Everlasting ⁂ Harry Potter [1]

Chapter Twenty Eight

It was only the first day of classes and already, the castle was abuzz with students gossiping about the latest events that had transpired since their arrivals last night. Of course, one of the main topics was Harry and Ron's adventure and unique method of arrival which landed them in detention as soon as they stepped foot into the castle. However, the other thing people seemed to enjoy laughing about was Neville's fainting spell during their Herbology lesson earlier in the day.

And at the moment, it was what made a frown appear on Olivia's face as she sent a glare towards Justin, who along with a couple of his friends was teasing Neville as he passed by their desks. Poor Neville kept his head down, pretending not to notice them, but the frown on his face indicated the opposite. The sight of it made Liv rise up from her chair so Neville would notice her as she sent him a small smile.

"Don't worry about them Neville, today wasn't your fault." She said in an uplifting tone, hoping to cheer up the Gryffindor. "How are you feeling?" She added moments later. Because of his accident in Herbology, Neville had spent some time in the Hospital Wing and missed Transfiguration. Now that he was back, he was surely better. Madam Pomfrey wouldn't have let him out of bed if she had any doubts about his state.

"Thanks Olivia. I'm better, still some ringing in my ears though." Neville let a small smile appear on his face. Striking up a conversation with Olivia helped him better ignore the taunts of his peers, and he was grateful for it.

"Tell me about it. It's like those protective earmuffs were made of only a layer of silk, not actual protective material." Hope, who was occupying the same desk as Olivia let out a groan of irritation. "I would have fainted too if the Mandrakes were shut up any later." The Slytherin added on, smiling towards Neville who happily sent a smile back to her.

"I should go take my seat." Neville announced, finally noticing that almost all of the empty seats had by now been taken by the students coming into the classroom. He didn't want to cause more trouble by still scrambling around when Professor Lockhart came in. With Neville walking away, Liv lowered back down into her seat. She checked one last time she had all of her supplies, but Hope spoke up once more, making her eyes turn towards the wild haired girl.

"So are we going to address the elephant in the room?" Hope asked, her eyes almost wearily looking at their surroundings. It made Olivia's brows furrow in confusion. Aside from the teasing and rude boys, she had noticed nothing else that could be wrong, so she didn't understand what Hope could be referring to.

"The elephant in the room?"

"Lockhart! Why the bloody hell has he put up so many pictures of himself?" Hope asked with a frown, the question making laughter burst past Liv's lips. "It's creepy, he's not here but I still feel like I can't do something without getting caught."

While she found Hope's observations amusing, Olivia couldn't deny that it was a bit odd. Last year, the classroom looked quite different. A multitude of Professor Quirrel's trinkets, gathered on travels and bearing some importance to the class, were scattered across shelves and other surfaces. But now the classroom looked more like a shrine to the golden haired professor than it did a space for learning.