The World, Biscuits And Sirius Black According To Nellie O'Neill

Names, Wishes, Hallowe'en And Me

Wishes. A hope or desire for something. You can wish for anything, it might come true, it might not. Wish upon a falling star. I did once; it never came true; I never did get that go-cart. Probably the best idea I didn't either. I probably would have broken a couple of bones.

At this very moment though, I have a new wish: to change this pebble into a butterfly with a flick of my wand, then for it to change back into a pebble with another flick.

It's harder than it sounds.

Much harder.

Especially since I'm rubbish at Transfiguration. It requires concentration the most and that is something I lack.

I've been trying for about two hours now. I'm alone, I think because I can't see anybody around. It's getting rather chilly now and people prefer to stay confined to the castle walls. These people are smart.

I am not smart though, that's why I'm standing under the tree, reviewing everything I've learnt in the past month. We've got a test next week and I don't want to fail it really badly.

"What are you doing?" Sirius asked standing next to me and because I hadn't noticed him, I'd jumped several feet in the air. "I scared you?" Sirius asked rhetorically with a little smirk on his face.

"No." I lied. "Not at all. I jump into the air for fun. You know... a little exercise. You just happened to come at that time."

"Oh? How many of these do you usually do?"

"Seven thousand and ninety-nine. Sometimes Seven thousand and ninety nine and a half..." I replied. "Want to join in?"

"I'll pass. How can you do a half jump?" Sirius pondered.

"Easy." I lifted up on of my leg. Sirius raised an eyebrow. "There."

"But you didn't jump." Sirius pointed out.

"My leg was in midair, just like it is when I jumped."

Sirius shrugged, he was accepting defeat for now. "You know, you're meant to be inside now."

"That late already?" I asked. Sirius nodded. "Why are you here now? Won't you also get into trouble?"

Sirius smirked playfully. "Taking a walk. Haha, no. My best friend is the Head Boy remember?"

"How could one forget James?"

"It's impossible. Believe me, I've tried." Sirius let out a bark style laugh, as I giggled. I smiled at Sirius in which he returned. He has a pretty nice smile.

"So what were you really doing?" He asked. I shrugged, not wanting to explain. It's embarrassing on how bad I actually am at Transfiguration. "It's okay," Sirius began again, "I won't laugh." Something tells me that probably wasn't strictly true. Perhaps it was the smirk on his face. Perhaps it was that glint in his eyes that made him seem much further away than he actually was. Sirius noticed I wasn't replying, so he turned to his next tactic; pouting.

I sighed, giving in. I opened my hand to reveal a tiny pebble. "I'm practising Transfiguration. I'm trying not to fail the next test too badly."

"Oh, that will be eas-" Sirius stopped talking when he looked at me. I don't know why. Perhaps it's the glare I'm giving him. "What I meant to say is erm...you need any help?" Sirius was amazing at Transfiguration; he always got it so quickly. His spells are always extravagant. He even surpassed Lily.

I shrugged. "No point in it. I won't get it anyway. It's useless."

"Stop being a pessimistic. You're an optimistic."