Courage {Neville Longbottom} (ON HOLD)

Chapter Forty Eight

While the twins' departure had been nothing short of amazing, rallying the troops of Hogwarts to rebel against Umbridge's reign, there was still hell to come without the school realizing. Many of the students would have just placed the blame on the stress of the exams, but there was so much more going around that it was hard for anyone to focus. There was the talk of someone releasing nifflers into Umbridge's office, causing havoc, but rather than suspecting a student, Umbridge's mind went straight to Hagrid, believing it was the man that behind the mischief as a last-ditch effort to run her out of the school. However, Umbridge was ruthless and like how she had tried to get rid of Professor Trelawney, she would attempt the same with Hagrid, only Dumbledore wasn't there to stop her that time. But she had neglected to think of Professor McGonagall as a posed threat.

Unfortunately, while Professor McGonagall was the toughest woman that Kefira knew in the castle, they could expect her not to experience any serious injuries after being struck in the chest by four stunning spells simultaneously. Many would believe that it would have killed any other witch or wizard at her age. She had to be transferred to St. Mungo's leaving Hogwarts without a fearless leader for the time being. 

But the worry over McGonagall was going to have to wait as the students found themselves in even more trouble.

There was a crowd of students being directed to not walk down a corridor, leaving Kefira and Neville confused until they came upon Luna and Ginny standing near the ends, apparently they were the ones directing the traffic.

"What's going on?" Kefira asked the two, knowing something was up and it had nothing to do with Garrotting Gas as they claimed to a few other students.

"Harry needs a bit of help right now," Ginny informed her. "We have to keep this corridor clear for the moment, care to help?"

Before Kefira could agree, Neville spoke up, realizing something right off the bat. "Isn't this the corridor that leads to Umbridge's office? Is that where he is-"

Ginny quickly lunged forward and placed her hand over the boy's mouth to keep him from saying anything else. She only gave a small nod of her head before Kefira turned to Luna with a smile.

"Sounds like fun, I'm in."

Anything to go against Umbridge was an opportunity that Neville and Kefira were willing to take, with no questions asked. After hearing that McGonagall had been hurt so badly, enough that Madam Pomfrey couldn't tend to her, it filled the Gryffindors with anger, knowing their Mother Lion had been hurt, trying to defend what was right. Umbridge had gotten away with far too much and it was time that they stood against the Bitch of Terror.

While they kept a look out for Umbridge and any members of her Inquisitorial Squad, they were unaware, very much like Harry of the Stealth Sensoring spells that had been placed in the woman's office, shortly after the two niffler incidents to prevent any more from happening. In a matter of minutes, not only was Umbridge arriving, but her gang of students that obeyed her like monstrous dogs. It didn't help that she had some of the burliest and strongest Slytherins as part of the squad either. 

Kefira was tough but with Goyle using his weight against her small frame, she wasn't much of a match. Neville grew furious, but he couldn't put up much of a fight either as he was dragged into a headlock by Crabbe. A large Slytherin girl had grabbed Ginny while another boy grabbed Luna, following orders to drag them all to the office behind Umbridge.

Malfoy looked beyond pleased as he was able to snatch up Ron, and the tank that was Millicent Bulstrode had pinned down Hermione, leaving Harry to face Umbridge alone. Kefira never thought she would witness the day where a professor would grab a student by the hair and slam them into a desk. She continued to struggle in Goyle's grasp, livid by the scene, but also incredibly worried that Neville was turning a dark red as Crabbe had him in a stranglehold.