Lily, James and Sirius turned up at the house of Lily' parents on a Friday in the late afternoon. Lily's father had picked up the lot at King's Cross, where they had arrived on the Hogwarts's Express. For the first time in his life, Sirius travelled by car. From the passenger seat he closely observed how Mr. Evans drove the vehicle and when they arrived at their destination, he was convinced that he would be able to take the wheel. On their arrival, they were enthusiastically greeted by Lily's Mum who made them sit down on the terrace. Petunia, Lily's older sister hardly welcomed them and eyed them with open disgust. They were introduced to Mark, a cousin, who had come to see Lily. He hugged Lily warmly and excitedly informed James and Sirius, "You can't imagine how glad I am to have a witch in the family. I think your world is absolutely fascinating. You guys are constantly experiencing the most amazing adventures. Folks, I envy you". He grinned enthusiastically. James and Sirius exchanged surprised glances.

From the first moment, James and Sirius felt very much at home. Lily's parents were happy that they had accepted their invitation and clearly felt honoured by their presence. The Evans were immensely proud of their witch daughter and while they served drinks and snacks, they just could not get enough of hearing about the Wizarding World and eagerly listened to their stories. Everybody except Petunia was chatting and laughing, and spirits were high. When they sat down for dinner, Lily asked, "Where is Mercuria?". Mrs. Evans explained, "Mercuria is my husband's niece. Her father died when she was eight. We took her in. Half a year ago she has picked up a part-time job with a local jewellery designer and since she finished school already last week, she has been working there full-time. She'll be coming soon". Petunia inserted, "I don't know, why a girl wants to learn a craft. And jewellery designer sounds far too elegant for this dark and dusty hole which they call a shop". Mark giggled. "That kid could handle a screwdriver and a hammer before she even learned to walk. She was born to learn a craft". Everybody laughed.

Half an hour later, they heard the sound of an engine approaching up the driveway. A key turned in the front door and footsteps came down the corridor. Then the doorbell rang. Mr. and Mrs. Evans looked utterly aghast. Mrs. Evans sprinted towards the entrance door and Mr. Evans murmured, "Not again". There was a loud conversation in the corridor. They overheard Mrs. Evans say, "Don't remain on the threshold. Come inside. It is not necessary that the whole neighbourhood listens to this". Mrs. Evans pushed two persons into the dining room. One was a policeman in his uniform, the other a young girl, who very much resembled Lily.

Sirius eyed her closely. Mercuria was shorter than Lily and her braided waist-long hair was a slightly darker red. But her eyes had the same brilliant green. Her face had a roguish expression and an ironic smile played around her lips. She wore black thigh-highs, shorts, and a short black leather jacket. In one hand she held a motorcycle helmet, which she threw carelessly on the couch. She brushed some hair out of her face and beamed satisfied. Mr. Evans asked, "What is it this time?". The policeman turned to him and said, "Her moped has been tempered with. It goes much faster than it should. It's absolutely impossible to cover the distance from the shop to your house this fast". Mercuria smiled. "I took a shortcut". "There is no shortcut, which saves you ten minutes". "And how exactly would I tune a moped to run this fast? I wouldn't know how to do it. I am just a humble schoolgirl". "Don't be silly. There is nothing humble about you". "Well, prove it". She let the moped keys dangle in front of his face. He snorted. "You know very well that I can't". "When I will be eighteen and will have my driving licence, I'll go down to Germany. There is no speed limit on the autobahn". The policeman nodded. "But for as long as you are sixteen and live here, British law applies to you as to everyone else. And here underage persons without a driving licence are not allowed to drive as fast as you did. You clearly exceeded the speed limit. Evans, I warn you: if I'll ever catch you speeding excessively, you're done". She put her arms akimbo and asked, "And what exactly will you do then? Put me in prison? Torture me to death? Make me toil in the coal mines?". He shook his head. Suddenly she pointed at him and giggled, "No, I know what you will do. You'll confiscate my driving licence. But you must wait two more years to do so, because only then will I pass the exams". Everybody burst out laughing. Even the policeman smiled. Then he said, "You know what, Evans? One day you'll be in dire trouble. Well, just be warned. By the way, Jack will be present tonight". Mercuria nodded. The policeman greeted them and left.

Lily jumped up and hugged her cousin. Then she waved at James and Sirius and took James' arm to present him to Mercuria. "This is James. I wrote about him in my letters. And this is Sirius, our best friend". They eyed each other with interest, shook hands and greeted each other friendly. Mercuria took off her jacket and much to Sirius' delight showed a revealing top. She sat between Mark and Sirius. Mr. Evans frowned at her and asked, "Did you really tune up the moped?". Mercuria looked surprised. "Of course, I did. Everybody does. Relax, no harm will be done by tuning up a moped". She turned to Mark. "We have set a racetrack. From the centre of town across the fields to the crossroads at the end of the road. That's six miles. Johnny Phillips holds the record at 12 minutes. Tonight, I did it in 13.9 minutes. But I think I still can improve the performance of my banger. I must have another look at the carb". Mr Evans said, "No, you won't. Why don't you use your undoubtedly numerous talents to achieve something useful for a change?". Mercuria chuckled, "But it does make sense. Imagine I was the only living person on earth and couldn't maintain a moped. Am I supposed to walk then?". They all broke out in peals of laughter. Petunia said sourly, "I don't know, why a girl should tune up a moped. That's men's work". Mercuria looked at her and smiled. "You know what, Tuney? There are two kinds of girls. One kind sits at home and waits for a prince to come riding to her front door. The other kind takes a screwdriver and tunes up the moped herself". Sirius asked, "And you're the kind, who takes the screwdriver?". She eyed him surprised. "Of course, I am". She seemed highly satisfied with herself. Lily asked, "So there is no prince for you yet to tune up your moped?". "Listen Lil. You have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince". Mark snorted. "Perhaps the problem is just the way you go about it which is totally inefficient. You have kissed more frogs already than live in the Brazilian jungle. Yes, you're the queen of frog kissers. And did it lead you somewhere?". Mercuria said "You talk. These things cannot be hurried. How will you know, who is the perfect one, if you cannot compare him to others? One day, it will just happen. I am not in a hurry". Secretly, Sirius smiled. Because she had just expressed his own thoughts. He was impressed and had to admit to himself that his ideas about her were pretty far off the mark and he decided that he would enjoy seeing her regularly in the next two years. As he considered this, he realised that his gaze repeatedly wandered to her low neckline. He forced himself to look elsewhere.

Curiously James asked, "What about this story of these frogs?". Mercuria laughed mirthfully. "A joke, actually. In short, there is a fairy tale about a princess who is sitting by a well when her golden ball falls in. A frog retrieves it and says she can have it back if she gives him a kiss. She does and the frog turns into a prince. One hopes that it will happen to oneself just like it did to the princess. But so far, all the frogs I've kissed have been just frogs. None has turned into a prince. As I said, you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince". Sirius wondered what distinguished a frog from a prince as he watched James smile happily at Lily. His friend jerked when Mercuria suddenly addressed him. "Tell me James, will you give me a lift on your broomstick? Lil has written that you are good enough at Quidditch to play for the national team". Taken by surprise, James answered, "Yes, of course. It will be my pleasure". She beamed at him. Petunia said, "I don't know, what is so exciting about crashing into a treetop". Everybody stared at her. Lily blushed deeply, while Mercuria looked surprised. Suddenly Mark burst out laughing. "Lily, you silly thing. Curey talked you into flying with her. And Tuney watched you". He burst out laughing. "So, you two morons ended up in a treetop". He turned to Mercuria. "Tell me Evans, what happened?". Lily looked highly offended and had tears in her eyes. James put his arm around her and kissed her hair.

Mercuria said, "Well, I asked Lily, whether she could take me for a ride on her broom". Sirius asked, "What happened?". "At first she was reluctant. Said things like 'It is dangerous, Muggles shouldn't fly'. You know, all that nonsense. And I said, come on Lil. This is perhaps my only chance ever to fly. Just one little try. I only want to get the feeling how it is to fly". Mark shook his head. "Let me guess, in the end she gave in". "Of course, she did. She never could say 'no' to me". Mercuria smiled and continued. "Finally, we went down to the meadow. You know, where there are all these old trees. Lil sat on her broom, and I mounted behind her. Then we took off. To say the truth, it was extremely boring to hobble along like that. I could have picked the dandelions from the meadow at that speed. So, when Lily asked me if I enjoyed it, I said 'To be true, I thought it would be much more exciting'. Then she went faster, and we zoomed around at a higher speed. And I shouted, 'Kick the pedal Lil, kick the pedal'". "Do brooms have a pedal?". "I don't know. There must be some way to accelerate though. Whatever it is, she used it, and that broom went off like shit off a shovel, you just cannot imagine. It was incredible, until I suddenly realised that Lily might well be a witch, but not exactly an experienced flyer. She had problems controlling that thing and I had the impression that she was afraid of what she was doing".

Mercuria made a pause. "We zoomed at the height of the treetops. Do you know that feeling, when before your inner eye you see disaster coming and you cannot do anything to prevent it?", she asked Sirius, who nodded. "I saw that treetop coming closer and closer. I heard myself shout 'We will both die'. And then we crashed into it at top speed. The broom was broken, Lil's wand was gone, and we hung in the branches seventy feet above the ground. It took us quite some time to climb down and when we finally made it, Lil knelt and kissed the ground. I guess that flying with James will be far less dangerous". Mr. Evans shook his head. "I don't know, why it is always you, who gets into trouble". She beamed at her uncle. "Because I like to experience new things? Do you know, what Dad always said? 'On the day that you were born the angels came together and decided to create a dream come true'. That's a line from a song, he used to sing to me". Mr. Evans said dryly, "Obviously these blokes had a bloody bad day in the office then, when the outcome is such a dreadful nightmare as you are". Everybody had a fit of laughter and Mercuria joined in.

Mrs. Evans said, "Child, now hurry with your dinner. Everybody has finished already". "But I have finished my dinner as well". "The tiny amounts which you eat, cannot be enough to keep a girl going. You have always been underfed". "Underfed? What does this mean? I wear size 0. Millions and millions of women would die to have a size 0 body. I could walk the catwalks in Paris and Milan if I wanted to". Mark hypocritically asked, "Oh, are they doing fashion shows for dwarfs now?" "You unbelievable scumbag. I am not short, I am undertall". Snorts could be heard. "What?" "UNDERTALL": "Undertall, that's great. I must memorise that, undertall! I'd just call you a dwarf". The room resounded with their laughter. Mercuria looked offended. She stood up. "Well, I'll go to bed. I got up early this morning and I am tired". Mrs. Evans said, "Curey, whatever your plans are for tomorrow. Before you leave, you do the washing up, because the dish-washer still needs repair". "But I can fix the dishwasher". Mr. Evans shouted, "No. Under no circumstances will you fix one more thing in this house that runs on electricity. I'll tell you something, young lady. This is my house. I want to feel safe here and not constantly worry about being attacked by out-of-control garage doors or blenders going haywire". Mercuria said in a huff, "It wasn't my fault. Those were operational errors". Mr Evans banged his fist on the table. "I don't care a damn. I prefer things to be functioning. And if I commit an operational error, I don't want it to be fatal. Enough of this. End of discussion. You don't use a screwdriver on anything in this house that is even remotely connected to an electric cable. That's my last word". Mrs. Evans added, "I've called the plumber, but he won't be here until Monday". Mercuria pulled a face but said nothing. She wished them a good night and went upstairs. Sirius smiled and saw that James and Mark were smirking too. Mr Evans explained, "Nothing is safe from this child. At some point she found that the blender was too slow. She tinkered with it to speed it up, as she said. All one had to do was push the lid down hard when operating the machine. I forgot to do so once and my milk shake erupted like a volcano and sprayed all over the kitchen. She even got offended when I told her to clean up the mess. Imagine that". Everybody had another fit of laughter, before they all moved out to the terrace and talked until late that night.

When everyone else had gone to sleep, James and Sirius remained outside with a drink. They had witched off the lights and whispered to each other. Sirius asked, "Now what do you say, old man?". James hesitated a moment, before he said. "To be honest, I am very glad, we came here. Lily's folks seem to be quite nice and to be true, I am really surprised at how much fun Muggles are. This evening was very entertaining, don't you think?". Sirius agreed. "I thoroughly enjoyed myself and Lily's cousin is really something special. Up to now though, she did not do anything, I would worry about. We knew that she was a trouble-shooter. But from what we have heard, do you really think that she does things, we wouldn't have done either?". James shook his head. "I don't know. I am sure that there is more to discover. But you are right. What we have found out up to now is not especially alarming. Perhaps Lily and her folks are just exaggerating. Although I can imagine that you really get annoyed if she comes up with something every other day". "Why did you consent to give her a lift? I was quite surprised, how fast you agreed". James laughed, "She just caught me unawares. And I think that this is part of her tactics. But to be honest, I will really enjoy doing her this favour". Sirius nodded. "I know what you want to say. She seems quite entertaining to me. And of course, she is very exciting. I never met a girl, who dresses like she does. Thrilling". "And this is why you kept staring into her neckline all the time?". "Did anyone notice?". "She certainly did and laughed about it".

It was already past two in the morning, when suddenly Mark entered the terrace. "Mind, if I join in?". James waved at an empty chair. "Come on, have a beer". They toasted to each other. Sirius remembered something, he had heard that evening and asked, "Who is Jack?". Mark looked up in surprise. "Where did you pick up this name?". "The policeman mentioned him. Before he left". Mark frowned. Then he smiled. "Well, what's the heck. I guess that you'll find out anyway. You must know that Curey's parents were quite rich and when she'll be eighteen, she'll inherit a fortune. But presently, she only gets a little pocket money from her uncle. Not enough obviously to be sufficient. Whether the jeweller pays her anything, I don't know. If he does, it won't be much. Therefore, to make some money, she gambles. Poker and Blackjack. These are games of chance. And she is quite successful. Well, if you have an eidetic memory and count the cards, you can hardly loose". James asked, "What's an eidetic memory?". "She memorises everything she reads or hears – so just be careful when you talk to her. She might confront you with something that you said ten years ago. Anyway. The boys will be gambling tonight, and I guess, the policeman secretly asked her to join in".

James and Sirius considered this. Sirius asked, "If she doesn't have any money, what are her bets?". Mark thought for a moment. "I know she used to play for kisses. The boys were absolutely mad about it. But I guess she has raised the stakes by now". "What does that mean exactly?". "Oh, come on, you know what it means. Many men dream of holding a girl like her in their arms". Seeing their doubting stares, he added, "I'm sure none of them have ever had the pleasure of winning. She is far too good for that. She duped the boys and each defeat probably goaded them on to take more risks in the next game".

Suddenly Mark raised his hand and silenced them. A shadow flitted across the lawn towards the house. Before it entered the terrace, it took off its shoes. When it was close, Mark asked, "Out on a spree?". Mercuria flinched. "Are you mental? I could have died from a heart attack. What are you doing here at this time of the night?". James said, "Talking. Like to join us for a nightcap?". He knocked at the chair next to his. Mercuria sat down. "What would you like?". "A beer please". She took a small leather bag from her pocket. James handed her a bottle and they toasted to each other. Sirius watched closely as she took a small piece of paper and put some sort of herbage on top. Then she rolled the paper until it looked like a cigarette. She licked the paper and glued it together. Mark gave her a light and she smoked. A sweetish smell rose and Sirius wondered, what she was doing. James asked, "When did you leave? We didn't hear you sneaking out?" Mercuria looked up in amazement". "About half past ten. You were sitting on the terrace already. Usually I would have climbed up the downpipe. My room is up there". She pointed to the attic window. "But you're still up so that's not necessary". Sirius looked up at the downpipe and wondered how anyone could climb it. Suddenly they heard a voice from behind, "Are you not tired? It's three in the morning already?". So fast that he didn't realise what was going on, Mercuria pushed her cigarette between James' fingers and grabbed her bottle with both hands.

James looked surprised and raised his hand just when Mrs. Evans stepped in front of them. "And you". She pointed at Mercuria. "How often did we tell you not to drink alcohol?". "Oh please, just this one tiny bottle. Please. I couldn't sleep and wanted to get me some water from the kitchen and then I heard the boys talking on the terrace". Mrs. Evans eyed her suspiciously, cast an irritated look at James, who still held the cigarette in his hand and smiled innocently at her, before she wished them good night. When Mrs. Evans had left, Mercuria sighed in relieve. She took the cigarette from James and said, "Well, that was pretty close. I swear, in her former life, this woman sure was a blood hound. One has to be extremely careful". She drew at her cigarette. James bent towards her. "Tell me, what was this about? You mustn't drink alcohol and I guess that you mustn't smoke".

Mark snorted. "You're right. Only that this is not an ordinary cigarette. It is what we call a joint. A drug. If our little auntie had caught her smoking dope, Curey would have been in dire trouble. But as you had it, I guess that she thought it was some special wizard cigarette". James asked, "What do you take these for?". Mercuria laughed, "This is just to calm down and to have a good night's sleep. There are pills though, which make you fly without a broomstick. Don't wizards have some potions to give them visions?". Sirius frowned. James said, "I guess, there is something. But not very common. How about Muggles?". Mark said, "Well, I'd say that many people our age have tried something. Not as regularly as Curey though". She looked at him and shook her head. Then she extinguished her joint. Mark asked, "Have you made some money". She laughed. "Oh yes. The boys were pretty generous tonight. The longer the evening went on, the higher the stakes became. Good thing. I can use a little money. Well guys, I'll go to sleep. See you tomorrow". She left and so did Mark.

James leaned towards Sirius, "Imagine that. Girls gambling for kisses. And for more. How exciting our school days would have been if that had been a custom at Hogwarts". Sirius grinned, "It would have simplified a lot of things. You gamble, you collect your winnings. And then you don't have to worry about anything else. No girls wanting to date you and giving you a hard time. Just a little gambling now and then. We would have liked that, wouldn't we?". They laughed. James eyed Sirius and said "You didn't contribute much to our conversation. Now tell me, what do you think?". "To be true, I don't know yet. All I can say right now is that I am glad to have come here. But I think that we should go to sleep as well now. Lily will wonder when we both look exhausted tomorrow morning".