Everlasting ⁂ Harry Potter [1]

Chapter Four

It wasn't long before Olivia's peaceful silence in the compartment was interrupted as the door slid open, making the eleven year old look away from the window and the nature beyond it to look at the person who now stood at the entrance. The girl who seemed to be around the same age as Olivia gave her a wide eyed and apologetic look, feeling guilty for disturbing her.

"Hello, do you mind if I stay in this compartment with you? It would seem everywhere else is full." The unfamiliar girl asked, and Liv nodded her head. Of course she wouldn't turn her away. And it could be good to make some more friends before arriving at the school.

"My name's Hope Bowman." The girl said with a wide smile as she took a seat on the bench across from Olivia, her wild brown curls flying around her as she moved. Olivia returned the smile as she too introduced herself.

"I'm Olivia, it's nice to meet you." She said with a small shy smile on her face as she extended her hand to the girl politely. Hope happily accepted it.

"Are you a first year too Olivia?" Hope asked in a friendly manner. From the way she spoke and the look on her face, it was more than obvious she was extremely excited about going off to Hogwarts. Liv nodded her head in confirmation, and Hope's eyes sparked up happily. "Which house do you think you'd be in?"

"I'm not sure, my dad thinks I might belong in Ravenclaw." Olivia stated, remembering how her father analysed every house and entered a detailed debate with Amelia on which one she'd be sorted into. Amelia was rooting for her to be a Hufflepuff.

"Was he a Ravenclaw too?" Hope asked, she knew her own mother and father often debated which house she'd get sorted into based on which ones they were members of.

"Oh no, my dad's not a wizard. Although he likes to say that if he were he'd be a Gryffindor." Olivia stated openly. She hoped it wouldn't be something that the girl minded. She couldn't help but remember the opinion of Muggles that the father and son had in the owl shop.

"Do you think he'd be a Gryffindor?" Hope asked, seemingly completely brushing off the detail about her father and continuing on with the conversation as if nothing had been said. It lifted some of the weight off of Olivia's shoulders and she relaxed, feeling free to continue.

"I think he's a Hufflepuff honestly." Olivia said with a small laugh, and Hope too let out one of her own. However, their laughter was interrupted as a thud sounded from the other side of the closed compartment door. They looked over, expecting to see another student looking for a place to spend their time on the train, but nobody seemed to be there.

Curious, Olivia stood from her seat and moved over to the door, sliding it open so she could check the hallway in front of it. Maybe someone had knocked but moved along? But the hallway seemed to be empty. She was about to close the door again when a small croak from below her caught her attention. Looking down, Liv's eyes fell upon the form of a small brown toad jumping around her feet. She concluded it must've accidentally jumped into their door and that was where the thud had come from.

"What are you doing here little fella?" She asked in a gentle voice and kneeled down, extending her hands to the toad so it could jump into them. "Come on, you don't want to get hurt out here." She commented as she picked the animal up and closed the compartment door. The toad must belong to someone and had probably escaped. Liv was sure someone would be looking for it so it'd be best to keep it safe until the owner could be located.

"Where did that come from?" Hope questioned curiously as Olivia moved back to her seat with the toad peacefully nestled in her hands.

"I don't know, it was in the hallway. I thought I should bring it in here so it doesn't get hurt." Olivia explained and Hope nodded in understanding, not minding sharing the compartment with the creature. She wasn't easily disgusted, so a toad was no big deal to her.

After the interruption caused by the toad, Hope and Olivia continued their conversation moving beyond houses and talking about what they were excited about now that they were starting Hogwarts. Hope also told Olivia how she hoped to one day work in the Department of International Magical Cooperation just like her grandfather had. It made Olivia realize that she didn't even know what her future would hold now that she had a whole new world to explore. Until then she had always dreamed of playing her violin in an orchestra or something similar. But now things were changing for her.

Sometime into the ride towards Hogwarts, Olivia and Hope's conversation was once again interrupted as the door of their compartment opened up to reveal another girl standing at the entrance. She was already dressed in her robes, her wild brown hair falling over her shoulders as she spoke up.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but a boy named Neville has lost his toad, I was wondering whether you had seen it?" The girl asked and Olivia was quick to reach for the toad which was now resting on the bench beside her.

"Here it is." She stated as she took hold of it before it could jump away again. The girl's brown eyes focused on the toad in Olivia's hands and she gave her a small smile of gratitude, happy to have found it. At least Neville would find some relief and stop worrying about his pet.

"Thank you so much for keeping him safe..." The girl said, however, she left her sentence open ended as she realized she didn't know the name of Trevor's rescuer.

"Olivia, and there's no need to thank me, I was happy to do it until someone came looking for him." Liv said with a smile as she handed the toad to the girl, carefully placing it into her hands so it wouldn't jump away while also making sure it didn't get hurt in the process.

"I'm Hermione, Hermione Granger." The girl introduced herself once Trevor was safely in her hands, offering Olivia a smile.

"It's nice to meet you Hermione." Liv said politely.

"I should get Trevor back to Neville. Thank you again." Hermione said, glancing down at the croaking toad in her hands. She really wanted to get it back into his little cage before it jumped away and ran off again. If they lost him now, she wasn't sure whether they'd be able to find him before they reached Hogwarts. So she started to move to the door of the compartment, but before exiting she turned back to the two girls.

"Oh, we'll be arriving soon so you might want to change into your robes." She reminded them with a smile.

"Thank you." Both Olivia and Hope called after her, as during their conversation the time had completely slipped from their mind. Thanks to Hermione they wouldn't be looking like fools rushing to change during the last seconds of their trip.

And so Liv and Hope quickly scurried around, pulling their robes from their bags. As Hermione's words registered in their minds their excitement skyrocketed once more. The thought of reaching the school soon sent them into a happy and nervous state that wouldn't release its hold for the rest of the day.

Published: 03rd July, 2020

You guys, the next chapter is the Sorting Ceremony finally! What house do you all think Liv will be in?

Camilla and I know hehehe