Courage {Neville Longbottom} (ON HOLD)

Chapter Eighty-Three

Neville left Herbology green houses in a great mood after Professor Sprout had showered him with praise for his quick thinking. While Kefira spent her time in Potions, he thought it would be best to dedicate all his extra time to Herbology and Professor Sprout seemed to encourage the idea. He figured she was joking but it was still flattering for him to hear that she said that she was going to need a replacement once she eventually retired and that Neville would be perfect for the job. What a dream job it would be, he had little day dreams about working in the greenhouses while Kefira taught the Potions classes. Completely unrealistic but nice to think of, it certainly added to the smile that never seemed to fade from his face.

He was excited to find Kefira and tell her all about it, but when he reached the Entrance Hall to reenter the castle, he found himself approached by Hermione, which led him to become awfully confused until she started explaining what had occurred in class. It sounded like she was leaving out some details of the story, but it didn't matter, the only part that really registered with Neville was the fact that Kefira was terribly upset. Once again, Harry had managed to steal the limelight in class leaving Kefira with a feeling of defeat.

Kefira was not one that easily accepted defeat and she was a fighter, but she had been fighting for quite some time, not even her own battles but fighting for others as well. Perhaps Potions was the one class that came to her with ease, where she could excel without having to prove herself over and over. But since the beginning of term, she was met with such a challenge that no matter what she did to be the best in the class, it was proving to be that she was no longer on top. 

Neville thanked Hermione for the information before leaving to find Kefira, he didn't have to search long as he found her outside of the Gryffindor Common Room, sitting on the stairs in Elizabeth's company. The portrait of the fat lady seemed incredibly sad as she frowned, Kefira had her back turned to the woman with her legs drawn to her chest. Upon seeing Neville at the bottom of the stairs, Elizabeth pointed frantically at the girl, warning the boy that she was indeed upset and was in desperate need of some cheering up. Neville nodded his head discreetly to tell the portrait that the message was received as he made his way up the stairs to sit next to his girlfriend. 

She didn't say anything to him, didn't even bother glancing over to acknowledge his presence. Neville didn't see it as being rude or disrespectful, he saw it as Kefira not wanting him to see that she was upset. She saw it as a weakness and never wanted anyone to view her as weak for any reason. He could remember one of the first times that he had witnessed her cry. When she couldn't even bring herself to hold it in anymore after Professor Snape had pretty much called her a "mudblood." Neville wished he could convince her that it wasn't a sign of weakness for her to be upset, especially when she tried so hard at everything she did.

He knew how much Potions meant to her, one of the classes that she had found her focus in especially after struggling so much her first year to focus on all of her work. Maybe they weren't the biggest fans of Professor Snape and his teaching methods, but his detentions had proved to be extremely helpful for her but now it seemed like it was all for nothing, at least in Kefira's head. 

"I heard about what happened in class," Neville said to her, starting off the conversation, "Hermione told me about Harry and-"

"Don't say his stupid name!" Kefira growled. Neville swallowed realising that it probably wasn't the best to mention Harry's name, even Hermione seemed agitated speaking it earlier. 

"Right, sorry-"

Kefira let out a sigh as she peered over at him briefly. "You shouldn't be sorry," she said in a soft tone, " you didn't do anything wrong and I shouldn't have said it like that to you. It's not your fault that Harry is the Chosen Git."