Brave { Neville Longbottom}

Chapter Thirty Four

Despite Kefira's best attempts to stay out of trouble, it never really worked in her favor. No matter what she was caught doing, it was always by Professor Snape, and each time she had to serve her detention with him. Every detention she was set to create a potion well beyond what a first year was capable of. But each time, Kefira noticed it was getting easier and easier for her to complete the task. In Potions class, she found herself focusing on every topic and ingredient that Professor Snape lectured about, just in case she would find herself having to use it.

It was the only class that could keep her attention from the beginning to the end. However, her professors seemed to be a bit more understanding as the year went on with Kefira's inability to focus on a subject for too long. Professor Sprout was the best one, she allowed Kefira to walk around and occasionally step outside the Greenhouses during lessons. Whatever Kefira missed during the lesson, the professor was certain that Neville was more than capable of filling her in.

That weekend, Neville sat outside with Kefira trying to go over their latest lesson in Herbology.

"Okay," Neville began sitting on the ground beneath one of the trees on the ground, with his book propped open in his lap. "So we're going over Dittany today...Kefi...Kefi?"

He glanced up the tree to see Kefira focused on reaching the top.

"Can you hear me?" he asked her.

"Loud and clear." she said giving him a thumbs up.

"Alright, do you know the other name for the Dittany plant?"

"Ummm I know this..." Kefira said as she climbed out on one of the thicker limbs. "Burning bush, right?"

"Correct. Alright what are some uses for it?"

"Uhhh...."

Neville waited patiently.

"Potion-making?"

"Right, name a potion."

He heard her let out whining sound. "You're quizzing me harder than Professor Sprout."

"She wanted to make sure you understood it."

"Okay, okay. Potion...the potion is...it's...Wiggenweld?"

"I'm sorry Kefi, but that is...correct!"

Suddenly, something hit Neville on the top of his head. 

"Hey!" he said looking up at her.

 "You scared me, I thought I got it wrong." she said peering down at him.

"I was only teasing. You know, just for that you have to tell me three facts about the Dittany plant!"

"Awww, do I have to?"

"Yes." Neville replied in a playfully stern voice. "Go on."

"Okay, let's see..." She sat down on one of the branches swinging her legs back and forth. "One...it's a plant."

"Kefi-"

"Are you saying it's not a plant?" she said.

"No but...no cheating."

"It's not cheating, it was a fact."

"Fine, give me two more facts then. Like what color is it?"

There was silence. Neville looked up again to see her shrug her shoulders.

"Brown." he informed her. "Try another. What's a distinctive trait about the plant?"

She shook her head. 

"In certain circumstances it releases flammable vapors." 

'Ooooh...sounds like something Seamus would thoroughly enjoy." she snickered.

Neville chuckled and closed the book over. "Do you want to take a break?"

"Yes please!" she answered climbing across the branch.

The boy stood up and watched as she climbed the tree with ease.

"How'd you learn to climb trees?" he asked her at one point.

"Well," she said grabbing onto of the branches. "I think I was around five, and I just wanted to see what it would look like from the top of the tree in front of my house. So I climbed it."

"You just climbed a tree, just like that?"

"Pretty much. I fell a lot but you just have to get right back up and keep going. Unless you break something...then you go inside and your mum lectures you for hours on end. You should come up here and give it a try. The view is amazing."

"Oh I don't think so." Neville shook his head. "I don't have the coordination for that."

"That's because you haven't practiced it enough."

"I don't do heights."

"Come on Neville. It's really worth it, if heights hold you back, you're going to miss out on so much."

"I know but...I'm afraid."

Kefira frowned as he held his head low.

The last thing she wanted to do was to make Neville feel bad about having a fear. She slowly made her way down and sat down beside him.

"It's okay, Neville. You're allowed to be afraid."

"But how come you're not afraid of anything?" he asked her.

"That's not true. I'm afraid of things." she said.

"Like what?"

"Well, like my sister Lottie in the mornings...she's not a morning person and she can really scary." Kefira laughed but Neville didn't share in the laughter.

'I mean, you're not afraid of heights, water, Slytherins, Professor Snape..."

"You don't have to be afraid of those things either, Neville. If you learn how to climb, you learn how to fall. Sure you can get hurt, but sometimes taking a little risk is completely worth it. With water, you learn how to swim and then swimming becomes enjoyable...maybe not so much when the water is cold though. You should never ever be afraid of a Slytherin, because they are people just like you and I, despite the fact that some of them believe that they are gifts to this world. And as for Professor Snape, you don't have to be afraid of him Neville."

"But he's scary."

"Not scary...just misunderstood...at least that's what I think. I think once you start learning about things and people they don't seem so scary anymore."

"I don't know.." Neville said with obvious doubt, " I know a lot about my Gran and I still find her scary."

Kefira smiled. "Well...she's pretty intimidating, I'll agree with you there. But you should look at the positives..."

"The positives?"

"Yeah, your grandmother is this really tough looking woman, not a frail old granny. I doubt anyone is going to mess with her...ever. I know I wouldn't."

"She likes you though." Neville admitted to her.

"What? Really?"

"Yeah, I got to read some of the stories to her that you wrote down for me. I think she liked them, she smiled one or two times. That's a record."