Odd Girl

The warm air was a welcome break from the usual cool and wet weather at Hogwarts. Despite this Sirius Black was in a very dower mood if the frown on his face was any indication.

It wasn’t often that the young man found himself alone - especially on a weekend - but this particular spring day he made his way towards the lake without one of his constant companions.

Remus had locked himself away in the library, trying to catch up on classwork. Full moons always took their toll on him in more ways than one. Peter was passed out on his bed, fast asleep with drool and everything. Normally Sirius would enjoy pulling some sort of prank to wake his sleeping friend, but after the group’s escapade last night he didn’t have the heart.

And James, well James was finally making headway with Lily Evans and Sirius was not about to be the third wheel for that.

So now Sirius found himself utterly alone and completely bored.

This was not to remain so, however.

As he made it to the rocky shore he spotted something quite unusual sprawled on the ground. At first Sirius wasn’t quite sure what he was seeing. But quickly his confusion turned to shock, then disbelief.

The lump lying on the ground seemed to be a person. Their bare feet just at the edge of the water, arms spread out wide as if they had fallen backward to make snow angels in the non-existent snow. Their clothes were wet and plastered to their body.

Stepping cautiously up to the mysterious person, Sirius’s first worry was that this person was dead. They weren’t moving and with the heavy, wet clothing they were wearing it was difficult to tell if they were still breathing.

Thoughts rushed through his head. Was there some sort of accident? Should he run off and find James and Lily? Lily would know what to do.

The closer Sirius drew the easier it was to distinguish the lump of a person on the ground. For one thing it was a girl. Her dark hair was wet and knotted about her head. If Sirius was being completely honest, the girl looked like mess.

But perhaps the oddest thing about the girl was the small smile on her face.

Sirius wasn’t exactly sure on the protocol when one finds a wet girl passed out on the shores on The Great Lake, who may or may not be dead. With a smile on her face.

He was half tempted to find a stick and poke her.

Her eyes suddenly popped open, causing Sirius to jump – though he’d never admit that if anyone asked

“Hello,” the girl said with that smile still on her face as she pushed herself up to a sitting position. “Beautiful day isn’t it?”

Sirius was quite flabbergasted and for once in his life he wasn’t quite sure what to say. The girl sat there expectantly, raising an eyebrow as if he were the one that looked like a drowned rat.

“What are you doing?” Sirius managed to ask.

“Sunbathing of course,” the girl replied, furrowing her brow, a small frown replacing the smile. “Like I said, it’s a beautiful day.”

Sirius was pretty sure the girl was mad, or perhaps delirious. The cold water probably shocked her body, or she may have hit her head. “Did you fall in?”

Her nose wrinkled and the smile reappeared on her face. The amusement in her brown eyes told him she was trying hard not to laugh. “Of course I didn’t fall in. I decided to take a swim.”

“Fully clothed?” Sirius asked. He felt as if she was toying with him and didn’t quite like feeling as if he was on the other end of a joke. He glanced towards the water then back to one of the strangest girls he had ever met. “Wasn't it cold?”

“Oh, of course it was. But the sun is quite warm and I’ve always found a nice swim helps me think clearly.” She said as she brushed a straggly strand of hair away from her face. She narrowed her eyes and looked him over. “You’re Sirius Black, aren’t you?”

“And you are?” Was his way of a reply, his brow raising just a bit.

“Neela Anand,” she smiled up at him, her white teeth only blinding. Despite her ragged appearance, Sirius realize, she was quite pretty. She gave him a coy look. “I’m sure you don’t know me. But don't worry, hardly anyone does.”

If Sirius was being honest he never troubled himself with names of those he didn’t really find of importance. But he wasn’t about to tell her that. Something he learned over the years was that women rarely enjoyed hearing that they aren't important.

“So, Mr. Sirius Black, why are you down here?” She asked, cocking her head to the side. “I don’t suppose came for a swim?”

“No,” Sirius found a small grin forcing its way onto his lips. “I simply found myself with some free time to spare.”

“I’m sorry your friends ditched you.” She stated with a small shrug of her shoulders. “I understand how that is. My friend Laura just found herself a boyfriend. I became non-existent to her. So I decided the best way to be out of the way is to go for a simple swim.”

“My friends didn’t ditch me,” Sirius huffed, his irritation coming full force. His friends didn’t ditch him. He could be in the library helping Remus study. He could be pouring a pitcher of cold water on Peter. He could be telling Lily embarrassing stories about James.

They didn’t ditch him. He ditched them.

Neela shrugged as if it really didn’t make a difference to her, which just irked Sirius more. He wasn’t quite sure why this girl irritated him so much. Perhaps it was her complete indifference that was bothering him.

Suddenly she pushed herself of the ground and stood less than a foot from him. Sirius fought the urge to take a step back. She barely reached his chin, and so she had to tilt her head back to look up at him.

“Since our friends ditched us, we should spend the rest of the day together.” Her smile returned full force and Sirius couldn’t help but feel his initial irritation dwindle - even if Neela apparently did not know the meaning of personal space.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him forward. “Come on, there’s a tree not too far away that has a fantastic view of the lake. It’s a bit difficult to climb, but I promise it’s worth it.”

The last time Sirius climbed a tree for fun was third year. Anything after that was entirely due to the fact that he’d have to climb said tree in order to play off some sort of prank. Though climbing a tree simply for the view would be a first.

“Sometimes it’s good to just be by oneself,” she said, giving him an almost shy look. “Not having to rely on others for amusement. Relying on others for happiness is a dangerous thing, after all.”

Maybe climbing a tree was exactly what he needed to do. Maybe simply doing nothing was what he needed to do. Maybe he needed to learn to be content by himself. Sirius rarely found himself alone. It was something he didn’t like.

His friends kept the memories of home away. They kept those dark thoughts away too. He didn’t enjoy being alone. But maybe he needed to learn how to.

Silly how an odd girl like Neela made him realize that.

Neela tugged on his hand again, forcing him to take a few steps forward.

“Why not,” Sirius said with a genuine smile on his face. “I’ve nothing better to do.”

“Padfoot?”

Sirius stopped his progress, bringing Neela to an abrupt halt. He turned to look over at James, Peter, and Remus. He dropped Neela’s hand, and smiled sheepishly at his friends. He knew the teasing would begin, most likely starting with James.

He'd get him back with Lily later. He always did.

Their confused expressions however made Sirius furrow his own brow.

“What are you doing?” It was Remus who asked this, his brown eyes looking at Sirius with concern. “Who are you talking to?”

“Neela,” Sirius stated, his own confusion growing.

“Neela who?” James asked, his brow rising so high that Sirius was afraid it would jump off his face.

“Neela,” Sirius repeated turning around to look at said girl. However, she wasn’t there. “Neela?”

“Are you feeling well?” Peter took a cautious step forward. The confusion had disappeared from their faces and was replaced with concern.

“I-that is…” Sirius glanced around, no sign of the odd, wet girl. There was no sign that she was ever there. Sirius frowned and looked back at his friends. There truly was only one thing could he could do in a situation like this. There concerned looks were enough to set Sirius on edge.

A lazy grin appeared on his face as he walked over to his friends. “Think that’ll get me out of lessons for a few days? Mad Black, they’ll call me. Everyone will believe I’ve lost my marbles.”

James was the first to crack a smile before a loud laugh escaped. “Brilliant.”

“You had me there for a moment,” Peter said, the large grin on his face couldn’t hide his amusement. He brushed back a few strands of blond hair. “When I saw you standing there talking to yourself I thought you had really lost it.”

Remus didn’t look as amused, but eventually the concerned look vanished as he shook his head. “Come on you lot, it’s lunch time and I for one am hungry.”

The small group made their way back up to the castle with Remus taking the lead. Sirius tried to listen to James jokes. He tried to seem interested in what Peter was saying. But his thoughts kept drifting back to the lake.

He wouldn't have to be alone today. Though truly if he had his say about it he wouldn't ever have to be alone.

He couldn’t help but glance back down at the lake, the confusion still there. How could Neela simply disappear? She couldn't have been a simple fragment of his imagination. Though, he suppose, stranger things have happened.