••dursley•• || 2015

                                    

                                          
{mild mentions of torture in a ptsd flashback later in the chapter}
Kendra stared at the tiny screen of her cell phone, reading out the number she had typed in. She was one button press from what she had been putting off for years now. 
She glanced at Hermione nervously, hoping to ease her anxieties. It worked, at least by distracting her from the cell phone for a few moments. Whoever had designed the uniform for Hermione's department deserved a pay raise. There was something about their color, the places they hugged and the places they draped, even the fabric itself. Hermione looked as breathtaking in her Ministry robes as she had at the Yule Ball to Kendra. 
Hermione looked up from her cup of tea and smiled. "It's not going to get any easier if you keep waiting," Hermione noted with a shrug. She drained the rest of her tea cup and stood, leaning over to give Kendra a kiss on the head. "Harry's picking Lyra up from school today, I made him promise to tell you if she's staying after with the boys and to have her back for dinner."
"What would I do without you?" Kendra asked, giving Hermione a quick kiss. The witch in question just smiled, her robes swishing as she turned on her heel and left. 
Kendra turned her attention back to the phone screen. She was quite frankly embarrassed that she was so afraid of a phone call. She had been kidnapped by Death Eaters, had faced Lord Voldemort himself, and been on the other end of plenty of unspeakable acts by them. With that in mind, Kendra steeled herself and pressed the call button. 
"Hello, Dursley residence, this is Dudley speaking, how may I help you?" Dudley sounded almost exactly same as he had at fifteen, which was only mildly alarming to Kendra. 
"Dudley?" Kendra asked, her brain short circuiting as she heard her brother's voice. 
"Yes, this is—Kendra, is that you?" Dudley sounded to be in almost as much disbelief as Kendra felt. 
"Yeah," Kendra whispered. "How've you been?"
"Really well, actually. I'm getting married next month—you're invited. I meant to send an invitation but didn't have an address. You might know her actually. She went to Hogwarts with you."
"That's wonderful, Dudley," Kendra said, unable to contain her smile. She never thought she would see the day her brother was getting married, and much less to a witch. "How's mum and dad?"
"Mum and Dad split up, actually," Dudley said. "Mum's much better off for it. Dunno 'bout Dad, we haven't spoken in quite a bit. We sort of all realized how big of a prick he was when we went into hiding and didn't want to put up with it after that."
"Wow," Kendra said in a breath of disbelief. "But Mum's good? Healthy and everything?"
"Yeah, she's been doing good," Dudley paused for a moment. "Listen, I was gonna have Mum over for dinner next week, would you like to come as well? You can meet Emilia and catch up with Mum."
"You did not just say Emilia," Kendra said, laughing slightly. "Dudley, are you marrying Emilia Thimbleton?" 
"Yeah, I am," Dudley said, sounding surprised. "I guess you knew her, then?"
"Yeah," Kendra confirmed. "That's really great, honestly. She's lovely. And I'll be there. Mind if I bring my kid?"
It was Dudley's turn to laugh. "You've got a kid?"
"She's ten," Kendra said, smiling fondly as she thought about her daughter. "She'll be thrilled to meet you and Mum, I expect."
"Right, then," Dudley said. "I'll text you?"