Little Brave Hearts || Neville Longbottom

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Going onto her daily routine without magic felt unfamiliar for Maykha despite growing up in a muggle household. Since their vacation had started, she had to constantly fight off the urge to grab her wand and cast a spell or two. Of course, she would only do that if she wanted to be expelled from Hogwarts that is.

She and her friends never failed to update each other almost daily, she was starting to feel bad for their owls, making her buy more treats, for having them fly every once in a while. Perhaps, one things she hated about their world is the lack of technology. The muggles were able to communicate via telephone or cellular phone, and it would be much more convenient than having owl posts, although less exciting.

However, no matter how many weeks they were in their vacation, not once did they hear anything from Harry. Not a single letter, and not a single response. Knowing what kind of family the Dursleys were, they all cannot help but feel worried about what happened to him.

After being inside their homes for weeks, Maykha decided it was time for her to finally go out for once. She headed to the park near their home, and there she sat on the swing. It was a peaceful day she was having, and she could only pray to have the rest of the day to remain peaceful. But her prayers were proven not strong enough as the kids back in her muggle school appeared one by one. She wanted to stay out of trouble, so while her presence was still unknown to them, she tried to sneak out. Unfortunately, luck was simply not on her side that day as one of the kids noticed her and yelled out her name.

"Look, it's Maykha!" One of the kids yelled.

Maykha clenched her fist and breathed in before facing them with a forced smile, hoping that the kids in front of her would not realize how much she hated the fact that she knew her day would be ruined because of them.

"Oh, hi guys how have you been doing?" she asked, trying to sound as friendly as possible.

One of the girls, Macie, raised a brow and smirked, "Good, since we could no longer see you around. Such a waste that luck wasn't with us now, huh?" The rest of the girls laughed annoyingly at her.

Her forced smile was starting to fade away, as she was faced with a scenario that was too familiar to her. Macie Waters was one of her bullies, being the daughter of their school's major sponsor, she thought she could do anything she wanted. She reminded Maykha of Malfoy so much that it infuriated her how she could not quite escape from a person like that in both worlds.

"Why did you even go back? You don't belong here, girl. Not even in your own home. I don't even think you belong anywhere," Macie said and laughed.

Her wand was just inside her pocket, one wave of it would send the girl flying from yards away. But she could only breathe in and out to calm her nerves, she would not risk expulsion over someone who was unworthy of her time.

Maykha chuckled sarcastically, "You never learn, Macie. You never learn."

"What?"

Maykha crossed her arms over her chest, her expression seemed to have changed into a more serious one that was made even scarier by the smile on her face. She stepped forward causing the girls to step back.

"You should've realized by now that I'm not the best person you should mess with, honey, because unfortunately for you, I," she paused for a moment to glare at the rest of the girls, "fight back."

"Then, go on," Macie taunted, she acted as if she did was not afraid, but Maykha knew her expression. "I'll talk to my dad and have him haunt you to wherever school you're studying and have you expelled."

The girl looked so happy, thinking her father's authority could overrule Professor Dumbledore's power. She was naïve that Maykha could only laugh.

"I'd like to see you try," Maykha said and shrugged, "but hey, you taunted me so who am I to turn down your offer?"

Physical confrontation had been her expertise over the past years of being the target of bullies, it was the only thing that worked to ward off her foes no matter how much she tried to be patient. Now, punching Macie on the face never felt so satisfying but in that moment, she felt good. Perhaps it was from her frustration for the girl that had accumulated over the past years, combined with her frustration for Malfoy that Macie greatly reminded her of. Nonetheless, her satisfaction was cut short by an ear-breaking scream the girl had let out.

"WHY DID YOU PUNCH ME?"

"You told me to go on, so I did," Maykha chuckled, "I'm not someone who would back away from that opportunity."

Maykha did not wait for them to do something as she walked away with grin on her face. She could not stay there for another second, or she would have punched the other side of the girl's face.

Macie knew what she did, talking about her family and how much they don't resemble her was her insecurity, and the girl knew how to rub it on her face.

Frown was still resting on her face even when she entered their home. No matter how much she convince herself not to be bothered by her encounter with the kids, her day was already spoiled. She hated it when someone commenting the she didn't resemble any of her parents. She was tired of hearing that over and over again as it really made her feel like she did not belong.

"What's with the long face, baby?" her mum asked, handing her a freshly baked cupcake. "Here, have some. This might cheer you up"

Maykha tried to smile but that didn't seem to satisfy her mother. Maddison then pulled her daughter towards the sofa and talked to her. "What's wrong, dear? Did something happen?"

It almost broke her heart when Maykha looked at her with such a sad expression. Her daughter only makes this kind of face only because of one reason.

Maddison sighed and faced her daughter, "Was it Macie and the girls again?"

Her daughter slowly nodded, "Mum...I'm your daughter, right?"

It was painful hearing those words for Maddison. For years, it was evident that neither her or her husband shared any trait to their daughter and that caused a lot of trouble, specially for the girl. She was often bullied and questioned her relation to them.

Maddison hugged Maykha tightly, "Maykha, what do I always tell you?"

"That we don't have to have the same features for us to be called a family"

"That's right. You are our daughter and that would never ever ever change, sweetheart. Ignore all those mean things that Mavie told you earlier, you belong here, you belong anywhere as long as you want to, okay? Look, why don't we go out and spend time together?"

Maykha smiled and this time Maddison knew it was a genuine one, "I'd love that!"