AN: Ok, so first allow me to explain why I am rewriting this, to anyone coming from the first few chapters of the original. Normally, I'm not too upset with things I've written in the past, but I reread the beginning of the original and it made me cringe. So here is a prologue of my updated version. I'm sorry to say, please expect VERY infrequent updates as... Well as I tend to be a very big procrastinator. Anyway, I have no intention of changing the basic storyline, more of a fleshing out of back story and making character relations less forced, so if you want a cheat sheet of what is sort of to come, feel free to check out the original, as I'm not going to delete it, but here is my new (hopefully much better) version!

As a very young girl, Crystal had been abnormally adorable. Look, it wasn't her fault! (And yes, she did realize she was apologizing for being attractive). She was a quarter veela on her father's side (a rarity in and of itself, that a veela had a son) and as such had the lovely silvery-blond hair and the deep blue eyes. It wasn't a problem, it just made her sad puppy eyes absolutely irresistible, a fact she exploited mercilessly. Her mother had been the sole heiress of the Fawleys, and so she grew up well to do and comfortable in pure-blood circles, though the elitists refused to associate with her, the descendant of a respectable pureblood mother, but a halfbreed, halfblood father, as her dad's paternal grandparents were muggles. Successful and wealthy muggles, but muggles nonetheless. So Crystal grew up knowing the pureblood customs, but neither her Daddy nor her Mommy had believed in them. They were social niceties for sometimes outside the house. She wasn't allowed to play with muggle children because her parents were worried that she would accidentally let slip the secret of magic, as little children sometimes do, but she had plenty of other wizarding children to play with, including one James Potter, as their mothers had been friends as children. Yes, Crystal liked her life through age 5 very much.

As a very young boy, Sirius had yet to grow into his trademark Black features. This was expected, as what turned into an aristocratic beauty on an older person was usually a quite odd collection of features on a very small child. As the eldest heir of the Black fortune (Regulus was two years younger) he was given whatever he wanted, so long as it was pureblood approved. He grew up with the entire wealth of the Black fortune supporting him and living under pureblood traditions and protocol. In and out of the house he was required to act as the Scion of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black should act. This was Sirius's first hint that he might be different than his family, as he did not like the protocol that the others seemed to live and breathe. However, the Black Family only ever associated with other proper pureblood families, and never blood-traitors either, so he was never exposed to other people with opinions like his, or even people whose opinions differed at all (even Uncle Alphard was kept away) and he thought something was wrong with him. Sirius didn't like his life through age 5 very much.

As Crystal grew a little older, she was considered old enough to keep the secret of magic, and so she went to school for the first time. Here, she was expected to learn to read and write and get along with other children. This was a new experience for her, and one she was able to proudly relate to all of her friends, as most wizarding children are home-schooled before attending Hogwarts, and some even instead of Hogwarts. She had a slight problem where one boy in her class was very mean to her and teased her and pulled her hair. Her parents were left to explain that that's how boys act when they like you. Crystal thought this was the dumbest thing ever and one week of recesses organized a survey for all of the kids in her grade. She asked all of the boys what they liked in girls, and all of the girls what they liked in boys. One little girl shocked her when she said that she liked girls, but it was secret, so Crystal agreed to keep her secret and made a new section in the survey about what girls liked in girls. Then she asked everyone what they do when they like someone and what they want someone to do when they like someone. Then she advised the little boy on what to do, and when he listened to her, kissed him on the cheek. Soon enough, she was getting requests from girls to help make the boys stop and from the boys to help them get attention without dislike. Seeing an opportunity, she began requesting candies in exchange for her help. This continued throughout primary school, though as she got older it got a little more complex and she started charging money instead. As she became wrapped up in her business, she grew a bit apart from her youngest friends, though they remembered each other fondly.

As Sirius grew a little older, he was considered trained enough to learn about blood traitors and to meet Uncle Alphard, who was an unusual member of the Black family in that he didn't believe in protocol, not a blood-traitor, but not one that very young impressionable Blacks had been allowed around. To young Sirius, this was a revelation, not everyone thought the way his family had told him was the way to think! Originally, all it was was an excuse not to stand on protocol all the time, but as he got older it made him think, if his family was wrong about this, what else were they wrong about? As Sirius began questioning the pureblood dogma, Regulus slowly became the favored child, further alienating him. He became curious about blood traitors and as he began to wonder if his family really had the right of it, he found himself agreeing more and more with those so called traitors. After all, how could he really be better than anyone else when all his family did was put him down?

In Crystal's first year, she was the only one of her childhood friend group to be sorted into Ravenclaw. Mary MacDonald and James Potter both went to Gryffindor, Avery Wilkes and Elaina Greengrass became Slytherins, and Davey Gudgeon joined the badgers. That was ok though. There was a girl called Alex, a muggleborn girl that seemed pretty awesome, and was interested in spell craft. Crystal hadn't been good friends with any of the others in years, and Alex would be a good friend. She wrote home excited to tell her parents all about everything all the time, and started up her business. Small so far, she was new, and she knew it. At first, it was just a small notice on the common room boards agreeing to listen to a relationship problem, no judging, only sympathy, and only a sickle an hour. It was surprising how many upperclassmen would pay for a friendly, nonjudgmental ear. She quickly earned a reputation as tight-lipped and reliable. And it was a quick way to learn the inner workings of Hogwarts' Gossip. She wouldn't have traded it for anything.

In Sirius's first year, he was the first of the Blacks to be sorted into Gryffindor. In a house of elitist Slytherins with the occasional Ravenclaw, his family were emnot /empleased. That was acceptable, however, as he had made three new friends that made it all worth it. James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew weren't big on the pureblood dogma he'd been fed his whole life, and it was amazing. They formed a group, "The Marauders" and soon had a reputation as pranksters, though of course since they never got caught, so Sirius, James, Peter, and Remus didn't have a reputation, but it was fun anyways. He didn't write home all year, instead, was treated to the singular (dis)pleasure of his every move being related back home by his cousins, and never were they approved of. But he made it through, and it was good. He honestly wouldn't have traded it for the world.

In 2nd-5th year, Crystal and Sirius grew. Crystal was right, Alex became her best friend, Sirius was right as well, he became good friends with the other Gryffindor boys. Crystal's matchmaking business grew, and Alex was a emgreat /emhelp, spell crafting was one thing, but spiders that doubled as cameras? emGenius/em. Sirius and his friends became known to be The Marauders, pranksters extraordinaire and animagi to boot! (Though they did get a detention or two, they were never explicitly caught. That was good. No letters home.) Crystal's looks grew with her, and she was emfed up /emwith people asking her out, and started getting more… creative, with her ways of turning people down. By 4th year she had a reputation of answering based on your reputation, the more rude you were according to the rumor mill, the ruder her response would be. Sirius grew into his looks, and developed quite the reputation as a skirt-chaser, not that anyone ran too much. Of course, this was contrary to his mother's wishes entirely. As Crystal grew, her family continued to be very proud of her. As Sirius grew, his family slowly gave up on him until he ran away the summer after his fifth year.

As 6th year began, so does our story...

Please let me know, was this an improvement? If you haven't read the original, do you like this?