Fairborn Adventures
AN: Hey guys!
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Chapter 85
April 28th, 1978
"Harry Peverell and Marlene McKinnon, you're hereby under arrest as well!"
'Well, this is unexpected.' Harry slowly let his eyes roam over the scene. Bright beams of sunlight tore through the fading gray clouds. The torn cloaks of dementors were scattered over the village square.
About a dozen red-robed wizards and witches surrounded them in a full circle, their wands drawn. Behind them, he spotted a few more Aurors questioning the many spectators. Apparently, by the time of their duel against the Lestranges, some of the villagers had begun watching the spectacle from the safety of their houses or had even stepped outside.
The corpses of Rodolphus and whatever Marlene had left of Rabastan Lestrange were also being investigated. A fuming Bellatrix, who cursed the wizards placing magic restraining handcuffs on her, was taken into custody and portkeyed away with a sharp snap.
'So they did take down the wards.' Harry noticed, exchanging a quick glance with Marlene.' 'I suppose that's good. We can escape if needed.'
He slowly let the Elder Wand slip from his sleeve and turned to Moody: "I must have misunderstood you, Captain. Could you repeat yourself?"
"Aye, you heard me the first time, lad!" Moody growled: "Put your wands on the ground and raise your hands above your head. No funny business or we start cursing!"
"You can't do that!" James cried and attempted to break through the tight ring of Aurors: "He was defending himself. He was defending all of us! Look what they-"
"Roberts!" Moody shouted and a grim-looking Auror pushed Harry's father roughly back inside the Three Broomsticks.
"Surely we have a right to know why we're being detained by you?" Harry spoke calmly, but annoyance started bubbling up in his stomach.
"You were about to execute a wandless witch, who was kneeling to your feet in the middle of Hogsmeade, lad!" Moody barked and gestured around them: "This place looks like a bloody battlefield and we have two more corpses over here. We will figure out to what extent you acted in self-defense but until then you're coming with us! Now drop your wands, last time I'm saying so!"
'It really didn't look as good at the moment they arrived, did it?' Harry grimaced: 'And as interesting as fighting Alastor Moody in his prime might be, Wizarding Britain needs at least one competent Auror right now.'
"I'm afraid we had other plans for our afternoon, Captain." Marlene spoke up, her head held high in defiance: "Besides, the weather forecast is much too pleasant to be spending the next few days in some DMLE holding cell until you eventually decide to hear us out."
"Alright, lassie, I'm running out of patience with you. Take them in!" he ordered.
"Don't you bloody dare touch my sister!" A familiar voice shouted from his left as the Aurors stepped forward.
Harry spun around to watch Matthew McKinnon bump aside one of his colleagues and step in front of his superior.
'Looks like the cavalry has arrived.' Harry snorted.
"Are you going to risk your entire career over this, lad?!" Moody growled threateningly. "Get out of the way, McKinnon, you're interfering with an arrest!"
"There won't be another arrest today!" Matthew replied heatedly: "If any of you take one more step towards my sister the Saint Mungo's team will scrape a third corpse from the ground!"
'He sounds rather determined.' Harry glanced at the blonde next to him, who raised a curious eyebrow herself: 'Or perhaps it's his way of honoring the life debt he still owes me.'
"Captain, three of our witnesses already confirmed that Ms. McKinnon presumably killed someone they insisted was Rabastan Lestrange!" one of the Aurors behind Moody shouted. "Meanwhile, Peverell is said to have killed Rodolphus Lestrange!"
"Aye, you hear that, lad." Moody grimaced: "Your innocent, little princess of a sister killed someone. You know the procedure in this case as well as I do. She's coming with us until her hearing."
"Marlene will go to a place of her choosing!" Matthew responded, taking a few deep breaths and glancing at his sister: "She and Harry will remain there until we've gathered all of the details and facts on this incident and prepared our case against them. Then she will follow an official call to their hearing where justice will be dispensed. That is my last word."
Moody growled like a threatened dog, his magical eye shifting between Matthew and Harry.
"Look at those cloaks and go ask your witnesses what they've seen before the Lestranges arrived here, Captain," Harry suggested calmly, trailing his wand over the square: "The Auror office's popularity is already at an all-time low. Arresting us now, after we've undoubtedly saved dozens of your colleagues' family members, won't help your cause in this war."
Moody clenched his jaw but eventually dropped his wand: "If we catch a whiff of you leaving Britain, lad, or if you ignore your official calling, then you'll not only be declared murderers but fugitives as well."
"We will be there," Harry promised: "I'm so glad we could reach an agreement, Captain."
"You might be good, lad, but don't stretch your luck now!" Moody glared at them before barking his orders: "Lower your wands and let them pass!"
'I don't think you would've liked finding out how good I am.'
Moody turned around and addressed his subordinates: "I want witness statements from everyone who has seen something and bring me a bloody memory as well. Investigate the entire scene and leave no stone unturned! Someone call an Unspeakable, I want to know who all those cloaks belong to!"
The red-robed wizards and witches scattered apart to carry out his orders, many of them still eyeing Harry and Marlene warily.
"Did you really do it?" Matthew turned around and studied his sister.
"Of course, I did." Her voice carried more than a touch of pride while she tossed her hair over her shoulder: "And I've been looking forward to it for a long time."
"What happened to you, Marlene?" Matthew shook his head: "What happened to my sweet, little sister?"
"She finally grew up, my dear brother," Marlene snapped: "Her family abandoned her because of her choices. She's seen evil that most people couldn't imagine, and now her only friend was murdered in front of her mere minutes ago..."
"Go somewhere safe, the Potters if possible." Some of the tension left Matthew's shoulders while he watched the blonde with a sad expression: "I will give you an update on the investigation tonight. I'm sure there will be enough ground to make a solid self-defense case. If all goes wrong, we still have powerful allies in the Wizengamot."
"I suppose we will see," Marlene shrugged and brushed some ash off her shoulder.
"Thank you, Matthew." Harry shot the other wizard a grateful nod and intertwined his fingers with Marlene's, forcing the world past him with a soft snap.
They staggered over polished marble tiles into the drawing room of Potter manor.
"That was a close call." Harry ran his hand through his hair, bending over and brushing out any of the black ash that had settled in it: "I wasn't too keen on being the one responsible for making poor Alastor Moody even uglier than he already is."
"Pathetic, shallow little people," Marlene cursed and stomped on her heel: "They should be kissing the ground we walk on for saving their sorry arses instead of trying to arrest us." Cold laughter burst from pink lips: "What even was their plan? Take us to Azkaban, to the DMLE? As if any cell or prison could hold us."
'She's getting rather confident.' Harry studied her for a few seconds, feeling a swell of pride as he remembered how she dealt with Rabastan: 'But I suppose she's earned it.'
"Dumbledore once said he could easily break out of Azkaban and that was with the Dementors guarding it." Harry scratched his jaw while they walked the short distance to the living room: "But there are far worse places than that they could send us to. I for one am not too keen on challenging Nurmengard's wards. Not yet anyway."
"Maybe you're right." Marlene wrinkled her nose and pouted.
Footsteps echoed from the tall wards and a purple-robed figure strode into the room, her eyes widening when she saw them.
"Hello, Dorea," Harry waved awkwardly: "Sorry for dropping by unannounced."
"Harry? Marlene?" His grandmother blinked repeatedly: "What are you two doing here? You should be in school instead of chatting in my living room!"
"Well, it's a rather long story..." Marlene cringed: "Is Charlus around by chance?"
"What do you mean 'long story', dear? What have you done this time?" Dorea hurried over to them, hands on her hips: "Is that blood there on your cheek, Marlene?" She pointed accusingly at the blonde's face: "And why are Harry and my favorite carpet covered in ash? What in Merlin's name have you done to yourself this time?"
"Darling, are you talking on the floo?" The voice of Charlus Potter sounded from the staircase: "Do we have gues-" The man's eyebrows drew together when he could sight of them: "Hello Marlene, Harry. To what do we owe the pleasure?"
"There is a very good and, might I say, interesting story to us being here," Harry chuckled: "Just so we don't repeat ourselves, do you mind calling your brother and asking him to come by?" He asked Dorea: "It will make things easier..."
His grandmother scolded him, gray eyes sparkling dangerously: "You have some explaining to do, Harry Peverell!" She hurried over to the fireplace, grabbing a handful of floo powder from the small basin: "Grimmauld Place!"
They sat down on a few chairs and waited while Dorea bent face-first into the flames. As usual, Marlene slipped onto his lap while Harry shot his grandfather a rather weak attempt at a grin: "So... how have you been?"
"I'm not going to like hearing this, am I?" Charlus ignored his question and sighed.
"Actually, I'm sure it will be the most interesting thing you hear today," Marlene beamed at him.
Dorea got back up, smoothing out the wrinkles in her robes: "Arcturus will come through now. He insisted on me telling you that shall you waste his time-"
"-then I will suffer the terrible wrath of House Black for all eternity?" Harry asked.
"You bet you will, you little shit!" The imposing figure of the Lord Black gracefully stepped out of the roaring fireplace. His steel-gray eyes penetrated Harry with ease: "What have you done this time, eh?"
"Okay..." Harry exchanged a quick glance with Marlene, who shot him a nod: "So... the short version is that we have killed both Lestrange brothers during our Hogsmeade trip roughly an hour ago."
Three pairs of eyes stared at them in disbelief. Then Arcturus slapped his knee and roared in laughter: "Hah! About bloody times those bastards bite the grass. I wish I could witness Corvus' reaction to it!" He grew serious and pointed a long, bony finger at them: "Still, I want to hear the full version of this, so you better start explaining!"
Harry agreed with a nod: "Dementors attacked Hogsmeade, probably all the ones that abandoned Azkaban a few weeks ago."
"James-" Dorea's hand flung to her heart in shock.
"-is fine and unharmed, I made sure of it. Along with Lily and Sirius." He added.
"Harry and I drove them off together," Marlene continued, a flicker of emotion swirled in her eyes: "We thought the danger had passed but then three Death Eaters attacked us and-"
"Now, wait a second there, blondie!" Arcturus growled: "I know you and loverboy here are quite gifted for your age, but in all my years I've never heard of two patroni driving off a hundred Dementors that had been stationed at Azkaban. Either you're greatly exaggerating or omitting something on purpose. So what is it?"
'Too sharp for his own good.'
Marlene stilled in his lap and shot him a questioning look. She continued after Harry nodded: "I wasn't lying, we did drive them off together. However, Harry didn't use a patronus for it."
Her explanation was met with silence and looks of utter confusion.
"Fiendfyre then?" Charlus frowned at him.
"No," Harry quickly shook his head. "I wouldn't use that in a village full of children."
'Well, I would if I had to,' he admitted to himself: 'But it would give certain people the last clue they need, to know what I'm capable of.'
"Well, if you want our help then we need to know what actually happened, so you can either tell us, Peverell, or my wrinkled ass floos right back to Grimmauld place!" Arcturus growled.
Harry sighed, having hoped to avoid sharing the memory with anyone: "Did you by chance bring your- "
"-of course I brought my bloody Pensieve," Arcturus snorted and pulled out a small box from within his black robes: "The only reason I came was that I knew I'd get to see something exciting for once. I even had it modified and enlarged because there's little else I can use my fortune for these days..."
"Look at this beauty!" He opened the lid and heaved a tiny, rune-covered stone basin from within. Tapping it with his wand, he changed it back to its original size, reaching from the wooden floorboard floor to the hip and allowing at least three people to comfortably hover their heads above it: "And you better show us the full memory!" he added threateningly.
Harry brought the tip of the Elder Wand to his temple and retrieved it, a silvery substance clinging onto it.
"Here you go." He placed it in the Pensieve.
"This better be worth my time, Peverell." Lord Black dove in head-first, followed by Charlus and Dorea, each of whom cast a last worrying glance at Harry and Marlene.
"How do you think they'll react?" Marlene asked, nestling against his chest.
"Arcturus will understand, even if it's his granddaughter I tried to kill. He already cast her out of the family after all," Harry said confidently: "Charlus and Dorea should understand too, at least I hope so," he added somewhat unsure.
"They've all experienced war themselves." Marlene's fingers tensed in his hair: "Still, I doubt your grandmother will ever look at me the same after she views that memory."
"They're my family." Harry stiffened the tiny stabs of worry, forcing them down: "They said nothing would ever change that."
They waited in silence until the bodies leaning over the Pensieve jerked upright, each of them taking a deep breath and staggering back.
"Bloody hell," Arcturus frowned, his fingers trembling around the armrest of his chair: "I need to sit down and I need that elf of yours to get me something strong, Charlus. What a hell of a ride that was..."
"I don't even know where to begin." Charlus hazel brown eyes dwelled with emotions. "But you'll have my eternal gratitude for what you did for James when the dementors attacked them."
"He would've done the same for me." Harry shrugged it off: "You saw what he did for those children."
"I'm immensely proud of him because he would've tried to do so, but he would've failed." Dorea sniffed, tapping her eyes with a handkerchief: "None of us could have done that, Harry. I've never even heard about magic like that. What kind of spell did you use?"
"Don't bloody say it-" Arcturus murmured under his breath.
"It's some very old family magic," Harry admitted.
"-and he bloody said it," Arcturus snorted: "Still just as secretive as the day you arrived, boy."
"It's the truth," Harry chuckled: "My ancestors invented the spell. The ability to cast it is passed down in our blood."
"Talking about blood, I knew I was right to cast that lunatic granddaughter of mine out of the family!" Arcturus snapped angrily: "I never thought I'd be saying this about my own kin, but the world might be a better place right now if you hadn't hesitated as long."
'He's right.' Harry grimaced, images of Bellatrix's beautiful, yet wild expression dancing through his mind.
"We will get her soon enough," Marlene whispered in the brief silence that had settled over the living room. She held Dorea's gaze determinedly until the older witch shot her a small, sad smile and deflated
"I just-" Harry's grandfather sighed: "You've obliterated those dementors and killed Rodolphus Lestrange with such ease and efficiency... The way you fight, Harry, the magic you use, and your intuitive understanding of it... " Charlus shot him a long look: "I've only ever seen that in one person my entire life; in no other than Gellert Grindelwald..."
"I'm nothing like him." Harry's fingers dug into Marlene's thigh. A little bit of ice slipped into his voice: "I don't want to rule the world or overthrow the muggles. I just wish to spend my life by a small manor at the lakeside, raising a family, and watching the people I love grow old with me."
"Your goals might be different, but your way of achieving them are identical. You're willing to do whatever you think is necessary!" Arcturus said: "Which brings us to the point of you sharing the memory in the first place..."
Lord Black straightened in his chair: "The good news is that we have a solid case for self-defense. My deranged granddaughter cast the first spell without warning and killed the poor Fawley girl. She then continued casting lethal curses at her own two cousins and at who knows how many children, who were locked away in that pub."
"The bad news is-" Charlus chimed in, "that one of you used excessive means to defeat your opponents. Rabastan Lestrange was beaten and lost his leg already when Marlene... finished him." Charlus' brows frowned ever so slightly while he studied her before turning back to him: "Harry, on the other hand, killed Rodolphus before he could cast a spell in retaliation, which might help his case. The bigger problem is his attempt to publicly execute a wandless, defeated witch, kneeling to his feet."
"So how do we get out of it?" Harry asked, trying to sound hopeful.
"Our only option is building our defense on the fact that you just saved the entire village of Hogsmeade and the lives of dozens of pureblood heirs and heiresses. We will make you look like the hero they needed."
Marlene snorted: "How ironic..."
A foul taste collected in his mouth upon hearing that particular word: "I'm not a hero. I don't ever want to be that again."
"Well, you're going to be a fucking hero for the duration of the trial unless you wish to be thrown in a dirty cell, boy!" Arcturus snapped: "Use that head of yours for a second! No sane person would prosecute you for what you've done. This trial is a farce with the motive to finally identify you two as the vigilantes, who have killed dozens of Death Eaters over the last few months."
'They know.'
Harry's breath caught in his chest and Marlene became unnaturally still again.
'How did they know?'
"Don't look at us like that!" Arcturus rolled his eyes: "We've known for a while..."
"We're only doing what's necessary," Marlene whispered: "What apparently no one else seems able to do..."
"I don't like the effect it has on either of you." Charlus shook his head: "No matter the good intentions, each time we kill, we lose a bit of our humanity."
'I'm not in the mood for a lecture right now.'
"We will play the heroes in shining armor for the trial-" Harry gently heaved Marlene out of his lab, "-and I'm sure we can make it convincing. Because for each person we've killed, a dozen lives were saved."
April 29th, 1978
Birds tweeted in the short distant trees, their many high, different chirps combined into a beautiful melody in the early late of the morning.
'It's so peaceful here.' Marlene took a deep breath and stepped back underneath the veranda to the chair she had vacated minutes ago. She closed her eyes, letting the warm sun wash over her face and enjoying the peacefulness for a few more seconds until a gentle hoot startled her.
Blinking one eye open, she caught an ordinary brown owl sitting on the table in front of her and holding out a leg expectantly.
'The Daily Prophet.' Marlene sighed: "I'm not sure if I want to read it..."
The bird hooted again and cocked its head to the side.
"Fine." She untied the paper from its leg. "Happy now?"
Instead of answering the owl took to the sky until it vanished behind the crown of the trees surrounding Potter Manor.
She glanced down at the large photograph covering the entirety of the front page.
It showed the square of Hogsmeade, presumably from the house of a villager. Harry stood in its middle, raising his wand arm and curling his fingers until Bellatrix was dragged over the cobblestone and forced to her knees at his feet.
Her eyes traveled toward the headline.
HEROES OF HOGSMEADE DEFEAT DEATH EATERS!
Britain's Unstoppable Couple: Marlene McKinnon and Harry Peverell
'Bloody Rita Skeeter!' Her fingers dug into the paper, wrinkling it at the top before she threw it back on the table: 'With all the dirt we have on her, we should pay her a visit next!'
Marlene tried to ignore the article and took a few calming sips of her tea, forcing her eyes not to travel back to the paper.
'Ah fuck it.' Her curiosity eventually got the better of her and she picked it back up, unfolding the pages to see what had been reported on them.
As expected, it was a bunch of bullshit and although they did save the village twice, Harry's and her actions had been blown way out of proportion. Unsurprisingly, there was lots of speculation of how they had managed to drive away that many dementors, but even Rita Skeeter had failed to extract a memory from any witnesses. 'Or perhaps the DMLE was keeping it top secret right now.'
Marlene's eyes traveled to the bottom of the page. A sharp pang twisted through her insides, burning like hot water.
'Nine Hogwarts students fell victim during the terrible attacks, eight of them to the dementors and one to presumed Death Eater, Bellatrix Lestrange, who killed Hogwarts' seventh year Florence Fawley of Ravenclaw House. See page 15 for the In Memoriam.'
Marlene swallowed heavily and slowly flipped to the mentioned page. Nine young faces stared up at her with wide smiles, all the way at the bottom was that of Florence.
Her wide, careless smile was as infectious as ever. A hint of mischief gleamed in the brunette's eyes as she threw her head around, shoulder-length hair swinging from left to right.
'Oh, Flo...'
Marlene could hear her laughter ringing in her ears and see how her lips parted for a teasing remark. She felt the faint shadow of her best friend's arms around her waist, taking her into an overly affectionate hug any time they hadn't seen each other for more than a few days.
'I'm so sorry, Flo.'
The first hot tear trailed down Marlene's cheek and dropped onto the article with a faint thud. A few more followed, soaking the paper until Marlene wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, sniffing audibly.
'You were never meant to get caught up in any of my messes.' She trailed her thumb over Florence's face before conjuring a small handkerchief to wipe her nose.
'Why do they keep taking things away from me?' Images of Bellatrix Lestrange's deranged wide eyes and manic laughter swirled through her mind.
Her fingernails dug into her thighs until the pain made her wince.
'I'll avenge you, Flo, I promise.'
She brought the Daily Prophet up to her lips and pressed a tear-stained kiss on her friend's picture, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself.
'I need to be strong now.' Marlene reminded herself and dried her eyes, fixing her hair until she felt presentable again.
The sound of two feet running over gravel had her glance to her left.
Harry jogged around the eastern tower of the Manor, catching sight of her on the veranda and heading over to her instead of the main entrance.
"Hey." He panted heavily, resting against the thick wooden beam before stepping next to her to press a sweaty kiss on her forehead.
Chuckling at her protest he slumped into the chair opposite to her, chest heaving and lowering rapidly while he shot her a grin.
"Thanks for that..." Marlene rolled her eyes: "How was your run?"
"Good." He nodded: "Didn't feel like joining me?"
"Not really." She murmured.
Harry's eyes dipped to the edition of the Daily Prophet: "I'm sorry about Florence. I got to know her well enough to recognize that she was an amazing person... and a very good friend."
"She was the best." Marlene swallowed: "Always there for me when I needed her and never too shy to point out if I behaved foolishly. Like when I denied my feelings for you..." She added with a weak chuckle.
Harry leaned over and seized her hand: "You know what we possess, you know what it can do. Say the word and I'll let you have your goodbyes."
Marlene bit her bottom lip, studying the golden ring on his fingers, one of the two pieces of jewelry he never took off, not even to work out.
"Not now." She eventually shook her head: "There's something I have to do before I can say goodbye and move on."
"We'll find a way for that." Harry's eyes hardened: "I wish I didn't hesitate yesterday."
"So do I." Marlene nodded: "But we didn't have much of a choice once the Aurors arrived."
"You're right." Harry sighed and ran his hand through his sweaty hair: "We can't fight the Ministry and Voldemort at the same time. Having the public support, no matter how much I hate what they call us, is preferable to the alternative."
"'Britain's unstoppable couple' is what they call us now." Marlene snorted in disdain and threw the paper over to him.
He caught it, shaking his head as he skimmed over the article and frowning at the photo of himself: "We were forced to reveal too much of our strength yesterday. I didn't mean for the public to learn how powerful we became at this point already."
"It drew many unwanted eyes on us." Marlene grimaced: "It'll only be a matter of time now until more than just your family draw the right conclusion and connect us to- "
She quickly shut up when the doors to the veranda were pulled open from the inside.
"Matthew?" Marlene asked, startled as she saw her brother standing on the threshold: "What are you doing here?"
"Lord Potter let me come through the floo. I promised to give you an update." He awkwardly edged around the table and took a seat: "Besides, you're my sister, Marlene. The only close family I have left. I'll always be there for you and not just because I'm the Lord of this family now."
"Thank you." Marlene nodded, her expression softening: "What can you tell us?"
"The Ministry, especially the DMLE is in chaos." Her brother sighed: "We're receiving owls by the hundreds, calling us incompetent for needing two school children to do the job the most well-funded Department is supposed to do. And that's not including those calling the department much worse for charging you both as well."
"They're not exactly wrong, are they?" Harry laughed.
"No, I suppose they aren't." Matthew deflated: "Crouch wants the two of you tried and convicted as quickly as possible. He came running into my office, shouting at me for five minutes straight for letting you go yesterday."
"I'm so sorry you had to disappoint your boss for me." Marlene bit back, voice dripping with sarcasm: "What else can you tell us?"
Matthew shook his head sadly, tearing his eyes away from her and to Harry. "As I said, Crouch is on a warpath right now. Well, he has been for over a week now, ever since the disappearance of his son, I'm sure you've heard about that already... but especially now with you killing two Death Eaters."
"Why?" Harry asked.
"He thinks his son might still be alive somewhere, kept by the Dark Lord to ask for ransom or anything else from someone in a position like Crouch. But- "
" -with us killing two of Voldemort's marked followers, chances for a trade have grown rather slim, haven't they?" Marlene chuckled.
"Exactly." Matthew frowned: "I wouldn't be surprised if he soon proposes changes in legislation to allow the questioning of prisoners under veritaserum or via the mind arts. Crouch is desperate to find his son."
'He will fail.' Marlene caught the ghost of a smile on Harry's face. 'Barty's body is at the bottom of a deep, dark lake; forever gone and out of reach.'
"Anything else you can tell us?" Harry asked.
That's pretty much it." Matthew admitted. He pulled two envelopes from within his robes: "I was allowed to deliver the official summons for your hearing. It will be held on May 2nd, down in the criminal courts of the Wizengamot chambers."
"Thanks for that." Harry accepted them: "How do you see our chances?"
"Crouch will lead the persecution, naturally. He is determined to see you punished for crossing his plans." Matthew said: "However, the general public, with a few predictable exceptions, is on your side."
"That's good I suppose." Marlene leaned back and sipped on her tea.
"You guys don't seem too worried at all," Matthew commented, noticing their relaxed postures, especially Harry's, who was still in his athletic clothes.
'Because there's little your DMLE can do against us, even in the ridiculous case of our conviction.'
"No need to stress about it. We will put our faith in our country's justice system." Harry smiled confidently: "Are you staying for lunch or heading back to work, Matthew?"
"Work?" Matthew chuckled. "You think Crouch passed up on letting out some anger?"
"Did he fire you?" Marlene frowned.
"No, Moody and many of my colleagues made sure that he'd be even more understaffed if he dared." Matthew laughed: "However, he did suspend me from duty, effective immediately."
"You still did the right thing yesterday, brother." Marlene replied coldly: "One Auror suspended is a lot better than many more of them unable to continue their job forever."
"You- you don't actually mean that, do you?" Matthew stilled.
"I thought I made it obvious that I don't joke about these things anymore, brother." Marlene tossed her hair over her shoulder and fixed him with a long, hard look: "Let's just say your colleagues came very close to finding out what happens to people who become obstacles in our path."