Fixed Stars

This is a TRANSLATION! The original story was written by cennet in German and as I love this story very much I thought more people should be able to read it, although I don´t think I can do the original one justice :)

Prologue – The black prophecy

Love, love is a verb. Love is a doing word. – Massive Attack, Teardrop

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, autumn 1944

Every Tuesday and Thursday, when the Slytherin Quidditch team practiced, a little silence overcame the common room, which Alphard Black usually thought of as soothing. Not just, that the biggest noisemaker were out of the way – most of the younger liked to watch the training, so it was possible to have your rest in the dungeon and work in peace.

Lately however, many felt intimidated and depressed by the silence, especially so as it didn´t just extend to the Slytherin premises anymore. The whole school seemed to be afflicted by it. Last year it hadn´t been this bad, but after the war slowly but surely rose to its horrible peak, even the last ones lost their laughter.

Like an eternal burial, Alphard thought shuddering, when he knocked on the door of Marlene Dumbledore´s bureau and pressed down the jack after her call.

"Black." His divining teacher sat at her desk and scribbled on a piece of parchment, the nose near the paper. "Do you grace me with your presence once again?" She lifted her head. "Oh, you even lowered yourself to bring me your essay – which you should have handed in at the beginning of the year - without a thirtieth request."

Alphard restrained the urge to roll his eyes. What did this woman expect? The world was a madhouse, new scaring news arrived all the time in this alleged secure refuge. Who actually still worried about the centauric diving art (apart from Marlene Dumbledore of course, who seemed thrilled by it)?

Generally, he liked the daughter of Professor Dumbledore, who was only a little older than her eldest students and had arrived here out of nowhere two years ago – although he would never admit that in public. Before Marlene so to speak fell from the sky, no one even suspected that Dumbledore had family at all. From where she came or who her mother was, the students could only speculate about (which they did extensively). Father and daughter appeared sealed regarding everything from the past.

"Bring it on and sit down." She was a completely different kind of person than her father though. Not that in Alphard´s eyes, who was like everyone else in his family, the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, not really a Dumbledore-fan, this would be a mistake. Now however, when she read his essay with a severe look – apparently ready to lam into him if anything caught her eye that she didn´t like – he would have been much happier in the presence of her eccentric and good-natured father. He feared her criticism and lowered his head a little in precaution.

But when she began to speak, at once her voice sounded completely different than what he was used to. "Still today there paths will cross." Not dexterous and tomboyish anymore, but thin and dreamy, like he had never heard from her before. Her light-blue eyes – so very similar to her father´s – seemed cloudy, but at the same time they had a strange glow. She looked directly at him, but didn´t seem to notice him at the same time.

"Professor?" Alphard whispered.

"They will bring the way into life to one, who is the only one among the children from the house walking in light. But one good man cannot take on the thousands of sins from the past. Another child will be born into the house, who isn´t from the tribe. You will recognize her by a gift, that no one but her owns. And whereas he will do everything he can to flee from the shadow, without finding something, that can replace it, she will continue to enter the shadow and discover more of its secrets than any daughter from the Nigelli did before. The House of the night will fall with its last heir on the day, she raises her hand against her beloved and no one will come afterwards…"

Her floating voice had become softer while she spoke. "Professor Dumbledore?" Alphard tried again. Her half-closed eyes opened, as if she awoke from a dream.

"Anything else, Black? Why are you standing around?"

Alphard stared at her, not being able to say a word. He hadn´t even noticed that he had gotten up from his stool. Now it was Marlene, who looked at him like he had gone crazy. When she left the trance, she didn´t seem to remember anything from what she had said. "What is it, Black? Don´t you have better things to do than gaping at me?"

Alphard didn´t need another invitation. He had to get out of here and cope with everything he had heard. He stood in front of her office and slowly let himself sink against the door. His family. Marlene Dumbledore had prophesied the end of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. Alphard didn´t know, whether he believed in these things, but it had sounded damn real.

He turned around, when suddenly someone pulled at his hair.

"Cepheus!" His eldest brother laughed. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I thought I visit you, before I start off to France. Miss Hornby," his eyes wandered magnetically attracted to a slim figure, that stood in the background, "was so nice to bring me to you."

Olive Hornby, a black-haired, dark-skinned girl, who made her name all honor, was two years ahead of Alphard, in seventh grade. Right now she was looking at Cepheus, as if she just found a bunch of gold.

Still today their paths will cross.

"Wonderful," Alphard smiled uneasily.

Author´s Note (translation too): So, the prophecy was about Sirius and Bellatrix and the two who will meet at the same day are of course Sirius´ parents. The line "…and no one will come afterwards…" comes from one of the prophecies, that are accidently destroyed during the fight in the Department of Mysteries. I thought of the idea as ironically beautiful, that the prophecy about the end of the House of Black can be heard one last time, while it is fulfilled in the background at the same time…

Translator´s Note (:))

I hope you liked the prologue and are interested in the story. As English isn´t my mother tongue I am sorry for any language mistakes, I hope it will get better throughout the story… Please review to let me now, whether I should continue this translation – It will get even better by every chapter in my opinion.