This is my first attempt at writing fan fiction. I've recently gotten into reading fan fiction and thought I would give my own story a go. I'm a little bit in love with Sirius Black, so this is my take on the type of relationship I think he would have, had he had the chance.

I'm not great at writing magic, so most of the scenes involving magic are quite vague. I've focused much more on the relationships.

Hope you enjoy! Please review, and please be nice!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters, they are the intellectual property of the fabulous J K Rowling.

Introduction

This story starts in the summer of 1975. Gemma Arwin (OC) is 15 and about to head into her 5th year at Hogwarts.

Below is my characters background, explaining her existing relationships with various students. I've tried to stay as much in line with the original HP work as possible, but some differences have been made to allow for the story to flow better.

Gemma Arwin lives with her parents, George and Cynthia Arwin. Both George and Cynthia worked for the Ministry of Magic as Aurors until they decided to retire, when they were in their 40s.

After years of working side by side, they realised their love for each other and decided to focus their time on each other. They got married but never expected to have children.

After 4 years together, Cynthia fell pregnant with Gemma, who was born on 10th January 1960.

At the peak of their careers, they were exceptionally talented Aurors, especially George. For him, he had a natural ability to learn quickly, efficiently and withstand the pressure of fighting dark magic.

Cynthia had to work twice as hard to be half as good, but she was determined. Gemma was fortunate enough to get her fathers natural ability, with her mothers determination.

From a very young age Gemma knew she wanted to be an Auror too, even though she didn't fully comprehend what it meant. But she wanted to be like her parents and she wanted to help rid the world of dark magic and those that support it.

Gemma had a happy childhood. Her parents, being retired, were able to spend a lot of time with her.

George is very focused on setting her up for school and training, spending hours every week demonstrating spells, having her practice movements using sticks from the garden, and purchasing plenty of magical books to assist her learning. Gemma enjoys their time together, even if it does feel like hard work sometimes.

Cynthia wants Gemma to succeed, but also wants her to be a normal young woman. She encourages Gemma to think about other aspects of her life, beyond becoming an Auror, much to the frustration of George.

Gemma has a close friend in the village, Julie Summers. They met when they were 5 and became best friends instantly. Julie had struggled to make friends because she was different, but in truth, she was simply a witch in a muggle world. Julie's parents were muggles, so over the years they became friends with George and Cynthia, who helped them understand a bit more about Julie's world.

At the age of 11, both Gemma and Julie received their letters for Hogwarts. They clung together on their journey to Hogwarts, with Julie being placed in Hufflepuff and Gemma in Gryffindor. They agreed to stay best friends, which is still true today.

Once in Gryffindor, Gemma became good friends with the girls she shared her dorm with; Lily Evans, Mary MacDonald and Alice Prewitt. They would often be seen together, in class, studying or hanging out in the common room. Mary loved a gossip, which Alice and Lily played along with. Gemma, being less girly than the others, and less interested in boys, listened but didn't join in.

Gemma worked hard, putting her in the good books of Lily, but she could be, on occasion, a little hot headed. Early on in her first year, Gemma got detention for punching a Slytherin student, Avery, in the nose, because he called Julie a Mudblood. She received another detention that year for raising her wand in the corridor after an older student, Lestrange, threatened her friends.

Over the next few years, she received a couple more detentions, mostly for rushing to defend either herself or her friends. Last year though, she got into the most trouble. Mulciber attacked Mary, who was found by a teacher, having been cut badly, and Gemma wasted no time in seeking justice. She cornered Mulciber, disarmed him and threw him flying back against the wall. She was about to attack him further when they were discovered and she was punished to one months detention. Mulciber didn't seek revenge, but Gemma suspects her days are numbered.

While in detention, Gemma often found herself in the company of James Potter and Sirius Black. At first she found them irritating, constantly playing pranks and messing around in class. However, over the years, she saw a different side to them. They were clearly intelligent and had the same fiery disposition as her. She didn't approve of the way they treated some students, even Severus Snape. In her mind, they were sometimes just as bad as Mulciber, who often tormented students.

They were both very fond of Gemma, liking her no-nonsense attitude. But Sirius clearly enjoyed winding Gemma up, and although she tried to ignore him, he always had a way of getting under her skin.

As well as those two, Gemma became friends with Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, although the latter was more by association. Remus and Gemma, however, often found themselves studying together in the library and they forged a fondness for each other. They found they could happily sit in each other's company without having to say too much.

On Gemma's part, she found Remus oddly comforting, which was ironic, giving his condition. Last year, Gemma had realised Remus was a werewolf. He didn't tell her, but she started to quietly track his "illness" patterns and looked out for other signs. Gemma wouldn't tell him she knew, as she wanted to wait until he felt comfortable enough to tell her himself.

Gemma was growing up to become a very beautiful young woman. She was 5'4, with long wavy blonde hair that always fell perfectly around her chest. She was slim, but athletic, with curves in all the right places. She was starting to feel more confident in her body, but she didn't fully comprehend how beautiful she was.

Gemma's expectation of what her life would become was simple. She wanted to become an Auror, perhaps travel the world, but focus on fighting back against dark magic. She had no desire to find love and fall into the trap of a relationship. She refused to be tied down, believing it would hold her back in her career.

She was open to the possibility of love one day, but it would need to be someone very special.