THE HOLIDAYS were not a time that Olivia was looking forward to. She was practically obligated to return home for the break, something she had absolutely no desire to do. She hated both her father and brother currently and being forced to spend how many weeks in the same building as the two men were note her idea of a grand time. Rather, it was the exact opposite. It was perhaps the perfect method to torture her. Of her family, the only person she was close to was her uncle, and he lived in Hogsmeade. She supposed she could possibly work it that she could spend the break with him, but then she knew her father would throw a fit and her uncle would be caught in the crossfire just as it always seems to happen. She knew the bridge between her family members was rather rickety and prone to break at any sheer moment. She always knew that rocked said bridge quite a bit—and frankly, she did not care in the least. Her other option was to remain at the castle, and even that was not without its problems. Again, her father and brother would throw a fit. They both seemed under the impression that her dislike of them was a mere phase she would grow out of, that she was being childish. Perhaps she was, but she could not explain away her feelings or forget about them to stand being so long with her immediate family.

And that was to even say that the two workaholic males would even be present often at home, and if not she would surely be confined to the house as the precious daughter that must be coddled and protected. Was it any surprise she felt so trapped?

The brunette glared daggers into her charms textbook, attempting to study for the final exam before the break with little to no luck. She did not fear the theoretical portion of the exam as she could retain factoid information rather well, but it was the practical portion of the exam that gave her more than a little pause. Sure, she had been making some headway in her spell casting, but the Gryffindor knew she was far from having perfecting the spells they would be tested on, and it took her often so long to master just one of the spells. Sure, she was quick to volunteer and try them in class, but she was just as likely to fail at it each time she tried. Olivia was stubborn in that she will put the time and effort into mastering the spells, but her mind was far from focused on her course work, so progress was not going well.

It certainly did not help any that the section of charms they were working on now were shield and stunning charms, ones that one often needed a partner to help in practicing. Granted, the library was probably not the best place to practice these charms either. Olivia had not quite thought through this when she came into the Library two hours ago to study for both Herbology and charms. The former had not been a difficult study, but the second left the Gryffindor feeling perplexed and frustrated, especially when her thoughts lingered towards the holidays.

Her poor charms textbook really did not deserve her glare or the rapid tapping of her wand against the pages; it opened to the shielding section.