Courage {Neville Longbottom} (ON HOLD)

Chapter One Hundred Fifteen

It seemed since she had arrived home that Kefira spent the majority of her time outside, whether it was to escape her parents or sisters trying to tell her to reconsider her decision, or because she was waiting on news to arrive from Bandile. However, that early morning, she wasn't avoiding her family as they were all asleep, it had been another late night of arguing. It seemed to be all they ever did as of recently. Ever since Kefira told them that she would be working to get others to safety rather than specifically look after herself, her parents made it clear that they didn't support the idea fully.

They admired her bravery, they told it countless times, but there had to be a line where Kefira started taking her own safety into consideration. Above all, they thought that Neville would be the one to talk her out of her plans, but together, the couple had plans that went against the wishes of both of their families. They weren't concerned with their own well-being, perhaps worried about each other, but in the end, they felt like they had a duty to their peers to help out as much as possible.

Kefira's parents couldn't even speak without tearing up half the time, which usually led to them sounding like they were yelling at her as they tried to speak through their tears. It was no use though, Kefira had already made up her mind, and Neville had made up his. They just ultimately wished that their families wouldn't greet them with such sad faces as their time together was drawing to an end. Not permanently by any means, as long as they had a say in the manner, but they would be apart for quite some time, it was best to make the most of it.

It was Kefira's birthday that day, seventeen years old and finally, considered of age within the wizarding world. She wasn't sure if the mark of another year was going to call for a celebration or possible turmoil within her family. Normally, her birthday or any birthday within the household had been a day of happiness, but as of late, Kefira didn't really see that happening, especially since her family was due to leave the next day.

With the wizarding world losing control over their government and allowing it to fall into the hands of Voldemort, Kefira had to get her family out. She needed to be one step ahead or she would find herself in danger, but more importantly to her, more than likely her family would be the ones in danger. Over the course of her years at school, she had managed to anger the wrong people, from Professor Snape to Professor Umbridge and go figure, they were the ones in the positions of power.

And if they were ones to hold grudges (which she was fairly certain they were) they were going to come after her and make her pay for being a thorn in their sides.

Lost in her own thoughts of being separated from her family with limited communication for who knew how long, Kefira didn't hear the door behind her open. Neville walked out, not surprised to find her out there after he had gone to her room first. He had remained at the Walsh household, Augusta coming in every day to check in on him, but they all knew time was running out.

He had woken up, prepared to tell her "happy birthday" although he wasn't sure how happy it was going to come across. Due to all the planning and changes, he hadn't been able to even get Kefira a gift, not that he thought she was expecting one either.

However, as he stepped outside, he noted how cold the morning air was and in the back of his mind, he always thought about how cold Kefira became. Whether it was due to the fact that she was sick or her inability to remain very warm on her own, Neville felt the same nerves race through him as he did when he thought Kefira was lost to all of them. Stepping back inside, he grabbed a quilt from the back of a sofa and brought it with him.

It took the draping of the blanket around her shoulders that brought Kefira to notice that he was there. She offered a small smile, which Neville struggled to return. It was hitting him harder than ever that they were about to be separated, and in a way, they wouldn't be able to look after each other. Over the years, they had developed some sort of routine that worked for both of them. When one of them needed each other, they were always there and it was punching Neville in the stomach as he realised that once they were separated, it wouldn't be so easy to be there for each other.