dursley [h. g.]

••dursley•• || the note

The return to Hogwarts was both a return to reality and an escape from it. There was no denying that the attack had shaken everyone who had been at the burrow when it had happened- even Hermione was more jumpy than usual, despite her not being present for the attack itself. At the same time, there was a certain safety that being within the castle walls provided, and the separation that it provided from the real world meant that every now and then, it was easy to slip away from reality into the pockets of fantasy that could be found by a warm fire in a common room or in the Great Hall amongst friends.

The Saturday after the end of the holiday was not one of those moments. Reality had already hit Kendra across the face by the time she woke up and had a migraine, and Lisa struck moments later to get her to come down to breakfast with her. And of course, breakfast was thoroughly interrupted when the mail arrived, and a strange owl- most likely one of the school's owls dropped a note in Kendra's lap.

"Not to be rude," Lisa said. "But you've got mail?"

Kendra nodded slowly. Lisa had a point- Kendra hardly ever got mail. It wasn't as though her parents were writing her often, and if they did, they certainly wouldn't send it by owl. She had written with Sirius a few times, but his letters had never been delivered during breakfast, not to mention that it was impossible that the letter was from him. She didn't even recognize the handwriting on the outside, which asked her to open it in private.

"Strange," Kendra noted. "Well, whoever it is doesn't want me to open it in front of everyone."

"Maybe you've got a secret admirer," Lisa said nonchalantly. Kendra let out a snort.

"Yeah, right. One that sends strange notes during breakfast- on a Saturday no less," Kendra said. "I severely doubt it."

"All I'm saying is that if I was going to send you a note confessing my love to you, that would be exactly how I would do it," Lisa said with a shrug. Kendra smirked, tucking the note away in her jacket, glad for the change in subject.

"Got something to say to me Lisa, huh?" Kendra asked teasingly. Lisa rolled her eyes.

"Fuck off, you know what I meant," Lisa replied, no bite to her words, the ghost of a smile lifting the corners of her lips. Kendra's smile only widened in response.

"Sorry, it's just too easy to tease you sometimes," Kendra shrugged.

"I taught you well then," Lisa said with a grin. "Well, I've got Charms. See you later, Kendra."

"Bye," Kendra said, taking a sip of her water and rolling her eyes. With a sigh, Kendra stood and returned to her dormitory for her free period, intending to open the note once she was alone.

The halls were mostly empty, most of the school in class. There was little to distract Kendra from her growing anxiety of what exactly this letter was about, and why exactly she could not have simply opened it at the breakfast table with everything else. Clearly, it was a private mater, perhaps even one of secrecy, and there were only a handful of things that she was involved in that were quite so private.

Finally, she sat on her bed and tore the letter open, still not recognizing to whom the emerald green ink's penmanship belonged to. And so, still hesitant, she began to read.

Kendra, the note began.

I have not always been honest with you, even in the short life of our friendship. It is simply because I am a coward, and don't have the heart to say some things out loud. I wouldn't be surprised if you already knew what I'm about to tell you, since you have an aptitude for sticking your nose in business that you have nothing to do with, but I want to tell you anyways. I've been a fool, and you deserve to know about it, even if I can't tell you to your face.