Disclaimer: I don't own it, and I never will.
Summary: The story of Marlene McKinnon and Gideon Prewett.
A/N: It's been at least two months since I've written anything, so this probably isn't my best work, but it's a plot bunny that's been in my head for a while now- ever since I read the Invisible Girl and Stunt Extraordinaire by lupin-is-awsum. Some aspects of Honeybunch may therefore be similar to that story, although much of this story differs greatly from it. Also, I know that Marlene McKinnon probably died before Gideon and Fabian Prewett, but a date of their death was never given, so... for the sake of this story, I had the two die before Marlene.
Honeybunch
"Marly, darling," a soft, sweet voice said from somewhere above her. "I have some news for you about… about them…"
Marlene McKinnon slowly rose to her elbows, turning her tear-stained face hopefully to her sister, Alice Longbottom. Two days had passed since Marlene had taken to her bed after Gideon and Fabian failed to return from a dangerous mission, and the time was already taking a toll on her. Her ebony hair was a tangled mess; heavy bags hung under her dull eyes, which had once been so piercing; and her face had a gaunt look that came from eating a minimal amount of food.
"What is it? Is he okay?" Marlene asked urgently, her voice a little rusty from disuse. There was no question which "he" Marlene was talking about: Gideon.
It wasn't that she didn't worry about Fabian, too, but the relationship between the two was strained and complicated. Fabian, the elder twin by two minutes, was used to being the leader and controlling just about every aspect of Gideon's life. On average, he made about seventy percent of Gideon's decision for him, and twenty-nine percent of the remaining thirty in collaboration with Gideon. Therefore, it was always a surprise for Fabian when Gideon wouldn't allow him to have any part in a decision; especially since, in the last one percent of decisions, Gideon was too stubborn to budge even an inch.
Marlene fell into the last category of decisions, causing a jealousy of sorts on Fabian's part. It wasn't jealousy over Marlene, or hatred towards her; instead, it was a hatred and jealousy over the relationship between Marlene and Gideon, which he had no say in.
"He's… They're…" Alice trailed off, taking a deep, calming breath. "Alastor found their bodies a little over an hour ago. From what little we can tell, the two tried to take on all five of the Death Eaters at once…"
"All five Death Eaters?" Marlene repeated, letting out a hollow laugh. "Always had to play the hero, didn't he? I told him not to go- I told the bloody idiot that it was too dangerous! Serves him right for not listening to me."
"He was a hero at heart. Both were. He wouldn't have been able to live with himself if he hadn't gone."
"But I told him not to, Alice! I told him… I t-told him not to-" Marlene broke off with a choked sob.
"I know, darling." Alice sat down next to her sister on the bed, rubbing the sobbing witch's back as Marlene buried her face on Alice's shoulder. "I know."
Over time, Marlene's sobs lessened as she cried herself to sleep in Alice's arms.
Marlene knocked hesitantly on the door of the old house, wondering why on earth her sister had asked her to meet a friend- an Auror named Alastor Moody- here. Shuffling footsteps could be heard within, and a few seconds later, a handsome young wizard, who couldn't have been more than a year older than herself, opened the door.
He had a friendly face, reddish-brown hair, a light dusting of freckles, and a charming smile. "Can I help you?"
"Are you Alastor Moody?" Marlene asked. "I'm supposed to be meeting here."
"No, I'm not Moody," the man answered with a wry grin. "I don't know whether to be flattered or horrified that you mistook me for him."
"Why would you be horrified?"
"Well, let's just say that, for all that he's an amazing Auror, his appearance leaves something to desire. Er… I'd appreciate if you didn't tell him I said that," he added appealingly. "He could easily hex me into next week."
Marlene couldn't help but smile at that. "Your secret's safe with me."
"Many thanks." An awkward pause descended, before the man cleared his throat. "Do you want to wait inside?"
"Sure." Marlene couldn't help but finger her wand as she entered the room, just be safe. After all, this man could easily be a Death Eater.
"You want anything to eat or drink while you wait?" he offered.
"No, but thanks for the offer."
"You're welcome. Do you mind if I go get something to eat? I know that's horribly rude, but I've got an appetite like a manticore; if I don't feed it, it gets angry." Laughing, Marlene nodded her head. "Thanks. Moody should be down in a minute or two. Oh, and by the way," he added, "my name's Gideon Prewett."
"Marlene McKinnon," she replied.
"Sweetie?"
"No."
"Darling?"
"No."
"Dearest?"
"No."
"Angel?"
"No."
"Come on, there has to be at least one term of endearment that your parents called you while you were growing up," Gideon complained.
"There isn't! At least, not one I'll mention to another living soul."
"So there is one!" Gideon exclaimed, racking his brain for some other nickname. Marlene let out a laugh at his look of deep concentration. "Was it… honeybunch, or something like that?"
"'Honeybunch?'" Marlene repeated, raising an eyebrow. "That'd be quite a mouthful to say, don't you think?"
"Aha! No denial!"
"No, they didn't call me that," Marlene said with a snort. "I mean, honestly, try working that into a sentence without making it sound awkward."
"It doesn't sound too awkward to me, honeybunch," Gideon told her, grinning.
"Oh, yes, it definitely does."
"No, honeybunch, it definitely doesn't."
"Oh, Merlin, you're going to start calling me that now, aren't you?" Marlene asked, laughing half in annoyance and half in amusement.
"I wouldn't dream of it." He sounded far too innocent for Marlene to take him seriously. From that time on, Marlene was "honeybunch" to Gideon.
"There was an attack today on a group of muggle, but Dory and I managed to bring one Death Eater to justice: Marius Jugson. They're going to have an actual trial for him, since his family's filthy rich and bribed the right people, but no amount of money can buy him freedom with the evidence we've got," Marlene grimly told Gideon, sinking down into a chair across the table from him.
"Ah, you had night duty last night?" Gideon asked sympathetically. "Here, help yourself to some breakfast- I'm guessing you haven't eaten anything all night. And no," he added at Marlene's skeptical look, "I didn't cook it, so it's edible."
She poured herself a cup of steaming coffee and took three pancakes before saying, "Anything happen while Dorcas and I were gone?" The silent question of "did anyone else we know die" hung in the air.
"No," Gideon answered, and Marlene let out a sigh of relief.
"I'd hope that fewer deaths would occur, now that Jugson has been captured, but I know to believe such would be optimistic to the point of foolishness. Voldemort will find someone else to replace Jugson. He always does." Marlene gave a sigh at the hopelessness of it all.
"Don't be a pessimist, honeybunch. He'll be defeated someday, even if it's not in one of our lifetimes."
"I know, I know: 'there's always hope while people still resist,'" Marlene recited, causing Gideon to frown.
"You sound like you don't believe that."
"Oh, no, no, no. I definitely believe that!" Marlene quickly assured him. "I'll keep fighting 'til my death, if it means keeping the hope alive for future generations."
"Same here." There was an uncomfortable pause, and Gideon cleared his throat awkwardly. "Oh, and by the way, Dumbledore's got a mission for me and Fab which'll take a few months," he casually added, as though this phrase was of no importance, as though he hadn't spent all morning wondering how to bring the subject up with Marlene.
"Oh?" Marlene asked, frowning. "You're just going to throw that out there as if it's nothing at all?"
"Well, it's not as if I can refuse. Dumbledore's counting on us; it's a mission that only the two of us can do."
"What's the mission?"
Gideon bit his lip. "Actually, Dumbledore told us that we couldn't reveal the particulars to anyone. Not even Moody can know, and he's the best Auror in the world."
"You don't think I'd go blabbing to everyone, do you?"
Marlene tried to refrain from looking hurt, but some of her emotions must of shown, for Gideon quickly said,"Of course not! I just don't want to defy Dumbledore's orders, honeybunch. We should be back in a few months, at most."
"'A few months?'" Marlene repeated.
"Er, yeah…" Gideon rubbed the back of his neck in discomfort.
"Well… Well..." There was a strained pause. "Well, good luck," Marlene said, forcing her face into an encouraging smile. After all, who was she to tell him it was too dangerous when her mission last night nearly killed her?
"Merlin, what language is that?" a voice asked from over her shoulder, trying to read what Marlene was frantically scribbling. It was a voice she recognized immediately as Gideon's, though she had not heard it for a quite some time.
"None of your bloody business, you nosy prat," Marlene muttered, though a grin crossed her face. It was always a gamble to disturb Marlene during her work, and Gideon was glad to see luck was on his side.
"You wound me, m'dear! I fear I shall never recover!" Gideon exclaimed in dramatically, pretending to faint.
"Finally! I've been trying to do you in for months, but nothing's worked. If only I knew that all I had to do was insult you…" Marlene trailed off thoughtfully, dropping her quill and turning to face him.
"Well, no use crying over spilt potion, honeybunch," he told her, grinning. "How's life been treating you? It's been three months now, yeah?"
"Four- not that I counted, or anything like that," Marlene added lamely, causing Gideon's grin to widen. So she had been thinking about him… "And life's been the same as always for me: busy, busy, busy."
"You haven't been overworking yourself again?"
"Of course not," Marlene answered, a little too quickly.
Gideon raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "Riiiight."
"Well, it's been hard work, trying to explain to other countries the necessity of the ban on flying carpets," Marlene explained, trying to justify herself to a less-than-pleased Gideon. "Dozens of countries experienced huge blows to their respective economies, much more than we expected. As Head of the International Magical Office of Law, it's my duty to explain it personally to all the foreign ministers."
"'Head of the International Magical Office of Law?' You've been promoted?" Gideon asked, though he had no idea why he should be surprised. Marlene was an exceptionally talented young witch who was fluent in over a hundred languages and competent in at least thirty others. Still, twenty-one was awfully young to be in charge of an entire office in the Department of International Magical Cooperation…
"Please, try to contain your excitement," Marlene muttered dryly.
"It's not that!" Gideon hastily assured her, wondering how to voice his opinion in the least offensive way. "I just think you're biting off more than you can chew…"
"So you think I can't handle it?" Marlene questioned, frowning.
"No, I think you have a habit of overworking, which this is feeding to a dangerous extreme," Gideon explained, sighing. "I don't want you to become one of those people who only cares about work."
"I've been working towards this my entire life. Did you expect me to turn the position down? If I passed it up now, who knows when the position would open again, or if I would even be offered it again?"
"I know, it's just…" Gideon sighed again. "Is this really what you want, Marlene? Or is this what you family wants?"
"It is what I want." Even to her own ears, Marlene sounded unsure.
"Alice chose another career path, and your family didn't disown her. You don't have to work in the Department of International Magical Cooperation just because generations of your family did." The absence of sons in the McKinnon family meant that Marlene had taken it upon herself to take over what would have been the son's profession.
"That's because no one can stay mad at Alice. She's too bloody nice."
Gideon had to grin at that. "I love how you say that like it's a bad thing."
Marlene stuck out her tongue in response.
"So I hear Alice is engaged, yeah?"
Marlene forced her face into a smile as she met Gideon's eyes. "Isn't it fantastic? I'm thrilled for her."
"Wow, I completely believed that," Gideon said sarcastically. "Really, though, what's wrong? It's bad for you to keep it bottled up inside, honeybunch."
"Nothing. I'm perfectly fine. Just very busy with work… So, if you could-"
"You really expect me to buy that?" Gideon rose an eyebrow, and Marlene shrugged. "Come on, I promise I won't laugh or take the mickey out of you."
"You're not going to leave me alone until I tell you, are you?" Gideon shook his head, causing Marlene to sigh. "Fine, you sodding prat. I'm absolutely, utterly miserable that my sister is engaged, while I don't even have a boyfriend. And I know I'm a horrible person for feeling that way, but I can't bloody help it! I mean, is there something wrong with me that I haven't found even a potential husband yet? Alice met Frank when she was fifteen, and they've been dating since they were seventeen."
"There's nothing wrong with you. Really," he emphasized at her skeptical look. "Most people don't get married so young, even with the war going on."
"Don't lie to me! I'm ugly, and mean, and too tall, and- unlike Alice- I have no curves, and I work too much, and-"
"No, you're not!" Gideon interrupted fiercely. "Well, except for the last one. You do work too much, honeybunch."
"I do not!" Marlene snapped, causing Gideon to chuckle.
"And you're feisty. Men love that."
"Oh, yes, I can tell," Marlene said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Who doesn't like a girl with a temper so hot that she'll bite your head off in a fit of rage, eh?"
"Exactly!" Gideon joked, though he quickly sobered up at Marlene's glare. "You don't really think all that about yourself, do you?"
"I've been told I'm all of that."
"By who?" Gideon looked outraged.
"Your brother."
Gideon cursed under his breath. "Don't listen to Fab. He lacks a sensitivity chip sometimes."
"Really? I hadn't noticed."
"Listen, honeybunch: he's lying. I don't understand how my brother's mind works- I don't think anyone does- but he somehow managed to make himself hate you while he actually likes you deep down."
"I can think of a few reasons why that would happen," Marlene muttered under her breath.
"What do you mean?" Gideon asked, frowning.
"Nothing, it's not important." She would not get into this argument with Gideon again, over whether or not his brother controlled his life. It always ended the same way, with nothing changing whatsoever.
Rather than pressing the subject, even though he really wanted to, Gideon decided to let it drop. He had more important matters to think about at the moment, like convincing Marlene that she wasn't worthless. "You don't believe what Fabian said, do you?"
Marlene didn't answer; instead, she picked up a magazine full of wedding dresses that her sister had discarded and let out a sigh. "Alice wants me to help her find a nice dress, since I have better taste in clothes," Marlene said carefully after a strained pause.
"Honeybunch, please-"
"I'd better get started on searching. A wedding dress is one of the most essential parts of the wedding."
Gideon took the hint, but before leaving the room, asked, "We'll finish this conversation later, yeah?"
"Of course," Marlene lied, pasting another fake smile on her face.
"Remind me to never let you get smashed again," Gideon muttered, half amused and half exasperated. He was walking a drunk Marlene from her sister's wedding reception to her room.
"Ah, c'mon, don't be such a prat!" Marlene exclaimed loudly in his ear, causing him to wince. "It's a party, Gideon! Have some fun!"
"I think you've had enough 'fun' for the both of us, yeah? It's time to rest all the excitement off so you can be prepared for your lovely headache tomorrow morning. Sounds great, eh?"
"I'm perfectly fine," Marlene mumbled, trying to shake him off to prove it that she hadn't had too much to drink. She stumbled a bit, and would've fallen if Gideon hadn't caught her, causing her to burst out giggling.
"You're never going to live this down, honeybunch," Gideon assured her with a wry smile. "Now, do you have your key? I don't think Fab will take kindly to finding you sleeping in our room." Marlene, thankfully, did have her key. Gideon opened the door for her and led her inside, resting her on the bed.
"Thank you," Marlene chirped happily, causing Gideon to chuckle.
"You're welcome, honeybunch. Now, I should probably go, before Fab uses this as another excuse to be mad at you, yeah?"
There was no response from Marlene, and, assuming her to be asleep, Gideon started to leave. Marlene's voice stilled the hand around the door knob when she called out, "Gideon?" He looked questioningly over his shoulder to find her staring intensely at him. "You don't have to leave…"
"W-What?" he asked, suddenly nervous, almost fearing what he knew was coming next.
"I… I want you to stay with me…"
He felt his feet moving towards Marlene of their own accord. "Marlene, I don't think-"
"Shh, don't say anything."
"But-"
"You talk too much," Marlene told him, pulling his lips onto hers before he could utter another word. Gideon had the sensation that the two had just crossed a line that they could never go back over, but kissing Marlene felt too right for him to argue.
"You seduced him!" Fabian accused Marlene, glaring. "That's the only possible explanation!"
"Bugger off, Fabian," Marlene snapped. "I didn't seduce him; our decision to date was mutual."
"'Mutual?'" Fabian repeated. "There's no bloody way it was 'mutual!' Who in his right mind would willingly agree to date you!"
"Believe it or not, some people don't find me to be all that unappealing. Your brother happens to be one of those people. Besides," Marlene added, "I'm not the one who forces him to do anything he doesn't want to; you are."
"I do not force him to do things! If he did actually listen to me, he wouldn't have become friends with you. I knew something like this would happen, you… you… vixen!"
Marlene couldn't help but snort at that. "A vixen? Seriously? That's the worst insult you could think of?"
"I know," he admitted, shrugging. "It was the first thing that came to mind. Now, tell me, did you use Amortentia on my brother?"
"Do you really think I'd stoop so low?" Marlene asked, shocked that even Fabian could think that of her.
"I'd better give him some of the antidote, just in case…" Fabian trailed off thoughtfully.
"Go ahead! I'm not using a love potion, so it doesn't matter."
"Really? So if I went out to get one right now, he wouldn't fall out of love with you?" Fabian challenged.
"That's what I just said, isn't it?"
"Fine. I'm going to try it," Fabian announced, heading towards the door. "This is your last chance to admit the truth."
"For Merlin's sake, I'm not using a love potion, Fabian!"
"We'll see who's right soon!" Fabian exclaimed, and Marlene rolled her eyes.
The next morning, Fabian was forced to admit that he was in the wrong on this matter when the strongest antidote had no effect whatsoever on Gideon.
"Susan and Henry Bones were murdered yesterday," Marlene said sadly, scanning the newspaper and letting out a sigh.
"I'd say that we should go visit Edgar to offer our sympathies, but somehow I feel that he's going to want some space. He was really close to his parents…"
"I didn't know them too well, but I do know that they were great people." Marlene sighed again. "It's always the good people who die… Do you think there's any chance that we'll actually win this war?"
"As long as people fight back, there's always a chance. And nothing but death will keep me from fighting Voldemort," Gideon vowed.
"Same here. I want to live in a world where I don't spend every day worrying that it's my last, and fighting an uphill battle is the only way to get there… But sometimes, as selfish as it is, I wish that you and I could go somewhere far away, where we would never have to worry about this again." Marlene felt tears starting to drip down her cheeks, but she couldn't stop them.
"I know, honeybunch, sometimes I wish the same thing," Gideon told her, quickly moving to her side to wrap his arms around her.
Leaning against him, she whispered, "I love you, Gideon."
"I love you, too, Marlene," he whispered back, holding her closer.
"Oi, Charlie, I've got a gift for you," the amused voice of Gideon called out from the doorway. "But your mum told me that I couldn't give it to you if you were giving Auntie Marlene a hard time." Charlie's tears ceased as he looked curiously at his Uncle Gideon. "What's the present?" "I'm not going to spoil the surprise, Charlie," Gideon told him. "Now how about apologizing? Because I think you'll love this present." "Sorry for being bad, Auntie Marlene," Charlie muttered, staring guiltily at the floor. "It's okay, sweetie," Marlene assured him, sending Gideon a thankful smile. "Can I have my present now?" Charlie asked eagerly, hurrying back over to Gideon. Laughing, Gideon handed his nephew the gift. Unwrapping it, Charlie found a working model of a dragon that roared and blew out fake bursts of fire. "Thanks, Uncle Gideon!" Charlie exclaimed gleefully. "Wait until I show Bill! He'll be so jealous!" And without further ado, Charlie sped off to gloat to his elder brother. "You, Gideon Prewett, are an utter lifesaver," Marlene told him, walking over to give him a thank-you kiss. "I try, honeybunch," Gideon responded with a wink. "Where'd you learn to be so good with children?" "It's no so much that I'm good, more so that I never underestimate the powers of bribery," joked Gideon. "But, seriously, I'm practicing for the day we have children." "Really? The idea of children doesn't terrify you?" Marlene asked. "It did at first," Gideon admitted. "But the more I thought about it, the nicer the idea of having a few little Marlenes and Gideons running around appealed to me." "You're absolutely perfect, you know?" "I am?" Gideon asked, grinning. "How about you show me your appreciation of my perfection, yeah?" "Later," Marlene promised him with a wink, "when we won't face the possibility of corrupting little children's minds, thus angering Molly. I love you sister, but I must say, she terrifies me when she's angry." "Same here, honeybunch. Same here."
"No, Charlie, please don't cry!" Marlene exclaimed, biting her lip and trying to find some way to calm Gideon's frantic nephew down. Oh, Merlin, why had she listened when Gideon suggested babysitting to her? She had already messed everything up. "Do you want some chocolate? Will that make you feel better?"
"Don't go, Gideon," Marlene pleaded. "I have a horrible feeling about this."
"I'll be fine, honeybunch," Gideon tried to assure her, though he himself was uncertain. "And I have to go, people are depending on me; if I don't go, dozens of muggles will die. Those Death Eaters need to be stopped."
"I know, but… if you go… I don't think you'll ever come back," Marlene murmured, voicing her worst fears.
"I've got to take that risk, honeybunch. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't try to help."
"I know," Marlene admitted. "But it doesn't make me feel any better about this, it doesn't change what I feel is the inevitable if you go."
"I'll be extremely careful, I promise," Gideon told her, though it still did nothing to calm her worried heart. "Now, I've really got to; Fab's waiting for me out front." At the door, he paused to give Marlene one last weak smile. "You know that I love you and always will, yeah?"
"I love you, too…" She forced herself to return the smile, but the minute he left, she broke down in sobs.
The sound of whispered voices woke Marlene up, though she was too exhausted to open her eyes or say anything.
"It's okay, Alice, your father and I will watch over her," Elladora McKinnon told her elder daughter quietly, trying not to wake up Marlene. "You get back home to Frank; he needs some comforting, too."
"Are you sure?" Alice asked, biting her lip.
"Positive," replied Liam McKinnon firmly.
"Just make sure she has something to eat when she wakes up; she hasn't had a decent meal since before the two disappeared," Alice told them, already edging towards the fireplace at the thought of Frank's misery.
"We will."
Marlene heard Alice's muffled footsteps make their way to the fireplace, then a whoosh as Alice flooed away. For half a minute after that, there was silence, and Marlene shifted into a more comfortable position. Her last thought before drifting to sleep was, 'Alice never asked mum and dad their security questions…'
Two hundred miles away, the Dark Mark hovered over the bodies of the real Elladora and Liam McKinnon.