Little Brave Hearts || Neville Longbottom

CHAPTER SIX

Opening her eyes, Maykha woke up inside the Hospital Wing feeling so much better than just a few moments ago.

When she glanced to her side, she saw Neville looking down, still not yet realizing that she was finally awake.

"Why am I like this?" She heard him whisper.

"Like what?"

The boy immediately glanced up to a wake Maykha. It did not take him a minute to bawl his eyes out, making her panic.

"N-Neville? Why are you -"

"I'm sorry!" He sniffed and wiped the tears that fell like a waterfall from his eyes using the sleeve of his robe, "I'm really, really sorry. B-because of me you got hurt, and you were excited about flying, but I ended up ruining your day and-"

"Neville!" Maykha called him out, "breathe."

Neville nodded before breathing in and out, as he looked a bit calmer.

Knowing the kind of person Neville was, Maykha knew he would blame himself for what happened, but it wasn't his fault. She just did not want him to get hurt, not when he was already afraid of flying. Perhaps, she just did not want to give him more reason to be afraid of something.

But truth be told, even she was surprised with how her body reacted, as if it had a mind of it own. The moment she saw Neville in danger, she did not even hesitate to jump off her broom to catch her friend.

Now, seeing Neville unscathed, she thought it was worth it.

"It should have been me," Neville said, looking down on his fidgeting fingers.

"What do you mean?"

"I should have been the one who got hurt, not you. I'm not worth saving for, I'm not worth getting hurt for," the boy said as he started tearing up again.

There was a stab of pain in Maykha's heart because of his words. She hated how little he thought of himself, it was like as if he had already given up on himself.

Maykha placed her hands on both sides of Neville's cheeks, looking at him intently, "Who told you that?"

"No one has to. I already know," he said, looking away.

"You're wrong," Maykha said, not breaking her gaze, "Look at me and listen. If that happens again, I will still do it, and I will do it again and again without hesitation, you know why?"

Neville shook his head.

"Because you're worth it, Neville."

There was so much sincerity in Maykha's words that Neville could not help but cry even harder, but this time, it was not because of guilt, but rather it was because of relief.

He knew he did not deserve those words, and not even the presence of the girl. Yet, deep inside he wanted to be unfair and keep the girl by his side.

"Neville, are you okay?"

Meeting her eyes, Maykha was relieved to see Neville finally smile again as he nodded his head.

"Thank you, really," he said sincerely thay brought smile to Maykha's lips.

As she let go of Neville's face, she then grabbed his hands and held it in hers, rubbing his palm where the markings of his nails were visible. The markings were deep, and she could only imagine how tight he had his hands closed for it to be like that.

"Be nice to your hands, Nevy," she said, still looking at his palms.

"Nevy?"

"Your nickname, isn't it cute?"

...

"A seeker?"

When Maykha and Neville went back to their common room after she was discharged from the Hospital Wing, Harry and Ron immediately told them what occured in the Training Grounds after they were gone.

Apparently, Malfoy had gotten Neville's Remembrall. When Harry tried to retrieve it, Malfoy threw it so far that he almost crashed into a window when he caught the item. The whole thing was seen by McGonagall who immediately had Harry get recruited for the Gryffindor's Quidditch Team as their seeker.

"I also discovered that my dad also used to play Quidditch back in his time too. And it seemed like he was good at it," Harry said, smiling.

Maykha was so happy and proud of her friend that she could not help but hug him tight, "I am so proud of you, Harry! I told you you'd be fine!"

"Yeah, I actually feel stupid for being so afraid of flying earlier," Harry said.

"But you know, Maykha, you were great too," Ron suddenly said, "I mean, you were so fast, and not to mention, bloody wicked as well! You almost gave me a heart attack when you two fell!"

"It's not as bad as it looked, and Madam Pomfrey is amazing! Just one swish from her wand and I am all healed!" She said, "This is why I love magic."

"Will you try out for the Quidditch team next year, Maykha?" Neville asked.

She thought about it for a while. Flying made her feel good, and it calmed her soul despite the noise around her. It was as if her body craved for it, and her broomstick was more than happy to give her that satisfaction. Maykha even thought that perhaps, just like wands, their broomsticks also have feelings, and they get to choose who will mount them or not.

Though flying was fun, she was still unsure of Quidditch. Not only because she was not familiar with it yet, but also because she did not want to associate the feeling she felt earlier with competition. She wanted to fly without worries, and being in a sports team would bring her the opposite of what she wanted.

Shrugging her shoulders, Maykha leaned her back on her favourite armchair inside the common room, "I'm still not sure. I'll get myself familiar with the gameplay first before I decide."

"I'm sure you'll be great with it," Neville said with a smile.