Barking Mad (Sirius/OC)

I need a light to take me home

"Yes?" McGonagall simply asked with a raised eyebrow. She had one hand on her hip, while the other held her textbook.

Dr. Greene gave me a kind smile when he located me. "Would you mind if I stole Miss Schmidt for a little while?"

McGonagall gave him a look and looked about to protest when something seemed to click in her brain. Apparently Dumbledore had told her something about my situation after all, I thought as I saw realization dawn. Of course Dumbledore had to have told her something about me. She was head of Gryffindor after all and surely she had known about my situation and why I spent every Thursday night holed in Dumbledore's office. "Of course, Mr.?"

"Greene. Doctor Gideon Greene at your service, madam."

I cringed when he told the whole class that he was a doctor. Had the man no brains? I saw Lily look sharply my way and I made a face at her. She cocked her head to the side in silent question, but I shook my head.

I quietly gathered my things and dumped them in my book bag. I saw Sirius eyeing me worriedly, which both surprised and delighted me, but besides glancing at him, I didn't do a damn thing. I followed Greene out of the classroom and smacked his arm after the door had fallen closed behind us. "Did you have to tell them you were a doctor?"

"I am a doctor," he pointed out, way too sassy for a middle aged wizard.

"You're a psychiatrist."

"Yes," Greene agreed, "and that's just a different type of doctor."

"You couldn't have said Healer or something?"

"Then they would have thought you had some contagious disease for me to visit you at school."

I frowned. "Still would have preferred Healer," I muttered.

He gave me a hug and smiled down at me. He was freakishly tall too. "I'm glad to see that you're doing well, Nika."

I couldn't help but return the hug and smiled back. "You don't look too shabby yourself." He actually oozed health and he had a happy blush on his face that I immediately zeroed in on. "How is Katya?"

"My private life is none of your business, dear. I'm here to talk about yours." He had told me this a gazillion times and yet somehow I always managed to learn some detail about his life I hadn't known before.

Like the fact that four years ago he had met the love of his life, Katya. He refused to tell me her last name, but that was okay. It was a sore subject after all, especially since our Katya was a married woman. It had to be eating him up alive inside, but the last I heard he was perfectly happy with just being friends.

Maybe he, too, should get some counselling. I opened my mouth to pry some more, but he gave me a strict look.

"Drop it, Nicole," he warned.

I froze at my birth name and immediately dropped the subject, knowing I was about to cross a boundary we both didn't want me to cross. I would hate for him to leave me behind with no answers whatsoever. "Nobody's called me that in ages," I said quietly.

His eyes were kind when they regarded me. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," I shrugged. "I like it." My parents had rarely called me Nicole either, they had nicknamed me Nika, which is why I had chosen that name when Dumbledore gave me the choice five years ago. We remained silent when he guided me to a classroom in the dungeons. It was empty - like literally empty. There were no tables or chairs inside, except for the big desk at the front of the room. There were three comfortable looking fauteuils that surrounded the desk and I couldn't wait to plant my ass down in one. The classroom looked empty and as far from cosy as it could possibly get, but I liked it.