I hope you guys like it so far…If you are, please review (or even if you don't, review and say why)….It's so helpful to get feedback. Just so you know, Gwen isn't conceited. The story of their meeting is a re-telling of what Sirius once told her.
Gwen leaned down to tuck her daughter in to bed and as her mother stroked her hair, Stella murmured, "Mommy, tell me the story of Sirius Black."
Gwen was taken aback. Her daughter hadn't asked to hear this story since Black's escape a year ago and for the request to come now when the memory was particularly hurting her, it was almost too much. She was about to tell Stella she was too tired and maybe tomorrow, but one look at her daughter's gray eyes convinced her to do it through her pain. "Alright, Stella, alright…." Stella settled back onto her pillow and listened to her mother with wide eyes.
Once upon a time, a man named Sirius Black attended school where most English wizards and witches do, Hogwarts. He had three best friends: the nervous Peter Pettigrew, the noble and intelligent Remus Lupin, and the handsome and cocky James Potter. The four friends were all members of Gryffindor house and regularly found themselves a part of an adventure that got them into some sort of trouble. Sirius was the rebel of the group. He was handsome with a well-defined face, sexy raven black hair, and mysterious, steely gray eyes. Half of Hogwarts was in love with him and his rugged good lucks and undeniable charm, but Sirius only had eyes for one woman or so most thought. That woman was Lily Evans. She was everything he was not and everything he wanted. She had long red hair, often pulled into a bun for the sake of studying, enchanting frog green eyes, and a perfect figure. She was extremely intelligent, always top of her class, and one of the most talented witches ever to pass through Hogwarts' doors. But most or least importantly, depending on your family's attitude, she was Muggle-born. Sirius didn't care. But his family did: his mother had already disowned him for being friends with half-bloods.
Lily was beautiful and Sirius wanted her. That was all that mattered. He wanted her and he'd gotten her, but only for a short time. Lily went out with Sirius for 3 months before politely telling him that she liked him a lot, but knew they weren't meant to be together and that it was better to just break it off. Times were dangerous with Voldemort nearing the height of his power and Lily wanted a long term relationship with someone she would consider marrying. Lily continued to see Sirius, as she was good friends with Remus, and thus often found herself around him.
In their 7th year, Lily was named Head Girl along with Sirius' best friend James Potter. Everyone reeled at the thought. Lily Evans hated James Potter and his cocky attitude. But Potter, like Sirius, had fallen under Lily's spell. He'd been infatuated with her since his 5th year, but no one, not even Sirius knew it. They argued constantly or so it seemed, but somehow things changed. No one knew why, but Lily fell in love with James and eventually, the couple became inseparable.
But this is Sirius' story not theirs. At first, Sirius was distraught. He loved Lily and James had taken her from him. But then Sirius realized, he and Lily hadn't been together for almost a year. She didn't go with James against her will. She loved James, not Sirius and that was the way things were. Sirius began to talk to James again and the group of friends got together often. Although Sirius wasn't angry with James and he enjoyed spending time with him, he was still convinced that he'd lost the only woman he would ever love.
One day Sirius was wandering around the grounds, slightly agitated and depressed, when he noticed a figure with red hair silently crying alone on the lake's edge. At first, he thought it was Lily, but as he drew closer, he noticed that the figure's hair was a lighter hue and had much more blonde in it. The girl, it was a girl as he had thought, raised her head and gasped in surprise. Through her tears, Sirius noticed the most breath-taking pair of eyes he had ever seen. They were a deep forest green and next to her hair they were exquisite. At that moment, Sirius forgot all he had felt for Lily. This girl was radiant enough to be a woodland nymph and he wanted to know she was real. Sirius fell for her without knowing anything about her. Later, he would learn of her intelligence, her innate kindness to all things, especially animals, her dreams, and her amazing talent as a lover. The girl began to gather her things and muttered, "Why can't people just leave me alone?"
Sirius felt bad for bothering her, but he was too intrigued too apologize. "Miss, why don't you tell me what's wrong? The least I can do is give you a shoulder to cry on."
"I don't think you would understand my problems, Mr. Black, so, I think I'll just be going."
Sirius guessing that she had lost someone to Voldemort, replied, "I think I might and whatever it is, I would sincerely like to know what's bothering you. If it's got to do with Vol-"
She cut him off, "Don't say the name. And it hasn't got anything to do with him." She was about to continue chastising him when she looked into his eyes and noticed a deep sense of caring. 'He genuinely wants to know,' she thought, 'I always knew there was more to Sirius Black than a pretty face.' For an unknown reason, the girl found herself trusting Sirius completely. She sat back down and began, "I guess this must seem trivial compared to anything to do with He Who Must Not Be Named, but well, there's this bloke and it's silly really, but I like, maybe even love, him and he well, doesn't know I exist really. He's in my year and he's a Gryffindor too, but I don't think he even knows my name."
"On the contrary, I don't think it's silly. I know exactly how you feel. I used to feel the exact same way about someone: hopeless, confused, angry. But things will get better: maybe he'll notice you or perhaps you'll find someone else. I think I finally may have." Then, suddenly seized with anger at the thought that anyone could hurt such a kind, beautiful person, even unwittingly, he grabbed her hand, looked into her eyes and asked, "Who? Who doesn't know you exist?"
The girl knew she shouldn't tell. She knew it was better to keep your mouth shut when it came to this type of thing, but Sirius' anger had made her bold. Shaking, she whispered "Sirius." But before she could say 'Black' he had grabbed her other hand, pulled her toward him, and kissed her with as much passion as he could muster. Still holding her, but breathing heavily he gasped, "I'm sorry for whatever pain I have caused you, but I guarantee you, I know you exist now and as long as I live, I will never forget it." Then, Sirius pulled the girl even closer to him and kissed her again. They rolled in the grass and continued to kiss. Then the girl lay in Sirius' arms and they fell asleep on the ground gazing at the stars.
Sirius continued to see the girl and they became inseparable. They did everything together and were happiest spending time with their two best friends, Lily and James. Life followed its natural course. They all graduated from Hogwarts. Lily and James became Aurors, married, and had a son named Harry whom Sirius regularly visited. The girl became a healer, specializing in animal care. Sirius, always the rebel, refused to find a steady job. He distrusted the Ministry and instead floated from one odd job the next, including a stint at the Three Broomsticks as a bartender. Through all the happiness, times grew darker. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named grew stronger and stronger and the number of attacks grew daily. No one knew whom to trust anymore. Your dearest friend could turn out to be one of the Dark Lord's supporters and so you told people less and less. The girl was especially suspicious. Sirius told her, Lily, and James that he thought Lupin was the Dark Lord's spy. He convinced Lily and James into making him their secret keeper. Then, he asked the girl to marry him and she said yes.
No one knew, not even the girl, that a dark force had consumed Sirius and he had become Voldemort's closest supporter. Without warning, he betrayed Lily and James. The Dark Lord murdered them, and their son brought about the Dark Lord's downfall. Sirius, enraged that his plan had backfired, went after his other friend and murdered Peter along with 13 muggles. He was locked up in Azkaban until his recent escape and now the ministry is searching for him in order to kill him once and for all. And that is the story of Sirius Black, a good man corrupted by his thirst for power who betrayed and destroyed those he held most dear.
Stella had long since fallen asleep, but Gwen caught up in her past had continued on. Stella didn't know that her mother was that girl and Gwen didn't ever intend to tell her. The loss of her father had left a big enough void in Stella's life; she didn't need to know about the misery of her mother's past. Gwen kissed her daughter good night and went down the hallway to her own bedroom. She quickly fell asleep.
A dog was barking. Gwen was searching for it. It sounded as if it were in pain and she wanted, no, she needed to help it. She was running. She had to find the dog. The barking grew louder and turned into yelps. She tripped and fell. She was falling, falling, falling and then she was in Sirius' arms. In his strong arms. They were kissing and he was holding her. "I love you," he whispered over and over again. She shuddered with delight. Simply being close to him made her elated. He started to kiss her and when he stopped, she shivered with fear. An inhuman gleam entered his eyes. He stood and pushed her to the ground. He was laughing hysterically, the same way he'd laughed when he killed Pettigrew. She was going to die; she could feel it. Still laughing, he raised his wand and pointed it at her heart "Avada…" Crack. She opened her eyes. She was surrounded by fog and Sirius was gone. Standing in front of her was a dog. It was the dog from Hogsmeade; the dog with gray eyes. The dog with Sirius' eyes. He jumped on her and began licking her. Without warning, the dog growled and bit her. The dog's eyes filled with fear at the realization of what it had done and it scampered away. Gwen started to chase the dog and the gray eyes peered out at her from very direction. She started to fall again and then…
She woke up. She was breathing heavily and had broken into a cold sweat. 'It was just a nightmare, I'm okay,' she thought. She'd been having dreams about the dog since she'd first seen him in Hogsmeade. It was his eyes. The dog's eyes had been exact to Sirius'. Tonight was the first time Sirius had been in her dreams in 13 years. She'd had nightmares about him shortly after Lily and James' murder, but had managed to block him out. She thought about him daily, but never had she dreamt about him.
She rolled onto her side. "Why? Sirius, why did you do it? Why did you betray Lily and James? They loved you. I loved you or at least, I loved who you were, not what you had become. I needed you. You were all that I had after the Death Eaters got mum. You betrayed us all, including yourself. I still love you for some reason…and now, after 14 years, your spirit is haunting me. Isn't it enough that you torture my every waking moment? Now you have to enter my dreams. Why? All I've ever wanted to know is why…"she thought. Gwen bit her lip and tried to hold back the inevitable tears. She couldn't stop them from coming. Silently, Gwen cried herself into a dreamless sleep as she thought of the loss of the man she loved.