dursley [h. g.]

••dursley•• || 2005

"Have you considered a wheelchair before, Miss Dursley?"

Kendra was slightly shocked by the question from the physical therapist she had been working with the past week. Part of her bristled—of course, she hadn't considered a wheelchair, she was only twenty-five years old. No twenty-five-year-old wanted to admit to themselves that they needed any sort of help, much less something so drastic as a wheelchair.

At the same time, Kendra was tired. Not all the time—she had her days. But she found that those days were becoming fewer and the days where she was less chipper were becoming more and more exhausting. It had become so bad she had to quit her job at St. Mungo's, even though her duty as an assistant to the experimental potions department was far from high energy. Perhaps not having to be on her feet as much would make her feel better.

"I haven't," Kendra admitted. "Do you think it would help?"

Jake, her physical therapist, nodded. "Particularly after the injury to your back, I think you would find a little extra help...helpful," he said, humor in his voice. "If you don't find something before we meet again, I'm more than happy to help you look for what works."

"Thank you, Jake," Kendra said, standing with his help. He passed Kendra her cane and she leaned on it, steadying herself.

"Continue to do your exercises and if you run into any problems, feel free to give me a call. Do you still have enough pain medication?" Jake asked.

Kendra nodded. She hated using her pain medication and was probably too lighthanded with it. "I have plenty," she said.

"Excellent," Jake said. "I'll see you again next Thursday to check on your progress. Hopefully, that can be the last time we need to see each other."

"See you next Thursday," Kendra said. She made her way out of the building and found an empty corner of the parking garage before pulling her wand out and apparating away.

——————————

Hermione burst through the door, flushed and out of breath. She was beaming blindingly at Kendra, who was sitting at the kitchen table stirring the contents of her cauldron with her wand.

"Hello, sunshine," Kendra said, teasing. "What's got you so happy?"

Hermione said nothing, wrapping Kendra up in an embrace and pressing a kiss to her lips. "We did it," she said, still breathless.

"We did?" Kendra asked, confused but excited to see Hermione happy all the same.

Hermione turned and dug in her bag, pulling out a copy of the Daily Prophet. In big, bold letters on the front page, the headline read: SAME-SEX CIVIL PARTNERSHIP RECOGNIZED BY MINISTRY OF MAGIC.

Kendra reached over and grabbed the paper from the table, reading it hungrily.

Early this morning, Minister of Magic Kingsley Shackelbolt declared that the British Ministry of Magic will follow in the Muggle government's footsteps and allow same-sex couples to enter into civil partnerships. The law will be signed in later today and Minister Shackelbolt has arranged for a special branch of the Department of Magical Law to be created to facilitate the creation and enforcement of the civil partnerships. Couples in civil partnerships will have the same legal protections as traditionally married couples, including parental rights, property, employment benefits, etc.

The article continued onto another page, but Kendra didn't need to read anything else. She turned to Hermione with tears in her eyes. Kendra took Hermione's face gently in her hands and pulled her into another kiss.