Here's the good news—that last chapter is the only one where you'll have to put up with my awful French lol. I am in the process of getting someone who actually speaks a little French to go over my work and make corrections as needed (and they are needed lol). By the way, if you're interested in making the changes yourself, don't hesitate to message me! When that's done I'll re-upload the previous chapter and I'll let you know when that happens. Don't worry, the actual content in the chapter won't change, just the French parts. I will, occasionally, pepper in a French word here and there, but nothing like what was in the last chapter.

I am so giddy about all the "Story Alerts" this story has gotten, even after just two chapters! Does a writer good to know her story actually has some interest factors lol.

Well, here we are again. Prologue part 3, out of 4 parts. We're almost to the real part of the story! How exciting. This chapter is set three years after the last one. Enjoy!

Prologue, Part 3: …And Yet

Summer 1968: Le Domaine le Clère, outside of Dreux, France

~~~~~The Fifth Marauder~~~~~

This time when the gates swung shut with a loud CLANG!, everyone in the car did a startled jump. Sirius looked out the window, keeping still and quiet, but jumping around inside. He was finally coming back to see Louise after three long years. They were no longer little kids.

He wondered if she would still laugh at every little thing he did. If they would walk through the gardens and she would stop and smell every flower. If they would still waltz with Constance and Madame barking corrections at them in harsh French.

He wondered if she still smiled so bright.

"Oh my…"

Sirius looked up and saw the manor again…only it didn't really look like the manor. The grey brick seemed darker somehow. The windows didn't have flower boxes jutting from them. There even seemed to be some broken windows, like something was thrown through them and no one bothered to repair it. It made Sirius shiver.

Instead of the large party that had visited three years previous, it was just this small faction of the Black family: Orion, Walburga, Sirius, and Regulus. Orion had received an owl asking for them to return to Le Domaine le Clère so Sirius could keep Louise company. Sirius had been overjoyed to be asked back—he thought of Louise and their time together at least once a week. He had, just as she had predicted, been very bored just sitting at home in London, with nothing to do but think of that honey haired girl with the dark eyes and bright smile.

The car rolled into the circular driveway once again. Instead of a maid waiting to greet them, like last time, the place seemed deserted. The Black's exited their vehicle and made their way to the double doors. Orion raised the silver serpent door knocker (was that new?) and rapped twice. The hard sound of heavy metal against heavy wood resonated.

Sirius heard footsteps behind the door and suddenly Louise's father was there, holding the door open for them. "Ah, yes. Come in, come in. We've been expecting you."

The man had aged greatly. His once handsome face now had a sharp edge to it, his black hair was thinning. His dark eyes, Louise's eyes, seemed to bore straight into Sirius' mind and see his deepest thoughts.

The foyer was…dark. Heavy, dark curtains covered all of the windows. The floor looked like it hadn't been polished in months; there were scuffs on the stairs. Dust covered every inch of space available. It made him think of his own house in Grimmauld Place.

That wasn't exactly comforting.

"My Lord, how…nice to see you, again," Orion gave a small bow to the man. Both Walburga and Regulus gave small bows as well and Sirius, fearing another kick to the shins like last time, followed suit.

"You all will be staying in the East Wing; there was a small fire that damaged the rooms you stayed in last time. We are still rebuilding. I hope this is satisfactory." That was not a question, but more of a command.

"Oh, yes, My Lord," Walburga said. "Thank you so much for inviting us. It is an honor."

"My Louise has been looking quite down recently. I thought seeing her old friend might brighten her spirits." Again, Sirius felt those eyes on him, reading his deepest darkest secrets. "Ah, here she is."

Sirius looked up and Louise was there, standing at the top of the staircase. Only…she was different. She looked the same, older of course, with the same honey hair and dark eyes. But no bright smile.

Her eyes were hard, she seemed to stare right through him, as if he wasn't even there—as if he didn't even matter. She descended the staircase slowly, mechanically, her eyes fixated only on the empty space ahead of her. "Father," she said. Her voice had lost its charm, it sounded lifeless and cold.

"Darling, I'm sure you remember your little friends," he said, motioning to Sirius and Regulus.

"I suppose," she answered, looking away.

This made the man chuckle. "Go be a good girl and take them outside."

"Yes, Father," she looked over Sirius, not a single trace of life in her eyes. "Follow me, please."

She turned on her heel and walked away, Sirius and Regulus trailing in her wake. The ballroom had cobwebs in the corners, dust settled on every available surface. The large windows brought in little light.

The courtyard was the worst of all; Regulus even gasped. The already cracked mosaic pieces were crushed into little pieces, mixing in with the dirt that covered every inch of the ground. The beautiful flowerpots were gone—all except one that looked like a hex had hit it. Dead roses and dirt spewed out from the broken pot. The fountain had stopped.

"What happened?" Regulus whispered to Sirius. Regulus looked almost scared.

Sirius was about to whisper back when Louise's cold voice cut in. "My father sees no need in keeping up with the maintenance of the manor."

Sirius looked at her but she was still walking, leading them out of the courtyard and into the deadened grass of the lawn. "What about Madame? Or the Aunts?" He asked.

Louise stopped dead in her tracks, but did not turn to look at the brothers. She looked up quizzically at the blue sky, seeming to enjoy a breeze that blew through the air. Still with that blank look she turned and looked at Sirius.

"They're dead," she said.

Sirius looked at her in shock, unsure of the correct words of sympathy to offer her.

Regulus looked at Louise uneasily, as if she were about to hex him into oblivion. "W—what about your mother?"

"Dead."

Sirius felt a strange charge in the air and was going to say how sorry he was for her loss (he had heard adults say that to other adults when someone in their family died) when Regulus asked more questions.

"When?...How?"

Louise looked back up at the sky, her eyes closed. "Two years ago. Some sort of illness they all contracted. Nothing could be done to save them."

Sirius then felt even more bad for her. He thought about what it would be like to watch his whole family slowly waste away to an incurable illness. Leaving just an intimidating, cold, emotionless parent.

~~~~~The Fifth Marauder~~~~~

The day passed by rather awkwardly, if Sirius was going to admit it. There was no warm welcome, no game of wizard's chess or exploding snap, no dancing in the ballroom. No bright smiles.

Dinner was an uncomfortably quiet affair. Louise's father initiated all conversations, trying (and failing) to engage a nonverbal Louise in some sort of activity. Afterward, all the Blacks excused themselves to bed, feigning weariness from their day of traveling.

While walking down the hall to the bedroom he shared with Regulus, Sirius heard whispering. It was Louise and her father. Though the language was unfamiliar, the tone certainly wasn't and it made Sirius shiver. It was the same tone Walburga used when she was severely displeased with her oldest son.

~~~~~The Fifth Marauder~~~~~

"Sirius! Sirius, wake up! SIRIUS!"

Sirius was sweating profusely; he felt it must be a thousand degrees in the bedroom, he felt like he was on fire. Regulus was shouting at him to wake up. Sirius groggily opened his eyes and realized he wasn't on fire…but the room sure was.

Sirius immediately jumped out of the bed and grabbed at Regulus who was on the verge of panicky-tears. "C'mon, we have to get out of here!"

Only the north and west walls were engulfed in flames, thankfully leaving the east wall (and the door) free for them to escape. In the hallway, even more flames ran up and down the walls, melting paintings and carpets.

"SIRIUS! REGULUS!" The boys heard their father calling for them and, indeed, Orion was there at the end of the hall, looking frantic. "Down here!" He shouted.

Sirius pulled Regulus and ran down the hall to his father, who motioned them down a side staircase that led to the kitchens. "Go through the back door and get as far from the house as you can!" Orion yelled after his sons.

Sirius did as he was told, the heat of the flames licking at his arms and legs and face. The smoke was unbearable, he was sure he would never breathe in fresh air again. He just kept going and going and going, pulling his brother along, his father not too far behind.

When he finally reached the fresh, night air, he allowed himself to slow down a bit, but still continued on until he reached his mother. She was in her nightdress, her hair in curlers. She made as if to hug him, but instead moved him aside and scooped Regulus into her arms. "Oh thank Merlin you're safe!"

Orion was bent over, his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. "Magical fire. No amount of water or spells will put it out. I've never seen anything like it."

Sirius looked up at the fire engulfed manor. And then it dawned on him. "Louise!"

Sirius began to run toward the flames, hell-bent on finding his friend.

"Sirius! SIRIUS!"

He ignored his mother's bellowing voice and went back into the kitchen. Items were melting, Sirius heard pops and creaks as the house began to sag and tear against the strong flames. But he was on an important mission.

Though Sirius didn't know exactly where she would be, he knew he didn't have any time to try and figure it out. He began to run, just run.

He ran through the kitchen and dining room, the parlor and ballroom, the foyer, even the never-used downstairs bedroom. Though he initially was calling Louise's name, by the time he reached the ballroom he could no longer breathe. The collar of his night shirt was pulled over his nose and mouth, and he was beginning to get lightheaded.

By the time he reached the opposite end of the manor, he was on his knees. Sirius knew this was the end. Flames licked his knees, his feet, his hands. He felt more horrible than he could ever remember feeling. Then he heard someone humming.

He looked up, his eyes squinting against the heat. Through the flames he saw Louise, staring up at a portrait that was of her and her mother. He didn't recognize it and later realized that it was probably painted shortly before Adèle's death. "Louise…," he rasped out.

She turned sharply and even though he would later blame the flames and his condition, he was sure that her eyes were glowing red. She seemed to be completely untouched by the fire, her skin and clothes and hair were all just as they usually were. She walked over calmly, grabbed him by the arms, and pulled him off the floor. She ran her hands over his face and hair, his scarred palms. They all instantly felt better. Sirius looked at Louise's face. She was angry.

"You should not be here," she scolded. "This is not for you."

Then she ran through the house, exactly the way he had come, pulling him along. The flames no longer reached out for him, in fact, he didn't even feel any heat coming from them.

Am I dead? He wondered.

Once again out in the hot night air, Louise shoved Sirius toward his crying family. "Leave!" She shouted. "Leave, and never come back!"

Before he could stop her, Louise ran back inside. Orion ran over and grabbed his son, who was about to go in after her. Sirius struggled against his father's grip, "Let me go! Let me go!"

"Sirius! Stop. She's gone…"

"NO! No, I won't let that happen… No…" Sirius broke down and began to cry in his father's arms.

She's dead…

~~~~~The Fifth Marauder~~~~~

My infinite thanks always go to my reviewers. So thank you to "Jay" and "Guest."

Jay—I knew my French was bad, but I didn't think it was that bad! (After your review I had a friend of mine who speaks a little French read it. He told me why everything was wrong and wow…it really is atrocious lol.) Don't worry, I'm working on making it infinitely better. I also really liked the little romance between Louise and Sirius, I just think little crushes between kids are too cute lol

Guest—You're too sweet! Thank you for your review. I, too, was sick of seeing the "fifth marauder" as a character rather similar to Lily Evans' "Mary-Sue" persona. I'm hoping we don't see a lot of that here

lebarbe—This "lebarbe" is actually my boyfriend lol. I asked him to look over my French and he ended up just making an anonymous review. Sometimes he's just too cute

Remember to Favorite, Follow, and Review! Much love to you all.