Fairborn Adventures

AN: Hey guys!

Welcome to Chapter 94.

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Chapter 94

September 9th, 1978

Flickering candles from the large chandelier bathed the scene in warm, golden light. A gloomy silence hung in the dining room, occasionally interrupted by silverware scraping over porcelain plates.

'This is a waste of time.'

A soft hand was gently placed over his fingers, stopping them from drumming against the thick wooden table. Harry's head snapped up, meeting his wife's frown before she occupied herself with her food again. He tore his eyes away from Marlene's golden braid, which fell from her shoulder over the deep red dress like a lustrous waterfall.

'I could be doing something so much more productive right now.'

Harry stared at his reflection in the empty, golden goblet positioned in front of him. He picked it up and absently tilted it back to let flickers of light dance over the smooth surface. Before he could allow his mind to take him back into his small study and recall some of his latest findings, Marlene's voice cut through the silence.

"This Sunday Roast must be one of the best I've ever tasted." She gracefully dabbed the corner of her lips with her napkin and shot a polite smile over the table to his grandmother: "You must share your recipe for the mashed potatoes with me, Dorea."

"I will gladly do so, my dear." The older witch's eyes softened.

She glanced at her husband, who raised his eyebrow in temporary confusion before clearing his throat: "So... how have the two of you been? We've barely seen you over the last month and it's so nice to have someone over for company now that James and Lily are back at Hogwarts."

Marlene placed down her fork and straightened: "We're still busy in our new home mostly, but it has all come together nicely. We recently- "

'I know I'm close, but there's still so much that could go wrong with it.'

Harry's mind drifted off while he allowed Marlene to make the polite small talk. Black runes spread like ink from Aurelius' tome before his inner eye, replicating a specific section he'd recently studied.

'His name was truly chosen for a reason.' His insides twisted at the many warnings he had read in one of the few rare tomes borrowed from the Black library: 'Voldemort must have been incredibly frightened by the prospect of Death to even attempt a Horcrux, let alone several.'

'And one of the most important variables is the death itself.' He ran his thumb over the edge of his knife: 'Voracious it has to be. A selfish deed, making the world a worse place for wear...'

"-right, Harry?"

Startled, he shook his head, tearing away the ink runes and yellowed pages from his inner eye to focus on Charlus sitting opposite him.

"I'm- I'm sorry, would you mind repeating that?"

"I just mentioned today's Wizengamot session." His grandfather hummed, sipping on his goblet of wine: "You've not been attending the recent ones, though today undoubtedly had been one that would've kept your interest."

Harry frowned: "Why? What happened?"

"Bellatrix Lestrange has been granted parole from her death sentence." Charlus sighed: "In fact, she won't be serving time in Azkaban or any other prison either, at least for a few months, possibly years."

'That's weird.' Anger flashed through his veins. 'That's very wrong.'

"What?!" Marlene's knuckles whitened around her knife, blue eyes sparkling with fury: "How could they allow her to- "

"-because my grandniece is pregnant, Marlene." Dorea interrupted her, an unreadable expression on her face.

'And now it makes more sense.'

"That was the entire topic of today's Wizengamot session." Charlus explained: "It has been confirmed by several independent healers from Saint Mungo's."

'I suppose Voldemort's dismissal of Bellatrix's talents after her failure led her to spend the occasional night in her husband's bed.' Harry snorted audibly: 'No wonder she was mad at me for killing Rodolphus and spouted on about me "robbing her of her chance". He must have performed rather badly...'

"Pre- pregnant?" Marlene gaped, visibly ringing with herself before locking her jaw in a clinch.

"So it would seem." Charlus nodded grimly: "Of course, Corvus Lestrange argued that one could hardly toss Bellatrix through the veil now, thereby killing an innocent child for crimes committed by its parents. Even I couldn't get myself to vote in favor of that." His grandfather shook his head. "Instead, she will be kept in a holding cell at the Ministry, provided with everything she needs, and regularly checked upon by the healers."

'Nothing good can come of this.' Harry shared a brief glance with his wife, slightly surprised by the mixed feelings her face conveyed: 'They should've tossed both of them through the veil instead of taking unnecessary risks. Risks are how we lose this war.'

"So what happens after she gives birth?" He asked.

"Children are of utmost value to our society. It is very unlikely that she will instantly be separated from hers." Dorea bit her lip: "In fact, even many of the lighter families supported Corvus' notion to allow Bellatrix to give birth and also raise the child during its infant years."

'This gets better and better...'

"That's ridiculous!" Marlene huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "And then it will be handed back to Lestrange and raised just as bigoted as its father and uncle!"

"Did the healers share with the public whether it's a boy or girl already?" Harry asked.

"No, even as a sentenced criminal Bellatrix has the right to that privacy." Charlus shook his head: "We will have to wait a few more months. She's set to be due shortly after New Year."

"Great." Marlene grimaced, placing her cup down a tad more forcefully than necessary and spilling wine over her plate. "Bloody great..."

'Perhaps this is my chance...'

"Well, thank you for letting us know anyways." Harry pushed back his chair and straightened: "And of course, dinner was excellent as always, Dorea."

Marlene's head snapped towards him, staring at him incredulously.

'She will be mad.' He cringed. 'Very mad.'

"You- you wish to leave already?" Dorea frowned, her voice laced with hurt: "But we still have dessert waiting for us. I- I even made treacle tart."

"I'm very sorry." Harry swallowed down an uncomfortable lump of guilt, helping a stunned Marlene out of her chair: "We'll definitely repeat it another time."

"Well then..." Charlus shared a long look with his wife and sighed before standing up himself: "Thank you for coming over."

"No, we thank you for the invitation." Marlene broke her tight-lipped expression and wrestled her fingers free of his hold: "Dorea, I shall visit you tomorrow for the recipe."

"Of course, dear, you're always welcome. Both of you are." Dorea smiled sadly: "I hope you have a good night and that we see each other soon."

"I'm sure we will. Good night." Harry nodded and scooped an arm around his wife's waist before wrenching the world past them, apparating them straight into their bedroom at North Dawn Manor.

"What the hell was that, Harry?!" Marlene flinched away from him as if she'd been burned by his touch: "Do you have any idea how rude you acted?"

Harry sighed running a hand through his hair: "Look, I'm sorry, I know it wasn't very polite, but I don't have- "

"-don't tell me you haven't got the time for this." Marlene's eyes sparkled furiously: "Your days consist of nothing but locking yourself in the library to study that obscure magic you refuse to tell me about, or exhausting yourself for hours down in our basement."

"You know why I'm doing it, I have no choice but to!" Harry struggled to hide his desperation, running a hand through his hair before gesturing around them: "There are people out there who wish to tear away everything we've built for ourselves, our home, our family, our sunset! I vowed I'd do anything to stop them and I'm fulfilling that vow."

'No matter the cost.'

"All I asked for was one night to spend with your grandparents! One single night!" Marlene blinked away a tear: "When was the last time we did something together? When was the last time you touched me or made love to me, Harry?" Her voice began hitching: "Why did I even buy that bloody potion if you're just going to fall asleep from exhaustion the moment you stumble into our bed?!"

Harry took a deep breath, trying to calm himself: "I know I've been distant this last month and perhaps things aren't exactly the way you had imagined they'd be after we get married, but I promise it will be different."

"How long until it finally will be?" Marlene sobbed, her lip trembling.

"Until there are no more obstacles in our path, no more shadows to snatch away what we deserve." Harry gently took her in his arms: "I want to be that perfect husband for you, go on fancy dates, have dinner with my grandparents, raise a child... Bu- But dreams don't become reality just because you wish for them to be. You have to fight to see them come true."

'You have to be willing to do anything.'

"Then at least let me help you with whatever you're doing!" Marlene looked up at him pleadingly, cupping his jaw with soft hands: "You also vowed to share your struggles with your wife. There's no need for secrets anymore!"

'But I can't tell you.' Harry wrestled with himself. 'Because if you knew... if you knew what drastic means I'm willing to embrace, then you might start doubting me.' His gut wrenched and his heart started pounding harder as he faced the truth: 'And if even you stop believing in me, then how could I believe in myself?'

"I don-" He was saved from answering by a gentle buzzing sound coming from his nightstand, accompanied by a familiar voice:

"Harry! Harry, are you there?"

"Later..." He gently wiped away a tear that threatened to spill and pressed a kiss to her forehead: "I promise."

Taking Marlene by the hand he led her over to the bed, picking up the small, rune-covered mirror that emitted a faint golden glow.

'Now, what could my father possibly want from me on a late Sunday night?'

James' face faded into view on the smooth surface the moment Harry flipped the mirror, his hair was disheveled as ever. Lily appeared next to him, green eyes widened in worry while she bit her bottom lip.

"Hey, guys." Harry greeted them with a small frown, heaving Marlene onto his lap so she could see as well: "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"Hey Harry, Marlene." James sighed: "Remember when you asked us to call you anytime something suspicious or connected to Death Eaters might be going on at Hogwarts?"

"What happened?" Harry asked immediately.

"Dumbledore just canceled an ongoing meeting between us and the professors we tutelage under because his phoenix flamed into his office and brought him a scroll of parchment," Lily said: "He read it, apologized, and asked us to move the meeting to the next day, so we-"

"-left the office, as requested, but then our curiosity- "

"- your curiosity, James-" Lily scolded.

"-my curiosity got the better of us." James grinned. "We made a turn before reaching the gargoyle and sneaked back up under the invisibility cloak to eavesdrop at the door. I'm always carrying it with us now, just as you suggested."

"Are you certain he didn't notice you?" Marlene asked, shifting in his lap.

"Positive, ma'am." James nodded confidently: "He wouldn't have said any of what followed if he knew someone eavesdropped on them."

"So what did you find out?" Harry asked.

"There is some secret group, they call themselves the 'Order' - whatever the hell that means. Mad-Eye Moody must be part of it because Dumbledore received intel from him about an attack taking place in Godric's Hollow tonight," James said with a deep frown: "He then checked the wards on the school and told Minnie, Filius, and Sluggy that at least three students from Slytherin had left the Castle already. Then he just used his phoenix to leave, presumably to Godric's Hollow."

"You did well." Harry hummed, his thoughts racing.

"What are you going to do now?" Lily's brows twisted into a frown: "Will you go there and help him?"

'Help him? No…'

Marlene and he exchanged a brief glance.

"Probably." Harry nodded slowly: "We'll let you know once we're back home and fine. Thank you again."

"Be careful, both of you." James swallowed before the connection went blank.

Marlene immediately leaped from his lap, shrugging off the straps of her dress and letting the fabric pool to the floor to step out of it.

'What is she doing?'

"Uhm- " Harry frowned, watching her take off her jewelry.

"Stop staring and get ready, Harry." Marlene hummed, pulling her hair into a high ponytail.

"Love, I don't think-"

"-that an actual Death Eater attack is taking place?" Marlene glanced over her bare shoulder, rolling her eyes at him: "Please, I figured out as much after the first minute. Say what you want about him, but Dumbledore doesn't make mistakes like that. He intended for James and Lily to come back up and listen to them, he wanted them to report this back to us."

"I was thinking the same." Harry shrugged out of his formal robes: "My ward monitoring parselmagic on the Slytherin common room hasn't been triggered, so three students leaving the Castle was a lie. He knows about James' cloak and how easily it is to eavesdrop on people underneath it. After all, we've done the very same when Moody shared the attack on Azkaban and only a few days later Barty Crouch Junior vanished without a trace."

"You know what that means, love, don't you?" Marlene pulled up the zipper of a simple skirt and threw over a white blouse: "The Headmaster won't be there to share some of his naive anecdotes with us..."

Dumbledore's words from their last talk rang through his ears: 'He's there to take us in, to kill me if he has to.'

"We knew it might play out like this, we accepted the eventuality of making him an enemy." Harry allowed a flicker of anger to spark inside him: "But I won't let him take our dream from us."

'For our dream to live, his must first die.'

Marlene turned towards him, blue eyes sparkling with determination while she seized his hands: "He chose to become an obstacle-"

"-and so he has to be removed." Harry nodded, his gaze falling to their intertwined fingers and the two bands of gold around them.

With a twist of his wrist, the Invisibility Cloak was summoned from his nightstand, wrapping itself over him and his wife. Harry tightened his hold around her waist and wrenched the world past them.

A cloudless night stretched over the open sky, revealing sparkling stars and a gloomy moon. A soft breeze tugged on the tall blades of grass, letting the leaves on the nearby trees perform a graceful, swirling dance.

Harry glanced down the gentle slope at the village of Godric's Hollow to their feet. His eyes roamed over the faint lights that shone from the occasional house and then deeper to the main village square, where the old war memorial rose from the cobblestone street.

'Now, where are you, old man?'

They sneaked down the slope underneath the Cloak in slow, steady steps, wands held at the ready and heads shifting around to check their surroundings.

A familiar tingle began forming at the top of his spine when he edged in on the outskirts of the village. Apparently able to sense it too, Marlene paused her step and crouched low, picking up a small pebble.

She tossed it forward into the darkness, grinning in satisfaction when the stone momentarily glowed as it passed through a thin veil of magic before it was swallowed by darkness again.

Harry nodded appreciatively. He carefully approached the edge and brought the tip of the Elder Wand to the still shimmering outline.

Patches of magic floated in his mind's eye, swirling and pulsing with volatile little buzzes.

'Entering will be much easier than exiting.' Harry threaded his magic through the ward until he was certain: 'But unlike Voldemort Dumbledore doesn't know the full potential of Death's gift yet. And it won't fail us today.'

They stepped through the wards, still underneath the Cloak, shivering madly when he felt like someone poured ice cold water over him.

The gentle whisper of fabric, followed by a soft snap made him pause. He held his breath, feeling Marlene still beside him.

"You've heard something, Albus?" Alastor Moody limbed through the grass on one wooden leg, his magical eye spinning at a speed that almost made him dizzy.

"I'm not sure," Dumbledore replied, his long silver beard and the golden stars on his cloak shining in the dim mood light: "Something has entered over here, but for all I know it could've been something as small as a worm. You don't see anything either, do you?"

'Not anymore, you don't.' Harry allowed a small smile to play on his lips: 'Blood of a Peverell will unlock the Cloak's full potential.'

"Aye, nothing to see over here." Moody grumbled: "You're certain he will come tonight?"

"I'm sure of it." The Headmaster nodded, glancing over his half-moon glasses up into the night sky: "He has yet to pass upon an opportunity to take followers from Lord Voldemort."

'It's time then.'

Harry squeezed Marlene's finger and apparated them across to the other side of the village, quickly pulling the Cloak off of them and storing it within his robes.

"Good evening, Harry. I see you've brought your newlywed wife with you as well." Dumbledore's tall form faded into view, followed by a sharp snap that announced Moody. "Splendid night for a romantic stroll, isn't it?"

"Dumbledore." Harry allowed a deep frown to crease his brows. He grimaced and let the length of the Elder Wand slide into his palm: "I did not expect to see you here tonight."

"As much seems obvious." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled behind thin-framed spectacles: "It pains me to see that James' and Lily's impeccable loyalty has been endowed to the wrong friend."

'How dare you talk about them... You, who had failed them more than all others!'

"Loyalty is such a fickle thing." Harry tightened his hold on his wand, showering the grass to his feet in silver sparks. "If who we're here for won't show up tonight I suggest you take down your wards so we can all leave without things taking a bad turn..."

"Aye, that won't happen, lad!" Moody growled, thrusting out his short wand: "You and the blonde lassie can either come in quietly or we will use force, as excessive as we must..."

'So be it.'

"Let it be force then." Harry hardened his heart and stepped forward, wrenching his wrist around with a roar.

A crackling beam of white light raced from the Elder Wand in angry sizzles, searing his eye and lacing his vision with bright green spots. The shockwave that followed rolled over his skin, reverberating deep within his bones as the spell burst against a silvery dome of magic and pulverized any blades of grass around it.

The trees behind Dumbledore withered, then burst into flames. The Headmaster ripped them out by the roots, sharpened their ends with flicks of his wrist, and flung them over to Harry.

'Best not give him ammunition for anything that involves transfiguration.'

Harry leaped sideways and detonated the projectiles into splinters of wood and ash that rained down on him. He sent curse after curse hissing through the dark night. They clashed with Dumbledore's shield, scoring long, dark scorch marks deep into the silver before fading out.

"I find myself disappointed, Harry." Dumbledore abandoned his defense and closed in confidently, his light brown wand snapping forward in a blur. "The tales of your hideous deeds made me expect so much more from you, my boy."

'Let's see how you deal with this then.'

Harry forced his arm faster, upping the pace until a bright little thrill shot through his veins at seeing the Headmaster's expression falter.

Their spells met in the middle, deflecting off each other to ricochet wildly away, igniting nearby bushes and scorching the grass until the ground blacked and smoke stirred up into the night sky, filling his nostrils with ozone.

'I have to keep it fast-paced.' Harry punched bright blue curses into Dumbledore's shield, grinning in satisfaction as the man staggered back with each hit: 'I can win as long as I don't let him utilize transfigurations too much.'

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught crackling beams and floating, drifting specks of light hissed and spattered where Marlene went toe to toe with Moody. He tore his eye away from swirling blonde hair and drew his magic to the tip of his wand, thrusting it into the ground to his feet until his lungs ached with each breath.

The soil trembled and shook. The roots of nearby trees tore through the surface in sharp spikes, thrusting out to impale the tall form of the Headmaster while Harry sent a killing curse arcing from the tip of his wand.

"Alastor, quick!"

Moody's normal eye widened to the size of the magical one as he trembled on one shaky limb, doing his best to keep himself upright.

Dumbledore apparated a few meters to the left to dodge the bright green flash. Then he calmly pointed his wand at the incoming vines, halting the closest ones just before they would've impaled Moody.

'Fuck.'

Harry felt his control being wrestled over and ultimately faltered as the veins crept back into the soil. Only they resurfaced a second later in a loud thunder, now with tons of dirt clinging to each threat.

Harry watched in awe as the towering creation wrenched into a terrifying golem, tall as an Acromantula, thick as a troll. It smashed its fists into the ground and began pouncing toward Marlene. She staggered back, her wand snapping up again and again, yet dealing no visible damage and merely enraging it further.

'No!'

Hatred swallowed Harry, lacing his every thought as it bubbled up in his stomach.

'Get away from her.'

He ducked a barrage of curses from Dumbledore and leveled his wand at the creature. Crimson flames erupted from the Elder Wand in angry screams, illuminating the night sky as they clashed with the golem and flared upward.

The creature's limbs melted away, making it stagger under its own weight. A second stream of sizzling fire joined his own, wrapping the golem into a torrent of thick black smoke until it detonated.

Harry watched as Marlene drew herself back up, her chest heaving and lowering rapidly. She gagged at the taste of dryness in the air before her eyes found Moody and narrowed.

'That took a lot out of her.' Harry hurled her soft smile and sparkling blue eyes into the flames, clenching them until he felt the heat fade from his face. 'And if she falls, I won't stand a chance against Moody and Dumbledore combined.'

He turned back to Dumbledore, growling at the calmness the old Headmaster approached him with.

"You had so much potential, Harry. You could have done so much good for our world. Instead, you let your hatred consume you until you drowned within it." Dumbledore called from the other side, his blue eyes sparkling in the dying flames, his aura shimmering: "But now, you're just hopelessly outmatched, my boy."

'No!'

He shoved a stab of fear down.

'It doesn't matter that people call him the greatest wizard of our age. It doesn't matter how powerful he is.'

Harry flicked the Elder Wand and closed the air around Dumbledore, smothering the shimmering aura to a faint flicker.

'He will not win.'

The Headmaster's magic tore free like a flaming phoenix that spread its wings with an angry screech. The magnificent creature sailed toward Harry, wings set ablaze, its sharp, black beak opened wide.

Harry hissed and poured heat into the ground to his feet, melting it into a bubbling pool of molten, glowing soil. A serpent's maw lunged from the lava, thrusting its fangs and swallowing the phoenix in a single bite.

"Parseltongue." Dumbledore realized, staring at him in shock: "You really are his equal, Harry. 'Both terrible in power, both destined to consume'."

'He must've met Trelawney a bit earlier than last time.'

"You shouldn't put too much faith in prophecies, Professor!" Harry laughed coldly, feeling the magic pulse off of him in potent ripples: "They can be horribly misinterpreted, especially those from our dear Sibyll."

"Perhaps I have failed you, Harry." Dumbledore's face turned white as ash: "But I shall not fail this world again!"

'I cannot fail either.' Harry redoubled his efforts. 'Because now my dream cannot prevail as long as you draw a single breath!'

Yet for all Harry's speed it seemed his spells were not strong enough. His magic seared at the sky, the ash that rained down dissolved about him, his spells shivered, and shimmered through it and still, the Headmaster was able to keep up with him.

Dumbledore slashed his wand horizontally, drawing the moisture out of the nearby blades of grass until they crumbled. The droplets of water fused in mid-air and leaped forwards, stabbing, in long, lethal needles of ice towards him.

Harry cursed and let the heat flare freely. The moment the needles neared him they sublimed instantly to steam, yielding to the burning aura of magic that now rippled from him.

The edges of his sleeves smoldered and blackened. A scalding warmth rushed down his arm, bubbling in his veins, heating him up until he felt the metal of his ring sear the skin around his finger.

'My Ring.' Inspiration suddenly struck and Harry thrust out his wand in a desperate attempt. 'Come then, let history repeat itself, old man.'

Black mist hissed and clawed forward, swallowing Dumbledore's spells in angry wisps of magic and blocking the Headmaster's vision.

Harry bent over and acted quickly, slicing his finger and letting dark blood trickle down over the gold. Drawing in every ounce of magic he had left, he touched the tip of his wand to the thick, black gemstone on his finger.

'A sacrifice.'

The sign of the Hallows was carved more prominently. A bubbling hatred laced his intent, threading a curse of horrendous cruelty underneath the most potent compulsion charms he could foster.

With barely any strength left, Harry staggered back as Dumbledore's onslaught increased, triumph now twinkling in the blue eyes.

Harry winced with each spell that clashed against his shield, waiting for the one he could use and reading himself for one final, desperate act.

'Now or never.'

A bright pink cutting curse hissed over the blades of grass. Harry watched it approach him and adjusted his stance, performing the very motion to bat it straight back only to twist his wrist and let it collide with his finger.

His scream tore through the night, drowning out the spell fire next to him. White, hot pain seared his nerves, warm wetness trickled down his wrist and something fell into the grass with a dull thud.

Harry stared at his hand and the bloodied stump that was once his ring finger, before meeting Dumbledore's disbelieving gaze. He finally tore his eyes away from the Headmaster and wrenching the world past him.

Harry apparated behind his wife and seized her from behind, then apparated them further down the slope, where he instantly wrapped the Cloak tightly around them and held her flush against his chest.

Marlene's hysterical cry was muffled by the hand he pressed over her lips. The blonde stilled in his arms, her hands fumbling for his fingers where she shivered once she felt how slick they were from blood.

Harry winced when her thumb brushed over his stump, catching her eyes widened in horror, the question hanging on her lips. He quickly shook his head and silenced her by applying a bit more pressure until she hesitantly nodded.

"Albus!" Moody's shout rang through the night. The Auror was breathing heavily, clutching his shoulder with his wand hand: "Albus, where- where are they, what- what happened?"

"I think Harry Peverell overspent himself and grew careless." The Headmaster's blue eyes roamed over the slope, his wand still held upright.

"You- you think they're still here?" Moody wheezed. "You said they won't be able to apparate through your wards."

"I was wrong about that. But I doubt they're still here." He shook his head: "Harry was completely spent and would not have prevailed another minute in our duel. Fleeing was the smartest choice."

"Bloody hell." Moody cursed, wincing as he attempted to rotate his arm: "The lad put up quite the fight, so did his lassie. If it weren't for whatever piece of transfiguration you conjured, she would have finished me within the first minute."

Marlene twitched slightly in his arm. Harry could almost see the proud smirk forming on her lips. Still, they continued to listen intently.

Dumbledore merely hummed, his midnight blue cloak rustling around his angles as he strode over to the position Harry had fought from: "Well, it seems I've connected with my last spell already."

"Nice hit there, Albus." Moody levitated the severed, bloodied ring finger of Harry's right hand, barking in laughter: "Bet he's going to miss that one."

Marlene twitched in his embrace again, her face clenching into a grimace, eyes staring up at him in disbelief. Harry shot her a quick wink and gently squeezed her hand, not feeling confident to move any further. Her eyes shifted from left to right frantically, he could see the little wheels turning before finally, her mouth turned into an incredulous gape and her head snapped back to the band of golden sparkling underneath the wet crimson.

"I think he might miss something else even more." Dumbledore thrust out his hand, summoning the finger into his palm and brushing off the blood with a wave of the other hand: "Now would you look at that..."

'Do it, old man.'

Harry was too far away to read his expression, still he could feel Marlene's heart pounding harder against his chest, knowing that he was faring similarly himself.

"Would you look at that..." Dumbledore repeated, staring at the ring.

He twisted his wrist and slowly pulled it off the finger, letting it hover an inch above his open palm, eyes transfixed on the black gemstone embedded into the gold.

'Do it.'

"Albus, I don't think you should-"

But Moody's warning came too late.

Dumbledore froze the moment the ring touched his skin. Then a second scream tore through the night, this one, even more, antagonizing than the first, forcing the Headmaster to his knees.

'It worked.'

Bright, hot ecstasy surged through Harry's veins. He shrugged off the Cloak and let Marlene thrust her wand high into the night sky. She threaded layer upon layer of wards over their small encounter and tightening it, trapping Dumbledore and Moody within it.

He circled her waist and apparated them once more. The Elder Wand snapped forward, flashing a bright red beam of light through the night. A completely startled Moody was stunned in the back and plunged over into the dried grass.

Harry apparated right in front of Dumbledore, looking down at the man who wheezed as the flesh of his already withered hand tightened and blackened further, baring bone, and dry, taut sinew to the air.

"Harry..." He exhaled, almost pleading. "Why?"

"Why?" Harry demanded furiously, as the grass, the soil, and the air froze around them. Marlene and everything else faded away.

"Do you really want to know why?"

He thrust out one hand, fingers half-curled, to summon the Ring, his ring, back into his palm, pushing it down his middle finger next to the bloodied stub.

He knew the final sacrifice had worked, knew it from the thrill within, and the heady rush of cold, pure power that shivered over him.

"Because I came here with only one enemy in mind and it wasn't you. But I knew I could never trust you fully, for I cannot risk failing in what I attempted to do." Harry hissed: "Still, I would not have killed you if it hadn't been you who kept forcing my hand again and again!"

"But why, Harry?' The old wizard gasped, flesh paling, as his magic made a desperate attempt to fight the curse. "Why not trust me?"

"Because you would sacrifice a single to save the many, a family for a society, a child for the Greater Good." Harry told him cruelly: "And you would see that it all happens exactly that way again, but it cannot. Not this time around!"

'This time I am selfish.'

"Time." Dumbledore wheezed, his eyes strayed briefly to the Elder Wand in Harry's palm, then he closed his eyes in sorrow. "Time… I should have known..."

"Exactly, old man," Harry said callously. "A time traveler, from over thirty years in the future, with a chance, his only chance, to right the wrongs that have been done to his family and live the life he deserved!"

"What... what about everyone else's life, Harry?" Dumbledore whispered hoarsely, shaking his head in despair. "And the many lives you have taken already..."

"I don't care about any of them!" Harry smiled, unable to sate his fury as something snapped inside him. "They have watched me risk my life for them time and time again only to toss me to the table again a week later. They ridiculed me, they hated me, because the wizarding world is selfish. And now it's my turn to be."

'A selfish kill.' A rush of power surged through his veins: 'Is this the answer?'

"You will be our doom, Harry." Dumbledore cried, rolling over onto his stomach, as creeping, dark veins spread over his arms, and neck while tears shone in his beard. "It won't make a difference if it's you or Tom..."

"No! I'm the only one that can stop him!" Harry spat, slowly shaking his head and letting the Elder Wand glide into his palm: "I will still be the savior you all desire, the hero who stepped forward, but not for you. Only for myself and those I love because Voldemort himself will never let it rest otherwise."

'And because I want my revenge.'

"And now it is all lost," The blackened veins had spread across his face and into his eyes, flecks of blood spattered at his lips as he strained to speak. "I failed you, Harry." He muttered.

"You did what you thought was right. I can respect that." Harry pointed the tip of the Elder Wand at Dumbledore's forehead, right in between soft, fat tears dropping onto the blades of grass: "But for my dream to live, yours has to die." His eyes darted to Marlene briefly, who watched the scene, not a single muscle moving on her pale face: "And you will die with it."

Something desperate flickered in Dumbledore's eyes, something hopeful. He opened his mouth, wheezing, and breathing faster as the curse crept up his neck, and his shoulders withered back to the bone.

"No, Dumbledore," Harry allowed a cold chuckle to spill from his lips. The hatred bubbled in his stomach, threatening to spill over: "There is no noble Greater Good and no secret Power of Love around this time. Only the sunset. My selfish, little sunset."

Large tears trickled down soaked blades of grass. Then they sparkled in a brilliant emerald flash of light.