You're the one who started the coffee craze at the Ministry."
"Well, actually it was Arthur's fault," Ash disagreed. "He was the one who brought in the cappuccino machine."
"But you were the one who got it working," Tsubasa pointed out.
Ash explained that the whole thing had started with Arthur Weasley bringing his latest Muggle toy to the office, some sort of fancy coffee-making machine. Ash had gotten the machine working, and he and Arthur's staff were soon enjoying delicious cups of coffee and espresso--which as far as Snape could figure, was a really strong and concentrated type of coffee. Soon other Ministry staffers were interested in the new coffee drinks, and while Arthur was happy to offer a cup to whomever dropped by, the demand soon far outstripped the supply that Arthur's little machine could handle.
"So Arthur gave me permission to buy and install some machines in the Ministry cafeteria, and I trained the staff on how to use them," Ash continued. "The coffee drinks were a big hit, and the Ministry workers started telling their friends about it, and Tsubasa thought there was enough demand to open up a coffee shop."
"I'd say that there is," Lupin laughed, looking around the crowded shop. "Are you planning to leave the Ministry to work here?"
Ash shook his head. "Brian and Kyra are running the shop, along with a few of the other wolves. Strangely enough, I'm beginning to like my job at the Ministry--well, except for the paperwork, of course. And Matilda is always going on about how important it is to be a role model for lycanthropes everywhere." He snorted and rolled his eyes. "Although if I'm supposed to be a role model for impressionable young werewolves, we're in serious trouble."
"Oh, you're not as much of a rogue as you like to pretend," Lupin said with a smile, and Ash looked a trifle offended, which made Tsubasa laugh.
"Take a look at the menu and see what you'd like," the crane man suggested, but Snape found the array of choices bewildering. What on earth was a caramel machiatto or a mochaccino? And apparently one couldn't even order a straight cup of coffee without having to chose between "Kona" or "Jamaican Blue Mountain" or "House Blend". There was, however, a less confusing choice of pastries, ranging from scones to muffins to brownies and cupcakes. A glass case on the counter displayed a mouthwatering variety of choices.
"Matilda bakes all our desserts," Ash said proudly, following Snape's gaze. "She says she doesn't understand what the big fuss is about these coffee drinks, but she understands pastries."
A slightly harried but still cheerful-looking waitress stopped by their table and asked, "Are you ready to order?"
"I'll have a mocha latte with whipped cream and extra chocolate syrup," Tsubasa replied without hesitation.
"I have no idea what most of these drinks are," Lupin confessed. "What do you recommend?"
"How about a round of pumpkin lattes for the rest of us?" Ash suggested. "It's a special limited-time offering that we're serving only through Halloween."
"That sounds wonderful," Lupin said, and Snape nodded his agreement rather doubtfully. Pumpkin juice was a common drink in the wizarding world, so pumpkin-flavored coffee couldn't really be all that bad...could it?
"And four pumpkin scones as well," Ash told the waitress, who nodded and hurried off before Snape could change his mind.
Despite the crowd, both sitting at tables and picking up drinks to go at the counter, their waitress returned promptly with a plate of scones and four steaming mugs of coffee topped with a generous dollop of whipped cream. There was a dusting of nutmeg over the whipped cream on the pumpkin drinks, and a swirl of chocolate syrup on top of Tsubasa's mocha concoction.
Snape picked up his drink and sniffed cautiously at it. The smell of coffee was rich and strong, overlaid with a deliciously spicy scent of nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon.
Lupin had no qualms about trying his "latte," and immediately took a deep drink, sighing, "Ahhh," in pleasure afterwards, before licking his whipped cream mustache off his upper lip.
Snape took a cautious sip from his own cup. It tasted...well, like a liquid pumpkin pie mixed with coffee. A little strange, but quite tasty, actually. He spread a scone with some Devonshire cream, and took a bite; it was equally delicious.
"Pretty good, huh?" Ash asked as he drank some of his own pumpkin latte.
"It's delicious, Ash," Lupin said enthusiastically.
"Not bad," Snape conceded.
"That's high praise from you, Severus," Lupin laughed.
"Hmph," was all Snape said in reply before taking another sip of his coffee.
"I came up with the idea of the pumpkin lattes," Ash said proudly. "Well, to be honest, I stole the idea from a chain of Muggle coffee shops, but it's new to the wizarding world, at least."
Tsubasa's head was bent over his cup, and he was making muffled chortling noises, and Snape realized that he was trying, not very successfully, to hold back a fit of laughter.
"What is it?" Ash asked suspiciously.
"I'm sorry," Tsubasa gasped, still choking with suppressed laughter. "It's just so funny to see a couple of fierce werewolves sitting around drinking a couple of sugary frou-frou coffee drinks!"
"Well, it might be ironic in Mr. Randolf's case," Snape replied. "But Lupin is about as fierce as a bunny rabbit."
"I'll have you know that I can be very fierce," Lupin said with mock-indignation.
"You?" Snape scoffed. "The one who brings home stray rats and dogs--?"
"You gave me the rat!" Lupin protested.
"And who likes to be scratched behind the ears like a lapdog during the full moon?" Snape continued, without missing a beat.
"Grrr!" Lupin said playfully, baring his teeth.
"Oh, behave yourself and drink your coffee like a good wolf," Snape ordered.
"I will, but only because this latte is so delicious," Lupin said, picking up his mug.
Meanwhile, Ash was glaring at his lover. "That's kind of like the pot calling the kettle black, isn't it, Mister Whipped-cream-and-extra-chocolate-syrup?" he accused.
Tsubasa smiled serenely and took a sip of his drink. "But I am one of the crane folk," he said sweetly, fluttering his eyelashes. "We are expected to be graceful and beautiful and elegant. No one expects us to be fierce."
"Not fierce?" Ash snorted. "Aren't you the same guy who chopped a bunch of Inferi into mincemeat and ran Imogen Macnair through with a sword?"
"I didn't say that I wasn't fierce," Tsubasa said, still smiling sweetly. "Just that it wasn't expected of me."
"You're impossible," Ash sighed in exasperation.
"But beautiful," Tsubasa added with a grin.
"We both seem to have impossible mates," Snape commiserated with Ash.
Ash laughed and raised his mug. "To impossible mates!"
"And pumpkin lattes!" Lupin chimed in, and the four of them laughed and clinked their mugs together.
THE END.
ETA: Okay, so now rich text is back, after I'm done posting the fic--argh!
"This is it," Lupin said to Snape as they paused outside the door of the Full Moon Cafe. They had been invited to the grand opening of Diagon Alley's newest shop by Lukas, who had provided the capital for it with some of the money he had inherited as the head of the Diggory family. Some of the werewolves still had trouble finding work, even with the new laws protecting their rights, and they had gotten the idea to run their own business and open a coffee shop.
"It's rather crowded," Snape observed with a hint of distaste, but also surprise. He hadn't expected a werewolf-run business to do so well, given the prejudice that was still rampant in the wizarding world. But the shop was filled mainly with wizards and witches in their late teens and early to mid-twenties, and the younger generation was a little less bigoted than their elders. Snape let out a little snort of amusement as he thought of the current crop of Hogwarts students, who adored their werewolf teachers.
"Professor Snape, Remus--over here!" Tsubasa called, waving at them from across the room; Ash was sitting next to him. Snape and Lupin managed to make their way through the crowd, with Lupin offering apologies whenever they accidentally bumped into someone. Snape found it more effective to put a fierce scowl on his face and watch the crowd hastily part in front of him. They finally made it over to Tsubasa's table and sank with relief into two empty chairs.
"We saved you a table since we figured it would be crowded," Ash said with a wolfish grin. "Although I didn't really expect this many people to show up."
"It's your own fault, my love," Tsubasa laughed. "You're the one who started the coffee craze at the Ministry."
"Well, actually it was Arthur's fault," Ash disagreed. "He was the one who brought in the cappuccino machine."
"But you were the one who got it working," Tsubasa pointed out.
Ash explained that the whole thing had started with Arthur Weasley bringing his latest Muggle toy to the office, some sort of fancy coffee-making machine. Ash had gotten the machine working, and he and Arthur's staff were soon enjoying delicious cups of coffee and espresso--which as far as Snape could figure, was a really strong and concentrated type of coffee. Soon other Ministry staffers were interested in the new coffee drinks, and while Arthur was happy to offer a cup to whomever dropped by, the demand soon far outstripped the supply that Arthur's little machine could handle.
"So Arthur gave me permission to buy and install some machines in the Ministry cafeteria, and I trained the staff on how to use them," Ash continued. "The coffee drinks were a big hit, and the Ministry workers started telling their friends about it, and Tsubasa thought there was enough demand to open up a coffee shop."
"I'd say that there is," Lupin laughed, looking around the crowded shop. "Are you planning to leave the Ministry to work here?"
Ash shook his head. "Brian and Kyra are running the shop, along with a few of the other wolves. Strangely enough, I'm beginning to like my job at the Ministry--well, except for the paperwork, of course. And Matilda is always going on about how important it is to be a role model for lycanthropes everywhere." He snorted and rolled his eyes. "Although if I'm supposed to be a role model for impressionable young werewolves, we're in serious trouble."
"Oh, you're not as much of a rogue as you like to pretend," Lupin said with a smile, and Ash looked a trifle offended, which made Tsubasa laugh.
"Take a look at the menu and see what you'd like," the crane man suggested, but Snape found the array of choices bewildering. What on earth was a caramel machiatto or a mochaccino? And apparently one couldn't even order a straight cup of coffee without having to chose between "Kona" or "Jamaican Blue Mountain" or "House Blend". There was, however, a less confusing choice of pastries, ranging from scones to muffins to brownies and cupcakes. A glass case on the counter displayed a mouthwatering variety of choices.
"Matilda bakes all our desserts," Ash said proudly, following Snape's gaze. "She says she doesn't understand what the big fuss is about these coffee drinks, but she understands pastries."
A slightly harried but still cheerful-looking waitress stopped by their table and asked, "Are you ready to order?"
"I'll have a mocha latte with whipped cream and extra chocolate syrup," Tsubasa replied without hesitation.
"I have no idea what most of these drinks are," Lupin confessed. "What do you recommend?"
"How about a round of pumpkin lattes for the rest of us?" Ash suggested. "It's a special limited-time offering that we're serving only through Halloween."
"That sounds wonderful," Lupin said, and Snape nodded his agreement rather doubtfully. Pumpkin juice was a common drink in the wizarding world, so pumpkin-flavored coffee couldn't really be all that bad...could it?
"And four pumpkin scones as well," Ash told the waitress, who nodded and hurried off before Snape could change his mind.
Despite the crowd, both sitting at tables and picking up drinks to go at the counter, their waitress returned promptly with a plate of scones and four steaming mugs of coffee topped with a generous dollop of whipped cream. There was a dusting of nutmeg over the whipped cream on the pumpkin drinks, and a swirl of chocolate syrup on top of Tsubasa's mocha concoction.
Snape picked up his drink and sniffed cautiously at it. The smell of coffee was rich and strong, overlaid with a deliciously spicy scent of nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon.
Lupin had no qualms about trying his "latte," and immediately took a deep drink, sighing, "Ahhh," in pleasure afterwards, before licking his whipped cream mustache off his upper lip.
Snape took a cautious sip from his own cup. It tasted...well, like a liquid pumpkin pie mixed with coffee. A little strange, but quite tasty, actually. He spread a scone with some Devonshire cream, and took a bite; it was equally delicious.
"Pretty good, huh?" Ash asked as he drank some of his own pumpkin latte.
"It's delicious, Ash," Lupin said enthusiastically.
"Not bad," Snape conceded.
"That's high praise from you, Severus," Lupin laughed.
"Hmph," was all Snape said in reply before taking another sip of his coffee.
"I came up with the idea of the pumpkin lattes," Ash said proudly. "Well, to be honest, I stole the idea from a chain of Muggle coffee shops, but it's new to the wizarding world, at least."
Tsubasa's head was bent over his cup, and he was making muffled chortling noises, and Snape realized that he was trying, not very successfully, to hold back a fit of laughter.
"What is it?" Ash asked suspiciously.
"I'm sorry," Tsubasa gasped, still choking with suppressed laughter. "It's just so funny to see a couple of fierce werewolves sitting around drinking a couple of sugary frou-frou coffee drinks!"
"Well, it might be ironic in Mr. Randolf's case," Snape replied. "But Lupin is about as fierce as a bunny rabbit."
"I'll have you know that I can be very fierce," Lupin said with mock-indignation.
"You?" Snape scoffed. "The one who brings home stray rats and dogs--?"
"You gave me the rat!" Lupin protested.
"And who likes to be scratched behind the ears like a lapdog during the full moon?" Snape continued, without missing a beat.
"Grrr!" Lupin said playfully, baring his teeth.
"Oh, behave yourself and drink your coffee like a good wolf," Snape ordered.
"I will, but only because this latte is so delicious," Lupin said, picking up his mug.
Meanwhile, Ash was glaring at his lover. "That's kind of like the pot calling the kettle black, isn't it, Mister Whipped-cream-and-extra-chocolate-syrup?" he accused.
Tsubasa smiled serenely and took a sip of his drink. "But I am one of the crane folk," he said sweetly, fluttering his eyelashes. "We are expected to be graceful and beautiful and elegant. No one expects us to be fierce."
"Not fierce?" Ash snorted. "Aren't you the same guy who chopped a bunch of Inferi into mincemeat and ran Imogen Macnair through with a sword?"
"I didn't say that I wasn't fierce," Tsubasa said, still smiling sweetly. "Just that it wasn't expected of me."
"You're impossible," Ash sighed in exasperation.
"But beautiful," Tsubasa added with a grin.
"We both seem to have impossible mates," Snape commiserated with Ash.
Ash laughed and raised his mug. "To impossible mates!"
"And pumpkin lattes!" Lupin chimed in, and the four of them laughed and clinked their mugs together.
THE END.
ETA: Okay, so now rich text is back, after I'm done posting the fic--argh!
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
You know, with the snape connections maybe Uncle Al (i thinkt hats his name?) would liek a few Werewolf guards...
no subject
Btw, it's Uncle Ali, and that's a great idea! A few fierce werewolves would make great bodyguards, and the young ones would probably enjoy the adventure of traveling all over the world.
no subject