dursley [h. g.]

••dursley•• || everything

Kendra had not expected to make eye contact with her cousin through the floorboards when she was dragged to the astronomy tower that night. She wasn't surprised when she looked down and the unmistakeable green eyes of Harry Potter found her own, a confusing mixture of shock, anger and regret filling his as Kendra was sure sadness pooled in her own.

"Hello, Bellatrix," Dumbledore's voice, still calm despite the alarming weakness that had seeped into it, drew both Harry and Kendra's eyes away from the other's and towards their headmaster. "I see you've brought friends."

"Afraid we don't have time for much of an introduction, Albus," Bellatrix smiled leeringly at him. "We're on a bit of a tight schedule."

"Does that business include releasing my student?" Dumbledore asked, knowing that Bellatrix wouldn't yield her prey even if she had wanted to, but covering his involvement with Kendra's plan all the same.

"Can't do that," Bellatrix sneered, giving no further explanation before she turned to her nephew. "Draco, do it."

Kendra's eyed turned to a pale, trembling Draco, wand outstretched, Dumbledore's wand hanging limply in his other hand. An ashen Theodore stood by his side, looking almost green with anxiety. Kendra felt her heart ache but knew that there was nothing she could do at this point.

Dumbledore was silent, though his eyes pleaded with Draco. Kendra was sure they had a prior conversation before Bellatrix and her posse had arrived. Draco seemed to steel himself, squeezing his eyes shut, making his decision as his wand dropped by a fraction of an inch.

The sound of a sweeping cloak alerted Kendra to the arrival of someone new. After a few moments, Severus Snape stepped into Kendra's line of sight. Dumbledore's same pleading eyes found Snape as he stepped up next to Draco.

"Severus," he whispered, just loud enough for the room to hear. "Please."

That was all it took. Snape raised his wand, swallowed, and spoke the words that Kendra had known he would for almost the whole year. And with them, the very last of Dumbledore's spirit was gone, the light behind his electric blue eyes disappearing in the gaunt, ghoulish green jet of light that had killed him and propelled him backwards off the tower into the suddenly starless violet night behind him.

It was like a car crash. Kendra couldn't bring herself to look away. Even when Dumbledore had left her line of sight, the image of him falling still played out over whatever input her eyes were trying to tell her was true. Somehow, she managed to bring her eyes down to the floorboards, her eyes looking for the pair of emerald ones that belonged to her cousin. He had disappeared, either down the stairs or under the invisibility cloak. Kendra let out a tiny sigh and shut her eyes, taking a moment to hope Harry wasn't going to do anything too stupid. But knowing Harry and knowing what his relationship to Dumbledore was, the chance that he would handle it in a way that wouldn't end poorly for someone involved was slim to none.

Bellatrix turned to Snape, pointing her wand at him, Kendra's body jerking slightly involuntarily as the wand moved. "You and I are going to have a little talk later."

"I look forward to it," Snape replied dryly. "Now, let's not linger, the Order is here."

Bellatrix mutterd nastily under her breath. "You'd know all about the Order being here, wouldn't you?" Snape sent her a subtle glare, clearly having heard her, though it didn't seem any of the other Death Eaters did. "Come on, Mudblood, Severus says we're leaving."

Kendra jerked forward without asking to, her body moving alongside Bellatrix's as though she was a dog on a leash, if the leash was invisible and the dog was tied up so tightly it could barely move. "Why are we bringing the Mudblood again?" One of the Death Eaters asked from behind Bellatrix, meaning that Kendra couldn't see who asked. "Miss your plaything, Bella?"