They set off for London in the afternoon of the following day, arriving at the cemetery just as dusk was falling. Once they had parked their bikes, they walked through the Victorian entrance gate and followed Mark around. He had made a sketch of the grounds which he now consulted to guide them along the winding paths that led deeper and deeper into the cemetery. At first, the graves they passed were fresh. Flowers and wreaths indicated that a recent funeral had taken place. The main paths were lit by a few lamps and most of the foliage had been removed. The further they went, the older the graves became, until at last the dates on the weathered gravestones stretched back into the nineteenth century. The trees and stones were overgrown with ivy, the narrow paths were covered with leaves, the ground was littered with broken headstones, and only the moon and stars cast a pale light.
The wizards used their wands to light the way for them. Sirius walked beside Mark and, looking over his shoulder, saw that the wizards had taken Jonathan and the women into their midst. Jessie and Sophie had joined Jonathan and were huddled up close to him, while Andromeda was clutching Marius' hand. The leaves rustled beneath their footsteps and there was a loud moaning and wailing to be heard again and again. Suddenly Jessie cried out, "Look, there's a dead fox over there!". Jonathan explained, "It was the vampire that did it. He's supposed to scare all the animals around him, and he's been blamed for a lot of the dead foxes around the grounds". Sirius grinned as Jessie punched her brother's chest with a fist and shouted, "Stop telling scary stories now. You invented this, didn't you?". "No. Those stories have been around for a long time", Jonathan replied seriously. "They are true, though. I just don't know how the vampire will react to wizards". "You silly bugger". Sirius put his arm around Jessie protectively as she caught up with him and held on tightly.
Finally, Mark stopped and whispered to Sirius, who was walking next to him: "This is it", pointing to a gravestone that stood off to the side under a large oak tree. Sirius held his wand to the inscription and read 'Merope Gaunt Riddle', as well as the dates of birth and death. A feather had been chiselled into the stone beneath the inscriptions. Mark looked at Sirius uneasily. "What now?". "I haven't got a clue. Does anyone have an idea?". Lucius stepped forward and had a look at the gravestone. "The question is, do we need to open the grave, or is it sufficient to deal with the stone? Why would he erect such an ostentatious stone? And what is the significance of this feather?". He waved his wand, shouting "Mysterium revelare". But nothing happened. They tried a few more spells, but none of them had any effect. Suddenly, Sirius noticed that Jessie was starting to tremble. She was staring at something that was hiding behind the trunk of the oak tree. He narrowed his eyes and made out a translucent, faintly shimmering figure that was watching them very closely. He took a step forward and shouted: "Who are you? Why are you observing us? Is there anything you can tell us about the tomb over here? Why don't you join us?".
Slowly, the figure floated towards them. As she got closer to them, they could see that it was a nun. "Why are you wizards visiting this tomb along with a bunch of Muggles?", she asked. Lucius replied, "It would be going too far to tell that story right now. Have you been here in the graveyard for a long time?". The ghost nodded his head. "I have lived here for a great many years. And I have seen many things, believe me. But when I was alive, I used to be the headmistress of an orphanage. That was a long time ago, a very long time. I died there too. After my death I stayed in the house until it was demolished. It was only then that I moved to this cemetery". She lowered her head. Regulus asked, "If you lived in the orphanage before your death, do you know the woman buried here?". The nun nodded. "That woman was a witch. She came to our house very pregnant and gave birth to her child. Then she passed away. The child was a boy, and he grew up with us. He was a wizard. But I guess you already know that. What can I do to help you?". Sirius explained: "We know that the woman was buried by the staff in a small graveyard not far from the orphanage. At some point, she was transferred to this place. Do you have any idea who did this?". She gave a subtle smile. "That orphan boy. But you might have had a hunch about that as well". Lucius asked, "Did you see him doing this?". She cocked her head sideways and said, "Maybe". "Maybe? What do you mean by that?". "He came at night and when he noticed me, he threatened me. But how can a wizard threaten a spirit? With death, perhaps?". She giggled. "Well, between you and me. There are several things that a wizard can do to a ghost. But I'm not going to tell you what they are. Only a true master of the Dark Arts is capable of it. When he buried his mother here, the orphan boy was not yet up to the task. Even though he was already a very powerful wizard. Yes, he really was". Sirius winced when Mark shouted, "That doesn't answer the question. Did you watch him?".
The nun looked at him appreciatively. "You are very brave, Muggle. I only show myself to you tonight because you're in the company of wizards. Normally, we try to avoid being seen by the likes of you. As most magical creatures would. Yes, I watched him, to answer your question. I saw what he was doing, though I withdrew a little. He was conjuring a pit and placing a small box inside. There wasn't much left of his mother. But I think he wanted to make sure that he would be able to find her again in case he needed to". Andromeda explained: "He didn't like his parents. As a matter of fact, he hated both. That is why we are here. If he bothered to bury his mother and decorate her grave with a stone like this, it must have been very important to him". The ghost gave a small chuckle. "Yes, yes, that stone. It took the orphan boy a great deal of effort and time to put it up". Sirius frowned. It shouldn't take a skilled wizard any time at all to erect a stone and write an inscription on it. "Does this mean that the secret is hidden in the stone?". The nun looked up and abruptly vanished. "Hey, come back," Lucius called. "We have a few more questions". "Look over there, what's that?", asked Gavin.
They turned in the direction in which he was pointing. A flickering light approached them from the other side of the path. As it came closer, they saw that it was an old woman leaning heavily on a walking stick and holding a torch in her hand. She walked slowly and smiled kindly as she stopped in front of Sirius. "Good evening. Excuse me for addressing you. For a very long time I have been hoping to meet someone who would visit this grave". She pointed at Merope's gravestone. "Aren't you afraid to walk the graveyard at night?", asked Jessie. "What about all the ghosts and the vampire? Haven't you heard of them?". The old lady straightened to her full height, smiled amusedly, and said, "Child, I am ninety-two. My husband has been dead for more than fifty years now. I have come to the cemetery every day since then. When I was still working, I could only come in the evening, and in autumn and winter it was already dark by then. At first, I was scared, because of course I had heard all those stories. But I have never met a single person here who has come from another world. Neither ghosts, nor vampires. Then, when I retired, I kept coming in the evenings. By then, most of the visitors are gone, and I do not want to be disturbed when I am with my husband". She turned to Merope's grave with a sigh. "Once again, my apologies for my approach. I thought you might know what happened when the man buried that woman here". Jonathan asked, "You saw someone bury Merope?". She nodded. Then she took Regulus' hand and had a close look at his wand and the bright light that shone from its tip. "This is an interesting flashlight. Does it run on batteries?". Regulus looked at her puzzled. Jonathan swiftly took her by the arm. "No, they run on solar power and are brand new to the market", he said. She nodded her head knowingly. "I see. Then I think I'll just stick with my old flashlight. I know what I have in this. My apologies once again. But you seem to me to be very friendly. Not as rude as the young people who came here the other day. When I had a word with them, they were very impolite". "There was someone here?", asked Sirius. "Yes. It's been a couple of weeks ago and like tonight, it was dark already. They had these modern torches too. When I addressed them, they got really mean to me. I apologised and quickly left". She stared at Sirius. "The one who spoke to me, looked a lot like you", she added. "Can you tell us what happened exactly?". "Yes, I would love to. But I can't stand on my feet for so long". She allowed Jonathan to lead her to a pile of stones and sat down heavily on it. Sirius raised his wand and whispered, "I think I'd better conjure a bench for her", but Jessie shook her head. "Don't. That would perhaps upset her". She turned to the old lady. "Could you tell us what happened when you saw someone here? Not the young people, but a long time ago?".
They formed a circle around her, and she seemed to take great pleasure in the attention that she was receiving so unexpectedly. She said: "You see, this is the oldest part of the cemetery. Usually very few people come to visit the dead over here anymore. Because of the atmosphere of the old gravesites and because some celebrities are buried here, a lot of tourists are being seen during the day. But they leave the cemetery by the time it gets dark at the latest. The small side entrance is much closer to my flat than the main gate, so I always enter from there. When I was younger, I sometimes climbed over the wall, but eventually I was not able to do it anymore. You know, at a certain age… Then one of the gardeners gave me a key for the side entrance. Now I can come whenever I want". She gave an apologetic smile. "It must have been some time towards the end of the fifties. Do you want to know the exact date?". Sirius shook his head. "It was just before Christmas, and I had been at work late into the night. I was quite tired, and I had thought about going home straight away. But then I found myself drawn back here again. Sometime after my turn off the main path, my torch died. I had forgotten to change its battery. While I was considering whether to turn back, I saw a light coming from the direction of my husband's grave. The moon was shining brightly, I have been here so often that I found my way in my sleep, and I must admit that I was a bit curious. Of course, I had heard all the horror stories about the creatures that are said to inhabit the cemetery at dusk. The ghosts and the vampire. But they don't shed light. So, I wasn't afraid, and eventually my curiosity got the better of me and I approached cautiously". Once again, Sirius marvelled at how easily Muggles could be distracted by imaginary dangers, while maintaining an almost stoic composure in the face of real, deadly threats. Mercuria had puzzled him in this regard more than once. He had attributed her behaviour to the fact that her knowledge of the Wizarding World and its inhabitants was based primarily on Muggle myths and tales, which gave only an inadequate and distorted impression of reality. He was sure that an encounter with a ghost would have been far less dangerous for the old lady than catching Tom Riddle in the act of performing a forbidden ritual.
The old lady went on, "I stayed a bit away and didn't move. Whatever was going on there, it was out of the bounds. I saw a man put a small box in a pit in front of the oak here. Then he closed what obviously was a grave. It was amazing how quickly he worked, even though he didn't use any shovel. When he had finished, he erected the headstone. He had some sort of flame cutter with him. Because when he was working on the stone, it looked as if his tool was burning the inscription into the stone rather than chiselling it. I don't know how better to describe it. Finally, he took something out of his pocket and held it up to the stone. Bright sparks shot out of his tool as he worked on it. This went on for quite a long time. I felt tired and cold. So, I decided that I had seen enough, and I crept back to the main path. I'm sure you understand. Whatever the man was doing was definitely illegal. After all, it's suspicious that he came here to bury somebody in the middle of the night, don't you think? I feared that I had witnessed a murderer deposing of his victim. That night was always on my mind for the next few days. But it was not until Christmas Day that I had the chance to visit the grave in the light of day. I had a good look at it. In fact, I had been determined to report the matter to the police. But when I read the dates on the gravestone and found out that the woman in the grave had died a long time ago, I decided against it. The stone was not new, but quite weather-beaten. It was possible that the man had just secretly reburied a relative. After the war, many of the town's smaller graveyards were levelled because space was needed for building. My guess was that he did not have the money for an official reburial, so this was the way out. He was a close family member, wasn't he?". Sirius nodded. "You're more or less right. He moved her remains here from another graveyard. And he was her son, after all". The woman let out a sigh of relief at that. "Thank goodness for that. It's been bothering me all these years that I might have witnessed a crime and didn't do anything about it". Jessie asked, "And why have you approached us now?". "I wondered whether you could tell me something about the stone. Why does it sometimes light up at night? It's just an ordinary stone, right?". "The stone lights up?", asked Sirius. "No, not the stone. Just this feather. But it shines very brightly then. You have no idea, do you? Then I must be on my way. I think it's getting late, and I want to go home". Sirius helped her to her feet and walked her back to the path. With a smile and a wave, she walked away slowly in the light of her torch.
When she was out of sight, they turned their attention on the stone. "It's all about the feather", Sirius said. "Let's find out for ourselves what's so special about it". The wizards formed a semi-circle in front of the gravestone, trying to unravel the mystery of the feather. But no matter how hard they tried, nothing worked out. Neither the stone nor the feather responded to any of their spells. Sirius glanced at the others. Lucius had rolled up his sleeves. With a grim expression on his face, he continued to cast spell after spell at the stone. Andromeda ran her fingers through her hair, which by now had become tangled in all directions. Marius watched the proceedings with a puckered lip and a furrowed brow, as if wondering what his contribution might be. Gavin and Regulus were whispering excitedly and gesturing to each other. From time to time, they cast a spell. The three Muggles had sat down on the pile of stones and watched the wizards' efforts with growing frustration.
Eventually Sirius said, "It's no use. It seems that whatever it is that Voldemort has hidden here, Cygnus has already found it. Let's go home". The rest of the disillusioned group agreed with him. Disappointed, Lucius cast a final spell on the gravestone. They turned and started shuffling along the path towards the exit. Jonathan and Jessie followed in their wake. Sirius grinned as he looked back and saw that Mark had stepped up to the stone and was giving it one last glum look. He was probably the most disappointed of them all. He had hoped so much for another adventure with his wizard friends, and now he had to go back home without having achieved anything at all. Sirius grinned and started to walk out to catch up with the others when he caught a glimpse of light flashing behind him. The others spun around and ran back to the grave. Mark stood a few yards from the stone and looked confused as Sirius put an arm around his shoulder. "Tell me, what was that about?", he asked. Sirius shook his head. "What have you been doing?" asked Lucius. When Mark explained, his voice was on the verge of breaking: "I was so disappointed. I had this feeling that I was on to something important. And then it turned out to be nothing. In a fit of rage, I hit the feather with the palm of my hand. And then there was this flash of light". Sirius stepped forward and put his hand on top of the feather. Nothing happened. He then turned to Mark. "Are you sure about this?". "Yes". "Then place your hand over the feather again". Mark hesitated. "Go on now, Muggle. Don't be such a coward. No harm will come to you. We'll be here to intervene if anything goes wrong", Lucius urged him on.
Sirius looked at him sceptically. They had not been particularly successful yet. And he certainly trusted that even though Tom Riddle's skills were far from fully developed in the fifties, he had protected his secret with a spell that they could not counter. Straightening to his full height, Mark thrust his chin forward energetically, stepped in front of the tombstone, knelt, and placed his hand firmly on the feather. A bright flash went off. Awe-struck, Mark watched the light slowly spread across the stone. Suddenly he turned and looked at Sirius, horrified. Sirius dropped to his knees and threw away his wand. He pressed both hands tightly against Mark's, afraid that he would cut the connection to the feather. As soon as the stone was completely bathed in the dazzling light, it began to vibrate. Softly at first, and then more and more violently. Blinded by the light, Sirius shut his eyes. Mark tried desperately to tear himself free of him. Sirius had to use all his strength to prevent Mark from cutting off contact. Suddenly, the gravestone seemed to explode. There was a flash of light and a loud bang. Then the light went out and the stone stood firm and dark as before. Sirius opened his eyes. In an effort to prevent Mark from jumping up, Lucius had grabbed his shoulders and had pushed him down as hard as he could. Sirius picked up his wand, lit it and got to his feet. "It's all right Mark. Come on, get up from there. It's all over now". He reached out to help Mark get to his feet, who was as white as chalk and looked as if he was about to pass out. Then he whispered something that Sirius couldn't make out. He bent down and said reassuringly, "Hey, it's over. Let's go home". Lucius held his wand above them and in its light, Mark slowly stretched out his fist, fiercely clutching at something. When he opened it, they could see an orange feather in the palm of his hand. Lucius shone the light on the gravestone. The feather that had been chiselled into it had disappeared. Sirius and Lucius exchanged a glance.