A/N: I haven't written much in a long time, when you review please be honest (and brutal!) I can take creative criticism!
I do not own anything Harry Potter related. The idea is mine, the main character and her mother are mine (although I used a name from SAO). I am going to try and make this as canon as possible, but will not be completely canon. You'll all see why within the second chapter! This chapter is a simple background to set the characters - but it'll be a bit rushed and longish.

Chapter 1: Being Black.

Hallowe'en, 1980. Potter Residence.

"You guys know I've never wanted to settle down, but I've met the woman who might tame me!" Sirius was trying to talk with his best friends before their nightly festivities began.

Remus looked at him quizzingly. "What's her name this week, then?" He laughed and then coughed. The full moon was tonight, on Hallowe'en of all nights, and Sirius was looking more irritated than Remus.

"I..I didn't catch her name." He murmured in response. James and Remus busted out laughing. "I met her as Padfoot. She's a dog lover. You know people tell things to their animals they don't tell other people!"

"And how do you go about introducing Sirius to her? Changing before her eyes?" James wiped a tear from his eyes. They all knew what kind of guy Sirius was. He flirted with any mildly attractive woman he came across. The fact he's talking about a possible lifelong partner was unthinkable. Sure, it was possible, but Sirius knew he was too handsome for one woman.

Lily spoke up, bouncing her three month old in her arms. "James makes a valid point, Sirius. How do you plan on meeting this woman after she spilled her problems to a, what she thought, stray dog?"

Sirius began thinking. He hadn't really thought that far. He was just out walking as Padfoot the night previously, when he came across a young woman in the park. She was crying, and sounded so heartbroken. He approached cautiously, not everyone liked dogs (let alone large black dogs that resembled the Grim). The scuffling had the young woman look up, sad eyes softening and a smile appearing as she saw the dog. She beckoned him over and gave him a hug upon realizing he was friendly. He made a whimpering sound at the feeling of her wet tears on his fur.

"Oh don't worry your puppy head about me. I'll be okay, nothing a little cry and fresh air won't help." The woman wiped her tears and began petting Padfoot behind the ears. "It's just horrible. All these people dying with no causes whatsoever. I found my neighbor earlier. He was only a few years older than I. We grew up together." She kept on about others she knew who had died out of the sudden, which Padfoot knew to be linked to the war going on.

"She's a muggle." Sirius whispered, after a few minutes of recollection. Not that there was issue, Sirius was always proud to piss off his pureblood family. He noticed a smirk on his two best friends faces.

"At least she won't recognize there's a war happening under her nose." James offered. Just because he knew his brother to be a womanizer, it only takes one to change.

Remus nodded and added, "Just be careful you don't do anything too magical for her." He winked at Sirius.

While the boys were out as their animagi, Sirius thought some more. The innocence of this young woman, how gorgeous she looked even sad. She was exotic, Sirius couldn't place her nationality - possibly Japanese or Korean. He wondered if her name was just as exotic. What was so special about her that had him sidetracked? He's never been this caught up on a woman before. She was definitely a muggle, but was effected by Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Was she aware of magic? Would she get scared?

Sirius decided to move slowly, especially if her neighborhood was under Death Eater watch. He walked as Padfoot every few nights through the park area where he first met her, hoping to see her again. It wasn't until the fifth night out walking when he picked up a familiar scent. He followed it to a small cottage, where lights were on and a shadow walked behind curtains. Taking note of the area, he turned and walked his way home.

After a couple weeks of trying to walk by her again with no luck, Padfoot let his canine instincts loose. He began chasing a cat through her neighborhood, noisily, drawing many people to the doors of their homes. He chased the cat for a good while, weaving in and out of streets. The chase ran past the cottage and Padfoot barked, noticing his mystery woman standing in her doorway as well. Did she notice him as the 'stray' she encountered a couple weeks ago? The happiness on her face seemed to say she did.

The next couple of months Padfoot found himself balled up in front of a fire of the small cottage. He started going back every couple of nights and was welcomed in. "Glad you're safe, Pup." She said the first night he wandered by. She definitely thought he was a stray, and she couldn't think different. Sirius would never wear a collar, that was just too much. She was still Mystery Woman to him and his friends, but her name was one of the only things he didn't know. Sirius was glad to know she knew about magic, as her neighbor she grew up with was a wizard. She spoke to Padfoot almost flabbergasted, explaining that 'who knew magic exists' when sharing more about her friend.

While talking over what to do next with James, Remus, and Peter, Lily suggested that she should be invited to their New Year bash. "You could invite her as Sirius, and then thank her for watching over your dog?" The boys murmured in agreement, knowing they'll never think of anything better. "You'd have to start over though," Lily reminded him, "She doesn't know that you're really the dog and you can't know anything about her."

Sirius began writing a short invite letter to bring by as Padfoot.

If there is someone on the receiving end, I'd like to cordially invite you to the annual Potter's New Year Bash. As thanks, for taking such good care of my dog on the nights he wanders out of the house and doesn't get back until morning.
-Sirius Black

He added information about how to get to the house and the starting time. He hoped it wouldn't be overwhelming, a muggle at a wizards party. He delivered the letter that night, pushing it through the mail slot and returning home. All left to do was to wait the next week until the party came around and see if she showed.

Although agonizing, Sirius made it. He met at his brothers house to help set up, as well as play with his godson for a little in between. Guests started piling through the doors and Sirius recognized that the Order were the only ones showing up. Sirius started giving up, and offered to put Harry to bed. After settling him in, he caught a familiar whiff and briskly walked down the stairs.

"You look out of place." He said, almost slyly to the young woman in front of him. She was even more breathtaking when Sirius was human.

She looked shocked at the stranger talking to her. "I..uh..I don't plan on staying long. I don't even know what I'm doing here."

Sirius offered a warm smile and his hand. "I'm Sirius. I'm guessing you're the owner of the place that keeps my dog warm?" There was a little flirtation in his voice, it was hard to keep it back as Lily suggested.

"How could you guess?"

"You're the only one I don't know at this party." He shrugged, putting his hand back at his side. Could she be different than he initially expected?

She seemed to break out of her trance and smiled, "I'm sorry! It's been a rough couple months. Your pup's been keeping me company, his visits really cheer me up." She stuck her hand out hoping to still receive the handshake. "I'm Serena. Serena Young." Sirius took her hand lightly and shook. "Did you bring your dog to the party?" Her eyes lit up, looking around.

Sirius scratched the back of his head. "He's kind of a homebody. So, it'd be nice to get to know the reason I miss my dog some nights."

Serena blushed. She wasn't sure she could trust the man, even though his dog was such a character. She felt that Sirius was almost too handsome to be trusted. They walked to the kitchen to get cocoa, also to keep in the quieter area so they could talk. Serena briefly talked about how the dog came at just the right timing, when she needed a shoulder to cry on. She held back details of her friends wizardry, but talked a bit about herself.

Sirius offered some details of himself, so she wasn't the only one talking. He hinted at how he met his friends at a boarding school for exceptionally gifted students, earning a smirk from himself. They talked more as the night went on, missing midnight and finally parting ways as the sun came up.

As their relationship blossomed over the next couple months, Sirius couldn't keep hiding the fact he was fighting a war and he didn't exactly own a dog. He didn't want to ruin her trust by transforming in front of her, but he couldn't keep visiting her place only. He started small, sharing that he was a wizard, and that there was worse coming in the world of her friends. He accidentally slipped knowing about her friend when the war started getting worse, almost necessitating a transformation come clean. Serena responded exceptionally well to his animagus form, secretly happy she didn't have to share a lot of things over again.

By the middle of summer, they had stopped seeing each other for Serena's own good. Sirius and his friends had to go into hiding and he didn't want to put her life in danger. Serena wasn't sure how to respond, especially with the secret she was keeping. She would get letters here and there but by October, she stopped getting letters all together. She was fearful for Sirius' life, unsure if he was even alive anymore because of the war going on that she wasn't supposed to know about.

October 31, 1981 was both the best and the worst day of Serena's life. That was the last day she was certain about how she felt for Sirius, but also the same day she welcomed a daughter into the world.

And so begins the story of Asuna Artemis Black.