Prologue

It was a warm day in July. Just another hot day of summertime, like so many summer days in the south of France.

A girl, 15 years old, was just hanging around near a lake, in shadows of a tree. She had long black hair, and the color of her eyes was somewhere between grey and green. She wore a swimming suit, but she was waiting for some friends before taking a swim.

Her boyfriend Steve was sitting on a towel next to her.

'So', he asked, 'you said you had to talk to me?'

'Yes', she sighed, 'It's my mother, she wants to move back to London.'

'Your mother is from London?' Steve was surprised, they had only met a week ago and had been dating since then, so he didn't know her that well yet.

She shook her head. 'No, she's from France, but I was born in London, my father is from England.' She didn't like to talk about her father, but Steve couldn't know that. That was the point of hanging around with Muggles, they didn't know anything about the wizarding world, or You-Know-Who, or Death Eaters and that was exactly why she was friends with them. At school, in Beauxbatons, many of the students had been avoiding her, just because she was the daughter of the massmurderer Sirius black.

But they had learned to respect her and she had eventually made some friends. She was smart, had good marks and had pretty good looks, and she became quite popular. But they respected her mostly because of all the trouble she could cause when someone came on her bad side. Or rather, all the trouble she liked to cause just to amuse herself and the people around her whenever she got bored. And that seemed to happen pretty often lately.

'So you're moving to London pretty soon I guess.' Steve spoke again.

Steffie sighed again.

'Yes, so I think it would be better to end this… thing between us now.'

Steve looked a little taken aback, 'end this now?' he repeated. 'But can't we, I don't know, try to write letters and stuff?'

Steffie looked him directly in the eye when she answered.

'I'm sorry Steve, but that would make things a little too complicated I think. My life is already way too complicated. Besides, I think you're taking this thing too serious.'

Steve looked really bewildered now. 'Too serious? But I thought we were starting a relationship? Of course I take this serious!'

Steffie shifted uncomfortably on her towel.

'I wasn't really thinking about a serious relationship when I started dating you, Steve, I just thought you were fun to hang out with. I'm not the kind of girl to go steady on 15 and get married right out of school.'

She got up and flung her towel around her shoulders.

'I better get home now, say hi to everyone for me, will you? Goodbye Steve.'

Steffie entered the house of her mother's family. It was actually the manor of the LaRoche –family, a very rich French pureblood family. Her mother, Hecate LaRoche, inherited the house after Steffies grandfather, Henri LaRoche died 2 years ago.

Her mother was the oldest heir, and besides, her mother's only sister, aunt Demeter, had been living in England for the last 5 years.

As Steffie entered the great entrance hall of the house, a house-elf sprinted towards her.

'There you are, mistress Steffie Black, I was asked by mistress your mother to tell you to go to see her, mistress Steffie Black, mistress your mother has something important to tell you, mistress.'

'Thank you, Kitty, you may go.'

Kitty took Steffies towel and disappeared with a little 'plop'.

Steffie didn't bother putting clothes on, her mother probably wouldn't even notice. She never noticed anything about her daughter. Most of the time, she didn't even bother talking to her.

It was Kitty who had been raising Steffie most of the time, and when Steffie was younger, she had an old Nanny to take care of her.

Steffie didn't mind, she had free rule over her life, she could do what she wanted, when she wanted. Some people would think her cold-hearted, but that wasn't true. It was just that there had never been anyone who really cared about her, so why should she bother to care about anyone?

No that wasn't entirely true. Once she had had a best friend, but she had moved, and Steffie had been left alone. That was why she didn't bother to make real friends at Beauxbatons, they wouldn't stay anyway. That was also why she had been dating so many different boys the last 2 years at school, at least when she was dating, she could chose who and for how long. That was also the reason she broke up with them after 2 weeks or something, so they didn't have the change to break up with her themselves, to have a bit of control in her life.

Steffie entered her mother's chambers and plopped down in a chair before Hecates desk.

Hecate looked up to her daughter, her face still.

'How are you, my child? Are you ready to go to England?'

Steffie pulled a face.

'How can I be ready? I have no idea what to expect. When do we move?'

Hecate sighed. 'I have been sending letters back and forth with some friends. They have prepared a place to stay for us. I have also been in contact with professor Dumbledore, you will be going to Hogwarts next year.' Hecate held her hand up when Steffie wanted to interrupt. 'I'm not finished yet. There is something highly important I have to tell you. Something I just found out a few months ago, and one of the reasons we are going back.

Your father is innocent, Steffie, he was tricked by someone he thought a friend but appeared to be a traitor. He escaped from Azkaban a while ago, and we will meet him when we get there. Now you cannot tell any of this to anybody, it is too dangerous, for him and for yourself. This is all you should know for now. Now go packing, we will part tomorrow.'

Steffie sat stunned in her chair for some moments. This was a little much to take in all at once.

In the end, she just yelled: 'Tomorrow?'