The Royal Librarian
Chapter 4: Tea Time
A/N: So I've decided this story is going to be a part of a series, because quite frankly there are only a few chapters left and I've barely scratched the surface of all the things I want to cover.
xXx
Taking the advice of their friends they planned to tread lightly. On the one hand they were worried about scaring her away. Both of them were aware that they could be rather intense. Between Remus' werewolf hormones and Sirius' ability to not only lose his temper but make others lose there's too, there was a lot to look out for.
Remus insisted that the feelings invoked by the bond would dash her anxiety once she knew, but finding a way to tell her would be the biggest obstacle. He hoped once they'd spoken to her, gotten to know her, a solution would present itself.
Severus' plan to speak with her was perfect and so they set off for her suite where she was undoubtedly settling in.
When they knocked and she didn't answer, they thought of Mr. Claire, the Palace Chief of Staff. To avoid drawing too much attention, they opted not to send a patronus and tracked him down the old fashioned way. They found him easily enough, organizing the staff for afternoon duties in the servant's corridors.
He explained that he'd left her in her suite a few hours ago and that was the last he'd seen or heard from her. He asked his staff present at the moment and it was a similar answer until one of the seamstresses looked up from her work.
"I saw her 'bout an hour ago I did." she began. "I was on my way back from my break when I saw her headin' for the library."
"Thank you kindly, my dear." Sirius replied charmingly. She brushed it off.
"Think nothin' of it."
She was exactly where the seamstress had said, already hard at work despite it not officially being her first day yet. She was sitting behind her desk reading from an old hand written book and taking notes on scratch parchment.
Remus cleared his throat, startling the young woman. Her head snapped up from its bent position over her work.
Hermione froze.
"Good afternoon." greeted the man with eyes like starlight. His smile was the slightest quirk of the lips and Hermione had to tear her eyes away from them to keep from staring. "I am Sirius Black, heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Black." he continued before gesturing to his companion, the man with eyes like liquid amber. "And this is Remus Lupin, Britannia's Prime Alpha."
So he was a werewolf? Well that certainly explained the mysterious air about him. She'd met these men, hell, barely met them two days prior and since then she'd found them haunting her thoughts. And now here they were, on the doorstep of her office, looking as handsome as she remembered.
"It's a pleasure to meet you formally. I am Hermione Granger." Hermione finally replied.
"The feeling is mutual." Remus replied. "And we were hoping you might join us for afternoon tea."
Hermione hesitated. Did she really want to do that? The moment she'd met these men she'd felt a spark of unexplained emotion coursing through her. She didn't know what it meant, but she'd felt utterly ridiculous. There was absolutely nothing logical about those feelings and she shuddered to think what they might say if they knew she'd spent the last two nights dreaming about them.
But she could hear Kingsley's voice in her mind reminding her that she was now with political power and forming a friendship, even an acquaintanceship, with two powerful men like the heir to a prestigious family or the Alpha of a wolf pack, could be rather advantageous.
"I would be honored to join you, Lord Lupin." she replied. "Just a moment please." she continued turning back to her desk and putting her book and notes away. She then turned to find them still waiting for her in the doorway. She walked up, smiling sweetly as Sirius offered her his arm and followed along.
xXx
To Hermione's surprise they did not settle into the small tea room, reserved for exactly what one would expect, but instead with Sirius leading them, they stepped out of the palace through a back door and into the sprawling grounds beyond. A path made of gravel and yet was completely smooth to walk on, began just beyond the wrought iron and glass door and cut through lush fields of grass, eventually branching off into different sections of the expansive garden.
Straight ahead it led into a large hedge maze which Hermione hoped to be able to use someday. To the left, the Queen's prize winning Rose Garden built up like a fantasy world that would whisk you away as you crossed the threshold. To the right was the Royal Potions Reserves, where ingredients of all sorts were grown by Britannia's Royal Potions Master and his assistant.
Sirius led them on the path to the left, winding through the colorful rose bushes and white marble statuary. Eventually he brought them into a clearing where a white painted wrought iron table sat with three matching chairs. Sirius guided her forward and pulled out a chair for her. She sat and the two men sat across from her.
A moment later a small well dressed house elf appeared with a pop, levitating a silver tray beside him.
"Thank you, Pim." Remus greeted the little elf. Pim smiled and bowed before popping away. Tea was poured before they spoke.
"Lady Granger," Sirius spoke up, drawing her attention from where she had been mixing sugar into her tea. "I was hoping to take this opportunity to apologize." she looked confused. "I fear I may have insulted you upon our first meeting."
Comprehension dawned on her and she shook her head. "I wasn't insulted, merely...put out." she told him. "I'm well aware of the purse's shortcomings." she chuckled.
"I see," Sirius replied turning a smug look on Remus. Remus rolled his eyes.
"Anyway, now that that's settled, Sirius and I were discussing how we may be of assistance to you." Remus explained.
"Assistance?" She questioned.
"Yes, we'd be more than happy to answer any questions you may have. " he explained.
"Oh, how kind of you. " she smiled. "Honestly, there are a few things I'm curious about."
"Well, ask away." Sirius told her.
Hermione hesitated, ordering her thoughts. "Well, I suppose most of my questions involve the library. Do you know much about it?"
Sirius laughed. "My dear, as you will soon discover, Remus here spends a disproportionate amount of time in the library."
Remus flushed. "Disproportionate is a misleading word-"
"It's an extremely accurate word."
"I spend a normal amount of time there." Remus defended, ignoring his partner.
"Define normal." Sirius insisted. Remus glared at Sirius who simply smirked back at him. It was Hermione's laughter that drew their attention away from each other.
"How long have you two been together?" she asked, smiling at them like they were the sweetest thing she'd ever seen. They both stared back stunned.
"How did you know?" Sirius asked.
"The way you two tease each other. My parents were the same way. Completely infatuated with each other even after forty years of marriage."
They shared a smile before Remus replied; "We acknowledged our soul bond two years ago."
"You're soul mates?" she questioned excitedly, much to Sirius' delight.
"A triad actually." he told her.
"Really, and have you found your third?"
"We're working on it." Remus replied simply. Hermione smiled.
"It's so...romantic." she sighed. "Just knowing that no matter what, you have somewhere you belong." she wasn't looking at them anymore, staring off behind them with a wistful longing.
A silent conversation took place then, while her thoughts were occupied. Sirius seemed to insist that now was the time, but Remus held firm. They had a plan and they needed to stick to it.
Hermione seemed to come out of her thoughts all at once and she flushed at her behavior.
"So, the library." she hurried.
xXx
Hermione blushed quite prettily in Sirius' opinion. In fact there wasn't much she could do that he didn't find pretty or charming or adorable. She was perfect, absolutely perfect and watching her discuss spells and charms for the library with Remus showed first hand just how intelligent she was.
They'd spent all afternoon discussing the inner working of enchanted rooms and debating modified cleaning charms over organization spells. Remus looked as though he were in heaven, matching wit and knowledge with such a spirited, opinionated woman.
Sirius marvelled at the picture they made, going back and forth across the table, sharing ideas and witty barbs. He chimed in with his own here and there, but for the most part he was perfectly happy to remain a spectator.
By the time either of them realized how long they'd been sitting there, the tea had grown cold and been cleared away and the sun was much lower in the sky.
"Oh dear." Hermione said amused. "It appears we've talked the afternoon away."
"And what an absolutely lovely way to spend it." Sirius replied with a charming smile, sending that lovely shade of pink across her cheeks again. "Wouldn't you agree Remus?"
"Wholeheartedly. In fact, I'd love to continue this over dinner, would you care to join us?"
"I would love too, however, I must decline. I was so caught up in the library that I neglected to finish unpacking. I must see to that before tomorrow afternoon."
"What is so important about tomorrow afternoon?" Sirius asked.
"My master...well, former master, is bringing the last of my things." she explained, standing. They both stood as well, preparing to escort her back. Which they did.
"Well, perhaps you and your former teacher would like to join us for afternoon tea again tomorrow." Remus suggested.
"I think he would enjoy that quite a bit, as would I." she told them as they stopped outside the door to her suite.
"Until tomorrow then." Sirius replied taking her hand and laying a kiss across her knuckles.
"I look forward to it." she replied suddenly very shy.
xXx
"Well, how did it go?" Lily asked eagerly, nearly pouncing on them when they returned later that night after dinner.
"She's amazing." Sirius gushed, seemingly against his will. "She's so smart and funny and utterly adorable."
"We spent the entire afternoon discussing charms and spells." Remus added. "She's quite the talented witch."
"And did you apologize for insulting her?" Severus asked looking up from his paper work with a smug arrogance that never failed to get Sirius agitated.
Sirius stuck his regal nose in the air and replied rather proud of himself; "I did, and I will have you know that she said she wasn't insulted."
Severus replied nonplused "Undoubtedly trying to spare your feelings now that she is aware of your station."
Sirius deflated looking indignant as he opened his mouth to reply, only for Remus to step in.
"We're having afternoon tea with her again tomorrow as well as her former master." he explained. "She seemed happy that he'll be visiting and if she's particularly close to him it couldn't hurt to get to know him as well."
"How sweet." Lily gushed.
"Her former master is Lord Kingsley Shacklebot, isn't he?" James asked Lily. She nodded in reply.
"Impressive." Severus replied. "Lord Shacklebot is very particular about his students. He must have seen great potential in her if he granted her an apprenticeship."
"And isn't it a little strange that she apprenticed as a Scholar?" Lily asked.
Remus nodded. "Yes, most women apprentice as healers, potioneers, charmcaster's. The pursuit of research, however has been predominantly run by men for as long as anyone can remember. Even the Lady Pince apprenticed as a Magical Clerk. She only received the appointment to Librarian because the Pince family made quite the donation of literature and research material to the empire. Not that she wasn't qualified for the job mind you."
James snorted. "That woman was terrifying."
"Oh don't be so dramatic. I thought she was perfectly lovely. A bit strict, but a fine woman."
"Yeah, you only say that because she liked you. She was always glaring at me."
"She thought you were a ruffian." Severus told him.
"She did not." Lily exclaimed.
"She did, she told me. Thought you were too good for him." Severus continued.
"Well, she wasn't entirely wrong then." James spoke up. Lily looked up at him touched.
"Awe, that's so sweet." she cooed leaning up to kiss him. Almost immediately the gagging noises began and the future King and Queen of Britannia pulled away shooting disgruntled looks at their closest friends.
"Really? You haven't outgrown that yet?" Lily asked.
"Never." Sirius replied on behalf of all of them.
Lily and James were perfect for each other and it certainly didn't hurt that they were madly in love. That however, did not change the fact that they tended to be rather affectionate with each other and while it was heartwarming, it was also sickeningly sweet and Severus, Remus and Sirius had taken to reacting as such whenever they so openly displayed that affection.
"I'd be careful Pads, it won't be much longer now before we have ammunition of our own." James warned.
Sirius grinned. "Not long at all actually."
"Did you say something to her?" Lily asked.
"Not really, it's a little complicated. Basically she realized that we were together and that prompted a short conversation about us being soulmates as well as part of a triad." he explained.
"How did she react?" James asked.
"She thought it was romantic." Remus added.
"It is." Lily smiled.
Lily had been there biggest supporter from the moment Remus had let slip exactly why Sirius felt the way he did when they were near each other. she 'd pushed and prodded until Remus couldn't keep it from Sirius anymore. And when they discovered they were a triad, no one seemed happier for them than she did.
"So, when do you plan on telling her?" Lily questioned.
"We discussed it over dinner and if all goes well at afternoon tea possibly the day after." Remus explained. He just hoped he didn't look as nervous as he felt.