Cameron smiled at the sudden change to pink, but was startled—almost disappointed—at every subsequent change. Pink, purple, green, and then back to brown. It was an arrangement of colors that had never existed together before now, and Sloane's words confirmed the obvious: she could control it now. Torn between pride and the sudden tightness in his chest, he mustered a slight smile.

"I'm proud of you" he said, mindlessly touching the braid once more as if it might feel different after having shifted through a series of colors. "And how... thoughtful of him." Though his grin remained, the smile fell from his eyes. He could not help but focus on the book. Had it been a birthday present? He should have assumed she was talking to Ned over the summer, and they'd probably had a better time than he and Sloane had. Perhaps he'd given the book in person close to her birthday, and he'd given her the book. Way to be more useful than a silly bracelet! He should of gotten something similar (or at least more practical)!

The talk of quidditch was a good distraction—or it might have been if he wasn't now concerned about his own judgment. "Yeah, or else I'm going to have to deal all year with Selwyn reminding me that I'm the one who put him back on the team."

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