For an Appreciation of Lovely Things (PG, Lily/Remus)
Title: For an Appreciation of Lovely Things
Author: kanella
Rating: PG
Words: ~1240
Disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR
Summary: Lily has a crush
Lily Evans decided that, all things considered, Remus Lupin was rather lovely.
She hadn’t really noticed until the two of them were named Gryffindor prefects, because Remus wasn’t the type of boy that most people noticed. He was quiet and unassuming, moving about the corridors with a subtle grace uncommon in a teenage boy. Most of the boys that liked Lily were gangly and awkward, stumbling over themselves as they grew into the new body of a man, all elbows and knees and stuttered greetings. Remus never tripped or fumbled, always in complete control of his long legs. When they first spoke to discuss a disciplinary issue, Lily had been surprised by the directness and precision of his speech. His didn't look over her shoulder or at his shoes; his eyes settled firmly on hers, huge round circles of deep brown, almost dark enough to obscure the line between his pupils and the colored irises. Lovely eyes, really, framed in long eyelashes and focused right on her.
She saw him in the library once, while looking for a text on doxies. She pulled a thick volume from the shelf, only to see him through a gap. He sat at one of the long library tables, staring intently into a textbook. A few strands of his fringe had fallen forward and hung over his eyes. His lips were slightly parted and the tip of his tongue just barely poked out of the corner of his mouth. And, oh, how his beautiful hands were resting flat on the desk, one long finger tapping in a steady beat against the wood. Even through the distance between them, Lily fancied she could hear him breathing, long, slow breaths of hot air spilling from the space between his lips. Yes, Remus Lupin was definitely lovely, and Lily took a moment to congratulate herself on her astute observations. In the silly dormitory conversations of teenage girls, many names had come up, but Remus had never been one.
Lily was, above all else, a practical girl, and so she decided that something needed to be done. What was the point of carrying around all that grace, all that loveliness, if there was nobody to appreciate it? Those idiots Potter and Black certainly didn’t, she was sure. Why someone as reasonable and kind hung around those two flopping blockheads was beyond her…maybe Remus just needed a new friend, who could appreciate him on a more personal and intellectual level. Yes, this was most surely true.
She was somewhat unsure about how to go about things. Boys had usually come to her on their own; she had never pursued one herself, and the thought made her heart race and her palms sweaty. Lily wondered what Remus would do if she kissed him - caught his arm in the corridors one day and pulled him into a shadowed alcove and kissed him. He would probably kiss like he did everything else - carefully, and with purpose. Just the thought of it was making her stomach jump.
It was difficult to get Remus alone - Potter and Black seemed to never give the poor boy a moment’s rest - but Lily eventually found him in the common room late one night, sitting in a huge chair in the corner. As she got closer she could see his brow furrowed with concentration, the ink stains on his fingers, his foot tapping a sharp rhythm on the plush carpeting. Smoothing down her hair, Lily put herself directly between Remus and the fire, obscuring his light and forcing him to gaze up at her.
“Good evening, Remus,” she said, smiling her sweetest smile and cocking her head to the side so that her hair fell across her cheek in a way that other boys found pleasant. “What are you still doing awake?”
“Just writing a quick letter to my mum,” he said. “She likes to worry so I try to write her every so often…she’s Muggle - I think she’s afraid that I’ll spell my own nose off or be eaten by some great Hogwarts monster and nobody will think to tell her.”
“Oh, that’s sweet. Although I’m not quite sure how much you could tell her of what you’ve been up to without worrying her even more.”
“Eh, I just tell her that I’m making my bed every day and eating enough vegetables.” Remus smiled at her and started to gather up his things. Lily could feel her stomach fluttering wildly. She knew this might be her only chance.
“Oh! Remus, you know I thought that maybe we could get a butterbeer next Hogsmeade weekend…discuss business, you know, I think Mary Faircastle has been sneaking out of the castle, trysting with that Ravenclaw boy she’s had her eyes on, no doubt,” she said, the words flying out of her mouth in a rush, and she smiled sheepishly.
“Oh, I’m sorry Lily,” he said. “James and Sirius will be in detention, so Peter and I promised that we’d report back on Zonko’s new shipment.” Lily sighed heavily and leant down to rest her palms on the end table.
“I just don’t understand why you hang around those two. They’re such bullies, and I know you don’t approve of that, Remus. Don’t you see that there are others who could be better friends to you?”
“Lily, just -” He looked away and was silent for a long moment. “They are very good friends to me, really,” he said. Lily scoffed and cross her arms in front of her chest. This was not going according to her plans, and she could already feel tears prickling in her eyes.
“They are. And you’d do right to give James a chance, at least,” he said pointedly. “He’s a good bloke.”
Lily scowled - the mere suggestion! - and straightened up, smoothing the front of her robes. She wasn’t tops in her class for nothing; she knew a lost cause when she saw one.
“Not in a million years, Remus. Goodnight.” She barely heard his response as she hurried up the stairs to the girls’ dormitories. She pulled off her jumper and threw it haphazardly onto her writing desk. Her skirt was next, and she climbed into bed still in her dress shirt and socks. How could Remus refuse her? Lily had never thought herself smug or stuck up, but she had a quick mind and strong resolve and tried to be honest and kind. She could understand if there wasn’t an attraction, but even as good mates…but no, Remus’s sweet brown eyes were only on his awful friends.
Lily crinkled her nose and turned onto her side, staring through the slit in her curtains at her silly sleeping girlfriends. She knew she would never share these feelings with the other girls over breakfast or in the courtyard. Lily couldn’t imagine giggling stupidly over a foolish crush, and she knew that the other girls could never appreciate the deep brown eyes, the long fingers, the sweep of fringe, and the easy, smooth rhythm with which a boy could move. It was going to be a challenge for Lily herself to forget these small beauties, but strength and patience could overcome most obstacles, and Lily was gifted with an abundance of both.
But that didn't stop Remus from following her into her dreams, where his long fingers rested lightly on her back and his sweet freckled nose and grinning mouth existing for her only.
Author: kanella
Rating: PG
Words: ~1240
Disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR
Summary: Lily has a crush
Lily Evans decided that, all things considered, Remus Lupin was rather lovely.
She hadn’t really noticed until the two of them were named Gryffindor prefects, because Remus wasn’t the type of boy that most people noticed. He was quiet and unassuming, moving about the corridors with a subtle grace uncommon in a teenage boy. Most of the boys that liked Lily were gangly and awkward, stumbling over themselves as they grew into the new body of a man, all elbows and knees and stuttered greetings. Remus never tripped or fumbled, always in complete control of his long legs. When they first spoke to discuss a disciplinary issue, Lily had been surprised by the directness and precision of his speech. His didn't look over her shoulder or at his shoes; his eyes settled firmly on hers, huge round circles of deep brown, almost dark enough to obscure the line between his pupils and the colored irises. Lovely eyes, really, framed in long eyelashes and focused right on her.
She saw him in the library once, while looking for a text on doxies. She pulled a thick volume from the shelf, only to see him through a gap. He sat at one of the long library tables, staring intently into a textbook. A few strands of his fringe had fallen forward and hung over his eyes. His lips were slightly parted and the tip of his tongue just barely poked out of the corner of his mouth. And, oh, how his beautiful hands were resting flat on the desk, one long finger tapping in a steady beat against the wood. Even through the distance between them, Lily fancied she could hear him breathing, long, slow breaths of hot air spilling from the space between his lips. Yes, Remus Lupin was definitely lovely, and Lily took a moment to congratulate herself on her astute observations. In the silly dormitory conversations of teenage girls, many names had come up, but Remus had never been one.
Lily was, above all else, a practical girl, and so she decided that something needed to be done. What was the point of carrying around all that grace, all that loveliness, if there was nobody to appreciate it? Those idiots Potter and Black certainly didn’t, she was sure. Why someone as reasonable and kind hung around those two flopping blockheads was beyond her…maybe Remus just needed a new friend, who could appreciate him on a more personal and intellectual level. Yes, this was most surely true.
She was somewhat unsure about how to go about things. Boys had usually come to her on their own; she had never pursued one herself, and the thought made her heart race and her palms sweaty. Lily wondered what Remus would do if she kissed him - caught his arm in the corridors one day and pulled him into a shadowed alcove and kissed him. He would probably kiss like he did everything else - carefully, and with purpose. Just the thought of it was making her stomach jump.
It was difficult to get Remus alone - Potter and Black seemed to never give the poor boy a moment’s rest - but Lily eventually found him in the common room late one night, sitting in a huge chair in the corner. As she got closer she could see his brow furrowed with concentration, the ink stains on his fingers, his foot tapping a sharp rhythm on the plush carpeting. Smoothing down her hair, Lily put herself directly between Remus and the fire, obscuring his light and forcing him to gaze up at her.
“Good evening, Remus,” she said, smiling her sweetest smile and cocking her head to the side so that her hair fell across her cheek in a way that other boys found pleasant. “What are you still doing awake?”
“Just writing a quick letter to my mum,” he said. “She likes to worry so I try to write her every so often…she’s Muggle - I think she’s afraid that I’ll spell my own nose off or be eaten by some great Hogwarts monster and nobody will think to tell her.”
“Oh, that’s sweet. Although I’m not quite sure how much you could tell her of what you’ve been up to without worrying her even more.”
“Eh, I just tell her that I’m making my bed every day and eating enough vegetables.” Remus smiled at her and started to gather up his things. Lily could feel her stomach fluttering wildly. She knew this might be her only chance.
“Oh! Remus, you know I thought that maybe we could get a butterbeer next Hogsmeade weekend…discuss business, you know, I think Mary Faircastle has been sneaking out of the castle, trysting with that Ravenclaw boy she’s had her eyes on, no doubt,” she said, the words flying out of her mouth in a rush, and she smiled sheepishly.
“Oh, I’m sorry Lily,” he said. “James and Sirius will be in detention, so Peter and I promised that we’d report back on Zonko’s new shipment.” Lily sighed heavily and leant down to rest her palms on the end table.
“I just don’t understand why you hang around those two. They’re such bullies, and I know you don’t approve of that, Remus. Don’t you see that there are others who could be better friends to you?”
“Lily, just -” He looked away and was silent for a long moment. “They are very good friends to me, really,” he said. Lily scoffed and cross her arms in front of her chest. This was not going according to her plans, and she could already feel tears prickling in her eyes.
“They are. And you’d do right to give James a chance, at least,” he said pointedly. “He’s a good bloke.”
Lily scowled - the mere suggestion! - and straightened up, smoothing the front of her robes. She wasn’t tops in her class for nothing; she knew a lost cause when she saw one.
“Not in a million years, Remus. Goodnight.” She barely heard his response as she hurried up the stairs to the girls’ dormitories. She pulled off her jumper and threw it haphazardly onto her writing desk. Her skirt was next, and she climbed into bed still in her dress shirt and socks. How could Remus refuse her? Lily had never thought herself smug or stuck up, but she had a quick mind and strong resolve and tried to be honest and kind. She could understand if there wasn’t an attraction, but even as good mates…but no, Remus’s sweet brown eyes were only on his awful friends.
Lily crinkled her nose and turned onto her side, staring through the slit in her curtains at her silly sleeping girlfriends. She knew she would never share these feelings with the other girls over breakfast or in the courtyard. Lily couldn’t imagine giggling stupidly over a foolish crush, and she knew that the other girls could never appreciate the deep brown eyes, the long fingers, the sweep of fringe, and the easy, smooth rhythm with which a boy could move. It was going to be a challenge for Lily herself to forget these small beauties, but strength and patience could overcome most obstacles, and Lily was gifted with an abundance of both.
But that didn't stop Remus from following her into her dreams, where his long fingers rested lightly on her back and his sweet freckled nose and grinning mouth existing for her only.