Courage {Neville Longbottom} (ON HOLD)

Chapter Sixty Six

While Neville had labeled Harry's victory in Potions as a fluke, it turned out not to be the case as the boy continued to excel seemingly out of nowhere in the class. With each class, Slughorn praised him and Kefira's urge to throttle the boy grew. It was bad enough that Harry had already received special treatment in the school before, the exception to nearly every rule put in place and now with the title of The Chosen One looming over his head, everyone else was practically screwed. 

Kefira didn't seem to be the only one bothered by it either, Hermione seemed flustered with every class as it seemed Harry just effortlessly glided through each lesson. The one thing that Kefira had thought she could always count on being her strength, her confidence in the class was struggling and she was getting to the point of desperation of getting herself in trouble with Professor Snape in order to have her Potions detentions again. She had to wonder what it was like at other schools that didn't have to deal with the constant distraction that was The Boy Who Lived. 

However, she knew she was being unfair, she knew that she was supposed to be happy for Harry. After all, he was a fellow Gryffindor and she knew how Professor Snape had treated him in the class. Perhaps it was the fact that they were under a new professor that Harry was able to exceed beyond previous expectations. But that didn't mean she had to like it. Especially when Professor Slughorn said he rarely taught someone with such talent. 

"I hate everything about that class," Kefira grumbled at lunch one afternoon before she had to head to Care of Magical Creatures with the boys. Hardly anyone had signed up for the class with Hagrid, leaving a handful and the majority of them being Gryffindors. Kefira had to admit she was quite surprised that Harry and his friends did not continue on with Hagrid's class but at the same time, a break from Harry seemed extremely pleasant.

"Don't you mean you hate Harry?" Seamus teased her with a grin. She went to kick him under the table but at the last second, Neville stopped her.

"Seamus, Kefi doesn't hate Harry," Neville told him before turning his head to look at her, "right?"

"I'm getting there," she said under her breath. "Once again, all throughout class the rest of us might as well have walked out in the beginning. It's become the Slughorn and Harry show. It's driving me absolutely mad. You know, if Harry put this much effort into Potions when Professor Snape was teaching, don't you think Snape would have left him alone?"

"Snape would have probably hated him more," Dean pointed out.

"Well, seeing as Harry likes to do things out of spite towards the man equally as much as Snape does it to him, it would have been a good thing to do. I want to drop Potions so badly right now. It's become my least favorite class. 'Oh Harry, no one has ever thought to do that. What natural talent! Do you see students? Gather 'round, look at Harry's cauldron. See what he's done.'

"What are you four talking about?" Ginny asked as she came to join them at the table.

"Kefira's expressing her hate towards Harry right now," Dean told her. Ginny immediately turned to her friend with a frown. 

"Potions?"

Kefira groaned before dropping her head onto the table. She let out several noises related to frustration as Neville patted her on the back. But just to make matters worse, Professor Snape approached the table, leaving all the Gryffindors stiff until he reached where they were sitting.

"Miss Walsh," his tone was cold, bringing the girl to lift her head up and stare at him, "it was reported that once again you were roaming the corridors barefoot. How many times do you have to be told not to do something before it gets through that head of yours?"