Disclaimer: Siriusly, not mine.
A/N: This story is actually going to be sets of interconnected one shots with the first three chapters being the bulk of the story. This is mostly a way to develop an OC of mine. This way they can be inserted into a story and there will be some character development on him. There are a few things that will remain vague as they will be tailored to fit whatever parameters necessary to fit in other stories.
This chapter is set after The Diary of Alma Santiago which doesn't actually need to be read and is about to be revised anyways. Vega highlights what he learned in the diary. Also the way this works, Sirius was sixteen when Vega was born which makes Vega five years older than Harry. At least I think it does since Lily and James are 21 when Harry is born.
The birds twittered. It was still cold but it would be getting warm soon. The branches still hung heavy with ice. There were a few clouds dotted across the sky, but it was still mostly clear. The sun was low in the sky, and it wouldn't be long before sunset. The ground was blanketed in icy white sheets. The powdery snow had frozen into hard crystals that crunched underfoot. There was a resounding crack and the man appeared again. He once again weaved his way between headstones and sat on his wooden perch.
"Tomorrow is Mardi Gras, I might go down to New Orleans, maybe get smashed," he said, "and Valentine 's Day will be soon but I haven't celebrated that in years, didn't have any reason to."
His voice filled the silent cemetery. He looked around and smiled at the headstones fondly and closed his eyes. He pulled up his right leg and folded it so that his foot rested on his left knee. He opened his eyes and tilted his head. Silence mounted again and he fidgeted. He was usually fine, comforted even by the silent amity found in the cemetery. His recent discoveries had left him excited and agitated.
"I found out more about my biological parents, I found my name or names, apparently my proper name is Altair. My full name is Altair Caelum Elpidio Santiago. My last name changes a lot though because I was adopted, because I was a bastard, and because of my mother. I think I'll keep Caldwell as my last name for now. I have no attachment to any of the others," he said.
He turned his face towards the sun and tilted backwards. He teetered as gravity attempted to pull him down and nearly pulled him off the fence. He righted himself before he could fall and swung his legs forward. He braced his arms against the wood as he swung his legs out then pulled them back again.
"My mother gave me a girl name too since she changed my gender, and wasn't that a wonderful surprise," he said, "happy 21st, you're a boy. At least it wasn't my first 21st."
His fingers trailed upwards and he held the silver pendant that hung at his next. It was a metal disc surrounded by twisting wires that arced upwards. The wires twisted together to form a sharp peak with a silver teardrop resting atop. The entire thing was engraved with intricate symbols. It hummed with power. He had several pendants with intricate runes made from a variety of materials. One of them gave had given him the ability to create a ten year time loop as it was attached to a timeturner. He looked around the cemetery once again and his mouth tilted into a brief smile.
"I like my girl name better, Aria Vega Esperanza Caito. My magic name is Aurora Borealis Carmen Santiago, but I don't like that much either. I think I'll stick with Aria or Vega. I know I'm a boy but I spent puberty as a girl so I think it's allowed," he said.
He hopped of his perch and turned a few cartwheels then flipped over a row of head stones. He continued to tumble in and out, flipping across the imposing marble and completing a series of increasingly complex acrobatic maneuvers. He ended with a handstand on one of the headstones before executing a neat back flip. He did not slip once despite the frozen and treacherous footing.
"I needed that. I think I might be able to change back and forth, if I practice. I'm a metamorphagus, apparently. It's what they call it when you can change how you look when you want like I do. I'm not sure what the limits are on a metamorphagus, I might have some fun with that," he said.
The wind howled. It scraped against the ice which refused to budge. There would be no playful dances today. The wind made several more attempts and whirled furiously, but the ice remained immobile. The icy branches swung in the heavy breeze and icicles clinked together gently. The wind then blew harder and proceeded to move about the trees. It was followed by a mellow symphony that gently faded as the wind calmed down.
"My biological mother was a Ravenclaw, I wonder what house I would have been in, I guess it doesn't really matter though," he said.
He hopped back onto the wooden fence. The place he chose was free of snow as there was a large fir evergreen that protected it from snow, and in the rainy season kept it reasonably dry. It didn't really matter he didn't mind getting wet.
"I've found out my biological father's name it was Sirius Black. He's dead. I'm researching his family line though to see if I have any living family through him. My mother doesn't have any living relatives. Her family died out. Not even an illegitimate cousin, I'm the first bastard in the family," he said.
Having a child out of wedlock seemed to be a rather large taboo in his mother's world, something he learned from some of the books he had picked up in Diagon Alley. He was glad that the goblins hadn't seemed to mind. They kept to the better part of valor and maintained privacy for him. Apparently, he had the potential to cause quite a large scandal, because of his heritage. He found that amusing.
"My mother did have an elder caretaker name Del. She is dead though she was apparently related to Candy," he said.
He exhaled and watched as his breath misted and dissipated.
"Del made a prophecy before I was born and my mother went into hiding. Apparently I fit the requirements of dual Dark Lord Slayer. I already knew about one of the dark menaces, the rebels made sure of that," he said.
His eyes and hair darkened. His eyes were now a dark violet while his hair was an inky black. It lengthened and flared before shortening to its original length. His eyes and hair lightened a few shades to the colors they had been previously.
"There was apparently a second one a few years after my birth that I also qualified for, as if that bastard in Spain wasn't enough. Then again the good guys were just as bad all they wanted was a damn martyr, I was so naïve. I should have told them to get bent," he said.
There wasn't much chance of that though. He'd been thrown headfirst into a warzone with no warning at the age of thirteen. A war that he spent the next four years fighting and eventually won. He killed the monster and his cronies. He told everyone else he would keep their debt, then he left. He spent the many years after that drifting from one place to another, with no real goal in mind. He taught himself many things, learned many things and eventually attempted time travel. He spent those years making up for lost time.
"Anyway, after the second prophecy my mother became a little paranoid. And researched several ways to protect me. She found several, one of them was making me younger and switching my gender from male to female. She also sacrificed her magic to protect me," he said.
He had marveled at that. His mother gave up her magic and essentially her life to save him. She hadn't been much younger than he was now. It made his mind reel to know he would outlive the woman who gave birth to him. He might even end up older than his mama, the woman who raised him. His mama had been thirty-nine when she died and it was a good while away. He might not live that long. He would just have to wait and see.
"My mother had apparently been given magic from her mother and grandmother as well. She used that magic in a ritual that hides me from all magical sight. I cannot be found, tagged, or, tracked by magic. Nice thing is this means the magical government has almost no control on me. They don't even have my real name. A good thing, because the less governments I have to deal with the better," he said.
He could deal with politician but that didn't mean he liked them much.
"It's a bit more complex than that but she didn't leave any notes, and I'm not entirely sure how the magical government works yet," he said.
It was one of the many things he had to finish researching. It was also interesting to examine the various ways that science and magic intersected and competed. He looked at the sky which grew steadily darker.
"I think I'll stay til sunrise. The Mardi Gras parties won't start until later anyways," he said.
He stared at the sky. He would watch as the first stars made their appearance in the night sky and many hours later he would see the sky lighten. He would watch as the sun rose slowly above the horizon and filled the sky with color.
Please, drop a review. . .