HP: Fairborn Adventures

August 20th, 1977

" -and give them resolve to recover from the loss and face the coming days with greater hope, energy, and focus. This we pray with anticipation for your favor. Amen."

With the closing prayer finished, the majority of guests offered their condolences to either of the two sisters one last time before leaving. The Evans might not have moved in the largest of social circles, however, of the two-dozen people that arrived, the majority had been brought to tears as they mourned their losses and said their goodbyes.

It had been a rather private and quiet ceremony at the local church in Cokeworth, where according to the priest, Lily's parents had often visited service together with their daughters. At least Harry's fear of a confrontation during the funeral had luckily not become a reality.

He glanced over to the stiff form of Petunia, who was accompanied by her fiancé Vernon and his sister Marge while she made some small talk with a few of the last guests. Whereas the muggle authorities placed the blame on some faulty gas pipes that led to an explosion, Petunia had not been fooled by it. She knew very well that it was wizards and witches who killed her parents and in her opinion, there was only one person to blame for that.

Her parents' death had already struck Lily remarkably hard, but the accusations of her sister, of having caused said death with her abnormal freakishness, were almost too much for the poor girl. Apparently, it had taken every ounce of self-control for James not to curse her and Vernon when the four of them met to arrange the funeral. Still, Petunia had made it more than obvious that she would cease all contact afterward and hoped to never see Lily again in her life.

Harry secretly thought it might be for the better for everyone involved. Petunia and Vernon were far from good people. More than once had Harry played with the idea of ensuring they'd live a life as miserable as they had treated him for eleven long years and the subsequent summers.

'But there are bigger problems right now.'

He remained with the Potters and Marlene, who had all gone muggle for the occasion, while Lily said her goodbyes to the last of her parents' friends.

When the redhead turned to walk back over to them, Harry met her halfway: "I'd like to show you something if you don't mind, Lily. I believe it might help you say goodbye..."

Her large puffy eyes studied Harry for a few seconds while she wiped her nose with a white handkerchief: "Okay."

Harry turned to the Potters: "Lily and I will follow soon after. It shouldn't take us long."

"Do you want me to remain as well?" James asked curiously.

Harry shook his head. "No, it will be fine."

His gaze met Marlene who was watching him from the side, her long black dress floating in the gentle breeze with a matching hat covering her golden curls. Concern and traces of apprehension flickered through her ice blue eyes while they shifted from Lily to him and back to Lily.

"Okay then. If you're sure..." The blonde swallowed heavily and forced her face back into a neutral mask, turning to the Potters.

'She's definitely not going to like that...'

Harry waited until they walked off the cemetery and vanished behind the church before addressing Lily again: "Is there a place you and your parents visited when you were young? Somewhere you feel connected to them? Preferably private as well?"

"I'll take you." Lily sniffed and held out her hand. She cast a last glance over the now empty cemetery before apparating them with a soft snap.

"Where are we?" Harry curiously skimmed around, taking in the flower-covered field in front of him and the green hills in the background.

"Yorkshire Dales national park." Lily smiled weakly, clasping her hat with one hand so the wind didn't take off with it: "We never had much money for amusement parks, fancy travels, or visiting other countries. But the British national parks have always been our favorites..."

"It's beautiful." Harry agreed: "Though a bit windy for what I plan."

The Elder Wand slipped into his palm before it was woven through the air like a conductor's baton. Immediately the air stood still around them. It was a piece of magic that brought a sparkle to Lily's emerald green eyes, as did any complex charms work.

"What did you want to show me?" She asked cautiously: "You said you might know something that helps?"

Harry nodded slowly, taking a step closer: "I believe there's something I can do for you; something that might bring you some closure."

"What is that?"

"During the very first charms lesson we shared, we briefly talked about my family and the kind of magic they have been associated with. I know you've heard the rumors about me; you've seen my family's totem, the Thestral, and even the scythes I had used against Malfoy..."

"Death." Lily whispered in a breath: "But how is that supposed to help me?"

"Many years ago, my family created an artifact- " Harry explained slowly: " -an artifact that allows you to talk to those who have left us."

"Don't be cruel, Harry." Lily shook her head, tears threatened to spill once more: "'No spell can bring back the dead'. It's what they say in every book on magic."

'That's what Dumbledore said as well.'

"I'm not saying they're wrong." Harry took her hands and shot her a long look: "This artifact will not bring them back to you; nothing ever will. However, it will allow you to talk to them and properly say your goodbyes."

"How is that possible?" Lily sobbed.

"I wish I'd know. The magic is unique and has never been replicated since." Harry sighed: "From what I've gathered, it creates an echo of the person you call upon. This avatar is based on the memories, emotions, and anything else you remember them by. They don't truly come back from the other side of the realm, it's not really them; merely how we imagined and experienced them when they were still with us."

Lily remained silent for almost a minute, simply studying him while her fingers trembled in his hands. "Have you used it before?"

"I have," Harry admitted, holding her gaze. "It was to call my parents in a moment I needed them the most..."

"I'd like to try it then."

"Of course." Harry slowly took his hand from hers and pulled off the thick ring he always carried with him.

Lily watched it curiously as he placed it in her open palm. Her lips quirked: "So Marlene knows too then... No wonder she defended your ring against Croaker when he tried to examine it. Your secret is safe with me, Harry, I promise..."

"Close your eyes while holding it in your open palm." Harry instructed slowly: "Then think about the people you'd like to call upon. Flood your mind with your emotions and memories of them. When you're ready, spin it three times. You'll know how to do so when the time comes..."

"Okay." Lily gulped heavily but nodded and did as instructed. Harry took a few steps back from her and watched her take deep breaths and close her eyes.

All the tension and strain she had suffered over the last few days slowly began leaving his mother's face until they were replaced by a faint genuine smile. The thick stone started levitating until it hovered perhaps two inches above her palm. Then it turned: once; twice; and a third and final turn.

The warm air rippled and flicked; two figures appeared right before Lily. Just as Harry remembered, they were neither ghosts nor truly flesh. Just like Tom Riddle who escaped his diary, they were a memory made nearly solid. Less substantial than living bodies but so much more than what ghosts could ever hope to be.

Rose Evans was about Lily's height, with the same auburn hair that had an almost ethereal shimmer to it. Jonathan Evans had an arm around his wife's waist. His soft eyes beamed with pride as they both sent their daughter the same loving smile.

"Hello, my flower."

Lily inhaled sharply; her eyelids flew open. She gaped at the two people standing in front of her, taking a few seconds to let her eyes roam over them almost critically. Then she hesitantly opened her mouth: "Mom? Dad? Is it really you?"

She reached out with one hand, attempting to seize her mother's finger, who did the same. Still, anytime their fingers should brush against each other, Lily's simply moved right through them, unable to connect with any solid matter.

"I'm sorry." Rose smiled sadly. "It's still us, my little flower, but at the same time, it's not. How could your non-magical parents answer such a question?"

Lily let out a mixture between a chuckle and a sob: "I miss you so much, both of you. Not an hour goes by when I'm not thinking about you."

"We know, my dear." Jonathan smiled: "We're watching over you. From now on, we'll always be your invisible guardian angels."

"I feel so guilty all the time." Lily's breath hitched: "Guilty, for not having been able to defend you. Guilty, for watching you die."

"It was not your fault and we don't blame you for what happened to us, flower. Of course we wish it hadn't been our time yet and that we would've been granted a few more years with our girls- " Rose took a step forward until she stood face to face with her daughter: " -but again, that doesn't mean that we won't be there with you during any step you take from here."

"Talking about steps to take- "Jonathan's lips curled into a grin: " -why don't you introduce us to the young man next to you? There are some similarities, but I could swear he's not the man you introduced to us as your boyfriend a few weeks ago..."

A small blush crept up Lily's cheek. Her smaller hand found him and she pulled him towards her until he stood right next to the redhead, face to face with his maternal grandparents for the very first time.

'Just not the way I always imagined it to be.'

"This is Harry, Harry Peverell. He's a very good friend from school." Lily introduced him: "And in case you're wondering why he looks so similar to James, it's because they're actually distantly related."

"Lily told me lots about you." A heavy lump sat in Harry's throat while he blinked away a tear: "I wish I could've gotten to meet you sooner."

"We would've liked that as well, Harry. Isn't it curious how you look a bit similar to us as well... doesn't he, Jonathan?" Rose mused as she examined him: "Those cheekbones might look different, but the ears and the nose... In fact, those eyes are almost the exact shade as mine and my daughter's… How very fascinating..."

"Watch over our little flower for us, Harry," Jonathan said: "No matter where exactly we might be at this point, our daughters will always remain the most important thing in this world for us. Please be there for her whenever she needs you."

"I promise to be." Harry swallowed heavily: "I'll always be there for her."

'And I'll never let anyone hurt her again.'

"Then it's time for us to leave, my daughter." Rose turned back to Lily: "And that also means it's your time to let us go. Try not to call us again, Lily; I don't need to be a witch to figure that clinging onto the dead can't be healthy in the long run..."

"But it still hurts so much." Lily sobbed, tears spilling from her eyes: "I will always miss you; I don't think it will ever go away."

"It wouldn't be love if it did." Jonathan smiled: "We will watch over you, Lily, and witness you living a life full of joy and love until one day, in the very far future, we will see each other again..."

"We love you so much." A single, silvery tear spilled from Rose's eyes while her form became paler and paler: "Goodbye, my little flower."

Rose and Jonathan Evans faded away like smoke in the wind, leaving behind a sobbing Lily who hurled herself into Harry's arms the moment he raised them. Long, red hair blocked his vision and her flowery shampoo filled his nostrils. He simply held her tight and secure while she buckled with ragged breath, gently stroking her back and whispering calming words down into her ear.

"Thank you so much, Harry." Lily kept her head buried in the crook of his neck: "I don't know how to thank you..."

"It was the least I could do." Harry whispered soothingly: "And besides, meeting your parents was something I intended to do for a long time."

"I think they would have liked you." Lily chuckled weakly: "Actually, I know they would've."

"We don't have to return just yet if you don't want to." Harry murmured and gently broke their hug, keeping one hand on the small of her back: "We can stay here a bit longer."

"I'd like that." Lily wiped her nose rather unladylike on the sleeve of her black dress: "Just stay with me, Harry, please; you make everything so much easier right now..."

Potter Manor

"Perhaps you want to take a seat, my dear..."

"Oh, you be quiet!" Marlene paused on the spot and shot an angry scowl at the tome on Harry's desk: "You haven't been helpful at all! Instead, you keep lying to me, just like he does!"

Cursing under her breath, Marlene stepped over the black funeral dress she had changed out of and walked to the bed, letting herself fall onto the many pillows she insisted on having around. No matter what she tried to occupy her mind with, her thoughts kept drifting to what Harry and Evans could be doing wherever they might be right now.

She had tried to read in her NEWT books but she already knew all of the actually useful spells in it. Practicing smaller pieces of charms work to skip the time only helped so much, so in the end, she grudgingly opened Aurelius, feeling the need to blow off some steam at the closest Peverell around.

'Harry's cranky old great-grandfather certainly deserved it.'

"You remind me a lot of my daughter Isolde and my granddaughter Iolanthe, you know." The tome chuckled faintly: "In fact, they too were quite beautiful, blonde, and very short-tempered when it came to the men they spend their lives with."

"Of course, you'd find the whole situation amusing; after all, Harry tells you everything he refuses to tell me!" Marlene felt her ire spike: "I just don't understand this whole secrecy as of late, and all of it involves Lily bloody Evans!"

"Is that really teenage jealousy I hear?" Aurelius' cool laughter echoed from the ancient leather: "As far as I was aware, young Lily is with the Potter boy, so you have nothing to be worried about. It should be rather obvious that my descendant only has eyes for you anyway..."

"Then why does he suddenly start hiding stuff from me whenever it comes to her?" Marlene challenged, raising her voice: "Why is he so devastated after the loss of her parents even though he had never actually met them?" She flicked her wand at the door, silencing it just in case someone might walk by: "I bet my new wand he wouldn't be half as miserable if it had been Remus Lupin's parents or Pettigrew's." Marlene almost spat the last name, having never felt any liking for the fourth Marauder.

With Aurelius choosing to remain silent, Marlene continued her rant: "It's bad enough that he thinks I'm too stupid to know where he sneaked off to recently! Evans said herself that she never told anyone at Hogwarts where she lived, however, there was one person she had been friends with even before her sorting; someone who knew exactly where to find her!"

"I'm sure he- "

"No, you let me finish!" Marlene snapped; heat bubbled in her stomach: "He promised me to take me with him when we start going after them and then he just lied to me and did it all by himself! He lied to me to take revenge for Lily bloody Evans! And now they're Morgana knows where for the last five hours, comforting one another and he will probably- "

" -give her the closure she needed; nothing more and nothing less..."

Marlene spun on the spot in shock, having been so caught up that she didn't even notice the door opening and closing. Harry stepped inside, his eyes taking in the scene in front of him. He cautiously blinked up to meet her gaze: "Are you okay, love?"

"Does it bloody look like it?" Marlene snapped, her ire spiking again as she still felt very confrontational. "Where have you been, love?"

"I was with Lily." Harry rubbed his neck. He stepped over to the table and slowly closed the tome of his ancestor: "She took me somewhere we'd have some privacy, a park of sorts..."

"Great…" A cold fist seized her heart. Marlene tried to downplay the turmoil with her by snorting audibly: "A nice and private place so you could- "

" -say goodbye to her parents. Properly..." Harry avoided her gaze, merely holding up his hand, flashing the golden ring: "I let her call them so she could have some peace."

"You told her?!" Marlene gaped at him in a mixture of sadness and outrage: "It took me months of occlumency training before you deemed I was worth being told! I worked through hours of you breaching my mind and privacy just so I could keep your secrets but with her, you simply tell her?!"

"Please- it's not like that..." Harry sighed in frustration as he stepped over to her and tried to take her hand in his, yet Marlene swatted away his attempt: "I don't like her the way I like you; I don't love her the way I love you. There's nothing romantical between us. It's just- it's difficult- you won't understand just yet..."

'Love?' Marlene felt her heart beating faster, pumping blood at a furious pace: 'He loves her?'

"Of course I don't understand, Harry, because you stopped telling me things!" She felt like tearing her own hair. She poked his chest hard and accusingly: "But not only did you stop telling me, but now you're also lying to me! Just like you did when you sneaked off to kill Snape without telling me! And why?! Just so you could avenge Evans' parents! You did it for her, for no one else!"

"That's not the whole story!" Harry denied it, his voice rose slightly in volume as well. Dark shadows crept into the depths of his green eyes: "I didn't kill him for Lily."

"Fine. Then tell me how you killed him!"

"I- what?" Harry stared at her as if he couldn't see her clearly.

"Tell me how you killed him, Harry!" Marlene demanded.

"Why would that even matter- "

"If it doesn't matter then tell me how you bloody killed him already!" She stomped her feet, underlying her message.

Harry grimaced and clenched his teeth: "I made him choke to death on flowers... on lilies..."

"Death by a flower; by a lily. Yet you claim you don't have any romantic feelings for her... You must think I'm stupid, don't you, Harry?"

Harry remained silent, his lips opened and closed as he seemingly searched for the right words.

'The right excuses.'

An overwhelming coldness swallowed her into its deep, dark depth, crushing her breath under a thick layer of ice. One of her biggest fears nagged on her mind, tearing down everything she thought Harry and her had built for themselves. Nonetheless, she barely managed to stop herself from uttering the accusation that threatened to roll off her tongue.

"I see how it is then..." She swallowed heavily and blinked away a tear, turning away from him so he didn't see how much she was hurting.

"Marlene, please- It's really not the way it might look." Harry tried to seize her hand again so she took a step back, dodging it.

"I'm sorry for not telling you; I'm sorry for lying back then! Can we please just talk about this?"

"I don't want to talk to you right now, Harry..." Marlene sniffed and turned to the bed they shared over the last weeks, grabbing her favorite pillow and pajamas: "I don't want to say anything I might regret; I also don't want to hear anything that might hurt me even more..."

"Please- "

"No, don't! No more excuses!"

She was torn between being glad that Harry didn't stop her while also wishing he'd fight a bit more for her. Instead, he merely looked at her with incredible sadness hovering in his green orbs: "I love you! Only you! I promise I can explain everything..."

"You always say that, Harry." Marlene wiped her eyes: "But this time you've hurt me too much. I'm going to need some time to myself..."

She took a deep breath and forced her feet to move past him. Her fingers trembled as they seized the door handle. Without taking a look over her shoulder she stepped outside and hurried away from his room; desperate to be alone, desperate to not let anyone see that Marlene Elizabeth McKinnon was vulnerable.

August 22nd, 1977

"What are all of those?" Marlene stared in awe up into the hall they entered:

High as a church and full of nothing but towering shelves covered in small, dusty, glass orbs. They glimmered dully in the light issuing from more candle brackets set at intervals along the shelves. The room was very cold, giving her faint goosebumps. She edged forward and peered down one of the shadowy aisles between two rows of shelves.

"Prophecies," Mercury answered with a small smile: "Come along, I'll show you where I've set up our desk."

"How many rows are there?" Marlene asked, looking up at the end of the closest row. Beneath the branch of blue-glowing candles protruding from it glimmered the silver figure 53.

"It should be exactly 97." The Unspeakable explained: "The hall is enchanted in such a way that it provides space and shelves for new prophecies should they be made."

Marlene followed her through the many rows, stretching her neck as she tried to glimpse up the shelves all the way to the ceiling. Tiny, yellowing labels had been stuck beneath each glass orb on the shelf. Some of them had a weird, liquid glow; others were as dull and dark within as blown lightbulbs: "So all of these are prophecies that have been made at some point?"

"No, these are merely the recordings." Mercury answered as they moved along: "The magic of prophecies is part of the most abstract branches of magic we know. However, a few hundred years ago a British Unspeakable called Vulkan designed a spell that records every prophecy made in all of Europe. This is the place where we keep them stored."

"I see..." Marlene murmured. They reached an arrangement of two desks, each holding a stack of old books and parchments. While Mercury prepared some quill and ink, Marlene took a few steps closer to the nearest silvery orb, examining it curiously.

"I would strongly advise against that!" The Unspeakable suddenly spoke up when Marlene reached out with one hand to touch the glass.

"I'm sorry." She quickly pulled her hand back: "But why is that?"

"There are some very nasty curses on those, which will most likely provide you with a one-way ticket to Saint Mungo's Janus Thickey Ward for permanent spell damage." Mercury chuckled drily: "No one beside the person a prophecy has been made about is allowed to touch it, let alone take it from its stands. Anyone else who makes an attempt will suffer from total madness."

'Better leave it be then.' Marlene agreed: "What would you like me to help you with today, ma'am?"

Mercury pointed to a stack of notes: "A few decades ago, we started working on a probabilistic model that predicts the chances of a prophecy coming true. Usually, there is some sort of trigger involved, which is the very first step to guiding the fate of a person in the direction that has been prophesied. These are the testimonies of witnesses who heard original prophecies being made. I'd like you to help me go through the wordings and identify these triggers."

"Yes, ma'am." Marlene nodded and took a seat, reaching for the parchment on top of the first stack. It certainly wasn't the most interesting work she's encountered over the last five weeks, but anything would do right now. Anything that kept her occupied and prevented her from thinking about Harry too much...

It hadn't even been 48 hours since Marlene moved out of his room and still, she missed him like crazy. Knowing that he was right across the hall certainly didn't help things. Nevertheless, Marlene had remained headstrong and stopped herself from running back to him, whether it be to rant or throw herself into his arms, giving herself some time to actually ponder over the matter.

Of course, the other occupants at Potter Manor had immediately noticed that something was wrong between the couple. More than once had Marlene caught Dorea's concerned looks, but so far she didn't take the older witch up on her offer to talk to her about it.

Truth be told, she was still very hurt.

The fact that Harry had lied to her multiple times and even tried to downplay Lily's involvement in Snape's death was only further amplified by the small stabs of jealousy and worry that had plagued Marlene recently. Part of her knew that she was being irrational and that Harry would never leave her for another girl but a different part just wouldn't stop worrying.

'Because somehow things felt different with Lily Evans.'

There was something about her that had Harry drawn to her ever since he first arrived in her fifth year. Him admitting that he loved her, just not romantically, further complicated the issue. Their argument had been quite the eye-opener to how possessive and also dependent she had become on him and it almost terrified her a little.

Marlene knew they needed to talk about everything and sort things out, she only wished for a few more days to set her mind straight.

'And after that, I'll set Harry straight!' She decided with a grimace.

She copied down another row while her thoughts kept wandering. The only way for their relationship to become healthier was for him to stop keeping secrets from her, be it secrets from his past or the present. They had to be open about everything; especially about what was going on with Evans. However, Marlene couldn't help but worry about things if his answer to such a suggestion was different from what she hoped it to be.

'I can't lose Harry.' The realization held her heart in a vice-like grip: 'There wouldn't be anything left without him.'

Her train of thought was suddenly interrupted and she looked up from her desk when someone entered their row and headed straight for their desks.

"Good morning, Mercury." Croaker approached them, carrying a few thick folders under his arm: "Merlin, those are heavier than they look." He groaned as he temporally balanced them on the edge of the table.

"Shouldn't those go straight to the archive?" Mercury raised an eyebrow as her eyes roamed a few of the colored tags on the folders that were hidden from Marlene's few, blocked by Croaker, who leaned against them.

"I was on my way there when I decided to stop by." Croaker nodded: "Do you have a minute to- "

He paused and glanced at his wrist, where one of the pale pearls on a leathery band suddenly glowed a bright golden: "Not again..." He grumbled.

"What is it?" Marlene asked cautiously, still adhering to Harry's warning of being vigilant around the Unspeakable. She knew that the bands were a device to communicate within the department.

"It's probably nothing and just Eclipse throwing something through the Veil again." Croaker snorted: "Still we should likely check it out anyway..."

"Certainly." Mercury nodded, getting up from her seat: "I'll be right back with you, Ms. McKinnon. Do me a favor and continue in the meantime..."

"Of course, ma'am." Marlene nodded dutifully, watching them hurry back through the dark rows, their long cloaks swerving after them.

She picked up the quill again, intending to continue where she left off when her eyes were suddenly drawn to the folders Croaker had left in his hurry to get to this presumed emergency.

'Meant for the archives.'

Her curiosity got the better of her and she stepped around the table to take a closer look at them. Marlene checked the dark row behind with a glance over her shoulder before turning back.

She frowned when her sharp eyes caught a very familiar sequence of initials, followed by a label.

'HIP'

'Highly classified.'

'Could that stand for...' With trembling fingers, she pulled out the lowest folder and flicked open the cover. A picture of none other than her boyfriend greeted her, a tiny sparkle in his emerald green orbs as he raised his head confidently.

She immediately gathered that it must have been taken during his trial at the Wizengamot. Her thoughts started racing and she felt the blood pumping through her veins along with the hammering of her heart against her ribcage. In her hands, she held the Unspeakables' folder on Harry Ignotus Peverell.

'Including everything they knew about him.'

Her boyfriend held so many secrets and the longer she had been with him, the more there seemed to be. For one reason or another, everyone of importance was interested in Harry; be it Dumbledore, a rising Dark Lord, and now also the Unspeakables.

'Perhaps it was time to find out what they knew.' Gulping heavily, Marlene flipped the first page: 'Who better to unravel a person's secrets than the smartest witches and wizards within the most mysterious Department in all of Britain?'