Brave { Neville Longbottom}

Chapter Sixty Four

"Now this...is awesome." Kefira was growing more and more excited with every passing second as they stood in the Care of Magical Creatures class with Hagrid. The group of students were instructed to learn how to properly bow to a Hippogriff.

"Now, firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' hippogriffs is, they're proud. " Hagrid informed the third years. "Easily offended, hippogriffs are. Don't never insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do. Yeh always wait fer the hippogriff ter make the firs' move. It's polite, see? Yeh walk towards him, and yeh bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed to touch him. If he doesn' bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause those talons hurt.

Kefira gripped onto Neville's arm excitedly. "They're beautiful aren't they Neville?"

"Beautiful?" Neville repeated staring at the beasts before them. He looked down to Kefira to see if she was joking, but of course, the admirable look in her eyes said she wasn't.

The girl was fascinated by the creatures before her.  Varied in sizes, the creatures had the head and wings of an eagle, but the body of a horse.  Some were grey in color, other were bronze, and a couple were an inky black color, but all were beautiful to Kefira. She could wait for the lesson to begin. They were paired with one to begin with.

They had to wait for the creature to approach and if the creature did, they were to bow respectively. If the hippogriff bowed in return they would be able to approach in return.

Kefira and Neville were paired along with Faye to approach a small bronze colored female hippogriff. They were told when approaching to always keep eye contact.

"Go ahead Neville." Kefira turned to the boy. "You go first!"

"Me?!" Neville squeaked.

"Yeah, you can do it!"

"But..."

"Go on Neville." Faye said as she tucked herself behind Kefira, incredibly glad that Kefira hadn't volunteered her to go first.

"She's lovely, isn't she?" Kefira whispered to Faye as Neville tried to bow at the hippogriff.

Faye didn't answer as they watched the hippogriff refuse to bow back.

"Neville, you're supposed to keep eye contact with her."

"I'm trying."

The two girls watched as Neville continued to bow, but every time he did, he would back away as well. Which did not gain the respect of the hippogriff.

"This isn't going so well." Faye told Kefira.

"Just give him a chance." Kefira said.

She glanced over to where Hagrid was praising Harry for approaching his, straight off the bat.

Neville seemed to accept defeat until Kefira pulled him away from the hippogriff.

"Nev...it's okay." she reassured him.

"No it's not. It's so easy for everyone to get it, and I can't."

"Neville, I don't think when I met you back in first year that you would ever be able to even be in the same area as one of these guys, and now look at you...you were actually bowing to one."

"But they didn't bow back." he frowned looking over to where Harry had succeeded.

"Don't go comparing yourself to him. You're not him and he's not you and that's a good thing."

Neville peered up at her but as soon as he met her eyes he looked back down to his feet.

"No...come on Neville, look at me." she chuckled. "You can look me in the eyes can't you?"

Neville swallowed hard as he felt her hand touch under his chin bringing him back to look at her. Her green eyes held his blue gaze.

"See, it's not so hard is it?"

"N-no....but you're not a hippogriff, Kefi."

She laughed. "Unfortunately, no, I'm not."

The lesson seemed to be getting along much better, until Draco Malfoy went ahead and ruined everything. Instead of listening to Hagrid's warning of keeping the interaction respectful between the creatures, Draco had somehow disrespected one of the Hippogriff and ended up " gravely wounded."

"I'm sure his father will be hearing about this." Kefira grumbled.

Kefira waited for Neville to come help her with her homework that evening. Rather than going to library, Neville agreed they would just work in the common room to keep her from getting in trouble. She heard movement coming from the boy's dorm, but instead of seeing Neville, she saw Seamus.

"Don't look so disappointed to see me. I know I'm not Neville." he said to her.

"What are you going on about, Finnigan?" she asked.

"Oh nothing." Seamus grinned sitting down beside her. "Just happened to notice how close you and Neville were during the hippogriff lesson."

"Don't you start-"

"I wasn't the only one, Dean noticed too. Didn't you, Dean?"

Dean had just come down the stairs and upon seeing Kefira glaring at him, he quickly put up his hands.

"I didn't see or say anything." he said quickly.

"Liar." Seamus said.

Kefira rolled her eyes. "It's not like that, Fire Ant. So just shut up, alright?"

"You say that now. But it was written in your tea leaves." Seamus laughed.

"Did Professor Trelawney see an incoming fist in your future?" Kefira growled at him.

Seamus' eyes widened. "Well, would you look at the time, Dean and I have somewhere to be."

"I'm sure you do."