Chapter Three: Realizations

"What are you doing?"

Thump.

Okay, so at least I didn't fall out of a tree this time, but who the hell is disturbing me now? I mean, can't they leave me alone? I'm trying to take a picture, here!

Well, that's what I'll tell them if they ask.

I groaned a little, lifting myself from the ground where I fell off the stone bench. I had been practicing my daily routine of observingthat girl by the lake when I noticed something on the lens of my camera.

Ever since Dylan caught me staring at her last week, I'd been taking my camera with me in case he wanted to check up on me. Which he would. He's that sort of bloke.

Why am I friends with him again?

Anyway, for the last ten minutes, I had been trying to figure out whatexactly was on my lens. I mean, I broke the thing around ten times a week, but it was easier to figure out what was wrong first.

Until somebody so rudely interrupted me. What, do they have a death wish?

"What?" I asked absent-mindedly, getting up from the grass and brushing dirt off my school trousers. I didn't take my eyes off the camera, which had broken from my fall. Again.

"What are you doing?" questioned the cheery voice. It made me suddenly pause, because there was something seriously something fishy about this.

That was a girl'svoice.

Did I mention girls never talked to me? I mean, I can't blame them; I never had much to say. I'd get bored within the first five minutes because gossip wasn't my thing. I could care less that we were uniforms in school. Plus, girls just talked so much; it was one reason I didn't really get along with Lily. My sister never shuts up.

So you can imagine my surprise at hearing the feminine voice. Girls have just resorted to avoiding me by now; before, they might've tried to hook up with me, but something always turned them off. Maybe it was the fact that I was bitterly sarcastic and cared more for coffee than for them.

Girls are just so touchysometimes.

I analyzed the voice. It didn't sound like my sister or my cousins – but then again, I have so many relatives, how could I remember what they all sound like? But I was positive it wasn't someone related me; the voice was light and carefree, not quite in a high register. Above, it was happy.

Merlin, I bloody hatecheery people.

I lifted my head to look at the joyful intruder, fully intending on telling them to piss off, relative or non-relative, girl or no girl. I was clearlybusy – couldn't they see that? Except it wasn't any of those options.

Okay, it was a girl – but it wasn't just any girl.

It was thegirl.

It was Lake Girl.

(Yes, that name has a nice ring to it.)

(Considering I don't actually know her name.)

Somehow, in my lens analysis, she had stopped studying and skipped over to me, her brown eyes wide and filled with curiosity. Her hair sparkled from the light shining through the leaves, and I almost wished desperately I was up in a tree.

Because then, there would've been some chance I would've fell and hit my head, thus fainting and would not be experiencing this awkward moment.

She didn't seem awkward, though. It looked as though someone had plugged her and turned on the lights; she was practically beaming and bouncing around, eagerly looking from my broken camera to my burning face. A flicker of concern crossed her face.

"Are you okay?" I tried to answer her question, but it was if a lump of meatloaf or something had gone and wedged itself in my throat, making it near impossible to answer.

I usually likemeatloaf. This isn't fair.

"Yeah," I finally choked out, sitting back on the bench and staring down at my camera, shocked. What was she doing here? I've never talked to her in my life.

"So, I was just studying –" she gestured to her things, still sitting at the lake for anyone to take "– and was wondering if you could help me with something." I raised my head and blinked at her, my mind still blissfully blank.

Seriously. What the hell.

Is this payback for ogling her all week?

"I'm taking Muggle Studies," she continued cheerfully, running a hand through her black hair. I swallowed at the light reflected, making it shimmer. "I thought, since you've been taking pictures since forever, you could help me with this report."

I blinked again. Ravenclaw. Should've seen this coming.

I couldn't find my voice. I swear it had disappeared. I was like that mermaid that Lily couldn't stop blabbering on about when we were little; I probably could mouth things and nothing would come out.

See?

Pathetic.

I continued to stare blankly at her, possibly trying to telepathically communicate to her that my bodily functions had gone wonky in her presence and I couldn't speak. Then again, if I didspeak, I was positively mortified with the fact that I might've blurted out something like, 'You're bloody sexy and I've been staring at you all week.'

That would've gone over reallywell.

She waited patiently, eyebrows raised and her smile plastered permanently on her pale face. I swallowed deeply but closed my mouth, deciding that, considering our proximity, it would be unwise of me to utter a single word.

This didn't mean I fancied her, or anything. No, I've been having suspicions that she's put me under some sort of spell that makes her pop into my mind at inconvenient times.

Like at night. When I'm trying to sleep.

Clearlyshe wanted my help, so she'd planned the whole thing. Those Ravenclaw's aren't freaking clever, you know; she could've suspected I wouldn't help her, so she put me under a spell that led me to this lake every day for a week. That was completely plausible.

She took me by surprise, however, by playfully knocking on my head. "Anyone in there?"

Ah, forget it. She's much too innocent to be devious.

"Hi," I said stupidly, gripping my camera tightly. I felt the lens break a little more, sending a sharp pain into my finger. I looked down to find a bloody finger. The girl gasped.

"Are you okay?" she asked again, quickly taking out her wand. "Let me fix that." And without permission, she grabbed my hand with her freakishly small ones (her hands are tiny!) and tapped her wand onto my finger. I watched my skin knit back together.

Okay, so that was nice, but personal space, woman.

"Thanks," I told her, feeling my throat squeeze tightly as I spoke. She let out a sincere grin, followed by a wicked one.

Crap.

"Now you owe me." I raised an eyebrow and pulled my hand from her grasp.

"I didn't ask for you to do that."

"But I did," she pointed out gleefully. "Come on, I really need help with this one question, and I'm too lazy to go to the library."

I nodded. Totally understandable. "You mean it's just the one question?"

"That's all."

I shrugged, feeling my face burn a little. Maybe I should put on sunscreen or something. "Alright."

"I remember the professor talking about this thing," she pondered out loud, sitting beside me. "When you take a picture with a camera, where does the picture go?"

I tried not to stare at the adorable way her nose scrunched as she thought. And then I tried to ignore that she had just gotten so much closer to me.

(It wasn't working, in case you were wondering.)

"You mean…" I cleared my throat. "Film?"

She snapped her fingers, smile bursting through her eyes. "I knew it was something like that! Thanks!"

"You're welcome," I said, shifting uncomfortably and looking at my camera again. The whole bloody thing was practically worthless.

Thank Merlin for magic.

"Sorry for making you fall," she said guiltily, although not looking the part. "I didn't mean to make you break your camera."

I shook my head. "Dylan makes me break my camera all the time."

"You know, I don't understand why everyone thinks you're creepy," she said, leaning back on her hands and looking at me. "You're not."

"I'm not?"

"Nope," she said, giving me piercing look. I felt very odd; it was as if everything had flipped for a moment. This girl was observing me.

This iscreepy.

"You know what I think you are?" she asked, reaching over and boldly tapping my nose. She didn't bother to wait for an answer. "I think you're misunderstood."

"Tragically," I answered automatically, trying to shake off the tingling on the top of my nose where she had touched me. She let out laughter that sounded as if it had enwrapped in my ears. Really, it's all I could hear.

"But you are!" she exclaimed, looking up at the leaves. "It's sort of how my friends sometimes see me. They think that I dress lazily." My eyes immediately swept over her body again for the countless time that day. She was dressed in a t-shirt and sweat pants.

"I don't think you dress lazily," I said honestly, bringing my eyes back to hers. She snorted.

"Perhaps," she answered, "but there are more important things than fancy clothing."

"Like what?" I asked, craving her voice.

"Like…" she turned her head towards the water, her gaze softening as her eyes fell on the small, sparkling waves. "The lake. It's just so majestic, see? How does the way I dress compare to that?"

I smiled. "I get it."

"And it's not like I'm thatlazy," she continued contentedly, "but my friends don't understand why I'm always out here. I love being outside."

"Me too," I agreed, thinking of my adventures. I almost never took pictures indoors. Suddenly, she stood, bouncing on her heels. I felt compelled to follow suit.

"Thanks, Albus Potter," she told me, surprising me by giving me a friendly hug. "I'll see you around." And as I watched her skip away and back to the edge of the lake, where her books lay, I tried not to imitate her.

(Guys don't skip around happily.)

Instead, I sat back down and stared at the broken camera, trying not to think about my burning face, my tingling nose, the meatloaf still stuck in my throat and something beating madly in my chest.

What isthat, anyway? Is there a miniature hammer, just thrashing away –

Holy crap.

I think I just realized my heart exists.