A/N: Hm, what's with the non-reviewage? New word, by the way. So, right about now, things start happening quickly in the story. This story goes all throughout Harry's seven years, and much farther (it's all planned).

Halloween

Harry ended up telling Gwen and Ron about his trip to Gringotts in the summer. Hagrid had taken him to vault 713 and had removed a small package. Later that day, Gringotts had been robbed.

Unfortunately, they had no clue as to what the package was, and Harry and Gwen had no extra time due to Quidditch practice. Their first game was coming up shortly after Halloween.

One particular morning, they looked up as the owls brought in the morning post. One long package was dropped in front of Harry. Another owl dropped a note. Gwen turned form conversing with Jessie and snatched the letter. It read: DO NOT OPEN THIS PACKAGE AT THE TABLE! It contains you new Nimbus 2000, but I don't want everyone knowing you got one, or they'll all want one.

Gwen passed the note to Harry and Ron. Ron moaned enviously.

"Let's go upstairs and open it," Gwen suggested.

"You can't," Ron said instantly.

Gwen scowled. Ever since she had started hanging out with Harry, Ron had made no effort to hide his dislike of her. Gwen suspected that he was jealous. After all, she was pretty, smart, and Harry was, well, Harry. Ron had hardly attempted to make friends with anybody, and h found faults with everyone.

"Why not?" Gwen demanded.

"You can't come in the boys' dormitory," Ron stated.

Gwen opened her mouth to retort. Seeing the smug look on Ron's face, she rose to her feet and stormed out of the Great Hall.

"Gwen?" Her brother called after her as she passed him. He caught her as she put a foot on the marble staircase. "What's wrong?" He asked. Gwen saw that the Weasley twins had accompanied him.

"That sorry excuse for a boy, Eric! I've had it with trying to get through to him!" Gwen ranted.

"Do you want us to turn him into a toad?" George asked.

Gwen shook her head. "I could never kill a toad."

"A spider?" Fred suggested.

Gwen grimaced. A noise made Gwen look back to the Great Hall. Harry and Ron were exiting. Harry saw her and looked fairly apologetic. Ron sneered. Gwen made a move to leave. Eric halted her.

Looking around at al those present, Eric switched to French. "Nous sommes censés rencontrer Dumbledore."

Gwen eyed Ron, who was staring at her. "Pourquoi?"

"Je ne sais pas," Eric answered.

Eric wrapped his arm around Gwen. "Let's go," He said.

They made their way to the gargoyle that marked the entrance to Dumbledore's office. Eric gave the password. "Sugar quill."

Eric knocked on Dumbledore's door. Dumbledore called, "Come in." They did so and Dumbledore smiled. "Miss Black, if you would be so kind as to slip into the next room. I wish to speak with your brother."

Gwen was confused, but she did as Dumbledore said. She seated herself on the bed and waited. Maybe half an hour later, Dumbledore entered the room. He closed the door and seated himself in a comfortable armchair.

"Well Miss Black, how is your first year at Hogwarts going so far?"

Gwen smiled. "Pretty good as of yet."

Dumbledore opened a manila folder. "You're a good student on top of being Gryffindor Chaser. Professor McGonagall tells me that you are most often seen in the company of Jessica Abrams. You've also recently been spotted with Harry Potter. Is everyone at Hogwarts treating you respectably?"

Gwen nodded. "Everyone's been extremely helpful."

"Except Ronald Weasley?" Dumbledore said shrewdly.

"Eric told you," Gwen sighed. Dumbledore nodded. "It's nothing I can't handle. If worst comes to worst, Fred said he'll turn him into a spider," Gwen said.

"Dumbledore chuckled. "Is there anything you'd wish to speak about?"

"Like what?"

"Like what happened to your grandfather at the funeral," Dumbledore said.

Gwen stared at him. "How did you know?" She whispered.

"You had a certain aura around you that day," Dumbledore told her.

Gwen sighed, putting her head in her hands. "Are you going to tell Eric?" She asked tearfully.

Dumbledore shook his head. "You need to talk about it though. You can't go through school with that hanging over you."

"It's not hanging over me!" Gwen snapped sharply.

Dumbledore smiled sadly. "I'm afraid you're lying. Eric told me that you'd been bitter. Ever since John's funeral. Why did you do it? Why did you kill him?"

Gwen started crying. "Because he deserved to die. It wasn't fair that he was still living when she was dead. Mother never spoke of her past life, but I read between the lines. He hurt her. He tried to kill me. He'll rot in hell," She said, tears streaming down her face.

Dumbledore smiled sadly. "You come from a dysfunctional family, but the latest generations are good people: your mother, your brother, your sisters. Your father."

Gwen snorted. "My father. My father didn't give a damn about us."

Dumbledore laid a hand on her shoulder. "I'm aware of your feelings, but I knew Sirius Black for many years. He was a good man. When he joined Voldemort, I'm sure he believed he was doing what he thought was best for his family."

"No, he was doing what was best for him," Gwen said sourly.

Dumbledore frowned at Gwen's certainty. "You don't know that."

"I'm sorry Professor. I think I'd like to go to class now," Gwen said, rising to her feet. She swung her bag onto her shoulder and looked at Dumbledore for permission to leave.

He nodded. "I'll write you a pass."

Gwen's first class was History of Magic, so she didn't see the point in receiving a pass. She left Dumbledore's office and went down a staircase to the second floor. She knew there was a bathroom that happened to be out of order. She slammed the door open and marched to the sinks. She turned a tap on one of the sinks. It didn't work. She swore vehemently and moved over a sink. The tap worked. Glancing at herself in the cracked mirror over the sink, Gwen mused, I have to train myself to cry more attractively. Her green eyes were red and puffy. Tears clung to her long eyelashes. Her normally fair face was red a blotchy with tear streaks and runny mascara.

Gwen washed her face clean of all traces of makeup and tears. She knew this had been coming. Gwen had spent months preparing herself. Steeling herself against Dumbledore.

"Hello there," A gloomy voice said behind her.

Gwen screamed and leapt around. She found herself facing the ghost of a glum looking girl. "Who are you?!" She demanded.

"I am Moaning Myrtle," The girl sniffed haughtily. "Why are you here?"

"It's an out of order bathroom. I needed the privacy," Gwen said, turning back to face the mirror. She dried her face and unbound her hair from her braided bun. It fell down her back in untidy waves. She pulled a brush from her bag and set to work on her thick hair. Myrtle watched her the whole time. Gwen pulled her hair into a ponytail and braided it. Then she pinned it to her head.

"Who upset you?" Myrtle asked nosily as Gwen finished applying her makeup.

"It doesn't matter," Gwen snapped.

"What do you want to do to him?" Myrtle asked coyly.

Gwen scowled. "Nothing," She replied. She turned and left the bathroom. She made her way up two floors towards the History of Magic classroom. Professor Binns didn't even acknowledge Gwen as she slid into the seat between Jessie and Leslie. Jessie glanced at her and scribbled her a note on a bit of parchment.

What did Dumbledore want to talk to you about?

He just wanted to see how Eric and I were faring. Gwen.

Leslie's taking notes today. We can copy off of her at lunch.

The girls had a system. Each day they drew straws to see who would be taking notes in History of Magic class. Those that weren't taking notes slept, did other homework, or passed notes.

Katie leaned over and passed Gwen a note of her own.

What was going on between you and Ron? Kay.

He was being his arrogant self. I'm really sick of it. Gwen.

Then why do you hang out with him. Megs.

I don't. I hang out with Harry. Gwen.

You know, Ron's nothing like his brothers. Even Percy's nicer than him. Jess.

Fred and George are amazing. Kay.

Wasn't there another Weasley here last year? Megs.

Yeah. Charlie. He's working with dragons. Jess.

I wish I had a friend named Charlie. Gwen.

Get closer to the Weasley family. Kay.

How many of them are there? Gwen.

Quite a few. There are the parents: Molly and Arthur. Bill is the oldest. He works at Gringotts. Charlie is working with dragons. He used to play on the Quidditch team. Then there's Percy, Fred, George, and Ron. There's also Ginny Weasley, who will be joining Hogwarts next year. Jess&Megs.

How do you guys know all this? Gwen.

Family friends. Jess.

Just then, the bell rang. Gwen folded the note and placed it into a small pocket in her bag. She would take it out next History of Magic class.

"I can't stand taking notes," Leslie moaned. "It makes my head and my hand hurt."

Jessie laughed. "Luck of the draw, Lee."

Jessie had a habit of giving everyone she made contact with a nickname. She called herself Jess, or occasionally Jay. Katie was Kay; Meghan was Megs; Leslie was Lee or Lez.

Jessie had called Gwen Gab, for her initials. She had bettered it to Mab, however. Gwen was grateful for her nickname.

"Mab, can I ask you something?" Jessie asked.

Gwen nodded. "Certainly," She said, taking a seat in Charms.

"You told us that your mother was dead, but you never told us about your father. Your real father, that is."

Gwen raised an eyebrow. "Why do you want to know about my father?" Jessie shrugged. Gwen sighed. "Mon père is in prison. His name's Sirius Black."

They gasped. "Why didn't you tell us?" Meghan asked.

Gwen shrugged. "I was too young, but everyone else took his betrayal hard. Especially mother. He's the reason we moved to France."

Jessica sighed. "I'm really sorry I brought this subject up Mab. I think this should be one of those forbidden topics," The girls all nodded in agreement.

They didn't have time to speak about anything else as Professor Flitwick came into class.

Halloween arrived. Ron was even more bitter towards Gwen, but she was in such a good mood she didn't care.

Before dinner, Gwen and Leslie went to the bathroom together, talking and laughing. They stopped, however, once they walked in on Hermione Granger, crying her eyes out.

"Hermione what's wrong?" Gwen asked.

"Go away!" Hermione snapped. "Leave me alone!"

"Do you want to talk about it?" Leslie asked kindly.

"Leave me alone!" Hermione practically screamed.

Gwen and Leslie traded glances. "Well ok then," Gwen muttered. They exited and went down to the Halloween feast.

"Guess what!" Leslie exclaimed as they sat beside their friends.

"What?" Meghan asked in a bored tone. Leslie had a tendency to get overexcited.

"We walked into the bathroom and Hermione Granger was crying!"

"Why?" Jessie asked.

Gwen shrugged. "Couldn't tell you. She wanted to be left alone."

Katie nudged Gwen and nodded to where Ron sat with Harry. Ron was shifting in his seat, looking horribly guilty.

"Aw, Ron, are you feeling guilty?" Gwen drawled scornfully.

Ron glared. Harry sighed. "Gwen," He said softly.

Gwen backed off with a casual, "Well, he is."

Ron looked about to retort, but the doors to the Great Hall burst open dramatically and Professor Quirrell ran in, robes askew, yelling "Troll! In the dungeon! Thought you ought to know." He fainted.

All the kids screamed. "Silence!" Dumbledore roared at the top of his voice. "Prefects will lead their house back to their dormitory; teachers will follow me to the dungeon."

No one questioned his authority. "Come Gwen," Eric said, grabbing her hand. Gwen followed obediently until Harry grabbed her arm.

"Gwen, what bathroom was Hermione in?" He asked.

Gwen paled. "Follow me."

"Don't let Percy see us," Ron said tersely.

The boys followed Gwen. Suddenly, they heard footsteps. "Percy," Ron hissed. The three of them hid in the shadows and watched as Snape, not Percy, rushed by.

"He's heading to the third floor," Harry whispered.

"Do you smell something?" Ron asked.

"Ugh!" Gwen gagged as a horrific smell filled her senses. Soon enough, a large troll came into their line of view. He shuffled stupidly into a room.

"The key's in the lock," Harry muttered.

Together, Harry and Ron hastily slammed the door shut and locked it.

"Um, guys, that's-" Gwen began, but she was interrupted by a terrified scream. "-the girls bathroom," Gwen sighed miserably.

"Hermione!" Harry and Ron groaned.

They threw open the door and saw Hermione, terrified, against the wall.

"Hermione move!" Harry yelled.

Hermione was clearly too terrified to move. Gwen darted around the troll and took Hermione's arm. "Move," She moaned. She could vaguely hear Harry and Ron shouting at the troll, obviously hoping to confuse it. "Hermione, we gotta go! Maintenant!" Hermione looked at her. "Now!" Gwen repeated. They quickly rose to crouches, looking for an opportunity to move to a less exposed area. Unfortunately, they were in a bathroom, not a battlefield.

Hermione screamed. Gwen looked up and saw that Harry had somehow gotten on the trolls shoulders and stuck his wand in its nose. The troll was attempting to fling Harry to the ground.

Ron had his wand out and was pointing it at the troll. "Wingardium Leviosa!" The trolls wooden club flew out of its hand, rose several feet in the air, turned upside down, and fell on the trolls skull with a sickening crack.

The silence that fell was deafening. Hermione was the first to speak. "Is it dead?"

Gwen crawled out from under the sink. She stooped by the troll and pulled Harry's wand out of its nose. "Just knocked out," She said. Holding Harry's wand between thumb and forefinger, Gwen handed it back to its owner. Harry grimaced and wiped it on the trolls trousers.

Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but the sound of rushed footsteps stopped her. In rushed McGonagall, Quirrell, and Snape.

"What has happened here?" McGonagall demanded angrily.

Hermione spoke up nervously. "Please Professor. They were looking for me. I went looking for the troll because I'd read about them and thought I could handle it. I was wrong. If the three of them hadn't found me, I'd probably be dead."

Gwen shifted nervously. She didn't know Hermione all that well, but she knew that Hermione would never tell a downright lie to a teacher. From the looks on Harry and Ron's faces, they were thinking similar thoughts.

"Well," McGonagall huffed, clearly perplexed by Hermione's 'rash behavior.' "Five points will be taken from Gryffindor for your foolishness Miss Granger. If you aren't hurt, please return to Gryffindor Tower. Students are finishing the feast in their Houses." Hermione left, head bowed. McGonagall turned to the remaining students. "I hope you three realize just how lucky you are. Not many students under seventh year could take on a fully grown mountain troll and live to tell the tale. Five points will be awarded to each of you. You may go."

They left right away. As the three of them walked down an empty corridor, Ron grumbled, "We should've gotten more than fifteen points."

"Ten you mean, once she's taken away Hermione's," Harry corrected.

"I'm actually surprised she didn't take more from Hermione," Gwen mused. They entered through the portrait hole. Hermione was waiting for them.

"Thanks," They said in unison without looking at one another. From that moment on, Hermione Granger was their friend.

A/N: Ok, first, I'll clear up the French. Eric says "We are supposed to meet Dumbledore." Gwen asks him, "Why?" Eric replies, "I don't know." (My favorite French phrase.) Gwen then says, "My father."

Mab is a women mentioned in the play, "Romeo and Juliet." Also, in case anyone wants to know, I'm not French (I take French I in highschool) nor am I British, so I don't attempt to kill the true English language, or the French language, by pretending. That's pretty much it, except that this chapter took me forever! Review!