The Law of the Library by WeasleyForMe

When the librarian goes head-to-head with the bookworm, who will come out on top? Hermione/Percy!

This story is a birthday gift for the lovely Lara Zed! Thank you to remuslives and CloverBay for beta reading and helping out!

Prompts: quills, an argument, a library, smut and humour

Chapter 1

Percy checked his gold plated wristwatch. Today was the sixth consecutive day she had been here. Hermione Granger had practically taken up residence in his library, and for some reason, it annoyed him deeply.

Trying his best to avoid looking at her, Percy stood tall behind the shiny mahogany counter and straightened the placard in front of him. Percy I. Weasley- Head Librarian it read in gold lettering. He smirked, quite proud of his title. He virtually ran the London Wizarding Library and Magical Archives singlehandedly, and he was quite passionate about his profession.

His gaze instantly shot over to Hermione as she scooted her wooden chair loudly across the floor. She smiled sweetly and shrugged in response to his angry glare. Percy arched one eyebrow over his glasses, and she in turn smiled wider at him, unwilling to break eye contact.

Percy could feel the tips of his ears turning pink as he unwillingly spun away from her. She had been driving him mad for hours on end. She crossed her legs and then uncrossed her legs. She tapped her quills on the edge of the table. She was interrupting the silent perfection he had so unwaveringly cultivated around himself! Every day she showed up to research material for her newest book, and in spite of his unfriendly glances, she was always smiling at him. Ron's little bookworm friend managed to unnerve him in ways no woman had since Penelope Clearwater in his seventh year at Hogwarts.

"Why can't she just check the books out and take them home like a normal person?" he muttered as he alphabetized a stack of recently returned tomes. Hermione's latest biography, The Life and Times of Gilderoy Lockhart, was in the pile. Percy hated to admit that he had not only read it but enjoyed it immensely; Hermione was becoming quite the prolific historian.

As he smoothed his palm across the black and white photograph of Hermione printed on the back cover, he looked up to find her standing right in front of him. She grinned as he quickly dropped the book to the floor.

"How may I assist you?" he asked quite sternly, earning a chuckle from Hermione.

"Would you do me a favor, Perce, and have the Liverpool branch send over this title for me? I need it for some research," she stated too loudly for his liking, stuffing a piece of parchment into his hand. He hated being called Perce, but somehow she managed to say it without earning a snarky response from him. He found her both enticing and insufferable.

"I will see what I can do," he whispered sharply, earning another blush-inducing smile from her. He quickly looked away and listened to her walk back to the table she had littered with books.

For the remainder of the day, Percy helped other patrons and discreetly sent a request via owl for the book Hermione wanted. As his wristwatch struck seven o'clock, he watched Hermione pack up her bag and return each book to the appropriate shelf, leaving nothing out of place.

"Good night, Perce," she called happily as she left with a particularly alluring bounce in her step. He dutifully ignored her, pushing his glasses further up his nose as he extinguished the lights.

As he left the building, Percy tried to think of anything other than the fact that he would be counting down the hours until he could see Hermione again.

The following morning, Percy dressed with precision, made an immaculate stack of pancakes, and enjoyed his breakfast while listening to the morning news. He arrived at the library at half past eight, exactly thirty minutes before his branch opened for the day. He looked at his mail, read the Daily Prophet and signed for the book Hermione had requested when it arrived by owl. He unlocked the door at nine on the nose. However, after ten minutes of solitude, he began to wonder what could be keeping Hermione. She was always punctual on days when she was researching, usually arriving when the library opened and leaving as he locked the doors.

"Maybe she's rekindled her romance with Ron, and they are spending the day together," Percy mused out loud. A terrific shudder shook through him at the thought of Hermione wasting her valuable time with his youngest, laziest brother. "Or maybe she just can't stand being around you," he told himself, realizing this was a much more viable conclusion to draw.

Sighing, he set up chairs in the children's room and went about his daily business.

But three days later, when Hermione still hadn't returned, he was starting to feel let down. Hadn't he expedited that book for her from Liverpool? Hadn't he tried his best to be pleasant? He drummed his fingers on the highly polished counter, glancing up as a breeze blew in from the door, carrying Hermione with it.

"Hey, Perce," she called with a wave, smiling brightly at him. Her hair was plaited down her back and she wore a black skirt that barely hit her knees. She clicked across the floor in her modest heels and slipped out of her sweater, baring her arms and neck to him. Percy's heart started to race as he watched her unpack her bag, arrange her quills and begin to select books from the shelves. He was unable to gather the willpower to look away from her.

"Everything all right over there, Perce?" she questioned with a smirk as she stood on her toes to reach a large book on wandlore.

Percy spun away from her and gathered together the children's books for his assistant to read to the young witches and wizards that would gather in the library that afternoon. When he thought it was safe to glance over at her a few moments later, he was greeted with a smile and a clearly unveiled wink.

"What the bloody hell?" he muttered under his breath, even more annoyed that she could bring him to the point of cursing. He simply could not make sense of this witch! He busied himself by polishing the already glossy counter around his workspace.

Then he nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a stack of books fall to the floor. Percy followed the noise to a small alcove behind the British Magical History section where Hermione stood calf-deep in the midst of books.

"What is the meaning of this?" Percy asked in perhaps the loudest tone Hermione imagined could still be considered a whisper.

She smiled hesitantly back at his stormy features. Percy was obviously trying to keep his cool, but his pink ears, messy ginger hair and tight lips had Hermione on the verge of laughter.

"Sorry, I was reaching for the large volume on the history of wands at the top of the shelf, and I accidentally dropped a few books," she answered with a chuckle, gesturing to the mess around her.

"It's not funny, Hermione," he replied harshly to her light tone. "This has been rather disruptive," he added, bending to pick up the books.

"Really?" she questioned in a slightly louder tone. "Disruptive to whom, exactly?" She gazed around the side of the shelf and Percy glanced where she pointed. "Honestly, Percy! There's nobody here! Just me and you!" she said as her voice rose further.

Percy sputtered for a moment before placing his index finger over her mouth. "You're being too loud!" he hissed. "Hermione, please abide by the library rules."

In spite of the tingle his touch sent through her lips, she pulled his finger away and laughed sarcastically. "Nobody else is here! And there's no need for you to be so rude, you know? Every day I come in here you just look at me with such disgust. You barely even acknowledge me!" she practically shouted, crossing her arms over her chest and raising her chin a few inches.

Percy took a step back as though she had struck him physically. He could practically feel the colour drain from his face as he tried to formulate a sentence. "I-I didn't mean... I never thought that... I'm not disgusted..."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "It will please you to know that I'm almost finished with my research and will soon begin writing about Garrick Ollivander, no longer needing the services of this library or its librarian," she said with finality, bending to scoop up more of the books.

Percy took a deep breath, finally finding his words. "Hermione, I'm not disgusted by you. Far from it."

She chanced a glance at him before shaking her head and continuing her progress.

"It's just that, well, you're intriguing, and intelligent, and quite lovely," he stated with some trouble as his heart begun to pound in his ears.

Hermione glared at him, closing the gap between them a bit and searching his face as if to find evidence of dishonesty. "I don't believe you," she said coolly. "Don't you remember when I asked you out to lunch last month?" she asked, planting her hands firmly on her hips. "I believe your response was, 'Miss Granger, I have better things to do with my time.' Explain that one, Mr Weasley."

Percy's mouth fell open. "I thought that was a prank!" he blurted out.

"A prank?" Hermione asked skeptically.

"Of course," Percy added. "Single, attractive women aren't exactly lining up to ask me out," he stated bravely albeit with some embarrassment as he pushed his glasses further up his nose.

Hermione couldn't help but smile at his confession. She could never understand how Percy lacked the self confidence and swagger that each of his siblings possessed in spades.

"Perce, I've had a bit of a crush on you for about a year," she told him, stepping over the few books still littering the floor of the alcove until she was standing inches from him.

"Really?" he asked disbelievingly in a soft whisper.

"Yes, but only on days when you're not being a complete prat," she added reaching for him.

Percy couldn't quite comprehend what happened next as Hermione's right hand gently reached around his neck and pulled him toward her until their lips met. He stood rigidly as her left hand found its way around him as well, and she kissed him deeply.

"Perce, you need to relax once in awhile," she whispered with a laugh.

He realized he was standing with his arms drawn tightly to his sides and his face pinched in concern as the witch of his dreams was trying to snog him. Even if this was a prank, it was the best prank he could have ever imagined.

She wanted him to relax? Percy never encountered a dilemma that he wasn't hell-bent on solving.

Hermione staggered backward against the bookcase when Percy started to reciprocate her kisses. She was completely caught off guard as he wrapped his long fingers around the back of her waist and kissed her hard on the mouth. She held onto him tightly as his hot mouth claimed hers in a wave of unrelenting passion. She barely noticed that a book was jabbing into her back, because she was too distracted by his lips. She could feel his warmth through the fabric of his shirt, and she felt a chill of anticipation run through her.

When he rubbed slow circles along her sides with his thumbs, Hermione almost groaned. As he started to trace her tongue with his own, she had to lean fully against the shelf for support.

When he released her lips in favor of her neck, she felt like her brain stopped functioning. "Percy," she practically hissed, and she felt his arms wrap possessively around her back in response.

"Hmm?" he hummed against her neck as he kissed the spot just below her right ear. She smelled like cinnamon and tasted sweet, just as Percy had imagined she would.

Hermione let her head tilt to the side as he teased her flesh. She dragged her hands along the front of his shirt, searching for the buttons.

"Are you sure this isn't a prank?" he managed between kisses to her neck.

In response, Hermione pulled his lips back to hers and kissed him hard as she rapidly undid three of his shirt buttons.

Percy drew a sharp breath. "Hermione, not here," he whispered, breaking their kiss and taking a step away from her. He adjusted his glasses which were sitting crooked on his nose as a result of the snogging. She looked like a goddess to him. Strands of her hair were coming loose from her neat braid, and her lips looked very pink and puffy. She could barely open her eyes all the way as she took a few deep breaths and continued to lean back on the shelf.

Percy wanted her so badly. He had for a long time, but he never felt like he deserved such a level of perfection. "I've acted like such a berk toward you," he told her, suddenly feeling nervous.

"Defense mechanism, I get it," Hermione managed as she licked her swollen lips. "But you're going to have to get used to the fact that I fancy you, because I'm going to need you to kiss me some more. We should go back to my flat," she stated boldly.

Percy shook his head quickly as he took another step away from her. "No, we can't do that, not yet," he said hoarsely, imagining the implications of joining Hermione in her home, alone. "We, we should, we should go out on a date first, right?" he stuttered as he buttoned his shirt.

Hermione's face lit up, very hopeful that Percy would finally be receptive of her attentions. "How about lunch then?" she asked for the second time in two months.

"Absolutely," he replied with a smile. He took her hand and they stepped over the few books that remained on the floor. He quickly led her toward the door and out onto Diagon Alley. After performing locking charms and changing the sign to 'Out to lunch', the pair took off toward the Leaky Cauldron.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! See, Percy isn't so bad!

The next part will have smut, so I will be changing the rating. Thanks for reading :)