The Weight of Unspoken Words

Olivia Middleton's POV

After dinner, we step out of The Great Hall, and I immediately spot Chris waiting for me. He wouldn't leave without meeting his baby sister. As soon as he sees me, he pulls me into a hug, spins me around, and kisses my cheek.

"It's so good to see you. I missed you so much!" he says, pulling away. "Missed me? We met over the summer, remember? At my house?" I laugh while hugging the others. "Yeah, but still, I wished you stayed over at mine. Mum and Dad are dying to meet you," he insists.

I give Rafael a hug. He's grown taller, but I still barely reach his chest. "Perhaps, Christmas?" he asks, clearly hoping I'll say yes. "I'll think about it. You know, I'll be working," I reply, trying not to sound too harsh.

"No fair! You had the chance to live here at Hogwarts, and you left. You left me alone?" Rafael says dramatically, placing his hands over his heart. "Alright, Olivia. If your meet-cute is over, let's go," Percy says, and I hug them goodbye. "Alright, Percy, no need to be rude," I say, rolling my eyes, and walk off with him.

The first class is Divination. Hermione and I are already dreading it. I find myself nearly falling asleep the whole time, except when Trelawney raises her voice mid-sentence.

Next up is Care for Magical Creatures. We follow Hagrid into the forest for our lesson, with Hermione making fun of Professor Trelawney the entire way.

Hagrid tells us to form groups and open the book to page 49. As soon as I read "Hippogriff," I light up. I've always had a different love for animals. "This place has gone to the dogs. Wait till my father hears that Dumbledore allowed this oaf to teach," Malfoy says, and his goons laugh.

"You need to—" I start, but Harry cuts me off. "Shut up, Malfoy."

"Ooh, how romantic. Completing each other's sentences now, are we? Mr. and Mrs. Potter?" Draco taunts. "Jealous, Malfoy? That Liv is the only girl you can't get?" Ron says, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I get a little nervous. What if Draco says something about spending the summer with me? I didn't tell anyone about that, so they'd believe him. He comes closer, looking me up and down, and whispers just loud enough for me to hear, "Only if they knew."

I gulp, and he smirks and winks, walking away. "Leave it be, Harry," Hermione says, pulling us forward. Just then, Hagrid clears his throat. "Ta-da-da!" he says, showing off a Hippogriff. Everyone else is terrified, but I can't stop grinning, completely forgetting about the conversation with Draco.

"Isn't he beautiful? Come meet Buckbeak!" Hagrid calls, tossing him a treat. "Uh, Hagrid, exactly what is that?" Ron asks, terrified. I'm already stepping closer to Buckbeak, ignoring Hagrid's instructions, completely mesmerized by the creature.

"A Hippogriff. First thing you should know: they're very proud creatures. Very easily offended. You do not want to insult one. It could be the last thing you do," Hagrid warns. I'm close enough now, and Buckbeak notices me. I remember from the book that you bow first and wait for them to bow back before you approach.

Before I can even bow, he does it for me—one leg kneeling. How? They're supposed to be proud creatures, and yet he's bowing to me? I bow back, holding my skirt out slightly and bending my knee behind the other, lowering my head in return.

"Olivia!" Hermione shouts, drawing everyone's attention to me and Buckbeak.

Suddenly, Buckbeak runs toward me, and I freeze, thinking he might trample me. But as he reaches me, he slows down and gently places his large head on my shoulder. It feels like he's hugging me, so I wrap my arms around his neck and stroke his back gently.

"Well done, Olivia. Well done!" Hagrid says, and I'm snapped back to reality as everyone applauds. Even Draco seems... proud? He's clapping. "I've never seen Buckbeak show affection like that, especially not to anyone more than me," Hagrid adds.

"Do I get to fly him?" I ask eagerly. As if he understands, Buckbeak kneels down on his front legs for me to climb on. I happily settle on his back, and we soar into the sky.

The view is incredible, even better than the Astronomy Tower. I can see the castle, the Black Lake, and the mountains. I wish this ride would never end and that I could always be this carefree.

After what feels like hours, but is only a few minutes, we land. I jump off Buckbeak, hug him, and say, "Thank you, love. That was amazing. You're amazing." Everyone applauds, and Hagrid grins at me. "Well done, Liv, and well done, Buckbeak!" he says as we walk over to him.

I see Draco bowing to Buckbeak in the corner of my eye—guess he wants a ride too.

"Oh, please. Like he's proud. He let a mudblood ride him. You're not so dangerous after all, you ugly brute," Draco mutters as he strokes Buckbeak's head.

Before Hagrid can say anything, Buckbeak kicks Draco in the chest. Luckily, Draco has his arms up to defend himself, though it wouldn't have helped much. If Buckbeak had hit him directly in the chest... Merlin knows what would've happened.

I step in front of Draco instinctively, trying to calm Buckbeak down. "Easy, easy, boy. No, no, Buckbeak," I say. Hagrid steps in and throws him some food to distract him. "Oh, it's killed me! It's killed me!" Draco cries, clutching his chest.

"Calm down, you big baby. It's just a scratch," I say, rolling my eyes as I help him up. "Hagrid, he needs to be taken to the hospital wing," Hermione says, rushing over to us. "Right, yes! Liv, honey, you don't mind, do you? I mean, I'm teaching, and the others still need to ride Buckbeak," Hagrid says, giving me a pleading look. Draco, still clinging to me, puts his weight on me.

"Right, Professor. Remind me again, why do you hate me?" I tease, though I'm only half-kidding. "Right, let's go then. He's in good hands now," Hagrid says, and I give him a smile before we head off.

As we walk back toward Hagrid's Hut, Draco is still whining, and I can't help but worry about his hand. It looks like it might be fractured. We take a short break outside, and he sits down on a stone. I kneel beside him to check for any bleeding, but thankfully there's none.

When I look up, Draco's staring at me with a smirk. "What?" I ask, clearly annoyed. "You're worried about me, darling?" he teases.

"How could you do that? Are you out of your mind? Buckbeak could've hurt you, badly. Lucky for you, it just looks like a tiny fracture," I snap, giving his injured hand a light hit to see if he's faking it or not.

"Oww! You are worried about me," he says, standing up. "Yes, of course I'm worried about you, you big oaf," I mutter, walking toward the castle.

"Hey, you know I need support to walk, I'm hurt," Draco says, throwing his arm around my shoulder, leaning on me for support.

I stumble slightly. "Merlin's beard. A warning would've been nice," I grumble as we walk into the castle together.

The way to the Hospital Wing, Draco starts walking normally, but his arm is still around my shoulder, the other folded up. When we enter, there's no one in the room, not even Madam Pomfrey. Strange.

"Alright then, see you around, Malfoy," I say, trying to pull his arm off my shoulder, but he quickly grabs my wrist. "You're only leaving when Madam Pomfrey gets here," he says, pulling his arm around my waist.

"I have Herbology," I remind him, but he just shrugs in that 'like I care' way.

I make him lie down on a bed near the door and prop his elbow up with a pillow. "Don't move your hand now. I'm going to call her." I search the room, but there's no sign of Madam Pomfrey. All I hear is his low grunts of pain.

I sit down next to him. "Well, she's not here."

"She does know she's a healer, right?" Draco says, sarcastic as ever. I snap my fingers and call, "Earendil." A house elf appears almost instantly. "Hi, Earendil. I hope you're doing okay," I greet him, trying to keep the mood light. "I am doing okay, Olivia. How may I help you?" he says kindly.

Draco sits up abruptly. "How dare you call a witch by her name, you pathetic little house elf!"

"Sorry, master Draco," Earendil replies, fear creeping into his voice. "Draco, no. Sit down and don't move your hand," I say, pushing him back down onto the bed and adjusting his pillow. "Sorry about that, Earendil. Be a love and fetch Madam Pomfrey for us, would you?" I ask, glancing at the elf.

"Right away," he says and disappears.

I turn back to Draco. "What the hell? Is that any way to talk, Malfoy?" He shrugs, his voice calm. "How are you so kind to everyone? You should've been in Hufflepuff, darling. Gryffindor doesn't deserve you."

Before I can respond, Madam Pomfrey arrives. "Oh, I'm sorry, dear. Now, what happened?"

She quickly patches up Draco's arm, supporting it with a sling and giving him some Sleeping Draught to relax. When she leaves, she tells me I should go, but before I can, Draco speaks up.

"I saw you, you know. How he knelt before you. There's something about you, something different, strange, yet amazing. You're no ordinary witch, Olivia. I know that, and you avoided that subject the other night. Keep your secrets. But soon, I'll find out what you really are."

His eyes drift closed, and I kiss his forehead softly before slipping out to head to Herbology.