Little Brave Hearts || Neville Longbottom

CHAPTER SIXTY

Much to Maykha's dismay, both of her parents were apologetically busy quite often because of their work in the hospital. Having two doctors as parents could sometimes mean having to eat alone, entertain herself with whatever she could find inside their home, and sleep alone too. It was Hoggy, the hedgehog stuffed toy she received as a gift on her 7th birthday, that would accompany her during the nights of her childhood. Thankfully, she had friends now whom she can send letters to everyday. The letters that were exchanged between her and Neville were the same as before, and neither of them mentioned the kiss. Maykha was thankful for it being unmentioned as she would not know how to explain to her friend that it was supposed to be a friendly one.

But whether it was really just a friendly one, Maykha did not know.

Speaking of Neville, he mentioned in one of his letter that he was trying to get over with his fear of flying. She was nothing but supportive of her friend, and though she did not know exactly what made him start working on himself, she was proud that he finally wanted to make himself better.

It was already late at night as she waited for her parents to come home.

It was not always like this, of course, her parents would do their best to have at least one of them remain by their daughter's side, and whenever they had to be on duty at the same time, they would always make sure to make it up to her the moment they become available.

She loved her parents' profession, and she even looked up to them for being the best parents they could ever be while also saving the lives of those in need. Once when she was younger, she insisted on coming to the hospital her parents worked and watched them as they dealt with patients. Some were nice, but others were rude; some with minor wounds, but some needed a number of stitches. Despite the variety of people they had to face on a daily basis, they remained calm and polite with nothing in mind but the well-being of their patients. She adored the sight of her mother treating the patients with the same hands that fed her, and her father's back looked so big as he assisted his patients. She idolized that side of her parents and swore that one day, she would also become a great doctor such as them. Well, that was before this whole magic and witch thing happened. For now, she was still lost as to what profession she would enter once they had to step out of Hogwarts.

That thought left a bitter aftertaste in her mouth. Graduating from Hogwarts seemed like an idea that never even came across her mind. It seemed like it was a century away from where she was, so she concluded that it was still early to worry about her future. For now, she needed to worry about the unsigned permission slip of her trip to Hogsmeade. She could not quite catch her parents in the house for the past few days as she would often wake up with them already gone or sleep with them still out of the house. It was just unfortunate that she only had a little time left before she went to the Weasleys and had them take her to the Diagon Alley to buy her supplies, and she was yet to spend enough time with her parents to satisfy her longingness for them.

Just as she was thinking of her mom and dad, she heard the sound of their car as it parked in front of their house. She finally beamed and fished the paper her parents needed to sign from her bag as she accidentally grabbed her wand with it, she hurriedly went downstairs to meet them. She had taken aback when the door swung open, and her angry mother entered, with her dad rushing over to catch her. They did not seem to notice Maykha's presence as they went directly into the living room, giving her a chance to hide behind the staircase enough to hear what the two were arguing about.

"No, Herbert, I will not be having this conversation again!" She heard her mum exclaimed. It was rare for her to find her parents fighting as they were always smiling and calm whenever they were together.

Maykha frowned as she realized that it would be a bad time for her to ask for their signatures. Not wanting to hear more of their arguments, Maykha quietly took a step in an attempt to go back to her room but stopped again when she heard her name.

"Maddison, Maykha needs to know! She is old enough to understand," Herbert said.

Maykha's brows knotted in confusion as she realized that her parents were arguing something about her. Curiosity hit her like an old friend and made her decide to stay and listen to more of their argument.

"And for what, Herbert? So she could leave us? Damn that! We finally got a daughter we have always wanted to have. She is a gift to us, don't you see? We're happy, and I won't give you a chance to break this family!" Her mother was about to storm out of the living room when her father caught her arms and stopped her from walking away.

"Do you really mean to deceive her forever?"

The whole argument made Maykha nothing but confused. Her heart raced inside her ribcage when she heard her mum slap something Maykha assumed was her dad's cheek. She was scared of the two right now, and all she wanted to do was get out of where she was hiding and lock herself up inside her bedroom for the remainder of the break. Unfortunately, she cannot walk out of her hiding place without the risk of being caught.

"How dare you call my love for our child a deceit?!" her mum's voice was now softer but was filled with sorrow and pain, "Is it a deceit if all I did was to love her the way her real parents failed to do!? Besides, what to do you want us to tell her? That she's been abandoned in front of our doorstep without even a cloth to keep her warm?!"

Maykha froze as if she was thrown a bucket of ice cold water. Suddenly, she could no longer hear what came next. Her ears ringed, and eyes blurred. Her heart sank to the depths of her stomach she swore was deep enough for her not to feel anything but pain.

She was not their daughter, and they were not her parents. All her life she had been lied to by the very people she trusted the most. Yet, everything made sense. From her features that never resembled any of her parents, to the lack of her pictures as a newborn with a pathetic excuse having them burned in their previous house. She remembered all the years she stood up to her bullies who said she was adopted, only to know that they had been right all along. What had she fought for, then? If all she'd ever known was a lie, then what was the truth? If the people she trusted deceived her like that, then who would she put her trust into?

It was Maddison and Herbert's turn to freeze when they saw Maykha standing behind the staircase. Her expression was blank but her eyes were dripping with tears. They knew she listened to everything.

They hurriedly ran towards their daughter but the girl stepped back, and held her hand to stop them from getting any closer.

"Maykha...my daughte-"

"No," Maykha cut Maddison's words. Her stomach cannot handle that word coming out of the woman's mouth. "I am not your daughter."

The child's words cut through the couple's heart like a freshly sharped knife. They knew this day would come sooner than later, but it was the lack of preparation that had led to this outcome. They wanted to reach the girl's hand, sit her down, and explain to her everything but they were not given the chance to do so when Maykha fled and stormed out of their house.

"Herbert...what should we do?"