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This is one of my favourite chapters so far, so I hope you'll like it!
Chapter 10: 26th of March 1997: The Library
Ever since I had heard about the new magical library in Edinburgh, I had itched to go.
Its grand opening had been celebrated on New Years' Eve with a spectacular display of fireworks, free champagne and an orchestra playing for the finest of the witches and wizards in Britain. They had apparently chosen the date in honour of the Dark Lord's birthday, partly in hope that he would show up with all his court for the evening and bring a tremendous amount of publicity with him, as all of his public appearances did. And he did, in fact, show up, because the library had been a personal project of his and he loved to see his wishes granted and his will carried out.
I learnt about it after the fact, sadly. Not that I could have escaped from Sirius' attention on what he considered "an important holiday", but I would have loved to go there under my Invisibility Cloak and just watch the man mingle with the guests, drink some champagne, maybe laugh.
Truth be told, I had recently become 'plagued' by some dreams about the Dark Lord which disturbed me as much as they aroused me.
I thought that I had created this image of the man in my mind, which was larger than life and that, if only I'd see him again, I would realise how I exaggerated his presence and his charm and return to my formal mindset.
This perfect occasion missed, I couldn't wait until the next Victory Day to be able to regain my peace of mind.
Voldemort would kill me the minute he saw me if he knew who I was, after all, and the crowd of a 3rd of April granted me some illusion of security. In our final battle, it would simply not do to jeopardise my already slim chances of survival by acting as if I was infatuated with the man (which I most definitely wasn't. I'd never even met the guy!)...
But I had wanted to go to the library for a whole different reason that its inauguration ceremony.
It was the first library of it kind in Great Britain since the Great Fire of London of 1666. The Muggle version of the event was that it started in a bakery. Quite the anticlimactic cover-up story. The real cause of the fire was a battle between wizards. More precisely, a group of dark wizards had taken control of the Great Magical Library of London and thought it would be hilarious to make the rest of the community pay for having the rare books back. The Minister at the time was a no-nonsense former head of the Aurors who didn't want to bow down before anyone and certainly not for such ruffians. He ordered his Aurors to take back the Library at any cost and, well...one of them tried their hand at Fiendfyre, of course, and the rest is history.
The sheer amount of knowledge lost that day was catastrophic and all the old families learnt the lesson to keep their precious books to themselves in their family manors and to never show them to anybody.
The library in Hogwarts had been the largest library accessible to public since then. It's hardly surprising to say that such restricted access to knowledge has hindered the progress of magical research and development in Britain and that magical theorists and masters in their fields were practically salivating when the project of a new public library was announced.
Public libraries also meant one thing: access to knowledge to the poor and middle-class people who can't afford to buy every book they wanted to read.
Which was the case for everyone in the Rebels' camp.
They had been particularly incensed when they learned of the tight security measures put in place to reassure the population of Edinburgh and the potential visitors that there wouldn't be "another Great Fire of London" because of this library. Despite their indignation, even Moody said that he had thought of holding the books in hostage and that such measures were to be expected. They meant that none of the known Rebels could go, sadly.
However, I wasn't a known rebel and I hadn't gone to Hogwarts, so I was in desperate need of information. After months of spying on their meetings and not knowing what I could do to protect the wizarding population, I concluded that I needed the right spell to leak my information to the Aurors in an untraceable way.
.
So that day, while Sirius and the others were at a meeting to talk about "the objects" again, I quietly slipped out of the village and headed out of the wards by myself for the first time in years.
I had been a bit traumatised after the raid I saw in Diagon Alley and had trouble convincing myself that I hadn't been partly responsible for it, in a weird, karmic way. The enormous twist in my gut every time I thought of the twins' shop and what I had done there last time was another incentive for me to stay away from Diagon Alley.
I pivoted around and apparated to Edinburgh. I thanked Sirius in my head for bringing me there once for a fun fair years ago. I appeared in a loud crack that showed my lack of experience with the spell.
I stood at the edge of a large marketplace where people were bustling about, visiting the stands spread around in a large circle. There were tables in the middle where one could sit to eat or to look at what they have purchased. At the north of the marketplace stood the British Magical Library in all its splendour.
It was a high building made of white stones with a row of columns at the front and a dome atop it, modelled after the Pantheon in Rome. The pediment (the large triangular piece above the columns) was decorated with sculptures of magical creatures standing proudly. Banners were hanging between the columns, welcoming the visitors and informing them of the opening hours.
I entered the building slowly, full of anticipation. I was no bookworm, but everything about that place screamed wealth and knowledge enough to even make me enthusiastic.
The inside was equally splendid. There were rows after rows of wooden bookcases and the walls were decorated with scenes of magical history and folklore. The vaulted ceiling showed the outdoor sky, like at Hogwarts, but, as I had never been at the school, the magic fascinated me.
A small cough pulled me from my awed state. I turned to the left to see a tall guy who looked barely a couple of years older than me on the other side of the registration counter. He had brown hair, grey eyes and soft features. He shot me a warm smile and beckoned me closer.
"Pretty impressive, right?" he asked.
"You can say that! I've never seen anything like it!
-You haven't been at Hogwarts?" he asked, surprised.
"No, ah, I was home-schooled actually." I answered a bit hesitantly.
"Well, you're lucky that it's a slow Tuesday, I'll have time to show you around properly if you want." He said with another nice smile.
"Oh, yes, that would be great, thanks" I said, a bit surprised by the offer. Do they really do that for everyone? That would take a lot of time!
"Before that though, since it's your first time, I'll have to go through the security measures. You know, to make sure that you're not an evil rebel or anything," he said with a wink.
I laughed a bit nervously.
"Ha, ha, right. What do I have to do?"
"Do you have an identification card? Your apparition license would work fine if you have it." Which I don't because I'm sixteen and I've apparatd illegally since my fourteenth birthday...
"I have a Muggle driving licence, would that work?" Sirius had made me do it, saying that you never knew when the ability to drive a Muggle car could be useful in your life.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll have to register your wand's signature then though. I know that's a bit intrusive, but it's the rules!"
He ended his sentence in a falsely cheery voice, as if he was a bit embarrassed to ask that of me. Normally, only criminals had their wands registered, so it was not a really courteous request. I figured that I couldn't go around it in any way since I didn't want my real name registered, so I gave him my Muggle id.
"Hadrian Black, hum? Any relations to the infamous 'Black Rebel'?" he asked, as if he had made a really good joke.
Sirius had suggested this name for the Muggle World, saying that it would be like he had at last managed to adopt me. I had rolled my eyes at the time, but I had been touched by his words.
"Well, I'm from a minor branch of the Blacks. He's the Heir. I never met him." I said in a bit of a curt voice.
"Ah, yes, well, sorry, I really didn't mean to insult you. Forgive me?"
He gave me a weird puppy-eyed look. What the heck? What is wrong with that guy? Does he really take customer satisfaction to his heart that much?
"Ehm, yeah, sure, no problem."
I looked around, a bit ill at ease.
He filled in the register form with the data from my id card and politely requested that I do a lumos in a small glass vial that he stoppered after I was done. He wrote more information down, waved his wand above my file and produced a little card that he handed to me.
"That's your library card, but you can't borrow books before your file has been approved, and that can take a few days, especially 'cause it's still in the first few months and a lot of new people are registering."
I looked at the nearly empty place.
"A lot of people, hum? You sure look busy." I said, jokingly.
"I know, I know, but it's just a slow Tuesday; you should this place on Friday evenings, it's crawling with people! It's a good thing I only work during the week. It gives me more time for when nice visitors come around, you know?" He winked at me again for an unfathomable reason.
"And well, it's better like that don't think? Now, I can show you around and tell you everything you want to know..."
He left his sentence incomplete and I began to sense something that made me feel a bit uneasy. What the heck is he on about?
"Right, should we get on with it then?" he asked, still smiling.
"Yeah, sure, lead the way" I made a fake half-smile, but he immediately brightened. Wow, that's dedication to his job if he's that pleased to satisfy visitors.
"By the way, my name is Cedric. Cedric Diggory." He extended a hand and I shook it.
"Hadrian Black, but you already know that, right?" I joked again, relaxing a bit. I don't know what's wrong me with me. He's just a really nice guy.
Cedric called his colleague to replace him at the registration counter and began his tour of the place. I mentally jotted down the aisles that interested me more (Defense and Charms) and asked a couple of question about how the index book worked.
Cedric was a good guide. He really got animated when he started talking about Hogwarts and his Hufflepuff House.
Sirius had always joked about how unremarkable Hufflepuffs tended to be. Well, this one is quite passionate about his job as a librarian, it appears. I smiled a bit at the thought and Cedric, who saw the smile, lit up again and started to walk a bit closer to me. I found it a bit odd since there was still quite a lot of space in the alleyway, but left it at that.
At one point, he wanted to get me to turn and look at something and he put his hand on the small of my back. I jumped a bit at the touch and looked at the guy, but he was acting as if everything he was doing was normal and was focused on the thing he wanted to show me. Something about a picture of a fat monk?
I could feel the warmth of his hand seeping through my jacket and I had to resist the urge to squirm away.
Maybe it's a new custom in the Wizarding World that I don't know about. I am pretty sheltered in the village, after all.
I exhaled and forced myself to relax.
He continued his visit, guiding me progressively towards the back of the Library. By now, I had a bit enough of it and just wanted to go check the books, but I didn't want to be impolite, especially when he had dedicated so much of his time for me.
He got in a row of books and I followed him automatically. When he stopped in the middle without saying anything, I shot him a puzzled look. The weird feeling was back.
I looked at the guy, evaluating.
Well, if he attacks me, I think I can take him.
He was a bit taller than me, and a bit larger too, but I had lots of fighting experience.
I wasn't small per se, maybe average for a guy and, despite all my training, I wasn't really 'buff' either. I've always had a lean build and probably always would have.
Still, I wasn't afraid of a Hufflepuff. I snorted internally at the thought.
While I was looking at him and evaluating my chances in a fight, Cedric had made a couple of steps toward me.
I watched him, standing my ground and not afraid of anything.
He smiled a bit at my attitude. He has a nice smile, thought my brain randomly.
He looked me in the eyes and seemed to find some sort of confirmation, because he drew in a breath, as if gathering his courage, licked his lips and bended down to mine.
When they connected, I started, my head not really processing what was happening, and made a small noise of surprise, which Cedric apparently interpreted as enthusiasm because he began kissing me in earnest.
My eyes shut and I imagined that I was back in the room with the fireplace and that the man kissing me had long dark hair. I thought of how soft His lips had seemed, of how different from my dreams this felt. I could nearly feel His magic swirling around me and moaned at the thought.
The unusual feeling of a tongue probing mine startled me out of my reverie and made me open my eyes and draw away.
My heart sank in deception when I saw that the man before me was still Cedric, the nice, kind of ordinary librarian, and not someone else infinitely more dangerous.
What the heck? Did he just kiss me like that?! And I just kissed him back!
I felt myself redden at what I had just done. And, more precisely, at whom I was thinking about while I was doing it.
I wonder if a lot of people think of the Dark Lord when they are kissing? Or... screwing? Oh, by the gods, no. I did not just think that.
Cedric was still watching me, looking pleased at my dazed expression. I thought about kissing him again to go back to my fantasy, but I didn't think it would be fair to him to be wishing for another pair of lips when he was kissing me.
I pulled a hand up and wiped my mouth distractedly. I cleared my throat a bit nervously, looking around a bit before setting my eyes on him again.
"Hmm, listen, err...
-Cedric" he completed.
"Bloody hell, I know your name!" I said a bit too loud, agitated.
"Sorry" he said in a dejected tone.
"No, ok, look. I don't know what gave you the impression that I wanted to kiss you, but I'm sorry, I didn't want to lead you on or anything." There, that was smooth.
"But you smiled at me and didn't protest when I touched you. And I definitely saw you checking me out just before I kissed you. So you can't pretend you're not interested! What is it, then, do you have a boyfriend?"
-What makes you think I don't have a girlfriend?" I asked in a calm voice that didn't betray anything of the agitation I was feeling within. Was I even gay? I had always kind of assumed that I was 'Voldesexual' because my fantasies so far all started and ended with the Dark Lord. Which was a disturbing and scary fact.
"Well, sorry, but you're clearly gay. And you liked kissing me, that was obvious." Well, wasn't that easy to figure out? According to Cedric, I was 'clearly' gay, whatever that meant. Was there some sort of arrow pointed above my head and a sign saying 'I'm gay and certainly willing to kiss the first other gay stranger passing by'? I snorted internally. If that was the case, the sign should also put up a disclaimer saying 'Not responsible for his obsessive thoughts about the Leader of this Realm'.
I cleared my throat again. I felt oddly detached from this boy who had given me my first real kiss.
"Well, Cedric, this has been eye-opening for me. Sadly, I'll have to decline further experimentations. Again, I wasn't trying to lead you on. I'm just... not really interested, sorry." My tone came out a bit too cold, too business-like. I cringed internally.
"I have to go, sorry." I repeated, suddenly needing to get away from him and get out of this place. I backtracked out of the row of books, shooting a last glance at Cedric, who seemed frozen in place and not really understanding what was happening.
Not looking at anyone, I had to restrain myself to keep from bolting out of the place while I hurried away.
When I arrived at the doors, I nearly collided with a tall dark-haired man. I glanced at him quickly, no, it's not Him, and fluidly skirted around the man.
Outside, I briskly walked to the Apparition wards and popped back to my village. My last thoughts before entering the security of the curtain of blue light again was:
I can't go to the Victory Day procession this year. I won't be able to look at him in the eye without blushing madly. What the heck is wrong with me?!
I shook my head to get rid of the thoughts and entered.
.
Severus Snape was not a forgiving man. He wasn't a nice man either so he had been 'this' close to hexing into oblivion the idiotic teen who nearly collided with him.
But he hadn't, because, in a flash, when the dunderhead lifted his head to shoot him a hurried and slightly panicked look, he saw Her eyes again. And then he knew just who the teen was. He turned his head to look at the boy floating away in an oddly graceful walk and swallowed his impulse to roar, "Potter!" in an oh-so satisfying way.
So the boy knows how to read, then?
He snorted out loud, not caring if anybody heard him.
The idiot probably thought there was a comic section here and stormed away, displeased, when he saw that this serious library didn't cater to his whims.
Well, at least this showed that he had been right, all those years ago: her boy looked like he was alive and well, and he definitely knew about the Wizarding World and its current events if he came here now.
He should probably tell the Dark Lord of this sighting. Unfortunately, his master had recently taken up the strange obsession of collecting information about the boy.
Oh well, if it becomes known that Potter was here at the same time than he, Severus would just pretend that he missed him of a couple of seconds. He nearly had, after all.
His still sharp reflexes detected a second incoming boy before the other idiot reached him. He recognised Cedric Diggory, a Hufflepuff alumni, running outside.
What is it with young people running in libraries today?
He grumbled, returning to his quest for a precious book about innovative combinations of East-Asian flora with Scandinavian fish parts and how they could very well revolutionise the world of Healing Potions.
Voilà! I hope you all liked it!
Don't worry, this won't be a HPCD slash fic, no no no.
Next chapter will have quite a bit of action (not slash action, action-action) and a Sirius' POV for the first time in the story.
Thank you in advance for reviewing! It just takes you a few seconds, but it makes me smile the whole day when I read them :)