The Librarian

AN: This story was written for the 2015 sshg_giftfest at livejournal. (FYI I post as madeleone on LJ) It was a gift for Sabrebabe and was written to her prompts, I will post these prompt at then end of Chapter 6. This is a work of fanfiction. I do not own HP nor do I make any money here.

Many thanks go to my Beta Delphipsith for all her hard work and comma wrangling and also to my alpha reader Morethansirius for her helpful suggestions. You ladies are great!


Chapter 1

After over a decade of waiting for the legalities of Albus Dumbledore's will to be argued over, ad nauseam, by the press, the lawyers, the Ministry, and an endless line of Dumbledore's previously nonexistent relatives, the estate had finally been settled. As per Albus' wishes, his personal library was now the property of Severus Snape.

It had been delivered just this afternoon to Severus' home in Wiltshire. Shortly after the war, while he was still in St. Mungos, his childhood home on Spinners End had burned to the ground. Whether the event had been accidental or intentional was never proven, but Severus had his suspicions. Upon his eventual discharge from the hospital, his old friend Lucius had offered him the use of the dower house at the very edge of the Malfoy estates. The home had sat empty for many years, and while it was no Malfoy Manor, it was indeed a far step up from the two up two down he'd been used to.

Severus had been informed just yesterday to expect delivery this afternoon and in anticipation of such had cleared off an entire section of shelves in his library. The moving crew had come and gone and he sat now staring in utter disbelief. He'd been pleased to be the recipient of Albus' collection, but in reality, he'd been totally unprepared. Instead of the dozen or so cartons he'd expected, every clear bit of floor space was now covered by boxes and crates. They were piled waist high in some places and the overflow bled out into the hallway. He was completely overwhelmed.

Unsure where to start, he Floo-called the manor. The Malfoy library was legendary, Lucius would surely have a suggestion on where to start organizing his acquisition.


Lucius stood in the door of Severus' library, his hand over his mouth as he gazed around the room in awe. "Good lord, Severus, it's unbelievable. Where would one even begin?"

"You're asking me? I was hoping you would have a suggestion," said Severus. "I was expecting a few crates, nothing like this. I don't have time to sort through all of this on my own or to do a proper job of it."

"I understand." Lucius, donning gloves, cautiously lifted a faded parchment, examining it with interest. "Some of the oldest books and scrolls will need to be handled with extreme care, you can't just be flicking your wand and sending them about willy-nilly. I'd imagine some may need a bit of restoration as well. This task calls for someone with special skills."

"I agree, I just don't know who." Severus shoved a few crates to the side to get to the liquor cabinet in the corner to pour them each a drink. Merlin knew he needed one. He handed one to Lucius and they both surveyed the room, each lost in his own thoughts. After several minutes of silent contemplation, Severus spoke, "I suppose I could contact Minerva and find out what Irma has been up to since she retired. Perhaps she'd be willing to assist."

Lucius frowned. "No offense to Madam Pince, but Dumbledore's is a very complex collection of magical works. I think you're going to need someone with strong magic, someone with the specific skills necessary to deal with the job. Some of these books..." he paused to eye a couple of the crates that were not only nailed shut but bound tightly with a multitude of chains and magical padlocks… "will need extremely careful handling and powerful magic to keep them in line, and someone with the experience to handle the job."

"Irma spent years as the Hogwarts librarian. I'd say she has had plenty of experience," objected Severus.

"And as I said, no offense intended, but the bulk of the Hogwarts library was already in place when she got the job. She didn't have to build it or organize it from scratch, she was more of a custodian. Also, I've no doubt that some of the books here in Albus' collection contain extremely dark material, things the likes of which Madame Pince never encountered in a school library—even in the restricted section. You need someone who can sort through it all and wrangle even the most difficult books in the collection."

Severus eyed Lucius speculatively. "So you do know someone."

"Not personally," replied Lucius, "but I have heard very good things about a librarian and book restorer in northern Scotland. She's something of a recluse though. It's said that she keeps to herself, refuses to have anything at all to do with the Ministry or wizarding society, lives among Muggles, in fact." He gave Severus a smirk. "Sounds to me as if the two of you would get along famously. However, in spite of all this, she's said to be the best of the best when it comes to organization and restoration of books of any kind, be it Muggle or Magical. Leonid Markovski couldn't stop singing her praises over the work she did rejuvenating his great grandfather's library."

"Markovski? I don't think I know him," replied Severus.

"Bulgarian—a distant relative of the Krum's, I believe," said Lucius. "She's a witch, but she works for Muggles, too, from what I understand: universities, museums and the like. She's in such very high demand that she can afford to pick and choose which jobs she takes on, and she only takes the jobs that interest her. At the risk of repeating myself, she does sound remarkably like someone else I know," Lucius said, looking pointedly at Severus. "Still, I can't imagine that having the chance to muck about with Dumbledore's collection wouldn't be an enormous draw for her."

"And what might this paragon's name be?" inquired Severus.

"I honestly don't know. That's what's odd about the whole thing, you see. The card Leonid Owled me simply says 'The Librarian' at The Bibliothecary's Corner, 1313 Pennywhistle Lane, Thurso."

"That's rather cryptic, don't you think?"

"Oh, yes indeed, old friend, I do. A mystery in need of solving. Don't you agree?"


Hermione stood inside the doorway of the Dancing Goat. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting inside the pub before she spotted Harry and Ron waving at her from a table near the back. She'd been looking forward to tonight, yet dreading it as well. They were her oldest friends, but sometimes Hermione felt that with each passing year they drifted further apart. They were lucky these days if they could manage to get together even once or twice a year. Shaking off the feeling of sadness, Hermione plastered a smile on her face and hurried over to greet her friends.

Moments later, after exchanging a bone-crushing hug with each of the 'boys', Hermione settled into the chair between them.

"You're late," accused Ron, the grin on his face revealed he was teasing.

"Late?" Hermione looked at her watch. "I'm not late. In fact, I'm fifteen minutes early," she said with a laugh.

"Well, maybe it just feels like you're late because we came early ourselves," said Harry with a grin. "I guess we were just anxious to see you. It's been much too long, Hermione. "

"Yeah," agreed Ron. "Nearly a year it's been now. We'd have seen you in December, if you hadn't canceled on us over the holidays..."

"I explained then, that is my busiest time of year, I just couldn't get away," Hermione defended herself. Although truthfully she could have, but she'd chosen not to.

"Let's not hash that over now. As I was saying, we stopped by your shop but instead of surprising you, we found Luna there. She said you were working from home today. Since your business is a bookshop, I don't quite understand how that works. Care to explain?" asked Harry.

"And I thought you lived in the apartment behind the shop, but Luna said she's living there now and you've moved to a house outside of town. You didn't even tell us, Hermione," complained Ron.

"We had no idea Luna was even working for you either," added Harry.

"Yeah, what's that all about? Do you honestly think that's a good idea, Hermione?" asked Ron.

Hermione glared at him. "What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, it's just that she's—you know—Luna. She was a little strange to begin with and since that accident in the Department of Mysteries, she's even more odd. I heard that she lost most of her magic altogether and now she's little better than a Squib."

Hermione counted to ten in her head, then had to take a deep breath and repeat the exercise twice more before she spoke, else she'd probably have hexed Ron a good one. "Ronald Weasley, you'd better keep a civil tongue in your head in regards to Luna, or you'll answer to me. She's my best friend. For years she was the rising star in the Charms division of the DOM, then after the accident they threw her out like she was yesterday's trash. They didn't even try to help her, and I'll never forgive the Ministry for that."

Her wand hand was twitching. Harry leaned over and gently laid his hand over hers before he spoke in a calming tone. "Hermione, we both like Luna. Ron didn't mean anything by what he said, you know he still tends to spout off without thinking first."

"Harry's right, Hermione. I'm sorry," said Ron, looking guilty. "I do like Luna and I really didn't mean any harm. Merlin knows none of us are fans of the Ministry either. I was just worried with so many of your customers being Muggles that Luna might be a little too wacky for them. It might scare your business away." Ron stood and reached over to squeeze her shoulder in a conciliatory gesture. "I'm going to go grab us a round, be right back."

Hermione sighed, her gaze following Ron. "I probably shouldn't have jumped down his throat. It's just that I'm a little touchy when it comes to Luna. She may be a little odd, but that's part of her charm. She's also one of the kindest people I've ever known. And more importantly, she was there for me when no one else was. I'll do anything to protect her—to help her."

Harry looked away, unable to meet her eyes for a moment. "I'm sorry I haven't been around much, Hermione. Not just back then, but even now. I know I haven't been a very good friend. You were my Luna, you stood by me through the toughest times anyone could go through. When it all ended I was so ready to get on with my life I just sort of left you behind. I guess I assumed that you'd be fine. You were always so strong, Hermione. I just didn't realize how bad it was for you."

"Oh, Harry, hush. It wasn't my intention to lay some kind of guilt trip on you." Hermione's face flushed with embarrassment. She really hadn't been fishing for sympathy—the past was the past and she'd learned to deal with it in her own ways.

After the war, Harry and Ron had jumped into life with both feet and never looked back. They'd both handled the publicity with aplomb, soaking up the adoration of the public. Hermione, on the other hand, had hated the attention and the crowds had triggered her panic attacks. To make matters worse, she'd found herself at loose ends without the boys to look after. She'd been devastated to discover that she would never be able to restore her parents' memories and had had to return to England without them. On top of all that, there were her nightmares and flashbacks of the war.

Meanwhile the boys had both simply gone on with their lives as if the past were just a distant memory.

They'd given up the idea of becoming Aurors. Ron chose to work with his brother, George, who, still grieving over Fred's death, had needed the support of his little brother. Harry'd had enough of fighting Dark Wizards to last him a lifetime and had jumped at the chance to play Quidditch professionally.

"I do feel like you and Ron and I have drifted apart over the years," admitted Hermione softly. "I don't like it; it makes me sad. Please promise me we'll all try harder to stay in touch. I don't ever want to lose your friendship."

Ron set their round of drinks on the table and bent down to drop a kiss on the top of Hermione's head. "That'll never happen, love. We may be inconsiderate clods most of the time, but we aren't completely stupid. You're too good a friend to lose. I reckon Harry and I know we need to try harder, and we will. I still wish you hadn't moved so far away from us though."

"After helping her move four times since she came back to live in the wizarding world, first to Edinburgh, then to Aberdeen, then Inverness, then here, I wondered if she'd ever settle down. I don't think she could have found anywhere further away than she is now," teased Harry. "She's settled here the longest of them all, so this must be home."

Hermione smiled weakly and bit her lip. She didn't have the heart to tell Harry that she had given serious consideration to the Orkneys. Kirkwall had seemed to call to her somehow, a nice island town isolated from the rest of the world. But she'd settled here in the most northerly town in mainland Scotland instead. The truth was, after living here nearly three years, she still occasionally got that unsettled feeling and the urge to move on. She had to admit, such thoughts came less frequently since Luna had moved in permanently and was basically running the shop. Having Luna around just seemed to ground her—it made her feel more real. Plus, she didn't have to deal with the public and she had more time to devote to expanding her consulting business, which she hadn't even told the boys about. Yet another sign of how distant she'd become from the two of them.

"Well, it's home for now, since I'm fairly sure Luna's going to stick around. I don't think she'll be going anywhere now that Blaise has moved in with her."

"Blaise? As in Zabini, that slick-talking Slytherin bastard?" demanded Ron.

"What is Luna doing back with him?" asked Harry.

"Really you two, don't tell me you're still harboring school yard grudges. You both know Blaise and Luna were together for years. It's true, she tried to push him away after her accident, but luckily he's proved what an intelligent wizard he is. He wasn't having any part of that and wouldn't give up on her. Thank, Merlin." Hermione paused to take a sip of her drink. "I'll admit I had my doubts about him back in the beginning. But he adores Luna, and I've seen the proof of that. I'm glad he's here, he's my friend too, just as much as Luna. Blaise can work on his research anywhere, so he's going to stay here and help Luna run the bookshop, and I hope eventually they'll buy me out."

Harry and Ron both looked shocked by her statement. "Buy you out? Hermione, please tell me you aren't planning on moving even farther away," moaned Ron, clearly thinking back to her earlier comment about here being 'home for now.'

"But if you sold the shop, what would you do?" asked Harry, a worried look on his face.

"Remember earlier, you asked me how I could be working from home? Well, I really was. I haven't told either of you about it before, but I've been doing some consulting work on the side for years and it's actually turned into something I quite enjoy."


Severus sat in a cafe across the street from The Bibliothecary's Corner. He'd had lunch and had been observing the Muggle bookshop for a while. He'd noted while watching the shop that while it hadn't been overrun with customers, there had been a steady flow. For a smaller sized town, she did a fair amount of business; it seemed the shop was well established and frequented by locals as well as tourists.

When he'd turned over the card from Lucius' acquaintance, Mr Markovski, he'd found an interesting magical addendum: 'No Apparition allowed into the main (Muggle) shop. Floo access is available during regular business hours via our magical branch, The Half-Blood Prints: (located next door). Contact the Librarian to schedule appointments regarding private consultations.'

At first he'd been furious at the audacity of this bloody 'Librarian' choosing that name for the magical branch of her bookshop. After a bit of teasing from Lucius, however, he'd actually managed a good chuckle over it—something he would never reveal to her, of course. It was rather clever, after all.

He could see that the storefront next door to The Bibliothecary's Corner appeared to be vacant. Obviously this was The Half-Blood Prints. He'd also noticed on two separate occasions, someone approach the empty shop then slip quietly down a narrow alley between that building and the next, not to return until some time later. He assumed, for those who knew about it, that there was a physical entrance to the magical bookshop down there, in addition to the Floo.

He tried to imagine what she must be like, this Librarian person. He pictured her older than Minerva, maybe a peer of Madam Marchbanks' generation, probably a female version of Albus. He shuddered at the mental image. Well, as long as she had the experience and strength of magic to get the job done he wouldn't care if she turned out to be a cross between Sybil Trelawney and Grawp.

He could have made an appointment, probably should have, but he'd been curious to learn more about this mysterious Librarian before he entrusted her with his precious new collection. So many things seemed off to him. For example, why had she chosen such a remote location to establish her business? It would have been more logical to choose a larger city, London, or perhaps Edinburgh or Glasgow, if staying in Scotland were her goal. And why try to service both the Muggle and the magical communities? Surely it would be less complicated to choose one or the other. Most curious of all, why was she so cryptic about her identity? If she was as good as Markovski reported, why not put her name out there and build on that shining reputation? His past had taught him to trust his instincts, and his instincts were screaming at him to proceed with caution.

Glancing across the street, he noted that the lunch crowd traffic had slowed, so, finishing his tea, he decided it was time to make contact with his enigma.

Severus entered the shop and looked around. He'd been right—it appeared to be empty of customers just now, unless there were stragglers up on the first floor. He spied a clerk cleaning up the children's section. A tall, slender blonde whom he was sure couldn't be the Librarian, as she was much too young. She did have a very nice arse, though, he noted as she bent to pick up several books scattered on the floor. A little skinny for his tastes, but noteworthy to say the least.

"Professor Snape, please tell me you aren't ogling my fiancée's very fine arse."

Severus spun around to see Blaise Zabini standing at the top of the stairway leading to the upper lever of the bookshop. "Mr Zabini, this is indeed a surprise. I certainly didn't expect to find you here in the back of beyond."

"Nor I you, sir," Blaise replied, descending to shake his hand in greeting. "And Blaise is fine, I haven't been your student for a good many years. And were you ogling her arse, sir?"

"I had no idea you were engaged and of course I wasn't ogling her... err...anything. I'm looking for the proprietor, actually."

"Luna and I have been together for a long time but our actual engagement is quite recent and we've kept it all fairly private so far." Blaise turned toward the children's section and called her over. "Sweetheart, look who's here."

Luna turned and a huge smile lit up her face. As she hurried over, Severus noted she appeared even more ethereal than she had years ago at Hogwarts, as delicate as if the slightest bump might shatter her. He seemed to recall hearing a rumor from Lucius about an incident in the Department of Mysteries, something about a spell gone rogue. He couldn't help but remember how the girl's mother had died in an eerily similar circumstance. It appeared that Miss Lovegood was still affected by her own incident even now, well over a year later, but at least she was still alive.

"Oh, Professor, it's so very good to see you, sir. What brings you to our little corner of the world?" Instead of shaking the hand he offered, she pulled him in for a hug. Severus froze for a moment, unsure how to respond to such an enthusiastic display—he was Severus Snape, for Merlin's sake—people, especially former students, did not hug him. Finally he awkwardly patted her on the back before stepping away.

"Actually I'm looking for the Librarian," he explained, holding out the business card. "Surely you are not she?"

"No, no I'm not. But she is the owner of The Bibliothecary's Corner," explained Luna. "I've been running the shop for her recently so she's able to pursue her consulting work."

"Is she in today? I don't have an appointment, but it is important that I speak to her."

"Actually, she doesn't come into the office much anymore, now that Luna has me around to help," said Blaise. "She mostly works from home."

"If you would be kind enough to direct me to her home address, then," requested Severus.

"I'm afraid she's taken a few days off for personal reasons," said Luna. "And she doesn't allow clients to come to her home unless it's someone she already knows. Even then, never for the initial appointment."

"My matter is of a somewhat urgent nature," said Severus. "Would it be possible for you to contact her and ask if she'd be willing to meet with me now, even if only briefly, to discuss it?"

"I don't know, sir." said Blaise hesitantly. "She has guests and she was quite specific in her instructions that she did not want to be disturbed, no matter what. I believe her exact words were, 'I don't want to see or hear from either of you unless it's the end of the world or the third coming of Voldemort.'"

"Blaise, wait." Luna put her hand on his arm and for several seconds the two of them seemed to share some sort of silent communication. Finally Luna nodded and said, "Why don't you pop on over and ask her, Blaise? I think there's a good chance she might be interested in speaking with the Professor. After all, the idea of getting a peek at Professor Dumbledore's books would be quite the coup for her."

Severus stared at Luna in disbelief. He had not mentioned his inheritance, and to his knowledge the news had not been released to the public as of yet. "Miss Lovegood, I have no idea what rumors you have heard, but..."

"Oh I've heard nothing, sir, it's just a feeling I have," she responded with a vague smile. "Go ahead and ask her, Blaise. I'll give the professor a tour of the shop while you're gone."


Blaise Apparated to the foot of the path that led to Hermione's house. He paused at the gate for a moment, waiting for the wards to recognize him, then proceeded to the front door. He gave a quick knock, then opened the door and stuck his head in. "Hermione, you here?"

Surprisingly, it wasn't Hermione who met him in the front hallway; it was Harry Potter's irritated gaze, as well as a wand pointed his way.

"Hello, Potter. Fancy meeting you here."

"Zabini," growled Potter. "Do you always just walk into your boss' house?"

"When the boss is also one of my closest friends, yes. And quite honestly, you should be happy that Hermione has friends like Luna and me to be here for her. She's lived a very solitary life for a long time, with very little support from friends."

Harry had the grace to look chastised as he lowered his wand.

"Look, I know she was looking forward to you and Weasley visiting this weekend. I wouldn't bother her if it weren't important, but I do need to speak to her," explained Blaise.

Harry tilted his head toward the back of the house. "Come on back, then. We all stayed up til dawn, tipping back a few and talking about old times, so we had a bit of lie-in this morning. We were just finishing up a late brunch." As Blaise moved to go past him toward the kitchen, Harry grabbed his elbow. "Zabini, I am glad she has close friends. Thanks for being here for her, you and Luna both." Blaise acknowledged Harry with a nod and proceeded toward the back of the house.

"Hermione, Weasley," said Blaise in greeting as he and Harry entered the kitchen.

Hermione jumped to her feet. "Blaise, is Luna..."

"Calm down, Luna is fine, love. In fact, she informed me just this morning that she wants both of us to quit smothering her. She threatened to infiltrate our sock drawers with pifkins in retaliation if we don't."

Hermione chuckled at the threat. "Right, whatever the hell pifkins are. So why are you here?"

"There's someone at the shop who wants to speak to you. He says it's an urgent matter."

"Blaise, I'm in the middle of brunch with the boys. You know I didn't want to be disturbed this weekend."

"It's Professor Snape."

Hermione froze, her coffee cup half way to her lips, her eyes open wide. She blinked several times and set the cup down with care before speaking. "Professor Snape? Goodness, this must be an end-of-the- world scenario then. I can't imagine why he would ever ask to see me."

Blaise snorted. "Considering who he is, it could be the Voldemort one."

Ron blanched. "Don't even joke about that."

Blaise grinned. "Sorry, mate." He turned back to Hermione. "He's not asking for you personally, Hermione. He wants the Librarian. For some reason, Luna thinks it has something to do with Dumbledore's collection. The professor wouldn't confirm that when she suggested it, but he didn't deny it either. "

"Dumbledore's estate has been tied up in the court system for years," Harry said thoughtfully, "but I read a blurb in the Prophet a few weeks back that sounded as if it was going to be settled soon."

"Percy hinted at exactly the same thing when he came to Sunday dinner at the Burrow a couple weeks ago," added Ron. "He's always dropping bits of gossip, the prat. Makes him feel important, I guess."

"So maybe Luna is right," said Blaise. "What do you want me to tell him, Hermione?"

Hermione took a sip of her coffee and thought for a few moments. "I will meet with him, but on my terms," she said finally. "I have plans with Harry and Ron for the rest of the day and we're having dinner before they leave. Tell him to come back to the shop this evening after it closes at nine. I'll keep the Floo open in The Half-Blood Prints until half nine. If those arrangements are not convenient for him, he'll have to make an appointment like any of my other clients."

"Hermione, it's Snape. Maybe you should go talk to him now. Ron and I would both understand. We can cut our visit short," offered Harry, and Ron grudgingly mumbled his agreement.

"No, I've been looking forward to your visit for weeks. As much as I'd love to get a look at Dumbledore's private collection—and we don't even know for sure that's what this is about—I'm not going to jump just because Professor Snape snaps his fingers."

Blaise looked doubtful."All right. I don't think he'll like it, but I'll tell him."


Lucius watched with amusement as Severus paced back and forth across the floor of his study, as he carried on about the nerve of this Librarian person. It had been a long time since he'd seen his old friend so animated about anything; he rather liked seeing the spark back in his eye. Severus had been on a non-stop tirade ever since he'd Apparated to Malfoy Manor after his rather hasty visit to Scotland.

"For Salazar's sake, do come and sit down before you wear a path in my Persian rug with your infernal pacing. I don't understand why you're so upset. Did you really expect her to simply drop everything and come running when you showed up? You didn't even bother to make an appointment with the woman."

Severus sat eyeing Lucius with annoyance. Finally he sighed. "Alright, when you put it that way it does sound rather rude of me. I don't know why it vexed me so, it just did." He crossed his arms and frowned. "Still, you'd think she would be happy to have my business."

Lucius tilted his head and looked at Severus with a smirk. "Severus, are you actually pouting?"

The annoyed look morphed into an icy glare. "I. Do. Not. Pout."

"No, of course you don't, dear boy," agreed Lucius readily, as he reached across to refill Severus' tea.

"Anyone else would have jumped at the chance to work with Dumbledore's private library. Perhaps I should look elsewhere."

"Well, according to what you've told me, you never actually admitted it was Dumbledore's collection, did you? Look, I told you before, she's the best. She can pick and choose whatever jobs interest her. I guarantee when you meet with her tonight and tell her what his job entails, she will be interested."

Severus took sip of his tea and muttered, "She'd better be, the old crone."

Lucius eyebrows shot up. Old crone? He smothered a grin. As soon as Severus had mentioned meeting Blaise Zabini in the bookshop, it had set Lucius to thinking. Draco had said that his old school chum Zabini had been paired up with the Lovegood girl for ages, and he'd also mentioned that they were close friends with that Granger girl. Such a swot she'd been—she'd beaten Draco in all their classes, it used to infuriate Lucius. After the war she'd worked at the Ministry briefly, but she'd left suddenly after having a messy public breakdown. She'd disappeared for quite some time after that, but he recalled hearing a rumor that she'd later opened a bookshop in Endinburgh. She'd been so bookish he could easily see her expanding from that into the role of the Librarian.

He'd been about to suggest his theory to his friend, but clearly it would be far more amusing in the long run to let him figure it out on his own.

TBC