Prologue

Who am I? You sure you want to know? The story of my life is not for the faint of heart. If somebody said it was a happy little tale, if somebody said my life was free of fear and danger, if somebody told you I was just your average, ordinary girl, not a care in the world ... somebody lied ...

I guess I should start from the beginning, seeing as that's usually a good place to start. Perhaps I also better introduce myself or you'll think these are just the ramblings of a nineteen-year-old girl who has nothing better to do with her time.

My name is Jenna Black and I'm part of a large community hidden away from all those who are different. I'm part of the wizarding world since I'm a witch. My heritage is … questionable. I am more than a half-blood, but I'm not a full pure-blood. I am somewhere in between, a happy medium should I say of the two. My father, if you haven't guessed by my given name, was Sirius Black. He married my mother shortly after they left Hogwarts in the middle of a terrible war. Her name was Tala Lupin. She was the younger sister of one of my father's best friends from school, Remus Lupin. He is my Uncle and the man who raised me and taught me to be who I am. A man I'm truly grateful towards.

Anyone who knew my father knew what a good man he was. At school he had a small handful of friends whom he considered his family as his own despised him. He and his best friend, a boy named James Potter, were the ringleaders of the Marauders, a name their group took on during their fifth year of school. They and their other two friends, my Uncle Remus and another boy named Peter Pettigrew, would run riot round the school. Well James and Dad would do most of the dirty work while Remus would merely observe. It was through his friends that my father rebelled against his family who considered him a disgrace. If they ever knew about me, I too would be an outcast for my own … abnormalities …

I've been told many times how much I look like my father. He had shoulder length black hair that fell neatly in layers around his face, the same colour and sleekness as my own long hair. The inherent good looks of the Black bloodline made him a very handsome man in his youth, the very same genes that have made my own beauty be placed under scrutiny by those who aren't aware of my family history or indeed through pure jealousy. I have been aware of this "family trait" for years as well as the unwanted attention I receive because of it but, alas, there is not much I can do about genetics. His eyes, however, were grey like the rest of his family's; mine are not. Dad was known for his mischief and disobeying of the rules at school, not to mention his cheeky grin which, according to Remus, I also inherited.

My Dad met my Mum at school. She was in the year below him and his friends at Hogwarts and sister of his best friend, Remus, as I've already told you. When they first met their relationship was … rocky, to say the least. Mum was distrustful of him and James because of secrets that she and Remus had and it took time for her to warm to her brother's friends. In time she did see how much they cared about him and in turn, how much they came to care about her. She was always around them because of Remus and so was an unofficial member of the Marauders when they became united because of Remus's "furry little problem" as James liked to call it and they found out Mum was also a rather unique witch herself. I won't go into that now but will do so in due course. She and Dad were flirtatious with each other throughout their later years at Hogwarts until an argument with a certain Slytherin named Severus, where Mum and her friend Lily were both called terrible slurs in wizarding terms, and they admitted their feelings for each other. To my understanding, they were together ever since.

As much as I look like my father, there are many obvious traits I possess which are clearly more my mother. While I have black hair like my Dad, its length could rival my mother's, reaching all the way down to my waist. I'd never wanted to cut it. My eyes though, those were my Mum's, a strange blue that were startlingly bright. I also got her stubbornness, a trait that Remus has told me many times is a little too familiar for his liking, as well as her desire to protect the ones I love. Now that was something that I wouldn't want to change about myself regardless of how many times it has put me in danger over the years, and probably never will.

Remus. Now, he was the sensible one of the group and mature way beyond his years. He was intelligent and responsible and "tried" to keep out of the trouble that Dad and James normally caused, even if he did find their pranks amusing. He was even made a Prefect much to their disappointment. They thought it would mean he'd ruin their fun. Remus, despite his problems and his fears, was always there for his friends and his sister, just like he was then there for me. He did fail though in his promise to his parents that he'd keep Mum out of trouble but with him as an example, what did he expect?

I owe so much to Remus. He found and raised me when I was lost and alone, and he helped me get through some of the hardest times in my life. Without him, I don't know where I'd be. Probably still where I was all those years ago, an outcast hiding in the streets, running away from people who didn't understand me. Remus helped me through difficult times and was always there for me when I needed him. He showed me how to believe and trust in my magic. But my life at the start was not full of magic or potions or mythical beings like what I know now. My life was very different – yet somewhat similar – to a boy we all know: Harry Potter.

This is my diary: the Diary of an Orphan.