Regulus stepped up, took the feather, and wrapped it in a piece of cloth. Then he handed it to Sirius who put it in his pocket. They helped Mark to his feet. He was swaying unsteadily and stumbled over to the oak, where he threw up. Sirius supported him as he slowly walked back to them. Regulus said: "We'll stay at Grimmauld Place tonight. Flying to Yorkshire now is pointless. Gavin, Marius, and I will handle the bikes. The three of you will apparate the Muggles up to the house". As Sirius turned to take a last look at the gravestone, he saw that Lucius had conjured a feather into the stone beneath the inscription.
An hour later, they were sitting in the kitchen of the house on Grimmauld Place, having a couple of drinks. The house that had once been gloomy and depressing was now bright and friendly. Sirius was amused to see Lucius looking around in amazement. They sat in silence for a while, sipping their drinks, until Lucius remarked, "Folks, you can think whatever you like about Voldemort. But one must acknowledge that he was brilliant in his own way. Hiding the feather so that only a Muggle could remove it from the stone is brilliant. We've tried everything to unlock this stone's mysteries. And we are not dabblers. But it would never have occurred to any of us to take a Muggle with us. We must be this honest. Come on, Black. Let's have a look at what we have here. We barely saw anything in the cemetery". Sirius took the cloth out of his pocket, placed it on the table and unfolded it carefully. The orange feather glimmered before them, and Sirius frowned because he had the feeling that he had seen it before. But if Tom Riddle had hidden it back in the fifties, that was impossible.
A small smile played on Lucius' lips. He had been watching him intently. "You've seen one of these before, judging by your reaction". Sirius gave him a startled look. "As a matter of fact, it does look familiar. I've seen it before. But that's not possible. But still. I wonder what kind of bird it belongs to". Jonathan said, "Even though you keep telling us that most of our myths and fairy tales are wrong, I have a pretty good idea what it is. A feather from a firebird, I'd say". Malfoy aimed his wand at it and muttered, "Aparecum". Surprised, Jessie pointed to the quill. "Now can anybody tell me what this is?". They had to look very hard to see the tiny number '5' that was engraved on it. "Not difficult to guess that there must be at least four more like it," Lucius said. "you've most likely seen one of these feathers before. Not this one, but one that might have belonged to the same bird. You must remember where you saw it". Sirius nodded. In his mind's eye he saw a cellar and a feather in a large silver box. He had no doubt that the feather should not be in that box. He had been puzzled when he had discovered it and Remus had said, "Perhaps it slipped into the box accidentally". Sirius looked up. "When I found it, Remus was there. I remember that clearly. We were together when we found it. And it wasn't supposed to be there. I know that for certain. I'll have to think that over. Maybe it will come back to me", he said. Malfoy considered this. "You saw it while you were on the run?". "Yes". "That should simplify matters. If Lupin was there, it could only have happened sometime between your faked death at the Ministry and Remus' death in the Battle of Hogwarts. Only two years, so a reasonable period, not too long ago. Make an effort, man".
Sirius nodded. By now he had recalled where he had seen the other feather. Mercuria and he had discovered the book of the healer Montalenfer. It had been hidden inside the statue of an author in Vernon, France. The book had been concealed in a silver box. At home, when they had opened the box and taken the book out, Sirius had carelessly shoved the open box under the table without giving it a second look. Sometime after that, he and Remus had tried to open the book, which was secured by a lock. When they'd finally left, having got nowhere, and Sirius had turned off the lights, they'd seen a faint glow under the table. They had turned around and discovered the feather inside the box. Since it seemed unrelated to the Healer's Book, Sirius had closed the box and carelessly pushed it on a shelf to examine the feather later. Then he had forgotten all about it. If he was right, it should be at Black Manor. But he wanted to check first. Cygnus had spent much time searching the house. What if he had found the feather then? Because Sirius and Remus had attached no importance to it when they had found it, Sirius had not cast a protective spell on it. It must still be in the moving boxes in the cellar, which they had never unpacked, if he remembered correctly. Having moved to Yorkshire, many of their household items and furniture were no longer required because Uncle Phineas already possessed them. Mercuria, however, had refused to part with her furniture and a few other items as well. So Sirius had stashed these away in one of the many cellars, along with a few boxes and crates. When he had closed the cellar door, he had immediately forgotten all about the things in there. He prayed that Cygnus' search had not been successful.
Jonathan broke into Sirius's thoughts. He said: "I wonder if Cygnus is involved. We may not have fully understood his intentions yet. Initially we assumed he wanted to learn from Sirius and Lucius. Then we suspected that Sirius should recognise him as his son in order to be in the line of succession. The discovery of the book on the Art of Strategic Warfare led us to believe that he was trying to raise an army. Surely all this is correct. But it may have always been about so much more. When he kidnapped the children, he wanted to ransom Voldemort's remaining possessions. He knew that Sirius had them because Lucius had told him so. At the time, I thought he might have wanted them as a souvenir. After all, what could he need them for? He knew Slytherin's scarf had revealed an image of Merope's tomb. The textbook? The key? In my opinion, he hardly had high hopes for them. Makes little sense. Unless, of course, he knew that there was something far more valuable among those items". "Like what, for instance?". Lucius facepalmed. "Like an inkwell and a quill pen. Black. We were so bloody foolish. When we examined Voldemort's stuff then, we accepted the inkwell and quill as what they appeared to be. I didn't have a closer look at them. Did you?". Sirius shook his head. "I assumed that he would have needed them to do some writing". Regulus interjected, "What if Cygnus knew Voldemort had a feather?". Sirius mused: "That's possible. But then Riddle must have had at least two, since Cygnus could hardly have known about the one hidden in the tomb in the Fifties. Riddle may have found this one in Merope's family. This is why he choose to hide it with her. We know that after murdering his Muggle father and his father's parents, he sought out his uncle, Morfin Gaunt, who lived near the Riddle house and who was his last remaining family member. He planted a vision in Morfin of having killed the Riddles and consequently Morfin confessed the murder to the authorities when being questioned. Gaunt was sent to Azkaban, where he remained for the rest of his life". Regulus marvelled at this. "How do you know all this?". "From Harry, of course. Professor Dumbledore had interviewed many people who had been in contact with Voldemort before he became the Dark Lord. He collected their memories and showed them to Harry in his Pensieve. That's how we also know that Voldemort stole a ring from Morfin, which was later identified as the Resurrection Stone. He turned it into a horcrux and hid it in the Gaunt's shack. At that occasion he may have come across the feather as well". Lucius interjected, "The Gaunts were the last of an incredibly long line of pure-blood wizards, but they were trash and they lived like pigs. Both Marvolo and Morfin were utter reprobates, but they possessed things whose value they could not remotely comprehend. In the end, it doesn't really matter where Voldemort got the feather from. One thing's for sure, he had it in the fifties. And he knew what it was and what it was all about. Otherwise, he would never have gone to such lengths to conceal it. It was brilliant, as I said. But if he knew the secret of the feather, he must also have known that there were more of them out there. And maybe later he found another. Which he carried with him all the time. And old Flint found out about it". Suddenly Marius shouted, "No, old Flint didn't find out. It was he who gave it to him. The strange dedication in the book made us wonder. Why should Flint's most treasured possession be a Muggle book? In fact, it makes a lot of sense if it is referring to two different items. Flint gave the Dark Lord his most prized possession, the feather, as well as the book". "But why would Flint give it to the Dark Lord?", Sirius interjected. "Because Voldemort spent years searching for the other feathers, and when he discovered Flint had one, he forced him to hand it over. Why he didn't just kill Flint and take the feather is beyond me. Flint then told Cygnus about it, and Cygnus, in turn, hoped that it would still be among the items that were left in Lucius' house after Voldemort was dead. Which Lucius then gave to me. Lucius had not mentioned the inkwell and the quill. His hope was that we hadn't found out about them, and that they were either with the other items or at Malfoy Manor. This means he searched Black Manor for the feather and the time-turner". Lucius said, "And in the cemetery. There, the old Muggle lady met him. If he tries again, he's in for a nasty surprise. The feather isn't there anymore". Sirius snorted. "But he doesn't know that because you conjured a feather into the stone to make him think it's still there. Lucius smiled condescendingly. "Exactly. By the way, I've wanted to tell you all along that you did really well, Mark. Very, very impressive for a Muggle". Mark, who had since recovered, beamed with pride.
They talked late into the night. "It was very exciting," Mark remarked, when they said their farewells the next morning. "I'm just glad that I was able to be a part of it. I don't think there's anything else I can do about it right now. If the story continues, promise to take me with you". Sirius chuckled. "Yes, you have my word, my heart and soul. We would never have got this far without you". They hugged and Mark got on his bike for the ride home. The rest of them did the same. Back at Black Manor, Sirius climbed into the cellar where the crates from their home at New World Crescent were stored. When he reached the door, he hesitated for a moment before he pushed the door handle down. By the light of his wand, he had a look around. Furniture and moving boxes were scattered in a wild mess. He sighed. It was obvious that Cygnus had searched this room. The only question was how thorough he had been. If the silver box was still there, then it had to be in one of the moving boxes. With a wave of his wand, he moved the furniture and larger objects to the side. In the far corner of the room there were four large wooden boxes. Lids marked 'Kitchen', 'Living Room', 'Garden' and 'Cellar' lay beside them, their contents scattered on the floor before them. Obviously, Mercuria had hastily emptied cabinets, shelves and drawers and tossed their contents into the moving boxes without sorting them. Suddenly he saw a silver glimmer from under a pile. Sirius bent down and tugged. The silver box from Vernon. He hesitated for a moment. Then he opened the lid. The box contained a number of Muggle fashion magazines with photographs of elegant women on the covers. Apparently, Mercuria had collected them to inspire her jewellery and had put them in the box when she'd packed. He waved his wand, and the magazines began to zoom out of the box until it was completely empty.
Sirius closed his eyes in frustration. Cygnus had found the feather. Even though it had seemed worthless when he had first found it, he cursed himself for not protecting it any better. There was nothing he could do about it now, though. He took the box and carried it into the living room, placing it on the table next to a cardboard box. Andromeda said, "Dorkas brought the things from Lucius' house while you were in the cellar. But let's see what you've got first." Sirius shook his head at her. "The feather's gone. It was in this box". "Where did you get the box?", asked Andromeda. Sirius explained that they had found the box while searching for the book of the healer Montalenfer and how he and Remus had discovered the feather. Jessie said, "Have a look at this. That's the bird we're looking for". She pointed to the lid of the box. They looked at it more closely. Lavish garlands of flowers were carved into the lid. At the centre of it all was a bird that none of them had ever seen before. It resembled a parrot, with an elegant head perched on a slender neck and a large set of wings. But most surprising of all was its tail. Two very long feathers on either side framed the central seven, which stood upright like a fan. "Our feather must be one of those, and obviously there are seven of them". Gavin asked, "Does anybody know anything at all about a firebird?". Jonathan said, "As far as I know, the firebird is a myth that originated in Eastern Europe. But I don't know for sure if it's true or not". Sirius said: "Eastern Europe would fit. Harry told me that Voldemort found the Ravenclaw diadem in Romania. He and Pettigrew met Bertha Jenkins in Bulgaria, who told them that Barty Crouch senior had rescued his son from Azkaban by a cunning ruse. Barty Crouch junior, who had been an ardent follower of the Dark Lord, had then lived under his father's Imperius Curse until he managed to escape at the Quidditch World Cup and joined Voldemort". Sirius nodded. "Yes, Tom has obviously spent quite a lot of time in Eastern Europe". Regulus said: "Too bad Cygnus found the feather".
"Daddy?". They all looked up in surprise. The boys had sneaked into the room and were now standing in front of Sirius. "Boys, not right now. I haven't got time". "But it's urgent". "What is it, then?". Phineas stepped forward and handed him a fashion magazine that was tied up tightly with a cord. "And what am I supposed to do with it?", Sirius asked, confused. "But Dad, this is a treasure". "Very nice indeed. Later, we're going to have a look at your treasure together. I don't have time for this now". "But it is the treasure you are looking for!", Procyon exclaimed indignantly. "What treasure?". "The feather from that silver box over there on the table. This is it. We hid it, you know?". The others nodded their heads in agreement. Sirius stared at them incredulously. "It's hidden in this magazine. Open it, Dad, and you'll see we're right".
Sirius glanced at the magazine. He noticed that the cover and spine were held together by thick strips of adhesive tape. With a wave of his wand he removed the cord and the tape. The magazine flipped open to reveal something that had been placed in between the pages. The feather. Sirius sighed, relieved, and reached to grab it. To his astonishment, the feather was firmly stitched to the next pages with a thin thread. "What the hell is that? What kind of idiot would have the crazy idea of sewing something into a magazine?", he asked. Lucius leaned forward, "If I had to bet, I'd put all my money on Mercuria". The rest of them snorted. Sirius turned to the boys. "How about sitting down and telling us what has happened?". Asterion explained, "Just before Mum's birthday, we were playing in the basement. The door to one of the cellar rooms was open. We hid, and after a while Mum came out and went upstairs. She left the door open, and we went to see what was inside. But there was just a lot of junk and rubbish from the old house in London. Then we found the wooden boxes and cleared them out. In one of them was this box. There were magazines inside with pictures of ladies across their covers. Among them was this one. Mummy came back just as we were about to lift the cord. She took the magazine from us and said: "You mustn't open this. I'm telling you a great secret. But you must promise me that you will never mention it to anyone. I have hidden a treasure inside this magazine. It is a feather that was given to me by a golden magical bird. One day, it will come for it. If it's not there, the bird can't do magic anymore. Nobody must know of this. Only your father, in case he goes looking for it. No one else. I've wrapped the cord around the magazine so that no one can use magic to summon the feather. That is why you mustn't untie it. Will you promise me that?, she asked us. We did promise her, and she put the magazine back in the box and put the other magazines on top of it". Procyon went on to say, "When Mummy had left the house to live with Uncle Regulus, and you were so ill, we heard Cygnus say to Drusia one night, 'We've got to find that damned feather. It's got to be here somewhere'. Do you hear me, Daddy? He wanted the feather from the magical bird so that it couldn't do magic anymore. In the night we slipped down to the basement and took the magazine. In Teddy's room, there's a loose floorboard under the bed and a hollow space underneath. That's where we stashed it. And Cygnus didn't find it". Mercuria had gone to great lengths to hide the feather, and to make sure it couldn't be found by summoning it. Sirius smiled and said. "That cunning little thing. She had a clue that the feather was important and hid it in such a way that it wouldn't be susceptible to magic. Sometimes I wonder how anyone could ever come up with crazy ideas like sewing something into a fashion magazine. Incredible! Simply unbelievable".
Lucius laughed dryly. "Unbelievable, really. That woman had tricks up her sleeve that would have made any witch jealous. It was a shame she didn't have any magic in her. Although sometimes I thought she could read minds. And of course, she couldn't be obliviated. I tried to do that several times". "James did it as well. When he tried to obliviate her, he almost went crazy because it didn't work. So maybe she had a bit of magic in her too. Don't forget that she could draw Wizarding portraits. But I think that she was just a brilliant observer of things. Combined with her eidetic memory, this allowed her to draw razor-sharp conclusions". Lucius sighed. "Which brings us back to the question of what she ever saw in an idiot like you. After all, apart from your magical skills, there was nothing about you that would have made a woman like her wait a full fourteen years for your return". Sirius let out a roar of laughter. "I do have some hidden qualities". "That's more than obvious to me. I suppose it always comes down to the same thing in the end. Hidden qualities. I am sick and tired of hearing anybody say that". The others had a good laugh. "Don't take it so badly, Lucius. Sirius is the one in a million. We're destined to be average," Gavin said. "Average," Lucius muttered, giving him an annoyed look. "That might apply to you". Andromeda interjected, "But why did she guess that the feather was important, when Remus and you thought it was just a coincidence that it had slipped into the box?". Marius laughed, "Mercuria didn't believe in coincidences, and if the feather was in the box with the book, she knew that there must have been a reason for it. Even if she had no idea what the feather was all about, she felt compelled to secure it when she packed the belongings from the old house to move here. For a Muggle, she had an incredible knowledge of magic and how it worked. So she knew exactly how it needed to be hidden and protected. And she did a superb job. In any case, Cygnus did not find it".
"Okay. Unfortunately, we know nothing about the witch who owned the book and the feather", Sirius waved his hand casually. Regulus cut him off, "We do know something about her. Since she possessed both the book and the feather, she must have been deeply involved in the Dark Arts. This casket is made of silver. Made by goblins. Very valuable, of course. Perhaps it originally contained something other than a book. Something related to the feather. The ornamentation on the lid proves it. I'm sure the witch had a reason for hiding the feather with the book". Marius said, "Maybe we should fly down to Vernon when the time is right".