The Fall of Me (an HP fanfic)

VII

"So, you are the Graffiti Teens-" Chief Inspector Shafiq notes in their note. "Is there anyone else?"

"No," Cundrie answered, not looking up to face the Auror. "It's just the three of us."

"What are the roles in which you do?"

"I would come up with the designs and draw them," Cundrie revealed, noticing how their mother immediately held hands with their father. "Marcus would help me with the drawings and his place would be our base. Oliver would come up with the places and be the defence."

"How would you do it?"

"At midnight, we would meet up in Marcus' home-" Cundrie explained, not looking at their parents' eyes. "I drew the designs before, so when we meet, we can just go. Oliver would come up with the places and be our defence, and Marcus would help me drawing to the wall by floating me."

"What about the drug abuse part?" Chavéz asked.

"Well, after that, we'd drink firewhiskey and have seconal together," Cundrie recalled. "Then go back to our respective homes before anyone wakes up."

"Why did you do what you do?"

"We-" Marcus sighed. "We wanted to announce leftism through graffiti art."

"Is that why you drew each drawing in very populated places?" Shafiq asked, showing interest. "To influence as many wizards as you can to leftism?"

"Yes-" Marcus nodded. Marcus' aunt gasped.

"Do you know what is leftism?"

"It's a political ideology that supports social equality and egalitarianism," Marcus answered. "We all have the same political views."

"How did this group came to being?" Shafiq asked again, still writing on his parchment scroll. "Are you friends at school? You look young to be starting a revolution."

"Kind of. We yav different interests that we aren't often sin as friends, but we am-" Oliver nodded. "Cundrie was me roommate, so it was easy ter terk with 'er, but with Marcus is anover story. Sum assehole bunted Cundrie ter the wall an' Marcus defended 'er, then saw 'er leftist drawen. That's 'oo we came together."

"Cundrie?" Shafiq asked after stopping with his quill. "Who is Cundrie?"

"I am-" Cundrie revealed. If they have to be honest about their graffiti art, why not just say about everything? "I'm transgender bigender, Oliver is transgender agender, and Marcus is gay. We're all atheists."

"No wonder you're leftists-" Shafiq lowly hissed, noting it down in their note.

Superintendent Chavéz takes a picture nearest, pointing to the watermark. "Does it mean anything?"

"It's our names-" Cundrie answered. "The pink 'C' is my name, the white 'O' is Oliver's name, and the blue 'M' is Marcus'."

"How would you do your crimes?" Chavéz asked. "This is eight times."

"It's not just eight times, but our previous ones are in Muggle areas as training-" Cundrie shook her head. "At midnight, we would meet up in Marcus' place with the design, then we'd go to a spot and draw it. Oliver would take a picture when I'm done and Marcus would get it developed, and we'd give it around."

"I hope you know the seriousness of your crimes-" Superintendent Chavéz sighed. "Your hearing is scheduled to be on the next two weeks, 25th of August. Until then, we have no choice but to keep all three of you in a holding cell here. I know you'd rather go home, but we can't let you go until then."

Cundrie heard someone hit the table and turned their head to see Oliver's mother, signing furiously with her hands. Her husband- Oliver's stepfather- stared at her incredulously. "But me owern is a minor, he's fourteen, a lickle boy. Ployz lighten the punishment on me owern. He's still a boy."

"We will consider his age, Mrs Abernathy," Chavéz reassured her. Mr Abernathy kept interpreting what Chavéz said to sign language. "The most that the Ministry will do is punish them to a year in juvenile detention centre, but we doubt that'll happen. It's most likely a month or two in rehab for the seconal and alcohol detoxification. I can't tell you what the punishment will be, but nine laws are a lot. We have to add another one, consuming alcoholic beverages whilst underage."

"Can't I bring my child home, somehow?" Arthur asked. "Isn't there bail system here?"

"That's in the Muggle UK, not here-" Shafiq shook their head. Arthur pressed his lips together, containing himself not to cry here and there. "Here, there's no bail system. I'm afraid we have to arrest him until the hearing."

"Are there any more questions?" Chavéz asked. No one said/signed anything else. Chavéz and Shafiq stood up, making Marcus and Oliver stand up, then Cundrie too.

"Wait!" Molly called. Chavéz stopped, facing her, still holding Cundrie's tied hands. "Can't we have a moment with our child?"

"You can, but we have to put Percival in his holding cell first," Chavéz answered. With no further words, Chavéz and Shafiq continued on their ways, bringing the three kids to the holding cell block. Opening the closest cell, Chavéz pushed Cundrie in and unlocked her golden handcuff, then Marcus, then Oliver. Once Shafiq has unlocked Oliver's handcuff, Shafiq locks the cell door with all three of them inside, then headed for the other steel door outside.

Soon, the door opened again to reveal the Abernathys and their parents, Ms Flint was nowhere to be seen. Cundrie's face lightens up as they ran up to them, only to be held back by the prison steel bars. Molly held their hand through the bars.

"Cundrie, we love you," Molly assured her, rubbing circles on Cundrie's hand. Arthur held her other hand. "I know you're scared, we are too. We really want you to come home with us and you will."

"Two weeks," Cundrie sobbed. "Mum, two weeks."

"I know, Sweetie," Molly's tears fell, gripping on Cundrie's hand harder. "We're going to try as hard as we can so you don't stay a day longer than you have to, ok? You'll spend your last week before Hogwarts with us."