Sirius did not sleep well. All night long he mulled over the letter. In the morning he felt completely worn out. When they got up, James examined him curiously and finally asked, "What happened to you? You look terrible". Spontaneously, Sirius said, "The girl, whom I wanted to meet, dumped me. So, no reason to return to London. I think, I'll join you and Lily, when you visit your parents". James looked astonished. He hesitated a moment, before he said, "Ok, you'll hear about it anyway. We are not seeing my parents. We will be visiting Lily's folks at Cokeworth instead". Sirius pretended to be surprised. Secretly he was relieved about James' answer, because it proofed that the letter had been correct. He feigned amazement and asked, "How come?". "Since I started dating Lily, her parents have kept inviting me. So far, I've always found an excuse. I honestly ask you, what am I supposed to do there? They're all Muggles, and probably boring as hell". "And what made you change your mind?". James beamed happily. "I decided to propose to Lily during our trip to France". For some time, Sirius had expected his friend to take this step and thus was not particularly amazed about this news. "Look at this". James opened his trunk, and took out a small jewellery box. He opened the lid and showed his friend a ring lying on a cushion of red velvet. Carefully, Sirius took the jewel out of the box. On top of a slender golden ring a round green stone sparkled in the sunlight. "Goblin-made. The stone matches the colour of her eyes. That's why I have chosen it". James looked at his friend expectantly. Sirius nodded appreciatively. "A gorgeous piece". James continued, "Lily is very attached to her family. That's why I finally agreed to meet them. After all, I'll probably must see them more often in the future. But with you present, it won't be quite as bad. At least we'll be two to face them". Sirius nodded. "What do you know about her family?". "Nothing much. Only that she has this little cousin, who obviously is a constant source of worry to them all. A real trouble shooter. But that's about it". James put the jewellery box back into his trunk. When they told Lily, she was thrilled at the prospect that Sirius should come and visit her family. "You always wanted to meet a Muggle girl. Now you'll have the chance to do so. And what a girl you are going to meet". She hugged him, before she left to inform her parents. James and Sirius exchanged a look of mutual understanding. Sirius proposed, not to tell Remus and Peter about their plans, and James agreed.
The whole day Sirius pondered over the letter. He was so absent-minded that he did not even notice that his friends were more and more concerned about his strange behaviour. After dinner, on their way to the Gryffindor common room, they run into Professor Dumbledore. Sirius stopped and asked, "Professor, please, just a moment". He beckoned the others not to wait for him. Dumbledore smiled at him friendly. "Mr. Black. How can I help you?". They settled aside before Sirius asked, "Professor, do you know anything about prophecies?". "Prophecies? Didn't you learn that in Divination?". Sirius grinned, "It turned out very quickly that I didn't have the inner eye. I gave up the subject then". Dumbledore smiled sympathetically. "What would you like to know?". "Professor, is it possible for someone to make a prophecy that spans several years and is so detailed and precise that it can be used like a manual?". Dumbledore was astonished. "Mr. Black, I can assure you that I find this highly unlikely. I have never heard of any such prophecy. Normally they are relatively short, ambiguous and refer to a single incident or person. They can be used as a manual only to a very limited extent". Sirius nodded. This answer corresponded to his expectations. "Is that all you want to know?". "There's something else. I wonder if you could tell me something about", Sirius hesitated for a moment, "Travelling in time". Dumbledore looked at him, puzzled. "Travelling in time? What exactly are you interested in?". "Just general information. Is it possible at all to travel in time?". "Yes, it is possible. But as for a spell or a potion to transport you through time, such a thing doesn't exist. You will need a time-turner". "Time-turner?". "In the very first place a time-turner is a highly complicated mechanical instrument, which is the main reason why there are only very few of them. If it depended only on magical skills to fabricate them, most wizards and witches would have one. Personally, I doubt that there is anyone today, who can craft a time-turner. Even the most powerful wizards or witches won't be able to do it. In Britain, all time-turners have been created by the Ministry of Magic, which keeps them in the Department of Mysteries. To my knowledge, one can stay in the past for a limited time span only, because as you can imagine, tempering with time is highly dangerous. One cannot foresee the future effects of what seems to be a minor correction to the present". Sirius agreed. Dumbledore asked, "Did this explanation help you, Mr. Black?". "Yes. Just one more question. How far back in time can one travel? Hours, days, months, years?". Dumbledore looked surprised. "Is there a special reason for your questions?". "No, I am just interested". "Frankly, I don't know. I'd say that you can travel back safely to the most recent past. The further you go back, the more dangerous it becomes. My knowledge is strictly theoretical though because the Ministry keeps a close watch on its time-turners. They will not hand out one of them just for examination". "Professor, one last question. You say that all time-turners were created by the Ministry. Yet is it possible that a private person has such a piece?". "Mr. Black, I somehow get the impression that there is more behind your questions than just a general interest. Won't you tell me, what this is all about?". "Professor, I swear that I am just curious". Dumbledore eyed him suspiciously and shook his head. "I think that we put an end to this discussion right now". He gave Sirius a nod and walked down the corridor. Before he left out of sight, he said without turning back, "If a private person owns a time-turner, Mr. Black, it is definitely an illicit piece which has been smuggled into the country".
Sirius was surprised. Someone in the future had sent him this letter by using an illegally procured, foreign time-turner. Obviously, he had been desperate enough to take the risk of travelling back in time for twenty-two years. A high risk, because as Professor Dumbledore had stated, tempering with time was extremely dangerous. Perhaps by turning to him, the unknown sender had wanted to avoid undesirable effects in the future. He must have been convinced that Sirius' intervention would shift the casket to its intended location without dramatically changing the outcome of other events.
When Sirius joined the others in the Gryffindor common room, he ignored their questioning looks. He sat next to Lily and pretended to take part in their conversation, while his thoughts still revolved around the letter and the time-turner. When Lily addressed him directly and everyone stared at him expectantly, he said at random, "Of course. I'd love to". Lily hugged him, beaming with joy, while James seemed completely taken aback. Only now did he notice that one of Lily's friends, Marlene McKinnon, was sitting opposite and now smiled happily at him. When she winked at him, he suddenly had the uneasy feeling that he had just said something really stupid. He pulled himself together and now followed their conversation attentively. His friends were discussing their upcoming trip to France. They had decided to gather in Dover and then cross the Channel together. He hoped that Lily had not mentioned that the three of them wanted to travel to Cokeworth beforehand. It slowly dawned on him that apparently, he had just agreed to pick up Marlene and travel with her to the meeting point.
The others were all excited when they talked about the trip. And only little, chubby Peter looked grumpy. He was not going and would spend summer with his family. Lily smiled, when she and Marlene stood up and said that they wanted to go to bed. When Marlene bent towards him, for a moment Sirius feared that she might want to kiss him. He slid a little to the side and wished her a good night. She eyed him disappointed, hesitated briefly and then beamed again. Shortly afterwards, Remus and Peter went to bed as well.
James took out his wand and conjured up the bottle of whisky. He laughed when he looked at it. "You had a long night yesterday, didn't you? No wonder you look so worn out. The bottle was still full yesterday when I went to bed. Now two thirds of it have gone. Forgot to use a Refilling Charm? Well anyway. Have a drink". He poured two glasses and they toasted to each other. "Are you disappointed because that nice young lady in London dumped you? I am amazed because I had no idea that you were that fond of her. Must be really something that girl. But why the hell did you agree to travel with Marlene?". Sirius gave him a twisted smile. "To say the truth, I didn't really follow up on your conversation and when Lily addressed me, I just said something I thought might fit in". James was confused. "Listen, Padfoot. Marlene has been chasing you for at least half a year. Everybody observed it and some already started to make fun of her. As usual, only Mr. Black didn't notice anything. No wonder, everyone thinks that you are haughty". Sirius was utterly surprised. "They do?". "Certainly. You ignore most of them, especially the girls, who are just crazy about you. But you don't care, because as a stray dog, you find your pleasures elsewhere". Both laughed at the allusion to Sirius' habit of assuming his Animagus shape and sneaking into Hogsmeade from time to time to spend the night with one of the local girls. "By the way, whom are you hanging out with these days?". "Hallie, the one from the postal office. She is the girlfriend of Madam Rosmerta's nephew Wilbur. But he's out of town for a couple of weeks. Therefore, she was looking for a temporary replacement. But to be honest, she was no big deal. I think that I won't be seeing her again until we leave Hogwarts". James nodded and got up. "I know that something has happened. If you want to talk about it ..." He did not finish the sentence and climbed the stairs to their bedroom instead. Sirius poured himself another drink. To him, Marlene was one of Lily's friends. He had never paid much heed to her, and he had not been aware that she fancied him. He put this thought aside. After all, it was not Marlene, whom he was thinking about. Instead, it was an unknown sixteen-year-old Muggle girl. When he finally went to bed, he decided to act spontaneously according to the situation.
The last two weeks of their time at Hogwarts passed quickly. Several times, Marlene approached him and tried to involve him in a conversation, but he did his best to avoid her. Instead, he addressed those few classmates, who he knew were Muggle-born and had non-magical relatives to discreetly gather some information from them on the Muggle way of life. Since he had come of age, he often wore Muggle clothes, especially those made of black leather. But these he had obtained by entering Muggle shops at night when no clerk had been around. He had exchanged some money from his Gringotts' vault for Muggle currency, and each time he had gone 'shopping' he had put the purchase price on the counter. Thus, he had never met any non-magical person in real life and had to confess that he knew nothing about them except for those distorted accounts that had circulated in his family.
Only once had Sirius come close to them. He had been fourteen and had still been living with his parents when, driven by curiosity, he had sneaked out of the gloomy house on a Sunday during holidays to have a close look at these strange creatures that his parents and the rest of the family scorned so much. He had crossed the river that run through the city by walking over the large bridge with the two towers. Amid the stream of the huge crowd, he had strolled towards the huge fortress with the white square building in the centre. Close to the riverside, he had sat down on a wall and had observed the Muggles. It had been a sunny mid-summer day and the Embankment had been swarming with visitors. His head had been buzzing with the babble of voices and it had seemed to him that he could hear all the languages of the world at the same time. People had worn cheerful colourful clothes, the likes of which he had never seen before.
After a while, Sirius had walked along the river and finally ended up in a park, where he had sat down on a bench. Groups of young people and families had been sitting on the grass having a picnic. Some had sung to the sounds of a guitar. Some Muggles had played with a ball or thrown a plastic disc that had whirled through the air, only to magically end up back in the hands of the throwers. Still others had walked their dogs. Things he had never experienced yet would have loved to attempt. Everyone seemed to be having fun and people had been laughing and enjoying themselves. Sirius had wondered what was so horrible about these people, except that they couldn't do magic. He had briefly considered approaching someone, but then hadn't had the courage. When a man came right up to him, he had flinched. "Boy, you look pretty thirsty. Today is my birthday. Here's a beer for you. Drink to my health!". He had handed Sirius a can, which he had accepted in amazement and had thanked the donor. The man had tapped his forehead with his hand and had walked on. After some thought, Sirius had managed to open the can and had carefully sipped his drink. He had been surprised at how good the beer had tasted and had emptied the can in one go.
Then Sirius had headed home. On the way, he had passed a newsstand. There had been a magazine with a motorcycle on the cover. He had gazed at it and had wanted to read that journal. Then he saw another magazine with a Muggle girl in a bikini on the cover. He had never seen anything so beautiful. He had stared spellbound at the cover and had known that he had to have this magazine. Never before had he wanted something so badly. He had considered what to do. to use a Summoning Spell had been out of the question. Here amid Muggles, the Ministry of Magic could have easily identified him as a minor using magic outside of school without permission. Although he had already committed a lot of misdeeds, he had still hesitated to take the risk. But there had been no other option. He had had no money. And even if he had had some, he had not been sure if Wizarding money would have been accepted. So, he had had to take a chance. Carefully, he had pulled his wand out of his pocket when someone had put an arm around his shoulder. Startled, he had flinched and had looked up. "Uncle Alphard". "Sirius, my boy. Do your parents know you're here? No, I'm sure they don't. So, you're interested in motorbikes?". Sirius nodded in amazement. Alphard had whispered, "Accio magazine," and the journal about motorbikes had flown into his hand. He had handed it to Sirius, who had stared at it. For a moment he had struggled with himself. Then he had gathered all his courage and asked, "Uncle Alphard, can I have the magazine with the Muggle girl too?". Uncle Alphard had eyed him surprised and then had laughed. "She's pretty, this little Muggle girl, don't you think? And by now you are old enough for it, too". He had conjured up the magazine and had handed it to Sirius. "If I were you, I'd go home as soon as possible. And don't let your parents see this. Take good care of yourself, my boy". Uncle Alphard had disapparated and Sirius had returned home and had smuggled his magazines into his room. By use of a Permanent Sticking Charm he had glued some of the pictures from the journals to the wall and from then on, the Muggle girls had aroused him and had kept him company in his dreams. At that time, he had firmly resolved to repeat his adventurous excursion into the Muggle world soon. But never again did another chance present itself.
What his schoolmates told Sirius about the non-magical world though did not help much. They gave him the impression that Muggles were pitiful, helpless creatures. At some point it dawned on him that those he was addressing presented him with a very one-sided view of non-magical people for reasons he did not understand. Perhaps they wanted to please him by confirming the prejudices they believed true-bloods like him held against Muggles. Finally, he was so disappointed that he gave up asking around. The one thing they were all consistent in saying was that Muggles had to do everything by hand. This however he already knew. When he was still underage and officially was not allowed to use magic, sometimes he had to do things with his own hands as well. And when he was younger, more than once it had annoyed him for example to search through his stuff to find a given item instead of summoning it up.
From an early age, he had watched his parents closely, when they did magic, and had memorised the incantations they murmured. Having once secretly used his father's wand with no consequences whatsoever at the age of eight, he had concluded that no one could tell exactly who was using magic in a Wizarding household. And of course, most of the time there had been an adult wizard around, so that no one at the Ministry noticed his own attempts at magic. By then he had no longer felt bound by the ban on doing magic for minors. His parents did not seem to mind his insubordination. Quite the contrary. One day, when he was caught using his father's wand for the umpteenth time, instead of the usual expected punishment, Orion Black had given him one of his old wands and had said, "Use this one until you get your own". As far as Sirius could remember, this had been the only occasion his father had shown him any such thing as appreciation. He snorted that it had been a violation of the rules, which had earned him the support of his parents. Therefore, his experiences of using his own hands were quite limited. Except for holding a wand. And of course, such self-evident things as writing, preparing the ingredients of a potion and the like. To forge a signature like that Muggle girl had done, he would just use some charm. Every wizard would do so. But he guessed that for a non-magical person, it demanded lots of skills to forge a document and that only few of them could do it.
Three days, before they left Hogwarts for good, he finally happened to talk to a more reliable source about Muggle behaviour. Despite his reputation for sometimes being haughty and showing little interest in anyone outside his closest circle of friends, he knew quite a lot about his schoolmates. His family situation had taught him early to follow his parents' conversations with demonstrative disinterest, while secretly memorising everything he heard. Thus, he had avoided having to take a position and reveal things about himself that would most likely have incurred the disapproval of his relatives. He had perfected this behaviour for years. And now it enabled him to address someone from whom he hoped to get an unfiltered view on the Muggle world.
Among the Muggle-borns was a Hufflepuff named Jamie Rickett. An unassuming, quiet boy in his seventh year. Sirius knew that he lived with his father and little brother, both non-magical persons, on a solitary farm near a small town on the southern coast and that they were poor at least by his own standards. When he approached him, Jamie looked incredulous and a little scared, as if he feared to just have become the target of a crude prank. When Sirius had told him his request, he beamed, and was only too eager to answer questions about the Muggle world. They found a quiet corner, conjured up some butterbeer and Jamie explained to him life in the non-magical world. Much to his surprise, Sirius learned that Muggles got on far better than he had assumed. True, they had to do most things by hand. But they had a lot of machines and equipment to assist them in their daily lives. The key to this, as Jamie explained to him, was 'energy', which came in different forms. The most important was electricity, which was as essential to a Muggle as magic was to a wizard. Being born and raised in London, Sirius knew of course that most Muggles owned a car and now learned that these were powered by something called 'fuel'. For a moment he thought about the motorcycle he wanted to buy. When he would tune it for his requirements, he must remember to install a magical power unit. He smiled encouragingly at Jamie when he noticed that the latter was looking at him expectantly.
Jamie described several important items to him, such as a telephone or a television, although Sirius was unable to imagine the latter. "So, what are Muggles like as people?". Jamie looked astonished. "Not any different from wizards, I'd say. There are nice ones and unfriendly ones. Boring ones and interesting ones. Only the girls ...". Jamie fell bashfully silent. Sirius looked at him inquiringly. "Yeah?". Jamie mumbled something Sirius didn't understand. Yet it was this very subject that interested him the most. "Say that again". Jamie blushed but looked him straight in the face. "Yeah, well the girls. They're more exciting than witches. Not all of them, but many. The way they dress. Quite revealing. But they know exactly what they want. As a man, you must be careful. They do things to you, well, you know. But those who do, are usually a bit older. Muggles only come of age when they're eighteen". Sirius was taken aback and thought briefly of the bikini girls in his old room at Grimmauld Place. He thanked Jamie and wished him well for the future.
While packing his stuff on the evening of their departure, Sirius reviewed the information he had gathered. Many things seemed contradictory to him. By now he was convinced that Muggles were by no means as helpless and worthless as his parents had wanted him to believe. About Mercuria he only knew two things. She could draw quite well, which must have helped her when she forged her identity documents. In fact, she was so skilled that eventually she would be able to paint Wizarding Portraits. However, this was no surprise, because why else would someone have sent the letter from the future? What really puzzled him was the question of why she wanted to run away from home at the age of sixteen. Okay, he himself had moved out of his parents' house at the same age and acquired his own flat. Being the only student at Hogwarts to do so. His classmates considered this an incredibly brave step, which increased their admiration for him even more. Sirius secretly admitted to himself that his decision had not required courage. The situation in his parental home had been untenable. When he had come of age, his Uncle Alphard had given him sufficient funds to stand on his own two feet. At first, he had not used the flat at all. Most of the year he spent at Hogwarts anyway, and during holidays he and James stayed with the Potters, who treated him like their own son. In fact, he only really moved into the flat when James started dating Lily.
Mercuria's situation was completely different. Judging by Lily's stories, her parents were friendly people and no one had to run away from them. Nevertheless, Mercuria had prepared her getaway at great lengths. Whether she had sufficient money Sirius did not know, but it seemed unlikely to him. After all, she was a minor and had only just finished school. He wondered what she was going to live on in a foreign country where she knew not a single soul. Perhaps she didn't even understand the language. Sirius considered what this revealed about her. He concluded that she was determined, tenacious and, above all, courageous. Incredibly courageous. Because for her, there would be no turning back. By now he was quite excited and definitely looked forward to his upcoming excursion into the Muggle world.
