A Second Glance
Disclaimer: Don't own the characters, sadly enough. Or even the title, as you'll see if you read the note below.
Author's Note: This little ficlet here was inspired by, yes, my love for the Remus/Lily pairing, but also the song "Stand Out" from A Goofy Movie…a movie that lately I can't get enough of. Anyway, I was thinking particularly of the lines "All I need is half a chance/ a second thought, a second glance/ to prove I've got whatever it takes."
One thing Lily had never expected was that James Potter was friends with a rather decent boy. She had witnessed the disruptions the two ringleaders of the group often caused, and their two loyal supporters were always laughing with them, though they were more part of the background. Peter seemed to idolize James and Sirius to no end, praising them constantly, while Remus simply sat back and quietly went with the flow.
Lily and Remus had never personally clashed, but the fact that Remus was James's friend and did nothing to call James out on his antics was enough in Lily's mind to condemn him as one of the clowns. She was aware that she had a tendency to be harshly judgmental, and unfortunately for Remus, he had fallen victim to that fault of hers without much reason. Lily didn't hate him, but she certainly didn't admire him either. In her eyes, he was almost as much trouble as James and Sirius.
There wasn't much contact between the two; they kept to themselves in each other's presence. They never spoke; neither looked the other's way.
It was a simple, clumsy moment of Lily's that changed that.
She was rushing back up the staircase to Transfiguration, having forgotten her homework. Lily's foot hit the top step, just short of the appropriate distance it should have been lifted. With a sudden sharp intake of breath and a jolt of awareness, Lily fell forward, and the textbook in her arm went flying across a short distance before landing on the floor and sliding the rest of the way before hitting the wall. Lily's palms met the floor just before her knees, saving the latter from a good deal of pain. Instead sharp, smarting pangs shot up from her hands.
Looking down at the floor, Lily let loose a disgruntled sigh at her cursed lack of grace.
"Are you alright?"
Realizing the unfortunate fact that someone had managed to see her awkward tumble, Lily glanced sharply to the right. There was Remus Lupin with an expression of apparent shock and concern.
Lily immediately blushed, embarrassed by her graceless fall.
"Yes, I'm fine," she answered quickly. She avoided his eyes and rose from her crouched position. She began to make her way over to the wall to recover her textbook, but Remus reached it before she did. He bent to pick it up, then straightened and held it out to her. He wore a slight, friendly smile that bore no trace of mockery.
Lily glanced to him, noting the smile. It surprised her. She would have expected a leering sneer much like the one James or Sirius was prone to give. A similar, disconcerted one appeared on her own lips, accompanying the small blush on her cheeks. She took the textbook from him.
"Thanks," she told Remus politely.
"You're welcome," he answered, the smile broadening a bit. He passed her and began down the staircase she had just fallen up.
The gesture was small, but far from unnoticed. It was a decent one, one that Lily hadn't expected from someone who spent most of his time with James Potter and Sirius Black. Perhaps Remus Lupin was not as much of a "Marauder" as his friends would have liked.
Lily began to make her way down the hall to her next class, but not before turning her emerald eyes to toward the staircase to give Remus Lupin a second glance.
…
AN: Feedback is much appreciated. Please let me know if you loved it, but let me know what was good about the story or something I could improve on. Thanks a bunch!