Written for Last Ship Sailing - Prompts:

(AU) Red String of Fate

(word) direction

(action) pouring a cup of tea

Soulmate!AU Challenge - Red String of Fate

OTP Prompts List - Soulmates!AU


Tie On Another


Sirius didn't want to go home. Home was lonely, empty. Home was where the pictures of him and Lucius waited to watch him. The happy smiles and couple-ness of them made Sirius feel sick. The pictures were lies. He knew if he followed his string, he would be led back to his cousin's home.

The same home she now shared with Lucius. In a couple of months, their son would be joining them.

Sirius felt sick at the idea. Things had been so perfect. When he had met Lucius at school - a handsome boy two years his elder - he had been riveted by him. It wasn't until Sirius joined the Quidditch Team at sixteen that Lucius even noticed his existence - and that included noticing their string too.

They began dating the day Sirius left Hogwarts and he hadn't been happier… until he decided to surprise Lucius from work one day but the string led him to a hotel room. Sirius shouldn't have opened the door. He shouldn't have let curiosity overtake him.

If he had left the door closed, he wouldn't have seen what his boyfriend and soulmate was doing to his cousin, Narcissa.

That had been six months ago and his cousin was going to have the baby in a few weeks. Sirius still had no idea how long it had been going on, but what could he do? Their strings were connected, and, by law, he was Lucius' soulmate.

The soulmate of someone who was shacking up with his cousin under the excuse of getting her pregnant. Laws said that soulmates had to put each other first. Even in circumstances like that. Narcissa had her own soulmate somewhere out there after all.

Sirius knew he was being bitter, but he had stopped caring about that months ago.

He ordered another drink and reached for the newspaper that someone had discarded on the next table.


Clinical Spell Tests

Got no zing in your string?

Got some hate for fate?

Want it to fray and go away?

Give us a floo or drop in.

All testers will receive ££££


"Hello, I… I saw your ad in the Daily Prophet. I… I'd like to participate. Gold? Yeah… that amount is fine. Honestly, the most important thing is getting this string gone. Whatever it takes."


Remus' eyes drifted over the latest laws that were hastily put in place. Before now, the laws about red-strings were clear. It was mostly stated that a red-string was like a marriage and would be counted as such.

But with the clinical tests that had stolen his soulmate from him, which had been successful, new laws had been rushed to accommodate the changes.

Remus glanced at the nearby table. It had been five months now since the string had broken. Five months since he set the photo down so he couldn't see the face of the man that had cast him aside like… well, like a werewolf. Not that he could blame him of course. His soulmate deserved better. It was best for everyone if Remus was alone.

He avoided looking at his hand where the red string sat, just a few inches long and with an ugly fray at the end. The fray was appropriate. It matched the rest of him really. The scars, the old clothes. Why not a raggedly torn string too?


Did Fate not give you a soulmate?

Or did your string go 'ping'?

We can reattach and find you a match!

New - String attaching service.

Floo or come in and see us:

Strings R Us at 19b Diagon Alley.


Sirius kept the newspaper for a whole month before going. He couldn't resist any longer. He wanted to fall in love again. He wasn't going to let one bad experience stop him!


Remus shifted in the bed, his eyes heavy. The covers were warm and he drew them around him tighter and snuggled into the pillows.

He had been having a wonderful dream. Dark hair and grey eyes dominated it. Dominated him and he smiled against the fluffy pillow, trying to fall back asleep and back into the dream. He tried to ignore the birds chirping outside of his bedroom window and the sound of his parents talking in the kitchen. He knew what they were saying. It's what they were always saying these days.

How they were concerned about him.

Whatever happened with Ben?

Why was he not out meeting someone nice?

If he could just go and answer the advert that had been appearing in the Daily Prophet about new strings…

Remus wasn't ready to face that all again. He was fine. In fact, he felt an odd sense of anticipation and delight and he couldn't place where it was coming from.

The sensations built and Remus could think of nothing else apart from the happy feelings. It had been so long since Ben. So long since he had been happy that he didn't fight it.

"Remus. Are you awake, darling? We need to head to the market soon," his mother called.

Remus sighed and sat up. "Yes, Mum," he called back, before reluctantly sliding out of the comfortable bed, his feet hitting the rug. He stood up slowly and stretched out, hearing some of his bones click.

It was two days after the full moon and Remus had taken the extra day to stay with his parents to recover as the transformations had been harder since Ben had broken their bond. Recently, Remus had realised that it was more that the string was gone, that the wolf was wilder. Not because of Ben's absence in his life.

Remus walked to the bathroom to take his shower, trying to keep his eyes open properly. He stifled a yawn as he pulled out some towels and set one on the floor.

He enjoyed his shower for the first time in ages. Before, he felt like he was going through the motions somewhat. But now… well, now he felt alive once more. Complete once again. The last time he had felt like that was when he had a string.

On impulse, he glanced down at his hand, expecting to see the horrible, frayed edges of the string.

He didn't expect a new string to be sitting in its place.

Remus washed the soap off quickly. He needed to call James. No. He needed to talk to his mum!

He needed to talk to both of them.


Sirius didn't want to waste any time. He had a new string and this time… this time he wouldn't do anything to screw it up. However he had failed Lucius enough to cause Lucius to stray… well, that wouldn't happen again. He'd be perfect this time. He'd make his soulmate happy. He'd do anything they wanted.

He left Diagon Alley and headed into Muggle London, getting on his motorbike and fixing his helmet over his head. He didn't know how far he'd have to drive or how long it would take.

But he would find his soulmate. He was certain of that.

The traffic was busy in London, even on a Sunday morning, but Sirius didn't care. He waited patiently to get through London, knowing that the traffic would ease slightly the further away he got. Because it was clear to him as he drove, that he was heading outside of London.

Maybe a change of scenery would be nice?

Sirius hated two things about his bike. First: the helmet was so hot and made him sweat which messed up his hair. Though that could be helped with spells. Second, he couldn't listen to music on his bike like others did with cars. The journey was too long and Sirius was bored, but still he carried on, eventually leaving England and crossing into Wales.


"Mum, Dad, James. Look." Remus held up his hand to show the new string. "It was there this morning."

"That explains the good mood!" Hope exclaimed, taking her son's hand and examining the string that was attached. "It looks a nice healthy colour. It's almost shimmering."

John glanced up from where he was pouring water into the cups to make everyone's tea.

"I can feel… their emotions. Anticipation I think. Excitement. My soulmate is nervous." Remus stared at the red string for a few seconds. "But what if I'm not what they want? Should I follow it? Or should I forget about it?"

"Remus, your soulmate must have done that advert in the Daily Prophet - the strings that can reattach," James realised. "So they're looking for a soulmate and you need to at least meet them."

"Darling, why wouldn't you be what they want?" Hope asked.

Remus sighed and ran a hand over his face. "I haven't been truthful about Ben," he admitted. "We didn't fall out like I allowed you to believe. In fact, everything was perfect until he found out about my lycanthropy. A couple of days later, the string broke."

Hope was silent for a minute. "Well, it's his loss," John declared as he set the four cups on the table. "Don't let that get you down. There is someone out there that can accept you, Remus."

"Yeah. I think I get why Ben did that," James offered. "So, you're born with your string, right? Well, you weren't born a werewolf. So if you weren't one, I think you and Ben would have been perfect. But he's not the type to accept your condition and the string had already picked him before the bite."

"I'm not sure where you're going with this," Remus muttered.

"What I mean is that when that string came up last night, it matched you with someone who would accept you for who you are. Fate knows you're a werewolf and made this match."

"That makes sense," Hope agreed. "Remus, darling, give your soulmate a chance."

"One chance. I'll meet him and tell him what I am. He'll run, I'm sure of it."

"Him?"

Remus examined his hand before nodding. "It feels like a 'him'," he replied softly. "Let's leave this until we get back to London tomorrow. James, do you want to stick around for the day now you're here?"

James nodded. "You said it was important so Lily said she was going to go shopping with the girls and have lunch with them. I'll stick around for a while. Lily will let me know when she wants me back."

"Great. I'll set another place at the table for dinner," Hope said. "Now, drink your tea and then get ready to walk to the market, boys."


Sirius found a parking spot by a market. Though the string was pointing the other way, he needed a break. Wales was hills and sharp turns and terrifying sheep.

He began to walk through the market, his eyes on each stall and what it was selling. Many were fruit and vegetables but there were a few with ornaments and jewellery and other handmade items.

Sirius found himself wondering if his soulmate visited places like this, and what did his soulmate buy? Perhaps they could do things like this? Go to little markets and buy things that they'd never use?

Lucius never liked to do things like that, but Sirius was hopeful that his new soulmate would enjoy the same things as him. If not, he'd manage. As long as his soulmate stayed faithful, nothing else mattered.

He had walked up one side of the market when he felt it. There was a tingling sensation in his hand and he could feel that his soulmate was close. There was nothing definite, but Sirius just knew.

He turned around and began searching the small crowd, his eyes darting around and back to his hand. His soulmate was there somewhere.


Remus had only began to contemplate his soulmate being in the area when a man was striding in their direction, his eyes darting around, searching.

The stranger's gaze landed on him and Remus watched back, knowing that this was his soulmate. He didn't even have to look at the string that connected them. He just knew.

"Hi, I'm Sirius."

"Remus," Remus replied. "Look, before… before anything…" he grabbed the man's arm and pulled him away from the crowds and to a quiet spot a short distance from the market.

Sirius smiled happily at him.

"I'm a werewolf," Remus murmured softly. "I don't usually blurt this out, but I… it scares people away. Better for you to find out now because it's harder when there's... attachment."

"Okay. So, can I take you to dinner?"

Remus stared. "Doesn't it bother you?"

Sirius gave a small shrug and shook his head. "I wasn't expecting that but fate chose you and I think that we should get to know each other."

"Your string was broken? Did you get it fixed? I just want to know if it happened by itself."

"I got it fixed. I answered an advert in the Daily Prophet," Sirius explained, his smile widening. "It was hard after I broke my string—"

Remus quickly took a step back. "You broke your string?" he asked warily. "Why?"

"It's personal," Sirius muttered, frowning slightly. "Not really first meeting sort of stuff."

Remus shook his head. "I said I'd give this a chance, but I can't do this. I'm sorry." He turned to walk away, but Sirius reached out, grabbing his arm.

"Wait. Please. Don't leave. I'm already messing this up, aren't I?" There was something in his tone that stopped Remus from going anywhere. He turned back.

"My soulmate broke our string because he found out what I am," Remus explained. "Things were perfect until then. These days, people break their string so easily and don't really… value soulmates. How do I know you won't do that?"

"Because I do value them," Sirius explained. He sighed. "My last soulmate… I loved him so much like you wouldn't believe. That was, until he got my cousin pregnant and then had her move in with him. I was treated like his bit on the side. I was his soulmate. I would have done everything for him. Remus, it's not fair for you to automatically assume the worst without knowing the truth. I would like a proper chance with you. I would do anything to make my soulmate happy. I only want someone who is faithful. That's all I'm asking."

Remus nodded. "I would never hurt a soulmate of mine," he assured Sirius. "But you're right. It wasn't fair of me to judge you like that when I don't even know you. Let's… let's get to know each other. We can decide then if we want to do this or not."

"You won't regret it!" Sirius exclaimed. He grabbed Remus' hand. "This place is awesome. Let me show you around?"

Remus couldn't help but chuckle. "I come here every month so maybe I should show you around?"

"Anything you want," Sirius said, smiling happily. "You know, I've only known you a few minutes and I'm already happier than I've been in a long time."

"You know, me too," Remus replied. "Before, I had this big secret over my head. At least I've already shared that with you. So… how do you feel like meeting my family and best friend on our first date?"

Sirius nodded slowly. "I'm good with that. So… when's our first date?"

"Now." Remus pulled Sirius towards his family with a grin and Sirius used his free hand to reach up and try and fix his hair. He had never met anyone's parents before. This felt promising.

It felt like it was going to work out perfectly this time.

"So does this mean I have to move to Wales?" he blurted out.

Remus laughed as they reached James and the Lupins. "One step at a time. Plus, I live in London."

"Oh good. The sheep here scare me," Sirius said, before beaming at Remus' family. "It's lovely to meet you all," he told them. "I'm Sirius Black, and I promise to do everything I can to make Remus happy."

"I remember you from Hogwarts," James replied. "You were one of the good ones. Your string was… you got rid? I heard what he did."

Sirius shrugged slightly and gave a nod, not wanting to talk about it.

"Well, I'm sure you'll want to stay for dinner tonight," John offered with a smile.

Hope leaned in to give him a hug. "Welcome to the family, Sirius. Hurt my son and there'll be hell to pay."

"Why would I ever want to hurt my soulmate?" Sirius whispered back. "You have my word."

Hope smiled warmly at him and moved away and Sirius took Remus' hand again.

Yes, this was definitely going to work out.


Review please :)

Thanks to Lizzy for betaing