Courage {Neville Longbottom} (ON HOLD)

Chapter Fifty Four

Entering the summer, Kefira and Neville were feeling more than accomplished with what they had managed to do over the last year. Neville was growing up, not just in height but he was growing and shaping up to be a boy that was full of courage. Like Kefira had told him long ago, he just needed to find his inner roar. She had helped him plenty of times and had been a great example of what he wanted to be. But finally, there was that final push that he needed and for once, Neville didn't find himself second guessing his abilities or doubting himself. In fact, he was awfully proud and now he understood why the Sorting Hat had gone against his wishes to be sorted into Hufflepuff. He had thought for the longest time that the Hat had made a terrible mistake, but it wasn't the case at all.

Some Gryffindors were born brave, others worked hard to develop the daring nerve and he was proud to be the latter, while paired up with a girl who was the first. Not only was he proud of himself, he was proud of Kefira because, in many ways, she had grown plenty too. Not in height of course, but in the sense that she was learning how to handle situations that didn't always require action but thinking things through. It was not an easy task as Kefira was so used to solving her problems right away, whether it was by speaking up or using force. But she had learned that sometimes, it was best not to intervene and she needed to focus on herself. 

She had also accomplished what seemed to be impossible, just on her own. Becoming an animagus, in hopes of becoming a strong ally to the Order. Neville never really saw himself living up to the shoes that his parents filled, but he figured that he was mistaken, he and Kefira were proving to be quite the "power couple" as Sedi had described them as. When Augusta had heard the woman describe them as such, Neville saw a hint of worry in his grandmother's eyes.

For so long, she had been the one to push him, to do and be better, to be just like his father and mother, but now that it was actually happening, she seemed to regret her persistent nature. But Neville was thankful that his grandmother had pushed him, in the beginning, not so much, but over time, he realized what she was pushing him towards. He was not the Chosen One or the boy selected to be the Boy-Who-Lived. He was not going to be Frank Longbottom, he wasn't going to be Alice Longbottom either, but he was going to be Neville Longbottom, the boy who made his parents proud. 

"I wonder how this is going to change everything for the upcoming term," Kefira asked one afternoon. It was surprisingly humid outside but not a rain cloud in sight, it appeared as though it was going to be an abnormally hot summer in Ireland. Augusta had dropped Neville off at the Walsh home in order to free up a day for herself. Neville claimed that since the incident at the Department of Mysteries, she had been overwhelmed and not sleeping very well. Apparently, she was quite worried about Neville, enough that he had caught her checking up on him throughout the night.

"What do you mean?" Neville questioned as they sat in the familiar tree outside the Walsh Household. Another proud accomplishment of his was that he was able to climb the tree without any help or problems anymore. In fact, he would never say it out loud but he was pretty sure that he could climb the tree faster than Kefira.  Well, that was unless she was in her lioness form, but that would be considered cheating.