Where was she?

What happened?

She couldn't dwell on these things now. She had to do her best to fix things. To stop things that are to take place. First, she needed to follow the voice that would call for her.

"Gwendolyn,"

A man's voice echoed throughout the large but empty castle that they resided in the outskirts of countryside Ireland.

The large fortress glowed in warm light by the chandeliers and floating candlesticks that were spread throughout as it seemed to keep the darkness at bay. If only the warm candlelight could keep the cold feeling of loneliness that crept up on her at bay as well.

If only...

Nervously, a young girl slid off the couch where she had been reading, closing and setting her book aside. Her small feet carried her out the living room, up the stairs and down the halls until she made it to the door of her father's study.

Gwendolyn stood at the dark oak door that had ornate carvings carved into the wood as it was handcrafted by her ancestors as the Donoghue clan. They had left their home that was located in countryside London, where their home was located in the English countryside. They only spent their summers in their ancestral homeland of Ireland in their old Irish castle to get away for a vacation.

Her Uncle Liam lived here with his wife, Maeve, and their only child, her older cousin, Jack. Her Father being the oldest, had inherited the castle, but her Mother wanted to move to London in the countryside and build their home together. Which is exactly what they did once my Father signed the house over to Uncle Liam.

Either way, her surroundings made her nervous, causing her to fiddle with her glove covered hands. Even when they were here, she wasn't ever allowed to step foot into his study as he was always busy with work regarding his special job at the Ministry.

"Come in," grasping the handle and twisting it, the door creaked open slowly as her eyes slowly made their way towards the desk where her father sat with books, maps and scrolls laid carelessly all over his desk "we need to talk Gwendolyn about what's going to be happening from now on now that your Mother has..." he coughed as he struggled to say a single word that would only make him cry

"Yes Father," she mumbled as she took her seat in front of her father's desk

She soaked up every last detail of her father's large study that was filled with old books that had been passed down from generation to generation regarding their family and its history. The walls were bookshelves that went from the ceiling to the floor with the exception of the large fireplace with the mantle filled with moving photos of her parents and herself.

"You, my dear, are a Donoghue and my sole heir…" he started as her silk covered hands twisted with the hem of her silver and blue gown. "Once we move back home, things will be changing as you are now old enough to navigate the world you were born into. There are many responsibilities that come with our name. You will be attending Hogwarts soon with your cousin, Jack…"

"GWEN!"

A young girl of white hair let out a groan, grabbing the spare pillow she covered her face as she ignored her name being yelled from the ground floor. Burrowing further in the warmth of her blankets she was almost asleep when she heard her bedroom door slam open and a loud squeal.

"Go away," she grumbled as she covered her head again with her large comforter

"Get up you lazy bum, it's almost nine" before Gwen could tell her to go away she found the blanket being ripped off of her to a smiling fresh faced Lily Evans with her red hair tied up in a braid

"I'm tired Lily" she grabbed her pillow and hit the girl above her with it to which Lily blocked her hit

"Then you shouldn't have stayed up all night reading,"

"...fine…" Grinning Lily climbed off the younger girl, sitting up from bed she gave her a half hearted glare, before slipping out of bed. "Why are you so excited so early in the morning?"

"We're going to go to Diagon Alley today to get our supplies for our first year at Hogwarts! Don't tell me you forgot!" watching Lily bounce around her messy room, she shook her head as she navigated around clothes and books

"I didn't forget"

"Then hurry and get dressed already you loon! Your father is meeting us at The Leaky Cauldron!"

"Then get out so I can get dressed"

Lily and Gwen stood side by side with Severus as they all wore muggle clothing staring up at the large structures that loomed over them. Diagon Alley was a wizarding alley that was a shopping area located in London, England behind a pub called The Leaky Cauldron which was how they traveled from since Lily was a muggle born. Inside the alley was a large extensive assortment of restaurants, shops, and other sights.

Lily and her parents disappeared in the bustling alley of wizards and witches along with Severus and his mother, Eileen Snape, going in the other direction which left her and her Father, Declan. Who took a hold of his daughter's hand and helped her navigate through the rather large and intimidating crowd.

Gwen adjusted her small dark blue purse in her hands as it carried everything she would need for her first year at Hogwarts that her father had enchanted with an undetectable Extension Charm.

Several hours and many parcels tucked away into her small purse later, she was down to the bottom of her list. The last thing she needed was to get fitted for her robes at Madam Malkin's, a clothing shop and to receive her wand at Ollivander's.

Holding the door open for her, Declan ushered his daughter inside the shop as a squat, but a smiling witch who was dressed in mauve clothing was tending to a boy her age with his robes.

"Hello, I'm Madam Malkin" she didn't even turn towards them to greet them "please take a step onto the pedestal for me so I can take your measurements" she paused as she looked over at her "please take off your coat, my dear."

Gwen did as she was asked as she watched her Father hold her blue coat for her as he moved further into the store to browse around as she waited to be fitted next. She looked at all the rolls of fabrics that seemed to consume the store, not even noticing that she was being gawked at by the boy who was standing on the other pedestal.

"I know that white hair anywhere," Snapping her head in his direction, a huge smile married her face once she realized who it was "Gwen!"

A strong urge to cry came over her but she swallowed it and instead pushed the sorrow away to embrace the happiness.

"James!" He smiled "You got your letter too!"

"Of course, you funny girl" He snorted "I'm a wizard too"

"Here I thought Hogwarts didn't send letters to primates" she quipped back as they both stifled their laughs as not to disturb Madam Milkan's work "Are Aunt Euphemia and Uncle Fleamont here?"

"Yes, they had to go to Gringotts but they should be back in a few minutes."

"Is Uncle Declan here?"

"Yes, he wandered to the back of the shop though as we've been shopping all morning."

"I heard my name?"

"Speak of the devil" Gwen smiled as her Father placed a hand on her head "Look Father, James is getting fitted for his robes too" she exclaimed

"You've seemed to have grown taller James" Declan nodded as he looked over to the boy who he had watched grown up along with his daughter

"Almost three inches Uncle"

"I'm proud of you," Her Father half smiled "You'll become a great wizard like your Father"

"I'll be better!" He threw a fist in the air which caused Madam Milkan to give him a look that said 'hold still'

"I bet you will" A bell dinged which signaled that someone had also entered the establishment, all three had turned to see a man and women walk in.

"Auntie Euphemia!"

"Gwen!" The older woman immediately ran over to the white haired girl and enveloped her in a tight hug "How are you dear?" She asked as it had been a few months since she had seen the girl

"I'm doing fine Auntie as Father and I have been shopping all day to purchase everything for my first term"

"Has he now?" She looked over to Declan who wore a worried grimace on his face

James and herself were related in law only. Uncle Fleamont and her Father had been friends from an early age as they were both pure-blood wizards. She digressed as Uncle Fleamont's parents had died when he was a teenager due to an illness. Her paternal grandparents had taken him in and adopted him into their family. However, he kept his last name as he didn't want to be parted with. They respected his wishes and lived only for a couple more years before they too had passed.

Gwen's mother, Roselyn had been friends with Euphemia since they were both fourth years at Hogwarts. Where they had been friends with both her Father and Fleamont, getting married right out of Hogwarts.

Since her Mother's passing, her Father, Declan needed help with taking care of his daughter as he had arrangements to be made and business to attend to. He often had her stay with the Evans or the Potters as he was constantly leaving for weeks at a time.

"Are you excited?" James asked as Madam Malkin had long since finished with James as she went to fetch his robes

"Yes," she smiled "Father and I celebrated when my letter came in, what about you?"

"I can't wait to become the best dueler!"

Gwen giggled as she listened to James go on about all the cool spells he'd be learning as Madam Malkin returned with his robes and began working on taking her measurements next. Aunt Euphemia and Uncle Fleamont came to keep her company as her Father took James aside and began whispering with him. She paid it no mind though as she told them about her shopping in Diagon Alley.

"We'll see you soon Gwen and if you ever need anything don't hesitate to ask dear," Aunt Euphemia reminded the young girl as they had both stepped out of Madam Malkin's shop.

"Yes Auntie, I understand"

Hugging James once more she watched as the Potter family disappeared in the crowd to finish their own shopping. Smiling to her Father, she knew that their last stop would be getting her wand at Ollivander's.

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, Gwen twirled in a circle as she eagerly soaked up every detail of the old shop. Everybody received their wands from Ollivander's, at least that's what her Father and Mother had said when they spoke of their time at Hogwarts.

An older but young looking man asked as he came out from the back "Another Donoghue in my shop," he hummed

Gwen nodded as she shuffled over to the towering counter, suddenly embarrassed as she didn't know what to do or say as he already knew who she was as it seemed. Taking her silk gloves off, she pocketed them in her coat so as to not lose them as she wanted to feel the wands with her bare hands.

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

Yelping, she grew wide eyed "I'm so sorry!"

Gwen felt her face heat up as she handed him the wand back as she looked at the huge mess

"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 pointed bottom with thorns encrusting the bottom of it as it curled up the wand's handle

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

"You've found yourself a wand," He mused as he looked at her fondly "You'll do great things young lady and this wand will help you achieve them" Ollivander spoke as Gwen handed him the set of Galleons as she couldn't keep her eyes off of the beautiful piece of wood in her hands.

"You believe that?"

"I have every confidence that you'll exceed my expectations as both your parents are fine wizards as it's only natural for you to do just as great," he paused "maybe even surpass them."

Smiling, she bid him a good day with a wave of her hand as she couldn't wait to show her Father her wand. She only wished that her Mother was there in person to experience the momentous occasion.

Turning, she pushed the door open only to run smack into somebody else causing her to fall on her rear with her bag and new wand falling to the ground.

"Are you alright?" Groaning softly she gripped her head with her hand as she looked over to see what she had run into only for her to be looking into bright silver eyes with curly brown hair curtained around his face. "Miss, are you alright?" The boy asked again as he waved his hand in her face causing her to snap out of her stupor once more.

Stammering slightly she found herself unable to say anything as she could feel his face was a bit too close to hers. He merely gave her a small smile as he offered his hand to her, with hesitation she took it as she let him help her up.

As soon as she was on her feet, she brushed her dress off of any dirt that could have gotten on her, before she switched her gaze over to the boy in front of her.

He stared at her with a questioning gaze as she felt tongue tied at being unable to respond to the boy's concern for her wellbeing. Coughing into her glove covered fist, she averted her gaze away from him as she tried to come up with a response.

"Here," turning back to him she watched as he pulled out a handkerchief out of his coat and handed it to her with worry

Gingerly she took the offered fabric from him with an appreciative smile as she nodded her head slightly. "Thank you for your kindness," she covered her mouth with the fabric and coughed into it once more as she suddenly felt warm from embarrassment

"So she can speak," he cracked a smile as he seemed to be teasing her "Are you alright though? You're not hurt are you?"

"Yes, I'm quite alright. It was merely a small bump is all."

"That's a relief," he smiled as his shoulders that were once tense seemed to relax once her affirmation of being alright reached his ears.

A sheepish smile married her face, "I apologize for running into you, it was quite rude of me."

He shook his head, his hair swaying from the motion. "I should be the one to apologize to you as I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings."

Staring into his eyes, she saw that he was sincere, however, a bit of mischief was buried in his silver eyes that shone like the stars she watched at night. His lovely aristocratic angles were hidden beneath the softer features of his face due to his boyhood. She wondered if he was an aristocrat, a part of one of the families that her Father had warned her about.

The boy did wear expensive looking robes, however, his posture lacked that of a true aristocrat. He was slightly slouched and had mud covering his dragonskin boots as he also had bruised knuckles. Certainly not the picture of a pureblood aristocrat.

Before she could respond however, she perked up at hearing her Father call her name from a distance and had her realizing that her Father was waiting for her to get back to him.

"Oh my," she exclaimed "I really must be going, it was really nice to meet you." Turning back to the boy, she smiled at him as she handed him the small square piece of fabric back to him "This is yours, thank you for lending it to me"

He shook his head as he reached his hand to grab hers. "You can keep it, think of it as a gift for running into you." He closed her fist around the handkerchief as he smiled at her.

Something stirred, causing her face to become warm. She knew by her pale but fair complexion that he saw her blush. She couldn't help it. He was still holding her hand. And he stared at her, in a rather serious manner that made her smile.

"Thank you," picking her things off the ground. "I do hope to meet again," she gave him a parting wave before disappearing back into the crowd.

The young boy was left standing in front of Ollivander's with a dopey smile on his face. His peripheral catching on to the stark white item on the ground. Plucking the silk glove that she had left behind, he placed it into his pocket as a keepsake.

His smile only lasted for a minute more before it disappeared once he heard his name being called by his Mother's rather shrill voice.

"What kind of people do you think we'll meet?" Lily asked as she laid on the full bed on her stomach as she watched Gwen clean up her room

They had came back from Diagon Alley, Gwen was currently packing her trunk to return home tomorrow morning since her Father was back from America

"All sorts" Gwen retorted as she threw more clothes into the dirty pile while Lily hummed in response. Lily wore a huge smile on her face, Gwen kept the smile on her face as she didn't want to dampen her best friends mood

"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, while Gwen merely turned away to put all the books back into her bookshelf

"We'll be leaving in just a few days"

Lily was more excited to go to Hogwarts then she expected her to be, but she didn't blame her as she knew she would be the same way had she been in her position.

Pausing, she took a long look around her bedroom as she knew that she wouldn't see the four walls and its contents until she came back home for Christmas.

One wall was dedicated to built-in shelves of books, her bedroom matched the rest of the house with its old Victorian furnishing with the exception of everything being white and silver. Shaking her head, she continued cleaning her bedroom as she had tuned out Lily's rambling about reading "Hogwarts: A History".

"Are you excited about going, my daughter?" Gwen's father, Declan Donoghue, a tall man with black raven hair, dark brown eyes that boarded black with a calm and collected demeanor asked. He had the look and shared qualities 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. Lily had only been gone an hour when her parents came to pick her up from her house. Gwen was sad having to say her goodbyes to Mr. and Mrs. Evans as well as Lily. She had ignored Petunia though, as she was nothing but a prat in her opinion since they had found out about Lily's gifts.

"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 in your blood" Her Father started with a smile "You act and look more like your Mother though so you'll most likely be a part of the Ravenclaw house"

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 that he seemed to only reserve for her since her Mother's passing

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

"I miss her too, my dear"

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

"Do you think she'd be happy about me following in her footsteps?" 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, but don't feel like you have to know that she's gone. Your Mother and I just want you to be happy."

"Thank you," she whispered

They resumed eating as her Father began telling her of his assignment as she listened to him tentatively. As their meal came to an end, 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 dear, 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.

Slipping into bed, she turned off the lamp that rested on her bedside table before slipping her arm back underneath the covers. She laid in bed, in the darkness as she found her mind wandering.

It has only been a little over two months 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 why she had a room there. Her Mother was close friends with the Evans when she saw Lily do accidental magic when she had been in Cokeworth to visit an old friend. 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.

Gwen spent most of her childhood either with the Potter's or with the Evans' as her Mom was very sociable. Unlike her father, who was not much of a conversationalist. So when tragedy struck, James' 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 split her time with either the Evans' or the Potter's, that way she wasn't stuck at home all the time by herself. She didn't mind, as she considered them her extended family since her biological family lived across the pond and had yet to visit since her Mum died.

Reaching over to her nightstand, she immediately recognized the feel of the small piece of silk and brought it close to her person. Gwen's finger immediately went to the small black initials of S.O.B that were stitched into the black handkerchief with dark green lacing on the edges. She had kept it on her person all the time, as she had found her interaction with the unnamed boy to be quite fascinating in her opinion.

She only hoped that she would be able to see him once more.