Gwen entered her new dorm to see that her new roommates were already there. Lily Evans, Alice Price and Marlene McKinnon, all huddled on the corner bed laughing.

The laughter was quick to cease when the girl walked in, however.

"Good morning, Gwen," Lily greeted politely while her friends averted their eyes. Gwen nodded, tilting her lip in what she hoped was a smile before darting her eyes away.

Lily was one of the few students who didn't actively ignore Gwen. In fact, she was always kind to her. The year before last, they sat together in Potions due to Lily's friends having different periods, and if she saw Gwen was struggling with work, which was often, she always tried to help her. Although it made Gwen uncomfortable at first, she soon grew used to it.

Whenever Gwen missed a class, she was always greeted with the same quiet 'are you okay?' before Lily went off on a tangent on what she needed to know. Gwen couldn't tell if Lily thought she actually cared about schoolwork or wanted someone to talk to in Potions, but either way it was nice having someone to listen to. Even if she hardly participated in conversation.

And then her brother went to work for Voldemort and the Muggle-born girl avoided her like the plague. Not that Gwen could blame her, she encouraged it even, but the avoidance only lasted a couple of weeks. Lily must have come to her own conclusion on where Gwen stood when she switched seats with a Hufflepuff in Charms to talk to her. She even apologised for avoiding her as though they were actually friends. Gwen tried not to read too far into it as the girl was friends with practically everybody, but she still found it odd.

Gwen unpacked her luggage with a variety of spells; watching as her clothes folded neatly into drawers and her stationary set itself on her work desk. The chatter of the other girls started up again, quieter this time, and Gwen could only assume they were talking about her.

The Great Hall was bustling by the time she arrived. Students and teachers were milling around and chatting, leaving the Hall in a cacophony of noise that rang through Gwen's ears. She found an empty portion of the Gryffindor bench and sat down, taking a cup of water from the table's centre. Food wouldn't be brought out until first-years were assigned a house but Gwen wasn't feeling too hungry anyway.

She was absentmindedly swirling her straw through the water, watching the liquid ripple with the motion when she heard a group of distinct voices.

"I don't think this is a good idea-"

"Then sit somewhere else, James."

"Moony, why the hell would you want to-?"

"She was upset!"

"This really isn't-"

"Hey, Gwendolyn, right?" A presence made itself known on her left and the girl ceased her stirring. "Sorry if I keep bothering you. I... I just wanted to make sure you were alright after this morning." She inclined her head and saw the same brown eyes from the train. Remus' voice was quieter, more hesitant when he repeated, "Gwendolyn?"

Gwen turned her head away. Someone sat on her right - Peter, she recognised the stout boy from last year - while another two figures sat opposite her. "Gwen," she muttered, swallowing thickly.

"Gwen, you-? Oh! Yes, Gwen," Remus stammered, seeming lighter. "So... are you okay?"

The girl was close to rolling her eyes. "Yeah," she answered.

There was a beat of silence.

"You really choose the conversationalists, huh, Moony?" Sirius Black spoke up.

Gwen dropped her straw and glared at him. "I didn't bloody ask you to sit here, did I?"

"So she speaks more than one word!" The dark-haired boy looked half-amused and half-irritated.

Gwen hadn't had many interactions with Black, only occasionally passing each other in the hallway or sharing a few curt words when necessary. She knew about his brother, about his family and their ties with Voldemort. They likely worked close with her own brother. Her Father liked the Black family regardless of their ideals being on opposite ends of the spectrum. 'They're nice people underneath all of their prejudice', he told her when questioned. The hypocrite.

"C'mon, Padfoot." James nudged his friend in an attempt to ease the tension. He glanced at Gwen's glower and sent a why-did-you-do-this look to Remus. "Dumbledore's about to start his speech."

"Lucky me," Gwen mumbled, lowering her glare to her water.

As Dumbledore began his grand speech and introduced a new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, Gwen wondered why in Merlin's name Remus decided to sit next to her. He was nice like Lily, definitely the nicest in his quadrant of friends, but he'd never been... well, like this. Malfoy and his cronies being twats to Gwen wasn't new and she was sure everybody at Hogwarts had witnessed their interactions, Professors included, so why did he suddenly seem so concerned?

Enemy of my enemy is my friend, maybe. The throbbing of her arm where Malfoy grabbed was a stark reminder how much she hated him.

Still, she just wanted the group to sit anywhere else. Gwen didn't want to spend her morning listening to them, especially with Black's obvious distaste for her.

The sorting ceremony finished with Dumbledore boasting a dramatic, "Now, let us feast!"

The students were quick to heed his command, all but Gwen who continued stirring her water with a hand resting under her chin, tuning out the conversations around her. It felt as though the heat of Sirius' stare was burning through her skull. Even when she was unsure if he was looking at her, she could still feel the hatred radiating off him.

The cooing and the flapping wings of owls made her raise her gaze to watch the birds swoop into the Hall, finding their respective owners to deliver mail. She was surprised when her own owl - a dark grey barn owl with white-tipped feathers named Pancake - land next to her plate with a small package attached to his leg.

With a soft touch, she scratched Pancake's head and smiled brightly when his eyes closed in content. Gwen gently pried the package from his foot, and he gave a goodbye coo before flying off.

Aware of the few stares of students around her as nobody got packages on their first day, she gently turned the paper-bound delivery. There was no return address or name to indicate who it was from, only her name and a single line of writing.

Open alone.

With a crease between her brows, she watched as the text melted into the page, leaving only her name. Her fingers itched to open the gift but she resisted, for reasons unbeknownst to her trusting the words. She placed the package in the inner pocket of her robes, thankfully small enough to comfortably rest inside.

"What'd you get?" James asked, leaning over with curiosity when it disappeared behind her robes. Gwen's gaze snapped up and the black-haired boy drew back, holding his hands up. "Jeez, I was just wondering."

"Careful, Prongs," Sirius said around a mouthful of waffles. "She'll kick your arse for talking to her."

"She," Gwen exaggerated, turning her glare to Sirius, "can hear you. And she didn't ask for you to sit here. There's enough room for you to go elsewhere."

"Oh, but you're such pleasant company," Sirius remarked. "Godric knows why Evans likes you."

"Sirius," Remus warned.

"I guess it's because I know when to shut up."

"Cat's got claws." He grinned menacingly. "You gonna tattle to your Death Eater brother?"

"Padfoot." James gently nudged his friend.

"You'd know a thing or two about that, wouldn't you?"

Sirius' expression turned as dark as hers.

"Now, now, students," a calm voice interjected before wands could be drawn. A man, the new Professor Gwen didn't catch the name of, slid behind Sirius with his black robes sweeping the floor. The students around them were quick to quieten, turning their ears to eavesdrop. "I hope we're not causing trouble already, Mr Black, Miss Crouch." He fitted his cold gaze between the two as they stared daggers at one another. "I do not wish to use a counter-curse this early in the year, nor do I want to send anybody to Madame Pomfrey. At least pretend to get along for your house's sake. Am I understood?"

Gwen nodded sharply and Sirius grumbled something akin to, "Yes, Professor." Satisfied, he spun away with a flare and moved to the Slytherin table.

"Well, that was awkward," James joked in an attempt to alleviate the tension. He suddenly jolted like he'd been kicked. "Ah!"

"Read the room, Prongs," Peter whispered, even though the group could hear it. Gwen barely did.

Death Eater brother.

Remus' elbow brushed against the fabric of her robes, trying to catch her attention. "Gwen?" he asked.

She caught Sirius' dramatic eye roll and abruptly pushed herself up off the bench, swinging her leg over the wood with her lips pressed together. Without a word, she grabbed her knapsack and stormed out of the Great Hall.

Gwen walked to her shared dorm and plopped herself on her bed with her back to the wall. With a flick of her wand, she shut the curtains surrounding her bed and cast a silencing spell.

She thunked her head against the wall, squeezing her eyes shut as she swallowed.

Death Eater. The words stung her more than blood-traitor, more than any horrid name Malfoy had ever called her and he had his creative moments. It was hard enough being closely related to the Minister of Magic but it was an entirely different thing to have a rumoured Death Eater brother, whom you were once close with.

It was easy to react with anger, to threaten those who mocked her and her parents. She made a name for herself and though she wasn't proud of it, it at least made the majority of students avoid her. Every time she drew her wand, every time she uttered a threat and every time she served detention, she could feel a small piece of herself chipping away. Malfoy didn't help with his superiority complex, believing that she'd never hurt him because of his family.

Gwen hated to admit it but he was right. If her Father ever caught wind of her harming a Malfoy and risking his stellar reputation as the Minister further... she couldn't even imagine how he'd react. At mere threats towards the boy, she'd been shouted at and hit. He even drew his wand on one occasion in a fit of rage, but Mother was quick to calm the situation. She told Barty to take Gwen to the park so she could deal with Father's wrath alone.

Barty.

She'd loved him once. Truly loved him. More than anybody in her life - even Mother. He was never embarrassed to hang out with his little sister at Hogwarts and he'd even ditch his friends for her, walk with her to Hogsmeade and buy her presents. He was the one that taught her hexes and jinxes when he found out she was being bullied, and he even threatened Malfoy on more than one occasion.

Gwen was furious when she found out he beat up a boy called Amycus Carrow for locking her in a storage cupboard for a full eight hours. He was caught by Dumbledore himself and the Headmaster was quick to write to their parents. Back home, after days of not seeing him, he snuck through her window in the dead of night, bruised and bloodied but he still had that damned grin on his face.

She didn't stay mad for long - she couldn't . She washed his face, cleaned his wounds and gave him her bed while she slept on a beanbag. He never clarified if it was Carrow or Father that hurt him that badly, but Gwen could guess.

It was easy to react with anger, but when it came to her brother she felt... numb. Her heart sunk and her stomach clenched at the thought of him being a Death Eater. That he was a loyal follower of Voldemort.

With a sigh, she shifted her body to lay down but something hard dug into her ribs.

Right. The present.

She sat back up and took the plain package out of her robes. Despite it being small, it felt heavy in her hands as she peeled away the paper.

It was a golden sphere with intricate patterns ingrained in the metal. Gwen didn't get too long to admire it, as when her fingers brushed over a carved swirl it clicked open. Parts of the sphere brushed away from one another, overlapping to leave a hollow opening which held... a ring?

It was a beautiful ring. Golden like its case, it too had patterns like the sphere engraved into it. It was the stone that caught her attention however - pyramid in shape with the point positioned towards her. An opaque grey. She peered closer, seeing white marks forming at the bottom of the shape.

A circle within a vertical line within a triangle. It was interesting to look at. Beautiful, even.

She didn't recognise the symbol nor did she have any idea who would've given it to her. Barty was in hiding and Mother would have written a note along with it. Father only gave her gifts for holidays and events, but he still would've addressed it from him.

With a shake of her head, Gwen placed the ring back in the golden sphere and watched as it successfully encased the jewellery. She opened her bed's curtain and put it safely inside a hidden compartment of her trunk. Although overall bad at her studies, she had always been exceptional at Charms so she was a master of disguise.

She heard the opening of the common room door as she resealed her curtains, hoping to nap for an hour before classes started.

Gwen didn't nap. Instead, she spent her free hour laying on her side and staring at the wall blankly, listening to Lily and Alice chatting on the bed next to her. She listened without taking anything in. They were talking about Hogsmeade and what happened during the holidays - nothing to warrant Gwen's interest.

Until they started talking about her.

"Do you think Crouch's brother is really a Death Eater?" Alice asked. Gwen's heart sunk at the casual tone, the root of everything bad happening in her head being treated like gossip.

"Maybe," Lily responded. "I honestly don't know. It's not something I can really go up and ask her about, you know."

"She likes you," Alice pointed out. "Probably more than anyone in school. You're probably the only one she wouldn't hex or punch for asking."

"She's not as bad as everyone says," Lily came to her defence. Gwen couldn't help the small smile that graced her lips. "Seriously, people don't give her the time of day and they just make their own assumptions."

"I guess." Alice seemed reluctant to agree.

"Really, Al. She punched the Carrow sister for calling someone a Mudblood last year." Gwen almost jolted in surprise. She didn't know anyone knew about that besides Amycus. "She had detention for a month but still hexed Amycus when he was being a git to me."

Alice chuckled. "That was probably the best day of my life."

"Of course Potter got the glory for it," Lily said bitterly. "He was a right show-off about it for weeks, like I wasn't there to see that Gwen was the one that did it."

"Has he asked you to Hogsmeade yet?"

Their conversation drifted to James and Gwen zoned it out, recalling the story.

She remembered Alecto Carrow and her friends had Frank Longbottom against a wall with their wands pointed at him, threatening to curse him. It wasn't too long after Barty left, so when she heard them call him a Mudblood she was especially furious. She didn't even think to grab her wand, finding that simply decking the girl worked wonders. Alecto tattled to McGonagall with a bloodied nose and bust lip. Gwen didn't try to deny it which earned her a handful of detentions.

It was a month later and Amycus was still bitter about Barty beating him up and Gwen hitting his sister, so he cornered her outside Charms one day in front of their class. He was making fun of Lily and while James was close to hexing the boy, Gwen got there first. She pulled out her wand, shrunk his nose and used the bat-bogey hex. Since James had his wand out before Gwen everyone assumed it was James who set the hex. The fact that they were both skilled at non-verbal casting didn't help, but at least Gwen didn't have another month's worth of detentions on her head. James was proud to take her punishment.

Amycus was the laughing stock of the school for weeks when he rolled on the floor and cried, so it was worth it. Neither Carrow sibling had bothered her since then.

After a while, Lily and Alice left for Potions, a class they once again shared.

Gwen made her way there not too long after they left, only a couple of minutes late.

Slughorn ceased whatever he was saying when Gwen opened the classroom's door, greeting her with a smile. "Miss Crouch!" he exclaimed brightly. "It's good of you to join us today." Gwen was already hovering over an empty seat at the back but the Professor stopped her with an arm wave vaguely directed at the front of the room. "Take a seat next to Miss Evans and we'll get started."

Merlin.

She ignored the stares of her classmates as she walked past them. Remus, Sirius and James were at the back, close to where Gwen would've sat. Remus had his head buried in his textbook, lost in his own world and Sirius predictably didn't turn to acknowledge her. James, to her surprise, gave a little wave over Sirius' shoulder.

She ignored the gesture with a frown, throwing her bag down as she took the seat next to Lily. The redhead nodded at her with a smile which Gwen returned, if a little awkwardly. Alice was sitting next to Lily and had Marlene on her left.

Slughorn continued the class, eager and excitable as always as he talked about the new curriculum. Lily was taking notes at an astonishing pace and Gwen found herself more interested in that than class. It was genuinely impressive how quickly she wrote.

"Now, you'll be split into pairs to start the Draught of Peace," Slughorn announced. Half the glass groaned. "You can choose your own partners, don't worry. I'm not here to coddle you in your fifth-year, so expect more brewing and more homework. The concoction is pages 55-58 in your textbook."

Lily nudged Gwen as everyone began moving to find their respective partners. "Hey, wanna be partners?"

Gwen snapped her attention to the girl. "What?" she said dumbly.

"Marlene and Alice are pairing off," Lily explained, "and I figured it'd be easier since we're next to each other. Less moving about."

"Um." Gwen suddenly felt like a complete idiot. You've partnered before, dumbass. "Yeah, sure. Let me, uh..."

"I'll get the ingredients," she assured her. "You can fill the cauldron with water. Up to the third line, I think, but you might want to double check." Lily spun on her heel and left to grab the necessary ingredients.

It was the third line, as if Lily Evans could ever get anything wrong. She waved her wand and water spilled out the tip, filling the cauldron to the appropriate amount.

They worked in mostly silence once Lily returned, the only words spoken being when she told Gwen what to do. They were ahead of everyone else, of course, even Remus who was working with James, as Sirius partnered and flirted with a Ravenclaw girl.

Gwen was twirling her wand with disinterest, mixing the concoction and waiting until it turned purple. Right now it was in the midst of a pearl blue, which Lily assured was supposed to happen.

Lily was reading the instructions for the dozenth time. Gwen would assume it was simply her nature as a top student, but she worked with her enough last year to know better. Her fingers were tapping against the page as she bit her lip, eyes darting across the words. Gwen didn't want to force her to say whatever was on her mind, so she pretended not to notice.

After a few minutes, Lily pushed the book on the table and turned to the girl.

"Gwen?"

"Hm?"

"I'm..." Lily struggled to find the right words. Her eyebrows were pulled together, fingers still tapping. "I'm sorry about what everyone's saying about you, about... about your brother." Gwen frowned, which she was quick to notice. "I don't want you to think I don't like you or anything like that. It's..." Lily sighed. "It's hard for people to get it. Even me. My parents are muggles and yours are the most important people in the wizarding world, so you're pretty public." She laughed softly.

"Honestly," she continued, "I don't know if you even like me. It's fine if you don't - I know I can be overbearing sometimes, but I want you to know that I'm here for you." A beat passed. "I do owe you after everyone you've hexed for me."

Gwen couldn't help but smile.

Lily lit up.

"Shrinking Carrow's nose before casting the bat-bogey hex?" she recalled. "I know I'm a Prefect now, but I can't deny how brilliant it was. Potter wishes he has that level of genius."

"Thank you," Gwen said quietly. She opened and closed her mouth, unsure how to go about this. "I... I don't."

"Hm?"

"Hate you," she clarified, swallowing thickly. It felt like the words were trapped in her throat and she had to force them out. "I don't hate you. And you don't owe me anything."

"Well, that's a relief." Lily's smile was soft, warm, and she gave a friendly nudge to Gwen's shoulder. "You know, I- hey, what's wrong?" She caught Gwen's flinch when her elbow touched her tender arm.

"Nothing," she said, turning her eyes back to the potion. It was becoming violet, but not quite the right purple.

"Was it Malfoy?" Lily questioned. "I overheard Remus talking about it in the common room."

Gwen shrugged it off. "It's just a bruise. It'll go."

"You should see Madame Pomfrey about it," she recommended. "It won't be a bother to heal. I can even do it if you want."

"Really, Lily, it's okay," she assured the redhead. She gestured to the cauldron. "Here, is this the right colour yet?"

Gwen knew it wasn't there yet but Lily humoured her anyway. Still, Gwen could feel her concerned gaze.