Brave { Neville Longbottom}

Chapter Sixty One

"Hola amigos!" Kefira said as she found Seamus, Dean and Faye.

"There they are." Dean smiled. "It's Kefi and Nevi."

"It's Ant Seamus and Uncle Goat." Kefira said making the two of them laugh.

"Did you guys have a nice summer?" Dean asked.

"We sure did. Neville spent it at my house with my family." Kefira told him.

"Did he now?' Seamus grinned. "Did you have fun Neville?"

"Yes. I did. Kefi's family is a lot of fun, you would all like them a lot."

Dean and Seamus exchanged glances but said nothing as Kefira took her seat besides Faye to tell her all about her summer adventures.

They were all catching up about each others summers, Seamus was listening to Kefira talk about throwing sugar into the fire when the lights on the train began to flicker.

"Are my eyes messing with me or did the lights just freak out?" Faye said.

"I think-" Kefira began suddenly the train went dark, the only light coming in from the windows, which wasn't much. "That's weird."

Kefira stood up but was quickly yanked back down by Neville. "What are you doing?" he asked her.

"Trying to figure out what's going on." Kefira said trying to pull away from his grip but Neville kept his grip strong on the back of her shirt.

"Kefi, wait, we don't know what's going on-"

Suddenly, Faye cried out as a shadow flickering passed the window. "What was that?!" she shrieked burrowing into Dean's side.

As Kefira arose, Neville followed her as she pressed her hands and face against the window to look out.

"I don't see anything." Kefira huffed before turning around. 

"We should stay here, Kefi." Neville told her knowing exactly what Kefira was going to suggest next.

"No way, we should see what's going on!" she finally freed herself from Neville's hold and opened up the compartment door poking her head out. She didn't see anyone roaming around the train, but it was dark.

She slipped out when she felt someone follow her out. Turning around she caught Neville standing behind her.

"Neville, you don't have to come if you're scared." she told him.

Neville remembered what Kefira's family had told him about keeping an eye on her and then he remembered last year when he wasn't able to save Kefira in time. He didn't want her to miss out on another year and he certainly didn't want to be without his best friend that year.

"No, I'm going to go too."

Kefira smiled at him before turning back inside the compartment.

"Are you guys coming too?" she asked.

"Are you crazy?" Seamus said.

"Probably."  Kefira shrugged.

"Oh no," Dean shook his head, " I watched too many horror movies over the summer to know how this is going to end."

"You guys are no fun." 

When they left the compartment, " Kefira glanced up and down the train.

"Okay, Neville, you go that way, I'll go this way!" she said pointing to opposite ways.

"Wait, what?"

"What? It's how we would cover the train quicker."

"But I thought we were sticking together."

"It would take too long to cover the train. This is much quicker. We'll meet back up in the middle. Good luck! And if anything jumps out and scares you, punch it!"

"But Kefi!" Before he could argue anymore, Kefira left down the train leaving him to stand alone.

He groaned. "Why is it always me?"

Kefira searched the train, asked a few students but no one seemed to know anything. She had reached where the driver was, but before she could do anything she heard footsteps approach behind her.

She glanced up to see a man with brown hair, a thin mustache and dawning shabby clothes. He seemed surprised to see the student standing before him, his wand was lit up illuminating Kefira's appearance.

"Hello." she greeted him.

"Merlin's ghost.." the man placed his hand over his heart before he cleared his throat. "What are you doing out of a compartment?"

"I'm walking around, what does it look like I'm doing?" Kefira questioned him right back. "What are you doing out of a compartment?"

The man stared down at her for a moment before a small smile took to his lips. He lowered himself to her eye level.

"I think it would be wise for you to return to your friends." he said. "If you haven't noticed there are some strange things happening on the train."

"No, I hadn't noticed." Kefira responded sarcastically. "I thought the Hogwarts Express was experiencing budget cuts."

He chuckled.

'Run along, L..."