Courage {Neville Longbottom} (ON HOLD)

Chapter Twenty Six

Kefira didn't move much in her sleep which was slightly unsettling to those that came to visit her and for those watching over her to make sure that she was healing properly. Several times Madam Pomfrey had to stop what was she was doing and make sure that the girl was breathing as she was paranoid that the girl was far too still. But much to the healer's delight, Kefira was healing and regaining her normal body temperature. The coughing had ceased and she seemed comfortable as she slept, but she had yet to awake since being brought into the Hospital Wing by Professor McGonagall which worried everyone.

Madam Pomfrey stated that the body was just probably trying to conserve as much energy as possible in order to heal as fast as possible, but if Kefira didn't wake by the next afternoon, she would be brought to St. Mungo's.  The girl's friends didn't want her to leave the school as they visited her every chance they could, talking to her and pleading that she would wake up. 

Neville couldn't imagine Kefira's parents allowing her to come back to the school if they became aware of what had happened. Too many things had happened to Kefira that had placed her life in jeopardy and the Walsh's would be in their right to keep her home in order to keep her safe.  But Neville didn't want Kefira to leave, he wanted her to stay at the school and he wanted her to wake up so he could start apologizing to her profusely.

"It's not your fault, Neville," Dean reassured the boy as the two headed to the Hospital Wing early morning before classes. "The whole scenario sounds incredibly mental. I don't think Kefira would be upset with you for questioning it in the first place."

"But if I told her an even crazier tale, she would be the first to believe me and defend everything I said," Neville replied quietly as they walked up the stairs. "I didn't do the same for her and she did have a lot more to go on."

"Come on, Nevs, how asinine does it sound that Faye was...poisoning her? There didn't seem to be any logical reasoning behind it. I mean, I know we joked around about her being the descendent of Godric back in second year but for it to actually be true...that was a pretty big leap."

"It doesn't matter, Kefira wouldn't think of questioning anything we told her. She would take our word over anything and...and I couldn't do that for her."

"But," Dean interjected. "Despite the fact that you weren't fully convinced about what she was telling you, you still went to McGonagall and because of that, you saved her life, Neville. That's got to count for something, right?"

"I can only hope that's how she sees it when she wakes up."

The two boys walked into the Hospital Wing with hopeful faces as they looked in the direction of Madam Pomfrey, but she only gave them a small sympathetic smile before shaking her head. Neville's shoulders slouched in discouragement as Dean gave him a small pat on his back as they walked over to Kefira's bedside. As they had left her the evening before, Kefira was still asleep on her side and it pained Neville to see her in such a state. It reminded him back to the time where she had petrified back in second year but this was different.

To even hear the possibility of her having to be transferred to St. Mungo's made him even feel even worse. He didn't want to visit his girlfriend in the same building where he had to visit his parents.  It would only add onto the guilt that he already carried throughout the years. He had only mentioned it once to his grandmother when he was just a boy, about he felt responsible for his parents winding up in St. Mungo's. Perhaps if he had been good enough and been the Chosen One, he would have been able to possibly prevent their horrible fate. But even the Dark Lord didn't even deem him worthy enough as an opponent.

His grandmother had yelled at him right after his confession and told him to never say such a thing again, that his parents would be disappointed in him for even believing such a thing. They had sacrificed themselves to keep him safe and for him to express disappointment in himself, rather than pride for his parents was beyond distasteful. But it wasn't like he didn't have pride for what his parents had done, he just wished he could have done more for them.