Courage {Neville Longbottom} (ON HOLD)

Chapter Seventeen

"Who said anything about putting on an act?" Kefira rounded on Professor Snape was they were a clear distance away from the Pink Eye Sore. "I'm not happy about serving detention with you! I would have much rather spent the evening with Professor Umbridge."

"You say that now..." Professor Snape said as he continued walking right by her in the direction of the dungeon.

"It's true!" She called after him as she followed. "I still don't like you as a person and I won't...not until you apologize!" 

"And what exactly should I apologize for? The fact that your parents didn't give you a proper upbringing so you feel the need to speak out against all those who hold a higher authority than yourself?" The man sneered at her.

He suddenly heard the screeching sound of Kefira coming to a halt in the corridor as her shoes scraped against the floor. He turned around only going to look briefly over his shoulder, but as he eyed the girl, he could see the energy of anger surging off of her in what appeared to be waves. Her eyes were narrowed, her upper lip threatening to curl upward to bare her teeth, and her fists clenched to her sides. At any moment, it looked as though she would attack him head on and go in for the killing move.

"Don't you ever...ever...say anything disrespectful about my parents to me..." She said, her voice was a mixture of growling and hissing that sounded like a bizarre mixture of an animal as she continued to glare at him. 

The man had seen the girl become defensive over the other students, especially when it came to the Longbottom boy but he had never seen her turn to his extent. 

"My mother and father are wonderful and beautiful people who raised me to be strong and independent, just because you're intimidated by a strong person, gives you absolutely no right to mention them in a negative way and you're sure as hell not going to get away with saying that in front of me!"

"It would be wise for you to hold your tongue-"

"Take your own damn advice!" The girl's face was showing a hint of red as her entire small frame began to shake. "For once, try and say something kind or don't say anything at all! You're just awful...so it wasn't an act that I was putting up. I would much rather be serving detention with Professor Umbridge than with you!"

Two unfortunate first years that were planning on making their way down the same corridor came to a stop around the corner and hid as they watched the older student square off with the professor. They obviously knew who Professor Snape was and what he was like, to see a student yelling at him, they suddenly believed that they were hallucinating, especially when Professor Snape didn't come up with a response.

"You're nothing but a bully, Professor Snape. You have told me countless times before that I don't know what a bully is, but I do," Kefira said. "Because I have to see one every time I'm in your class. You pick on students that are younger than you when you should be helping them. We had a DeathEater as a professor last year...a Death Eater...and yet, you still ring up as the worst professor in this school. Does that not say anything to you? That some of your students fear you so much that one of them see you when facing a boggart? Why doesn't that bother you?!"

Silence filled the corridor as the two first years continued to watch and Kefira continued to wait for an answer.

"You don't even have an answer, do you?" She sighed before shaking her head and looking away. "Well, that's just great, Professor Snape, I'm so glad that you pretty much admitted that you condone bullying-"

"I do not-"

"Don't lie!" She stomped her foot. "You do! Why else would have even thought of recommending Draco and Pansy as Prefects? Are you blind or deaf? You see what they do to other students, you know what they say, yet you're the only professor who doesn't do anything about it. You turn a blind eye to everything that they do and then go and make them prefects. If that doesn't say you condone bullying...I have plenty of other reasons as to why I believe that. You want to talk about my parents and them raising my sisters and me. At least, we learned better than to pick on others. We help others...when is the last time you genuinely helped one of your students?"