Sirius and Mercuria went to bed immediately. They slept long and only rose in the afternoon. When they sat down for a snack, Sirius said, "I want to visit Andromeda today. I don't know why, but I have the distinct feeling that time is running out. We must find that casket". Mercuria looked surprised. He carried on, "You know what? I didn't want to tell you, but since the beginning of the year nightmares are haunting me more and more often. I thought I had overcome the problems. But now they are coming back with force. I feel threatened, I don't know why. There is no sensible reason for it. Except Malfoy's story, of course. I have this strange feeling, like something's going to happen. Something I can't put my finger on. But it's there. I could always rely on my instincts most of the time. So, let's try to solve the mystery as soon as possible". Mercuria got up and said, "Well. Let's get started. I always wanted to meet your cousin anyway".

They landed in front of the gate to Andromeda's house. When Sirius pushed the motorcycle into the garden, the front door opened, and a woman appeared in the doorway. Her friendly heart-shaped face was framed by brown curls. She held a little boy by the hand. When she recognised Sirius, she beamed with joy and ran up to him. "Sirius. What a wonderful surprise. Since I heard from Harry that you have survived the battle at the Ministry, I have hoped to see you again". She touched his cheek and they embraced warmly. Sirius pointed at Mercuria. "This is my wife, Mercuria. And this is my cousin Andromeda". For a moment she hesitated, then Andromeda gave Curey a big hug. "And this young man is Teddy, my grandson. His Mum and Dad died at the Battle of Hogwarts. But you know that of course". Sirius lifted Teddy up and said, "Hello Teddy. Finally, we meet. I knew your Mum and Dad well". He kissed the child and put him down again.

Andromeda said, "Come in, come in. You must tell me everything". They sat in the kitchen and Andromeda served them tea. When she saw that Mercuria pulled a face, she asked, "Don't you like tea?". "Yes, it's ok. Thank you". Sirius laughed, "She is lying. She never drinks tea. She spent most of her life in Belgium and they prefer coffee on the continent. Do you have coffee?". "Of course,". Andromeda waved her wand and conjured up a cup in front of Mercuria. "Now let me hear your story". She eyed them curiously. Sirius made Teddy sit in his lap and tipped his chair against the wall before he recounted the events of the past years. He began his story with his escape from Azkaban and it took quite some time to tell it. Mercuria listened without a word while Andromeda harked to the story with growing confusion. She smiled warmly, when Sirius related how he and Mercuria had travelled to Scotland to find clues to the Healer's book and nodded at Mercuria knowingly, when she learned, how they had become a couple.

When Andromeda heard that Mercuria had had an affair with Lucius Malfoy, and that she had blackmailed him to swear the Unbreakable Vow, she shook her head in disbelief. "You are a true dare-devil, you really are. As a Muggle having an affair with the likes of Malfoy is one thing but blackmailing him was incredibly risky. He could have killed you right away". Mercuria smiled. "The way you say it, it sounds much braver than it really was. According to Malfoy, Tom was really furious that none of his former followers had ever gone after him when he had lost his powers. In fact, the first one to look for him was Peter Pettigrew, who easily found him, it seemed to me. Therefore, when I learned about the time-turner, I understood at once that Tom would be completely beside himself if he ever knew that Lucius had a means at hand, which would have spared him thirteen years of existing as a non-entity. Lucius couldn't risk that Tom ever found out about it. He despised and hated Sirius, but to save his life at the Battle of the Ministry was a poor price to pay for Malfoy compared to incurring the uncontrollable wrath of Voldemort".

"But I don't understand, why Malfoy has a time-turner at all". "Obviously his father bought it as a young man when he was travelling abroad and smuggled it back into Britain. Cost him quite a fortune then. As far as I know, he had a vast collection of illegal objects, which he passed on to Lucius, who got rid of most of them. But he kept the time-turner. And of course, he never told anybody about it. Well, except Mercuria that is. Thus, we could profit from it".

Andromeda and Sirius smiled. "By the way, is this time-turner safe? I mean if somebody finds out about it and tries to change past events… You know that there are still some, who secretly wouldn't mind if Voldemort returned". Sirius frowned. "Malfoy hid it safely. But its best protection still is that only the four of us know about it. Remus pieced together the whole story for himself because he had watched Malfoy swearing to change things in case of need when he did the Unbreakable Vow to Mercuria. And Dumbledore knew of course. As to everyone else, you know how fast rumours fly. It is generally accepted that I somehow survived, suffered from amnesia and only regained my memory after Tom died". Andromeda laughed. "That's what I've heard as well. And to tell you the truth, I believed it too. But looking at you, I think that the time you've spent in the Muggle world has served you well. You recovered from the hardships of your imprisonment, you got yourself a family and you destroyed the Healer's book, before Tom could lay his hands on it. And you gained yourself something, which you would never have found among true-blood wizards. I know what I am talking about. Ted Tonks was the first Muggle-born whom I ever met. And he taught me emotions I didn't know existed. Love, affection, respect, kindness, commiseration. He made me laugh and he made me happy. When I was with him, I didn't need anything else in this world. It just felt like I was in exactly the place where I always wanted to be. I didn't give it a second thought when he asked me to marry him. A life without him was just unbearable. Whatever I left behind, it meant nothing compared to the emptiness a life without him would have meant. But you know what really hurt me? None of my family came to my wedding. No one wrote and congratulated me. Nobody. They were unforgiving of me marrying a Muggle-born. They couldn't have cared less if I was happy. Everyone, really everyone, showed up when Bellatrix married that git Lestrange. Even though they knew Bella loathed him. But it didn't matter. If it was true-blood. Do you know who walked me down the aisle? Uncle Alphard. I never forgot that he came for me on my most important day. When he suddenly appeared in front of me, I couldn't believe it. He smiled at me, gave me a nod and when I took his arm, he gave me a kiss on the forehead. A wonderful person and a great wizard". A tear run down her face and Mercuria patted her hand. Andromeda smiled sadly. "Ted wasn't beautiful, and he wasn't rich, but he was the best for me, and I miss him terribly. I miss Ted and Dora and Remus. And you cannot believe, how happy I am that you are here at last". She buried her head in her arms and sobbed.

Mercuria beckoned Sirius to take Teddy and to go outside. When they had left the kitchen, Mercuria took Andromeda in her arms and rocked her. After some time, Andromeda stopped crying and said, "You cannot imagine, how thankful I am that you put Sirius on his feet again. I don't exaggerate if I say that he is the only decent member of the family. When I heard that he had been brought to Azkaban, I knew that it must have been on false accusations. He would never have betrayed his best friends. And he must have had a very good reason to attack Pettigrew in broad daylight. Still, it was not the time to stand up for him. And besides, what could we have contributed to his exoneration? We hadn't been in contact for years. Frankly, I never expected to see him again. And look at him now. It is thanks to you that he has the happy life he so much deserves". Mercuria said, "To tell the truth, when we first met, he was physically and mentally so run down that I feared he would never recover. Thanks to Professor Dumbledore and Remus, who encouraged him to leave the house at Grimmauld Place, and who backed him up, he could spend a lot of time in the Muggle world, where he could move about freely and adapt to a normal life. But he had to struggle very hard to find his way back. I tried to give him all the support he so much needed and deserved. That's the whole story". Andromeda raised an eyebrow, then smiled knowingly. "I guess that sometimes it cost you dear. I admire your perseverance". Mercuria looked surprised. "It was worth it, I can assure you". "I am happy, you see it that way", said Sirius from behind. "How long have you been listening?". "Long enough". He approached his wife and kissed her.

Andromeda took Teddy from him and asked, "Well, now that I have heard the whole story, will you tell me, why you came here?" Sirius sat down again and explained, what they had found out about Tom's arrangements. "We need to inspect the Lestrange's vault at Gringotts. Lucius told us that you inherited it". Andromeda nodded. "Of course, I will take you. I have never been there. You know, I really didn't want to have anything that once belonged to Bellatrix. And besides, Ted provided for the future and left me well off". Sirius hesitated, "There is something else". Andromeda looked surprised. "Tell me, what is it?" "To be honest, we hoped that you would join in, when we try to find out about Tom's plans. You and Teddy can move in with us for a while. There is plenty of room in Black Manor, and my sons will keep Teddy company". Andromeda smiled. "Listen Sirius. This comes as a surprise. Give me some time to consider the whole situation. I would have agreed instantly if it were only the two of you. But I don't know whether I can join forces with Lucius. It is because of the likes of him that I lost those, who were dearest to me. I need some time to think about it. Either Teddy and I will come to your house within the next two days, or I will send you an owl to make an appointment for a visit to Gringotts". Sirius nodded. "Of course. You have all the time you need, to make up your mind. We will not push you". Sirius and Mercuria rose from their chairs. Sirius hugged Andromeda and said, "Take care cousin. I guess that I don't have to stress that nobody must know about our conversation". Andromeda touched his cheek and answered "Sirius, the one bad thing about you has always been your mistrust. I guess that's the result of growing up with Uncle Orion and Aunt Walburga. I suppose that you have reason to be wary. You can rely on me. And let me add, I am glad that you put your faith in Mercuria. Only now I understand, how difficult it was for you". She kissed him on the cheek. Then she turned to Mercuria and said, "Cousin, we'll meet again". She embraced her and smiled happily. Andromeda and Teddy stood on the threshold and waved them good-bye as they mounted their motorcycle and left.

Two days later in the evening, Sirius and Mercuria were sitting on the terrace of their house when someone arrived through the Floo Network. As they entered the dining room to meet their visitor, Andromeda and Teddy stood in front of the fireplace. Beside them was a trunk and a few bags. "It would have been difficult on a broom with our luggage". Andromeda beamed at them. "We have decided to move in with you for a while". They hugged and Sirius ushered his cousin and Teddy out onto the terrace. There he called his boys, who had been playing on the lawn in front of the terrace. "Boys, this is Teddy. He is your cousin. And he will stay with us for some time. I expect that you treat him as what he is: A highly welcomed family member and a guest. Can I rely on you?". Procyon and Asterion nodded and approached Andromeda and Teddy. Timidly Teddy hid behind his grandmother's skirt. Procyon said, "Hello Teddy. I am Procyon. This is my twin brother Asterion. Our younger brothers are Alphard and Phineas. They're twins as well. Will you join us, so that we can show you around?". Teddy hesitated a moment, looked at Andromeda, who nodded encouragingly and went off with them. When he noticed that Andromeda looked uneasy, Sirius said: "Don't worry. Lizzy, their nanny, is always watching over them. And so does our house-elf Dinky. Nothing will happen to him. He is safe here. And he has some company now. Have a seat cousin".

Sirius shouted, "Kreacher". Their house-elf appeared and looked curiously at Andromeda. Sirius said, "Kreacher, do you know, who this is?". The house-elf nodded. "This is Mistress Andromeda, the sister of Miss Bella and Miss Cissy. The last remaining Black girl". Sirius nodded, "You're right. Mistress Andromeda will join us in our quest for the Dark Lord's arrangements. She and her grandson Teddy will stay here for some time. Could you please prepare a room for her and Teddy and put her luggage there? We will make them feel at home here, don't we?". Kreacher smiled and bowed deeply. "Nice to have you here, Mistress Andromeda". He disappeared. Andromeda was surprised. "How come, he's living with you? I thought that he betrayed you and nearly caused your death?". Sirius explained to her, what had happened to Regulus. "You know, Andromeda. Everybody makes mistakes. And everybody can put his trust in somebody, who doesn't deserve it. I learned it the hard way. How can I blame somebody else for being as blind as I have been? Kreacher reconsidered his allegations and to be true, without him, I would be dead by now. You said that my only mistake is my mistrust. But I believe in Kreacher, and I sure trust him". Andromeda noticed that the house-elf had returned and stood in the back of Sirius. Tears were running down his cheek when he heard these words.

Teddy and Andromeda settled in quickly. Teddy was thrilled with the Black boys. For the first time he had company his own age and enjoyed the new freedom to romp around without his ever-watchful grandmother. Andromeda was also happy to finally have company again. She loved Sirius dearly and adored Mercuria. Having been married to a Muggle-born herself, she was well acquainted with their sometimes strange behaviour and was not surprised by the things Mercuria did. She appreciated her cousin's directness and was pleased with the warmth and cordiality she displayed.

They had recounted to her what they had found out together with Lucius. "I think we should check the vault the sooner the better. Why don't we go down to Gringotts tomorrow?" Mercuria said, "You know what? I've been thinking about Merope. If she was buried by those people of the orphanage, it will be in the Muggle registers. This is in London too. While you check on the vault, I will visit the National Register. You can drop me there and we'll meet in the Leaky Cauldron afterwards. That's the pub at the entrance of Diagon Alley, isn't it? What do you say?". Sirius wasn't really thrilled at the idea of his wife walking around London all by herself. Obviously, this showed in his face. "Sirius, I am not twelve anymore. Don't be silly. Before we met, I used to live in London for four years. And there was nobody to look after me. I was perfectly able to protect myself. What do you think will happen? I still know how to take a bus or the underground, you know? So, don't be such a baby. Whatever Tom implemented; I don't think that it will haunt me in the centre of the capital at broad daylight". She kissed his cheek and he smiled wryly.