Chapter Thirteen
Arcas nibbled on his lower lip anxiously as he walked up to the castle, Nebi fast asleep in his arms. Maybe he shouldn't have adopted the tiny leopard, but it truly was the only way he could touch the child. He really didn't want to think about what Charlie was going to say. He'd only just learnt where babies came from a couple of days ago.
Charlie was not going to be impressed.
Nebi whimpered slightly in his sleep and nuzzled closer to Arcas. Arcas smiled softly and held the small child closer to him as he climbed the steps to the large castle. Arcas gently shook Nebi awake before he pushed the doors to the castle open.
"Come on, wake up. Let's show you your new home." Arcas whispered, smiling at Nebi when he woke up slowly and blinked up at Arcas.
"Home?"
"Yeah. Come on, I'll introduce you to uncle Remus."
"Uncle Remus?"
"Yeah, he's a werewolf, kind of like you! Come on, then you can go back to sleep." Arcas told him as he climbed the stairs, making sure to walk quietly past the Great Hall where many of the evacuees were being kept, many of the lost or orphaned children were staying in there, waiting for someone to claim them.
When they got to the rooms Arcas shared with Remus, Nebi was yawning widely, making Arcas silently coo at the cute sight. Walking in the rooms after a whispered password, Arcas looked around and saw Remus reading next to the fireplace as usual.
"Remus. Um... I kind of adopted a child," Arcas told him, deciding not to beat around the bush and grinning when Remus dropped the book he was reading in shock.
"Arcas. What?" Remus stood up and looked at Arcas then at the child in Arcas' arms.
"This is Nebi. His mother told him to come find me when their clan was attacked. He's a Werepanther." Arcas told him, then looked at Nebi. "Nebi, this is Uncle Remus. He teaches here like me."
"Hello." Nebi said shyly, before hiding his face in Arcas' chest.
"He going to be staying with us for a while. By a while I mean, until he's grown up." Arcas said, grinning widely and nodding.
"Arcas. What about your erm... second job." Remus asked curiously, glancing at Nebi, who seemed to have fallen back to sleep.
"Huh? Oh! He knows I'm a Star. Do you think I should get him checked by Madam Pomfrey?"
"Yes. Definitely. Where did you find him?"
"The forest. I have no idea how he got there. All he said was he needed to find the Star." Arcas said with a shrug, walking into his room, Remus following behind him. "Um... Do you think you can conjure somewhere for him to sleep?"
Remus sighed softly and conjured a small, low bed, which Arcas promptly placed Nebi in, tucking him in with a soft smile, brushing the child's hair away from his face. "What do you plan on doing at the end of the school year Arcas?"
"I was planning on leaving. Going back to my Star. But now I have a child. My mum had to leave me behind when she became one. I'd like to take a second to point out that she never actually became a bear. No idea where that story came from." Arcas said with a chuckle, Remus smiled and followed Arcas back out of his room.
"So you are staying then? I thought you had to go back."
"I do. Maybe only for a little while each time. When that comes, I can get people to watch over him. Charlie for example. He won't be coming back. The only thing I regret is making Nebi become a Star."
"What? How come?"
"It's the way it happens. As soon as Nebi nears twenty he'll become a Star. It might be months before his birthday, but he won't be human by the time he turns twenty years old. It happens to all the children of the Stars." Arcas told him with a small sigh.
"So why?"
"So I could help him. Maybe he won't hate me for it come the time. Maybe he will. I'll just have to live with it, like my mother had to live with it. Plus, being a Star isn't so bad really. It's just lonely."
"Arcas-"
"It'll be fine Remus. It may not be as bad for Nebi. He's a werepanther, he'll find it easier to find his mate, so maybe he won't be alone when it happens. Maybe he will have found his mate before that happens."
"And if he hasn't?"
"I'll never let him become lonely Remus. I'll just have to visit him more often. Plus, Charlie will be able to visit more than I will if he's a Star with me, if not, then Nebi will also be able to visit Charlie whenever he wants."
"Don't worry Arcas. Worry when the time comes."
--
The same night Arcas was wandering outside in search of a Werepanther, the Order were meeting in a spare classroom near Dumbledore's office.
"Order! I call this meeting to Order!" Dumbledore yelled over the voices of the rest of the Order. Everyone quietened when Dumbledore yelled at them. "Thank you. Now, what can anyone tell me about tonight?"
"Well, I think it is safe to say that we severely underestimated You Know Who and his Death Eaters. We only managed to capture three, Marcus Flint, Anthony Goyle and Jeremy Lucas. None of which are in His inner circle." Moody told them getting frowns form those who cared.
"The elves killed seven, like Moody said though, none of them were in the inner circle. Twenty-two civilians were killed and over fifty were injured. Twenty of which permanently so." Kingsley told him morosely.
"Why did we not ask the Star to come along? We would have found out what he was capable of." Molly Weasley asked, getting murmurs of agreement from those seated around the large oval table.
"We agreed not to ask Mr Orsini to come along. I felt that he could not be of any help. He does not have full control over his magic. What help could he have been? There have been no accounts of Stars helping in any war. I think it may be because they do not actually have any battle skills." Dumbledore told them, receiving horrified gasps in return. "It would explain why the Stars themselves were not the ones to come to help."
"That's another thing Dumbledore. Why did we wait before heading to Diagon? Lives could have been saved had we not waited! Why did we have to wait until the Stars showed their hands?" Tonks asked, furious at the thought of those lives lost.
"My dear, we had to know what they could do. Unfortunately lives were lost, but it was for the greater good."
"You know what? Screw the Greater Good!" Tonks yelled, she stood up and then stormed out of the room, leaving stunned silence behind her.
--
Over the next couple of days, Arcas hid in his and Remus' rooms with Nebi, feeling reluctant to share the news of the small child with Dumbledore. At least not until he had heard back from Charlie, who he had sent a letter to the night of finding Nebi.
"You can't hide in here forever Arcas. Even if you hide Nebi in here, you will still have to leave sometime." Remus told him, amusement colouring his voice.
"Fine. You stay here with Nebi and I'll go show my face. I don't see why though, the new term doesn't start for another three days. Why can't I hide until then? I don't like the crowds!" Arcas whined, which was a sight to see and amused Remus highly.
"Don't whine Arcas, it doesn't become you. Now, what's this about crowds? Come on. Why don't you just head down for dinner. Bill is still here. You can sit next to him and I'll stay here and keep an eye on Nebi. Who needs more toys by the way." Remus added, looking at the few toys Remus and Sirius had conjured.
"Fine. I'll go to dinner, but I'm coming straight back afterwards. I'm not used to the amount of people."
"You're going to have to get used to it Arcas. When the students come back it's going to become even more crowded." Remus told him softly, getting a glare for his efforts.
Arcas huffed and then walked out of the room, ignoring the chuckling coming from Remus as he left.
Arcas wandered down the halls slowly, not looking forward to the crowds of people that would be in the Great Hall.
Upon opening the doors, he searched out Bill, finding him sitting next to one of the twins, Arcas had a good idea that it might be Fred, at the teachers table. Arcas made his way past the tables, ignoring the whispers coming from those that had an idea of what he was. Dodging out of the way of a man who was leaving the room, Arcas hurried the last couple of steps and sat down in the seat next to Bill with a relieved sigh.
"You okay?" Bill asked, amused smile on his face.
"I'm alright, I just don't like crowds." Arcas muttered, picking at the potatoes he had placed on his plate.
"Why are you here then?"
"Remus forced me to come down."
"Ah, still hiding my new little nephew from everyone in the castle?" Bill asked in amusement.
"Yes. I don't want Dumbledore knowing about him just yet. I don't trust him."
"With good reason. Wanna know why he kept you, Remus and Sirius out of the loop about Diagon?" Bill asked quietly, sending a glance to where Dumbledore was sitting further down the table, talking to Flitwick.
"Why? I had wondered."
"He wanted to test you. Well by you I mean the whole group of Stars, you included. He doens't think you have any usable battle skills."
"He would be right of course. We don't have battle skills. We have allies. That is what he would have seen at Diagon. Indeed, I believe it was our allies that saved the day so to speak. No Dumbledore. Which must be smarting a little." Arcas said with a side smile, making Bill chuckle and catching the attention of Fred.
"What's up little Star? How is my baby neffie-poo?" Fred asked with a grin.
"He's fine. Remus said I need to get him some more toys. Where do you buy toys?" Arcas asked both brothers next to him.
"Hogsmeade has a couple of shops that might be of interest. You may want to take Nebi with you, which would mean telling people about him."
"I'll tell you what I told Remus. I'm not telling anyone but immediate family until I hear back from Charlie. I don't really want to tell anyone until I know that Charlie knows. It's only fair he knows he is a daddy before everyone else does." Arcas told him with a shy smile.
"Fair enough. Well I can take you out shopping tomorrow if you want, then later we can all take Nebi out shopping, when everyone knows. I'd imagine he will be in need of clothes soon."
"Yes, there is only so much Remus will be willing to shrink for me." Arcas admitted with a shy smile, getting laughs from the two brothers.
"Well we can cover all that when people know about him. Have you finished playing with your food?" Bill asked, looking pointedly at the plate of mashed food.
Arcas followed where Bill was looking and blushed. "Yes, why?"
"Come on, I want to go see my nephew. We can then discuss what we need to buy when we go shopping tomorrow." Bill said, standing up. Arcas and Fred followed, and walked through the tables on their way out of the room.
As Arcas passed, a man stood up, bumping into Arcas and sending him tumbling into Bill on front of him. A pained yell indicated to everyone that knew, that Arcas had touched Bill's skin.
Arcas jumped back away from Bill, looking at him guiltily when Bill rubbed his arms that Arcas had grabbed instinctively. Where his hands had been were angry red handprints.
--
Hermione watched Professor Orsini closely as he walked into the Great Hall and made a beeline for where two of the Weasley's were sitting, Bill and one of the Twins. She had no idea which one and even less of idea of where the other one was. Nor did she particularly care. They made her uneasy whenever they were around.
She watched however, when the professor seemed to be talking about something, then blushed at a comment made by Bill. She watched closely as they all stood up, and left the table.
She was watching then, when the man bumped into Orsini and made him stumble, grabbing hold of Bill's arm in the process. She was watching when Bill's skin turned angry and blistered. She was watching and she knew.
She worked out the mystery that was Professor Arcas Orsini. The only thing she didn't know was whether she would share what she knew. Would Ron care that his professor wasn't a Vampire like he was almost certain of. Would Ginny care that the man she had her eye on was possible one of the least available men around. Would anyone care that they were being taught by a Star?
--
Voldemort sat up straighter as his spy came into the room and bowed at his feet, forgoing the curtesy of kissing his masters robes and standing up, mask in place over his face.
"Tell me what you know?"
"Dumbledore admitted he didn't arrive because he wanted to see what the Stars would do."
"And?"
"He does not believe that the Stars have any skill when it comes to battle."
"Does he now?"
"Yes, however, there is one thing."
"Yesss?"
"The Star working for him."
"Potter?"
"Yes, I over heard him talking to one of the Weasley's. He admitted that the Stars have no skill when it comes to battle. They rely on their allies."
"Do they really?"
"Yes, and there is one final thing."
"Tell me."
"The Star, Arcas, he has adopted a Wereleopard. Young, but I have no idea how young. He is keeping it a secret until he hears back from his mate."
"Try and find a way of getting the child away from the Star." Voldemort hissed, watching as his follower nodded and turned to leave the room. "You have please me... Kinsgley."
--
On the isle of Azkaban, several bright white lights appeared on the edges of the wards, leaving behind tall, white figures.
"Find the prisoner, no one else." The lead figure told the other three, getting nods in agreement.
They then split up at the doors, two going up, two going down. The lead figure was one of the two going down, deeper into the dingy hallways of the dark, foreboding prisons.
Since the Dementors had left, they were not quite so bad, but the cold of the halls seemed to seep into the very bones of those that were forced to stay there.
The leader was the one to find the prisoner, and stood outside of the cage-like doors, waiting for when the prisoner noticed her standing there.
"Who are you?" Came the gravely voice, once the prisoner noticed her.
"I'm a Star. You can call me Callista. I've come to give you a proposition."
"Go on."
"I'll break you out of here, but you work for me. Give me information on your master, who did not bother to break you out."
"Why?"
"I told you, information."
"Okay."
"Good. And I speak for the whole sky when I say, welcome Barty Crouch Jnr."
A/N – Okay, so this is a little smaller than normal, for that I'm sorry, but well I'm slowly coming to the end of what I have planned for this fic, after the next chapter, I'm going in blind... I do have a plan of how to end it all though. Not sure when that will be though! It won't be long I'm afraid. I think I am completely incapable of writing long stories! Lol!
Well, anyway, you do find out who the spy is in this! Honestly now, who thought it was Kingsley? Lol! Please tell me what you think! I'm completely overwhelmed by the amount of reviews I'm getting for this!! Thank you!!
