In the afternoon it had started to snow, and the land was covered with a thin white layer. They kept close to the ground, skirting the villages on their way. The further they advanced north, the heavier the snowfall became. James had led them north-east, and after a while they reached the coastline. But the wind coming in from the sea was so strong that they headed back inland. When they flew over a forest, it stopped snowing and the moon came out from behind the clouds. Suddenly, James landed his broom on the edge of a large clearing. Sirius stopped beside him. "What is it?". The terrain ahead sloped into a small valley with a creek running through it. James gestured to the small homestead on the opposite side. "A raid". Sirius squinted his eyes and in the bright moonlight he discerned several people pacing agitatedly back and forth in the yard. Flashes of light twitched through the night. James asked, "What do you think: Should we intervene?". Sirius agreed. He turned to Mercuria. "You wait for us. Whatever happens, don't move from here, ok?". She nodded. They pushed their brooms into her hand. "Take care of these". Then they assumed their Animagus shapes, and the stag and the dog galloped along the edge of the forest towards the buildings. When they were only a few yards from the courtyard, they stopped and watched what was going on.

In the middle of the yard stood a stout witch who held a little blond boy of four or five years by the arm. The child was paralysed with fear. He was sobbing heartbreakingly and his face was wet with tears. A small group stood with their backs to James and Sirius. One man had his arm around the shoulders of the woman at his side, who snivelled audibly. Next to them were two older children and an elderly man who helplessly clasped his hands together. The family of the little boy. Three Death Eaters in long black cloaks stood around the courtyard, threatening the family with their wands. The stout witch laughed maliciously and shrilled, "Do you want to see what I will do to little Gavin here?". The woman shouted, "No, take me instead!" and tried to lunge herself at the other. The man held her back tightly. She cried out loudly. James and Sirius took advantage of the confusion and turned back to their human form. They attacked and duelled the three Death-Eaters. The man rushed forward and grabbed his wand from the ground. At that moment, two more Death Eaters stormed into the courtyard from behind the house. James and Sirius were caught by surprise and disarmed, as was the man. One of the Death Eaters collected their wands. The stout witch laughed. "Well, well, well. Look at that. James Potter and Sirius Black! Two heroes rushing to help. You're an even better catch than this family here. I'd say you're the last to die. But now let's get on with the spectacle. We'll give you a real treat, what do you say, boys?". Her companions cackled maliciously. One called out, "Show them, Drus". She bent down to the little boy, pointed her wand at him and shouted, "Crucio". The child fell to the ground, writhing in pain and screaming at the top of his voice. Gavin's family wept loudly. James turned white as a sheet. Sirius was trembling with rage. He had to restrain himself from rushing forward and strangling the witch.

Suddenly there was a loud bang at the front door. Everyone startled and wheeled around, but there was nothing. Only a round stone lay in front of the lowest step. Sirius frowned. Secretly he groaned. He guessed who had entered the scene. Unnoticed, he jabbed his elbow into James' side and signalled to his friend to stay alert. By chance, Sirius saw that the Death Eater, who had collected the wands, grabbed the back of his neck, and pulled something out. Sirius saw a tiny object spin away. The man kept walking up and down the yard, but after a minute or so, he staggered and the wands fell from his hand onto the ground. He shook with convulsions and grabbed his throat. Foam came out of his mouth and his eyes bulged. He tottered forward a few more steps and gasped heavily for breath. Then he collapsed. The stout witch pointed at him and said to one of the other Death Eaters, "Look, what's the matter with him". Her companion, a big fat wizard with a fleshy face and bald head, bent over his comrade and examined him. "He's dead. But I don't know what happened to him. There's nothing to be seen here". Everyone stared at him in disbelief. The witch screamed hysterically, "Find out what's going on here". A smile played around Sirius' lips. By now he was enjoying the situation. "You little green-eyed devil", he thought secretly, tugging at James' sleeve. His friend indicated a nod.

The Death Eaters paced nervously back and forth in the courtyard. Suddenly, the gate to the side of the small paddock at the back of the yard opened and two ponies charged across the yard into the clearing, whinnying loudly. "What the hell is going on here. Stop this nonsense". The fat wizard walked towards the paddock and carefully stepped through the gate. Suddenly he laughed spitefully, raised his wand above his head and shouted, "Well, well, well, whom do we have here? Get up, you little toad". They couldn't see whom he was talking to, because here the paddock was fenced by a waist-high wooden wall. At that moment, they heard a hushed thud. His wand whirled through the air and disappeared out of sight. Screaming frantically, he held his crotch and stooped forward. Again, there was a thud to be heard. The wizard threw his arms over his head, staggered backwards, and roared in pain. He fell through the gate onto the pavement and rolled on the ground, screeching. Sirius saw that the Death Eater's face was black before the man covered it with his hands. It took Sirius an instant to realise that the black colour was blood pouring from the wizard's distorted nose and mouth.

At that moment, the moon disappeared behind a cloud. Instantly it became dusky. Sirius nudged James once more. Something would be happening soon. The witch dragged the snivelling boy to the gate of the paddock. She held her wand ready in her hand. Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius noticed a movement on the far side of the pen. Here the fence consisted only of single slats. A shadow snaked underneath them and disappeared behind a snowbank. The farmer's wife had seen this too and pressed her hands against her mouth. Suddenly a whizzing sound broke the silence. Confused the witch turned around and swung her wand when a hammer came zooming through the air and hit her at the head. She slumped and let go of the boy. Now the fat Death Eater's wand was hurled at Sirius, who caught it and disarmed one of the other attackers. At the same time, James and Gavin's father jumped forward and each grabbed one of the wands lying on the ground and attacked the remaining Death Eaters. Taken by surprise, they were disarmed and shackled. The fight was over instantly.

His family run to Gavin and kissed and hugged him. Then the owner of the homestead walked up to James and Sirius and shook their hands. "My name is Shay Murphy. This is my family. Thank you for coming to our rescue. They would have killed us all". He hesitated for a moment. "And who is this man who so skillfully handles my hammer?". They heard the frozen snow crackle, as Mercuria stepped towards them. When she lifted her hood, everyone stared at her in utter surprise. Shay threw his head back and roared with laughter. "I can't believe it. Six Death Eaters have been overpowered by a little Muggle woman and my old hammer. That's simply incredible. Nobody will ever believe this". The Death Eaters looked sullen. The stout witch, who had regained her consciousness, shook her head, and cast Mercuria a look full of disgust and hatred. Sirius took Mercuria in his arms, kissed her gently and whispered, "Why don't you ever do what you are being told? Well for once, I'll forgive you". James summoned their brooms and luggage and addressed Shay. "How could they enter your premises? What about your defences?". "This evening, Gavin followed his dog into the woods. On his way back, he ran into these Death Eaters. They captured him and came here. They said that they would not do any harm to us if we lifted the protection and handed out our valuables. Otherwise, they would torture Gavin to death. What could I do? Watch my child being killed? I just couldn't do this. I lifted the protection, and we gave them all we have. But once they had stripped us of our belongings, they started to torture us. If it hadn't been for you, they would have killed us all". James patted his back. "Nobody blames you. Ok, let's discuss, what we do about them". Shay said to his wife "Maeve, why don't you take the children inside and offer this brave young lady here some refreshments?". Maeve approached Mercuria, beamed at her, and gave her a big hug. "Thank you, thank you so much". She took Mercuria by the hand and led her into the house.

After the women and children had disappeared into the house, James repeated his question, "What are we going to do with them now"?. He pointed to the Death Eaters. Shay asked, "Can you help us? The moor starts a little further south. I've already sunk one or the other there". James and Sirius looked at each other, smiling. "Of course, we'll help." Shay's father pointed his wand at the Death Eaters, stunned them and levitated them off the ground. Shay laughed. "Let's get going then. The forest all around is getting thicker. You guys need to be careful. Don't leave the path. There are some creatures living here that can be dangerous to us. My father will lead the way. Then two of them, one of us, and so on. One of you must take the rear and cover our backs. Could be that there are more Death Eaters out here tonight". They lined up and the old man led them into the forest. As soon as they had left the valley, it began to snow heavily again. Quickly the path narrowed, the trees grew thicker and thicker, and the undergrowth reached the path. At the same time, the snowfall increased. Through the veil of snowflakes, Sirius, who was walking at the end of their group, soon could no longer see the old man leading them, and oriented himself by James' black mop of hair, which bobbed up and down in front of him. His nerves were stretched to breaking point. Again and again, he wheeled around or pointed his wand into the forest when he heard a suspicious noise.

After a while they went downhill. The forest slowly thinned out. Walking became more and more difficult because the path was now covered with a thick blanket of dense and soft snow, and their heavy boots deeply sank into it with every step, until it nearly reached up to their ankles. Sirius breathed a sigh of relief when suddenly a clearing opened in front of him. It looked as white as a shroud. At that moment the snowfall stopped, and the moon bathed the landscape in a pale silvery light. The others had stopped next to the last trees. Shay made a sweeping gesture. "This is the moor. If we go any further, we'll sink in. You can't see it now because the snow is covering it. It's dangerous from here on. The surface is quite liquid, like a lake. But just below the surface it becomes more solid. When you step into it, the bog holds you like a vice. Even a wizard can't wriggle himself out of it if he gets stuck unawares. Personally, I also think that there are creatures living in the bog that are not friendly to us. No one has ever seen them, but that doesn't mean anything". He pointed his wand at the fat Death Eater, whose face Mercuria had smashed with the hammer. The latter slowly floated towards the centre of the clearing. As Shay lowered his wand, the man fell to the snow-covered ground. They heard a soft splash and watched as small ripples spread across the surface from the spot where the man had hit. Slowly he sank deeper and deeper until he vanished with a smacking sound, and the now dark surface closed above him. Shay's father said, "We won't see him again". He pointed his wand at the nearest Death Eater and manoeuvred him to the same spot where his mate had already disappeared.

One by one they sank the other men into the moor until only the leader was left. James jumped forward. "I'll do that," he explained to Shay, who looked at him in amazement. "On Christmas Day, Death Eaters attacked a good friend and killed her and her entire family". He pointed his wand at the witch, and slowly levitated her to the black spot in the middle of the layer of snow, where her companions had already disappeared. She hit the ground, and they watched as she slowly disappear from the surface. When she had sunk halfway in, James lifted the Stunning Spell and removed her shackles. Somewhat dazed, the woman looked around. As she became aware of her situation, she began to flail her arms wildly, causing her to sink in all the faster. Desperately, she pounded on the surface until her arms got stuck. Black water and mud splashed her face, which contorted into a horrible grimace. When she had sunk up to her neck, she put her head back and her terrified roar reverberated over the moor and into the forest.

Motionless, the four wizards watched her agony from the edge of the forest. They breathed a sigh of relief when the woman finally disappeared into the black depths. For a moment there was dead silence. Then Shay said, "It must have been a very good friend of yours who died. Let's go home". He turned and trudged up the path with his father. Sirius put his arm around James' shoulder. His friend was shaking with agitation. His hair was a mess and his glasses had slipped. There were tears in his eyes. "Calm down, Prongs. You can't help Marlene anymore. But you saved this family instead. And that horrible hag can do no more harm. Come on, let's go". He affectionately adjusted his friend's glasses and smoothed his hair. Then he pushed him softly in the direction of the path. He turned and cast a last look at the moor, which now stretched in front of him looking calm and seemingly harmless and giving no evidence of what had just happened. With a deep sigh, Sirius followed the others. Once again it had started to snow and soon their footprints disappeared under a white cover.

As they stepped out of the snowy forest into the valley, Shay smiled, "Go ahead inside. I will just renew the Protecting Charm". James and Sirius entered. Mercuria was sitting in the kitchen with Maeve and the children. When the two stepped into the room, Maeve jumped up and offered them two chairs. "Sit down, here you have something warm to drink. Dinner is ready in a minute". Shay and his father came in and sat down. Shay turned to Mercuria, "How come that a Muggle woman can handle such a heavy hammer?". She laughed. "I once worked for a blacksmith during summer holidays. I wanted to learn how to forge a sword. At that time, I had to work with a hammer like that". Shay laughed. "Fortunately for all of us, you were obviously successful. Without you, this could have ended badly". Sirius asked "There is one more thing I am interested in. What have you done to the man who was holding the wands? I saw him pull something from his neck. It fell to the ground". Mercuria laughed merrily. "You saw that? When I was packing my things, I was thinking that I would be helpless without a weapon. But how was I to defend myself against wizards? With something that could be used from a distance, if at all. I brought this with me". She searched her pockets and placed a pencil case on the table from which she took a brightly painted rectangle. While unfolding the piece, she explained, "This is a blowpipe. A customer from Colombia gave it to me. He was so thrilled with the jewellery I created for him that he let me have it. And four of these". She showed them a blowpipe arrow that was carefully wrapped in plastic and had a small yellow feather attached to its top end. Mercuria explained, "These are soaked with the poison of a frog. But I didn't expect it to work that quickly". Shay said, "I should do some research on Muggles. It seems that my idea of them is completely wrong". He turned to Sirius and James. "These people knew you by name. Obviously, this isn't the first time you've been involved in quarrels. What are you up to now? You certainly weren't on your way to us". James and Sirius looked at each other. "I don't want to know what exactly you're going to do. But if you tell us roughly where you are heading, we might be able to give you some advice". "To the Western border of Scotland". "That's about two hours from here, if you can get through without further hold-up". "We want to be there at least an hour before sunrise". "Ok. It's almost midnight. You guys can have some food, and then get some rest. I'll wake you up around five. If you start quickly then, you will be there in time". Sirius nodded.

After they had eaten, Maeve lead them to a chamber with three beds. They lay down and fell asleep immediately. As promised, Shay woke them up early. Maeve had prepared a large bag with provisions. "If you want to be there an hour before sunrise, you need to get going. I've prepared you some fine things. You can eat them when you have the time". They thanked their hosts. Maeve said, "We thank you. Without your intervention we all would be dead by now". Little Gavin didn't want to let Mercuria go and clung to her so that his mother had to pull him away. On the way out, Shay whispered to Sirius, "Take care of the little Muggle lady. She's a priceless treasure". Sirius smiled and nodded.

The whole family stood in the yard and waved after them as they mounted their brooms and headed north. It had stopped snowing and they made fast progress. After a while, the forest ended, and they flew over open landscape. They kept close to the ground and avoided settlements and isolated farms. They did not encounter a single soul.