Courage {Neville Longbottom} (ON HOLD)

Chapter Twenty Seven

As much as Kefira enjoyed being back in the company of her friends and not having to worry about her health when it came to her "mystery" illness, it didn't last very long as she was called upon to the Headmaster's office. The Gryffindor Common Room became silent after the prefect passed along the message to meet Professor McGonagall at her office. Kefira wasn't even sure what there was to talk about, everything had been pretty much laid out on the table. Faye had been poisoning her at night, just as she suspected, and had nearly killed her if it hadn't been for Neville and Hermione going to Professor McGonagall.

Perhaps they just wanted to hear the theory from Kefira's mouth so that they had a testimony against Faye? Kefira wasn't sure as she gave a small wave of her hand to her friends and Neville and left to the woman's office before attending Professor Dumbledore's office once again. Upon seeing the Transfiguration professor, Kefira didn't know if the woman was upset with her for withholding information but McGonagall only seemed relieved in that moment to see the girl up and about. 

"Am I in trouble, Professor?" Kefira blurted out. No matter what, whenever it came to being in the silent company of an adult, Kefira had to assume that she was in trouble for one reason or another. 

"The headmaster would like to speak with you and hear your account on the matter of your illness, Miss Walsh."

"Right....but am I going to get in trouble for that?"

Professor McGonagall came to a halt in the corridor before turning to the girl abruptly. Kefira had come face to face with a lioness, been petrified by a basilisk, and had no problem confronting Umbridge head on, but when it came to McGonagall, the teen took several steps back as she was met with a stern gaze. 

"Your stubbornness could have cost you your life, Miss Walsh. Why, of all times, you chose to be quiet about that subject-"

"Would any of you believed me if I said that one of my classmates was poisoning me with evidence?" Kefira asked. "Even...even Neville didn't believe me."

"Considering your health was up in the air as well as the reasoning, any information or theory would have been taken into consideration at the time. You chose to keep it to yourself. Had it not been for Mr. Longbottom and Miss Granger bringing this matter to my attention-"

"Okay, okay!" Kefira said placing her hands up. "I'm sorry! I just...I don't like the idea of being sick...even if it's a case of the sniffles. It bothers me because that's all people focus on, the fact that you're sick. Trust me, I've dealt with stuff like this before. I've always had people using it against me...telling me I couldn't do things because I was sick. I didn't want that to start up again, no one really knew about that outside of my family. It was nice to have a fresh, clean slate."

"That clean slate would have done you no good if you were dead."

Obviously, Professor McGonagall was upset with her, but Kefira didn't realize that it was for the separate reason that the woman cared about her students and it had come so close to a moment where she almost lost one. McGonagall did not have any children of her own, so when it came to the children in the castle, she viewed them her children and did what she thought was best for them.

She knew that the Walsh girl was as stubborn as they come, she had witnessed that from the time of Kefira's first year at the school. But to think she would go as far as putting her health in danger so that others wouldn't view her as weak, it baffled the woman. It was stupid, reckless, and absolutely careless, especially for the people around her that cared for the girl. 

"I'm sorry," Kefira apologized again in a quieter voice. A rarity in the castle if McGonagall had ever witnessed one. "I didn't mean to hurt people I just...I don't know. I wasn't really sure what to do."