Little Brave Hearts || Neville Longbottom

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Being months away from her parents had made Maykha long for their presence, especially at night. Whenever the girl failed to sleep inside her room, she would sneak inside her parents' and sleep there. That night was one of those nights, especially after Macie had reminded her of the thing she thought she had finally gotten over. Carrying Hoggy, her hedgehog stuffed toy, she moved out of her bedroom to the bedroom next to hers.

Quietly entering her parents' chamber, she thought they were already asleep but they were still wide awake, and her father seemed to be just getting ready for bed.

"Yes, sweetheart?" Her mother asked, closing the book she was reading as she gestured her to come closer.

"I was thinking if I can sleep here with you guys?" She asked.

Her parents welcomed her warmly and she immediately climbed up their bed and snuggled between them. It was a familiar warmth that she had missed during her time at Hogwarts.

"Why is our baby suddenly so cuddly tonight, I wonder?" Her dad asked as he laid down next to her.

Maykha chuckled, "I just missed you both. My bed at Hogwarts was soft and all, but nothing beats sleeping between you two."

Her father softly caressed her tangled curls, his eyes shined with the little light the night lamp had provided, "Oh my sweet baby."

"Stop it, dad!"

"Let him be, sweet pie, your dad has been emotional since the day you came to us," her mother said.

"Hey mum," Maykha called, turning her eyes to her mother, "Have you always known that I'm a witch?"

"Well," her mother started thinking, "I suppose we have. I don't know if you still remembered but back when you were eight, your principal alerted the parents of a sudden electrical shortage in your school, later we found out that you became upset after Macie told you something."

She remembered that story. It was during the time when she badly wanted to belong to a certain friend group, and she had wanted to be friends with Macie's gang. Little did she know that the girl did not like how she looked like and she told her that she was adopted and nobody liked her for that. Controlling emotions was not her strongest suit back then, and after her outburst, the electricity inside the whole school suddenly went off and they had to send the children back home earlier than usual. Fortunately, no one suspected her to be cause of it all.

"Oh there's another one," her father excitedly said, "You were just a toddler back then, barely even walked, and you were a very fussy child, sweetie. You hated being put down, and whenever I put you in your cot, the door of your room would always shut before I could even leave you alone, and it will only open once I picked you up again. I honestly thought the house was haunted and I ran towards your mother, shrieking."

Her mum and dad both laughed, and Maykha also chuckled, but deep down she knew just how much trouble they had to put up with for raising her. They were muggles, and dealing with a magical child was something they were not taught nor something they knew they had to get used to.

"Did you get scared of me?"

Her question was perhaps out of the blue, as the couple stopped laughing and looked at her. Her mother touched the side of her cheek and her dad kissed the top of her head.

"No, honey," her mum answered, "we were confused, but never afraid. We love you so much to be scared of something like that, and we would not ask for anyone else but you."

"Your mum's right, besides, if you're not a witch, then who would tell us stories about your magical school? Tell me, how do you turn mice into snuffboxes again?"

Maykha chuckled before telling them her first year at Hogwarts. Her heart was filled with satisfaction and joy. To hell with Macie, she did not care whether she looked like her parents or not, that would not change the fact that she came from them and she was her daughter.