Little Brave Hearts || Neville Longbottom

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

Days have passed and the number of petrified students increased in a horrifying speed and what Maykha bothered the most is that even those purebloods and half-bloods were not seem to be as safe as they thought they were.

The night of her encounter with Ginny had left her feeling so restless. She came to Maykha, hoping she could help her, but she still left her alone. It made her feel guilty and stupid. Maybe she could have done something than than leaving the girl, who looked like she was in a serious danger, alone.

That year, Maykha felt like she was turning into a worrywart. With Harry having his Quidditch match that day, she grew even more restless as it seemed like something bad was about to happen. Walking back and forth inside their common rooms, Maykha bit her nails in hopes to calm her nerves down.

"Oh please, Maykha, would you stop going here and there. You are making us dizzy," Hermione complained.

"Look," Maykha said exasperatedly, "How can I calm down when Ginny was still missing. She came to me asking for help, but I couldn't even do anything. And I just have this feeling as if something bad was bound to happen."

"I know you're worried, but being restless won't help," Ron said.

"Why are you not worried, Ronald? It's your sister that's been missing!"

"I am worried!" Ron yelled, making Maykha take a step back, "She is my sister and I am bloody worried, okay? I-it's just...I don't even know what to do!"

There was a silence between them. No words were said, until she started walking to exit their common room only to be stopped by Neville as he grabbed her arm.

"Where are you going? It's dangerous!"

"I will be back," Maykha said, brushing Neville's hands off hers, "sorry."

Without saying anything more, Maykha stormed out of the common room, leaving Hermione, Neville and Ron behind as they exchanged looks.

They knew how bothered the girl was lately and she was no longer in her usual self. She had gone quiet and anxious. They tried to cheer her up, but it was difficult while knowing where her fears were coming from.

Maykha was absent-mindedly walking along the hallway, trying to brush off the weird feeling forming in her chest, when she heard quiet footsteps from behind.

With a nervous heart, she immediately gripped her locket and mouthed her enchantment before following the sound.

"Sempera defendus"

She looked for the source of the footsteps, only for her to pray that she had not. She was met with a big, serpent-like monster that almost had her trip on her own feet. She had to cover her mouth for it not to notice her presence.

What surprised her more than anything was the girl that walked next to the serpent. Her ginger hair immediately caught Maykha's eyes and she immediately recognized Ginny. She was walking with blank expression on her face, as if she was somnambulant, and was not conscious of what stood just next to her.

"That is strange," Maykha whispered.

She continued following them until they reached the second floor lavatory, where Moaning Myrtle resided. Maykha hid behind the entrance of the lavatory when she started panting. She suddenly felt heavy as if something was forcing her to collapse and her limbs became stiff. She was fighting to stay awake, as she figured she needed to know what Ginny was up to.

Maykha noticed how Moaning Myrtle was horrified and hid inside her cubicle at once. Ginny paused in front of the sink and began uttering some strange words then all of a sudden, the sink moved and opened a path for Ginny and the monster to enter. Maykha swallowed her saliva as her heart started pounding faster. Should she inform Professor Dumbledore? But she hated the idea that she would have to leave Ginny once again to ask for help. She did not know how would she able to help the girl, but she would not want to do the same mistake of leaving her again.

It did not leave Maykha with enough time to hesitate as the sink started moving back into its place. Just then, as if on cue, Maykha ran as fast as she could and jumped into the sink without knowing what will happen.

"Bloody hell!" she cursed as she slid her way down until her bottom hit the hard ground. It was chilly and dark that it the atmosphere of the place sent shivers across her body.

She stood up and to inspect the place, there was a circular tunnel in front of her and after she went passed it there was an opened metal door with snakes carved into it. She got a feeling that Ginny was in there so, though hesitant, she gathered all her courage and went inside hoping to find and save her friend.

The moment she stepped in, her eyes immediately spotted Ginny, lying on the ground at the end of the room, unconscious, and the monster was no longer in sight. Her feet moved faster and ran towards Ginny as fast as she could. Bending down to aid her friend, her heart sank to the bottom of her stomach when she noticed how Ginny's temperature was dropping so fast.

She did not have any idea what to do, and silently cursed at herself for not paying attention to the forst aid lesson her muggle school had offered before.

Stripping off her robe to cover Ginny, she also tried tapping her cheeks hoping to bring her consciousness back. "Ginny, Ginny wake up!"

Maykha flinched when she heard footsteps echoed. Her right arm immediately grabbed her wand and the other grasped her necklace. She turned to see who arrived and saw an older boy wearing a school uniform walking towards them. Her heart started pounding, as if it was letting her know that the boy was trouble.

She glared as she tried to block Ginny from him, "Who are you?"

The man frowned, "You're not Potter, are you? Certainly, I was sure he was a boy"

...

"Harry! Ron! I can't find Maykha anywhere!" Neville reported. The two just came back from their trip to the forbidden forest looking rather a mess and disheveled. Neville should have been part of the trip too, however, with Maykha's absence since she walked out earlier that day, they started to worry for her and decided that they should split up their tasks.

With Hermione being the next to be petrified, it was like the odds were not on their favour. It only made Neville desperate to find Maykha and make sure she was safe until everything was over.

"Good news, it wasn't Hagrid. He's innocent! But bad news, he's been captured and was sent to Azkaban. We have to do something to prove his innocence!" Harry said, breathless.

They began feeling lost and hopeless as their friends' lives were put into too much danger in this case. One bad thing happened after another. One of their friends had been petrified, another was lost, and now Hagrid was imprisoned. They even had no idea as to what kind of monster they even have to deal with.

Neville was on the verge of crying. He mentally blamed himself for not going after Maykha when she left. If only he followed her, if only he was able to stop her from walking away, then maybe the situation might be a little bit better than this.