calendars • marauders era

30

MORE AND MORE FREQUENT DATES

led to a genuine affection for Tessa Brookes. More and more frequent dates led to a mellowed down dislike of James Potter. Could it be true? True love?

If one word could summarize the situation since the couple's first date: for Tessa Brookes, that word would be surprising. She had expected a shallow, narcissistic, cocky boy but, after that first date and then some, that proved not to be the case. He was actually...thoughtful? And interesting? Shock. Utter shock.

And if one thing could summarize the past 10 days for James Potter, that word would be surprising. And spectacular. One word couldn't explain Tessa Brookes completely. Surprise: because she hadn't turned out to be a sulky, gloomy, fatalistic, morose, one-dimensional, or highly destructive girl. She was interesting. And casual. Funny. And beautiful.

Sometimes she sat in the library with Remus, neither saying anything, both reading or studying and asking the other questions from time to time. This was before James had ever really known her. It also explained why Tessa and Remus seemed so much like casual acquaintances. Because they were.

Sometimes, she and Peter would get put together in class assignments and they'd do spectacular (her telling him what to add into the cauldron and him adding). Even Sirius was impressed.

Things seemed a bit fast, but James brushed it off as a natural effect of liking someone very much. Merlin, he barely (if at all) ever thought of Lily anymore.

He stopped nagging her, stopped writing letters that he never sent but always addressed to her, and her presence in his life generally faded. And was he upset?

James Potter had stopped seeing red everywhere, stopped romanticizing roses. Gentle blue-gray skies were breathtaking and they deserved as much, if not more, admiration and adoration. James was living in shades of blue-gray and it was bliss.