Marigold arrived in front of the giant gargoyle leading to the Headmistress’s office, with the tiny glass bottle in her hand.

 “Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore,” she stated clearly.

 The gargoyle spun around to reveal a circular staircase of stone. Marigold stepped onto the staircase, which led her to the Headmistress’s office like a lift.

 Marigold’s jaw dropped at the sight of what was in front of her. The circular room was large and beautiful, with strange noises coming from everywhere.

 The walls were filled with portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses. The portrait of Severus Snape shot Marigold a dirty look; she turned away to look at the portrait of Albus Dumbledore, who smiled at her warmly. Marigold smiled back at him.

 In the corner of the room was a shelf; on top of it was the Sorting Hat. Next to the large, claw-footed desk in front of the shelf was Fawkes, who squawked loudly.

 “Alright there, Fawkes?” Marigold said.

 Fawkes nodded as if to say hello.

 Marigold nodded back at the phoenix, then turned her eyes to the Pensieve on the other side of the room.

 Just then, Professor McGonagall walked into the office, which startled Marigold.

 “Feel free to use the Pensieve, Miss Lupin-Black,” she said.

 “How did you know?”

 “Your father sent me an owl asking permission for you to use the Pensieve; he said there’s something he wished to show you,” Professor McGonagall replied. “I’ll step outside for now.”

 “Thank you, ma’am,”

 Marigold walked over to the Pensieve; she opened the bottle and dumped the silver wisp containing Sirius’s memory into the basin.

 A silvery cloud-like light began swirling from the liquid inside the basin. Marigold put her face into the liquid; everything in front of her started spinning.

 When the spinning stopped and everything came back into focus, Marigold looked around; it seemed to be the inside of someone’s house that she didn’t recognise.

 On the sofa was a boy who looked around her age; he was regally handsome with bright grey eyes and curly dark hair that fell to his shoulders. Marigold recognised him at once.

 “Dad!” she called out excitedly.

 Of course, the young Sirius didn’t look up from the book he was reading; he had no idea at all that Marigold, his future daughter, was there, watching him.

 Just then, a middle-aged man with greying curly brown hair and brown eyes walked in, carrying what appeared to be a photo album.

 “Here it is, Sirius,” he said. “If you have any questions, feel free to ask me anything. Now’s just the right time since Massimo and Alessandro are out with their mum.”

 The man sat down next to Sirius and opened the album.

 “Is this you, Lorenzo?” Sirius asked, pointing to a photo.

 When she heard the man’s name, Marigold took a closer look at him; now that she saw, he did appear somewhat like a young man of the same name. Marigold supposed that the older Lorenzo was her friend’s grandfather.

 “It is. I was probably around thirteen or fourteen when this picture was taken,” Lorenzo replied, smiling. “Next to me is my sister, Anna; she’s four years younger than me. And behind us are our parents.”

 “You all look so happy,” Sirius said, then sighed. “But Hitler was causing chaos at that time, wasn’t he?”

 “You’re right. As if that wasn’t bad enough, that blessed Mussolini declared war against the United Kingdom and France. Fun times,” Lorenzo scoffed.

 “What do you mean?” Sirius asked.

 “After Mussolini declared war, Churchill named certain people “enemy aliens.” Germans. Austrians. Italians. People like me.”

 “But you’re English. Your parents came from Italy, but you were born and raised here in England.” Sirius said.

 “That’s not what Churchill thought,” Lorenzo said. “What’s worse is that my classmates agreed with him. I started being bullied. I got called awful names. I got things thrown at me. I got beaten up.”

 Marigold felt sick to her stomach imagining this kind man experiencing that sort of thing; she couldn’t believe some people would treat others so awfully simply because of how they were born.

 “I’m so sorry you had to go through that,” Sirius said, starting to tear up.

 “That’s not all. Shortly after that…” Lorenzo choked at his words.

 “What happened?” Sirius asked, concerned.

 “My family and I were arrested, all of us,” he said, wiping his tears. “We were sent to an internment camp. They spied on us day and night. They cut us off from the outside world completely. No telephones. No newspapers.”

 Marigold was horrified.

 “How did you live like that?” Sirius was pale.

 “It was terrible there, but at least we were in there for only a year,” Lorenzo replied. “Most people were in there longer. We were lucky.”

 Sirius noticed another photo, in which Lorenzo, who looked a few years older than in the other picture, was standing next to other young men, all of whom were wearing the same uniform.

 “You fought in the war?” he asked admiringly.

 “I did,” Lorenzo smiled proudly. “I was sixteen, but I lied and said I was eighteen to join the military.”

 “That’s brilliant,” Sirius’s eyes sparkled.

 “I’m glad you think so,” Lorenzo chuckled. “My family didn’t think so, at first; especially my dad. We had a big row; he still couldn’t stop me, of course.”

 Sirius looked at the photo again, this time at the other soldiers.

 “You fought with all the people who called you the enemy…”

 “They may have seen me as the enemy, but I saw them as my brothers. We were all fighting for the same causes. Peace. Freedom. For Britain. For the outcasts.”

 Marigold listened carefully, her eyes filled with admiration towards Lorenzo.

 “I guess we have that in common,”

 “I thought your parents were good people,” Sirius said. “Mine are vile and cruel wretches.”

 “That’s not what I meant,” Lorenzo said. “Even when others turned their backs on you, you followed your heart to fight for what you believe in.”

 Marigold smiled, watching her father with the kind gentleman.

 “Sirius, you’re incredibly courageous and compassionate. Don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise,” Lorenzo said, his soft eyes looking into the young man’s.

 “Even if others turn their backs on you, remember that there are people who love you and are always on your side. Your best friend James and his family. Your boyfriend Remus. And of course, me.”

 Sirius smiled, tearing up a little. Lorenzo smiled back, holding his hand. Marigold felt her heart feel warmer.

 The scene changed, showing someone’s wedding. Marigold looked carefully at the two grooms; her jaw dropped when she saw who they were.

 Sirius and Remus were glowing with happiness as they stared into each other’s eyes. The pleasant surprise on Marigold’s face was apparent when she saw that the officiant was Lorenzo and the best man was none other than Harry Potter himself.

 Before Marigold knew it, the scene in front of her eyes shifted again, showing the guest room at her house, where Sirius was having a conversation with the younger Lorenzo.

 “Lorenzo, I don’t know if you knew this, but I met your grandfather when I was seventeen,” Sirius said.

 “I know,” Lorenzo replied. “But he passed away when I was only about four and a half years old, so I barely knew him.”

 “Your grandfather was a great man. If I hadn’t met him, my life wouldn’t have been the same,” Sirius said wistfully. “I remember, he passed away exactly a year before Marigold was born.”

 Lorenzo nodded.

 “I know Marigold will be a great person like my grandfather,” he said.

 “I agree with you,” Sirius said. “You know, Marigold has always looked up to Harry and Dumbledore.”

 “I am well aware of that,” Lorenzo chuckled. “And we both know that Marigold will become as great as them.”

 “If only Marigold saw herself the way we see her,” Sirius nodded. “As for me, I wouldn’t be surprised if she defeated Delphini and became the next Harry Potter,”

 “And Marigold doesn’t need any prophecy making her destiny as the Chosen One,” Lorenzo added.

 “She already chose herself, through her determination and her willingness to go the distance to prove herself.” Sirius agreed.

 “Marigold is the best hope we have. We must trust her,” Lorenzo said, to which Sirius nodded in response.

 At last, Marigold pulled her face out of the Pensieve, coming back into reality, her mind flooding with everything she had just seen.