With a groan, Audrey Callahan lowered herself into her car and slammed the door shut behind her. She rested for a moment—her body was aching after her twelve-hour shift at the hospital. She figured she ought to be grateful she wasn’t working the night shift, but the hours always took their toll whether the sun was glowing through the hospital windows or not.

Halfway through her shift, she’d been called to the ER to help the other nurses there when a case of meningitis was diagnosed in a hotel employee. Every person staying at that hotel needed to be examined and cleared. It was tedious work, and Audrey was shouted at several times by patients for the inconvenience of having to spend all day in the hospital. But now she was off the clock. She could relax and she had a rare day off the following day.

Audrey couldn’t sit still in the car for long—the August heat became stifling, even though the sun had already set. She turned the key in the ignition, waiting patiently for the engine to catch with a whine. Her poor Volkswagen had been in the Muggle world longer than she had and it was showing the wear and tear that Audrey felt.

Guitars and shouting voices burst through the speakers, and Audrey yelped, forgetting how hard she jammed that morning to her Blur cassette. She twisted the volume lower, rolled down her windows, hesitated, and then cranked the music louder again.

Pulling out of the parking lot, Audrey didn’t have to drive far to reach the more crowded and bustling section of London. She parked on the street in front of a row of shops, and a colorful young woman emerged from a small pub called the Leaky Cauldron. No one seemed to see her despite her conspicuous appearance. She had a blond afro that shone stunningly with her dark skin, and she wore layers of purple, green, and yellow scarves over a dark blouse with bright orange pants. Audrey seemed downright plain in comparison in her scrubs. The woman’s outfit should have clashed horribly but it seemed to suit her. She hurried toward Audrey’s car, finally leaning through the passenger window, and Audrey could see she was wearing chunky spectacles.

“Sure you couldn’t use a drink?” the woman said. “Tom’s got a two-for-one deal going on Firewhiskey tonight.”

“I’m driving, Nat,” Audrey laughed. “And with you, it’s never just one drink. But you know my wine collection is always well-stocked.”

“Not for long,” Natalia grinned. She clambered into the car.

With a day off, Audrey invited her best friend, Natalia Laurie, to spend it with her. Paul, Audrey’s boyfriend, was jealous, she could tell, but understanding, as usual. Paul was a Muggle and knew nothing of Audrey’s past in the Wizarding world. Natalia was Audrey’s last tie there, one Audrey refused to let go of. They’d been friends since their Hogwarts years, and Audrey trusted Natalia with every one of her secrets.

“I don’t know how you listen to this Muggle music,” Natalia said, wrinkling her nose, after Audrey merged onto the motorway.

“You know I have a soft spot for Muggle rock and roll,” Audrey said.

“Yeah, it’s getting worse as the years go by, isn’t it?”

“Agree to disagree.”

Natalia snorted and then smiled. “Can you play the song about the witch?”

Audrey smirked. “Yeah, look for the Fleetwood Mac cassette in the glove box.”

Grinning, Natalia popped open the glove box and found the tape immediately. Audrey knew better than to ask Natalia to change the tapes -- that is, if she wanted her Blur cassette fully intact -- so she did it herself. After all, Audrey was the one who condemned herself to Muggle life and its strange mechanics, not Natalia. But Audrey was used to it: she was Muggle-born and knew nothing of magic for the first eleven years of her life. She pressed fast forward and stopped the tape expertly just as the opening notes to “Rhiannon” began. This was not the first time Natalia had requested the song. Audrey watched as Natalia closed her eyes and swayed to the music, rolling her shoulders just as Audrey showed her Stevie Nicks did when she performed. Audrey felt her heart swell with affection.

An hour later, Audrey pulled the car into the quiet town of Little Whinging. They were nearly to her house, and Audrey was looking forward to a tall glass of wine. She was starting to feel sleepy, her busy day catching up to her, and she would be damned if she was going to waste the night by turning in to bed early, not that Natalia would allow that, by any means.

Suddenly, a large black dog bolted into the road, right in front of Audrey’s headlights. She screamed and slammed on the brakes, but it was too late. Audrey watched the animal fly into the shadowy night as her Volkswagen struck it.

“What happened?” Natalia had been grooving to the Muggle music she claimed to dislike and hadn’t noticed anything peculiar.

“A dog!” Audrey said, flinging her car door open and standing shakily. “I hit a dog! At least I think it was a dog.”

It had been awfully large for a dog. Were there bears in Surrey? Audrey suddenly felt vulnerable to potential wildlife attacks outside her safe metal vehicle. From about twenty feet away, she heard a dog whine and she rushed forward, her fear replaced with concern.

When she reached the figure lying in a crumpled heap on the ground, she froze. There was no dog, only a man with long, tangled black hair wearing a black cloak. But Audrey was certain she had seen an animal.

“Some dog,” Natalia said when she reached the scene. She bent down and touched the man’s cloak. “Shit, that’s a wizard.”

“An animagus?” Audrey surmised. “But what’s he doing in Little Whinging?”

“Er, we might have a problem,” Natalia said.

She pointed down the street where a curious neighbor was peering at them behind a neatly trimmed hedge. The Muggles who lived here were obsessed with normalcy and the appearance of perfection, and a major disruption to that image had just occurred right outside their doors. Naturally, they were prepared to investigate. Soon the whole nosy neighborhood would be hovering, wondering why a strange man in a cloak had been lurking on Magnolia Road. Audrey was not in the mood to have her established non-magical persona wrecked that night, but her medicinal background took control.

“He really shouldn’t be moved until I take a look at him,” Audrey said nervously.

Natalia rolled her eyes. “You’ve been in the Muggle world for too long. Immobulus.”

She cast the charm quietly, and the man became rigid but securely remained in his sprawled position in the street.

Audrey breathed a sigh of relief—now he could be moved freely without aggravating potential injuries.

“God, Natalia,” she said. “For a moment I thought you were going to magic him right into the car in front of the whole Muggle neighborhood.”

“I’m not an idiot,” Natalia said with a smirk. “Come on, help me carry him to your car before someone fetches the Muggle police.”

With difficulty, the two women put the frozen man in the backseat and drove the short distance to Audrey’s house.

Somehow, they unlocked the front door, brought the man to the living room, and placed him on the couch, where he lay as stiff as a board, without arousing suspicion.

“Let’s see what we’re dealing with,” Audrey said, panting, as she flicked on a lamp.

The man stood out prominently with his black cloak in Audrey’s light-colored living room, but then so did Natalia with her scarves. The walls were beige, and the carpets were light grey. The couch was white and had a matching chair that looked incredibly cozy. On one edge of the room was a small fireplace, and along the back wall were rows of shelves filled with books of all kinds. It stood just as plainly as her father designed it when Audrey was small. Beside the shelves stood Audrey’s addition to the room: a full stereo, complete with a record player, cassette deck, and CD player. Audrey hadn’t invested in CDs yet but she liked knowing she could listen to them when the time came. She turned her attention back to the mass on her couch.

Natalia stood back while Audrey examined the man. Audrey was a trained healer before she left the Wizarding world and translated the experience to become a nurse with the Muggles. Natalia had a knack for potion-making, an essential part of being a healer, but lacked a decent bedside manner. She stuck to behind-the-scenes potion brewing as a profession.

Audrey noticed the man’s cloak had no trace of blood and didn’t see any limbs sticking out at odd angles. His pulse was only slightly elevated, and his breathing was regular. It was difficult to ascertain much else without equipment or a conscious patient. She stood with a sigh.

“He seems alright, but I don’t really want to undress the man to check for signs of bruising right now. He does have a nasty gash on his head.” Audrey pushed back a lock of black hair to show Natalia. “Just there. We should probably wake him up to be sure, ask him where he’s hurting and all that. And—hey, what’s the matter with you?”

Natalia’s face had gone ashen. She grabbed Audrey’s arm and pulled her out of the room to the hall.

“Ouch, come off it! What are you doing?”

“That’s Sirius Black,” Natalia whispered urgently.