"Can we talk about it, now?"

Marcus and Cundrie are both in an inn in Knocturn Alley, the world map in front of the former whilst the latter is drinking steaming hot turmeric milk. Somehow, that's all Cundrie is craving for.

"We should tell Oliver-" Cundrie said, putting down the mug ¼ empty. "I don't like xem not knowing. It's xyr kid too."

"Should you even keep it?" Marcus asked. "You're a criminal on the run. As I said yesterday, being on the run is not a conducive situation to raise a child. What if you give birth to the child when the Aurors are there to arrest us?"

"That won't happen."

"That COULD happen," Marcus insisted. Cundrie closed their mouth. "If that happens, what then? We go to Azkaban, we have to. There's no plea bargain for a murderer and his accomplice. You wanna raise Cundrie Junior in Azkaban?"

"I'll think of something."

"There's nothing to think, Cundrie-" Marcus shook his head. "It's either that or we leave the UK, both Wizarding World and Muggle World. I'm not leaving without you. If we leave the UK, we need to withdraw all our money and start planning our lives outside the UK, probably somewhere far from the EU. Australia comes to mind, it's very far and it's an English-speaking country."

"We need to stay here, Marcus," Cundrie insists. "Oliver is here and xe's the nopa. I need to stay here."

"You won't even tell xem that!" Marcus exclaimed. Cundrie flinched. "You can't! You'll be arrested if you do! What good will staying here do if you can't even tell xem that xe'll be a nopa in what- seven months?"

"We just have to, ok?" Cundrie insisted. "Maybe I can't let xem know, not now. But later, I can. And I will. Maybe I'll still be undesirable, but the news won't be hot for long. They'll forget."

"Cundrie- are you aware of who you are?" Marcus asked. "Everyone knows you! Your position in the Ministry was already so high! It's impossible if everyone forgets your crime in a short time, ignore but not forget. People won't forget mine, too. I'm a famous author and entrepreneur, so I can't help you."

"Cack." Marcus snickered.

"That'll be Oliver speaking-" Marcus laughed.

Cundrie smiled pathetically, she still misses xem. How will xe react when xe hears? Maybe happiness? Maybe excitement? Maybe fear? Cundrie won't judge if xe feels fear, she feels fear as well but mainly excitement and happiness. What if what Marcus says is right? What if she gives birth when she needs to run away?

"We need to be in hiding," Cundrie declared. "Like a forest."

"A forest?" Marcus asked. Cundrie nods. "What makes you think being in a forest will hide us better?"

"There are fewer people in a forest, we can find a place and put protective charms and disguising spells-" Cundrie shrugged. "So it'll be safe for the baby without the constant need of running away and enough room for the baby to run around later." Marcus chuckled coldly.

"I thought you're way smarter than this, or have you suddenly just gone dumber all the sudden? Has the pregnancy brain hit you?" Marcus sarcastically asked. Cundrie closed their mouth. "What about pregnancy complications? What about the check-ups? I don't know how long this will go- what about the vaccines? We need to think about the now, not the few years later!"

"I don't know."

"Of course you don't, when has your life ever been planned-" Marcus rolled his eyes. Cundrie glared at him.

"What the hell, Marcus!" Cundrie yelled, losing their shit already. "We are stuck in this situation because you couldn't control your fucking emotions and had to kill that bastard! I'm not defending him, I don't care about him, but what you did wasn't right!" Cundrie's voice starts cracking as they point at themself,  starting to lose control over their emotions. "If you had the brains to think rationally and remember that he was a man who didn't deserve to be killed, we wouldn't have been undesirable and I wouldn't have been fired from my job! We wouldn't have needed to go into hiding! This is all your fault, Marcus!"

Cundrie stomped to their bed, leaving the fully-empty mug on the table. Cundrie grabbed one of the pillows and hugged it, imagining it to be Oliver. Sweet Oliver. Oliver should've been here, xe was the one who got them pregnant. They should've felt xyr warm arms engulfing them, hugging them and telling them that it'll be ok, that the baby will be fine and the three of them will be a lovely great family. But now, because of Marcus' uncontrollable temper, this is impossible. Screw him! Fuck him!

"Look, Cundrie. I'm sorry for pissing you off," Marcus suddenly said from behind. "Talk to me, I hate fighting with you."

"Maybe I can ask for a plea bargain by busting your arse-" Cundrie quickly turned her head to face him, glaring at him. Marcus pressed his lips together, rubbing Cundrie's back. "I don't want my child to grow up on the run, Marcus. Because of you, it won't have two parents. I can't do this on my own!"

"You're not going to do it on your own, Uncle Marcus will be there too-" Marcus hugged Cundrie from the back and Cundrie laughed. "The child will never run out of love from the mummy and the uncle."

"I wish the nopa can love it as much as we do, too," Cundrie sighed.

"Hey, no pouting, now-" Marcus pulled Cundrie's side, making her face him. Marcus pulled Cundrie that she stood up from the bed. The radio from the edge of the room suddenly plays a happy pop song.

"What are you doing?" Marcus wiped their tears away, causing Cundrie to chuckle, looking away. She still feels very shitty.

"Can't a man make his sad sister happy and ask for a dance? Let's turn that frown upside down!"