The Fall of Me (an HP fanfic)

XIII

"Happy birthday, Cundrie."

It's been eleven days since the arrest, three more days until the hearing. It's also 22nd of August, Cundrie's 14th birthday. This isn't the ideal way to celebrate a birthday, Cundrie thought, but it's not like she had a choice.

"Thanks, you two-" Cundrie nodded.

The outside steel door opened to reveal an Auror with a tray holding three plates and a key, unlocking the cell door to put the plates on the ground before locking the door again with them inside. Cundrie, Oliver, and Marcus rushed to the plates, hurriedly eating their meals before they can have the clonidine pills that lay nearby. Fried rice is good, fried rice is easy.

"I'd give you a gift if I could-" Oliver suddenly said in the middle of them eating. Cundrie looked up to look at xem.

"Thanks," they said solemnly. Oliver expectantly looked at Marcus, who only stared back innocently.

"What?" He asked, his mouth full.

"Swalloo before yaouw terk, yaouw brute!" Oliver hits Marcus' knee. Marcus rolled his eyes before he swallowed.

"You know I would too, but that was a flirting moment and you need-" Marcus made a gesture like a rainbow- "privacy."

"We're not even a couple-"

"Flirting," Marcus reiterated. "Not established. You two like each other, it's so frustrating to watch you two constantly flirt with each other 'accidentally'. Remember that night after Cundrie tried to break out?"

Cundrie blushed as they looked away, pressing their lips to a thin line in awkwardness. Turns out, Oliver also did the same. Cundrie finished their fried rice before taking the clonidine, swashing their mouth with water. Cundrie took a deep breath in. Merlin, the clonidine tastes good. It can certainly relieve their constant headache.

"I mean, you're cute," Cundrie said, stacking her empty plate on top of Marcus', finishing her drink. "You know. I'm terrible at this."

"I yam too, doy werrit-" Oliver nodded. "Oo lung yav yaouw liked me?"

"Since October," Cundrie confessed. "You're such a nice friend, but not just a friend to me, you know? I'm interested in dating you-" Cundrie blushed, looking up to see Oliver's soft almond-shaped ebony eyes they grew accustomed to see. "I'm horrible at this, who says 'interested' in dating conversations?"

"It's fine-" Oliver nodded. "Me too, I'm interested in daten yaouw, if you'll let me try. We doy yav ter kiss yet loike the big teens, we can just be friends but mower."

"I'd love that-" Cundrie lets themself be hugged by Oliver. "I'd love that."

"Eww, love is icky!" Marcus blurts out in a childlike manner, getting to his bunk bed. Cundrie laughed as Oliver stuck xyr tongue at him, still hugging on the prison floor. "Ver, how can you like a girl? Girls are icky!"

"Hey!" Cundrie jokingly called out. "Boys are icky! You're icky!"

"No, you are!" Marcus sticks his tongue out at Cundrie, and Cundrie laughed. This might not be the best place to proclaim likeness, but it'll do. The outside steel door opened again to reveal the same Auror, unlocking the cell door as to pick up the empty plates and the laundry basket, filled with yesterday's dirty jumpsuits before the Auror went out, locking the cell door behind them.

"You're going to have visitors, Weasley-" The Auror said, leaving the holding cell room. Cundrie smiled, it must her family.

"It's unfair!" Marcus exclaimed. Cundrie jumped in shock. "You two are always having visitors! It's been eleven days and I always see the Weasleys or the Abernathys, where the hell is my aunt?! In the morning, it's the Weasleys. At day, it's the Abernathys. When is my aunt going to visit me?!"

"Hey-" Cundrie and Oliver stood up from the floor to reach Marcus, sitting on his bed, grumpy. "Maybe your aunt's just busy, she's basically a single mother."

"Well, if she's a single mother, I'm her only child! I'm her only nephew!" Marcus cried out. "I'm here, so why the hell hasn't she visited me?! She doesn't have another child to think of!"

Oliver pats Marcus' back as Marcus cried. Cundrie figured that he'll prefer it more if Oliver pats his back, not her. Xe is an only child, like him, and Cundrie is about to have visitors. Maybe later, Cundrie will tell him how she feels like an outcast in her own family. Maybe he'll cheer up when he knows that Cundrie's family didn't bother too much about her prior to her arrest.

"Yaouw yav a family in us, Marcus," Oliver tried to soothe him with xyr words. "We'm practically brothers, yaouw an' I. Yaouw an' Cundrie am practically siblings. Yaouw yav a family in us."

"Yeah-" Cundrie agreed, holding Marcus' hand. "You're our family and we love you."

"I miss my aunt-" Marcus sniffed.

"I know-" the outer steel door opened to reveal the full Weasley clan, from Arthur to Ginny. Cundrie lets Marcus go, running to their family.

They know what to ask of their mother.

"Cundrie!" Ginny ran from the family to Cundrie's direction, inserting her hand in between the gaps of the cell bars to touch them. "Happy birthday!"

"Don't leave me! I want to be there too!" Ron exclaimed. Ginny ran back to her brother, guiding him to the previous spot, inserting his hand in between the cell bar so he can touch Cundrie's sweaty hands. "Happy birthday, Cundrie."

"Thanks," Cundrie said solemnly, softly squeezing their brother's hands. "I love you and I miss you."

"I love you too," Ron whispered back, and Cundrie kissed his forehead.

"Happy fourteen, my child!" Arthur exclaimed, holding Cundrie's arm. Cundrie smiled as he looked up at him.

"Thanks, Dad."

"I'd make you chocolate fudge if that's allowed-" Molly grinned. Cundrie took her hands off Ron to hold Molly's, leaning her forehead to the bars.

"Can I ask you a favour?" Cundrie whispered. Molly nodded a little bit. "Can you get Venus Flint, Marcus's aunt, here? He misses her a lot, she lives in Flint Bungalow."

"Sure."