Brave { Neville Longbottom}

Chapter One Hundred Forty Four

The First Task was drawing incredibly near and all the pressure was put on the Champions to not only figure out what it was, but to prepare themselves to face it. Kefira felt sorry for Harry, because the other Champions were receiving plenty of praise, while it was fifty-fifty when it came to how he was received by his peers. She often saw Hermione returning to the dorms in a foul mood after having to deal with going back and forth between Harry and Ron who still weren't on good terms. Kefira decided that she was not going to even touch on that subject because it really wasn't any of her business and she had to deal with her own drama that seemed to be brewing.

While Neville wasn't avoiding her, he was certainly acting different around her, which she found highly puzzling. For quite some time, Neville had dropped his nervous nature around her and spoke comfortably and freely. But in the recent weeks, the boy seemed to be reverting back to the days where she had first met him. She often asked if there was anything he wanted to talk about with her, but he only answered saying that he was fine.

She hated seeing Neville being uncomfortable, so she tried to space out time so that she wasn't always around him, but that left her feeling lost as she realized how much time she really did spend in the boy's company. She thought about turning to Seamus and Dean for advice, but realized that would be just setting herself up for more teasing, especially when it came to Seamus.

Sitting in the corridor one afternoon after Transfiguration class, she had put off lunch telling her friends that she would catch up, claiming she had to talk to Professor McGonagall about something. However, it was a lie, as she just found herself sitting in one of the window seats, staring down at her shoes. She had gone to the Owlery that morning to give Loxie a letter to send home to her family, and while she was looking forward to what her family had to say, she knew the response wouldn't be immediate.

"Are you meditating?" 

A voice broke through Kefira, interrupting her from her thoughts and bringing the girl to look up. She smiled as she saw Bisera, walking over to sit beside her.

"Nah, that involves staying still for long periods of time and that is definitely not an activity for me." Kefira chuckled.

"Good point."  Bisera said. "Why are you sitting by yourself?"

"Well, I would have joined my friends for lunch, but things have been weird and I don't want to make things weirder, if that makes sense. It's ...complicated, let's just leave it at that."

"What would make you feel better then?" Bisera questioned. "Obviously, sitting here is not cheering you up."

"Do you know how to climb trees?" Kefira asked her.

"I've climbed them before, but I haven't done it in so long."

"That gives us all the more reason to do it then." Kefira said. "Let's go!"

Neville was surprised when Kefira didn't join them for lunch, even though she said she would be running a little late. She didn't show up at all. He was beginning to worry if he had done something wrong during Transfiguration that had caused her to become upset with him. His chin rested on the table while Seamus and Dean ate, and finally Ginny arrived to sit with them.

"Hey Neville." She greeted him after greeting the other two boys first. "What's wrong?"

"Have you seen Kefi?" He asked her.

"Yeah, I actually just saw her leaving the castle a few minutes ago with Durmstrang student-"

The boy made a face before pulling his robes over his head and letting out a groan. Ginny looked over to Dean with a confused expression.

"What did I say wrong?"

"What does it feel like being the only one who can practice magic in your family? Does your family get upset?" Bisera asked as the two girls sat in a tree near the lake. 

"Upset? Pfft, no way. They're actually all really supportive of it. I mean, they don't get to witness much of it anyways, it's not like I can practice magic at home. But my mum and dad have read some of my textbooks and my sisters are always asking questions about it. I mean, they were surprised that I turned out to be a witch, but it's actually really neat because just this summer we found out an old family friend is actually a wizard. So it's like my whole family can relax and just be themselves."

"That's nice that you have a supportive family. My parents are like that two, I mean, they both practice magic, but they are supportive with everything I want to do."

"That's great." Kefira said. "I wish more people had parents like that, but it just reminds me that I have something to be thankful for everyday."

"Agreed."

Suddenly, Kefira grew tired of sitting still on the limb and pushed herself up to continue climbing. "You have to make your way up to the top, you get the best view from there!" 

Kefira returned to the Common Room before dinner to find Dean and Ginny sitting on the sofa together, playing some sort of game, leaving her to wonder where Neville and Seamus were.

"There you are." Ginny said. "I was wondering if you were going to be gone until dinner time."

"Sorry, I was hanging out with Bisera, showing her the castle grounds, and then a couple of Beauxbatons students joined us. Where's Neville and Seamus?"

"Seamus is in the shower." Dean said. "And Neville's been upstairs for awhile, I think he's napping."

"Well, I guess that's a good thing that they aren't here. I wanted to talk to you guys about Neville, but I didn't need Seamus putting his two knuts in."

Dean snorted while Ginny giggled.

"What's going on?" Ginny finally asked her.

"Is it just me or has Neville been acting differently lately? Has he been acting different around you guys at all?"

The two just looked at her, leaving her shoulders to slouch and to throw her head back.

"It is just me then. Great. Just great."