Kendis didn’t say anything as they were marched in handcuffs across the jail. Their face remained stoic against the jeers and yells from the other prisoners, even though the noise was the equivalent of nails on a chalkboard for their auditory sensory issues.

Kendis was glad that she couldn’t feel the icy cold that was the telltale sign of a nearby Dementor.

She hadn’t been sure whether the Americans would be as inhumane as her home country. The Aurors stopped in front of an empty cell and shoved her in.

Kendis spun around just in time to see the Aurors slam the cell door in their face.

They took a deep breath and then another. This wasn’t the first time they’d been in a cell, although, to be fair, the Malfoys’ dungeons had been colder. She sat down on the floor.

Kendis’s heart pounded in her chest, and old memories from the war washed over her. She could practically hear Hermione’s screams as clearly as she had that day.

After speaking up in Narcissa and Draco’s defence in front of the Wizengamot, Narcissa had invited them to dinner at the manor.

Kendis never took her up on the invitation. The memories Malfoy Manor held for them would haunt them until their dying day.

But if Kendis could survive captivity once, then she would again.

‘Breathe,’ Kendis told herself.

Kendis didn’t doubt that Tony would do as they’d asked and call Hermione, and Hermione would owl Draco despite the deep well of emotional baggage between the two.

There was a reason Kendis had hired Draco despite their history together. Draco Malfoy was a shark in the courtroom. He had his father’s cunning and ruthlessness when it came to Wixen politics, but unlike Lucius, Draco no longer believed in that blood purity bullshit and had way more common sense.

Kendis sighed and dropped their head into their hands. At least it seemed they didn’t know about Chester Coil. They had been waiting for that other shoe to drop, but apparently they should have had bigger things to worry about.

Kendis knew that revealing their marriage would come with consequences from the Wizarding World. She had expected the Wizarding press to go completely mad. She expected Howlers from people who, much like Mrs. Weasley, were outraged that she didn’t marry Ginny Weasley and spawn a dozen red-headed babies.

It seemed like everyone had been more invested in Kendis and Ginny’s relationship than they had been. Ginny was truly happy with Neville, and now Kendis had finally found her own happiness with Tony.

‘Tony must be worried sick,’ Kendis thought to herself.

Kendis groaned in frustration as they recalled the shocked and furious look on his face when she had surrendered. They wanted to hug him and tell him that it was going to be okay.

Kendis was charged with violating the Statute of Secrecy, and she didn’t understand why. Hortense and Isiah were both wixens. And the magical authorities gave Jason and Ian a wide berth.

No one wanted to risk the wrath of a demigod and his immortal husband.

The situation could only be about Tony.

It confused them because MACUSA had to have known about their marriage since Kendis had applied for the disclosure permits right before their debut at the Apogee Awards.

‘Why the bloody hell would they wait a month to do something about it?’ Kendis asked herself, confused.

Kendis winced when she heard a particularly loud scream from her neighbours. She put her hands over her ears to muffle the noise. They cursed themselves for not sleeping with their noise-cancelling earbuds in. Kendis had lost them a week ago and forgotten to replace them. Then again, they thought with some chagrin, the Aurors wouldn’t have let her keep the earbuds anyway.

Kendis lowered their hands from their ears when the noise faded away, and she sighed as she fiddled with her engagement ring. In that moment, the gold ring around her finger was a source of comfort as they sat on the cold cell floor for what seemed like hours, broken only by brief spells of pacing up and down the cell.

Time seemed to stretch interminably before someone finally came to the cell. Kendis spun around and saw a white man with a long beard who looked vaguely familiar. The man took out a wand.

“Face the wall,” the Auror ordered. “Hands behind your back.”

Kendis gave him a dubious look, and he sighed.

“Don’t make this harder than it has to be, Mx. Black.”

With a huff, Kendis spun on her heel and did what he ordered. They felt the cuffs from earlier close around their wrists before being turned around and marched down the cell block. Kendis felt the tension in her body ratchet up as she was once again bombarded with the jeers and shouts of the prisoners.

Kendis had their mental mask firmly in place as they rounded a corner and suddenly left the cell block for what looked like the administration section of the prison. As they passed, Aurors and other personnel stopped and stared as whispers followed them.

“Is that Kendis Black?”

“She’s shorter in person?”

“I can’t believe she married a Muggle.”

“She should be ashamed of herself!”

Kendis did her best not to let it get to her as they rounded another corner and stopped in front of a narrow door. She was pretty sure the Auror was Buckling, the same one who had told her a few weeks ago that there wasn’t anything they could do about Chester Coil.

Kendis was shoved inside what was clearly an interrogation room. Two chairs sat across from each other at a simple metal table. She was pushed into one.

“Can you take these bloody cuffs off?”

The Auror pointedly ignored her, and there was a knock on the door. Another white man, somewhat younger than Auror Buckling, poked his head in. “Sir, the folks from New York are here.”

“About goddamn time,” the Auror huffed. “Let them in.”

Two white men came in, and they were dressed in robes that, to Kendis’s eye, screamed expensive. One was young, about Kendis’s age, and the other was a white guy with slicked-back hair and a bright grin that reminded her far too much of Gilderoy Lockhart.

“Well, Harry Potter, as I live and breathe,” the man said with a brilliant smile. “It’s an honor to finally meet the defeater of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.”

Kendis crossed her arms and glared. “It’s Mx. Black or Lady Black to you, mate.”

A look of surprise and then anger flashed over his face.

The other man sighed as he took a seat across from Kendis and took out his briefcase. “Cletus, sit down, please.”

The prat who had deadnamed them – apparently Cletus (and what sort of name was Cletus, anyway?) gave a huff and petulantly sat down in his chair.

“Now, Lady Black,” the younger man said as he sorted through a stack of papers. “My name is Otho Ibex, and this is Cletus Persimmons. We are representatives from the Magical Congress of the United States.”

“Would you care to explain why the buggering hell I’ve been arrested?” Kendis crossed her arms and glared at them. “Last I checked, I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“You told the most famous Muggle in the world about magic, and then you have the audacity to say you did nothing wrong?” Cletus scoffed.

“I filed the disclosure permits,” Kendis insisted. “And what on earth does Tony’s fame have to do with it?”

Otho and Cletus exchanged bewildered looks. “You filed the permits?” He took out his wand and conjured a thick folder. Otho quickly riffled through the papers and frowned.

“There is no record of that.”

“What?” Kendis shot up in her chair but sat back down when the Aurors’ wands were pointed at her. “I went down there weeks ago and filed them.”

Otho coughed. “Be that as it may, there is no record of the permits or of your marriage.”

“Why don’t you just look at my marriage licence? It’s been all over the papers.”

“That only counts for Muggles.” Cletus snorted. “Under MACUSA law, you have 30 days from the time you file your Muggle marriage license to get married by an officiant for your marriage to be valid. Not to mention that you did not sign a premarital disclosure permit.”

Kendis got a sudden sinking feeling as their gaze travelled across the room. Auror Buckling looked at her blankly, Cletus wore a self-satisfied smirk, but it was the pitying look on Otho’s face that made their heart sink to the pit of their stomach.

“What are you trying to say?” Kendis asked carefully.

“As a result, you are not married under Wixen Law.”

Kendis closed their eyes and pinched the bridge of their nose.

“And as a result, neither you nor Mr. Stark can claim the right to disclosure.” Cletus smirked at her. “You have violated the magical world’s most sacred law. You carelessly revealed the magical world to one of the most famous Muggles on Earth and, as a result, put the entire Wixen community in jeopardy.”

“These are serious charges against you.” Otho sadly shook his head. “The best thing you can do – “

Kendis opened her mouth to say something but was startled as the door slammed open. There stood a tall man with long white hair that fell down his back, sharp grey eyes, and slate-grey robes that put MACUSA’s robes to shame.

“Who the fuck are you?” the older white man demanded.

“Draco Malfoy.” Draco smirked. “And I want to know what in Circe’s name you are doing interviewing my client without their attorney.”