Common Knowledge

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters; I just like putting them together.

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He found her in the library picking up a dropped stack of books. Bothered, she gave a sigh of exasperation before resuming her task of alleviating the mess she had accidentally caused. With one hand she moved a couple of books into one stack, and with the other she hurriedly combed through her red tresses. Bent over the mess, she looked a bit exasperated, like she did when James was harassing her.

It was common knowledge that James liked Lily.

It was more common knowledge that Lily despised James.

Being one of James's best friends, Remus figured that it wouldn't be very virtuous to take advantage of the fact that Lily could tolerate him better than she could James. She probably enjoyed the small talk they exchanged every now and then. Remus knew he did.

But to establish a relationship that Remus knew James would, well…envy, would be just short of betrayal.

Remus, however, wasn't feeling virtuous at the moment.

He was tempted, sorely tempted, to walk right over and flaunt his gentleman's charm and take Lily's heart for his own, which would be a great deal simpler than whatever James was trying to do by provoking the girl into a fury constantly. Remus knew what girls liked; James didn't.

It was sickening, really, how clueless James was to what women wanted. Especially when Remusknew exactly what to do to win them over. It was pretty ironic that, in spite of that, James could lay claim to whatever territory he wished, and Remus, among others, was expected to respect and tread away from his claims. It was cruelly unfair. Remus wasn't going to take that.

Remus put up no resistance to the temptation.

James would have walked over, picked up the stack of books Lily was arranging as she sorted out her mess, and proceeded to say something sarcastic about each one, then possibly drop them all on the floor again making a fresh, disorderly assortment. He would have infuriated Lily, whatever he would have done. And she would respond viciously and angrily. The thought made Remus smirk.

As Lily strained forward to reach a book, Remus dropped down beside her and gathered the three books to her side. He caught her eye and gave a simple, courteous smile.

"You looked like you could use some help."

She smiled back appreciatively and sat back on her heels with the books in hand. With her right hand she pulled back her red hair, unconsciously tidying her appearance.

"Thanks, that's sweet."

Remus couldn't help feeling a tad smug. No one had ever called James "sweet."

"Well, it's common knowledge to help a girl when she's down," Remus responded nonchalantly. He knew Lily would just love hearing that there was one member of the male population who actually got it. To the side of his face that she couldn't see, he allowed a small smirk as he looked down at her books. "I see you're enjoying some light reading," he said, noticing the thick potions volumes. "Going to turn James into a toad?" Common ground was always a good place to start a conversation of some bit of depth. Everyone could agree that James deserved to be turned into a toad, and it would give him points as an ally.

The touch was accidental, but Remus immediately accredited it to good fortune. As both he and Lily reached for one of the volumes, their hands brushed. Lily immediately gave a small, barely noticeable flinch, and Remus nearly smirked as their eyes met for a brief second.

No matter what girls said, they enjoyed a boy's small touch. Remus could only imagine how much it boosted the romance factor.

It was best, he thought, to act as though nothing happened.

He pulled back his hand and allowed Lily to pick up the book, avoiding her gaze. She quickly looked away and placed the book on top of the others.

"Actually it has nothing to do with James," she replied with a warm smile to his question, "but you could stand to give your friend lessons in manners."

"What are you talking about?" Remus asked with feigned puzzlement, but the corners of his mouth fighting their way up. "I've always thought James was so polite." Lily's chuckling brought an open smile to his face. He watched her struggle to pick up her books, then reached over to assist. "Here, let me help you," he said, changing the subject. He took some from the stack and rose to his feet, holding his hand out to her. Seeing it, she smiled once more and reached up to take it. He pulled her up to her feet.

So far, she was welcoming every gesture.

"Well, I better be going," he told her. The understanding smile with the saddened eyes appeared on Lily's face. He did his best to mimic it. "I'll be seeing you later."

"Alright," Lily said with a wider smile. She looked down.

Remus let go of her hand, deciding against laying a light, gentlemanly kiss upon it. She looked back up, and they both smiled. Then he picked up his bag and walked out of the library, leaving her to wish that they could have spoken longer.

It was common knowledge that too much too quickly was a bad thing.

Remus thought it wise to stagger his advances.

…

Author's Note: You all know the drill. Now that you've read, please review with some constructive criticism. If you liked it, tell me why. Please also say whether or not there's something I could improve.