"And what of that?" Lucius pointed to the cardboard box on the table. He waved his wand and the contents floated out of the box onto the table. The scarf with the Slytherin crest. The textbook. The Muggle book in which Peter Pettigrew had scribbled some spells. The inkwell and, finally, the quill. Lucius grimaced with disgust. All the pieces were dirty. But the inkwell and quill were covered in a particularly thick layer of dust. Andromeda pointed her wand at the items and muttered a cleaning charm. While the other objects looked as good as new, the quill remained dirty. Gavin picked it up, shook it vigorously and frowned as the dust stuck. "Well, that's weird. What's wrong with this?". The wizards pulled out their wands and, as in the cemetery, unleashed a shower of spells on the feather but to no avail. As they called a halt to their efforts and began to consider what to do next, Jessie placed a large bowl on the table. "Can you add water?". "Aguamenti," Sirius whispered as he directed jets of water from his wand into the bowl. Jessie rolled up her sleeves, picked up the quill and dipped it into the bowl, gently moving it back and forth as she did so. Gradually, the water turned into a dirty brew. A faint glow came from it. A small smile played at the corners of Sirius's mouth, and he raised his eyebrows. The others stared at the bowl, amazed or confused.

Jessie removed the feather from the water, dripped it and placed it on a cloth. "Tom Riddle hid the feather in the cemetery so that only someone like us could find it. I thought he might have done the same thing with this one," she said. She turned to Sirius. "It wasn't just Mercuria that was sharp". Sirius smiled, pulling her onto his lap. "Now, you listen to me, Jessie. I know that you're clever, and I do appreciate that about you. I really do. So be smart, and don't try to compete with Mercuria when it comes to the knowledge of magic, because you're always going to get the short end of the stick. As Marius said, there was no Muggle who knew as much about it as she did. I'm sure that from the moment Lily received her invitation letter to Hogwarts, she has been secretly reading her textbooks and learning them by heart during the holidays. If Hogwarts had only been a test of theoretical knowledge, she would have been a mile ahead of the rest of the school. She knew more about magic than an average wizard does. But she had no magic herself. So she used what she knew to try and compete by use of the Muggle things she had at hand. And she was just curious. No, she was eager to learn. She persuaded us to do magic in front of her. Then she would develope strategies to respond to it. We all did it, Lily and James and Marius and me. And Lucius, too, who would show her the Dark Magic that the rest of us refused to use". He grinned. "And what sort of magic would that be, Lucius?", asked Gavin with curiosity. Lucius muttered something to himself. "I didn't quite catch that. What was it?". Lucius looked resigned. "She wanted me to try the Imperius Curse on her", he said. "You're kidding, aren't you?". "Absolutely not, young man. You simply cannot imagine the absurd ideas that woman had in her head. She said that, as a Death Eater, I'd be just the right person to experiment on. After all, the use of the three Unforgivable Charms was a prerequisite for being a member of Voldemort's circle. When I told her that it would be a sure-fire ticket to Azkaban, her reply was that she would exonerate me of all charges. She had even drafted a letter of indemnity. Can you imagine that?". "So, did you do it?". "Yes, as a matter of fact. She blackmailed me into it. Well, what could I do? As I said: Any witch would have envied Mercuria's methods. And now, to prevent any rumours, no, the spell didn't work on her. Exactly as she had anticipated. She just wanted to make sure". They shook their heads in disbelief. Jessie sighed, "I suppose she was one of a kind in every way". Sirius gave her a big hug. "Yes, she was, yes. But then again so are you. So, will you please stop comparing yourself to her, making yourself smaller than you are? Because I think you're just right". Jessie had tears in her eyes as she gave him a hug and a kiss.

Lucius gestured disapproval. "To get back to the feather, that was a pretty clever trick. Cleaning it in water would not have occurred to any wizard. As a matter of fact, there is one odd thing which I forgot about but now seems strange to me. Draco moved back to Malfoy Manor recently, as you might know. His new house didn't suit him. He asked me if I had taken all my writing utensils when I moved here, which I haven't. He said that he wanted to write a letter and couldn't find a single quill in the house. I wasn't suspicious at the time but assumed that all the quills were locked away in a drawer so that they couldn't be retrieved by magic. I accused him of not having looked hard enough for them. But now I'm not so sure anymore. Cygnus would have been able to get past the protective spells as an Animagus. He knew that when I moved here the house was abandoned. What if he collected all those quills?". "Was that before or after his kidnapping of the children?". "I am pretty sure it was afterwards".

Andromeda said, "I recap: After the death of his grandparents, Cygnus visits Lucius and learns that Sirius is in possession of Tom Riddle's belongings. Moving in with Sirius, he searches the house for them, but can't find them because they're hidden in the outer elf village. There is another feather in the house, that of the French witch. But Cygnus doesn't know about it. The boys hide it and Cygnus does not find it either. Forced to leave, he kidnaps the children to blackmail Sirius into handing over the feather. He fails. Eventually, in a final desperate attempt, he breaks into Lucius's empty house, hoping that the feather will still be there, since Lucius and Sirius had mistaken it for an ordinary quill and had failed to discover it's true nature and therefore left it behind. He also finds and searches Merope's tomb, but we know he couldn't retrieve the feather from there". Sirius chuckled. "We had Mark on our side. He was our master weapon. Let's see what number this one is". Pointing his wand at the quill, he bent low to read the tiny engraving. "Number seven". The other feather had a tiny "2" engraved in the quill. Jonathan said, "We have the numbers 2, 5 and 7, which means that we are three steps ahead of Cygnus. We have no idea how much of an advantage he may have over us". "What's your point, sir?". "Well, we have three feathers. Probably he has none. We have absolutely no idea what to do with them, but he knows exactly what they are good for". Sirius added, "Furthermore, we have hardly any chance to find the other four. Well, let's face it. We more or less owe finding the ones we have to chance. There could be anything behind it all. Like a secret society. Or they are needed for some kind of ritual." Regulus interjected: "There's no point in speculating. We have already been wronged several times. Maybe your Belgian friends know something?".

Sirius replied: "Before we'll contact them again, I'd like to check the library for information on the Firebird. There is something else I need to look up in there anyway. In all the excitement, I completely forgot that Jessie and I had a harvest of Dragon's Tears the day before yesterday. I need to figure out how to preserve them". It became so quiet in the room one could hear a pin drop. Dumbfounded, Sirius looked at their bewildered faces. "What was that you were sayin'?". "You've been harvesting Dragon's Tears?". Lucius shook his head in disbelief. "This is hard to believe. How the hell did you do that? I used to think they were just a myth. A fairy tale to be told to little children. I doubt any living human being has ever seen one". "In fact, it wasn't me who found them. It was Jessie who came across a manuscript written by Uncle Phineas. The tears are the fruit of a very special tree. One of this species is growing here on the estate. It blooms and bears fruit only once every fifty years. If all the conditions are met, the berries will be transformed into the tears of the dragon. Jessie was very lucky". He explained how he had followed Jessie, how they had waited for the blood moon to raise, and how in its light the berries had eventually turned into Dragon's Tears, which they had collected. The others were too stunned to say a word. Lucius was the first to speak up. "This is incredible. This is all absolutely incredible. Muggle Mark finding Voldemort's feather; Muggle Mercuria protecting the feather from magic; Muggle Jessie harvesting Dragon's Tears. What is happening in this world? OK, so you've collected these Dragon's Tears. What are you going to do with them now?". Sirius grinned. "I haven't got a clue. Honestly. I didn't believe in it myself until the moment the berries transformed into Dragon's Tears by the light of the blood moon. We desperately need to find out what to do with them now".

Lucius said, "I'd like to see those berries. C'mon Sirius, show us". The others looked expectantly, so he got up and led them to his potion cellar. As the others gathered around the large table, Sirius took out the basket of Dragon's Tears and placed it in the middle of the table. "I don't know if they'll stand the light", he said before carefully lifting the lid. Everyone stared fascinated at the faintly glowing berries. Sophie said, "They seem to be going mushy. Something must be done quickly to conserve these. Otherwise, they may rot, and all this will be for naught". Lucius asked, "Jessie, did Phineas mention anything in that parchment about how to deal with them?". Jessie shook her head in reply. "Maybe he didn't have a clue himself". Marius had listened thoughtfully to the discussion. Now he pulled the basket towards him and said: "I've seen these before. Ever since you started telling us about that tree, the story has seemed somehow familiar to me. And now I know where I have seen it before". He drew his wand and called out, "Accio picture book Mercuria". From somewhere in the house a large, thin book zoomed up to him which he seized with his hand. "Perhaps you remember, that when I was a little boy and I couldn't read yet, you gave me a few picture books, Sirius. That was before you went to Azkaban, of course. I had a few Muggle picture books as well. Mercuria loved to read them out to me. But she found most books from both worlds quite boring and uninspiring. So she started writing her own stories. She was excellent at drawing, and she had a lot of imagination. Really, she was so full of stories, it was just unbelievable. And this one is about the tears of a dragon".

Marius handed the book to Sirius, who took it as if it were a precious treasure. Beneath the golden-lettered title, 'The Wizard and the Dragon by Mercuria Evans', was a drawing of a black-cloaked wizard who bore a striking resemblance to young Sirius. Behind him, filling the entire page, stood a huge red dragon with its wings spread wide and its head bent downwards. Like all the drawings of Mercuria, it was a work of art with innumerable beautiful details. Sirius swallowed hard and stroked the cover tenderly. Suddenly he felt a reassuring hand caress his back. He saw Jessie looking at him with a pitiful yet uncertain expression as he lifted his head. "Thank you for being with me", he whispered in her ear as he took her into his arms. He put the book on the table and turned the page carefully. The story was about a young wizard whose friends had sent him on a quest for a powerful weapon to fight an evil enemy. The young hero had already lived through several exciting adventures when he finally came across a dragon. The drawing was of an autumnal landscape in which the wizard was fighting the fire-breathing dragon with his wand. Sirius was already about to turning the page when his eyes suddenly caught sight of a small detail at the top of the illustration. He bent down low over the book and stared in confusion at the tree on top of a hill in the distant background. "That's the one. The dragon blood tree. This is absolutely unbelievable". He tapped on the tree with his finger. Turning the page, he audibly gasped as he saw what came next. A giant, silver moon occupied the entire background. In the centre of the painting stood a huge dragon blood tree, and between its leaves one could see panicles of countless tiny berries. In the foreground, the wizard and dragon were engaged in a fight.

Sirius turned the page and was at a loss for words. A dark red blood moon was now illuminating the scene, and the crown of the dragon blood tree was covered in a myriad of dark red lights. In front of it, the dragon lay on the ground, slain to death. Large red tears were dripping from its lifeless, yellow, reptilian eyes, which the wizard collected into a small basket. Both the blood moon and the dragon had disappeared on the next page. Through the clouds, the first rays of sunlight fell on the dragon blood tree. Turning his back on the reader the wizard gazed at the tree, whose crown was shining with the glow of countless lights, which shot star sparklers everywhere. "I'm going crazy. She knew it. She knew the secret of the dragon blood tree. It was just as she has painted it. Don't you agree, Jessie?". Jessie nodded. "Yes, that's exactly how it happened". Sirius turned the page. The picture showed a basket full of red berries, just like the one on the table before them. Regulus whispered, "Let's hope she knew what to do next as well". Everyone held their breath as Sirius flipped to the next page. The wizard was throwing the berries into a cauldron that stood on a large fire. A garland of tiny letters framed the scene. Sirius bent down close to the book and began to decipher the text. "3 large spoonful of spurge, 8 small, chopped stalks of seaweed, 8 small, chopped stalks of fluxweed," he looked up and asked, "will someone please write down the recipe?". Andromeda summoned a parchment and a quill and wrote down the ingredients. The list grew longer and longer and longer. "And finally, 5 belladonna cherries, crushed, 1 spoonful of henbane, chopped, 10 strips of birch bark. All this I have on hand". He paused. "But what the hell is this? I've never heard that before. 10 Dancing Lady petals and a Lady's Slipper flower". Lucius asked, "Does anyone know what that is?". Jessie chuckled. "I think I can be of some help here. These are both orchids. And I happen to have both in the greenhouse. Follow me, Jonathan. We'll go and pick them". Jessie said. She took a basket from the shelf, and they left the room. Sirius called after them, "Bring twice as much. We will have a trial run of the potion on a single berry first. If it works, we will have to brew a second batch". He took a small cauldron from the shelf, filled it with water and placed it on the fireplace. Meanwhile, the others were busily at work preparing the ingredients for the potion. Andromeda, who was chopping up the seaweed and the fluxweed, suddenly giggled and brushed a strand of hair out of her face, "This reminds me of my Potions class at Hogwarts. Except that I didn't have as much fun as I do now". There was a lot of laughter and swapping of stories from school days. When Jessie and Jonathan had returned with the orchid flowers, Sirius lit the fire under the cauldron. As the water began to boil, he tossed the ingredients into the cauldron, one after the other. Finally, he added the orchid blossoms to his brew. He stirred his potion until the concoction assumed the desired viscous consistency and clear colour. "Okay, let's give it a try". On a sudden impulse, with an inviting gesture, he held the spoon out to Lucius, who wavered for a moment in surprise. Then he rolled up his sleeves vigorously and grabbed the spoon. Sirius turned out the lights so that only the fire beneath the cauldron sparsely illuminated the cellar. Then he threw a single berry into the cauldron. A jet of flame shot from the concoction to the ceiling. As Lucius chanted the incantation while stirring, the liquid in the cauldron began to glow. "Bacae messis in plena luna". Lucius' face, soaked in sweat, seemed even paler than usual, and his eyes glowed feverishly in the reflection of the flickering fire. "Lucernate in luce rubrum". His monotonous, haunting voice was amplified in the room, and echoed loudly off the walls. "Converte in lacrimis draconis". The others held their breath, and as another bolt of flame shot from the cauldron, everyone flinched. A red pearl popped up and floated on the surface of the brew. Sirius spooned it from the cauldron, took it carefully between two fingers and held it up for the others to see. A pearl, shining and radiating a warm red glow. He passed it around so that everyone could have a closer look at it.

"That looks like a success to me. I think we should treat the other berries the same way. Let's have a go at it, folks". While they were gathering the ingredients for a fresh batch of potion, Jessie asked, "How did Mercuria know so much about magic that went so far beyond what was in the textbooks? Even you knew nothing about Dragon's Tears or the firebird, as far as I could tell. She was just like me, wasn't she? Someone who couldn't do magic?". Sirius pulled her close and planted a kiss on the tip of her nose. "Yes, my dear, she was. I can only come up with one explanation. When I told her about the fight against Voldemort and his Death Eaters, she wanted to help us. But what could she do? I then suggested that she'd do some research in the Belgian archives for old writings on magic. I wanted her to feel she was doing something useful, although I never thought it would lead to anything". Lucius interjected: "As usual, she surprised you". Sirius smiled subtly: "Yes, indeed she did. Instead of trawling libraries and archives, she read files of ancient witch trials. There were a lot of trials on the continent, and it seems that the files for the most part still exist. Curey had a knack for spotting when real magic was at play in a court case. The files were often accompanied by writings and notes from the accused which in the trials served as proof of their guilt. The documents she uncovered were nothing short of incredible. Spells, charms and curses we had never heard of before. These helped James and me enormously. Instructions for the creation of the time-turner. And much more, apparently. Since she had an eidetic memory, she recalled everything she had read. She must have come across a text about Dragon's Tears and disguised the instructions as a picture book for Marius to read. Pretty clever". Regulus said, "Amazing you still have that book. I have nothing left of my childhood". Marius looked astonished. "I would never have given it away. It was about my dad". He lowered his eyes and flushed a little. "Almost every story Mercuria made up for me centred on Sirius. My childhood hero. How could I have ever given these books away?", he asked. Deeply moved, Sirius took him into his arms and gave him a tight hug. "My son," he said. Marius beamed with joy as the others smiled, touched.

Sirius had filled the largest cauldron he could find with water and placed it on the fire, adding ingredients as it boiled. "Who'd like to do it this time?". Lucius suggested, "Andromeda should do it". She looked stunned, but determinedly took the spoon Sirius handed her before he began throwing the remaining berries into the cauldron. In the end, they had managed to preserve all the berries and now had more than fifty Dragon's Tears. Sirius placed them in a box and sealed it with a protective charm. Then he put the box away on the shelf. "Now we have time to find out what to do with them". Lucius said, "We need to search the library for books on them. Ancient books. I doubt if any contemporary has ever faced this question". "Books from distant lands", Jessie added. "Uncle Phineas wrote that the tree grows only on a few islands far to the south. And even there, it is very rare. But if anyone knows anything about the tears, it's likely to be a local. In the library there are a few shelves of books by foreign authors. That's where we should look". Sirius agreed. "Not today, though. Let's just have one last drink and then we'll go to bed." The others followed him into the living room where they had a chat and a drink before retiring for the night.