"He's a murderer!" Oliver hissed. "Aren't yaouw a Ministry worker? Aren't yaouw supposed ter report murderers?"

"That's the Aurors' job." Merlin, Cundrie hates to whip out the 'that's not my job' argument. "Not undersecretaries of the Minister."

"He's a murderer," Oliver hissed again, slapping a hand over xyr mouth. "Ee killed a guy! Ee killed someone! Cundrie, that doesn't scare yaouw?"

"That doesn't scare you- of course, that scares me!" Cundrie exclaimed, pointing at her own heart. "But he didn't kill for fun, he regretfully admitted that to me and never repeated the action. So in that aspect, I guess I can forgive him. He never killed again."

"Yaouw said ee tortured the guy fust, 'oo bad did ee torture him?" Oliver asked. Cundrie pouted, looking around defeatedly. She's started this, might as well finish this and let xem know everything.

"He-" Cundrie sighed shakingly. They hate to remember this, but they must. "He tied the guy to a chair and tortured him the Muggle way until he admitted that he raped me. After he did, Marcus cut his dick off, cooked it and forced him to eat it. He cut his hands and feet, he scarred the word 'rapist' on his arm and pulled out both his eyes and tongue. Marcus decapitated him alive and brought the head to the cottage. I ordered him to burn the head and bury the ashes, and bury the clothes he wore too."

"Cack!" Oliver yelled. Cundrie flinched. "Cundrie, that's horrible!"

"He regrets it!" Cundrie defended Marcus. "He doesn't want to kill him!"

"It sounds loike ee knoo what ee was doen, it sounds loike ee well enjoyed it-" Oliver huffed, folding xyr arms. Cundrie furrowed their brows, what does xe mean? "Yaouw cor seriously believe ee doy mane ter kill the guy when ee tortured him that bad prior ter killen him an' brought his yed!"

"It was an accident!"

"Accident?" Oliver scoffed. "Accident? Cutten dicks, maulers, an' feet, forcen him ter ate his own cooked dick, scarren 'rapist', plucken eyes an' cutten ert tongue am accidents? Naaa, THIS is an accident-" Oliver pushed Cundrie off the bed with ease, curse the former's burly physique. Cundrie yelped and stood up, getting back up the bed. "That? Naaa, it's not."

"Can we just forget this?" Cundrie begged. "Forget this conversation ever happened. Please."

"I've miskin friends with a murderer the wool time-" Oliver rubbed xyr face in distress. "Cundrie, 'oo cost be ok with this? Where am yaw moral compass? Aren't yaouw supposed ter be bostin?"

"Wake up, Oliver. The world isn't just 'good' or 'bad'," Cundrie hissed bitterly. She can't believe she's defending a murderer, she can't believe the murderer would be her brother also. "Of course, I'm not ok with this! I hate that Marcus is a murderer! But what can I do? It's not like he can undo what he did, it's not like he can bring the guy back to life. And the guy that he killed was a rapist who raped me! At least he regrets what he did and never does it again, that's something!"

"'Oo d'ya knoo that?" Oliver challenges. Cundrie closed their mouth, unable to produce a retort. "'Oo d'ya knoo that ee regrets it? Fer all yaouw knoo, ee can keep murderen, can ee not? Ee 'as killed before, what stops him frum killen? Ee often guz unknown, sex werk ee says but we never see. What if ee taint only a sex worker, but a serial killer also? What if ee is a paid assassin also?"

"He's not," Cundrie insisted, shaking their head as they closed their eye. "It's impossible. He'd tell me if he is."

"Ee only told yaouw ee is a sex worker when ee got arrested, what makes yaouw fink ee wull tell yaouw that he's a serial killer?" Oliver shrugged, cocking xyr head. Cundrie shook their head in disbelief, closing their eyes. No! "What d'ya knoo abart him?"

"I can say the same thing about you!" Cundrie retorted. "I don't know everything about you!"

"Yaouw knoo a lot abart me, Cundrie. Not just 'what's me favourite hobby besides quidditch', also deep things loike me personal loife, me feass, yaouw knoo me an' I knoo yaouw-" Oliver shook xyr head, sighing. Cundrie closed their mouth, Oliver's right. They do know a lot about Oliver and Oliver knew a lot about Cundrie. "But what d'ya knoo abart Marcus?"

"What's this going to reach?" Cundrie asked. "I'm going to admit I know a lot about Marcus but not as much as I know about you, then what? You're going to boast that fact? You're going to go on about how it's plausible for Marcus to be a serial killer? It's a useless conversation! What if we just put it on hold and wait until I get home, I'll ask Marcus myself?"

"As if ee wull be honest-" Oliver scoffed. "When wull criminals ever willingly admit their crimes? Yom a ministry worker, Cundrie! Yaouw should've node! Yom acten so naïve."

"And you're acting like a self-righteous bastard!" Cundrie retorted. "That's what you're acting like! You talk about how murder's not fine at all, but you gloss over the fact that he regrets murdering the guy! I'm not saying what he did was right, but he regretted it and never did it again, it should be enough! What else must he do to fix it?"

"Azkaban cums ter mind, a perfect place fer murderers loike him."

Cundrie slapped Oliver hard on the face, causing the latter to turn to the right so far that xe falls off the bed. When Oliver stands back up, Cundrie can see that Oliver's right cheek is beginning to bruise. A sliver of guilt slithered in Cundrie's heart, she can't believe she hurt a person so hard to bruise xem.

Yet again, she didn't predict she'd be defending a murderer.

"Get ert," Oliver said, not looking up. "Tell Marcus ter 'oid. I'm tellen the Aurors of this noight."