dursley [h. g.]

••dursley•• || a right prat

Hermione,

Draco brought me a little journal, even though he's upset at me. You'll probably never read it, but just in case it's all that's left of me, everything in here is for you. If Harry is mad about that, tell him it's because Ron was his "treasure" in the Black Lake (it's not). I spent my childhood with Harry, and I think we're both grateful that we had each other for that. But I didn't get that kind of time with you. I wish I could tell you how much I love you, and how sorry I am that I had to do this. I wish I didn't have to be here, and that I could be with you instead, but I can't. So this is to you, and for me to tell you everything I never could.

With all the love in the world from your very sorry girlfriend,
Kendra Dursley

{::}

"I can still see it, you know," Draco said sourly from behind the locked iron door that led to the cellar. Kendra rolled her eyes and moved the journal further out of sight. "Sorry that I don't want you to be killed for having that."

"They can't kill me yet," Kendra replied. "Besides, I think they would be more stuffy about the muggle medication than the journal."

Draco sighed. "I couldn't tell you how they'd react to either of them." There was a long pause. "Are you going to tell me why you're here yet?"

"No," Kendra replied. "You don't need to know."

"Fine," Draco huffed. "I'm only trying to keep you safe."

"I can protect myself just enough, thank you very much," Kendra snapped back. She didn't appreciate people underestimating her, something her parents had done nearly her whole life since she had been diagnosed. Of course, there were things she couldn't do, but those were for her to decide and not for anyone else who thought they knew her.

"Kendra, I could hear you from the second floor last night," Draco snapped, his voice slightly shaking. "I might be a right prat, but you're my friend. How am I supposed to sit and listen to that like there's nothing wrong?"

"Because I am asking you to," Kendra sighed. "I know it's not easy but it's the way things are. And I have to be here. And I can't tell you why, no matter how many times you ask. Besides, I'm fine now, aren't I?"

"Are you?" Draco asked lowly.

Kendra sighed. "Listen to me Draco, there is nothing you or I can do to change the circumstances that we're in. Even if you grabbed my wand and we ran away, where would we go? No one on the other side would dare take you in and no one on this side would let me live if they found out who I was. For now, we have to stay here."

There was a tense silence between them as Draco knew she was right, however unsettling the truth she presented was. "I"m going back to Hogwarts. That's why I came down here."

"Not until September, though, right?" Kendra affirmed. It was still only late July the last time she had been told the date.

"Still," Draco replied. "I'll be gone. So'll Nott."

Kendra paused before letting out a sigh. "Thanks for telling me at least."

"I'm trying this new thing where I'm a decent person," Draco said dryly leaning against the wall.

"Where's everyone gone, by the way?" Kendra asked after rolling her eyes at Draco's sarcasm. "It's been quiet since the sun set." Her eyes flickered to where the window at the top of the stairs was. She could not see the window while she was in the cellar, but by mid afternoon the window sprayed golden light down onto the black marble steps in front of her.

"Your cousin," Draco said, clearly not wanting to tell her. He fingered slightly and came away from the wall as he thought of how to tell her. "Snape said he was being moved away tonight so..."

"So they went to stop him," Kendra sighed, hoping that Harry was alright, and that her parents and brother did not end up caught in the crossfire. She had little love left for them at this point in her life, but she still would not wish death upon them. "Any news?"

Draco shook his head. "I'm in 'timeout'," he said rolling his eyes as the words left his lips. "As if I wanna go on a death mission to kill Potter anyway. Besides, it means I can stay here and make sure you're alright."

"Are you the only one here, then?" Kendra asked.

He shook his head again. "My mum's here but to be quite frank, she doesn't care as much about the whole blood purity thing as she used too. She doesn't give a damn if I'm friends with you so long as I don't end up six feet under because of it."

"Fair enough, I suppose," Kendra sighed. "Will you come and tell me if you get any news?"

"If I can," Draco said. "It's not safe for either of us to do this, you know."

"Yeah," Kendra sighed. "I just... I just want to know she's ok."

Kendra did not need to explain who she was talking about. Pity blossomed across Draco's face, something that would have normally bothered Kendra to no end. Today, the knife in her heart, lodged there by her own plan to save the future, stopped her from caring too much. She only wanted Hermione to be alive, and alright, and to forgive her for what she had to do. She could be mad at Draco another day.

"I'll do what I can," Draco said lowly, his slate grey eyes scanning  her in hopes that his words could soothe the pain that was worn so clearly across her face. "But I won't put you in danger for it. I already can't live with myself knowing what I've done, at least let me keep you safe."

"You haven't done anything," Kendra replied, shaking her head. "Except get born into a family with expectations and be a prick to some people you were told to hate your whole life. And though you might have been the biggest prat I ever met, you grew out of it."

"When this is all over," Draco sighed, "I'm going to apologize. To everyone, but mostly Granger. I was nasty to her."

"I'll hold you to that," Kendra smiled. Draco stared at her for a moment, wanting to say something else but never finding the words before he slowly turned and made his way back up the stairs into the cold, empty halls of his family home above. Kendra watched as he left, the weight of the world on his shoulders causing them to slump, until it was out of sight and she turned her gaze to where she knew the window was, wondering how exactly she was going to pull this off.

a/n: hello! just wanted to get this out there before New Years (which if you're in a time zone where it's already 2022- hope the new year is treating you well) so it's not the best chapter I've ever written and it's also almost entirely filler. this book is going to be slow for a while, lots of waiting and planning and then all of the executing is going to happen one after another, but the ending I have right now is pretty satisfying (at least to me, we'll see what you think when we get there!).

and if I hear anyone go "it can't be worse than last year!" they're gonna get sucker punched bc I'm tired of it

have I used this one? idk but relatable all the same