dursley [h. g.]

••dursley•• || got a secret

The next morning, Kendra did not wake up in her dorm room. Head pounding, body aching, and feeling generally worse than she had since she had been rescued. She screwed her eyes shut again, not bothering to try and make her surroundings clear yet. She took a deep breath, and immediately noticed the pain in her ribs with a whimper.

"Hey," Theo said, grabbing her bare shoulder. "Can you sit up?"

Kendra opened her eyes to see Theo with her medication in hand, glass of water to the side. She didn't recognize the room at first, it didn't look like anywhere on the Hogwarts grounds. If it was, it must have been in the room of requirement.

"Where are we?" Kendra groaned as she shuffled into a seating position, accepting the water from Theo and downing her pills in an attempt to distract herself from the aches and pains.

"You don't remember?" he asked. She shook her head. "Huh, I knew you were out of it, I never thought you were that out of it. It's the room of requirement."

Kendra screwed her eyes shut again, attempting to remember something, coming up with nothing but flashing lights, raucous dancing, and more drinking. When she opened her eyes, she looked down and realized that she was only in her bra.

"Why am I half naked, Theodore Nott?" she asked. He let put a short laugh.

"You said you were hot when you went to bed," he said, shaking his head. "I think you wanted to show me your boobs at some point, I dunno, I was pretty out of it too."

"Oh," Kendra said. "Sorry."

"Doesn't matter," Theo shrugged. "It didn't bother me."

They were quiet for a moment as Kendra spotted her top at the bottom of the bed and reached down, pulling it back on, fixing her bra so it was actually seated properly through her shirt.

"I think I should go to the Hospital Wing," Kendra sighed, nearly coughing as the pain in her ribs took her breath away.

"Yeah," Theo agreed, though he looked guilty. "I'm sorry, Kendra, this is my fault, I shouldn't have put you in a position where you could get hurt."

"Don't be all guilty," she groaned as he helped her stand up. "It was my choice. You didn't make me do anything and I don't regret it. We both needed last night."

"I don't like seeing you hurt," he muttered, draping her arm over his shoulder. "I've seen enough of that to last me a life time, Ken."

"I know, Theo," Kendra replied. Theo stayed quiet, though he bent down and placed his free arm under her knees, scooping her up.

"I'm not making you walk to the hospital wing," he said. "It's my fault you're hurt."

"It's not," Kendra mumbled in response, the pain medication she had taken beginning to work.

"It is," Theo sighed, his emotions threatening to overflow. "Listen... we both know... we know what I am know. It was stupid to pretend like I'm anything else. Anything else than a low-life who can't find it in him to have some fucking morals, or a sliver of bravery."

"You are brave, Theo," Kendra replied, looking up at his face from in his arms. His lip trembled as she spoke. "You never asked for this life, and I know you well enough to know that you would do whatever to be free from it if it wouldn't hurt those you love. You're making sacrifices for the people you love and to me, there's nothing braver than that."

He just shook his head. "If I were smarter, I could save him. I could save everyone."

"Hey, Theo, don't put to much pressure on yourself. And... if it gets to be to much... I'll do whatever to make sure that you're safe. And he's safe too."