dursley [h. g.]

••dursley•• || war

a/n: this one is a lot babes grab ur emotional support snake 

"Oh, good, there you are Miss Dursley," Madam Pomfrey said, pouncing on Kendra as soon as she re-entered the Great Hall. It was significantly emptier than it had been the last time Kendra had been, and it looked as though Madam Pomfrey had tried to bring the entire Hospital Wing inside. "I need more healers to help. When everything starts..." she trailed off. 

"I'll help," she assured Madam Pomfrey, though the pit at the bottom of her stomach only grew. It was an unspoken truth that there would be casualties in the war, and it only twisted Kendra's stomach more to think that those casualties would be on people she knew. "You do know i haven't even finished my seventh year, right?" 

"Don't be silly, Miss Dursley," Madam Pomfrey said. "You've spent more time in the Hospital Wing than almost anyone else at this school. You have more experience than anyone else I could ask here. You're a natural, Miss Dursley. And if in doubt, I brought all my stores of Dittany." The nurse offered Kendra a smile, and Kendra hesitantly returned it.

"I can help as well, if you need me to," Morgana reminded Kendra silently. "I was an incredible healer back in the day, you know."

Kendra took in a deep breath, steeling herself. It was not because she did not want to help--quite the contrary. But Kendra Dursley was a coward, and she was afraid. Afraid of who would come through those doors, of who she wouldn't be able to save, of who's family she would have to watch die. It was not that she was afraid of death in any sense. She had made her peace with death a long time ago. It was not death that scared her, it was those who escaped it and had to deal with the aftermath.

"Do you need any more help setting up, Madam Pomfrey?" Kendra asked, hoping she could have something to do to take her racing mind off the hundreds of thoughts that kept swarming it. 

Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips, thinking. "You can organize my potions cart," the nurse finally said. "The better organized we are, the faster we can get everything done."

Kendra was pretty sure the nurse just said that because she could see Kendra's hands shaking and wanted to give her something to do. Kendra didn't mind. She got herself a chair and sat in front of the potions cart, sorting out all the neatly labeled potions. It helped calm her significantly and her hands had stopped shaking by the time she paused. 

Her peace did not last long. Somewhere else in the castle, something had exploded. Kendra had to swallow hard and not think about it. She was sure she would find out about how bad it was when people started returning to the Great Hall. She tried desperately to go back to organizing her potions, but it was no use. No one in the Great Hall was doing anything but waiting with bated breath, the realization of reality settled across each and every face. 

Kendra was almost thankful when the doors slammed open. Almost. When she saw who it was, nothing but harsh, twisting grief pulled at her insides. Percy Weasley had come bursting through the doors, the lifeless body of Fred in his arms. 

Kendra acted like she had done it a thousand times before. Madam Pomfrey had sharply instructed Percy to lay Fred down on one of the makeshift cots she had set up only minutes before. Madam Pomfrey started muttering spells under her breath furiously. 

"What happened?" she asked quietly, hoping Percy was in a state where he could answer her. She had a calming draught with her in case he needed it, but Kendra had a feeling he had other ways he wished to redirect his emotions. 

"Rookwood," Percy said, his voice shaking. "Blew up a wall while we were fighting him. He's dead now. I had to..." Percy trailed off. 

"I know," Kendra said softly, placing what she hoped was a comforting hand on Percy's shoulder. He didn't shake her off, perhaps because he was too grief-stricken to even notice it. "Madam Pomfrey will do what she can--"