Warning: Human body parts that we all have are mentioned near the end of this chapter.

Areophany

Harry and Desmond were preparing for the farm team's exodus from Underhill. Hiroko and the rest had spent several years stockpiling replacement parts for rovers, as well as any item or piece of equipment deemed too weathered or damaged to be used any longer. Desmond's ability to scrounge for materials, with the help of Harry and Hermione and their magic, as well as Frank and Nadia's knowledge and assistance, had resulted in a more than adequate supply of rovers, supplies, parts and equipment needed to start their own colony, hidden away from Underhill, UNOMA and the new colonies scattered over Mars.

By their fifth year on Mars, Hiroko had decided that the current organization of UNOMA and Underhill weren't matching up with her own personal plans for an acceptable society. She and Hermione had argued about methods and responsibilities. The argument had ended the same way most arguments with Hiroko ended; with the head of the farm team victorious.

"Those in power failed to create a fair and equitable society on Earth. Why should we expect anything different on Mars?" she had asked.

Hermione had had no answer and the decision to break with Underhill was made. Desmond had been pleased, though unsure about Hiroko's long-term plans. Hermione was furious, knowing that there was nothing she could do other than inform UNOMA of the farm team's plans to abandon Underhill, something she would never consider.

Harry was apathetic, a feeling that had been increasing over the years. The only two people on the entire planet he truly cared about were relatively safe and healthy. Hermione was almost constantly busy with research, either regarding magic or the creation of new materials that she could experiment with, as well as assisting Vlad and Ursula with secret medical studies on the difference between muggles, squibs and magical people. She was so busy that she sometimes had no time to meet with Harry and Desmond during their infrequent visits to Underhill.

As for Desmond, the two of them had been living together, spending almost all of their time together since the day he had snuck about the Ares while still in Earth orbit. They were as close as brothers now, and Harry had trouble caring about anyone else on Mars or Earth. When they were out in the chaos for weeks or months at a time, he could sometimes barely remember life beyond the rover.

When Hiroko decided they would be abandoning Underhill, she had asked the two of them to locate a suitable site for a permanent habitat that could be easily hidden from UNOMA. Harry had explained to her that it would be simple for him to use magic to hide even a fairly large surface settlement.

"We shouldn't take your magic for granted, Harry," Hiroko had responded. "There will probably come a time when simple illusions will no longer be sufficient to hide us."

"You think UNOMA is going to hire wizards to search for you?"

"I think it is possible they already have. Not to look for us, specifically. But if Hermione's theory that nearly a half of a percent of the population on Earth is magical, witches and wizards working for UNOMA is almost a certainty."

And so Harry and Desmond had finally located a large crater just over a hundred kilometers southwest of Argyre Basin, the second largest impact basin on Mars. With a thick and stable crater wall, it was relatively simple to carve out a system of chambers and compartments that could be inhabited once the necessary life support equipment was installed. Hiroko had been pleased with their choice and smiled when they told her the rate at which they were constructing it. Harry's magic allowed what would have taken several years to be completed in just over one Martian year, or M-year.

Hermione had finally taken a break from her research to join her two friends, bringing along Nadia and Hiroko to help put the finishing touches on what would be the home to just over a dozen of the original First Hundred. The entire farm team would be joining them when it was ready for habitation and they had stashed away enough supplies to become self-sustaining. The other colonists who knew of Harry and Desmond's presence were also welcome, though they had no plans to abandon Underhill or the surface world.

There were almost three thousand people on Mars now, only seven Earth years, or four M-years, after the arrival of the Ares. Harry and Desmond had watched the landings of the first of the new colonies, a group of exclusively Japanese colonists who had floated down to the surface in small landing craft under parachutes that looked abnormally huge even to Harry. They had immediately poured out of their landing craft and begun scurrying around in an almost ant-like display of purposefulness. He and Desmond had spent several days watching, hidden under disillusionment and notice-me-not charms, amazed at how quickly and neatly the new colony had sprung into being. There was no chaotic construction or scattering of habitats. It was like watching an alternate history of Underhill's construction. How things could have been if they had cared about the aesthetics as much as utility. Harry was a bit surprised at Desmond's obvious approval of their orderliness.

"I have no problem with organization or tidiness. It's what's in their hearts that matters, Harry. Conformity and uniformity are the religions of those in power. If they are the same Japanese 'Roko remembers, they will no doubt oppose us. If they have come here for the same reasons most emigrants leave their homes, they will most likely be our allies. We will have to wait and see where they stand, I think."

Since then, several more colonies had been established in various locations, though most were within ten degrees of the equator. He and Desmond had occasionally made off with unsupervised crates of supplies or equipment while scouting out these new settlements, though never in large enough amounts to raise much suspicion.

The increasing presence of UNOMA officials and nationally sponsored colonies were making the farm team increasingly nervous, and Desmond was jumpier than usual.

Then one afternoon, as the two of them sat in the rover which had been their home since they had driven off into the mysterious martian night during that first chaotic week after landfall, Hiroko had sent them a quick bursted message.

"It's time. We will leave as soon as the two of you return."

Desmond had immediately flown into action, and his usual energy had paled in comparison to the franticness he displayed as the two of them drove back to Underhill. Having a purpose was an amazing tonic to the dreadlocked man. A dose of pepper-up potion the only thing Harry could compare it to.

When they arrived back at the farm just over thirty-six hours later, Hiroko met them at the airlock. She hugged them in greeting, the light in her eyes warming Harry in a way he hadn't felt since his family's death. He could see she had been waiting for this moment since their arrival on Mars. Maybe even longer.

"We're waiting for one more person," she said.

"Who?" asked Desmond.

"Michael Duval," she answered.

"I'll get him," said Harry for some reason he couldn't understand. Desmond had asked if he was sure, but he only nodded his head and pulled his invisibility cloak out of his pocket, draping it over himself and following his AI's directions as he silently moved through the passageway to Nadia's barrel-vaults.

Michael Duval was almost a non-entity in his mind from what little Harry could remember being told about him by the handful of colonists that he'd spoken to. Hermione had mentioned him being almost completely disassociated whenever she spoke to him in the mandatory counseling sessions the colonists were scheduled to attend each month.

"He's obviously suffering from some sort of depression or situational loneliness," she had said during a short visit to Underhill Harry and Desmond had made during the construction of the hidden sanctuary.

"Of course he is," said Desmond. "He's surrounded by a colony of eccentrics who all think they're smart enough to not need counseling. Who is he supposed to turn to when he needs help? Frank? Maya? Most psychologists have psychologists of their own."

Hermione had nodded in agreement. Harry had felt pity for the lone Frenchman in Underhill but the conversation had quickly moved on to plans for the hidden colony and neither of the stowaways had given much thought to the unhappy psychologist until Hiroko had spoken his name.

Harry found him lying down on the small bed in his room. He was watching French television and for some reason, Harry remembered a moment at Grimmauld Place during the summer after fourth year. He had walked into the living room and seen Sirius lying on the one couch clean enough for use. His godfather had had a look on his face that made his stomach twist up in empathy. It was a mix of loneliness, boredom and hopelessness, some of which was no doubt due to the long-term exposure to dementors. There were no dementors on Mars, however, but that same gut clenching empathy re-emerged as he looked upon Michael Duval.

He removed his cloak, causing the psychologist to start and back up against the wall.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Harry. We're leaving Underhill tonight and Hiroko asked me to come get you."

The man was obviously terrified, but seemed to rise and dress himself without thought.

"Is there anything you want to take with you? We won't be back."

Michael grabbed his AI and spent a moment looking around his room before shaking his head and turning back to the unknown man who had magically appeared in his room.

Harry draped the cloak over both of them and whispered to Michael to crouch down a bit so that no one could see their feet. Michael followed the instruction without thought and the two of them slunk quietly back to the farm, passing no one on the way. When they re-entered the farm, a group of around ten naked children emerged from the crop rows. Desmond had been waiting and had an uncharacteristic look of shock on his face as he gazed down at the proof that Hiroko had been keeping things even from him.

The children, none could have been older than five or six, rushed up to Michael and surrounded him, hugging any part of the man they could reach. They quickly dragged him forward, leaving a stunned Harry and Desmond behind.

Harry and Desmond hid underneath the invisibility cloak and followed quietly. The various grow-lamps were so bright that the sky outside the farm's geodesic dome seemed even darker than the normal moonless nights the two hidden colonists were used to. The white luminescence of the metal halide lights mixed with the red glare from the high-pressure sodium bulbs. The resulting reddish glow was almost more Mars-like than Mars itself. This strangeness was accentuated by what was happening no more than a few meters in front of the hidden men.

The farm team, Iwao, Raul, Ellen, Rya, Gene, Evginia, all of them except for Hiroko, stood in a circle as they watched Michael approach with smiles on their faces, as naked as the children that had met them at the entrance to the farm. The stowaways watched Michael hesitate before he too stepped out of his clothes and left them lying in a pile atop his slippers.

The children suddenly ran off, squealing and giggling, through the rows of vegetation, quickly disappearing into the depths of the farm. They came back moments later with Hiroko, who was as naked as the rest. She glanced around the circle, an ethereal smile on her face as she seemed to be searching for something.

"Harry, Desmond. Join us," she said.

Harry never knew which of them made the decision to come out from under the cloak, but the two of them were suddenly the focus of the farm team and the children. They stripped, the strange feeling of shame from being the only ones clothed guiding their actions, and slowly walked towards the group. Everyone was smiling as they joined the circle.

After a few minutes, the group separated, forming a loose circle facing each other, and sat down in the dirt. Hiroko smiled and walked in around them, trailed by the children. She picked up a handful of soil as she stood next to each of them and placed it in their hands as if it were a precious gift. As she approached Harry, he stared at her lustrous skin. It seemed to shine under the lights of the farm and rippled like a disillusionment charm that was unable to hide the pure naturalness of her existence. She placed a small handful of the soil in his outstretched hands and smiled at him before moving on to Desmond. Harry sniffed at the soil, moist and warm in his hands. It smelled like Earth and rust and a thousand other things. When he glanced up he saw the others were smiling at him, though Desmond and Michael shared the same dazed expression he imagined was on his own face.

"This is our body," said Hiroko. Her voice caused Harry to become hyper-focused on what was going on around him, though he felt like he couldn't have moved if his life depended on it. Hiroko smiled enigmatically and gave each of the children their own handful of dirt. They joined the adults in the circle, sitting between them naturally, as if they had done all this many times before. And perhaps they had, thought Harry.

Hiroko sat down in the circle across from the three newcomers and between Raul and Iwao. She began chanting in Japanese. Evangia leaned over and whispered a half-explanation, half-translation to the three of them.

They were celebrating the areophany, she explained. It was a ceremony, an experience they had created together with Hiroko's guidance. It was something like a religion of landscape, an attempt to celebrate the consciousness of Mars as a physical and emotional landscape suffused with spiritual kami, the spiritual power or energy that rested within the planet itself.

Harry's eyes widened in realization. This wasn't the worshipping of Mars or magic or even consciousness. It was a sense of celebration of all those things that made Mars Mars and made them human. The craters and boulders, the ravines and canyons and ejecta he and Desmond had been exploring since their arrival on Mars had existed before John Boone had first set foot on the planet. Harry could feel them now like never before. Even here, in a greenhouse made to imitate Earth's environment as closely as possible, the magic of Mars seemed to reach out to him. His ears roared and his blood ran hot through his veins. He could feel the magic of the entire planet.

Hiroko finished the chant, brought her hands to her mouth and began to eat the dirt in her palm. The others followed her example and Harry joined in without hesitating. He stuck out his tongue and could feel the magic in the soil as he rubbed the gritty substance along the roof of his mouth until it became mud. It tasted metallic and rusty. He caught a whiff of rotten eggs and chemicals. He swallowed repeatedly, resisting the urge to gag. As he moved on to the rest of the pile in his hands, the others began a rhythmic humming, almost chant-like as they alternated between different vowel sounds. Aaaay, iiiii, ohhhhh, ahhhhh, ooooooo. Without any noticeable sign they stood and Harry found himself on his feet between Michael and Desmond, one a new acquaintance, the other as close to a brother as any of the Weasleys had been, both of them part of him now. They were all on Mars and all part of each other.

Hiroko began to chant in Japanese over the humming of the others and without warning there was only flesh. All of them crushed together, skin contact that Harry hadn't realized he'd been missing. Soft breasts pressed up against his back. This is our body. He could feel someone's pubic hair on his hip and saw that some of them were kissing. The three newcomers were surrounded and instead of feeling crushed or claustrophobic, Harry felt only acceptance. Bodies twisted, trying to maintain maximum contact, and what could only be an erect penis pressed up against his side. His skin burned and his heart was beating faster than he could ever remember. He saw Desmond in front of him. His brother's face was a kaleidescope. The dirt in his stomach lay heavy and he felt lightheaded. It was a mash of skin and sensation that felt more magical to Harry than anything he'd ever experienced before.

Harry could see the stars through the grow-lamps' light and the opaque dome over the farm, each of them different colors and sizes. The air seemed to pulse with magic. Hiroko was standing in front of him, slightly taller, but her eyes appeared to be even with his. He was a phoenix, ready to rise from the ashes. She kissed him, the gritty dirt on her tongue being mashed against his teeth until he opened his mouth to her. He closed his eyes and saw Olympus Mons as he and Desmond had seen it during one of their planet wrapping journeys. It seemed to grow higher and higher, touching the edge of space. He opened his eyes and she was holding Desmond. His friend was clutching his old university companion like a drowning child. Michael was pressed between Rya and Ellen, a look of peace on his face, eyes closed as they hugged and welcomed him.

Hiroko pulled back from Desmond and caught the three newcomers' eyes. "This is your initiation into the areophany, the celebration of our bodies and the body of Mars. Welcome to it. We worship this world. We intend to make a place for ourselves here, a place that is beautiful in a new Martian way, a way never seen on Earth." She turned to Michael. "We have built a hidden refuge in the south, and now we are leaving for it."

She spoke again to all three of them. "We know you, and we love you. We know we can and have used your help, and we know you can use ours. We want to build what you've been yearning for. What you have been missing here. But in all new forms. For we can never go back. We must find our own way. We must go forward. We want you to join us."

The three men shared a glance and Harry knew what their answers would be.

A/N: A bit of the end of the chapter is either directly from Red Mars or heavily influenced by it. I did my best to work it into the story so that you can't tell...so let me know how I did in a review :)