dursley [h. g.]

••dursley•• || one last time

{general warning: there's a party in this chapter, and it includes mentions of underaged drinking, implied drug use}

Kendra had attempted to get Lisa to go with her to the party that Theo insisted she go to, but Lisa had declined, saying that there was Quidditch tryouts that day and practice the next. Lisa would not miss a chance to get back on the Quidditch team, particularly after her two years of absence. The only other of her friends who would even consider going with her was Damon, and he had "prior arrangements" that had something to do with Kendra's cousin, apparently.

And so Saturday came, and Kendra swallowed her reluctance along with her handful of pills. Luna had offered Kendra company while she got ready, which Kendra accepted with relief.

"I was surprised when you said you were going to a party," Luna pointed out as Kendra brushed her hair out in front of the mirror, tempted to grab a pair of scissors and cut it back to it's near-chin length that she usually kept it at. "You don't really seem like a party person."

"I can't really dance," Kendra shrugged, grabbing a section of her grown out bangs and pinning them away from her face. "And I prefer spending time with my friends in small groups, rather than with a bunch of people."

"So why did you decide to go?" Luna asked, rummaging around in the pocket of her multi colored cardigan and finding a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.

"I've never actually been to party here," Kendra admitted. "It's a bit daunting, but. want to be able to say I've done it."

"That makes sense to me," Luna nodded, eating a bean, her nose scrunching slightly at the taste. She swallowed it anyways. "Ginny always says that you should try everything once."

"How very Gryffindor of her," Kendra replied, smiling awkwardly as she attempted to smile through the process of putting her eyeliner on. After a few more moments of concentration, she stared at herself in the mirror before standing and turning to Luna. "Do I look alright?"

"You always look wonderful," Luna said brightly, eating another bean, and for Kendra, that was all she needed to hear. Kendra took a deep breath.

"I should probably go now, don't want to keep Theo waiting," Kendra said, smiling nervously, playing with the ends of her sleeves. Luna smiled at her.

"Good luck, and don't let the nargles get to you," Luna offered, standing and returning to her own dorm. Kendra made her way down the stairs and out of the common room, where Theo was standing, already waiting for her.

"Look at you," he said, grinning. "Isn't life so much better when you break the rules?"

Kendra rolled her eyes. "Is anyone going to get mad at you for being with me?"

Theo shrugged. "That's their problem. Tonight, I am going to get absolutely wasted and not give a rat's arse about what anyone else thinks," he finished, grinning ear to ear. Kendra sighed.

"I'm not going to rub your back while you're leaning over the loo, you know," Kendra said.

"We both know that's not true," Theo grinned at her. "Kendra, you mother everything you see."

"Alright, that's fair," Kendra admitted, and the two of them completed the walk to the Hufflepuff common room in silence. When they reached the barrels, Kendra knocked them without pausing to think. She had been in and out of the Hufflepuff common rooms enough times to know what the password was.

"Nice," Theo commented as a door swung open and let them in. The typically calm and peaceful Hufflepuff common room had been transformed. Most of the plant life had been moved to safety, lights had been set up, bathing the room in an amber glow. Furniture had been pushed aside and a table fully stocked with food and drinks from the kitchen had been set up along one of the walls. As they stepped into the room, the sound of loud music hit their ears- contained within the room itself by some kind of silencing charm. Some muggle disco song was playing, groups and pairs on the floor were dancing, drinks in hand. The dancing was provocative, inherently sexual, and judging by the number of people who were locking lips on the chairs and couches pushed out of the dance floor's way, was intended to lead to something more. A layer of tangy smoke lay across the whole room, though the source wasn't entirely clear in the almost dark room.