Prologue

June 1996

It seemed to take Sirius an age to fall. His body curved in a graceful arc as he sank backward through the ragged veil hanging from the arc.

There was a look of mingled fear and surprise on Sirius' face as he fell through the ancient doorway and disappeared behind the veil, which fluttered for a moment as though in a high wind and then fell back into place.

Harry waited, knowing that Sirius had only fallen through the archway and would reappear from the other side any second…

But Sirius did not reappear.

"SIRIUS!" Harry yelled as he ran towards the veil, "SIRIUS!"

"There's nothing you can do, Harry…nothing. He's gone," Remus said.
Summer 1996

"First of all I must tell you that Sirius' will was discovered a week ago and that he left you everything he owned," Dumbledore said.

"You add a reasonable amount of gold to your account at Gringotts, and you inherit all of Sirius' personal possessions.""

"Our problem is that Sirius also left you number twelve, Grimmauld Place."

"You can keep using it as Headquarters," Harry said. "I don't care. You can have it, I don't really want it."

"That is generous," said Dumbledore. "We have, however, vacated the building temporarily."

"Why?"

"Well," said Dumbledore, "Black family tradition decreed that the house was handed down the direct line, to the next male with the name of 'Black'. Sirius was the very last of the line as his younger brother, Regulus, predeceased him and both were childless."

June 15, 1997 Sunday, 4:08 PM

Harry sat musingly in Shrieking Shack, missing Sirius more than ever, in the midst of his most recent loss.

After Dumbledore's funeral, he had come to the Shrieking Shack and had stayed here since then. Though Hermione and Ron had wanted to come with him, he had needed to be alone where he could freely relieve his emotions without concerning them.

Harry glanced around the worn old shack once again. With its broken furniture, shadowy interior, and foreboding exterior appearance, the shack was anything but welcoming yet Harry always felt such comfort and peace when he came to the shack.

Because the Shrieking Shack was where it had all begun. It was the Marauders' memoir. The Shrieking Shack had been the foundation of the birth of the Marauders, it had been Remus' coven, and this was where his father, Remus, and Sirius had had so many of their earlier escapades.

Sirius.

What had Sirius been like before Azkaban? Harry wondered.

Harry only knew the post-Azkaban Sirius; the Sirius who had been changed drastically by the horrors of Azkaban, the First War, and the many losses he, like Harry, had had to endure. The Sirius he, Harry, knew had had a constant shadow hanging over him.

But what about pre-Azkaban Sirius? There had been no hint of that shadow in Harry's first glimpse of Sirius, in the picture of his parents' wedding day. There had been only carefree happiness in the countenances of all three.

There had been no hint of that carefree happiness in the Sirius he knew. Yes, he laughed and made light of things at times but always, always there had been that wariness about him.

Harry felt a sudden rush of fury overcome him. Because of Pettigrew's cowardliness and selfishness, because of the Ministry's inefficiency, an innocent man had lost thirteen years of his life. And most of all, he had lost his innocence.
"Theystole his life!" he burst out with a sudden fury.

Remus, who had just entered the room and was looking around the room with slight nostalgia in his countenance turned to him, startled to see that he was not alone.
He hesitated then spoke tentatively, "Harry?"

Harry jumped, as startled to see Remus as he had been to see Harry.

Harry managed a small smile, relieved to see that it was Remus. He could talk about Sirius to Remus. He would understand. Everyone else merely looked sympathetic when he spoke of Sirius and what he needed was empathy, not sympathy.

"Remus, can you tell me what Sirius was like? Harry asked. "Before Azkaban?"

A look of nostalgia crossed Remus' face once again. "Of course."

"In the pictures I've seen of him, and in Snape's Pensieve, Sirius always looked so happy. So carefree and… innocent," Harry said quietly.

"Sirius was always happy before Azkaban…is that what you think?" Remus asked.

"You're right, in a way. He did always appear carefree and immature." Remus smiled wistfully.
"But you saw what his mother was like. Even before Azkaban, Sirius wasn't exactly, as you say, innocent. Perhaps that's why he was even more carefree, more reckless given the chance," he added thoughtfully.

Harry nodded. "Sirius was always a joker yet was unexpectedly serious when necessary."
"He would have made such a great dad," he added, with a slight smile.

"Perhaps. Though he did have a tendency to rush into things without thinking," said Remus.
"I asked him once, why he couldn't just stop to think before he rushed into things," he said wistfully, lost in his reminiscences.

"And what did he say?" Harry asked, eager to know more of Sirius.

"He said that it was because he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to do it if he stopped to think about it," said Remus with a slight smile, a far away look in his eyes.

"So Sirius was afraid too," Harry said, with a wistful half smile.

"It's okay to be afraid, Harry. In fact, I would be concerned if you weren't. You have a big burden on your shoulders, Harry, and we can't lift it for you but we will try to lighten it as much as possible," Remus said gently.

"Thanks…And I'm glad about you and Tonks. You deserve to be happy," Harry added.

Remus didn't reply but looked away for a moment then turned back to him.

"Remus? How come Sirius never did get married?" Harry asked abruptly.
"Is it because she died in the war?" he asked tentatively.

"No…the strange thing is, Sirius never had anyone. Anyone he cared for, that is. Plenty of girls fancied him, practically worshipped him, in fact. We always used to joke that Sirius would be the first to get married, yet he was the only one of the Marauder who never had anyone. James had Lily, I had Adrianne," Remus said, flinching slightly, "and even Peter…he had Saori."

"Peter?" said Harry with disgust.

"Yes. You only know the traitor Peter, Harry, but we were quite fond of our Peter," said Remus.

"He was always nothing more than a filthy traitor who always looked for people to protect him," Harry retorted.

"No, I think that somewhere along the line, he began to believe that we weren't his true friends. Particularly with Sirius; he was often rather impatient with him, but that didn't mean he liked him any less than we did. But we didn't detect any difference in him, as good friends would have," said Remus regretfully.

"Well, what about Sirius? Who did he have?" asked Harry, changing the subject.

"Yes, well, everyone usually has at least one love in their life," Remus said reflectively and continued, "but Sirius, he never had anyone."

"And it wasn't for lack of trying either. Sirius went through girlfriends like last year's fads…it used to drive your mother mad. Said he was using all those poor girls just for a little entertainment. But I could see how he got so lonely sometimes with all us lovebirds around. I think he was even envious at times." He laughed lightly then sighed.

"He dated plenty of girls, but he always said that it never felt right. He tried so hard…to make himself feel something for them but of course it never worked out. There was even this one girl, Cassie, who he was engaged to. But love can't be forced."

"Engaged? What happened?"

"She left him, because she knew what nobody else knew. Sirius was in love with somebody else."

"Somebody else?" Harry repeated, utterly bemused. First Remus had said that Sirius had never had anyone then he brought up Sirius' fiancé then his love.

"Yes. After Cassie left, he stopped dating all together. We thought it was because he was too heartbroken. And he was, but not over Cassie," said Remus.

"Then who-?"

"He was exhausted…he was tired of waiting. So he just stopped trying," Remus continued.

"Whenever Sirius broke up with someone and we asked him why he had, he would always give the same reply. 'She's not 'her'.' He later told me that it felt as if there was someone he was searching for…someone he was waiting for. He said that he knew, somehow, that if he ever saw her he would recognize her."

"Why?" asked Harry, sounding almost angry. "Even people who try to avoid love are given chances at love. And Sirius was practically seeking it. Why?!"
"Why must his life be so tragic?" he demanded.

His entire life, Sirius had been enclosed by loneliness. Born into a pure-blood family with a warped ideology, he had been constantly despised and cast aside. When he had finally been given a chance at the happiness he deserved, his best friend had been killed, furthermore, because of a fellow friend's betrayal. To add insult to injury, he had been wrongfully sent to Azkaban because of that very friend. And Sirius, who perhaps had been the most in need of love, had been denied it.

Sirius was, without a doubt, the most tragic of those who had suffered under Voldemort.

His parents were tragic as well, losing their lives at such a young age, because of a friend's betrayal. But at least his parents had had each other. Who did Sirius have?

Remus continued.

"It wasn't after Sirius returned from Azkaban that he revealed why he couldn't love anyone else," Remus said.

"Anyone else?" Harry repeated. "But you just said that he never had anyone."

"He didn't. He saw her in his dreams," Remus replied.

"Dreams? Perhaps Azkaban did unhinge him after all," Harry said incredulously.

"No. For some reason, as incredulous as it sounds, I believe him," Remus said.

Remus handed Harry a thick sketchbook he had been holding in his hand when he came into the room.

Harry flipped the pages of the sketches. Each page was with drawings of a girl with raven hair and violet eyes.

"It was Sirius'," Remus said, referring to the sketchbook.

"He constantly saw her in his dream and he waited for a long time, hoping that perhaps his dreams were visions, and that she would come soon. She never did though," said Remus.

"For years, her face haunted him, yet she remained nameless. That is, until a few weeks before his death.

"A few weeks?"

"Yes. He called out to her in his dream, and he knew that it was her name," Remus said.

"What's her name?" Harry asked curiously.

"Gwen."

January 1, 2010 Friday, 5:47 PM

The new mother sat up in her bed as her husband brought their newborn and gently placed her in her arms.

"She's beautiful," the young mother breathed, gently feeling the child's silky blonde hair. Blonde hair she had inherited from her father, though it was a few shades darker than his platinum blonde.

The child gently stirred and opened her eyes, causing her mother to gasp and her father to smile.

"She has your eyes, Liana," he said softly.

They were exquisite eyes indeed. A color rarely seen in eyes, they were a shade of vivid violet.

Liana suddenly let out a sob and turned to her husband.
"Why her, Draco? Why her? Our little daughter…our only daughter," she cried.

"Would you rather it be one of our sons then?" Draco asked quietly, a pained smile on his face.

Liana immediately stopped crying and stared at him in horror at the very suggestion. "Oh, of course not! You know that's not what I mean. I wouldn't trade them for anything but oh, our only daughter!"

A pained look crossed his face but he smiled for Liana's sake.

"You knew it was going to be hard, Liana. You knew from the beginning that we wouldn't be able to keep her with us," said Draco.

"Why can't we? She's our daughter! Let the Death Eaters try and get us!" Liana said rebelliously.

"Be reasonable, Liana. It's not like you to be so irrational," Draco said, soothingly putting his arms around her and the baby.

"If the Death Eaters do find us? We'll become another Lily and James Potter case and our daughter will suffer a fate worse than death. You know she will; she'll merely become a tool for the Dark Side.

Liana nodded, hugging her baby closer to her at the thought. "I know. It's just that…I have this feeling that I'll never see her again," she whispered.

Draco stared at her, startled. He had been trying to escape the same premonition himself.

No, that's ridiculous. It isn't a premonition; it's only natural to feel anxiety under circumstances such as this one, he told himself.

"Don't say such a thing, Liana," Draco said, rather sharper than he had intended.

"Of course we will see her again. It's only temporarily, only a few years at most, until we can provide better protection for her," he consoled her in a softer voice.

Liana looked down at their child, a queer look passing over her face.

"Harry's waiting to bring her to safety," Draco prompted gently. He gently her face upward so that her vivid violet eyes looked into his. "You trust me, don't you?"

Liana nodded and gently pressed a kiss to the child's forehead. "Goodbye," she whispered, looking down into her bright violet eyes.

Draco gently took the child from her arms and Liana silently watched them until the door had closed behind them. "Yes, perhaps we will see her again but when we do, it won't be as our daughter," she said into the vacant room.

January 3, 2010 Sunday, 10:12 AM

Draco and Liana were silently sitting in their bedroom in Malfoy Manor, both consumed by the pain and misery of losing their first and only daughter, when a large grey owl tapped on their window.

Liana opened the window and received the package from the owl.
"It's from Dad," she said as she opened the letter. She then reached to open the package.

"It's a… diary," said Liana, looking at the open package.

'Gwendolyn Black, a Chronicles of Hogwarts and Beyond', Liana read out loud then sighed with disappointment as she opened it.
"It's blank," she said, slightly bemused.

Draco took the diary and carefully examined diary. It was a small, pocket-sized book with a solid gold lock and had the Black Crest encrusted on the cover. As he looked over the blank pages, he recalled the diary he had discovered in his father's study when he was young.

"Just because it looks blank doesn't mean that it actually is. Knowing Aunt Gwen, she probably put a spell on it so that only the intended receiver can read it," Draco informed her.

He was immediately proven correct when pages of the diary began to flutter and images began to appear before them as if in a movie.

There was no one who was fortunate enough to escape totally unaffected by the First and Second War. Everyone lost something in the war. Their innocence, dreams, hopes, courage, heart; whatever it may be, everyone lost something. The grief, the heartbreaks, and the broken families. As unfortunate as it is, it is a natural part of war. The heart never fully recovers from such losses.

Most of the blame for the wars was cast on the Slytherins. The majority of the Death Eaters were Slytherins and Slytherin had always had it's ideology against Muggle-borns and Muggles; the ideology that was the apparent cause of the war. What most people don't realize is that the Slytherins are the largest casualties of the war. The Slytherins, they lost themselves

After the war, they were never the same. Having been a Slytherin myself, though I do not agree with the Death Eaters, I am able to understand them. The Death Eaters weren't always what they are today. The most notorious Death Eaters were all Slytherins; all friends and relatives I once knew very well. Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Rabastan Lestrange, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, Evan Rosier, Severus Snape, and Regulus Black; before they became Death Eaters, they were just ordinary witches and wizards with ordinary lives. Lucius was compassionate and fair, and Bellatrix and Narcissa were vivacious and blithe. But the war came and the darkness took over.

Afterwards, Slytherin always became the outcast amongst the other Houses. Slytherins were always depicted as cruel and arrogant. Prejudiced and heartless… Some even went as far to say that all Slytherins are dark wizards and witches. But it wasn't always so. There was a time, before the war and before the rise of Voldemort, when being a Slytherin wasn't all about being pure of blood. When the essential traits of a Slytherin were ambition and cunning, as it should be. There was a time when we Slytherins weren't feared and despised but admired and respected. Then the darkness took over and nothing was ever the same. This is our story; the Slytherins, the lost generation.

September 1, 1971 Wednesday, 10:25 AM

The Blacks stood in platform nine and three-quarters, looking up at the Hogwarts Express with a mixture of joy and melancholy.

"I still can't believe the children are already going to Hogwarts, Orion. It seems like just yesterday that I left myself," Walburga said with slight wonder.

"Yes, children do grow up fast, don't they? Anyhow, it's good to be back," Orion replied.

Walburga suddenly grabbed Sirius and Gwen in a hug.

"Oh! My babies are going up so fast!" she cried tearfully.

Sirius and Gwen turned red as they tried to break free from their mother's grasp.

"Mother! Lucius and Aquila are laughing at us!" Sirius protested with embarrassment. Fortunately for him, they were also pulled into their own mother's grasp within the next minute.

"Look Mother! Aunt Druella and Narcissa are here," Gwen said, finally managing to pull away as her mother went to greet her sister-in-law.

Several minutes later, she came back to give them a final hug.

"Have a nice first term Sirius, Gwen," Orion said, looking at them with pride evident in his face.

"I expect you to owl me as soon as you get settled in," Walburga called after them as they scrambled onto the train with their cousin, Narcissa, and the Malfoy twins, Lucius and Aquila.

"I want to go too," Regulus whined.

"You're not of age, Regulus. Besides, I'll be so lonely if I send all three of my babies at once," Walburga said fondly.

"Alright. But I get to go next year!" Regulus said excitedly.

"Of course," Walburga said with resignation.

The Blacks and the Malfoys quickly found a compartment at the end of the train where their other friends, Magus Avery and Rabastan Lestrange, joined them.

Sirius and Gwen placed their trunks on the luggage rack and raced to the compartment window as they train started.

"Bye Mother, Dad, and Reg!" Sirius and Gwen yelled, and waved until the train had rounded the corner.

"I can't believe we're finally going to Hogwarts," Gwen said excitedly, once they had settled down. "We've been hearing about it for years and now we finally get to go."

"I just can't wait till we get there. I've wanted to go ever since Bella went," said Narcissa happily.

Rabastan nodded in agreement. "Rodolphus is always going on about how much fun it is at Hogwarts. Now we can find out for ourselves."

"You guys are lucky. At least you have older siblings who can tell you all about Hogwarts," said Lucius to Narcissa and Rabastan. "I've heard Hogwarts has changed a bit since our parents' age."

"Aw, poor Lucy. And at least Sirius and I have cousins like Bella and Andy who tell us everything," Gwen teased.

Lucius turned pink. "Don't call me Lucy," he said with embarrassment.

"Why not? Your mother calls you that," Gwen grinned.

"She calls him a lot of things," Aquila piped up. "When we were younger she used to call him-"

The others laughed as Lucius jumped up and covered his twin's mouth with his hand. Aquila simply grinned innocently back at him.

"As I was saying, Hogwarts should be very fun this year," Lucius said hastily.

"And I can't wait to learn magic. I finally get to learn how to hex Lucius!" Aquila teased, and squealed as he began to chase her around the small compartment.

"Hmm…imagine all the pranks we can play on the Gryffindors. It's going to be an interesting seven years with all of us in Slytherin," said Sirius with a grin, while the others laughed and nodded in agreement.

If only he knew…It would be an interesting seven years alright but not quite in the way Sirius had imagined.

("There's Aunt Gwen…and Uncle Sirius. Ever the prankster," said Draco fondly.

"And there's your mother and father," said Liana putting her hand comfortingly on Draco's shoulder.

"I've never seen them look so carefree and…happy," said Draco sadly, intently watching as his young parents laughed cheerily.)