"How is he?"

Cundrie just reached St Mungo's Hospital, asking Marcus' healer for his condition. She doesn't know much about Marcus' condition, just that Marcus was admitted to St Mungo's.

"He sported a nosebleed, a head injury, missing bone, and nosebleed," the healer says. "It seemed that he must stay. But it won't take long, just overnight. Just this night."

"Can I see him?"

"Follow me."

Cundrie complied, not knowing what to do. Their friend always seems so strong, so brave, they couldn't believe he can lose in a duel. Isn't Marcus a great duel opponent? How can he lose? Cundrie sighed, shaking their head.

"Percy!"

Cundrie immediately whipped her head to the source of the voice, seeing a familiar redhead that is Charlie, her brother. Cundrie immediately looked away, ignoring him. He's not her family anymore, as far as she's concerned. The healer slid open a glass door to reveal Marcus, lying weak. Marcus immediately flashed his stupid lopsided smile the moment he sees Cundrie.

"Hey."

"How can this happen to you?" Cundrie immediately asked, the healer walked away as to give them privacy. "You're a great duelist."

"Well, that coward had to bring two mates, I got distracted with one that I forgot to check for the other ones-" Marcus chuckled. Cundrie took a nearby seat and sit next to him, taking his hand that still has bones and kiss the knuckles.

"If you're anything your name suggests, you would heal in no time," Cundrie said. Marcus chuckled. "You'll be fine, but you still need to cooperate with the healers."

"I am, I'm drinking my Blood-Replenishing potion at the designated time and I'm taking my Skele-Gro," Marcus said, shaking his head. "Absolute cowards."

"Yeah."

A knock was heard on the glass door and both Cundrie and Marcus looked back at it, seeing two other redheads that are Bill and Charlie. Bill made a 'come here' hand motion, and Cundrie swallowed her saliva. Faces she never wants to see again.

"You don't have to-"

"I'll go," Cundrie decided, standing up, leaving Marcus no space to debate. Cundrie left for the door. She doesn't know why she would go when neither Marcus nor she wants to, but she did anyway. Cundrie slid open the door, stepping outside to face the ghosts of her past.

"Charlie, Bill."

"Percy-"

"I don't know who he is-" Cundrie shook their head as they cut Bill's greeting, about to leave. But Bill held her arm, forcing her to stop.

"What's wrong with you, Percy?" Bill hissed. Cundrie tried to twist their hand away from him, to no avail. "Our dad is hospitalised, don't you care to see him?"

"Geroff me!" Cundrie struggled as she tried to twist her hand off him.

"No, why? Tell me!"

"I'm not Percy!" Cundrie exclaimed. Bill furrowed his brows, letting Cundrie go in shock.

"Then who are you?" Charlie asked. "If you're not Percy, who are you?"

"I'm Cundrie, didn't Mother tell you why I left?" Cundrie asked, shaking her head softly. From Bill's and Charlie's confused looks, they can already theorise that neither of their parents bothered to catch them up on Cundrie's gender identity and sexuality.

"You left because Dad didn't want you to take the promotion, isn't it?" Cundrie pressed their lips together, hands to their side. "Isn't that right, Percy?"

"That's the minor issue, William-" Cundrie shook their head. "I left because I want to start my transition without anyone disapproving, and I want to come out. I'm trans bigender pansexual, I've had face and voice feminisation procedure. I use the name 'Cundrie' and the pronouns she/they. I don't know who Percy is."

"That's it?" Charlie contorted his face, shaking his head slightly. "P- Cundrie, I'm aromantic asexual. I haven't come out to Mum and Dad but they're not so bad that I had to estrange myself from them. They wouldn't take it that bad."

"Oh, it's that bad," Cundrie denied. "Mother and Father kicked me out of the house. They're going to kick you out of the family if you come out. I took the promotion to fund my HRT and surgeries."

"Per- Cundrie, Mum and Dad wouldn't take it that bad," Bill shook his head. Cundrie sighed in exasperation, when will they believe her? "That's not them, they love us, straight or not. They're our parents!"

"You don't believe me," Cundrie huffed. "I moved into Marcus' cottage ever since, and he's still conscious. Would you like to ask him yourselves? He was present."

"Yes!"

With no doubt, Cundrie slid open Marcus' door, behind them Bill and Charlie. Marcus turned his gaze towards them and frowned, mouthing to Cundrie 'why they here?'. Cundrie shook her head.

"Marcus, please recall the moment I moved into your cottage," Cundrie requested. "They don't seem to believe me when I say I was disowned."

"They were disowned," Marcus confirmed, recalling the day Cundrie moved in with him. "They apparated to Godric's Hollow which happened to be the neighbourhood I live in. I found them on the street crying and I took them to my house. They told me that their own parents disowned them."

"Really?"

"It's not only that, Charles-" Cundrie shook her head. "Mother sent me a Weasley jumper along with a letter, but the letter on the jumper wasn't 'C', but 'P'. Her letter was addressed to 'Percy', and her note wasn't an apology, but requesting me to calm down and come back. I had to send them back."

"But she made it for you!"

"She made it for Percy, not Cundrie!" Cundrie shot back and sighed. "I don't want to see my deadname beyond legal purposes, and that's only because it's still my legal name. I'm changing it after I'm done with all my operation, and unless your parents can apologise to me for what they've done, I won't be there."

"You really are this mean, Percival-" Bill shook his head in a pitying manner, a manner Cundrie hates the most.

"Get out!"