Little Brave Hearts || Neville Longbottom

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

"Maykha!" shouted Ron as he ran out of their house towards Maykha to hug her.  She noticed the slight change on the boy's appearance. He grew quite a bit taller that he surpassed Maykha who used to be the almost the same height as him.

"Ron, don't hug me it's disgusting!" Maykha said, laughing as she tried to shove Ron off her.

Ron just gave her an displeased glare before hearing his mum laugh, and escorted Maykha inside their small but comfortable home.

Their house was more than what Maykha had imagined. It looked chaotic on the outside, as if rooms were simply added on top of another. Just by looking at it, Maykha was already questioning the safety of their home as it seemed like a single blow of a wind would make the house fall over. Perhaps, the way it stayed upright was one of the many magical things about their home.

Inside was very magical, just as what Ron told them. The dishes were washing themselves, and the sun shined through the window that gave the whole room a good warm light.

The thing that caught Maykha's attention was the clock with the pictures of themselves on its hand.

"This is adorable!" Maykha exclaimed, pointing at the clock.

Ron stood beside Maykha and placed his hands on his hips as he sighed, "I know, that's the only thing I am proud of in this household."

Maykha shot Ron a blank stare that was followed by an eye roll, "Really, Ron? Aside from mine, this is probably the best home I've ever been to, not that I've been to a lot of houses before. Perhaps this is a little better because of the magic going on here and there, but you've got a wonderful home! Have you seen those dishes? You'd be dreading washing those with your own hands!"

"You'll probably get mad if I tell you that I didn't understand half of what you said just now," Ron said with his arms already protecting his body from the possible wrath he might receive from Maykha.

"Ugh, Ronald!" Maykha groaned and gave Ron a slight punch on his arms.

"Awww! It's not my fault you were talking so fast!"

"Oh come on, that wasn't even that strong!"

"It is!"

"It's not!"

"Ronald Weasley! Stop bullying Maykha and go tell your siblings we'll be having lunch now!" Mrs. Weasley shouted from the dining area.

"But... I'm the one being bullied here, mum!" Ron defended himself.

"Go now, Ronald!"

"Just who is your child, really?" Ron grudgingly mumbled as he scratched the back of his head.

Maykha just laughed and stuck her tongue out on Ron whose face looking like he was on the verge of crying as he went upstairs to gather his siblings.

"Mrs. Weasley, can I sit on the sofa?" Maykha asked.

"Sure, dear, help yourself."

Their sofa could compete with the ones they had in the common room in terms of comfort. It had a several patches of different fabric stitched, indicating that it had been broken and stitched together. Caressing the patches, Maykha imagined just how much history the sofa carried with it.

She suddenly heard a noise coming from above and just when she looked at the stairs behind her, she saw the twins making their way towards her.

"Iggy!"

"We've missed you!"

Maykha's face brightened and smiled, "Fredo, Georgio!"

Then, the smiles on their faces faded as they reached her.

"What?" asked Maykha.

"That's probably -"

"The lamest-"

"Nicknames -"

"Ever!"

"Ouch!" Maykha said touching her chest, acting like she was really hurt, "I put efforts on those nicknames!"

"Give up, guys, Maykha is really rubbish at giving nicknames. That's the same person who gave the nickname Won-won to me and Ha-ha to Harry," Ron, who was walking down the stairs, said with disappointment.

The twins gasped exaggeratedly and looked at Ron with horrified expressions, "What an awful nickname that is, Ickle Ronnikinns"

Maykha burst into laughter as she saw how Ron looked disgusted by how Fred and George called him. "Merlin, that's actually worse than my Won-won"

"What is wrong with you people?" Ron complained, rolling his eyes.

"Ron, where's Ginny?" asked Mrs. Weasley who seemed to be alam done preparing the meal.

"Oh, probably fantasizing about Harry," Ron asnwered his mum and leaned over to Maykha and whispered, "She fancies that boy, don't know why though."

"Who fansies who?"

Everyone turned around and saw Ginny walking with her arms crossed.

"Oh hi, Ginny!" Maykha waved at the girl and smiled.

"Hi, you must be Maykha, I've heard a lot about you from Ron," Ginny said and hugged her.

"Although she never listened unless it was about Harry."

Maykha noticed how Ginny's face become red and flustered before smacking Ron and went to the dining area to help her mum.

"Aww! My body is already aching with all these beatings I've been getting since this morning!" Ron said, stroking his stomach that his sister attacked, "Women are scary."

"Ignore this idiot, Maykha. I'm Ginny, nice to meet you!" The younger girl smiled and extended her hands for her to shake.

"Nice to meet you too, though I remember seeing you at King's Cross Station when Harry and I were lost."

The mention of Harry's name seemed to be doing its own magic on the girl as she looked away from them, but her cheeks started blushing once again, "Yeah, you and...Harry were there."

It was such a funny thing for Maykha to see a younger girl liking one of her friend. She had never liked someone, making her wonder how it felt like to actually have someone to fancy.

The romance series her mother often watched in their television never really piqued Maykha's interest as she often thought liking someone at first sight was unrealistic and stupid. While she was practically oblivious with romance, she knew better than liking someone who she just met. Perhaps, she had always liked the idea of slowly getting to know someone she would eventually fall in love with.