Chapter 1: Disillusion

September 1, 1971 Wednesday, 2:30 PM

"Where's Sirius?" Gwen moaned, looking restless.

"Relax, Gwen. He's been gone for half a hour," said Aquila, rolling her eyes.

"You know how she gets. She gets anxious if he's out of sight for two seconds," Narcissa teased.

"I do not!" Gwen retorted.

"Fine. Three seconds," Narcissa amended.

The others laughed and Gwen got up huffily. "I'm going to go find Sirius," she snapped.

"Oh, come on, Gwen. You know we were only teasing," Rabastan said soothingly.

Lucius stood up to join her. "I'll go with you. I have to find someone as well," he said.

"Who're you looking for?" asked Aquila.

"Severus," Lucius replied. "He's probably sitting by himself."

"Severus? Who's he?" asked Magus.

"Severus Snape. He's a friend of mine. His mother is a friend of my mother's," Lucius answered.

"How come we don't know him," Rabastan asked curiously.

After all, the pure-blood society wasn't very large and the majority knew each other since they tended to keep amongst themselves.

"His father's a Muggle. Severus is decent though," Lucius added.

"Come on, let's go," said Gwen impatiently.

The two left their compartment and began looking through the other compartments, looking for their friends.

A compartment ahead opened and a shabby looking boy with overlong black hair and sallow cheeks came out followed by a pretty girl with dark red hair and bright green eyes.

"Severus!" Lucius greeted him with a smile.

Severus stopped and looked at him, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. "Lucius," he said nervously.

"Who's your friend?" Lucius asked, looking over at the girl.

"She's a friend from near my neighborhood," Severus said warily.

Gwen stifled a laugh. The girl was clearly a Muggle-born. And Lucius had said that his friend was decent.

"A Muggle-born?" said Lucius, his tone even.

"She has lots of magic," Severus said defensively.

Lucius looked between the two then held a hand out to the girl. "Lucius Malfoy."

Gwen's jaw dropped in shock. Lucius offering to shake hands with a girl ofMuggle heritage?

Meanwhile, Severus looked immensely relieved and Lucius smiled discretely at him.

The girl shook his hand with a eager smile. "I'm Lily Evans."

She then held out her hand to Gwen.

Gwen stared at it for a moment, unsure of what to do, then hesitantly took her hand. "Gwen Black."

"Why don't you come sit in our compartment, Severus?" Lucius offered.

Severus looked over at Lily then shook his head. "No, it's alright."

"Alright then. I'll see you later, I guess," said Lucius.
"By the way, have either of you seen anyone called Sirius?" he added.

"I don't think I have," said Severus.

"The name kind of sounds familiar," said Lily, frowning in concentration, then made a face as she recalled him as one of the boys who had entered her compartment.
"Oh, him," she said flatly.

She motioned over to the compartment she had left with a irritated look on her face. "He's in there."

"What's wrong with Sirius?" demanded Gwen, offended.

"He-nothing," said Lily, looking taken aback at her reaction. "Why? Who is he?"

"He's my twin," Gwen said proudly.

"Oh! Er…that's nice," said Lily.

At that moment, Sirius came out of the compartment. "I'll see you later, James. I have to go back now," he was saying.

"She probably didn't even notice that you're gone yet," said the boy next to him, who was apparently named James.
He then caught sight of Gwen and Lucius. "Or not," he added.

Sirius grinned as he saw Gwen. "Come on, let's go," he said, taking her hand.

Lily and Severus stared after them as they walked back to their compartment hand in hand.

"Shedid say they're twins?"

"Oh, they are," Lucius said airily.
"They've always been like that. You don't even notice it after awhile," he said with a shrug, then hurried after them.

After changing into their school robes, the three headed back to their compartment to find the Rabastan and Magus standing outside.

"Why are you two standing outside?" Sirius snickered.

"The girls needed to change so they kicked us out," Rabastan explained.

"Mmm…yeah," Magus muttered distractedly as he tried to peek in through the compartment window.

Lucius smacked him around the head. "That's my sister in there," he snapped.

"And my cousin," Sirius added.

"That's right," Lucius muttered, discretely trying to look in the compartment window as well.

"You lot are a bunch of perverts," Gwen snapped, pushing Lucius out of the way and covering the window.

"I wasn't looking," Rabastan protested.

"Of course, you're a perfect gentleman, aren't you?" said Gwen, winking at him.

Rabastan beamed.

"Oh no…here they go again," Lucius muttered.

And sure enough, Sirius snapped, "So what? I wasn't looking either."

"It doesn't count when one of them is your cousin," Gwen put in, rolling her eyes.

"What about Lucius? Aquila's in there and he was still looking," said Sirius.

"Was not. Don't drag me into this," said Lucius testily.

"Hey, look. They're letting us back in," he added, changing the subject.

The door opened and everyone filed back into the compartment.

"What took you so long? You have any idea how difficult it was for me to ward this lot away from the window?" Gwen complained.

"Perverts," Aquila muttered.

"Thanks for your concern but you needn't have bothered. We put a spell on the window," said Narcissa with a sweet smile.

"Apparently no one did manage to look in," Aquila said with satisfaction, surveying the boys' faces.

"What would have happened if we did," asked Magus.

"Let's just say that it would be very painful on your eyes ," said Narcissa sweetly.

"You can thank me that your eyes are fine," Gwen said importantly.

The boys exchanged smirks, the boys tackled her at once.

"Thank you, Gwen! Thank you!"

"We owe you our lives!"

"What would we do without you?"

"How can we ever thank you enough?"

"You can start by getting off of me," Gwen said dryly, her voice muffled.
"Aquila, Narcissa," she added pointedly.

Aquila and Narcissa who had been laughing began to pry the boys off.

"Hey, look! The food cart's coming," said Aquila.

The boys immediately straightened and looked around for the cart.

"Where is it?" they asked stupidly.

Aquila grinned. "Works every time."

She high-fived Gwen and Narcissa and the three giggling girls raced out of the compartment as the boys began to chase them.

Gwen laughed as Sirius caught up with her and tackled her from behind. She leaned back against him with a contented sigh.
"Only two more hours until we get there, Sirius. Two hours," she said dreamily.

September 1, 1971 Wednesday, 7:30 PM

The rest of the train ride and the boat ride over the river had flown by, or swum by in the case of the boat ride, and it was time for the sorting. Gwen nervously shifted back and forth as she stood on the long line of first years waiting to be sorted into their various Houses.

What if I don't get into Slytherin? I want to be with my friends! Or WORSE what if I end up in Gryffindor? Mother's going to be furious! She would say that it's such adisgrace! What would my friends say? Especially Sirius! He would never let me live it down if I got into Gryffindor!! Gwen thought anxiously as she began to panic.

"Sirius…what if I don't get into Slytherin?" asked Gwen anxiously.

"We'll still love you even if you don't get into Slytherin…probably.Unless you get into Gryffindorkof course," teased Sirius.

"It's alright. Of course you're going to be in Slytherin. You're a Black" Sirius said seriously when he saw that Gwen was on the verge of panicking.

"I'm the one who should be worried," he muttered to himself, his handsome face darkening for a moment, before he grinned encouragingly at Gwen.

"You make it sound as if you're not a Black," Gwen snorted, rolling her eyes.

"I just meant that since you're a part of the 'Noble House of Black' which has been in Slytherin for ages, you're bound to be in Slytherin," said Sirius hastily.

Luckily for Sirius, Gwen was called up before she had a chance to question him farther and he sighed in relief.

Gwen quickly ran to the stool and put the hat on her head, barely able to contain her excitement.

Slytherin! I want to be in Slytherin! Gwen thought fervently.

So Slytherin for you?

Pure-blood? Check.

Sly? Check.

Ambitious? Check

Evil? Check –

HEY! I am NOT evil! I think… Gwen protested.

No, of course not, just a little humor on my part, the hat chuckled.

Now to get down to business…your destiny is a very mysterious one indeed. Each House will lead to completely different paths for you. Different yet both very great paths, in their individual ways.

As long as it's Slytherin, Gwen prayed.

I suppose we can't go wrong with Slytherin. So Slytherin it shall be.

SLYTHERIN!!!

Gwen sat at the Slytherin table where she was welcomed by all her relatives and acquaintances. Being one of the first in their year to be sorted, her friends hadn't been sorted yet and Gwen cheered as Narcissa also became a Slytherin then eagerly waited as Sirius was called.

Sirius walked confidently toward the stool, his calm demeanor revealing none of his earlier misgivings. When he sat down, he grinned at Gwen before jamming the hat on his head.

Ah. Sirius Black. You are a natural Slytherin, by birthright and by blood, but I see that perhaps Slytherin isn't the House for you after all.

How can Slytherin be my birthright? Neither of my parents were in Slytherin. Both of them were in Ravenclaw… Sirius thought curiously.

Is that soIn any case I believe that though your birthright is Slytherin, your destiny lies with Gryffindor.

WHAT?! GRYFFINDOR? You're kidding me.

I'm afraid not.

Please! You can't dothis to me. I was just fooling around when I told James that I might get into Gryffindor, I wasn't serious or anything, Sirius begged. Everyone I know is in Slytherin. What would I say to Gwen? We promised that we would always be together! And what would Mother and Dad say if I don't get into Slytherin? Especially if I get into Gryffindor! I don't want to let them down...after all they've done for me. What would I say to Regulus? I'm supposed to set the example for him!

You're destiny is in Gryffindor. It has been altered too much already and this must not change. You must not alter your destiny to what others want.

You can't separate us!!! Please, don't be so heartless! Sirius pled.
No pun intended…he added hastily.

You and your Gwen have different paths in life. Your destiny is set in Gryffindor and she has chosen a path in Slytherin. Your destinies have always lain apart from each other's and it is best to lead you to your separate ways now, before it is too late. It is the way things must be.

The other Blacks sat at the Slytherin table, looking expectantly at Sirius.

"Why even bother with the hat," drawled Bellatrix.

"Yeah, he's obviously going to be in Slytherin," Gwen put in.

"Heis a Black after all," Narcissa said boastingly.

The other Slytherins rolled their eyes but didn't bother to retort since they knew it was the truth, when to everyone's shock the hat announced,

GRYFFINDOR!!

("I still can't believe that he was in Gryffindor. How is anyone related to ME a Gryffindor?!" said Draco with exasperation.

"And to think everyone thought that he was Voldemort's right man."

He snorted and continued, "What I still don't understand is how Aunt Gwen and Uncle Sirius could have—"

He was stopped abruptly as Liana clapped her hand over his mouth. )

Sirius sat on the stool in disbelief as the entire Slytherin table gasped. There was a small amount of scattered applause at the Slytherin table which immediately halted as they realized what they had heard.

Everywhere he turned, Sirius was met with shock and confusion at best. The Professors' confusion, other than Slughorn who appeared to be highly disappointed, and the other Houses' surprise.

He looked longingly towards the Slytherin table and his heart sank as he saw the shock, distress, disappointment, and even disgust in their faces.

As Sirius turned towards Gwen, he saw a look of disbelief on her face that clearly said, 'Sirius BLACK in Gryffindor?! Merlin! What's the world coming to?'

But it wasn't the astonishment on her face that hurt him. No, it was the disappointed look in her eyes.

Sirius sighed sadly. Nearly everybody he knew was in Slytherin. His family and friends; especially Gwen.

Now that they were in separate Houses, he and Gwen wouldn't be able to be together as much. From what Bella had told them, Slytherins and Gryffindors weren't exactly the best of friends to say the least and he was afraid that eventually, it would drive him and Gwen apart as well.

What the hat had said didn't exactly ease his worries either. What did it mean by 'your destinies have always lain apart from each other's' and 'lead you your separate ways'?

Ithad to be mistaken. How could it not be, when Gwen was the one person he lived for? The one person he could die for?

Sirius glanced at the Gryffindor table with slight trepidation. He didn't know anyone in Gryffindor. He had always looked forward to Hogwarts, always assuming that he would be sorted into Slytherin where he already knew nearly everybody.

Being sorted into Gryffindor had flipped everything upside down in a split second. What would his seven years at Hogwarts be like now?

As if sensing his apprehension, the Gryffindor table jumped out of it's stupor and began to clap encouragingly for him. Immediately, several at the Slytherin table began to boo in return but were quickly silenced by the other Slytherins.

Sirius sighed sadly and glanced towards the Slytherin table one last time before turning his back on his past and walking towards the applauding Gryffindor table.

His future.

Gwen worriedly watched Sirius, who sat at the edge of the table looking down at his plate of beef with a look of disbelief and unease on his face.

However, Sirius began to relax as the other first years sat around him. Gwen smiled as she saw him talking to boy he had been with on the train, then slightly frowned with confusion.

Sirius must have met the boy for the first time on the train yet he seemed to be talking to him as familiarly as though they had known each other for ages. Yet she had never even seen the boy before. How strange. How could that be? She and Sirius spent nearly every waking moment together; it was impossible that Sirius would have known that boy from before.

As they were dismissed, Gwen headed towards the Gryffindor table to talk to Sirius who was still with the boy.

"Hello, you're Sirius' sister aren't you? I've heard so much about you," the boy greeted.

"You have?" asked Gwen, slightly startled.

She didn't even know who he was.

"Believe me, he talks about you all the time," he said dryly.
"By the way, I'm James Potter, Sirius' cous—" He stopped abruptly as Sirius sent him a warning look. "—new dorm mate."

"Nice to meet you, James," said Gwen, taking the hand he held out to her.
"He talks about me all the time? But I thought you two just met today," she asked confusedly, looking over at Sirius.

"Oh, we did," said Sirius, giving James a look.

"I just meant that I get the impression he talks about you all the time, you know, because he kept talking about you on the train and during dinner," James said hastily.

"Oh, I see," said Gwen, looking between the two.

After saying goodbye to James, Gwen headed out of the Great Hall accompanied by Sirius.

"I'm sorry," Sirius apologized once they were alone.

"For what?" Gwen asked with surprise.

"For abandoning you like that. I'm sorry for being a disappointment. For disappointing you. We promised—"

"Sirius, you're not a disappointment!" Gwen said fiercely.

"I don't care that you're in Gryffindor. The reason I didn't want to be in Gryffindor was because I thought that you would be in Slytherin. And I'm not disappointed in you. I'm just disappointed that we can't spend as much together as we do at home. But that doesn't matter; we will still spend time together."

Sirius suddenly paled as he moaned, "My life is over. Our family was in Slytherin for ages.You might not care but Mother is going to go ballistic when she finds out I didn't make Slytherin. And worse, it's Gryffindor, the 'worst house a pure-blood can get into'!"

"I'm sure Mother will understand. Sure, she'll be a little disappointed at first but she'll get over it soon enough," Gwen assured him.

Just then Kendrick Travers, a sixth-year Slytherin prefect, began to yell at Gwen.

"Slytherin first-years follow the prefects! And no associating withGryffindorks!" he sneered.

"Oh shut up, Kenny boy," said Gwen rolling her eyes.

Gwen turned back to Sirius and sighed as she saw the hurt expression on his face.

"It's starting already…"

"Travers is just an arrogant prat," she said angrily.

Sirius smiled at her defense of him then escorted her to the stairs leading to the dungeons before he found James, who was waiting for him by the staircase.

"So I take it she doesn't know?" asked James.

"No, they put a memory charm on her and Regulus when they adopted me. Everyone thinks that I'm her twin brother, including Gwen herself," replied Sirius.

"How did you explain the visits?" asked James curiously.

"Mother and Dad made sure to keep Gwen occupied whenever I went to visit," explained Sirius.
And of course memory charms always help, he thought darkly.

"I bet Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charles will be thrilled to know that we're in the same House," said Sirius, relieved that at least they wouldn't be disappointed by his sorting.

"Yes, Mum said that she hoped we would be in the same House then Dad said that he sympathized with whichever House it would be," said James with a laugh.

Sirius had gone to live with Gwen and her parents when his own parents had died when he was five. Before that, he and Gwen had been 'joined at the hip from birth', to quote their parents. But of course Gwen didn't remember that part; she thought that he had always lived with her, that he had always been a part of her family.

Sirius always found it amusing that people frequently assumed them to be twins at first glance, without having to be told so, since they weren't even actually blood related.

Yet despite the fact that they weren't actual twins, they were as close as if they had been, if not, even closer. Or perhaps it was because they weren't actually blood related that they got along so well. Their mother would always proudly claim that they were 'angelic children' because they had never once fought with each other, but that wasn't the case since they frequently got into rows with Regulus as all siblings did.

No they weren't like twins, who were merely two different people who just happened to have the same form, but more like two parts of that one person.

(A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Right now the plot seems a bit AU what with Sirius 'being adopted' and all but it will eventually all unravel. Also, the sorting hat did not force Sirius into Gryffindor. It's not Gryffindor itself that Sirius dislikes but being apart from his friends and family. Lastly, though I am aware of the fact that Narcissa and Lucius were a lot older than Sirius, but I wanted them in the plot. Hope that cleared things up :D)