A/N – I don't normally do the notes at the beginning of a chapter, but the results are in, and a couple of people have stated that they would rather wait and see what the pairing will be before they carry on, so I shall put them first in this chapter, skip if you want. The response I got for this was almost overwhelming... Thank you to everyone who did vote and everyone who just reviewed. This chapter is dedicated to you.
Results:
Voldemort 10
Bill 20
Charlie 50 (Kinda won by a landslide there)
Draco 26
OMC 9
Severus 12
Blaise 5
OC 3
Enjoy!
Chapter Five
The room that Sirius finally found out was for any Star that happened across a Black, which he admitted to the two following him, was a room which he had always wondered who it was for, was... decadent to say the least.
Arcas walked in and looked at the room around him. Clearly it had been decorated by Sirius the Dogstar, just because the walls reminded him of his own room back at his home. They were black, but seemingly not there, which suited Arcas just fine, seeing as he was beginning to suspect that he was just a little claustrophobic on this world.
"Wow, so this is the room. I wonder how they got the walls to look like that." Sirius said, walking over to one of the walls and placing a hand on it, just to be certain that it was indeed there. It was.
"I've always wondered that back home. Mother would just grin at me and then shake her head. I truthfully just think she didn't really know either." Arcas added with a grin, knowing that his mother would have heard him and that she would be keeping a very close eye on him until he found his mate.
"So then, can we ask you some questions?" Remus asked, sitting on the bed and watching Arcas look around the room curiously, from opening the mostly empty wardrobe, to nosing through the drawers beside the bed.
"Sure thing. Ask away, I had thought you would, and now that I know one of you is an actual main house Black, I can answer as I see fit." Arcas said. He pulled an old book out of the middle drawer and opened it.
"Right. Do you know anything that will help us, help you find your mate?" Sirius asked from his seat beside Remus.
"Um... Not really. He's male and a Wizard for the time being. That's about it. I don't even know if he is involved in the war, and if so, which side." Arcas said, putting aside the book and sitting on the floor in front of the two men.
"What if he is a part of the war?" Remus asked, interrupting Sirius before he could even speak.
"Then I will stand by his side of course. I may not want to, but if he does not want to leave, then I will do nothing to force him." Arcas said with a shrug.
"Even if he is a Death Eater?"
"Even then."
"What! You would join his side just for someone you haven't even met before?!" Sirius asked, yelling at Arcas.
"You do not understand. My mate is who makes me who I am. He will be the one to make me shine, he will be the one to stand by me through everything, and eventually, he will be the one who is with during the end." Arcas said, staring at Sirius blankly.
Remus frowned and replayed back what Arcas had just told them, looked between the two men staring each other out and sighed. "What do you mean the end? Are you not immortal?"
"No, no being is truly immortal. An end will come eventually. Some just live longer than others. Stars are no exception. One day we will no longer be there. Admittedly it won't be for a very a long time yet, but it will happen." Arcas said, stunning the two men with his blasé attitude.
"Does it not bother you, talking about your death like that?" Sirius asked incredulously.
"Why should it? It will be relatively painless and I will know before hand when it will happen. Some Stars last longer than others, but we all go out the same way. However, we leave something behind."
"What?"
"Honestly? I have no idea. No one does. I do know that no one star within the whole constellation out lives another. It isn't possible."
"Can we stop talking about my godsons ever likely death please?" Sirius asked, the distress at the current topic showing on his face.
"Sure, is there anything else you would like to know."
"What are you going to teach the students, and what happens if you find your mate before the school year?" Remus asked.
"I honestly had not thought of that. I suppose ultimately I will discuss it with my mate and see what he thinks I should do. Obviously if he wishes to stay and help with the war, then I will keep my position as the children's teacher. Otherwise, I suppose it has been promised to this generation to be taught, then I really should. I cannot, in good conscience, allow the mistakes of that past happen again."
"What was so bad that you sound scared?" Remus asked, the fear in his cubs voice making his wolf come to the front.
"Lets just say it was bad enough to grab the attention of the stars. And I mean literally. We sent envoys down to each fraction to plead with them to stop. They ignored us, so we had to take matters into our own hands."
"What did you do?"
"Ended the war." Arcas said, his voice telling them that he would speak of the matter no more.
"Right, well how about we go down to Diagon Alley again?" Sirius asked suddenly, getting curious looks from both men in the room.
"Why?" Remus finally asked.
"Well, for one, Arcas can't go around wearing the same clothes, so he will need more. And there is the added advantage that Arcas' mate may well be there as well. You are sure he's in Britain right?" Sirius asked, taking his role given to him by his family very seriously... now that he knew it.
"Um... well he was when I arrived." Arcas admitted, making Sirius and Remus groan.
"What do you mean by he was?" Sirius asked, Arcas noticed that a whine entered his voice.
"Well, he was in Britain when I arrived, but for all I know, he could have left since. So... Um... yeah. Heh." Arcas said with a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of his neck, not noticing the silent groan that Remus emitted.
"So he might not even be in this country any more? How long does it normally take to find your mate?" Sirius asked out of curiosity, though part of him screamed at him for even enquiring.
"Well, um... I know Sirius, as in the Dog Star Sirius, didn't find Dorea for um... mumble." Arcas suddenly found the floor very interesting and started to pick at a loose thread on his long sleeve. Though to be honest, he deliberately made it loose in order to have something to pick with.
"Pardon? We didn't quite hear that." Remus said through gritted teeth, he heard just fine, he just wanted Arcas to prove what he heard wrong.
"Um... Five years." Arcas mumbled.
"What!!" Sirius screamed, making Arcas wince, his ears twitching as they rung with the screech.
"Er... Five years. But! Things have moved on so quickly since then! It was over three hundred years ago! I mean, surely there are um... Spells!! Yes! Spells! There must be spells you can use to find him!" Arcas said, practically jumping on the spot with excitement. Well, until he saw the expression on the other two wizard faces.
"Oh yes. We have this amazing new spell that came about just a couple of weeks ago, called 'Find-A-Star-It's-Soul-Mate.'" Remus said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
"You're being sarcastic aren't you? Why would some one name a spell that?" Arcas asked, tilting his head to the side.
"Yes, I was being sarcastic." Remus said dryly.
"Though, to be honest, that is what the spell would probably be called. Wizards aren't exactly known for our imagination." Sirius pointed out. Remus nodded in agreement and Arcas sat down on the floor, leaning his chin on his fist.
"So what do I do?" Arcas whined. Remus and Sirius didn't actually think it was possible for ethereal beings to whine. Though to be fair, they had never actually met one before this, so they hadn't actually considered it to be a fact.
"Well, if you sensed him here when you arrived, common sense indicates that there is a clear possibility that he may come back to England at some point." Remus pointed out.
"Really? When?" Arcas asked, smiling brightly at the thought of finding his mate.
"I have no idea. If I knew that, then there would be no problem at all. Hopefully though, it won't be long."
"And then I'll find my mate! Um... what exactly do mates do?" Arcas asked innocently. Remus and Sirius looked at each other and groaned loudly. It was going to be a long night.
--
"So the Black's had to explain everything to the Dogstar?" Sirius asked his mother, sitting in front of the large portrait and actually having the first civil conversation in twenty years.
"Yes, for some reason, they explain everything about how to find their mate, but, well as for the mating, they explain nothing. They are not taught the same things we are, and unless they become Stars later on in life, which is unusual, but I believe Arcas' mother was one such being, then they known nothing about sexual intercourse." For some unknown reason to Sirius, hearing his mother say those two words made him blush.
"So I actually have to explain the birds and the bees to my godson after all?" Sirius deadpanned.
"Yes. At least you knew him before he became a star. I'd imagine it was quite awkward for them when they didn't even know the star." Walburga pointed out, making Sirius sigh in acceptance.
"I suppose this is another thing that the Black's swore they would do then? I mean, I don't suppose I would get away with shoving it onto Remus' shoulders."
"Why ever not? We Black's did not agree to more than we had to, and explaining to facts of life to someone we never knew is definitely more than we have to. No wonder that stupid hat put you into Gryffindor." Walburga mumbled to herself, making Sirius scowl at her.
"So I can make Remus tell him about it?" Sirius asked, picking up on the most important part of his mothers rant.
"Sure, let the Werewolf do it." Walburga said, waving it off. "Back to the more important part, how do you intend to find Arcas' mate?"
"Not a clue. Do you know how they went about it all those years ago?"
"No, but I would imagine it was different with each Star anyway. Not all of them get their mates from this dimension. Nor do they have human mates. Has he said whether his mate is human or not?"
"I\m pretty sure he mentioned at some point that they were human."
"Well that is one blessing I suppose. It will make things easier for you in the long run. He is a very nice young man though, if not a little... naïve." Walburga said after a brief pause.
"Yeah, I suppose I should help him with that." Sirius said, wrinkling his nose.
"Why? If he leaves here with his mate, then it will not matter, and if he chooses to stay, then leave it to his mate to deal with." Walburga shrugged, looking at her nails and then peering down at her eldest son.
"Well I suppose I should go and tell Remus the good news. What will you do if Arcas chooses to join the war against the Dark Lord?" Sirius asked curiously.
"I suppose I shall have to follow Arcas. Or course, I am a painting, so I don't suppose what I think will make much of a difference anyway." Walburga added with a shrug.
"You would change your views on this war for someone you don't even know? You blasted me off the family tree because of my allegiances."
"Actually, I removed you from the tree because you ran away. And anyway, Black's swore allegiance to the Stars long before the Dark Lord was even a thought in his mothers mind. You have finally found your way to prove yourself worthy of the Black name, hence the new powers you have around this place and over the family accounts."
"True. So I suppose I should be grateful to some things about our family huh? What do I do when he has to leave?" Sirius suddenly asked quietly after a couple of moments silence.
Walburga sighed and looked at her son closely, "You let him go. He is no longer the Godson you remember from those days past. He is a star and he belongs in the skies."
"But I've only just got him back." Sirius whined, making Walburga roll her eyes and sigh.
"Tough. Let him go, or you will lose him completely."
"Oh and letting him leave to live in the sky will not lose him forever?" Sirius asked dryly.
"No, the Stars can always come back to us you know. Anyway, shouldn't you be talking to your Werewolf?"
"He has a name you know." Sirius pointed out, making Walburga sigh sufferingly.
"Of course he does. But he is a Werewolf, whether you or he want to admit it. Ask your Star what it means to be a Werewolf? He is closest to the moon after all. Maybe your rejection of Weres upsets and hurts him more than he lets on."
"Who are we talking about here? Remus or Arcas?"
"Both. Mainly Arcas though." Walburga admitted after Sirius looked at her shrewdly.
"I thought so. You're saying that I'm hurting their feelings? I accept Remus' wolf though!"
"Maybe so, but he doesn't. Until he does, then I will not call him by his name."
"Admit it though, you would have called him Werewolf whether he had accepted his wolf or not before Arcas arrived." Sirius said, narrowing his eyes at his mothers portrait.
"Well of course. I didn't like you before you accepted your position in this situation."
"Cheers. That makes me feel loved." Sirius said dryly, glaring at his mother and closing the curtain sharply to go and find his Godson and Werewolf.
A/N – Well another chapter. This one is mainly there to give a little bit of background on Arcas and on the relationship between Sirius and his mother. I will admit though, I had no intention of making Arcs so innocent on every aspect of life, but you have to admit, it is rather amusing thinking that Remus and Sirius having to explain to a seventeen year old the birds and bees. I think Arcas is going to become scarred for life. Lol!
Sorry to all those who voted for someone other than Charlie, I hope you will continue to read this though and not let it put you off! If it makes you feel and better, Voldemort will be showing his happy little face in the next chapter. You'll find his reaction to the strange being that appeared in Diagon Alley!!
Thank you for all the lovely reviews so far, I'll admit, I am completely stunned at the reaction I have received from everyone and I greatly appreciate every single review I have received so far!!
