A girl of straight white hair jumped around her messy bedroom clutching an envelope in her hand as she wore muggle clothing. Squeals left her mouth as she couldn't help the smile on her face as Led Zeppelin played in the background on her record player. Suddenly her bedroom door was thrown open and a smiling redhead stood at the doorway with a bright smile on her face as she held the letter in her hands with the same brightness.

"Did you get yours too?"

"YES!" The redhead jumped onto the bed together with the white haired girl as they held hands together as they squealed and jumped as Robert Plant's voice filled the room with the lyrics of "Since I've been loving you"

"I can't wait to go to Hogwarts, can you Lily?" Both girls smiled as they were now laying on the bed side to side as both letters were ripped open and on their stomachs as they stared up at the white ceiling as Led Zeppelin played in the background softly

"Me either," Lily grinned "We are going to take Hogwarts by storm!"

"You think?"

"Of course," Lily jumped up from the bed as she graded the other girls arms and forced her to stand as well "We'll both be amazing wizards Gwen!" Lily's excitement seemed to rub off on Gwen as she soon joined in on Lily's excitement

"Hogwarts better watch out for us!" Gwen smiled as she soon joined in with Lily's excitement as they began dancing around before Gwen went crashing to the floor as she slipped on one of her own socks and fell on her back

"That is after you gain a sense of balance not to mention clean up your room" Lily pointed out as she stood over the girl with a teasing look in her eyes "Only then can we become amazing wizards" Taking the moffered hand Gwen smiled as she lightly pushed her sister

"You room isn't much better"

"At least I know where everything is" Lily shrugged as she grabbed her letter "I'll let Mom know that we need to get to Diagon Alley tomorrow to get our things" With that she closed the door as Gwen reclaimed her letter off her bed and set it on the only clean area in her room which was her desk

"Hogwarts here I come"

"Look there is Ollivanders!" Lily grabbed Gwens sleeve as she pulled her towards the building with a huge smile on her face, "We have to get our wands!"

"Alright then, no need to drag me" Gwen laughed as she was stumbling over her feet

"Sorry, I'm just really excited" Lily laughed as she let go of the Gwens sleeve and they entered the small building

Gwen adjusted her backpack that carried her most of her new school supplies. Their parents had the cauldrons and other things they couldn't carry as they were waiting outside for them to retrieve their wands.

The building was rather narrow and shabby as it seemed that boxes of wands were everywhere as they piled all the way to the ceiling. With a smile, Gewen turned to Lily who had a huge smile on her face as she received her wand.

"10 ¾ willow swishy" The old man stated "Are you here to get your wand to young lady?" Gwen nodded as she shuffled over suddenly embarrassed as she didn't know what to do

"Try this one" Grabbing the thick and long brown wand with two ridges on the bottle felt odd in her hand, waving her hand around a wall of wands suddenly fell to the ground with a crash

"I'm so sorry!" Gwen felt her face heat up as she handed him the wand back as she looked at the huge mess with wide eyes

"Don't fret child" Taking his own wand out he muttered a spell that cleaned up the mess as all the wands back into their boxes and were stacked up once again "Try this one"

Taking the thin, black, and narrow wand into her hand that had small flowers engraved into the handle as it had a stout bottom with thorns encrusting the bottom of its

"10 ⅕ cherry swishy, a dragon core" The man spoke as I flicked my wrist and small fireworks exploded from the top causing a smile to stretch across Gwen's face

"You've found yourself a wand, congratulations" The man named Ollivander spoke as both girls handed him the set of Galleons as they couldn't keep their eyes off of them. Smiling, they left the small shop with a wave of their hands to finish the rest of their shopping.

"Do you think you should write to your Father regarding you attending Hogwarts?" Lily asked as she laid on the full bed on her stomach as she watched Gwen clean up her room

"I've already sent him a letter and he said that he'll come pick me up so we go on our annual trip to America" Gwen retorted as she threw more clothes into the dirty pile while Lily hummed in response

"What kind of people do you think we'll meet?" Lily asked with a huge smile on her face, Gwen kept the smile on her face as she didn't want to dampen her best friends mood

Gwen was the only child of the prestigious pureblood Appleton family who was highly respected in the Wizarding world as they came from a long line of Slytherins and Ravenclaws. Her Mother was a Ravenclaw and her father was a Slytherin when they had attended Hogwarts. Gwen was pure blood while her best friend and childhood friend was a muggle born which meant that she was susceptible to bullying.

"All sorts" Gwen replied as she turned away to put all the books back into her bookshelf

"I can't wait to learn more about the Wizarding world and everything I can about using magic!" Lily clapped her hands together as she rose from the bed

"Have you told Severus yet?"

"No, I plan to see him tomorrow and tell him about my letter to Hogwarts" Lily stated as she got up and headed to the bedroom door "Alright well I'm going to bed now, I'll see you in the morning."

"See you in the morning Lils" Gwen turned her head to her with a smile as she watched her leave as she closed the door behind her

"Night Gwen"

"Are you excited about going my daughter?" Gwen's father, Alexander Appleton, is a tall man with black raven hair, dark brown eyes that boarded black and a calm and collected demeanor. He had the characteristics of a slytherin but that's where the similarities ended.

Both Father and Daughter sat at the dining table as they had been eating in silence. When he had picked her up from Lily's house, she was sad having to make her goodbyes to Mr. and Mrs. Evans as well as Lily. She had ignored Petunia, as she was nothing but a selfish, spoiled prat in her opinion.

"Yes I am," Gwen set her glass of water down as she looked up to see her Father staring at her with a small smile, "I wonder what house I'll be sorted into" She added as she smiled at her Father

"You have a strong lineage of Slytherins and Ravens" Her Father started with a smile "You act and look more like your Mother so you'll most likely be a part of Ravenclaw." He looked up from his plate as he smiled over at her, she felt the stare and looked up from her own plate to see a softness in his eyes

"I miss her" Was all she said as she could feel the strong urge to cry bubble underneath the surface of her eyes.

"I miss her too, my darling" They sat in silence as they both looked over to the large portrait that hung over the fireplace with sadness as it was the three of them when she was a baby

"Father, do you think we could visit Mum tomorrow before we go to the station?" Gwen broke the silence as she turned to her Father who was already staring at her with a smile making its way to his face

"Of course" They resumed eating as her Father began telling her of his assignment as she listened to him tentatively

One of their house elves had walked in and handed her Father a slip of paper that turned his warm demeanor to that of something cold. She watched as her Father let out a tired sigh as his eyes read the small paper, he stayed that way for several long minutes. As Gwen decided to ask what the matter was, he stood from his seat abruptly and clenched his fist.

"Continue eating, I have matters to attend to regarding work" He strolled over to her side of the table "I love you my darling, your Mother and I are very proud of you. Regardless of what house you belong to, we'll always be here for you" He placed a chaste kiss on her head before he left the dining room and made his way to his study that was upstairs

Gwen stood with a small smile as she cleaned up both her Fathers and her plates before making her trek up the carpeted steps to the second floor where her bedroom was located. She could hear her Father's distinct voice from the study as he talked on the telephone to somebody. Slipping into her room she got ready for bed, but before making her way under the covers she glanced over to her several trunks that sat by the door. She had placed a photo of her parents in her carry on as she wanted it close to her at all times for her big day.

Slipping into bed, she turned off the lamp that rested on her bedside table before slipping her arm back underneath the covers. A small black creature moved at the foot of her bed as it slowly made its way towards her. Grabbing the small cat she sat up in bed as she cradled it to her chest.

"Hello Mr. Fitz" The cat began purring as she was petting it "How are you this night?"

Gwen used to live in Cokeworth, London along with Lily and Severus but once her mother died when she was nine years old. Her Father couldn't stand to be in the house much less the town as it reminded him so much of her and found himself grieving anytime he walked into a room or simply on his way home from work as he would pass her favorite bakery.

It has only been a little over two years since her Mother's abrupt demise, Gwen still thought of her Mother a lot. She knew her Father saw her mother in her as she not only looked like her but she acted like her and developed some of her habits. Her Mother was loving and highly respected not to mention she loved Muggles. She found them to be interesting creatures who had their own sort of magic such as tellies and other such things.

She spent her summers with Lily as to that's why she had a room there. Her Mother was close friends with the Evans when she saw Lily do accidental magic when they were playing once. She thought that Lily would become her best friend, to which she was right of course. Her mother told Lily's parents much about the Wizarding world and what to expect from Lily as she developed her powers.

So when tragedy struck, Lily's parents were the ones to help her Father help prepare the arrangements for her Mother's funeral. Her Father threw himself into work and had her stay with Evans that way she wasn't stuck at home all the time by herself. Which she didn't mind living with Lily as they had become more as sisters then friends.

"I'm going to miss you" Her Father smiled down at his only daughter who's eyes lit up as she tackled him in a hug with a bright smile on her face

"I'll miss you too" Gwen knew that her Father was emotional today as not only had they visited her Mother's grave this morning but because she was making a huge step into growing up

"Write to me about everything, alright?" Gwen pulled away with a huge smile as her Father bent down and placed a kiss on her head, "I want you to tell me as soon as possible whatever house you're placed in alright?"

"Yes, I pinky promise" Gwen held up her small pinky out to him as he wrapped his own pinky around her own "Do you think I'll be just as smart as Mum?"

"Of course you will be, you're so much like your Mother and she was very intelligent. I believe that you will do great things and become an amazing witch." She felt her eyes water as she felt her heart clench slightly as if somebody were squeezing it "Now you best be off before you miss the train, my darling" Her Father stood to his height as he placed a hand on her head as she nodded

"I love you" She gave her Father one more hug as she knew that it would be the last one until she came home for Christmas, which was a little over five months away.

"I love you too" With a small wave she turned around to look at him once more as he waved to her with an encouraging smile. Turning back around she disappeared in the sea of fellow students and parents as she tried making her way toward the train as she had already dropped off her trunks. Gwen carried the small carry on she had packed before she saw a flash of bright red hair.

"Lily!"

"Gwen!" Both girls hugged each other as they were dressed in their muggle clothing. "How was visiting America with your Father?"

"Amazing, I bought you a souvenir since you were unable to join me"

"Gwen you didn't have to get me anything"

"Don't be silly, you're my best friend and my sister Ms. Evans" Both girls giggled as they weren't paying attention to their surroundings. Lily grabbed Gwen's hand as she dragged her towards the train after grabbing their trunks

"Come on Gwen, we should find a compartment before they're all taken"

After several minutes of trying and failing to find a partially empty one they had found an empty one near the back of the train. Lily and Gwen quickly put their trunks away before Lily had turned to the white haired girl who had already taken a seat as she was looking out the window.

"I'm going to find Severus since we found a cabin already"

"Alright well, I'll be here" Nodding Lily left as Gwen grabbed a book from her things and began reading as she waited for the train to depart from the station. Several minutes had passed in silence before she heard the cabin's door slide open, looking up from her book she expected it to be Lily and Severus but instead were two strangers.

"Mind if we sit here? All the cabins look to be completely full" Two boys stood at the door wearing smiles with their large trunks in hand. They were of both average built from what she could see as they were also wearing muggle clothing. Gwen smiled as she closed her book and set it in her lap, she gestured towards the empty benches as she looked to them.

"There is plenty of seats that is as long as you don't mind sitting with two other people, my friends will be back soon"

"Not at all!" The first one with round glasses and light brown hair stated happily as he put his trunk away while the other boy followed him as well

"The names James Potter" The one with round glasses smiled as he flopped down and took a seat across from her 'Potter, he's like me. A pureblood.' The second boy with much darker and long brown hair offered her his hand as well as a smile

"I'm Sirius Black" His silver eyes were hidden behind long dark eyelashes as she felt her mind become blank.

They're both purebloods. She knows all the pureblood families' names like the back of her hand as she had studied them before she came here. Gwen didn't know many of them, but what she did remember was that Potter was a friend of her Mother's before her untimely demise. She had never met their son James, but she had heard a lot about him from Euphemia and Fleamont Potter, when they used to visit her parents. Her Father didn't like to talk much about the other families as he had grown a bit cold towards them. She didn't know why, but she had remembered the conversation they had a few days prior on their way back to America on the plane.

"I'm Gwendolyn Appleton" She took his offered hand as they shook hands "But I prefer to go by Gwen" She added with a soft smile, hoping that they would want to be friends with her

"Little Gweny" Sirius smirked as he watched her face become pink as she averted her eyes from his as they held a mischievous glint in them "That's what I'll call you" He took his seat beside her as he leaned back

"It's a pleasure to meet both of you"

Published: December 1st, 2019

Editors: March 4th, 2020