James Potter
Remus decides that he’s done with the cafe, officially, while he’s on his way to his first tutoring session a few hours after his disastrous attempt to get back at Sirius. Maybe he’ll drop the library as his new study spot, he thinks. It’s quite enough, and they might not have tea, but they sure as hell won’t have Sirius Black strutting around the place.
He’s still fuming as he descends the stairs into the basement, searching for the meeting room Lily said the tutor would be waiting in. She’d arranged the whole first session herself, knowing that Remus isn’t all that keen on strangers. James, Remus thinks Lily said his name was. He finds the correct room, door open to reveal the man within. He’s hunched over a desk, textbooks spread over it, laptop in his lap that he occasional glances at or types on. He’s a decent looking guy, Remus thinks, although not his type. He has brown skin, dark hair sticking every which way, gold framed circular glasses sitting crooked on his face. He has stubble that speaks more of not having the time to shave this morning rather then any intentional effort to grow out his facial hair. He startles a bit when Remus knocks on the door frame, and then his face spreads into a wide, warm grin.
“Hiya!” He says, standing to meet Remus in the doorway, sticking out a hand for Remus to shake.
“Um, hi.” Remus says, taking James’ outstretched hand, more then a little caught off guard by the mans slightly frantic energy.
“You must be Remus. Odd name, I have to say. I like it. Lily said you needed some help with Calc, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Not talkative, huh? I like that too, I’ve been told I talk enough for three people. Come on in, we’ll get started.”
Remus is rather hesitant to enter the room. James has far too much energy and this is frankly not the vibe Remus was expecting from a tutor who would be helping him slug through calc. But it would be rude to simply turn and leave at this point, so he’ll at least see this session through. Then he’ll come up with some reason to never return here ever again.
“Lily tells me you’re practically a genius, so this shouldn’t be hard.” James says as they sit down. He shoves aside some his own textbooks to make room for a notebook and a calc textbook.
“Lily’s biased. I’m hopeless with math. I don’t think I got anything higher then a C in any of my math classes in grade school.
James claps his hands over his cheeks in mock shock. “Oh. My. God. Cs? You really are hopeless.” Then he grins. “Trust me, you’ll be fine. Most people I tutor were failing before I got my hands on them, even my own brother, and that mans truly a genius. More of the evil genius variety, but still. You’re already better off then all of them.”
Okay, Remus decides, maybe James isn’t as bad as he first thought. He can do this.
Somehow, James manages to make calc fun. Or maybe he’s just so endlessly entertaining that not even calc can stifle him. He balances study and distraction masterfully, so that Remus never feels too off track but also never like he’s grinding. It’s no wonder that he can bring failing students up to B grade averages. By the end of their session, Remus feels that he has a solid grasp on this unit, and his cheeks hurt from smiling.
“Well then.” James says, slamming his textbook shut with finality. “Still feel hopeless?”
“Maybe a little, but notably less so then an hour ago.”
“Then my work for the day is done!”
“Thanks so much for the help.”
“Anytime man. I mean that.” And for the first time after hearing those words, Remus actually believes that he means that. “I like you. And Lily was right, as usual. You are a genius.”
“Well, I don’t know about that, but thank you.”
“I do know about that. You’re a genius, Remus Lupin. A genius with an exceedingly odd name.
“Don’t I know it. It means “wolf wolf” If you can believe it. Not sure what my parents were thinking with that one. James cackles at that. “Anyway, can we do this again same time next week?”
“Absolutely. Oh, and are you free this Friday?”
“No, I’ve got homework. But I don’t think I’ll need any more help this week. We won’t have new material until Monday.”
“Not for studying, wolf wolf, for drinking. Me and some friends and my brother are goin out on Friday. Thought you might wanna join.”
“Oh. Oh, sorry, I can’t. I’m kinda set on my homework plans.”
“Oh well, maybe another time. Keep one of these weekends open for me, yeah?”
“I’ll try.”
“I’m holding you to that!” He says. “I’ve got to get to class soon, but I’ll see you next week. Text me if you need anything before then, though. Or if your weekend mysteriously opens up…”
Remus agrees, and they part ways. Remus finds himself fringing all the way back to his dorm. He’s not sure how James managed to brighten such a crummy day, especially since Remus doesn’t exactly take to new people very well. Maybe James is a little bit magic.