Courage {Neville Longbottom} (ON HOLD)

Chapter Fifty One

As they reached the outskirts of Hogsmeade, Bandile and Sedi turned to Kefira, only to watch her as she continued to glance back over her shoulder at the castle in the distance with a nervous expression. The nerves were clear as she really didn't seem happy about leaving her Potions professor out on the ground without any source of help. However, with what Sedi and Bandile knew about the man, they weren't sure why she felt so bad about him. But it was obvious that she wasn't aware of the information that they had on Severus Snape. 

"Kefi, don't worry about him, he'll be fine," Bandile told her. "Right now, I need you transform for the first time so we can assess the situation. Did the Mandrake leaf dissolve in your mouth?"

She nodded her head barely listening to half of what Bandile was telling her. Her head was going back and forth between Professor Snape's condition and what had happened to Neville and the others. She didn't understand how the hell they got to London in the first place and what they were doing, but she was sure that they had gotten into some sort of trouble and there wasn't anything good coming from it. 

"Kefi?"

Looking back up, Kefira noticed that they were waiting for her to transform, leaving her to blink several times as she tried to register the request in her head. She nodded her head once more before she looked down at her shoes and began to focus on the silent incantation. But each time she tried to coincide it with a positive memory, the only problem was she couldn't stop worrying about Neville and her friends, leaving her in her regular form.

Bandile waited patiently but as he noticed that she wasn't doing anything, he opened his mouth to try and coax her but Sedi rested her hand on his shoulder and shook her head, warning him to be quiet.

"I don't think right now is the best time, Bandi," She said. "I think it might be best to get Kefira home and wait until the others arrive back so that she can see that Neville is alright."

"I can't...I-I-I can't do it. I'm sorry," Kefira said softly, before looking up at the adults. "I tried but...I don't know what's wrong with me. I did everything that you told me to do, I did the silent incantation, maybe I did something wrong!"

"No, Kefi," Bandile sighed pulling the girl into a hug. "It's not your fault. Sedi is right, now is not the time. You're not in the right mindset and it was stupid of me to even request such a thing right now. We'll try again later. Right now, I'm going to get you home."

Cardel and Alana were sitting on the front steps of the home, coffee mugs in hand as they were waiting for Rosemary to come over with her boyfriend, to finally introduce them to the family. However, there was hardly ever a dull moment when it came to the Walsh family and it seemed there was a storm of drama headed their way when Bandile showed up with Kefira and Sedi at his side. Cardel was the first one on his feet as he noted Kefira's frown from a distance and quickly dropped the mug in his hand and made his way over to them in the field. As he reached her, Kefira didn't say anything, instead, she wrapped her arms around his waist and held onto her father tightly. 

"What's happened?" Cardel asked Bandile and Sedi as he held onto Kefira just as tight, he was incredibly concerned as it was rare for Kefira to be speechless and upset at the same time.

"Sedi will explain," Bandile told him. "Right now, I need to leave for a little bit but I will be back."

The man's eyes fell on Kefira as she glanced over at him. "And I will bring him back safely."

Alana had finally made her way over, just as Rosemary was arriving with her boyfriend, leaving it to be horrible timing on everyone's behalf. Of course, as the car pulled up into the driveway, Rosemary was not expecting to see a magical gathering in the field by the house, leaving her nervous since her boyfriend, Bernard was not aware of anything pertaining to her family. Bandile noted the vehicle and ran behind the house before he disapparated from the scene.