"Two weeks?" Sirius shouted in disbelief. James had just broken the news to Sirius that he was the Quidditch Captain. And yes, broken. As in bad news. Because this now meant he had to endure two weeks of training which meant that Sirius would be stuck at him without him. "You're going to leave me here for two weeks? What kind of friend are you?"

James narrowed his eyes on the boy, "You'll have Moony, Pads. I promise you'll live." James continued to pack his bags as Sirius paced the room. Sirius always had a flare for the dramatics. Without fail, he would react to something on such a grand scale that you would want to shout at him to stop talking. "Besides, we have the mirrors. It'll be like you're with me."

"Or - and hear me out on this one - you turn down being Quidditch captain?" he suggested as he fell back on his bed. James rolled his eyes at this. There was no world in which he would give that up, even for Sirius. Sirius knew this, of course, but there was no harm in asking.

"We both know that I would never do that," he countered as he zipped his luggage closed. James turned to look at Sirius, "I've been working towards this since our first year and, while I love you dearly, Sirius, I won't give this up because you have codependency issues."

Sirius sat up on his bed, "You are a cruel, cruel man, Potter." He thrust his hands forward, "You can't claim to love me and then leave me in the dust like this."

James rubbed his temple to ebb the slowly forming migraine. "Sirius, go to your room and get ready for dinner."

He gasped dramatically as he stood up, "You just can't wait to be rid of me, can you?" James grabbed one of his Quidditch gloves and chucked it at the boy's head. Sirius dodged it swiftly, escaping through the door. He peeked his head back in and stuck his tongue out before vanishing down the hall.

James rolled his eyes before he pulled his bags off the bed and placed them on the floor. He sat down on his bed for a moment before falling backwards.

Hogwarts had started a new program with other schools where all of the Quidditch team captains went away to a camp for training and school collaboration. James would rather stay home, if he were honest. Of course he loved Quidditch but he always missed his parents while he was away at school and the more time he could spend with them, the better.

And on top of that, the letter that was supposed to get sent to the Slytherin Quidditch Captain was stuck to his own when the owl arrived. He sent the letter off but contemplated hiding it so the boy wouldn't come. What were the odds that the Slytherin team captain would be Regulus Black, Sirius's now estranged brother. He was keeping this detail a secret from Sirius because he didn't know how the boy would react. It was still a sore subject and he didn't want to be the one to open any still healing wounds.

Sirius had shown up at the start of the summer, about a week after they had left Hogwarts. He wouldn't speak, but they took him in and did their best to help him. It took Sirius three days to speak and awhile after that to explain what had happened. His parents and him had gotten into a huge fight - one that he didn't go into too much detail on - and they kicked him out. He had been sleeping on a bench in the park for a few days before he finally came to the Potter Manor.

James woke up the day he was to leave for camp with a pit in his stomach. He wasn't exactly the type of guy to get nervous but for whatever reason, the thought about going to camp for two weeks was gnawing at him inside and it wasn't a feeling he was particularly fond of.

"James," Euphemia shouted from the outside of his room. James grabbed his pillow, shoving it on his face with a groan. "You need to hurry," she pointed out, her tone gentle and soft rather than irritated, "Or you'll miss the train."

James squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before opening them. "Okay," he called out, tossing his pillow to the side. I'll be down in a minute, Mum."

He threw himself off the bed and changed his clothes. It was odd not having to dress up a bit to go on the train. He was able to throw on some jeans and one of the muggle band tees that he and Sirius had got when they went to the concert and call it a day. He was lacing up his sneakers when the door to his room opened. He glanced up to see that it was Remus, who quietly shut the door behind him. James stood up, "Everything alright?"

"He doesn't know, does he?" Remus asked. This confused James because he couldn't have meant what he thought that he had meant. How in Merlin's beard would he have been able to figure that out?

James faltered at this, "Know what exactly?" Remus tilted his head and shot the boy a knowing look. "I wasn't sure how to tell him," he explained. James still wasn't sure how to tell him. And he was baffled as to how Remus knew in the first place. Then again, Remus knew practically everything. "We haven't really talked about...it. I didn't want to stir up any memories that he wasn't ready to deal with."

"That's smart," Remus agreed. James let out a breath of relief. But of course there was another shoe that dropped. "But you'll have to tell him eventually. He'll figure it out when we get to school and Regulus is captain."

James fell back on his bed with an exaggerated sigh. "Why do things have to be this complicated? I mean, we're not even sixteen, for Merlin's sake. And yet, it feels like the world is going to end at some unknown point but certainly soon."

Remus smiled slightly at this, taking a seat on the bed next to him, "Chocolate?" He held the bar out so he dangled over the boy. His solution was always a candy bar.

James laughed at this, sitting up and taking the candy from him. "Thank you, Moony."

"James!" Euphemia exclaimed and James shot up. He was already pushing it when he didn't want to get up this morning and he wasn't trying to make it worse.

"Shit," he muttered, tucking the bar into his pocket. He scrambled to get his stuff together, nodding his head to his friend's direction, "I should go, are you coming?"

"Nah," he waved off. Remus tucked his hands in his pockets, "I got something to take care of, remember?"

"Oh, right," he frowned. James stood up, facing him completely, "I can go later, you know. I doubt they'll miss me if I'm a day late-"

"James, go," he shook his head, "I'll be fine. You're taking the mirror right?" James nodded, "I'll talk to you later then. And don't forget to tell Sirius."

"I won't, trust me," James replied before he exited the room.

The second he descended the stairs, Sirius threw himself at the boy. James stumbled back but wrapped his arms around the boy once he processed what had happened, "I'll be back in two weeks."

"Too long," he muttered, his voice muffled because his face was pressed against the boy's chest. James empathized with the boy on a level that no one else could understand. Even if Sirius's antics were a bit off.

James laughed at this, "We'll talk every night, okay? It'll be like I never left."

"Take me with you?" Sirius requested and James shot him a look. "Alright, fine. I'll be here taking care of Moony. You go have fun doing your bonding exercises with your fellow Quidditch captains."

Fun probably isn't the word James would use to describe it.

"Welcome, everyone!" Dorcas announced to the group with a smile. Upon arrival at the camp, they were all sent to the main pitch. The ride over was silent, and lonely. All of the other Qudditch Captains seemingly decided to sit as far apart as they could. She clapped her hands together, "We are so excited to have you here."

"Clearly," the Hufflpuff muttered and the Ravenclaw captain snickered at this. James rolled his eyes at this as Frank began speaking about what they would be doing. The Hufflepuff Captain was some six year asshole who James couldn't be bothered to remember the name of. The Ravenclaw was a quiet seventh year who happened to fall into the position. Apparently she had taken a liking to the Hufflepuff.

There were other Quidditch captions from Durmstrang, Beauxbatons and Ilvermorny as well. James glanced around Dorcas to try to catch a glimpse at Regulus but the boy was seemingly very focused on the lecture they were all getting. He had grown a good amount since James had seen him last summer. He had gotten tall, taller than Sirius and maybe even Remus, too. But he was still skinny, his skin pulled taught against his bones as though he wasn't eating enough.

It wasn't until they started announcing rooms that James finally decided to listen to what was being said. "Charles, Giseppe," he read off, "You'll be in cabin five. Which leaves Black and Potter to cabin six." Regulus's eyes widened at this but he quickly masked the action. However, not quick enough for James not to notice. James raised an eyebrow at the action, surprised that anything phased the boy. "You guys are free to head to your rooms for the night," Frank announced, "Dinner will be served at seven."

James stood still for a moment as everyone spurred into action around him. What were the odds that he'd be sharing a room with Regulus of all people. And why was it that they decided to start this stupid camp this year instead waiting till after he left Hogwarts. The universe was out to get him.

Regulus was frozen as well, seemingly not sure as to how to proceed with the situation. James caught his eye for the briefest moment and Regulus immediately turned around and headed towards who knows where. James rolled his eyes at this and instead made his way toward their cabin. At least he got first dibs on the bed.

Once he entered the cabin, he placed his bag on the bed closest to the door. He opened his luggage to reveal a bottle of firewhiskey with a note attached to it, his name written in fancy cursive. He opened it to read, "Try to let loose a little bit, Prongs, - Your best bud, Padfoot." He snorted at this, placing the bottle back inside the luggage and pulling out the mirror.

He looked into it, "Sirius Black." He thought for a moment that maybe the mirror wasn't on him and almost put it away when the mirror blurred slightly and then focused to reveal Sirius. James grinned, "You miss me already?"

"Oh, I'm miserable without you Prongsy," Sirius sighed heavily. "I don't know how I'm going to survive the two weeks."

"I'm certain you'll find a way," James said pointedly and that's when Remus stepped into view. "Hey, Moony, how are you feeling?"

He shrugged, "I've been worse." Remus glanced at Sirius, "Was there something you wanted to talk about?"

Leave it to Remus to not beat around the bush. James narrowed his eyes at this, "Well, yes, but-" Just then, the door to the cabin opened and Regulus walked in. Sirius's eyes widened and Regulus stopped what he was doing when he realized James was looking at him. His gaze flickered toward the mirror and his expression hardened before he walked fully into the cabin. James looked back at the mirror, "Yeah, that about sums it up."

"They said we couldn't bring any communication devices," Regulus said pointedly from across the room. James was honestly surprised that the boy spoke to him at all. Of course the first thing he would say to him would be a complaint.

"What are you going to do, Snitch?" James inquired. "Please do, let's see what they make of a compact mirror?"

"I know how that stupid thing works, you forget that it was mine long before it was yours," Regulus said pointedly. "And no, I'm not going to snitch, so long as you don't get on my nerves. I was merely stating a fact."

"Well, thank you, Black, for the stellar lesson on the rules but I'll think I'll fare just fine without your help," James stated before looking back at the mirror where Sirius was watching him with a hard to read expression. "I'll call you lot later, okay?" Remus nodded, "Take care of him, Moony."

He tucked the mirror away and started to unpack his belongings. He placed the firewhiskey in the top drawer of the nightstand and Regulus shook his head in disbelief. "What?" James demanded, "You gonna scold me about how I wasn't supposed to bring that, either?" Regulus narrowed his eyes but said nothing, "It was a gift from your brother."

The Slytherin stilled at this, "What?"

"The firewhiskey," he explained. "Snuck it in there before I left."

"That sounds like Sirius," Regulus replied. "You don't have to make small talk, you know? No need to make this more awkward than it already is."

James put his hands up in surrender, "Whatever you want."