Autumn Leaves
Chapter 2- Eclair
Emeralds glared at a pair of grinning red-headed twin as the hopped on either side of her.
"What are you two doing?"
Identical Cheshire-cat grins overcame the two and she groaned.
"Get up! Get up!" The twins chanted together and Eira sighed as she did as told. Why did she give them keys to her apartment? Just why?
"'Morning to you too, Fred, George." She mumbled as she stood and went about her morning routine. The moment she stepped out of the bathroom, she dressed in tailored, form fitting black dress pants, a loose, tucked in, opaque white blouse that puffed out from the shoulders to the wrist, and black five inch heels that, although simple, you knew with a look were expensive.
Entering the kitchen of her flat on the third floor, her eyebrows twitched as she saw the twins covered in flour and Rolf in syrup. She sighed with relief when she saw Luna making breakfast; french toast and waffles with eggs, sausage and hashbrowns on the side.
"Luna! You're an angel!" Eira says as she goes to hug her strange, blond-haired sister in all but blood from behind and places a kiss on her cheek.
She's met with that mystical smile of hers before being greeted.
"Hello, Snow-Flower. I'm glad to see there are no wrackspurts around you anymore or nargles."
Eira smiles softly at her before turning to the now cleaned up twins and Rolf and greeting them properly.
Rolf comes first, a kiss on the cheek and a tight hug from him before he smiles down at her and moves away. "Sorry about the mess, I was trying to get the twins to leave everything alone."
"It's fine, Rolf. Glad to see you again and well." Eira says as she places a kiss on his cheek before turning to the grinning twins that launch at her, tackling her to the ground, eliciting a laugh from the ebony haired woman, and placing a kiss on either cheek before jumping up and pulling her into warm hugs.
"Sorry about the mess, Little Lion-" Fred starts.
"We were trying to help out with breakfast, you see-" George continues.
"And things got a little out of hands-"
"When we couldn't open the bag." They finish simultaneously.
Eira sighs as a chuckle escapes her.
"Yeah, yeah, you menaces. Next time, leave it up to Luna and Rolf."
Soon enough, they had finished eating and Eira was giving them instructions.
"Rolf, you're in charge. Keep the twins in line and out of the kitchen. Leave the kitchen to Luna if she needs anything from in there. Fred, George, you can take over the teen lounge down stairs. The room is set up to be like the houses at Hogwarts- there's an area for everyone and that area is represented by the colors and the house crest. Make sure to make it enjoyable for them, and be mindful of anyone studying for upcoming tests. You can use magic as much as you want without worry about it interfering with any appliances just make sure no one is watching or recording. Although no on can look through the glass from the outside, make sure to lower the blinds and lock the door before commandeering your magic or having a house-elf do the cleanup." She says in one breath and the three men chuckle at her fretting.
"Don't worry, Snowflake, we'll take care of everything. But thanks for the heads up." Rolf says and rightfully ushers the emerald eyed woman out of the cafe, a tray with two foam coffee cups, her purse, a black peacoat on her shoulders, and a box of sweets in hand.
Just then, a black town car pulls up right in front of the cafe and she receives a kiss on the cheek from all four.
"Please behave and don't scare away my customers. The twins are forbidden from the first floor while there are business men down there." She says with a sigh as the door to the back seat closes and she's driven off to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building. Just before she steps out of the car, half an hour later, she opens the box of sweets and offers the driver a bag of cookies and a smile.
Mycroft arrives thirty minutes later, to see his new PA typing away on a smartphone that must have been specially made for her. He watches her for a moment, leaning onto his umbrella before walking towards the bench she's sitting on. The foam cups sitting in the tray next to her catch his attention as does the white box with with her cafe's name on it. He doesn't realize it until the amused voice that kept him wondering the rest of the previous evening as he finished his paperwork, draws him from his musings.
"Are you just going to stand there and wonder what's in the box or are we heading inside?" An eyebrow is raised as emeralds twinkle in well meant mirth.
"We still have ten minutes before i'm demanded to be inside." He says as he sits next to her.
"Well then," she continues as she takes one last look at her phone before putting it away and taking the foam cup with his name elegantly scrawled on it in black sharpie. "I hope you like espresso made from italian beans with french vanilla swirl."
Mycroft takes the cup, looking at it questioningly. Unlike the previous night's cup, today it had quills with words written in Latin on it that would encircle the entirety of the cup.
"I'm ashamed to say i've never tried it." Mycroft says as he brings the cup to his lips and tries it. Instantly, the British Government's eyebrows disappear into his hairline. "I'm glad you've brought it to my attention. It's very much to my tastes."
Eira chuckles at his reaction and looks at her phone. "I have chocolate Eclairs in the box for later." She says amused when she remembers what she wished to bring to his attention. "I nearly forgot. Don't under any circumstances, call me by my given name unless we are alone or something important needs to be brought to attention. It's rather dangerous to say it in the company of others as you never know what witch or wizard that left them like I have is listening in. I'll send you an email every morning as I awaken with my chosen name for the day. For today, I'm Eclair."
Mycroft looks at her, observing for a minute and without saying a word, stands and looks at her with the same mask he gives all the other workers.
"Well then, Eclair, it's time for you to learn what's done in the office and what exactly you'll be doing." He says and she schools her expression and with a quick look around her, she waves her right hand and her hair is half up in an elegant bun, the rest falling in loose curls down her back, a sticking charm in place. Straightened fringe frames her face and hides her fading lightning bolt scar. Eclair gives his light grey suit a once over and then her eyes reconnect with his tie and she furrows her brow.
It was a matching the suit color and with a twitch of her fingers, the tie is a midnight blue.
"The tie should't have to match the suit, you know. Even if it makes it easier, it makes you seem dull." She says and follows him into the building, coffee cup in hand after throwing the tray into a trashcan.
Eclair follows him at a brisk pace, three steps behind him and her eyes never leaving her phone but to give the inside a once over and commit everything ot memory. She feels all the eyes on her, and the silent inquiries as to who she is and why she's 'following Mr. Holmes around'.
She follows him to the elevator and watches the button pressed for future reference and soon enough they're on his floor where he stops to give the room a quick observatory glance before he introduces her.
"This is Eclair, my PA. I expect you all to treat her as you treat me." Mycroft says and just as quickly disappears into his office.
Eclair looks up from her phone, at them, before entering the office and closing the door behind her. "I hope we get along." She says and casts an assortment of silencing charms and wards on the door for safety precautions.
She takes an offered seat across from him at the desk where Mycroft hands her the file given to him about her.
"Read it and tell me the misinformation so it may be altered." He says as he takes a drink of his coffee and starts reading and signing the stack paperwork in front of him unknown to her, he's studying her as she's absorbed in reading the information, and the blank face as she reads tells him more than she'll probably ever know.
Half an hour of comfortable silence later, and the file is closed on the desk. Mycroft raises an eyebrow at her waiting for her to gather herself. Obviously, to him at the very least, the information must have peeved her.
"So?" He asks, having giving her enough time.
"The reason for my stunted growth is wrong. It had nothing to do with months of torture and being on the run. I had stopped growing three years before that due to years of malnutrition." Her voice was detached and void of anything and it pulled at Mycroft as he connected the dots with everything she told him of what else was misinformed.
The British Government had a soft spot for children after all.
Twenty minutes later, found Mycroft smoking his first tobacco of the day while Eclair went out to take a call from her friends about something with the cafe, taking the box with her. When she came back, he had just put out the tobacco when she walked back in, tray with breakfast on it, as she figured, rightly so, that the man survived on coffee mostly until lunch.
He looked at the tray and sighed in content.
"You're an angel, you know that?" He says as he takes a seat, clearing his desk as to not dirty any of the papers. "A fallen one at least."
She smiles at him with a chuckle.
"Well, I'm not getting blamed if you suddenly die from not eating breakfast." She says as she returns to her phone and he starts eating.
At least nothing will ever become dull with the emerald eyed beauty beauty around. Mycroft mused to himself.
Oh, he didn't realize how true that statement would become in the oncoming future.
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Here's another one! Thanks for all the positive reviews! And to all of you who followed or favorited! Hope you enjoy this chapter as well!
