Red- James Potter

27"

"So" Marlene smirked as she poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice at breakfast, "how was your date last night"

Camilla scoffed, "date? It was hardly a date. Potter and I aren't like that"

Lily, Marlene, Alice and Mary all looked to each other in disbelief

"That wasn't a date?" Lily asked, completely baffled

"No, absolutely not" Camilla grimaced at the idea

"But... you spent the whole evening together... alone" Alice said slowly, trying to make camilla understand where they was all coming from

"So?" Camilla replied, "Friends can hang out. I spend time with Remus alone and that is never a date"

"But Cam" Mary said exasperated, "You and James are different to you and Remus"

Camilla shook her head, "I'm just friends with him. Nothing more"

Then girls were quickly realising that their efforts to help Camilla see clearly were extremely futile. They would just have to let her realise that James was not just a friend, on her own.

Camilla was glad it was a weekend so she was able to stay down at the quidditch pitch for as long as she pleased. She had gone down an hour earlier before training to have some time to get in some extra practise in before the rest of the team had come down.

James had been looking for her in the common room but couldn't see her anywhere. Not needing to check the map, already pretty sure he knew where to find her, he changed into his quidditch training outfit and grabbed his broom.

"where are you off to?" Sirius asked watching him leave the dorm

"The pitch"

"But training doesn't start for an hour"

"I know"

James could see camilla in the distance. It seemed she had charmed a Quaffle to keep flying back to her. She was practising her passing and receiving skills and as James approached, he saw the irritated look on her face. She seemed to be getting extremely frustrated with her broom. It wasn't moving as quickly or as sharply as she would like and it drove Camilla insane. Yes it was all well and good being an amazing player, but an amazing player with a horrible broom was just a mediocre player. Camilla didn't want to just be a mediocre player. She wanted to be great.

"What's with the face of rage?" James asked in amusement, flying up beside her, catching the quaffle in his hands

"It's this broom" camilla sighed, "it's awful. I don't know how I can possibly do my best. When it come to an actual match... I just don't want to let the team down"

James felt so bad. It was all his fault.

"You won't let the team down Prewett" James said seriously, "You're the teams backbone"

camilla shook her head, utterly defeated.

She loved quidditch so much, but she loved the team and people on it more.

"I'm going to find McGonagall tomorrow and hand in my captaincy. The team can't have a captain who isn't able to keep up with them".

James' eyes widened in shock. He had waited forever to hear Camilla say that she would step down. That the captaincy would all be his. But as she had said it, he didn't feel any kind of joy but rather a crushing sadness.

"But you can't!"

Camilla raised an eyebrow at him skeptically, "Oh come off it Potter, it's what you always wanted"

James shook his head, "perhaps at the beginning but not now! I like working with you and I like being friends with you Cam. Don't give up your captaincy just because of the broom. You'll do just fine with it, you're too good not to"

"it's too slow James. A team captain should further the team, not drag them back"

James disagreed.

"The team needs you Cam... I need you. I can't do this all without you"

Camilla sighed.

"Don't resign Cam" he begged

"fine" she finally replied, "But you're going to have to score double your usual goals to make up for the loss of mine"

"easy" James shrugged simply

For the rest of the hour the pair of them flew around the pitch, practising their passing and shooting until the rest of the team arrived.

Camilla was grateful to have James as a friend. He was proving to be a pretty amazing one so far. She found herself wondering how they had never properly been friends before hand. Camilla found James interesting and kind and passionate and loyal and she was slowly starting to see that James' heart was as wide and deep as an ocean. The things James would do, and has done for his friends, were something not many others would do. Camilla appreciated the little things and James Potter had lots of little, but pretty incredible, quirks.

Every moment Camilla spent with James she got to see him a little more for who he was each time. And so far, she really like the person James Potter was proving to be.

She didn't want time to continue and for the rest of the team to arrive. It would mean that her and James would have to stop what they was doing and actually coach the team. She so enjoyed just chatting animatedly with him as they tossed the Quaffle back and forth.

James felt similarly. He spent an awful lot of time with the other marauders and it was nice to have another female friendship. He was friends with Marlene, Mary and Alice, and sort of Lily nowadays; but they weren't that close. He liked having Camilla to talk to. It was a nice change from the usual company of Sirius, Remus and Peter which was usually pretty fast paced and hectic.

Spending time with Camilla was relaxing and fun and easy. She was sort of like a breath of fresh air. They liked the same things and thought the same way and James felt as if he didn't have to explain what he was thinking as Camilla had always thought the same.

He was happy around her and was extremely glad their grudges against each other had dissolved.