Taking a seat at her house table, she set her books down as her eyes never left the parchment that she had received from Professor Flitwick, the Head of her House. Today she had Charms, Herbology, Potions, and Defense Against the Dark Arts, also known as D.A.D.A.

Filling her plate up with her favorite breakfast, she began to eat as she had placed the parchment into one of her books so she wouldn't lose it. Soon several owls came in as they dropped letters, gifts, and newspapers to the students.

When the owl dropped in front of her, she immediately handled it with an apple slice before she took the letter as the dark brown owl took to the air with its snack. Leaving a few letters in its wake along with a parcel in its wake, reaching over to pick up the silver black envelope. She was about to open it as she already knew that it was from her Father, but was stopped from opening it when she heard her name being called by her friend, Lily.

"Gwen!"

Turning in her seat she watched as Lily make her way towards her with her books and schedule in hand as Severus trailed behind her with his books as well

"Lily!" Hugging they pulled away as Lily took a seat next to her as Severus did as well but not without looking around the room

Odd.

"Lemme see your schedule!"

Handing her the parchment she went back to eating as she glanced at Severus who was constantly scanning the room

"Sev, what's the matter?"

The boy turned to her as she saw a look of paranoia in his eyes before they were replaced with a calm and collected facade as he shrugged and began reading the book he had in his hands

"We seem to have every other class together!" Lily handed Gwen back her schedule as she smiled at her

"Of course we do," Gwen laughed "We're in the same year"

"Is that how it works?" Lily asked as she looked to Sev who merely nodded in agreement

"Well, I best be off to class then, I'll see you later."

With a small wave Lily and Severus left with books in hand as they walked out of the Great Hall and to their first class which didn't start for another 20 minutes.

As soon as they had left, she picked up the letter from her Father once more and ripped it open. Before she had gone to bed last night, she had stayed up to write a letter to tell her Father of everything that had happened so far.

My darling daughter,

Congratulations on being sorted into Ravenclaw! Your Mother and I are very proud of you for having already made plenty of friends. I can already see you sitting at the house table reading this most likely eating your favorite breakfast of pancakes, eggs and bacon. Just remember that you won't ever disappoint me or your Mother. Just be yourself and do what you feel is right, I believe that you are old enough to decide for yourself who to associate yourself with. Just trust me when I tell you this my dear that not everything is as black and white as it seems. I love you my darling, I have already made plans for us during your Christmas holiday.

With Love,

Your Father

Finishing up her breakfast, she quickly opened the other letters. They were from her maternal grandparents from across the pond, congratulating her on making it into Ravenclaw. Opening the parcel, she opened the small box to find a Ravenclaw scarf and a matching jumper.

Of course her father knew she'd make it into Ravenclaw.

Placing her books, schedule, and her mail into her charmed bag, she was about to stand and leave when she noticed the James, Sirius, Remus and that one boy from last night clamber into the Great Hall. Taking their seats, they piled up their plates with food.

"Congratulations on the Sorting Ceremony cousin," dragging her gaze towards the boy with the Irish accent, she couldn't help but smile. "How does it feel to be a newly minted Ravenclaw?"

"Hello Jack," she watched as he took a seat across from her. "Kinna amazing yes?"

He ran a hand through his stark black curls, his grin lazy and tired. "Have you made friends with any of your dorm and house mates?"

"I'm already really good friends with a few girls in my year and my house," she smiled. "I also made a few friends on the train ride, who are in your house."

She gestured towards James and the other boys. "Have you spoken with James yet?"

Jack and James were both her cousins, and the three of them spent a lot of time together growing up, especially in the last two years as they had stayed at the Donoghue Manor during her mother's illness.

"I haven't, he's been with those boys since the ceremony last night." Jack takes notice that one of the boy's his cousin James' was eating and chatting with at their house table. "Sirius Black eh?"

Gwen smiled, "He is a kind person."

Her cousin, Jack, glanced at her before glancing back to the House of Black's heir. "Be cautious of who you keep company."

"Not you too Jack," he mimicked words that her Father had spoken to her in the study all those months ago. "You're starting to sound like Father."

"You don't realize what those people are capable," was all he said before more owls began to fly in the Great Hall. "They are cruel and unyielding."

Gwen watched as Sirius had received only a red letter. oh no.

"A howler."

She watched as Sirius, head bent, stared down at the red letter. A few tense seconds went by before he just ripped it open. Like a bandaid. "YOU DISGRACEFUL PIECE OF SCUM! YOU HAVE BROUGHT DISHONOR ON THE NOBLE HOUSE OF BLACK! CENTURIES OF SLYTHERINS AND YOU! THE HEIR OF OUR HOUSE ARE PLACED IN THAT TRASH HOUSE GRYFFIN—"

The letter bursted in flames, following the line of action, she watched as an older wizard with ginger hair, freckles and a smirk tuck his wand back into his robes. He along with his brother who looked just liked him, grabbed their things and left the Great Hall. Sirius stared after the two older boys in astonishment.

"Gideon and Fabian Prewett, brothers to their older sister Molly Prewett," Jack explained, taking a sip of her gillyweed water before nodding towards a ginger haired girl who was giggling as she stared at another ginger haired boy.

Gazing back to Sirius, she could only watch as he pretended that the howler that was nothing but ashes in front of him hadn't bothered him.

"Sirius Black is different,"

Jack blew out air, "I hope that you are right."

Charms were held with the Hufflepuffs. She had taken a seat next to a boy named Logan Matthews, who she had become friends with after he had left his textbook in his dorm out of sheer nervousness and asked to read off hers. He appeared to be a nice boy, he was a bit frazzled but that was to be expected as he had apparently gotten lost trying to find their class. Yet now, she was trying to find her way to Herbology class which was located outside behind Hogwarts in the greenhouse.

Humming softly to herself as she headed to her class. With her books clutched to her chest she pursed her lips as she saw a group of third year Slytherins bullying a first year Gryffindor boy.

Her talk with her Father and the letter he sent her flashed into her mind as she saw the Slytherins push the Gryffindor boy roughly.

I must be daft to think that things could be different, that house rivalries and blood statuses were merely just rumors.

It was only the first day and house rivalries were thick in the air as she eyed them as they mocked the boy. She shook her head of those thoughts. Gwen would be just as bad if she assumed that their teasing was bullying or if it was something a bit more serious. However, she could see that it could be misinterpreted. But the fact that blood mattered. This absolutely disgusted her, people who made fun of others from who they came from and what kind of blood ran strongly in their veins.

Yes, she was a pureblood but most purebloods were in Slytherin and the fact that she wasn't made her a target for bullying but luckily her parents were both well respected members of the wizarding community. Just as the Prewett, Weasley and Potter families who were shunned for their ideaology.

But not everybody was so lucky.

She watched as everybody ignored the boys' bullying, as they refused to acknowledge what was going on in the middle of the hall.

Halting her movements, she reached for her wand in her sleeve, prepared to intervene but was immediately stopped by someone placing their hand on top of her own. Glancing up she was met with the stormy grey eyes of a Mr. Sirius Black, she gave him a questioning look but he merely shook his head at her.

"We got this love"

Was all he said before he took his hand off her own and strolled over to where James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew were as they were already confronting the group of Slytherins.

She felt her hand tingle from the small contact of skin against skin from Sirius Black. With a blush, she knew that he could take care of himself. With a small smile she gave him one last lingering look before she resumed walking to her class.

With an annoyed sigh she finally made it to class where she found Lily standing with Severus in the back, she moved towards them with a slight huff

"What took you so long?" Turning her head she looked to see that Lily was concerned for her as she probably worried about why she was almost late to class "Are you alright?"

"I just watched a group of Slytherins bully a Gryffindor" She grumbled as she could let out a huff

"Oh my! That's absolutely horrible!" Lily exclaimed

"It's alright, a couple friends of mine stepped in and took care of it" Gwen stated as Professor Sprout walked into class with her gloves on along with a pair of earmuffs as students immediately waited for her to open the greenhouse

"Sorry, I'm late" The women set her books on the table with a sigh "Now please open your books as we will be learning about mandrakes today"

Five minutes into class, four boys stumbled into class with wide smiles and mischievousness dancing in their eyes. Everybody snapped their attention to them as they simply stared at Professor Sprout who had in turn stared back at them.

"I won't give you detention as it's the first day, now take a seat and and open your books to Mandrakes " He stated

James spotted an empty spot next to Gwen with a smile he nudged Sirius as he gestured to the empty seat beside her. Sharing a look, Sirius nodded as he strolled over and stood beside Gwen as he watched her peer at him through the bulky black glasses she wore along with her bright white bangs that dusted her forehead

"Morning Gwen" He watched as a soft blush appeared on her face as she bit her bottom lip "Mind if I stand here next to you?"

"N-no, it's quite alright Sirius"

She turned away as a piece of hair had fallen, pushing it behind her ear. He watched her go back to writing notes as she had her eyebrows drawn into a concentrated look as she was chewing on her bottom lip focused on Professor Sprout's lecture.

Adorable.

Taking her seat in Professor Slughorn's class for potions, she immediately opened her book to Cure for Boils.

She had done some reading during their 15 minute break between classes to get an idea of what they'd be working on. Lily and Severus had taken their seats behind her as they followed her actions. Slowly the class began to fill up with other students their year as they had yet to see their Professor.

"Please open your books to Cure for Boils as we will be learning the ingredients as your first test will take place next Friday on how well you execute the potion" Slughorn walked in with books in hand as he made his way towards the front of the classroom

"Hello Gwen," Sirius slid into his seat beside her as James took his seat on the other side of her

"Hello James," she whispered "Sirius" she never took her eyes off the board as she was scribbling away in her book regarding the potion they'd be tested on "you should be writing this stuff down"

"We'll get around to it," James smirked as he already had his wand out with Sirius following his actions "isn't that right Sirius?"

"Of course mate," he snickered as their plan was already going to plan

"James Potter," Gwen warned "If you don't put your wand away I'll make sure to tell Aunt Euphemia that you're hindering my education."

Startled, James grew white as he slowly gulped at the younger girl's threat knowing that she would make due on it.

Glancing down at her, she had yet to even bat an eye in either of their directions as she continued writing notes down. Looking over her head, he and Sirius stared at one another and begrudgingly agreed. Just this once would they listen to her.

"Alright," James sighed

"You win," Sirius muttered as they both started copying the notes onto their parchment

After an hour lunch break, Gwen paired with Remus started on their homework for their first two classes, while James and Sirius roughhoused. Peter Pettigrew, a boy that they had met last night in their dorm watched as he ate. Accompanied by Sirius and James, they made their way to their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. James and Sirius were laughing as they shoved each other with Remus and Peter trailing behind eating chocolate frogs.

"Do you think we'll actually duel today?" Gwen voiced as she thought about what could happen today in their class with Professor Kingley

"Of course," James piped in as he had stopped what he was doing "how else are we to defend ourselves against dark wizards?" He snorted

"The Global Wizarding War ended in nineteen forty-five," Gwen stated as she gave him a pointed look "It has been twenty six years since it ended and Grindelwald is in Azkaban after Dumbledore defeated him" she added

"Gwen's right, only an absolute fool would try to start another war with Dumbledore around" Remus chimed in as he agreed with Gwen's assessment

"Have you not heard though?" Sirius wore a solemn expression as they stopped outside of their classroom "There have been whisperings of a dark lord gathering followers to start another war...at least that's what I've been hearing from my parents the last year and a half when they think Regulus and I are sleeping."

Dark Lord…?

Another War...?

"Dumbledore wouldn't let anything like that happen" Peter finally spoke up after being silent since lunch ended "He's too powerful"

Remus was about to open his mouth to say something when Severus and Lily walked up to them as they had been blocking the entrance to the classroom.

"May you please let us by?" Lily asked with a clipped tone with her chin up in the air

"Worry about being late Evans?" James turned his attention to the smaller redhead completely ignoring Sev as he narrowed his eyes at him

"Jamesy," She warned as she knew that yesterday's disagreement on the train hadn't been resolved yet and she didn't want to see anymore conflict

He ignored her as he took a few steps closer to the pair as Sev took a step in front of her as if protecting her. James and Sirius noticed this as Remus and Peter backed away from them as they stood next to Gwen watching the encounter intently.

"Ooooo," Sirius sneered, "Look who's being courageous today."

"Piss off Black," He snapped as he was now glaring at Sirius with hatred

Gwen knowing that this would only continue, shook her head and walked into class without sparing them another glance. Her mind did wander back to what they had said before Lily and Sev showed up regarding a Dark Lord. Pushing those thoughts away, she settled into her seat as she placed her things down as she saw that Professor Kingley was already beginning today's first lesson with the curse of the bogies.

Working on her homework in the library in the far corner, she was startled with Lily throwing her books onto the table with a huff. Pausing, she looked over at the redhead as she took out her homework with heavy sighs and frustrated huffs. For twenty minutes, she watched her attempt to do her work on potions with a smile.

"What's wrong?"

She wasn't surprised to get an annoyed look from Lily as she finally dropped her quill with narrowed eyes

"Your friends that's what!" She snapped only to get shushed by the librarian

"My friends?"

"Yes," she hissed quieter "your friends bullied Sev all day today"

With a raised eyebrow, she merely stared at Lily as she knew that she wasn't going to like what she said next "Sev started it first with the comment he made yesterday"

"That blasted toe rag Potter egged him on by m-"

Gwen interrupted her "Sev dishes it right back to them, neither party is innocent Lily and I find it best to leave it be"

"Gwen tha-"

"I'm not talking about this anymore today as it's been a long first day"

Turning back to her notes she went back to her work as she ignored Lily's hot stare as she heard her sigh a few minutes later realizing that the conversation was over. Lily and herself studied and did homework for another hour before parting ways to go back to their respective houses before dinner in the Great Hall.

"How was your first day?" Jackie asked

They were dressed for bed, Jackie laid in bed with a book in hand as Toni sat at her desk brushing her hair with Gwen writing a letter to her Father about her first day.

"Great, I enjoyed Charms the most with Professor Flitwick" Toni put her dark blonde hair in braids as she talked about the spell Lumos

Gwen was only half paying attention to the conversation as she was trying to fit everything about her first day into a single letter. She had only finally looked up when she heard Jackie calling her name.

"My day was interesting as my favorite class is Defense against the Dark Arts but it's still only the first day so I have yet to see what my other classes are like before I can make a proper decision" she responded without missing a beat as her eyes went back to her letter

Toni smirked, "something a Ravenclaw like yourself would say."

Her comment made all three girls laugh.

"We should get some rest as it's already late," Jackie pointed out "it's already nearly ten thirty"

Finishing her letter, she quickly signed, sealed and tied it to her owl's feet. With the promise of a treat, she watched as Risa, sored out her window and in the skies as she left to deliver her letter to her Father. Cleaning up, she turned off her lamp above her bed and quickly settled into bed as her other two roommates were also settling in for the night.

"Goodnight guys," she murmured before yawning as she didn't realize how tired she was until she settled into bed

"Night"

"Goodnight,"

Using her wand, she drew her curtains closed and bundled up into bed as she closed her eyes and immediately found herself being pulled into sleep.

It's been a week since she first arrived at Hogwarts. Gwen was enjoying her classes and her dormmates along with friends outside of her house. It was a bit difficult to ignore the popularity that came with her name, but it was manageable when the boys were around as they had made quick work to start pranking the residents of Hogwarts. People tended to avoid conversing with her when they were around. To which secretly she was very grateful for.

"How's all your classes going, I've heard you've been doing really well"

Olivia and Gwen were in the lavatory as they had just left the showers and were currently getting dressed

"They've been going well as I have actually already started delving into the next chapter for each class" Gwen quirked "I am a Ravenclaw afterall" She added once she saw the amused look Olivia wore before they both started laughing

"Well I'm glad you're adjusting really well here"

Olivia smiled as she stepped out in her pajamas as she waited for Gwen to finish up getting dressed so they could head back to the dorms together

"Thank you for being my friend Olivia," Gwen stepped out of the room

"Awe! You're welcome" Grabbing Gwen's arm they made their way to the Ravenclaw dormitories so they could pig out on several confections that Jackie and Toni had snuck out of the kitchens after dinner "We should get back as I believe that Jackie and Toni have probably ate all the bloody food while we were bathing" Gwen started laughing as she knew that they both had big sweet tooths.

She felt content at the knowledge of knowing that not everybody cares about blood status as she has made some really good friends in her house that could care less about her being the heir to the Honorable Donoghue Clan. It was a nice break as she had been studying hard for her test all week for tomorrow's test in potions for Professor Slughorn.

Bare feet padded against the stone flooring of the corridors of the large castle, with her wand in hand Gwen slowly made her way towards the kitchens. She hoped that the castle elves would be able to give her something to eat as she had skipped dinner and she wasn't too keen on eating sweets with the girls on an empty stomach. It was really hard to sleep with a growling stomach, so she had got up donned her blue robe and ventured out of the house of Ravenclaw as she briskly made her way down to the kitchens.

Gwen really wished she would have thought to wear slippers as her feet were becoming as cold as the winter nights that were beginning to creep in. The kitchens were located underneath the Great Hall in a basement of sorts as all she had to do was get to the staircase that led down to the many kitchens. Before she could turn the corner, she heard distant footsteps that were making their way towards the very corridor that she was about to turn into.

"Nox," she whispered

Stuffing her wand into the pocket of her robe as she pushed her back to the wall of the stone walls silently praying that whoever it was would turn right instead of left and discover her not too well hidden spot. Gwen prayed that it wasn't Filch and his blasted cat, as she had heard rumors that Mrs. Norris was actually a human being who had made the amnigui change permanent. There was no evidence of it though, but this was the Wizarding World.

Where anything was possible.

The footsteps grew closer and louder, it sounded as if there was more than one person coming down the corridor, to which she thanked that it wasn't Filch. He looked very scary, not to mention it seemed that he hated children with a passion. She wondered why but decided against wondering about the hundreds of possibilities as she felt her heart beating quickly. Closing her eyes, she held her breath, scared of who was about to find her and what trouble she was about to find herself in.

Ice cold fear pricked at her skin as she felt her body grow tense as fear washed over her like somebody had dumped a whole bucket of ice cold water on her person. A hand covered her mouth as she felt a body press against hers ever so slightly, snapping her eyes open she found herself staring into silver ones that were filled with surprise, mischief, and slight concern.

"You mustn't scream once I let go of you or otherwise you'll alert Filch who is roaming the next corridor over" his hot breath fanned over her face, nodding in understanding as he slowly stepped back from her

Peeking over his shoulder, she saw James, Remus, and Peter come out from under the large invisibility cloak that Uncle Fleamont had given to James the year prior as a birthday gift. She should have known that James and Sirius would rope Remus and Peter into breaking the rules along with them. Not like she could judge them as she was also breaking the rules as she was out of bed for the sole reason to get some food due to her negligence of skipping dinner.

"What are you doing out of bed?"

Gwen knew that the other three troublemakers weren't too far since they had all become inseparable since the boat ride and they had been spending the last week pranking their fellow classmates and some of the higher year students along with help of the ghost Peeves

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Sirius chuckled before James ran over to Gwen

"What are you doing out of bed!" He exclaimed as he gave her a once over "Especially without shoes on you ninny! You're going to catch a cold! Then Mom and Dad will blame me, and Uncle Declan would be upset that you caught a cold because you're running around the castle in your nightgown with no shoes on at the dead of night wandering the grounds of Hogwarts all by yourself!" James scolded as he slipped into the big brother role "Why are you even out of your bed?"

Gwen immediately wrapped her arms around herself as she suddenly realized that she was but in her nightgown in front of four boys who were staring at her intently

"I missed dinner and I found it quite difficult to sleep on an empty stomach so I decided to go down to the kitchens for a bite to eat" The four boys all exchanged looks with one another before James sighed "Could I borrow your cloak so I won't be caught by Filch?"

"No," James stated

"What?"

"You can have this," James handed her a bundled up cloth to which she happily accepted "I'll return you back to Ravenclaw Tower while the others will head back to Gryffindor" Turning his back to Gwen he bent down

"We'll be caught James" she whispered as she immediately looked towards the corridor

"Just get on, you're not walking anymore as you're going to catch a cold. Now hurry up before we get caught by Filch"

Immediately, she did as she was told as she made sure that her nightgown wouldn't rise up in the back so as to not flash the three boys. Sirius placed the cloak over them quickly as they could hear Filch's lantern beginning to close in on them, immediately the two groups separated quickly but quietly.

"Thank you James," She murmured as she wrapped her arms over his shoulders

"No need to thank me, you're my family of course I'd look after you" He whispered as he glanced at her over his shoulder under the think cloak

She smiled, "You're my family,"

"Of course I am you twit," he snickered, "now let's get you back to bed."