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A Glass Of Water And A Cup Of Tea

Chapter 3

"Who is that?"

Sirius looks up from the plate he's washing to his uncle "Who is whom?"

"That lad you talked to this morning." Alphard says knowingly.

Sirius pauses to try to remember every costumer from that morning "...that Quirrel guy?"

"Who?"

"He ate some scones and kept talking about his boss, I think. It was a bit hard to follow what he was saying in the middle of all that stutter."

"No, no," Alphard shakes his head "He didn't get in."

"Oh," Sirius says, recalling a brown haired stranger that smiled apologetically at him "No one."

"No one?" his uncle stops cutting the ham and raises an eyebrow at him "Do you really believe I wouldn't notice you ogling said gentleman every day?"

Sirius looks down at the plate on his hands, trying to cover a blush "I don't even know his name. I just asked him if he wanted a glass of water, he seemed tired."

"Son" Alphard said in a somewhat amused tone "I would gladly accept that if you made the same offer to everyone that passes by looking tired."

Sirius shook off the water out of his hand and used it to rub his neck "Come on, uncle Alphard.."

Alphard raises both of his hands "I'm not trying to butt in! You know I don't care, but... it perhaps might do you some good to remember what would you parents think."

"I don't give a damn about what my father thinks!" Sirius says annoyed, frowning at the plates.

"Don't you? Sirius," Alphard puts a hand on his shoulder "I know it wouldn't pass you to take some lad to your parents restaurant and give him quite the snog just to rile them up."

"God, uncle Alphard! I just only met the guy! I'm not going to take him to snog anywhere!"

Alphard gives him a long look, before returning to the ham "If you say so."

"I do!" Sirius puts the yellow gloves back on, harshly "I do." He mumbles, digging his hand into the water and bringing out the plate he let sink.

"Just ignore this old man's words then," Alphard says amused. "It just silliness from the age, after all."

"..yeah, right." Sirius scrubs the plate, and tries to focus on that only.

He spends the rest of his time until lunch responding to Peter's distressed messages about the accident he had at his parent's café, ignoring his uncle's looks and walking around cleaning tables to make himself busy.

Luckily, at lunchtime the coffee shop usually gets pretty busy, and this time it isn't an exception. He goes around from table to table and into the kitchens and returning, and then eats lunch, later, alone, before returning back to work.

Then it's five pm again, and Sirius sees the stranger pass by the shop again.

He doesn't go talk to him.

And as soon as he's out of sight, Sirius goes to the kitchen, to warn the cooks of the orders he got.

He considers making a break to call James and Peter, on conference mode, but he's not really feeling up for it, especially if it means he'll have to listen to Peter freaking out about the broken plate again.

Feeling bored, he helps the cooks preparing sandwiches and a salad, and makes tea for an order his uncle had taken.

Sirius returns to the front of the shop, handing Ms Figgs her sandwich and asking how has she been doing, and pretends to be interested in her cats; then he goes around to give Puddifoot her salad and complements her frilly dress, and gives another sandwich to the unknown man that always sits on the closest table to the door and, after attending the usual costumers, he goes put the tea on a corner table, where someone is reading a newspaper.

"Here you go, sir, Earl Grey, wasn't it?" he asks politely, and is shocked when he takes his eyes off the tea to see who had lowered the newspaper.

"I know what you offered was a glass of water," the other smiles "but I'm more of a tea person."

And this is when Sirius makes a break.

And what a break it is. Suddenly, the stranger isn't so much of a stranger. Sirius finds out why he had singled him out, apparently they had been classmates at Hogwarts. He works on a bookshop some streets up. Loves chocolate, but hates caramel. His favourite colour is grey because no one picks it. He loves the old smell of books, coffee, and rain. He has a witty humour, and an intelligent one too. He twitches one of the corners of his lips up when recalling something funny, graces a gentle smile when commenting on Sirius' adventures with James and Peter, and a hesitating one, with the occasional lip biting when talking about himself.

And, lastly, as the other opens the door to leave, "I'm Sirius."

He stops walking and looks at Sirius for a moment, a smile still playing on his lips "I'm Remus," and, with another smile, he leaves.

Sirius spends the rest of the day trying out the name. It somehow suits the other.

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AN: I am so sorry for not posting sooner, I've been struggling with a part of this chapter but, it's finally done xD