The Book Nook was larger than most expected. From the outside it appeared to be a small, rundown store. The original red paint from the ‘70s was peeling off and faded from the decades of occasional sunny days in the heart of London. The door was weathered and weary, the original bronze knocker, once shiny and squeak free, now rusted and permanently stuck slanted left from disuse. From the outside, it wasn’t much, just another old shop, likely to go broke within its first two months of business.
But inside was the exact reason it wouldn’t go broke. Stepping through the door was the warmest of embraces, a hug from a friend you hadn’t seen in years. There were rows upon rows of shelves filled to the brim with books of all sorts. The walls were half covered with rich brown wallpaper that met with dark oak panelling running along the bottom. The matching floorboards had earthy coloured rugs randomly scattered throughout the store. To the right, a huddle of mismatched armchairs bathed in the soft glow from the old open fireplace built in front of them. Tea and coffee stands were positioned between two of the armchairs against the wall.
When the homey bookshop first opened, it was in danger of closing in its first two months of business. It was quiet - too quiet for the opening week. Until Sirius Black arrived.
***
Sirius Black appeared to be the least likely person to step foot within a ten kilometre radius of a bookshop let alone actually visit one. He was tall, but had a slim and elegant build. He held himself with an air of importance letting his windblown, curly coal coloured hair fall across the top of his shoulders. Black was alluring. The newcomer left his hands in his well-worn leather jacket as his piercing grey eyes glanced once around the shop before landing on Remus’s skinny figure at the till. Remus smiled and welcomed him like any other customer and pushed down his instincts telling him to hide.
“I’m looking for a book that I can read to my class. They’re year ones, so something easy and fun,” the biker said with an easy smile. His voice was warm and modulated.
“I, uh,” Remus stammered. The customer wasn’t so intimidating when he smiled. He was actually rather attractive. Remus cleared his throat and tried again, “I, er, would be trying any number of the books down here. It just depends on what kind of story you’re looking for.” The owner of the shop guided him through the rows of books stopping in front of a large collection of colourful books.
“Brilliant. I’m indecisive as fuck, I guess I’ll go with all of them and my kids can decide for me,” Sirius said with a grin.
Remus’s eyes widened comically. “All of them?”
“Of course! More selection, better options.”
Remus looked over the strange customer one more time, seeking confirmation in his eyes. Once he found it, he started grabbing books off the shelves and putting them on a trolley already in the aisle. His mind started buzzing as he walked towards the cash register. There would have to be at least 50 books stacked onto the trolley.
“Would you like to go and sit down over by the fire while I ring all of these up? It will probably take a while. You might as well make yourself comfortable.” Remus told Sirius, with a gentle nod to the seating area.
“It’s quite the shop you’ve got here.” Sirius replied, looking around the shop again. He leaned against the counter, and Remus got a whiff of fuel, most likely from the bike he’d heard pull up just before the man entered his shop. “How long have you had it?”
“I’ve only had it for a week actually. But it doesn’t look like I’ll have it for much longer. This first week hasn’t been great and if I don’t break even soon I’ll probably be out before next month is done.” Remus sighed. He'd always wanted to own a bookshop. His passion for the literary world was unending.
“Really? I’d have thought you’d have hundreds of people flooding in. It’s so homey, and warm,” came the surprised response.
he just hummed in agreement. He was scanning and packaging books with an unexpected yet practiced ease. The two fell into a comfortable silence, the only noises being the crackle of the fire and the beeping of the till.
The silence was broken when Sirius cleared his throat. “Would you let me bring my class in? For reading sessions, I mean? I’d pay. You know, hire the space, bring my class and sit by the fire and read these books. After I pay for them now, maybe I can leave them here and then once a week,” he mumbled the last part, tentative to finish voicing his idea.
“Seriously? You’d hire the space once a week?” Remus stopped what she was doing. His head shot up looking at Sirius. If he agreed to this it could save his shop from going under.
“Yeah. Maybe you could do that for other groups too. Promote the business and get more people coming through the doors.”
“That is an incredible idea. Thank you,” Remus said, his voice laced with sincerity. “I’m Remus, by the way.”
“I know. I read your name tag,” Sirius said with a laugh. “I’m Sirius.”
***
The following Friday when Sirius went to the Book Nook the weather was dull. The gloomy clouds clapped together, a great cacophony of sound. The bell above the door tinkled as it opened. Remus was instantly attentive, putting his own book and steaming cup of tea down to pay attention to the customer.
Sirius stepped into the store soaked to the bone. His hair was shaggy and the curls were knotted. His leather jacket was slick with water dripping off it and onto the welcome mat at his feet.Remus raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.
Sirius just responded with a grin and a simple, “Miss me?”
Remus just shook his head smiling softly. Realising who it was, she went back to pick up his tea before heading over to the armchairs. He gestured at Sirius to join him by the hearth. Sirius sat on the floor in front of the grate, preventing the rug from getting wet - something Remus appreciated greatly.
“Have you spoken to the school about allowing your class to have a weekly excursion?” Remus asked, hands fidgeting.
“I did. It took me two tries, but the principal said he would consider it. But he does have to come and check this place to make sure it’s safe for the kids and all that. It’s almost as if he doesn’t trust me! Do I look untrustworthy to you?” He wiggled his eyebrows and smirked at Remus, who could only try not to laugh.
“I need to expect a visit then? It should already be kid-friendly enough, but I’ll double check” Remus sighed. He just needed to be compassionate enough to impress whoever the principal of this primary school was.
“You’ll be fine. He said he’d be by some time next week. He always does things in his own time, nevermind what anyone else wants. It’s a nightmare,” Sirius complained.
“I’ll be alright. I managed to win you over within five minutes didn’t I?” The owner said with a smirk.
***
True to his word, Remus earned the respect of the principal and another week later, Sirius was bringing a bus full of children to The Book Nook. The chairs had been rearranged and a larger, sturdier grate in front of the fire to better protect the kids. He was eagerly waiting for Sirius to walk in with his small army of energetic six year olds when he heard the bus pull up in front of the shop.
As the group walked through the door in pairs, multiple exclamations of “woah” or “awesome” could be heard coming from the children as their eyes widened, taking everything in. Sirius herded them towards the area Remus had set up for them and called for silence.
“Alrighty. I know it’s all very exciting to be here, but let’s calm down and we can pick a book to read. This is Ms. Remus, who owns this shop and I want all of you to thank him for letting us be here today,” the teacher explained to the group in front of him. A chorus of “thank you Mr. Remus” floated through the air. When Sirius picked up the book sitting next to the chair he was sitting in and started reading it the ambiance of the room changed. He read the story in the most captivating way, the students held on to his every word. Remus was mesmerised.
He slowly withdrew back towards the register when he heard the bell above the door chime alerting him of a new customer. The newcomer looked across at the reading session going on before looking back at Remus with a questioning glance.
Remus smiled and said, “It’s a new thing I’m offering. People can rent out the reading space now if they want.”
“Huh, that’s cool. Do you mind if I take a few photos and post it on my social media accounts? I’m trying to become an influencer, and this would reach out to a whole new range of people,” she responded, already pulling her bedazzled phone out and tapping on it quickly.
“I guess. You’ll just have to make sure to tag the shop. Is there anything else I can help you with?” Remus asked, preventing her from disrupting the reading session too much. He helped the woman find her book, thanked her for her business and then decided to watch the handsome man reading to the children from a distance. The combination of the glow from the fire and the soft expression on his face made Remus go weak in the knees. He had known the man for around a month now, and every time he thought of him, his heart did a little flutter.
He felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out and a notification popped up on his screen. Right, the want-to-be influencer. He opened the post and watched the number of likes climb and Remus could only stare. He glanced up at Sirius again. This was all his doing. It had been his idea and now thousands of people were recognising his shop. It was nothing short of a miracle.
***
The day after the influencer’s post, The Book Nook was overflowing with customers. Mercifully it was a Saturday and he was able to call Sirius in to help him out.
At the end of the day when Remus flipped the ‘open’ sign to ‘closed’ and locked the door, he turned to face Sirius and just started to laugh. He was relieved. If people were suddenly interested in his shop, he might be able to stay in business. Sirius grinned in response.
“I can’t believe it. This is ridiculous. A month ago, you showed up out of nowhere, bought every children’s book I stock and asked me to start a new service that I hadn’t even thought about. Then when you were reading to your students, a random lady shows up, takes photos of you reading, posts them online and suddenly I’m overrun with customers. Customers choosing my small shop over commercial bookstores. It’s crazy how it’s all happened because of you.” Remus said between sporadic laughs. He took large strides quickly crossing the room to get to Sirius. They were nose-to-nose before he repeated himself, “It was all because of you.”
In a rush he surged forward and kissed him. Sirius moved his hands to Remus’s cheeks and when they parted, Sirius grinned at him again.
“You know, most people would just say thank you,” Sirius said cheekily. Remus just rolled his eyes at him as their lips connected again.