Brave { Neville Longbottom}

Chapter Ninety Seven

Kefira spent the next couple of days sending letters back and forth between her parents, once Augusta had given them okay to bring Neville along for the trip. She was sitting in the library working on the next letter when something brushed against her foot. She set down her quill and peered down at her bare feet that dangled in her chair only to see Trevor resting by her shoe.

"Hey Trevor." she greeted the toad in a whisper, not wanting to attract Madam Pince's attention. It was bad enough that the moment Kefira walked in she had received a warning look from the librarian. 'What are you doing in here? I figured you would be outside enjoying the warm weather?"

She had finally been able to convince Neville to give Trevor the freedom of venturing outside without someone watching over the toad and Trevor seemed much happier with his new found freedom. It made Trevor happy and it made Neville happy to see that his pet was much more lively.

Trevor let out a small croak before she lowered her hand to him, offering him a lift up. The toad gladly hopped into her palm and she lifted him up to rest upon the table. She placed one of her books up to hide him, knowing Madam Pince would not be happy to see the toad so close to her precious books.

Neville returned with some books in hand, studying up on his own interest of the plants they were going over in Herbology. Upon see his toad, he greeted Trevor with a smile before sitting down.

"Did you find him hopping around in here?" Neville asked her as he sat down.

"Nope, I think he was missing you and came to pay a visit." Kefira told him. She was finishing up her letter as Neville engrossed himself into one of his books. She pushed the letter aside and leaned across the table to read over what he was looking at.

"What is that thing, Nevs?" she asked.

"It's a Mimbulus Mimbletonia." Neville answered straight away. "It's an amazing plant!"

She placed her chin in the palm of her hands waiting for him to continue on as she watched his eyes become wide with excitement over the topic of the plant. She loved listening to Neville talk about Herbology and all the plants he researched because whenever he spoke about the plants, he spoke with such confidence.

"You see it has it's own defense mechanism." he explained pointing to a drawing inside the book. 

"You mean all those boils on it?" Kefira said scrunching up her nose at the strange looking plant.

"Yes!" Neville exclaimed.

"Neville!" she whispered quietly to him before giggling. "Keep it down, or you're going to get us kicked out of here....wow...I never thought I would hear myself say that. Usually I'm the one who gets us kicked out of here."

"Sorry." Neville grinned. "But you see, these boils right there are filled with Stinksap. "

"Is stinksap poisonous?" Kefira questioned.

"No, but it might as well be to the senses, the smell is supposedly absolutely rancid once exposed to the air."

"Ew." she said making a face.

"It's great." Neville smiled. "I'd love to own one."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah,  it's not a beginner plant by any means but I think I could handle it, don't you?" He looked to her for reassurance.

"I think you would be the only person to handle a plant like that besides Professor Sprout. You should get one."

"I wish." Neville sighed. "But they're incredibly hard to come by. They only grow in Assyria according this textbook."

"Well that just means we have to get you to Assyria, right?"

"Maybe one day."

Severus walked around the dungeon classroom, observing the students who were working on brewing an herbicide potion. He expected the third year students to be fully capable of brewing a potion they had gone over during their first year but already he was watching as several students made mistakes. He scoffed to himself wondering how half the students had made it that far in his class. He heard giggling come from the back and already knew who it belonged to. Brushing passed Harry Potter's table, casting a nasty glance in the boy's direction, Severus positioned himself in front of Kefira Walsh's table as she sat upon her stool swinging her legs back and forth.

"You're supposed to be working, Miss Walsh, not fooling around-"

"But Professor, I'm finished." she said pointing to her cauldron. "And so is Neville."

At first, he didn't believe it, glancing around the majority of the classroom was in their first stages of the potion but as he observed the two cauldrons, he saw that she was in fact right. She was finished along with Mr. Longbottom, but to his surprise they were both brewed correctly judging by the color.

He didn't say anything right away leaving an open gap for Kefira to speak.

"I remember this one from when you taught it back in first year." she told him. "I know it may not look like I'm always listening Professor Snape, but I am, even when you don't think I am."

Not wanting to drag the conversation out any further, Severus turn his back to the two students before glancing over his shoulder.

"You're dismissed."