~Sequentia~ Harry Potter One-Shots [Long]

Impeccable and Illustrious [Gilderoy Lockhart]

Gilderoy Lockhart x Reader

[Theme: Adult]

Requested by Sunny.

Some people adore being fawn over. Receiving attention and affection from their partner, family and peers was the thing they wanted more than anything else. Whether it be a birthday, graduation or a regular event, they liked to be the centre of attention. There were those who took it too far and there were others who kept it an appropriate amount.

On the other hand, I was the complete opposite. While I enjoyed the occasional compliment, I preferred an emotional connection where I could feel their effort instead of buying gifts and marching bands to declare their love or admiration.

Perhaps that was why I applied to be the Hogwarts librarian when Madam Pince decided to go on holiday for the year. It was a quiet location; if students wanted to make a fuss over their crush, they had to be creative with it. Love notes, hushed whispers, maybe even a poem.

Being my age, I had my fair share of boyfriends and dates in the past. Unfortunately, none of them seemed to capture the essence I was craving. I didn't want to go out partying or go to concerts while they made a fuss. My perfect date would simply be... talking and getting to know one another over a good book.

I wanted someone who knew me, not someone who thought they knew me. There were a few bachelours at Hogwarts but none of them was right. Flitwick was too shy, albeit he met the sweetness I found appealing. Snape was too rough and stubborn for anything like that. Sikander did catch my interest at one point before he left to pursue a different career path, not that I could blame him.

A short sigh left me as I refocused on my surroundings in the library. There were students whispering and pointing around. If they got any louder, I'd have to go speak to them and ask that they pipe down... Although, considering I was procrastinating my job, I could let it go just this once.

This workload in particular was one that irritated me greatly. When new books are delivered to the library, the regular procedure must be followed: take them to my desk with a categorised list of titles and numbers, followed by edition and topic. With that information, I would be able to place the books where they belonged and store any additional copies.

Instead, these sets of books were piled on my desk with the only note telling me I should know what was inside the books from the covers alone... Every single one of these fifty-odd texts was by the author Gilderoy Lockhart... and they were signed. Despite what the courier believed, I had not read every single book in existence and Lockhart's books didn't hold much significance to me.

It wasn't to say that I didn't understand or not appreciate his fame. People are famous for a reason, after all, so he must at the very least be a talented writer. The issue was that with no information on these books, I had no method of putting them away quickly.

I picked one of the books up and squinted at the blue cover. It was a picture of Lockhart himself holding up a mug with a yeti beside him. 'Year with the Yeti' was written in fancy golden text across the top and Lockhart would peer at me and flash a smile.

"I see my books managed to make their way down here!" a male voice said happily right in front of me.

In my sudden shock, I dropped the book on the desk counter and looked up to see Gilderoy Lockhart himself smiling at me with blinding white teeth.

"Your books, sir? So are you the reason why my workload has increased because someone didn't follow the procedure?" I pushed the attached letter to him and he read it with a raised eyebrow.

"Ah yes! That was me. I'm sure you must have been pleasantly surprised. Fifty of my textbooks just for your library!" he proclaimed loudly with wide arms, drawing the attention of everyone to him. He leaned closer and covered the side of his mouth as he spoke. "And I hope you don't mind that I signed them... Gives the kids more motivation if they know yours truly held them."